I just heard the President say that if he wanted to make more money he would join a union.  Bad advice.  The best way to improve your worth in the employment market place is to get an education.  Don’t join a union.  Join an employer who pays based on performance, effort, skill and education required.… Read More Minimum Wage or Join a Union or

Few jobs are actually paid minimum wage.  Most workers get $10 an hour and way more.  So the hype about the minimum wage hike is a political poke to Republicans to make them look mean and make Democrats look caring.  Most employers with federal contracts are already paying employees $10.10 or more, so the EO… Read More Minimum wage hike won’t matter much.

I am recovering from a nasty post holiday cold.  Since I am retired, I did not have to make that dreaded, guilt filled, phone call to the boss “I’m sick and not coming to work”.  So that’s a relief. A good way to get the flu or cold is to be a teacher, nurse, store… Read More How To Get The Flu At Work

The best bosses and leaders get results by generously giving credit where credit is due.  Jack Welch wrote about the “generosity gene” today in his LinkedIn blog.  Welch writes: “You’ve seen the generosity gene in action and maybe you’ve even been lucky enough to experience it – a boss who’s overjoyed when you nail an… Read More Generosity at Work

In response to rising costs and mandated changes brought on by the PPACA (Obamacare), a growing number of U.S. organizations are dropping health coverage for retirees or replacing it with subsidies to retirees to purchase plans through the individual market, according to an Aon Hewitt survey. I personally experienced this exact change when 3M Company… Read More U.S. Companies Drop Health Coverage

LinkedIn remains the most popular site for recruiting and screening candidates.  SHRM released new research showing organizations are increasingly using social networking sites to recruit job candidates.  77 percent of respondents use social networking sites to recruit candidates, which is up from 56 percent in 2011.  Interestingly, 57 percent do NOT have any kind of… Read More Employers R Using Social Media 2 Recruit

Recent polling of U.S. managers and executives uncovered that the following four competencies are important for employee success, should be a priority within their organizations and that employees should be measured in these skills.  They are: Critical Thinking  — ability to solve problems, make decisions and take appropriate actions Communication — ability to synthesize and… Read More The Four C’s of Success

Pay Matters!! By:    Karla Wright, Compensation Consultant Reforming teacher pay is a hot topic.  Many believe that offering performance based pay, such as bonuses and incentives,  will motivate teachers to perform at a higher level.  The misconception that money motivates is widely held.  In order to have a logical and truthful discussion about the… Read More Time for Teacher Performance Pay

What will it take to get America to full and productive employment again?  Here’s a few ideas:  ensure students get the skills and education to compete and be successful; complete new trade agreements to expand America’s exports; cut the deficit and rein in government spending; keep taxes low and seriously reform regulations and regulatory agencies’… Read More The American Workplace

 Did you know that for every job outsourced overseas, two jobs are created in the U.S.?   Business school freshmen learn this in Management 101 class.  It works like this. When a company outsources overseas (or within the U.S.) it cuts its cost.  The competitive product results in more sales.  It hires more employees to… Read More Outsourcing — That Is So Last Century

The Office of Federal Contract and Compliance Programs has issued more bureaucratic steps for employers to take to meet Affirmative Action requirements.  There is no study that shows adding these numerous data collection and recordkeeping requirements will help increase disability hiring.  One new rule requires employers to ask applicants if they are disabled TWICE during… Read More More Onerous Federal Regulations

Employers plan for “quickie” union elections.  The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on Dec. 21, 2011, approved a set of sweeping revisions to the rules governing union election procedures. The change was designed to speed up union representation votes and make it easier for organized labor to recruit and gain new members.The final regulation, which… Read More New Union Election Rules Start April 2012

The public sector has the largest percentage of union workers at 37%, which is more than five times that of private sector workers at 6.9%.  Over half of union members live in just seven states: Pennsylvania, Michigan, California, New York, Illinois, New Jersey and Ohio. States with union membership rates below 5% are: North Carolina, South… Read More Union Statistics and Presidential Politics

Gov. Mitch Daniels, on Feb. 1, 2012, signed into law a bill that makes Indiana the nation’s 23rd right-to-work state. Under the new law, individuals are neither required to become nor prohibited from becoming members of a union. The law makes it a Class A misdemeanor to require an individual to become or remain a… Read More Welcome Indiana!

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) is initiating requiring MORE data.  This agency is the one that oversees affirmative action plans of federal contractors.  The agency would seek information on employer leave policies including religious leaves.  Compensation information would be reported by each individual rather than groups; and expanded to include contract and… Read More More Regulations

I’m listening to the protesters complain about CEO pay and wondering —  where’s the outrage over outrageous professional athlete and movie star salaries.    I wonder if the protestors know that as of last year, owners of corporations (stockholders) have the right via the so-called “say on pay” provision of the Dodd-Frank bill to have… Read More Executive Pay

The health care industry has added four million jobs over the past decade.   Specifically consider the field of MEDICAL CODING.  In 2013 there will be a transition to an upgraded coding system and a recent Forbes article predicted that those in demand medical coder jobs may earn up to $80,000.  (Sounds high to me, but… Read More Get A Job!

Reforming teacher pay is a hot topic.  Many belileve that performance pay will motivate teachers.  The belief that money motivates is a widely held misconception.  The underlying assumption is that if you dangle a carrot in front of an employee, the employee will perform better, work harder and change their behavior.  It is simply not… Read More Teacher Pay Matters

“There is a mismatch between the types of skills employers are looking for in job candidates and the kinds of employees that educational systems are producing.  It must be corrected, because it is one of the reasons for the high U.S. unemployment rate even as employers claim that they are struggling to find workers. .… Read More We Must Coordinate Education Systems With Employer Needs

The now biased NLRB (with the appointment of SEIU attorney Becker by Obama) has issued a complaint against Boeing for their decision to start a new production line in South Carolina.  The accusation is that the decision is “discriminatory” and based on recent strike activities by the Washington Boeing employees.  Two years ago Senator Clyburn from SC… Read More Elections Have Consequences