Free Republic

Federal Workers Thrive Without Collective BargainingBy Chris Stirewalt Published March 01, 2011 FoxNews.com When the president of the United States takes time to denounce a single bill in a state legislature as an “assault on unions,” one might be forgiven for thinking it contains some groundbreaking stuff. But, in fact, the controversial plan in Wisconsin and similar legislation in Ohio, Tennessee and elsewhere would in many ways treat state workers the same as employees of the federal government. For all of the thunder we’ve heard from the president and his party about union busting, what’s been proposed is more akin...

Global Economy? 23 Facts Which Prove That Globalism Is Pushing The Standard Of Living Of The Middle Class Down To Third World Levels From now on, whenever you hear the term "the global economy" you should immediately equate it with the destruction of the U.S. middle class. Over the past several decades, the American economy has been slowly but surely merged into the emerging one world economic system. Unfortunately for the middle class, much of the rest of the world does not have the same minimum wage laws and worker protections that we do. Therefore, the massive global corporations that...

At the top of Saturday's CBS Early Show, co-host Russ Mitchell cheered unions protests across the country: "Workers uniting. 50 rallies are planned in 50 states today, as organizers show solidarity with Wisconsin state workers, fighting to preserve their right to collectively bargain for benefits and work conditions." Introducing the segment later, fellow co-host Rebecca Jarvis noted how the protests were organized by MoveOn.org. Rather than accurately label the organization as left-wing, she simply referred to it as "an advocacy group."

Back in the 1970s my daughters used to say: "Let's play princesses!" and a grand old time they had. I imagine that in progressive families, the cry was different. "Let's play community organizers!" No doubt a grand old time was had by the baby radicals too. The trouble is that some people don't grow up. It's one thing to play community organizers in the back yard when you are a kid. It's another thing when real lives are at stake, as in Wisconsin. A better name for "community organizer" is "radical suit," because community organizers are really the lefty version...

The fast track to workers' comp: Thousands have been paid to those with just a doctor's noteBY BETH HUNDSDORFER AND GEORGE PAWLACZYK - News-Democrat Sunday, Feb. 06, 2011 A state, municipal or private worker can get thousands of tax-free dollars through workers' compensation based primarily on a doctor's note. All that is needed is a report stating the claimant has a wrist condition known as carpal tunnel syndrome or cubital tunnel syndrome, which can affect the elbow. Surgery or treatment of any kind is not required. A lawyer isn't needed. And the public won't know anything about it until the...

The Republican leader of the Wisconsin state Senate says there will be no vote on a bill taking away union rights for government workers until Democrats return. ... A handful of Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin seemed to hold one of few paths to a compromise that could end a high-stakes stalemate over union rights that has captured the nation's attention.

Link only due to restrictions...

Productivity gains mean many low-skilled workers are shut out The U.S. manufacturing sector is roaring back after the worst recession in generations. So why aren’t factory jobs coming back as quickly? One big reason: Business executives like Drew Greenblatt, owner of Baltimore-based Marlin Steel Wire Products, have figured out how to make more widgets with the same number of workers. To do so, he's had to upgrade the skills — and wages — of his employees. But his profits are bigger than ever.

Lockdown, pay up January 17, 2011 Here's something to digest with your big new Illinois income tax increase: You would assume that the Menard Correctional Center is a dangerous place to work. It does, after all, hold violent prisoners. You probably wouldn't assume that the biggest injury risk for the guards is locking and unlocking the doors. Or that this is costing you a lot of money. Illinois has paid out at least $10 million over the last three years in workers' compensation claims to employees at the southern Illinois prison. Much of the money has gone to corrections officers...

On Friday, the President wasted no time informing the country that unemployment rates had dropped from 9.8 to 9.4%. That sounds pretty good, until you dig into the underlying numbers. Then it sounds dire. Despite expectations that the U.S. would add 170,000 new jobs, only 100,000 were added in December. And yet the unemployment rate fell by .4%, a feat that would normally require the addition of up to 750,000 new jobs. How could the rate fall so dramatically with job gains of only 100,000? Normally, an increase of 100,000 jobs would not even absorb the number of new entrants...

