Working Life

Mayor Richard Daley of Chicago has vetoed the living wage ordinance that was passed largely to require “big box” retailers like Wal-Mart to pay a decent wage. Well, not surprising since the Daley family has always been about protecting powerful interests.

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I hope readers will be patient with a slightly more erratic schedule the last week or so. A bit snowed under with this and that so hang in there.

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This isn’t really that shocking: Wal-Mart Finds an Ally in ConservativesBy MICHAEL BARBARO and STEPHANIE STROM As Wal-Mart Stores struggles to rebut criticism from unions and Democratic leaders, the company has discovered a reliable ally: prominent conservative research groups like the American Enterprise Institute, the Heritage Foundation and the Manhattan Institute. Though it would have […]

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My friend Barbara Ehrenreich has launched a new organization: Washington, DC Sep 07, 2006 Two days after Labor Day, best selling author Barbara Ehrenreich announces the launch of United Professionals (“UP”): “We waited until after Labor Day because UP represents the next step in the mobilization of wage earners. While working on Bait & Switch […]

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[Had a couple of days that I went “dark” here] Well, here’s a minor step that would can salute: U.S. Opposes Bankruptcy Bonus Plan By FLOYD NORRIS The Justice Department has joined with unions and creditors of the Dana Corporation, an auto parts company in bankruptcy protection, in opposing a proposed pay system for top […]

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Let’s see the spin Rumsfeld and his blind chorus put on this NYTimes article this morning: Iraqi casualties soared by more than 50 percent in recent months, the product of spiraling sectarian clashes and a Sunni-based insurgency that remains “potent and viable,” the Pentagon said in its latest comprehensive assessment of security in Iraq. During […]

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As Labor Day approaches, almost every day you can read about the class warfare–yup, I said it–underway in the country. I pointed this out yesterday. Today, Paul Krugman has a column called The Big Disconnect: There are still some pundits out there lecturing people about how great the economy is. But most analysts seem to […]

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I wonder why workers aren’t feeling optimistic per these polls? Hmmmm…wages not going up as fast as productivity, pensions disappearing, no health care, debt at an all-time high? Three Polls Find Workers Sensing Deep Pessimism By STEVEN GREENHOUSE Three new opinion polls released yesterday found deep pessimism among American workers, with most saying that wages […]

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Hate to say “I told you so” but the darkening signs in the economy are growing. The New York Times reports that consumer confidence has dropped: Americans are more pessimistic than they have been all year about the state of the economy, according to a new report that reflects a widespread view that a period […]

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The Wall Street Journal reports today that DuPont is going to severely cut back its pension plan for workers, even though the company remains profitable and its pension plan is in sound shape. Welcome to the new world: DuPont Aims to Slash Pension Plan Benefits Will Be Reduced By Two-Thirds After 2007, Eliminated for New […]

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