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The cost of temps has just gone up (Thursday, 8/31/00)
The National Labor Relations Board has ruled that temporary workers can join unions. This may make temps less attractive to employers, who have been relying more and more on workers who have not been entitled to all of the costly benefits of full-time employment.

Clinton to veto Republican estate tax bill today (Thursday, 8/31/00)
The President claims that the bill would mostly benefit the rich, while its Congressional backers have said that it would help keep farms and small businesses in families across generations. Of course, Republicans in the Congress have not expected that the President would sign the bill, so why did they send it to him? This is a presidential election year, as you may recall. Both Democrats and Republicans might rather have issues to brag or blame about than new legislation in many areas. Clinton himself may be an exception, because he's conscious of how he will look in the history books and is focusing on his legacy at least as much as his Vice President's election chances.

First-time jobless claims dip (Thursday, 8/31/00)
Fewer Americans applied for jobless benefits, during the latest week, according to Labor Department figures. Also, a correction of previous data has been reported. Employment continues to be strong in the United States, but this is not the case throughout the Americas. Federico Quilodran reports on the persistent problem of high unemployment across Latin America.

A state of minorities (Thursday, 8/31/00)
As California goes, so goes the nation a bit later. That's been the case with many important trends over the years, desirable and undesirable. Demographers have been forecasting that the white majority in the United States that came about in the first place because the U.S. grew out of Western European colonies two centuries ago will become one of several minorities later in the 21st century. That's already happened in California. Here's more ftom Tom Verdin reporting from Los Angeles.

Technical criticism of U.S. News' college rankings (Thursday, 8/31/00)
U.S. News, a major American weekly news magazine, is about to publish its annual rankings of American colleges. However, as Jay Mathews reports, some experts are disatisfied with the methods by which those rankings are arrived at. The whole thing seems a little goofy. Many American parents want to send their children to a "good" college, but this often means an expensive one, because, as Oscar Wilde pointed out, some people know the price of everything and the value of nothing. We believe that traditional aristocratic habits, attitudes, and expectations persist long past their point of obsolescence, and many of these can be found in academe. Get the right title, and you've got it made, seems to be the attitude, and that's historically familiar. Among other things, it's a way of deflecting attention from the responsibility of the learner and the fact that, with sufficient commitment, it's still possible to obtain an excellent education for nothing at the public library. If, as some historians agree, Washington, Lincoln, and Franklin Roosevelt were America's greatest presidents, it's important to remember that, of the three, only Roosevelt completed elementary school, and that there are many presidents who are not on this list who had degrees of all kinds from most of the "top" colleges in the United States.

Are postal workers more likely to go berserk? (Thursday, 8/31/00)
No, says a new study. It's just another of the myths that seems to have caught on during recent years.

Job cuts at Mynd (Thursday, 8/31/00)
Mynd Corporation produces insurance software and has been waiting for government approval of its plan to buy Computer Sciences Corporation. Mynd officials say the company must cut costs, and that means cutting 300 jobs.

Ontario court ruling may set precedent (Thursday, 8/31/00)
A man's wrongful dismissal claim has been rejected. Dana Flavelle of the Toronto Star writes that some experts are saying that, if you're a manager and looking for another job, it may be best to tell your boss. However, others might say that this is a sure way to get fired too.

No kidding (Thursday, 8/31/00)
The headline on Jim Barlow's Houston Chronicle piece is "Casual dress varies from firm to firm." That's in case you've been thinking that dress codes or customs are EXACTLY the same in all work organizations. Nonetheless, he's right, and here's his story.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: The Work/Family Initiative at Penn State (Thursday, 8/31/00)
Professors at The Pennsylvania State University from labor studies, industrial relations, psychology, sociology, health and human services and other fields are working together to create social change pertinent to the needs of life and work in the new economy. Here's the Work/Family Initiative .

Germany's economy experiences a boost (Wednesday, 8/30/00)
Germany has one of the three largest economies in the world. It and one of the others were both helped to recover from the devastation of World War II by the U.S., which has the largest economy by far. However, despite their legendary reputations as "post-war miracles," both Japan and Germany have been struggling in recent years to make the transition from the old industrial era to the new global information economy. Germany's task has been complicated by the huge costs associated with reunification following the end of the Cold War. Germany's transition is not yet complete, but, as Christopher Rhoads reports in today's Wall Street Journal, things are looking up. Germany's Gross Domestic Product is up 3.6 percent from last year.

Privatization plan nailed down in Israel (Wednesday, 8/30/00)
Bezeq will be privatized. The plan will be approved by the company's board tonight following an agreement with its workers. Here's more from Ora Coren of Ha'aretz.

America may be about to lose part of its reputation (Wednesday, 8/30/00)
Even though the American economy has been the envy of the world for years and even though the U.S. leads the world in the technological advances that are driving economic growth throughout the world, American students have compared rather poorly to those from a number of other countries, particularly in the all-important mathematical subjects. Now, though, the College Board reports that SAT math scores have reached a 30-year high. Now, if the U.S. can simply convince more young people that technical occupations are cool. America has been graduating fewer engineers and computer scientists in recent years too, just as the need for technically-trained people has been going through the roof.

Leading index slips a little (Wednesday, 8/30/00)
The Conference Board's Index of Leading Economic Indicators does a fairly good job of forecasting economic activity a few months ahead of time, and it declined a bit in July, providing additional evidence of a somewhat slowing American economy.

A major state defers to the feds (Wednesday, 8/30/00)
Texas is shutting down its program for providing health coverage for children because of the popularity of a similar federal program. In other news from Texas, five companies in Tarrant County have been told that they have to give back state funds because they didn't follow the rules governing a training program supported by the state.

Wildcat strike results in suspensions (Wednesday, 8/30/00)
Thirteen workers have been suspended without pay for their part in a wildcat strike at General Motors assembly plants in Oshawa, Ontario. In other labor news, another company is getting tough as well. Striking workers at Raytheon have learned that their employer has cancelled payments for their health insurance.

GTech cuts jobs (Wednesday, 8/30/00)
Gtech supplies lotteries and they feel they need fewer people in order to do it. As part of a refocusing effort, the company is cutting 175 jobs.

Have these guys had special training? (Wednesday, 8/30/00)
What does it take to be a boss from hell? Some people just seem to have a special talent for it, while others may have to work at it. Kenneth Bredemeier of the Washington Post shares some of his reader's stories.

Well, it's one way to get rich in India (Wednesday, 8/30/00)
Barry Bearak reports from Bombay on the popularity of the "millionaire show" in India where there are a great many people who could use a few more coins. Americans are used to seeing Regis Philbin in the host's chair, but a great many versions are running in many countries throughout the world, and the show has been one of the biggest international hits in the history of television.

Will Drkoop.com survive? Stay tuned (Wednesday, 8/30/00)
A medical web site named after the former Surgeon General has been having a very rough time. It's acquired an additional $27.5 million to keep it going for a while, but more big layoffs are part of the survival plan. The company cut about a third of its jobs in May and is cutting a third again now, leaving it with only about 80 workers.

Women wanting to return to the work world are getting a better reception (Wednesday, 8/30/00)
Women who have stopped out for a few years typically find resistance when they begin contacting employers. However, a labor shortage has changed that, according to Melinda Ligos of the New York Times. Meanwhile, the world's only all-women MBA program is changing its mission because of a world that's changing, and Jim Buchta writes about WomenVenture, an organization that helps women become entrepreneurs.

Some reflections as Labor Day approaches (Wednesday, 8/30/00)
Lisa Belkin tells why it's called Labor Day.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Nokri: The Global Job Connection (Wednesday, 8/30/00)
There are many job sites on the Internet, and Nokri is one of the newer ones with a global orientation.

The Democrats may get their higher minimum wage (Tuesday, 8/29/00)
In order to move things along, the Speaker of the House of Representatives has offered significant concessions on the Democrats' effort to raise the federal minimum wage.

Pepsi will be bottled at the regular rate in the Twin Cities once again (Tuesday, 8/29/00)
Workers at the big Pepsi bottling plant in suburban Minneapolis have ratified their new contract. On the east coast, striking shipyard workers at Bath, Maine have not entered into talks yet. Job security is a top concern. In Israel, negotiations between teachers and the Finance Ministry have broken down and a strike may be on the horizon.

Some of today's job cuts (Tuesday, 8/29/00)
Wachovia will cut about 8 percent of its workforce in order to save $100 million per year. Other major Carolina banks have also cut workers lately. MicroStrategy is also cutting about 10 percent of its workforce, and Sabre Holdings, which controls ownership of the Travelocity web site, is cutting 1,200 jobs .

Questions about truth in packaging (Tuesday, 8/29/00)
This Business Week columnist doesn't like George W.'s concept of "compassionate conservatism" and says it's important to look beyond the label. If Colin Powell were the Republican presidential candidate, we might see the first really major political realignment in the United States in nearly 70 years, and it might occur almost over night. Fundamental conditions are changing sufficiently that old distinctions such as "liberal" vs. "conservative" don't seem quite adequate anymore, and a realignment IS occurring, but fairly slowly. Clinton became president largely by becoming the most "Republican" of the Democrats in quite a while. Now, George W. Bush's campaign is using strategies similar to Clinton's, while also borrowing ideas from Jack Kemp, who called himself a "bleeding heart conservative." Things are changing in some basic ways, and, as poet Paul Vallery said, "The future isn't what it used to be."

