Labor & Economic News - Institute for Research on Labor & Employment Library: September 2006

Labor & Economic News Blog

Friday, September 29, 2006

Middle class caught in fiscal bind

Middle class caught in fiscal bind
America’s middle-income families are caught in an unprecedented financial crunch, according to an economic analysis released Thursday by two worker advocacy organizations.

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit Gives Green Light to Employees Suing Mohawk Industries For Immigration Law Violations under RICO

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit Gives Green Light to Employees Suing Mohawk Industries For Immigration Law Violations under RICO
By Sheppard Mullin on Immigration
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) permits plaintiffs to act as private prosecutors and sue for injuries arising out of alleged conspiracies to commit specified types of felonies. In 1996, Congress amended RICO to add workplace immigration crimes to...

Mesaba to again ask judge's OK to cut wages

Mesaba to again ask judge's OK to cut wages
Mesaba Airlines said it plans for the second time to seek a bankruptcy court judge's approval today to impose cuts on pilots, flight attendants and mechanics after failing to reach contract agreements this week. The Eagan-based regional airline had set Thursday as a deadline to obtain wage and benefit concessions of 19.4 percent, which it says are necessary to stay in business. Mesaba was in mediated talks this week with the unions for its pilots and mechanics, but no contract agreements were reached...

Workers' compensation savings are cheered / Still, Garamendi calls benefits for workers too low

Workers' compensation savings are cheered / Still, Garamendi calls benefits for workers too low
By Tom Abate
California has pulled off a stunning overhaul of its workers' compensation system that has driven premiums down roughly 60 percent since 2003 and saved employers about $14 billion a year, Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi said Thursday at a public hearing...

Agency drops bid to change work rules

Agency drops bid to change work rules
The Department of Homeland Security abandoned its final court appeal this week in its push to take greater control over the way the agency fires, pays and negotiates with its workers.

EEOC sues Denny's over disability policy

EEOC sues Denny's over disability policy
In a case that originated at a Baltimore outlet, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said yesterday that it has filed a discrimination lawsuit against Denny's restaurants on behalf of former workers nationwide who have disabilities.

Thursday, September 28, 2006

Day laborers get mixed signals

Day laborers get mixed signals
Cicero Home Depot bans solicitationA slight man inside a shiny black Range Rover peered out his window as he slowly exited the Home Depot parking lot in Cicero. Within minutes, 23 jornaleros were at his door, jostling for his favor.

Jobless claims fell by 6,000 last week (Reuters)

Jobless claims fell by 6,000 last week (Reuters)
Reuters - New claims for U.S. jobless aid fell by a slightly more-than-expected 6,000 last week, Labor Department data showed on Thursday, and remained at levels suggesting a stable jobs market.

Chronicle, union extend negotiations / Paper, mechanics resume talks 2 hours before strike deadline

Chronicle, union extend negotiations / Paper, mechanics resume talks 2 hours before strike deadline
By George Raine
A possible strike by mechanics who maintain The Chronicle's presses was averted Wednesday when negotiators for the workers and the newspaper agreed to a seven-day contract extension. The 31 mechanics are represented by the International Association of...

Major Victory For Unions, As Ninth Circuit Reverses Itself In Chamber of Commerce v. Lockyer

Major Victory For Unions, As Ninth Circuit Reverses Itself In Chamber of Commerce v. Lockyer
By Sheppard Mullin on Union Issues
After twice affirming a district court's decision that two California statutes were preempted by the National Labor Relations Act ("NLRA"), a divided en banc panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed itself last week by a 12-3 vote...

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Suit alleging Wal-Mart pay violations set for trial in Massachusetts

Suit alleging Wal-Mart pay violations set for trial
By Diane E. Lewis, Globe Staff
A case alleging Wal-Mart Stores Inc . illegally docked workers' wages and refused to pay overtime to tens of thousands of employees in Massachusetts goes to trial next month, but a judge recently ruled that the workers couldn't sue over missed meal breaks.

U.S. Sinks in Global Competitiveness Survey

U.S. Sinks in Global Competitiveness Survey
NPR audio:
The United States has lost its edge in the global market, sinking from first to sixth place in economic competitiveness, according to a report card from the World Economic Forum. Switzerland now ranks as No. 1 , followed by Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Singapore.

EEOC sues Land O'Lakes for severance language

EEOC sues Land O'Lakes for severance language
Land O'Lakes is the latest Minnesota employer to have its severance agreements challenged by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Gov't plan eases 401(k) enrollment

US Government plan eases 401(k) enrollment
WASHINGTON: The Bush administration unveiled a proposal Tuesday to make it easier for companies to enroll workers in retirement plans such as 401(k)s, a move supporters hope will increase participation.

Smaller premium hikes little comfort to workers

Smaller premium hikes little comfort to workers
Workers won't find much comfort in the smallest increase in health insurance premiums since 1999. The 7.7 percent increase this year was still more than twice the rate of inflation.

Manufacturers face widening cost gap: study (Reuters)

Manufacturers face widening cost gap: study (Reuters)
Reuters - Rising energy and employee health-care costs, as well as high taxes, caused U.S. manufacturers to fall further behind their foreign rivals in terms of economic competitiveness, according to a study released on Wednesday.

Peugeot-Citroen Is Cutting 10,000 Jobs

Peugeot-Citroen Is Cutting 10,000 Jobs
French carmaker PSA Peugeot-Citroen is cutting 10,000 jobs, or 7 percent of its European work force, and is imposing a hiring freeze as it tries to cut costs amid a sales slump in Europe. Europe's second largest automaker after Volkswagen AG said late...

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Working for families

Working for families
Working Mother magazine Monday released its annual list of 100 best employers for moms and dads. Companies in the top 10 met five main criteria including flexibility and leave policies. Selection for the 2006 list of 100 was based on an application completed by each company. Compensation of women, childcare, family-friendly programs and company culture also were measured and scored.

Northwest, flight attendants to resume contract talks

Northwest, flight attendants to resume contract talks
Northwest Airlines and the union for its flight attendants will resume contract talks on Wednesday for the first time since July, avoiding a strike threatened by those workers.

1,400 More Delphi Workers Take Buyouts

1,400 More Delphi Workers Take Buyouts
By By TOM KRISHER, AP Business Writer
Another 1,400 hourly workers have decided to accept auto supplier Delphi Corp.'s buyout offers, meaning that the struggling company will lose more than 70 percent of its work force by the end of the year. Delphi released the buyout numbers Tuesday,...

Health insurance premiums up more than twice the inflation rate

Health insurance premiums up more than twice the inflation rate
By Victoria Colliver
Health insurance premiums increased at the slowest rate since 2000 this year, but still rose at more than twice the rate of inflation, a study released today found. Premiums paid by employers grew 7.7 percent in 2006 on average, according to a survey...

Monday, September 25, 2006

Revlon Cuts 250 Jobs, Dumps New Line

Revlon Cuts 250 Jobs, Dumps New Line
By By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO, AP Business Writer
Revlon Inc. is cutting 250 jobs, or 8 percent of its work force, and is canceling its recently launched Vital Radiance cosmetics line aimed at older women in a restructuring plan aimed at making the company profitable. The steps announced Monday come a...

First Pizza Drivers Union forms

FIRST PIZZA DRIVERS UNION FORMS
PENSACOLA, Fla. Domino's Pizza delivery driver Jim Pohle could have quit when he saw a competitor offering an extra 25 cents an hour in wages and his bosses wouldn't match it. But he decided instead to stand up and form the nation's only pizza drivers union to successfully organize workers.

Tough times, new tactics

Tough times, new tactics
CLEVELAND - Shuttered plants. Thousands of good-paying jobs lost. Retiree benefits at risk. Global competition. An uncertain future.

