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Labor & Economic News Blog

Friday, October 31, 2008

A tough economy, by the numbers

A tough economy, by the numbers
By many measures, the U.S. economy has steadily worsened since the beginning of 2008. EPI economists have compiled a one-page reference guide to that decline, featuring data on wages, employment, bankruptcy filings, pensions and foreclosures. For the grim but important fact sheet, click here.

 

Economic stagnation for Hispanic Americans

Economic stagnation for Hispanic Americans
Between 2000 and 2007, the U.S. gross domestic product grew by 18% and worker productivity by 19%. Yet despite these gains, the Hispanic population did not benefit from the wealth that it helped create in the U.S. economy in this period. A new EPI Briefing Paper, Hispanics and the Economy: Economic Stagnation for Hispanic Americans Throughout the 2000s, examines the data that show how this group experienced a loss of median income and an increase in the poverty and unemployment rates. The Hispanic population began the 2000s business cycle significantly worse off economically than the nation as a whole, and they are ending the cycle in virtually the same place. For many Hispanics the current economic downturn will mean they will fall further behind the nation as a whole.

 

Stock Market Fluctuations and Retiree Income

Stock Market Fluctuations and Retiree Income
Brookings
While Social Security’s long-term problems represent a major policy challenge, the sharp fall in stock prices serves as a reminder that many substitutes for Social Security – such as individual retirement accounts -- have problems of their own. Gary Burtless analyzes how personal retirement savings accounts have performed historically, including over the past 12 months, and finds that retirement funds invested solely or mainly in the stock market offer a very shaky foundation for retirement income.

 

Employment costs post modest gain in 3rd quarter

Employment costs post modest gain in 3rd quarter
AP - Wages and benefits paid to U.S. workers rose by a moderate amount in the third quarter, the government said Friday, matching analysts' estimates.

 

Argentina To Nationalize Pensions

Argentina To Nationalize Pensions
NPR audio:
The global economic slowdown means resource-rich South America doesn't need to produce as much oil, soy or copper. That's hurt Argentina particularly hard because it's been used to high prices for its exports. Now, the government is nationalizing nearly $30 billion in pensions. Critics say it's because officials want to raid the system for much-needed cash.

 

Guild To Distribute Unclaimed Residuals

Guild To Distribute Unclaimed Residuals
NPR audio:
The Screen Actors Guild is attempting to distribute $25 million in unclaimed residuals. It's launched an advertising campaign called "Get Your Money." Some 66,000 people are entitled to unclaimed residuals from past performances.

 

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Living Wage Laws : How Much Do (Can) They Matter?

Living Wage Laws : How Much Do (Can) They Matter?
Living wage laws are “…local ordinances requiring private businesses that benefit from public money” to pay above-market wages and benefits to their workers. These laws have been passed and implemented in many larger and smaller cities nationwide. They are widely viewed as efforts to aid the working poor and address labor market inequality, particularly as other institutions that have traditionally done so (such as minimum wage laws and collective bargaining) have eroded over time.

 

Workforce Development as an Antipoverty Strategy : What Do We Know? What Should We Do?

Workforce Development as an Antipoverty Strategy : What Do We Know? What Should We Do?
Urban Institute
Over the past few decades, the gaps in earnings between more- and less-educated American workers have risen. The numbers of adult workers in low-wage jobs has risen—partly because of the growing supply of these workers, associated with welfare reform and immigration (among other forces), and partly because of growing demand for these workers in low-paying jobs

 

Jobless claims remain elevated due to weak economy

Jobless claims remain elevated due to weak economy
AP - New claims for unemployment benefits were unchanged last week, remaining at the same elevated level due to the struggling economy, the government said Thursday.

 

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Revisiting the Minimum wage in the Enlarged EU: Addressing changes and challenges in the labour markets

Revisiting the Minimum wage in the Enlarged EU: Addressing changes and challenges in the labour markets
The minimum wage has returned to the core of the EU policy agenda. EU enlargement and increased migration flows for employment and better pay are one factor, but others include the significant rise in non-standard forms of employment, normally associated with lower wages, high proportions of low-paying jobs, rising insecurity and growing numbers of working poor. ...

 

Academics Say Make Math Cool to Promote U.S. Competitiveness

Academics Say Make Math Cool to Promote U.S. Competitiveness
By Scott Andes
This blog post reviews findings of a recent academic study on the low numbers of women in advanced mathematics programs, citing a need “to make math cool again” to spur U.S. competitiveness, because now doing mathematics for fun is “deemed uncool within the social context of USA middle and high schools…and can lead to social ostracism.”

 

EPI's Basic Family Budgets calculator updated

EPI's Basic Family Budgets calculator updated
With income on the decline, unemployment rising, and experts predicting a potentially long dry spell for the economy, people are understandably worried about how they can make ends meet. EPI's newly updated online Family Budget Calculator provides data on the cost of the essentials for families of various sizes wherever they may live across the country, with data for more than 600 locations, including cities, towns, and rural areas in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Accompanying the calculator are a Briefing Paper and a more-technical Working Paper that give an overview of family budget trends and provide details on the data sources.

 

Many States Tax Working-Poor Families Deeper into Poverty

Many States Tax Working-Poor Families Deeper into Poverty
Poor families in many states faced substantial state income tax liability for the 2007 tax year. In 18 of the 42 states that levy income taxes, two-parent families of four with incomes below the federal poverty line were liable for income tax. In 15 states, poor single-parent families of three paid income tax in 2007.

 

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

7th ASEM Summit: A step in the right direction

7th ASEM Summit: A step in the right direction
Leaders of 43 Asian and European countries met last Friday in Beijing for the 7th ASEM Summit. They issued two important declarations, the first on sustainable development and the second on the international financial situation.

 

Monday, October 27, 2008

Boosting Development in the Asia-Pacific Region Through Decent Work

Boosting Development in the Asia-Pacific Region Through Decent Work
Trade union leaders gathering at the XIV Asia Pacific Labour Network Conference, taking place in Lima (Peru) on 27-28 of October, have called for a far-reaching reorientation of the policies of Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).

 

GAO-09-17, VA Health Care: Improved Staffing Methods and Greater Availability of Alternate and Flexible Work Schedules Could Enhance the Recruitment a

GAO-09-17, VA Health Care: Improved Staffing Methods and Greater Availability of Alternate and Flexible Work Schedules Could Enhance the Recruitment and Retention of Inpatient Nurses, October 24, 2008
Registered nurses (RNs) are the largest group of health care providers employed by VA's health care system. RNs are relied on to deliver inpatient care, but VA medical centers (VAMC) face RN recruitment and retention challenges. ...

 

How Have Employers Responded to Health Reform in Massachusetts? Employees' Views at the End of One Year

How Have Employers Responded to Health Reform in Massachusetts? Employees' Views at the End of One Year
Employers in Massachusetts have not dropped health insurance coverage for their employees as a result of state health reform legislation, finds a new Health Affairs study supported in part by the Fund. Likewise, employers have also not tightened eligibility standards, increased workers' premiums, or scaled back on the scope of coverage.

