Free Republic

Whither American Jobs? by: Bethany Stotts, August 31, 2009 Since the start of the recession in late 2007, American jobs seem to have gone the way of the wind. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics August report, unemployment has increased by 3.3% since December 2007, with a loss of 6.7 million “payroll employment” jobs since the same month. Could the current Administration’s labor policies, and not just deficit spending, be exacerbating the recession? On August 25, Former Labor Secretary Elaine Chao criticized the Obama Administration for hindering job creation. “The Department of Labor is not usually a department that...

The Talk Shows Sunday, September 3rd, 2006 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., and Arlen Specter, R-Pa.; Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., and his Democratic challenger, state treasurer Robert Casey. FACE THE NATION (CBS): Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean; Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. THIS WEEK (ABC): Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del.; Sen. Lincoln Chafee, R-R.I., and his primary challenger, Cranston Mayor Stephen Laffey; actress and animal rights activist Bo Derek. LATE EDITION (CNN) : Rep. Christopher Shays,...

Oh my God ... how .. how could this be?

Friday, October 8, 2004 Elaine Chao is looking out for you! Posted: October 8, 20041:00 a.m. Eastern By Rebecca Hagelin © 2004 WorldNetDaily.com The dark images of Enron and disturbing headlines of other dirty dealings by the unethical chieftains of some big businesses in recent years set America on a course of holding corporate executives accountable for the money they control. But what about the chieftains of Big Labor? Consider: John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO, has said, "transparency, accountability and full and accurate disclosure should be central goals of financial regulation." Of business. But try to apply those reasonable standards to...

Memo Improves Job Protection for Guardsmen, Reservists American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Sept. 30, 2004 -- Attorney General John Ashcroft and Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao have signed a memorandum of understanding (to ensure that the employment rights of men and women returning from military service are vigorously protected. The memorandum streamlines and strengthens enforcement of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994, commonly known as USERRA. Congress passed USERRA to safeguard the employment rights and benefits of service members upon their return to civilian life. "The brave men and women protected by USERRA voluntarily set...

Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao Highlights Hispanic Worker Safety, Delivers Address at U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce Roundtable 5/26/2004 4:12:00 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To: National Desk, Labor Reporter Contact: Mike Biddle of the U.S. Department of Labor, 202-693-5051 WASHINGTON, May 26 /U.S. Newswire/ -- U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao expressed her concern for Hispanic worker safety at the U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce's NAFTA & CAFTA Conference and Good Neighbor Awards Gala today at the Westin Embassy Row Hotel. "The Department of Labor is concerned about workplace injuries and fatalities among Hispanic workers," said Chao. "That's why we established...

U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao Announces $1.5 Million Grant For English Proficiency and Job Training for Hispanic Workers 5/19/2004 3:41:00 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To: National Desk Contact: Lorette Post of the U.S. Department of Labor, 202-693-3984 WASHINGTON, May 19 /U.S. Newswire/ -- U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao today announced a grant of $1.5 million to aid unemployed Hispanic youth and adults in the Baltimore area. The grant is the third in the Labor Department's National Hispanic Worker Initiative, announced earlier this year. "The National Hispanic Worker Initiative will help our country's Hispanic workers prepare for and find...

Last week, Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao announced her Skills to Build America's Future" initiative. This is a "nationwide outreach and education effort designed to attract young people and transitioning workers to" the "key" occupations of the [near] future: "skilled trades." This initiative, understandably, was proclaimed with little fanfare. While President Bush looks toward Mars, Ms. Chao can hardly be proud of her decidedly pedestrian prophecy that "construction laborers, operating engineers, carpenters, iron workers, cement masons, bricklayers, truck drivers and many other construction related crafts are among the trades expected to see the greatest demand in workers over the next...

WASHINGTON (Talon News) -- On Sunday, busloads of hostile demonstrators converged on the Washington, DC home of President Bush's chief political strategist, Karl Rove. Several hundred people carrying signs surrounded the house, pounding on the windows and shouting slogans. The protest was organized by National People's Action, a coalition of groups whose advocacy includes rights for illegal immigrants and increased government funding for a wide range of social programs. The philosophy of their confrontational tactics is embodied in their official song: "Who's on your hit list NPA? Who's on your hit list for today? Take no prisoner, take no names....

