Wednesday, November 23, 2011

CNBC, November 22, 2011, Tuesday

CNBC

November 22, 2011, Tuesday

CNBC (full article)

This Holiday Season - Lay off the Layaway
By: Louis Hyman

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Recently Wal-Mart and other retailers have revived their mothballed layaway programs. Stores promote lay-away as a way for shoppers to avoid “debt” and still buy all the Christmas presents that they need. Lay-away is not debt, but like debt, it charges shoppers more money than the price of the goods. With credit, you get the goods today and pay the bill tomorrow. With layaway, however, you get the goods tomorrow and still have to pay the bill tomorrow. The downside of debt is not the instant gratification (which we all love), but the way in which an unpaid debt drains the pocketbook. Layaway does the same, but without the instant gratification.

The Huffington Post, November 22, 2011, Tuesday

The Huffington Post

November 22, 2011, Tuesday

The Huffington Post (full article)

GOP and Chamber of Commerce's War Over the Bulletin Board

For example, in the past few decades, corporations have spent billions on union-busting consultants to intimidate employees. According to Cornell University's Kate Bronfenbrenner, one-quarter of all employers violate the NLRA, illegally firing at least one employee during union-organizing campaigns. The lucky workers get reinstated years later after exhaustive court battles. Penalties for these violations are so minimal that most employers treat them as a minor cost of doing business. Employees who initially signed union cards are often long gone or too afraid to vote by the time the NLRB conducts an election.

Deseret News, November 17, 2011, Thursday

Deseret News

November 17, 2011, Thursday

Deseret News (full article)

Postponing the pipeline

U.S. officials should use the next 12 months to explore the serious environmental problems that still surround the project. They also should take a hard look at claims about how many jobs the project supposedly would create. A recent analysis by Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations found that supporters' claims were wildly inflated and impossible to verify.

Lucky Magazine, November 17, 2011, Thursday

Lucky Magazine

November 17, 2011, Thursday

Lucky Magazine (full article)

Should You Try Layaway?

As credit limits continue to drop, more cash-strapped consumers are considering layaway as a gift shopping possibility. The installment pay-plan (which originated mid-century as an option for low income families) has made a comeback this season in superstores such as Walmart, Kmart, Sears and Toys 'R' Us.

At first look, the offer seems ideal: pay a little bit at a time and get your presents before the holidays—everyone wins, right? Maybe not, according to Louis Hyman, an assistant professor of history at Cornell University’s ILR School and author of Debtor Nation: The History of America in Red Ink. His research shows the hidden fees of layaway are actually much steeper than credit card interest rates.

Insight Into Diversity, November 15, 2011, Tuesday

Insight Into Diversity

November 15, 2011, Tuesday

Insight Into Diversity (full article)

Cultural Differences: Bridging the Gap


Laura Hertzog, Director of Human Capital Development Programs at Cornell University ILR, agrees. Hertzog teaches client organizations about cultural intelligence, and often finds that the issues an organization is faced with are not so much along the lines of harassment, but more a failure to communicate. “People aren’t getting each other,” Hertzog says. “They think that someone else is doing what they’re doing to annoy them, not because that’s just how they do it. We are all looking through a different cultural lens. It’s not a matter of a right way or a wrong way; it’s just a difference of perception.”

The Wall Street Journal, November 11, 2011, Friday

The Wall Street Journal

November 11, 2011, Friday

The Wall Street Journal (full article)

Economic Mobility Stats Are Moving Target

My print column today examines the fluidity of economic status in the U.S. Occupy protesters say they are the 99% and protest the 1%. But there is some movement between those groups over time. Just how much is a subject of considerable political and academic debate.

“It is a fuzzy concept and once you start formalizing it, you end up talking about something precise but missing a lot of things,” said Columbia University economist Wojciech Kopczuk of economic mobility.

Gary S. Fields, a labor economist at Cornell University, identified six different ways to measure mobility in a 2005 report. “There are these six groups of ideas that people have in mind,” Fields said. “We shouldn’t conflate them. They are really different things.”

Marketplace, November 11, 2011, Friday

Marketplace

November 11, 2011, Friday

Marketplace (full article)

Some cities asking Occupy protesters to clear out

Marc Bayard heads Cornell's labor institute. He says big labor has to be careful. Labor doesn't want to be accused of taking over the Occupy movement and looking desperate. While the protesters are somewhat aloof.

