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Labor & Economic News Blog

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Egypt eyes public sector pay rise

Egypt eyes public sector pay rise
BBC News
President Mubarak proposes a salary increase of 30% for public sector employees to compensate for recent price increases.

 

Employers' costs to hire, retain workers grow more slowly

Employers' costs to hire, retain workers grow more slowly
AP - Employers' costs to hire and retain workers grew at a slower pace in the first three months of this year.

 

Monday, April 28, 2008

Truckers rally in Washington to protest high fuel prices

Truckers rally in Washington to protest high fuel prices
AP - Truck drivers honked horns, waved placards and shouted through bullhorns at the Capitol on Monday to protest rising fuel prices they say are hurting their livelihood.

 

Friday, April 25, 2008

Workers authorize strike at Bloomingdale's NYC flagship

Workers authorize strike at Bloomingdale's NYC flagship
Workers have authorized a strike at Bloomingdale's Manhattan store, which could lead to the first shutdown at the famed flagship in more than four decades.

 

Many states appear to be in recession

Many states appear to be in recession
AP - The finances of many states have deteriorated so badly that they appear to be in a recession, regardless of whether that's true for the nation as a whole, a survey of all 50 state fiscal directors concludes.

 

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Claims for unemployment benefits fell last week

Claims for unemployment benefits fell last week
AP - Newly laid off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits posted a sharp decline last week.

 

Wall Street may lose 36,000 jobs

Wall Street may lose 36,000 jobs
Reuters - Wall Street, the lifeblood of New York City's economy, could lose over 36,000 jobs because the financial credit crisis has rocked markets and stunned the U.S. economy, estimated James Brown, a labor market analyst with New York state's labor department.

 

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Teen job-seekers face a tough summer due to economy

Teen job-seekers face a tough summer due to economy
More teens will be looking for summer jobs this year than last — but fewer will be getting them. After sinking to a new low in 2007, teen summer employment is expected to fall again, to the lowest rate in the 60-year history of government jobs data. Working teens ages 16 to 19 will slide to 34 percent of the population, from 34.5 percent last year, predicts Andrew Sum of the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University. That's down from 45 percent in 2000 and a high of 48.5 percent in 1989. This comes as more teens prepare to seek summer jobs. Citing rising gasoline prices, among other things, Junior Achievement next month will release results of an annual survey showing a 22 percent increase in the share of teens who want to work this summer, says a spokeswoman for the nonprofit.

 

Senate takes up pay disparity between men and women

Senate takes up pay disparity between men and women
Republicans complained Wednesday that Senate Democrats are scheduling votes around the plans of presidential rivals Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, but predicted the ploy wouldn't save a pay equity bill. "To have the schedule of the Senate revolve around the schedule of the presidential candidates strikes me as particularly ridiculous," said Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he was delaying Senate business until late Wednesday to give Obama and Clinton time to return from the campaign trail.

 

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Politics, Labor Issues Complicate Alitalia's Revival

Politics, Labor Issues Complicate Alitalia's Revival
NPR audio:
One of the first tasks facing newly elected Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is the future of Italy's cash-strapped state airline, Alitalia. Unions and right-wing politicians have obstructed a possible sale of the airline to Air France, but the deal may still be on the table.

 

Beleaguered Assistants Trade War Stories

Beleaguered Assistants Trade War Stories
NPR audio:
A new blog called SaveTheAssistants.com is a forum created for "all disgruntled coffee-fetchers, copy-makers, and general office slaves," according to editor Lilit Marcus.

 

Housing Woes Force Some Families to Split Up

Housing Woes Force Some Families to Split Up
NPR audio:
The downturn in home sales has caused some workers looking to move for a job opportunity to make tough choices. One Ohio family split up to make ends meet: Paul Dillon works in Akron, while his wife and children stay in their still-unsold home 140 miles away.

 

Re-Examining Nafta in Hopes of Curing U.S. Manufacturing

Re-Examining Nafta in Hopes of Curing U.S. Manufacturing
When the two Democratic candidates heap blame on the trade pact for the plight of unemployed workers, what they are truly talking about is trade with Mexico.

 

Senators urge Delta to 'remain neutral' in union elections

Senators urge Delta to 'remain neutral' in union elections
More than two dozen U.S. senators, all of whom have large numbers of union members in their states, are urging Delta and Northwest airlines to "remain neutral" in union elections. The senators sent a letter to the chief executives of the two carriers, which have announced plans to merge, urging them to "demonstrate a genuine commitment to cooperative labor relations." Specifically, the senators ask managements to stay clear of future union elections, including an upcoming vote by Delta flight attendants on whether to organize. Delta flight attendants begin voting for AFA-CWA representation Wednesday.

