Category: Labor and Workforce
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Non-Competes a Barrier to Economic Mobility
by Schuyler VanValkenburg Milton Friedman wrote in “Free to Choose” that “economic freedom is an essential prerequisite for political freedom.” But here in Virginia, the people who most need economic freedom and the political self-actualization that comes with it are the people whose economic freedom is most constrained. Let me illustrate with two realistic examples.…
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Virginia’s Economic Performance Ticks Higher
by James A. Bacon After years of markedly under-performing the rate of U.S. economic growth, Virginia’s economy appears to be approaching national parity, according to data published by Old Dominion University’s “2019 State of the Commonwealth Report.” Indeed, as the U.S. economy slows somewhat this year, the authors expect Virginia to exceed the national rate…
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Bacon Bits: Quick Clips
5G rollout reaches Virginia. Outside of Crystal City and the Reagan National Airport, Hampton Roads is the first region in Virginia to enjoy 5G cellular access. Verizon has announced that its 5G Ultra Wideband mobility service is available in the Virginia Beach Oceanfront, downtown Norfolk, Newport News, Old Dominion University, Hampton, Chesapeake, and other high-traffic…
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A Fruitful Collaboration
The $42 million AeroFarm investment (see previous post) isn’t the only cool thing happening in Danville… Amazon Web Services and Sumitomo Electric Lightwave collaborated with Danville Community College to create an innovative fiber-optic fusion splicing certificate. Approximately 30 individuals took part in the December 9-10 course. Fusion splicing, according to a statement from the Governor’s…
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WaPo Newsroom as Cesspit of Racism and Sexism?
by James A. Bacon The Washington Post Guild has issued a report charging that the Post, the largest-circulation newspaper serving the Virginia market, pays women less than men, and whites more than minorities. The pattern applies not only to the business side of the newspaper but to the social-justice crusading newsroom. Indeed, the discrepancies are…
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Want to Help Workers Work? Keep Virginia’s Right-to-Work Law
by Chris Braunlich Are a majority of Democratic candidates for the Virginia General Assembly “anti-worker?” Based on their response to a Virginia Chamber of Commerce survey, it would seem that way. General Assembly candidates were surveyed on whether they would support Virginia’s Right To Work (RTW) laws. Republicans were unanimously supportive. Democrats were almost equally…
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W&M Grad Students Plead for More Gruel
Working graduate students at the College of William & Mary are launching a campaign to demand better treatment, pay and benefits, reports WY Daily. The grad students want health, vision, and dental insurance paid as part of their yearly compensation and benefits, says Jasper Conner, a spokesman for the William & Mary Workers Union. “The…
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Virginia May Repeal Right-to-Work Law
by Hans Bader Twenty-seven states have “right-to-work” laws. These laws protect workers against being forced to join a union and against being forced to pay dues or fees to a union as a condition of employment. But right-to-work laws may soon be repealed — starting in Virginia, which passed one of the earliest right-to-work laws,…
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Demolishing Oxfam’s Laughable Ranking
by Chris Saxman Some things just have to be challenged at the outset before they gain traction and become an untrue reality. Gaining traction among too many candidates for the General Assembly is a ranking, released by a British organization, Oxfam, that graded American states and the District of Columbia on best states for workers.…
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Virginia as New Jersey: Dem Support Grows to Repeal Right-to-Work
by James A. Bacon Democrats may or may not be poised to take control of the Virginia General Assembly. Steve Haner, who knows infinitely more about Virginia politics than I do, thinks Republicans have a shot at retaining their majorities. But from my untutored perspective, all signs point to a big Democratic win this fall.…
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Bacon Bits: Cloudy Day Edition
Neo-Nazies on the loose. I’ve been highly critical of Attorney General Mark Herring for spinning state crime statistics to imply that there has been a surge in white supremacist hate crimes in Virginia. But that’s not to say there aren’t hateful white supremacists residing in the the state. The Daily Beast describes how an FBI…
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Why Are So Many Rural Virginians Stuck in Place?
by James A. Bacon A recurring question on this blog and elsewhere is why don’t more Americans (and rural Virginians) move to areas of greater economic opportunity? Why do they remain stuck in communities with high unemployment and low wages? Americans have always moved to economic opportunity in the past. What’s different now? Those questions…
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Rapid Workforce Deployment: Selling Speed
by James A. Bacon When Stephen Moret was hired to run the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) two-and-a-half years ago, one of his main selling points was his accomplishment of creating Lousiana’s FastStart workforce solutions program and building it into the top-ranked workforce development program in the country. Now Moret is assembling a team to…
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Rankings Spam
by Chris Saxman There are a LOT of rankings and polls coming out these days. Some are credible, others less so. Recently, a ranking was released by Oxfam that graded the states and the District of Columbia. This is the second year of their ranking. Here’s what their release stated: In 2018, workers are not sharing…
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What?! Us Train Our People?!
Today’s Richmond Times-Dispatch reports the lament of the Associated General Contractors of Virginia that its members are having a hard time finding qualified workers in the building trades, such as plumber, welders, and HVAC technicians. Almost half of the members said “one reason is that the employment pipeline in their communities for training skilled workers…