AK Steel workers nix contract

AK Steel workers nix contract
MIDDLETOWN, Ohio : AK Steel union workers voted Monday to reject what the company called its final contract offer, extending the seven-month-old standoff at the Middletown Works plant.

Ikea to Hire 10,000 New Workers Per Year

Ikea to Hire 10,000 New Workers Per Year
Furniture maker Ikea plans to hire tens of thousands of new workers as the company continues to expand with dozens of new stores opening around the world, the company's chief executive said in an interview published Monday. "We have to hire at least...

Friday, September 22, 2006

Lowe's settles suit on underpayments

Lowe's settles suit on underpayments
Lowe's has agreed to settle a long-running class action lawsuit claiming the company underpaid employees. In court documents filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Kansas, the Mooresville, N.C.-based company and plaintiffs in the case said they had settled. But before filing the agreement, they wanted a judge to allow them to keep the details secret for now. Attorneys said requiring the details to become public knowledge could spawn copycat lawsuits and ultimately reduce the payments made to plaintiffs. Plaintiff attorneys have estimated that the case could affect up to 75,000 current and former employees of the nation's second-largest home-improvement chain.

Worker of the future will be working more

Worker of the future will be working more
At the end of a five-hour labor, employment and benefits symposium on the gamut of workplace law, an audience member asked an unusual question:

Workers at Boston hotel vote to sever ties with union

Workers at hotel vote to sever ties with union
By Chris Reidy, Globe Staff
Employees at Jurys Boston Hotel voted 47 to 46 to cut ties with a hotel and restaurant workers union, a spokesman for the union said last night.

Union asks nurses at UMass to OK strike

Union asks nurses at UMass to OK strike
By Christopher Rowland, Globe Staff
The union representing about 850 registered nurses at UMass Memorial Medical Center's University Campus in Worcester has asked its members to authorize a strike, a sign that a nine -month contract dispute is worsening.

Thursday, September 21, 2006

Federal Appeals Court: California Employers cannot use state funds to thwart unions

Court: Employers cannot use state funds to thwart unions
Source: Central Valley Business Times
A California law which forbids employers who receive state grant or program funds of $10,000 or more a year from using those funds to assist, promote or deter union organizing has been upheld by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a split decision.

The limits of solidarity

The limits of solidarity
Source: Economist
WALK into the Washington headquarters of the AFL-CIO, America's biggest federation of trade unions, and you see the words of Virgil on a large, colourful mosaic: Labor omnia vincit (“Work conquers all”). The phrase seems cruelly ironic. The share of American workers carrying union cards has plunged from over 20% in 1980 to under 13% in 2005, and almost half of those are government employees.

Report slams Georgia laws on workers' comp

Report slams Georgia laws on workers' comp
Injured workers in Georgia face some of the toughest obstacles in the nation to getting financial relief for their suffering, according to a study released Wednesday by a national consumer rights group. "Georgia is extremely problematic," said Joanne Doroshow, executive director of the Center for Justice & Democracy, a New York-based nonprofit that defends consumers' legal rights. "It's certainly a state where workers have not fared very well in recent years."

Target sues unnamed blogger

Target sues unnamed blogger
Call it the battle of the big-box versus the bodacious blogger. Minneapolis-based Target Corp. is seeking a court order to stop an anonymous blogger from posting its secret anti-theft practices on Web sites. The case pits a company's right to protect confidential information against free speech rights in cyberspace. And the battle all began with a posting on a Web site run by United Food and Commercial Workers Local 789 in South St. Paul.

Not personal? devil’s in details

DIANE STAFFORD AT WORK: not personal? devil’s in details
You may not know Stuart A. Goldstein from Adam. But the public record — an opinion handed down in a lawsuit — tells his story, the story of a worker who was let go three years ago when Sprint Corp. cut jobs as it sought to recover from the telecom bust.

Kansas City area salaries lag national median, study shows

KC area salaries lag national median, study shows
Median salaries in the Kansas City metro area are about 1.5 percent lower than the national median. Mercer Human Resource Consulting this month analyzed pay variations in more than 200 cities and found marked differences, largely depending on city size and cost of living.

Jobless claims climb by 7,000 (AP)

Jobless claims climb by 7,000 (AP)
AP - The number of newly laid-off workers filing for unemployment benefits rose last week by the largest amount since early August, providing further evidence that economy has slowed.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Big firms grow more gay-friendly

Big firms grow more gay-friendly
Washington — Even as states have been passing constitutional amendments to ban gay marriage in recent years, a soaring number of companies have been adding domestic-partnership benefits, a gay rights advocacy group said Tuesday. In its fifth annual survey of 446 large U.S. companies and law firms, the Human Rights Campaign, a Washington-based political organization, examined benefits and protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees and customers. HRC ranks companies on several policies, including those involving discrimination, health benefits and family leave.

Sex-bias suit settled for $15M

Sex-bias suit settled for $15M
Former and current female employees of C.H. Robinson Worldwide will share in a $15 million settlement ordered by a federal judge Tuesday, ending a 4-year-old case alleging gender discrimination in pay and promotion.

Kansas, Missouri jobless rates show little change

Kansas, Missouri jobless rates show little change
Missouri and Kansas had no statistically significant employment changes in August, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

UPS, Teamsters start '08 contract talks early

UPS, Teamsters start '08 contract talks early
UPS and its biggest union, representing 238,000 drivers, sorters and other hourly workers, said they opened talks Tuesday on a new contract. The company and the Teamsters union said the talks are starting early. The current six-year pact expires July 31, 2008. "While it is unusual to start this early, we do so because there are some very complex issues to address and we all recognize it will take time to find solutions," said John McDevitt, UPS's senior vice president for Global Transportation Services. "And an early start to negotiations greatly increases the chances of an early finish."

Ford wins right to hire temps

Ford wins right to hire temps
DEARBORN, Mich. Ford Motor Co. will be able to replace workers who take advantage of one of the automaker's buyout offers with lower-paid temporary workers under an agreement negotiated with the United Auto Workers.

LABOR SCENE: Less absenteeism, more happiness

LABOR SCENE: Less absenteeism, more happiness
Unscheduled absences from work are the lowest they have been in nearly two years. That was the finding of BNA Inc. in its employer survey of absentee rates.

More eligible for overtime?

More eligible for overtime?
Two years after a sweeping update of the nation’s rules governing overtime pay, a top Labor Department official said the department believes more workers are eligible for overtime pay than previously.

Health insurance costs soar for small businesses

Health insurance costs soar for small businesses
When Laura Lee Jones learned in May that the cost of health insurance for her 16-employee company was going up a whopping 19.6 percent, she was hardly surprised.

Spinach scare hits Salinas Valley hard / Crops being plowed under; some workers already being laid off

Spinach scare hits Salinas Valley hard / Crops being plowed under; some workers already being laid off
By Meredith May and George Raine
When truck driver Daniel Rivas pulled his load of baby lettuce into a packing plant Monday, he heard the bad news -- at least 60 of the employees who depend on his hauls for their livelihoods had been laid off. That's because production of spinach,...

Union lawyers challenge Oregon state pension reforms

Union lawyers challenge State pension reforms
Source: Oregon Statesman Journal
Oregon public-employee unions got what may be their final day in court Friday in their three-year quest to overturn state pension reforms that were passed in 2003.

Private sector wages seen rising further: survey (Reuters)

Private sector wages seen rising further: survey (Reuters)
Reuters - U.S. private sector wage growth should continue to accelerate in the months ahead on the back of a healthy employment climate, according to a survey released on Tuesday.

