Labor & Economic News Blog


Friday, September 28, 2007

Japanese jobless rate worsens, CPI drops

Japanese jobless rate worsens, CPI drops
AP - Japan's economic recovery remains on track despite figures Friday that showed a jump in the nation's jobless rate and a continued decline in consumer prices, the economy minister said.

 

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Striking security officers return to work in Financial District

Striking security officers return to work in Financial District
By George Raine
Security officers who went on strike Monday returned to their jobs Thursday in some 21 office buildings in San Francisco's Financial District and South of Market area after union representatives said there had been progress in contract negotiations. Union...

 

Jobless claims unexpectedly fall 15,000

Jobless claims unexpectedly fall 15,000
Reuters - The number of workers filing new claims for jobless aid unexpectedly fell 15,000 last week to its lowest in four months, according to government data on Thursday that underscored a stronger labor market.

 

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

AARP applauds best companies for workers over 50

AARP applauds best companies for workers over 50
With brands like Shout, Windex and Scrubbing Bubbles under its name, S.C. Johnson & Son certainly should be one of the cleanest companies to work for. But on Tuesday, AARP acknowledged the company for a different reason: Its policies and practices that make it the best workplace for those over the age of 50.

 

Tech jobs see growth, but at a slower pace

Tech jobs see growth, but at a slower pace
By Tom Abate
Tech employers nationwide were still creating new payroll jobs at midyear, albeit fewer than last year at this time and at a lower rate than overall private-sector job growth. That was the gist of a report issued Tuesday by the American Electronics...

 

Change to Win points to potential two years after break from AFL-CIO

Change to Win points to potential two years after break from AFL-CIO
Source: Chicago Tribune
Two years after splitting from the AFL-CIO, the breakaway Change to Win organization cannot point to any massive surges in its unions' ranks.

 

G.M. and Union Reach Tentative Agreement

G.M. and Union Reach Tentative Agreement
The key provision of the landmark agreement, which ended a two-day strike, is a health care trust that would get G.M.’s vast liability off its books.

 

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Promises and Poverty

Promises and Poverty
Starbucks calls its coffee worker-friendly -- but in Ethiopia, a day's pay is a dollar.
Companies routinely boast about what they're doing for the planet, in part because guilt-ridden consumers expect as much -- and are willing to pay extra for it. But, in this case, Starbucks' eco-friendly sales pitch does not begin to reflect the complex story of coffee in East Africa.

 

China's engineers are more likely to join a startup than Americans

China's engineers are more likely to join a startup than Americans
By Tom Abate
Chinese engineers are younger, less-educated, unhappier in their current jobs and more likely to join a startup than their American counterparts according to survey released today comparing the hopes and dreams of engineers on either side of the Pacific.

 

UAW's strike of GM poses challenges for auto parts suppliers

UAW's strike of GM poses challenges for auto parts suppliers
The United Auto Workers' strike against General Motors Corp. present more challenges for auto parts suppliers, which have struggled with bankruptcies and increased competition in recent years.

 

GM Strike Tells Us Everything About the Turnaround

GM Strike Tells Us Everything About the Turnaround
For those who believe General Motors Corp. is in the midst of spectacular turnaround from its many woes, yesterday's walkout by the United Auto Workers union was a dose of reality.

 

Second Canada GM plant closes amid U.S. strike

Second Canada GM plant closes amid U.S. strike
Another General Motors plant in Canada has shut its doors amid a strike at GM's U.S. operations, a spokesman for GM Canada said on Tuesday, and one more plant was up for review later in the day.

 

GM car plants idle

GM car plants idle
General Motors of Canada's No. 1 car assembly plant in Oshawa, Ont., has been shut down, idling close to 3,000 people, as a strike against General Motors The No. 2 car plant at Oshawa, east of Toronto, will cease production Tuesday afternoon,

 

Monday, September 24, 2007

AFSCME ends strike at U of Minnesota without a contract

AFSCME ends strike at UMinn. without a contract
Source: Minnesota Daily
After spending more than two weeks on picket lines, the University's striking employees are returning to work this week. The negotiating committee for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees accepted the University's offer late Thursday night after 15 hours of negotiations.

