Gawker: Labor

Unions Need (Much) Better Ads

Hamilton Nolan — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:53:37 EST

Unions are not doing well. Their membership has been plummeting for years. Their political influence is at an all time low. They're a convenient scapegoat for just about any social or economic problem plaguing America. At least they deserve some good ads. More »

The Kardashians Might Use Child Labor to Make Their Clothes

Brian Moylan — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 12:35:00 EST

First there was Kim's whole wedding debacle, now there's the PR bombshell that some of the clothes the Kardashians sell on QVC and other products they endorse are made in China using what is akin to slave labor. Uh-oh! More »

Whole Foods Sued for Firing Valuable 'Poop Leak Whistle Blower'

Lauri Apple — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 07:28:00 EST

Given Whole Foods' status as "one of America's best places to work (for herpes-union haters)," you might be surprised to hear that a couple years ago the company fired a whistle blower. And not just any old whistle blower, either, but a "poop leak whistle blower": a sewage sniffer-outer, a foe of feces fraud. More »

Apple Prepares to Crush Apple Store Unions

Adrian Chen — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 13:26:11 EST

Starting today, Apple Store managers will have to undergo euphemistically-titled "union awareness" training, to learn about attempts by employees to unionize. It's safe to say Apple doesn't want unions getting in the way of their creepily efficient customer service. More »

Will Today's Massive Occupy Wall Street March Lead to Massive Arrests?

Adrian Chen — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 14:32:19 EDT

Today at 3pm, Occupy Wall Street protesters will march from New York City Hall to the Financial District, along with members of scores of labor unions and other organizations. The question on everyone's mind: Will this be a repeat of last Saturday's dramatic "Battle of Brooklyn Bridge?" More »

'Guess the Next Cashier to Be Fired!' Contest Unpopular With Cashiers

Lauri Apple — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 18:27:03 EDT

An Iowa convenience store owner tried to reward his most clairvoyant employees by awarding $10 to any cashier who correctly guessed which of their coworkers were soon to become an ex-coworker. Ten whole dollars! Enough to buy Doritos and gum for your entire family. Enough to buy ten Mega Lucky Power Lotto Ball tickets. More »

Groupon Employees Say They Got Screwed

Ryan Tate — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 19:55:14 EDT

Groupon was hit with its second lawsuit in as many months from employees who said they were screwed out of their overtime. This comes shortly after the online discounter lost its COO, its sales chief, its IPO date, and its favorite bullshit accounting metric. It's almost as though Groupon is some sort of hive of misery and deceit! More »

NYC Restaurateurs: Having to Pay Our Workers Is Destroying Us

Lauri Apple — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 15:22:14 EDT

Let's take a moment from our busy Sundays to remember the plight of New York City's fancy restaurant owners, who—because of "draconian state regulations" passed earlier this year—have become increasingly vulnerable to lawsuits filed by employees seeking back pay and tips. Why can't those workers just enjoy the privilege of working and "being seen" in popular restaurants? More »

Amazon Recruits Medics for Its Sweatshop

Ryan Tate — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 19:11:07 EDT

This weekend, Amazon.com was revealed to have repeatedly landed warehouse workers in the emergency room because it refused to open doors amid extreme heat. Now the online retailer is hiring medics to care for workers the next time it refuses to open warehouse doors amid extreme heat. Progress! More »

Man Named 'F— You C—sucker' Flips out on News Crew

Lauri Apple — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 15:07:50 EDT

A crew from Portland's KGW-TV stopped by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union's headquarters in Longview, Washington to ask about the union's heated dispute with a grain terminal operator. During their truth-seeking quest they met a plaid-shirted man named Fuck You Cocksucker who threatened to break their cameras and punch their faces, insulted a "dumb motherfucker" cameraman's eyeglasses, and said he'd have them all arrested for trespassing. More »

Your H&M Jeans Made 300 Cambodian Workers Pass Out

Adrian Chen — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 15:24:37 EDT

H&M is having a little sweatshop trouble. Nearly 300 Cambodian workers passed out last week in a "spate of mass fainting attributed to poor working conditions." More »

Foreign Students Making a Big Deal Out of 'Chocolate Sweatshop' Experience

Hamilton Nolan — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 09:33:30 EDT

The U.S. Labor Department and the State Department are both investigating beloved chocolate maker Hershey's, due to the complaints of a few foreigners. The sweet company's crime? Helping foreigners learn about America. More »

Striking Verizon Employees Going Back to Work

Lauri Apple — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 16:00:51 EDT

The 45,000 or so unionized Verizon workers who have been on strike since August 7 will go back to work on Tuesday under an extension to their existing contract, while negotiators for both sides are still trying to agree on a new and not necessarily improved contract. More »

Does Starbucks Need a Union?

