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French Unions Back Revisions of Labor Law

Liz Alderman The New York Times
PARIS — French labor unions and business leaders struck a deal to overhaul labor laws. The changes include more flexibility for employers to reduce hours to prevent lay offs in times of "economic distress." Employers will pay a higher tax for using temporary labor. In exchange for flexibility, unions secured improvements to unemployment benefits and health insurance, as well as seats on the board of large companies.

Big Win for Labor in Chicago

Josh Eidelson Salon
City council passes "wage theft" law that threatens license of violating companies. Will other cities follow?

Teacher Fight Backs and Contractors Threaten ULPs Against NYC School Bus Drivers

Teachers unions and other educational service workers across the country - in New York, Seattle, and Hawaii - are fighting against further cuts in school budgets, for better quality education for their students. In New York, school bus drivers prepare to strike for job security for trained professional drivers; in Seattle, teachers vote to refuse to give standardized tests; in Hawaii teachers campaign for a penny tax increase dedicated to education.

Coercive Wellness Programs Create New Headaches

Jane Slaughter Labor Notes
Employer-created wellness programs are about what workers should do on their own time, not what the employer could do to stop making them sick at work...Wellness programs are growing fast. In firms with more than 200 workers, 94 percent had such programs in 2012

Ways to Juice Up the Labor Movement; Labor Once Again Becomes Part of the National Conversation

Sarah Jaffe; Amy Dean AlterNet and The Century Foundation
The passage of a so-called "right-to-work" law in Michigan recently left the labor movement feeling gut-punched. AlterNet talks with Stephen Lerner, Jonathan Westin, Ruth Milkman, Bill Fletcher Jr., Jane McAlevey, Eric Robertson & Ben Speight for their suggestions on how labor can go on the offensive in the next year. Amy Dean, former president of the South Bay (CA) AFL-CIO Labor Council looks at best & worst developments of 2012 in the labor and social movements.

The Hero Teachers of Newtown; Teachers Are First Responders

Diane Ravitch and Deborah Dunton Diane Ravitch's Blog and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
This much is clear: the teachers and staff at the Sandy Hook Elementary School reacted with astonishing courage to the unthinkable, the terrifying intrusion of a man intent on murdering them and their students. With no thought of their own safety, they defended their children. Everyone of them is a hero, those who died and those who survived....we were reminded that the first first responders at schools displayed courage. They did their jobs.

Letter to Portside Labor Readers

Portside moderators Portside
The tidal wave of bull dukey that accompanied this year's elections was more than matched by progressive analysis and advocacy . . . if you knew where to find it. The fact is that mass struggles impacted every aspect of life in the U.S. in 2012. We hope you found Portside a timely and reliable source of news, left analysis and advocacy not only for domestic issues by for historic events internationally.