Search

The article discusses the life and career journey of American watercolor artist Mary Whyte. Topics discussed include his art work, that depicted blue-collar workers in vanishing industries; her desire to create a portrait of America that showcased the diversity of the country; and his work which also included the paintings of veterans.

The article discusses the legacy of the Watergate scandal and its impact on American politics. It highlights how the scandal led to reforms such as campaign finance regulations, independent counsel investigations, and increased transparency in government. The scandal also inspired a new generation of politicians and brought about a shift in the Republican and Democratic parties. However, the article argues that the long-term effects of Watergate have been the strengthening of the presidency, polarization of parties, a less effective Congress, and the potential for an imperial presidency. [Extracted from the article]

The article presents news briefs on environmental and economic conditions in France, Sweden and Australia. The government of France is embarking on a campaign to support blue collar workers. Income and sales taxes in Australia are significantly higher than in the U.S. Finally, the Swedish Forest Service is attempting to use lime to clean up polluted lakes and rivers.

Kurlekar: When a client commissions a portrait, many times that client has some visual imaginations in his mind about the painting, and sometimes the client can be very vocal about including them into the painting. If the artist uses all these elements sensibly with an authentic way of self-experience in the portrait, then it helps to convert a simple portrait into a fine piece of art. When I want to express something more than the visual beauty in my portrait or painting, then I use the sitter as a medium to communicate with the audience along with other elements of painting. The Art of the Portrait I have said before, I believe portraiture is one of the most important branches of fine art, not only for its own sake but for its historical significance to humankind. [Extracted from the article]

Fifty years ago a good blue-collar job was with a large manufacturer such as General Motors or Goodyear. Often unionized, it paid well, offered benefits, and was secure. But manufacturing employment has steadily declined, from about 25% of the U.S. labor force in 1970 to less than 10% today. Now a decent living entails more than a generous wage; it involves sharing the company’s success with employees. Some companies offer a direct stake in the company’s performance through stock, a share in profits, or both. Companies with employee stock ownership plans report significantly higher sales growth and higher revenue per employee than do conventionally owned companies in the same industry. However, virtually all the gains to be had go to those that create an ownership culture, by building in participative management and helping employees learn to think and act like owners. INSETS: OTHER APPROACHES;ONE COMPANY'S TRANSFORMATION. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses Tyler Bentley's unexpected summer job at the Midvale Window Corporation, where he is assigned to work as a laborer on the factory floor during the night shift. Initially resistant and unprepared for manual labor, Tyler struggles to adjust to the blue-collar environment and the demanding physical tasks.

The article investigates immigration and job disamenities and suggests that immigrants are more likely than natives to hold riskier jobs and to work non-standard hours. Topics include immigration improving the working conditions of native workers by reducing the number of hours worked, the physical intensity of blue-collar jobs and the likelihood of working nightly shifts. Also mentioned are the positive association between immigration and health outcomes and suggestions for policy makers.

A study conducted by the University of Padua in Italy examined the role of physical exercise in preventing work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) in manual workers. The researchers conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of 23 studies, which included a total of 10,419 participants. The findings showed that physical exercise programs had a positive effect on reducing pain and disability associated with WMSDs in manual workers. However, there was substantial heterogeneity in the results, indicating the need for further research. [Extracted from the article]

The article reports on a white paper released by Express Employment Professionals introducing the grey collar workforce to describe work that combines some of the manual labor aspects of blue collar work but has components of white collar work.

The article warns about the fate of hundreds of thousands of laid-off auto workers who will be running out of their various unemployment benefits and could find themselves on welfare rolls in the winter of 1980. Based on figures, there are about 250,000 blue- and white-collar laid-off auto workers, while 50,000 are on temporary lay-off. Funds of federal programs including state-paid unemployment compensation, company-funded supplemental unemployment benefits, and trade readjustment assistance are said to be depleting due to the high unemployment.

The author describes the culture of white-collar workspace in the U.S. since the growth of the service sector in the 1980s. He cites factors which prompted white-collar workers to be depicted as monkeylike morons shuffling papers and wasting time on the Internet. He also differentiates white-collar workers from blue-collar laborers based on a study conducted for the Center for American Progress. He also highlights the impact of the emergence of technology on U.S. office workers.

