Perry Work Report, May 9, 2014

May 9, 2014

work&labour  news&research -- follow us on the CIRHR Library Tumblr and on the CIRHR Twitter

Lynn Williams, Giant of the 20th Century Labour Movement, Has Died at 89

“‘Steelworkers across the continent are mourning the passing of Lynn Williams,’ Neumann said. ‘But we are also celebrating the life of an exceptional labour leader whose legacy will be an inspiration for generations to come.’”

"Williams led the Steelworkers union through one of its most difficult and turbulent periods, amidst dramatic industrial restructuring and upheaval in the 1980s and 1990s. He developed new bargaining techniques and played a leading role in the structural readjustment of the North American steel industry."

“‘Lynn Williams held this union together through the worst of times. Lynn showed that he was a leader of great compassion and ingenuity, securing deals to help save as much of the industry as possible while at the same time preserving pensions and benefits for workers,’ said USW International President Leo W. Gerard.”

United Steelworkers, May 5, 2014: “Steelworkers Mourn Lynn Williams, Giant of 20th Century Labour Movement”

"Lynn Williams was one of the most influential North American union leaders of the twentieth century. He was the first Canadian to become International President of the United Steelworkers, where he brought innovative leadership in bargaining and a structural readjustment of the North American steel industry during its most turbulent period, the 1980s and 1990s."

"Even as a leader in the labour movement, Lynn was an activist and an organizer at heart, eager for the zest of a campaign, powered by workers coming together to make a difference in their own lives."

"During his presidency, he oversaw the establishment of the Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees (SOAR), to keep retired Steelworkers connected together and to their union and harnessing their energy for legislative and political action. He received the Order of Canada in 2005 for his dedicated and life-long activism."

“rabble.ca’s activist toolkit was created in partnership with the United Steelworkers, and is named after Lynn Williams.”

rabble.ca, May 5, 2014: “Lynn Williams, first Canadian to be International President of the United Steelworkers, has died at 89”

The Hamilton Spectator, May 5, 2014: “OBIT: Lynn Williams was a Steelworker’s giant,” by Steve Arnold

Global News, May 5, 2014: “Lynn Williams, former Steelworkers president, passes away at 89”

The Sudbury Star, May 6, 2014: “Labour leader was mentor to Gerard”

The Globe and Mail, Deaths May 7, 2014: WILLIAMS, Lynn Russell

YouTube Video: Steel Labor Market Developments, 1983-84

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Alberta Construction Labour Legislation Review

"The 220-page Alberta Construction Labour Legislation Review by Edmonton labour lawyer Andrew C.L. Sims has met with divided reaction from the industry."

"Organized labour’s initial response to the review’s six recommendations has been positive, as they believe that it has preserved the integrity of the registration bargaining process."

"However, open-shop and union contractors are calling the report flawed."

"The six recommendations are that:

  • Collective agreements under the Labour Relations Code include provisions for ‘major project’ agreements and that disputes regarding the terms of a major project agreement should be resolved through binding arbitration rather than a strike or lockout;
  • All-employee, multi-trade bargaining units can be appropriate in certain cases, while maintaining the ability for employees to still choose traditional single-trade units.
  • There is protection for local unions by requiring international or parent unions to adhere to hourly rates and other terms of existing collective agreements;
  • Alberta Labour Relations Board (LRB) re-evaluate the ‘build-up’ principle or the process of certifying unions based on their anticipated size at worksites;
  • LRB examine whether major electrical transmission lines should be placed in the ‘specialty construction section’ for purposes of bargaining;
  • Regular meetings be implemented among industry, labour and government to improve understanding of issues and provide an opportunity for open dialogue.”

Journal of Commerce, May 7, 2014: “Alberta labour study stirs controversy,” by Jean Sorensen

“Alberta Construction Labour Legislation Review,” by Andrew C.L. Sims (241 pages, PDF)

Marketwired, May 2, 2014: “Important Construction Report Misses Several Marks”

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Canada Needs Better Jobs Data, Auditor-General Says

"The Auditor-General is weighing into the heated debate over job vacancy data, calling on Statistics Canada to provide more detailed information as to exactly where shortages are occurring and for precisely what jobs and skills."