Monday, September 18, 2006

In-demand metal workers make hard cash

In-demand metal workers make hard cash
In StarTribune.com Business
When a freezer door swings open anywhere in North America, odds are it's on hinges manufactured by E.J. Ajax & Sons Inc. in Fridley. Those metal cylinder parts come fully formed, thousands an hour, out of giant punch-press machines that require just one operator for every four of them. Those machines and that very well-trained operator are how E.J. Ajax continues to win contracts over competitors in China and Taiwan and Mexico to manufacture freezer hinges, door frames for fire extinguisher cabinets, and safety latches inside the handles of stove-top pressure cookers.

Visions of the golden years dim as pension promises fade

Visions of the golden years dim as pension promises fade
By Robert Gavin, Globe Staff
ESSEX JUNCTION, Vt. -- After the collapse of Digital Equipment Corp. cost him a 16-year career, Larry Millette started over, taking an entry-level factory job at the IBM plant in this Vermont village.

Workers mull life after Ford

Workers mull life after Ford
MAUMEE, Ohio Autoworkers from the overnight shift sat shoulder to shoulder Friday morning at a bar across the street from one of two plants that Ford Motor Co. says it is closing.

Beijing eyes biotech business / Scientists are returning to China after working in the United States

Beijing eyes biotech business / Scientists are returning to China after working in the United States
By Jehangir S. Pocha
China, which catapulted into the top ranks of global manufacturing, is now aiming to turn itself into a biotechnology power. "There's no reason the things that make China so powerful in manufacturing cannot apply to knowledge-driven industries," said...

Being a director harder than it used to be / Tougher laws, longer hours taking a toll on those who serve on corporate boards

Being a director harder than it used to be / Tougher laws, longer hours taking a toll on those who serve on corporate boards
By Carolyn Said
The plush leather chairs in America's boardrooms are feeling a little less comfy these days. Serving on a corporate board of directors was once a collegial gig that paid big bucks for attending a few meetings, enjoying some lovely meals, maybe taking...

Union appeals ruling on Northwest attendants strike

Union appeals ruling on Northwest attendants strike
Source: Reuters
The union representing flight attendants at bankrupt Northwest Airlines on Monday said it has appealed a federal judge's ruling that blocked a threatened strike. The Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) filed the appeal with the Second Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday and will ask for an expedited ruling, union spokesman Ricky Thornton said.

Wasthington State Prison union asks 5,000 workers to vote against state's offer

Prison union asks 5,000 workers to vote against state's offer
Source: The Olympian
The union that represents more than 5,000 state prison workers is asking its members to reject Gov. Chris Gregoire's final offer on a two-year contract. "We're not only telling them we don't like it, but telling the membership that we want them to vote it down," said Leonard Smith of Teamsters Local 117.

Friday, September 15, 2006

Suit accuses Starbucks of discrimination

Suit accuses Starbucks of discrimination
The federal government is suing Starbucks on behalf of a Seattle woman with psychiatric disabilities. The EEOC says the coffee giant illegally fired her and didn't provide reasonable accommodations for her to work at a Queen Anne store.

U.S. soldier goes AWOL -- alleges sexual harassment / Enemy lines: She deserted the Army just before her 2nd tour in Iraq, not because of the war, she

U.S. soldier goes AWOL -- alleges sexual harassment / Enemy lines: She deserted the Army just before her 2nd tour in Iraq, not because of the war, she says, but because her superiors preyed on her
By Carol Burke
Car keys in hand, Army Spc. Suzanne Swift was about to leave her home in Eugene, Ore., for a second tour of duty in Iraq in January when she turned to her mother and said she couldn't do it. With 2 1/2 years to go on her commitment, she opted out....

New Zealand: Financial support growing for striking supermarket workers

Financial support growing for striking supermarket workers
Source: NZPA
The groundswell of support for locked-out supermarket distribution workers appears to be growing, with some large individual donations arriving over the past two days, unions say. Meanwhile, Progressive Enterprises - the Australian-owned company that owns Woolworths, Foodtown and Countdown - appears to have settled a dispute with about 4200 in-store retail staff today, but a standoff remains between the company and 500 distribution workers.

Ford workers confront uncertainty with latest cuts

Ford workers confront uncertainty with latest cuts
Autoworkers from the overnight shift sat shoulder to shoulder Friday morning at a bar across the street from one of two plants Ford Motor Co. said it was closing, lamenting not only the loss of their jobs but the downward spiral of the American auto industry. At the Break Room Lounge in the shadows of the stamping plant in this northwest Ohio town near Toledo, workers packed the bar and parking lot, ending their work week with news most said they expected but nonetheless dreaded. "They've been threatening to close us for 30 years. They finally got it done," said Larry Beach, who's worked for Ford for three decades.

Buyouts Likely to Weaken UAW Further

Buyouts Likely to Weaken UAW Further
NPR Audio:
The UAW faces further weakening with the announcement by Ford that it will offer buyouts to all North American hourly workers in an effort to slash its payroll. The move will eventually drain thousands of workers from the UAW's active rolls.

Report calls for outreach to uninsured Hispanics

Report calls for outreach to uninsured Hispanics
The growing number of Latinos without health insurance could be reduced if the government offered small businesses tax incentives to provide coverage, a Hispanic advocacy group said Thursday.

Female migrants earn less but send more home

Female migrants earn less but send more home
Every two weeks, Margarita Gutierrez takes the money saved from her $7-an-hour job washing cars and sends it to her two children in El Salvador, even though her husband frets over the cost of living in their adopted home.

Texas unemployment drops slightly in August

Texas unemployment drops slightly in August
The Texas unemployment rate inched down to 5.1 percent in August after two straight months of small increases, the Texas Workforce Commission said today.

L.A. civic leaders protest cutbacks at newspaper

L.A. civic leaders protest cutbacks at newspaper
Twenty prominent Los Angeles civic leaders have sent a letter of protest to the Chicago-based owners of the Los Angeles Times, saying that continued staff reductions threaten to topple the Times from its position as one of the nation's finest news organizations.

LA Times Editor: No More Editorial Cuts

LA Times Editor: No More Editorial Cuts
The editor of the Los Angeles Times said he does not want to make any more job cuts in his newsroom, defying the newspaper's corporate parent, which has asked for a budget-trimming plan.

Minnesota: State loses 2,500 jobs

State loses 2,500 jobs
A run of 13 consecutive months of job gains in Minnesota came to a halt in August. State officials reported Tuesday that Minnesota lost 2,500 jobs last month, as four of 11 sectors saw declines.

Back to square one for Mesaba, unions

Back to square one for Mesaba, unions
Nine months and a mountain of legal paperwork later, bankrupt Mesaba Airlines and its unions appear to be right back where they started.

Social drinkers can taste success

Social drinkers can taste success
Tendency to affability brings higher income, study says. You don't need to play golf with the boss to get a raise. Just share a beer with her.

Ford to cut 10,000 salaried jobs

Ford to cut 10,000 salaried jobs
Automaker's restructuring plan also includes buyout offers, plant shutdowns. Ford Motor Co. said today that it plans to cut 10,000 more salaried jobs, offer buyouts to all of its U.S. hourly workers and shut down two more plants as it expands its restructuring plan designed to rein in expenses and restore the struggling automaker to profitability.

California jobless rate rises to 4.9 percent (Reuters)

California jobless rate rises to 4.9 percent (Reuters)
Reuters - California's unemployment rate rose slightly in August to 4.9 percent, but the state also added 37,000 non-farm jobs, leading Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to boast on Friday that his economic policies are working.

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Older workers more loyal to employers

Older workers more loyal to employers
In smallBusinessNews
(Inc.com) - Employers who are looking to reduce turnover might want to consider hiring older workers, not recent college graduates, according to a new study.

