Washington state Gov. Christine Gregoire told union members on Thursday she would support legislation next year to require large employers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) to provide health benefits to their employees.
Full Story: Reuters.
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The Department of Labor has released its report on union membership in 2005 and the labor movement addeda net of 200,000 members in 2005. Which meant that even with an increased working population, unions held even as a percentage of the workforce.
A small comfort possibly given the low percentage that labor has dropped to, but […]

The International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) has said that through its implementing partners, it has withdrawn 2,000 children from various forms of child labour.
The children were withdrawn from fishing, mining and quarrying communities, as well as head-portage nicknamed “kayayei” and commercial sex activities and are being trained in formal school or […]

In a WWRL poll, 71% of respondents blamed the MTA and only 14% blamed the transit workers,.
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Ken Rosato reported at Noontime that Toussaint quoted from an Eyewitness News survey USA poll of 800 people in the area. It showed that 52 percent of the people say they were on the side of the Transport Workers […]

The first national survey of public attitudes and opinions about Wal-Mart by Zogby International finds American adults hold an increasingly negative view of Wal-Mart. The poll found 38 percent, or nearly 4 in 10 Americans, hold an unfavorable opinion of Wal-Mart, and 46 percent of Americans believe Wal-Mart’s public image is worse than it was […]

Nathan Newman on why this is significant:

5000 new members in New York City would be a yawn– in fact, SEIU has organized far more than 5000 janitors in northern New Jersey in recent years, which is important but not life changing for the labor movement.
But these workers were organized in the South in the […]

A victory for those who would like to see corporations held accountable for their actions. Also, two executives at the company are being charged with manslaughter.

After only two days of deliberations, a jury found Far West Water and Sewer Company guilty on five of the six felony charges filed against it.
The jury, which returned […]