labor

Republican opinion-makers have found a new demon: the US auto industry. Especially demonic are its efforts to build more fuel-efficient cars and Democrats' encouragement of these efforts. Hooray, because Detroit could afford to be taken down a notch or two.

The author (no science in his background) uses the bulk of his space to break down the science behind the Volt. His thesis is that gas goes bad if it stays unused in the tank too long. So stop trying to save gas or your gas will go bad, idiot unionists.

Quoted: You have in GM's Volt a perfect car of the Age of Obama -- or at least the Honeymoon of Obama, before the reality principle kicks in.

Quoted: The public now has no idea what to expect -- except miracles, reconciling all opposites, turning all hard choices into gauzy win-wins. Thanks to Detroit, his honeymoon is about to end before it begins.

Great article on the dangers of hiring "unpaid interns". Besides not being "fair" - it's also illegal. Employers should not be asking their employees to work for less than minimum wage if they are producing valuable work product for them.

About the only safe thing is to have interns shadow an employee to watch them work. You could also offer them training, and have them work on independent projects that are non-commercial.

Any non-founder employee at a startup also needs to be paid at least minimum wage (though this may be able to be paid in equity - check with your lawyer).

Quoted: "All it takes is one disgruntled intern, or their parent or spouse or friend, to call the U.S. Department of Labor, and the company who follows this type of exploitative advice is toast,"

you hear a lot about the national debt, but not as much about consumer debt. turns out consumer debt has exceeded spending. this article blames the economy for not being stronger and that people are taking out debt because they have to. i'm not so sure about that though. i think its a broader problem stemming from pressure to be a good consumer and buy things. What happened to the good old days where people believed that if you didn't have the money for something, you can't afford it? Credit and corporate advertising is ruining people's lives by telling them it is making their lives better. Sinister and sad...

Quoted: An economist talks about the scope of America's growing consumer debt, what's behind it and what it means for the future.

Quoted: Yet while politicians debate how best to cover the growing ranks of the uninsured, the federal government -- by outsourcing service jobs -- quietly is adding to those numbers. "As federal employees, we get great insurance," says Dr. Rogers, a physician who believes prompt treatment might have staved off Ms. Derricotte's disability. "People who work as contractors often don't enjoy those benefits."

Under "most emailed" this morning on the PI.

Quoted: One such team, dubbed "enterprise" investigators, has permission to read the private e-mails of employees, follow them and collect video footage or photos of them. Investigators can also secretly watch employee computer screens in real time and reproduce every keystroke a worker makes, the Seattle P-I has learned.

Quoted: Northland Poster Collective. Posters, Shirts, Buttons, Bumper Stickers, and more on labor, unions, sisterhood, organizing, human rights, history, justice, freedom. Union-made products.

Check out those graphs.

Quoted: A new study suggests that 1 in 10 people on the planet directly benefit from money sent home by migrants working in other countries. Here are figures detailing that money's impact on developing nations in 2006.

Quoted: Delphi has violated the federal Americans with Disabilities Act since at least 2004 by requiring workers returning from sick leave to sign releases allowing the company to access medical information.

Quoted: This verdant swath of southern Indian coastline is a famously good place to be poor. People in the state of Kerala live nearly as long as Americans do, on a sliver of the income. They read at nearly the same rates.