As the debate over the nation's guest workers remains unresolved, our political leaders should take a look at the reality that thousands of guest workers are routinely abused and forced to live in squalid, slave-like conditions, activists working with migrant workers say.

Every year, 160,000 guest workers are permitted to enter the United States, supposedly to fill in gaps in our labor force. More than 25,000 of them work in the fields of North Carolina, harvesting tobacco, sweet potatoes, cucumbers and Christmas trees, according to the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC).

Leticia Zavala, an organizer for FLOC, says the health conditions for guest workers in the fields is a major problem, especially for those who harvest tobacco (see video).

Economic Report:

By Jesse Russell

Retailers are putting a happy spin on Black Friday noting that sales were up by 5.4 percent this year over 2006. What they are leaving out is that higher sales don’t mean more spending. According to the Los Angeles Times 4.8 percent more people went shopping on Friday then in 2006 – but they also spent 3.5 percent less per person. That works out to roughly $347 per person overall.

By Jesse Russell

Many news reports are calling November 26 Cyber Monday – the busiest shopping day for online retail. The problem is they are wrong. “Cyber Monday” was a term dreamt up by the National Retail Federation in order to build energy. Even Scott Krugman, spokesman for the Federation, admits November 26 “is by no means the busiest for online sales.” So next time a news report calls Cyber Monday the busiest online shopping day of the year give your media source a call and correct them – the true busiest day is the last possible day items can be shipped in time for Christmas.

By Doug Cunningham

The federal government is giving up on trying to enforce its social security “no-match” rule. Instead, the Department of Homeland Security says it’s coming up with a new rule that it says will pass legal tests. The AFL-CIO and the ACLU had sued over the rule. They said it would cause U.S. citizens and legal workers to be fired if the rule was implemented and enforced. The AFL-CIO says the social security database is flawed and firing workers based on mismatches would be an injustice to legally employed citizens. The Department of Homeland Security wants the lawsuit

As residents of Cleveland recently discovered – one way is by the number of people who turn out for jobs at a brand new Wal-Mart Supercenter. Jesse Russell reports:

More than 6000 people are looking for jobs in Cleveland’s Steelyard Commons district – how do we know? That is how many people who turned out when a new Wal-Mart opening in the area put out a call for job applicants. According to the Cleveland Plains Dealer there are 300 jobs available at the new Supercenter so more than 5700 applicants walked away without a new job. The unemployment rate in Ohio is currently at 5.9 percent while the national average is 4.7 percent. Job applications at Wal-Mart can be a used as an indication of how desperate individuals are for employment in an area. A new store opening is also a chance for a step up from an even lower paying job.

By Doug Cunningham

Talks in the Broadway stagehands strike continued into the night Monday. Bruce Cohen, a spokesman for the union, says some progress had been made. Broadway producers want to cut the number of workers and hours of work to stage their plays. The stagehands union says the cuts amount to a 38 percent reduction in wages and work. The strike is over two weeks old and is costing millions of dollars a day in lost business revenue. This is the first Broadway strike in the history of IATSE Local One, the union representing the stagehands.

Back at the negotiating table this week, IATSE also is mourning the loss of member Francis Lavaia, who died of a heart attack on the picket line.

Contract talks between the Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 1 and Broadway producers resumed yesterday and are expected to continue later today. The IATSE Local 1 members were forced out on strike Nov. 10, leaving most of Broadway's stages dark.

The negotiations are the first face-to-face meetings since Nov. 18, when the employers walked out of the talks. This morning, IATSE Local 1 spokesman Bruce Cohen told reporters that progress had been made during the nearly 12 hours of negotiations that went through the night.

Theater owners and producers are demanding a 38 percent cut in jobs and wages, according to IATSE. About a quarter of the 2,200 members of Local 1, who build scenery, maintain props and install and operate lighting and sound equipment, work in Broadway theaters. The billion-dollar-a-year Broadway theater industry is seeing record profits, and any cuts in jobs and wages will not result in lower ticket prices, according to the union—just bigger profits for producers.

Entertainment unions are strongly backing IATSE members, including Actors' Equity, American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (AFM) Local 802 and the New York City Central Labor Council (NYCLC).

For a closer look at the life of a Broadway stagehand, see this Associated Press story on IATSE Local 1 member and activist John Kelly. Kelly, now a "deck" electrician, began his Broadway career 17 years ago as Tinkerbell—he operated the beam of light that flies and flickers around Peter Pan, Wendy and the Lost Boys.

There is a sad note to report. Francis Lavaia, 37, a stagehand who worked on “The Lion King,” suffered a fatal heart attack Nov. 16, while he was picketing at one of the Broadway theaters. In his honor, Local 1 members donned black armbands.

Here are a few highlights from the AFL-CIO Collective Bargaining Department, which sends daily e-mail, bargaining-related news and research resources to more than 900 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work.

Work Stoppages

UAW, Navistar: The UAW asked Navistar to resume talks and the parties will go back to the table today. On Oct. 23, 4,000 UAW members went on strike in six states against the International Truck and Engine Corp., owned by Navistar. Members say Navistar committed unfair labor practices during collective bargaining by making unilateral changes in the terms and conditions of employment, ordering an illegal lockout of the company's assembly plant in Springfield, Ohio, and refusing to provide the UAW bargaining team with information necessary for negotiations.