<p>WASHINGTON, March 28 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Hundreds of community leaders from National People's Action (NPA) are paying a visit to the home of Department of Labor's (DOL) Secretary Elaine Chao on Sunday, March 28. They are demanding that low-wage workers receive quality job training and access to permanent jobs.</p>

Community Leaders Demand that DOL Secretary Elaine Chao Support Low-Wage Workers, Hundreds Gather at Her Home 3/28/2004 5:21:00 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To: National Desk Contact: Emily Severson, 708-466-4433; http://www.npa-us.org WASHINGTON, March 28 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Hundreds of community leaders from National People's Action (NPA) are paying a visit to the home of Department of Labor's (DOL) Secretary Elaine Chao on Sunday, March 28. They are demanding that low-wage workers receive quality job training and access to permanent jobs. Leaders plan to arrive around 6 p.m. to Chao's house, located at 217 C Street, NE, in Washington. There have been 3...

Sometimes hope can be found in small gestures - particularly ideas or symbols that inspire others to believe that their dreams can become reality. That is what I saw earlier this year when I presented the Fatima Al-Zahra Center for Women's Rights and Democracy in Hilla, Iraq, with a photographic gallery of the eight women whom President Bush appointed to the U.S. Department of Labor, a first in America's history. The Iraqi women were astonished to learn that women composed half the top officials of a U.S. government agency. Perhaps it could happen in Iraq, they wondered out loud.

Sometimes hope can be found in small gestures — particularly ideas or symbols that inspire others to believe that their dreams can become reality. That is what I saw earlier this year when I presented the Fatima Al-Zahra Center for Women's Rights and Democracy in Hilla, Iraq, with a photographic gallery of the eight women whom President Bush appointed to the U.S. Department of Labor, a first in America's history. The Iraqi women were astonished to learn that women composed half the top officials of a U.S. government agency. Perhaps it could happen in Iraq, they wondered out loud. That...

Labor Secretary Chao Inaugurates Baghdad Career Center   By Kathryn McConnell / State Dept. Washington File   WASHINGTON, Jan. 29, 2004 — U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao on a two-day trip to Iraq inaugurated a career and training center in Baghdad and visited the city's police academy and an orphanage.The secretary also visited a center for women's rights in Hilla, according to a Jan. 29, 2004, Labor Department news release.The training center is the first of several to be operated in major cities around the country by Iraq's restored Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, according to a...

"Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment." – Will Rogers I have been itching and moaning about the 'United Nothing' (UN) for a very long time. There has been a consistent wail of opposition to the dysfunctional, anti-American miscreants from a wide variety of organizations and individuals from the John Birch Society to Congressman Ron Paul. For a long time critics exposing facts that contradict the conventional mainstream preconceived opinions and prejudices about globalism have been marginalized and pooh-poohed. However, stuff DO happen! Those of us complaining about the dysfunctional malfeasance of the...

Jan 29, 1:44 PM ESTChao Tells Women'Fight for Soul' of IraqSARAH EL DEEBAssociated Press Writer HILLA, Iraq (AP) -- U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine Chao told Iraqi women Thursday that it's up to them take part in the political life of the new Iraq, rejecting the idea of setting up quotas for women.Chao, the first Asian-American woman to serve in the Cabinet, met with dozens of Iraqi women during a visit to a women's center set up by the U.S.-led coalition."In democracy, the most important factor is energy," Chao told them. "You are fighting for the soul of your country."Iraqi women...

Posted on Sun, Dec. 28, 2003 McConnell's lost battle bears name, memory DESPITE DEFEAT, SENATOR STILL OPPOSES CAMPAIGN FINANCE LAW By Carl Hulse And Glen Justice NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE WASHINGTON - Sen. Mitch McConnell was such a determined opponent of the new campaign finance law that when the fight moved from Congress to the courts, he made certain the decisive case was titled McConnell v. FEC. Now, with the Supreme Court validating the campaign spending restrictions enforced by the Federal Election Commission in a ruling earlier this month, Kentucky's senior U.S. senator will remain strongly identified with the...

