Nearly half the states have increased their minimum wage this year or are considering plans to hike it as the economy transitions from recession to a stronger recovery.
Author: WHES
Proposal to raise tip wages resisted
Nearly 50 years ago, federal law created a lower minimum wage for workers who receive tips. Congress decreed that it could not be less than 50 percent of the federal minimum wage.
Share of the work force in a union falls to a 97-Year low, 11.3%
The long decline in the number of American workers belonging to labor unions accelerated sharply last year, according to data reported on Wednesday, sending the unionization rate to its lowest level in close to a century.
The right to food in Bangladesh
DHAKA, 22 January 2013 (IRIN) – NGOs in Bangladesh are pushing for a constitutional amendment to guarantee the legal right to access food, or a food security “framework law” that will hold the state liable for any scarcity.
Ranks of working poor increasing
Nearly a third of the nation’s working families earn salaries so low that they struggle to pay for their necessities, according to a new report.
Hanging on: Life in the red
DETROIT — The belt-tightening was the easy part. Cancel the cable. Skip the air conditioners. Ration the cellphone, unplug the wireless Internet, cook rice and beans — done, and done.
Younger Americans die earlier, and are less healthy than counterparts in other developed countries, with far higher rates of death from guns, car accidents and drug addiction
Younger Americans die earlier and live in poorer health than their counterparts in other developed countries, with far higher rates of death from guns, car accidents and drug addiction, according to a new analysis of health and longevity in the United States.
‘Great Society’ agenda led to great—and lasting—philosophical divide
The ambitious “Great Society” agenda begun half a century ago continues to touch nearly every aspect of American life. But the deep philosophical divide it created has come to define the nation’s harsh politics, especially in the Obama era.
US continues to add jobs at a slow pace, report shows
Despite concerns about looming tax increases and government spending cuts, American employers added 155,000 jobs in December. Employees also enjoyed slightly faster wage growth and worked longer hours, which could bode well for future hiring.
Pollution rising, Chinese fear for soil and food
CHENJIAWAN, China — The farm-to-table process in China starts in villages like this one in the agricultural heartland. Food from the fields of Ge Songqing and her neighbors ends up in their kitchens or in the local market, and from there goes to other provinces. The foods are Chinese staples: rice, cabbage, carrots, turnips and sweet potatoes.
