Newspapers and profit

The LA Times has a good piece on why today's newspaper profits aren't enough for some owners.

"They're either rolling in it, or they're really rolling in it. And when they're only rolling in it, they start to panic."

Starbucks Union, K-R rumors

Starbucks workers in New Zealand are on strike.

Meanwhile, back in the U.S., another Starbucks store goes union.

The buzz is buzzing that a Knight-Ridder sale might be announced on Monday.

SEIU organizing victory in Washington

Woo!



10,000 home childcare workers in Washington state have joined the union.

(Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild members and staff helped with this for a couple of days last summer!)

One to watch

Hey, they're trying to organize at the Eagle-Tribune in the Boston area. Check out their campaign blog here.

News bits roundup

1. AFL-CIO is helping us keep track of the bad guys. Their Job Tracker database tells you which companies in your area are exporting jobs, endangering workers' health or involved in cases of violations of workers' rights under the National Labor Relations Act. Check it out here.
2. The newspaper industry lost more than 1,900 jobs last year. That's just at major and mid-sized papers. Well, what's left of them, anyway. Check out the story here.
3. Do the publishers need to trim those jobs? Well, no, actually they don't, says the AP.
4. In more pleasant news, engineers at Boeing just got a great contract, including average 17 percent raises. See that story here.
5. Slate magazine writer Jack Shafer and his readers speculate on the takeover of the media by post-Boomers, and the headlines we'll write.

Doris Kearns Goodwin, Labour Start TV

1. Did you know that author Doris Kearns Goodwin is on the board of Northwest Airlines? Read all about it at Working Life.

2. Can't get enough online video produced by and for trade unionists? Check out Labour Start TV.

On getting a life

Interesting essay in Wired magazine on being slaves to the machine.