Asset inflation, price inflation, and the great moderation
Economists as penance have been trying to locate the origins of the great chain of causation that has led us to our present situation -- the worrying conclusion is that problems remain -- imbalances precipitated by a labour supply shock [1,2] and/or (the rise of) machines [1,2] have not gone away and continue to persist in decimating the ('developed world's) middle class, as evidenced by high and rising unemployment, which has led to a crisis in central banking itself. [more inside]
posted by kliuless on Oct 31, 2009 - 31 comments

Crystal Lee Sutton was fired for trying to organise a union. The incident was made into the 1979 film Norma Rae. Last week she died at the age of 68.
posted by Fiasco da Gama on Sep 14, 2009 - 23 comments

Social mobility, income inequality and wealth disparities. [more inside]
posted by kliuless on Sep 7, 2009 - 54 comments

"The Coming Collapse of the Middle Class" [more inside]
posted by kliuless on May 1, 2008 - 98 comments

"In a historically unprecedented visit, the influential Chinese scholar and labor law expert Liu Cheng arrived in Washington, D.C. this week to garner support from US legislators and labor leaders for a law that is pending not before the US Congress but before the National People’s Congress in China."
Global Labor Strategies' recent report Undue Influence has prompted comment that US corporate advocacy in China is retarding democracy. The US-China Business Council rejects this characterization of their lobbying efforts (China Law Blog broadly agrees). Their European counterparts think better compliance and implementation are key to improving protection for Chinese workers.
posted by Abiezer on Apr 6, 2007 - 20 comments

"Tonight was a night of dreams -- dreams of many citizens who have almost given up hope for being part of Israeli society."

A new Prime Minister for Israel? Moroccan Amir Peretz, former head of the Histadrut (Israel's general labour union) supplants Shimon Peres as leader of Israel's Labour with an agenda of social welfare and an end to sectarianism and ethnic tension.
BBC Profile. Jerusalem Post article. Analysis from HaAretz. June 2005 Interview. Biography and Open Letter from Official Website. Peretz's "Ethical Roadmap" for Israel.
posted by ori on Nov 10, 2005 - 13 comments

Rev. Jackson rallies West Coast dock workers. I'm proud of Jesse for this action. The workers are only averaging $80K per annum and foreman are averaging only $167K per. I'm surprised he didn't try to do the same for the MLBPA.
posted by flatlander on Sep 3, 2002 - 19 comments

The Harvard Crimson contracts Cambodian sweatshop labor to make its online archives and saves $450,000. Is that the living wage they editorialized for?
posted by benjamin on Jul 24, 2001 - 21 comments