News

It isn't any surprise at all union membership is at its lowest in a century:

All told, more than 8 million industrial jobs have been wiped out since manufacturing employment peaked in 1979. The percentage of the labor force made up of manufacturing workers has continued its steady decline, falling to less than 9 percent, from a high of 39 percent in 1939.

Perhaps the sharpest expression of the moribund character of the unions is their inability to recruit younger workers. By age, the union membership rate was highest among workers 55 to 64 years old (16.6 percent), while only 4.7 percent of those 16 to 24 were union members.

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Michael Jackson's doctor is prepared to surrender:

A lawyer for Michael Jackson's personal physician said Tuesday that the Houston-based doctor is in Los Angeles and prepared to surrender if authorities file charges against him in the pop star's death.

"I don't have any specific information that leads me to believe he is going to be charged this week," lawyer Ed Chernoff said, "but if he is, we've made it clear he's available to turn himself in."

The arrival of Dr. Conrad Murray and Chernoff, his lead attorney, from Houston set off a new round of speculation that authorities, who have been mulling a manslaughter case against the doctor since last summer, were about to file charges.

On the Front Lines

Unlike Nevada, where public employees are NOT allowed to strike and therefore the unions are totally worthless, Eagle Point, Oregon, teachers have decided to strike.

Scabs, also called "substitute teachers," will be encourage to cross the picket lines:

District officials said they were disappointed by the union's decision because they felt the two parties had made progress toward a settlement in recent days.

"If the union does strike, we want the community to know that we will bring in qualified substitutes to keeps the schools open so our seniors can graduate," said Eagle Point schools Superintendent Cynda Rickert. "We are not going to turn our backs on students."

About 80 percent of employees voted in favor of the strike. Employees also formally rejected the district's initial offer Tuesday for a three-year contract, which included a 2-percent retroactive cost-of-living pay increase for 2008-09 but no cost-of-living increase in the subsequent two years.

More Business Roundtable Bullshit

from none other than Nicholas Kristof.

It's amazing people think they are experts about education just because they have been students. They are no more experts on education than the law because they have gone to a lawyer or medicine because they have gone to a doctor.