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Four Supreme Court Employment Decisions in One Day!

Written on 19 Jun, 2008 at 22:58

Score that employees 2, employers 2. High Court rules: disability retirement program did not discriminate on age; employer has burden of proving reasonable factor other than age in age discrimination disparate impact cases; insurer conflict of interest is factor... (Continue reading)

State of the Union(s): A Labor Day Follow-Up, With Questions

Written on 9 Sep, 2007 at 23:54

A handful of union-related items today, a week after Labor Day. First: The New York Times notes that there was no Labor Day parade this year in the Big Apple, where it all began in 1882: If you wanted to... (Continue reading)

Anti-Union Website Credited in Nurses’ Union Decertification Vote at Hospital

Written on 22 Aug, 2007 at 22:10

This story from today’s St. Louis Post-Dispatch would be just a local story, in my view, except for the role played by an anti-union website claiming to have been created by “an independent group of nurses – not supported or... (Continue reading)

Ad campaign attacks unions’ record on employment discrimination; Center for Union Facts site is good resource

Written on 25 Jan, 2007 at 22:47

According to a January 15 press release, on January 16 the Center for Union Facts (CUF) ran a national newspaper ad revealing hundreds of new discrimination charges filed with the EEOC against union officials. The headline of the ad was... (Continue reading)

Labor Day Special

Written on 4 Sep, 2006 at 22:06

I’ve always tried to do something on-topic for Labor Day. After all, this is an employment blog, and Labor Day is about labor, not just the end of summer. Start with the basics: “Why do we celebrate Labor Day?” Next,... (Continue reading)

A Short Course in Labor History

Written on 7 Aug, 2006 at 23:22

I ran across a good summary of over a century of labor union history, with comparisons between the US and European countries. Talk about the big picture! Dramatic contrasts between U.S. and Europe, and long-term perspective that completely ignores the... (Continue reading)

The Wobblies (IWW union) at a food co-op?

Written on 18 Jul, 2006 at 22:42

Are the “Wobblies” really still alive and kicking (wobbling)? Is there something inherently inconsistent about unionizing a co-op? To what union do workers at many supposedly progressive organizations turn? Answers emerge from a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette story about unionization efforts at... (Continue reading)

Wal-Mart in the News — A Lot! (Part II)

Written on 6 Mar, 2006 at 22:32

Last week, at a St. Louis bloggers’ lunch, Dennis Kennedy and I were joking about all our uncompleted posts, and all my Part I’s that never got Part II’s. Back in November 2005, when I wrote Wal-Mart in the News... (Continue reading)

Cintas ranked top employer in Canada — Huh?

Written on 10 Jan, 2006 at 0:14

When I read this headline, I first stared in disbelief, in view of my my most recent post. Then I reveled a moment in the juicy irony of this story. Cintas, the company American unions demonize almost as much as... (Continue reading)

Lawsuit Takes On Aggressive Union Organizing Tactics

Written on 7 Jan, 2006 at 20:39

Incognito Originally uploaded by brutal. Q. What does the photo of the license plate have to do with the title of this post? A. The aggressive labor union organizing tactic at issue was writing down employee license plate numbers in... (Continue reading)

Lessons From NYC Transit Strike: Who’s Right, Who’s Wrong?

Written on 3 Jan, 2006 at 1:32

Brooklyn Bridge footpath – Transit Strike Originally uploaded by MacRonin47. Many viewed the New York City transit strike just before Christmas as an illegal powerplay by a bunch of selfish “thugs” with unrealistic economic expectations. I’d have expected most of... (Continue reading)

It takes you HOW long to go?

Written on 8 Nov, 2005 at 13:12

“Ford Motor Co. management reportedly is trying to stop the company’s financial outlook from going down the toilet.” CNN/Money: Report: “Ford plant clamping down on bathroom breaks” What a great lead! But what’s up with THAT? Reportedly, Ford’s Michigan Truck... (Continue reading)

HR/Employment Blogosphere Update for October 31, 2005

Written on 30 Oct, 2005 at 20:47

I know, I just went over a month without doing one of these, and now here are two back-to-back. What’s up? Let’s just say I’m trying to get back in the habit. As usual, I’m listing my provocative headlines first... (Continue reading)

HR/Employment Blogosphere Update for October 1-26, 2005

Written on 26 Oct, 2005 at 16:44

I’ve been so busy switching to the new format and keeping up with the “Our Recent Reading” page that I’ve neglected to do this update for over a month. (New readers: I had been doing it weekly, publishing on Monday,... (Continue reading)