No way to get away (Tuesday, 8/29/00)
Soon, you'll be able to work online and be accessible by email, even when you're in the air. Boeing will offer in-flight Internet access on its planes beginning next year.

Despite the cooling, there's a lot of migration to Internet jobs (Tuesday, 8/29/00)
A new survey finds that about a third of American employers say they've lost employees who have decided to join Internet companies. Meanwhile, a study from Andersen Consulting forecasts that Internet companies will employ 10 million people in the U.S. and Europe by 2002.

Does society discriminate against the "child-free?" (Tuesday, 8/29/00)
There is a growing controversy between people with children and people without them, and some of the issues are economic. Here's more from Sara Terry of the Christian Science Monitor.

President Fox may be right (Tuesday, 8/29/00)
Mexico's new president would like to see the U.S. spend billions to create better jobs in Mexico instead of spending billions in a largely futile effort to seal its borders. Traci Carl writes from Monterrey, Mexico tells about people who would rather stay home and work the relatively good-paying jobs near the U.S. border, even though the average pay levels are far lower than in the United States.

A captain sues for racial discrimination (Tuesday, 8/29/00)
The maritime captain claims that the Galveston-Texas City Pilots' Association would not hire him because of his race. Here's more from Jenalia Moreno of the Houston Chronicle.

Opportunities that may not be what they appear (Tuesday, 8/29/00)
David Leonhardt of the New York Times writes that, even though jobs are plentiful across many sectors and most regions of the country, many people are still having difficulty coping with the changes.

The "new economy" isn't really all that new at all, according to this writer (Tuesday, 8/29/00)
Walter Russell Mead says that the current hot economy won't seem so special if you simply put it into historical perspective. Things really took off about 1800, he says in this Los Angeles Times article.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: techies.com (Tuesday, 8/29/00)
techies.com has become one of the major technology jobs sites, with listings, articles, and more. In fact, so many people make use of it, that, as Martin Moylan of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports, it's selling a lot of advertising.

McDonald's accused to using sweatshop child labor (Monday, 8/28/00)
Not for making hamburgers, but for the manufacture of toys sold with meals in its restaurants. Hong Kong's Sunday Morning Post claims that children work 16-hour days under sweatshop conditions in China.

New retirement fund president has wish list (Monday, 8/28/00)
Abel Sithole is the new president of South Africa's Institute of Retirement Funds, and Sello Mabotja of the Financial Mail writes that Mr. Sithole would like to see a favorable tax policy and also would like to see employees bearing some of the retirement burden. Incidentally, Mr. Sithole is the IRF's first black president. In a better world, that would be of no more interest than his shoe size, but, in a place like South Africa, it is news indeed.

GM Canada receives thousands of job applications (Monday, 8/28/00)
One-hundred-forty engineering positions are opening up at the General Motors center in Oshawa. So far, about 3,000 people have applied, and the applications are still coming in. Here's more from Tony Van Alphen of the Toronto Star.

Travel industry workers sent traveling (Monday, 8/28/00)
Sabre Holdings intends to acquire GetThere and cut 1,200 jobs as part of the process.

Church organization says forcing sole parent to work for dole is immoral (Monday, 8/28/00)
Michelle Grattan of the Sydney Morning Herald writes about the new paper from two Uniting Church social justice agencies in response to the McClure Report on welfare reform.

EU to allow age discrimination? (Monday, 8/28/00)
An organization in the UK that concerns itself with the rights of older people claims that a new directive from the European Union would allow employers to discriminate on the basis of age. Across the Atlantic, Kenneth Bredemeier of the Washington Post has some answers for correspondents who wonder about employers questioning them about early retirement. Just say no, he says.

If you were born someplace else, Iowa wants you (Monday, 8/28/00)
A look at recent history might discourage some immigrants from wanting to move to Iowa, but the state is sending out the word that, from now on, it will be "immigrant friendly." Iowa will actively recruit immigrants in order to boost its sagging population. It is among a number of largely agricultural-based states that have been losing population as the agriculture economy has struggled, sending young people elsewhere to look for economic opportunities.

Strike at Bath Iron Works (Monday, 8/28/00)
Shipyard workers in Bath, Maine have voted overwhelmingly to strike. Here's more from Glenn Adams who has been on the scene.

Manpower survey finds demand persists for workers (Monday, 8/28/00)
Nearly a third of the companies surveyed say they plan to add workers during the final quarter of the year. Jerry Heaster, columnist with the Kansas City Star, says that Friday's report is expected to show unemployment holding steady. Also, the Commerce Department reports that incomes are up a bit in America, but people are spending at an even faster rate.

You may be better prepared for a tech job than you think (Monday, 8/28/00)
Some skills from the old economy may transfer fairly well to the new, so you may need less training to work in some technical positions than you may have been assuming. Moreover, with a tremendous number of technical positions remaining unfilled, employers may be willing to help you make the transition. Overall, a hot job market means that employers are dipping deeper and hiring people whom they have not seen as particularly well-prepared for work in the past, by virtue of skill deficits, self-management issues, and so on. Here's more from Art Pine in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. The U.S. military is also having problems attracting and holding sufficient numbers of the right people. Steven Lee Myers of the New York Times says that at the same time the military is relying more on its reserves, it's having more difficulty attracting new recruits.

What the strike at Verizon means for work in the new economy (Monday, 8/28/00)
Dana DiFilippo of the Philadelphia Daily News analyzes the recent strike of tens of thousands of telecommunications workers and its implications for an economy filled with types of workers who have not thought of themselves as potential union members.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Working Knowledge (Monday, 8/28/00)
Working Knowledge is an online magazine from the Harvard Business School intended to help you draw on the latest ideas and information as you manage your business.

A deal is made between United and its pilots (Sunday, 8/27/00)
United Airlines and its 10,000 pilots have reached tentative agreement on a new contract. They've been negotiating for a year and a half. Also, United has pulled back on mandatory overtime for its mechanics, with whom there is not yet an agreement, but has started requiring it for flight attendants, suggesting that United Airlines probably will be in the news quite regularly for a while longer.

Keeping up with the Fed (Sunday, 8/27/00)
From now on, you won't have to wait until you're home in front of your desktop computer to get the latest information about what the Federal Reserves is doing. From now on, you can check in from nearly anywhere on your Palm Pilot. Here are more details from the Fed itself.

Agreement on privatization (Sunday, 8/27/00)
Hadar Horesh of Ha'aretz reports that an agreement has been reached between Bezeq and its employees on how the big telecommunications company will be privatized., Also in Israel, Prime Minister Barak says that Israel should increase the rate at which illegal foreign workers are deported.

Swindle in Brazil (Sunday, 8/27/00)
Many poor people in Brazil have been attracted by a recruiter's empty promises. Here's more from today's Washington Post.

Mexico has a long way to go, according to economists (Sunday, 8/27/00)
Mexico's new president has been telling U.S. officials about his dreams of open borders in North America, much likes those joining Western European countries. However, for most Mexicans to prefer staying home rather than coming to the U.S., there would have to be ample good-paying jobs in their own country. David Koeng writes that most economists don't see a leveling of income standards across the two countries anytime soon. Speaking of Mexico, after suspending their strike for a while, workers at Volkswagen's only North American assembly plant say they're ready to resume their strike.

Who really knows? (Sunday, 8/27/00)
Bill Husted says that tech forecasters have been wrong so many times in the past, so it's a good idea to take current Internet predictions with a ton of salt. Instead, it's safe to rely on "common sense," according to him.

But, specifically, what is "common sense?" Is it simply what somewhat happens to want to believe, for whatever reason? Or, does it refer to whatever a large number of people happen to believe at any particular time? And, if one person's common sense tells him that something is true, while another person's common sense tells her that it is false, whose common sense should we use?

For fifteen-hundred years, nearly everybody believed that the earth revolves around the sun. It was simply common sense, and it could not possibly have been more incorrect. Also, Bill thinks that the truth usually lies part way between two extreme positions. That's a common idea, but usually not correct. The earth revolves around the sun, not the other way around, and the truth in that controversy was not a compromise between the two positions.

True, many technological predictions during the 20th century, including many from self-proclaimed "experts," look pretty silly in retrospect. However, historically, forecasters have tended to exaggerate short-term changes, while underestimating long-term changes. Our view is that much that is familiar will soon disappear because the technological revolution will alter the underlying conditions on which familiar structure has depended. However, there are few clear indicators of what will take its place. There does seem to be good reason to expect that changes during the 21st century will be far more fundamental than changes during the 20th century. It isn't just technology and its influence on social systems that is difficult to predict. David Warsh of the Boston Globe implies that we shouldn't be surprised when "laws" of economics turn out to be simply descriptive, assuming a given set of conditions, rather than prescriptive, when that's the way it seems to be even in the natural sciences.

Has Republican Greenspan sealed Gore's election? (Sunday, 8/27/00)
Newsday's Robert Reno thinks economics and history are on Gore's side, making it fairly likely that he will be the next President of the United States. A key irony is that a life-long Republican may be responsible for settling the issue.

