AltWeeklies Wire
As Honeywell Closes a Kansas City Plant, Workers are Dealing with the Fatal Aftereffectsnew
The U.S. Department of Labor maintains a list of 785 toxic substances verified as having been used at the site, which will soon be abandoned. But people have been abandoned, too: former workers who live with chronic pain, who struggle to breathe or who have died.
The Pitch |
Nadia Pflaum |
11-24-2009 |
Business & Labor
Oregon's Most Litigious Stripper is Out to Reform the Industrynew
Zipporah Foster insists strippers deserve to be paid a minimum wage like any other worker. She and other dancers around the country are beginning to take a stand, and a handful have successfully sued for back wages.
Willamette Week |
James Pitkin |
11-18-2009 |
Business & Labor
Rolling Strikes are Fresh Tactic in the Labor Struggle Against Hotel Chainsnew
Two consecutive three-day strikes by San Francisco hotel workers signaled a change in strategy for local labor, which is struggling to hold on to past gains in an increasingly bitter contract dispute during this economic downturn.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Dan Abbott |
11-18-2009 |
Business & Labor
Silicon Valley's Nascent Auto Industry is on a Rollnew
In the past 12 months, green technology, in general, and automotive tech, in particular, have become the fastest-growing sectors of the American economy. The prospect of a new, sustainable automotive industry has already sparked a gold rush in the private sector.
Metro Silicon Valley |
Eric Johnson |
10-22-2009 |
Business & Labor
Can the Colectivo Tonantzin and the ACLU Beat One City's Anti-Day-Laborer Ordinance?new
The Colectivo has concentrated on fighting for the rights of day laborers in a county that has seen cities pass increasingly stringent ordinances against them. And few are more adamant about running jornaleros out of town than Orange, the Colectivo's new target.
OC Weekly |
Gustavo Arellano |
10-06-2009 |
Business & Labor
New Push for Labor Rights for Domestic Workers Gives Nannies Hopenew
Domestic workers are guaranteed the federal minimum wage, but there are no guidelines for working conditions and rights, and few avenues to complain.
New York Press |
Dan Rivoli |
09-24-2009 |
Business & Labor
A Mexican Shark Fisherman Tells the Tale of an Illegal Industry Gone Overboardnew
In the last decade, the Coast Guard has devoted a growing effort to deterring illegal shark fishing. But that hasn't stopped men from making the dangerous trip north in search of sharks.
The Texas Observer |
Kevin Sieff |
08-26-2009 |
Business & Labor
Local or Not? A Brief Guide to Whether 'Detroit' Brands Are Really from Detroitnew
It's not always easy knowing for certain what's local and what's not. Part of it depends on how you want to define the term. In reality, there's a spectrum of what qualifies as local, with the purest light coming from those companies that are locally owned with local manufacturing facilities.
Metro Times |
Curt Guyette |
08-25-2009 |
Business & Labor
The Shift to Local is Happening Across America, and It's Happening Nownew
I just spent 23 days traveling across America. I drove 9,220 miles, visited 25 cities and towns, and interviewed 75 people who are reshaping and reforming our communities by investing in local economies.
Dig Boston |
Joe Grafton |
08-20-2009 |
Business & Labor
Your Guide to the Protests at Portland's Whole Foods Marketsnew
Whole Foods has protesters outside its local stores and on the Web over everything from charges of union busting to a tin ear by its CEO on the need for healthcare reform. Here's a guide to the latest gripes.
Willamette Week |
Allison Ferre |
08-19-2009 |
Business & Labor
Wisconsin State Employee Union Says the Governor's Furlough Math is Faultynew
When Gov. Jim Doyle announced that all state employees would have to take mandatory 16-day furloughs to help balance the state budget, Diane Tieman was a little confused. The state doesn't pay her salary, so her forced vacation won't save Wisconsin taxpayers a dime
Isthmus |
Joe Tarr |
08-18-2009 |
Business & Labor
At Vermont's Biggest Auction of the Year, Another Dairy Family Calls it Quitsnew
Ken and Carol Borland are among the many victims of Vermont's flagging dairy industry. In the past five years, the state has lost 250 dairy farms. In the last 12 months, 50 Vermont dairy producers have gone out of business.
Seven Days |
Lauren Ober |
08-17-2009 |
Business & Labor
Public Displays of Dissensionnew
If you'd just moved to Pittsburgh in the past two weeks, you might think you'd stumbled into a hotbed of civic disobedience. In less than 10 days, local activists have generated headlines -- and a few headaches -- with a series of high-profile protests.
Pittsburgh City Paper |
Chris Potter and Chris Young |
08-04-2009 |
Business & Labor
Localwashing: The Corporate Co-Opt of Localnew
With Americans' new focus on buying products made close to home, corporations are moving quickly to co-opt the term "local." But if everything is local, is anything local?
Gambit |
Stacy Mitchell |
07-16-2009 |
Business & Labor
Kansas City Notifies Wal-Mart That One of its Dead Stores is a Nuisancenew
Wal-Mart has abandoned hundreds of locations in the course of its aggressive expansion. Big-rig operators and others have stashed vehicles near a dead Sam's Club in Kansas City for more than a year, and city officials are finally taking notice.
The Pitch |
David Martin |
07-14-2009 |
Business & Labor