The article focuses on the reasons which make a labor campaign unsuccessful. In case the union isn't clear about the bargaining unit it ends up wasting time on workers who aren't included. The union that tries to rely on paper and big gatherings to get its message out and does not emphasize on one-on-one is a lot more likely to lose. Campaigns fought on purely economic issues don't usually gain the same traction with workers as those issues with core emotional resonance. To win, the union has to create a sense of solidarity among the employees so that they will want to band together.

Examines how trade economists are struggling to reconcile traditional theories with emerging global realities. Theory of comparative advantage; Question of whether globalization benefits the U.S.; Concerns over the development of a global market for white-collar workers and paycuts for both white-and blue-collar workers; Why the U.S. economy could suffer if cheaper white-collar labor cuts the prices of exports in which the U.S. has a comparative advantage; Implications of the white-collar offshoring trend for the U.S.; Views of economists; Issue of America's overall trade deficit; Outlook. INSET: WHEN WHITE-COLAR JOBS GO ABROAD.

The article offers a firsthand look at the attitudes of blue collar workers in the United States as of September 2004. I was there for the steel-mill shutdowns in the late 1970s and later collaborated on "Journey to Nowhere," about ruined steelworkers in Youngstown, Ohio, and the new homeless who were the victims of deindustrialization. A dozen years later, my collaborator, photographer Michael Williamson, and I returned to Youngstown, and traveled again across America. What was different, and startling, was the level of anger that we discovered. Defeat had morphed into wrath. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, I found was that anger had now combined with fear, and together they had become a dangerous brew. Fear alone, of another terror attack, is a strong force in American politics. But fear connected with anger is an especially volatile combination. Prick the anger whose surface may be pro-Iraq war and anti-Arab, dismissive of Abu Ghraib, and one hears of ruined 401(k)s, poor or no healthcare, lost work. There are 1 million fewer jobs today than when President George W. Bush took office, and the loss of higher-paid manufacturing jobs has been stunning. This group of Americans harbors deep-seated anger over corporate fraud, their lack of healthcare and good jobs, yet in interview after interview I found they are often the most fervent in their support of Bush and his tough rhetoric.

Looks at labor union organizer, Maurice Miller and his efforts to organize Wal-Mart employees. Wal-Mart, which is the nations largest employer has not one union member in its 1.3 million workers; Why labor unions feel it is vital to sign up the workers; How the Wal-Mart problem is affecting the standard of living worldwide; Why the labor movement needs to win; Shadowing of union organizer Miller as he works hard without result; How Miller began trying to create a union of Wal-Mart workers; Life as a union organizer; Why Miller may not win this fight.

Presents stories about blue-collar workers who are the using the Internet on the job. How phone-technician Rachel Harrison can connect to BellSouth's network using a laptop; Answers to on-the-job questions by electronic mail (e-mail); Communication via a software-equipped cellular phone for truck drivers finding freight.

The truly important challenges managers face do not come from technology on politics. They are caused by the success of management itself. less than 150 years ago, when Marx was working on Das Kapital, "management" was unknown. Since then it has transformed the economic and social fabric of the developed world by applying knowledge to every aspect of work. Today even mechanical industries like steel and automobiles are structured around information. Knowledge, not bricks and mortar, is the center of capital investment and society's chief resource. This change explains why the most critical management challenge for developing countries is the creation of an educated work force. Low-wage, unskilled labor can help a country to begin the development process, but it cannot make it into an economic power. To do that a country needs advanced industries with advanced production and distribution processes and the resources to cultivate management leadership. In other words, it needs a knowledge base that few developing countries posses or even can afford. The challenge for managers in developed countries is different but just as acute--redefining who they are accountable to and for what. Assertions of shareholder sovereignty are the last hurrah of nineteenth century capitalism. But we have yet to find ways to hold management accountable or to build into corporate governance the fact of employee ownership. Amid so much change, management's essential task remains the same--to enable people to work together so that their strengths are magnified and their differences minimized. Managers who truly understand and act on this leave as their legacy both greater capacity to produce wealth and greater human vision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on economic developments in Dubuque, Iowa as of March 28, 1983 in the context of an industrial recession. The author pays special attention to the opinion of International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America's (UAW) local division's president Pat Dillon's opinion on unemployment in Dubuque. Details related to white and blue collar workers involved in the operation of UAW's plant are presented as well.

