Thursday, March 27, 2008

Quad-City Times, March 25, 2008, Tuesday

Quad-City Times

March 25, 2008, Tuesday

Quad-City Times

Some Q-C officials think bargaining bill is bad idea

Local government officials in the Iowa Quad-Cities are warning a new measure to lay more items on the bargaining table for union negotiations will inevitably lead to an expansion of taxpayer-funded benefits for public workers.

However, union leaders and two specialists on labor relations say those worries are

exaggerated.

For almost a week, the state’s political waters have been roiled by the plan to change the law governing how public bodies and their employee unions bargain.

The House passed the bill last week. The Senate passed it Monday, sending the plan to Gov. Chet Culver for consideration.

Currently, Iowa law requires that such items as wages, hours, insurance, shifts, procedures and overtime be subject for negotiation.

The new law would expand that list of “mandatory” subjects to include such things as class size, staffing levels and retirement systems. Even the choice of a government’s insurance carrier is included.

“To include those kinds of operating protocols within a collective bargaining agreement is just inappropriate, and it could be costly,” said Tim Dose, superintendent of the North Scott School District.

Even traditionally union-friendly political figures in the Quad-Cities objected to the changes.

Davenport Mayor Bill Gluba wrote a letter Monday, saying the measure would have a “significant” effect on city taxpayers.

Greg Jager, Bettendorf’s city attorney and its lead negotiator, said the bill is a recipe for greater taxpayer-funded benefits because arbitrators who settle disputes base their decisions on what other comparable governments are doing and the cost.

“It opens the door,” he said. And once that door is open, he said, the benefits will inevitably grow.

“That which has been bargained for in the past has been set in stone,” Jager said. “You’re only bargaining for how much more is going to be decided on in the upcoming contract.”

Union officials say the idea that benefits won are never surrendered is false.

They say unions have given back on health insurance. And, they say, most other states with public bargaining laws have an expanded list of mandatory subjects.

“It hasn’t bankrupted Illinois or Wisconsin or the 25 other states,” said Brad Hudson, administrative lobbyist for the Iowa State Education Association.

He said giving unions input on class sizes could prevent districts from delaying the hiring of assistants to help with large class sizes.

“It allows us to have some enforcement vehicle,” Hudson said.

Ronald Seeber, a professor of industrial and labor relations at Cornell University in New York, said he doubts there would be much difference.

“In a mature system like Iowa, I don’t think it’s going to have a heck of a lot of impact,” he said.

Instead, he said, governments will simply have to base their arguments to an arbitrator more heavily on their ability to pay. That ability to pay and the public’s interest are also areas that must be considered by an arbitrator, labor specialists said.

“They can’t use the law to resist, they have to resist themselves,” Seeber said.

Peter Orazem, the director of the industrial relations program at Iowa State University, said most of these items are already on the table in private-sector negotiations.

There may be gains in areas such as wages, he said, but “in most cases, it’s not going to make that much of a difference.”

The areas where it most likely will be felt, he said, would be in small school districts locked into certain staffing levels but facing shrinking enrollments.

“Where it’s going to make a difference is where management thinks they’re going to have greater demand than they actually do,” he said.

Ed Tibbetts can be contacted at (563) 383-2327 or etibbetts@qctimes.com. Comment on this article at qctimes.com.

The Providence Journal (Rhode Island), March 25, 2008, Tuesday

Copyright 2008 The Providence Journal

The Providence Journal (Rhode Island)

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News

March 25, 2008, Tuesday

SECTION: BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL NEWS

HEADLINE: UAW betting on casinos

BYLINE: Paul Grimaldi, The Providence Journal, R.I.

BODY:

Mar. 25--Foxwoods Resort Casino in southeastern Connecticut soon could become notable for something other than its turquoise-colored roofs or its ranking among the world's largest gambling venues.

The casino could mark the point where the United Auto Workers helped American unions reverse decades of membership declines.

"The unions really see this as a do-or-die moment in labor history," said Jefferson Cowie, an associate professor in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University. "Everybody is scrambling to find a new niche because the old industries are just gone."

Unions last year accounted for 12 percent of the non-agricultural work force in the United States, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, down from 12.5 percent in 2006.

That slide has been going on for decades, Cowie said. Union membership peaked in 1955 at 35 percent of the non-agricultural work force.

"Most people didn't see [the decline] because it was so slow," Cowie said. "In the late '70s and '80s it just fell rapidly."

Organized labor sees Indian-run casinos, such as Foxwoods and the nearby Mohegan Sun, as target-rich environments for new members. The nation's 400 or so Indian casinos employ about 250,000 dealers and nearly 700,000 workers, in all.

Last February, a federal appeals court knocked down a claim by Indian tribes that their casinos aren't subject to the National Labor Relations Act and therefore not open to unionization.

The Communications Workers of America now represent about 1,200 workers at two tribal casinos in California, while the Teamsters are trying to organize workers at a tribal casino in Michigan.

The UAW has targeted Foxwoods, one of the world's largest gambling venues and employer of thousands of workers.

Last week, a Connecticut judge handed the UAW a victory when he rejected the casino's attempt to overturn a unionization vote by Foxwoods' dealers. In November, the dealers voted 1,289 to 852 in favor of joining the union.

The UAW's secretary-treasurer, Elizabeth Bunn, took note of her union's growing representation of casino workers.

"The dealers at Foxwoods join a growing tide of casino workers standing together and standing up for a voice on the job," Bunn said in a statement.

Administrative Law Judge Raymond P. Green ordered that the process establishing the UAW as the dealers' representative should go forward. It would represent about 2,600 workers at Foxwoods.

A victory would help the UAW remake itself after years of declines in the American auto industry.

"The UAW, for a number of years, has seen the handwriting on the walls," said Scott Molloy, a professor in the Industrial and Labor Relations department at URI. "There are not a lot of auto workers around for them to organize."

The union's auto company membership is expected to drop to 150,000 by the end of the decade, from a peak of 1.5 million in the mid-1970s.

Since 2002, it has signed up nearly 50,000 white-collar workers as it tries to stay alive and relevant in post-industrial America.

The UAW represents about 8,000 casino dealers -- at Newport Grand and at casinos in Atlantic City, N.J., and Detroit. Three-quarters of them signed in just the last year.

If they're ultimately brought into the union, the 2,600 dealers at Foxwoods would make up for a similar number of jobs lost last year when Ford closed its pickup truck plant in Richmond, Va.

Besides their sheer numbers, casino jobs have other attributes attractive to union organizers -- good pay and benefits among them.

"If you work in a hotel in Las Vegas, you're doing OK," said Cowie, the Cornell professor. "You can buy a house."

Another attribute is the "made in America" label affixed to the work force -- casino jobs can't be sent overseas like manufacturing employment.

