Salem-News.com Labor articles

AFL-CIO `Gets Back to Middle Class` at Convention (AUDIO)

Oregonian on New Roster of Elected Officers.

(PITTSBURGH, Penn. ONS) - Oregon union members attending the AFL-CIO national convention this week say they are ready to tackle two big issues by year's end: health care reform and passage of the Employee Free Choice Act (legislation that would make it easier for workers to join or form labor unions).

The group has a new national president, Richard Trumka. He's urging union locals to get back to their grassroots, according to Oregon AFL-CIO President Tom Chamberlain.

Children, Families Forced To Work for Burmese Junta, Ethnic Troops

The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, says there are more than 100,000 registered Burmese refugees inside Thailand today, most of them Karen.

(NORTHERN THAILAND RFA) - Children as young as 10 are being forced to work as porters for the Burmese military and ethnic minority Karen troops amid intensifying conflict near the border with Thailand, according to refugees in northern Thailand, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reports.

One village here in a Karen region houses 95 Burmese refugees, including 39 children under age 12. All say they were taken from their villages in Burma and forced to work as military porters.

Brad Avakian Discusses Oregon’s May Unemployment Numbers

Labor Commissioner comments on unemployment rate; notes encouraging bright spots.

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - Today, State Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian released a statement on Oregon’s latest unemployment numbers. According to the state Employment Department, May saw a 12.4% unemployment rate in Oregon, which is the highest it has been in nearly 30 years.

In response, Commissioner Avakian says he recognizes the tough times ahead, but says he also sees encouraging signs going forward and believes the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) is prepared to meet the challenges of a down-but-recovering economy.

Human First, Economic Object, Second

Economic activity is a human activity, suggesting that economics must be based on some model of human behavior. We are not all capitalists, but we have been duped into believing that Homo economicus, economic man, is a valid model of human behavior.

(CALGARY, Alberta) - Kevin Tokar, in his late twenties, had been working for four years as a sound editor for TV documentaries in Toronto. On the job, he often found his mind wandering as he realized that he was more interested in the stories than in his job of perfecting the presentations.

"I found myself wanting to be more involved with the people, places and problems presented on the screen in front of me than I could ever be from my comfy chair behind the sound mixing board."

Report Shows 59,000 Construction Workers Out of Work in May, 2009, Over 1.4 Million Unemployed Since Early 2007

Construction Economist Ken Simonson Says Stimulus Keeps Declines From Being Even Worse, Helps Contractors Save Jobs, Hire and Plan to Expand.

(ARLINGTON, Va.) - Unemployment in the construction sector climbed to a “horrendous” 19.2 percent (not-seasonally adjusted) as an additional 59,000 construction workers lost their jobs in May according to new federal data, said construction economist Ken Simonson today.

Simonson, who discussed the significance of the new jobs data during a media conference call with contractors from across the country, said that construction employment has declined by 990,000 jobs, or 14 percent, in the past year while overall nonfarm employment has declined by 4 percent.

Oregon Unions Step Up to Help Laid-Off Workers

The AFL-CIO meeting is today, 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., at the Central Electrical Training Center, Tangent, Oregon.

(TANGENT, Ore.) - Oregon's labor union locals want to do more to help their members and others in their communities who have been laid off.

AFL-CIO leaders from around the state met today to trade ideas and information, such as how to file for unemployment insurance and what emergency resources exist for people who need rent money or food.

Labor Commissioner Announces Service Cuts in Employer Assistance Program

Revenue shortfall forces cancellation of seminars, further delays inpublications.

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - The Commissioner of the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries,Brad Avakian, announced a serious cutback in services offered by BOLI’s Technical Assistance for Employers Program (TA).

The TA Program exists to answer employer questions about labor and employment law, from meal and rest periods to family and medical leave requirements, and operates a no-cost phone/email hotline as well as selling handbooks and teaching seminars.