Smlr_net November 2013

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NPR: Here's Who Earns The Minimum Wage, In 3 Graphs
by SMLR Library 26 Nov '13

26 Nov '13

*SMLR-Net, the source of selected news on labor and employment relations and human resource management.* Title: Here's Who Earns The Minimum Wage, In 3 Graphs *Date: *Nov. 26, 2013 *Source: *National Public Radio * Author: * Quoctrung Bui *Summary: * A town near Seattle may . Massachusetts is debating raising the hourly minimum to $11. And in the nation's capital, Senate Democrats are pushing a bill that could . With all that talk about the minimum wage, we thought a little context would be useful. Here's a breakdown of minimum wage workers in a few key categories, along with a breakdown of all hourly workers, for comparison. *Link:* http://n.pr/1gf7B4W ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Eugene McElroy, Library Associate James Carey Library, School of Management and Labor Relations Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey 50 Labor Center Way, New Brunswick NJ 08901 848-932-9513 smlrlibrary(a)work.rutgers.edu http://smlr.rutgers.edu/carey-library

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NYT: Dolf van den Brink of Heineken USA, on Transparency
by SMLR Library 26 Nov '13

26 Nov '13

*SMLR-Net, the source of selected news on labor and employment relations and human resource management.* Title: Dolf van den Brink of Heineken USA, on Transparency *Date: *Nov. 25, 2013 *Source: *New York Times * Author: * *Adam Bryant* *Summary: * By making its office space more compact and installing a big indoor window, the C.E.O. of Heineken USA says he helped its employee engagement go “through the roof.” *Link:* http://nyti.ms/1gf2SQD ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Eugene McElroy, Library Associate James Carey Library, School of Management and Labor Relations Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey 50 Labor Center Way, New Brunswick NJ 08901 848-932-9513 smlrlibrary(a)work.rutgers.edu http://smlr.rutgers.edu/carey-library

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NYT: Conservative Leads Effort to Raise Minimum Wage in California
by SMLR Library 26 Nov '13

26 Nov '13

*SMLR-Net, the source of selected news on labor and employment relations and human resource management.* Title: Conservative Leads Effort to Raise Minimum Wage in California *Date: *Nov. 25, 2013 *Source: *New York Times * Author: * Jennifer Medina *Summary: * But after decades in the conservative movement, Mr. Unz is pursuing a goal that has stymied liberals: raising the minimum wage. He plans to pour his own money into a ballot measure to increase the minimum wage in California to $10 an hour in 2015 and $12 in 2016, which would make it by far the highest in the nation. Currently, it is $8 — 75 cents higher than the federal minimum. *Link:* http://nyti.ms/1exe76s ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Eugene McElroy, Library Associate James Carey Library, School of Management and Labor Relations Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey 50 Labor Center Way, New Brunswick NJ 08901 848-932-9513 smlrlibrary(a)work.rutgers.edu http://smlr.rutgers.edu/carey-library

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Washington Post: Among American workers, poll finds unprecedented anxiety about jobs, economy
by SMLR Library 26 Nov '13

26 Nov '13

*SMLR-Net, the source of selected news on labor and employment relations and human resource management.* Title: Among American workers, poll finds unprecedented anxiety about jobs, economy *Date: *Nov. 25, 2013 *Source: *Washington Post * Author: * Jim Tankersley and Scott Clement *Summary: * More than six in 10 workers in a recent Washington Post-Miller Center poll <http://www.washingtonpost.com/page/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2013/09/28/Nati…>worry that they will lose their jobs to the economy, surpassing concerns in more than a dozen surveys dating to the 1970s. Nearly one in three, 32 percent, say they worry “a lot” about losing their jobs, also a record high, according to the joint survey<http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/more-people-express-uncertainty-in-chan…>, which explores Americans’ changing definition of success and their confidence in the country’s future. *Link:* http://wapo.st/1exa0Hz ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Eugene McElroy, Library Associate James Carey Library, School of Management and Labor Relations Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey 50 Labor Center Way, New Brunswick NJ 08901 848-932-9513 smlrlibrary(a)work.rutgers.edu http://smlr.rutgers.edu/carey-library

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USCC: U.S. Chamber Report Shows Union Front Groups Receiving Millions from Activist Foundations
by SMLR Library 25 Nov '13

25 Nov '13

*SMLR-Net, the source of selected news on labor and employment relations and human resource management.* Title: *U.S. Chamber Report Shows Union Front Groups Receiving Millions from Activist Foundations* *Date: *Nov. 25, 2013 *Source: *US Chamber of Commerce * Author: *Justin Hakes *Summary: * The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Workforce Freedom Initiative (WFI) today released a study exposing financial and organizational ties between activist foundations and many of the union front groups at the forefront of various recent protests against employers. The study, The Emerging Role of Worker Centers in Union Organizing: A Strategic Assessment<http://www.workforcefreedom.com/sites/default/files/WFI%20Manheim%20Study%2…>, shows that from 2009-2012 alone, such foundations provided those union front organizations, also called worker centers, with over $57 million in support. *Link:* http://bit.ly/1aNiFVM ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Eugene McElroy, Library Associate James Carey Library, School of Management and Labor Relations Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey 50 Labor Center Way, New Brunswick NJ 08901 848-932-9513 smlrlibrary(a)work.rutgers.edu http://smlr.rutgers.edu/carey-library