Guild employees at The Times OK contract calling for wage freeze

Guild employees at The Times OK contract calling for wage freeze
By epryne@seattletimes.com on Local News
Members of the largest union at The Seattle Times have approved a new two-year contract with the newspaper that calls for no across-the-board...

Nigeria: Oil Workers' Strike Records Partial Success

Nigeria: Oil Workers' Strike Records Partial Success
The warning strike called by oil workers in the country kicked off as scheduled yesterday with reports of partial success across the country. But there were indications that the three-day warning strike might be called off later today.

Chicago Politicians Clash on Minimum Wage

Chicago Politicians Clash on Minimum Wage
NPR Audio:
Chicago Mayor Richard Daley recently vetoed an ordinance that would have required big-box retailers to provide workers with a higher minimum wage. On Wednesday, the city council tried, but failed, to override his veto.

More workers needed to repair homes after Katrina

More workers needed to repair homes after Katrina
A push to train thousands of new construction workers on the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast found an unlikely pupil in Sandra Ramsay, a self-employed massage therapist and hairstylist.

Chicago: Big-box battle not over yet

Big-box battle not over yet
Union leaders say they will bring wage proposal back in FebruaryTheir talk was full of the heartbreak of coming so close, and then losing.

Gender pay gap shrinkage has a downside

Gender pay gap shrinkage has a downside
You’ll not hear a big whoop-de-do from me. There have been huzzahs in some quarters because the so-called gender gap has shrunk to its historical low.

Ford, UAW reach deal on buyouts

Ford, UAW reach deal on buyouts
More than 75,000 workers will be offered packages in cost-cutting effortFord Motor Co. will offer buyout and early retirement plans to all of its hourly U.S. employees -- more than 75,000 of them -- as part of a broad restructuring plan aimed at cutting costs in light of slumping sales.

Job suits cost UC $12 million in 3 years

Job suits cost UC $12 million in 3 years
By Tanya Schevitz
The University of California paid out at least $12 million over three years on employment lawsuits involving allegations such as sexual harassment, discrimination and "consensual relations" between faculty and students, according to an internal audit and...

Health benefits measure vetoed / Governor calls bill aimed at big firms a 'job killer'

Health benefits measure vetoed / Governor calls bill aimed at big firms a 'job killer'
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill Wednesday aimed at mega-retailer Wal-Mart that would have required employers with more than 10,000 workers to spend at least 8 percent of total wages on health benefits. Business groups opposed the measure --...

Jobless claims dip unexpectedly last week (Reuters)

Jobless claims dip unexpectedly last week (Reuters)
Reuters - New claims for U.S. jobless aid unexpectedly fell 5,000 last week, Labor Department data showed on Thursday, and remained at levels suggesting a healthy employment climate.

Union hails contract / Tentative pact reached with 13 S.F. hotels

Union hails contract / Tentative pact reached with 13 S.F. hotels
By George Raine
The union representing San Francisco hospitality workers achieved several key goals in a contract agreement tentatively reached with 13 hotels late Tuesday. Unite Here Local 2 did not get everything it sought, but it did get provisions it pressed for...

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Schwarzenegger signs bill boosting minimum wage to $8 an hour

Schwarzenegger signs bill boosting minimum wage to $8 an hour
By By CHRISTINA ALMEIDA, Associated Press Writer
Flanked by Democratic lawmakers, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday signed a bill giving California one of the highest minimum wages in the nation, an election-year compromise that upset some conservatives and business groups. The law gives more...

On-The-Job Blogger Awarded Back Pay

On-The-Job Blogger Awarded Back Pay
A state employee who was suspended from his job for making unfavorable comments online about a struggling community in rural Virginia has been awarded back pay. Will Vehrs, a business services manager for the Virginia Department of Business Assistance,...

San Francisco Hotel workers win key provisions in contract

Hotel workers win key provisions in contract
By George Raine
The union representing San Francisco hospitality workers achieved several key goals in a contract agreement tentatively reached with 13 hotels late Tuesday. Unite Here Local 2 did not get everything it sought, but it did get provisions it pressed for...

Dynamic Economy Produces High-Paying Jobs

Dynamic Economy Produces High-Paying Jobs
Many high-paying jobs have been created in key sectors of the economy over the past generation, according to a study from the University of Chicago. The dynamic churn of the U.S. economy has caused turbulence, but on balance it has been good for workers in computers, finance, trucking and the food industry.

The Joys and Perils of Whining at Work

The Joys and Perils of Whining at Work
NPR audio:
People who complain at work all the time can be annoying. But people who never complain at all are downright spooky. Finding a balance for your workplace complaints is one key to professional happiness. Lucy Kellaway, the workplace columnist at the Financial Times, talks with Renee Montagne about whining at work.

Are African youths enterprising?

Are African youths enterprising?
In Africa Have Your Say
What is the impact of major levels of unemployment facing the next generation?

Italy and Libya accused of abuse

Italy and Libya accused of abuse
In BBC Europe
A leading human rights group accuses Italy and Libya of abusing African migrants trying to enter Europe.

Nigeria oil unions stage strike

Nigeria oil unions stage strike
In BBC Africa
Thousands of oil workers take part in a three-day strike to protest at the lack of security in the Niger Delta.

Zimbabwe police hold union chief

Zimbabwe police hold union chief
In Africa
Zimbabwe's top trade union leader is arrested as riot police deploy across major cities to prevent protests.

NWA strikers to receive benefits

NWA strikers to receive benefits
In StarTribune.com Business
Thirteen months after their strike began, many Northwest Airlines mechanics will now get Minnesota unemployment benefits. The Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that Northwest locked out union mechanics, cleaners and custodians when the airline proposed pay cuts in August 2005 that averaged 25 percent. Some mechanics will receive up to $13,390 in benefits, said Lee Nelson, an attorney with the Minnesota unemployment insurance program. About 1,600 mechanics are affected by this ruling, but many mechanics won't receive the maximum benefit because they got full-time or part-time jobs duri

Flush With Jobs, Wyoming Woos Rust Belt Labor

Flush With Jobs, Wyoming Woos Rust Belt Labor
By KIRK JOHNSON
Labor-starved Wyoming is vigorously courting workers from Michigan's struggling auto industry.

Minnesota: State loses 2,500 jobs

Nigeria: Domestic Workers Or Modern Day Slaves?

Nigeria: Domestic Workers Or Modern Day Slaves?
Human traffickers make good business taking poorly educated girls from Nigerian villages to toil as domestic workers in the sprawling urban throb of Lagos. But the girls, some as young as five years old, see little or none of their earnings.

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Survey: Companies Plan to Boost Staffing

Survey: Companies Plan to Boost Staffing
By By EMILY FREDRIX, AP Business Writer
The jobs outlook remains stable, as 28 percent of U.S. companies plan to increase staffing levels in the fourth quarter this year, according to a survey of 14,000 employers released Tuesday. The report marks the 11th straight quarter that more than 20...

Waiters' Tip Fight Grows

AP Centerpiece: Waiters' Tip Fight Grows
By By Betsy Schiffman, AP Business Writer
Waiting tables is a stressful job and sometimes not even lucrative, given servers' sticky reliance on tips for income. In some states, restaurants are only legally required to pay as little as $2 or $3 an hour. So if a server earns $30 in tips on a bad...

Employers May Sponsor Overseas Surgeries

Employers May Sponsor Overseas Surgeries
If you get your health insurance on the job, and you need major surgery, you may soon have the option to have your procedure performed in India or Thailand -- saving both you and your employer a bunch of money.