"It's a 'sticky' industry," Cowie said.

The run-up to the voting by Foxwoods' dealers last November raised issues that roll right through the union's wheelhouse: pay, health insurance and working conditions. Casino workers also complained about customers who smoke. (Connecticut is considering applying its smoking ban to the casinos.)

The Mashantucket Pequots, the casino's owners, are expected to appeal last week's ruling. The National Labor Relations Board must certify the election before contract talks begin.

"Everyone knows what's at stake," said Molloy, the URI professor. "It's more than dollars and cents; it's also having to share control with their employees."

In the aftermath of the judge's ruling, a second group at Foxwoods formally notified the casino of intent to unionize.

The International Union of Operating Engineers filed a petition stating it has the support of a "substantial number" of employees at Foxwoods who want the union to represent them. It would cover about 260 workers in the casino's engineering department.

Playing hardball to maintain sole control of the workplace it has created could backfire on the Mashantuckets, Molloy said. "As long as the place is making money hand over fist, any perceived slap in the face will [serve] as a battle cry," for union supporters.

To see more of the The Providence Journal, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.projo.com. Copyright (c) 2008, The Providence Journal, R.I. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

LOAD-DATE: March 25, 2008

The Times Union (Albany, New York), March 25, 2008, Tuesday

Copyright 2008 The Hearst Corporation

All Rights Reserved

The Times Union (Albany, New York)

March 25, 2008, Tuesday

1 EDITION

SECTION: CAPITAL REGION; Pg. D7

HEADLINE: Leonard, Timothy J.

BODY:

ALBANY Timothy J. Leonard, 63, passed away on Holy Saturday, March 22, 2008, with his beloved wife Jill at his bedside.

Tim was born in Albany on January 7, 1945, the younger son of the late John and Marie Purcell Leonard. He was educated at Vincentian's "Glass School", Christian Brothers Academy and Russell Sage College. A dedicated "Union Man", he also studied at the Cornell School of Industrial and Labor Relations, and authored a college credited course on railroad labor law used in that program.

Tim worked as a legislative aide to the NYS Constitutional Convention, a background which inspired a lifelong interest in political and civic affairs in all levels. In February 1970, Tim began his career with New York Central/Conrail/Amtrak as a locomotive engineer. His retirement in July 2005 marked 37 years of faithful service to the public, including several years as a committed and effective union legislative representative for the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. On May 24, 1975 Tim married Jill Cassidy of Albany, whom he had known since high school days. Their life's journey together was a model of love, friendship and commitment to each other and to their community. With Jill, Tim was a founding member of both the Child Cancer Care Center at AMCH and The Ronald McDonald House in Albany. Tim had many interests, including a love of golf, which led to his accomplishment of two-hole-in-ones. He joined the local Civil War Roundtable and together Tim and Jill explored the Gettysburg Battlefield where his great-grandfather fought, and Ander-sonville where another relation died as a POW. While nothing pleased Tim more than a conversation with old friends, he also had a special love for the younger members of his family. He celebrated their every accomplishment with his personal attendance, was a supportive listener and offered constant encouragement at every stage of their life. Tim was the devoted "favorite uncle" every child adored. Tim was a former member of Wolfert's Roost Country Club and the Knights of Columbus, Fourth Degree. He was a lifetime member of the Brotherhood of Engineers. In addition to his wife, Jill Cassidy Leonard, Tim is survived by several cousins and relations including, Peter Lounsbery, Michael and Louise Lounsbery, Tom and Doyle Leonard, John Purcell, Michael and Janet Cassidy, Tom and Nancy Cassidy, Maureen Cassidy, Margaret and Al Levine. He is also the beloved uncle of Pam and Paul DiBiase, Jill and Brian Annelid, David Perfield, Colin and Kevin Cassidy, Thomas and Elizabeth Cassidy, Alyssa, Christian and Patrick M. DiBiase. Funeral services Wednesday at 12:00 p.m. in the chapel of the Academy of the Holy Names, Albany, where a Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated. Relatives and friends are invited to attend. Entombment will follow the Mass in St. Agnes Cemetery, Menands. Those wishing to remember Tim in a special way, may send a contribution to The Ronald McDonald House, 139 S. Lake Ave., Albany, NY 12208.

NOTES: Published As A Paid Obituary

GRAPHIC: Photo

LOAD-DATE: March 25, 2008

USA TODAY, March 25, 2008, Tuesday

Copyright 2008 Gannett Company, Inc.

All Rights Reserved

USA TODAY

March 25, 2008, Tuesday

FINAL EDITION

SECTION: LIFE; Pg. 4D

HEADLINE: Size alone makes small classes better for kids; Teaching techniques don't change much

BYLINE: Greg Toppo

BODY:

NEW YORK -- Breaking up large classes into several smaller ones helps students, but the improvements in many cases come in spite of what teachers do, new research suggests.

New findings from four nations, including the USA, tell a curious story. Small classes work for children, but that's less because of how teachers teach than because of what students feel they can do: Get more face time with their teacher, for instance, or work in small groups with classmates.

"Small classes are more engaging places for students because they're able to have a more personal connection with teachers, simply by virtue of the fact that there are fewer kids in the classroom competing for that teacher's attention," says Adam Gamoran of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who analyzed the findings.

The data, from the USA, England, Hong Kong and Switzerland, were presented Monday at the first day of the American Educational Research Association's annual meeting, the world's largest gathering of education researchers.

The findings are consistent with what researchers already know, Gamoran says. "There is not good evidence that teachers modify their instruction in response to changes in class size. Some teachers are taking advantage of small classes and others are not. There's a lot of variability."

Though two of the four studies were inconclusive, some point to promising trends. In one study, researchers closely watched students' behaviors in 10-second intervals throughout class periods and found that in smaller classes in both elementary and high school, students stayed more focused and misbehaved less. They also had more direct interactions with teachers and worked more in small groups rather than by themselves.

But overall, Gamoran says, teachers didn't necessarily take advantage of the smaller classes, often teaching as if in front of a larger group. In one study, researchers found that few teachers took the opportunity to incorporate motivational activities or demonstrate to students what they wanted them to do as they introduced a lesson.

"It's not like you reduce classes so teachers do something different and achievement is higher," he says. "That neat little package doesn't exist."

One of the teams, led by Ronald Ehrenberg of Cornell University, notes that the potential benefits of class-size reduction "may be greater than what we observe" if only a few teachers change their teaching to accommodate the smaller group.

For more than two decades, class-size reduction has been a key improvement strategy in several states, most notably in California, which since 1996 has spent billions of dollars to ensure that students get small classes in primary grades. Smaller classes also have been endorsed by teachers unions, but recent findings have cast doubts on the idea, in California and elsewhere.

