Politics, open government, and safe streets. And the constant incursion of cycling.

Tag: labor

When It Absolutely, Positively . . .

has to be done FedEx’s way:

FedEx could cancel contracts for $10 billion in American-made planes if Congress makes it easier for unions to organize the delivery giant’s workers.

In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, the Memphis-based company disclosed that purchases of Boeing 777s are contingent on FedEx Express’ continued coverage by the National Railway Labor Act.

The disclosure serves as a warning shot to lawmakers seeking to put FedEx Express workers under the National Labor Relations Act, a move seen as helping the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

[ . . . ]

Under the Railway Labor Act, a union like the Teamsters would have to organize FedEx Express employees nationally, rather than in local bargaining units. Drivers for FedEx’s chief domestic competitor, UPS, are largely represented by the Teamsters, but FedEx has fended off organizing attempts for years.

China’s Labor Troubles: Yours, Too?

The Times Online reports:

Bankruptcies, unemployment and social unrest are spreading more widely in China than officially reported, according to independent research that paints an ominous picture for the world economy.

The research was conducted for The Sunday Times over the last two months in three provinces vital to Chinese trade – Guangdong, Zhejiang and Jiangsu. It found that the global economic crisis has scythed through exports and set off dozens of protests that are never mentioned by the state media.

Now, I’m taking that with a grain of salt – not because I particularly doubt the sources in the article, but because I’ve found that it’s so much “news” about China is passed through filters that result in the China that writers and reporters think you should see, instead of the China that is.  That said (and here is where my own filter kicks in), if things really are moving towards massive unrest in China, I think that’ll hit Western consumers just as hard as the financial mess.  All those cheaper places people have started shopping at, lately?  Direct pipeline of goods from China.  And when that pipeline gets interrupted by unrest?  Where are these stores going to turn?  As best I can tell, they don’t have any other meaningful options.

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