High school and college students hoping to make the world a better place have an opportunity to advance their education and get the word out about the needs of working families this year through the annual Ottilie Markholt Memorial Scholarship essay contest.
America in Solidarity, a grassroots campaign educating on working family issues, is sponsoring the contest, with a focus on the Employee Free Choice Act and other vital political issues facing working families and our economy. Through the Ottilie Markholt Memorial Scholarship, America in Solidarity has awarded nearly $15,000 in scholarships since 2005.
The scholarship is open to high school seniors and current college students who are residents of the United States and planning to attend accredited colleges and universities in the United States.
The applicants must send a cover letter or résumé and write a three-to-five page essay on one of the following topics:
- How will the Employee Free Choice Act affect your family and/or your community?
- Which current member of Congress has done the most to promote the issues of working families? Discuss how his or her actions or legislation have influenced your life and/or community.
- Pick one of the following topics and argue why this is the most important issue for working families in 2009:
* Health care reform.
* Re-examining our trade policies.
* Shifting our priorities from Iraq to rebuilding America.
It’s a great opportunity for any student interested in promoting the issues that matter to working families. Find out more details here.
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lia href=http://www.laborradio.org/node/10412Biden and Obama welcome organized labor back into the White House/a/li
lia href=http://www.laborradio.org/node/10411Has union organizing turned the corner toward real growth?/a/li
lia href=http://www.laborradio.org/node/10413Is the wage gap in New York City narrowing or are wages of men on the decline?/a/li
lia href=http://www.laborradio.org/node/10414Caterpillar adds more than 2000 job cuts to end week slashing 20 percent of workforce/a/li
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pMore jobs cuts on Friday for employees of Caterpillar already reeling from Tuesday’s mass layoff announcement. An additional 2,110 jobs will be cut at an Illinois plant of the heavy equipment maker. Fridays announcement brings the total planned job cuts to 22,110, 20 percent of the company’s workforce./p
pMore jobs cuts on Friday for employees of Caterpillar already reeling from Tuesday’s mass layoff announcement. An additional 2,110 jobs will be cut at an Illinois plant of the heavy equipment maker. Fridays announcement brings the total planned job cuts to 22,110, 20 percent of the company’s workforce./p
pThe passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act on Thursday is great news for women across the country who on average still earn .78 to every dollar earned by men. In New York City, however, women seem to already be bucking the national trends. According to a study published in 2007, women in the Big Apple in their 20s and of all education levels made 117 percent of men’s wages in 2005. However, it may not simply be an issue of women catching up in New York City, but of male wages declining. When adjusted for inflation male earnings have been falling since 1970./p
pThe passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act on Thursday is great news for women across the country who on average still earn .78 to every dollar earned by men. In New York City, however, women seem to already be bucking the national trends. According to a study published in 2007 women in the Big Apple in their 20s and of all education levels made 117 percent of men’s wages in 2005. However, it may not simply be an issue of women catching up in New York City, but of male wages declining. When adjusted for inflation male earnings have been falling since 1970./p
pHas union organizing turned the corner toward real growth? Doug Cunningham takes a look./p
pIn 2008, the percentage of American workers belonging to unions was up by three tenths of a percent. That’s the first statistically significant gain in 25 years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Unions in 2008 saw a net gain of 428,000 more workers./p
pJohn Schmitt, a senior economist with the Center for Economic and Policy Research says that while labor isn’t yet out of the woods, but some of the biggest structural problems for union growth seem to have abated. Until 2008 labor was in a decline. Today 12.4 percent of U.S. workers are in unions. In 2007 union member bumped up by one-tenth of a percent, but economists said that was not statistically significant. Much of the growth in union membership in 2008 came from government workers in public sector unions. And it came in a year that saw total employment drop. If the Employee Free Choice Act is passed, unions are expected to continue to grow at an even faster rate./p
pHas union organizing turned the corner toward real growth? Doug Cunningham takes a look./p
pIn 2008 the percentage of American workers belonging to unions was up by three tenths of a percent. That’ s the first statistically significant gain in 25 years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Unions in 2008 saw a net gain of 428,000 more workers.br /
John Schmitt, a senior economist with the Center for Economic and Policy Research says that while labor isn’t yet out of the woods, but some of the biggest structural problems for union growth seem to have abated. Until 2008 labor was in a decline. Today 12.4 percent of U.S. workers are in unions. In 2007 union member bumped up by one-tenth of a percent, but economists said that was not statistically significant. Much of the growth in union membership in 2008 came from government workers in public sector unions. And it came in a year that saw total employment drop. If the Employee Free Choice Act is passed, unions are expected to continue to grow at an even faster rate./p
pOrganized labor was officially welcomed back to the White House on Friday morning as newly elected President Barack Obama signed three executive orders intended to reverse policies imposed by the Bush Administration on labor unions. The executive orders require federal contractors to offer jobs to current workers when contracts change and makes it more difficult for those contractors to impede union activity. Shortly after the signing Vice President Joe Biden turned to the audience filled with labor leaders and said “Welcome back to the White House.” Biden announced the first meeting of a task force led by economist Jared Bernstein focused on building a strong middle class would be held in Philadelphia on February 27./p
pOrganized labor was officially welcomed back to the White House on Friday morning as newly elected President Barack Obama signed three executive orders intended to reverse policies imposed by the Bush Administration on labor unions. The executive orders require federal contractors to offer jobs to current workers when contracts change and makes it more difficult for those contractors to impede union activity. Shortly after the signing Vice President Joe Biden turned to the audience filled with labor leaders and said “Welcome back to the White House.” Biden announced the first meeting of a task force led by economist Jared Bernstein focused on building a strong middle class would be held in Philadelphia on February 27./p
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