Working Life

    I’ve just been told by a usually reliable source that two major unions–Service Employees International Union and the United Food and Commercial Workers Union–are meeting today to make national endorsements and they will endorse Barack Obama. This is huge in many respects for Sen. Obama’s campaign.     First, the two unions together account for […]

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    I’ve just been told by a usually reliable source that two major unions–Service Employees International Union and the United Food and Commercial Workers Union–are meeting today to make national endorsements and they will endorse Barack Obama. This is huge in many respects for Sen. Obama’s campaign.     First, the two unions together account for […]

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    Or the pot calling the kettle black…Smithfield Foods, one of the most abusive employers and labor-law breakers in the country, is suing the United Food & Commercial Workers for…racketeering! I had known about this suit but was reminded of it yesterday because of Adam Liptak’s good piece in The New York Times. Smithfield Foods, […]

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    Or the pot calling the kettle black…Smithfield Foods, one of the most abusive employers and labor-law breakers in the country, is suing the United Food & Commercial Workers for…racketeering! I had known about this suit but was reminded of it yesterday because of Adam Liptak’s good piece in The New York Times. Smithfield Foods, […]

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    This past week, I pondered how immigration was going to end up conjuring up the Willie Hortons of the 2008 election. If you had any doubt about the power of fear on immigration, check out what happened in the union representation vote at Fresh Direct in NYC. Two weeks before the vote, the company […]

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    This past week, I pondered how immigration was going to end up conjuring up the Willie Hortons of the 2008 election. If you had any doubt about the power of fear on immigration, check out what happened in the union representation vote at Fresh Direct in NYC. Two weeks before the vote, the company […]

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    This was interesting. Yesterday, the AFL-CIO and UFCW issued a joint press release about a victory in a long battle: the Occupational Safety and Health Administration will finally require–drumroll, please-employers to pay for safety-related materials like goggles, fire-resistant clothing, face shields, hard hats and other safety equipment. Only in America–or other societies where workers […]

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    I have to get on a plane here soon so just a quick post. The only thing left of the attempt to change immigration policy is the government’s expanded efforts to raid workplace. So, the United Food and Commercial Workers is trying to put some brakes on the practice (from the Associated Press): A […]

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For those of us who remember the long grocery workers’ strike that went on for almost five months back in 2003-2004, there apparently won’t be a repeat. The Los Angeles Times was reporting yesterday that: Grocery clerks appear to be backing new contract By Richard Verrier and Jerry Hirsch Times Staff Writers July 23, 2007 […]

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Count me as one person not shedding too many tears about the death of Helen Walton, the matriarch of the Walton family–she of the $16 billion net worth. After all, this family, worth tens of billions of dollars, has made live a living hell for thousands of workers. And just in time to mourn dear […]

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