After much anticipation and speculation, the Labor Department released an update today to the rules that govern who is protected by the overtime pay provisions in the Fair Labor Standards Act. This long overdue change will significantly increase the number of people who are able to earn a fair return… Read More»
The tech industry is synonymous with cutting-edge innovation, yet the industry’s employment practices are frequently backward. There’s the lack of diversity in hiring and the prevalence of contracted work arrangements that, while often invisible, contribute to the deepening inequality in its hometown of Silicon Valley. One of the tech industry’s… Read More»
The 24th annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive will take place on Saturday, May 14. This massive food drive, organized by the National Association of Letter Carriers and the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association, takes place in 10,000 cities and provides food to communities across the country. Last year I spoke with Willie Groshell,… Read More»
Verizon has long been out of touch with the needs of the people who make the telecommunications giant so insanely profitable. More than 39,000 men and women who work for the company are on strike right now because Verizon refuses to negotiate a contract that respects them and their families.… Read More»
New analysis by the Economic Policy Institute and Jobs With Justice of U.S. Department of Labor data suggests that the leading users of the H-1B high-skilled guestworker visa program in Silicon Valley, and across California, are companies that essentially act as temporary staffing agencies. These companies make permanent work insecure… Read More»
Last week, McDonald’s announced its earnings and profit numbers for the first quarter of 2016. The company reported $5.9 billion in gross sales and $1.1 billion in net income—a 35 percent increase from the first quarter of 2015. So what’s behind McDonald’s recent success? Some chalked the spike up to… Read More»
Hugo Boss, the multibillion-dollar luxury fashion giant, is under fire for a string of labor violations at its massive factory in Turkey. The Fair Labor Association (FLA), an auditing group made up of universities, NGOs and companies, including Hugo Boss, recently issued a report based on its monitoring of working… Read More»
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments this week in the case of United States v. Texas, a case that will determine the fate of the most significant immigration initiatives in decades. These initiatives are essential to workers’ rights and to millions of working people across the country. The case… Read More»
Melissa Benjamin is a mom of two from Denver who has worked as a home-care provider for more than 16 years. Melissa has wanted to be a caretaker since she was young, as she watched her mother help rehabilitate her severely injured brother. “You know that feeling when you get… Read More»
UPDATE on 4/13/16: Attorneys general in seven states and the District of Columbia have announced they have joined forces with the New York Attorney General’s office to look into complaints involving retailers who insist on their employees keeping their schedules open and lives on hold for shifts they may never… Read More»