Business and government remain in conflict over repetitive-stress regulations (Sunday, 8/27/00)
The Houston Chronicle's L. M. Sixel reports that both Republican and Democrat Secretaries of Labor have recognized that repetitive stress injuries have become a major part of the new economy. OSHA would like to have new regulations in place by year's end, but employers are trying hard to head them off.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: National Teacher Recruitment Clearinghouse (Sunday, 8/27/00)
The National Teacher Recruitment Clearinghouse is intended to help school districts all over the country cope with the growing shortage of teachers. In his weekly radio address, President Clinton announced the availability of the site and indicated that he has told Education Secretary Riley to tell school officials about it.

Federal workers sent to fight fires in the West (Saturday, 8/26/00)
President Clinton has ordered 2,000 federal workers to assist in the fighting of wildfires in the Western United States.

The economy according to Greenspan (Saturday, 8/26/00)
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has been meeting with top economic leaders at Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He says that the productivity surge in the American economy seems ready to continue and that there may really be a "new economy" that, to some extent, operates according to different rules. He also says that he will do what he can to defend global trade, but that a backlash may be on the horizon, particularly if there is an economic downturn.

Less mandatory overtime at United? (Saturday, 8/26/00)
The International Association of Machinists has been talking to officials at United Airlines about mandatory overtime and seems to have gotten the company to back off a bit on declaring "operational emergencies."

Japan's PM becomes less popular (Saturday, 8/26/00)
A new poll finds that fewer Japanese citizens agree that Prime Minister Mori's economic policies are leading to a recovery of the Japanese economy.

Thousands of Raytheon workers may be on strike by the weekend (Saturday, 8/26/00)
Three-thousand manufacturing workers in Massachusetts could be affected. Here's more from Ross Kerber of the Boston Globe.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Globalization, Development and Poverty (Saturday, 8/26/00)
Here's a forum on Globalization, Development and Poverty conducted by the Panos Institute London and the World Bank Institute.

Persistent uncertainty in Poland (Friday, 8/25/00)
Steven Erlanger of the New York Times writes from Iala Rawska about shaky confidence in the midst of Poland's post-Cold War prosperity.

Deal reached at Twin Cities Pepsi bottling plant (Friday, 8/25/00)
The strike appears to be over, but the ratification vote is scheduled for Monday, so we shall see. Here's more from Maria Elena Baca of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Texas doctors bail out of Blue Cross and Blue Shield (Friday, 8/25/00)
Sara Lunday of the Fort Worth Star Telegram says that the physicians don't like the insurer's fee structure. Here's an even more disturbing story about a famous physician who returned to his native Argentina but has despaired of his country's health care system's not benefiting the poor. He blamed globalization and the free-market revolution in part, and he has taken his own life.

Ameritech retirees to get $175 million (Friday, 8/25/00)
A federal court has decided that the big phone company miscalculated worker benefits.

It's enough to make you lose your dot.composure (Friday, 8/25/00)
Research conducted by Challenger, Gray & Christmas finds a 55 percent increase in Internet company job losses during August compared to a month earlier. Despite its long-term possibilities, the Internet economy certainly has cooled, as has the overall American economy, a bit, according to data from the U. S. Department of Commerce. However, the Clinton administration says it's still a very strong economy, and, of course, the cooling has been intentional.

Noise is a workplace hazard that should be taken seriously (Friday, 8/25/00)
The Houston Chronicle's L. M. Sixel says that it isn't just baby boomers who insisted on standing right in front of the big speakers at rock concerts during their youth who are having hearing problems now.

More people have health coverage in Massachusetts (Friday, 8/25/00)
A report from the Massachusetts state government says that 158,000 additional persons have health coverage now, compared to 1998. The state's strong economy is a major reason. Wisconsin has had a booming economy too, and university researchers there have been examining the specific reasons for the big surge in employment.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Economagic: Economic Time Series (Friday, 8/25/00)
Economagic provides access to more than 100,000 economic datafiles from the U.S. as well as several other countries.

Vertizon strike finally over, completely, entirely, finally (Thursday, 8/24/00)
We've been reporting the end of the big strike at Verizon Communications for several days, but with qualifications. The majority of strikers have been back at work for quite a while, but tens of thousands of strikers stayed out across several states while negotiations continued. Finally, those folks have settled too. Among the issues argued about were the reduction of barriers to organizing workers in the company's wireless division. Now, though, workers unaccustomed to thinking of themselves as potential union members will have to be convinced, and, for many, it won't be an easy sell. In other labor news, Jeffrey McCracken of the Detroit Free Press reports on a disputed United Auto Workers election.

Big meeting on globalization (Thursday, 8/24/00)
Alan Greenspan, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, will open a major meeting at Jackson Hole, Wyoming this weekend. Members of the Fed, as well as many other economic leaders and opinion leaders, are getting together to chat about global economic integration and problems with monetary policy in a number of countries.

A long strike at a Pepsi bottling plant may be about over (Thursday, 8/24/00)
It's the longest strike for the bottler in thirty-five years, but, as Mike Hughlett of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports, it may be about to end.

If you think the U.S. economy has been doing well, take a look at California (Thursday, 8/24/00)
California's economy has been doing even better than the nation as a whole, according to Martha Mendoza, who reports this time from Santa Monica. .

What needs to be done about employees abusing their boss' computers (Thursday, 8/24/00)
Diane Stafford of the Kansas City Star says that, at the very least, employers should clarify their policies on the use of email at work and other issues. The firing of workers at Dow Chemical is only one example of what is happening all over the country, she says, and part of it may be based on misunderstanding and lack of clarity.

Many tech workers are missing the raises they could be getting (Thursday, 8/24/00)
Vikas Bajaj of the Dallas Morning News reports that tech workers are in great demand and are being offered top salaries to start, but many aren't all that good at obtaining the raises they could be getting once they're on the job. Meanwhile, people on the other end of the employability spectrum are also doing better in an economy in search of workers.

Myths about the temping of America (Thursday, 8/24/00)
True, there are a lot of temporary and contract workers, but things aren't quite as many seem to assume. Jim Barlow of the Houston Chronicle examines some popular myths.

Physicians finally climb on the hi-tech bandwagon (Thursday, 8/24/00)
Given the great amount of highly technical material on which doctors must be expert, you might have assumed that they would be among the first to make full and effective use of computers in their work. Not so, according to Philadelphia Inquirer Galewitz, but many are now beginning to catch up with others in the new economy.

Fast track to high-demand jobs (Thursday, 8/24/00)
K. Oanh Ha writes from Silicon Valley about how young people are being moved into tech jobs FAST. However, Kate Zernike reports that there is a similar trend in education because of the desperate shortage of teachers in some areas, and that might surprise you, or disturb you, given that teaching is a profession and requires lengthy training. Doesn't it?

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Directory of Career Directories (Thursday, 8/24/00)
The Directory of Career Directories is what it sounds like and comes to you from www.careers.org. It contains more than 2,500 links to other sites.

The Fed decides to leave interest rates alone...for now (Wednesday, 8/23/00)
Barbara Hagenbaugh reports on the outcome of the Fed's meeting yesterday. As widely expected, interest rates will not be raised, at least for a while. However, as Richard Stevenson of the New York Times reports, the Federal Reserve continues to be concerned about future inflation, and wants more time to study the effects of previous rate increases. Here's the Fed's statement yesterday. Meanwhile, Nicholas Kulish of the Wall Street Journal says that economists are becoming concerned that budget cuts may be messing up the reliability of some statistical measures, which, of course, can play havoc with decisions based on those data.

Verizon workers still out in six states (Wednesday, 8/23/00)
More than 50,000 employees of Verizon Communications are back on the job, but representatives of the rest are still arguing with company reps, and, as the Wall Street Journal reports today, tensions are beginning to build among members of the Communications Workers of America.

Mexican government says that the VW strike isn't legal (Wednesday, 8/23/00)
Workers at the only plant manufacturing "Y2K bugs" and other Volkswagen models have been on strike for four days. An official labor board says that the strike lacks legal foundation. Meanwhile, Mexico's newly-elected President Fox is on his way to Washington with some fairly bold proposals for U.S. officials, such as having open boarders throughout North America.

More people looking for jobs in Israel (Wednesday, 8/23/00)
Israeli Employment Services report a 1.1 percent increase in the number of job-seekers from June to July of this year.

Clarifying things behind bars (Wednesday, 8/23/00)
An unusual executive training program involves taking managers into prisons to learn better communication, according to David Cay Johnston of the New York Times.

Use the boss' computer and pay a tax (Wednesday, 8/23/00)
Germany's Finance Ministry says that an employee's use of an employer's computer amounts to a fringe benefit, and they're going to start taxing it. Not surprisingly, employers are upset, saying that the bureaucratic costs associated with tracking personal employee computer use on the job will outweigh the tax benefits. The Wall Street Journal had the story yesterday. In the U.S., some workers at Dow Chemical have been using the company's computers for some of the wrong things, in Dow's judgment. Forty workers can expect to lose their jobs for sending explicit sexual e-mail messages. Meanwhile, 150 people who work for Microsoft in Tokyo have been ordered to pay $27.9 million in back taxes for underreporting income from stock options.

Signs of a maturing sector? (Wednesday, 8/23/00)
Research conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers has found that Internet companies are beginning to resemble their more conventional counterparts to a greater extent now, when it comes to employee compensation. Stock options are still important, but more cash is being paid too.

