Free Republic

There are 124.5 million Americans in their prime working years (ages 25–54). Nearly one-quarter of this group—28.9 million people, or 23.2 percent of the total—is not currently employed. They either became so discouraged that they left the labor force entirely, or they are in the labor force but unemployed. ... Those attempting to minimize the startling figures about America’s vanishing workforce—workplace participation overall is near a four-decade low—will say an aging population is to blame. But in fact, while the workforce overall has shrunk nearly 10 million since 2009, the cohort of workers in the labor force ages 55 to...

The Department of Labor coordinated with the White House on whether or not to release hidden portions of former Labor Secretary Hilda Solis’ schedule as Solis battled an FBI investigation into her illegal fundraising for President Obama. New emails provided to The Daily Caller from the nonprofit legal research firm Cause of Action show the White House thanking the Department of Labor for “flagging” a public information request for “withheld” portions of Solis’ schedule. (SEE THE EMAIL CHAIN). The White House then asked for the name of the conservative group making the request — information that Labor officials were eager...

Opposition leader MK Yitzhak Herzog (Labor) was assured by officials in Washington on Tuesday that the United States will not compromise on the issue of Iran’s nuclear program. Herzog met at the White House with President Barack Obama's chief of staff, Denis McDonough, and deputy national security adviser Tony Blinken, and told them that the fight against the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) is just as important as trying to stop Iran’s nuclear program. Israeli media reported that the two officials assured Herzog that alongside the common global struggle against the IS, the United States does not intend to change...

<p>The largest government infusion of cash into the U.S. economy in generations – the 2009 stimulus – was riddled with a massive labor scheme that harmed workers and cheated unsuspecting American taxpayers.</p> <p>At the time, government regulators watched as money slipped out the door and into the hands of companies that rob state and federal treasuries of billions of dollars each year on stimulus projects and other construction jobs across the country, a yearlong McClatchy investigation found.</p>

<p>Time was, they had fact-checkers at the White House. They must've had the weekend off when President Obama let go a whopper at a Labor Day rally in Milwaukee.</p> <p>'By almost every measure," he boasted, "the American economy and American workers are better off than when I took office." This must explain why nearly half of American workers believe the U.S. is still in a recession.</p>

President Barack Obama says he’ll press Congress to raise the minimum wage in the same way he courted his wife — never taking no for an answer. Obama brought a buoyant Labor Day message to Wisconsin, telling union members on Monday that he sees, quote, “engines are revving a little louder” in an economy coming back from a near-depression five years ago. Now, he says, quote, “America deserves a raise.” He promises his administration will keep pushing for one. Obama told the crowd to great applause that he would join a union for job security.

Cookouts now mark Labor Day, instead of parades honoring country’s labor movement, says AFL-CIO honcho Richard Trumpka. (Picture) Few recall the bloodstained origins of this holiday as we fire up the grill, throw on the burgers and dogs and turn on the U.S. And, in a sign of the times, the Sunday morning network news shows didn’t even offer their usual, token pre-Labor Day weekend spot for the head of the nation’s labor movement. “No,” said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka when I asked him. “No invitations this year.” I told the former mine worker-turned-lawyer that there seems to be a...

California’s economic recovery has featured a growing share of lower-wage jobs, raising concerns about the opportunities for middle-class workers hit hard by the Great Recession, a new analysis finds. The California Budget Project, a nonprofit economic research group, analyzed decades of state labor data to find that low- and middle-wage workers have seen significant pay declines over the last decade. Local and state government jobs -- traditionally a reliable source of middle-class employment -- have been particularly slow to recover. -snip- Looking ahead, low-wage jobs are forecast to be one of the fastest-growing segments of the workforce. The state expects...

Labor Day used to be more than a summer-closing holiday; it was a celebration of labor unions and the American labor movement. That’s easy to forget these days because labor unions don’t have much to celebrate. At the height of their influence in the 1950s, labor unions could claim to represent about 1 of every 3 American workers. Today, it’s 1 in 9 — and falling. Some have seen the shrinking size and waning influence of labor unions as a sign that the US economy is growing more flexible and dynamic, but there’s mounting evidence that it is also contributing...

MK Erel Margalit (Labor) sharply condemned Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Wednesday morning, in the wake of the massive renewed rocket fire by Hamas terrorists since Tuesday afternoon in breach of the ceasefire. "Where is the prime minister?" asked Margalit on his Facebook page. "This is a disgrace, simply a disgrace. There's no other definition of what is happening here. A terrorist organization is holding target practice on Israel and deciding for it. It sends Israeli residents time and again to shelters and disrupts their lives," continued the MK. Hamas has itself supported Margalit's appraisal that it is determining what...

