Use count
67

High Minimum Wage Equals Jobs Growth

Victoria Stilwell, Peter Robison & William Selway Bloomberg
Washington raised the minimum wage in 1998 linking it to inflation. In the 15 years that followed, the state's minimum wage climbed to $9.32 - highest in the country. Meanwhile job growth continued at an average 0.8 percent annual pace, 0.3 percentage point above the national rate. Payrolls at Washington's restaurants and bars, portrayed as particularly vulnerable to higher wage costs, expanded by 21 percent. Poverty has trailed the U.S. level for at least seven years

labor

Strikes Surge as Killings of Colombian Union Leaders Fall

Andrew Willis Bloomberg
Strikes, demonstrations and protests are at a record pace in Colombia this year as workers seek a bigger share of wealth generated by the country’s expanding economy. After 50 years of guerrilla warfare, the government’s success in weakening illegal armed groups has drawn investment and rewarded businessmen, while the gap between rich and poor remains considerable, according to the World Bank’s Gini index of income distribution.

Secrets, Lies, and Missing Data: New Twists in the Keystone XL Pipeline

Brad Wieners Bloomberg
Recently, San Francisco photographer Thomas Bachand tried to get the route from the State Department and the State Department claims not to have any GIS data on the route—or to know who within the federal government does. Which raises a final question: If no one can share the route, how can anyone approve it?

Voting Rights Act Brought Major Economic Benefits

By Gavin Wright Bloomberg
These regressive trends can be turned around. But that will require the mobilization of an expansive political movement, sufficiently inclusive to attract Hispanics, low-income white southerners and African-Americans.

labor

Loeb Opposes Teachers Union on Pensions as Asness Quits

Martin Z. Braun and Amanda Gordon Bloomberg
In April, the union included four billionaires on its “watch list” of money managers that support groups the labor organization said are hostile to traditional public pensions. The groups included StudentsFirst, an organization that backs eliminating tenure and funding charter schools at the same level as public ones. Daniel Loeb, founder of Third Point LLC, an activist investor is the only one of 33 managers targeted by the AFT to push back publicly against the union.

labor

Wal-Mart, Sears Refuse Compensation for Factory Victims

Renee Dudley Bloomberg
The Nov. 24 blaze in Bangladesh killed 112 garment workers and increased pressure on Wal-Mart and other Western retailers to help improve factory conditions and take more direct responsibility for their suppliers. Clothing bound for Wal-Mart and Sears was found in the charred ruins. Both companies have said suppliers used the Tazreen factory without their permission and were fired.
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