This month, researchers at Northwestern University released data from a long-term class-size reduction effort in Tennessee showing that smaller classes improve achievement overall, but they seem to benefit high-achieving students more than low achievers. Because low-income students are more likely to be low achievers, researchers say, the effort is doing little to reduce the stubborn "achievement gap" that it intended to eradicate.

GRAPHIC: GRAPHIC, B/W, Julie Snider, USA TODAY, Source: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (BAR GRAPH)

LOAD-DATE: March 25, 2008

The New York Times, March 23, 2008, Sunday

Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company

The New York Times

March 23, 2008, Sunday

Late Edition - Final

SECTION: Section A; Column 0; Classified; Pg. 27

HEADLINE: Paid Notice: Deaths MICHAEL H. GREENBERG

BODY:

GREENBERG--Michael H. After a long and valiant battle, passed away peacefully on March 10, 2008. He will be greatly missed, and leaves behind his loving and devoted wife, Eulalia, sons, Peter and Edward, daughter-in-law, Carolina, and grandchildren, Lauren, Nicolette, Jordan and Emily. He also leaves behind one brother, David, and sister-in-law, Carol.

Michael graduated with honors from Cornell School of Industrial and Labor Relations in 1955, and later on from Harvard Law School in 1958, where he was the Editor of the Law Review. He won a fellowship to Europe to travel. There, while studying International Comparative Law in Luxembourg, he met his wife, Eulalia, a lawyer from Barcelona, Spain. The following year, his wife came as a Fullbright student to New York University Comparative Law Institute. There they were married. Michael clerked in the Southern District of New York for the Honorable Judge Charles Metzner before having a long and illustrious career as an attorney and arbitrator. He was currently working as a solo practitioner, where among other endeavors, he was of counsel to his sons' athlete representation firm, Peter E. Greenberg & Associates. He was on the Board of Directors of the Spain-US Chamber of Commerce. He was very active in many community and legal institutions. A memorial service will be held on April 5th at 11:00am at the All Souls Church on Lexington Ave and E. 80th St. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Visiting Nurse Services. For additional information, please call Star of David Memorial Chapels at (631) 454-9600.

URL: http://www.nytimes.com

LOAD-DATE: March 23, 2008

Buffalo News (New York), March 21, 2008, Friday

Copyright 2008 The Buffalo News

All Rights Reserved

Buffalo News (New York)

March 21, 2008, Friday

CENTRAL EDITION

SECTION: BUSINESS; Pg. D6

HEADLINE: Ford buyout attracts 81 local takers; Company missed national target, reports say

BYLINE: By Matt Glynn - NEWS BUSINESS REPORTER

BODY:

Eighty-one hourly workers at Ford Motor Co.'s stamping plant in Hamburg signed up for one of the automaker's buyout offers, a union leader said.

Charles Gangarossa, president of United Auto Workers Local 897, said the company had expected 135 local workers to sign up. The deadline was Tuesday.

"The ones that took [the offers] this time were closer to retirement," he said. Some younger workers also took buyouts, to pursue other goals such as going back to school, he added.

The stamping plant has just over 1,000 hourly workers. Based on the union's figure, only about 8 percent took a buyout. Had 135 had signed up, that would have represented about 13.5 percent of the local work force.

Ford extended buyout offers of up to $140,000 to 54,000 workers represented by the United Auto Workers. The automaker will probably release its companywide total of the number of workers who signed up next week, due to the Easter holiday, said Marcey Evans, a Ford spokeswoman.

Ford has not publicly stated how many workers it had hoped would sign up. But in February, a source familiar with the situation told Bloomberg News the target was 8,000 to 9,000. That would be equivalent to roughly 15 percent to 17 percent of the 54,000 workers.

Since the deadline, some media reports, citing unidentified sources, have said Ford fell far short of that range.

Ford presented 10 different buyout offers to the UAW members. The company wants to shrink the size of its work force to match demand for its cars and trucks. It is aiming to return to profitability in 2009.

When Ford made buyout offers in 2006, about 33,600 workers signed up. The large number who signed up then might help explain why fewer are signing up this time: workers who were inclined to leave the company any time soon may have already left via the 2006 offers.

Locally, about 430 workers signed up in 2006, Gangarossa said.

Art Wheaton
, director of Buffalo labor studies at Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations, said he thinks Ford's next move will be to offer buyouts to targeted shifts at specific plants to try to achieve its job-reduction goals. The automaker is unlikely to try another national buyout offer, he said.

Ford has previously said the average worker at the Hamburg plant is just under 50 years old, and the average number of years of service is 17 years.

e-mail: mglynn@buffnews.com

GRAPHIC: Harry Scull Jr./Buffalo News About 135 employees at Ford Motor Co's Buffalo Stamping Plant in Hamburg had been expected to take the buyout offer.

LOAD-DATE: March 21, 2008

Human Resource Executive, March 21, 2008, Friday

Human Resource Executive

March 21, 2008, Friday

Human Resource Executive

Spotlighting a Hospitality Trailblazer

A one-on-one interview of long-time hospitality HR executive Arte Nathan to close out the HR hospitality conference offered the audience some advice to HR leaders on dealing with unions, with employees and with a tough economy.

By David Shadovitz

Harry Katz may not resemble James Lipton and Arte Nathan may not remind you of Robin Williams or Billy Crystal.

But an interview conducted during a general session on the final day of the 2nd Annual HR in Hospitality Conference and Exposition TM at the Wynn Las Vegas, borrowing a format similar to the one used on the popular television show Inside the Actors Studio, appeared to nonetheless entertain and inform those in attendance.

Katz, dean of the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University, quizzed Nathan, who spent much of his work-life in the casino business before moving on last year to join the Irvine Co.'s Resort Properties Group as vice president of human resources.

Katz's questions touched on all parts of Nathan's life -- from his childhood to his schooling to his career choices, including his journey from Atlantic City to Las Vegas to Southern California. And like the Bravo television show, members of the audience were given a chance to ask Nathan their questions.

Early in the questioning, Nathan reflected on some of the lessons he learned during his first casino job at the Golden Nugget in Atlantic City.

"Over the first six months, I took the time to work in every department and in every job," he recalled. "I made it my business to learn everything and gained a lot of respect from the people in the business [because of that]."

Describing Atlantic City as a "tough environment," Nathan recalled how Steve Wynn and the management team "sneaked out of town in the middle of the night" to move to Las Vegas and begin work on the opening of the Mirage following the sale of the Golden Nugget to Bally's.

"When the board asked us what we've opened before," Nathan noted, "we said we know we've opened a can of beer and a can of tuna fish. ... They came back to us and said, 'Let's slow down a bit and figure out a strategic plan. So we traveled around the world and studied 250 different openings. We came back with 3,000 pages of notes and distilled it down to a strategic plan.

