Labor

Injuries lead nurses to quit. Union launches drive for state regs

April 7, 2006

Saying huge numbers of on-the-job injuries from lifting and turning patients causes ever-increasing legions of nurses to quit, American Federation of Teachers’ nurses division launched a drive for state legislation mandating that hospitals install devices to...

Labor law reform in France

April 7, 2006

More than a million people in France have taken to the streets against their conservative government’s attempts to change the country’s labor law. According to the conventional wisdom here in the United States, “Old Europe” is...

Sago survivor home, mine safety battle continues

April 7, 2006

PITTSBURGH — Randall McCloy, 26, thin and weak, sat inside his Simpson, W.Va., home with his wife and two children for the first time in two months. McCloy survived the worst West Virginia mining disaster in...

1911 fire shows perils of no regulation

March 31, 2006

It has become fashionable in certain circles to say that unions and government regulations are unnecessary nuisances, sand in the gears of the economy. The invisible hand of capitalism would take care of all our problems,...

Colombia: repression and resistance

March 31, 2006

In response to a comment about the beauty of Colombia, 7-year-old Daniela said, “Yes, but it is so violent.” Daniela should know. She has seen the violence up close. Her father, a left-wing city council member,...