NBC News, March 25, 2014, Tuesday

NBC News 

March 25, 2014, Tuesday 

NBC News (full article)

Out of Gas: Most Americans Can't Afford New Cars

Now, amid stagnant wages and a shaky recovery, the average new car price rose last year by $1,536.

"Americans can only afford used cars," said Louis Hyman, an assistant professor in the labor relations, law, and history department at Cornell University. "The recovery has only been for those at the top and not for normal Americans."

CounterPunch, March 21, 2014, Friday

CounterPunch 

March 21, 2014, Friday

CounterPunch (full article)

The NAFTA Scorecard

Capital mobility has been an irresistible hammer for holding down wages and worsening job conditions — a study by Cornell University Professor Kate Bronfenbrenner found that more than 50 percent of employers made threats to shut down and/or move their facilities in response to unionization activity during the three-year period of 1993 to 1995, and that the rate of actual shutdowns tripled from the pre-NAFTA rate.

AutoNews, March 21, 2014, Friday

AutoNews 

March 21, 2014, Friday 

AutoNews (full article)

Bozzella, Ex-Ford, Chrysler Exec, Named CEO of Global Automakers

International automakers have a new top lobbyist in Washington: John Bozzella, an auto industry veteran who helped to marshal support for Chrysler’s government bailout before leaving the company in 2009.

Bozzella will start April 1 as CEO of the Association of Global Automakers, a coalition of 12 automakers including Honda, Hyundai, Nissan and Toyota.

Bozzella, who studied labor relations at Cornell University, started his career lobbying the New York state legislature on behalf of the United Federation of Teachers.

NPR (Charlotte, NC), March 19, 2014, Wednesday

NPR (Charlotte, NC)

March 19, 2014, Wednesday 

NPR (full article & listen)

To Fill Skills Gap in U.S., Schools Look Abroad

CAPELOUTO: When Lowell Turner heard about 16 year-olds deciding on a career, he was skeptical and thought teens should not be boxed into a profession that early. But then the Cornell University professor became an expert on the German apprentice system and likes it a lot.

LOWELL TURNER: You don't get trapped in something. You know, by 16 typically you know if you're going to be an A student that's going to go to an elite college or not. It's our mid-kids that are not going to elite colleges that fall through the cracks. You know, and then we get a lot of high-school dropouts.

Slate Magazine, March 17, 2014, Monday

Slate Magazine 

March 17, 2014, Monday 

Slate Magazine (full article)

The Pay Gap Prescription

About 76 percent of public school teachers are female, for instance, compared with just13 percent of engineers and 6.5 percent of neurosurgeons. After adjusting for details like age, experience, occupation, and industry, Cornell economists Francine Blau and Lawrence Kahn found that women earn about 91 cents on the dollar compared with men.

The New York Times, March 17, 2014, Monday

The New York Times 

March 17, 2014, Monday

The New York Times (full article)

Culinary Schools Speed the Rise of Hopeful Chefs

Celebrity chefs, myriad cooking shows and stylized menus have energized foodies with dreams of commanding a restaurant kitchen (or TV show) and have educated a public that has become more discerning of food and demanding of chefs, said Rosemary Batt, author of a 2014 study on restaurant practices and a professor in Cornell University’s Industrial and Labor Relations School.

St. Louis Public Radio, March 17, 2014, Monday

St. Louis Public Radio 

March 17, 2014, Monday 

St. Louis Public Radio (full article & recording)

Jefferson Cowie on Economic Inequality, Organized Labor and the Working Class

Cowie reports that membership in labor unions peaked in the mid 50s when 35 percent of the work force belonged to a union.  That percentage has decreased until levelling off at the current 6 percent membership. There are a number of reasons for the decline including political factors, economic factors, cultural issues and organizational problems with organized labor. 