 

Japan issues workforce warning

Japan issues workforce warning
Japan's workforce is shrinking rapidly, a report says, blaming a failure to attract women and the elderly into work.

 

With gas hitting record highs, drivers feeling squeezed

With gas hitting record highs, drivers feeling squeezed
AP - Cabbies here complain their take-home pay is thinner than it used to be. Trucking companies across the country are making drivers slow down to conserve fuel. Filling station owners plead that really, really, the skyrocketing prices aren't their fault.

 

Monday, April 21, 2008

Despite export boom, manufacturers cautious about job growth

Despite export boom, manufacturers cautious about job growth
AP - The massive cranes slicing the skies over Brazil, Dubai and China can't come off the assembly lines fast enough at Manitowoc Co.'s manufacturing plants here and overseas.

 

Working Life (High and Low)

Working Life (High and Low)
Jean Capobianco’s employer embraced a controversial strategy insisting that she and other staff were independent contractors, not employees.

 

The Nation: The Wage That Meant Middle Class

The Nation: The Wage That Meant Middle Class
$20 an hour has a special place in labor history. And history is mostly what it is.

 

Finances Frail, Le Monde Contemplates the Unthinkable

Finances Frail, Le Monde Contemplates the Unthinkable
The highly regarded but unprofitable French daily Le Monde is looking at laying off almost a quarter of its staff, a move likened to cutting off a limb to save a life.

 

Amid strong farm economy, some worry about increased debt

Amid strong farm economy, some worry about increased debt
At a time of record agricultural profits, concerns are mounting that American farmers could be edging toward a financial crisis not seen since the 1980s farm-economy collapse. Soaring land values, increasing debt and a reliance on government subsidies for...

 

UAW chief unhappy with pace of American Axle talks

UAW chief unhappy with pace of American Axle talks
The president of the United Auto Workers says he is optimistic that the union can settle several contracts disputes at General Motors Corp. factories. But Ron Gettelfinger wasn't as hopeful Saturday when it came to an eight-week strike at parts maker American...

 

Friday, April 18, 2008

GM, UAW extend talks at plant, new warning in Kansas

GM, UAW extend talks at plant, new warning in Kansas
Negotiators for the United Auto Workers union and General Motors Corp have extended talks indefinitely beyond a Friday strike deadline at a plant near Detroit that builds transmissions for the automaker's strong-selling cars and crossovers.

 

UAW threatens strike at Chevrolet Malibu plant

UAW threatens strike at Chevrolet Malibu plant
General Motors Corp. dodged one strike at a key factory on Friday, but the United Auto Workers threatened to walk out at the main plant that builds the hot-selling Chevrolet Malibu.

 

Other states try to woo California teachers amid wave of layoffs

Other states try to woo California teachers amid wave of layoffs
Several Los Angeles-area newspapers are carrying ads for the Clark County, Nev., school district, which hopes to lure teachers to Las Vegas with $2,000 incentives.

 

Talking Business: China Needs Old Boys With M.B.A.’s

Talking Business: China Needs Old Boys With M.B.A.’s
The shortage of managerial talent in China is huge, but so too is the desire to fill that gap.

 

California Jobless Rate Jumps

State Jobless Rate Jumps
In March, unemployment numbers leap as a slowing economy curtails hiring in a broad range of industries.

 

Take-Home Pay Falling

Take-Home Pay Falling
For employees lucky to not be laid off, more work fewer hours or part time.

 

Bodies Battered By Poverty

Bodies Battered By Poverty
Study shows that stressors, including discrimination and racism, shorten life span.

 

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Unionized Atlantic City casino dealers still lack contracts

Unionized Atlantic City casino dealers still lack contracts
Union, yes. Contract, no. That's the reality right now in Atlantic City, where dealers at four casinos have won elections allowing them to form unions over the past year. But none of the unions has succeeded in getting a contract with any of the gambling...

 

US Airways pilots oust union over seniority issues

US Airways pilots oust union over seniority issues
Frustrated by an internal dispute over seniority, US Airways pilots on Thursday ousted their union of 59 years and agreed to be represented by another group. The rare decertification election, supervised by the federal National Mediation Board, gave the...