Target praises Chicago wage veto

Target praises Chicago wage veto
In StarTribune.com Business
CHICAGO - Target Corp. on Monday applauded Mayor Richard Daley's veto of an ordinance that would have required "big box" retailers to pay their workers higher wages. Some of the nation's largest store operators had warned that the measure would keep them from opening stores in the city. Supporters said the measure would guarantee employees a "living wage," but in a letter to City Council members released Monday, Daley said the ordinance would drive businesses from Chicago. "I understand and share a desire to ensure that everyone who works in the city of Chicago earns a decent wage," Daley wr

For Flight Attendants, No Liquids and No Glamour

For Flight Attendants, No Liquids and No Glamour
By JOE SHARKEY
“It seems to be a fluid situation that changes day to day,” said Janice Gorham, a flight attendant for American Airlines. Ms. Gorham did not appear to be making a pun in describing the confusion that even flight attendants have experienced over new carry-on rules.

Global: Cleaning workers around the globe take action to support strikers in South Africa

Global: Cleaning workers around the globe take action to support strikers in South Africa
LabourStart headline - Source: ITNews
Office Cleaners in New York, London, Hamburg, Sydney, the Hague and other cities will take action to support South African office cleaners who have been on strike for more than one month. Cleaners will conduct a "Day of Global Action", September 13, aimed at convincing wealthy multinational corporations like Bayer and J.P. Morgan to take steps to improve the wages of South African janitors who clean their facilities.

Employers hire more workers in July vs June (Reuters)

Employers hire more workers in July vs June (Reuters)
Reuters - U.S. employers hired more workers during July than the month before, while the number of employees who left their jobs fell for the second straight month, a government report showed on Tuesday.

Group slams Disney over labor abuses in factories

Group slams Disney over labor abuses in factories
Source: HK Standard
Guangdong factories producing merchandise for Walt Disney are still ill- treating their workers by underpaying them and making them overwork, according to a concern group.

Britain: Unions plan to walk out on Blair's speech

Unions plan to walk out on Blair's speech
Source: Independent
The Labour Party was going to extraordinary lengths last night to prevent Tony Blair's final appearance at the TUC ending in humiliation - the Prime Minister faces a potentially devastating strike at the heart of the National Health Service.

Attendants prep strike at Northwest Airlines

Attendants prep strike at Northwest Airlines
Source: Detroit Free Press
Northwest Airlines Corp. flight attendants have begun strike preparations as they await a judge's ruling on the legality of a walkout, a move the bankrupt airline says could put it out of business. The Association of Flight Attendants, in a Web site posting Sunday, asked members to commit to participating in any walkout. Members also were asked to donate to a strike fund.

Monday, September 11, 2006

Detroit teachers defy judge's order (AP)

Detroit teachers defy judge's order (AP)
AP - Thousands of striking Detroit teachers defied a judge's order to return to work Monday as school officials and the union resumed contract talks in the two-week dispute.

Nigeria: NNPC Appeals to Workers Not to Strike

Nigeria: NNPC Appeals to Workers Not to Strike
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has finally made a rather belated appeal on Nigerian oil workers to cancel their planned three day warning strike.

Woman sues university for gender discrimination

Woman sues university for gender discrimination
Claiming both racial and gender discrimination, a former research scientist at Carnegie Mellon filed a federal lawsuit against the University on August 28. Joann Paul, who was hired in the electrical and computer engineering (ECE) department in 1997,

Workers must also benefit from globalisation, EU tells Asian leaders (AFP)

Workers must also benefit from globalisation, EU tells Asian leaders (AFP)
AFP - European leaders called on their Asian counterparts to help stop workers being exploited and let them profit more from the globalisation that has turned Asia into an economic powerhouse.

German union to reopen Volkswagen's wage contract

German union to reopen Volkswagen's wage contract
By Reuters
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German metalworkers union IG Metall agreed on Monday to reopen Volkswagen's wage contract but rejected management's plans to increase working hours without extra pay at Europe's biggest carmaker.

Now death comes to the men who cleaned up Ground Zero after 9/11

Now death comes to the men who cleaned up Ground Zero after 9/11
Source: Guardian
After years of denial by the authorities that mysterious deaths and illnesses cropping up among workers were linked to Ground Zero, the first solid evidence emerged in January. When New York Police Officer James Zadroga, 34, died of 'black lung disease' the coroner said his illness was caused by the toxins of Ground Zero. Other deaths began to be similarly attributed - a trickle of another three or four so far, but the trickle is likely to become a flood.

Tentative settlement ends Seattle-area garbage strike

Tentative settlement ends Seattle-area garbage strike
In Local News
A federal mediator helped negotiate a tentative settlement to end a strike against a major garbage hauler after union leaders threatened a much larger walkout today, a company spokesman said.

Anti-harassment courses credited for drop in claims

Anti-harassment courses credited for drop in claims
Millions of Americans have completed courses in the do's and don't's of workplace behavior -- one reason that sexual-harassment claims have declined in every type of workplace.

Less-than-clean credit history may just cost you a job offer

Less-than-clean credit history may just cost you a job offer
More employers are running routine credit checks on potential employees to assess applicants' honesty and integrity, traits not readily gleaned from a resume.

New Zealand Employers fear union power push

Employers fear union power push
Source: Fairfax/stuff
Employers fear the dispute between supermarket group Progressive Enterprises and its distribution workers signals a wider push by unions to grow their collective power.

A Different Strategy on Pensions

Business" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/09/business/09pension.html?ex=1315454400&en=5c2e58f9d1e24b43&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss" target=_blank>A Different Strategy on Pensions
By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
International Paper's pension fund is three years into a broad revamping that has allowed it to keep going, even as other large companies have frozen theirs.

FedEx Pilots' Union Recommends Deal

Business" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/10/business/10fedex.html?ex=1315540800&en=80dfc3cd1aca8363&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss" target=_blank>FedEx Pilots' Union Recommends Deal
By BLOOMBERG NEWS
A council of the FedEx Corporation’s pilots union approved on Friday a tentative labor agreement that was reached late last month and recommended that members ratify the contract.

Seeking to Attract Top Prospects, Employers Brush Up on Brands

Seeking to Attract Top Prospects, Employers Brush Up on Brands
By COELI CARR
Human resources officers now find themselves courting interviewees who want, and even demand, a good reason to come on board.

Florida: Union labors door-to-door to get out vote

Union labors door-to-door to get out vote
Jose Vazquez of Little Havana is the type of voter the South Florida AFL-CIO had hoped to find during their get-out-the-vote effort on Saturday.

UK: Ten key players in the British union movement

UK: Ten key players in the British union movement
LabourStart headline - Source: BBC
With the annual TUC conference due to get under way in Brighton we take a look at 10 key players in the modern trade union movement.

300,000 new jobs forecast by 2014 in Indiana

300,000 new jobs forecast by 2014
Employment to grow about 10 percent in the next eight years, Indiana Business Research Center says.
The article can be seen at http://www.incontext.indiana.edu/2006/september/articles/1_occemp.pdf

Firms get creative to meet pending shortage

Firms get creative to meet pending shortage
Antoinette Lucero figured she'd never find a job. Unemployed and on welfare for five years, she wondered who would hire a deaf woman with little training.

Chicago Mayor Daley vetoes `living wage' aimed at big retailers

Daley vetoes `living wage' aimed at big retailers
Mayor Richard Daley vetoed an ordinance today that would have required mega-retailers to pay their workers more than other employers after some of the nation's largest stores including Wal-Mart Stores warned the measure would keep them from opening their doors within the city's limits.

