A Wethersfield, CT city councilman summed it all up when he observed, “Common sense lost it’s voice on this one.” Turns out that there was an ethics compliant against the local school board’s chairwoman because her son had taken a $400 high school course for free. The town’s ethics board then conducted more than 60 …
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a new and simple rule today. It says employers must display an 11 by 17 inch poster informing workers of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act, where they usually post notices to let workers know their rights. Saying he applauded the new rule, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says: Just as employers are required to notify …
We all know the phrase “going postal,” right? It’s when someone becomes extremely angry to the point of become violent, usually in the context of work. It came about in response to a number of horrific incidents of violence committed by postal workers in the 1980s and ’90s.* But this past week the Chicago Tribune …
“Sitting Ducks” and “Walking Targets”: Risking Life on the Job Read More »
Post authored by AFSCME Secretary Treasurer Lee Saunders On the eve of the dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial in Washington, D.C., AFSCME Secretary-Treasurer Lee Saunders writes why the nation needs to revive King’s dream. Hundreds of thousands of Americans are expected to gather this weekend in Washington, D.C., for the dedication of …
Some 25 million Americans are unemployed, underemployed or have stopped looking for work, and wages are essentially flat. Workers are struggling to get the few jobs that are available—there are 4.7 unemployed people for every one job open. As if those odds weren’t difficult enough, jobless workers face another obstacle: Many employers are discriminating against the jobless by prohibiting them …
Help Fight Discrimination Against the Unemployed Read More »
Summer is a sleepy time at the Supreme Court as most of the justices exit the scorching Washington heat. Justice Stevens was known to keep busy on the tennis court while Justice Thomas often heads around the country in his RV. As for Justice Kennedy, he regularly teaches abroad and others hit the speaking circuit. …
Challenge to Health Care Law Flying Under the Radar Read More »
Yesterday, the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled that China had illegally blocked the export of Chinese raw materials. Chinese tightening of raw material exports had the effect of artificially reducing prices for Chinese goods, because non-Chinese manufacturers couldn’t obtain materials as cheaply as Chinese firms could. “The panel found that China’s export duties were inconsistent …
WTO Finds China Broke Trade Laws, But Steelworkers President Says Action Not Enough Read More »
On the day Apple celebrated 10 years since opening its first Apple Store, employee Cory Moll announced a campaign to unionize the company’s 30,000-plus retail employees. Moll sent an e-mail to reporters declaring that “the people of Apple are coming together to “‘work different.’” “The core issues definitely involve compensation, pay, benefits,” Moll said. A …
Apple Store Workers Share Why They Want to ‘Work Different’ Read More »
Today, at the International Labor Organization’s 100th annual conference in Geneva Switzerland, the global community took a major collective step towards achieving economic and social justice for some of the world’s most vulnerable workers with the overwhelming adoption of the Decent Work for Domestic Workers Convention and accompanying recommendation. More than 80 percent of the …
On June 7, 2011, the Center for American Progress hosted a panel discussion on research conducted on minimum wage increases, and the economic effects these increases caused. Participants included: David Madland (Center for American Progress Action Fund), Helen Neuborne (Ford Foundation), Heidi Shierholz (Economic Policy Institute), Celinda Lake (Lake Research Partners), Sylvia Allegretto (University of …
How a Raise in the Minimum Wage Could Benefit Both Workers and the National Economy Read More »
Madeline Messa is a 3L at Syracuse University College of Law. She graduated from Penn State with a degree in journalism. With her legal research and writing for Workplace Fairness, she strives to equip people with the information they need to be their own best advocate.
