If there’s one thing we’ve heard plenty about lately, it’s jobs. We’re likely to keep hearing about the subject for some time into the future. Playwright Oscar Wilde said something in the 19th century that hits home quite clearly today.

(more…)

On the heels of a recent post wondering what the heck unions are doing to organize workers who are surely bummed about the state of their employment in these tough economic times, it comes to light that organized labor is trying hard to unionize workers at carwashes in Los Angeles. Before you ridicule this effort, consider a few facts.

(more…)

Last week, I had a post about the restaurant server who filed a claim with the Tennessee Occupational Safety Health Administration, contending that Tennessee’s law allowing registered gun owners to bring their guns into restaurants and bars that serve alcohol violated TOSHA. Why? Allowing guns to be brought into places that serve alcohol creates a dangerous and unsafe workplace for employees who work in the restaurants and bars because of the threat of violence.

(more…)

Can nicknames be a problem at work? Of course. Nicknames that are tantamount to ethnic, racial or sexual slurs and given to an employee by co-workers are a problem. In those cases, it doesn’t matter whether the employee is called the nickname to his face or behind his back or whether the employee complains about the nickname. It can’t be tolerated.

(more…)

My Labor Day post suggested that organized labor should receive a boost from the Great Recession. There is, of course, a quite legitimate contrary view. For those employers to whom I may have given heartburn on Labor Day, here’s your antacid.

(more…)

I have done two previous posts to recognize American workers on Labor Day. The first one contained a history of Labor Day provided by the U.S. Department of Labor. The second one focused on a statement about Labor Day issued by Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis. This year’s Labor Day post will be different, since it seems appropriate to look at Labor Day in the context of the ongoing Great Recession.

(more…)

The U.S. Department of Labor has announced that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited SeaWorld of Florida for various safety violations, including one classified as willful, in connection with the death of an animal trainer. A six-ton killer whale grabbed the trainer and pulled her under water. Video footage shows the whale repeatedly striking and thrashing the trainer, pulling the trainer under water as she attempted to escape. An autopsy said the trainer had died of drowning and traumatic injuries.

(more…)

So many blogs; so little time. I read blogs that have a wide range of subjects. I, of course, read as many labor and employment blogs as I can, and that varies a lot from week to week. I also enjoy blogs that deal with leadership  and related topics. And then there are the blogs that cover a whole lot of different things. From time to time, I call attention to blog posts that catch my eye or catch me by surprise or catch an idea I’ve had and turn it on its head. I can by no means list all of these posts, but I’ll share a few with you today.

(more…)

This week’s song is by Led Zeppelin. Although the title of the song might not make it seem like a work song and while the song is subject to a variety of interpretations, I think it’s about the difficulty of balancing work and romance. It’s hard to maintain a romance when you’re: “Working from seven to eleven every night. It really makes life a drag. I’m about to lose my worried mind. Lord, that ain’t right.”

(more…)

According to Wired, the NATO command in Afghanistan has fired a staff officer who publicly criticized interminable PowerPoint briefings. He told the truth about the lack of substance contained in a PowerPoint presentation. He told the truth about the role PowerPoint plays in creating a crushing bureaucracy. He told the truth about “endless tinkering with PowerPoint slides to conform with the idiosyncrasies of cognitively challenged generals in order to spoon-feed them information.”

(more…)