 

Friday, October 24, 2008

Social Security Bulletin

Social Security Bulletin Vol. 68 No. 2
(released October 2008)
Includes articles on:
Alternate Measures of Replacement Rates for Social Security Benefits and Retirement Income
Social Security Beneficiaries Affected by the Windfall Elimination Provision in 2006
An Overview of the Railroad Retirement Program
The Canadian Safety Net for the Elderly
Chile's Next Generation Pension Reform

 

Why We Need to Cut Seniors' Benefits

Why We Need to Cut Seniors' Benefits
Brookings
Isabel Sawhill discusses the big three of entitlement programs - Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid and how they will wreak havoc on the country's finances (and yours) unless we scale them back.

 

Garage Sales on Rise With Economic Downturn

Garage Sales on Rise With Economic Downturn
Garages and yards of Manteca, Calif., offer a crash course in kitchen-table economics each weekend.

 

The Enduring Challenge of Concentrated Poverty in America

The Enduring Challenge of Concentrated Poverty in America
Brookings
The Federal Reserve System and its 12 member banks partnered with the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program to produce a new, in-depth look at concentrated poverty in America. The two-year study profiles 16 high-poverty communities across the United States, investigating the historical and contemporary factors associated with their high levels of economic distress.

 

Chrysler to Cut 25% of Salaried and Contract Jobs

Chrysler to Cut 25% of Salaried and Contract Jobs
The automaker, which is in merger talks with General Motors, said that it would offer buyout and early retirement packages in the next two weeks and that layoffs would follow.

 

Harsh Math for Wall Street’s Young: Stay or Go?

Harsh Math for Wall Street’s Young: Stay or Go?
Young victims of the financial crisis, caught at a crossroads in New York.

 

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Job losses accelerating, and the worst is ahead

Job losses accelerating, and the worst is ahead
Unemployment claims, already well into recession territory, are rising even faster than expected, leading economists to warn Thursday that the worst is yet to come.

 

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Nissan cuts back at Tennessee, Mississippi plants

Nissan cuts back at Tennessee, Mississippi plants
Nissan Motor Co. said Tuesday it is cutting production of its Altima models at assembly plants in Tennessee and Mississippi due to sluggish demand in the United States.

 

State and Local Government Employment and Payroll Data

State and Local Government Employment and Payroll Data
The State and Local Government Employment and Payroll data are available in ASCII text format, Excel spreadsheets, and viewable tables. These statistics cover summary information on the number of employees and gross payrolls by governmental function.

 

Full-gender equality still an issue for U.S. military

Full-gender equality still an issue for U.S. military
When SSgt. Tabitha Williams completed basic training for the U.S. Marine Corps at Parris Island, S.C., it was the proudest moment of her life. The 13-week course - the longest of any military branch - ends with the Crucible, three days of sleep and food

 

Uganda: 17 Percent of Children Forced to Work

Uganda: 17 Percent of Children Forced to Work
ABOUT 17% of children aged 5-17 are engaged in child labour, a joint report by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and Uganda Bureau of Statistics has revealed.

 

Tanzania: Apparel Firm Faces Closure

Tanzania: Apparel Firm Faces Closure
Nearly 700 employees of an apparel manufacturing company in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania could become the first casualties of the global financial crisis, as its impact begins to bite.

 

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

State unemployment rate in Washington drops to 5.8 percent

State unemployment rate in Washington drops to 5.8 percent
After four months of increasing, Washington's unemployment rate fell to 5.8 percent in September, perhaps indicating that Washington is not as bad off as during the 2001 recession, according to Employment Security Department figures released Tuesday.

 

Diversity Management Project Will Collect Data to Better Assess Workforce Policy

Diversity Management Project Will Collect Data to Better Assess Workforce Policy
A new RAND Labor and Population Project will examine how best to achieve and harness workplace diversity, a growing priority for U.S. companies and government agencies who want their workforces to reflect the evolving racial, ethnic, socio-economic, and generational makeup of American society and meet the challenges of the global market place.

 

Women left on sidelines in video game revolution

Women left on sidelines in video game revolution
The glass ceiling shows cracks, but it's still a man's virtual world. As a top executive at one of the world's biggest video game publishers, Kathy Vrabeck often completes an entire workday without meeting with another woman. And her employer, Electronic Arts Inc., is less of a boys club than many of its peers.

 

An eroding model for health insurance

An eroding model for health insurance
Working Americans once could rely on employer-based benefits. But more people are being forced into the individual market, where coverage is costly, bare-bones and precarious. First of three parts

 

Poverty gap wider, says OECD

Poverty gap wider, says OECD
The gulf between rich and poor in most wealthy nations is wider than it was 20 years ago, the OECD says.

 

Factory gloom 'worst since 1980' in UK

Factory gloom 'worst since 1980' in UK
Lower demand for UK-made goods causes the sharpest quarterly drop in manufacturing confidence in 28 years, a survey says.

 

Georgia's Sept. job losses among nation's highest

Georgia's Sept. job losses among nation's highest
New numbers show Georgia saw the second largest increase in unemployment in the nation in September.

 

Faces Of The New Economy: Retirees

Faces Of The New Economy: Retirees
NPR audio:
Jacki Lyden follows a financial planner and her client as she figures out what to do about how much she's lost in her retirement savings.

 

Uganda: Minister Rugunda Decries Brain Drain

Uganda: Minister Rugunda Decries Brain Drain
Internal affairs minister Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda has rapped African scholars for seeking 'greener pastures' in Europe instead of using their expertise to develop their continent.

 

Nigeria: Unemployment Poses Grave Danger - TUC

Nigeria: Unemployment Poses Grave Danger - TUC
The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has warned that the unemployment situation in the country poses grave danger to both the security of individuals and business and the nation at large.

 

Boeing, Machinists will meet with mediators Thursday

Boeing, Machinists will meet with mediators Thursday
Boeing and the Machinists union will resume talks in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, which will be day 48 of the ongoing strike.

 

The Coming Pink Slip Epidemic

The Coming Pink Slip Epidemic
When the dot-com and housing bubbles burst, it was easy to see what types of jobs would disappear. But these days as nervous lenders cower and credit contracts, virtually every industry is likely to be scathed in the widely predicted downturn starting this autumn. Nearly every business relies on credit to operate -- just as they need customers to have spending power.

 

Monday, October 20, 2008

SAG seeks federal mediator, holds off strike authorization vote

SAG seeks federal mediator, holds off strike authorization vote
In a compromise struck between divided camps within the actors union, the national board called for bringing in a federal mediator.

 

The work of play

The work of play
Nurtured by California know-how and creativity, the video game industry has become a prolific generator of jobs and wealth for the state.

 

California unemployment holds steady at 7.7%

California unemployment holds steady at 7.7%
California's unemployment rate held steady at 7.7% in September, remaining at its highest level in 12 years. Economists warned Friday that joblessness is likely to jump once October numbers are tallied.

 

State 'green' plan called job creator

State 'green' plan called job creator
Tough state mandates requiring Californians to reduce their carbon footprints and use more homegrown renewable energy will create more than 400,000 jobs, help consumers save on their lighting bills and boost the state's economy by $76 billion by 2020.

