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March 2000

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Harassment at high levels (Friday, 3/31/00)
One top military officer accuses another of sexual harassment. Lt. Gen. Claudia Kennedy says she was groped in her office by another general. But, is that harassment, or is it assault?

Major entitlements will remain solvent longer than expected (Friday, 3/31/00)
The tremendously strong American economy is strengthening Social Security and Medicare. Here's more on the a new governmental report released by the White House yesterday.

South Korean workers protest plans for the sale of Daewoo (Friday, 3/31/00)
Daewoo is the second-largest South Korean automaker, and it has been having some hard times. Daewoo's sale to foreign investors seems imminent, but many of the company's workers fear the loss of their jobs if a sale should go through. Thousands have gone out on strike in order to protest the plan.

February jobless numbers discouraging in Japan (Friday, 3/31/00)
Unemployment in Japan returned to 4.5 percent in February, which is a record set last year. Meanwhile, Toshihiko Ebata writes in Tokyo's Asahi Shimbun about how students are using the Internet to level the playing field a bit as they search for work in a very tough Japanese job market.

Help-wanted ads slip a bit in February (Friday, 3/31/00)
The Conference Board, which keeps track of such things, reports a slight decline in U.S. newspaper help-wanted ads in February. Nonetheless, the American job market remains strong, and, as L. M. Sixel reports in the Houston Chronicle, employers are having to seek workers in non-traditional settings. Also, the effects of the boom are being felt in inner-city regions as well, where people who are used to struggling now may be welcomed by an abundance of job opportunities.

Does this mean there could be fewer commercials? (Friday, 3/31/00)
Not a chance. Still, production could slow if negotiations between unions representing television actors and advertisers fail. A strike has been authorized by more than 90 percent of the 41,000 voting members of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

This year's supply of special visas is gone already (Friday, 3/31/00)
It's taking less time each year to use up the authorized number of special visas for persons with hi-tech skills, and, as Jim Puzzanghera writes in the Detroit Free Press, there are three bills rattling around in Congress that would try to help satisfy America's voracious appetite for hi-tech workers from abroad.

Tom Peters reports in Kansas City on the white-collar revolution (Friday, 3/31/00)
The famed author and consultant says that most white-collar jobs either will be radically different or no longer will exist after only ten or fifteen years. He explains why the white-collar revolution is taking only about a tenth as long as the old blue-collar revolution. It is not a time for complacency, he says.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: America's Best Graduate Schools (Friday, 3/31/00)
Here's the latest list of top grad schools in the judgment of the editors of US News.

Wow! What a quarter! (Thursday, 3/30/00)
America's gross domestic product grew at an annualized rate of 7.3 percent during the fourth quarter of 1999, which is the fastest expansion since the first quarter of 1984. Here's more from today's New York Times.

Have you made up your mind about Putin yet? Maybe best to hold off for a while (Thursday, 3/30/00)
What are all those old sweethearts who used to be in the Soviet KGB doing now? Well, one of them is President of Russia. How do you feel about that? The Minneapolis Star Tribune's editorial writers think we should give Mr. Putin a chance. It's always possible that he could surprise skeptical folks in the West. President Clinton seems to be willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, but, then, American presidents (and probably Russian presidents as well ) are always conscious that what they say can sometimes influence events and circumstances, not just reflect them.

Dot-coms provide special opportunities for women (Thursday, 3/30/00)
Lisa Hoffman reports that a far larger proportion of top executives in Internet companies are women than in conventional "old economy" firms. Pay still lags, though, she says.

Jesse twists some arms at Coca-Cola (Thursday, 3/30/00)
Jesse Jackson is encouraging Coke's leadership to settle a racial discrimination suit.

Job cuts at Pillsbury (Thursday, 3/30/00)
Pillsbury was a Minnesota-born company and is still headquartered in the Twin Cities, but, for several years now, has been owned by Diageo of the UK. Pillsbury has about 17,500 employees, but will soon have 750 fewer of them. They're in the dough business, in more ways than one, and some corporate restructuring is needed, they believe.

Catholic school teachers demonstrate in Australia (Thursday, 3/30/00)
Julia Baird writes in today's Sydney Morning Herald about the strike of 2,000 Catholic teachers because of a dispute over pay.

Coping with disabilities in the workplace (Thursday, 3/30/00)
Columnist Amy Lindgren begins a series on workers with disabilities and focuses this time on how persons with psychiatric illnesses are finding ways to succeed in the world of work. Incidentally, psychiatric disorder remains one of the most misunderstood topics in American society. It's probably safe to say that most of what most Americans believe about these problems is simply flat-out incorrect. As a consequence, many public attitudes are based on misinformation, which means that affected individuals not only have to cope with their problems, but also with negative reactions and rejection on the part of others.

The economic impact of volunteers (Thursday, 3/30/00)
Volunteers are making a difference, and more people are donating more of their time in Minnesota. Here's Robert Franklin's story about a new report from the Minnesota Office of Citizenship and Volunteer Services.

Counting the homeless (Thursday, 3/30/00)
Results of the Census can have profound practical effects on the distribution of resources, on representation in Congress, and many other things, so it's important that these results be accurate. David Peterson tells about the special efforts that are necessary in order to get an accurate count of the homeless.

The dreaded Sudden Wealth Syndrome (Thursday, 3/30/00)
What would you do if you suddenly woke up one morning and you found yourself drenched in money? Would you feel feverish and disoriented? How would you cope? It may not be a joke, or, then again, maybe it is. The Boston Globe's Diane White tells about San Francisco's new Money, Meaning and Choices Institute. Seriously, there is ample evidence that poverty is a major risk factor in relation to many of life's less desirable afflictions, physical and psychological. We suspect that wealth can also be a significant risk factor. Being rich doesn't necessarily imply that you will be a hazard to your own fulfillment or of less benefit to other people, but it may make it harder for some.

More vindication of the Job Corps (Thursday, 3/30/00)
A new study provides additional evidence that the Lyndon Johnson's Job Corps makes a difference. Here are some details from Alan Krueger of the New York Times.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Cardean University (Thursday, 3/30/00)
You may not have heard of Cardean University, but you've no doubt heard of its key collaborators, including the University of Chicago, Stanford University, and the London School of Economics. Cardean University is part of a company called UNext.com and offers higher educational services on the Internet to working adults. Here's an interview with the leader of this project conducted by Encyclopedia Britannica, although we don't know if its URL will remain functional. If you're interested, better look quick.

OPEC's decision to increase production pleases Clinton (Wednesday, 3/29/00)
As expected, following vigorous and unsubtle encouragement from the U.S., OPEC has decided to increase oil production, which the President of the United States says he welcomes. Current high oil prices could make it harder to keep the American economic boom going, and, among other things, that could be bad for Clinton's designated successor during what is likely to be a close presidential election.

Social Security bill on its way to the White House for the President's signature (Wednesday, 3/29/00)
The bill that will eliminate the earnings test for many Social Security recipients has passed both houses of Congress, and the President has indicated that he will sign it. Don't relax or celebrate yet, though. Detroit Free Press columnist Susan Tompor says problems involving Social Security and taxes remain, among other things.

Japan attempts to use pension changes as an instrument for improving economic conditions (Wednesday, 3/29/00)
Akiko Kashiwagi and Clay Chandler report that the Japanese parliament has approved cuts in benefits as well as a raising of the retirement age from 60 to 65.

Russia's economy has a pulse, but... (Wednesday, 3/29/00)
Russia's economic condition has improved somewhat, in part, because of higher oil prices, but it's easy to exaggerate the extent of the improvement. President Putin is likely to be thinking economics first thing each morning for some time to come. A major part of the problem is corruption that has become epidemic, as well as great concentrations of wealth and power in the hands of a few individuals who are in a position to rival the influence of the Russian government in the life of the country. Putin has indicated that he intends to do something about this problem, but it won't be easy. Will it take authoritarian measures which can derail Russia's attempt to build a viable democracy? A current edition of Business Week has an analysis of President Putin's options when it comes to cracking down in a society that has lost its moral compass or even a core consensus on where it should be going.

Good economic news in Argentina (Wednesday, 3/29/00)
Argentina's economy has been in recession for a year, but that may be changing. Fourth-quarter 1999 growth was better than expected. Also in Business Week this time, traditional business schools are scrambling to make their curricula less traditional in order to accommodate the needs of people interested in e-commerce, and some useful programs are becoming available to you right where you're sitting at this very minute..

Who are the Internet entrepreneurs in South Korea? (Wednesday, 3/29/00)
Kyong-Kwa Seok reports from Seoul that the well-known conglomerates continue to dominate economic life in South Korea, and that includes e-commerce. Internet start-ups are less common and less influential than in some other countries.

Sweatshop suit settlement (Wednesday, 3/29/00)
Some of the biggest names in apparel retailing have agreed to settle a class-action suit involving workers in the Northern Mariana Islands who, the suit claims, have been working under sweatshop conditions. In a story with a similar smell to it, Ford Motor Company has decided to contribute $13 million toward the compensation of Nazi-era slaves.

