Unlike its name implies, “right-to-work” does not have anything to do with a right to employment. Twenty six states currently have right-to-work statutes that make it more difficult for workers’ to organize into unions. The “right-to-work” movement is funded by large business interest seeking to weaken the ability of workers to unionize and collectively bargain. The Economic Policy…

By Keri Vaca I got a text from my husband Anthony last night asking me where I was. He said he had good news to share. I was out with my photographer friend Jen, on a spontaneous get together for early dinner. One of my favorite things about my job is the amazing photographer friends…

This should be a no-brainer: As much as possible, every dollar our federal government spends should help support American jobs and bolster the American economy. But that’s not happening to the extent that it can – and should. There’s an opportunity to turn that around, though, and that is what brought economist Robert Pollin to…

America is facing a retirement crisis. If you live and work in this country, you already know that and feel it as you and your family wonder how you’re going to prepare for the future. But the cause of this crisis may not be what you think. Over the last few decades, there has been…

June 11, 2015 By Steven Greenhouse America’s largest private employer cares a lot about preventing its workers from organizing, a leaked training video reveals. One former Walmart store manager tells the story that after discovering a pro-union flyer in his store’s men’s room, he informed company headquarters and within 24 hours, an anti-union SWAT team…

June 9, 2015 I’ve had some mean bosses. Back in the days when I worked in newspapers there were a few. It was a world of deadlines, working in a pressure-cooker environment where everyone competed for space and stories and bylines at the top of the page.  I started at 6 a.m. and the only…

June 4, 2015 By Laura Reyes Recently, a friend shared on Facebook a roughly 35-year-old photograph of himself as a toddler, toted in his father’s arms on a union picket line. In our current climate of relentless attacks on unions, it seemed simultaneously quaint and bold. A colleague of mine, a woman who works in…

June 2, 2015 By Kevin Brown After nearly a year of delays, the Los Angeles County Pharmacists voted overwhelmingly to join the Union of American Physicians and Dentists (UAPD), AFSCME. The County Employee Relations Commission (ERCOM) is expected to recognize the new unit at its next meeting on June 22, and contract bargaining can begin….

May 28, 2015 By Karla Walter and Jackie Odum Anti-union state and local policymakers in communities across the country are attacking an already weakened labor movement by enacting so-called right-to-work laws that inhibit workers from bargaining for better wages and benefits. “Right-to-work laws” make it illegal for workers and employers to negotiate a contract that…

May 26, 2015 By Kate Taylor The Service Employees International Union is redoubling its efforts against the franchise industry from a pro-franchisee front. On Monday, the SEIU petitioned the Federal Trade Commission to launch an investigation into the franchise industry, citing an imbalance of power that vastly favors franchisors over franchisees. “The relationship between big…