Our Sponsors:

Our Members

Many thanks to

Floyd McKay

and

Paul Patterson

some of our many supporters.

ALL MEMBERS »

Most Commented

ALL COMMENTS »

Workplace / Labor

Midday Scan: Birth control time travel; Rep. Dicks caught redhanded; caffeine powder hits the shelves

Wed, Feb 8, 12:36 p.m.

By Zachariah Bryan

The birth control debate moves back in time. How Norm Dicks funneled federal money to his son. Caffeine powder gives us a glimpse of the future.

The art of urban branding

Wed, Nov 30, 2 a.m.

By Bill Stafford

A strong tourism industry, like a strong product, requires good branding. How should Seattle define itself in a growingly competitive international tourism game?

The pain of slow times in job creation

Fri, Oct 21, 2 a.m.

By Stephen H. Dunphy

Even for Seattle, a city with more strength than much of the country, the picture tends to be mixed, perhaps contributing to the larger social discontent. Unemployment has come to Occupy Minds.

Is the green jobs movement kaput?

Fri, Sep 16, 2 a.m.

By Roger Valdez

Faltering commitment and bad PR have given the green jobs movement a bad name. But the basic tenets of the plan - austerity and environmental preservation - could cut costs and add jobs across the country. Will U.S. politicians ever catch up with the realities of scarcity?

Midday Scan: Wednesday's top stories around the region

Wed, Sep 14, 11 a.m.

By Pete Jackson

In the news today: An unexpected Seattle-splitting redistricting proposal, D.C. Republicans' petty punishment of the National Labor Relations Board, and Montana's (slightly delayed) Roosevelt backlash.

Seattle joins the parade for mandatory sick leave

Mon, Sep 12, 8:46 p.m.

By Kathy Mulady

The issue is fast becoming a national workers' rights crusade. Here's a survey of how the movement is going in other cities, and the arguments for and against the requirements.

The Parents Union: A new force for education reform?

Thu, Aug 25, 7:20 p.m.

By Collin Tong

Former Microsoft exec Scott Oki is tackling education reform through a pioneering new concept — a union for parents.

A national expert asks: Have unions stymied education reform?

Thu, Jul 7, 2 a.m.

By Dick Lilly

Teachers unions, as unions should do, have acted in the best interests of their members, a new book argues. That has meant blocking significant reform and overriding the needs of students. One solution: computerized learning.

The public-health case for mandatory paid-sick-leave laws

Tue, Jun 28, 2 a.m.

By Tasha West-Baker

Paid sick leave legislation such as the Seattle City Council is considering makes sense, because when people work sick they infect others. Seattle's politicians should listen to the public and enact a mandate.

Remembering Gus Tyler, a labor firebrand

Mon, Jun 13, 11 a.m.

By Ted Van Dyk

He was a great American hero, who never had a complacent minute in his long, long life.

Workers' comp reform is worse than dreaded I-1082

Fri, Jun 10, 10:08 a.m.

By Brendan Williams

A former legislator shakes his head that a state that defeated the insurance-privatization initiative by a wide margin has now enacted a law that harms workers more than the initiative would have.

Legislature's workers' comp reforms were wise policy

Tue, Jun 7, 2 a.m.

By Jeanne Kohl-Welles

A key lawmaker rebuts an earlier column that asserted the Legislature punished workers. Instead, there were valuable new features to protect workers, and the trims were sensible measures to protect the fund from serious damage.

Sweet Bones barbecue: a tasty tribute to good, old-fashioned labor

Fri, May 27, 2 a.m.

By Hugo Kugiya

Eating on the Edge: Outside the Othello Public Market, three former laborers undertake the primal, messy, work-intensive endeavor called barbecue.

Washington state's new workers' comp law hurts those already in pain

Thu, May 26, 2 a.m.

By John Burbank

Gov. Gregoire joined Republicans and quite a few Democrats to create a system that transfers money to businesses, at the expense of injured workers and the surviving relatives of workers who are killed.

Ten things you might not know about the economy

Fri, May 20, 2 a.m.

By Stephen H. Dunphy

For example, student debt in the U.S. is now greater than credit-card debt. Here are some more possible surprises, and economic signs to keep watching.