 

Angry pilots at US Airways near vote on union ouster

Angry pilots at US Airways near vote on union ouster
Source: USA Today
A group of disgruntled US Airways pilots says it's close to forcing a vote to choose a new union and stall contract negotiations with the carrier indefinitely

 

Security officers on strike in S.F.

Security officers on strike in S.F.
By George Raine
Union-represented security officers at 14 office buildings in San Francisco's Financial District went on strike early Monday, protesting fruitless contract negotiations. The guards, represented by Service Employees International Union Local 24/7, formed...

 

Bernanke: Education Is Best Investment

Bernanke: Education Is Best Investment
Education is the best investment not only for workers but also for the economy in a time of continuing competitive strain, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Monday. "Education _ lifelong education for everyone _ from toddlers to workers well...

 

UAW says strike about saving jobs

UAW says strike about saving jobs
In the end, the first nationwide strike against General Motors Corp. in 37 years came because the United Auto Workers want something that GM will find difficult to promise: Job security.

 

GM strike costing 760 vehicles per hour

GM strike costing 760 vehicles per hour
The strike at General Motors Corp. will cause U.S. production losses of 760 vehicles per hour and could shut the automaker's facilities in Canada and Mexico within three days, a leading industry analyst said on Monday.

 

Health-Care Talks Make UAW Retirees Wary

Health-Care Talks Make UAW Retirees Wary
NPR audio:
It's an anxious time for retirees of General Motors. They, and more specifically their health-care benefits, are in the crosshairs as the United Auto Workers union hashes out a new contract with GM.

 

Preoccupations: We Love Our Jobs. Just Ask Us.

Preoccupations: We Love Our Jobs. Just Ask Us.
The key to identifying a good workplace is asking the people who work there.

 

G.M. Workers Begin Walkout Over Contract Impasse

G.M. Workers Begin Walkout Over Contract Impasse
The first national strike against G.M. by the auto workers union since 1970 began today after the two sides apparently hit a stalemate over the union’s demand for job protection.

 

Generations can clash in workplace

Generations can clash in workplace
If you've ever griped about your 20-something co-worker who is always attached to her iPod or the 30-something who never seems to be working at his desk, you're probably a baby boomer -- and those same workers are probably griping about your penchant for face-to-face meetings.

 

'Clipped' Delta flight attendants reunite

'Clipped' Delta flight attendants reunite
Most became flight attendants when flight attendants were called stewardesses. They had to be single, under a certain weight and age, and wear heels and sometimes gloves and always girdles. "I had a supervisor thump my bottom to find out whether I had a girdle on," recalls Kathy Roper, 62, a retired Delta flight attendant. Most of them flew friendlier skies. Passengers wore coats and ties and dresses and furs. Now, Roper says, "you're lucky if they have a shirt on." Flying was more of an adventure, still something of a small miracle.

 

Disney offers customer service training

Disney offers customer service training
Walt Disney World calls its workers, from actors in Goofy outfits to laundry workers, "cast members" to make them feel part of the show. There's a garbage can every 25 steps, so litter will be tossed not dropped. There's a polite way to answer one of the park's most asked questions: "What time is the 3 o'clock parade?"

 

Fruit of the Loom will close plant in Honduras

Fruit of the Loom will close plant in Honduras
Fruit of the Loom Inc. will close a plant in Central America in the next few months.

 

Ford to close F-150 line at Claycomo for two weeks because of sluggish sales

Ford to close F-150 line at Claycomo for two weeks because of sluggish sales
A slowdown in sales of the country’s top-selling vehicle will close half the operations at Ford Motor Co.’s Claycomo plant for two weeks in October.

 

Can tech survive a downturn?

Can tech survive a downturn?
By Robert Weisman, Globe Staff
It's beginning to look like 2001 in the general economy, with consumers tightening their purse strings and businesses shedding jobs. But in the technology business, which suffered more than any other in the last meltdown, there are fewer signs of strain this time around.