 

ILO says global financial crisis to increase unemployment by 20 million

ILO says global financial crisis to increase unemployment by 20 million
The global financial crisis could increase world unemployment by an estimated 20 million women and men, the Director-General of the International Labour Office (ILO) said today. “We need prompt and coordinated government actions to avert a social crisis that could be severe, long-lasting and global”, he added.

 

Turns Out There's Good News on Main Street

Turns Out There's Good News on Main Street
New America Foundation
As the financial crisis takes down Wall Street, the regular folks on Main Street are biting their nails, watching the toxic tsunami head their way. But for all our nightmares of drowning in a sea of bad mortgages, foreclosed homes and shrunken retirement plans, the truth is that the effects of this meltdown won't be all bad in the long run. In one regard, it could offer our society a net positive: Forced into belt-tightening, Americans are likely to strengthen our family and community ties and to center our lives more closely on the places where we live.

 

Small Business: Bonuses may be casualty of economy in '08

Small Business: Bonuses may be casualty of economy in '08
The year-end bonuses or holiday gifts that many small business employees are hoping for may end up a casualty of the stumbling economy as owners decide they can't afford them. But at some companies, bonuses are turning into incentives to help boost sales and profits.

 

Pay disparities exist after gender change, study says

Pay disparities exist after gender change, study says
A recent study has found a new way to examine pay disparities between men and women: comparing the salaries of transgender employees before and after their gender changes.

 

Job scene ailing, but hospitals are hiring

Job scene ailing, but hospitals are hiring
While the general economy is in a tailspin, South Florida healthcare is still in a hiring frenzy. The Baptist system by itself has 500 openings, and many other hospitals say they have many jobs to fill.

 

Wall Street woes has India outsourcing on edge

Wall Street woes has India outsourcing on edge
Bangalore, the capital of Indian outsourcing, is perhaps the closest India comes to Wall Street. In some offices, you can get a U.S. dial tone. Clocks tell you what time it is in New York. Cappuccinos - as well as Subway sandwiches and Carolina Herrera "212" perfume - are easy to come by.

 

US woes hit slum

US woes hit slum
Mumbai slum hurts as US consumers stop spending

 

World jobless 'to add 20 million'

World jobless 'to add 20 million'
The global financial crisis will add at least 20 million extra people to the world's unemployed, a study by a UN agency predicts.

 

The Count: Job Seekers Might Prepare for a Longer Wait

The Count: Job Seekers Might Prepare for a Longer Wait
The time it takes to find a job is growing longer, according to a survey of job seekers conducted by an outplacement firm.

 

A new era

A new era
Maryland's evolution from a manufacturing to a knowledge economy brings both opportunity and heartache A few months after General Motors made its last van at the 70-year-old Broening Highway plant, a seed for Maryland's new economy sprouted across town in West Baltimore.

 

Falling short on training

Falling short on training
New economy asks more of workers, but job help wanes T he knowledge economy that Maryland is pushing as its future - a promised land filled with high-paying jobs in health care, defense, biotechnology and professional services - is shutting out tens of thousands of the region's residents.

 

Cost-Conscious Students Flock To Community Colleges

Cost-Conscious Students Flock To Community Colleges
NPR audio:
Community colleges are reporting skyrocketing enrollment, as students make tough choices in a sputtering economy. Some students are giving up on more expensive four-year schools and doing two years in a community college.

 

Friday, October 17, 2008

Real estate workers feel industry's pain

Real estate workers feel industry's pain
The real estate boom lured many new real estate agents, mortgage originators, appraisers, home inspectors and title and escrow workers. Now, the slowdown is hitting many of these people hardest, forcing them to cut back or change careers.

 

More Floridians jobless

More Floridians jobless
More Floridians jobless Florida's unemployment rate was 6.6 percent last month, flat with revised figures for August, according to a state report released Friday.

 

Indian airline reinstates 800 staff

Indian airline reinstates 800 staff
India's biggest private airline, Jet Airways, reinstates more than 800 of its employees whose dismissal sparked public protests.

 

Entrepreneurial Edge: Start-Ups Give Idaho an Identity Beyond Potatoes

Entrepreneurial Edge: Start-Ups Give Idaho an Identity Beyond Potatoes
Idaho’s economy is increasingly being driven by technology and green manufacturing companies, big and small.

 

Income gap between whites, Latinos has grown at four-year colleges

Income gap between whites, Latinos has grown at four-year colleges
Over the past three decades, the income disparity between Latino and non-Hispanic white students entering four-year colleges and universities has increased fourfold, with the difference in median household income growing from $7,986 in 1975 to $32,965 in 2006, according to a new UCLA report on Latino college students.

 

Ghana: Child Labour Persists On Cocoa Farms

Ghana: Child Labour Persists On Cocoa Farms
A substantial number of smallholder cocoa farmers in some cocoa-growing communities in the Brong Ahafo and Western Regions still engage children as labour.

 

Companies Check Out Applicants On Facebook

Companies Check Out Applicants On Facebook
NPR audio:
A recent survey found that one in five company managers checked out job applicants on Facebook or other social networking sites. And one-third of them found content that led them to reject a candidate. The survey by CareerBuilder.com found that one turnoff for potential employers is pictures of the applicants drinking or using drugs.

 

Social Security Benefits Increasing

Social Security Benefits Increasing
NPR audio:
Social Security checks are going up. It's the largest increase in more than a quarter-century. The Social Security Administration on Thursday announced the cost-of-living increase of nearly 6 percent, affecting 50 million Americans.

 

GM's Autoworkers In Germany Brace For The Worst

GM's Autoworkers In Germany Brace For The Worst
NPR audio:
The global financial crisis is ratcheting up fears of recession. Germany's "rust belt" has been hit hard by the economic slowdown. Opel, General Motors' European brand, is the largest employer in the town of Bochum — where the unemployment rate is over 9 percent. Autoworkers there heard this week that their situation is likely to get worse.

 

Boeing and SPEEA begin serious discussion

Boeing and SPEEA begin serious discussion
Union negotiators representing Boeing engineers and technical workers said a meeting Thursday with management's negotiating team was the...

 

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Creating Precarity: Labour Law in Cambodia

Creating Precarity: Labour Law in Cambodia
In recent years Cambodia’s foothold in the global economy and the most prominent aspect of its labour movement has been the textile and garment industry. Cambodia’s position in this global industry has been promoted as an ‘ethical producer’ due to a monitoring program of the International Labour Organization (ILO) initiated by a bilateral trade agreement with the US.

 

Child Labour in China's Informalized Urban Industrial Sector

Child Labour in China's Informalized Urban Industrial Sector
Asia Monitor Resource Centre
Child workers are a clear example of the precarious labour that exists in the informal economy. Laws about minimum working age make it illegal for them to work, but economic and social realities leave them little other choice. The result is that children under the legal working age continue to work, but in precarious conditions beyond the scope of government regulation.

