Working Life

   There has been a lot of debate when it comes to the question of "green jobs"–what exactly is a "green job"? And when some people call for "high paying, good jobs" in the new "green" industries, does that also mean those jobs are UNION jobs?    A little taste of the question comes from […]

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   Allegedly: The total number of U.S. workers claiming state unemployment benefits plunged at the start of June by their largest amount since November 2001, breaking a streak of 21-straight increases in a rare reprieve for the unemployed in this recession. But new jobless claims rose slightly as expected last week, suggesting that while job […]

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   I may be wrong about this but, excuse me, why exactly is the president extending new powers to the Federal Reserve Board as part of his new proposal to reregulate the financial services industry? The New York Times doesn’t even bother to dig into this but The Wall Street Journal does: The Fed emerges […]

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I just finished reading the Congressional Budget Office’s report to Sen. Ted Kennedy which looked at the Affordable Health Choices Act. And the report makes clear why single-payer is the only logical economic choice for health care.   Respectfully, none of the best Democratic bills are going to solve the coverage crisis nor the economic […]

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   From time to time, I try to remind folks that there is a strong link between foreign policy and economics. Here is an example, courtesy of the International Labor Organization: The annual report of the International Labour Office (ILO) on the situation of workers of the occupied Arab territories depicts “ a dismal human, […]

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   We can, and will, have differences with the president and his Administration on issues, particularly on the shaping of economic policy (single-payer, Mr. President). But, it’s nice to see that we at least have a leader who understands what a picket line is: Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. and other top Obama administration […]

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Expert economist and seasoned diplomat* Jon Voight isn’t the only one on to the "fellow who’s bringing us to chaos and socialism." All you have to do is look at Obama’s trip to the Middle East to see his darker, more Muslimer, elitister, and inexperienceder side. Obama is such an elitist, he makes his staff […]

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   I always thought pay cap rules coming from Washington were more show than real. Earlier this year, I pointed out the weaknesses in the initial CEO pay cap rules. And, in fact, the new twist on this will cover a relatively few in the high-flying world of obscene CEO pay: The Obama administration’s sweeping […]

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   After many months of internal debate, members of the Screen Actors Guild said "yes" to a new contract with the big studios: Members of the Screen Actors Guild have voted overwhelmingly to approve a new contract with the major Hollywood studios, ending a nearly year-long standoff. The delay resulted in the union’s missing out […]

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   Yesterday, I highlighted the harsh wages cuts being demanded by The Boston Globe–and, yesterday, the workers voted narrowly to reject the cuts, after which management, in typical bully behavior, said it would now unilaterally impose the 23 percent cut. Before I move on to a bigger point–I wonder if Arthur Schulzberger, the publishers and […]

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