
Signing Bonuses: Something Rare in Blue-Collar America
This year, BNSF Railway, one of the country’s largest freight railroads, aims to hire 3,500 workers across the United States — a challenge at a time when employers nationwide say they are struggling to fill vacancies. So, BNSF is offering…

This Day, Some Well-Earned Respect For Factory Workers
Workers who make things in America always get a lot of love from the lips of politicians. Always. Before Clinton and Trump, there was Reagan, Bill, Bush, and Obama. Because shaking hands with a hard-hat is always a good photo opportunity for…

The Power of a Small Factory: Emerging Weapons in Fight Against Poverty
BALTIMORE — James Branch’s life seemed destined to follow a familiar arc in the streets that surround the Marlin Steel factory, where he bends metal from sunrise until near dark.
He fathered a child while in high school, dropped out,…

The Walmart Effect: Store Closures Are Leaving Food Deserts in Their Wake
When and where Sam Walton’s Walmart opened, a slow hollowing out of the town square surely followed. When the Fairfield store opened in 1986, our town square was home to a clothing store, a small department store, a furniture store, a pharmacy,…

Does America Really Need Manufacturing?
Too many American companies base decisions about how to source manufacturing largely on narrow financial criteria, never taking into account the potential strategic value of domestic locations. Proposals for plants are treated like any other…

On Trade, Angry Voters Have a Point
Were the experts wrong about the benefits of trade for the American economy?
The nation’s working class had another opportunity to demonstrate its political clout Tuesday, as primary voters went to the polls in Illinois and Ohio, Rust Belt…

Carrier: Anger, Resignation as Massive Pay Gap Prompts Mexico Move
Carrier - Union leaders at an air conditioner factory in Indianapolis threatened with losing 1,400 jobs to Mexico said on Tuesday the plant's owner expects to pay Mexican workers $3 an hour compared to an average of more than $20 an hour for…

Factories in The USA: 56K Lost During First Decade
In the week before Valentine’s Day, United Technologies expressed its love for its devoted Indiana employees, workers whose labor had kept the corporation profitable, by informing 2,100 of them at two facilities that it was shipping their…

Economy Picking Up Steam. Most Americans Not Feeling It
The U.S. economy is picking up steam but most Americans aren’t feeling it. By contrast, most European economies are still in bad shape, but most Europeans are doing relatively well.
What’s behind this? Two big facts.
First,…