Cheap Motels and a Hot Plate

Economists never say much about work. They talk about the supply of and the demand for labor, but they have very little to say about the nature of the work we do. Like most commentators, they seem to believe that modern economies will require ever more skilled work, which will be done in clean and quiet workplaces, by educated workers, who will share in decision-making with managerial facilitators. We should disabuse ourselves of such notions. In the world today, the overwhelming majority of workers do hard and dangerous labor, risking the health of their bodies and minds every minute they toil. Read More

At the request of an organizer from the union, UNITE/HERE (see comment on last post), I am posting this interesting video. Hotel workers are notoriously overworked and underpaid. Karen and I have talked to many motel workers in our years of travel, and I can say from experience that this is the case. We both worked at the Lake Hotel in Yellowstone National Park, Karen as a restaurant host and I as a desk clerk. This was a most illuminating experience, described in Chapter Two of Cheap Motels and a Hot Plate. I applaud the hardworking organizers and wish them great success. Look at the video and then read an excerpt from the chapter on Yellowstone. Be sure to support the union efforts of hotel workers. Spread the word, send money, join picket lines, whatever you can. Read More

The troubles in the U.S. automobile industry have taken an interesting turn. In return for considerable concessions to Chrysler and General Motors, the United Auto Workers may become a majority shareholder in Chrysler and a large stakeholder in General Motors. The federal government will also own a large fraction of the shares of the two corporations, making both of them a lot less capitalist in their ownership structure than would have been imaginable only a few months ago. Read More