In These Times, March 13, 2014, Thursday

In These Times 

March 13, 2014, Thursday

In These Times (full article)

The Battle For Chattanooga: Southern Masculinity and the Anti-Union Campaign at Volkswagen

Those codes were on full display during a February 12 meeting of Southern Momentum, an outside group that backed the “No 2 UAW” anti-union committee at the plant. "Nobody is going to fight for Mike Jarvis like Mike Jarvis,” said Jarvis, one of the workers behind No 2 UAW. “Mike Jarvis is going to fight for his family—and that's the guys on the line. So we can handle our own issues.”

Cornell School of Industry and Labor Relations Professor Kate Bronfenbrenner says this kind of mentality helps explain why anti-unionism frequently appeals to working-class white men.

Bloomberg BNA, March 13, 2014, Thursday

Bloomberg BNA 

March 13, 2014, Thursday

Bloomberg (full article)

Obama to direct FLSA overtime expansion to promote administration’s wage agenda

The initiative appears to be “part of the larger agenda to increase workers' wages,” former Deputy Labor Secretary Seth Harris told Bloomberg BNA March 12. “This is another piece of a larger agenda--raising the minimum wage, improving job training programs, and creating jobs through significant improvements in infrastructure.”

Harris, who has been teaching at Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations since leaving the Labor Department in January, speculated that the President will not dictate the details of the proposal but will expect the Labor Department to craft its proposed rule by early summer, a very short time for such undertakings.

Politifact, March 10, 2014, Monday

Politifact

March 10, 2014, Monday 

Politifact (full article)

Wendy Davis overstates how much full-time working women make vs men

Lee reminded us of a February 2007 paper by Cornell University labor economists Francine Blau and Lawrence Kahn, "The Gender Pay Gap: Have Women Gone Far Enough?" The paper states that 53 percent of the gender wage gap stems from variation in job, industry and union status between the genders.

The Times of Israel, March 9, 2014, Sunday

The Times of Israel 

March 9, 2014, Sunday

The Times of Israel (full article)

Salary Confidentiality Reduces Productivity, Study Shows

The study, published by Prof. Peter Bamberger of Tel Aviv University's Recanati School of Business and Dr. Elena Belogolovsky of Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations, was based on the results of an experiment involving 280 Israeli students, who were paid a base fee to play a computer game for one hour.

Al Jazeera America, March 7, 2014, Friday

Al Jazeera America 

March 7, 2014, Friday 

Al Jazeera America (full article)

Job Market Shrugs Off Winter Chill, Leaving Experts Feeling Rather Sunny

But Seth Harris, Distinguished Scholar in Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University, sees it differently.

“We don’t want to cover up difficult economic times with snow and sleet,” he said. “This has been a rough winter, but the larger economic story is we are not growing fast enough as an economy in order to create the number of jobs we need to create.”

The Stanford Daily, March 6, 2014, Thursday

The Stanford Daily 

March 6, 2014, Thursday 

The Stanford Daily (full article)

Feminism and the Wage Gap Part II

But this doesn’t tell the whole story – in 2000, an extensive study conducted by Cornell economists Francine Blau and Lawrence Kahn found that when factors like work experience, education, race, occupation distribution and union coverage are controlled for, there still exists a 9% pay difference. A more recent 2008 study found this gap is more like 7%. What is this 7%?

The Guardian, March 6, 2014, Thursday

The Guardian 

March 6, 2014, Thursday 

The Guardian (full article)

BA and Norwegian Air Shuttle Cuts Costs, But at What Price for Flight Attendants?

For the same reason, notes Arthur Wheaton of Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations, some airlines are trying to get more out of their fleet and crew by minimising time between flights. "That means that crews and flights are often delayed. That creates a frustrated atmosphere, and the people who are getting that frustration are the flight attendants and the people behind the counter."

The Washington Post, March 6, 2014, Thursday

The Washington Post 

March 6, 2014, Thursday 

Washington Post (full article)

The Inside Story of How the White House Learned to Love the Minimum Wage

“We wanted to ensure it was a moderate increase in the minimum wage so we didn’t spark any negative effects on employment,” explained Seth Harris, who was acting labor secretary at the time and participated in the discussions. “The challenge to balance is raising wages enough that you’re going to lift families out of poverty ... but not raise the wage so high that there’s a risk of meaningful employment effects.”

