Labor

It’s been quite a year in the Twin Cities, and the Daily Planet has been on the scene. With the help of our media partners and our tireless citizen journalists, in 2008 we published over 10,000 articles, blog entries, photos, and event listings. When we saw that the Minnesota Independent had tallied their top ten most-read articles for the year, we were inspired to check the stats and see what articles Daily Planet readers found most fascinating in 2008. MORE »

The US Department of Defense recently announced the launching of a new recruiting program that is designed to attract immigrant healthcare workers, linguists and also cultural specialists to serve in the military. The new program targets immigrants who can legally work in the US but do not have “Green Cards”-Permanent Resident Status. MORE »

To get the real scoop on women, money and the economy, we talked with four top executives in the Twin Cities banking industry about how women are reacting to the economic crisis and about their own personal money philosophies. MORE »

Imagine you sell your home, even borrow money, to move to another community where you are promised a good job. But when you get there, you’re forced to live in near-slavery conditions. MORE »

The Department of Employment and Economic Development released Minnesota job information today and it was more bad news. Minnesota’s unemployment rate jumped up one half percent from 5.9 percent in October to 6.4 percent in November. This is the highest unemployment rate in Minnesota since the first half of 1984. The number of unemployed in Minnesota reached 188,925, the highest level since March of 1983. MORE »

Mike Katschke was one of 760 Ford workers who were temporarily laid off on the day before Thanksgiving, as Ford’s Twin Cities Assembly Plant temporarily closed. The unpaid layoff is scheduled to last for six weeks, in contrast to Ford’s usual two-week paid leave during the holidays. Along with other auto workers across the nation, the Ford workers are anxiously waiting for the government to agree on a bailout package for the industry. MORE »

As the economy tanks, it’s tough to know where to start covering it. Today’s announcement that Intermedia Arts is closing its gallery and laying off all full-time staff is one example of the human consequences of the recession, and the impact on our community. Last week Neighborhood House announced a 18 percent budget cut, which might play out in various ways. One way: 18 percent of their 75-person staff would be 10-15 people. At Teatro del Pueblo, the doors are staying open but all staff are taking cuts in hours. The Home of the Good Shepherd is closing, due to lack of funds to support its mission of sheltering homeless women. That means another 11 people without jobs. These are just a few examples of the impact of the recession on local non-profits. MORE »

Some 100,000 current and former hourly employees of Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club stores in Minnesota – and the state of Minnesota itself – will share up to $54 million from the giant retailer under a settlement announced Tuesday. MORE »