"What that taught me was that the strategic plan" is a very important thing, Nathan said.

Two areas that stood out in the Mirage's launch, Nathan said, were recruitment and training: "Both were critical to our success."

Nathan described the "neutrality agreement" that was reached between the Mirage and the unions as one of his greatest achievements there.

"We probably would have beat them in an election, but then there would have been a lot of animosity and we wanted to get started fast," he said. "So the neutrality agreement was in our best interest and in the union's best interest."

When asked about his legacy, Nathan pointed to the Bellagio's efforts to hire "alternative sources" of labor. "We began to hire ex-cons, we hired gang workers ... and began working with faith-based organizations," he said, noting that roughly 500 of the 9,000 hires came from these alternative sources.

The decision to do so wasn't because there was a lack of applicants, Nathan said. "It was because it was the right thing to do."

The Bellagio also represented the "first time" anyone went paperless in a big way, he added.

After briefly mentioning Treasure Island and the opening of the Wynn Las Vegas, Nathan touched on the lessons he learned from his first international experience -- the opening of Wynn Macau in 2006.

Understanding the culture is crucial, Nathan explained.

"Everything we did was from their perspective, because we wanted to be a Chinese company and not be an American company trying to doing business 6,500 miles away."

Nathan cited a competitor that made the mistake of holding a job fair. Though 7,500 people showed up for the fair, they quickly looked around and left "because it's disloyal to your current employer" to be publicly looking for another job in China.

"We went about it much more quietly, meeting with people individually ... ."

Today, Nathan said, he's working for the Irvine Co., overseeing the building of a workforce for new ultra-luxury hotel slated to open later this year in Newport Beach, Calif.

"It's going to be the most luxurious hotel I've ever seen," he said.

Nathan said he believes the ultra-luxury hotels are going to do fine during this latest economic downturn.

"The average daily rate at the hotel I'm now working on is going to be $800," he said. "The owners don't care about occupancy, they care about rate and creating exclusivity people want to be associated with."

Meanwhile, he predicted, "everyone else is going to have a tough time."

Asked by Katz what "everyone else" should do to weather a recession, Nathan responded: "You're going to have your people be more productive. ... You're going to have to figure out ways to give them nonmonetary recognition."

Nathan also suggested that HR leaders in hospitality need to be "honest and open" with their workers about the challenges their businesses are facing.

"We haven't been very good as an industry in terms of bringing employees into the business ... and helping them understand the P&L and how the business works. ... Those are the kinds of conversations we're going to need to have more and more with our staff so they become our partners. If we do that well, then we should be able to ride this out."

The HR in Hospitality Conference and Exposition TM was held March 16 through 19 and drew more than 600 attendees. It was produced by Human Resource Executive Conferences, in conjunction with Human Resource Executive® magazine and Cornell University's Industry and Labor Relations School and its School of Hotel Administration.

The conference is scheduled to take place next year at Disney's Contemporary Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., March 16 through 19.

March 21, 2008

Copyright 2008© LRP Publications

Business Wire, March 21, 2008, Friday

Copyright 2008 Business Wire, Inc.

Business Wire

March 21, 2008, Friday 6:18 PM GMT


DISTRIBUTION: Business Editors

HEADLINE: Macy's, Inc. Board Elects Ann Munson Steines as Vice President, Deputy General Counsel and Assistant Secretary

DATELINE: CINCINNATI

BODY:

Macy's, Inc.'s (NYSE:M) board of directors has elected Ann Munson Steines to the new position of vice president, deputy general counsel and assistant secretary, effective immediately. She will be based in Cincinnati and report to Dennis J. Broderick, the company's general counsel and secretary.

Munson Steines, 42, currently serves as divisional vice president and associate general counsel at Macy's, Inc.

"Ann is an excellent attorney and manager with outstanding insight, judgment and experience in vitally important areas of retail law," said Macy's, Inc. Vice Chair Thomas G. Cody. "She will serve as the principal deputy to the general counsel and continue to provide leadership in legal matters with our internal staff and outside counsel."

A 10-year veteran of Macy's, Inc., Munson Steines joined the company in April 1998 as assistant counsel in employment law and has risen through positions of increasing responsibility. She will oversee the Macy's, Inc. regional law offices in Atlanta, New York, St. Louis and San Francisco, as well as benefits attorneys and Cincinnati-based employment lawyers.

Before joining Macy's, Inc. Munson Steines was a senior attorney for labor and employment law at Overnite Transportation Company in Richmond, VA. Previously, she practiced law with the firm of Michael Best & Friedrich in Milwaukee. Munson Steines began her law career in 1990 with the labor and employment group at Dinsmore & Shohl in Cincinnati.

A native of Cincinnati, Munson Steines holds a bachelor's degree in industrial and labor relations from Cornell University and a law degree from UCLA. She lives in Greater Cincinnati with her husband, Mike, and two children.

Munson Steines currently serves as president of the board of trustees of Tender Mercies, Inc., non-profit organization dedicated to providing permanent housing for mentally disabled individuals, and on the steering committee of the Greater Cincinnati Minority Counsel Program.

Macy's, Inc., with corporate offices in Cincinnati and New York, is one of the nation's premier retailers, with fiscal 2007 sales of $26.3 billion. The company operates more than 850 department stores in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico under the names of Macy's and Bloomingdale's. The company also operates macys.com, bloomingdales.com and Bloomingdale's By Mail. Prior to June 1, 2007, Macy's, Inc. was known as Federated Department Stores, Inc.

(NOTE: Additional information on Macy's, Inc., including past news releases, is available atwww.macysinc.com/pressroom)

CONTACT: Macy's, Inc.

Media - Jim Sluzewski, 513/579-7764

Investor - Susan Robinson, 513/579-7780

URL: http://www.businesswire.com

LOAD-DATE: March 22, 2008

Cornell Chronicle, March 19, 2008, Wednesday

Cornell Chronicle

March 19, 2008, Wednesday

Cornell Chronicle

Gender gap persists in New York's boardrooms and executive suites, CU study finds

By Susan Lang
The glass ceiling still looms over women executives across New York, a new Cornell study shows. Women may represent nearly half of New York's workers but they comprise less than 15 percent of the total board director and executive officer positions in the 100 largest public companies headquartered in the state.

That's according to the first annual report on women leaders in New York published by the Women's Executive Circle of New York (WECNY) in partnership with the Institute for Women and Work in Cornell's ILR School.

Photo caption
Women still comprise less than 15 percent of the total board director and executive officer positions in the 100 largest public companies headquartered in New York state, according to a new study on women leaders in New York published by the Women's Executive Circle of New York in partnership with the Institute for Women and Work in Cornell's ILR School.

