Working Life

As readers know, I’ve been beating the drum for some time that the “growing economy” as measured by the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a misleading number because it doesn’t really tell the depth of economic distress facing workers. Presto, in front of my eyes the contradiction is laid bare. First, I get my little […]

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We’ve been following, from time to time, the situation with Proposition 75, which is an Arnold Schwarzenegger-backed initiative that would require government employee unions to give prior notice to members before using dues on political activity. Here is a poll that looks at the support for Prop 75 and a set of other propositions. The […]

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No, I’m not referring to the indictments in the Plame affair (as I write this in the a.m., nothing announced other than it looks as if Rove might skate and Scooter will take the hit). It’s Delphi’s next shot at the UAW. You may remember it was the bankruptcy filing of Delphi that triggered the […]

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I can’t say that I disagree with the grim assessment in this front-page article in The Wall Street Journal (it’s a subscription so I’m providing it here, in full). But, since health care is such a big piece of what happens at the bargaining table, I think this crisis opens up an opportunity: a massive […]

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Tyson Foods has a pretty ugly reputation as a hard-nosed, nasty employer. There is a very ugly strike underway at the the company’s Lakeside Packers plant in Brooks, Alberta. As the UFCW reports, “Approximately 2,300 workers were forced on strike by Tyson Foods at the company’s Lakeside Packers plant in Brooks, Alberta, on Wednesday, October […]

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This is great news–the White House has caved in to the pressure to rescind the suspension of the Davis-Bacon prevailing wage laws for the areas hit by Hurricane Katrina. Here’s what I hear from my Capitol Hill sources: the president, who suspended the Davis Bacon provisions that guarantee people working on federal contracts are paid […]

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This is a must-read op-ed column in the Los Angeles Times (registration required). It’s by Lawrence Wilkerson, who served as chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin L. Powell from 2002 to 2005. Wilkerson has been all over the news recently after he described the White House cabal, led by Vice President Dick Cheney, […]

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I’ll bet this is a shock to you: Wal-Mart wants to cut its health care costs…but check out the story in today’s New York Times (registration required) to get the Beast of Bentonville’s rationale and strategy. Describing an internal company memo, the article gives a strong view of the real corporate mentality prevailing at Wal-Mart […]

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If you believed the media spin, well, it was just about time that those auto workers gave up their generous health care benefits provided by General Motors. What? The real issue that should have been thrust on to the front pages is: why don’t we have a universal health care system in this country? The […]

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You remember good ‘ole Melissa Bean? She’s one of our CAFTA 15–so-called Democrats who voted for the Central American Free Trade Agreement. As a repayment for their votes, the CAFTA 15 have been getting a rush of corporate dollars–you may remember the fundraiser thrown for the CAFTA 15 by a whole raft of business interests. […]

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