 

Weekly jobless claims rise after big fall in previous week

Weekly jobless claims rise after big fall in previous week
AP - The number of newly laid off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits increased last week after a big decline in the previous week.

 

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Australian employers, unions to fight skills crisis

Employers, unions to fight skills crisis
The Australian
Although its pairing with unions is a rare partnership, the AIG is known as a politically moderate organisation among employer groups.

 

2 unions will try to ground merger

2 unions will try to ground merger
Detroit Free Press
Two of Northwest's major labor unions are opposed to the deal. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which represents the ...

 

Conflict Between 2 Unions Intensifies

Conflict Between 2 Unions Intensifies
New York Times
The A.F.L.-C.I.O. president, John J. Sweeney, denounced on Tuesday what he said was “a violent attack orchestrated” by the Service Employees International Union against members of other unions at a conference on Saturday in Michigan.

 

EEOC looks at age-bias rules

EEOC looks at age-bias rules
As claims increase, agency proposes that burden be on employers to justify actions. Older workers are more vulnerable to losing their jobs than younger ones when companies cut costs. They know this instinctively, even though the law of the land forbids age-related discrimination.

 

Executive-pay disclosure rules are a failure

Executive-pay disclosure rules are a failure
Last year, SEC Chairman Christopher Cox pleaded with corporations to use "plain English" in reporting executive pay and avoid "the legalese and the jargon" that make proxy statements more like insurance policies than helpful guides for shareholders.

 

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

2 labor groups bicker over a Michigan scuffle

2 labor groups bicker over a Michigan scuffle
The AFL-CIO and the Service Employees Union International, the nation's largest union and member of a rival group, argued over who was at fault for a scuffle in Michigan between union members.

 

Florida: Corrections employees want fewer cuts

Corrections employees want fewer cuts
The state could have to close a prison, and some probation officers would see more than a 50 percent increase in the cases they handle if budget cuts proposed by the Legislature are adopted, officials said Tuesday.

 

American pilots protest at MIA

American pilots protest at MIA
American Airlines pilots held a demonstration Tuesday at Miami International Airport. It was part of a nationwide protest to slam American's poor performance and highlight bonuses being paid to executives.

 

Crisis in care awaits boomers

Crisis in care awaits boomers
Health needs of aged expected to outpace available providers Millions of baby boomers are about to enter a health care system for seniors that not only is not ready for them, but may even discourage them from getting quality care.

 

Actor's Guild Chief Is No Pacifist

Guild Chief for Actors Is No Pacifist
Alan Rosenberg said Tuesday he remained angry enough over performer compensation levels to bring the entertainment industry to a halt again.

 

Monday, April 14, 2008

Defying trend, many small companies are adding workers

Defying trend, many small companies are adding workers
NEW YORK -- Having been in business for 30 years and survived many consumer spending slowdowns, Lloyd Lippman isn't cutting staff at his retail executive search firm. He's been adding account executives and plans to hire two or three more by the end of the year.

 

Workplace Coach: Learning what it takes to manage Millennials will pay off for all

Workplace Coach: Learning what it takes to manage Millennials will pay off for all
The Millennial generation grew up in different times than many workplace leaders. Managing them can mean confronting a generation gap.

 

New college graduates face a scramble for jobs

New college graduates face a scramble for jobs
As the credit crunch roils financial markets and the U.S. economy sputters, new college graduates are plunging into the rockiest job market in recent years.

 

Citing Ethics, Some Doctors Are Rejecting Industry Pay

Citing Ethics, Some Doctors Are Rejecting Industry Pay
The decisions of a small group of scientists to stop accepting payment from food, drug and medical device companies repudiate decades of industry influence.

 

Home Front: Behind the Builder, a Skilled Coordinator

Home Front: Behind the Builder, a Skilled Coordinator
When most people think of construction jobs, they do not usually think of people operating computers to ensure that materials and workers will be at the construction sites when they are needed.

 

Generation X glum on retirement prospects: survey

Generation X glum on retirement prospects: survey
Reuters - Baby boomers say they are worried about achieving a comfortable retirement, but a new study suggests Generation X is even more pessimistic.

 

Friday, April 11, 2008

What’s Offline: A Defense of the Boss’s Pay

What’s Offline: A Defense of the Boss’s Pay
A researcher pointed out that salary increases of corporate chief executives were almost exactly in line with the rise in market capitalization of large U.S.-based companies over time.

