In The News

Slave Labor That Shames America

Leonard Doyle January 3, 2008
The agricultural sector keeps costs low by relying on immigrant labor to harvest fruits and vegetables quickly and efficiently. Employers confront rising energy costs and consumers balk at higher prices. With a political environment that encourages public resentment over illegal immigration, many employers take advantage of the vulnerable illegal workers, reducing pay and imposing brutal work...

World's Schools Teach US A Lesson

Stacy Teicher Khadaroo December 24, 2007
US education experts suggest that the nation’s children fail to keep pace with the top international students. A globalizing economy means that today's kindergarten students will eventually compete for jobs or work on teams with peers from around the world. The challenge awaiting teachers is how to best prepare young students. While pupils in China and India achieve high scores on science...

As Immigration Debate Generates Heat, Dust Gathers on a Workable Plan

Joseph Chamie December 18, 2007
For two centuries, the US grew and flourished with the world's most open immigration policy. But with the public worried about growing illegal immigration and politicians trying to outdo one another with an anti-immigrant stance, the issue has moved from reason to rhetoric. As a topic, immigration has tripped many a politician in US election campaigns, and the 2008 presidential race is no...

In France, Discrimination on Upswing as Violence Smolders

Katrin Bennhold December 10, 2007
About 10 percent of France’s population is Muslim. Yet Arabs, even those armed with education degrees and solid experience, struggle to find work in the country. Researchers have documented the discrimination by sending out resumes with identical experiences, from applicants with French and Arab names. The French names attract more job offers than Arab names by a ratio of 20 to one. The research...

Western Union Empire Moves Migrant Cash Home

Jason DeParle December 5, 2007
Technology and circumstances can lift or dash industry fortunes in a heartbeat. Western Union was a company that went bankrupt in the early days of the internet. But even as the internet became established in homes and offices, worker mobility increased, with growing numbers of migrants looking for safe, easy ways to send money home to families. So Western Union is back in business, earning...

A World of People on the Move

Antonio Guterres December 3, 2007
No community or country can control the human urge to improve one’s situation. The 21st century will become the century of migration, suggests Antonio Guterres, UN High Commissioner of Refugees. People have long had many reasons for migrating from a birthplace to another part of the world – and the century will undoubtedly deliver more: work opportunities, war, climate change, natural disasters....

Mexico Seeks a Lasting Share of Aerospace Boom

Joel Millman November 28, 2007
Mexico struggles to compete with low labor costs of Asian manufacturers, but has established a niche in manufacturing aerospace equipment because of location. Massive items that entail expensive transportation fees used to be manufactured in distant countries with highly skilled work forces, like Japan and Taiwan. But the Mexican government has invested in training programs for aerospace workers...