 

Studying technology's gender gap

Studying technology's gender gap
Debugger research could cause changes in everyday computer use For more than a decade, academics and technology executives have been frowning at the widening gender gap in computer science. Everyone has a theory, but no one has managed to attract many more women.

 

UAW deadline passes; workers walk off job

UAW deadline passes; workers walk off job
Union had set 11 a.m. deadline to reach agreement with GM; strike not publicly announced Workers walked off the job and began picketing today outside some General Motors Corp. plants after a late morning United Auto Workers strike deadline passed, but the union's national leadership hadn't publicly announced whether a strike had begun.

 

Friday, September 21, 2007

Kaiser security firm settles pay lawsuit

Kaiser security firm settles pay lawsuit
By Henry K. Lee
Inter-Con Security Systems has agreed to pay $4 million to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by past and present employees who said the company required guards at Kaiser Permanente hospitals to attend 15-minute, unpaid briefings before each shift, union...

 

Unemployment drops in Texas and Houston

Unemployment drops in Texas and Houston
The statewide unemployment rate fell to 4.2 percent in August, the Texas Workforce Commission said Friday, due to a sharp decline in people counted as no longer looking for work.

 

AirTran's pilots union rejects labor contract

AirTran's pilots union rejects labor contract
Pilots at AirTran Airways soundly defeated a proposed labor contract with the discount carrier only two weeks after ditching their union's top leaders. The National Pilots Association said Friday that its members rejected the proposed contract by a 61 percent to 39 percent margin, with nearly 90 percent of the union's roughly 1,500 members voting. The result sends the airline and its union back to the drawing board after more than two years of negotiating. The National Mediation Board, which stepped into the contentious talks more than a year ago, has put any further talks on hold until after Jan. 1, the union said in a statement.

 

Let's Steward Unions Back In

Let's Steward Unions Back In
The Employee Free Choice Act should be signed into law to protect U.S. workers from anti-union coercion by corporations. Pro or con?

 

Labor Law Time Warp

Labor Law Time Warp
Do America's decades-old overtime laws make sense anymore? Despite the litigation they are generating, there's almost no political momentum to change them. The values that the laws codify—that the workweek should be capped and that excess time should be compensated—are widely embraced.

 

Wage Wars

Wage Wars
Workers—from truck drivers to stockbrokers—are winning huge overtime lawsuits, raising fundamental questions about the modern workplace

 

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Unemployment claims make surprise drop

Unemployment claims make surprise drop
AP - The number of laid-off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits fell to the lowest level in seven weeks, an unexpected sign of improvement for the jobs market.

 

U.S. economic growth seen slowing

U.S. economic growth seen slowing
AP - U.S. economic growth should lose steam in coming months, a research group said Thursday, indicating a clampdown on credit markets will continue to take its toll on the broader economy.

 

Study: Union, non-union workers have their differences

Study: Union, non-union workers have their differences
Source: Reliable Plant
An EPIC-MRA statewide survey of Michigan workers shows many similarities in the views of union and non-union workers, while there are also key differences. Given many responses to key survey questions, there seems to be a strong recognition among both union and non-union workers that many achievements of labor unions representing their members improved the lives of non-union workers and their families. It is also clear that both union and non-union workers believe that union workers receive better pay and benefits than non-union workers.

 

Hollywood writers resume talks amid strike fears

Hollywood writers resume talks amid strike fears
Source: Reuters
With strike jitters running high in Hollywood, screenwriters and studio executives reopened contract negotiations on Wednesday, after a nine-week break, but there was little sign of progress as talks adjourned for the day.

 

Auto talks move away from healthcare trust

Auto talks move away from healthcare trust
Source: NY Times
G.M. and the U.A.W. have shifted negotiations to other issues after being unable to agree on how much G.M. would invest in a health-care trust.

 

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

As population ages, Japan struggles to rein in health costs

As population ages, Japan struggles to rein in health costs
Other ageing nations will be watching closely to see how far the heavily indebted government can rein in costs especially as the number of elderly in Japan creeps up with projections that 40 percent of the population will be aged 65 and over by 2055.

 

American Airlines wants pay tied to performance for union workers

American Airlines wants pay tied to performance for union workers
Source: USA Today
American Airlines has offered to link pay raises for mechanics and other ground workers to the company's performance, and the union is studying the idea.

