Labor

The world needs more of it, not less.

ESG guidelines are no longer sacrosanct tools of coercion, department rules.

The Scrapbook is old enough to remember when socialism was popular the first time. It went out of fashion when even liberal intellectuals noticed that it produced only misery wherever it was tried, but now it’s popular again. An avowed socialist captured the hearts of young voters in 2016 (and…

Is the Labor Department scheming to take away restaurant servers' tips? That's the message some labor advocates are sending in response to a proposed rule-making by the Trump administration that would permit kitchen staff in certain states to receive a portion of servers' tips.

Paris

Bhavini Bhakta loved her union—until she got to know it. As a fifth-grade teacher in southern California’s Monrovia Unified School District, she put her trust in her local chapter. But after Bhakta’s principal had to fire and rehire her six years in a row because of a nonsensical seniority law, she…

In the heart of Wall Street, a new statue is causing quite a kerfuffle. Sponsored by State Street Global Advisors, one of the world’s largest asset-management firms, the "Fearless Girl" was installed earlier this year to stand in front of the famous "Charging Bull" in Bowling Green Park, just a…

In the heart of Wall Street, a new statue is causing quite a kerfuffle. Sponsored by State Street Global Advisors, one of the world's largest asset-management firms, the "Fearless Girl" was installed earlier this year to stand in front of the famous "Charging Bull" in Bowling Green Park, just a…

The American economy added a mere 98,000 jobs last month, less than half the number expected. Not good enough for President Trump, who not only wants more jobs: He wants them for coal miners and those horny handed sons of toil who once were the backbone of the American manufacturing work force. To…

On a Capitol Hill morning otherwise dominated by Gorsuch hearings, the deafening drip of surveillance revelations, and a possible health care upset, one much quieter event might have presaged what normalcy may, one hopes, come. Alexander Acosta, Labor secretary-designate number two, answered…

The American economy has taken the shape of an iceberg. The visible part glistens in the reflected sunlight of Donald Trump. Beneath the surface lurks a structure that might not long be capable of supporting the glistening tip.

Missouri governor Eric Greitens signed legislation Monday making his state the twenty-eighth to pass a right to work measure into law.

Andy Puzder, Donald Trump's nominee for Labor Secretary, is the CEO of CKE Restaurants, which operates Hardee's and Carl's Jr. When attempting to foist his garbage food on the public, Puzder's company has often employed racy—if not outright sexist—advertising. (Here's an example.)

CNN reports:

The WEEKLY STANDARD Podcast with senior writer Mark Hemingway on the lawsuit that cost big labor's SEIU millions.

Senator Orrin Hatch and Representative Tom Price have just reintroduced the Employee Rights Act, which would make some very necessary updates to labor law. Naturally, unions are engaged in the usual hyperbole attacking the legislation. See, for example, this March op-ed from the president of the…

On December 7, Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced a federal investigation of the Chicago police department. Recent history shows that the Obama Department of Justice cannot be counted on to perform a competent investigation, but at least this particular inquiry is not without cause. The city…

Say what you want about the merits of her campaign, Hillary Clinton knows exactly who she has to pander to in order to raise the exorbitant sums needed to run for president. Unions have spent over $400 million in each of the last two presidential election cycles, almost exclusively on Democratic…

During the White House's Summit On Worker Voice on Wednesday, Joe Biden had a clear message for labor unions—that Hillary Clinton might not be a reliable ally, but he would be. His speech focused on his sympathies for the labor movement, his friendship with AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, and the…

As inconvenient as it may be, the forces of supply and demand are difficult to counteract—especially in labor markets. The Obama administration has exerted much effort attempting to do so over the last seven years, and it has yet to succeed. 

Two weekends ago, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City held its annual monetary conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The left flew in hundreds of protesters donning green T-shirts that demanded “Higher Wages for America” and chanting, “We’re Fed Up.” The crowd was an assortment of college kids…

Missouri could become the 26th state to adopt a right-to-work law next week, marking the first time in history that the law has been on the books in a majority of U.S. states.

Joe Biden had praise for Bernie Sanders, but had nothing for Hillary Clinton. Biden, of course, is considering challenging Sanders and Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination.

In the president's Labor Day speech today in Boston, Barack Obama used New England Patriots' quarterback Tom Brady to make the case for unions. 

In a memo raising concerns about the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), Alabama senator Jeff Sessions worries that the trade deal would open immigration floodgates.

According to Gallup, only 7 percent of Americans want immigration levels to increase, while 86 percent either want them to remain at current levels (47 percent) or decrease (39 percent).  With most current and prospective Republican presidential candidates tripping over each other to vie for that 7…

President Obama is responding to Scott Walker's latest move in Wisconsin with a sharply worded statement.