Delta recalling furloughed pilots, flight attendants

Delta recalling furloughed pilots, flight attendants
Delta Air Lines Inc., the nation's third-largest carrier, said Friday it is recalling up to 65 furloughed pilots and 200 flight attendants to provide cabin relief and help service the company's expanded destinations. Recalled pilots will begin training in October and return to flights for Delta afterward. Atlanta-based Delta recalled 64 pilots in June. "The pilots will provide relief in certain aircraft categories and both groups will support what we expect to be another year of expanded destinations for our customers in 2007," Jim Whitehurst, Delta's chief operating officer, said in a statement.

Delta retirees: Struggle to save benefits a huge task

Delta retirees: Struggle to save benefits a huge task
It wasn't long after Cathy Cone and Jim Gray retired from Delta Air Lines that they got what may be the toughest — and at times most frustrating — jobs of their lives. As the heads of organizations that represent Delta retirees in the airline's Chapter 11 case, Cone and Gray have labored untold and unpaid hours fighting uphill battles to save pensions and other benefits for thousands of their former colleagues. Both say Delta is now a tough, pragmatic adversary, unlike the paternalistic airline that hired them decades ago. Like most companies restructuring in Chapter 11, the airline wants to emerge with a lighter load of retiree liabilities.

Ford expected to go ahead with cuts

Ford expected to go ahead with cuts
DETROIT In an ideal world, the chief executive officer of Ford Motor Co. should know all the details of a reorganization plan that is critical to the company’s future.

Helpers of disabled seeking pay raise in Massachusetts

Helpers of disabled seeking pay raise
By Christopher Rowland, Globe Staff
For the last 24 years, Robin Congdon of Rutland has worked as a personal care attendant for a childhood friend, Cindy Purcell , who was paralyzed in a car accident. Congdon helps Purcell bathe, get dressed, make breakfast, and prepare for work.

A job-search site for those who eschew retirement

A job-search site for those who eschew retirement
By Diane E. Lewis, Globe Staff
A new online site based in Wellesley is tapping into the graying segment of the labor market that's not quite ready to retire. RetirementJobs.com was launched in May by Tim Driver , former senior vice president of consumer products at Salary.com in Waltham, to provide a link between employers looking for experienced workers and workers eager for a second act.

Wages finally poised to rise, Bush economic adviser says

Wages finally poised to rise, Bush economic adviser says
By Robert Gavin, Globe Staff
The US job market remains strong, and that should translate into bigger pay raises for workers, whose wages have risen sluggishly during the current expansion, said a top economic adviser to President Bush.

Friday, September 08, 2006

US slips as education world leader, says report

US slips as education world leader, says report
A host of other countries are threatening to overtake the US as the world leader in higher education, a new report reveals. The report released today by the National Centre for Public Policy and Higher Education in California says the US has made little

A War on Working Women?

A War on Working Women?
Just hours after the Forbes article 'Don't Marry Career Women' was posted online on Aug. 23, it was removed from the Web site and quickly repackaged this time in the opinions section, with a counterpoint. Six days later, the U.S. Census

Gender Issues in Trade in Africa [opinion]

Gender Issues in Trade in Africa [opinion]
Substantially reducing poverty in Africa will require massive policy shifts, writes Roselynn Musa. This is unlikely to happen unless the voices of women and poor people, which are largely missing from trade policy negotiations, are heard and respected.

Issue Paper: Wages of Agricultural Workers

Issue Paper: Wages of Agricultural Workers
Immigration Issue Centers : Labor and Ecnomics Proponents of a new temporary worker program argue that increased immigration enforcement would lead to fewer illegal agricultural workers and, as a consequence, the American consumer would face a major

Migrant Workers to Get Overtime for Storm Cleanup, Ending Suit

Migrant Workers to Get Overtime for Storm Cleanup, Ending Suit
In what appears to be the first resolution of a legal case involving charges of mistreatment of migrant workers cleaning up after Hurricane Katrina, the Belfor USA Group has agreed to pay more than $200,000 in overtime to workers hired by its

Costco ignored sex bias warnings, employees say

Costco ignored sex bias warnings, employees say
Costco Wholesale Corp. ignored internal warnings that female workers couldn't get promoted, and Chief Executive Jim Sinegal opposed recommendations to post notices for all management positions, employees suing the company claim.

New Zealand Supermarket dispute could spread to other unions

Supermarket dispute could spread to other unions
Source: NZPA
A major union has raised the possibility of blocking stock for supermarkets in Australia as action in the Progressive dispute escalates. The Council of Trade Unions (CTU) is holding a special meeting in Wellington today to discuss nationwide and international support for the National Distribution Union (NDU). The Maritime Union has raised the possibility of asking its Australian affiliates to block the loading of Progressive's cargo on Australian wharves.

Jobs for a Path Out of Poverty

Jobs for a Path Out of Poverty
NPR audio:
One proven path to escaping the trap of poverty, crime, drugs and prison is a decent job. But even though the city of Bridgeport is surrounded by some of the richest suburbs in the nation, jobs and job skills are hard to come by. The Youth Business Center is a program founded by one member of the city's elite to provide job training and money-management skills to teens who've been in trouble with the law.

Settlement of $12 million proposed for pension plans

Settlement of $12 million proposed for pension plans
WASHINGTON - The Labor Department proposed a $12 million agreement on Thursday with the estate of Ken Lay to settle claims involving mismanagement of workers' pension plans. The proposed settlement on behalf of participants covered by Enron's pension plans is subject to approval by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, the department said.

Chicago: Strike vote readied against Starwood

Strike vote readied against Starwood
Hotel firm optimistic deal will be reachedAfter reaching deals with two key hotel chains, the union for Chicago's hotel workers now intends to step up the heat on the Starwood hotel chain by calling for a strike vote next week.

Ford, UAW discuss buyout plan

Ford, UAW discuss buyout plan
The United Auto Workers union is talking with Ford Motor Co. about expanding the automaker's buyout and early-retirement offers to cover more workers and a decision could come next week, a union local leader said in a memo posted on the Internet.

Massachusetts Governor Romney vetoes bill tripling damages for delayed wages

Romney vetoes bill tripling damages for delayed wages
Governor Mitt Romney vetoed a bill that would have imposed triple damages on employers who fail to pay their workers in a timely manner. The veto lets stand a Supreme Judicial Court decision last year allowing judges to decide whether employers should be forced to pay workers three times the amount of money owed in back pay. Romney called mandatory ...

India attracts Western tech talent

India attracts Western tech talent
In BBC South Asia
As India asserts its position as a global economic powerhouse it has begun to attract Westerners in almost every field.

VW and unions strive for job deal

VW and unions strive for job deal
In BBC Business
Europe's biggest carmaker Volkswagen is to meet with unions for talks that experts say are vital to its future.

Low-paid workers wage losing battle: As minimum standard remains stuck at $5.15 per hour, inflation takes bigger bite of buying power

Low-paid workers wage losing battle: As minimum standard remains stuck at $5.15 per hour, inflation takes bigger bite of buying power
Source: AJC.com
Try buying groceries or filling up the gas tank with a job that pays $5.15 an hour. Or saving for a college education. Those tasks have become more difficult each year for workers paid the federal minimum wage. The standard hasn't changed since Labor Day 1997, and affected workers are long overdue for a raise. They've seen inflation reduce the buying power of the federal minimum wage to just over $4.

Dangerous jobs take toll on illegal immigrants

Dangerous jobs take toll on illegal immigrants
Source: Charlotte Observer
Much of the furor over immigration reform has been about whether undocumented workers like Mario should be allowed to stay in the U.S. or made to leave. But beyond that debate lies an undeniable fact: They face disproportionate dangers on the job. For most Americans, the workplace is much safer than it was a decade ago. This is not the case for many Latinos, who remain trapped in an earlier, more brutal era of industrialization. They lead throwaway lives, and their plight is nearly invisible because so many live in the shadows.