CNN Money, November 10, 2011, Thursday

CNN Money

November 10, 2011, Thursday

CNN Money (full article)

Keystone pipeline delayed by Obama until 2013

The jobs number, they say, is actually closer to 5,000. One study from Cornell (GLI) said the pipeline could actually cost jobs by hurting the development of alternative energy and allowing for the export of oil from the Midwest, driving up the cost of gasoline in that region.

Ag Alert, November 9, 2011, Wednesday

Ag Alert

November 9, 2011, Wednesday

Ag Alert

Safety Training About Manure and Digesters

On November 1, 2011 Nellie Brown (Cornell University – ILR/Extension) provided a workshop on safety consideration around manure handling facilities and digesters on the Tom and Diane Roach farm in East Venice.

I didn’t realize that Nellie’s experience included the management and operation of a waste water treatment facility. She is able to relate to the science associated with gasses commonly produced by manure and the equipment and processes common with wastes-manure.

As you might expect the participants were focused on the equipment necessary for the process of converting manure to gas. Nellie knew that this would focus their attention and spring boarded to the lessons that could be learned. Participants were urged to consider what types of gasses or other hazards might be associated with the operation, maintenance, repair or risks leading to the dangerous conditions.

The hit of the day was Nellie’s portable monitoring device, which was the size of a deck of cards, but a real life saver. It was tied to a bale string and lowered into areas to determine the accumulation of gases heavier than air. By raising the meter on a stick it would determine gas accumulation in unventilated areas within a building to identify gases lighter than air. This unit can clip to your belt and sounds an alert that would warn you if it is detecting a dangerous level of a gas. This alert is set to detect and alarm if it senses an amount that would be a hazard if the person wearing it was working in these conditions for the next ten hours.

Nellie’s perspective was to provide inquiry where there could be a better or safer way to accomplish the daily tasks working in and around manure and equipment.

One of the components she focused on during the workshop was the ability to lock out or disable the power or the function of the equipment while inspecting or maintaining. The participants recognized the critical nature of this step and were reminded how important this is to them on the job.

When listing critical points to the agricultural audiences she rated them as being aware of confined space hazards, caution around pressurized systems that could be activated by back pressure to run inappropriately, noise as a hazard, and locking out systems while in a maintenance mode.
This was a great training and awareness session for the participants.

Special thanks to the Roach’s, their staff; and Nellie Brown, Director of Workplace Health and Safety Programs for Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations M.S. C.I.H.

The Western New York Council on Occupational Safety and Health for providing support under their NYSDOL HAB grant, so that this workshop could be made possible.

Philadelphia Inquirer, November 7, 2011, Friday

Philadelphia Inquirer

November 7, 2011, Friday

Philadelphia Inquirer (full article)

Will Penn State president survive the Sandusky scandal?

"This is an extremely successful long-term president," said Ronald G. Ehrenberg, director of the Higher Education Research Institute at Cornell University. "The question is if you have a wonderful leader who has done all of these things for the university and over this long period of time has had the support of the faculty and administrators, is this someone you want to give up on?"

Thursday, November 10, 2011

New Republic, November 8, 2011, Tuesday

New Republic

November 8, 2011, Tuesday

New Republic (full article)

Beyond Ohio: Why Public Sector Unions Need to Show Solidarity for Private Sector Workers

Pro-labor forces appear en route to win an important battle in Ohio on Tuesday, but the greater war they’re engaged in is very much undecided. As significant as issues like taxes, bargaining, and benefits are for the health of the country’s public sector unions, their real savior has largely gone unspoken in this most recent battle—namely, the bolstering of pay and benefits in the private sector. Progressives will no doubt be tempted to celebrate their victory—not least because it marks a setback for Governor Kasich, and a good omen for Obama’s struggle for this key swing state in 2012—but they should also be wary of myopia.


Jefferson Cowie teaches at Cornell University and is the author of Stayin’ Alive: The 1970s and the Last Days of the Working Class.

Fox News, November 5, 2011, Saturday

Fox News

November 5, 2011, Saturday

Fox News (full article)


Eyes of nation on Ohio vote on union-limiting law

That's why labor badly needs a win in Ohio, said Lee Adler, who teaches labor issues at Cornell University's New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations.

"If the governor of Ohio is able to hold the line on the legislation that was passed, then it would be a very significant setback for public sector workers and public sector unions in the U.S.," he said. "Likewise, if the other result happens, then it would certainly provide a considerable amount of hope that, with the proper kind of mobilization and the proper kind of targeting, some of the retrenchment that has been directed at public sector workers can be combated."