Sometimes -- not often, but sometimes -- anecdote is more revealing than data. Especially when the data are subject to major revisions, which is the case with most monthly economic data. This is one of those times. Last week’s jobs report -- 295,00 new nonfarm jobs in February -- was a bit more…

The same day the White House renewed a push to increase the federal minimum wage, an announcement appeared on the White House blog for the Summer 2015 White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders [AAPI] Internship Program -- all unpaid positions. Even in prior administrations,…

It was a good year for jobs. As Bloomberg notes:

Politico recently hired Timothy Noah to be the publication’s labor and employment editor. Noah is a former Slate and New Republic columnist known for being liberal. Of course, most reporters on the labor beat are pro-union, so you’re probably wondering what the news is here. Well, that would be…

Politico recently hired Timothy Noah to be the publication's Labor & Employment editor. Now Noah is a former Slate and New Republic columnist who's known for being stridently liberal, so if you are an employer or someone who generally just likes reading coverage of labor issues that isn't slanted…

Initial claims came in at 304,000, slightly less than expected (315,000) and low enough to keep the low flame of optimism burning after last weeks good jobs number.

Until Eve’s encounter with the serpent, Adam did not spend a lot of time looking for work. Didn’t have to. Expelled from Eden and cursed with the necessity of earning his bread “in the sweat of his face,” he found work. Had to. Therein lies a partial, but only partial, explanation for one of the…

The latest jobs numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics:

As Paul M. Barrett at Businessweek writes:

Free traders are ecstatic. Negotiators at the 9th World Trade Organization ministerial conference in Bali cheered, hugged, and wept at what they see as the successful culmination of their recent round of talks. “A giant step for businesses large and small,” enthused the CEO of UPS. The…

At the corner of First and H Streets in Northwest Washington, the balloons were all set, hanging stories high in the cold morning air. The inflatable Pepsi and Mountain Dew bottles were twisting in the breeze, and a mini-hoop game was set up. There was even a marching band and Chester the Cheetos…

The D.C. Council began the year by trying to pass a minimum wage hike intended to bring to Walmart to heel. It is ending the year by pushing a minimum wage increase that would likely benefit Walmart. Such are the tangled politics and economics of the minimum wage issue.

Mike Lee, the senator from Utah, gave a speech at the Heritage Foundation last week that demands attention. The takeaway: Candidates need policy ideas that address the concerns of ordinary voters—and they have to campaign, and win, on those ideas. Lee noted that conservative scholars have a number…

It has been clear for some time now that big labor is no fan of Obamacare. Now the AFL-CIO has passed a resolution making it official. As Sam Hananel reports for the Associated Press:

When the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the numbers, this morning, on August unemployment, the economics, finance, and political priesthoods will commence digging into the entrails to divine Truth.  There is much to be uncertain about in the future and perhaps these numbers will tell us…

The celebration of work and the working man and woman feels a little forced this year.  Union have, as Kevin Bogardus of The Hill reports:

The Nevada AFL-CIO has released a resolution condemning Obamacare and demanding that the president and lawmakers change the law.

The Labor Department announced Monday the awarding of $64 million in grants to help unemployment insurance recipients find work more quickly.  The funds will be divided up between thirty-eight states, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia. Acting Labor Secretary Seth Harris…

Michael R. Strain, writing for National Review Online:

The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the latest jobs numbers:

Last month, I reported that Obamacare had stirred up serious buyers remorse among unions who were discovering the law was driving up insurance costs, wreaking havoc with contractual negotiations, and making union jobs less competitive. While Big Labor is lobbying for special Obamacare subsidies and…

In his State of the Union Address, President Obama proposed raising the minimum wage to $9.00 per hour. In support of this initiative, the White House has blogged about it and published a "fact sheet," as well. Acting Secretary of Labor Seth Harris has even conducted a "minimum wage tour" to draw…

Acting Labor Secretary Seth D. Harris addressed the Annual Legislative Conference of the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) on Monday. As part of a scathing attack on attempts to reform public employee labor unions, Harris told a joke that he said was “making the rounds a few years…

For someone who aggressively campaigned on the notion that the Republican party cares disproportionately about the rich, President Obama’s economic scorecard is rather illuminating.  Since March 2009, the Dow Jones Industrial Average — which tracks the stock prices of 30 large blue-chip companies —…

Tomorrow at the White House, President Barack Obama will bring in "progressive and labor leaders" for an immigration discussion. He'll also be meeting with "business leaders" to discuss the same topic.