Xerox copies (Wednesday, 3/29/00)
Other companies that are cutting jobs in order to reduce costs, that is. In this case, the cuts will amount to as much as 5.3 percent of Xerox's worldwide work force, and that will mean as many as 5,000 jobs. Incidentally, a new study finds that, while downsizing has become a prominent new feature of the American economy in recent years, severance pay practices haven't changed much.

So, you think sleeping is a waste of precious time? (Wednesday, 3/29/00)
Surveys show that Americans are working more hours, and, in order to get in plenty of hours for family, recreation, and all the other things, something probably has to give. Many people are trying to solve the problem by sleeping less, so watch out on the highway and also at work.

Unannounced inspections annoy correspondent (Wednesday, 3/29/00)
Columnist Kirstin Downey Grimsley explains that unscheduled inspections at child-care facilities are becoming more common throughout the country.

Oh, baby! (Wednesday, 3/29/00)
New data from the federal government indicates a fairly dramatic increase in fertility rates in the U.S. Of special interest is the big jump in births to unwed mothers in their 20s and 30s. Among other things, this implies a loosening of traditional assumptions about the nature and significance of the marriage institution. In fact, what does it mean to be "married?" That is, what is the essence of marriage? How does being married differ from not being married?

During previous years, most persons would agree on the answers to those kinds of questions. Not so much now, though, in an increasingly diverse society. For instance a fairly large proportion of younger people don't feel that it's necessary to get anyone's "permission" in order to establish or maintain a personal relationship, however temporary or permanent, and this means less likelihood of defining the relationship in terms of a legal contract or a religious ceremony.

It's not only a new economy; it's a new world. Look for the 21st century to become increasingly unfamiliar in the most fundamental ways if you've been shaped mostly by the 20th century.

Incidentally, with the increase in births, a greater number of workers are going to be interested in efforts to secure paid parental leave. Jean Hopfensperger describes a bill that is moving through the Minnesota Legislature.

Teamsters President Hoffa says unionization efforts are peaceful (Wednesday, 3/29/00)
Others disagree. It all has to do with the Teamsters effort to organize workers at Overnite Transportation in Virginia. In other labor-related news, executives of Alaska Airlines are meeting with union leaders in an attempt to build confidence following some very bad PR.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: A Brief History of the Internet (Wednesday, 3/29/00)
The Internet has burst into the consciousness of the majority of its users only very recently, but it has a fairly long history, which is described here by a number of industry insiders.

Putin gives highest priority to the troubled Russian economy (Tuesday, 3/28/00)
The new Russian president has told his cabinet to prepare a "weighty" plan for Russia's economy. Here's more from Patrick Tyler of the New York Times. Also in the Times today, Dirk Johnson reports on how farmers with disabilities are finding ways to remain in their fields, and Irvin Molotsky reports on the increasing shortage of affordable housing for the working poor.

Greenspan supports use of surplus to pay down national debt (Tuesday, 3/28/00)
The Chairman of the Federal Reserve believes that reducing the national debt could go a long way toward helping finance boomer retirement. Here's more on how debt reduction would help Social Security from today's New York Times.

What last week teaches about the boom (Tuesday, 3/28/00)
Columnist Robert Samuelson examines the Internet investment boom and MicroStrategy's recent experience as a glimpse of the future.

More workers concerned about email monitoring on the job than about video surveillance (Tuesday, 3/28/00)
According to findings of a workplace ethics study conducted by the Society of Financial Service, forty-four percent of workers surveyed feel that monitoring of email by employers constitute an unethical violation of privacy. The story appeared in yesterday's USA Today.

How do they do it? (Tuesday, 3/28/00)
A larger proportion of American mothers work outside the home now than in 1965, so how do they manage to spend as much time with their children now as thirty-five years ago? Here's a report on a recent University of Maryland study. Incidentally, one mother-to-be who thinks her husband should spend some major time with the expected newborn is Cherie Blair. She wants the UK's Prime Minister to take some paternity leave.

The good news about your taxes (Tuesday, 3/28/00)
The Washington Post's Glenn Kessler reports that experts are saying that the federal income tax burden for most Americans is at its lowest point in 40 years.

Bringing the neighborhood store together with the Internet (Tuesday, 3/28/00)
Ginny Parker writes from Tokyo about how Japan is integrating e-commerce into conventional convenience stores. In other news from Japan today, pilots at Japan Airlines have begun a 24-hour strike for higher pay.

Big cuts at Telecom Italia (Tuesday, 3/28/00)
Italy's largest unions have reached agreement with Telecom Italia on a restructuring plan that will result in the loss of more than 10 percent of the company's workforce. Thirteen thousand jobs will be cut.

Work time going up in smoke (Tuesday, 3/28/00)
A new study in Michigan finds that smokers average 36 minutes a day lighting up outside.

Getting rid of rubella (Tuesday, 3/28/00)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that vaccinations on the job can help eradicate "German measles" in the United States. Most remaining cases are brought into the country by Hispanic workers who were not vaccinated in their countries of origin.

The majority of people on the web may soon be women (Tuesday, 3/28/00)
Martin Moylan reports on a tremendous surge of interest and use of the Internet on the part of women.

Educated women giving up on finding a job in an unfriendly Japanese economy (Tuesday, 3/28/00)
The Japanese Labor Ministry has conducted a study that finds an increasing number of women in their 30s who are university graduates are dropping out of the labor force after giving up on finding jobs. The Japanese economy continues to be sluggish and still suffers high unemployment.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Social Statistics Briefing Room: Health (Tuesday, 3/28/00)
Here is a summary of current national health statistics from the White House.

Call him President Putin (Monday, 3/27/00)
Vladimir Putin has become the second democratically-elected president of Russia, which is news in itself, because it means that, however flawed, however corrupted, democratic institutions may be taking hold in a country the whole world should care about. But is Putin really a democrat, or is he an autocrat at heart? Nobody knows. The fact that he's a former KGB officer may not necessarily mean what you think. In the old Soviet Union, the KGB was a huge organization with a broader scope than the American CIA, for instance, and it gobbled up a major portion of Soviet universities' top grads for a wide variety of roles.

Still, it doesn't necessarily imply that the world can relax either. Mr. Putin has indicated that he is disgusted with Russia's currently corrupt state and that he wants to make his country a respected world power again, as well as fix its economy. There is strong evidence that he is very smart, very tough, and that he intends to make quite a lot of things different from the way they are, and most Russians don't seem worried about his KGB past. Did we mention that he also controls the old Soviet nuclear arsenal?

How to solve part of a problem (Monday, 3/27/00)
At about the same time that credible evidence has been accumulating that global warming is real and that Earth may be on its way to becoming a lot more like Venus, high oil prices have been threatening the new economy, and, in particular, the surging American economy. So, the U.S. has been twisting quite a lot of arms in OPEC in order to encourage the oil cartel to increase production, which should result in a softening of oil prices over the months ahead. OPEC seems ready to comply, to a point, but production isn't likely to reach quite the level desired by U.S. officials, at least immediately. Incidentally, if you're already worried about the warming of the oceans and other fundamental environmental changes, we won't bother telling you about some of the implications of chaos theory, which describes the very real but non-common sense behavior of nonlinear complex dynamic systems, including the atmosphere. If we did, you might not be able to get any sleep at all.

If you think women have been making net workforce gains, think again (Monday, 3/27/00)
Certainly not in all places. In fact, because women have been moving into the labor market in large numbers during recent years in many societies, it means they tend to be last hired, first fired when an economy cools. For instance, in Japan, there are fewer women in the workforce than at any time during the past 24 years. In North America, women have been doing quite well, because American and Canadian economies have been doing well. Vanessa Lu writes in the Toronto Star about how women have become more adept at networking in order to further their careers, while columnist Jane Applegate tells about the good news-bad news relating to women-owned businesses. There are a growing number of them, but many are also experiencing labor shortages, according to her. Speaking of entrepreneurs, here's Beth Health of the Boston Globe and her story about the growing number of people, including women, who are finding the lure of high-tech start-ups irresistible.

Government won't have to restore food stamps for immigrants (Monday, 3/27/00)
Here's the New York Times story about the rejection of an appeal by the Supreme Court that will affect legal immigrants. Also in the New York Times today, another class-action suit arising from forced labor during the Second World War. This time, the suit has been filed by thousands of Filipinos against Japanese companies.

Helloooooo out there, you hundreds of millions (Monday, 3/27/00)
According to a study conducted by the Angus Reid Group, approximately 300 million people are now on the Internet, and it won't be long at all before there are a cool billion of you. Along these lines, here's Joe McDonald's story about the Internet's impact on business in Asia.

Worth worrying about if you're a telephone company (Monday, 3/27/00)
Before long, the phone in your office may simply be hooked up to your computer. Cisco Systems is moving ahead very aggressively to establish standards and a convenient system for making routine phone calls on the web, and that will mean anywhere in the world. What the hell is Cisco Systems, you might reasonably ask, given the pace of change in the new economy? At the moment, Cisco is the world's most highly valued company, at least as of the end of the day yesterday when Cisco's total stock value exceeded Microsoft's market capitalization. Honest. Incidentally, we may know tomorrow if Microsoft will survive as one company or if it will be broken up into a number of "baby Bills." If it's the latter, it won't be the only bad day Bill Gates has had lately. A hacker has managed to get his credit card information, but apparently hasn't made any purchases exceeding a billion dollars. Meanwhile, a former Microsoft executive has been trying to do something for the homeless in Seattle.