"In the business world, women have made undeniable progress over the past 15 years in moving up the corporate ladder," said Francine Moccio, director of the Institute for Women and Work at Cornell. "However, our findings reveal that gender segregation at the top decision-making levels of New York companies continues to exist."

For example, the study found that for fiscal year 2006:

On boards of directors, women represent less than 16 percent of the 1,129 board seats in the 100 largest public companies in New York; 14 percent have no women; 24 percent have one woman; and 21 percent have three or more women.

Women serve as executive officers in less than 12 percent of the 354 executive officers in the 100 top public companies in New York; 67 companies have no women executive officers; eight companies have two or more women executive officers; and four companies have a woman serving as CEO.

"Diversity is not only good for business in today's global environment, but essential for companies to maintain their profitability," said Moccio. "Gender diversification at the upper echelons of business management and corporate governance is vital for New York state companies to widen their pool of diverse skills, talent and experience by having more women in leadership positions."

The companies given top marks for women leadership are Avon (47 percent of board directors and executive officers are women ), The New York Times (38 percent), Estée Lauder (35 percent), Merrill Lynch. (33 percent), Ann Taylor Stores (33 percent) and NYSE Group (31 percent).

The report drew from Crain's New York Business list of the top 100 revenue-producing public companies in New York state ranked by percentage of women directors and executive officers.

The partnership between the Institute for Women and Work and the WECNY, which is the brainchild of Michele Williams, assistant professor in organizational behavior in Cornell's ILR School, seeks to advance women in business in New York state.

This study is part of a series of research reports released by the Institute for Women and Work to track the progress and prospects of women's leadership in labor, business and public policy in New York state. The report was also sponsored by the New York State Department of Labor, Citi Smith Barney, KPMG LLP, RR Donnelley and Seyfarth Shaw LLP. For the complete report, see http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/iww or http://www.wecny.com/.

The Stanford Review, March 18, 2008, Tuesday

The Stanford Review

March 18, 2008, Tuesday

The Stanford Review

The Heart of the Matter: Illegal Immigration

by Tristan Abbey
Editor-at-Large

Our series “The Heart of the Matter” features interviews with experts on either side of a controversial issue, asking each the same questions to see where and on what grounds their arguments diverge. Participants are asked to limit their responses to 1-3 sentences.

Arguing that a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants is a good idea is Amado Padilla, Professor of Psychological Studies in Education, Stanford University. Arguing against such a pathway is Vernon Briggs, Emeritus Professor of Labor Economics at the School of Labor and Industrial Relations, Cornell University.

1. Should illegal immigration be stopped in principle? Should it be made a policy priority?

VB: It is never acceptable public policy to ignore a law that is designed to protect the national interest. The enforcement of immigration laws is at the heart of every nation’s claim to be a sovereign state. Given the scale of illegal immigrants (conservatively estimated to be over 12 million persons in 2005) and the fact that it is linked to so many economic and social maladies, the mass abuse of the nation’s immigration laws should be among the highest domestic priorities for immediate remediation.

AP: In principle, it should be a policy priority to stop undocumented immigration regardless of where or how people enter the United States. The central issue, though, is how such a policy is implemented to ensure that immigrant rights are not violated through unlawful searches, profiling, and denial of medical or social services. All violators, the immigrant as well as the employer who takes advantage of the often cheap, flexible immigrant labor, should be equally prioritized. Analyzing the “push” and “pull” factors that encourage immigration and developing effective solutions to reduce the desire to immigrate to the U.S. should be the highest policy priority.

2. Does the porous southern border pose a security risk? Do illegal immigrants themselves pose a security risk?

VB: Most illegal immigrants entering across the southern border are not a security threat per se. But the ease of their access does highlight a strategic vulnerability that has undoubtedly been noted by militant and terrorist elements around the world. Already narcotics rings and smugglers of human beings make frequent use of the southern border to facilitate criminal activities that undermine the nation’s social fabric which is also a serious threat to the country’s well-being.

AP: The southern border poses no more a security risk than our northern border. If the question is directed at immigrants from Latin America there has never been a security risk issue. The motives of those who claim that undocumented immigrants pose a security risk need to be questioned.

3. What happens to illegal immigrants who are caught on our side of the border? Is there a coherent, consistent, and enforced policy?

VB: In theory, they can all be deported, but unless they are apprehended in conjunction with some criminal activity, most are simply asked to leave voluntarily or released until they have been caught some arbitrary number of times before they may finally be formally deported. Thus, it depends largely on local circumstances as to how much a priority is given to prosecuting illegal entry cases as well as the availability (or lack thereof) of any detention facilities to hold apprehended persons until hearings can be held.

AP: Immigrants without proper documentation to be in this country are deported to their country of origin, unless, of course, they claim amnesty and can subsequently prove their claim. The U.S. policies appear to be coherent and enforceable.

4. Do Latin American governments like Mexico have a policy or stance on this illegal immigration?

VB: Illegal immigration is viewed as a “safety valve,” a way to dissipate pressures by frustrated youth and adults that would otherwise build up for internal reforms of their own weak economies and corrupt societies. These governments also view the billions of dollars of annual remittances from illegal workers in the U.S. as a vital form of foreign aid. Hence, they actively oppose any efforts by the United States to enforce its own immigration laws and label reform advocates as “racists” in an attempt to silence them.

AP: The President of Mexico was recently in the United States and stated that Mexico does not like to see its citizens leave the country whether legally or illegally. When people leave their home country for “greener pastures” elsewhere this means that something is wrong with their country that is driving them out. However, as they say in Mexico, “Poor Mexico, so far from God and yet so close to the United States.” Whether Mexico has an official policy or not regarding undocumented immigration is less important than the attraction that the U.S. has for Mexicans and the fact that their labor is sought after by employers everywhere in this country.

5. Are illegal Latino immigrants assimilating—learning English, going to school, participating in civil society? Is assimilation important?

VB: Some do learn English but for many adult illegal immigrants it is sparingly the case. Too many are also illiterate in Spanish which handicaps their ability to learn English even if they want to do so. Learning English is the key to assimilation and to being able to participate in the broader civil society: education is the pathway to advancement.

AP: Immigrants, documented or otherwise, are learning English, going to school, getting jobs, paying taxes, participating as responsible members of their community, and obeying the laws of this country. Latinos are assimilating in many respects into the social fabric of this country in much the same way as have the Irish, Italians, Poles, Greeks, Russians, etc., in earlier eras. In fact, the sociological evidence indicates that Latinos, again, regardless of documentation status, are assimilating faster than have immigrants in earlier generations.

6. Do illegal Latino immigrants cost society more in public services—hospitals, schools, etc.—than they contribute in social security and sales taxes, and to the economy? Do they, in essence, pay for themselves?