 

Cash Cows and Starter Cowboy Kits

Cash Cows and Starter Cowboy Kits
Bill Moyers Journal teams up with the PBS series Expose: America's Investigative Reports to follow the trail of Washington Post reporters who uncovered more than $15 billion in "wasteful, unnecessary, or redundant expenditures" that have flowed from Washington to America's farmers

 

Cash Cows and Starter Cowboy Kits

Cash Cows and Starter Cowboy Kits
Bill Moyers Journal teams up with the PBS series Expose: America's Investigative Reports to follow the trail of Washington Post reporters who uncovered more than $15 billion in "wasteful, unnecessary, or redundant expenditures" that have flowed from Washington to America's farmers

 

Off The Charts: Many More Are Jobless Than Are Unemployed

Off The Charts: Many More Are Jobless Than Are Unemployed
Only people without jobs who are actively looking for work qualify as unemployed. It does not count people who are not looking for work, whether or not they would like to have a job.

 

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Delta, pilots still wrangling over NWA deal

Delta, pilots still wrangling over NWA deal
There were new rumblings Thursday that a merger between Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines and Northwest could be close, but it won't be the pretty marriage some executives first envisioned. One published report indicated Delta and its pilots union have "agreed in principle on a contract" that could clear the way for the carrier to combine with Eagan, Minn.-based Northwest to create a mega-airline. However, people familiar with the negotiations told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution the report may be premature.

 

Jobless claims drop 53,000 in latest week

Jobless claims drop 53,000 in latest week
Reuters - The number of U.S. workers applying for unemployment benefits tumbled by a greater-than-expected 53,000 last week, but a closely watched moving average of claims was at its highest in two and a half years, a government report showed on Thursday.

 

Jobs May Take a Smaller Hit This Time

Jobs May Take a Smaller Hit This Time
BusinessWeek Online - The March employment report was generally expected to be consistent with early-recession patterns seen in the past. Sure enough, no surprises: The unemployment rate spiked from 4.8% to 5.1%. Payrolls dropped by 80,000 workers, with January and February jobs revised down by a total of 67,000. And private-sector employment has shrunk for four months in a row. From this point on, if history is any guide, it only gets worse. Even in the past two mild recessions, each of which lasted only eight months, payrolls went on to post monthly losses exceeding 200,000, and the unemployment rate topped out ...

 

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Visa Legislation Delay Squeezes Seasonal Workforce

Visa Legislation Delay Squeezes Seasonal Workforce
NPR audio:
Tourism, landscaping and other industries that hire foreign workers on a seasonal basis are stuck this year. Congress let the H-2B visa extension expire. Now many foreigners who planned to return to the United States this summer to work past jobs won't be allowed back in the country.

 

U.S. reality TV show workers file overtime claims

U.S. reality TV show workers file overtime claims
Reuters - A dozen former workers on some of U.S. television's leading reality shows, including "American Idol," filed state labor complaints on Tuesday seeking $500,000 in unpaid overtime and penalties.

 

Many Americans report no financial progress in 5 years

Many Americans report no financial progress in 5 years
Growing numbers of middle-class Americans say they aren't better off than they were five years ago, reflecting economic pressures amid growing debt, a study released Wednesday shows. Their short-term assessment of personal progress, according to the study, is the worst it's been in nearly half a century. The survey by the Pew Research Center, a Washington-based organization, paints a mixed picture for the 53 percent of adults in the country who define themselves as "middle class," with household incomes ranging from below $40,000 to more than $100,000.

 

IMF sees US falling into recession

IMF sees US falling into recession
AP - The United States is headed for a recession, dragging world economic growth down along with it, the International Monetary Fund concluded in a sobering new forecast Wednesday that underscored the damage inflicted from the housing and credit debacles.

 

Pulling Apart: A State-by-State Analysis of Income Trends

Pulling Apart: A State-by-State Analysis of Income Trends
A state-by-state examination of trends in income inequality over the past two business cycles finds that inequality has grown in most parts of the country since the late 1980s. The incomes of the country’s highest-income families have climbed substantially, while middle- and lower-income families have seen only modest increases.

 

As The Rich Get Richer....

As The Rich Get Richer....
The poor and not-so-poor are struggling. A study shows a huge swath of low and middle income families barely getting by.

 

Monday, April 07, 2008

La-Z-Boy Plant Closing a Major Blow to Utah Town

La-Z-Boy Plant Closing a Major Blow to Utah Town
NPR audio:
La-Z-Boy is closing its plant in Tremonton, Utah, shifting some jobs to Mexico. The plant, the town's largest employer, is laying off 630 employees. Lynn Neary speaks with Ricky Collum, who is among those losing their jobs.

