In the NewsU.S. to Help Banks in Distressed AreasThe Treasury Department will invest up to $1 billion from the federal bank bailout fund in small banks and credit unions that make loans to small businesses in some of the communities most ravaged by the economic downturn, officials announced on Wednesday. NYtimes.com
Management & Operations How To Develop Your Global Leadership Pipeline To stay competitive in your industry and accomplish your goals, it is important to have strong leadership. This stems from executives, managers, and even entry-level employees, as they develop skills for improving the...
By Cheryl Sowa · March 02 2010
small business brief, marketing, small business, credit card
Likened to a Trojan Horse, salting is when a union organizer responds to a Help Wanted ad from a non-union shop. The term comes from the practice of putting gold or silver in played-out mines in order to sell them to some unsuspecting victim. Here, it refers to someone whose real job is not what the company in question hired him to do, but rather to organize the other workers into a union.
Aside from the obvious that unionization will drive up the costs of your labor force, salting can also lead to discrimination lawsuits, legal troubles over employee discipline, and other managerial headaches that are best avoided.
Reducing Your Salt Intake
Protecting your company from this practice involves three basic steps: Weed out the salters during the hiring process, apply employee discipline fairly and across the board, and ensure terminations are fully legal. Every...
By Charles M Cooper · February 06 2009
labor, unionization, salting
Government and Economy
Ledbetter Wage Bill Passes Senate
The Lilly Ledbetter Bill, a wage discrimination bill that presages the pro-labor stance of the Democratic-controlled Congress and White House, has cleared the Senate and could be signed by President Obama within days.
Unions vs. Business: An Early Test for Obama
President Obama is facing an early important test—card-check—the Employee Free Choice Act. It is a key goal for Labor, which is hoping for action this spring; but that has some other Obama allies—seeing the reaction of business interests—very wor...
By Charles M Cooper · January 23 2009
small business brief, small business, economy, insurance
Government and Economy
New SBA Chief Could Deliver Real Change
Karen Mills, President Obama's choice to run the Small Business Administration, could transform the agency's approach to funding.
Greenwashing in Washington
With Democrats emphasizing the environment in their economic recovery plan, environmental groups are saying that greenwashing—the marketing of products as green even if they really aren’t—has moved from being an advertising ploy to a lobbying tool.
By Charles M Cooper · January 21 2009
small business brief, small business, economy, Advertising
Government and Economy
SBA Expands Emerging 200 Initiative to 15 Cities as First Group of Executives Complete Innovative New Program
The U.S. Small Business Administration’s innovative Emerging 200 initiative will be expanded in the spring of 2009 to include five new cities – Detroit, Dallas, Denver, Jacksonville, and Portland, Ore. – SBA Acting Administrator Sandy K. Baruah announced today.
New Action by Treasury and Federal Reserve Will Support Small Business Lending
Late last week, the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve announced important details on how the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF) wi...
By Charles M Cooper · December 24 2008
small business brief, marketing, small business, retail
Government and Economy
Obama Names Richardson as Commerce Secretary New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson has been chosen to join the Obama administration as Commerce Secretary, President-elect Barack Obama announced Wednesday at a press conference.
Fed: Economy Darkens Heading into HolidaysWASHINGTON (AP) - The country's economic picture has darkened further as Americans hunkered down heading into the holidays, forcing retailers to ring up fewer sales and factories to cut back on production.
By Charles M Cooper · December 03 2008
small business brief, small business, economy, email
Politics and Government
Business Braces for Washinton Changes Businesses across the U.S. are bracing for stricter financial regulations and more pro-labor policies. One such policy actively opposed by business interests allows unions to hold informal votes, without the use of traditional secret ballots.
Economics and Labor Issues
Cash Injections May Eclipse Fed's Benchmark Interest Rate
The Federal Reserve's efforts to rescue the U.S. from financial collapse risks the eclipse of the central bank's benchmark interest rate as the most important signal of monetary policy.
Consum...
By Charles M Cooper · November 19 2008
small business brief, marketing, small business, customer service
It is very likely that the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) will become law in the first 100 days of the Obama presidency, and when it does, the balance between labor and management will be altered, and not likely for the better. That is, unless you are a union.
The union movement has been more and more marginalized, retaining strongholds in only a few places, like the Big Three automakers, but shrinking to insignificance over most of the country. It should be no wonder that they have pushed for this legislation, and no wonder that their creatures in the democratically-controlled Congress plan to deliver.
The EFCA
The following summary of the legislation comes from the House Committee On Education and Labor:
Certification on the Basis of Signed Authorizations (majority sign-up): Provides for certification of a union as the bargaining representative if the National Labor Relations Board fi...
By Charles M Cooper · November 18 2008
small business, congress, obama, labor
