Anyone who knows the frenzy of March Madness should understand that college sports are big business. Between ticket sales and lucrative licensing deals that allow for televised game coverage and profitable merchandise revenue streams, college sports is a billion-dollar industry. Businesses, of course, have employees. Yet, for far too long,… Read More»
In an exclusive interview with Salon’s Josh Eidelson, an assistant store manager at Walmart has come forward to expose a litany of abuses facing employees at the world’s largest retailer. The manager detailed problems ranging from chronic understaffing and inadequate hours to lack of overtime pay for managers working more… Read More»
Yesterday, the White House released a report highlighting how updating the federal minimum wage to $10.10 and indexing it to inflation is critical in closing the gender wage gap. Women make up 55 percent of all workers who would benefit from Congress enacting such a wage hike. The report comes… Read More»
One in five American households holds education debt,i posing an increasingly large threat to our economic recovery. As politicians at the federal, state and local levels consider possible solutions to this growing crisis, one government agency finds itself at the center of the student loan debate. The U.S. Department of… Read More»
Paying low wages is not a necessity, it’s a choice. When these guys opened their burger joint, they chose to do better. “We did this because, in our mind, it was the right thing to do. This is too hard a job to pay minimum wage. So far, we haven’t lost… Read More»
In Josh Eidelson’s latest Salon story, which highlights Target’s glossy new unionbusting video, we find out that there’s a reason Target and other employers invest in these kinds of tactics: they work. Big time. In 2011, employees at Target’s Valley Stream store on Long Island voted against forming a union… Read More»
On March 13, 2014, the Louisville Metro Council voted 26–0 to pass the “Ban the Box” ordinance in Louisville. The unanimous vote is the culmination of two years of hard, persistent work by many community members, groups, organizations, elected officials and Kentucky Jobs with Justice. Read my email interview with… Read More»
Last week, by a vote of 26-0, the Louisville Metro Council unanimously approved a measure to “ban the box” from job applications for positions with the city. Thanks to the measure, people applying for jobs with the city or its vendors will no longer be required to fill out an application asking if… Read More»
On March 6, amid growing concerns that schools are receiving kickbacks from banks selling products and opening branches on their campuses, students at 20 campuses around the country delivered letters to their school’s administrators asking for increased disclosure about the details of these partnerships. Currently, colleges and universities are only… Read More»
Recently, Evan Soltas and I debated the role of unions in the U.S. economy and the reasons for their decline. In doing so, I primarily focused on the macroeconomic benefits of unions – for example raising wages and reducing poverty for all workers. Unions, however, do more than ensure workers… Read More»