Ad Firms to Hire More Black Managers in City

Ad Firms to Hire More Black Managers in City
By DIANE CARDWELL and STUART ELLIOTT
Under the agreements, the agencies have agreed to submit to three years of monitoring by New York City.

States must find welfare recipients jobs (AP)

States must find welfare recipients jobs (AP)
AP - Welfare officials in Pennsylvania, California, Michigan have their work cut out for them when new rules take effect next month: find jobs for tens of thousands of people on welfare or risk losing millions in federal money.

Thursday, September 07, 2006

Labor costs shake a pillar of federal policy

Labor costs shake a pillar of federal policy
Source: NYT
A new Labor Department report suggested yesterday that the threat of higher inflation had not diminished and that it might take more monetary restraint to hold prices down. The report found unit labor costs — which take into account changes in productivity and hourly wages — increased much more sharply in the first half of the year than the government first calculated.

UAW chief sees no health care deal for Chrysler

UAW chief sees no health care deal for Chrysler
DETROIT (Reuters) - The United Auto Workers sees no need to grant DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group cost-saving concessions on health care similar to those the union has already granted to General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. , the union president said on Thursday.

Indiana Dems call for minimum wage hike

Dems call for minimum wage hike
Indiana Senate Democrats today called for Indiana to raise the state's minimum wage to $7.25 over two years, from the current $5.15.

Public employees join strike that challenges survival of Hamas-led gov't

Public employees join strike that challenges survival of Hamas-led gov't
Source: NYT
Unpaid employees in the Palestinian prime minister's office on Wednesday joined a widespread strike that is challenging the survival of the Hamas-led government.

New Zealand: Wage talks to start in attempt to end 14-day supermarket impasse

Wage talks to start in attempt to end 14-day supermarket impasse
Source: NZ Herald
Wage talks start today between supermarket group Progressive Enterprises and employees who work at their Countdown, Woolworths and Foodtown supermarkets.

Economic Scene: China Is Big Trouble for the U.S. Balance of Trade, Right? Well, Not So Fast

Economic Scene: China Is Big Trouble for the U.S. Balance of Trade, Right? Well, Not So Fast
By TYLER COWEN
American consumers seem determined to spend money and Chinese businessmen have made the bill cheaper.

Northwest recalling 1,100 laid-off attendants

Northwest recalling 1,100 laid-off attendants
Northwest Airlines on Wednesday said it would recall all of its 1,131 furloughed flight attendants, even as the airline faces a possible strike by their union.

Sick leaves spike at NWA

Sick leaves spike at NWA
Tensions appear to be escalating among Northwest Airlines' flight attendants as they await a federal judge's decision on whether they can strike.

More Americans fed up at work

More Americans fed up at work
No, tell us how you really feel. Workers are saying their biggest work problems are mostly economic. Their pay is not keeping up with increasing health care costs or other increases in living expenses. They are disgruntled enough to look for work while on the job. Retirement "security" isn't secure.

COMMENTARY: Economy isn’t burning out, despite Dems’ smoke

COMMENTARY: Economy isn’t burning out, despite Dems’ smoke
Kansas City Star:
The August jobs report should put to rest any fears that the economy is burning out. Following upwardly revised increases for June (134,000) and July (121,000), companies added 128,000 nonfarm payrolls last month. Meanwhile, the all-important but rarely mentioned household survey of people working gained by 250,000, sending the unemployment rate back to 4.7 percent.

Career Workplace: A costly, tragic problem

CAREER WORKPLACE: A costly, tragic problem
Kansas City Star:
Hear, hear! Let’s drink a toast for a proven way to improve productivity and job performance, lower health-care costs and improve workplace safety.

Britain: Train drivers' strike called off

Train drivers' strike called off
In London
Train drivers' union Aslef suspends two 24-hour walkouts which would have crippled services across southern England.

UK breaking work law says court

UK breaking work law says court
In Business
The government is breaking the law by not forcing employers to give their staff rest breaks between shifts, the European Court of Justice has ruled.

Rebuilding the labor movement for fair trade, national health insurance, etc.

Rebuilding the labor movement for fair trade, national health insurance, etc.
Source: ZNet
Unions need to offer a vision of how a just society should be organized. We need to organize for real solutions like fair trade, national health insurance, labor law reform, internal union democratic reforms to re-engage the rank and file, and a multi-year, multi-trillion dollar public works program to create millions of new jobs building an ecologically sustainable infrastructure for our future.

Minimum wage amendment on Ohio ballot

Minimum wage amendment on Ohio ballot
Source: Cincinnati Business Courier
A state constitutional amendment to set Ohio's minimum wage at $6.85 an hour has been certified for the November ballot, its supporters said Wednesday. If passed by voters, the amendment would raise the state's minimum wage from its current $5.15 an hour beginning Jan. 1, 2007, and include an annual cost-of-living adjustment.

CA: Sacramento County Workers' Strike Continues

CA: Sacramento County Workers' Strike Continues
Source: KCRA.com, CA
Striking Sacramento County workers were back on the pickett line for a second day on Wednesday. About 300 striking workers took their protest to the doors of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors chambers Wednesday morning.

Jobless claims fall by most in 7 weeks (AP)

Jobless claims fall by most in 7 weeks (AP)
AP - The number of newly laid off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits dropped by a bigger-than-expected amount last week, signaling continuing labor market strength despite a general economic slowdown.

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Britain: Most workplaces still biased against women

Most workplaces still biased against women
The vast majority of women believe that their organisations are biased against them and feel intimidated at work simply because of their gender, according to a new report. Despite 30 years of gender discrimination laws, and vast improvements in working

Army Tries Private Pitch For Recruits

Army Tries Private Pitch For Recruits
By Renae Merle
LANCASTER, Pa. -- Bill Schulz flipped through a list of Army careers, carefully watching the reaction of Tim Mathis, the 19-year-old construction worker perched next to him. When the potential recruit shrugged in disinterest, Schulz quickly moved to the next job, pointing to those that had the...

Red ink drives El Al into layoff scenario

Red ink drives El Al into layoff scenario
El Al airlines management and worker representatives have entered a new labor agreement that may lead to employee layoffs. The deal is mentioned in a memo of understanding,

Zimbabwe: Workers plan protest strikes over poor salaries and lack of access to anti-retroviral drugs to fight HIV/Aids

Zimbabwe: Workers plan protest strikes over poor salaries and lack of access to anti-retroviral drugs to fight HIV/Aids
LabourStart headline
The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) first warned of protests in May as its members struggled with inflation at around 1 000 percent, part of a deepening economic crisis widely blamed on the government of Robert Mugabe's government.

'Asbestos risk' for India workers

'Asbestos risk' for India workers
In South Asia
One in six workers at India's Alang shipyard shows signs of asbestos poisoning, a report commissioned by the government says.

Brazilian VW Workers End Weeklong Strike

Brazilian VW Workers End Weeklong Strike
By AP
SAO PAULO, Brazil -- Volkswagen workers ended a weeklong strike at the company's largest and oldest Brazilian factory on Monday after the company suspended a plan to lay off about 1,800 production employees, union leaders said.

Welcome to the service economy

Welcome to the service economy
Source: ZNet
'We are moving into a service economy.' How often have we heard this in the past twenty-plus years? Most of us here in the Twin Cities have thought little about it until we received the jolt this year that, after eighty years in operation, the Highland Park Ford plant is going to be closed. We can no longer deny that it is the end of one era and the beginning of another. We have entered the service economy.