“One mom told me she only had enough money for her and her daughter to have one hamburger and one package of French fries, so the mom ate the bread and gave her daughter the burger and the fries,” said Harris, now a scholar at Cornell. “Those are choices that working people should not have to make.”

The Wall Street Journal, March 5, 2014, Wednesday

The Wall Street Journal 

March 5, 2014, Wednesday

The Wall Street Journal (full article)

Disability Studies: Hot Topic on Campus

More than one-third of students in the concentration have a family member with a disability, said Thomas P. Golden, associate director of Cornell's Employment and Disability Institute.

"They come with provocative questions like, 'Why did my dad have to leave the workplace?' or 'How do I help my sibling experience the quality of life that I'm going to experience as a result of my career?'" Mr. Golden said.

"Disability Considerations in HR Policy and Practice," a course taught by Susanne Bruyere, the school's associate dean of outreach and director of the Employment and Disability Institute, also addresses the strategic advantages of employing people with disabilities, such as helping companies appeal to new markets.

CNN Money, March 5, 2014, Wednesday

CNN Money 

March 5, 2014, Wednesday 

CNN Money (full article)

Ace Your Annual Review

"Even when you don't agree with it, feedback is useful," Steve Miranda of Cornell University's Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies says. "It provides insight as to how you're being perceived." You'll need this information to clear hurdles standing between you and your career goals.

The Chief, March 3, 2014, Monday

The Chief 

March 3, 2014, Monday 

The Chief (full article)

Sizing Up Obamacare, Unions Urging Unified Push for Single-Payer System

Despite labor’s broad support as President Obama worked to pass the ACA in 2010, unions have grown increasingly wary of “Obamacare,” fearing that workers will be siphoned off from their plans to cheaper state-based exchanges, driving up premiums for those remaining in the union health-care system.

But the panelists at the LaborPress “Strategy Roundtable on Winning Better Healthcare,” moderated by Cornell Union Leadership Institute co-director Gene Carroll, said that unions should look beyond the ACA’s flaws and push for even more fundamental changes.

Huffington Post, February 26, 2014, Wednesday

Huffington Post 

February 26, 2014, Wednesday

Huffington Post (full article)

Are Teaching and Research Mutually Exclusive?

The connection between teaching and research depends on a number of variables including where one teaches, how many courses one teaches, what the teaching expectations are, what field one teaches in, and what kind of students one teaches. It also depends on the criteria by which one rates teachers. But what is clear is that those who do research find a strong relationship between their teaching and research, and in most cases that teaching includes undergraduate teaching. As Ron Ehrenberg, Cornell's Irving M. Ives Professor of Industrial and Labor Relations and Economics and an authority on higher education, puts it, "Put simply, my research enhances my undergrad teaching and my undergrad teaching enhances my research."

PBS Newshour, February 26, 2014, Wednesday

PBS Newshour 

February 26, 2014, Wednesday 

PBS Newshour (article and video)

What Do Unions Offer American Workers Today?

"Well, Kate Bronfenbrenner, let me start with you.

This was clearly a loss for the UAW and organized labor, but how big was it and do you see anything positive for the unions to take from it?"

KATE BRONFENBRENNER, School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell University: "I think people are making more of this loss than they should...."

The Wellesley News, February 26, 2014, Wednesday

The Wellesley News 

February 26, 2014, Wednesday

The Wellesley News (full article)

Paying More for Less at Wellesley?

President of Dartmouth College Phillip Hanlon attributes tuition increases to colleges funding new projects while allowing old ones to continue and called for “innovation through substitution.” Similarly, economist Ronald Ehrenberg of Cornell University states in his paper “Tuition Rising, Why College Costs so Much” that in order to moderate tuition increases, colleges must adopt the mindset of growing by substitution, not by expansion.