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NYT: Young and Uninsured, in Charts
by SMLR Library 25 Nov '13

25 Nov '13

*SMLR-Net, the source of selected news on labor and employment relations and human resource management.* Title: Young and Uninsured, in Charts *Date: *Nov. 25, 2013 *Source: *NY Times *Author: *Catherine Rampell *Summary: * Last week, the Census Bureau released some nice charts<http://www.census.gov/how/pdf/young_uninsured.pdf>about the young and uninsured — that is, the folks that insurance companies are now falling over themselves to sign up because young people are cheap (and can be charged premiums<http://www.forbes.com/sites/theapothecary/2013/11/21/why-arent-millennials-…>higher than are actuarially fair<http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/22/in-health-care-premiums-who-ge…>in order to subsidize older people). *Link:* http://nyti.ms/18BGQWM ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Eugene McElroy, Library Associate James Carey Library, School of Management and Labor Relations Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey 50 Labor Center Way, New Brunswick NJ 08901 848-932-9513 smlrlibrary(a)work.rutgers.edu http://smlr.rutgers.edu/carey-library

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NYT: What We’ve Learned From Nafta
by SMLR Library 25 Nov '13

25 Nov '13

*SMLR-Net, the source of selected news on labor and employment relations and human resource management.* Title: What We’ve Learned From Nafta *Date: *Nov. 23, 2013 *Source: *NY Times *Summary: * As the 20th anniversary of the North American Free Trade Agreement approaches, U.S. representatives are negotiating a trans-Pacific trade arrangement<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/06/opinion/a-pacific-trade-deal.html>that could have even greater impact. Can our experience with Nafta provide lessons on what we should emulate or avoid in the latest trade agreement? Has Nafta proved to be a success that the United States should try to replicate more widely or the type of trade agreement that should be avoided in the future? *Link:* http://nyti.ms/182pIFO ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Eugene McElroy, Library Associate James Carey Library, School of Management and Labor Relations Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey 50 Labor Center Way, New Brunswick NJ 08901 848-932-9513 smlrlibrary(a)work.rutgers.edu http://smlr.rutgers.edu/carey-library

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NYT: How Can We Jump-Start the Struggle for Gender Equality?
by SMLR Library 25 Nov '13

25 Nov '13

*SMLR-Net, the source of selected news on labor and employment relations and human resource management.* Title: How Can We Jump-Start the Struggle for Gender Equality? *Date: *Nov. 23, 2013 *Source: *NY Times *Author: *Philip Cohen *Summary: * It’s difficult to imagine (or remember) American women’s world in the early 1960s, described to chilling effect by Stephanie Coontz in “A Strange Stirring: ‘The Feminine Mystique’ and American Women at the Dawn of the 1960s.” Women responding to sex-segregated help-wanted ads (including in The New York Times until 1968) faced rampant — and completely legal — employment discrimination on the basis of sex, race, age, motherhood, pregnancy and appearance. They faced obstacles obtaining loans or buying property without their husbands’ approval. Rape within marriage was not a crime, and domestic violence was just barely one. Divorce was relatively rare. Birth control was illegal in many places, and elective abortion was banned. *Link:* http://nyti.ms/1cLhfJM ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Eugene McElroy, Library Associate James Carey Library, School of Management and Labor Relations Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey 50 Labor Center Way, New Brunswick NJ 08901 848-932-9513 smlrlibrary(a)work.rutgers.edu http://smlr.rutgers.edu/carey-library

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US Census: THE YOUNG AND UNINSURED IN 2012
by SMLR Library 22 Nov '13

22 Nov '13

Census (thanks to Stuart Basefsky) *THE YOUNG AND UNINSURED IN 2012: INFOGRAPHIC [*21 November 2013] http://www.census.gov/how/infographics/young_uninsured.html or http://www.census.gov/how/pdf/young_uninsured.pdf [full-text, 3 pages] In 2012, 27 percent of young adults (ages 19 to 34) lacked health insurance, although the rate varied widely from state to state, according to a new Census Bureau infographic, "The Young and Uninsured in 2012." The infographic looks at the characteristics of this group and their uninsured rate in states and the largest metropolitan areas. The analysis uses American Community Survey data collected from 2008 to 2012 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Eugene McElroy, Library Associate James Carey Library, School of Management and Labor Relations Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey 50 Labor Center Way, New Brunswick NJ 08901 848-932-9513 smlrlibrary(a)work.rutgers.edu http://smlr.rutgers.edu/carey-library

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(Blasi, Kruse, Freeman) yee-Owned Companies Reboot the Economy?
by SMLR Library 22 Nov '13

