17-34-1

'nuf sed.

Fourth quarter revised GDP

Fourth quarter GDP was revised upward from 5.7% to 5.9%. Is it ARRA induced and temporary, or something else?

Void filling

Liberal Princeton University economist, Paul Krugman posted a recent column about what to do about deficits now that "starve the beast" has apparently reached a dead end. More after the jump

CBO says ARRA improved economy

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has issued a report on the effect of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. (ARRA), and the news is surprisingly good given the the bashing it has taken. Here is the table from page 8.

"Unions are becoming economic anachronisms"

This Washington Times opinion piece by free trader Daniel Griswold makes a rational argument for the irrelevance of labor. Long on opinion, short on citation of factual support.

Size matters

Union density matters, that is. This BeyondChron piece dramatically exhibits the external pressure union activists can put on employers to encourage them to "cooperate" in the process of their employees "selecting" union representation in the major hotels in San Francisco. More after the jump

Facts matter

I have been increasingly troubled by the unreasoned discourse which has politicized so many issues. Nowhere is that process more evident than in matters relating to organized labor. This point is underscored in Kevin Williamson's NRO piece about ACORN, the SEIU, and the Republican oversight report released last week which does a fine job of detailing certain abuses before, as Williamson writes, "the authors slopped the report up with tangential complaints and grossly exaggerated claims about ACORN’s role in the housing bubble." More after the jump:

Where y'at, labor movement?

The Washington Post has a pretty even-handed piece on the status of the labor movement.

FBI investigates school

The FBI is investigating whether school officials broke federal wiretap or computer-intrusion laws when they remotely accessed student's laptops and allegedly spied on student activities in their home.

Look into the Future

"How a New Jobless Era Will Transform America," is an important and interesting read, and transformation is not a good thing.

Tax on Cadillac health plans bites dog

The AFL-CIO blog claims a new study shows the excise tax on "Cadillac" health plans would affect significantly more non-union workers than union workers. The underlying study released by the University of California, Berkely Center for Labor Research and Education is here.

They can do that?

It seems a public school has disciplined a student for conduct occurring in the student's home. The evidence of the improper conduct was a web cam picture taken on the school issued laptop. Ho Hum you say, No different than that compromising Facebook post? Hang on, this ain't dog bites man. More after the jump

Thief!

Negotiating away pension benefits in collective bargaining is now called theft by the Machinists' union.

Team sports good for female careers

John Phillips picks up on a NYT article concerning the long-term positive effects of young girls playing team sports. Bottom line, they are likely better and healthier employees. My anecdotal evidence confirms this. My three daughters all played team sports from age 5-high school. I may be biased, but I think they are better employees, healthier and happier because of it.

Hmmm?

Law Professor says Democrats have nothing to lose from recess appointment of Craig Becker.

J'accuse

Sometimes hypocrisy smacks down the hypocrite. By flaming a "pile on" the SEIU mentality, this blogger cannot see she is engaging in the very shameless exploitation that she claims the SEIU is doing. So the SEIU posts about food safety at the Olympics. Possibly a legitimate concern, perhaps not, but certainly a legitimate topic for discussion. The shameless blogger then takes after the SEIU for posting about food safety, in the wake of the tragedy involving the death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili. It is not the SEIU that exploited this tragedy, nothing in the SEIU post relates to the luge event or safety surrounding the event. It is the shameless blogger who invoked the tragedy as a platform for criticizing the SEIU for raising food safety concerns. Its pretty clear that the safety concerns about the luge track are completely unrelated to labor/management relations.  I'm no fan of the SEIU, or its tactics but this is the football equivalent of hitting a player out of bounds then engaging in excessive celebration over the cheap shot hit.

Health insurers profits soar in 2009

McClatchy reports an interesting overview of how the big health insurers are weathering the downturn. Best zinger, industry analyst Sheryl Skolnick, a senior vice president at CRT Capital Group, notes "There is no way that as long as these businesses are publicly traded, they can have the best interest of their customers at heart."

EEOC tagged with defendant's attorney fees

A federal judge in Iowa has ordered the EEOC to pay an employer $4.5 million dollars in attorney fees for a poorly investigated and poorly prepared suit against an Iowa trucking company. The court found the award justified, in part by the burden imposed on the court.

Teamsters win big unit election

8000 Fleet Service workers at Continental Airlines have voted to be represented by the Teamsters' union. The Teamster press release is reported here.

Doomed?

WaPo columnist Harold Meyerson penned a pessimistic piece postulating potential passage of labor reform has for the forth time been doomed by dallying Democrats. I think he's right. EFCA is certainly dead. Whether reform occurs by legislation or NLRB action remains a long shot. Hand-wringing about recess appointment of Craig Becker draws ire and comparison to Bush appointments.

Major work stoppages down in 2009

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its data on major work stoppages in 2009. During 2009, fewer strikes and lockouts involving over 1000 workers (5) occurred than in any year since records have been kept (1947). This continues a trend that began in the late 1970’s and parallels the rapid decline in union membership during the same period. The New York Times has a graphic of the decline.