VB: The available studies that are credible – e.g., those done by the National Research Council, the Congressional Budget Office and the U.S. Bureau of the Census and a host of reputable scholars – have uniformly found that immigrants in general and Latino immigrants in particular (because of their disproportionately high incidence of poverty) consume far more public services than they pay for by their tax payments. They do not come close to paying their own way.

AP: The claim about undocumented Latino immigrants consuming more in educational and other public services than they contribute through taxes is an old story and is often cited as justification for an anti-immigration stance. However, repeated economic studies conducted by reputable organizations, e.g., The Pew Foundation, have shown that undocumented immigrants do not burden society with greater costs than they contribute to this country through their labor and taxes.

7. Do illegal immigrants from Mexico do jobs that other Americans will not do? In other words, are Americans out of work because of illegal immigrants from Mexico?

VB: Illegal immigrants from Mexico are willing to do jobs at lower pay, for longer hours and under worse working conditions than will American workers. But this does not mean that the 40 million American citizen workers who are also low skilled will not do the work that illegal immigrants do. In fact, in every occupation where illegal immigrants are present, the majority of workers in those same occupations are American citizens, and even more would be available if wages and working conditions were improved should the laws forbidding illegal immigrants to work were actually enforced.

AP: Immigrants, again whether documented or not, often do take on jobs that Americans seem unwilling to do because of factors such as low wages, poor working conditions, unpleasant jobs (e.g., slaughter houses, agricultural fields), or absence of health care and other employee benefits. If these jobs and working conditions were so wonderful for Americans, I doubt immigrants would find employment in this country. Even if Americas are out of work as a result, this is not the fault of undocumented immigrants; the responsibility lies with employers, governmental regulatory agencies, and every citizen who wants a cheap basket of strawberries, an inexpensive cut of meat, or cost-efficient, competent nursing care for an elderly member of their family.

8. According to a 2006 Government Accountability Office report, something like 500 people die crossing the southern border illegally each year. The American layman is moved emotionally by this statistic. Towards what should it move him?

VB: The blood of these poor souls is on the hands of those who continually oppose all efforts to enforce worksite laws against the employment of illegal immigrants and to strengthen border deterrence methods. Until it is factually the case that illegal immigrants will not be employed in the United States, the job magnet will continue to entice desperate people to keep trying. Strict enforcement of our immigration laws is the only humane way to stop these human tragedies.

AP: Actually, the unofficial numbers run higher than 500 people dying along the border annually. People should be moved by their compassion and anger to communicate their displeasure at our immigration policy and seek immigration policies that are fair and humane and which contribute constructively to our economy.

9. Is a policy of deportations a good idea?

VB: There must be consequences for violations of any law. Violators of our immigration laws are simply returned to their homelands, which is far better than putting them in prisons.

AP: In principle, there is nothing offensive about a policy of deportation. The issue, like most complex social problems, is in the implementation and in fairness. (The southern border with Mexico has grabbed all the attention from policy makers and anti-immigration advocates and this negates the fact that approximately 40% of all illegal immigrants are individuals who enter legally and overstay their tourist, student, or work visas.)

10. Should the United States provide a path to citizenship for the illegal immigrants in the country already?

VB: There simply is no federal agency remotely capable of certifying compliance with the specified eligibility requirements, such as the background check and certifying they speak English. Moreover, the massive family reunification implications for those individuals given such “paths” to admit many of their relatives could easily total in the tens of millions of persons over the succeeding 20 years (most of whom would be poorly skilled, uneducated, and non-English speaking). It would be a nightmare for the economy—especially so for low skilled American workers—and would be a hoax on the American people.

AP: Yes, a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants must be enacted in some form. A very good start would be passage of the DREAM Act for immigrant students who have shown their dedication to assimilation by excelling in our American schools and who continue on and graduate from our universities. These young people who number in the tens of thousands should be offered an expedited path to citizenship. This would be one step in the right direction.

Interview conducted by email, condensed, and edited by Tristan Abbey.

Friday, March 21, 2008

The Buffalo News, March 21, 2008, Friday

The Buffalo News

March 21, 2008, Friday

The Buffalo News

Ford buyout attracts 81 local takers
Company missed national target, reports say

By Matt Glynn NEWS BUSINESS REPORTER
Updated: 03/21/08 7:10 AM

Eighty-one hourly workers at Ford Motor Co.’s stamping plant in Hamburg signed up for one of the automaker’s buyout offers, a union leader said.

Charles Gangarossa, president of United Auto Workers Local 897, said the company had expected 135 local workers to sign up. The deadline was Tuesday.

“The ones that took [the offers] this time were closer to retirement,” he said. Some younger workers also took buyouts, to pursue other goals such as going back to school, he added.

The stamping plant has just over 1,000 hourly workers. Based on the union’s figure, only about 8 percent took a buyout. Had 135 had signed up, that would have represented about 13.5 percent of the local work force.

Ford extended buyout offers of up to $140,000 to 54,000 workers represented by the United Auto Workers. The automaker will probably release its companywide total of the number of workers who signed up next week, due to the Easter holiday, said Marcey Evans, a Ford spokeswoman.

Ford has not publicly stated how many workers it had hoped would sign up. But in February, a source familiar with the situation told Bloomberg News the target was 8,000 to 9,000. That would be equivalent to roughly 15 percent to 17 percent of the 54,000 workers.

Since the deadline, some media reports, citing unidentified sources, have said Ford fell far short of that range.

Ford presented 10 different buyout offers to the UAW members. The company wants to shrink the size of its work force to match demand for its cars and trucks. It is aiming to return to profitability in 2009.

When Ford made buyout offers in 2006, about 33,600 workers signed up. The large number who signed up then might help explain why fewer are signing up this time: workers who were inclined to leave the company any time soon may have already left via the 2006 offers.

Locally, about 430 workers signed up in 2006, Gangarossa said.

Art Wheaton, director of Buffalo labor studies at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, said he thinks Ford’s next move will be to offer buyouts to targeted shifts at specific plants to try to achieve its job-reduction goals. The automaker is unlikely to try another national buyout offer, he said.

Ford has previously said the average worker at the Hamburg plant is just under 50 years old, and the average number of years of service is 17 years.

University at Albany Campus Update, March 21, 2008, Friday

University at Albany Campus Update

March 21, 2008, Friday

University at Albany Campus Update

Nancy Persily, SPH Associate Dean, Remembered

Nancy Persily

Nancy Persily, 64, associate dean for Academic Affairs at UAlbany’s School of Public Health from 2002-06, died March 12 after a long battle with breast cancer.
Born in Albany to Shirley and Nathan Alfred, Persily was a pioneer in public health education. She graduated from Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations in 1964, and earned a master’s degree in public health from Yale University in 1966.

As a clinical professor in the Department of Health Policy, Management, and Behavior, and assistant provost for Health Affairs, Persily was responsible for significant initiatives.