TiVo doesn't SOUND dangerous (Wednesday, 8/23/00)
What's a TiVo? A furry little animal? A character on a Saturday morning children's TV program? A new toy for toddlers? No, TiVo is one of two toys of its type for adults. It represents one of the latest applications of computer technology, and may be of special interest to you if you're either among the TV-addicted or watch television in a highly selective manner. It can make things very convenient for consumers, but it's striking terror into the hearts of TV executives and advertisers. This major article from the New York Times examines the larger impact of a technology that could finish off the mass market, among other things. Welcome to the new economy.

Tiger is unpopular among striking actors (Wednesday, 8/23/00)
Tiger Woods is a member of the Screen Actors Guild and recently did a commercial for General Motors. Problem is, GM used non-union actors in the commercial too and seems to be willing to do it again.

When being sick really isn't being sick (Wednesday, 8/23/00)
Thirty-six mechanics at United Airlines staged a "sickout" just before the Democratic National Convention and are in trouble with their employer.

The U.S. welfare system is a LOT smaller now (Wednesday, 8/23/00)
Welfare rolls in the United States have been reduced by half during the past four years, according to the President. Corporate executives also report on the role their companies have played in moving 1.1 million former welfare recipients into the work world. Here's more from Kevin Murphy of the Kansas City Star.

Gains by professional women (Wednesday, 8/23/00)
Research from Catalyst finds significant gains during the past three years by women in management and the professions. Here's that story from today's Boston Globe.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: EconWPA (Wednesday, 8/23/00)
EconWPA is a service of the Department of Economics at Washington University. It provides free distribution of working papers in economics. Given the high cost of conventional publishing, we might expect that the Internet will become the principle means by which scholars in virtually all fields will share ideas and research information. Some academic journals now have subscriptions rates that are somewhere in the stratosphere. The problem is that they must have very high-quality printing and binding if they are to survive on university library shelves for generations. This, combined with short press runs for highly specialized audiences, means that even many academic libraries can no longer afford to subscribe to many of the journals that they really should have available to their faculties and students. Electronic publishing seems to be the perfect solution.

Strike at Verizon mostly over, but not entirely (Tuesday, 8/22/00)
Workers across several states are still negotiating, according to Jessica Hall, and the Christian Science Monitor reports that issues having to do with stress and mandatory overtime predominate. Simon Romero of the New York Times says that the settlement so far seems generous to many experts and may establish interesting precedents for other firms in the new economy.

ADEA seems to apply to retirees after all (Tuesday, 8/22/00)
Albert Crenshaw of the Washington Post reports on a new court ruling that runs counter to what most employers have been assuming about the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. Employers who provide different levels of health coverage for younger and older retirees who also have Medicare may be in violation of age-discrimination law.

Talks fail at Air Canada, for now (Tuesday, 8/22/00)
A Labor Day weekend strike of pilots at Air Canada is looking more like a possibility now that talks have broken down again.

Is there a trail leading from Kohl's to sweatshops? (Tuesday, 8/22/00)
Carrie Antlfingter has talked to some people who feel they can explain why some clothing at the big department store chain is somestimes such a bargain. However, a spokesperson for Kohl's denies that they are supplied by persons working under sweatshop conditions. Incidentally, many of the jobs exported from the United States to third-world countries are ones that require relatively little skill and training and which persons in weak economies are willing to perform for far less than Americans are willing to work for. A potential solution to the problem of raising wages is to offer jobs requiring higher skills, as well as the training necessary. However, a new report says that hi-tech will not be a solution for many needy countries unless or until they can do something about their infrastructures.

"Reality TV" may have little to do with genuine reality, but it is disrupting some careers (Tuesday, 8/22/00)
Actors are losing television jobs because so many cameras are pointed toward "real people." Here's more from Don Aucoin of the Boston Globe.

A sign that some student-teacher relationships are not all they should be (Tuesday, 8/22/00)
Some teachers are suing their students for defamation.

Time to nail the theses to the econ department door? (Tuesday, 8/22/00)
Here's at least one person who feels that traditional economic theory has been a bit too theological. As we move ever more deeply into a new economy that seems to function according to different principles, it may be time to reconsider some doctrinal orthodoxy.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Artemis Management Consultants (Tuesday, 8/22/00)
California researcher Barbara Miller thinks we need to reconnect life and work, and, in fact, contributed to a Ford Foundation report a few years ago and life and work issues. She encourages executives to examine their traditional ideas about work through Artemis Management Consultants. There is much of potential interest to the non-executive on her web site as well.

Verizon strike appears to be over (Monday, 8/21/00)
Unions representing most of the telecommunications workers who have been on strike for more than two weeks at Verizon Communications appear to have reached an agreement with the company. Here are a few more details from Simon Romero of the New York Times.

No rate increase likely tomorrow (Monday, 8/21/00)
Jerry Heaster of the Kansas City Star doesn't expect the Fed to raise interest rates tomorrow. We don't either. It's not indicated by the latest numbers.

Silicon covers one end of the Oregon Trail (Monday, 8/21/00)
Sam Howe Verhovek of the New York Times says that people in Oregon who are used to thinking about wood chips are concentrating more and more on computer chips.

There's been a dramatic increase in the number of "palaces" in one of the world's leading democracies (Monday, 8/21/00)
Some of our older readers will remember the boom period after World War II when a great number of Americans became home owners, sent their children to college, and enjoyed lives of relative affluence and security. However, by today's standards, many of their houses were absolutely tiny. There surely has been an escalation of expectations, and, as Paul Van Slambrouck of the Christian Science Monitor reports, houses in some communities are getting so lavish that they're not welcome in the neighborhood. Whenever you observe examples of American excess, you may wonder about people who may be trying, with little real success, to fill up empty personal spaces with material possessions, and you may also want to give a little thought to the pressure that's being put on the global environment. Here's a slight twist on that familiar political campaign question: "Are we really better off than we were 50 years ago?" America's enormous wealth offers historic opportunities to advance civilization and the real quality of life, but that's not necessarily the way it will be used.

Fired before exercising your option? (Monday, 8/21/00)
With so much hiring and firing going on continually for reasons having nothing to do with personal job performance, what are the implications for one's stock options? If you're terminated before you exercise your options, you're out of luck, right? Well, maybe not. Today's Houston Chronicle says more and more terminated employees are taking their former employers to court.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Unemployment Compensation Law (Monday, 8/21/00)
Here's an overview of Unemployment Compensation Law from the Legal Information Institute.

Selectivity on "economic crimes" (Sunday, 8/20/00)
Joe McDonald reports on a museum in Beijing that wants to tell you about "economic crimes" in modern China, except that some major examples of corruption have been left out.

Japanese universities try to find the best teachers (Sunday, 8/20/00)
Tokyo's Asahi Shimbun reports on the competition for a diminishing supply of studetns in an aging population and the slight shift of emphasis away from trying to hire top researchers and in the direction of finding and holding on to excellent teachers.

Another country with an illegal immigration problem (Sunday, 8/20/00)
Not everybody wants to leave where they are and get into the United States. Quite a lot of people want to search for their better lives in Italy, and illegal immigration suddenly has become a major political issue. Here's more from Alessandra Stanley reporting from Rome for the New York Times.

Where is gasoline less expensive than bottled water? (Sunday, 8/20/00)
The oil-rich deserts of the Middle East might first come to mind, but, as Larry Rohter reports, you will find very inexpensive fill-ups in Venezuela. Moreover, you'll also find a lot of ambivalence about petroleum in a nation that has a lot of it.

Do good while doing well, or not (Sunday, 8/20/00)
Andrew Maykuth writes from Cape Town and tells the strange story of a wind-up radio and how things haven't turn out quite as expected. The product isn't helping those it was intended for, and a lot of the jobs have been exported too.

How can you tell whether your retirement is likely to turn out as you hope? (Sunday, 8/20/00)
Ellen Roseman of the Toronto Star suggests you enlist the advice of a professional financial consultant in order to get a clearer idea of whether you'll have the money for the kind of retirement you desire when the time comes. Also, it's a good idea to hire an advisor who works for a flat fee so that you don't end up with somebody trying to sell you something instead.

The difference between "tax-free" and "tax deductible" (Sunday, 8/20/00)
Tom Herman of the Wall Street Journal clarifies things for a correspondent who wonders about the tax consequences of giving money away.

New trends in home buying (Sunday, 8/20/00)
A lot of Americans are home owners, and, as Alan Heavens reports, 6.5 million houses were sold in a single year, and that was a record. He also offers some interesting statistics. For instance, on average, the people buying homes are older than they used to be (of course, we're all older than we used to be, but you know what we mean), and they also have more money, as one might expect from the current American economic boom and the great overall increase in wealth in the U.S. during the past decade.

Some attributes of an effective resume (Sunday, 8/20/00)
You might be able to fill a football stadium with books on how to write resumes, and it may be that their authors have led you to believe that your resume is the most important thing in your life. While it's possible to exaggerate its significance relative to other factors influencing the job-search and career development process, a good resume can do quite a lot for you. Columnist Amy Lindgren offers some free advice, starting with some of the questions you should be asking.

