tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8703791068370434312024-10-05T01:03:37.569-07:00News and Commentary On Emerging Workplace IssuesUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-870379106837043431.post-2245365394542762492006-04-05T14:39:00.000-07:002011-02-08T00:18:41.339-08:00I&#39;ve suspended publication of this blog as all of my spare energies go into publishing a blog that focuses on current social and political issues --- www.KatrinaMemo.blogspot.com<br />Check back in early June. I expect my schedule will allow me to resume publication of this blog at that time.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-870379106837043431.post-37492474983314734122005-12-30T11:10:00.000-08:002011-02-08T00:18:41.312-08:00On Christmas Day I was invited to dinner at the Project Hope Community in Dorchester, Massachusetts. One of the guests was an American woman who has spent the past 30 years working in the Middle East as a medical missionary. Most of this time was spent in Cairo and Suez.<br /><br />The conversation about changing attitudes in the Arab world left me again questioning our intervention in Iraq. She pointedUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-870379106837043431.post-87237763055338912452005-12-04T07:13:00.000-08:002011-02-08T00:18:41.297-08:00A father and son surveying their Lower 9th Ward house on the first day they could return to the neighborhood since the flooding. After visiting this past weekend I believe some kind of &quot;Marshall Plan&quot; will be needed to rebuild this and other devastated neighborhoods in New Orleans. Photo courtesy of NOLA.comUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-870379106837043431.post-40129976723077243272005-12-04T07:01:00.000-08:002011-02-08T00:18:41.272-08:00The barge that broke through the levee wall at the Industrial Canal still lies in a Lower Ninth Ward neighborhood. There is growing frustration over the fact that this area has been totally ignored since the floods. Photo courtesy of NOLA.com.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-870379106837043431.post-66804224021389972392005-11-01T08:22:00.000-08:002011-02-08T00:18:41.251-08:00According to this article in today&#39;s New York Times, Wal-Mart has set up a war room staffed by political experts as part of its effort to sell an improved image to reluctant consumers.<br /><br />A good place for the company to begin would be a review of labor practices. Simply manipulating public perceptions will not be enough.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-870379106837043431.post-54246113854060775192005-10-26T08:18:00.000-07:002011-02-08T00:18:41.224-08:00Just a few days ago Wal-Mart announced plans to reduce health care costs for employees. This may not have been the whole story.<br /><br />Today, the New York Times has news of efforts to cut back on employee health care benefits. A memo to Wal-Mart&#39;s board proposes ways to limit health care costs, including discouraging unhealthy job applicants.<br /><br />This latest news is in line with the current trend inUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-870379106837043431.post-25344108034251656472005-10-18T13:02:00.000-07:002011-02-08T00:18:41.144-08:00Okay, I&#39;ve been MIA for a few weeks. I decided to take a break from publishing this blog because of several personal commitments.<br /><br />Anyway, I am resuming publication this week. Initially, I&#39;ll post once or twice a week. I&#39;ll continue to post daily on my other blog - The Katrina Memo.<br /><br />There are a number of emerging issues of concern to working people that I&#39;ll be addressing.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-870379106837043431.post-18011634686456142422005-09-14T15:13:00.000-07:002011-02-08T00:18:41.123-08:00Friends and colleagues: <br /><br />Those horrific scenes from New Orleans and the Gulf Coast have filled me with grief and anger. I relate in a deeply personal way to the suffering of people in South Louisiana. In the late 60’s and early 70’s I worked for the anti-poverty program in Baton Rouge. The team of VISTA volunteers that I supervised worked in the most impoverished neighborhoods in that city. AUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-870379106837043431.post-57180523945867411172005-09-08T10:04:00.000-07:002011-02-08T00:18:41.098-08:00North Andover, MA - The major reason for not posting over the past two weeks has to do with Hurricane Katrina. I&#39;ve been too overcome with sadness and anger to focus on workplace issues.<br /><br />Let me share a few brief thoughts.<br /><br />In the late 1960s and early 1970s I worked for the anti-poverty program in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. In my role as supervisor of a team of Vista volunteers I discovered howUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-870379106837043431.post-35235606857181510372005-08-26T08:51:00.000-07:002011-02-08T00:18:41.077-08:00North Andover, MA - In case you haven&#39;t noticed, there is a PR battle been waged between Northwest Airlines and its striking mechanics&#39; union. A recent article in the New York Times suggests that the airline may be winning. There have not been any major disruptions in service during the first five days of the strike.<br /><br />I would personally not fly on Northwest at this time.<br /><br />Having providedUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0