"Auditor-General Michael Ferguson’s Spring 2014 report, released Tuesday [May 6, 2014], includes a largely positive report on the performance of Statistics Canada, but points out more could be done to track job vacancies.”

"The report notes that while Statistics Canada reports job vacancies by province, it does not specify where in the province there are labour shortages. In addition, the report suggests the type of job classifications are too broad."

"The Auditor-General also looked at Statistics Canada’s move from a mandatory census to a voluntary National Household Survey. The audit report notes that because the response rate dropped from 94 per cent in the mandatory 2006 census to 69 per cent in the 2011 survey, many communities were left with no data at all."

The Globe and Mail, May 6, 2014: “Canada needs better jobs data, Auditor-General says,” by Bill Curry

The Huffington Post, May 6, 2014: “Auditor General’s Report: Highlights From Spring 2014”

Office of the Auditor General of Canada, May 6, 2014: “2014 Spring Report of the Auditor General of Canada”

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Big Data's Noise is Drowning Out the Signal

"Federal Employment Minister Jason Kenney’s long-rising star is dimming fast. He’s been in constant damage control mode over revelations that his cherished Temporary Foreign Worker program is crowding Canadians out of jobs. And he’s been the fall guy over accusations his government used inflated job vacancy figures to justify an incursion onto provincial job training turf."

"[But t]his isn’t all his fault. It turns out the job vacancy numbers Mr. Kenney had been relying on were compiled by the Finance Department, in part by tracking job postings on Kijiji... Yet, if Mr. Kenney and his advisers are guilty of anything, it is of falling victim to the same social media hype that has led many data enthusiasts to spurn official statistics as oh-so yesterday.”

"According to Gartner Hype Cycle for new technologies, big data is moving from its ‘inflated expectations’ phase to a ‘trough of disillusionment’ as we learn that [it] can’t yet do what its advocates claim. Once we appreciate its limits, however, we’ll more clearly see its benefits."

"Until then, Mr. Kenney should be wary of big, bad data."

The Globe and Mail, May 5, 2014: “Big data’s noise is drowning out the signal,” by Konrad Yakabuski

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New Releases from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development

May 2014 OECD Economic Forecast for Canada

"The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development sees Canada’s economy picking up, but its new forecast [issued May 6, 2014] is not without its warnings."

"Economic growth will rise by next year to 2.75 per cent, the OECD said in a global forecast, helped by a ‘desirable rebalancing’ to exports and business investment, which the Bank of Canada, too, has hoped for."

"'[But] provincial governments should continue to work on reforms that would limit growth in health-care expenditures,’ said the group. And, to keep housing-related threats in check, it added, ‘mortgage insurance coverage should be limited to only part of lenders’ losses.’”

The Globe and Mail, May 6, 2014: “OECD sees pick-up in Canada, but warns on housing, health care,” by Michael Babad

The OECD also reported “Canada should tighten monetary and fiscal policies as growth accelerates and the economy approaches full output...”

"’The Bank of Canada should maintain its current policy stance for the time being,” the OECD said. ‘However, as slack is taken up and headwinds abate, inflation will move nearer to the 2% midpoint, and monetary accommodation should be progressively withdrawn,’ it said. ‘Fiscal consolidation should continue as planned,’ the report also said.”

The Financial Post, May 6, 2014: “OECD to Canada: Withdraw stimulus as economic headwinds fade,” by Greg Quinn

OECD -- Canada - Economic forecast summary (May 2014)

OECD -- Economic Outlook (May 2014)

OECD 2014 Better Life Index

"When it comes to well-being, the Great White North doesn’t top the world, but it comes close. Canada ranks fifth on the OECD’s Better Life Index (BLI), behind Australia, Norway, Sweden and Denmark, when it comes to scores in 11 areas including health, income, jobs and life satisfaction..."

However, “[i]t ranks in the bottom half of countries in the BLI when it comes to striking a work-life balance, with a score of 6.2 [out of 10]”

OECD Better Life Index -- Canada

Create your Better Life Index

Better Life Index video tutorial

The Huffington Post, May 5, 2014: “Canada Ranks Fifth On OECD’s Better Life Index”

OECD 2014 Factbook

The 2014 OECD Factbook is now available. The Factbook provides a global overview of today’s major economic, social, and environmental indicators.