 

Wal-Mart overhauls its employee health plan

Wal-Mart overhauls its employee health plan
Source: NY Times
The retailer unveiled a plan intended to expand coverage and offer workers cheap prescription drugs.

 

Howes: UAW's silence truly is golden

Howes: UAW's silence truly is golden
Source: Detroit News
Attention GM-UAW members: The silence may be deafening, but that's because neither side wants to screw up the hour-by-hour contract talks between your union and General Motors Corp.

 

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

University of Minnesota clerical strike enters third week with no end in sight

UMinn clerical strike enters third week with no end in sight
Source: Minnesota Daily
As the standoff continues between University administration and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union, the question of how long each side can hold its ground becomes a key issue

 

UAW: Our patience is limited

UAW: Our patience is limited
Source: Detroit Free Press
UAW President Ron Gettelfinger has warned his members that the union will be setting a strike deadline if negotiations with General Motors Corp. do not progress faster.

 

UAW talks with GM are recessed without a pact

UAW talks with GM are recessed without a pact
Source: NY Times
Negotiations between General Motors and the United Automobile Workers resumed today, and union leaders told members they faced tough decisions.

 

GM asks UAW to take on health

GM asks UAW to take on health
Auto firm would finance trust fund for union retirees The health care trust the United Auto Workers union is discussing with General Motors Corp. would shift the burden of retiree health care payments from the company to the union. The benefit for the company is clear, but it's much harder to find one for workers.

 

Monday, September 17, 2007

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is reaching out to human resources departments and unions over pension scams

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is reaching out to human resources departments and unions over pension scams
Source: CNN
The brokerage industry's major self-regulator is trying to get into investors' workplaces before scam artists do. In several recent high-profile cases, groups of employees were persuaded by financial advisors to dump their workplace-sponsored plans in favor of handing their assets to the FAs - with disastrous results. Now the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is reaching out to human resources departments and unions.

 

Tentative deal reached at Dow Jones

Tentative deal reached at Dow Jones
Source: NY Times
The main union representing employees at The Wall Street Journal and the newspaper’s parent have reached a tentative agreement on a three-year contract.

 

GM workers return to work as talks sour

GM workers return to work as talks sour
Source: NY Times
Plants reopened as scheduled, and a number of local unions told their workers to hold off on strike preparations until there was word from Detroit on the negotiations.

 

UAW, GM bargaining teams have much in common

UAW, GM bargaining teams have much in common
Source: NY Times
Ron Gettelfinger, the president of the United Automobile Workers union, and Rick Wagoner, the chief executive of General Motors may seem to be at opposite ends of the automotive spectrum.

 

Pension payouts favor young, senior Delta pilots complain

Pension payouts favor young, senior Delta pilots complain
Source: Atlanta Journal Constitution
Most of the pilots who are closest to retirement think one of the union's biggest concessions was its agreement to clear the path for Delta to terminate their pension plan last year. But they say the union isn't sharing the money fairly to reflect that concession.

 

UAW and GM bargain past the deadline

UAW and GM bargain past the deadline
Source: NY Times
Negotiators for the United Automobile Workers union and General Motors took a break from bargaining Saturday night and plan to resume contract talks on Sunday, even though the contract expired at midnight Saturday.

 

Workplace loyalty sees decline

Workplace loyalty sees decline
Strong labor market, generational shift may contribute to high-risk workers How quickly would you leave your job if you could?

 

Friday, September 14, 2007

US industrial output up only slightly

US industrial output up only slightly
AP - Production at the nation's factories, mines and utilities edged up in August at the slowest pace in three months.

 

Union Says Contract Is Near at Dow Jones

Union Says Contract Is Near at Dow Jones
The board of the union, representing employees at The Wall Street Journal and other Dow Jones properties, is set to meet on Friday to endorse the deal and set a date for a vote by the membership.

 

U.A.W. Picks G.M. as ‘Strike Target’

U.A.W. Picks G.M. as ‘Strike Target’
Negotiators met today ahead of a midnight deadline as unions across the country prepared for a possible strike.