Hamilton Nolan — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 11:31:03 EDT

Speaking of hugely popular chain stores with a liberal reputation which are actually staunch enemies of unions: Starbucks! The Industrial Workers of the World have been trying, with little success, to organize Starbucks workers for years. This week, they're picketing select Starbucks locations in major cities, partly in sympathy with Chilean Starbucks workers who are already on strike. From an IWW press release: More »

Could the LA Times Be Sold?

Hamilton Nolan — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 15:19:45 EDT

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In your Murdoch-free Tuesday media roundup: speculation on the LAT's future, Time magazine gets more paywall-y, everyone wants to work for CJR, Jay Rosen pontificates, and a labor journalism spat. More »

Sausage Factory Worker Falls Into Meat Grinder

Max Read — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 12:58:36 EDT

Michael Raper, a 26-year-old employee of meat processing company Bar S, died this week after falling into a meat grinder. Is there a way that this story could be more horrible? Yes, yes there is: More »

Real Democrats Beat Fakers In Wisconsin Recall Primaries

TPM — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 23:32:00 EDT

Wisconsin Democrats have easily fended off a Republican ploy in the state Senate recalls, with the official Dem candidates in each of six races easily defeating Republican activists who also filed in the Democratic primaries. But Republicans have not failed to reap some advantages from the situation. More »

No Strike at the Village Voice, Oh Well

Hamilton Nolan — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 10:31:28 EDT

A whole week of buildup and positioning and raising a "strike fund" and threats and etc. were all for naught; the Village Voice and its union came to terms just two hours before their deadline last night, averting a strike. More »

At Target, the Assholes Win

Hamilton Nolan — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 13:03:01 EDT

After a long and intense battle between union organizers and corporate anti-union forces, workers at the Valley Stream, NY Target store last Friday voted against unionizing. But a few good things did come out of this whole messy process. More »

Target Workers Vote Against Unionization, Intimidation Alleged

Max Read — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 11:59:35 EDT

Workers at the Target store in Valley Stream, N.Y. voted against joining the United Food and Commercial Workers on Friday, 137-85. Had the measure passed, the Valley Stream location would have been the first Target in the U.S. to be unionized. More »

Why Apple's 'Geniuses' Feel Dumb

Ryan Tate — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 14:32:26 EDT

Apple Store employees are supposed to smartly guide your crucial, Apple related life decisions. But now some regret their own choice to take the company's underpaid retail jobs, and their hipster existential crisis could produce the trendiest union ever. More »

Economic Outlook: Many New Jobs, None For You

John Cook — Fri, 06 May 2011 10:27:08 EDT

Congratulations! The economy added 244,000 jobs last month. So how come you don't have one? Because that's not nearly enough. Not even close. More »

Andrew Breitbart's Latest Garbage Gets a College Professor Fired

Max Read — Sun, 01 May 2011 18:04:52 EDT

After last year's deeply embarrassing Shirley Sherrod episode, you'd think people would have learned their lesson about conservative publisher Andrew Breitbart. But no! The University of Missouri has asked a professor to resign thanks to another stupid Breitbart video. Ugh. More »

Gordon Ramsay's NYC Restaurant is Real 'Kitchen Nightmare'

Hamilton Nolan — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 09:16:06 EDT

"Bloody 'ell!" That ejaculation is likely issuing forth from the lips of celebrity restaurateur Gordon Ramsay—as well as "Come on," and "You donkey!"—as he contemplates the ongoing sexism-related labor dispute that has shut down the fancy NYC restaurant bearing his name since last weekend. "Fuck me!" he is also likely saying. "This is a real Kitchen Nightmare!" he is adding, in all likelihood. "What is this, a real life Hell's Kitchen?" he is wondering aloud, we also believe. More »

Feds Want Their Maine Labor Mural Money Back

Jim Newell — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 12:36:31 EDT

The federal government is intervening in the great labor mural crisis of Maine, where snippy Tea Party Gov. Paul LePage ordered a 36-foot mural of the state's labor history removed the state's Department of Labor because a couple of businessmen didn't like it. More »

Judge Blocks Wisconsin Anti-Union Law (Again)

