The Agonist - Labor

Laissez Faire to Netroots Nation

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 09:01:18 -0700

I didn’t go to “Netroots Nation”, mainly because I can’t afford to travel to Austin right now. If I could have gone, I would have, if only to raise questions that the other so-called “Progressives” won’t ask. You see, I have quite a different “take” on things that most “Progressives” accept as business as usual in politics.

The difference between the people attending “Netroots” and myself is that I don’t trust the Democrats as much as I don’t trust the Republicans. Of course, being a realist, we have to accept that the Republican and Democratic Party duopoly will continue to keep the power in Washington. There is no real threat or challenge to them. The thing that bothers me the most however, is how quickly and totally the members of “Netroots” fall on their swords for Obama, even after he voted FOR telecom immunity on the FISA Bill. This type of behavior enables the politicians to take the Left for granted.

The day the slacker died

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 07:58:16 -0700

Spengler

Two events on June 6 might denote the death of the "slacker" as an American cultural archetype. The first was the largest monthly jump in the US unemployment rate in two decades, due to an unexpectedly large number of young entrants into the labor market. The second was the release of the film Kung Fu Panda, which transposes the ubiquitous slacker-makes-good story line into the incongruous setting of Chinese martial arts.

America might be the first country in recorded history whose culture celebrates not only indolence but also the sheer absence of ability. Byronic loafing is the birthright of genius, but slacking has become the entitlement of every young American.

American popular culture puts a special premium on doing nothing, which is what the protagonists of such popular television series as Friends, Sex in the City, The Office and Seinfeld did. Aristocrats throughout history loafed because they could afford to. Until very recently, so could Americans. That has come to a sudden and ignoble end, on which more later. more

Who got H-1B visas petitions approved last year?

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 13:25:28 -0700

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee | April 2

Information Week - Thousands of employers are scrambling this week to file H-1B visa petitions in hopes that the U.S. government will approve their applications to hire foreign tech workers in fiscal 2009. InformationWeek analyzed the list of companies that had their H-1B visa applications approved last year and the number of approvals they got.

Among the top 10 companies having H-1B visa petitions approved by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for fiscal 2007 (which started Oct. 1, 2006) are eight Indian firms -- with Infosys ranked at No. 1 with 4,559 visas -- and two U.S.-based companies, Microsoft and Intel, having a combined 1,328 visa petitions approved. In total, the top 10 companies had 12,876 H-1B visa petitions approved.

Organized Labor Fights Patent Reform Bill

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 11:12:00 -0700

Christopher S. Rugabear | Washington | April 3

AP - The battle over patent reform, a sleepy sounding subject that affects new, cheaper medicines, Chinese counterfeits and BlackBerry addicts, has always sent high-tech companies and drugmakers to their respective corners.

But now organized labor is getting in the fight, using its lobbying muscle to stop -- or at least shape -- proposed changes to patent law.

Spurred by concern about overseas piracy of U.S. goods, unions have stepped up their opposition to patent reform legislation pending in the Senate. The AFL-CIO and the Change to Win coalition, a group of seven unions that includes the Teamsters, argued in separate letters recently that proposed reforms to the patent system would make it easier for competitors in China and India to counterfeit U.S. products and send more U.S jobs overseas.

Indian men in US 'slave' protest

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 13:53:53 -0700

Washington | March 27

BBC - More than 100 Indians who moved to the US for jobs have marched hundreds of miles to Washington DC in protest at being forced to work "like slaves".

The men plan to take their protest to the Indian ambassador.

The men say recruiters tricked them into paying up to $20,000 each for a new life in the US, where they then had to work in exploitative conditions.

The Mississippi firm that employed them, Signal International, has denied they were mistreated.

It says the men were paid wages above the local average and given good accommodation.

It accuses the recruitment firm of deceiving the Indians and has now ended its contract.

Strange Tales Of Desperate Job Seekers

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 15:36:13 -0700

Erin Conroy | March 18

AP - Puzzling resumes: Career advisors have always said that your resume should stand out against the rest of the stack. But how much creativity should your cover letter ooze -- even when looking in creative fields?

A telephone questionnaire of about 250 people by online job search company Creative Group found that more than half of marketing executives and a quarter of advertising executives view unusual job-hunting tactics -- such as sending a potential employer a shoe "to get a foot in the door" -- as unprofessional.

Some examples the respondents gave of peculiar job seeking:

One applicant sent six postcards, each a puzzle piece, which formed his resume.
A candidate sent an egg carton with faux eggs and a message saying she delivered fresh ideas daily.
A job hunter used an office building across the street to post his qualifications on a large sign.
Another sent a baseball mitt and said he wanted to be part of the team.
A woman printed her name on golf balls and sent them to executives that were hiring.

Outsourcing giant expands into U.S., Europe

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 15:27:28 -0700

Rick Merritt | Bengaluru, India | March 17

EE Times - Wipro Ltd., one of India's largest outsourcing companies, is eyeing expansion in Europe and the U.S. as part of the next phase of globalization. The $5 billion IT services firm plans to open two new software development centers in the U.S. and is studying a sizable acquisition in technology R&D in Germany.

"We want to give our customers a choice of geography with a distributed network of low cost development centers close to their centers of operation," said Azim Premji, chairman of Wipro Ltd. in a presentation to members of the international press here.

Wipro already has two software development centers in the U.S. One in Troy, Mich., focuses on automotive systems. Its other software development center is in Atlanta.

Immigration Is The Free Market At Work

Thu, 03 Jan 2008 07:19:57 -0800

(originally posted at The Seminal)

As Bill Richardson says, the U.S. has an immigration problem, but Mexico has one too.

