Calls for undermining the rising statewide minimum wage with a subminimum wage for teens
QUESTION 1: THE ROAD NOT TRAVELLED
A broader appeal could have resulted in a win for nurses and patients There was no way I was going to criticize Question 1, prosaically dubbed the Nurse-Patient Assignment Limits Initiative, in advance of Election Day. As a longtime labor advocate, I didn’t think it would be appropriate Continue Reading
PIZZA BARONS LAY OFF 1,100: PAPA GINO’S & D’ANGELO WORKERS NEED TO ORGANIZE FOR JUSTICE
Mainstream press coverage of mass layoffs like Sunday’s shutdown of almost 100 Papa Gino’s and D’Angelo fast food restaurants generally looks upon such tragic events through a glass, darkly. Because journalism in the service of the rich and powerful is a poor reflection of reality when it comes to Continue Reading
FROM INJURY TO ACTION: A LABOR DAY REMEMBRANCE (PART III)
No more manual labor for me, though. That was over, given my damaged vertebrae. This time any temp assignments I took had to make use of my writing, editing, and research skills—which I had developed over the previous few years, despite not having a college degree.
FROM INJURY TO ACTION: A LABOR DAY REMEMBRANCE (PART II)
It should go without saying that in the days to come both Belden Electronics and the temp service they used to hire me, Manpower, refused to accept responsibility for my injury.
FROM INJURY TO ACTION: A LABOR DAY REMEMBRANCE (PART I)
I was first injured directly after leaving the last shift of a job in late March 1989. But it was not an actual job. It had neither security, nor benefits, nor decent wages. It was certainly labor, though.
LIVING ON SCRAPS
Boston is aiming to achieve “zero waste,” which some say can create more living-wage jobs. Is part of this lofty goal rooted in the region’s dirtiest hypocrisy?
‘DON’T MOURN, ORGANIZE!’
Why Janus might actually be good for the American labor movement
TOWNIE: WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND
Or how tax breaks for fat cats relate to a defeat for Harvard management rats April 26, 2018 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS “Opportunity” for the few Gov. Charlie Baker submitted paperwork to the US Department of Treasury last week, according to the Republican, asking the federal government Continue Reading
CRISIS AVERTED
MBTA bus mechanics beat back privatization… at a cost February 14, 2018 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS Unionized bus mechanics represented by the International Association of Machinists Local 264 won an important victory last week when they agreed to a four-year contract with the MBTA—effectively ending a two-year Continue Reading