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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: workers' rights

workers' rights stories: 7 news summaries

Nanny: Diplomat Made Me a Slave

Sexually assaulted and beaten, she reveals horrors facing UK's migrant workers

Aug 9, 09 2:33 PM CDT
(Newser) - A migrant worker in Britain took what looked like a plush job as a diplomat’s nanny—only to be treated as a sex slave with little recourse to the law, the Independent reports, uncovering a predicament faced by other workers. “I was trapped. I was paid nothing, never... More »

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immigration • London • migrant workers • diplomat • immigrant • migrant labor • Britain • nanny • workers' rights

(Newser) - The United Nations is being hammered by a string of sexual harassment cases filed by employees, reports the Wall Street Journal. The development is particularly painful for an organization that is supposed to uphold human rights around the world. Victims complain about an old-boys' network of adjudication that allows colleagues... More »

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United Nations • sexual harassment • workers • workers' rights • employee

Dems Gird for Fight Over Pro-Labor Bill

'Card check' legislation faces stiff business opposition, Senate fight

Feb 5, 09 10:41 AM CST
(Newser) - House Democrats are about to unveil a bill easing the unionization process, a measure that’s already sparked major backlash, the Hill reports. The Employee Free Choice Act, which President Obama has said he'll sign, would allow workers to skip secret ballot elections to create unions, instead openly signing cards.... More »

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Congress • Senate • business • House of Representatives • legislation • labor unions • workers' rights • bill • US Chamber of Commerce

Wal-Mart Tells Managers
to Fear Democratic Win

The retailer warns employees of disastrous labor legislation if left wins

Aug 1, 08 9:50 AM CDT
(Newser) - Wal-Mart is warning store managers and department supervisors nationwide that a Democratic victory in November would likely lead to passage of a federal law making unionization easier, the Wall Street Journal reports. In a series of mandatory meetings, the company says it's not telling hourly employees how to vote, which... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • legislation • labor unions • Wal-Mart • Election 2008 • workers' rights

OPINION

Yellow, Popular, and Not Long
for Our Shelves

Ripening prices, disease will make bananas exotic again

Jun 18, 08 9:32 AM CDT
(Newser) - With prices pushing the $1-per-pound mark, the banana's days as an American staple fruit are numbered, Dan Koeppel writes in the New York Times. “That bananas have long been the cheapest fruit at the grocery store is astonishing,” he notes of the exotic, quick-to-rot fruit, which is cheaper... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Latin America • farming • banana • workers' rights • banana republics

Big Unions Cut Secret Deals With Employers

Confidential pacts speed organizing, but raise rights questions

May 10, 08 6:25 AM CDT
(Newser) - Two of America's biggest unions have made secret deals with major employers that let the companies choose where workers can organize and how many of them can do so, the Wall Street Journal reports. The unions, SEIU and Unite Here, say the confidential agreements have gotten more workers into unions,... More »

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union • labor unions • employers • SEIU • workers' rights

Closet Smokers Might Get Canned

Factory workers who lied on insurance
forms may lose jobs

Apr 23, 08 4:42 PM CDT
(Newser) - A group of factory workers who lied about their smoking habits could be fired. The Whirlpool company charges lower premiums for health insurance to nonsmoking workers—and relies on the honor code when employees sign up. Now 39 workers at an Indiana factory have been suspended and face losing their... More »

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health insurance • smoking • smoking cessation • workers' rights • Whirlpool

7 Stories


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