Organized labor has Bush in its sights (Monday, 3/27/00)
Thomas Edsall of the Washington Post reports on labor's mobilization to defeat the Republican presidential candidate and reclaim the House of Representatives for the Democrats. Speaking of labor, here's an analysis from the Christian Science Monitor about its role in the new economy. But, according to this analysis from the St. Paul Pioneer Press, so far as the equities market is concerned, it's easy to exaggerate just how new the new economy really is.

Theft in transit (Monday, 3/27/00)
True, Hollywood is one of the world's highest concentrations of greatly talented people, but publicity and hype are the lifeblood of the commercial film industry, and some Hollywood types even seem to believe their own PR. Thus some might consider the idea of Oscar statuettes in a dumpster as not only contrasting greatly with the glittering over-blown extravaganza witnessed on television last night, but also as some sort of poetic justice. Chad Roedemeier reports that, overall, theft on the part of people who ship things has become fairly common. Incidentally, why did the thieves toss the Oscars into a dumpster? Can you think of anything more difficult to fence?

If it's run by the government, it's got to be run badly, right? (Monday, 3/27/00)
There is a body of partisan political thought--and extreme partisanship can be some sort of a disease--that encourages us to believe that only the competitive private sector can get anything done right and that only workers in the private sector are competent and conscientious. Can you think of ANYTHING that the government has done right? Well, okay, yes. How about the landing at Normandy, or the Apollo Space Program that got humankind to the moon, or the large proportion of the world's great universities that are supported by tax moneys and filled with public employees, so say nothing of the vast multitude of government workers who do their work consciously and well within a great number of agencies at all levels of government, day after day after day. Anyone who has ever worked in both public and private sectors knows that the public sector doesn't have a monopoly on bureaucratization or general goofiness. Columnist Amy Gage tells about some people who would like to encourage us to think less stereotypically about public-sector workers.

Tax changes may be coming to hi-tech in Israel (Monday, 3/27/00)
Ben Zion Citrin writes in Ha'aretz about the Israeli government's concern with a hi-tech "brain drain" because of taxation policies and what can be done about it.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: London School of Economics (Monday, 3/27/00)
Have you ever wondered why Mick Jagger of what many consider to be the world's greatest rock & roll band seems to know so much about making money? We haven't either. Still, it may be because he once attended the London School of Economics, which, properly speaking, is now called the London School of Economics and Political Science. This is reasonable, because what we call "economics" and what we call "politics" are simply different abstractions from the same complex social systems. And, what do Mick Jagger and country music megastar Garth Brooks have in common? In addition to knowing how to make zillions of millions, that is? Well, Garth may have studied the right stuff in college too. He has a degree in marketing from the University of Oklahoma. And you thought you can't learn something of lasting value on NewWork News.

Health care workers organize in greater numbers (Sunday, 3/26/00)
In the old American health care system, unionization was a dirty word, particularly among physicians, but not anymore. For instance, Jim Suhr reports from Detroit on a vote of HMO physicians in Michigan to join a union. Vast changes have come to the American health care system in recent years in response to the need to control costs, but the current system, in which managed care plays a central role, is unstable, so additional change can be expected. Jim Barlow of the Houston Chronicle explains why.

For one thing, managed care has disappointed many patients as well as many health care workers, and it isn't controlling costs anymore either. A growing number of people think that it amounts to a lose-lose situation all around, combining disadvantages of the pre-HMO system with disadvantages of the new. Incidentally, health care professionals aren't the only educated, white-collar workers to be targeted by union organizers. Here's a Seattle Post-Intelligencer story about why the AFL-CIO thinks the recent strike of engineers at Boeing will be helpful to their overall effort to shift the labor movement from its traditional blue-collar orientation to white-collar and professional, commensurate with rising skill levels in the new economy.

Locked out steelworkers rally at Ohio's AK Steel (Sunday, 3/26/00)
The president of Steelworkers International asserts that AK Steel is trying to destroy the union.

Is Taiwan more afraid of China than China is of Taiwan? (Sunday, 3/26/00)
Gwynne Dyer tells why a Chinese invasion of Taiwan isn't likely, but Chinese government leaders have reason to fear an invasion of democratic ideas from the offshore island.

Forgiveness and the Clinton administration (Sunday, 3/26/00)
No, this story isn't about what you might think. Robert Pear reports that investigators have found that the Administration has forgiven hundreds of millions of dollars of debts owed to the government because of Medicare overpayments, and it shouldn't have.

Evidence of the inadvisability of giving up on people (Sunday, 3/26/00)
A former top executive with General Mills now leads a company that pays him no salary. Steve Rothschild's Twin Cities Rise is building an impressive track record in helping turn lives around in dramatic ways, taking people from lives of desperation to full participation in the new economy.

Why women need to learn more about playing the corporate political game (Sunday, 3/26/00)
Women don't enjoy parity in the higher power echelons because they haven't learned how corporate political processes work, according to Gail Evans, a top executive at CNN. She offers her views in a new book: Play Like a Man, Win Like a Woman: What Men Know About Success That Women Need to Learn.

Finally...Mickey won't have to shave every morning (Sunday, 3/26/00)
Disney has lifted the ban on facial hair for its theme park workers.

Update on hi-tech's sweep into higher ed (Sunday, 3/26/00)
Jodi Wilgoren writes in today's New York Times about the technology revolution on American campuses.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Starting Your Own Business for Young Entrepreneurs (Sunday, 3/26/00)
Here's a free online course on how to start your own business from Prinston Review and Hungry Minds.

Agreement at US Airways (Saturday, 3/25/00)
A shutdown has been averted at the last minute. The airline and its flight attendants have reached a tentative deal.

Overt anti-gay activities found to be common in the American military (Saturday, 3/25/00)
Despite official policy, a government study finds some degree of toleration of anti-gay remarks, jokes, and harassment in the United States military.

Organized labor hopes to head off trade agreement with China (Saturday, 3/25/00)
American labor organizations fear the agreement could lead to job losses in the United States and damage worker rights in China. They hope to bring as many as 10,000 people to a rally on Capitol Hill.

Treasury Secretary pleased with how the economy is doing, but says America shouldn't be complacent (Saturday, 3/25/00)
Americans are still saving too little of their income, according to Secretary Summers. The American savings rate has long been lower than that in many other countries.

Clinton has some advice for some of India's well-to-do (Saturday, 3/25/00)
The American president urges leaders in India's thriving hi-tech sector to help their country's poor, whose numbers are vast.

More executives see better times developing in Japan (Saturday, 3/25/00)
More than two-thirds of Japanese executives polled say that their country's economy really is on the mend.

Less health plan choice (Saturday, 3/25/00)
In Minnesota, at least, a growing number of employers are restricting choice of health plans available to employees. Fewer than a fifth of Minnesota companies offer more than one plan, according to research conducted by the Minnesota Department of Health.

New Harvard grad has some advice for you if you're wondering how to pay for study at an expensive college (Saturday, 3/25/00)
Benjamin Kaplan has written a new book called How to Go to College Almost for Free, and he appears to know.

Second opinion on the presumed labor shortage (Saturday, 3/25/00)
Ryan Pulkrabek says it's not really a labor shortage. Instead, it's a wage shortage.

Canadian columnist says economists are beginning to discover new, important factors in production (Saturday, 3/25/00)
David Crane writes in the Toronto Star about the growing importance of "social capital" in the new economy.

Here's a new twist on employee assistance (Saturday, 3/25/00)
Mary-Lane Kamberg of the Kansas City Star tells about the work of Marketplace Ministries Inc., which serves employees in 205 companies across the United States.

An extra Social Security check may soon be in the mail to thousands of seniors (Saturday, 3/25/00)
The new law enabling elders to earn as much as they like without sacrificing Social Security benefits will be retroactive to January 1, and that will mean a catch-payment for thousands of working seniors.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Information Ethics: On the Philosophical Foundation of Computer Ethics (Saturday, 3/25/00)
An ethicist looks at ethical issues arising from the information age. Here's Luciano Floridi's lengthy article, Information Ethics: On the Philosophical Foundation of Computer Ethics.

Horst Koehler elected as IMF head (Friday, 3/24/00)
His candidacy had been resisted by the United States at first, but it's official now: he's in.

TRW hit with suit (Friday, 3/24/00)
Seven individuals are claiming that they were forced to work "off the clock" for at least a decade.

Another sign of the tremendous surge in the number of new businesses started by women (Friday, 3/24/00)
Joyce Smith of the Kansas City Star reports that the Small Business Administration is issuing nearly three times as many loans to women entrepreneurs now as it was as recently as 1992. The total dollar value of these loans has increased in similar manner.