"Free" trade deals like NAFTA devastated Mexico's domestic economy because these were unfair. Mexico gave up its protective tariffs on things like agricultural products while the U.S. didn't, meaning that food grown more cheaply in Mexico could not compete with American grown produce. NAFTA put over 2 million Mexican farmers out of business. This "free" trade agreement also allowed multi-national corporations like Walmart, fueled by even cheaper Chinese labor, to drive out thousands of small Mexican businesses and depress Mexican wages.

Mexico simply can't compete with places like China, so the American businesses that were supposed to set up shop in Mexico under NAFTA have largely moved on to cheaper locales. All this wonderful trade leaves Mexico with a glut of unemployed workers, mostly young men. These people then go looking for new jobs and a better life in the United States.

And they have little choice. While wages in Mexico fell 20% since 2001, immigrants can make as much as 13 times more in the U.S. It's not hard to see why some people would risk their lives to come to this country. You're talking about a 1300% pay raise!

Indeed, free trade and immigration go hand in hand. Free trade allows industry to take advantage of uneven prices in the global marketplace while at the same time forcing immigrants to take advantage of uneven wages. We are literally incentivizing illegal immigration. In the case of NAFTA, America gets the opportunity to sell our goods to Mexican consumers coupled with an influx of Mexican workers. Free trade means free movement of everything - goods, services, and labor.

Shrinking Middle-Class, Shrinking Labor

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 09:24:33 -0800

There has been much talk lately about the state of the middle-class, the insecurity of workers, and the flat-lining of wages in America. Much of the debate has revolved around the changes in the make-up of our labor force today. It has been erroneously reported that the shrinking of wages and of the middle-class is due to our no longer being a manufacturing society and due to out-sourcing. While this provides a convenient foe, it does not accurately depict the situation. There is a direct correlation between the flat-lining wages and the shrinking middle-class with the reduction of the labor movement in America. The only groups who have seen real growth in wages the past few decades are groups who are represented by unions. If this is true, then why are unions and the labor movement not more powerful and vibrant?

Is Organized Labor A Decaying Business Model?

Tue, 25 Dec 2007 12:17:26 -0800

Executive Summary

Is Organized Labor a Decaying Business Model? The answer is not a definitive yes or no, but rather yes and no. If organized labor continues in the same manner it has for the last century, then the probability of relevant existence in the next century is very slim, and labor will become the one-century wonder. Unions must accept the new paradigm, which is the nature of work is changing, and will continue to evolve. The economic forces of globalization are a major contributor to this evolution, as is the shift towards an internet based information society. The traditional blue-collar labor business model is being replaced with robotics, technology, outsourcing, and globalization.

The Myth Of Hard Work

Wed, 05 Dec 2007 07:19:18 -0800

There is a common myth that runs through America, propagated by the wealthy for mass consumption. This myth has been one of the most dangerous and divisive instruments used against the American working class of all races. This myth has been a part of Americana from the beginning and continues today unabated for the most part and constantly being reinforced by the media, corporate America, and the talking heads. The myth is simply this: that if an individual will work hard, follow the rules, and be patient that they can be successful. The biggest determinate to a person’s rise in this society is hard work and personal responsibility.

Labor Group: Crucifixes Made In Sweatshop

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 14:20:46 -0800

Verena Dobnik | New York | Nov 21

AP - A labor rights group alleged Tuesday that crucifixes sold in religious gift shops in the U.S. are produced under "horrific" conditions in a Chinese factory with more than 15-hour work days and inadequate food.

"It's a throwback to the worst of the garment sweatshops 10, 20 years ago," said Charles Kernaghan, director of the National Labor Committee.

Kernaghan held a news conference in front of St. Patrick's Cathedral to call attention to conditions at a factory in Dongguan, a southern Chinese city near Hong Kong, where he said crosses sold at the historic church and elsewhere are made.

David Podvin: LABOR DAY

Mon, 03 Sep 2007 11:06:25 -0700

LABOR DAY

By David Podvin

Another Labor Day has arrived, making it the perfect time to examine how American workers are victimized by those who pledge friendship. Conservatives never betray laborers, if only because it is impossible to betray people you openly despise. It is progressives who seduce the working class with false promises of fidelity.

In recent decades, American workers have seen their wages steadily lose ground to inflation while the monied elite have prospered. The national distribution of wealth now skews higher than ever, the byproduct of tax policies and trade agreements and illegal immigration. Conservatives have faithfully promoted the interests of the GOP’s aristocratic benefactors while liberals have failed to represent the peasants who vote Democratic.

Mexican Trucks Program to Proceed

Sun, 02 Sep 2007 07:39:01 -0700

JORDAN ROBERTSON | SAN FRANCISCO | September 1

AP - The Bush administration can go ahead with a pilot program to allow as many as 100 Mexican trucking companies to freely haul their cargo anywhere within the U.S. for the next year, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied a request made by the Teamsters union, the Sierra Club and the nonprofit Public Citizen to halt the program.

The appeals court ruled the groups have not satisfied the legal requirements to immediately stop what the government is calling a "demonstration project," but can continue to argue their case.

The trucking program is scheduled to begin Thursday.

"Can You Be a "Progressive Capitalist" and Anti-Union?"

Sun, 05 Aug 2007 17:19:06 -0700

Teamsterpower at the Daily Kos asks, "Can You Be a "Progressive Capitalist" and Anti-Union?"

No, you can't.

I worked in finance for ten years. Finance and the markets don't care for unions, only for siphoning from the wealth that labor creates.

One must have a respect for both capital and labor--and labor needs unions, otherwise it will always be exploited. Capital will always screw labor, at any time, in any place, in any way possible.

Marx wasn't wrong about everything.