Category archive for ‘Labor’ 
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Are Unpaid Social Media Internships Legal?
Chicago nonprofits and businesses often use unpaid social media interns as a cheap way to gain institutional knowledge about building online community. But according to the U.S. Department of Labor, federal law requires that unpaid internships be for the benefit of the intern–not the company. And now the fed is investigating.
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CTA Bus Tracker Vs. Union Negotiating Power
When CTA Doomsday eliminated 20% of Chicago bus service in February, labor leaders expected a public outcry from stranded transit riders to help save the jobs of 1,100 bus union workers. Instead, riders took the cutbacks in stride–because any rider with a smart phone can instantly find out exactly when the next bus is coming. Does the rise of transit-tracking smart phone apps spell doomsday for the union’s ability to rile up the ridership?
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On Chicagosphere: Why the Sun-Times Deserves to Die
On Chicagosphere I asked whether the Chicago Sun-Times union truly understands the endgame faced by their paper and journalism in general, calling out the Chicago Reader’s Michael Miner along the way for suggesting that columnists be forced to ditch commentary in favor of strict news analysis. There’s nothing I find more tiresome than yet another reporter throwing the rest of the world under the bus for the failings of their own field.
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Every (Working) Woman
During Election 2006, I had the good fortune to participate in 7 Days @ Minimum Wage, a video diary of working Americans struggling to keep their families afloat on minimum-wage pay. I interviewed Jessica, a single mom in Chicago. Her searing answers and barely contained sorrow made her, much to my surprise, the centerpiece of the entire project. I wonder whether if we had spoken during Election 2008, the current economy would have removed even what little hope she expressed back then for her children’s future.
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Webcast of White House Hopefuls Monday Morning in Chicago
Monday, the Laborer’s Union International of North America (LiUNA) is hosting a 2008 Democratic Presidential Candidate Forum at the Chicago Sheraton Hotel & Towers. I’ll be live-blogging from the event.
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In NYC: Roberta of Rego Park
You never know the characters you’ll run into in a Rego Park laundry room. Doing my mid-trip laundry with Jen of the mountainous bosoms, I ran into two of New York City’s most storied types of inhabitant. Neither one of which you can shoo away with a broom.
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Center for Union Lies
A couple of days ago, the right-wing wonks at the inaptly monickered ‘Center for Union Facts,’ an arch-conservative national front group, took me to task for supporting the Employee Free Choice Act. When the national opposition sees fit to criticize the little guy, that’s pretty good evidence he’s on the right track.
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Why Do We Need the “Employee Free Choice Act”?
Now that I’m back to labor blogging, some of you may be wondering why I care so much of late about the Employee Free Choice Act. It’s not that I march in lockstep with my fellow Progressives across the country. But I’ve seen many friends and colleagues get treated unfairly when it comes to labor-management issues and in the line of work I’m in, and I’ve heard far too many horror stories.
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Labor Puts Weight Behind “Employee Free Choice Act”
‘Every day, corporations deny workers the freedom to decide for themselves whether to form unions to bargain for a better life. They routinely intimidate, harass, coerce and even fire workers who try to form unions and bargain for economic well-being.’ (–AFL-CIO) And that’s why we need the Employee Free Choice Act.
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Good Meds: Big Healthcare to Fund Union Training
Frequently, my friends and colleagues in D.C. turn me on to stories that they think I’ll find socially important. This one was enough to help break me out of a momentary funk: a beneficial alliance between a major California hospital and its labor union.
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