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Britain says seven oil workers kidnapped in Nigeria LONDON (AP) -- The British Foreign Office said Friday that seven oil workers have been abducted in Nigeria. A Briton, two Colombians and an Australia were confirmed among the hostages, and the Foreign Office said a Russian also was believed abducted. It was not yet clear who kidnapped them, the office said. But hostage-takings are common in Nigeria's oil delta, where activists and thugs frequently target oil companies with sabotage, kidnappings and other attacks in a bid to extort payoffs. The hostages are rarely harmed. The British worker, whose identity was not...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Jacking up the pressure on three Southern California supermarket chains just days before Thanksgiving, striking grocery workers Monday began picketing regional distribution centers -- hoping to cut off the supply of food and other goods to the stores. Despite plans by Teamster-represented truck drivers and employees at the distribution centers to honor the new picket lines, Albertsons Inc., Kroger Co. and Safeway Inc. said they had "contingency plans" to keep stores open. The job action could not come at a worse time for frustrated Southern California shoppers, who have suffered through 44 days of the strike...

Wal-Mart in China Changsha The signs all over the store proclaiming Everyday Low Prices look the same (except that they're printed in Chinese), as do the neatly dressed "associates" patrolling the selling floor. Busy shoppers plucking bargains ranging from music CDs to shoes to fresh bean curd have the same determined look about them. And one other thing about Wal-Mart in China is familiar, too: The company's labor problems are making headlines. To be sure, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU), which has launched a public relations campaign against Wal-Mart over the firm's refusal to let its Chinese workers...

KENNEBUNK — Some of the workers with neon orange vests on the side of the Maine Turnpike aren't plotting property lines. They're undercover state police officers, clocking the speeds of cars in an aggressive effort to get drivers to slow down. Crying foul won't get violators out of the resulting speeding ticket."It's not entrapment, it's just unconventional enforcement," said Lt. Randall Nichols of Troop G, the branch of the Maine State Police in charge of patrolling the turnpike.The Maine Turnpike Authority, state police, and contractors working on a project to widen the highway have tried a variety of methods...

<p>FRAMINGHAM - Andre Brassard keeps sending out resumes but has largely given up on the profession that employed him for a decade: writing software.</p> <p>In his old department at Mindspeed Technologies Inc., most of the software engineers are gone. The work Brassard and his colleagues did is now largely done in Ukraine for one-quarter to one-third the cost.</p>

Ancient find raises worries about workers By Emily Heffter Times Snohomish County bureau A Snohomish County road crew doing routine maintenance unearthed a Stillaguamish tribal archaeological site two weeks ago in the Silvana area. The county halted the project after tribal members pointed out that it was atop an ancient Indian-village site, but the close call has raised concerns about how cautious county work crews are when they dig. Stillaguamish tribal members say some of the artifacts at the site are between 8,000 and 10,000 years old — some of the oldest artifacts on the continent. The findings haven't been...

A new guest-worker program sponsored by U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, would allow millions of undocumented immigrants to work legally in the United States. Introduced in the U.S. Senate as the Border Security and Immigration Reform Act of 2003, it would allow seasonal workers to stay in the country for up to nine consecutive months and non-seasonal workers to stay up to a full year – not to exceed 36 months during the life of the program. The proposed law would encourage undocumented immigrants to apply for guest-worker status with their employers.In an interview this week, Cornyn said the program...

Naked farm workers staged a mass invasion of the Mexican senate as part of a land row. Some 150 naked protestors broke windows, seats and tables, according to Terra Noticias Populares. They left only after the senate's vice president Carlos Chaurand guaranteed he would carry out their demands. The men and women also appeared naked or in their underwear on the corners of the main streets of Mexico City. Their main claim is that a decree, signed by former president Carlos Salinas who left power in 1994, be put in action. The decree donates land to the workers who are...

The price of dignity Business is imposing virtual slavery in the developing world - and only we, the consumers, can stop it Anita Roddick Monday September 22, 2003 The Guardian In the past two years, 500 export assembly factories have shut down in Mexico, throwing 218,000 workers on to the street. Their crime was the $1.26-an-hour base wage they were paid by companies such as Alcoa Fujikura to produce auto parts for export to the US. Those wages are now "too high" in the global economy. Never mind that the Alcoa workers in Acuna live in makeshift cardboard huts that...

For Immediate ReleaseOffice of the Press SecretarySeptember 20, 2003 President's Radio Address      Audio THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Every day, millions of Americans put in long hours building businesses of their own. Their hard work strengthens the economy, creates most of the new jobs in America, and supplies the innovation that drives our future prosperity. As we mark National Small Business Week, our nation honors the enterprise and hard work of small business owners and employees. Small businesses are a key to upward mobility, particularly for women and minorities. There are over 3 million minority-owned small businesses across America, and that...