Job-satisfaction and turnover (Sunday, 8/20/00)
Decades of research has been conducted on the factors that influence job performance and organizational productivity. While common sense might suggest that job satisfaction will tend to increase performance, the data haven't been very convincing. However, job satisfaction may make it less likely that a worker will leave, and that's an important issue for many employers in a tight labor market. Nationally syndicated Chicago Tribune columnist Carol Kleiman tells what many employers are doing to hang on to the quality workers they don't want to lose.

Some online alternatives to your college bookstore (Sunday, 8/20/00)
Scott Bernard Nelson of the Boston Globe reports that competition is heating up in the college textbook business, and students may be the beneficiaries.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: AddALL (Sunday, 8/20/00)
It may be depressing to today's students, but many of their elders not only remember getting all the way through college, as well as graduate or professional school, without incurring any long-term debt. Not only that, but they may also remember spending about $40.00 for ALL the books for ALL their courses for a semester. Now, back to contemporary reality: AddALL can help with textbook searches and price comparisons on the Internet.

Flight attendants not optimistic that mediator will help make a deal (Saturday, 8/19/00)
Dan Reed reports that the head of the union that represents flight attendants at American Airlines doesn't think that the company's calling in a mediator is a good idea and also doesn't think it will lead to a settlement. Over at United Airlines, things are looking better. Greg Griffin of the Denver Post reports that United and its pilots seem ready to seal an agreement on pilot scheduling. In other labor news, Diane Lewis of the Boston Globe says that a deal may also be near at Verizon Communications, and Greg Toppo says workers at Verizon seem optimistic. About 87,000 of them across several states have been out on strike for more than a week. Firestone suddenly has a bit more trouble: they're received a strike notice from the United Steelworkers of America. Finally, nearly 13,000 workers at North America's only Volkswagen assembly plant have walked off the job. Here's more from Puebla, Mexico.

Oracle loses wrongful firing suit (Saturday, 8/19/00)
A jury in San Francisco has awarded a former vice president at Oracle $2.66 million. Oracle is the second-largest software company in the world, and its founder, Larry Ellison, has been an outspoken critic of Microsoft. A few months ago, following a major drop in the value of Microsoft stock, Ellison nearly claimed the "richest man in the world" title from Bill Gates.

Job-related deaths in the U.S. reach record low (Saturday, 8/19/00)
The number of Americans dying from job-related injuries reached its lowest point in 1999 since the Labor Department started compiling those statistics. Still, there were 6,023 job-related deaths last year.

Another dot.come-down (Saturday, 8/19/00)
Healtheon/WebMD has quickly become a major health site on the Internet and attracted a lot of attention during its initial growth period, in part because Jim Clark, who also helped start Silicon Graphics and Netscape, was among those who put the company together. However, Healtheon/WebMD has announced that it is beginnng to lay off workers, but isn't saying how many. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is reporting that 100 jobs will go in the first round.

Whom you know at GM isn't as important as it used to be (Saturday, 8/19/00)
...If you're trying to get a job with the huge auto company, at any rate. Bob Cox of the Fort Worth Star Telegram tells how hiring practices have changed at GM.

A new way to learn how to do business? (Saturday, 8/19/00)
The St. Paul Pioneer Press' Carol Pine says that some of the experts are saying that business education during the new century will have to get less "academic" and more "real-world" in order to serve both business and the individuals who work in it effectively. This seems a bit ironic, because, particularly since the Second World War, Americans have been suffering from some sort of obsession with academic credentials. The value of real-world on-the-job learning has been dismissed by many persons in favor of formal biz school training. Now, they're saying that the university business curriculum should become more like what one might be learning out in the arena itself. Incidentally, what are business professionals reading? Here's a top-ten list for you from July's business readers.

A professor examines turnover and suggests employers should do the same (Saturday, 8/19/00)
John Fossum, director of the University of Minnestoa's Carlson School of Management, says that high turnover rates can occur for a variety of reasons, and, if you go to the trouble of learning what the reasons are in your company's particular case, you'll be in a better position to do something to make things better.

The vulnerability of foreign teachers in Japan (Saturday, 8/19/00)
Here's Hideki Tokieda's report in Tokyo's Asahi Shimbun on the conflict between non-Japanese foreign language teachers and the union they have formed at Tokyo Metropolitan Kokusai High School.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: The Jobs Letter (Saturday, 8/19/00)
For seven years, Vivian Huchinson's The Jobs Letter has been distributed free to selected individuals and organizations overseas, but has been sold by subscription within New Zealand itself. Now, the nonprofit organization founded by Mr. Huchinson for the purpose of exchanging information and promoting the creation of jobs in New Zealand has obtained sufficient funding to enable the free distribution of The Jobs Letter on the web, making it freely available to everyone, including citizens of New Zealand.

Union reps decide not to leave talks after all (Friday, 8/18/00)
Representatives of 87,000 striking telecommunications workers had set a midnight deadline, but decided to keep talking, and the talks went on into Friday morning. No settlement yet, but significant progress was made, according to spokespersons. This Washington Post article reports that union leaders at Verizon and many other places are saying that the trend toward mandatory overtime is hurting family life. Employers would rather pay overtime to existing employees than to hire and, then, have to fire additional workers later. One of the key attributes of the new economy is the very high value placed on flexibility, and this means a just-in-time workforce, among many other things.

Workers volunteer to get their factory back in action following big earthquake (Friday, 8/18/00)
More than 800 workers have been volunteering their time in order to repair the damaged factory that supports their jobs following the big earthquake in Turkey a year ago.

Japanese economy plays some role in record suicides (Friday, 8/18/00)
More people in Japan committed suicide last year than ever before. The leading reasons appear to relate to health problems, but it is estimated that 3 out of 10 suicides resulted because of economic difficulties. Japan's once-mighty economy has been struggling for nearly a decade, and there are still only slight indications that the country is recovering from its worst recession since the Second World War.

Paradoxical jobs data in New Zealand (Friday, 8/18/00)
Vivian Huchinson of The Jobs Letter reports that, according to the latest government data, unemployment is down, but so is the number of people who are working. He says it's important to take a close look at the statistics, because sampling errors are often larger than the changes focused on by the press. It is additional evidence that journalists should study statistics and other scientific methodological issues.

Land reform program gains momentum (Friday, 8/18/00)
Zimbabwe's government has decided to seize an additional 229 white-owned farms as part of its program to resettle blacks.

Getting used to the slowdown yet? Time to get over it (Friday, 8/18/00)
Only a few weeks ago, there was some question about whether the hot American economy really was responding to Federal Reserve efforts to slow it a bit. Very recently, evidence of a slowdown has gotten clearer, but now there's evidence that the economy is picking up steam again. Will another interest rate increase be far behind?

American Airlines wants a federal mediator (Friday, 8/18/00)
American Airlines is asking for the assistance of the National Mediation Board in its negotiations with its flight attendants. Meanwhile, pilots at American's regional carrier, American Eagle, have rejected the idea of amending their 16-year contract.

Fox to take his ideas to Washington (Friday, 8/18/00)
Mexico's new president will be going to Washington for talks next week and he'll no doubt urge American officials to shift emphasis from its largely futile effort to defend the American border with Mexico against illegal immigrants to creating more jobs in Mexico. Most Mexicans would prefer to stay home if they could find work, according to President Fox.

Improvements for American children (Friday, 8/18/00)
Francine Kiefer of the Christian Science Monitor writes that, despite presidential campaign rhetoric, the quality of life has improved for many American children.

Boeing restructuring will result in job shifts for many (Friday, 8/18/00)
Boeing is consolidating some operations, and this will result in about 1,000 workers moving to different jobs within the corporation. Here's more from Kyung Song of the Seattle Times.

Houston job growth helped by energy prices (Friday, 8/18/00)
L.M. Sixel says that the Texas Workforce Commission reports that almost 62,000 new jobs were added to the Houston-area economy during the past year, and higher oil prices have played a role. Elsewhere in the American South, things aren't so rosy, however. Roy Williams reports that wages in the Birmingham, Alabama region average lower than in the rest of the country.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Word of Mouth (Friday, 8/18/00)
Word of Mouth allows you to use the Internet to greatly broaden your network of acquaintances for purposes of benefiting from their experience when you're looking for a local company with which to do business.

Jobless claims up third week in a row (Thursday, 8/17/00)
First-time jobless claims in the United States increased last week by 14,000 over the week before. It all means that the American economy really is slowing a bit, but that's intentional, not something to be alarmed about. Soft landings are good. David Francis of the Christian Science Monitor takes a larger view, and says that the familiar boom-bust economy may be a thing of the past.

Unions at Verizon Communications set midnight deadline (Thursday, 8/17/00)
If an agreement isn't reached by midnight tonight, union negotiators may drop out of contract talks. The strike of 87,000 telecommunications workers is in its second week.

Job cuts at Flowserve (Thursday, 8/17/00)
Flowserve recently acquired Ingersoll-Dresser Pump Company, and the merger will result in the loss of about 1,100 jobs, which amounts to 10 percent of the company's workforce.

Indian teachers under arrest (Thursday, 8/17/00)
According to protesting teachers, local Indian governments have been slow to provide assistance to their schools, so many have taken to the streets to express their displeasure. Police moved in and arrested 1,000 of the protesters when they appeared ready to storm state secretariat.

