The end of the Journey?

Industry insiders speculated this week that Journey Electrical Technologies Inc. a nonunion electrical contractor may be heading for bankruptcy. I can hardly control my grief (satire). Some say that the company is late in paying wholesale houses for materials and creditors are tired of being taken for a ride. Employee’s at a project in Burbank, California reported hearing the same rumor a few weeks back but were assured everything is fine. Aren’t the employee’s always the last to find out? Is this the end of the road for Journey? If so, what led to their demise? Is this a good thing for the industry? Here's your chance to chime in.

Online Workers of the World Unite!

The plight of the online workers of the World took center stage recently with a story by Julian Dibbell of the New York Times Magazine. In the story Dibbell describes the working conditions of the exploited Chinese workers known as “Gold Farmers” hired to play video games in horrendous sweatshop like conditions for slave wages. Watch a video highlight here. It brought bloggers like Shai Sachs and Zack Exley to ask the question. “Could a labor union or guild be formed to help the exploited workers?” What form would it take? The limitations of such an idea are obvious of course. What do you think? Is any existing labor organization ready to take on such a challenge?

Victory for Sheriff’s Union

Now that Paris Hilton has been returned to jail to serve the rest of her sentence, members of the Association of Los Angeles Deputy Sheriff’s can rest easy knowing the wealthy socialite will not receive any special treatment for her celebrity status. It’s pretty clear this latest incident with all its twists and turns spells the end of Sheriff Lee Baca’s career. He did a pretty good job of defending himself at the press conference on Friday, but with politicians all over the city criticizing his decision to release her early he’s toast. Does the ALADS have a recommendation for his replacement? What other missteps has Sheriff Baca made that upset ALADS members? Will Baca’s replacement mean higher pay or increased benefits for ALADS rank and file?

As one person commented on my earlier post, “Such a move by management makes life more difficult for the union members while they're doing their jobs.” I think we can all agree on that point. It must have been pretty tough being a Los Angeles Sheriff these last few days. Will this incident have any lasting effect for the members of the sheriff’s union?

Sheriff's Union vs. Paris Hilton????

Paris Hilton was reassigned to house arrest this morning due to unspecified medical reasons. Almost immediately after her release President Steve Remige of the Association of Los Angeles Deputy Sheriff’s accused Sheriff Lee Baca of giving Miss Hilton preferential treatment. We never hear politicians protesting the early release of gang members and other violent criminals due to jail overcrowding. Why get excited when a celebrity is released early for health problems? Is there something I'm missing? Miss Hilton has already served five days in jail, will be required to wear an ankle bracelet, and be under house arrest for 40 days. How will accusing Sheriff Lee Baca help the members of ALADS? Do the members agree this is an issue worth pursueing?

What Makes a Great Flyer

A colleague contacted me this week requesting copies of my best flyers. She wanted to protest a local contractor hiring uncertified electricians and needed ideas. It got me to think, “What makes a great flyer?”

Here’s what I came up with. Let me know what you think.

• A great headline
• Brief description of the problem
• A simple request of the reader
• An emotional photo or illustration
• Quality of the paper
• Size, color, shape
• One line disclaimer

McDonald’s New Labor Problem

I was driving home from church when my 9 year old son noticed that McDonald’s was flying the American Flag upside down. I turned the car around and decided to find out why? When I asked the manager she said, “Oh my God!”

She directed an employee to go out and fix it. Still, I can’t help but think this is a sign of a larger problem. Was this just a simple mistake or did the employee not know the flag was upside down? Why did it take over an hour and a half for someone to bring it to their attention? Does McDonald’s need to incorporate flag etiquette into their employee training? What do you think?

Lawsuit by Fired Circuit City Workers

The lawsuit against Circuit City by three of the fired employees alleges age discrimination. It makes since that workers with greater lengths of service were likely the highest paid and probably older workers as well.

What kind of a slimy management team would do that? Firing 3,400 employees “allowing” them to reapply after 10 weeks for their former position at lower pay is such an insult. Morale must be at an all time low at Circuit City.

I will never shop at Circuit City again.

Will you?