She developed a strategic plan for recruiting students; started the Certificate Program in Principles and Fundamentals of Public Health; and began a Certificate in Preparedness and Surveillance. She initiated two joint degree programs: the M.D./M.P.H. with Albany Medical College and the M.S.W./M.P.H. with the School of Social Welfare.

In addition, she developed UAlbany’s undergraduate public health minor and laid the foundation for the proposed major.

School of Public Health Dean Philip C. Nasca said, “Nancy made significant contributions to the School of Public Health, increasing the school’s academic offerings and joint programs, recruiting students from across the state, and strengthening the school’s relationship with the community. Her efforts increased the visibility of the school both within the University and the region, as well as across New York State. She was a respected colleague, mentor and friend to all of us in the school."

Prior to returning to Albany in 2002, Persily had an illustrious career in public health management in Florida and Washington, D.C. She held a variety of upper-level management positions at the George Washington School of Public Health and Health Services and the George Washington University Medical Center. She started her own consulting business, the Nancy Alfred Persily Associates healthcare consulting firm, which was acquired by Lewin-ICF in Washington, D.C., in 1990. Persily held leadership positions in the Gerontological Health Section of the American Public Health Association and the Association of Schools of Public Health.

Throughout her career, she was actively involved in planning and developing schools of public health, academic medical centers, rehabilitation facilities, nursing homes, and home health agencies. She taught courses in public health, managed care, strategic planning and eldercare. She also published two books on the role of hospitals in delivering care to the elderly and one on integrated delivery systems and the continuum of care.

She is survived by two children, Nathaniel Persily and Meredith Persily Lamel, and two grandsons, Aaron Persily and Drew Lamel, both named after her late husband Andrew.

Services were March 13 in New York City and March 14 in Miami, Fla.

TELEGRAM & GAZETTE (Massachusetts), March 17, 2008, Monday

Copyright 2008 Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Inc.

All Rights Reserved

TELEGRAM & GAZETTE (Massachusetts)

March 17, 2008, Monday

ALL EDITIONS

SECTION: WORKPLACE; BUSINESS PEOPLE; Pg. D1

HEADLINE: BUSINESS PEOPLE

BODY:

Anthony Rakic of Worcester has been named a vice president in commercial lending at TD Banknorth in Worcester. Mr. Rakic, who joined the bank in 2000, previously served as an assistant vice president in commercial lending and small business lending. Prior to that, he was with the asset-based lending group at Fleet Bank in Boston. He was one of 12 participants chosen for the Worcester Leadership Engagement and Development Program. He serves on the board of directors of Junior Achievement of Central Massachusetts. He received a bachelor's degree from Worcester State College.

Environmental engineering firm O'Reilly, Talbot and Okun has promoted Jill E. Naugle of York, Maine, to senior project manager in the firm's Westboro office. An environmental scientist with nearly 20 years' experience, the past eight at OTO, she specializes in the evaluation of human health impacts associated with exposure to chemicals at hazardous waste sites. She previously held project-management positions at several engineering and environmental consulting companies. Ms. Naugle received a bachelor's degree from Boston University and a master's degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Mary C. Sukols of Athol was recently promoted to assistant branch manager at Athol Savings Bank. She joined the bank as a customer service representative/trainer in 1994 and has worked at each of the bank's eight branches. She previously was a branch services administrative assistant for the vice president of retail and branch services at Fidelity Bank.

Thomas C. Webster III of Lexington has been promoted to principal in the Assurance and Advisory Services Department at Westboro-based Carlin, Charron & Rosen LLP. Mr. Webster, who was previously manager, is based in the certified public accounting and business advisory firm's Boston office. A certified public accountant, he has more than 12 years of accounting experience and previously worked at another regional CPA firm. CCR also has offices in Connecticut and Rhode Island.

Atlas Distributing Inc. of Auburn has hired Stacy E. Woods of Worcester as wine and spirits division manager. She is a certified specialist in Wine and has achieved a Level IV diploma in wine studies at Boston University's Elizabeth Bishop Center for Wine Studies. Ms. Woods is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross.

The Seven Hills Foundation has hired Marilyn Flores of Grafton as vice president of human resources. She previously was director of human resources for the town of Stratford, Conn., and served as personnel director for the city of West Haven, Conn. She received a bachelor's degree from Fairfield University and a law degree from the University of Connecticut School of Law. She also holds a certificate in dispute resolution from Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations and is fluent in Spanish.

To have company promotions or new hires published in Workplace, send information and a color picture to Bob Kievra, Telegram & Gazette, Box 15012, Worcester MA 01615-0012, or send an e-mail to rkievra@telegram.com Please include full name, middle initial and town of residence. Electronic photos should be in a high-resolution JPEG format.

GRAPHIC: PHOTOS

(1) Mr. Rakic (2) Ms. Naugle (3) Ms. Sukols (4) Mr. Webster III (5) Ms. Woods (6) Ms. Flores

LOAD-DATE: March 20, 2008

Idaho Falls Post Register (Idaho), March 14, 2008, Friday

Copyright 2008 The Post Register

All Rights Reserved

Idaho Falls Post Register (Idaho)March 14, 2008, Friday

March 14, 2008, Friday

Main Edition


SECTION: A SECTION; Pg. A1

HEADLINE: Qwest to add jobs

BYLINE: By PAUL MENSER,

Source: The Global Call Center Report; International Perspectives on Management and Employment; Cornell University Industrial and Labor Relations School

BODY:

The company will hire 250 people in Idaho Falls after its expansion into a third call center.

Qwest is looking for another 250 people to work in its Idaho Falls call centers.

The company announced

Thursday it will be expanding into a third building on International Way, near the Idaho Falls Regional Airport. This will bring the

company's total full-time employment in Idaho Falls to nearly 800 and make it the largest single operation in the 14 states Qwest serves.

The four-county Bonneville Labor Market Area has been consistently posting the lowest unemployment numbers in the United States. But for a lot of people working low-wage jobs in the area, Qwest offers a way to move up, said Robin Adams, the lead recruiter for the company in Idaho Falls since 1999.

The new jobs will be sales and service positions for Qwest's residential products, including broadband, voice and video.

The starting pay for new positions at Qwest in Idaho Falls is $10.20 per hour, and representatives typically can earn an additional $2 per hour to $4 per hour in incentives after a 13-week training period. The positions come with full benefits for employees and their families.

Thursday's announcement was attended by Qwest officials from Boise and Denver; Roger Madsen, the director of the Idaho Department of Labor; and members of the Idaho Falls City Council.

Al Roberts, Qwest's senior vice president of sales, said the expansion will serve employees, the community, Qwest customers and shareholders.