 

Workers fight to save their union activists

Workers fight to save their union activists
This case of unusual rank and file union activism in China can be seen as both good and bad news. The good news is that, in the North-Eastern Chinese port city of Yantai there are workers’ willing to struggle for two years for their right to form their own union that will stand up for their rights. The bad news is that this struggle has taken a heavy toll on union activists, at least seven of whom have been fired because of their union activity as part of a persistent and illegal union busting campaign by the company.

 

Top Airline In India to Shed 1,900 Employees

Top Airline In India to Shed 1,900 Employees
Jet Airways, India's largest domestic carrier, said Wednesday that it will cut 1,900 employees because of high fuel prices and slowing global growth, an indication that India's once-robust economy is being hammered by the worldwide economic slowdown.

 

High food costs 'a global burden'

High food costs 'a global burden'
Almost two-thirds of people in 26 countries say higher food and energy prices have affected them "a great deal", a BBC report finds.

 

GM to lay off 1,600 workers at 3 factories

GM to lay off 1,600 workers at 3 factories
Another 1,600 workers at three General Motors Corp. factories will be laid off indefinitely over the next few months as the company tries to control its inventory amid a worsening U.S. sales slump.

 

CBS 5 in San Francisco Sued Over Alleged Age Bias

CBS 5 in San Francisco Sued Over Alleged Age Bias
Two veteran KPIX-TV reporters claim they were laid off because of their age and gender.

 

Social Security Benefits to Rise 5.8%

Social Security Benefits to Rise 5.8%
Social Security benefits for 50 million people will be go up 5.8% next year, the largest increase in more than a quarter century.

 

Tesla Says It Will Lay Off Employees and Delay Its All-Electric Sedan Until 2011

Tesla Says It Will Lay Off Employees and Delay Its All-Electric Sedan Until 2011
The electric car start-up blamed the worsening financial and credit crises for the upheaval.

 

Amid Meltdown, Retirement Ads Stay On Message

Amid Meltdown, Retirement Ads Stay On Message
NPR audio:
There's one place where it seems the financial crisis has not hit: TV ads for retirement investment. Retirees still seem to be taking misty walks on the beach. Why aren't retirement investment funds running ads that tout their ability to help you beat the market fluctuations?

 

Snapshot Of The Economic Crisis From Ohio

Snapshot Of The Economic Crisis From Ohio
NPR audio:
Residents of Chillicothe, Ohio, have seen better days financially. The mayor, workers at the local paper mill and others say they're seeing the effects of the Wall Street economic crisis trickle down to all aspects of small city life.

 

Are Political Discussions Off-Limits At Work?

Are Political Discussions Off-Limits At Work?
NPR audio:
With the presidential election fast approaching, it's getting increasingly difficult to avoid discussions of politics. Even in the workplace — where political talk is often taboo — there has been plenty of partisan chatter. Do you reveal your political leanings to your colleagues? Why or why not?

 

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

World of Work Report 2008: ILO launches new report on global Income Inequalities

World of Work Report 2008: ILO launches new report on global Income Inequalities
ILO
The International Institute for Labour Studies of the International Labour Office (ILO) is to launch a new study, entitled “World of Work Report 2008 – Income Inequality in the Age of Financial Globalization” on Thursday 16 October.

 

Stimulus now! Underemployment at 14-year high

Stimulus now! Underemployment at 14-year high
EPI
The growing number of underemployed workers is a better barometer of how bad it is these days for jobseekes. Get the facts at a glance in this week's Snapshot.

 

Rise in the number of unemployed in Northern Ireland

Rise in the number of unemployed
The number of people jobless in Northern Ireland rises by 1,200, the largest monthly increase in 22 years.

 

Scots unemployment on the rise

Scots unemployment on the rise
Unemployment in Scotland has increased to 4.7% in the last quarter, the latest official figures show.

 

Three-year police pay deal struck for UK police

Three-year police pay deal struck
A new three-year pay deal for UK police is agreed between the Police Federation and the Home Office.

 

Jobless rise highest for 17 years

Jobless rise highest for 17 years
The UK jobless total rose by 164,000 - the most in 17 years - to 1.79 million for the three months from June to August.

 

New York 'faces 165,000 job cuts'

New York 'faces 165,000 job cuts'
New York City could lose 165,000 jobs as a result of the crisis in the financial sector, the city's chief financial officer warns.

 

Namibia: Unions Urged to Focus on Workers' Issues

Namibia: Unions Urged to Focus on Workers' Issues
The Labour Resource and Research Institute (LaRRI) last week celebrated its tenth anniversary.

 

Nigeria: Labour Disagrees With Federal Government On Decent Work

Nigeria: Labour Disagrees With Federal Government On Decent Work
The organised labour in Nigeria has called for decent work environment for workers in the country.

 

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Aid agencies: world's poor will be biggest victims

Aid agencies: world's poor will be biggest victims
AP - The world's poorest people will be hungrier, sicker and have fewer jobs as a result of the global financial crisis, and cash-strapped aid agencies will be less able to help, aid groups are warning.

 

Retailers cutting back on holiday hiring

Retailers cutting back on holiday hiring
With bleak sales numbers expected, there'll be fewer jobs and more competition for them. With Christmas fast approaching, Molly Oswaks has checked out stores in the Grove shopping center, boutiques in Larchmont Village and shops along 3rd Street. All across Southern California and the country, the search is on -- not for the perfect gift but for holiday jobs.

 

Tough Times Force Woman Back On Welfare

Tough Times Force Woman Back On Welfare
NPR audio:
Forty years after getting off welfare, commentator Mary Sojourner finds herself signing up for benefits again. And she learns that the faltering economy has put a lot of neighbors in her small California desert town in the same situation.

 

Russians Worry Job Losses Around The Corner

Russians Worry Job Losses Around The Corner
NPR audio:
Russia is among the countries hardest hit by the world's financial turmoil. Only recently, Moscow was bragging that its oil-rich economy was an island of stability amid global uncertainty. But now many ordinary Russians are worried about losing their jobs and their savings.

 

Wyoming Oil Workers Undertake Major Risks

Wyoming Oil Workers Undertake Major Risks
NPR audio:
With the rising demand for fossil fuels, there is a higher need for oil and gas workers. But this increase comes with risks. Wyoming has seen its worker injury rate skyrocket in recent years, but benefits are limited.

 

Trying to Make Technical Schools Havens for Academic Pursuits, Too

Trying to Make Technical Schools Havens for Academic Pursuits, Too
Officials are working to modernize the city’s vocational schools, long seen as havens for low-performing students and places that offer easy paths to graduation.

 

UAW chief says he opposes GM-Chrysler merger

UAW chief says he opposes GM-Chrysler merger
United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger said Tuesday he would oppose a merger between General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC because it would cost workers their jobs.
The union president said the UAW has not had formal discussions with either automaker about the two companies combining, but he would be against any consolidation.

 

Boeing, striking Machinists hit impasse in new talks

Boeing, striking Machinists hit impasse in new talks
Boeing and the striking Machinists union broke off talks after deadlocking over future outsourcing of parts-delivery jobs in the assembly plants.

 

Utah's near-flat job growth rate still outpaces nation, but for how long?

Utah's near-flat job growth rate still outpaces nation, but for how long?
Utah's job-creation engine has nearly shut down.In the state's jobs report out today, overall overall employment in the state crept up by 0.1 percent in September over the same month last year.