Interviewing tips for shy people (Friday, 3/24/00)
Columnist Amy Lindgren offers advice and assistance for people who would rather hide in a corner than face an employment interview. In a related item, nationally syndicated columnist Carol Kleiman discusses the importance of "body language" in an interview. Among other things, she says that career coach Joan Smith claims that the nonverbal constitutes 93 percent of your communicating. That number sounds excessively precise, suggesting that it may not come from credible research, and, instead, may have simply been made up by somebody.

Also, while your postures, gestures, movements, facial expressions, and so on, can be very important, it isn't so much what you intend to communicate with these nonverbal behaviors or what they really reflect about you that counts, but what the interviewer BELIEVES they say about you, and these beliefs may or may not be accurate. Psycholinguists have a cliche that seems nonetheless true: "Words don't have meaning; people have meanings for words." This seems to apply as much to the nonverbal as to the verbal.

Less need to sacrifice salary for stock options (Friday, 3/24/00)
During recent months, Internet start-ups have had to offer high salaries in addition to stock options, rather than hoping that top people will be willing to settle for the latter. A very tight labor market is affecting nearly everybody. Here's more from David Leonhardt of the New York Times.

Sending some of it back home (Friday, 3/24/00)
A group of Indian-born entrepreneurs in the United States are planning to invest a billion dollars in the establishment of a global institute of science and technology to be located in India. As we've been emphasizing, India is not all poverty and misery. It is nearly everything you can think of. It has a long history, including a rich intellectual heritage that rivals that of Europe, and it would be a mistake to confuse "poor" with "primitive," because the Indian culture certainly is not primitive. Like China, India was one of the world's most advanced centers of civilization when most Europeans were still living under conditions of barbarism. Among other things, India is one of the world's leading centers of software creativity. Here's more on its thriving hi-tech sector from Ramola Talwar Badam reporting from Hyderabad. Speaking of tech training, a new program is putting $20 million into the training of more than 3,000 unemployed persons in the Washington, D. C. area. They're to be prepared for hi-tech jobs.

HUD goes after hundreds of thousands of renters (Friday, 3/24/00)
It is suspected that these people have been misrepresenting their income levels in order to pay lower rents in public and subsidized housing.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: The Annual Reports Library (Friday, 3/24/00)
The Annual Reports Library is mostly what it sounds like. It's been in existence since 1983 and contains over a million and a half annual reports from corporations, foundations, and other institutions.

Clinton meets the haves and have nots of India (Thursday, 3/23/00)
India is the world's second-largest country (perhaps soon to become the largest, according to some forecasts) and the world's largest democracy. It is also a land of great extremes. India contains a vast number of people living in poverty at a level that would be unimaginable to many persons in the world's privileged industrial nations, but also contains many highly educated and affluent persons. The leader of the wealthiest and most privileged of all the nations there ever have been has been visiting India, and has been exposed to some of its extremes. On the one hand, he has learned about the plight of so many Indian women, and, on the other, he is visiting one of the world's most advanced hi-tech areas.

Joblessness up a bit last week (Thursday, 3/23/00)
Here's news about the latest figures from the U.S. Department of Labor. Unemployment remains low, despite this little blip upward.

Big settlement in discrimination suit (Thursday, 3/23/00)
It's taken 23 years, but a class-action discrimination suit against federal government agencies has been settled with 1,100 women to receive $508 million.

Strike at US Airways looking more probable (Thursday, 3/23/00)
Talks continue, but hope may be fading for a last-minute settlement. The airline's flight attendants could walk out by Sunday. US Airways is preparing procedures for shutting down its operations if agreement is not reached by this weekend. In other labor news, the Kansas City Star reports that a strike authorization vote is being taken at the Claycomo Ford plant. Finally, in Australia, building unions that have been fighting for a 35-hour work week experience a victory as Grollo breaks ranks and signs a deal.

EU leaders to set growth goal on Thursday (Thursday, 3/23/00)
Unemployment remains high over many of the European Union countries. Leaders will meet Thursday and are expected to set a 3 percent growth goal in order to alleviate joblessness.

Taiwan's new leaders to go after Nationalist Party's wealth (Thursday, 3/23/00)
Taiwan's first democratically-elected government intends to recover the vast assets controlled by the Nationalist Party, which has dominated political and economic life on the island since Mao drove the Nationalists off the mainland. Incidentally, the native Taiwanese people are culturally distinct from the Chinese who came from the mainland in 1949 to establish a dictatorship on the island that the Portuguese called "Formosa.". For most of the time that the Nationalists have been in power, competing political parties were not permitted, and the country has become increasingly democratic only during recent years. From 1895 until 1945, the Japanese ruled Taiwan. The recent election is historic for many reasons, among which is that it represents the Taiwanese people's taking control of their homeland after more than a century of subjugation. For several centuries before 1895, Taiwan was ruled by Imperial China, which mainland China regards as precedent for considering Taiwan to be a part of China, not an independent country. China's population is approximately 55 times as large as Taiwan's, but, as a whole, Taiwan has been much more successful in developing its economy during recent decades and also has done an effective job of restructuring itself for participation in the new global information economy.

Decision reached on how to distribute $5 billion compensation to Nazi-era slaves (Thursday, 3/23/00)
Burt Herman reports on the new agreement following months of difficult negotiations.

Effort to minimize layoffs following sale of Rover (Thursday, 3/23/00)
BMW has been losing money with its Rover division, and now that it has agreed to sell it as well as MG, plans are under discussion for how large layoffs can be avoided.

Greenspan blasts "predatory lending" (Thursday, 3/23/00)
The Chairman of the Federal Reserve has some strong words for lenders who take unfair advantage of the poor when it comes to home equity loans.

Is America's agricultural sector about to come crashing down? (Thursday, 3/23/00)
American farmers began employing technology in very effective ways following the Second World War, and, within a few years, changed farming from a labor-intensive activity to one that is capital-intensive, with enormous increases in productivity. For years, a relatively few American farmers have produced enough food to feed much of the world. Thus, it seems particularly ironic that, while most of the American economy is in a great boom period, American agriculture is in danger of total collapse. Here's more from the Christian Science Monitor.

If you're old, raise your hand if you're happy with that Senate vote (Thursday, 3/23/00)
A lot of wrinkled hands may be going up all over America, because America's elders seem pleased that they may soon be able to remain active and productive without having to relinquish Social Security benefits to which they feel entitled. Marsha King has details in today's Seattle Times.

What's threatening to wipe out 30 years of economic gains in Zambia? (Thursday, 3/23/00)
It's AIDS, according to this report from Manoah Esipisu, who writes from Lusaka. The country's workforce is being decimated, and the government intends to fight AIDS more aggressively from now on.

Toxins poisoning teenagers on the job (Thursday, 3/23/00)
Results of a Harvard University study reported in the current edition of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine indicate that many teenagers are being poisoned by toxic substances in the workplace, and the problem has been greatly underreported.

The great research universities continue to justify their reputations as sources of creativity (Thursday, 3/23/00)
The hi-tech revolution and the resulting new economy have much to thank the great universities for, because many of the key ideas have come from these bubbling sources of creativity. The new economy is making traditional workplaces obsolete and fundamental changes are needed. Where will these solutions come from? This St. Paul Pioneer Press story says that, once again, we can look to the universities, where a lot of creative solutions are being developed right now.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: M-Xchange (Thursday, 3/23/00)
M-Xchange is intended to help minority-owned companies to obtain contracts with major the largest American companies for the sale of parts and supplies. The site has been established by a former executive at General Motors. He expects that the site will help minority-owned businesses by making it easier for the large companies to do business with them.

The Fed raises rates again (Wednesday, 3/22/00)
As nearly everyone expected, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates again yesterday, and more increases are likely to be coming. Does this mean that in their exuberance, irrational or otherwise, American consumers will just spend more? Michael White writes that, so far, consumer have been staying at least one step ahead of the Fed in its effort to cool the economy to a more sustainable level. Robert Samuelson thinks that the Federal Reserve has a very ticklish fine-tuning job to accomplish, and success isn't assured. Chairman Greenspan speaks to a meeting of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition today, telling them that the American economy is stronger than expected, and it's for some historic reasons. It really is a genuinely new economy after all, it seems.

What can the U.S. Senate agree on unanimously? (Wednesday, 3/22/00)
Not much, you say? Ooooh, but it's a presidential election year, remember, and politicians are in danger of being trampled by each other as they rush to please one of the larger and more politically active demographic groups in American society: the elderly. The Senate has voted unanimously to eliminate the Social Security income test. If you're 65 or over and want to work, the tight labor market welcomes you, and your full Social Security benefit check is likely to arrive on time each month anyway. Now, who will you have to thank for that? Both major parties. The Congress. The President. Everybody who is interested in your vote this November.

Farmers gathering in Washington say 1996 was a bad year that has helped make other years bad (Wednesday, 3/22/00)
That's the year that the so-called Freedom to Farm Act was passed, and they blame it for forcing thousands of American farmers out of business. They want it repealed. With possibly almost as many farmers on the Mall in the nation's capital yesterday as remain in business in some of the less populated agricultural states, many people have noticed, among them, the editorial writers at the Washington Post, who comment on the continuing lack of an effective farm policy. Country star Willie Nelson has been doing Farm Aid concerts to raise money for struggling farmers for many years now. He's expressed surprise that Farm Aid has had to go on so long. He expected that the first concert would be the last, and that a solution would be forthcoming. Not so, and his fund-raising efforts have become an annual ritual. Incidentally, is Willie just a pop-culture opportunist interested in using the American farmer's plight as an opportunity to call attention to himself for career purposes? Unlikely. Willie and his sister grew up on their grandparents' farm south of Dallas, and, after he gave up his initial plan to become a clergyman, he studied agriculture at Baylor University for two years, intending to make a career of it.

