Labor and Workforce

Position

News

• A workforce in exile on yet another Labor Day
  Sep 5, 2010 — St. Louis Post-Dispatch
  Louis, Jeanne Redtman found comfort in shops that sell greeting cards. So much so, that as a middle school student she had already identified her dream job. Redtman wanted to work for Hallmark. Straight out of graduation from St. But the economy being what it is, Elliott became expendable. The Elliotts say their sons help out as best they can.
• BRIEF
  Sep 5, 2010 — The Hartford Courant
  Labor Day weekend, was intended to emphasize the rights of workers to be paid for jobs performed, including overtime pay and worker compensation, Gov. M. Jodi Rell said. "Each and every employee should receive the wages they rightfully earn," Rell said. The $7 million includes $3.2 million in unpaid wages; $1.9 million recovered by enforcing prevailing wage laws; $1.8 million in overtime pay or the minimum wage; and $150,000 in back pay owed to service workers hired by private...
• Millions are disappearing from the unemployment rolls as they stop job search
  Sep 5, 2010 — Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
  Right now the labor force is like that emptying lock. Many of those people have left the workforce as Ian Stuart did. Mr. But when the recession started, there were 1.8 unemployed people for each job opening. Unemployment is not the only problem. Declining wages are also taking their toll. "A large number of people have taken jobs that pay less than the job they lost," Mr.
• Pittsburgh's Starkist has eye on international markets
  Sep 5, 2010 — The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
  When the water is warm, fish go deep." Binotto said fuel costs on a tuna-fishing boat can total nearly 50 percent of his business costs. About 4.5 million tons of tuna are harvested annually. By the end of this month, the minimum wage on American Samoa will increase to $6 an hour, Binotto said. "The Samoans are excellent workers.
• Tight job market is bane of visiting foreign students
  Sep 5, 2010 — The Virginian-Pilot
  Mussina worked briefly at an ice cream parlor until the hours dried up, sold cosmetics on commission at a mall kiosk and waited tables, but the hours weren't enough. They never came. "There were over 4,000 foreign students here in Virginia Beach last year. Now they plan to travel before returning home. The program helped Bekaeva improve her English and provided the cash for some clothes, a laptop and travel money.
• Op-Ed Contributor: How to End the Great Recession
  Sep 3, 2010 — New York Times
  Even though the American economy kept growing, hourly wages flattened. The economists Emmanuel Saez and Thomas Piketty examined tax returns from 1913 to 2008. Much of this was paid for with a 70 percent to 90 percent marginal income tax on the highest incomes.
• Socially conscious shoppers look for the fair-trade label -- but what does it mean?
  Sep 3, 2010 — Chicago Tribune
  In return, buyers guarantee a minimum fair-trade price that protects farmers from plunges in the market price, plus a social premium used for community development projects picked by the democratically elected co-op leadership. There's an additional premium for organic products.
• Council approves home-purchase program for flood victims
  Sep 2, 2010 — Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
  Joe Dudzik introduced a measure calling on the state to delay action until a new governor takes office.
• Fired Delray cancer patient wins $8.1 million from Michaels
  Sep 2, 2010 — Sun Sentinel
  Within days after her mastectomy, according to the lawsuit, District Manager Skip Sand began calling Jorud asking her when she was coming back to work. I've had a hard time hanging on but I stayed with it," Jorud said, "I've had a lot of medical issues and it's been a tough two years.
• Aldermen keep Amtrak train shed project on track
  Sep 1, 2010 — Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
  Joe Dudzik introduced a measure calling on the state to delay action until a new governor takes office.