 

GM to close plants in Wisconsin, Michigan

GM to close plants in Wisconsin, Michigan
U.S. automotive sales slump worked its way to two Midwestern towns Monday. General Motors Corp. announced it would close a Michigan metal stamping plant and stop making sport utility vehicles in Wisconsin by the end of the year.

 

Hot jobs: Demand, pay is high for the right skills

Hot jobs: Demand, pay is high for the right skills
Workers in some industries are being laid off by the thousands, in others — such as engineering, accounting, nursing, pharmacy and, as the cost of shipping by truck has risen, railroads — the watchword is “hired,” not “fired,” as new employees are being promised high-paying jobs sometimes more than a year before graduation.

 

Chinese toy firms forced to close

Chinese toy firms forced to close
More than half of China's toy exporters have been forced out of business this year, officials say.

 

Monday, October 13, 2008

'Green jobs' won't be the answer for every economy

'Green jobs' won't be the answer for every economy
Meet the next big economic development fad: The green economy.

 

'Retirement Wreck'

'Retirement Wreck'
New America Foundation
"Right now, we're really seeing the risks come home, and people are recognizing the extent to which their retirement savings are on the line when the stock market goes down drastically," said Jacob Hacker, a political science professor at the University of California at Berkeley who chronicled the advent of 401(k) plans in "The Great Risk Shift."

 

Micron jobs not easy to replace

Micron jobs not easy to replace
People earning between $25,000 to $40,000 a year could be the main group of employees affected by Micron's layoff, state officials project. Nearly 1,500 jobs could be gone by Christmas.

 

Newly Poor In Nevada

Newly Poor In Nevada
NPR audio:
Some middle-income families in Las Vegas are fighting off poverty in ways they never would have imagined. One woman recently found herself panhandling just to get her electricity turned back on.

 

Road to November: As Industries Dry Up, Frustration and Despair

Road to November: As Industries Dry Up, Frustration and Despair
At the white-hot center of the meltdown of the American economy, residents of Elkhart, Ind., are split over which candidate can offer solutions.

 

Unions turning to political labor: Push to elect backers of the Employee Free Choice Act

Unions turning to political labor: Push to elect backers of the Employee Free Choice Act
Beyond the presidential race, unions are pushing hard for candidates - especially for the U.S. Senate - who have pledged to support the Employee Free Choice Act, federal legislation that would make it easier for unions to represent workers and negotiate contracts.

 

Employment picture: Workers Grow Nervous

Employment picture: Workers Grow Nervous
NPR audio:
According to a report by the U.S. Department of Labor, 760,000 jobs have been lost in the past nine months. For some Americans who still have jobs, the pressures they face on a daily basis are as difficult to bear as job insecurity, according to Steven Greenhouse, a labor and workplace reporter for The New York Times.

 

Union drive: Pro-union Honda employees host fundraiser for injured coworkers

Union drive: Pro-union Honda employees host fundraiser for injured coworkers
The smell of barbecue wafted into the air Saturday as workers seeking to form a union at Honda's Lincoln plant gathered to raise money for something they said they believe is an important cause -- their injured coworkers.

 

Manhattan School of Music Faculty Moves to Organize

Manhattan School of Music Faculty Moves to Organize
The struggle has injected a dose of real-world politics into the melody-basted halls of the Manhattan School, one of the city’s top conservatories and the producer of legions of highly skilled singers, pianists, fiddlers and other performers. The organizers have sent sign-up cards to about 150 faculty members, asking for authorization to hold a vote on whether they should be represented by the New York State United Teachers, of the American Federation of Teachers.

 

Boeing engineers union weighs strike plan

Boeing engineers union weighs strike plan
As Boeing and striking Machinists return to the bargaining table for 2008 contract talks, Boeing engineers represented by SPEEA weigh their options beyond negotiations -- including whether to strike.

 

The next bailout: Your adult children?

The next bailout: Your adult children?
As Washington unfurls its rescue plan, families weigh private bailouts of their own

 

Peace Corps adding retirees to its volunteer ranks

Peace Corps adding retirees to its volunteer ranks
As a new member of the Peace Corps, Ralph Bernstein is trying to get used to the heat and humidity in the equatorial African nation of Ghana, the bone-jarring rides over unpaved roads and unsanitary conditions.

 

Kenya: Teachers Threaten to Strike in Four Days

Kenya: Teachers Threaten to Strike in Four Days
Teachers have threatened to go on strike if the Government does not conclude negotiations over pay in four days.

 

Zimbabwe: Workers Struggle to Get to Jobs

Zimbabwe: Workers Struggle to Get to Jobs
Every evening, Barbara Taruvona, the owner of New Styles Hair salon in Harare has to face a queue of her employees at the entrance to her office for their daily cash allowance for transport.

 

Friday, October 10, 2008

Indian children work despite ban

Indian children work despite ban
Millions of children under 14 continue to work as domestic servants or at food stalls two years after India banned their employment, say activists.

 

Latinos Are Joining Labor Unions

Latinos Are Joining Labor Unions
Over the last eight years, Latino working families have undergone a decline in real median income (from 2000 to 2007). Current economic conditions in the U.S. have caused insecurity for all workers. A recent study by the Center for Economic and Policy

 

Idaho's 21 years of job growth will end this year

Idaho's 21 years of job growth will end this year
Idaho will see an end to 21 consecutive years of annual job growth when 2008 comes to a close, the head of the state Department of Labor said Thursday.

 

Striking Machinists rally around union leaders before talks resume

Striking Machinists rally around union leaders before talks resume
Hundreds of Machinists who are on strike against The Boeing Co. gave their leadership a rousing show of support before they return to the bargaining table in the next day or so.

 

Brunswick cuts 1,400 jobs; shuts 4 more plants

Brunswick cuts 1,400 jobs; shuts 4 more plants
Beleaguered boatmaker Brunswick Corp. said it will cut 1,400 more jobs as the company shuts four plants, including one in north Snohomish County, and furloughs workers at three more. It was the latest round of layoffs as boat sales slump to near-record levels.

 

Thursday, October 09, 2008

Los Angeles carwash workers file living wage complaint

Los Angeles carwash workers file living wage complaint
The employees say Auto Spa Express, which has a contract with the city, pays them far less than the Los Angeles ordinance requires.

 

Midwest must unify to compete in global economy, researchers say

Midwest must unify to compete in global economy, researchers say
They couldn't have picked a more frighteningly appropriate week. Against a backdrop of market meltdowns that showed how clearly the U.S. is tied to economies overseas, an alliance of public officials, researchers, foundation heads and business leaders launched a new initiative this week aimed at helping the Midwest compete better in the globalizing world.

 

Large declines in employer-sponsored health coverage continue

Large declines in employer-sponsored health coverage continue
EPI
The health coverage most Americans receive is becoming harder to find. Since 2000, workers and their families have become uninsured at alarming rates: there were over 4 million more uninsured workers in 2007 than in 2000. A new EPI Briefing Paper by Elise Gould finds that employer-sponsored health insurance coverage has declined for the seventh year in a row.