What does "digital dust" look like? (Thursday, 8/17/00)
It seems to be an increasingly common expression in relation to those who have access to computer technology and those who don't. In Canada, for instance, the have vs. have-not gap, traditionally expressed in terms of income, can also be expressed in terms of a "digital divide" which is growing wider and which is likely to express itself in the most profound economic terms during the years ahead. Here's more from Tyler Hamilton of the Toronto Star about the people who are being left behind in the "digital dust."

Lottery win leads to plant closing and loss of jobs (Thursday, 8/17/00)
All 17 employees at a plant in Hirwaun, Wales have won the lottery. Now, it appears that their jobs will disappear because the company has decided to shut down the plant, saying that it has no choice.

Here's a growing shortage that could influence your ability to get from point A to point B (Thursday, 8/17/00)
Katie Farbank of the Dallas Morning News reports on the increasingly serious shortage of commercial airline pilots. In part, it's because of the strong American economy. More people have more money so more of them are flying more of the time. Problem is, creating new pilots is a little like creating new surgeons. It can't be done overnight. To a qualified pilot, getting a plane from one airport to another under ordinary conditions is a little like driving a bus. However, the right people have to be selected carefully and trained over a long period before they're ready for the routine duty of flying the big planes, as well as for dealing with occasional situations that may become anything but routine. It is a highly-skilled profession.

Qualified hi-tech people becoming more concerned about job security, and they can afford to choose carefully (Thursday, 8/17/00)
Persons with sophisticated technical expertise can have their choice of a lot of different jobs in today's tech-driven, tech-worker-starved economy. This is making it harder for startups to fill key positions as qualified people take career risks into account when making their choices. Here's more from Tricia Duryee of the Seattle Times.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: RAND's Labor and Population Program (Thursday, 8/17/00)
RAND is one of the original private "think tanks." It was established after World War II by Herman Kahn, who later founded The Hudson Institute. Here's RAND's Labor and Population Program which conducts empirical analysis on demographics and labor markets to guide decision-making and policy.

Why the world is changing (Tuesday, 8/15/00)
There is reason to believe that Moore's Law, the observed tendency of microprocessors to double their power at less cost every eighteen months or so, may be about to run out of gas, given conventional ways of designing microprocessors. However, computing is about to move to molecular and atomic levels, and that should change everything. Nicole Volpe reports on IBM's announced quantum computer, and Tom Folwer of the Houston Chronicle writes about some work that is going on in nanotechnology, which is likely to change the world all over again. Given these developments, is there much about work, or anything else, that can remain familiar much longer? For instance what will the new corporation look like? Business Week has a major cover story dealing with just that question. Here's their report on the 21st century corporation.

Some of today's job cuts (Tuesday, 8/15/00)
Truck sales have slowed, so DaimlerChrysler's and Navistar are cutting jobs. In another industry, FedEx plans to cut 200 information technology jobs. There are major job cuts announced nearly every day, but, unlike during previous years, these do not mean a slowing of an economy in trouble. Instead, most represent an attribute of the new economy in which flexibility, including a just-in-time workforce, is highly valued and greatly rewarded. The new economy is highly dynamic with a lot of hiring and firing going on all the time, but not necessarily for the traditional reasons.

Some bad news mixed in with quite a lot of good news in Ireland (Tuesday, 8/15/00)
For generations, the Irish economy was known mostly for discouraging people enough to make them want to move to some other country. However, recently, Ireland has been the envy of much of the rest of Europe with a vigorous hi-tech sector and solid growth and job creation overall. However, inflation hit a 15-year high in July.

Opportunities to sell something to all those refugees with money (Tuesday, 8/15/00)
More people are spending more of their lives in airports, and this is creating a variety of interesting entrepreneurial opportunities, if you don't mind doing business with folks who are a bit irritable.

Verizon workers not alone in their complaints (Tuesday, 8/15/00)
Diane Lewis of the Boston Globe writes that the 87,000 striking Verizon Communications workers have been focusing on required overtime, which has become a major issue in lots of companies. Employers like flexible labor, and it's easier and less costly to have existing workers pick up additional hours, when necessary, than to hire and lay off additional workers in response to rapidly shifting market conditions.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Sweatshop Watch (Tuesday, 8/15/00)
Sweatshop Watch is centered in Oakland, California and may be among the highly varied groups protesting varied things at the major national political conventions this year.

Verizon makes a new offer, but major issues remain (Monday, 8/14/00)
Union representatives say that the new offer made by Verizon Communications won't bring a settlement of the strike of 87,000 telecommunications workers that is now in its second week. Here's more from the Kansas City Star about unresolved issues relating to overtime and the movement of work within the company that grew out of the merger of GTE and Bell Atlantic.

Suspect tires made during a strike (Monday, 8/14/00)
Ford Motor Company says that many of the tires that are being recalled were manufactured at Firestone's Decatur, Illinois plant while a strike was going on.

The grim reason why parts of Africa are running out of teachers (Monday, 8/14/00)
In some regions of Africa, more teachers are dying of AIDS than leaving the field by retiring. Here's more from today's New York Times. Some experts are saying that the AIDS scourge is likely to turn into the most devastating pandemic in all of human history. That's saying a lot, given that the "black death" of the mid-14th century decimated Europe to such an extent that it required centuries for the European population to regain its pre-plague levels.

No welfare recipients at all (Monday, 8/14/00)
Here's a county in Illinois that no longer has welfare, and here's how that state of affairs has come about.

Group interviews (Monday, 8/14/00)
Fads sweep through corporate personnel departments, and the group interview may be the latest, although some say it helps identify the right candidates.

Suits suit some best (Monday, 8/14/00)
The new economy lacks much of the paramilitary organization that characterized the old industrial economy, and the "business uniform" has been one of the attributes left behind in many companies. However, this trend doesn't please everybody, and some of the people who prefer formal business dress might surprise you.

Poland's president dismisses privatization minister (Monday, 8/14/00)
The man who has been in charge of Poland's vast privatization program will have to find a different job. The prime minister feels that Emil Wasacz has been going off too much on his own.

Many women at the top remain unsatisfied (Monday, 8/14/00)
When women manage to climb the corporate ladder successfully, the result may not be all they have expected. The Detroit Free Press' Lorene Yue tells about Connie Glaser's new book on life-work balance called When Money Isn't Enough: How Women are Finding the Soul of Success. Columnist Amy Gage finds that her readers are interested in work-life issues too, and some of them have been asking for advice.

The hard job of getting workers to take full advantage of retirement plan opportunities (Monday, 8/14/00)
Many workers drag their feet and miss out on many benefits of available retirement plans, and a growing number of employers are becoming more proactive in an effort to get them with the program.

You have skills, but they may not be the specific ones a hi-tech employer needs (Monday, 8/14/00)
Cynthia Flash writes in today's Seattle Times about the new report from the Information Technology Association of America about America's hi-tech mismatch.

Why some people really LIKE temp work (Monday, 8/14/00)
Nationally syndicated Chicago Tribune columnist Carol Kleiman says that temporary assignments have their attractions for some people, and she explains why.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: United States Distance Learning Association (Monday, 8/14/00)
Here's a nationally organization that promotes the development of distance learning programs. However, the United States Distance Learning Association didn't arise because of the Internet. It was founded in the late 1980s.

Major quality-control problems alleged by former workers (Sunday, 8/13/00)
Many of the tires being recalled by Firestone came from an Illinois plant that former workers say had obvious quality-control problems, according to a Washington Post article.

More layoffs expected at First Union (Sunday, 8/13/00)
First Union is undergoing major restructuring, and it appears that hundreds of additional jobs will be cut as a result of the process. Hundreds more than expected, that is. More than 5,000 jobs will go overall, according to present estimates.

Steelworkers still locked out at Kaiser; talks break down (Sunday, 8/13/00)
No new contract is on the horizon at Kaiser Aluminum. No progress to report in negotiations.

Public services strain to keep up in northern Mexico (Sunday, 8/13/00)
The region of Mexico along the U.S. border has been booming and attracting Mexicans from southern regions because of the great number of available factory jobs. However, as Thomas Black writes from Altillo, Mexico, like Silicon Valley USA, the public service infrastructure is creaking and groaning. Incidentally, Mexico's new president already is under fire from a newspaper that alleges that he has been employing underage children on his ranch.

Apparently, money talks at universities in New South Wales (Sunday, 8/13/00)
If you can pay up in advance, you may be able to get into some Australian universities and programs with lower grades. Here's more from Gerard Noonan and Julia Baird of the Sydney Morning Herald.

What this country needs first is more tech workers. No, make that more science fiction in the schools (Sunday, 8/13/00)
Bob Lewis says that the late Isaac Asimov anticipated the current shortage of tech workers in the U.S. by asserting that kids who read science fiction are more likely to choose technical professions later. Incidentally, Dr. Asimov, who wrote nearly 500 books, was a productive professionally-trained scientist but also one of the 20th century's leading authors of science fiction. He was able to write most of his books, including ones on technical scientific topics, at top speed, mostly first-draft. When asked if he was a "speed reader" as well as a speed writer, he said, "No, but I'm a 'speed understander'."