22 Nov '13

*The Citizen’s Share*, a new book by SMLR Professors Joseph Blasi and Doug Kruse and Richard Freeman of Harvard have received press coverage in *The Economist <http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21590348-employee-share…>, Time Magazine <http://business.time.com/2013/11/19/can-employee-owned-companies-reboot-the…>*, and *PBS Newshour. <http://www.pbs.org/newshour/businessdesk/2013/11/what-the-founding-fathers-…>* The *Time Magazine* article is included below. *(thanks to **Renée Walker for this) * *Can Employee-Owned Companies Reboot the Economy?* By Christopher Matthews *Time Magazine <http://business.time.com/2013/11/19/can-employee-owned-companies-reboot-the…>* November 19, 2013 The American worker is doing so well. The median wage earner’s pay hasn’t grown in years, while most economic growth is being captured only by the already wealthy. While these problems are well-documented, finding a solution for the average wage-earner’s plight has been more difficult. In a new book out this month, *The Citizen’s Share <http://yalepress.yale.edu/book.asp?isbn=9780300192254>, *authors Joseph Blasi, Douglas L. Kruse, and Richard B. Freeman (a sociologist and two economists, respectively) offer a novel solution: If owners of businesses are reaping the rewards of economic growth at the expense of workers, then why not just try to increase the number of workers who also own a piece of the firms that employ them? The impulse toward broadly extending property ownership is a one that has a long history in America. The authors recount how the founding fathers were staunchly opposed to European traditions which required property to be passed down to first born sons. Some of the first federal programs ever instituted were efforts to support property ownership among the working class. One such scheme was a cod fishing subsidy that was aimed at helping the then-integral industry recover from the Revolutionary War, but which required any businesses that took the benefit to pass along their subsidies to their workers in the form of profit sharing. The propensity towards widespread property ownership culminated in the Homestead Acts, which between 1862 and its repeal more than 100 years later was a powerful force for helping the landless masses obtain a stake in American society’s success. The authors write: “Between 1862 and 1938, 10 percent of the landmass of the United States–nearly the area of Texas and California combined–was claimed and settled by 1.6 million homesteads under the different Homestead Acts. This represents about 20 percent of all public land and is comparable to all the land granted to states and sold or awarded to corporations and land grant colleges.” America has long since run out of empty land, but luckily for us, we no longer live in an agricultural economy where land is the prime ingredient in economic output. The most productive resources are companies, and unlike land, there’s technically no limit to the amount of corporate property that can be created and owned. We really can all have a piece of the pie. As Blasi, Kruse, and Freeman note, there are plenty examples of companies practicing what they call “broad-based capitalism,” or a management style that promotes employees participating in generous profit sharing or employee ownership programs. They point out that some of the most dynamic and successful technology companies today like Google<http://topics.time.com/google/> and Microsoft <http://topics.time.com/microsoft/>, encourage widespread employee ownership of stock. But it’s not just big tech firms with highly skilled workers that successfully incorporate employee ownership into their business models. In fact, some of the most notable firms practicing a pure form of employee ownership — meaning that workers own a controlling interest in the firm — are actually privately-held grocers. That’s right, the largest employee-owned firm in America is the Florida-based grocer Publix. According to *Forbes *Magazine<http://www.forbes.com/sites/briansolomon/2013/07/24/the-wal-mart-slayer-how…>, the retailer is the seventh largest private firm in America with $27.5 billion in sales, yet it manages to run a smooth and growing operation with an employee-owned fund controlling 80% of the company. Another high-profile employee owned grocer is the Idaho-based WinCo which supermarket analyst Burt Flickinger III has called “WalMart’s worst nightmare.<http://business.time.com/2013/08/07/meet-the-low-key-low-cost-grocery-chain…>” WinCo is owned wholly by an employee stock ownership fund, and has quietly been making inroads in the western United States with its no-frills approach to retailing and very competitive prices. Other notable firms with cultures of employee participation include Proctor & Gamble, Southwest Airlines, and Hyvee, just to name a few. And despite high-profile failures of employee-owned firms, like United Airlines, the authors’ research shows that on average, firms which give their employees an ownership stake are more productive, more innovative, and are more desirable workplaces for employees. As the authors put it, “[employee ownership] pays off, at least for those firms and workers that choose it.” And the successes of these companies, combined with the unique troubles the average American worker is suffering, make it plausible that expanding employee ownership could be a solution to the problems of stagnating worker compensation and rising income inequality. The authors suggest a number of steps to encourage Corporate America to rely more on employee ownership in their structures, including tax incentives and the liberalization of state-based restrictions on the type of companies that can be incorporated. But what is most important is most likely spurring a broad commitment to increasing property ownership. This concept is unfashionable in the hangover from the real estate bubble, when we can clearly see that the government erred in its efforts to extend homeownership to every American. But there are obvious differences between owning a home — which isn’t an income producing asset for most Americans — and owning a small slice of where you work. Even the indigent need a place to live, though they might not be able to handle the responsibilities of homeownership. But every working American — and the American economy in general — could benefit from having a greater stake in their company’s success than hoping it survives long enough to keep cutting them paychecks. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Eugene McElroy, Library Associate James Carey Library, School of Management and Labor Relations Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey 50 Labor Center Way, New Brunswick NJ 08901 848-932-9513 smlrlibrary(a)work.rutgers.edu http://smlr.rutgers.edu/carey-library

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Smlr_net November 2013