 

Unions, builders join to sink diesel fuel emissions-reduction bill

Unions, builders join to sink diesel fuel emissions-reduction bill
Source: LA Times
The skids seemed greased for one of environmentalists' top priorities this year: legislation forcing the construction industry to reduce pollution, which enjoyed strong support among environment-friendly Democrats.

 

Dow Jones union says close to contract deal

Dow Jones union says close to contract deal
Dow Jones & Co and its main labor union are close to a contract agreement for reporters and other employees at The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires, a union organizer said on Friday.

 

UFW wants another way to organize

UFW wants another way to organize
Source: LA Times
In the 1970s, United Farm Workers founder Cesar E. Chavez fought in dusty fields and the halls of government to give agricultural laborers the right to cast secret ballots to form unions at California's farms, ranches and vineyards. Now, those who came after Chavez want to change the rules, and that has farmers and business groups up in arms.

 

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Jobless claims up for 6th time in 7 weeks

Jobless claims up for 6th time in 7 weeks
AP - The number of laid off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits rose last week in another worrisome sign that the labor market is weakening.

 

France: Unions Agree to Job Cuts

France: Unions Agree to Job Cuts
Labor unions at Alcatel-Lucent, the telecommunications equipment maker, agreed to job-reduction plans in France, ending protests that included disruption of the company’s shareholder meeting in June.

 

Hormel union lauds terms of new contract, despite conceding issue to company

Hormel union lauds terms of new contract, despite conceding issue to company
Source: Minneapolis Star-Tribune
Union leaders cheered a new labor agreement announced Wednesday at Hormel Foods Corp. even though it allows the company in limited cases to stretch some shifts beyond eight hours without paying overtime.

 

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Life's better than ever, but then.

Life's better than ever, but then.
In resounding numbers - regardless of whether the U.S. economy is booming or busting, whether the United States is at war or peace - they tell pollsters that they live better than their parents did. And there is good reason for the good cheer: People live longer today than they did in past generations, they are healthier, they are more educated, they are richer and they face less discrimination.

 

UK: Minimum wage crackdown pledge

Minimum wage crackdown pledge
UK Firms who pay less than the minimum wage face bigger fines as part of a crackdown on "rogue" employers.

 

UK Unions back EU referendum

Unions back EU referendum
Union delegates have voted in favour of a call for a referendum on the EU treaty, increasing pressure on Prime Minister Gordon Brown to hold one.

 

Pay rising as unemployment falls

Pay rising in UK as unemployment falls
Average UK wages experienced stronger than expected growth between May and July as unemployment fell again.

 

California economy weak, but no recession seen: report

California economy weak, but no recession seen: report
Reuters - Mortgage defaults and a "sustained lull" in home building will weigh on California's economy for at least another year but will not tip the state into a recession, according to a forecast released on Wednesday.

 

Culinary union steps up pressure on Las Vegas casinos

Culinary union steps up pressure on Las Vegas casinos
Source: SF Chronicle
Hotel and casino workers have moved a step closer to walking out on the picket line at several Las Vegas resorts.

 

Prison guards in California get last offer

Prison guards in California get last offer
Source: San Diego Union-Tribune
In its battle with the prison guard union, the Schwarzenegger administration triggered a rarely used provision in state law that could allow it to impose new work rules without an agreement from the union.

 

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

TUC Unions back 'co-ordinated' action

TUC Unions back 'co-ordinated' action
Unions have voted to take "co-ordinated industrial action" against the government over its below-inflation pay settlement for public sector workers in the UK.

 

What happened to social Europe?

What happened to social Europe?
When the Conservatives under Mrs Thatcher ran Britain, the trade union movement seemed to embrace the European Union as an alternative to Thatcherism.

 

Underground Bus Operators Charge AC Transit With Unfair Conditions

Underground Bus Operators Charge AC Transit With Unfair Conditions
By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Negotiations between the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District and Amalgamated Transit Union Local 192 on a two-year contract that expired last June have been extended on a month-to-month basis.