""Two hundred and fifty more Qwest employees is a great thing for Idaho Falls,"" he said. ""The work force we've been able to recruit and retain has been good for our customers.""

Qwest was still US West when it set up its first call center on International Way in 1998. The state Department of Commerce, the Regional Development Alliance and the Eastern Idaho Economic Development Council (now Grow Idaho Falls) all had a hand in offering incentives for the company to come.

By 2002, however, the company had only 80 people working in Idaho Falls. Jim Schmit, Qwest's president in Idaho, said the company decided to bring in new management and bring the operation back up to capacity.

By 2004, Qwest announced it was leasing a second building and doubling its work force to 550. The announcement Thursday that even more jobs were being added bore a resemblance to the one in 2004, when operations manager Larry Walters got the biggest cheers from the assembled employees.

Jim Bisgard, the company's lead project manager, said the Qwest center in Idaho Falls has a turnover rate of about 20 percent. Industrywide, the turnover rate is more like 40 percent to 50 percent. About 80 percent of the people Qwest hires come in on personal referrals.

About 15 percent of the 250 people hired will be part time, Bisgard said.

Schmit said the first wave of new employees should be on the job by the first week of May.

Staff writer Paul Menser can be reached at 542-6752.

Did you know?

The majority of centers around the world - except India - serve their own domestic markets and consumers. There is no common global face to call centers because they tend to take on the character of their respective countries and regions based on that country's or region's laws, customs and norms.

Most call centers are relatively new and have emerged across the globe at about the same time, within the past five to 10 years.

Two-thirds of all call centers are in-house operations, serving a firm's own customers. Subcontractors operate the remaining one-third of centers. In-house centers across all countries have lower turnover rates and higher-quality jobs than subcontracted ones.

Staff turnover rates and costs are high. Turnover rates in the United States range from 25 percent to more than 50 percent per year, depending on the sector. Taking lost productivity into account, replacing one worker costs the equivalent of three or four months of an average worker's pay.

More than 50 percent of centers have some form of collective representation.


Get a job

Anyone interested in applying for a position with Qwest in Idaho Falls can find an application online at www.qwest.jobs or call a recruiter at (208) 533-2966. In addition, Qwest will be holding an open house job fair at the 1875 International Way site from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. March 26 and 27.

LOAD-DATE: March 14, 2008

National Journal's CongressDaily, March 13, 2008, Thursday

Copyright 2008 National Journal Group, Inc.

National Journal's CongressDaily

March 13, 2008 Thursday 10:30 am Eastern Time

SECTION: BALANCE OF PAYMENTS

BODY:

Borderlines

For those who didn't hear enough about the North American Free Trade Agreement before the Ohio presidential primary, just wait. In the run-up to the April 22 Pennsylvania primary, both Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., are likely to hammer the 14-year-old trade deal with Canada and Mexico, again demanding its renegotiation.

But since campaign rhetoric is intended to rouse passions rather than educate voters, neither candidate is likely to answer the fundamental questions that their attacks have raised: Why NAFTA? Why now? And what could realistically be done about the agreement?

Pennsylvania is prime NAFTA-bashing turf. Between 2000 and 2007, Pennsylvania lost 201,900 manufacturing jobs, 23 percent of its manufacturing workforce. Only a fraction of those losses are directly attributable to NAFTA.

But the disappearance of relatively well-paying manufacturing jobs has contributed to the decline in Pennsylvania's median wage, which has fallen about 1 percent this decade, after adjustment for inflation.

Part of the voters' frustration is a consequence of the Clinton administration's promising "jobs, jobs, jobs" if Congress approved NAFTA back in 1993. There was never a chance that NAFTA could ever generate a significant number of new American jobs. But expectations were raised.

Moreover, the defense of NAFTA has been disingenuous. The Bush administration notes proudly that NAFTA has more than tripled trade between Canada, Mexico and the United States. What it fails to acknowledge: The $12 billion U.S. trade deficit with those partners in 1994 mushroomed to $138 billion in 2007.

NAFTA supporters also dismiss claims that the deal has cost the country jobs, noting that U.S. employment has risen 24 percent since 1993. They point out that manufacturing employment in the United States has been declining since 1979, 15 years before NAFTA. And, said Philip Levy, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, "trade substitutes better jobs for worse jobs."

But workers who have lost their jobs are not necessarily the same ones who gained employment. So people's antipathy toward NAFTA can be personal. The fact that manufacturing job losses are part of a larger trend is little solace to an unemployed Pennsylvania machinist. And Pennsylvania's wage stagnation suggests NAFTA has not substituted better jobs for worse jobs.

Moreover, workers need not have lost their jobs to resent NAFTA. Studies in the late 1990s by Kate Bronfenbrenner, director of labor education research at Cornell University, showed that in 70 percent of union organizing campaigns nationwide in industries such as auto parts and telecommunications the threat of moving abroad, often to Mexico, was used by management to thwart formation of a union.

"Fewer than 5 percent actually did move," Bronfenbrenner said. "But it didn't matter, because it had such a chilling effect."

Finally, the Clinton and Obama vows to renegotiate NAFTA is both more and less complicated than it sounds.

Enforcement of labor rights and environmental standards are contained in side letters to NAFTA, are not enforceable with trade sanctions and have not proven to be very effective. Clinton and Obama would put these obligations in the body of the agreement, making violators subject to trade retaliation.

This is how the Jordan and Peru free-trade agreements are structured. But this approach has never been tested, so no one knows if it works.

Both candidates would also rewrite the investment code in NAFTA to ensure that corporations do not invalidate local environmental laws through claims that such rules limit their expected investment benefits.

Since 1994 there have been multiple efforts by corporations to do just that, but most cases are still pending and, through 2005, the claimed damages were small and the United States had never lost a case.

Moreover, if NAFTA is reopened, Canada, Mexico and interest groups in the United States will all want their own changes.

Mexico will demand its truckers be allowed to work in the United States. Canada might want limits on its NAFTA obligation to sell oil to the United States in an emergency.

And Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch, argues for overturning NAFTA's ban on "Buy America" requirements. So renegotiation would be open-ended.

Nevertheless, said Jeffrey Schott, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute in Washington, "negotiators have learned a lot since NAFTA." So there is no reason why they could not improve on the document.

By drawing attention to NAFTA, the candidates might have made it possible, said Schott, "to have a big picture dialogue on priority concerns for all three countries, which may make it easier to upgrade some specific aspects of the agreement."

So, while the NAFTA debate is more justified than NAFTA defenders will admit, it is also more complicated than NAFTA critics contend.

And since a President Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama will want to do something to follow through on their NAFTA pledges, it might yet be possible to turn this lemon -- either NAFTA itself or the candidates' promises to renegotiate it -- into lemonade.

By Bruce Stokes

LOAD-DATE: March 13, 2008