OECD Factbook 2014

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Millennials Value Workplace Culture: Study

"Canadian millennials place a greater value on the workplace culture of a prospective employer than do young people in other countries, a new study has found."

"The survey of about 33,000 students in 108 postsecondary schools across the country sought their opinions on job preferences in categories such as pay and advancement, and reputation and image.”

"The research aims to rank employers on their appeal to future candidates, showing companies how they stack up compared with other firms competing for top talent."

“For business students, a fondness for Google is followed closely by accounting giant Ernst & Young, and the Government of Canada.”

The Globe and Mail, May 7, 2014: “Millennials value workplace culture: study,” by Jacqueline Nelson

Universum -- 2014 Canada Student Survey Results

"There are countless ways for managers to shape the psychological environments of their employees. Designing the physical workspace may be easy to overlook as a means of dictating corporate culture, but it is in some ways the most fundamental of management choices. The tenor of meetings, the ease of collaboration, and the frequency of serendipitous colleague interactions can all be deeply affected by the landscape of an office."

"Some of the benefits of the open plan may be mildly oversold. For instance, that vaunted facilitation of spontaneous mingling. “Research shows,” according to an article in Time, “that while conversations are indeed frequent among employees in open offices, they tend to be short and superficial—precisely because there are so many other ears around to listen.” Sure, closed doors can foster mystery and paranoia, but they also enable sharing the juiciest gossip and the most forthright opinions. And indeed, even Bloomberg employees are known to seek out hidden corners away from prying ears and eyes when they need a bit of privacy. A Bloomberg spokesman swears the ubiquitous fish tanks around the office are merely an inducement to visual relaxation, but they might equally serve as a metaphor for the panopticonic aspects of the open plan scheme."

Slate, May 4, 2014: “The Boss With No Office: Is it good for workplace culture when management sits with employees?,” by Seth Stevenson

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Talking 'Bout Generations

"The current generation of young adults is getting squeezed, financially and in lifestyle, says Paul Kershaw. But Tammy Schirle counters that generations can only be compared over a full lifetime, and that statistics don’t tell all about a good life."

Read both sides of the argument here and decide for yourself if one generation is really better off than the other.

Policy Options, May 2014: “Talking ‘bout generations,” by Paul Kershaw and Tammy Schirle (3 pages, PDF)

Click here to view the entire May/June 2014 issue of Policy Options.

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Human Resources Director Magazine

The April 2014 issue of Human Resources Director Magazine (HRD) is now available online.

“HRD is Australia’s only magazine written for and targeted purely at the most senior HR professionals (CHRO’s & HR Directors) and top corporate decision makers.”

"In each issue:

  • Aspirational cover stories focusing on best practice
  • A new global perspective from interviews with leading HR directors around the world as well as local and regional practitioners
  • Business strategy content sourced from thought leaders and top business schools
  • Quarterly special reports into major issues facing HR leaders today”

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Long-Term Unemployment: A Challenge on Both Sides of the Border

In Canada, “[t]he number of people out of work for half a year or longer was 272,300 last year, nearly twice as many as six years earlier. Those out of work for a year or longer numbered 96,400 last year -- more than double 2007 levels, according to Statistics Canada data.”

"Longer bouts of unemployment are a problem for several reasons. The financial hit that occurs when one is without work for months on end means the person is faced with little spending, eroded savings and greater odds of falling into low-income status. Skills atrophy and networks unravel. More broadly, it spells lost productivity for a swath of the working-age population. Research shows that the longer one is out of work, the tougher it is to re-enter the labour market."

"A key cause of long-term joblessness is a lack of strong job creation, [Kory Kroft, assistant professor of economics at the University of Toronto] says. Last year’s job growth in Canada was the slowest since 2009. A skills mismatch in the job market may also be playing a role."

The Globe and Mail, May 5, 2014: “Canada’s sticky challenge of long-term unemployment,” by Tavia Grant

Accompanying graphs:

Things aren’t much better south of the border.

"As of March [2014], more than 3.7 million Americans had been out of work for more than six months, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the median duration of unemployment (seasonally adjusted) was 16.3 weeks..."