 

Atlanta Airport strike reflects cabbies' anger

Airport strike reflects cabbies' anger
Cabbies at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport went on a five-hour wildcat strike Monday that ended when airport officials agreed to consider a list of their grievances. "There's only so much you can do to people. We can't take it anymore," said D.O. Nwajei of the Atlanta Taxi Cab Association Inc., whose membership tops 1,500. "We've been pushed to the wall." The cabbies said they were frustrated with working conditions and what some labeled police harassment.

 

July job turnover slowest pace since April 2006

July job turnover slowest pace since April 2006
Reuters - Job turnover in July moved at the slowest pace in more than a year due to a softening labor market, a government report showed on Tuesday.

 

Monday, September 10, 2007

Latin American execs optimistic about growth

Latin American execs optimistic about growth
When Latin American executives think of good economic prospects, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and Chile are the countries that come to mind.

 

Workers who aren't parents need flex time, too

Workers who aren't parents need flex time, too
With schools around the country back in session, parents who work at small businesses will be asking for and receiving time off for soccer games and class plays -- possibly leading to some friction because other workers don't have such ironclad reasons for leaving early.

 

Workers penalized on issues of health

Workers penalized on issues of health
By Associated Press
First they tried nudging. Now companies are penalizing workers who have high health risks such as obesity and high blood pressure or cholesterol as insurance costs climb.

 

Continental ramps up its hiring efforts

Continental ramps up its hiring efforts
Continental Airlines is on a hiring spree as it grows. The Houston-based carrier is looking to add hundreds of employees, from airport agents to pilots to flight attendants, spokesman Dave Messing said Friday. For example, Continental will be hiring 16 pilots a week for the next several months, Messing said.

 

In Houston, Hoffa rips Mexican truck plan

In Houston, Hoffa rips Mexican truck plan
Calling a new pilot program opening the border to Mexican trucks dangerous, Teamsters President Jim Hoffa said Saturday in Houston that the union will lobby to cut its funding.

 

Enduring life after layoffs

Enduring life after layoffs
Northwest Airlines pilot Wade Blaufuss' career, as he knew it, ended after 9/11. The carrier filed for bankruptcy in 2005.

 

Storm clouds gather for US economy as job growth stalls

Storm clouds gather for US economy as job growth stalls
AFP - The US economic outlook has suddenly darkened in the wake of data showing a stalling of the job growth machine, raising risks that a housing slump will lead to a full-blown recession, analysts say.

 

Unions press Clinton on outsourcing of jobs

Unions press Clinton on outsourcing of jobs
Source: Washinton Post
When Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton flew to New Delhi to meet with Indian business leaders in 2005, she offered a blunt assessment of the loss of American jobs across the Pacific. "There is no way to legislate against reality," she declared. "Outsourcing will continue. . . . We are not against all outsourcing; we are not in favor of putting up fences."

 

Friday, September 07, 2007

Pilots to NWA chair: Show us more money

Pilots to NWA chair: Show us more money
In StarTribune.com Business
The head of the pilots union at Northwest Airlines is encouraged that the airlines board chairman wants to improve relationships with employees, but the pilots now want him to translate his words into action. If its a new Northwest, they have to behave differently than the old Northwest, Dave Stevens, chairman of the Northwest branch of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), said in a Thursday interview. Specifically, Stevens argued that management should enter into negotiations with its unions and make improvements in employees compensation now, instead of waiting until the contracts come

 

Florida: Prison chief: State can save with tents, road work for inmates

Prison chief: State can save with tents, road work for inmates
The state could save millions of dollars by housing low-security inmates in tents, slapping them in leg irons and putting them to work maintaining roads, Florida's prisons chief said Friday.

 

U.S.-Mexico Border Opened to Truckers

U.S.-Mexico Border Opened to Truckers
NPR audio:
Truckers from both the United States and Mexico now will be allowed to cross borders to drop off cargo deep within foreign territory. Truckers won this access as part of a one-year pilot program under the North American Free Trade Agreement. U.S. teamsters and other groups are protesting the development.