In today's rat race, the most overworked win

In today's rat race, the most overworked win
Source: Washington Post
For years, economists have taught their students a simple maxim: As employers hunt for workers, they want to get the best talent at the lowest price. According to this theory, whether employees want to work long hours or short hours, employers have an incentive to accommodate them, because asking people to do something they don't want to do raises the price of labor -- workers demand more compensation.

Most business owners still prepare payroll by hand

Most business owners still prepare payroll by hand
In smallBusinessNews
(Inc.com) - Despite the proliferation of accounting software, when it comes to preparing payroll, small-business owners prefer doing it themselves and on paper, a new survey shows.

Sparks fly over multinational's backward steps in New Zealand

Sparks fly over multinational's backward steps
Source: NZH
A "work-life balance" award to a Swiss-based multinational has blown up in the company's face, with a revelation that the firm tried to claw back a four-day week from its workers.

Global: World Bank publication promotes elimination of worker protection

Global: World Bank publication promotes elimination of worker protection
LabourStart headline - Source: ICFTU
The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions strongly criticized the new edition of the World Bank’s highest-circulation publication, Doing Business, for including recommendations that governments should do away with labour market regulations and emulate those countries that have almost no worker protection rules of any kind and are not members of the International Labour Organization (ILO).

Type A workers get more leeway

Type A workers get more leeway
High-maintenance employees can be found in almost every workplace. When they're top performers, managers and colleagues tolerate such behavior and perhaps even encourage it. But producing is key, since these workers could take up the attention of managers and sometimes alienate co-workers or even clients with their behavior.

The Struggle to Make a Living Wage

The Struggle to Make a Living Wage
NPR audio:
Once a thriving industrial center, the story of Bridgeport, like many industrial towns in New England, is the story of factories closing, jobs lost, rising crime, unemployment, drugs and poverty.

California Court of Appeal Confirms That Non-Compete Agreements Have No Place In California Employment Contracts

California Court of Appeal Confirms That Non-Compete Agreements Have No Place In California Employment Contracts
By Sheppard Mullin on Non-Competition Covenants
The Second District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles issued a significant opinion last week, finding that non-compete agreements in California employment contracts are impermissible. In Edwards v. Arthur Andersen LLP, the Second District explicitly rejected decades of prior decisions –...

Judge: Delta can terminate pilot pension plan

Judge: Delta can terminate pilot pension plan
A bankruptcy judge Tuesday approved Delta Air Lines' request to dump its pilots' pension plan, clearing another obstacle to the carrier's hopes of emerging from Chapter 11 proceedings by next summer. Termination of the pilot plan is the latest step by the Atlanta airline to overhaul its cost and labor structure and become a leaner competitor in a turbulent industry. The move enables Delta to avoid about $2.5 billion in payments needed to bring the pilot plan to full funding. The airline also argued that certain features of the plan hindered its ability to line up financial backers.

Boomers lower pension boom

Boomers lower pension boom
The baby boom generation may be known to history as the one that took it all. Its members may leave their successors to pay the bills and take on the risks that the boomers did not have to accept for themselves.

Study: 401(k)s, IRAs underperform pensions

Study: 401(k)s, IRAs underperform pensions
By Ross Kerber, Globe Staff
Private 401(k) retirement-savings plans have underperformed traditional company pension plans by one percentage point a year, according to a Boston College report released yesterday that found individual retirement accounts fared even worse.

Hotel workers settle in Chicago, plan support for UNITE HERE Local 5

Hotel workers settle in Chicago, plan support for UNITE HERE Local 5
Source: Pacific Business News
Unite Here Local 1 has settled with Hyatt hotels in Chicago, but vows to demonstrate this week on behalf of Hyatt workers in Hawaii and California.

Teachers brace for long walkout: Hearing is today if Detroit still without deal

Teachers brace for long walkout: Hearing is today if Detroit still without deal
Source: Detroit Free Press
Carmille Price has been dipping into her savings and scouring classified ads for part-time clerical or customer-service jobs.

Unions still face hard times: Membership slips even as worker income falls

Unions still face hard times: Membership slips even as worker income falls
Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer
It was a quiet and easy Labor Day for many Seattle union families Monday, with no high-profile strikes rattling the local economy or their bank accounts. But they have plenty of problems besides hoisting picket signs.

As nurses strike, hospitals pay big for replacements

As nurses strike, hospitals pay big for replacements
Source: WSJ
Hospitals are paying replacement nurses as much as $50 an hour in some cases and as much as $90 an hour for overtime as the number of strikes at hospitals inches up this year and a shortage of nurses creates a supply crunch.

House Republicans to stop beating the immigration reform drum

House Republicans to stop beating the immigration reform drum
By Peter Rousmaniere
This, as reported through several media in particular the New York Times, is pleasant to hear, at the very least. I suspect that the decision was made on the basis that House Republicans and Senate Republicans were at odds over immigration reform, and that the get-tough House approach ran counter to the White House's view.

Labor costs revised higher, worrying markets (Reuters)

Labor costs revised higher, worrying markets (Reuters)
Reuters - U.S. labor costs have risen more robustly this year than first thought, a government report showed on Wednesday, increasing concerns the Federal Reserve may start raising interest rates again to contain inflation.

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

AFL/CIO Vice President Discusses New Direction

AFL/CIO Vice President Discusses New Direction
NPR audio
Linda Chavez-Thompson, Executive Vice President of the AFL/CIO explains the groups new relationship with NDLON, The National Day Laborers Organizing Network. She says the AFL/CIO's goal is the protection of all workers.

As market cools, lots of jobs freeze

As market cools, lots of jobs freeze
The cooling U.S. housing market could mean "a whole lot" of job cuts as construction companies, mortgage brokers, real estate agencies and landscapers start laying off legions of workers, economists say. "By next year, it should stabilize, but for now, yes, jobs are going to be lost," said Zoltan Pozsar, an economist with Moody's Economist.com Inc. Between early 2003 and March 2006, the housing boom created about 1.2 million jobs throughout the industry, he said. But since spring, he added, employers not only have stopped hiring, they have slashed about 25,000 jobs.

More work, less pay. But quit? No way

More work, less pay. But quit? No way
Longer hours, pay cuts and strike threats. Those could be good reasons to quit your job. Bob Reardon will need several more. At 82, he has no intention of giving up the title of Northwest's longest-serving flight attendant.

Labor unions losing ground: Politics to apathetic youth contribute to decline

Labor unions losing ground: Politics to apathetic youth contribute to decline
Source: Register-Mail
Mike Patrick was business representative for District 102 of the International Association of Machinists in the early 1990s. He represented about 3,800 industrial union members in the Galesburg area. "Out of all those members, now there's four people working at Adams Metals," Patrick said. Such is the state of industrial unions in Galesburg on Labor Day 2006.

Palestinian teachers strike for unpaid wages / Others who work for the Hamas-led government join in

Palestinian teachers strike for unpaid wages / Others who work for the Hamas-led government join in
By Greg Myre
Most Palestinian schoolteachers went on strike Saturday, the first day of the school year, in the latest protest over wages for Palestinian government employees who have gone largely unpaid for nearly six months. Other government workers joined the...

Labor Day recalls union influence: Worker groups revamping to deal with changing workplace

Labor Day recalls union influence: Worker groups revamping to deal with changing workplace
Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal
In Memphis, as with much of the rest of the nation, Labor Day means one final chance to enjoy a summer day away from work -- a day to fire up the grills and spend time with friends and family.

Sex harassment prevention classes may be paying off

Sex harassment prevention classes may be paying off
By Heidi Benson
Fifteen years ago this October, Anita Hill's testimony at the 1991 confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas made sexual harassment a household term. Hill's testimony that Thomas had made inappropriate sexual advances in the workplace...