Statement of Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao on October Unemployment Numbers 11/7/03 10:12:00 AM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To: National Desk Contact: Lisa Kruska of the U.S. Department of Labor, 202-693-4676 WASHINGTON, Nov. 7 /U.S. Newswire/ -- U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao issued the following statement on the October unemployment numbers released today: "Today's news of continued job growth and a drop in the unemployment rate is good news for workers and is another sign that the President's economic policies are turning the economy around. This month the economy created 126,000 jobs, bringing job creation in the past three months...

Largest U.S. Women's Business Group Launches We Decide! Initiative Today To Impact 2004 Campaigns 9/15/03 10:08:00 AM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To: Assignment Desk, Daybooks Contact: Brenda Jones, 405-516-9686 or 405-831-5548 (mobile) for Women Impacting Public Policy News Advisory: Top Administration and Congressional officials, including Sec. of Labor Elaine Chao and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), are reaching out to a new voter bloc of women entrepreneurs. Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP), America's largest bipartisan women's business organization, is activating this critical swing voter group at its Third Annual Leadership Meeting today and tomorrow at The National Press Club from 8...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. Special grants assist with job placement, training, health care The demise of the Pillowtex Corp. and other manufacturers has brought heartache to thousands of workers and their families, who now find themselves looking to tomorrow with anxiety and uncertainty. It is a difficult time for those who earned their livelihoods at these facilities in North Carolina, and in other states as well. As Secretary of Labor, I want all of these workers to know: This administration is deeply committed to helping you get the resources you need to transition to new...

For those Today Show watchers who think that news reader Ann Curry is a benign and neutral presence, think again. Filling in for a vacationing Katie Couric, Curry conducted the traditional Labor Day interview with the Secretary of Labor, Elaine Chao (whose husband, by the way, is Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)). It was clear from the get-go that Curry was out to get Chao, and by extension to pin the blame for every last unemployed person in the USA on President Bush. Armed with what would appear to be talking points from Terry McAuliffe, Curry stuck to her mantra of...

Tue August 12, 2003 05:35 PM ET By Christina Ling CRAWFORD (Reuters) - With more than 2 million jobs lost on his watch and the national debt ballooning to dangerous levels, President Bush will meet with top advisers on Wednesday to try to hash out an economic policy response to mounting criticism going into the 2004 election. Treasury Secretary John Snow, Commerce Secretary Don Evans, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, budget director Joshua Bolten, Bush's top economic advisor Stephen Friedman, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card and others will put their heads together with Bush at his ranch in Crawford,...

Statement of Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao on July Unemployment Numbers 8/1/03 10:37:00 AM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To: National Desk Contact: Lisa Kruska of the U.S. Department of Labor, 202-693-4676 WASHINGTON, Aug. 1 /U.S. Newswire/ -- U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao issued the following statement on the July unemployment numbers released today: "Today's drop in the unemployment rate is positive and surpasses market expectations. The drop in the labor force is due primarily to seasonal factors. "We are encouraged by the steadily declining four-week moving average of new unemployment insurance claims, which also shows that job losses are slowing...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. WAUSAU, Wis. July 29 (Reuters) - As protesters lamented the dismal U.S. job market and data showed a plunge in consumer confidence, Treasury Secretary John Snow said on Tuesday the economy is on the brink of a much faster recovery. "This economy is poised to take off. It's spring-loaded to go," Snow said during a CNBC interview on a bus tour of Wisconsin and Minnesota with Commerce Secretary Don Evans and Labor Secretary Elaine Chao. The tour was to promote President George W. Bush's economic agenda, including the latest $350 billion...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.Bush sends team traveling across state WAUSAU — Three key members of President Bush´s economic team ended a daylong, three-city bus trek across Wisconsin on Tuesday with an earful of economic anxiety. The cabinet officials — who have a reputation for always remaining on message, in this case about the administration´s jobs and growth policies — frequently deviated from their theme to hear from workers and small manufacturers concerned about the flow of jobs to China. Also mentioned: Rising health costs, the service sector´s low wages and a proposed federal regulation that...

