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06 Jul 2011 22:04

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Politics: Connecticut mandates sick leave for employees, first in nation to do so

  • YES every worker in CT will receive paid sick time source
  • » Bucking the trend: 2011 hasn’t been a great year for worker’s rights; for further information on this, Google “Scott Walker.” However, Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy reversed the tide this week, signing a bill that grants all employees, public and private, one hour of mandatory paid sick leave for every 40 hours worked. This is the first real political victory workers have enjoyed all year, at least at the state level; in addition, Connecticut is the first state in the nation to pass such a law. The only thing proponents of the law didn’t get? A signing ceremony for the bill. (Note: the law only applies to companies with more than 50 employees).

20 Apr 2011 16:10

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World: Doctor urges TEPCO to relieve stressed Fukushima workers

  • Examining doctor Takeshi Tanigawa says the workers could risk death. The doctor, who checked the beleaguered workers recently, has said the personal responsibility they feel to halt the crisis, along with terrible sanitation, little food, little sleep, and pressure from their families not to continue is causing extreme levels of stress, and could lead to depression or death from overwork. That’s all without mentioning the high level of radiation, which is extremely deleterious to health on its own. Tanigawa says TEPCO should mobilize all their employees and give these most dedicated workers a break: “Employees engaged in the dangerous work have human rights and wives and children just like others. We should not treat their lives without due respect.” source

29 Jan 2011 21:02

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World: Egypt: Some citizens so poor they can’t protest, must work

  • “How can I go into the street and protest? I can barely survive.” While some go out to protest in Egypt, others stay at work. They have to. They can’t afford to stop working. The L.A. Times notes the disparity that’s keeping some away from the protests changing the character of the 80-million-strong nation, in a pretty fascinating piece about a guy named Milad Zari, a baker who’s still at work because he makes a paltry $90 a month working 14-hour days. Zari’s been at work in his position for two decades, not asking questions about his future. And so are a lot of others. Many don’t have the luxury to protest and are stuck making bread instead. Remember that the people protesting are giving up a lot to be out there, and for every person protesting, there are numerous others like Zari, who simply can’t. source

27 Oct 2010 21:44

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Tech: How many employees does Apple have? We know the answer

  • 46,600 that’s way up from just last year source

08 Sep 2010 11:07

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U.S.: Gulf oil spill: BP tries to shift some of the blame with report

  • The company just released a 193-page report on the spill. Claiming “a complex and interlinked series of mechanical failures, human judgments, engineering design, operational implementation and team interfaces,” BP’s new report tries to spread the blame in a number of places, noting some design flaws but also focusing more on the cement job on the well (done by Haliburton) and failings of the workers on the rig (who were Transocean employees) and trying not to shoulder all the blame themselves. Consider the report an attempt at shoring up PR and a preview of future court cases. source

12 May 2010 11:03

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Biz: Wal-Mart forgot to pay workers in California some of their wages

  • $86M
    the possible size of the total settlement, based on underpaid wages and vacation time
  • 232k
    the number of former workers that could benefit from the class-action suit
  • $370 the amount that would net each employee, on average, which isn’t that much source

06 May 2010 10:41

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Biz: Fewer people making jobless claims; workers starting to get lazy

  • 7,000 fewer initial jobless claims
    than last week (it’s still fairly high,
    at 444,000, though)
  • 3.6% increase in worker productivity
    this quarter the smallest increase
    in a while source
 

28 Feb 2010 10:46

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Biz: Apple nails foreign contractors for using underage workers

  • 133k number of workers Apple’s contractors, over 102 facilities, use to create their products
  • 17 number of violations it found as a result of its own internal audits of contractors
  • three number of cases it found of contractors purposely hiring underage workers; that’s bad source

03 Nov 2009 10:26

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28 Oct 2009 10:06

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World: Afghan attack: UN workers don’t feel safe right now

  • I’m in another guesthouse maybe 200 metres as the crow flies from the Bekhtar, and believe me right now I feel vulnerable. I would like the UN to consider our security very seriously indeed as the current operational standards are patently ineffective.
  • An anonymous United Nations worker • Describing their feelings on the attack on a UN guest house in Kabul, Afghanistan. As the UN is needed in the war-torn country right now, the organization should probably heed this concern. It’s one thing when civilians are getting attacked. It’s another thing entirely when impartial humanitarian workers are. • source