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is preparing to sign an executive order cracking down on labor violations by companies that contract with the federal government, the White House said Wednesday. Obama's order will require companies seeking federal contracts valued at more than $500,000 to make public any labor law violations in the last three years, a step the Obama administration hopes will incentivize companies to resolve labor disputes such as back wage claims.

overnment needs a mediator. The stakeholders virtually all agree the General Schedule (GS) system needs to be replaced but each needs to see something different for the planning to move forward. The July 15 congressional hearings made two key points clear: No one defended the GS system, but no one is ready to take the lead to develop a replacement system. With budget cuts through 2021, government could be stuck with a deteriorating work environment. Another point is increasingly clear — in the current political climate the GS salary ranges will not be increased by more than a nominal percentage...

In the week ending July 12, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 302,000, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 304,000 to 305,000. The 4-week moving average was 309,000, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's revised average. This is the lowest level for this average since June 2, 2007 when it was 307,500. The previous week's average was revised up by 500 from 311,500 to 312,000. There were no special factors impacting this week's initial claims.

The Supreme Court ruling on Thursday that invalidated three appointments made by President Obama to the National Labor Relations Board has thrown hundreds of the board's decisions into question. The board that rules on labor disputes is now scrambling to determine the impact of the high court decision. At issue is whether board decisions made when the now-invalid appointees were participating will have to be re-decided under the current NLRB.

There is rarely a good time to do hard things, and America won't advance if legislators act like seat-warmers. When I learned that House Majority Leader Eric Cantor had lost his Republican primary, my heart sank. Not simply because I think he is an intelligent and talented member of Congress, or because I worry about the future of the Republican Party. Like others who want comprehensive immigration reform, I worried that Mr. Cantor's loss would be misconstrued and make Congress reluctant to tackle this urgent need. That would be the wrong lesson and an undesirable national consequence of this single,...

New horizontal expansion includes government-funded Bachelors and Masters programs wherein students pay Digital Domain to work for Digital Domain Soon after my tweet I get an email from a new VFX blogger called OccupyVFX who was able to find audio of the presentation given by Digital Domain’s CEO John Textor. The whole 22 minute presentation is posted above but the surprising part starts around 15:40 when Mr. Textor talks about their new VFX school in Florida called Digital Domain Institute: Classes starting in the education space, what’s interesting is the relationship between the digital studio and the college. Not only...

Employment in Canada's oil sands sector expects to reach around 98,380 jobs over the next decade. More than 98,000 oil sands construction, maintenance and operations jobs will be generated over the next decade, according to a new report “the Oil Sands Construction, Maintenance and Operations Labour Demand Outlook to 2023”. “Accurate labor market information gives us a clear understanding of the workforce issues affecting oil sands development, and helps ensure that $172 billion in wages and salaries continues to generate economic benefits right across this country. This new information helps government and industry make the best possible decisions, and helps...

Big Labor's VA Choke Hold How Democrats put their union allies before the well-being of veterans. By Kimberley A. Strassel May 29, 2014 We know with certainty that there is at least one person the Department of Veterans Affairs is serving well. That would be the president of local lodge 1798 of the National Federation of Federal Employees. The Federal Labor Relations Authority, the agency that mediates federal labor disputes, earlier this month ruled in favor of this union president, in a dispute over whether she need bother to show up at her workplace—the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Martinsburg,...

Nigel Farage tonight claimed victory in the European elections, becoming the first 'insurgent party' to top a national vote. With results still being declared, Mr Farage broke cover to predict he will humiliate the Westminster parties, pushing Labour and the Tories into second and third. Support for Ukip has surged by more than 12 per cent, outstripping a more modest boost in votes for Labour, while the Lib Dems faced near-wipeout, with some calling for Nick Clegg to resign. Mr Farage said: 'Ukip is going to win this election and yes that will be an earthquake because never before in...

The Obama administration’s Department of Labor, which is supposed to represent the needs of U.S. workers, said Monday that the government needs to find ways to get more skilled foreign workers into the country.“We also need to fix our broken immigration system to encourage more highly educated foreign-born workers to come to the United States,” Deputy Secretary of Labor Chris Lu said in a blog post. “If we are to compete in a global economy, we must continue to attract and retain the world’s brightest minds.” “Too many foreign students – many from Asian countries – come to the...