Labor

Fake News = Weakened Democracy

by Diane Farsetta — December 2, 2005 - 6:17pm

"The public's ability to participate in the rule-making process was undermined" when the administration of California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger produced video news releases (VNRs) promoting controversial proposals, ruled Sacramento Superior Court judge Lloyd Connelly.

Main Source: 
San Francisco Chronicle, December 2, 2005

Socially Responsible Union Busting

by Bob Burton — November 11, 2005 - 2:44am

The global mining giant Rio Tinto is lobbying the Australian government to amend draft legislation to ensure individual common law agreements with its workers override collectively bargained labor awards and certified agreements.

Main Source: 
Australian Financial Review, November 11, 2005 (sub req'd)

Wal-Mart: A Study in Low Prices and Wages

by Diane Farsetta — November 4, 2005 - 6:44pm

Wal-Mart "unveiled a new weapon ... the most comprehensive study to date on the retailer's impact on the U.S. economy." The study, paid for by Wal-Mart and conducted by Global Insight, concluded the retailer saved the average American $2,329 and created 210,000 jobs in 2004.

Main Source: 
Financial Times, November 4, 2005

Outsourcing is Good for You

by Sheldon Rampton — October 16, 2005 - 10:23pm

After stonewalling for a year and a half, the U.S. Commerce Department has released a report on the issue of offshore outsourcing of service-sector jobs and high-tech industries. "But the 12-page document represented by the agency as its final report is not what was written by its analysts," writes Richard McCormack of Manufacturing and Technology News (MTN).

Main Source: 
Manufacturing and Technology News, October 12, 2005

Wal-Mart's Good Deeds

by Sheldon Rampton — September 18, 2005 - 9:58pm

Wal-Mart Stores "is enjoying its best publicity in years as even its harshest critics laud the retailer's Hurricane Katrina relief efforts," reports Emily Kaiser. And the company is planning a "secret spin strategy to counter a union-backed, anti-Wal-Mart media blitz" that accuses the company of paying poverty-level wages and driving competitors out of business.

Main Source: 
Reuters, September 15, 2005

California's Indecent Propositions

by Diane Farsetta — September 16, 2005 - 12:52pm

California's November 8 elections on "several controversial propositions" dealing with state redistricting, the school system, budget and drug prices "could be one of the biggest political scrapes of the year, involving $125 million in ad spending," reports Advertising Age.

Main Source: 
Advertising Age, September 12, 2005

Immigrating Opinion for the White House

by Diane Farsetta — August 30, 2005 - 10:18am

"Republican lobbyists including Ed Gillespie, the party's former national chairman, and former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, are seeking to raise money for a public relations-campaign of as much as $3 million" to support President Bush's immigration plan.

Main Source: 
Bloomberg, August 29, 2005

Unions' And Bosses' Lawyers Unite

by Bob Burton — July 8, 2005 - 4:36am

Australian Financial Review legal editor Marcus Priest notes that in "what some unionists are calling an unholy alliance," the giant Australian forestry company Gunns is "using industrial tort avenues employers have traditionally used against workers engaged in industrial action" against 20 environmentalists and environmental groups.

Main Source: 
Australian Financial Review (sub. req'd.), July 8, 2005

When Journalists Embrace 'Reform'

by Bob Burton — July 2, 2005 - 6:05am

Reviewing the language used by journalists used to describe legislative changes designed to marginalise Australian unions, Deirdre Macken writes that stories in Rupert Murdoch's News Limited publications and by the publicly funded Australian Broadcasting Corporation often use the term "workplace reform." A dictionary definition of "reform", she notes, is making something "better by removal of faults or errors." "Governments will alway

Main Source: 
Australian Financial Review (sub. req'd.), July 2, 2005
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