Labor | Observer

By Steve Huff 5/19/12 11:06am

‘Senator Julian Assange’–Not as Crazy as it Sounds

Head Wikileaker and house arrestee Julian Assange has been pondering a run for the Australian Senate. Before you even quirk an eyebrow at the prospect of a “Senator Assange,” note that a recent survey by Australian Labor Party pollsters indicates Mr. Assange could garner nearly 25% of the vote. Agence France-Presse reports members of “the left-wing Greens party were most likely to be pro-Assange, with 39 percent saying they would vote for him.” Read More

By Andrew Russeth 7/25/11 8:59am

The Art Market

Sotheby's and its art handlers' union have yet to close a deal, nearly a month after their previous agreement expired.

Sotheby’s Union Art Handlers Consider a Strike

Nearly a month after the contract between Sotheby’s and its art handlers’ union, Teamsters Local 814, expired, the two sides have yet to reach a deal on a new agreement. Union leaders have floated the possibility of a strike, but are holding back on acting on that threat for now.

The Teamsters union has demanded Read More

By Azi Paybarah 3/16/11 3:58pm

Labor

Spitzer Agrees and Disagrees with Wisconsin's Governor

When discussing Wisconsin’s Governor Scott Walker, Eliot Spitzer sounds a little like Andrew Cuomo.

Spitzer, around the 5:50 mark:

“I disagree with Governor Walker…the right to bargain together is one of those fundamental rights we all believe individuals across the society should have. I agree with him that the givebacks are necessary in Read More

By Azi Paybarah 3/14/11 11:02pm

Politics

Amending a Teacher Seniority Bill in Albany

NYC School’s Deputy Chancellor John White sent this memo to a handful of concerned parties, outlining some amendments to the State Senate bill looking to change teacher seniority rules that is at the heart of the

By David Freedlander 3/10/11 1:58pm

Campaign Season

Labor, Led By Liu Speech Today, Prepares for Major Push on Living Wage

City Comptroller John Liu is slated to appear at a public forum entitled “Why Are We Funding Low-Wage Jobs” at the Brooklyn College Graduate Center for Worker Education this afternoon that labor and progressive groups hope kicks off a major effort to create a living wage standard for city projects.

Earlier this week, Christine Quinn announced Read More

By Azi Paybarah 2/28/11 2:42pm

Centrism

Bloomberg and Wisconsin

Bloomberg weighs in on the national labor fight taking place in Wisconsin, with his middle-of-the-way approach:

If contract terms or labor laws from years past no longer make sense, we the people should renegotiate — or legislate — changes. Benefits agreed to 35 years ago that now are unaffordable should be reduced. Similarly, Read More

By Molly Fischer 5/24/10 5:00pm

John Stossel Built His Career on the Backs of Unpaid Interns

A writeup in this week’s New York characterizes newsman John Stossel as “anxious.” But if there’s one thing he’s not worried about, it’s the ethics of unpaid internships!

“Now the government says you can’t have unpaid interns, that it’s exploitation. Can you believe that?” he says. “I built my career on unpaid interns! Read More

By Molly Fischer 5/18/10 4:35pm

Even Celebrities Want to Be Interns

We already knew that interning is so great that people will compete to do it. And that interning is so great that people will actually pay money to do it. But now it turns out that interning is in fact SO GREAT that even celebrities want to do it.

Fashionista reports Read More

By Eliot Brown 11/18/09 12:48am

Four Years Hard Labor

A repetitive refrain filled City Hall’s council chambers on Tuesday morning. For a good hour at a zoning committee hearing on the contentious plan to redevelop the Bronx’s Kingsbridge Armory into a mall, council member after council member battered the Bloomberg administration and the developer, the Related Companies, with a similar line of questioning: Given Read More

By Azi Paybarah 12/16/08 8:07pm

Bloomberg on What Paterson Cuts Mean for City Jobs

Speaking to reporters this afternoon, Michael Bloomberg seemed to hint that there could be layoffs of city workers if David Paterson’s proposal to cut about $1 billion in state funding for the city was enacted.

In describing the impact of Paterson’s proposal, Bloomberg said, “That’s an awful lot of city employees.” In fact, he said, Read More

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‘Senator Julian Assange’–Not as Crazy as it Sounds

Sotheby’s Union Art Handlers Consider a Strike

Spitzer Agrees and Disagrees with Wisconsin's Governor

Amending a Teacher Seniority Bill in Albany

Labor, Led By Liu Speech Today, Prepares for Major Push on Living Wage

Bloomberg and Wisconsin

John Stossel Built His Career on the Backs of Unpaid Interns

Even Celebrities Want to Be Interns

Four Years Hard Labor

Bloomberg on What Paterson Cuts Mean for City Jobs

Across the Wire

Andrew Cuomo Shares Fred Dicker’s Private Email With All His Competitors

$90 M. Hotel Worker Health Center Coming to Downtown Brooklyn

Permission to Splurge: Whole Foods Isn't Just About Where You Buy Your Food; It's About Who You Think You Are

Memo From Mad Men’s Human Resources Department Re: Reminders

Animal Care Volunteers Bite Back