 

The Straight Facts on Women in Poverty

The Straight Facts on Women in Poverty
Center for American Progess
Women in America are more likely to be poor than men. Over half of the 37 million Americans living in poverty today are women. And women in America are further behind than women in other countriesthe gap in poverty rates between men and women is .

 

St. Louis Fed Study Argues U.S. Income Inequality Is Not So Bad

St. Louis Fed Study Argues U.S. Income Inequality Is Not So Bad
Many people view income inequality as a social ill, but public policies that seek to redistribute wealth would probably result in lower economic growth for everyone. That's one point emphasized by economist Thomas A. Garrett in the October

 

Micron Tech cuts global work force by 15 percent

Micron Tech cuts global work force by 15 percent
Micron Technology Inc. will close a factory and cut about 15 percent of its work force around the world as part of a restructuring of its computer memory chip operations.

 

Boeing, strikers returning to table

Boeing, strikers returning to table
At a top-level meeting Wednesday, Boeing and the Machinists union agreed to resume contract negotiations in an effort to end a strike that's already cost Boeing more than $1 billion in profits.

 

States cut spending, put projects on hold

States cut spending, put projects on hold
AP - With the economy in a slide and the credit markets seized up, states are slashing budgets, eliminating jobs, putting major construction projects on hold and nervously waiting to see whether their shriveled pension funds recover.

 

Jobless claims drop from 7-year high

Jobless claims drop from 7-year high
AP - New applications for unemployment benefits dropped last week from a seven-year high, the Labor Department said Thursday, though they remain at elevated levels that indicate recession.

 

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Governments need to create jobs

Governments need to create jobs
APM audio:
The bailout didn't give the economy a psychological boost as was hoped. Consumers just aren't consuming. Commentator Robert Reich proposes a WPA-style solution -- put people to work on infrastructure and invest in schools.

 

Recession is nothing new for Michigan

Recession is nothing new for Michigan
APM audio:
Signs of recession are everywhere in Michigan, which has been dealing with the auto industry's decline for years. New York Bureau Chief Amy Scott visited the Detroit area for our "Road to Ruin?" series and tells Kai Ryssdal what she saw.

 

Hispanic Workforce Hit Harder During Economic Downturns

Hispanic Workforce Hit Harder During Economic Downturns
Hispanic workers represent one of the fastest-growing segments of the U.S. workforce, but they also are at particular risk during economic downturns, suffering negative effects sooner, more severely and for longer duration than their white counterparts,

 

Earnings and Employment Data for Workers Covered Under Social Security and Medicare, by State and County

Earnings and Employment Data for Workers Covered Under Social Security and Medicare, by State and County
Earnings and Employment Data for Workers Covered Under Social Security and Medicare, by State and County. Release time is 8:30 a.m. EDT.

 

Credit Crunch Puts Family On A Downward Slide

Credit Crunch Puts Family On A Downward Slide
NPR audio:
The kitchen table in David And Deborah Leschinsky's house is not a great place to have a conversation these days; the fridge, that has been broken for months, now chortles and whines so loud, sometimes it's hard to hear each other talking.

 

Chicago-Area Family Finds Opportunity In Downturn

Chicago-Area Family Finds Opportunity In Downturn
NPR audio:
The Johnsons, who make about $200,000 a year and live in an affluent suburb of Chicago, say that despite the state of the economy, they're making only small changes in their daily lives. "We're not in any panic mode," John Johnson says.

 

Texas Family's Money Woes Began At Gas Pump

Texas Family's Money Woes Began At Gas Pump
NPR audio:
Three weeks of financial turmoil have thrown America's economic future into doubt. But for many families, the trouble started before the banking crisis. A young Texas family says their lifestyle began to change months ago, when the price of fuel, groceries and other commodities shot up.

 

Associated supermarket in Brooklyn cheated workers out of more than $300,000

Associated supermarket in Brooklyn cheated workers out of more than $300,000
The top two executives at an Associated supermarket in Brooklyn were arrested on Wednesday on charges that they had cheated workers out of more than $300,000 and had falsified business records that they gave to state officials.

 

Elderly Poverty: The Challenge Before Us

Elderly Poverty: The Challenge Before Us
Center for American Progress
Aging Americans, like other age groups, are feeling the effects of the declining real estate and stock markets, as well as soaring fuel and food prices. Seniors economic security will only increase in importance as the U.S. population ages.

 

United Airlines to lay off 414 at SFO

United Airlines to lay off 414 at SFO
United Airlines has told the union that represents its mechanics at San Francisco International Airport that it will lay off as many as 414 workers beginning Dec. 7, as part of its efforts to contain costs. The workers will be shed in what is the second round...

 

Unemployment soars in Georgia

Unemployment soars in Georgia
APM audio:
Judging from the unemployment figures, the financial crisis is affecting regional economies all over the country. The state of Georgia, in particular, is feeling a lot of the pain. Steve Henn reports.

 

IMF Calls for Aggressive Response to Crisis

IMF Calls for Aggressive Response to Crisis
If governments do not forge a coordinated response to the financial crisis, it could spill over to emerging markets and become “increasingly disorderly and costly for the real economy,” the International Monetary Fund warned in its ...

 

Mexicans fear negative effects of U.S. financial crisis

Mexicans fear negative effects of U.S. financial crisis
After resisting the United States' economic ills for months, Mexico is getting worried about infection.

 

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Plain Dealer to cut 38 unionized newsroom jobs

Plain Dealer to cut 38 unionized newsroom jobs
The Plain Dealer plans to cut 38 unionized newsroom positions by year's end, further whittling the size of its staff.

 

The burden of outsourcing

The burden of outsourcing
The U.S. non-oil trade deficit has displaced jobs in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, adding up to 5.6 million jobs lost or displaced in 2007. This week's Economic Snapshot shows how no state is immune to the corrosive effect of the U.S. trade deficit on U.S. workers and domestic economy. A companion Briefing Paper looks closer at the growing U.S. trade deficits, state-by-state, and examines losses by industries.

 

Jobs decline for ninth month in a row

Jobs decline for ninth month in a row
EPI
The nation's employers continue to cut payrolls, with jobs down by 159,000 in September, the ninth consecutive month of job losses. In every period since 1948 when payrolls have declined this consistently, the economy has been in an official recession. For in-depth analysis, see EPI's Jobs Picture.

 

Positions harden in Boeing strike; McNerney, unions spar over outsourcing

Positions harden in Boeing strike; McNerney, unions spar over outsourcing
Boeing has not talked directly with the International Association of Machinists (IAM) since the union's strike began more than four weeks ago. But in a memo to salaried employees still at work, McNerney said Boeing won't scramble to settle on the union's terms.

 

'Green-tech' industry could create local jobs in the Northwest, report says

'Green-tech' industry could create local jobs, report says
Washington and Oregon stand poised to add tens of thousands of jobs in the clean-technology "green power" industry by 2025 if they take steps to encourage the kinds of companies that play to their existing strengths.

