Multifactor Productivity Trends in Manufacturing

February 25, 2010
Multifactor productivity grew at an annual rate of 4.7 percent in the manufacturing sector, 6.0 percent in the durable goods manufacturing sector and grew 3.0 percent in the nondurable goods manufacturing sector in 2007. In all three sectors, multifactor productivity was higher than in the previous year.

Union Membership (Annual)

January 22, 2010
In 2009, the union membership rate was 12.3 percent, essentially unchanged from 12.4 percent a year earlier. The number of wage and salary workers belonging to unions declined by 771,000 to 15.3 million, largely reflecting the overall drop in employment due to the recession.

Toyota NUMMI Closure Would Kill Jobs, Destroy Communities

(This is an excerpted cross-post from the California Labor Federation.)

By Rebecca Greenberg

For more than 25 years, thousands of workers in northern California have committed their lives to producing high-quality Toyotas at the Bay Area’s New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI) auto plant. Hundreds of thousands of car-buying Californians have made Toyota the No. 1 car company in the state. So when Toyota announced last year it plans to close the NUMMI plant April 1, the company dealt an undeserved punch in the gut to California’s workers and consumers, not to mention our state’s already faltering economy.

Toyota’s plan to close down NUMMI follows the recalls of millions of Toyota vehicles worldwide and is the latest in a string of remarkably poor management decisions from the Japanese automaker. As it struggles to regain consumer confidence, Toyota has nothing to gain by closing the plant—and Toyota and California have just about everything to lose.

Economic Crisis Hitting Young Workers Hard

Since the current recession began in December 2007, some 1.3 million young workers have left the workforce, while the participation rate of workers ages 55 and older increased, according to a new report by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).

This means many older workers are not retiring or are re-entering the labor force because they have suffered a sharp decline in retirement security, say authors Kathryn Edwards and Heidi Shierholz.

At the same time, workers ages 16 to 24—who face an unemployment rate of 18.9 percent, compared with 6.8 percent for workers ages 55 and older—are having a hard time finding jobs. Many who do find work end up in low-paying jobs with few or no benefits.

Biden to Executive Council: We Need A Middle Class

by James Parks, Mar 1, 2010

Vice President Joe Biden spoke to members of the AFL-CIO Executive Council who are meeting in Orlando March 1-3.

In his second visit to the AFL-CIO Executive Council in 13 months, Vice President Joe Biden outlined plans to shore up America’s faltering middle class with jobs, tax policy and workers’ rights protections.

Biden also said the Obama administration intends to work to make the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) more worker friendly, even though two nominees are being held up by Senate Republicans. Biden said:

We haven’t gotten done yet what we’re going to do with the NLRB, but we’re going to get it done.

Introducing Biden, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka noted the report released last week by the White House Task Force on Middle Class Families, which Biden chairs. The report listed several recommendations resulting from a year-long review of ways to assist middle-class workers and families.

British Airways, Iberia Move Closer to Merger

November 13, 2009 10:51 a.m. EST

(CNN) -- British Airways and Iberia announced late Thursday that they have agreed the basis for a proposed merger between the two airlines which is expected to be completed in late 2010.

The boards of BA and the Spanish carrier were holding separate meetings for much of the day as speculation mounted that they were close to sealing an agreement to create Europe's third-biggest airline.

In a statement, BA said the proposed merger would create an airline group with 419 aircraft which would fly to 205 destinations.

Teamsters-led Clerks at Southwest Reject Contract

Tue Feb 23, 4:27 pm ET

DALLAS – A group of more than 170 stock clerks at Southwest Airlines Co. rejected a contract negotiated with the discount carrier.

Southwest said Tuesday that the contract it negotiated with the Teamsters union, which represents the clerks, would have run until Aug. 16, 2013.

Few details of the proposal were disclosed, although Southwest said in December that the deal included wage and benefit increases in exchange for work-rule changes sought by the company.

Two Big U.S. Airlines Open to Merger

By Jui Chakravorty Jui Chakravorty – Tue Feb 23, 9:36 pm ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Top executives at two of the five largest U.S. airlines said on Tuesday they are open to a merger, adding that the airline industry needs to consolidate to return to profitability.

Speaking at the Reuters Travel and Leisure Summit in New York, United Airlines (UAUA.O) chief financial officer Kathryn Mikells said the third-largest U.S. airline is open to merging with U.S. or foreign carriers.

"UAL has been supportive of consolidation for a long time," Mikells said at the summit. "It is something we will continue to look at."

US Airways (LCC.N) Chief Financial Officer Derek Kerr, in a separate interview at the summit, said his airline was open to merging with another U.S. carrier. [nN23123419]

US Airways Presentation at the J.P. Morgan Aviation, Transportation and Defense Conference to Be Webcast

Press Release Source: US Airways On Monday March 1, 2010, 6:13 pm EST

TEMPE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--US Airways Group (NYSE: LCC - News) Chief Operating Officer Robert Isom will present at the J.P. Morgan Aviation, Transportation & Defense Conference on March 9. Isom’s presentation will be webcast live at 1:40 p.m. ET at www.usairways.com. To access the webcast, click on Company Information >> Investor Relations >> Webcasts/Presentations/Updates.