Should you worry if your boss wants to help you learn how to find the best job? (Sunday, 8/13/00)
If your neighbors have been trying to find a buyer for your house, you might want to take a look at your children's behavior or your pets or maybe yourself. However, what if your employer wants to help you improve your job-search skills? Does it mean that s/he wants you to leave, and wouldn't it be easier to simply say something like "Please, get lost"? The Christian Science Monitor's Shelley Donald Coolidge says that it may all be part of a plot to keep you in the company.

Yet another look at Social Security and the various plans for "saving" it (Sunday, 8/13/00)
Houston Chronicle columnist Jim Barlow says that Social Security is, well, different, and, despite current circumstances, it WILL be in trouble someday. What to do? A presidential election year is a good time to take a close look at the system and what it needs.

Breathless yet? Brace yourself, because the tech revolution has barely begun (Sunday, 8/13/00)
We intend to continue focusing on the non-obvious implications of the technology revolution in speeches and writings over the next few years, because there are many of them and they are FUNDAMENTAL. Charles Piller writes about the growing manic pace of change and its impact on human existence. He and others have been writing about some of the things we have in mind, but not all.

What work is for (Sunday, 8/13/00)
Things need to get done, of course, but there are many other relevant issues. Margaret Steen tells about a new book from Loyola University professor Al Gini that explores the reasons for work, what people need to get out of it, and why so many are feeling unsatisfied. It's My Job, My Self: Work and the Creation of the Modern Individual.

Er, never mind (Sunday, 8/13/00)
Not so long ago, George Soros wrote a book that described the "imminent" collapse of the world capitalist system. Now, as David Kirkpatrick reports in the International Herald Tribune, the great investor and financial expert has changed his mind. Hey, George, it's a NEW economy, remember? Old assumptions and rules may not apply.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: The Entrepreneurial Parent (Sunday, 8/13/00)
According to this site, 12 million Americans are both entrepreneurs and parents. The Entrepreneurial Parent offers help in achieving balance between family concerns and the special pressures of starting and running one's own business.

Agreement near at Verizon? (Saturday, 8/12/00)
It appears that the main points have been settled, but negotiators are still working on the details. Agreement could come as early as today. More than 85,000 telecommunications workers across several states have been on strike for nearly a week. Mary Williams Walsh writes that one of the issues leading workers to strike has been the stress of being made to feel like an idiot. Here's Ms. Walsh's explanation. Finally, Charles Cooper tells why Silicon Valley has been watching the events at Verizon, even though it is not a computer company.

Talks recessed at United (Saturday, 8/12/00)
Representatives of United Airlines and their pilots have called off talks for the weekend.

Protests expected at meetings in Prague (Saturday, 8/12/00)
Czech authorities are calling out extra police to deal with expected protests when the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank hold meetings over a 10-day period beginning September 19.

Nurses unionize in Denver (Saturday, 8/12/00)
It's the first time that nurses have voted to join a union in the Denver area in more than two decades.

Enthusiastic responses to the latest inflation news (Saturday, 8/12/00)
Pauline Jelinek writes from Washington that the latest inflation numbers are being met with delight by investors as well as economists. The latest news on productivity is pleasing a lot of people too, including Federal Reserve officials, who suggest that American unemployment could go as low as 3 percent with sustained economic growth as high as 5 percent per year.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Half the Planet (Saturday, 8/12/00)
Half the Planet offers resources for persons with disabilities. The Abilities Fund is an affiliated organization that helps entrepreneurs with disabilities get started, whom Half the Planet's founder says have a much higher rate of success than entrepreneurs without disabilities.

Interest rate increase frustrates Japanese government officials (Friday, 8/11/00)
Japan's central bank has raised interest rates for the first time in a decade, and top Japanese government officials don't see much logic in the timing.

Negotiating tire workers blamed for faulty products (Friday, 8/11/00)
Company officials have pointed to a particular Illinois tire plant as being responsible for many faulty tires that are now being recalled. As it happens, workers at that plant have been negotiating for a new contract. Jim Mackinnon of the Detroit Free Press reports that the workers at Bridgestone/Firestone's Decatur plant aren't pleased with being singled out and say that they're not to blame.

Progress made, according to Verizon representatives (Friday, 8/11/00)
The strike of more than 85,000 workers at Verizon Communications has been going on nearly a week, but an end to the walkout may be on the horizon. Company officials say that significant progress has been made on the issue of organizing workers in Verizon's wireless division.

What can Europe learn from the Netherlands? (Friday, 8/11/00)
The Irish Times analyzes the big decline in unemployment in the Netherlands and says it is real and may have a message for the other members of the EU. Few had expected the Netherlands' economy to be doing so well, and fewer still expected Ireland to have one of the hottest economies in Europe, so the Times' editorial writers have a special perspective, given their own country's recent experience.

A lot of goofy stuff has ended, but the American economy's basics seem very strong (Friday, 8/11/00)
Editorial writers at the Washington Post have examined the present state of the American economy now that reality has set in and most of the air has been let out of the dot-com sector and like what they see. The American economy continues to do remarkably well. Incidentally, Don Terry writes about a new report from the National Center for Children in Poverty at Columbia University. The economic boom has lowered the American child poverty rate, but it's still higher than in 1979, they say.

Nigeria has lots of oil and LOTS of poverty (Friday, 8/11/00)
Norimitsu Onishi reports for the New York Times on Nigeria's present economic condition and why a country rich in natural resources contains so many desperate people.

Thousands of retired Minnesota teachers may find additional checks in the mail (Friday, 8/11/00)
The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says that early retirement contract language is illegal and hundreds of Minnesota school districts may owe retired staff millions of dollars.

Americans are spending like there's no tomorrow (Friday, 8/11/00)
The shortness of the human lifespan and attention span can result in some odd interpretations of things. For instance, the longest economic expansion in American history is still less than ten years old, but that's long enough to lull many persons into thinking that this is the way things have always been and always will be. David Francis of the Christian Science Monitor reports that Americans, never great at saving, are now saving almost nothing.

American Airlines settles medical discrimination case (Friday, 8/11/00)
The government claims that American Airlines discriminated against 99 job applicants for medical reasons, and the airline has agreed to settle the case by paying $1.7 million. Many people fear that one of the implications of the human genome project might be widespread discrimination by employers and insurance companies once it becomes possible to obtain detailed information about a person's genetic vulnerability to disease and feel that new legislation will be needed.

Law firms romance soon-to-be young lawyers (Friday, 8/11/00)
The Houston Chronicle's L. M. Sixel tells how major law firms compete for top grad of top law schools. However, the summer social schedule may not be indicative of life at the firm once hired, given the bone-crushing work weeks that many young attorneys put in.

Job fair in jail (Friday, 8/11/00)
Employers need workers and inmates need hope and opportunity. Hannah Allam of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tells about how a job fair may have helped some of the right people make connections.

If you're a senior, somebody may be out looking for you right now (Friday, 8/11/00)
Joel Dresang of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says that a new federal study shows what good shape older Americans are in and why the elderly population is a good place for many employers to find the workers they need. America seems to be redefining aging. Not so long ago, many people assumed that 60-year-olds were worn out and beyond repair. However, President Clinton is deep into his fifties and can see his 60th birthday on the horizon, but there is so much talk about how he will be such a young former president, and what he intends to do with the many active years ahead. Clint Eastwood is still one of the biggest movie box office draws in the world, even though he's seventyish, and CBS' "60 Minutes'" Mike Wallace still takes assignments all over the world at age 81.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Migrant and Seasonal Farm Workers (Friday, 8/11/00)
Here's a place to start if you have a special interest in issues relating to Migrant and Seasonal Farm Workers. The site comes to you from the Employment & Training Administration of the United States Department of Labor.

New jobless claims increase again (Thursday, 8/10/00)
First-time jobless claims increased for the second week in a row, reinforcing the generally-held view that the American economy is slowing a bit, a view shared by the Federal Reserve, according to a new report. Unemployment in the United States is still very low, though.

Big rally in New York (Thursday, 8/10/00)
The strike of more than 85,000 workers at Verizon Communications has moved into its fourth day, and 8,000 of those people have gathered in the streets of Manhattan to express their frustrations. Meanwhile, the company is trying to figure out how to deal with 82,000 repair requests, some of which are from seniors who are left without service, according to Boston Globe columnist Diane Lewis.

Talks stuck on the runway (Thursday, 8/10/00)
Leaders of the union representing American Airlines' flight attendants say that six months of talks have ground to a halt and are going nowhere, but company representatives don't seem to agree.

Japanese savings statistics misleading, according to experts (Thursday, 8/10/00)
Traditionally, Americans have saved little, and seem to be saving even less now, while the Japanese have saved a fairly large proportion of their incomes. Yoshikazu Yada Haruki Hirano of Tokyo's Asahi Shimbun says that the Japanese aren't as rich as the statistics might lead casual observers to believe. Meanwhile, in a different part of the world, Sami Peretz and Moti Bassok of Ha'aretz report that large numbers of Israelis have been withdrawing their funds from savings accounts lately.

Children who could have health coverage but don't (Thursday, 8/10/00)
More than 40 million Americans lack health coverage, but, according to a new study, seven million of them could have it if their parents knew about it and applied.

Singapore's electronics sector grows rapidly (Thursday, 8/10/00)
The entire economy of Singapore is benefiting from significant strength in its electronics industry.