 

Unions Warn of a Fight if Pensions Are Trimmed

Unions Warn of a Fight if Pensions Are Trimmed
As Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg moves to cut the city’s budget, labor leaders warn they will put up a fight if municipal workers are affected.

 

Some GS-15 Workers Feel Pinch of Pay Cap

Some GS-15 Workers Feel Pinch of Pay Cap
In these crazy financial times -- with the stock market diving and retirement savings eroding -- the last thing you want is stagnant wages when almost everyone around you is getting raises.

 

Official says pension funds are down $2 trillion

Official says pension funds are down $2 trillion
The top congressional budget analyst says pension plans have lost as much as $2 trillion in the past 15 months.

 

Trade Union Rights Restricted in Korea

Trade Union Rights Restricted in Korea
Today the ITUC issues a new report on the respect of core labour standards in Korea, coinciding with that country's trade policy review by the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

 

CEO: Strike may doom Boeing to fate of U.S. automakers

CEO: Strike may doom Boeing to fate of U.S. automakers
A Machinists union strike has hurt The Boeing Co.'s reputation and threatens the nation's aerospace industry with a fate similar to that of automakers in Detroit, Chief Executive W. James McNerney said Monday.

 

Northwest, Delta pilot seniority goes to arbitration

Northwest, Delta pilot seniority goes to arbitration
Delta Air Lines Inc. pilots want their seniority list merged with Northwest Airlines Corp.'s pilot list based on pilots' status and aircraft category, while Northwest pilots insist the fair and equitable method is to merge the lists based on pilots' date of hire.

 

Jobless flock to Georgia Labor Dept; staff to work longer

Jobless flock to Labor Dept; staff to work longer
In yet another sign of a troubled economy, state Labor Department staffers have been asked to work 10-hour days, and unemployment offices will stay open longer to meet the demands of Georgia's jobless.

 

Starbucks accused of unfair labor practices by NLRB

Starbucks accused of unfair labor practices by NLRB
Starbucks Corp. is facing another complaint from the National Labor Relations Board alleging that the gourmet coffee chain engaged in unfair labor practices by firing a barista in Michigan.

 

Monday, October 06, 2008

L.A. County temporary student jobs last for decades

L.A. County temporary student jobs last for decades
Officials acknowledge abuses in program in which people work for years with low pay and no benefits. Like others classified by the Los Angeles County bureaucracy as a temporary student worker, Patricia Lopez, 51, was not temporary and not a student.

 

In Lakewood, the downturn hits home

In Lakewood, the downturn hits home
Residents are worried about job security, retirement and making ends meet. On Candlewood Street, some are scared that they're just a few paychecks or an unforeseen crisis away from disaster.

 

Trade Unions Demand Effective Responses from the IMF and World Bank to Worsening Financial and Food Crises

Trade Unions Demand Effective Responses from the IMF and World Bank to Worsening Financial and Food Crises
With the spreading financial crisis likely to take centre stage at the upcoming annual meetings of the World Bank and IMF in Washington on 11-13 October, the global trade union movement is urging the international financial institutions (IFIs) not to overlook the millions of low-income workers whose buying power has declined drastically because of food and fuel price hikes.

 

Trade Unions in more than 100 Countries to mobilise to transform the world economy, on October 7, World Day for Decent Work

Trade Unions in more than 100 Countries to mobilise to transform the world economy, on October 7, World Day for Decent Work
Trade unions in more than 100 countries, from Fiji across the globe to Alaska, are mobilising today to demand change in the world economy, as the financial crisis threatens the livelihoods of millions upon millions of people worldwide.

 

The Age: Shaft of light for China's coalminers

The Age: Shaft of light for China's coalminers
Chinese Labour Bulletin
Chinese coalmines have a notorious health and safety record. Official figures put the death toll last year from mine-related accidents at 3786, but the number does not include victims such as 59-year-old Mr Xiao, who are facing a much slower death.

 

Hope comes to struggling Youngstown

Hope comes to struggling Youngstown
NPR audio:
Amy Scott visits Youngstown, Ohio, which is known to have the highest foreclosure rate in the U.S., in our continuing series, "Road to Ruin?" Amy learns GM's plans to make the new Cruze automobile nearby is giving the city some hope.

 

Aer Lingus axe up to 1,500 jobs

Aer Lingus axe up to 1,500 jobs
Unions are to ballot for all-out industrial action as Aer Lingus announces plans to cut up to 1,500 jobs.

 

Mitsubishi workers in Illinois ratify contract

Mitsubishi workers in Illinois ratify contract
The United Auto Workers ratified a four-year contract with Mitsubishi Motors North America on Saturday that calls for employees at a central Illinois plant to take pay cuts in exchange for job security.

 

Survey sees unemployment rate rising

Survey sees unemployment rate rising
The national jobless rate is likely to jump another percentage point by April 2009, according to projections released today by the Conference Board.

 

Belgium strike to halt Eurostar

Belgium strike to halt Eurostar
Unions in Belgium prepare for a 24-hour general strike expected to paralyse the country's national and international rail links.

 

The Strange Case of the Colorado Labor-Business Coalition

The Strange Case of the Colorado Labor-Business Coalition
American Prospect
In the Rocky Mountain swing state, business leaders are working alongside unions to defeat a right-to-work ballot initiative. But that doesn't mean Colorado is friendly to organized labor. Inside one of the wackiest political compromises in history.

 

Zimbabwe: Labour Unions Under Pressure to Act as Economic Woes Worsen

Zimbabwe: Labour Unions Under Pressure to Act as Economic Woes Worsen
Zimbabwe's labour unions faced increasing calls to act in the wake of worsening economic conditions in the country despite the power sharing accord signed two weeks ago.

 

Friday, October 03, 2008

WaMu job losses to be set by Dec. 1

WaMu job losses to be set by Dec. 1
JPMorgan Chase said Washington Mutual employees will know in 60 days if they'll have jobs with the new owner of the bank, but the company didn't wait that long to announce the departures of six senior executives.

 

September Employment Report

Chad Stone, Chief Economist, on the September Employment Report
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Today’s employment report is a reminder that the economy’s troubles run deeper than the financial market distress that is monopolizing the headlines.

 

Argentine farmers resume protests

Argentine farmers resume protests
Farmers in Argentina resume nationwide protests calling for economic concessions for small- and medium-scale farms.

 

Dallas Independent School District approves 1100 layoffs

Dallas ISD approves 1100 layoffs
1100 Dallas Independent School District employees will lose their jobs this month under a layoff plan approved Thursday evening. ...

 

Colorado unions, business leaders will fight right-to-work

Colorado unions, business leaders will fight right-to-work
With just about a month to go before Election Day, a group of business leaders and unions announced they will team ...

 

Schwarzenegger slaps down workers' comp bills

Schwarzenegger slaps down workers' comp bills
This week the governor vetoed half a dozen bills that could have raised costs in the state workers' compensation insurance system. The system's overhaul in ...