The gap in the new workplace (Wednesday, 3/22/00)
Ethel Hazelhurst writes in South Africa's Financial Mail writes about a gap that does have to do with generations, but there's more to it than that, or less. It may have to do with the gap between our ears, as much as anything.

Has America become an arrogant bully? (Wednesday, 3/22/00)
Here's a review of Chalmers Johnson's new book, Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire. It's a critical look of American globalism since the end of the Cold War. Also in Business Week this time, how South Korea has been recovering from the "Asian contagion," and the "brain drain" in accounting. It isn't just accounting majors that are being draw to new-economy startups. As John Lang reports, grads of many types are hearing the sirens singing and following similar paths.

What does it take to succeed in the transition from welfare to work? (Wednesday, 3/22/00)
A new report provides some hints. Jean Hopfensperger writes about some of the characteristics more likely to be possessed by people who are making it.

Job cuts at 3Com in Israel (Wednesday, 3/22/00)
3Com is a large American communications company, but its operations will soon be far less large in Israel where three-quarters of its development staff will be cut, according to Hadar Horesh of Ha'aretz.

What the Internet can mean to persons with disabilities (Wednesday, 3/22/00)
Steve Gutterman writes that it can mean a lot. He offers a formerly highly active real estate worker as an example.

Help in putting pressure on the boss (Wednesday, 3/22/00)
US Airways and its flight attendants are talking in an effort to avoid a weekend strike. However, the company has been warning passengers about the possibility, which might discourage individuals from booking flights on US Airways. Also, travel agents are directing people elsewhere as well. In other airline labor news, a ticket agent has filed suit against American Airlines because a secret HIV test seems to have cost him a promotion opportunity.

What does Putin have planned for the Russian economy? (Wednesday, 3/22/00)
Only he knows, and maybe he doesn't even know. Nonetheless, he is expected to win the Russian presidential election Sunday, so the world may know more soon. Investors are willing to wait for more information, according to this report from Moscow by David McHugh.

Supremes to decide how hard it should be to sue for discrimination (Wednesday, 3/22/00)
There seems to be considerable disagreement among members of the high Court, but a decision is likely to come within about three months.

The shortage of oilfield workers (Wednesday, 3/22/00)
High oil prices tend to bring a lot of pumps back to life, but the American oil industry is having difficulty finding enough people to work in the fields.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: The Electronic Commerce Management Program (Wednesday, 3/22/00)
Is management simply management, or is there something special about the management of electronic commerce? San Jose State University, located on the southern edge of Silicon Valley, America's premier hi-tech corridor, thinks there are some special things you should know about if you intend to become involved in e-commerce. Their Electronic Commerce Management Program has been specifically designed to help you succeed in the new biz world of the net. You will earn a certificate, and the 20 or more courses in the program are taught by people intimately involved in e-commerce.

Does Taiwan's new ruling party feel like a bunch of winners? Stay tuned (Tuesday, 3/21/00)
Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party turned the Nationalists out of power for the first time in 55 years, but it's also been calling for formal independence from China, and that could be like pouring gasoline into the campfire. Both Chiang Kai-shek and his successors, as well as Mao and his successors, have long agreed that Taiwan is part of China. They've simply disagreed on who should be in charge of the whole country.

For years before his death, Chiang claimed to be the legitimate ruler of China, despite the political realities, and insisted that his Nationalist Party eventually would return to the mainland to take control. Despite their enmity for each other, both sides have assumed that reunification would occur once the political details were sorted out. Thus, any call for independence has special meaning for the Chinese.

The mainland Chinese government has indicated in the strongest terms that will not tolerate such a thing, and is prepared to take Taiwan by force, if necessary. This would almost surely bring the world's richest and most powerful nation into military conflict, possibly even nuclear conflict, with the world's most populous nation, because the United States is obligated by treaty to guarantee Taiwan's security.

The Chinese government, which has been paranoid about the Internet, has not been able to seal off its 1.2 billion people during the hi-tech era, and, so, feels threatened by the success of Taiwan's democratic experiment and how it looks to China's vast population, which suffers a far less advantageous situation, both economically and politically.

Now that Chen Shui-bian has become Taiwan's first democratically-elected president, all of Asia and much of the rest of the world are holding their breath, wondering what comes next. Chen has been softening his rhetoric, offering to visit Beijing, and saying that he wants to establish strong economic ties between Taiwan and China. The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations has met with Chinese government officials, and has come away pleased with China's "constructive" attitude. The Washington Post's E. J. Dionne has some reflections on what could turn out to be one of the biggest stories of the entire 21st century. Incidentally, the lead on at least one CBS Radio newscast this morning was a story about potholes.

Inflation on the rise across the European Union (Tuesday, 3/21/00)
The average inflation rate across 11 EU countries is up from a month ago, as well as from a year ago.

Farmers demonstrate in Washington (Tuesday, 3/21/00)
Recently, a lot of truckers gathered in Washington, D. C. in order to call attention to their vulnerable condition because of high fuel prices. These also affect farmers, but many of them already were in danger of going out of business when fuel prices were much lower. A couple thousand farmers have gathered in D. C. in order to demonstrate today. President Clinton has promised help.

More on the migration of people from poor countries to rich countries in search of work (Tuesday, 3/21/00)
Poor countries have an abundance of people who want to work, although average skill levels may not be greatly appropriate for the needs of the new information economy. Still, advanced economies are experiencing labor shortages and, increasingly, look to foreign regions for needed workers. Evelyn Leopold reports that Europe, Japan, and South Korea will be increasingly in search of labor outside their borders. Why? For one thing, these countries are experiencing a population decline. Population growth has leveled off in the United States too. Neither black Americans nor white Americans are reproducing at a fast enough rate to replace themselves. What happened to the "population explosion" we've heard so much about? It's still going on in the poorest countries, but overall global growth does appear to be leveling off. Some experts have even predicted an overall global population decline later in the 21st century, but others aren't so sure.

Not much progress at US Airways yesterday, but talks continue (Tuesday, 3/21/00)
US Airways and its flight attendants are still hoping to head off a strike this weekend. The company is warning passengers.

Postal Service under cost pressure; intends to make big cuts (Tuesday, 3/21/00)
The United States Postal Service intends to cut about 9,000 jobs during the next four years. Here's more from Stephen Barr of the Washington Post. Meanwhile, in Japan, the electronics giant Toshiba expects to cut 8,500 jobs during the next three years.

Another interest rate increase likely to come from today's meeting (Tuesday, 3/21/00)
Jeannine Aversa reports from Washington on what economists are expecting to come out of the latest Federal Reserve meeting.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: What America Earns (Tuesday, 3/21/00)
How are you doing? In terms of earnings, that is. Louis Uchitelle and Karl Russell of the New York Times can help you compare your earnings to others in your field, in different fields, in different parts of the country, and so on.

Ratification at Boeing (Monday, 3/20/00)
Boeing's engineers have decided to accept their new contract. The strike is over.

The leader of the world's richest country visits one of the poorest (Monday, 3/20/00)
President Clinton is in Bangladesh, where the average income is less than a dollar per day.

Job cuts at KLM (Monday, 3/20/00)
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines intends to cut nearly 8 percent of its workforce, which amounts to 2,700 jobs. Speaking of airlines, US Airways flight attendants may be on strike before long, but talks have resumed.

Why China is concerned about the defeat of its old enemy, Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang party (Monday, 3/20/00)
Glance at a map, and you will see that China dwarfs the little island of Taiwan a few miles off its coast. Moreover, as cynical as China's governmental leaders are capable of being, it appears that they are quite sincere in their insistence that Taiwan is and always should be a part of China, not an independent state, despite political realities since Mao's victory on the mainland in 1949. Now, for the first time, the Nationalists have lost control of the Taiwanese government. Taiwan's newly elected president, Chen Shui-bian, has advocated Taiwanese independence, and this could lead to a Chinese invasion.

Further, even though the U.S. broke off diplomatic relations with Taiwan many years ago in order to recognize China, the United States is still obligated by treaty to insure Taiwan's security, so it is unlikely that America would stand by in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, and this could mean a military conflict with a nation containing one-quarter of the world's population. Unsurprisingly, Chen Shui-bian has been trying to reassure China and says he wants closer economic ties with the mainland.

Investors in Taiwan are nervous, but they're not the only ones. American diplomats are trying to keep the lid on. Incidentally, while Taiwan is far smaller than China, it is also much richer on a per capita basis. Taiwan is a modern industrialized country and, for the most part, managed to avoid catching the "Asian flu" that swept across so many Asian economies beginning nearly three years ago.