"Analysts have advanced several explanations for the persistence of long-term unemployment: an unintended consequence of extending jobless benefits; a mismatch between the skills unemployed workers have and what employers want; a breakdown in the efficiency of labor markets; or simply bad timing. Whatever the reason, it’s a major concern for policymakers, who fear that many of the long-term unemployed may never find their way back into the workforce.”

"It may not be an unfounded fear: One recent study sent thousands of mock resumes to employers and found that the longer a candidate had been unemployed, the less interested the employer was in interviewing the candidate. There was a particularly sharp drop-off in interest for candidates with more than six months of joblessness. And earlier this year, researchers from Brookings Institution found that even when the long-term unemployed eventually found work, only 11% were continuously employed in full-time jobs.”

Pew Research Center, April 30, 2014: “Long-term unemployment is still high; new research suggests geography could be one reason,” by Drew DeSilver

The Washington Post, May 5, 2014: “Want to help the long-term unemployed? Try a two-tiered minimum wage,” by Rand Ghayad

The Atlantic, April 13, 2014: “The Terrifying Reality of Long-Term Unemployment,” by Matthew O’Brien

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International Student Initiative for Pluralist Economics

"Economics students from 19 countries have joined forces to call for an overhaul of the way their subject is taught, saying the dominance of narrow free-market theories at top universities harms the world’s ability to confront challenges such as financial stability and climate change."

"In the first global protest against mainstream economic teaching, the International Student Initiative for Pluralist Economics (ISIPE) argues in a letter to The Guardian that economics courses are failing wider society when they ignore evidence from other disciplines.”

The Guardian, May 4, 2014: “Economics students call for shakeup of the way their subject is taught,” by Phillip Inman

Facebook page: International Student Initiative for Pluralist Economics

“One of the key problems in the economics discipline is how it is taught in colleges and universities around the world. This panel seeks to address the different possibilities for reforming the economics curriculum. With featured speakers Wendy Carlin, David Colander, Oscar Landerretche, Perry Mehrling, and John Smithin, moderated by Neva Goodwin.”

YouTube.com, April 12, 2014: “New Economic Thinking,” posted by INETeconomics [runs 1:10:35]

This video is from The Institute for New Economic Thinking’s fifth annual conference, titled “Human After All: Innovation, Disruption, Society.” The conference, held in Toronto from April 10 to April 12, 2014, focused on innovation and its impact on economics and society. To learn more about the conference and to watch additional videos click here.

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Why Economics Failed

"On Wednesday, I wrapped up the class I’ve been teaching all semester: ‘The Great Recession: Causes and Consequences.’ (Slides for the lectures are available via my blog.) And while teaching the course was fun, I found myself turning at the end to an agonizing question: Why, at the moment it was most needed and could have done the most good, did economics fail?”

"And even supposedly well-informed people balk at the notion that simple lack of demand can wreak so much havoc. Surely, they insist, we must have deep structural problems, like a work force that lacks the right skills; that sounds serious and wise, even though all the evidence says that it’s completely untrue."

"Whatever the reasons basic economics got tossed aside, the result has been tragic. Most of the waste and suffering that have afflicted Western economies these past five years was unnecessary. We have, all along, had the knowledge and the tools to restore full employment. But policy makers just keep finding reasons not to do the right thing."

The New York Times, May 1, 2014: “Why Economics Failed,” by Paul Krugman

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60 Second Adventures in Economics

Got 60 seconds? That's plenty of time to learn an economic concept.

Videos in the 60 Second Adventures in Economics series include:

  • The Invisible Hand -- “In the first of our six short videos on economic theory, watch how an Invisible Hand drives the economy. Eventually.”
  • The Paradox of Thrift -- "Is it better to save or to spend? According to Keynes, if you don't spend, you're going to make the economy even worse."
  • The Philips Curve -- “Bob Phillips took some time out of crocodile hunting to have a stab at explaining how wages, prices and unemployment interplay.”
  • The Principle of Comparative Advantage -- “Why do countries sign free trade agreements? It’s not just because they get to keep the pens, but to try to take advantage of their comparative advantage.”
  • The Impossible Trinity -- “Nations want it all -- currency flows, low interest rates and stable exchange rates. Dream on, nations, you’ve got to choose.”
  • Rational Choice Theory -- “People are pretty rational. But not quite rational enough for the good of the economy.”

