Recent projections have job prospects improving for 2012’s college graduates. But there’s a lot more room for improvement than we’re likely to see: About 1.5 million, or 53.6 percent, of bachelor’s degree-holders under the age of 25 last year were jobless or underemployed, the highest share in at least 11 years. In 2000, the share …
Half of College Graduates Under 25 are Unemployed or Underemployed Read More »
The Department of Labor is reporting that initial claims for unemployment insurance rose to 380,000 last week, an increase of 13,000 over the previous week’s revised figure. The four-week moving average, a measure preferred by many analysts because it smooths out volatility, was 368,500, an increase of 4,250 from the previous week’s revised average of …
Contracts for about 40,000 unionized AT&T landline workers represented by the Communications Workers of America expired over the weekend. Four divisions are governed by separate contracts; 9,000 AT&T Mobility workers ratified a new contract last week. The landline workers had voted March 31 to authorize a strike if new contracts weren’t reached, but they have …
Workers Stay on Job as AT&T Contracts Expire and Negotiations Continue to Avert a Strike Read More »
More than half of people age 65 and older face the prospect of not having enough money to meet basic daily expenses while staying in their homes and communities, a new analysis (PDF) from Wider Opportunities for Women finds. We’re talking basic necessities here—renting a one-bedroom apartment or having a modest mortgage, basic food, health …
More Than Half of Elders, and 60% of Older Women, Face Economic Insecurity Read More »
Following lots and lots of terrible publicity around the wages, working conditions and hours faced by Chinese workers manufacturing its iPhones and iPads, Apple asked the Fair Labor Association, an organization widely described as independent although it is funded by the corporations it oversees, to look into working conditions in the factories of its Chinese …
Apple and Foxconn to Improve Working Conditions and Hours Read More »
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels has been bragging about a secret list. It’s the list of companies that he claims are thinking about moving to Indiana and creating jobs there because of the passage of the state’s new right to work free rider law, and it’s 28 companies long, three of them supposedly committed to moving …
Company Denies Creating Jobs in Indiana Because of Anti-Union Law Read More »
Restaurant workers who make the federal minimum wage for tipped workers are pretty well screwed: That minimum wage is just $2.13 an hour, the theory being that tips will be enough for these workers to get by. When tips don’t bring workers up to the full federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, their employers …
Restaurant Industry Screws Women, While $2.13 Tipped Worker Minimum Wage Makes it Worse Read More »
The warehouses in California’s Inland Empire are important distribution points for many of the stores you shop at and goods you buy. They’re also terrible, terrible places to work, and in recent months, California has been taking action against some of their worst abuses. This week: The California Department of Industrial Relations’ Division of Occupational …
California Warehouses Hit with Huge Fines; Workers Allege Retaliatory Firings Read More »
One of the weapons the right uses to try to block better policies on energy and the environment is the specter of job loss: regulations or clean energy or the boogeyman of the day will close businesses and put people out of work. In fact, clean energy and environmental regulations could create jobs. But Republicans …
Building a Green Economy Means Bringing Workers in with a Commitment to Good Green Jobs Read More »
A potential strike by New York City office cleaners was averted Friday night when SEIU Local 32BJ and the Realty Advisory Board came to a tentative agreement. The agreement, which must be ratified by workers, includes regular wage increases and $1,100 in bonuses and keeps employer-paid health coverage. Those victories for the current office cleaners …
New York City Office Cleaner Strike Averted by Tentative Deal 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.