Automotive News, February 24, 2014, Monday

Automotive News 

February 24, 2014, Monday

Automotive News (full article)

King: UAW Appeal in VW Vote Targets Outsiders

But Lance Compa, who teaches labor law at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., said that politicians had gone beyond free speech in their statements.

"The state legislators crossed that line when they said they would withhold economic development support for a new product line in the Chattanooga plant if the employees vote for the UAW. That was an outright threat which poisoned chances for a fair election," he said by email. Corker's comments were also a threat, he added, arguing the NLRB had a case.

Yahoo Finance, February 22, 2014, Saturday

Yahoo Finance 

February 22, 2014, Saturday

Yahoo Finance (full article)

Detroit Automakers Worry About UAW Money Struggles

Williams says the UAW will show higher dues revenue when it files a 2013 report with the Labor Department next month.

Still, the union can't fully replace dues paid by longtime workers who retired at $28 or more per hour, says Art Wheaton, an industry expert at the Worker Institute at Cornell University. Lower-tier workers for the UAW start at $15 per hour, although recent raises can make over $19.

"What you're getting per hour to deal blackjack is nowhere near what you're getting per hour as a skilled tradesman at General Motors or Ford," Wheaton says.

Washington Post, February 20, 2014, Thursday

Washington Post 

February 20, 2014, Thursday 

Washington Post (full article)

Barrier-Busting Yellen Lets Work Speak for Itself

Francine Blau, an economics professor at Cornell University who received her doctorate from Harvard in 1975, recalled entering a classroom as a young professor only to hear a male student refer to the course as “sex ed.” Frances Van Loo, a professor emeritus at the University of California at Berkeley, said she had to trek up or down several flights of stairs to find a women’s restroom. Stanford University’s Myra Strober, an economist who earned her doctorate at MIT in the late 1960s, said she used to try on clothes at Filene’s department store just for a chance to talk to other women.

“The worst aspect is what you may be feeling inside,” Blau said. “You’re feeling like, well, you know, there aren’t very many of us, and maybe there’s a reason for that. Every time you hit a bump, you’re sort of, well, can I do it? Can I cut it?”

Philly Mag, February 20, 2014, Thursday

Philly Mag 

February 20, 2014, Thursday 

Philly Mag (full article)

Chickie's & Pete's Lawsuit Settlement Announced

“Today’s settlement is an excellent outcome for Chickie’s & Pete’s employees and for the company,” said Louis Pechman, of Berke-Weiss & Pechman LLP, attorney for the employees in the litigation. “Many restaurant operators across the country have faced similar issues relating to tip pools and tip credits, and this recovery represents Pete Ciarrocchi’s good faith efforts to make his employees whole.”

Main Street, February 20, 2014, Thursday

Main Street 

February 20, 2014, Thursday

Main Street (full article)

UAW Rejected by VW Workers in Tennessee

But some do not think image was the big issue. They feel that other factors rather than published reports of incidents of union violence, corruption, and greed or government prosecutions of union officials played a role.

"I think any kind of fair, serious analysis of what happened in Tennessee needs to put the vote in the context of the history of labor unions in the South," said Gene Carroll, co-director of the New York State AFL-CIO/Cornell Union Leadership Institute. "It's a virulent and violent anti-union history in which employers exploited racial divisions to obscure workers' common interest in standing together. These cultural and historical issues have deep roots which extend back to the period even before the first amendment rights to freedom of assembly were adopted late in the 18th century."

Wall Street Journal, February 5, 2014, Wednesday

Wall Street Journal  

February 5, 2014, Wednesday

Wall Street Journal (full article)


Plateau of Percentage of Women in Workforce Baffles Economists

The latest Labor Department snapshot found 69.3% of women ages 25 to 54 were working and 30.7% weren't. The majority of those without jobs said they weren't looking for work.

Francine Blau, a Cornell University economist who has been studying the phenomenon, called it "a long-term plateauing." She said available data suggests it cuts across all demographic groups.