Today, President Obama’s belief in a “living Constitution” came up against a ruling that enforced our fixed Constitution.  A 3-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit unanimously declared Obama’s “recess” appointments to the National Labor Relations Board to be…

Labor secretary Hilda Solis is stepping down. The White House confirms the news with this statement by President Barack Obama:

New Jersey governor Chris Christie has accepted the endorsement of the Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA), according to an announcement from the Republican's reelection campaign. The organization "is one of the largest unions in the state, representing over 20,000 laborers across…

Senator Debbie Stabenow, a Democrat from Michigan, encouraged folks to "keep fighting!" after her side lost the labor dispute that will now give union members the right-to-work.

In the Washington Post, Robert Samuelson highlights how Obamacare would needlessly complicate our society, make it more maddeningly litigious, give the I.R.S. more prominence, and make it harder for workers to get employers to give them so much as 30 hours a week. 

A new chart from the minority side of the Senate Budget Committee details the fact that, since January 2009, for every person added to the labor force, 10 have been added to those not in the labor force. Here's a chart showing the dwindling labor force:

According to the Sunlight Foundation, the White House retweeted a message that stated, "@HildaSolisDOL WE NEED NATIONAL WORKERS UNION! LABOR LAWS 2 FEW 2 WEAK! WORKING PEEPS SLAVES 2 WALL ST! #HappyLaborDay #un ..."

Earlier today, Democrats announced that Costco CEO Jim Sinegal will be speaking at their convention in September. But while Sinegal has been a faithful supporter of President Obama, even holding a fundraiser for the president at his Washington state home recently, the choice of him as a speaker in…

Philadelphia

A new study from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce finds that, when it comes to “threatening or disruptive behavior,” union members have far more rights—or, at least, far more license—than their fellow Americans. The Chamber's study, “Sabotage, Stalking, and Stealth Exemptions: Special State Laws for…

The unemployment numbers have been released and they are dismal and, typically, unexpectedly so. Fewer than 70,000 new jobs and the least scary measure of unemployment rising from 8.1 percent to 8.2 percent. According to NPR:

A final get out the vote call from Mitt Romney's campaign in Wisconsin suggests an unholy alliance of the Santorum campaign, "union bosses," Democrats, and Santorum's "cronies" might be conspiring to extend the GOP contest, and urges Wisconsin voters to stop those efforts by voting for Romney. The…

AFL-CIO president had a message for leftist activists today in Washington, D.C.: "We’ll make government create jobs, because government action is the only way to create jobs right now."

In a column titled "Democrats Plagued By Ingratitude," Byron York poses these questions:

The Protecting Jobs From Government Interference Act, which simply "prohibit[s] the National Labor Relations Board from ordering any employer to close, relocate, or transfer employment under any circumstance," passed the House of Representatives today, 238-186. Eight Democrats voted for the bill,…

The White House has released the list of those who will be sitting in the first lady's box tonight during President Obama's jobs address in Congress. Among the Obamas' guests will be several business leaders and politicians, including some very close friends of the president, and others from around…

Washington Post: "Coincidences don’t happen in presidential politics. Ever."

New York Times: "C.I.A. Demands Cuts in Book About 9/11 and Terror Fight"

Big Labor is finally getting tired of being led on by Democrats. Politico reports:

A new web ad released today by the Romney campaign highlights Mitt Romney's support for right to work laws. In the video, a paper company owner in New Hampshire explains how a union forcing his employees to join would hurt his business. Watch the video below:

Guy Benson: "BREAKING: Obama Administratrion Clarifies Biden Remarks, 'Strongly Opposes' China's One-Child Policy"

Organized labor makes up 12 of the top 20 political donors in the last 20 years and nearly all of that money has gone to Democrats. Labor leaders have also been less than subtle in their criticisms of Republicans over the years. However, with public sector unions the target of voter outrage and the…

Today is Equal Pay Day, which supposedly "symbolizes how far into 2011 women must work to earn what men earned in 2010." But in today's Wall Street Journal, Carrie Lukas explains the disparity between average wages for men and women in economic terms:

A senior official at the United Steeleworkers union defends Koch Industries from the onslaught of attacks from the left. His reasoning? Boycotting Koch, as some on the left have been advocating, would hurt the people who work for Koch.

Left-wing groups convened the “One Nation Working Together” rally on the National Mall on Saturday, October 2, hoping to counter Glenn Beck’s well-attended “Restoring Honor” gathering in August.  They also wanted to energize their base before the November elections, hoping to counter Tea Party…