 

Job Cuts a Symptom of Struggling Economy

Job Cuts a Symptom of Struggling Economy
NPR audio:
For the first time in four years, the economy actually lost jobs in August, the Labor Department said Friday. Adding to the bleak picture was word that Countrywide Financial Corp., the nation's largest mortgage lender, plans to cut up to 12,000 jobs in the next few months.

 

Economic Anxiety Rises for Middle Class

Economic Anxiety Rises for Middle Class
NPR audio:
New research on the middle class shows that economic anxiety is rising. The economy as a whole may be doing well, but personal finances are suffering. Seven out of 10 Americans report living paycheck to paycheck, meaning there never seems to be enough left over for savings.

 

Chinese Woman Fired for Contradicting Manager

Chinese Woman Fired for Contradicting Manager
NPR audio:
A Chinese woman is suing her former employer. The company says if employees contradict a manager, they get fined. If you contradict the boss three times, you're fired. Now the woman is talking back to her superiors -- in court.

 

US economy loses jobs for first time in 4 years

US economy loses jobs for first time in 4 years
AFP - The world's largest economy was hit with surprise job losses in August as a housing slump and a pullback in home construction triggered increased layoffs, a government report revealed Friday.

 

Countrywide to Cut Up to 12,000 Jobs

Countrywide to Cut Up to 12,000 Jobs
Struggling mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp. will cut as many as 12,000 jobs in a bid to slash costs and cope with soaring foreclosures and defaults, the company said Friday. The cuts, amounting to as much as 20 percent of its work force, are...

 

Thursday, September 06, 2007

Indian Software Firm to Outsource to U.S.

Indian Software Firm to Outsource to U.S.
NPR audio:
Indian software firm Wipro plans to open a big software design center in Atlanta. The Bangalore, India-based firm expects to hire around 500 computer programmers in the next three years. It's a curious turnabout from the much more familiar story: a U.S. software company creating jobs in India.

 

U.S. Business Grads Take Jobs in India

U.S. Business Grads Take Jobs in India
NPR audio:
Hundreds of business school graduates from U.S. colleges are taking jobs in Indian companies. India's second biggest tech company, Infosys, just hired 300 Americans to work in its Bangalore office. They say it's more exciting than an entry level job in the slower-growing U.S. economy.

 

New York City cabs are on strike, but are on the street, too

Cabs are on strike, but are on the street, too
Source: NYT
A strike called by a New York City taxi drivers’ group over city plans for a high-tech video-and-fare system thinned the ranks of yellow cabs on the streets yesterday, producing frustrating waits on corners, long lines at the airports and angry exchanges over an ad-hoc fare system.

 

Grocery workers in St. Louis area vote to accept contract

Grocery workers vote to accept contract
Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Workers at the St. Louis area's three largest grocery store chains voted overwhelmingly to ratify a new three-year contract on Wednesday, averting the kind of bitter strike and lockout that led them to walk off the job for more than three weeks in 2003, eating into store profits and frustrating consumers.

 

Picket lines rise on University of Minnesota campus

Picket lines rise on campus
Source: Minnesota Daily
Having not reached a deal with the University before midnight Tuesday, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union officially went on strike Wednesday.

 

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Lay-offs surge 85 pct in Aug vs July: survey

Lay-offs surge 85 pct in Aug vs July: survey
Reuters - Planned U.S. lay-offs rocketed in August as the housing slowdown and subprime mortgage debacle led to record job cuts in the financial sector, an independent report showed on Wednesday.

 

Women quitting jobs hits new high in Wales

Women quitting jobs hits new high
The number of women in Wales quitting their jobs rises to an all-time high, according to new research.

 

US economy 'faces slowdown'

US economy 'faces slowdown'
In Business
The US economy will slow in the second half of the year and the risk of recession remains, the OECD warns.

 

NYC says it is prepared as two-day taxi strike begins

NYC says it is prepared as two-day taxi strike begins
Source: NY Times
At an afternoon news conference at City Hall, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said that owners of the city’s big taxi fleets, which comprise 30 to 40 percent of the industry, reported that 75 percent of their cabs were on the road today, compared with 93 percent last Wednesday. The mayor also said that there were about 14 percent fewer cabs than normal at Kennedy International Airport.