Presents a description of the city of Chicago, Illinois. Information that Chicago is a blue-collar immigrant town; Aspects of old Europe visible in Chicago's history of working-class radicalism; Types of bars and drinking establishments in the city; Factors contributing to Chicago's economic success; Importance of several lakes for people in the city.

The article discusses how human resources (HR) departments can help working-class employees achieve a proper work/life balance while increasing the competitiveness of the companies and organizations employing the working-class, particularly concerning the benefit of scheduling flexibility for employees.

Reflects on the state of the labor movement in the U.S. in 1975. Decline of the proportion of blue-collar jobs since 1960; Role of technological change in the increase of productivity and the decline in the benefits for the laboring class; Racism and class prejudice between the lines of all the proposals offered by the Ford Administration.

This paper examines data from a qualitative study that explored ways workers make sense of workplace communication in a food processing plant in New Zealand. The study focuses specifically on [...]

Reports that upper-level workers in the United States give higher priority on work and family issues. Findings of a study on the trend conducted by the Radcliffe Public Policy Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts; How work and family issues are becoming an important recruitment and retention tool; Priority given by lower-level workers on pay.

The article presents global news briefs as of September 2000. Topics include the commencement of the Olympic Games in Sidney, Australia, job opportunities for professional chimney sweeps and the implementation of a law regarding the mandatory carrying of warning labels in cigar packages sold in California.

Shares the experiences of a snow maker in Sugarloaf, Maine. Description of the work conditions in Sugarloaf; Responsibilities of a snowmaking crew; Types of problems encountered by snow makers.

Focuses on the organizational management theory in the 21st century. Capability of men to act more than just manual laborers but more aptly as knowledge workers; Theory on organizational management by Frederick Winslow Taylor, an influential business guru of the 20th century; Influence of management on civilization; Impact of values on corporate management.

The author of the article discusses the choice by U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama of U.S. Senator Joe Biden as his vice-presidential running mate, arguing that Obama could have made much worse choices. The author points out that Biden, who has chaired the U.S. Judiciary and Foreign Relation Committees, knows his way around Washington, D.C. politics. The article points out that while the mainstream press is portraying Biden as a blue-collar hero, he supported free trade agreements.

Focuses on displaced blue collar workers in Canada. Industry segments; Statistics; Canada's economic conditions; Comments from industry executives.

The article discusses the philosophy of Eaton Corp. which is labor-management relations in Greenville, North Carolina. It states that under the company's philosophy, blue-collar workers are treated essentially like white-collar employees and receive weekly salaries instead of hourly wages, participate in the corporate pension program and get paid for sickness absences. It also notes that Eaton's developed philosophy resulted into productivity growth.

The article discusses the advantages of Japan's managerial methods and the spirit of workers to the country's economic performance. Topics covered include the difference between the U.S. and Japanese labor forces, the views of author Robert E. Cole on the Western knowledge of a Japanese blue-collar worker, the proportion of self-employed workers in Japan, and the statement by M. Yoshino on the integration of Western management concepts with Japanese corporations.

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. Plays Grinch as China Sends Along Some Trade-War Gifts Trump Attacks May Rally Fed's Would-Be Dissenters Around Powell. [Extracted from the article]

Focuses on the popularity of the city Santa Fe in New Mexico among tourists. Location and geographical features of the place; Attractions and amenities of the city for artists and recluses; Observation that Hollywood personalities such as Neil Simon and Texas influence mongers like John Connally have recently bought homes in the city; Migration of blue-collar workers and artisans with blue-collar incomes to the mobile homes of neighboring towns like Espanola.

The article offers information on various studies on occupational health. According to a study by K.E. Riley and colleagues, healthcare professionals taking part in a yoga course increased their physical activity levels and total mental health more than those on a cognitive behavioural therapy programme. Another study by R. Schouteten found that reviewing both work ability and burnout is the best method to predict if an employee will take time off because of work-related ill health.

The author reports that the creative labor class is appreciating the virtues of skilled manual labor. Particular attention is given to the book "Shop Class as Soulcraft," by Matthew Crawford, a political scientist who became a motorcycle mechanic. The author discusses how writers romanticize things that they cannot do, like building a house.