 

Bollywood workers call off strike

Bollywood workers call off strike
The strike by Bollywood technicians and workers that had paralysed the city-based film industry for the past three days, was called off on Friday

 

FACTBOX-Job cuts at major financial firms

FACTBOX-Job cuts at major financial firms
UBS AG said on Friday it is cutting another 2,000 jobs at its troubled investment bank and closing most of its commodities business but will remain a universal bank and will not quit investment banking completely.
Following is a summary of some of the biggest job losses at major banks since the start of the credit crisis:

 

Shortage of large animal vets taxes farmers

Shortage of large animal vets taxes farmers
This summer, Steve Sanford had to tell 106 dairy farmers in rural northern Vermont he could no longer treat their cows.

 

Automaker SEAT plans temporary layoffs in Spain

Automaker SEAT plans temporary layoffs in Spain
German-owned automaker SEAT said Friday it must temporarily lay off 1,250 employees, or 11 percent of its work force, at factories in northeastern Spain because of falling sales.

 

Employers cut jobs by most in more than 5 years

Employers cut jobs by most in more than 5 years
Employers slashed payrolls by 159,000 in September, the most in more than five years, a worrisome sign that the economy is hurtling toward a deep recession.

 

Thursday, October 02, 2008

Workforce Development and the Disadvantaged : New Directions for 2009 and Beyond

Workforce Development and the Disadvantaged : New Directions for 2009 and Beyond
Urban Institute
The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) officially expired in 2003 but has not yet been reauthorized. With a new administration and Congress due in 2009, what should they consider regarding workforce development and the disadvantaged population? This brief reviews the arguments for a workforce development system, examining both the strengths and weaknesses of the current WIA program.

 

The cost of care: EU wants a better deal for working mothers

The cost of care: EU wants a better deal for working mothers
The European Commission is unveiling plans to extend the minimum maternity leave across Europe from 14 to 18 weeks. The plans are meant to offset falling birthrates across the EU.

 

Gaza trade union strikes extended but losing steam

Gaza trade union strikes extended but losing steam
Palestinian unions allied with the Fatah movement have extended the strikes in the Gaza Strip's health and education sectors for another two weeks, prolonging the labour action that has been in effect for about a month, although the numbers taking part are falling.

 

Starbucks settles with fired barista

Starbucks settles with fired barista
Starbucks Corp. has settled a National Labor Relations Board complaint with an employee who said he was fired this summer for promoting union activity.

 

Unemployed Women Wait For Phone To Ring

Unemployed Women Wait For Phone To Ring
NPR audio:
With the economy heading down, unemployment is heading up. Three unemployed women from Nashville, Tenn., talk with Renee Montagne about the challenges finding a new job. The group includes a former bank employee looking for a job for almost a year, an assembly line worker at a car parts plant that moved to Mexico and a former manager of a bank in Japan who has had trouble finding a job since returning to America.

 

Not So Fast, Would-Be Retirees

Not So Fast, Would-Be Retirees
NPR audio:
The financial crisis on Wall Street is leading to lots of anxiety among investors, especially retirees. Many financial experts are calling on investors to be patient and wait for the stock markets to rebound, but retirees don't have the luxury of taking that advice. Now those experts are cautioning would-be retirees in their 60s to keep on working.

 

New SAG board to make call on strike vote

New SAG board to make call on strike vote
Reflecting a key shift in the balance of power in the Screen Actors Guild, the union's negotiating committee Wednesday punted on authorizing a strike vote, leaving the matter up to the guild's newly configured national board.

 

Africa: Don't Sign the EPA Agreement, Heads of States Urged

Africa: Don't Sign the EPA Agreement, Heads of States Urged
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the Ghana Federation of Labour have urged Heads of States at the on-going African Caribbean Pacific (ACP) summit to take firm decisions on the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).

 

Jobs advertised online shows a decline

Jobs advertised online shows a decline
The gap has widened nationally between the number of job hunters and the number of advertised jobs. The Conference Board reported Wednesday that job vacancies advertised online dropped by a seasonally adjusted 216,000 postings in September.

 

Star-Ledger owner hopeful it can avoid closure

Star-Ledger owner hopeful it can avoid closure
New Jersey's largest newspaper came one step closer toward averting a closure or sale as at least a quarter of its full-time nonunion employees applied for a buyout.

 

Jobless claims pushed to 7-year high

Jobless claims pushed to 7-year high
New claims for unemployment benefits jumped last week to their highest level in seven years due to the impact of a slowing economy and Hurricanes Ike and Gustav, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

 

Factory orders drop by 4 percent in August

Factory orders drop by 4 percent in August
Orders to U.S. factories plunged by the largest amount in nearly two years in August as the credit strains began to hit manufacturing with full force.

 

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

At the GAO, a union first

At the GAO, a union first
Its original boss was Congress. Now the Government Accountability Office has a second group of people to whom it must be accountable -- union members.

 

Women Business Owners Seek Better Access to Federal Contracts

Women Business Owners Seek Better Access to Federal Contracts
The effort to obtain more contracts for female-owned businesses comes as increasing numbers of women are running their own companies.

 

Harassment suit by San Diego firefighters ordered to ride in gay pride parade goes to jury

Harassment suit by San Diego firefighters ordered to ride in gay pride parade goes to jury
A six-man, six-woman jury is set to begin deliberations Wednesday in a lawsuit brought by four San Diego firefighters who allege they were subjected to sexual harassment when they were ordered to participate in the 2007 gay pride parade.

 

ILO Gender Equality campaign highlights need for rights, jobs and social security for older women and men

ILO Gender Equality campaign highlights need for rights, jobs and social security for older women and men
Despite increasing international attention to ageing societies and older persons, in many societies, older persons and especially older women, still face age discrimination in the workplace and lack access to rights, jobs and social security,.

 

Euro jobless rate climbs to 7.5 percent in August

Euro jobless rate climbs to 7.5 percent in August
The jobless rate in the 15 nations that share the euro climbed again in August to 7.5 percent as worries over European economic growth deepened, EU statistics agency said Wednesday.

 

Money not the motive for many to work until 67

Money not the motive for many to work until 67
For medical office manager Sue Stein, working past the typical retirement age was a choice she made because she's still having fun at her job and likes the lively banter with the young medical students around her.

 

Report: 4.2 million new green jobs possible

Report: 4.2 million new green jobs possible
The study to be released Thursday by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, says that about 750,000 people work today in what can be considered green jobs from scientists and engineers researching alternative fuels to makers of wind turbines and more energy-efficient products.

 

US Airways pilot sickout plan fizzles

US Airways pilot sickout plan fizzles
Expectations for a "sickout" by some US Airways pilots fizzled Wednesday as the union warned members that it's illegal to try to put pressure on management by staying home from work.

 

Bollywood goes dark as 100000 actors, crew strike

Bollywood goes dark as 100000 actors, crew strike
The shining lights of Bollywood went dark Wednesday as actors, technicians and cameramen struck to demand better pay and overtime, ...

 

The cost of boots on the ground in Iraq

The cost of boots on the ground in Iraq
The 190,000 contractors in Iraq and neighboring countries, from cooks to truck drivers, have cost US taxpayers US$100 billion from the start of the war through the end of 2008, a new US government study says. Yet while it costs half a million dollars per year to maintain a Blackwater professional armed guard, it costs exactly the same to keep one sergeant in combat in Iraq