The spread of the physicians' strike in Israel (Monday, 3/20/00)
Haim Shadmi writes in today's Ha'aretz that the doctors' strike has spread to the country's psychiatric hospitals.

Markoff tells why Joy isn't so joyful about the hi-tech revolution (Monday, 3/20/00)
John Markoff of the New York Times reports on Bill Joy's Wired Magazine articleand what prompts his concerns about hi-tech. Are you beddon on armageddon? If you're getting into e-commerce, you may be feeling pretty good about the Internet right now. John Oslund of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports on the enthusiasm with which the big companies in one state are approaching business on the web.

How to be rich and non-materialistic at the same time (Monday, 3/20/00)
Joe Selvaggio writes about people who have found that being rich doesn't necessarily imply endless self-indulgence. In fact, wealth can make some very interesting good things possible.

Protesters intend to pick up in D. C. where they left off in Seattle (Monday, 3/20/00)
Thousands of people are expected to convene on Washington, D. C. in April to protest globalization.

Forecasters may finally be right sometime soon (Monday, 3/20/00)
Those who have been predicting a slowing of the American economy have gotten a bit used to being wrong, but the Christian Science Monitor explains why they're likely to be right before long.

How corporations are saving on biz travel costs (Monday, 3/20/00)
Many are letting their employees find the best travel bargains they can on the Internet and book the flights themselves. The savings can be impressive.

Influence, as opposed to power (Monday, 3/20/00)
Leadership isn't exclusively attached to formal organizational roles. Carol Pine explains in the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Organizational theorists have long distinguished between the "formal organization" and the "informal organization," and every work organization has both. Moreover, sometimes the latter can be more influential than the former.

Some people deal only in cash (Monday, 3/20/00)
For many, it's because they don't understand how banks work or how to make use of them, suggesting that the need for economic education in the U.S. is pretty basic. The Fed uses cartoons in order to do its part, and they have a new one.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: The Federal Reserve (Monday, 3/20/00)
Alan Greenspan sometimes is referred to as the second most powerful man in the world, if not the most powerful. If you're curious about what the Chairman of the Federal Reserve is able to exert so much influence in world affairs, it might be a good idea to examine the Federal Reserve itself in more detail, and the New York Times can help with that.

High fuel prices impact on many who are trying to make a living (Sunday, 3/19/00)
American truckers have already registered their protests in Washington because they feel threatened by high fuel prices that have squeezed their already slim profit margins. Also, many American farmers lost money last year when fuel prices were considerably lower. High oil prices this year will put them at a further disadvantage and are likely to force even more farmers out of business. Also, workers who are paid mileage by their employers are being squeezed too, because the rate-per-mile hasn't increased in many cases, even though the bill at the gas pump has.

Ratification vote today at Boeing (Sunday, 3/19/00)
Striking engineers and other technical workers will decide by secret ballot today whether they will accept the tentative three-year agreement with the huge aircraft manufacturer.

Fewer raids from INS agents (Sunday, 3/19/00)
The effort to track down and deport illegal aliens seems to have been relaxed, and the tight labor market in the United States seems to have something to do with it. Here's more on that story from Louis Uchitelle of the New York Times.

Key Senator pushes for end to Social Security income test (Sunday, 3/19/00)
William Roth is Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and he wants Social Security recipients to be able to earn as much as they like and still collect their full Social Security benefits. He's not the only one in Congress with this view, but he's part of the leadership. The change is likely to happen, because it's popular among many people on both sides of the aisle in Congress as well as with the Administration. It's also a presidential election year, the elderly are more numerous than they used to be, and they tend to vote in large numbers. Speaking of the elderly, Stan Hinden reports that many are spending a lot of their time on the Internet.

How many paychecks away from poverty are you? (Sunday, 3/19/00)
By most conventional measures, these are very good economic times in the United States. However, nonconventional times may require some nonconventional measures in order to get an accurate picture, and it IS a new economy, after all. For one thing, while the rising tide has raised all ships to an extent, the gap between haves and have nots is still very great in the United States, compared to other industrialized countries. Also, John Cunniff writes that, despite assumptions and superficial appearances, the American middle-class is quite fragile.

Woman works for equality in hi-tech (Sunday, 3/19/00)
Far more engineers, computer scientists, and other technical workers are male than female, but it doesn't appear to be because of any inherent differences between the sexes. Anita Borg has become a significant force in Silicon Valley intending to make the hi-tech universe less dominated by white males.

Involuntary servitude? (Sunday, 3/19/00)
The United States has a greater proportion of its citizens locked up than any other industrialized country. The two million persons behind bars constitute a major potential labor force during a time of worker shortages. Controversy rages over the use of prison labor. Incidentally, why is it that America leads in the lock 'em up sweepstakes in the first place? America is one of the only modern industrialized countries with capital punishment too? Why is this? And, most of those other countries have lower crime rates than the U.S., in spite of their tendency to rely less heavily on extreme punishments. Given fewer people in prison for shorter periods of time and no threat of execution, shouldn't they be having MORE problems with crime than the U.S., rather than less? Hmmmmm.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Search Systems (Sunday, 3/19/00)
Search Systems gives you free access to more than 1100 public record databases and comes to you from Pacific Information Resources.

A step toward normal economic relations with Iran (Saturday, 3/18/00)
The American Secretary of State has announced the termination of some sanctions as two decades of hostility may be about to end.

Alaska Airlines mechanics say they've been pressured (Saturday, 3/18/00)
The mechanics allege that they've been un-gently encouraged to cut back on needed repairs. One manager has been put on leave as a result, and now the FBI is investigating.

Administration seeks Democratic Congressional support in effort to finalize trade deal with China (Saturday, 3/18/00)
Democrats in the House of Representatives have been reluctant to support the Clinton administration's trade agreement with China because of that country's human rights record. Meanwhile, European Union trade ministers are meeting in Portugal to discuss China's possible membership in the World Trade Organization. American President Clinton is on his way to India and a liberalization of trade rules is on his mind, particularly as these relate to hi-tech. It may be only coincidental that India has a lot of highly-skilled software professionals, and the American Immigration and Naturalization Service has just announced that available visas for allowing foreign hi-tech workers into the United States are being consumed at a rapid rate.

Plutonium exposure at Los Alamos (Saturday, 3/18/00)
Eight workers were exposed, but no deadly plutonium was released into the environment.

More public spending coming to Japan (Saturday, 3/18/00)
In an effort to rev its economic engine, Japan has approved a record budget.

Restlessness over Mr. Greenspan (Saturday, 3/18/00)
The Chairman of the Federal Reserve is well-known for being concerned about the threat of inflation, but some are beginning to think that he may be doing more harm than good. However, the latest CPI report reflects the impact of high oil prices, and, as the Fort Worth Star Telegram reports, many economists seem to think that another interest rate hike will be a good idea.

Major job cuts coming to Bank One (Saturday, 3/18/00)
The fourth-largest American bank expects to cut as many as many as 5,100 jobs. Meanwhile, another company is trying to reassure its employees that layoffs are not coming. Safety-Kleen has been experiencing a cash-flow crunch.

What will you do about organized labor, Mr. Gore? (Saturday, 3/18/00)
The Vice-President will be the Democratic nominee for president, and, to a large extent, he has American organized labor to thank, but he will want not to make that too obvious as the general election approaches.

Employers try to head off raids (Saturday, 3/18/00)
In a tight labor market, employers are competing for workers, and the "non-compete clause" is one of the instruments companies are using to keep their employees from moving across the street.

FedEx in hot water over firing man with beard (Saturday, 3/18/00)
It's a religious discrimination issue, according to the EEOC.

Dubious way of dealing with the broker shortage? (Saturday, 3/18/00)
Rob Ferguson of the Toronto Star reports that it's become hard to get a discount broker on the phone in Canada, so they've decided to cut 30 days off their training in order to get more of them on the job faster. So, your broker may have less training. Is this good news? Meanwhile, columnist David Crane tells what it will take for Canada to keep top people: opportunity.

Ratification at Continental (Saturday, 3/18/00)
A new four and one-half year contract has been ratified by Continental Airlines' flight attendants. In other labor news, Mike Magner has the latest on Teamsters efforts to organize Overnight Transportation Corporation.

"Free-lance" no longer simply means not having to say you're unemployed (Saturday, 3/18/00)
Columnist Jane Applegate writes in the St. Paul Pioneer Press about the growing market for hot market for talented independents. A major reason is the Internet, she says.

Herr Koehler speaks for himself (Saturday, 3/18/00)
Now that the fight over Horst Koehler's candidacy for head of the IMF seems to be over, he may feel more free to communicate his plans. David Stout of the New York Times reports on what he has to say.

Why many workers aren't happy about the sale of Rover (Saturday, 3/18/00)
Alan Cowell tells why Rover workers are feeling betrayed.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Looking Back at the Crash of '29 (Saturday, 3/18/00)
Here's a look back at the worst of times from the perspective of the best of times. Floyd Norris of the New York Times examines the American economy's big downturn in his Looking Back at the Crash of '29.