 

Preoccupations: Women, Repeat This: Don’t Ask, Don’t Get

Preoccupations: Women, Repeat This: Don’t Ask, Don’t Get
Time and again, I saw women accept the status quo, take what they were offered and wait for someone else to decide what they deserved.

 

Executive Pay: A Special Report: A Brighter Spotlight, Yet the Pay Rises

Executive Pay: A Special Report: A Brighter Spotlight, Yet the Pay Rises
2008 was supposed to be the year of shareholder victory on the executive compensation front, but true links between pay and performance remain scarce.

 

U.A.W. and American Axle to Restart Negotiations

U.A.W. and American Axle to Restart Negotiations
Ron Gettelfinger and the chief executive of American Axle, Richard E. Dauch, planned to meet in an effort to end a nearly 6-week-old strike at the auto parts maker.

 

Job winners and losers in hard times

Job winners and losers in hard times
AP - Hospitals, schools and the assembly line at an airplane factory look like pretty good places to be with a recession looming and unemployment rising. Construction workers, real estate agents and auto workers aren't expected to fare as well.

 

Amid layoff news, many companies are still hiring

Amid layoff news, many companies are still hiring
The Christian Science Monitor - From his vantage point, David Winslow does not see a recession or rising unemployment rate. Instead, the founder of a software company in Burlington, Vt., sees a hiring opportunity.

 

Friday, April 04, 2008

Job Opportunities for Day Laborers Decline

Job Opportunities for Day Laborers Decline
NPR audio:
The latest federal jobs report shows significant losses in industries highly populated by immigrants, both legal and illegal. That means even more people have been lining up at day labor centers, despite fewer opportunities for work.

 

Jobs slashed, pointing to recession

Jobs slashed, pointing to recession
AP - Employers buffeted by talk of recession slashed 80,000 jobs in March, the most in five years and the third straight month of losses.

 

Thursday, April 03, 2008

Sanitation Workers Remember King's Last Stand

Sanitation Workers Remember King's Last Stand
NPR audio:
Forty years ago Friday, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed in Memphis, Tenn. Sanitation workers, who were on strike in the city at the time, remember the indignities they suffered and the civil rights leader who came to support them.

 

GM Strike Closes Dozens of Plants

GM Strike Closes Dozens of Plants
NPR audio:
Workers at the auto parts company American Axle went to the picket lines more than a month ago. The strike is relatively small, but it has forced GM to lay off more than 40,000 workers.

 

Hiring at tech companies slows down

Hiring at tech companies slows down
U.S. technology companies boosted hiring for the third consecutive year in 2007, but the pace of job growth slowed, an electronics trade group reported Wednesday.

 

First Big Cuts At Google

First Big Cuts At Google
Net titan gets set to lay off off about 300 workers from its DoubleClick unit. And more pink slips may be coming.

 

Monster online jobs index edges up in March

Monster online jobs index edges up in March
Reuters - An online gauge of U.S. labor demand rose slightly in March, reflecting more job offerings in the arts, entertainment and recreation sector, a private research group said on Thursday.

 

Jobless claims jump to highest since 2005

Jobless claims jump to highest since 2005
Reuters - The number of U.S. workers applying for unemployment benefits soared by 38,000 last week, posting the highest reading since September 2005 and reinforcing fears that the U.S. economy has stalled, government data on Thursday showed.

 

Service sector contracts in March

Service sector contracts in March
AP - The Institute for Supply Management said Thursday that the nation's service sector - which includes retailers, the hotel business, insurance and various social services - contracted in March, but not as much as the month before. Still, worries deepened about soaring prices for raw materials.

 

Starbucks Sued in New York Over Tip Issue

Starbucks Sued in New York Over Tip Issue
NYT
A former Starbucks barista accuses the company of cheating thousands of baristas in New York State by giving a share of their tips to shift supervisors.

 

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Factory orders drop

Factory orders drop
AP - Orders to U.S. factories fell for a second straight month, a worse-than-expected performance that reinforced worries that the risk of recession is rising.

 

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Eurozone official unemployment rate steady at record low 7.1 pct

Eurozone official unemployment rate steady at record low 7.1 pct
AFP - Unemployment in the 15 nations sharing the euro held steady in February at a record low point of 7.1 percent despite slowing economic activity, official European Union data showed on Tuesday.