Forums: Labor Aristocracy

Federal Express opposes what they say is a congressional effort to tilt the package delivery market in favor of UPS and against the consumer. FedEx says this is a "Brown Bailout." UPS is a unionized, FedEx is not. This is one of several videos that attempt to explain the controversy.

I have argued here before that government "economic development" programs that pick winners and losers for selectively distributed "incentives" are in reality political development programs. A fine proof of this assertion was a PR stunt a few years back from Michigan House Republican leadership on a factory floor in Lansing. The event's press release headline read, "Republicans Vow: We Will Fight for Every Michigan Job"; the text described how their multi-point "economic stimulus plan" would create jobs. It consisted of a smorgasbord of new and existing discriminatory tax break and subsidy programs. Unfortunately for the caucus, then-Speaker Rick Johnson's office...

I missed this over the weekend, but it’s too good to let slide. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis wrote an essay for USA Today in which to defend the Obama administration’s efforts on job creation, a rather thankless task under the circumstances. Solis uses most of the space to argue via anecdote — in other words, to talk without saying anything — but it’s the conclusion that has to be read to be believed: I am not an economist. I believe that numbers only tell you part of the story. I deal with real people, and I know that the only...

Public transit ground to a halt across France and on the London Tube on Tuesday, with tourists and commuters bearing the brunt of a wave of discontent over government austerity measures. French unions challenged unpopular President Nicolas Sarkozy with a major nationwide strike over plans to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62, shutting down trains, planes, buses, subways, post offices and schools.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has managed to hold onto power after securing the support of independents to form a minority government. It took 17 days to do so after a general election failed to deliver a clear winner. From Sydney, Phil Mercer reports. Julia Gillard's Labor Party has the narrowest of margins as it forms Australia's first minority government in decades. Two independent lawmakers on Tuesday said they would back Labor, giving it a one-seat majority in parliament. Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor say their decision to back Labor was incredibly hard. For two-and-a-half weeks they negotiated with both...

The independents have made their decision. Julia Gillard remains Prime Minister in a Labor minority government.

<p>That`s all coming up. But this is the story that has me fired up first tonight.</p> <p>Glenn Beck and I have had this war of words all week long over this so-called Restoring Honor rally in Washington. Now, I don`t think he restored any honor to this nation with his preachy, phony, self-centered sermon about bringing the country back to God.</p>

When Congress created Labor Day in the late 1800s, it was to placate an increasingly hostile labor movement. At a time when American workers needed protection from heavy-handed industrial bosses, labor unions made sense. But with the growing effort by Big Labor to unionize public employees, it’s left its mission of worker protection from dangerous conditions and now has increasingly become a leech on the taxpayers. Public employees hardly need protection from their employer, the government. If there’s any segment of society that needs protection from the government it’s taxpayers, not their employees. Big Labor’s legacy today

Labor Secretary Hilda Solis is defending President Barack Obama's efforts to combat the recession and unemployment, saying his focus has been on helping the jobless and underemployed. In a Labor Day appearance on ABC News' "Good Morning America," Solis said Obama is doing a good job. Solis says the Obama administration knows people are hurting from the weak economy. She pointed to last year's $814 billion economic recovery act and administration proposals for job training and hiring incentives for businesses. On CBS' "Early Show," she said that over the last eight months, the U.S. economy has added some 90,000 private...

Today we as Americans will celebrate Labor Day. The origins of the day date back to the 19th century, with the first Labor Day being celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. By 1894, 23 states had adopted the holiday in honor of workers, and on June 28, 1894, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories. Labor Day was traditionally a day of parades and fun for those who were...