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NEWS ABOUT: workers' rights

Why Hotel Maids Need Our Help

And no, this story has nothing to do with Dominique Strauss-Kahn

(Newser) - When you think of dangerous jobs, housekeeper doesn’t usually spring to mind. But it’s becoming a pretty hazardous profession, thanks to the “amenities arms race” that has big hotels installing luxury mattresses that weigh more than 100 pounds each, writes activist Donald Cohen in the LA Times... More »

Bashing Boss on Facebook Is Protected Speech: Labor Board

Workers have right to complain, say attorneys in ground-breaking case

(Newser) - It just got easier to skewer your boss on your Facebook page. The National Labor Relations Board is calling criticism of workplaces and supervisors "protected speech" on Facebook, as acceptable as grousing around the water cooler. In a ground-breaking case, the organization has filed a complaint against a Connecticut... More »

NY Poised to Pass Nation's First Nanny Protection Law

Bill gives domestic workers overtime pay, weekly day off

(Newser) - New York is about to become the first state to recognize nannies and domestic workers as workers with rights. A bill passed by the state Senate this week guarantees full-time domestic workers overtime pay and one day off a week, as well as sick days and vacation days. It will... More »

Nanny: Diplomat Made Me a Slave

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

(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 »

Sex Harassment Cases Besiege UN

(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 »

Dems Gird for Fight Over Pro-Labor Bill

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

(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 »

Wal-Mart Tells Managers to Fear Democratic Win

The retailer warns employees of disastrous labor legislation if left wins

(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 »

Yellow, Popular, and Not Long for Our Shelves

Ripening prices, disease will make bananas exotic again

(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 »

Big Unions Cut Secret Deals With Employers

Confidential pacts speed organizing, but raise rights questions

(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 »

Closet Smokers Might Get Canned

Factory workers who lied on insurance forms may lose jobs

(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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