Obama Administration Declares War on Franchisors and Subcontractors

In a series of unilateral moves, the Obama administration has been introducing an entirely new regime of labor law without benefit of legislation, upending decades’ worth of precedent so as to herd as many workers into unions as possible.

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RAND CORP: Terrorism drives women out of the labor force

Terrorism drives down women's participation in the labor force, a working paper from the Rand Corp. says.

The paper (.pdf), based on terrorism data from 165 countries from 1980-2007, finds a causal link between terrorist attacks and the labor force gender gap.

"It might seem strange at first to consider terrorism influencing female labor force participation on any significant scale; however, research into the gendered-effects of violent conflict has a long history," the paper says.

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Before Mexican workers supported American agriculture, it was the Chinese who filled the labor hole...

PBS: Mexican Immigrant Labor History

One of America's best kept secrets

Subject: Hourly Labor Cost of Big Three Unions

According to Forbes: Labor cost per hour, wages and benefits for hourly workers.

Ford: $70.51 ($141,020 per year)

GM: $73.26 ($146,520 per year)

Chrysler: $75.86 ($151,720 per year)

Toyota, Honda, Nissan (in U.S.): $48.00 ($96,000 per year)

According to AAUP and IES, the average annual compensation for a college professor in 2006 was $92,973 (average salary nationally of $73,207 + 27% benefits).

Bottom Line: The average UAW worker with a high school degree earns 57.6% more compensation than the average university professor with a Ph.D., and 52.6% more than the average worker at Toyota, Honda or Nissan.

Many industry analysts say the Detroit Three, must be on par with Toyota and Honda to survive. This year's contract, they say, must be "transformational" in reducing pension and health care costs.

What would "transformational" mean? One way to think about "transformational" would mean that UAW workers, most with a high school diploma, would have to accept compensation equal to that of the average university professor with a PhD.

Then there's the "Job Bank" ... When a D3 (Detroit 3 carmaker) lays an employee off, that employee continues to receive all benefits - medical, retirement, etc., etc., PLUS an hourly wage of $31/hour.

Here's a typical story....

Ken Pool is making good money. On weekdays, he shows up at 7 a.m. at Ford Motor Co.'s Michigan Truck Plant in Wayne, signs in, and then starts working -- on a crossword puzzle. Pool hates the monotony, but the pay is good: more than $31 an hour, plus benefits. "We just go in and play crossword puzzles, watch videos that someone brings in or read the newspaper," he says. "Otherwise, I just sit."

Pool is one of more than 12,000 American autoworkers who, instead of installing windshields or bending sheet metal, spend their days counting the hours in a jobs bank set up by Detroit automakers as demanded by the United Auto Workers Union - UAW - as part of an extraordinary job security agreement.

Now the D3 wants Joe Taxpayer to pick up this tab in a $25 Billion bailout package - soon to be increased to $45 Billion if Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton have their way.

Not a good deal for us.... How about Chapter 11 - and getting rid of these ridiculous union contracts?

DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW A PERSON MAKING $12.00 TO $15.00 AN HOUR CAN PURCHASE A VEHICLE BUILT BY SOMEONE MAKING $70.00+ PER HOUR?