Free speech claim alleged

LSU professor sues for retaliation and violation of his free speech rights. Ivor van Heerden claims his firing resulted from his criticism of the Corps of Engineers, including its culpability for Katrina levee failures. Suit is filed in state court. Good move by the Plaintiff's counsel. I don't see this surviving summary judgement in federal court.

Man bites dog

Somethings surprise you on a level that you wonder. But when surprise combines with simple explanation for surprising result, you wonder how you missed it. The surprise: investment rates of return in defined benefit plans beat defined contribution plans (including 401(k) plans), and have done so over a long period of time.

Ledbetter 2

John Phillips has a concise summary of the Paycheck Fairness Act here. It is soon to get front burner treatment.

Becker denied

Senate refuses to invoke cloture on the nomination of Craig Becker to the NLRB, 52-33. Fifteen no voters including Saints fans Vitter and Landrieu.

Cloture vote on Becker today

A cloture vote on the nomination of SEIU attorney Craig Becker is set for today. Congressional Quarterly has details. Weather may delay vote.

U cubed?

A union for the unemployed. 'Nuf  said.

SAINTS!

Hell hath frozen

Pigs are flying

Buddy D is dancing in a dress in the promised land.

Bless you boys, and may God bless Saints fans all over the country!

Gone!

The link to the "echo chamber" post in our previous posts no longer works because the linked article has been removed.

EFCA by appointment

The nomination of SEIU attorney Craig Becker was voted out of the Senate HELP Committee on a 13-10 straight party line vote.  In October, before the McCain hold on the nomination, two Republicans voted for Becker. Some echo chamber writers, displaying a limited understanding of NLRB workings, rail against Becker and claim his appointment will result in implementation of card check recognition and mandatory arbitration of labor agreements. There are many valid reasons to oppose Becker if you are adverse to the labor position. There is little doubt seating Becker and President Obama's other two nominees would tilt the Board away from its Bush Board pro-management leanings. However, elimination of secret ballot elections and imposition of mandatory arbitration would require an amendment of the Act.

Unemployment declines, sort of

Unemployment dropped from 10 % to 9.7% according to figures released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The bad news, almost all of the decline is attributable to the removal of 378,000 persons for the category "unemployed due to job loss" into the category "Permanent job losers."

NOLA restaurant workers targeted

Labor Notes reports a new multi-city initiative to "transform" the largely non-union restaurant industry. The Restaurant Opportunities Center (ROC) is not a union, but it is supported by UNITE HERE locals. It also engages in supporting workers rights. New Orleans is one of four cities targeted by ROC, which has an office on Canal Street. The organizations current target is the owner of Tony Moran's and Old Absinthe House.

Labor troubles loom for NFL

NFLPA warns players to prepare for a possible lockout in 2011. One reason - - the TV deal pays the NFL $5 Billion even if no games are played according to Players Association Executive Director DeMaurice Smith.

Managing employee social media use

Been thinking of creating a social media policy? Here is a collection of 144 (and growing) from some sophisticated employers.

Facebook and subpoenas

A Facebook attorney spoke at a recent legal technology conference providing details of its aggressive resistance to requests for user's Facebook account information. Both providers as well as persons seeking information from providers with electronic data need to understand the Stored Communications Act.

Survey says: EFCA is not popular

The U. S. Chamber of Commerce has released a new survey which purports to reflect the public's views on card check and unions. I'm sure the smart people on both sides will find things to disagree about in the survey's findings. It has been picked up to show overwhelming public opposition. The SEIU's blog attacks both the poll and the pollster. To me there are two very interesting points. First, overall support for organized labor has dropped dramatically since 2008. Second, a whopping 70% of those surveyed had heard *nothing* about EFCA.

The stool has three legs

The following is the quote of the month on a dormant blog site. It struck me as a reminder that today's labor movement is not built on the same foundation as the labor movement of old. Perhaps there is a lesson to be learned.

"I have three pictures side by side in my house: John L. Lewis, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Jesus. I draw Social Security on account of FDR. I draw a pension on account of John L. Lewis, and I'm going to Heaven because of Jesus."

-- Jack McReynolds, 70, retired miner, West Frankfort, KY

Death of Labor reform

Steve Early, longtime labor activist, has penned a dire evaluation of the prospect of labor law changes, and the history of the Democratic Party letting labor down.

Jones cert petition

Halliburton has filed a Petition for Certiorari in the Jones case where the Fifth Circuit  refusal to compel arbitration of Plaintiff's claims for (1) assault and battery; (2) intentional infliction of emotional distress arising out of an alleged assault; (3) negligent hiring, retention, and supervision of employees involved in the alleged assault; and (4) false imprisonment.

Trumka says . . . .

The Hill reports AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka predicted yesterday that both EFCA and healthcare reform would pass in 2010. Taken at face value, a prediction by a labor leader that card check will pass appears more like whistling past a cemetery than likely to occur. But Trumka's actual remarks did not refer to EFCA, rather he predicted "labor reform" would pass. If labor revises its agenda to push quicker elections,  stiffer penalties for violations and union access to employees at work, Mr. Trumka could be correct.