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Obama Could Give These Striking Low-Wage Workers The Raise They Need

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Obama Could Give These Striking Low-Wage Workers The Raise They Need

By LAURA CLAWSON, for Daily Kos Labor— The latest round of low-wage workers to stage a one-day strike don’t work for Walmart or McDonald’s. They work for the federal government, kind of—for federal contractors in landmark Washington, DC, buildings like Union Station and the Smithsonian museums. A recent report from the think tank Demos found […]

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Republicans And Business Push To Expand Guest Worker Programs

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Republicans And Business Push To Expand Guest Worker Programs

By LAURA CLAWSON, For Daily Kos Labor— Guest worker visas are resurfacing as one of the most contentious parts of immigration reform negotiations. Despite the compromise deal between the Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO that went into the bipartisan Senate proposal, there are a number of Republican efforts to increase numbers of guest worker visas or weaken […]

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Four States That Snubbed Health Care Law Gaining Jobs From It

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Four States That Snubbed Health Care Law Gaining Jobs From It

By PHIL GALEWITZ, KHN— Four states that snubbed the federal health care law by defaulting to the federal government to build new online insurance marketplaces and not agreeing to expand Medicaid will get new jobs at call centers that will help consumers understand their new coverage options this fall. Up to 9,000 jobs are expected to be created at […]

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Weather Service’s Sequester Furloughs, Hiring Freeze Threaten Forecasts

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Weather Service’s Sequester Furloughs, Hiring Freeze Threaten Forecasts

The GOP-created political folly that is the federal budget sequester is even affecting the weather. NOAA is proposing four sequester-related  furlough days for workers across the agency, including the National Weather Service. “…we are entering into national consultations with the labor unions that represent some of the NOAA workforce regarding implementation of up to four days of […]

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Immigration Bill Would Give Half Of New U.S. IT Jobs To Guest Workers

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Immigration Bill Would Give Half Of New U.S. IT Jobs To Guest Workers

Never mind is the issue of asylum for workers who are in the U.S. illegally. What the proposed immigration reform bill also does is allow outsourcers and large corporations to bring thousands more low-paid but highly skilled technical workers to the U.S. The so-called Senate “Gang of Eight”, S. 744, introduced the proposed comprehensive immigration […]

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Consumer Groups: Patients May Face Big Out-Of-Pocket Health Care Costs

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Consumer Groups: Patients May Face Big Out-Of-Pocket Health Care Costs

 By JULIE APPLEBY, KHN Staff Writer— Some consumers may continue to face out-of-pocket health care expenses of $12,500 or more next year – double the amount allowed by the health law – because the Obama administration won’t enforce that provision for some plans for another year. “This is a very important consumer protection that is being […]

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HHS Seeks $1.5B For Federal Health Insurance Exchanges

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HHS Seeks $1.5B For Federal Health Insurance Exchanges

By MARY AGNES CAREY, KHN Staff Writer— The Obama administration, rebuffed earlier this year by Republicans, is trying once again to convince Congress to provide more funding for the health law’s health insurance exchanges, which are set to begin enrollment this fall. According to figures released in the fiscal 2014 budget request Wednesday, the administration estimates that the federal […]

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U.S. Department Of Labor Sequestration Information

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U.S. Department Of Labor Sequestration Information

For anyone wondering about the reality of sequestration for major government agencies, here are the U.S. Department of Labor’s online resources for its employees who are facing the blunt end of sequestration. U.S. Department Of Labor Sequestration Information The following information is provided to assist DOL employees who may be impacted by budget reductions required by sequestration.  […]

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Insurers Battle For Federal Employees Health Care Coverage

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Insurers Battle For Federal Employees Health Care Coverage

By PHIL GALEWITZ, KHN Staff Writer— Two of the nation’s leading forces in health insurance — UnitedHealthcare and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association – faced off Thursday before Congress in a battle for control of the $47 billion program that covers 8 million federal employees, retirees and their families. UnitedHealthcare wants to change a […]

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Americans See Best Quality Job Market In U.S. In Five Years

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Americans See Best Quality Job Market In U.S. In Five Years

By Dennis Jacobe, Gallup Chief Economist– Twenty-six percent of Americans say now is a good time to find a quality job — the highest since March 2008. This is also up from 22% in March and from 21% a year ago, but not much different than the 25% who said the same in January. At the […]

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