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Labor's Edge Articles by Dick Meister
4/27/10
A Fitting Memorial for Workers Who Have Been Injured or Killed on the Job
by Dick Meister
April 28th is Workers Memorial Day - a day when organized labor and its allies honor the millions of men and women who've needlessly suffered and died because of workplace hazards and to demand that the government act to lessen the hazards.
An average of at least 16 workers killed and nearly 5,500 badly hurt on each and every day, plus 135 or more dying daily from job-related illness. It's certain that unless federal authorities do act to expand and adequately enforce the neglected job safety laws, the number of victims will remain at a terrible and unnecessarily high level.
4/16/10
President Obama and Labor Secretary Solis Launch Campaign to Stop Wage Theft
by Dick Meister
Hundreds of thousands of workers are being cheated by U.S. employers who blatantly violate the laws that are supposed to guarantee workers decent wages, hours and working conditions.
That's been going on for a long time, but rarely as extensively as it was during the administration of George W. Bush. Thankfully, Bush is gone. And thankfully, President Obama and his outstanding Secretary of Labor, Hilda Solis, have this month launched a major campaign to try to overcome the very serious damage of the past.
3/25/10
It’s Time for Working Women to Earn Equal Pay
by Dick Meister
Although the global recession has had a serious impact on working men and women alike, two new reports make clear that women in the United States and throughout the world have suffered most because of long-standing discrimination.
Though they're usually doing essentially the same work as men, or the equivalent of it, women earn 30 to 40 percent less than the men internationally. The gap is narrower within the United States, but even so, U.S. women average only 77 cents for every dollar earned by men.
3/16/10
The Truth About Musculoskeletal Disorder That Corporations Don’t Want You To Know
By Dick Meister
It's called musculoskeletal disorder, or MSD, and it's the most common of the serious injuries suffered by U.S. workers. But because corporate employers fear that greater public awareness would force them to spend more on job safety, MSD has remained one of the least understood of injuries.
3/7/10
State by State, Unions Matter
by Dick Meister
Union members invariably have better pay and benefits than non-union workers. But, as a new study shows, the number of workers who've joined unions varies widely from state to state.
Even in some states with a relatively high number of union members, the number is only a small percentage of the state¹s overall workforce, according to the study by the Center for Economic and Policy Research.