Walker Suspends Presidential Campaign: Wrecking Wisconsin Not a Springboard to the White House After All
This from the Washington Post: “Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker suspended his presidential campaign today, effectively ending a once-promising GOP presidential bid that collapsed over the summer. “Walker, who tumbled from top-tier status amid tepid debate performances and other missteps, had pulled back from other early-voting states in favor of a heavy focus on Iowa, where…
Sweet Mother of Jesus!?!
When I was growing up, the father of one of my friends was just about the least profane man that I knew. When he confronted some circumstance that very much surprised, confounded, or angered him, he would say, “Sweet Mother of Jesus!” Although e used the phrase so selectively and uttered it with such intensity…
Quo Vadis? Or, On Quitpieces
“Quitpieces?” That’s what Ian Bogost calls them in The Atlantic, writing “No One Cares That You Quit Your Job.” He’s right, but I’m more interested in what they say about our profession and what we can learn from them than in anything about any individuals. Two such quitpieces were posted two days ago, one by…
For Labor Day, a Carl Sandburg Poem about Work
Celebrate the Labor Movement!
This is the Labor Day message sent out by Muskovitz and Lemmerbrock, the law firm which has advised our chapter at Wright State ever since it was formed almost two decades ago: “Labor Day is a day to celebrate working men and women and their efforts to secure workplace rights and better working conditions, and is a steadfast symbol…
Thirty-Six Ways in Which Labor Unions Have Benefited American Workers
Three years ago, a blogger who signs his or her posts “TheNewDeal00” posted the following list to the progressive blog The Daily Kos. The post went viral, and on each subsequent Labor Day weekend, he or she has reposted the list framed with a fresh commentary. The list is titled “36 Reasons Why You Should…
Labor Day Perspectives on This Past Year and the Coming Year: An Upbeat View and a More Guarded View
The more upbeat view is provided by Harold Meyerson in a piece written for American Prospect and re-posted to the labor blog Talking Union. Although Meyerson starts with some grim statistics on the disconnect between increasing productivity and stagnant, if not declining, wages and on the decline is vacation time available to and taken by…
Strike Involving 150 Million Indian Workers
This post is intended more for this blog’s American, rather than Indian, readers. The vitriol that has accompanied some recent posts related to Prime Minister Modi reflects political tensions that are being expressed very concretely, if complexly, in Indian daily life. Last week, a major strike occurred in India. It involved about 150 million workers…
For a Union, Passivity Equates to a Loss of Collective Bargaining Rights
Yesterday’s NLRB’s decision on the collective-bargaining rights of employees hired through “temp” agencies has meant that very little attention has been paid to a decision handed down yesterday by an NLRB Administrative Law Judge. Although the change in how contingent employees are defined has potentially broad direct ramifications and signals an important, fundamental shift in…