Agreement at Boeing (Friday, 3/17/00)
A tentative deal has been reached between Boeing and its engineers. Here are more details from today's New York Times. In somewhat related labor news, US Airways and its flight attendants are starting up talks again.

Layoffs may come to Peterbilt (Friday, 3/17/00)
High fuel prices are putting the American trucking industry in a bind, and this affects Peterbilt, which manufactures a lot of the big semi-trailer tractors. Demand for new vehicles is slacking, and some of Peterbilt's 1,700 workers may be laid off as a consequence.

Israeli physicians hold off on strike plans (Friday, 3/17/00)
A strike of hospital doctors in Israel was scheduled to begin on Sunday, but it has been postponed in order to give serious negotiations a chance. In the U.S., Gina Kolata reports in the New York Times that some physicians are attempting to return the "good old days" of independent practitioners providing service for cash.

Latest Japanese company with a big pension shortfall (Friday, 3/17/00)
Miki Shimogori reports from Tokyo about Toshiba's troubles in a troubled economy. Meanwhile, William Mallard reports that the Japanese government has gotten more confident that, despite slipping back into recession during the third quarter of 1999, a full recovery is on the horizon. Consumers are still very cautious about their spending because of concerns about their jobs, though, and this is one of the principal things hold the Japanese economy back, according to government spokespersons.

Airport security compromised by security staff turnover (Friday, 3/17/00)
Low pay seems to be one of the major reasons that so many people don't stick with airport security jobs, according to this report from Tim Dobbyn.

Clinton may ease up on India during his visit (Friday, 3/17/00)
The President will be visiting India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh during the next few days. Relations between the U.S. and India have been tense since the United States imposed economic sanctions in 1988 because of the nuclear arms race between India and Pakistan. Some of those sanctions may be relaxed a bit now.

The feds intend to change evaluation procedures (Friday, 3/17/00)
The federal government will make major changes in the procedures for evaluating the performance of its senior executives.

Many Census jobs still available (Friday, 3/17/00)
The big year 2000 count is underway, and, as David Peterson reports, thousands of additional Census workers are needed.

Worker shortages haven't driven pay up as much as you might expect (Friday, 3/17/00)
In order to attract needed workers, employers have been relying more on perks, preferring not to lock into higher pay that may prejudice things for a later time when labor market conditions may be quite different.

A "virtual union?" (Friday, 3/17/00)
L. M. Sixell of the Houston Chronicle writes about what some software workers have been doing as a response to their frustrations.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Systers (Friday, 3/17/00)
Systers is an international organization of women in computing and has more than 2,500 members in 38 countries.

Record unemployment in Israel (Thursday, 3/16/00)
The previous record had been set in 1993. According to the latest government statistics, more than 200,000 persons are jobless in Israel. Here are more details from Moti Bassok of Ha'aretz. Meanwhile, in Japan, another country experiencing major unemployment, some of the laid-off have been taking matters into their own hands. Joji Sakurai writes from Tokyo about "Crossroads of Cheer."

The bottom-line on Wicsonsin's welfare-to-work program (Thursday, 3/16/00)
The Wisconsin governor's office has released a report on that state's widely publicized welfare-to-work program and finds that three out of four former welfare recipients have left the program, many for good jobs. State officials judge the program to be a success.

Negotiator suspended (Thursday, 3/16/00)
A member of the team that has been negotiating with Northwest Airlines on behalf of the airline's flight attendants has been suspended for leaking information to the rank and file prematurely. In other labor news, Boeing's president claims that some striking engineers have been spreading rumors that the company's new planes are unsafe.

More reasons for Mr. Greenspan to worry about inflation (Thursday, 3/16/00)
The latest government numbers indicate that wholesale prices have increased sharply as the labor market tightens further.

Among today's additions and subtractions (Thursday, 3/16/00)
Providian Financial Corporation is adding about 200 new workers, while, also in Texas, an HMO operator is cutting 11 percent of its workforce. Also, Jim Barlow of the Houston Chronicle reports that the University of Texas medical school in Houston expects layoffs. Elsewhere, according to the Boston Globe, Federal-Mogul Corporation intends to cut about 3 percent of its workforce, which will amount to approximately 1,500 jobs.

Canada needs to become more committed to improved education and training, advisors tell the PM (Thursday, 3/16/00)
Columnist David Crane writes in today's Toronto Star about what a task force is telling the Canadian prime minister about what Canada will need in order to securre a solid place for itself in the new global information economy.

Hard to look at, hard to hire (Thursday, 3/16/00)
Columnist Diane Stafford reports on the upcoming discussion of workplace bias in favor of persons regarded as physically attractive at a meeting of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: International Economics Study Center (Thursday, 3/16/00)
George Washington University professor Steve Suranovic originally prepared the International Economics Study Center for his students, but you may find it to be a rich resource as well. Included, is a full-text university textbook on international trade which he uses in his courses.

More perspective on the Koehler candidacy (Wednesday, 3/15/00)
Hans Greimel writes from Frankfurt that Germany's second choice for head of the IMF seems more conservative than the previous one, and David E. Sanger and Joseph Kahn tell why the U.S. has decided not to appose Horst Koehler as the new head of the International Monetary Fund. Speaking of Germany, that country has been trying to make the transition from an old heavy industrial economy to a new information economy. At the moment, Germany has far more people who know about heavy industry than about hi-tech. Tony Czuczka writes from Berlin about the controversy over efforts to bring technical workers in from the outside.

A cloudy Japanese economy casts a dark shadow over a large area (Wednesday, 3/15/00)
Despite its suffering through the worst recessionary period since the devastation of World War II, Japan's economy is still third-largest in the world and more than twice as large as the other Asian economies combined. Thus, many have a personal interest in whether Japan will be able to pull itself out of its slump and regain something resembling its former glory, the U.S. included, according to America's ambassador to Japan.

Here are details of that agreement between the Clinton administration and China (Wednesday, 3/15/00)
Joseph Kahn reports that Congress has been putting pressure on the Administration to release the specifics of what was agreed to, so the White House has de-classified the 250-page document.

House members push to increase the number of "tech visas" (Wednesday, 3/15/00)
Some members of the House of Representatives would like to double the number of H-1B visas so that more technically-skilled workers could enter the United States. David Wilson reports from Washington for a newspaper that serves much of Silicon Valley, the San Jose Mercury News.

Will Boeing or its engineers bleed at the fastest rate? (Wednesday, 3/15/00)
Chris Stetkiewicz writes from Seattle that a long strike is expected at Boeing. Striking engineers may feel that they have significant bargaining power, given the tight tech labor market. It may be easier for striking engineers to find temporary work than for Boeing to cover its technical needs during the strike.

What do gazillionaires say to Marxist guerrillas? (Wednesday, 3/15/00)
Kathleen Day and Shannon Henry write that two highly successful American businessmen are trying to educate rebels in Colombia about the new economy, hoping that it will make them give up their revolution.

Access to quality higher ed will become a basic entitlement, if Mr. Saylor has his way (Wednesday, 3/15/00)
A hi-tech billionaire wants to make world-class higher educational opportunities available free on the Internet.

Hunger strike at a California TV station (Wednesday, 3/15/00)
Workers are protesting what they claim is pay that is not commensurate with the station's success or with other stations.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Economic Education Station (Wednesday, 3/15/00)
If you're in favor of economic literacy at the secondary and post-secondary educational levels, raise your hand. If the IRS comes to mind, raise both hands. Seriously, a recent national poll found that about 1 out of 6 or 7 adult Americans weren't able to locate the United States on a world map, and Americans probably know much more about geography than about economics. Economic Education Station has been put together by people who would like to do something about this problem. The one relating to economics, that is. Persons who don't know where on earth they are will have to look elsewhere for help.

The U.S. relents (Tuesday, 3/14/00)
The Clinton administration has changed its mind and attempts to make a virtue of a necessity by saying that it will support the nomination of Horst Koehler to head the International Monetary Fund. The U.S. had been resisting, but the European Union has decided to support his candidacy anyway, and Japan has withdrawn its nominee, all of which should just about settle the issue. Another country that is trying to make the world believe that it doesn't particularly care what the U.S. government thinks is China, which is saying that it will push for membership in the World Trade Organization, no matter what the U.S. does.

Glitch in the pipeline (Tuesday, 3/14/00)
The distribution to Holocaust victims of the $1.25 billion from a Swiss bank settlement has been delayed, and it isn't clear why. Not only was money stolen from Nazi victims, most valuable possessions were too. Now, as Ross Colvin writes, some of the possessions are being returned. For instance, a German museum is returning a noted painting to the descendants of its rightful owners.

Syria gets a new government and possibly economic reform (Tuesday, 3/14/00)
The last part is still a bit up in the air, however. Here's the story from Issam Hamza who writes from Damascus.

Why you need to take some time off (Tuesday, 3/14/00)
Researchers at the State University of New York at Oswego have found that vacations can help you remain healthy.

