Working Life

The individual who will occupy the Oval Office is putting in place people in the government who will do unimaginable damage to the country and the planet. In this week’s podcast, I speak with CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin about the outlook for the U.S. Supreme Court and the real possibility that the conservative […]

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This was almost predictable: the traditional media, and too many bloggers who regurgitate what they read in the traditional media, are buying into the “rebound” in the economy because of today’s Labor Department report; the stock market goes up; and, I’m certain, pretty soon, the White House will be taking credit for all this and, subtly or not so subtly, arguing that, see, aren’t we great, vote for us. It’s nonsense.

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   I almost choked on my breakfast this morning–it turns out we still have a Secretary of Labor: President Obama will welcome 12 labor leaders to the White House on Friday for yet another meeting. The purpose of the meeting, which Labor Secretary Hilda Solis will join, is "to discuss strengthening our economy, spurring growth, […]

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   It isn’t surprising that Republicans really don’t want to enforce the law but this is quite revealing: The New York State labor commissioner, President Obama’s nominee to be the Labor Department’s top enforcement official, won approval from a Senate committee Wednesday but immediately encountered a roadblock when the committee’s senior Republican said he would […]

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   Yes, there are big issues where the outcome is not clear–the Employee Free Choice Act and health care come to mind. But, this does make a difference in the day-to-day lives of workers–from The Wall Street Journal today: Mr. Obama is asking for $13.3 billion of discretionary spending to run the Labor Department, up […]

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