ABC News, November 3, 2011, Thursday

ABC News

November 3, 2011, Thursday

ABC News (full article)

Poverty Rate Doubled in the Midwestern Rust Belt Over Past Decade


“Obviously we are not in a Great Depression,” said Linda Barrington, the managing director of Cornell University’s Institute for Compensation Studies. “We cannot make a comparison to what was happening then. But that doesn’t give us a lot to celebrate about.”

WNYC, November 2, 2011, Wednesday

WNYC

November 2, 2011, Wednesday

WNYC (full article)

Nurses Vote on Possible Strike to Break Negotiating Deadlock


Rebecca Givan, a professor at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, said many nurses would have a hard time absorbing any increased costs, because they’re often the sole bread-winner in their households — especially in the current economy.

“If only one adult in the household is working, the need for affordable healthcare from that one person’s employer becomes more acute,” Givan said.

KGO Newstalk, November 2, 2011, Wednesday

KGO Newstalk

November 2, 2011, Wednesday

KGO Newstalk

Ken Margolies was interviewed by KGO Newstalk discussing the general strike in Oakland.

Reuters, November 2, 2011, Wednesday

Reuters

November 2, 2011, Wednesday

Reuters (full article)


Bank of America employees flood bank's rivals with resumes


The bank's efficiency program, called Project New BAC, aims to streamline a company bloated by years of acquisitions. But executives risk cutting too deeply or creating an unsettling environment for those who remain, said Beth Livingston, assistant professor of human resources studies at Cornell University.

"You get the survivor effect," Livingston said. "Everyone is on edge. There's a culture of fear that permeates the climate."

HR Magazine UK, November 1, 2011, Tuesday

HR Magazine UK

November 1, 2011, Tuesday

HR Magazine UK (full article)

Is a move from HR director to chief executive a bridge too far?

Patrick Wright, William J Conaty GE professor of strategic human resources in the Industrial and Labor Relations School at Cornell University, has carried out research into the role of the chief human resources officer (CHRO). His thoughts on the HRD-to-CEO transition make grim reading for (over?) ambitious HRDs. "There are few CHROs that have the commercial acumen to be considered for promotion to CEO," he says. "Many of the ones that do have that acumen are also career line executives who have been placed in the HRD role. Career HR professionals who are in the HRD role really are not likely to be even considered."

WorldatWork's workspan magazine, November 2011

WorldatWork's workspan magazine

November 2011

An monthly column in workspan® applying scholarly research to the "real world" by ICS Director Kevin Hallock.

Pay System Gender Neutrality
Gender Pay Gap

NPR, October 31, 2011, Monday

NPR

October 31, 2011, Monday

NPR (full article)

Unions Assume A Support Role For Occupy Movement

The unions and Occupy protesters didn't immediately warm up to each other though. Before getting too involved, the unions had to be sure the movement was here to stay and that protests would remain nonviolent, according to Cornell University Labor Studies Professor Richard Hurd.

"And the protesters certainly don't want the labor movement to come in and take over their movement," says Hurd. "They feel that they own it, they started it, they created some energy around it."

The Washington Post, October 28, 2011, Friday

The Washington Post

October 28, 2011, Friday

The Washington Post (full article)

Chart of the day: College tuition is out of control

Meanwhile, Ronald Ehrenberg, a labor economist at Cornell, has blamed “the shared system of governance between trustees, administrators, and faculty” at many private universities, which “guarantees that selective private institutions will be slow to react to cost pressures.” Whatever the reason, those tuition trends don’t seem to be slowing anytime soon.

CNN Money, October 26, 2011, Wednesday

CNN Money

October 26, 2011, Wednesday

CNN Money (full article)

Fortune 500 board members get a sweet raise

Kevin Hallock, the director of Cornell University's Institute of Compensation Studies, said he was "not particularly surprised" by directors' pay packages given increasing demands put on them recently, including greater liability concerns and demands on time.

"What's strange about director pay is it's basically set by the directors themselves," he added.

ENR New York, October 13, 2011, Sunday

ENR New York

October 13, 2011, Sunday

ENR New York (full article)


Study: PLAs with Community Workforce Provisions on the Rise

Project labor agreements that incorporate community workforce agreements are on the rise nationwide and are becoming more comprehensive than they were prior to 2004, according to a new study by Cornell University's Industrial and Labor Relations School.