MUST we do everything we CAN do? (Tuesday, 3/14/00)
One of hi-tech's acknowledged geniuses, Bill Joy, is worried about what tech hath wrought. He believes the very existence of homo sapiens sapiens is at stake. This might be a good time to distinguish science from technology. With respect to essentials, science involves the CREATION of knowledge, while technology involves the USE of knowledge. One can be unselectively enthusiastic about the former, while also being ambivalent about the latter. Despite all the fallout from the eating of a well-known apple, knowledge appears to be a genuinely Good Thing. After all, the alternative to knowledge is ignorance, and it's hard to make a compelling case for ignorance, given the tremendous carnage produced by goofy ideas and unfounded conclusions about nature, including human nature, over many millennia. How we choose to use our knowledge is another matter, though, and it's probably time to give up the naive view that technology can only produce benefits, never costs or risks. Speaking of hi-tech, particularly the Internet, Business Week offers its plan for brining more order out of the present chaos in order to solve problems relating to privacy on the web.

Can you find something good to say about high oil prices? (Tuesday, 3/14/00)
Robert Mosbacher can. He thinks low oil prices were a mixed blessing at best, and that higher prices may benefit the American economy in the long run.

A rising tide has been raising all ships, but... (Tuesday, 3/14/00)
...Some have been riding far higher in the water anyway. Today's Wall Street Journal reports that the wealth gap among races in the U.S. remains impressively large indeed.

If you can't get us more people, get us more machines (Tuesday, 3/14/00)
Here's one good reason for higher worker productivity levels in the U.S. recently. If you've got a lot of work to do and you don't have as many workers as you'd like, you've got to find ways of getting more out of fewer, and technology may be the solution. Companies are finding ways to increase their productivity through the smarter use of very capable machines.

There is about to be a 100 percent decrease in the number of female CEOs in Australia's largest companies (Tuesday, 3/14/00)
Translation: the one female corporate chief executive has decided to quit. Here's Valerie Lawson's story from the Sydney Morning Herald.

One temp who's been a little too busy (Tuesday, 3/14/00)
Jennifer Friedlin of the New York Times writes about the temporary worker who seems to have been in the middle of that big $8.4 million insider-trading mess. Nineteen people have been charged.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: The Economic Consequences of the Peace (Tuesday, 3/14/00)
The great economist tells how things looked to him following World War I in The Economic Consequences of the Peace. About a year later, in 1920, Thorstein Veblen offers a review of Keynes' work in the Political Science Quarterly.

EU intends to support Germany's candidate anyway (Monday, 3/13/00)
European Union finance ministers appear ready to get behind Germany's candidate for head of the International Monetary Fund, even though the U.S. doesn't want him.

It's official: Japan's economy returns to recession during the late months of 1999 (Monday, 3/13/00)
Here's Josephy Coleman's USA Today report on the Japan's bad numbers during the last quarter last year. Things may be a bit better this quarter, though. Incidentally, guess who is dependent on a presence in Japan? Scott Stoddard reports on what North Korea is doing to survive economically, even though the connection with Japan remains in the shadows.

Old and new pension funds to be managed separately (Monday, 3/13/00)
Moti Bassok of Ha'aretz reports on a new order from the Israeli Finance Ministry that intends to increase competitiveness when it comes to pension funds.

Does "layoff" by any other name smell sweeter? (Monday, 3/13/00)
Nationally syndicated columnist Carol Kleiman discusses employers' continuing use of euphemisms.

What does the AFL-CIO have in common with some Chinese government officials? (Monday, 3/13/00)
Not all members of the Chinese government want their country to become a member of the World Trade Organization. John Pomfret of the Washington Post reports that there is disagreement within the government itself.

Do people actually get something done here? (Monday, 3/13/00)
Amy Joyce reports that many work settings are looking a good deal different from what you may be used to, and the reason is a tight, tight, tight labor market. The American workforce has been changing significantly too. Business Week has a special report on those changes and how new conditions are providing new opportunities for many people who have felt left out in the past.

What to do about ailing nursing homes (Monday, 3/13/00)
Today's Minneapolis Star Tribune reports on the growing crisis facing nursing homes and what a Minnesota legislator has told a national advisory group about what needs to be done.

Is the new economy really fundamentally new, and has Chairman Alan heard? Maybe; maybe not (Monday, 3/13/00)
Lawrence Kudlow thinks the rules have changed, but the head of the Federal Reserve hasn't changed with them. Chairman Greenspan's concerns about inflation are a product of an earlier time, says this writer. Still, Mr. Greenspan doesn't leave a strong impression of innocence or naivete, so stay tuned. We'll eventually know more about who's right. In fact, we may know soon. Jerry Heaster says that many economists expect inflation to take a little lurch upward in the new report Friday.

Studying those things that are useless, but indispensable (Monday, 3/13/00)
Here's a philosopher who works in journalism thinking out-loud about how things have changed for the new generation of college students, and why it makes a difference.

Two to one for the self-employed (Monday, 3/13/00)
Gary Klott says that the self-employed win a few, lose a few. For instance, they're two ahead and one back in relation to the most recent tax changes.

Results of a new study on mentoring (Monday, 3/13/00)
Mentoring isn't the talked-about fad it once was, but does it still work? Researchers at the University of Toledo find that it does, especially for women.

On the job...always and forever (Monday, 3/13/00)
Hi-tech makes it possible for people to find you, no matter where you are, and that means that you can never get away from your work. It all adds up to burnout city, according to Marcia Heroux of Florida's Sun-Sentinel. What can be done to improve your work life? It depends on which expert you ask, according to Amy Lindgren of the St. Paul Pioneer Press

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Economic Policy Directorate (Monday, 3/13/00)
The Economic Policy Directorate is a "think-tank" in the Netherlands that analyzes governmental policies having to do with welfare, growth, and employment.

House moves along toward eliminating the Social Security income test (Thursday, 3/2/00)
Nobody in the House of Representatives voted against it, and, if the bill reaches the President's desk, which is highly likely, he will sign it, he says. Then, you'll be able to collect the full Social Security benefits to which you are entitled and also earn as much as you like.

Deadlock at Boeing (Thursday, 3/2/00)
Boeing may try to force an agreement with its engineers and other technical workers, now that it considers talks to be at an impasse. Now, Boeing has another problem: Tens of thousands of women workers are suing their employer for sex bias. Pilots have begun negotiating with America West Airlines, but, as Peter Corbett reports, some turbulence is expected. Finally, two more airlines will provide free personal computers to their workers. Earlier Delta Air Lines had followed the lead of Ford Motor Company.

HUD investigates claims of discrimination (Thursday, 3/2/00)
Do minorities have to pay higher mortgage rates? The Department of Housing and Urban Development wants to know and will make a serious effort to find out.

Gender differences in retirement planning (Thursday, 3/2/00)
CNN Financial reports that there is a gender gap when it comes to preparing for retirement, and differences can be significant. Also, a new book by Penn State University Geoffrey Godbey finds gender differences, not only in how men and women spend their time, but also in how much of it they have available. And, for the first time in a long-time, men have more, according to the professor.

Super Sam should stop pushing us around, Europe says (Thursday, 3/2/00)
Europeans have had a fairly long modern history of resenting American influence. Most recently, senior officials are resenting what they call "bullying" on the part of the United States in relation to Germany's deputy finance minister, whom the U.S. doesn't want to head the IMF. Joseph Kahn of the New York Times says that there has been quite a lot of posturing on both sides. Today's Washington Post editorializes about what the new head of the International Monetary Fund will face and why the choice is important.

First-time jobless claims up a bit (Thursday, 3/2/00)
But only a bit. Initial jobless claims were up by only 6,000 during the latest week. Meanwhile, in Japan, unemployment remains high, but private researchers are saying that government data may overstate the problem because of its methodology.

Riot as police attempt to evict beggars (Thursday, 3/2/00)
Five-hundred police clashed with hundreds of homeless people in response to efforts to evict them from an area near the presidential palace.

Bartering favors (Thursday, 3/2/00)
Columnist Diane Stafford says that getting ahead can be helped by joining the mutual back-scratching society.

Are you being swept along by the flood? (Thursday, 3/2/00)
It's a flood of hi-tech cash, and it's carrying a lot of people to places they never expected to be. Guy Rolnik reports from Israel in today's Ha'aretz.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Women in American History (Thursday, 3/2/00)
Here's one of the Encyclopeida Britannica's excellent special features. This time, it's Women in American History.

Ah, how do you turn it on? (Wednesday, 3/1/00)
Many of our political leaders are trying to learn more about hi-tech, including its political and economic implications. Of particular concern to governors and senators is where the money will come from to run government in an Internet economy. Incidentally, Kirstin Downey Grimsley tells a correspondent about how hi-tech has made it possible for workers to waste company time more efficiently than ever before.

The low-income housing shortage (Wednesday, 3/1/00)
Minnesota has a shortage of low-income housing, but it's certainly not the only place with that problem. However, Jean Hopfensperger and Terry Collins report that hundreds of people demonstrated at the State Capitol as part of an effort to get the government to do something about it.

How the CGT will affect South African life (Wednesday, 3/1/00)
James Eedes writes in South Africa's Financial Mail about the likely impact of his country's new capital gains tax.

Supreme Court defines rules for nursing home challenges to Medicare (Wednesday, 3/1/00)
Not only are many HMOs in danger of financial collapse, many American nursing home are having similar problems. A n