Hi-tech can make the hiring process more efficient, companies believe (Thursday, 8/10/00)
If you're applying for a job, you may not find yourself talking to a real live human being first thing. Instead, you may be asked to respond to a computer's questions. Glen Fest of the Fort Worth Star Telegram tells about how the process works at Home Depot, while the Kansas City Star's Diane Stafford reports on hi-tech in hiring at other companies. Speaking of Ms. Stafford, here's another of her articles, this time about the role of quality leadership in the retention of key workers that employers don't want to lose.

Overtime much more popular among employers than employees (Thursday, 8/10/00)
For obvious financial reasons, employers would rather rely on temps and contract workers, as well as full-time workers putting in extra hours, than on the hiring of more people. In fact, companies would prefer to cut jobs, as Dow Corning is doing, than to add or retain them. Productivity is up, and, in addition to the more effective use of hi-tech, a reason seems to be that the average workweek has increased in the United States. Kris Axtman of the Christian Science Monitor writes that many workers are resisting overtime hours.

People who aren't Hollywood-pretty and white need not apply (Thursday, 8/10/00)
The Mondrian hotel on Sunset Strip will pay $1 million to settle a discrimination suit brought by nine bellmen. Here's more from Barbara Whitaker of the New York Times.

Less expensive student loans (Thursday, 8/10/00)
President Clinton will announce lower interest rates on student loans that are repaid on time.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Hispanic Demographics (Thursday, 8/10/00)
We've already reported that many experts are saying that the future vitality of the American economy may depend on whether Hispanics in America are able to obtain education and training appropriate to the new economy's needs. For hints as to why this segment of the American population is so important to everybody, here are some Hispanic Demographics from the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility.

UAW swallows hard and backs Gore (Wednesday, 8/9/00)
The Vice President is in favor of some things that the United Auto Workers oppose, but the big American union has decided that America's legendary political stability means that there WILL be a new president in less than six months, and it will be either the one man or the other. They've decided that they don't want Bush, so Gore gets the UAW's support, although it may be only a crouching ovation. Meanwhile, UAW members have been joining a class-action suit against General Motors and their own union in large numbers. The suit claims that a 1997 strike was prolonged for reasons union members don't believe were seemly. The whole episode requires some explanation, and the Detroit Free Press' Jeffrey McCracken is willing to provide it.

Update on the strike at Verizon (Wednesday, 8/9/00)
Talks have hits some major snags at Verizon Communications where about 85,000 telecommunications workers are on strike. There have also been claims of vandalism, as well as threats and assaults, according to Greg Toppo. Here's more from Simon Romero of the New York Times, as well as an analysis of the conflict's larger implications for the new economy from Kalpania Srivasan in New Jersey's Bergen Record.

New IMF head agrees with critics (Wednesday, 8/9/00)
Martin Crutsinger writes that the new head of the International Monetary Fund, Horst Koehler, agrees that his agency needs to re-focus its mission. Basically, he feels that the IMF should be the world's "financial fireman" working to put out blazes and keep them from spreading, while the World Bank should have principal responsibility for fighting global poverty.

OSHA to look at occupational hazards affecting flight attendants (Wednesday, 8/9/00)
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration will examine safety issues affecting flight attendants to the relief of many who have been urging OSHA to do so for years.

Old media company has problems with new media (Wednesday, 8/9/00)
NBC, which has been around since the earth's crust started cooling, has been having difficulty with its Internet division and will lay off 20 percent of NBCi's workforce.

SAG files complaint against the Bush campaign (Wednesday, 8/9/00)
The unfair labor practices complaint alleges that the Bush campaign has used non-union actors in its some of its campaign spots.

The "other China" wants to join the WTO, and the U.S. says it will help all it can (Wednesday, 8/9/00)
Just as extreme partisanship can be a socially transmitted and reinforced brain disease that can cause blindness, particularly during an election year, political realities can cause politicians to pretend that genuine international realities don't exist. For instance, Taiwan has given every appearance of being a sovereign nation for quite a while now, but American officials can't tell that to Chinese officials. The U.S. recognizes China, but doesn't recognize Taiwan, even though it seems committed to the island nation's (whoops--sorry) security. The fact the U.S. is supporting Taiwan's effort to become a member of the World Trade Organization on its own says something about American attitudes when mainland Chinese officials aren't around. Meanwhile, even though Taiwan has been generally careful not to provoke its enormous neighbor too much, it does seem to be asserting an independent trajectory to a greater extent, now that it has a democratically-elected president who is not a member of Chiang Kai-shek's old party. Business Week's international edition has an analysis this time.

More than half of you out there are women (Wednesday, 8/9/00)
A new study indicates that the Internet, once thought, perhaps rightly, to be mostly the preserve of males with pocket protectors, has undergone a dramatic demographic transformation. According to the new survey, there are now more women on the Internet than men. We hope most of them will find out about Teresa Callies' WITNE.

Being more spiritual helps you become more materialistic? (Wednesday, 8/9/00)
Well, maybe not. Nonetheless, Katherine Kersten resurrects Max Weber's old "Protestant ethic" idea and says that if a society loses its religiosity, its prosperity is likely to suffer. Does this mean that lots of Republicans will vote Democratic this time because Mr. Lieberman is on the Gore ticket?

Would you rather eat or be warm this winter? (Wednesday, 8/9/00)
To say that the American economic boom hasn't been benefiting Americans equally may be one of the new century's principal understatements. Neela Banerjee of the New York Times tells how high fuel prices have been putting some Americans in a particular bind, aggravating already difficult situations.

Volunteer firefighters say they need more appreciation, as well as practical help (Wednesday, 8/9/00)
Large numbers of Americans depend on volunteer firefighters for their security, but, as Mary Williams Walsh reports, many firefighters come up short when it comes to support from the society they serve.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Capitalism.org (Wednesday, 8/9/00)
Want to defend capitalism but really don't know what to say? Capitalism.org will give you plenty of ammunition and arguments.

Big increase in productivity (Tuesday, 8/8/00)
Basically, when an economy works in such a way as to get more out of less, the result is more for the average individual. That is, productivity is key to a society's overall living standards, so you may be happy to hear that productivity in the United States rose at the fastest rate in 17 years during the second quarter. Here's more from today's New York Times. One contributor to high productivity are the fairly modest raises that most workers can expect, according to Jim Barlow in the Houston Chronicle. Unless you have the skills that are in hottest demand, that is, in which case somebody is likely to offer you the moon and everything under it. For instance, persons with high-level hi-tech expertise must be careful so as not to be trampled by prospective employers waving money and anything else they can offer.

Still progress, they say, but at a more sluggish rate (Tuesday, 8/8/00)
The strike of 85,000 workers at Verizon Communications is in its third day, and, while talks are continuing, there seems to be less optimism about a quick settlement. Negotiations appear to be hung up on job-security issues.

Update on Brazil's progress (Tuesday, 8/8/00)
The financial meltdown that spread across much of the globe a few years ago affected Brazil, but South America's largest country managed to avert the worst that could have happened. Business Week reports that the Brazilian economy is growing at a respectable rate now with inflation lower than most had expected, so interest rates have been cut sharply.

Recovery continues in Japan, officials say (Tuesday, 8/8/00)
The once-mighty Japanese economy which much of the world was trying to emulate has been considerably less mighty during the past ten years or so. However, Japanese government officials say recovery is on track, but corporate bankruptcies and weak consumer spending continue to be problems.

Farmers take their products directly to consumers (Tuesday, 8/8/00)
Lynda Mapes of the Seattle Times tells how farmers' markets in the cities are helping many farmers stay in business while also delighting many people who eat.

Anticipated job cuts increase (Tuesday, 8/8/00)
A Challenger Gray & Christmas survey finds that American employers are planning more job cuts than they have in many months, which can be taken as another indication that the once-possibly-too-hot American economy is slowing down a bit.

Oakland is a boom town? (Tuesday, 8/8/00)
Absolutely, although it still has its problems. Evelyn Nieves reports from the city that has a former California governor as mayor on Oakland's new prosperity.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Quicken Retirement (Tuesday, 8/8/00)
Excite, the major Internet portal, and Quicken, makers of popular personal finance software, have gotten together to offer help with your retirement planning.

Progress at Verizon (Monday, 8/7/00)
You may have been surprised to hear that Verizon Communications is the largest telephone company in the United States and that 85,000 workers over several states have been on strike for two days. What on earth is Verizon Communications? It used to be GTE and Bell Atlantic. At any rate, the strike continues, but so do the talks, and there are indications of progress.

Qwest and AT&T fuss over employee (Monday, 8/7/00)
AT&T has threatened to sue Qwest, and Qwest IS suing AT&T. It's all about an AT&T employee whom Qwest wants to hire. AT&T is afraid this key individual may take trade secrets with him, because he apparently has lots of them in his head. He's a vice-president of policy and law.

United cancels another 80 flights (Monday, 8/7/00)
Crew shortages arising from an unwillingness of many pilots to work overtime during contract negotiations is keeping a lot of United Airlines planes on the ground.

New economic team in South Korea (Monday, 8/7/00)
South Korea's president wants more unity in his efforts to reform the South Korean economy, so he's putting together a new team. South Korea was hit hard about three years ago by the so-called "Asian contagion," but has been recovering nicely. However,