The lede on a story by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) attacking import limits and other government protections for the U.S. sugar industry was an attention-grabber: “That Valentine’s Day hand on your back pocket billfold is not your sweetheart’s, it’s the sugar lobby’s.” There are plenty of reasons for less-than-sweet feelings about the sugar industry, …
Not So Sweet: The Intricacies of Big and Little Sugar Read More »
Last July, Major League Baseball blew an opportunity to make a difference. With 28 players who were either Hispanic or of Hispanic descent participating in the league’s annual All-Star Game in Phoenix, Arizona, and the eyes of the sports world watching, nary a one spoke out against the radical anti-immigration law Arizona had passed a …
Super Bowl Players Should Stand Up For Indiana Workers Read More »
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 …
Organizers say a lawsuit filed by a Minnesota grocery store chain against a worker center is nothing more than an attempt to bankrupt and silence them. Supervalu’s suit is a culmination of activity over 18 months in which workers have been calling for fair pay and better working conditions. In May, In These Times reported that …
Giant Supervalu Grocery Chain Sues Small Workers Center Read More »
Blue-collar workers toiling on assembly lines and elsewhere have little in common with National Football League players. So it’s no surprise that few tears have been shed over the labor strife which engulfed the NFL for the last several months. Most of the angst understandably has been over the concern that games could be missed …
NFL Players Have Fewer Rights Than Their Counterparts Read More »
Most workers have seen notices about their right to a minimum wage or safe workplace posted in the company break room or elsewhere on the job. Employers are required to post those notices by federal law. But there is no requirement for employers to post any sort of notice about workers’ rights under the National …
Proposed NLRB Rule Requires Employers to Post Workers’ Rights Read More »
Lady Gaga recently made an unexpected appearance at the Westin Saint Francis hotel in San Francisco—in the form of a flash mob singing a pro-worker version of lyrics to her “Bad Romance.” Replete with tuba, trombone, snare drum and a couple dozen dancing activists, the group materialized in the hotel’s lobby to denounce the chain’s …
When the world’s banks were going under, governments jumped to their aid. Now with record numbers of people out of work, it’s past time for governments to put working people first, or the fledgling economic recovery could fall apart. Leaders from the G-20 nations issued this warning while in Washington, D.C., this week for the …
G-20 Labor Leaders Meet at AFL-CIO for Labor Summit 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 »
A woman who was eight months pregnant was asked to leave her job because, according to her boss, her pregnancy “didn’t look right for the company.” Another woman suspected she was not hired after explaining to her prospective employer that the gap on her resume was because of time she needed to care for her …
A Better Balance: The Work and Family Legal Center 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.
