Truthout - labor

States Want $176 Billion Slice of Stimulus

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 17:14:00 -0500

Governors to ask Obama to set aside federal funds to boost local economies.

When President-elect Barack Obama arrives at Philadelphia's Independence Hall today to meet with the nation's governors, the main question will be not whether he will deliver fast fiscal relief to the states, but how much?

Obama and congressional Democrats have promised that soon after Inauguration Day he will sign an economic stimulus bill that could exceed $500 billion.

Federal Workers Unions Want "Burrowers" Lists

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 15:26:13 -0500

Two powerful employee organizations are pressing the Bush administration to prove that in its final weeks, political aides are not improperly winning career government jobs at the expense of more qualified workers.

Leaders of the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest union of federal workers, and the Senior Executives Association, the group representing federal executives, said they want the government to release lists of political appointees who have been hired for career jobs

Putting a Face on Big Auto

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 14:24:34 -0500

If we were interested in making the best possible decisions with regard to the U.S. auto industry, someone like Rich Breen would be seen as the face of the industry, not the chief executives of General Motors, Ford and Chrysler.

Mr. Breen is a 55-year-old member of the Teamsters union, a car hauler who delivers new vehicles for the Big Three automakers.

Eleventh-Hour Rush to Enact a Rule That Obama Fought

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 12:28:36 -0500

Washington - The Labor Department is racing to complete a new rule, strenuously opposed by President-elect Barack Obama, that would make it much harder for the government to regulate toxic substances and hazardous chemicals to which workers are exposed on the job.

The rule, which has strong support from business groups, says that in assessing the risk from a particular substance, federal agencies should gather and analyze "industry-by-industry evidence" of employees' exposure to it during their working lives.

Labor Pained: Labor Secretary Not on Econ Team

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 14:38:39 -0500

The markets rose on the news of Barack Obama's economic policy team Monday, but some labor spirits fell.

Obama's team of treasury secretary and four top economic advisers, introduced as the hands that will steer America's economy, had no particular ties to the labor movement.

Labor Pained: Labor Secretary Not on Econ Team

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 14:38:39 -0500

The markets rose on the news of Barack Obama's economic policy team Monday, but some labor spirits fell.

Obama's team of treasury secretary and four top economic advisers, introduced as the hands that will steer America's economy, had no particular ties to the labor movement.

More Part-Time Work Is Bad Sign for US

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 15:42:29 -0500

Washington - Seven months after losing a job in construction, Lorenzo Henderson found work earlier this month packing shelves at a supermarket three days a week, joining a trend toward part-time work that is worrying economists.

The 24-year-old father of two from Washington said he had to settle for part-time work after becoming increasingly disillusioned about getting a full-time job anytime soon.

"To be honest, I am not sure my situation will change.

Job Centers See Crush of People in Need

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 15:02:52 -0500

Fort Lauderdale, Florida - They have little in common: Ron Jones, 52, short and strong, a union carpenter with decades of work experience; and Jerome Grant, 20, tall and thin, a Jamaican immigrant with a degree in culinary arts. But the economy has pushed them to the same difficult place.

On a recent morning, they sat across from each other at a one-stop career center here, feverishly applying for two months of temporary work with United Parcel Service. The pay was $8.50 an hour.

Job Centers See Crush of People in Need

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 15:02:52 -0500

On a recent morning, they sat across from each other at a one-stop career center here, feverishly applying for two months of temporary work with United Parcel Service. The pay was $8.50 an hour.

Michael Moore: Automakers Never Listened to Workers, Consumers

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:10:51 -0500

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid reversed plans Wednesday to hold a test vote on an automakers' bailout bill on Thursday. Reid had planned to move on legislation that would have taken $25 billion from the $700 billion already approved for Wall Street and diverted it to the big three automakers.

CNN's Larry King talked Wednesday with Michael Moore, a filmmaker with deep ties to the auto industry.