<p>President Bush's economic team rolled across America's heartland Tuesday, touting a new round of tax cuts as the medicine needed to cure a sick economy.</p> <p>However, the president's traveling team stirred up skepticism along the way, from factory workers who have seen more than 2 million manufacturing jobs disappear over the past three years and from other critics who contend that Bush's tax cuts mainly have helped the wealthy while creating soaring budget deficits.</p>

Economic Signs Bush Economic Team Hits the Road in a Bus Tour to Promote Tax Cuts, Tout 'Positive Signs' The Associated Press MILWAUKEE July 29 — President Bush's economic team took to the road on Tuesday to predict that the president's new tax package would help boost economic growth significantly in the second half of the year. Treasury Secretary John Snow, Commerce Secretary Don Evans and Labor Secretary Elaine Chao began a "Jobs and Growth" bus tour with a stop at a Harley-Davidson motorcycle factory in a Milwaukee suburb. The trio planned a series of such stops across Wisconsin and...

July 29 — By Glenn Somerville MILWAUKEE (Reuters) - Top Bush Administration economic officials, determined to claim credit for a smaller tax burden on Americans, hit the Midwest on Tuesday to extol the benefits of Washington's tax-cutting zeal. Three senior cabinet members -- Treasury Secretary John Snow, Commerce Secretary Don Evans and Labor Secretary Elaine Chao -- began a two-day bus tour through Wisconsin and Minnesota to discuss the administration's $350-billion of tax cuts approved earlier this year. The tour was to include visits to a Harley-Davidson motorcycle manufacturing plant, a forklift manufacturer and a medical clinic where a retraining...

Here we go again. Accounting shenanigans, lack of disclosure, misidentification of expenses, off-the-books enterprises, and embezzlement. Who's the corporate villain this time? It's not big business, but big labor. These examples of union financial misconduct investigated by the Department of Labor sound suspiciously like the accounting scandals plaguing corporate America. Last summer, fed up with such scandals, Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to reform corporate-accounting practices. Its goals received wide support. As AFL-CIO President John Sweeney has said, "transparency, accountability, and full and accurate disclosure should be central goals of financial regulation." He's right. Businesses should make regular, full disclosure...

<p>WASHINGTON -- House Republicans, joined by three Democrats, narrowly killed a union-backed drive to block proposed Labor Department rules making it tougher for many white-collar workers to qualify for overtime pay.</p> <p>The 213-210 vote was an important victory for Republican business allies who were stung last month when unions forced the leadership to pull back from related "flextime" legislation that many employers sought.</p>

<p>Say you're a cook, or a nurse, or the assistant manager of a store. You've worked more than 40 hours this week, so you're entitled to overtime pay, right?</p> <p>It's hardly that simple, and the Bush administration's proposed new rules on overtime pay raise all kinds of uncertainty about just who should be entitled to extra wages for extra work.</p>

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration wants to change the federal rules that determine which of 138 million American workers get overtime pay. There's little disagreement that the rules, written for the most part in the 1940s, are out of date. The Labor Department's proposed revisions, however, have drawn more than 70,000 public comments from employers, unions and others who disagree sharply as to which rules need to be changed and how. Labor Department officials, led by Wage and Hour Administrator Tammy McCutchen, who did the drafting, say the revisions are an administrative matter and don't require a public hearing. Pro-labor...

<p>WASHINGTON — High-income white-collar workers of America are uniting to oppose any loss in wages that may result from changes coming to the Labor Department's rules on overtime worker earnings.</p> <p>The changes, expected to take place in December, foresee increasing overtime eligibility for low-income service sector workers — those who make between $8,000 and $22,000 per year — while reducing eligibility for high-income workers.</p>

Labor unions are protesting a controversial Bush administration proposal that would cut overtime pay for scores of white-collar workers. The overhaul of the Fair Labor Standards Act would make it easier for employers to promote hourly wage earners eligible for overtime to salaried managers who are not. The Labor Department says the plan would help 1.3 million additional low-wage workers collect overtime pay. But labor leaders contend it would prevent up to 8 million white-collar workers from padding their paychecks by putting in more than 40 hours a week. "In an economy that has stagnant wages and depends on consumer...

WASHINGTON, Jun 10, 2002 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- With congressional elections on the line, the White House is rolling out top officials including Vice President Dick Cheney to meet with politically active small-business owners during their national conference this week. At least one Bush administration official speaking to National Federation of Independent Business members, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, is expected to make a policy announcement on an issue the group has lobbied on. Also expected to address the group are Cheney; Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill; White House political adviser Karl Rove; former first lady Barbara Bush, the president's mother;...