All 53 articles by Stephen Franklin

• 02 Feb 12

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  Below Soaring CEOs, Struggling Black and Latino Youths

  We hear much nowadays about the rich, and how rising inequality is a result of just how wealthy... MORE »

• 16 Jan 12

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  Goin’ Backward in Indiana: Muncie’s Omen and the Push for ‘Right to Work’

  As Indiana legislators move closer to passing a "right-to-work" law, consider Muncie’s omen. This can be... MORE »

• 10 Jan 12

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  More Than a Number: Troubling Trends Behind the Dropping Unemployment Rate

  So the unemployment rate’s drop last month means we’re heading out of this tunnel,... MORE »

• 01 Jun 11

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  Welcome Home Vets: Your Jobs Are Long Gone

  By Stephen Franklin If you have ever spent time with the people fighting our wars today, you know... MORE »

• 24 May 11

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  Iran’s Simmering Labor Struggle

  'Sooner or later,' an Iranian union organizer says, the country's precarious economy 'will blow up'—and... MORE »

• 04 Apr 11

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  What’s Happening to Black Families?

  The new census figures dumbfound me. What’s happening to black families? Countless news reports, based on... MORE »

• 14 Mar 11

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  A Mumbai Slum’s Quest for Dignity

  MUMBAI, INDIA—In the breathless heat, Fahim Vora begins his tour of India’s largest slum... MORE »

• 01 Feb 11

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  Egypt’s Workers: All They Needed Was the Courage

  When they began staging their protests in downtown Cairo, it seemed so risky, so unimaginable, so likely to... MORE »

• 27 Jan 11

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  What Are the Public Sector Unions to Do?

  In South Dakota, where union members in the private workforce are nearly a mirage, Republican lawmakers are thinking... MORE »

• 19 Jan 11

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  To Organize Foreign Carmakers, UAW Must Build Transnational Labor Coalition

  After years of getting shut out of foreign car companies’ factories across the United States, the auto... MORE »

• 14 Jan 11

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  You Are No One. You Are Without Papers.

  You are a worker and you are an immigrant and suddenly you feel unwanted, hunted, frozen out. You... MORE »

• 05 Jan 11

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  Don’t Count on Tomorrow: The New Credo for the Unemployed

  Long ago, on New York City's docks, Frankie drilled into me the American credo about climbing the ladder... MORE »

• 13 Oct 10

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  Sandy Pope: The Woman Who Would Rule the Teamsters

  Here are Sandy Pope’s credentials: She’s been a warehouse worker, truck driver and organizer,... MORE »

• 22 Sep 10

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  Restaurant Opportunity Center Offers Ray of Hope in Dire Times

   Jose Oliva waited till close to closing time when he went up to the three workers and... MORE »

• 15 Sep 10

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  A Workers’ Guide to the Messed-Up Economy

  You feel overwhelmed by campaign ads throwing somber-sounding economic claims at you, right? You don’t think... MORE »

• 09 Sep 10

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  Why You Should Earn Less: the Company’s Argument

  Tom Michaud is no bargaining expert. He is an applesauce cook, earning $21.80 an hour after working 15 years at... MORE »

• 01 Sep 10

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  The Long Trail North Turns Deadly for Migrants Hungry for Work

  Mexican gangs, lack of U.S. jobs make journey even more perilous Many of the 72 migrants found dead... MORE »

• 26 Aug 10

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  A Brief History of Labor Unsolidarity: AFL-CIO and Change to Win

  As Laborers union heads back to AFL-CIO, the price of organized labor's big break-up seems bigger than ever... MORE »

• 18 Aug 10

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  When We Can’t Afford to Be Sick: Access to Healthcare Drops Along with Economy

  Slowly but surely the evidence is pilling up to show what the Great Recession have done to our... MORE »

• 13 Aug 10

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  We All Fall Down? America’s New Economic Reality

  Because economic reports can be confusing, let me summarize where we stand today. A very small number –... MORE »

• 03 Aug 10

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  50 Years After Murrow’s ‘Harvest of Shame,’ What’s Changed?

  This is the last in a series of articles about migrant farmworkers in the U.S. For the... MORE »

• 29 Jul 10

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  The Speed-Up in the Fields

  KALAMAZOO, MICH.–Amid the gentle rolling hills and lush emerald green fields of Michigan’s bucolic... MORE »

• 26 Jul 10

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  These Stains Do Not Wash Away: An Immigrant’s Tale

  WHITE PIGEON, MICH.—In the spring she planted in the muck and then picked blueberries in the... MORE »

• 14 Jul 10

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  How Would You Like Brigido Oregon’s Job?

  GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.—Brigido Oregon is a small man, so it is hard to imagine all the... MORE »

• 02 Jul 10

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  Welfare: A Worsening Deal for Nearly Everyone Involved

  Ever since the economy took a nose dive, welfare has turned into even a worse deal for nearly... MORE »

• 28 Jun 10

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  In Egypt, Arab World’s ‘Largest Social Movement’ Gains Steam Among Workers

  CAIRO, EGYPT—They banged rocks on metal barricades that pinned them to the sidewalk. They pounded drums.... MORE »

• 19 Apr 10

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  Andy Stern: The Man With a Plan Who Lost His Way

  The reasons for Stern's resignation as SEIU president are unclear. His troubled legacy isn't. He could have been... MORE »

• 03 Mar 10

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  Axed in a Flash: Surviving Life After Layoffs

  A friend got axed the other day, whacked after more than a dozen years on the job.  ... MORE »

• 24 Feb 10

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  What Happens When the Poor Get Even Poorer?

  Report: Plight of poorer Americans signals 'True Great Depression' Let’s tally the workplace losses handed to... MORE »

• 19 Feb 10

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  Open Season on Working Poor, as Tax Day Nears

  It’s time to fleece the working poor again. That’s what happens to numbers of... MORE »

• 11 Feb 10

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  How Immigrants Help the Economy—and Unions

  CHICAGO—The meeting was about the need for immigrants to get counted in the upcoming U.S.... MORE »

• 20 Jan 10

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  More Bad News From the Job Market

  You’ve been out of work for a year now and you are wondering what’s... MORE »

• 13 Jan 10

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  Post-Migration America? Staying in Place in Dire Times

  The "black-plate people" were born more than 30 years ago, the last time the U.S. economy was almost... MORE »

• 04 Jan 10

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  Up in the Air, With Nowhere to Go. What’s Your Lay-Off Story?

  They cry. They fumble for words. They are furious. They crumble into pieces. They fret about waking up... MORE »

• 24 Dec 09

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  The Dollar General Deal: Report Alleges Abuses at Chinese Plants

  You need to buy a few things, and you're in a real hurry. Soap. Toothpaste. Stuff like that.... MORE »

• 17 Dec 09

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  Who Are the Worst Corporate Scrooges of All?

  Our global economic blow-up has not only messed up the lives of mllions—it has made holiday... MORE »

• 10 Dec 09

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  Where Have All the Labor Writers Gone?

  Consider the fate of the labor reporter. A long vanishing breed, there are only a few of them... MORE »

• 03 Dec 09

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  Black, Urban Neighborhoods are Unemployment’s Epicenter

  If you drive a few blocks from Barack Obama’s Chicago home, you are plunged downward into... MORE »

• 25 Nov 09

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  Waiting on the Street Corner, Waiting For a Miracle

  CHICAGO—Alejandro waits eagle-eyed on the street corner with the other day laborers. He has three small... MORE »

• 18 Nov 09

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  Trucker’s Dream? Obama Reconsiders 11th-Hour Bush Decision

  You're tired. It’s dark. This part of the highway is tough driving. And the humongous truck... MORE »

• 11 Nov 09

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  The Workers Behind the Burgers

  While you are considering a hamburger tonight, let me tell you something you probably weren’t thinking... MORE »

• 03 Nov 09

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  U.S. Poverty: If Only We Knew How Bad It Really Is

  You’re sure we’ve been sliding downhill, steadily downward into greater poverty. But you wonder... MORE »

• 23 Oct 09

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  On a Night Train in Egypt, Where Poverty is a Traveler Too

  CROSSING EGYPT BY TRAIN—On a rack above me in a crowded train hurtling through the night,... MORE »

• 16 Sep 09

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  Step Up and Play the (Jobless) Recovery Game.

  We are going to play a little card trick, so I will need your total attention. Hands off... MORE »

• 09 Sep 09

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  They Pick Empty Pockets: Study Finds Wage Theft Rampant

  As Adam Kader sees it, workplace thievery has changed since the recession began. When the U.S. economy... MORE »

• 02 Sep 09

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  Social Safety Nets Beyond Frayed, as States Slash Budgets

  They fret about less money for mental health programs, and health insurance for needy children in California. In... MORE »

• 26 Aug 09

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  Say It Ain’t So: NYC Carpenters Union Dirties Labor’s Name

  By Wall Street standard’s, it was barely lunch money. Only one million bucks or so changed... MORE »

• 19 Aug 09

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  Latina Temp Workers Hope Against Hope

  ELGIN, Ill.—Their complaints are endless but so is their hunger for work. They think they are... MORE »

• 08 Aug 09

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  Time to Fix OSHA

  Among the Bush administration’s many gifts to employers, a big one was letting companies with so-called... MORE »

• 03 Aug 09

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  The Scourge of Long-Term Joblessness

  A friend who has hustled up just a handful of interviews in the year he has been out... MORE »