The latest government report on job openings and labor turnover – the JOLTS report – makes an important point. Recent improvements in the labor market – employment gains and the falling unemployment rate – owe little to an increase in hiring by employers. Instead, they result mainly from a decline in involuntary separations – layoffs …
Paid Sick Days – an Important Job Saving Strategy in a Weak Economy Read More »
As the new year begins, it’s as good a time as any to look at a topic almost completely ignored by mainstream media: how Native American people are faring in the U.S. labor market. The economy and its paucity of jobs dominated U.S. headlines throughout 2010, but news media overlooked the particularly difficult experiences of …
The State of Native America: Very Unemployed and Mostly Ignored Read More »
It is still very grim out there for those people who want decent paying work. Not just a job–but a job that pays a fair wage. Today’s numbers make even more clear–we need a Job Party. I’ll talk about the Job Party a bit more. But, first, let’s look at the numbers: While the overall …
Long ago, on New York City’s docks, Frankie drilled into me the American credo about climbing the ladder to a better life. “Kid, you gotta finish college,” he would say. “You gotta do better than this. All you need is to work harder and you can get there.” Frankie, a massive fellow who had spent …
Don’t Count on Tomorrow: The New Credo for the Unemployed Read More »
Remarks by AFL-CIO President Richard L. Trumka at the Institute of Politics, Harvard Kennedy School View a video of the speech here. Good evening. Thank you, John. I will never be able to express how much I owe you and how much the American labor movement owes you. The Institute of Politics is fortunate to …
Why Working People Are Angry and Why Politicians Should Listen Read More »
Support The Troops. Support The Troops. Support The Troops. This is the newest “wallpaper” in the United States. You see it on bumper stickers, in commercials and hear it in conversations. Based on the number of times you see or hear the phrase, it’s hard to imagine that we could do anything more to show …
Marking the first anniversary of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the SEIU is releasing a new report today analyzing the social and economic impact of the Recovery Act. This report explains what the aggregate numbers on economic growth and job creation fail to illustrate–how the Recovery Act helped counter the recession by protecting …
REPORT: The Recovery Act, Unsung Hero of the Year Read More »
*The following post originally appeared in Winning Workplaces on February 9, 2010 in support of our proposed Workplace Bill of Rights. Thanks to Mark and Winning Workplaces for their support! The U.S. has survived and, most often during its 234-year history, thrived under a forward-thinking Bill of Rights. Much more recently, innovative airline JetBlue has …
If Widely Adopted, Workplace Bill of Rights Would Dramatically Improve Our Economy Read More »
The White House Task Force on the Middle Class today announced several initiatives it says will help middle-class families afford soaring child care costs, care for their aging relatives, cope with the challenge of saving for retirement and pay for their children’s college tuition. President Obama says the measures will help “ease the burdens on …
Middle Class Task Force Addresses Child Care, College Costs, Retirement Security Read More »
Massachusetts voters sent a strong signal to Washington lawmakers Tuesday that they want results—and aren’t seeing any. Not on health care reform, not on job creation and not on fixing the nation’s economy. Voters also sent another powerful message for Democrats: Ignore the working class at your peril. Some 79 percent of voters polled on …
The Working Class Has Spoken. Will Democrats Listen? 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.
