via Ron Nixon, The New York Times Faced with billions of dollars in losses, the Postal Service announced on Wednesday that it would seek to stop Saturday delivery of letters, a sweeping change in mail delivery that immediately drew criticism from postal unions, some businesses and lawmakers. The post office said a five-day mail delivery … Continue reading
via Matthew Dolan and Kris Maher, The Wall Street Journal The Republican-led Michigan legislature approved a pair of right-to-work bills, sending them on for the governor’s expected signature, as thousands of union activists continued protesting outside the state capitol. Two votes in the state House approved bills to allow workers in unionized workplaces in the … Continue reading
via Doug Staglin, USA Today Scattered strikes and protests by Walmart workers and their supporters in at least nine states may have scored symbolic points Friday by taking on the retail giant head-on, but apparently they did little to keep shoppers away as the company quickly claimed its best Black Friday ever. The company said … Continue reading
via Jennifer Booton, Fox Business Typically one of the busiest shopping days of the year for retailers, Wal-Mart may need to brace itself this Black Friday as its workers plan a massive walk-out in protest of low wages and high health-care costs. The world’s largest retailer, though, says it is prepared. Workers that are part of … Continue reading
via Rachel Feintzeig, The Wall Street Journal Hostess Brands Inc., the maker of iconic treats such as Twinkies and traditional pantry staple Wonder Bread, said Friday it is shuttering its plants and firing about 18,000 workers as it seeks to liquidate the 82-year-old business. The collapse and probable liquidation of Twinkie-maker Hostess Brands is a … Continue reading
via Harry Bradford, Alice Hines, and Christina Wilkie, The Huffington Post Employees at 28 Walmarts in 12 different cities walked out of work Tuesday, but things may get a whole lot worse for the U.S.’s biggest retailer come Black Friday. United Food and Commercial Workers’ Making Change At Walmart, the group behind the strikes protesting … Continue reading
via Alice Hines, The Huffington Post The first retail worker strike against Walmart has spread from Los Angeles, where it began last week, to stores in a dozen cities, a union official said Tuesday. Walmart workers walked off the job in Dallas, Seattle, the San Francisco Bay area, Miami, the Washington, D.C., area, Los Angeles, … Continue reading
via Amy B. Dean, The Huffington Post “We are striking to improve the conditions in the schools. Right now the children are getting a raw deal.” That statement came from a striking member of the Chicago Teachers’ Union… in 1969. It still resonates in September 2012, when the CTU’s members have again walked a picket … Continue reading
via Noreen S. Ahmed-Ullah, Diane Rado, and Bill Ruthhart, Chicago Tribune Delegates for the Chicago Teachers Union voted Tuesday to call off their seven-day strike, sending some 350,000 public schools students back to class Wednesday morning and ending the daily scene of teachers dressed in red picketing their schools. The overwhelming vote by the union’s … Continue reading
via Scott Bauer, The Huffington Post A Wisconsin judge on Friday struck down nearly all of the state law championed by Gov. Scott Walker that effectively ended collective bargaining rights for most public workers. Walker’s administration immediately vowed to appeal, while unions, which have vigorously fought the law, declared victory. But what the ruling meant … Continue reading
via NBC News Dozens of churches and community organizations also were opening their doors to students for at least part of the day. John Harvey and Sarah Vanderstow were dropping off their 7-year-old son, Aiden, at the Disney Magnet School, but they were nervous because it was unfamiliar to the second-grader, the Tribune reported. Vanderstow … Continue reading
via Thomas E. Ricks, The New York Times In late June, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the former commander of international forces in Afghanistan, called for reinstating the draft. “I think if a nation goes to war, every town, every city needs to be at risk,” he said at the Aspen Ideas Festival. “You make that … Continue reading
via Noreen Ahmed-Ullah and Joel Hood, Chicago Tribune The Chicago Teachers Union says nearly 90 percent of its members have voted to authorize a strike, far more than the required 75 percent. At a news conference announcing results of the vote, CTU President Karen Lewis said they show how the relationship between the Chicago Board … Continue reading
via E.J. Dionne, Jr., The Washington Post The left will make a big mistake if it ignores the lessons of the failed recall in Wisconsin of Gov. Scott Walker (R). The right will make an even bigger error if it allows the Wisconsin results to feed its inclination toward winner-take-all politics. The danger on the … Continue reading
via Douglas Belkin and Caroline Porter, The Wall Street Journal Wisconsin voters headed to the polls Tuesday to decide whether to recall Republican Gov. Scott Walker in a bitter dispute over his efforts to curb unions that could affect the presidential race and influence policy toward organized labor nationwide. More than $60 million has flooded … Continue reading
via Paige Lavender, The Huffington Post Mitt Romney said the protesters rallying against Bank of America in Charlotte this week are too young “to really understand how the economy works.” “Unfortunately, a lot of young folks haven’t had the opportunity to really understand how the economy works, and what it takes to put people to … Continue reading
via The Huffington Post A recall election was officially ordered Friday against embattled first-term Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker after more than 900,000 signatures were collected on petitions to force a vote. The Government Accountability Board voted 5-0 to order the recall, a move that has been expected for weeks given the high number of signatures … Continue reading
via Sara Robinson, Alternet 150 years of research proves that long hours at work kill profits, productivity and employees If you’re lucky enough to have a job right now, you’re probably doing everything possible to hold onto it. If the boss asks you to work 50 hours, you work 55. If she asks for 60, … Continue reading
via Jim Garrison, The Huffington Post President Obama’s National Defense Resources Preparedness Executive Order of March 16 does to the country as a whole what the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act did to the Constitution in particular — completely eviscerates any due process or judicial oversight for any action by the Government deemed in the … Continue reading
via Philip Elliott, AP, Deseret News A day after he refused to endorse an Ohio ballot measure that limits public employee union rights, Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney said Wednesday that he is “110 percent” behind the effort. While he was in Ohio on Tuesday, Romney seemed to distance himself from anti-union measures that have … Continue reading