 

Talks aimed at automakers' survival: Precarious condition of Ford draws special attention

Talks aimed at automakers' survival: Precarious condition of Ford draws special attention
Source: Washington Post
The United Auto Workers union appears to be simultaneously crafting new labor contracts with each of the three Detroit automakers, a break from traditional tactics but one motivated by a desire to keep the financially strapped American companies alive.

 

A renewed bid for mini-unions

A renewed bid for mini-unions
Source: Washington Post
The United Steelworkers, United Auto Workers and five other unions petitioned the National Labor Relations Board on Aug. 14 to require employers to bargain with small groups of union members, even if the union doesn't represent a majority of those in the workplace.

 

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

The labor day that wasn't

The labor day that wasn't
Source: Boston Globe
Labor Day has its origins in the worker-management strife stemming from the industrialization of the country after the Civil War, but it has never had the hard edge associated with International Workers Day, or May Day, celebrated in the rest of the world. Yet May Day became a labor holiday because of the suppression of a protest in the United States.

 

Economy's gains fail to reach most workers' paychecks

Economy's gains fail to reach most workers' paychecks
Source: Economic Policy Institute
As of Labor Day 2007, the economic recovery that began in 2001 is six years old, and the economy has consistently expanded over this period. Productivity growth, though slower of late, has been particularly strong, and after a long, slow start, employment has been consistently growing, albeit slower than past recoveries.

 

Organized labor struggles to regain foothold in Maine

Organized labor struggles to regain foothold in state
Source: Portland Press-Herald
As protests go, this one was tame. A dozen union activists stood with posters last week outside an office in downtown Portland. They made their case to two news media outlets that bothered to show up.

 

Workers face squeeze

Workers face squeeze
Source: Louisville Courier-Journal
For children, Labor Day means heading back to class and saying goodbye to summer. For too many adults in Kentucky, Labor Day is just another day spent searching for work. In fact, almost 120,000 people in Kentucky are without jobs this Labor Day.

 

American unions are ready to fight for health-care reform

American unions are ready to fight for health-care reform
Source: Kansas City Star
This Labor Day, the health-care crisis in Missouri and across America has reached an apex. New figures released recently show that 47 million Americans don’t have health insurance. Right here in Missouri, 772,000 people don’t have health insurance, including 106,000 children.

 

State of the U.S. labor movement

State of the U.S. labor movement
Source: SF Chronicle
In July, 65,000 Southern California grocery workers ratified a labor contract with a health plan that pays 100 percent for preventive care procedures ranging from exams to immunizations.

 

Labor in fighting trim

Labor in fighting trim
Source: Washington Post
The American labor movement is divided on which candidate to support for president. Its membership is at one of its low ebbs in our history. And yet the nation's unions are more politically influential today than they were in the movement's heyday in the 1950s.

 

For U.A.W., a Year of Uncertainty

For U.A.W., a Year of Uncertainty
It still remains unclear whether the United Automobile Workers will agree to the health care overhaul carmakers are seeking.

 

Hardly a Union Hotbed, Toyota’s Kentucky Plant Is a Test for Organizers

Hardly a Union Hotbed, Toyota’s Kentucky Plant Is a Test for Organizers
Emboldened by Toyota’s plans to cut labor costs, the United Auto Workers is making its most concerted push yet to organize at the Japanese automaker’s largest American plant.

 

As Labor Talks Near, Studios Play Down Numbers

As Labor Talks Near, Studios Play Down Numbers
Hollywood had one of its best summers in recent history, but the studios are not quite popping the Champagne.

 

Factory sector growth slows in August

Factory sector growth slows in August
Reuters - Manufacturing expansion slowed in August as a decline in new orders led factory managers to opt for caution, while construction spending unexpectedly fell in July, according to data released on Tuesday.

 

London Underground strike talks resume

Underground strike talks resume
The RMT union meets Tube officials in a bid to end a strike which has shut most of the London Underground.

 

Tube strike causes travel chaos in London

Tube strike causes travel chaos
Commuters in London suffer long delays as Tube workers continue a 72-hour walkout over pensions and jobs.

 

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