In these difficult times, when it seems everything is declining — corporate profits, individual incomes, assorted varieties and levels of a thing we used to call “hope” — one thing grows ever larger and more robust: our unemployment rate. Let’s hear it for the magical number 9.5, for that is the percentage of Americans who currently don’t have jobs. MORE »

OK here is the problem with labor/union disputes: they are invariably very complicated and sort of dull to the uninitiated. The articles about these disputes are fiendishly unskimmable, and they often discuss legislation that doesn’t at first glance favor one side or the other until you look into it and realize they are PURE GOOD/EVIL. Thus it is with some trepidation that we even attempt to wade into the Hilda Solis debacle. MORE »

*CORRUPT JANUS UNION TO ENDORSE OBAMA:* Take that, Buffenbarger! Your two-faced Roman god Janus, Barack Obama, has earned the Teamsters union endorsement. The Teamsters represent 1.4 million Americans, and they also control the Democratic political machine, but that was actually like 60 years ago. Meanwhile, all that remains of Hillary Clinton’s base is a ladies’ bridge club in Westchester county, but they might be tilting towards McCain. [AP/Breitbart]

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A group of New York City communist writers came to Washington the other day, looking for a handout and complaining about capitalism, as usual. The “limousine liberals” from teevee’s Comedy Central want the government to crush free enterprise and “help workers.” We asked Daily Show writer and striking laborist Jason Ross to tell us exactly what happened on Capitol Hill. MORE »

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Last month we reported that Donna Shalala, the former Secretary of Health and Human Services and current President of the University of Miami, is living the high-life — while university janitors are trying to unionize and win a living wage. The story was picked up in the Washington Post and the Miami Herald, among other places. Now we bring you this brief update. MORE »

This morning, Ford announced the end of 30,000 jobs. This week, the guy in charge of that decision is grinning at you from newstands nationwide: he’s Time’s cover model. The headline? “CAN THIS MAN SAVE THE AUTO INDUSTRY?” MORE »