A bar owner in Atlanta is selling a T-shirt that shows a picture of Curious George peeling a banana, with the words “Obama ‘08″ underneath.  The bar owner, known for erecting provocative (some would say, mean-spirited) messages on the marquee outside his bar, has been branded an idiot, a racist, and worse.  His explanation that the T-shirt isn’t intended to be […]

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If immigration had fallen off the presidential campaign radar, it may be forced back on now.  U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted the largest single-site raid ever in Postville, Iowa (the state where the first presidential caucus/primary is always held), at the Agriprocessors meatpacking plant, which is also the nation’s largest kosher slaughterhouse. 
The number of alleged illegal immigrants detained amounted to 390, consisting […]

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You have a key sales job open.  One of the applicants you interview says, “I need to be in a white territory.  The territory I have right now with my current employer has too many black people in it.  I’m someone who appeals to whites.  If you give me a white territory, I’ll make you a lot […]

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As Senator Barack Obama is learning, Reverend Jeremiah Wright isn’t going away.  (Click here, here, and here for more.)  I continue to believe that Obama’s speech on race (delivered on March 18, 2008, and precipitated by sound bites from the Reverend’s sermons) was masterful.  One of the striking things about the speech (in addition to dealing directly […]

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As I noted last week, the Lilly Ledbetter Pay Fair Act is on hold for the time being.  It seems likely to stay that way until there is a new President and some change in Congress.  That it will be a big campaign issue is becoming more clear quite quickly.
In a blistering article in Slate […]

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In 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Ledbetter v. Goodyear, which significantly narrowed, in the opinion of some, the period of time an employee has to complain about discriminatory pay.  Proposed legislation (Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act) to reverse the Supreme Court’s decision is gaining a bit of steam.  President Bush has vowed to veto the legislation […]

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It’s been a while since I’ve addressed the race issue–in politics or the workplace.  But with the Pennsylvania primary, there it is again.  As noted in the New York Times and other publications, race made a difference in the outcome of that primary, and some are now wondering whether an African-American can get the Democratic nomination or be elected […]

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Relations between the U.S. and China are sometimes tense for various reasons.  One of them relates to our jobs going to China because labor costs are cheaper there.  Costs are cheaper because Chinese workers work in sweatshops and have fewer rights.
That’s changing–at least, to some extent.

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The presidential candidates are concerned about how hard today’s employees have to work and how many jobs they have to hold down to make ends meet.  The solution?  Enact new blue laws, not to allow employees a day to attend church as the old blue laws did, but to allow employees to take a day […]

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As noted previously on this blog, this year’s presidential campaign gives us a unique opportunity to engage in difficult discussions about issues that have plagued our society and our workplaces for a long time, particularly issues dealing with race and gender.  It’s my opinion that these discussions should occur in the workplace, as well as the […]

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