Labor Union Blog

Economic Report:

Looking for a temporary job? Can you pass an FBI background check? Then the census bureau could use your help. With the 2010 census just around the corner, the census bureau is looking to hire an estimated 1.3 million temp workers to help tabulate the data sent in by short forms and for some to go door-to-door counting heads. The ten-year census is required by the U.S. Constitution and will cost an estimated $14 billion.

Economic Report:

Looking for a temporary job? Can you pass an FBI background check? Then the census bureau could use your help. With the 2010 census just around the corner the census bureau is looking to hire an estimated 1.3 million temp workers to help tabulate the data sent in by short forms and for some to go door-to-door counting heads. The ten-year census is required by the U.S. Constitution and will cost an estimated $14 billion.

[UPDATE]: GM announced this morning that it would close their sport utility vehicle plant in Janesville, Wis. on December 23. That means 1,200 workers will be looking for a new job as 2008 comes to close.

An announcement regarding the fate of a Janesville, Wisconsin GM plant is expected later today. GM originally targeted the plant for closure in the year 2010, but recently suggested the closure could come sooner. The company is expected to announce a specific date for closure today. On Friday it was reported that GM and Chrysler have been holding discussions about a possible merger.

An announcement regarding the fate of a Janesville, Wisconsin GM plant is expected later today. GM originally targeted the plant for closure in the year 2010, but recently suggested the closure could come sooner. The company is expected to announce a specific date for closure today. On Friday it was reported that GM and Chrysler have been holding discussions about a possible merger.

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Qwest Communications reached a tentative contract deal with the union representing the company’s 20,000 workers. Under the most recent contract proposal reached with the Communications Workers of America, the employees would receive an extra year of job security and an annual wage increase of 3 percent for each year of the four year contract. In exchange, workers will end up paying more for healthcare premiums, as the jump from $33 per month for the family plan to $75 per month. Employees won’t vote on the new proposal until October 31.

Qwest Communications reached a tentative contract deal with the union representing the company’s 20,000 workers. Under the most recent contract proposal reached with the Communications Workers of America the employees would receive an extra year of job security and an annual wage increase of 3 percent for each year of the four year contract. In exchange, workers will end up paying more for healthcare premiums, as the jump from $33 per month for the family plan to $75 per month. Employees won’t vote on the new proposal until October 31.

James Earl Jones

We all know his voice. “Star Wars” fans know him as the voice of Darth Vader, children know him as Mufasa from Disney’s “The Lion King,” and those who watch the news daily hear him repeat “This is CNN.”

In more than 50 years as an actor, James Earl Jones has won two Tonys, three Emmys, six Drama Desk Awards, a Golden Globe, two NAACP Image Awards and a Grammy. And he was on the cover of Newsweek magazine. This year, he is back on Broadway playing Big Daddy in a new adaptation of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.”

Now, his colleagues and co-workers plan to honor him with the Screen Actors (SAG) Life Achievement Award for career achievement and humanitarian accomplishment. Jones will receive the award at the 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards—the nation’s largest and only-nationally televised all-union awards show—which premieres live on TNT and TBS Sunday, Jan. 25, 2009, at 8 p.m. ET/PT, 7 p.m. CT and 6 p.m. MT. SAG represents nearly 120,000 actors in film, television, industrials, commercials and music videos.