DALLAS - Immigration advocates, labor unions and civil rights activists in North Texas have joined a nationwide campaign in favor of legalizing the nation's undocumented work force. Starting today, some 18 buses carrying about 900 activists and immigrant workers will embark from cities such as Los Angeles, Houston, Seattle and Miami on a road trip called the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride. They will stop at rallies in cities along the way, including one in Dallas on Sept. 27. The trip will also include a stop in Washington, D.C., to meet with members of Congress. It will culminate with a rally...

The average state worker now has a $56,800 compensation package, including about $12,700 in benefits -- excluding those in the legislature, judiciary, or university systems. Workers can accrue up to 16 weeks of annual leave -- that can eventually be cashed out, and they get 13 holidays a year, far more than most private-sector workers. And many state workers are paid more than private-sector employees who do similar work. The California Public Employees' Retirement System -- which provides an average $1,594 per month to 388,126 retired state workers -- has been in crisis as the stock market floundered, forcing the...

GW is now speaking to workers in Ohio. He's received a very warm and enthusiastic welcome from the Operating Engineers union.

Socialist candidate can keep donors confidentialEthics commission decision overturned in federal court Friday, August 29, 2003 By KATHY MULADY SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER A Seattle City Council candidate will be allowed to hide the names of her campaign contributors from public view, a federal court decided yesterday. The preliminary injunction granted Freedom Socialist Party candidate Linda Averill yesterday drew criticism from another candidate, but will be allowed to stand through the primary election Sept. 16. A full court hearing will be scheduled later, but the names of any donors who give in the interim can be kept secret. Averill, a Metro/King...

NEW YORK Aug. 28 — Nearly two years after the World Trade Center attack, a medical screening program continues to reveal a surprisingly high rate of physical and mental problems among cleanup and rescue workers. About 48 percent of workers screened had ear, nose and throat problems such as nasal congestion, hoarseness, headaches and throat irritation, according to the latest figures. Thirty percent had pulmonary problems, including shortness of breath, persistent cough and wheezing. The data reflect patients screened between July 2002 and April 2003. But the director of the program's medical component said patients have continued to report symptoms...

<p>The UAW has asked Detroit's automakers to pay for voluntary abortions in its national contract talks, say officials at the union and the companies familiar with the talks.</p> <p>The potentially explosive request was made to General Motors Corp. and Chrysler Group during talks about health care coverage, those officials said. They did not know whether it was also made to Ford Motor Co. during contract talks, which began in mid-July.</p>

  ACTION ALERT! Matricula Consular    URGENT: COMMENTS NEEDED BY JULY 31, 2003 BANK ACCEPTANCE OF MATRICULA CONSULAR IS IN JEOPARDY July, 11, 2003 YOU CAN EASILY SUBMIT COMMENTS BY VOTING NO TO A QUESTION ON THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT WEBSITE.YOU MUST ALSO INCLUDE COMMENTS WHEN YOU VOTE. YOU CAN CUT AND PASTE THEM FROM THIS NOTICE Bank acceptance of consular identification cards like the matricula consular is in jeopardy. Only a few months ago the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued final regulations regarding section 326 of the USA PATRIOT ACT. Those regulations allowed banks and other financial institutions...

PAPEETE, Tahiti (AP) - French President Jacques Chirac, making his first visit to Polynesia since ordering a final round of nuclear tests in the South Pacific in 1995, on Saturday defended the decades of testing that some islanders claimed gave them cancer. Chirac, making a five-day visit to the French territory of Tahiti, said the atomic tests that generated international outrage helped establish France as a world power. "Without Polynesia, France would not be the great power that it is, capable of expressing in the concert of nations an autonomous, independent and respected position," he said. Dancers wearing traditional garb...

Aid workers under attack from militia in 'killing fields' By Adrian Blomfield in Bunia (Filed: 04/06/2003) Militia controlling the Congolese town of Bunia have attacked humanitarian workers and raped members of their families in the last few days and continue to execute members of other tribes during the night. At least five local aid workers have been badly beaten in their homes and a United Nations controlled refugee camp in recent days. UPC leader Lubanga The UN peacekeeping mission in Bunia said the militia were targeting humanitarian workers, the only people with large amounts of money in the pillaged town....

While Congress May Close Front Door on Intra-Company Transfer Visas, The Administration is Opening the Back Door and All the Windows (Washington, D.C. June 2, 2003) Legislation pending before Congress to curb the abuses in the L-1 visa program may be rendered moot by executive agreements being concluded by the Bush Administration. According to The New York Times, the L-1 visa program, which allows companies to transfer employees from overseas branches or subsidiaries to company offices in the U.S., "are now routinely used by companies based in India and elsewhere to bring their workers into the United States and then...