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Spotlight: Labor & Economic News Across the Country
Leno: Union-Busting No Laughing Matter
Union members in The Tonight Show audience ought to give Jay Leno a heartier-than-usual round of applause from now on.
In a show of support for striking actors, Leno told the Society of Human Resource Management that he wouldn’t perform as planned at their summer conference in Las Vegas unless they pulled two anti-union workshops from their agenda.
Organizers wanted Leno badly enough that they canceled “How to Stay Union Free in Today’s Era of Corporate Campaigns” and “Best Employer Practices to Stay Union Free in the Millennium.”
The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, whose members have been on strike since May 1 over pay for commercials, said Leno has always been a “stand-up guy” on union issues.
Overworked And Underplayed
In Sweden, they get 32 days. In Spain, Denmark, Austria and France, 30. In Japan, 25.
That’s five weeks, six weeks — and a little bit more in Sweden — of vacation time for all workers. And it’s required by law.
In the United States, there are no such laws. On average, U.S. workers get 16 vacation days a year. If it weren’t for unions, you can bet the average would be even lower.
Editor Joe Robinson says that’s a travesty — one he’s waging a campaign to change. OK, he’s got a vested interest — he runs an online adventure-travel magazine. But workers are unlikely to argue with his ideas.
On his website, in national magazines and on talk shows, Robinson is pitching a law to require employers to give all workers at least three weeks vacation after one year and at least four weeks after three years. Supporters can sign a petition at www.escapemag.com.
Robinson knows it’s a long shot at best, but he hopes it inspires debate about the perils of too much stress and too little play. “We’re the most vacation-starved country in the industrialized world,” he says on his “Work to Live” web page. “Enough is enough.”
Hitting ‘Em Where It Hurts
Unhappy with workers’ treatment in the bitter strike and lockout at Rocky Mountain Steel in Pueblo, Colo., Denver Mayor Wellington Webb is taking aim at the company’s bottom line.
Webb is urging his area’s Regional Transportation District not to use any of the company’s steel for light-rail expansion. In a letter to the agency, he pointed to a recent federal ruling finding the company guilty of unfair labor practices for locking out more than 1,000 striking Steelworkers. The labor dispute has gone on since 1997.
“Over the past year and a half, I have become aware of illegal replacement of the workforce in Pueblo,” Webb’s letter stated, according to the Denver Post. “As I receive more information about the reputation and practices of RMSM, my concern grows as to whether this company is a good partner for the city of Denver.”
Union members in The Tonight Show audience ought to give Jay Leno a heartier-than-usual round of applause from now on.
In a show of support for striking actors, Leno told the Society of Human Resource Management that he wouldn’t perform as planned at their summer conference in Las Vegas unless they pulled two anti-union workshops from their agenda.
Organizers wanted Leno badly enough that they canceled “How to Stay Union Free in Today’s Era of Corporate Campaigns” and “Best Employer Practices to Stay Union Free in the Millennium.”
The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, whose members have been on strike since May 1 over pay for commercials, said Leno has always been a “stand-up guy” on union issues.
Overworked And Underplayed
In Sweden, they get 32 days. In Spain, Denmark, Austria and France, 30. In Japan, 25.
That’s five weeks, six weeks — and a little bit more in Sweden — of vacation time for all workers. And it’s required by law.
In the United States, there are no such laws. On average, U.S. workers get 16 vacation days a year. If it weren’t for unions, you can bet the average would be even lower.
Editor Joe Robinson says that’s a travesty — one he’s waging a campaign to change. OK, he’s got a vested interest — he runs an online adventure-travel magazine. But workers are unlikely to argue with his ideas.
On his website, in national magazines and on talk shows, Robinson is pitching a law to require employers to give all workers at least three weeks vacation after one year and at least four weeks after three years. Supporters can sign a petition at www.escapemag.com.
Robinson knows it’s a long shot at best, but he hopes it inspires debate about the perils of too much stress and too little play. “We’re the most vacation-starved country in the industrialized world,” he says on his “Work to Live” web page. “Enough is enough.”
Hitting ‘Em Where It Hurts
Unhappy with workers’ treatment in the bitter strike and lockout at Rocky Mountain Steel in Pueblo, Colo., Denver Mayor Wellington Webb is taking aim at the company’s bottom line.
Webb is urging his area’s Regional Transportation District not to use any of the company’s steel for light-rail expansion. In a letter to the agency, he pointed to a recent federal ruling finding the company guilty of unfair labor practices for locking out more than 1,000 striking Steelworkers. The labor dispute has gone on since 1997.
“Over the past year and a half, I have become aware of illegal replacement of the workforce in Pueblo,” Webb’s letter stated, according to the Denver Post. “As I receive more information about the reputation and practices of RMSM, my concern grows as to whether this company is a good partner for the city of Denver.”