Working Life

If only we could organize workers here at this rate: China’s government-sanctioned trade union has strengthened its foothold in McDonald’s Corp., a move that illustrates the increasing involvement by the All-China Federation of Trade Union in the work forces of multinational companies doing business in China. About 80% of the McDonald’s work force in China […]

Read the full story

    Here is another piece of evidence, from today’s Wall Street Journal, that the Doha global trade talks are in a state of permanent collapse: BRUSSELS — Brazil’s exploration of a free-trade deal with the European Union highlights an important shift in the trade agenda of emerging economies: They are drifting away from a comprehensive […]

Read the full story

    A whole lot of people love to heap praise on the way the Japanese auto companies do business. Unfortunately, the mainstream press rarely looks at the seamier side of what happens to workers for Toyota. Toyota Motor Philippines Corporation, is continuing to deny reinstatement to 136 illegally dismissed workers–even though the Supreme Court of […]

Read the full story

One of the things that is always curious, and maddening, is the way in which analysts or regulators who are supposed to be watching out for the public, are asleep at the wheel. Not to mention the pontificators in the media who are just flat out wrong. To wit: I’ve always wondered–where the heck were […]

Read the full story

Last year, I wrote about a debate over a new labor law in China, and, not surprisingly, the attempt by international corporations to undercut the law. This just in, via the Associated Press,–the law has been enacted BEIJING, June 29 (AP) China enacted a labor law Friday meant to improve workers’ rights amid complaints about […]

Read the full story

    I was on a plane today so just catching up…This was kind of a bizzaro vote–from the Wall Street Journal… WASHINGTON — The Senate fell 14 votes short of the 60 needed to end debate on immigration overhaul, dealing a near-fatal blow to the landmark bill and one that could very well dash President […]

Read the full story

    Okay, no surprise, the Employee Free Choice Act is dead. I’ve gotten no fewer than a dozen e-mails from various politicians and organizations, including the AFL-CIO and Change To win, hailing the Senate vote because a majority–51 senators–voted to let the bill proceed i.e., to cut off the filibuster. Here’s what John Sweeney had […]

Read the full story

    The immigration bill is headed back to the Senate floor today. It is unclear whether there will be enough votes–60 are needed–to allow the bill to proceed. And, even some of the Senators who say that they will vote to allow the bill to proceed–i.e., they will vote to cut off any filibuster–are saying […]

Read the full story

You can hear the nervous Nellies on Wall Street expressing worries that so many of us have raised for a long time about hedge funds and the private equity funds that operate outside the scrutiny of the government. Today’s front-page Wall Street Journal article is an expression of the concern:   The near-meltdown of two […]

Read the full story

   If you want another sign pointing to the attack against the middle class and a decent standard of living, look no further than what’s happening at Delphi. Apparently, there is some deal to cut wages at Delphi, according to The New York Times:  The Delphi Corporation and its largest union reached a tentative wage-cutting agreement […]

Read the full story