Max Read — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 20:36:00 EDT

Dane County Judge Maryann Sumi has just blocked — again — Gov. Scott Walker's (R-WI) new law curtailing public employee unions, after the state Republican leadership moved last Friday to circumvent her previous order that blocked the law on procedural grounds. But that's not the end of the discussion, as it appears the state will continue to defy the order. More »

GOP Seeks to Eliminate the Distinction Between Hunger Strikes and Regular Strikes

John Cook — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 14:41:35 EDT

Five Republican congressmen, including comical troglodyte Louie "Terror Babies" Gohmert, are seeking to bar workers who go on strike—and their families—from getting food stamps. Because why should the children of lousy strikers get food? More »

Maine's Governor Removes Huge Labor Mural

Jim Newell — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 14:05:27 EDT

The War on Labor Unions in states with new Republican legislatures has opened a new front in Maine, where labor art is the target. More »

Rachel Zoe Is Having Her Baby

Brian Moylan — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 17:31:48 EDT

According to sources (mostly from the ever-reliable newswire Twitter), far-too-rich stylist Rachel Zoe is currently in labor with her first child. She has also reportedly already lost all of the baby weight. More »

Democrats to End Union Standoff, at Some Point

Max Read — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 22:13:00 EST

"Democrats to End Union Standoff," The Wall Street Journal announced in a headline on Sunday night, citing an interview with Democratic State Senator Mark Miller: More »

Most Americans Support Public Sector Unions

Max Read — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 02:25:00 EST

A New York Times/CBS News Poll finds that most Americans oppose eliminating public-secntor unions' collective bargaining rights—and that Americans would rather raise taxes than cut public employee salaries in order to balance state budgets. More »

Obama Promised He'd Join Picket Line over Bargaining Rights

Max Read — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 02:49:00 EST

This is a video of then-presidential candidate Barack Obama promising a crowd South Carolina that he'd walk a picket line if the right of workers to collectively bargain was being threatened—as is currently happening in Wisconsin: More »

Wisconsin's Plan to Sic the National Guard on Unions

Jim Newell — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 17:13:15 EST

Wisconsin's new Republican governor, Scott Walker, wants to get his austerity budget rammed through the state's new Republican legislature, and he just supposedly doesn't have the time to deal with public employee unions. So he's introduced a proposal to eliminate workers' collective bargaining rights for wages, pensions, and other benefits while sharply raising their required contributions. And if these employees respond by striking? The proposal allows allows state authorities to fire workers who "participate in an organized action to stop or slow work" or who "are absent for three days without approval of the employer." More »

Foreign Worker Abuse Rampant at U.S. Embassies

Jeff Neumann — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 08:30:56 EST

The United States already has a major image problem in the Arab world, and a new State Department report on the abuse of foreign workers at U.S. embassies in the region is sure to make it worse. More »

Andrea Peyser Has a Wal-Mart Deep Throat

Hamilton Nolan — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 10:36:44 EST

Andrea Peyser is paid to be a raving, xenophobic tabloid sexpert. Who better to turn to for meta-analysis of economic studies? Have you heard bad things about Wal-Mart destroying small businesses? Andrea has a secret source that disagrees! More »

The Plan to Blame Unions For Everything

Hamilton Nolan — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 11:40:00 EST

Why is our economy in the predicament that it's in today? High unemployment, sluggish growth...who's to blame? The unions, of course. The unions are the enemies of the working man. The working class must destroy unions for their own good. More »

Prisoners Are America's Strongest Union

Hamilton Nolan — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 10:53:22 EST

Organized labor in America is a pitiful shadow of its former might. There's one exception, though: prison inmates. More »

Scandal: Labor Board Sympathetic to Labor

Hamilton Nolan — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 16:48:13 EST

The Way We Live Now: grossly violating the rights of unaccountable stateless corporations. Things have gotten so bad that even organized labor has found a safe harbor. Fortunately, a sea of bubbles is coming, to sweep us all away. More »

Will Fast Food Ever Be Unionized?

Hamilton Nolan — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 11:58:02 EDT

Minneapolis employees of the sandwich chain Jimmy John's are currently trying to unionize, which the New York Times calls "one of the few efforts to organize fast-food workers in American history." Is such a thing even possible? More »

Towards a Fair Set of Rules for Restaurant Work

Hamilton Nolan — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 13:07:35 EDT

New York is set to issue new guidelines on how restaurants pay their workers. New recommendations: $5 per hour wages, mandatory tip pooling. Our hardworking servers deserve more! Some suggested justice-based restaurant worker laws, below. Add your own! More »