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Evidence That Media Need to Use Different Unemployment Measures

Sat, 03/13/2010 - 09:33 — Dave Culver

What the Unemployment Rate Misses

Julie Hollar, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR)

Actual Washington Post headline today (3/11/10):

Rise in Washington Area Unemployment Seen as Good Sign for Economy's Recovery

Reporter V. Dion Hayes tries to explain:

Rising unemployment as a positive sign may sound counterintuitive, but economists explain it this way: The increase suggests that long-term unemployed people in the D.C. area who had given up looking for work have restarted their job hunt, perhaps because they see evidence that the region's economy is improving and that employers are beginning to hire again. On the other hand, the declining national rate indicates that discouraged workers elsewhere have remained out of the labor force because they do not see any reason to look for work.

Will Local 952 take on UPS?

Fri, 03/12/2010 - 14:28 — Dave Culver

A former teacher and a UPS worker for nearly 12 years, explains why Teamsters Local 952 members are organizing against the company's contract violations--and challenging union leaders.

Edgar Esquivel, Socialist Worker

Teamsters Local 952 members on strike against the Orange Country Transportation Authority in 2007

Under a weakened and corrupt Teamsters union led by James Hoffa, the officers of Teamsters Local 952 in Orange County, Calif., have become divorced from their constituency. But now, UPSers in the local--concerned over a series of contract violations by the company and concessions--are determined to take their union back.

The key issue is enforcement of the contract. Beginning with one of the most regressive deals in the history of UPS Teamsters in December 2007, the Teamsters at the Laguna hub have suffered the consequences of an apathetic local unwilling to enforce the contract and rightfully represent its members.

Mike Thompson | Detroit Free Press

Wed, 03/10/2010 - 14:36 — Dave Culver

Women's Day March in San Antonio Says “Ya Basta” ("Enough is enough!") to Abusive Treatment of Workers

Wed, 03/10/2010 - 14:29 — Dave Culver
  • “I’m proud of myself and my co-workers, because we are not just victims. We are not afraid to fight back.”
  • “Hyatt, Hyatt, What do you say? Stop abusing your workers today”

Chris Kutalik, Labor Notes

International Women's Day often gets short shrift in the United States, its places of birth, but in San Antonio, women's groups are raising its profile—and a little hell—while bolstering a hotel organizing drive. Photo: Chris Kutalik.

Much like its storied sibling, International Labor Day (May 1), International Women's Day often gets short shrift in the United States, its places of birth.

But for 20 straight years women's groups and allies in San Antonio, Texas, have been raising the profile of Women’s Day—and a little hell—by taking to the streets. The march has grown steadily over the years, and close to 2,000 marched this Saturday, making it the largest and arguably the rowdiest such event in the country.

Address jobs now, deficits later


Thu, 03/04/2010 - 18:09 — Dave Culver
  • Lawrence Mishel of EPI and David Walker of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation may not always see eye to eye on policy issues. But with millions of Americans out of a job, both agree that “we must accept higher deficits in the short-term to put people back to work.”
  • It’s an unemployment crisis, not a deficit crisis

Lawrence Mishel, David Walker, Politico, in Economic Policy Institute

Underemployment, State by State

Mon, 03/01/2010 - 20:16 — Dave Culver

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has recently released state-by-state U-6 numbers for 2009, which magnify the job market misery in many states.

Catherine Rampell, New York Times

Submitted by Evergreene Digest Contributing Editor Thomas Sklarski

Many people watch the unemployment rate to get a sense of how much pain there is in the job market. But as we and others have pointed out, it includes only people out of work who are actively looking for work. It doesn’t take into account people who have given up looking for jobs, and it doesn’t include people who are stuck in part-time positions but really want to be working full time.

For that we have the “U-6,” a broader measure of unemployment that includes underemployed and discouraged workers. Across the country, the (standard) unemployment rate was 9.3 percent last year. Including the underemployed and discouraged, however, the national rate rose to 16.2 percent.

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