From the New York Times on Thursday, in an item put together with the help of a half-dozen Times reporters ("Inaction and Delays by New York as Storm Bore Down"): ... Harry Nespoli, president of the Uniformed Sanitationmen’s Association, said the problems late Sunday (during the initial stages of the northeast snowstorm -- Ed.) underscored how the city could not rely on outside contractors to help with snow removal and other jobs in such storms, particularly during a holiday weekend. “You can never count on the privates, because they don’t have to show up,” he said. “What obligation do they...

An anonymous email making the cyberspace rounds is so upsetting that its author was correct to hide his name. The “Changes Are Coming” email details the demise of our post office, our newspapers, check writing systems, books and music as we know them along with the end of Cable TV and network systems as now constituted. But the harshest caveat bearing down on America is our demise due to deindustrialization. The email reports that “Tens of thousands of factories have left the U.S. in the past decade alone. Millions upon millions of manufacturing jobs have been lost. . .the U.S....

PORTLAND, Ore. – On Jan. 1 the minimum wage throughout Oregon state goes up by a dime, to $8.50 an hour. This cements Oregon and Washington's positions as the two highest-paid states for minimum-wage workers in the U.S. Washington comes in first, at $8.55. Except for the past two years, Washington state's rate has risen steadily since voters passed Initiative 688 in 1998, which matched wage increases to inflation. Oregon comes in second. Federal minimum wage is $7.25. ...

New York City sanitation bosses think they've got it so bad that they intentionally delayed snow-removal, according to the NY Post.So how bad have they got it? City workers enjoyed steady employment through the recession, killer benefits and a generous pension package. Then there's the pay. 315 sanitation workers earned over $100,000 in 2009, according to SeeThroughNY. The top guy, John Doherty, earned $205,180.There are also perks that come with the job.

Don’t be surprised if your company loses top workers in 2011. A recent survey reveals 84 percent of U.S. employees plan to look for new jobs in 2011 – up from 60 percent a year ago. Only 5 percent want to stay at their current position.

'Down with the Despot!" That's the slogan chanted in the last few days by thousands of Iranian industrial workers and miners. Reports from more than 30 cities across Iran indicate a nationwide protest movement with a mix of economic and political demands that could threaten the Khomeinist regime. On Wednesday, a delegation of workers gathered in front of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's office in Tehran to demand "an urgent meeting" to discuss "an explosive situation." The standoff with security agents ended when a presidential aide informed the protestors that Ahmadinejad had flown to Istanbul for a regional summit. A few miles...

Never take investment advice from a union leader. As usual, organized labor emptied its pockets for Democrats in the recent midterm elections, spending at least $171.5 million in an attempt to keep the electoral map blue. Ninety-three percent of that astonishing figure went to elect Democratic politicians. Half of those union donations came from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), which represents government workers. Unsurprisingly, 99.5 percent of their contributions went to Democratic candidates. That money didn't come from the wallets of union leaders. It came from their

A group of up to 400 workers in India allegedly used iron rods and heavy factory equipment to beat an auto company executive to death on the weekend, the Indian Express reports. Joginder Choudhary, an assistant general manager at auto parts manufacturer Allied Nippon, was reportedly eating lunch when he was attacked by hundreds of his employees (400 people according to some accounts). He and two other senior managers had to be hospitalized and some members of the HR staff were also attacked. Workers reportedly "attacked and chased the human resources staff and those on the board of directors" in...

City mulls stripping workers' health careBy Linda Metz, Staff writer 11/2/2010 3:33 AM Washington city employees eventually could find themselves shopping for their own health care plan. At council's agenda meeting Monday morning, Councilman Joe Manning introduced the concept of the city not offering health care benefits to its employees by taking advantage of The Affordable Care Act that was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in March. "If we, as an employer, do not provide health care, our employees would be eligible for federal government subsidies" to purchase their own, Manning said. He also...

The number of people working part-time hours rose by 143,000 in the three months to August to reach 7.96m, the highest figure since comparable records began in 1992, the figures by the Office for National Statistics have revealed. Part-time working accounted for 27.3pc of total employment, with the number of people in working rising by 178,000 on the quarter to 29.16m. A record 1.14m employees and self-employed people were working part-time because they could not find a full job, up 65,000 on the quarter, the ONS said.