Open Learn, 2013: “60 second adventures in economics”

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The Perils of Picking a Commencement Speaker

“‘It is challenging for an institution to identify a commencement speaker who will appeal to a wide variety of groups and also provide thought-provoking remarks,’ said William Walker, interim vice president for advancement resources at the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.”

"The ranks of notable figures who were invited to deliver inspirational remarks to graduating students but then declined amid protests grows every year."

"Robert Shibley, a spokesman for the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, which advocates for free speech on campuses, lamented the apparent trend toward shunning controversial speakers."

“‘There seems to be no room on a university campus for people who might have controversial things in their past or who are involved in controversial things currently,’ he said... ‘Soon... everybody will be doomed to listen to unexciting, boring speakers until the end of time.’”

The Chronicle of Higher Education, May 7, 2014: “The Perils of Picking a Commencement Speaker,” by Audrey Williams June

To save you from a future of boring speakers, the best from the past:

Top 10 Commencement Speeches by Cristina Negrut

Time’s Top 10 Commencement Speeches

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The Office from Beginning to End

"Reading ‘Cubed’ [by Nikil Saval] is like visiting a museum holding an exhibit called ‘The Office Through the Ages’; each gallery is a period room as fussily appointed as the sets on ‘Mad Men,’ down to the last gooseneck lamp and matte-beige telephone. You begin in the dimly lit counting house of a manufacturing firm, in a small corner furnished with a single, wooden, high-backed, cubby-holed Bob Cratchit desk, circa 1840."

"The museum’s second gallery would be the headquarters of a railroad company, in a steel-and-elevator skyscraper in Chicago, circa 1920, cluttered with row upon row of steel desks topped with stacks of memos and organized, for the first time, by department."

"Moving along the hallway of ‘The Office Through the Ages,’ you’d follow the clatter of the typewriter and the click of high heels on linoleum to enter a factory-style office -- say, on the eleventh floor of the Metropolitan Life Building, on Madison Avenue, circa 1930."

"The central gallery... would be a room full of cubicles... Desktop computers -- boxes inside boxes -- began appearing in those cubicles in the mid-eighties, electrical cords curling on the floor like so many ropes."

"Before leaving ‘The Office Through the Ages,’ you’d be directed to a room barren but for a socket on the wall and a sign reading ‘Free WiFi.’ There you’d be asked to take out whatever device you’ve got in your pocket and instructed to text the museum’s curator with your idea for what the next office ought to look like. Or you could do that from the coffee shop down the street, or from the subway, on your way home. You could do it anywhere."

The New Yorker, May 12, 2014: “Away from My Desk: The office from beginning to end,” by Jill Lepore

Slate, April 10, 2014: “Little Workers in Pretty Boxes: A history of the workplace,” by Tomas Hachard

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Book of the Week

Cubed: A Secret History of the Workplace, by Nikil Saval. New York: Doubleday, 2014. 352 p. ISBN 9780385536578

From the publisher: "In the mid-nineteenth century clerks worked in small, dank spaces called 'counting-houses.' These were all-male enclaves, where work was just paperwork. Most Americans considered clerks to be questionable dandies, who didn’t do 'real work.' But the joke was on them: as the great historical shifts from agricultural to industrial economies took place, and then from industrial to information economies, the organization of the workplace evolved along with them -- and the clerks took over. Offices became rationalized, designed for both greater efficiency in the accomplishments of clerical work and the enhancement of worker productivity. Women entered the office by the millions, and revolutionized the social world from within. Skyscrapers filled with office space came to tower over cities everywhere. Cubed opens our eyes to what is a truly 'secret history' of changes so obvious and ubiquitous that we've hardly noticed them. From the wood-paneled executive suite to the advent of the cubicles where 60% of Americans now work (and 93% of them dislike it) to a not-too-distant future where we might work anywhere at any time (and perhaps all the time), Cubed excavates from popular books, movies, comic strips (Dilbert!), and a vast amount of management literature and business history, the reasons why our workplaces are the way they are -- and how they might be better."

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