FINALLY, violence I can sympathize with. (See last item.) Dave R ---------- BLS DAILY REPORT, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1996: News Release: "BLS Starts New Monthly Series on Mass Layoffs with September 1996 Figures" says that BLS is issuing a new series on mass layoffs based on initial filings for unemployment insurance during the reference month. In the past, BLS has issued quarterly reports on mass layoffs that involve 50 or more workers from one establishment and are more than 30 days in duration. The new series will cover mass layoffs of 50 or more workers beginning in a given month, regardless of duration. Information on the length of the layoff will be obtained later for the quarterly release, which will include only mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days (refereed to as "extended mass layoffs") and more information on the establishment classification and location and on the demographics of the laid-off workers. Businesses have been doing the minimum-wage shuffle since the 50-cent raise kicked in on October 1, cutting hours here, boosting prices there. But it hasn't led to the widespread layoffs and bankruptcies some foretold. The Labor Department reports that payrolls actually increased in October for general merchandise and department stores, restaurants and pubs -- ventures that most often pay the minimum wage. And certainly, there is no sign of the widespread inflation opponents feared would result. "So far, it's a nonevent" in the overall economy, says economist Donald Ratajezak of Georgia State University. Analysts have argued that becoming more productive -- by learning to get more done per hour -- is a good thing for the economy and workers in the long run. "It's my favorite hypothesis: Raising the minimum wage raises productivity," says Robert J. Gordon, an economist at Northwestern University. The wage floor bumps up again to $5.15 an hour next September. And some states are raising their pay floor beyond the federal standard. As a result, Fed officials generally expect that the economy will eventually create 100,000 to 200,000 fewer jobs (The Wall Street Journal, page A2, A24). Women are earning higher wages, voting in greater numbers, and starting their own businesses more today than in years past, but the progress is "uneven" and slow, a group of women activists say, putting business and political leaders on notice that women expect to be a force in policy-making decisions. The Institute for Women's Policy Research has released a new study that examines women's earnings and Political participation in all 50 states. The report shows that women's earnings are highest and the wage gap is narrowest in the District of Columbia, where women earn nearly 88 cents for every dollar men earn. The wage gap is widest in West Virginia, where women are paid less than 59 cents for every dollar men are paid. Women in the nation's capitol also have been far more successful in breaking through the "glass ceiling" and landing top management positions, according to the report. Women in D.C. has the highest percentage of women in the workforce in managerial or professional positions, with nearly 43 percent. Indiana ranks last with just 21 percent (Daily Labor Report, page A-1). __Two percent of all corporate workers were minority people in 1966, while 12 percent were in 1995. Nine percent were women in 1966, while 33 percent were in 1995. Data is also shown for such companies as Xerox, AT&T and Harvard Pilgrims, and Bank America (The New York Times, page D1). In an era of corporate downsizing when thousands of workers in a day might receive pink slips, companies need to take better precautions against workplace violence, a top psychiatrist told executives Tuesday. Terminations are a growing reason why workers act out against managers, says a workplace violence expert at Cornell Medical College/New York Hospital. Workplace violence is too costly to companies not to be a top management issue, experts say. The Workplace Violence Institute estimates the cost of violence to U.S. companies, much in lost work time, is $36 billion annually. BLS says 1,000 people were murdered and a million assaulted on the job in 1995 (USA Today, page 2B).
