Working Life

The New York Times features a piece on the front page of the today’s Week In Review entitled “Labor’s Lost: For Blacks, A Dream In Decline.” You might have a sense of the statistics that show that blacks are hurt even more by the unfair economic trends that run through the economy. But, this piece–surprising […]

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Things are not getting any better at Northwest. Just last week, it seemed like the union was caving in, deciding to let members vote on a company proposal which would only let 500 members of the 4,400 strikers go back to work. In my humble opinion, you can’t conclude anything good from a deal that […]

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[West Coast time means a bit of delay sometimes…] So, various news organs are reporting today that, in fact, the UAW has agreed to changes in health care coverage at General Motors. The New York Times (registration required) is carrying a report that says, “G.M., which is one of the biggest providers of health insurance […]

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(The server must not have had its breakfast this morning because it was not cooperating. I know, this was very stressful for you…you shouldn’t be reading this Saturday anyway, which, of course, begs the question why I would write this on Saturday…but I digress) The Wall Street Journal is reporting this morning (see a bit […]

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This was inevitable. General Motors is now threatening the UAW with unilateral cuts in health care coverage for workers (you can see the first few paragraphs below of the story in today’s Wall Street Journal) Wake up. Cast off the insane ideology that keeps national health care from becoming a reality. This is a question […]

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In case you’ve wondered what’s up at Northwest since the strike by mechanics, the situation has gotten even grimmer. Now the airline is going back to court to try to use the bankruptcy code to get rid of its union contracts (see today’s Wall Street Journal piece below). It’s truly amazing to watch the bankruptcy […]

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Yours truly is out here in Los Angeles and the big, bad news here is that labor is quite worried about the prospects for defeating Proposition 75. This is an Arnold Schwarzenegger-backed initiative that would require government employee unions to give prior notice to members before using dues on political activity. This is an issue […]

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And this Delphi mess is just going to get worse, as the Wall Street Journal article below reports (subscription required so I’ve given you a snippet). I know I have a particular interest in this as a UAW member. But, this is yet another example of (a) the insanity of the lack of a national […]

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Day laborers are people who scratch out a living, always trying to pick up a day’s work but never knowing if they will get chosen for a job. During my time in Los Angeles back in the 1980s I remember watching the laborers gather on street corners, waiting for the contractors or individual to cruise […]

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It doesn’t seem to me that teachers in New York City got a huge boost from the deal announced yesterday between the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) and the city–but the mayor probably came close to assuring, if not guaranteeing, his re-election. And this whole chapter has been just another sorry reminder of the state […]

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