We spoke yesterday about that CHINESE RAIL built through Western and Eastern Europe all the way to Atlantic Coast----Portugal/Spain. Again, we do not care if Chinese businesses operate in America---they have since the beginning of our US HISTORY. THAT IS NOT THE PROBLEM. When a sovereign nation talks about BUILT IN AMERICA---or BUILT IN FRANCE -----the goal is having sovereign, local, domestic manufacturing. This SILK ROAD perpetuates Chinese products as destination for Western markets.
The article stated that the CHINESE SILK ROAD RAIL today only goes ONE WAY------from China to Western Europe. The goals is to bring foreign factories to Western/Eastern Europe to manufacture here as they do in overseas FOREIGN ECONOMIC ZONES. So, China's rail would be taking that CHINESE FACTORY IN ITALY/SPAIN/PORTUGAL/FRANCE back to Asia. They work in our FOREIGN ECONOMIC ZONES ---using global labor they choose---and export from these Western nation FOREIGN ECONOMIC ZONES.
SPANISH/FRENCH/ITALIAN/PORTUGESE 99% WE THE PEOPLE are exported as EX-PATS. That is what will happen in AFRICA and THE AMERICAS.
The global banking 5% freemason/Greek players in US -----the WE DON'T CARE group facilitate this. In US with its big economy ----we have a 5% player---while Africa and Arabia with smaller economies have that 2% to a 1% BOULE.
THIS IS THE LABOR STRUCTURE THAT COMES WITH GLOBAL BANKING 1% OWNING ALL SOVEREIGN NATION INFRASTRUCTURE.
A FB friend makes this comment------we agree far-right wing global banking CLINTON/OBAMA neo-liberal are the problem.
'This is what Boule looks like . He is Co-signing for Black people destruction.
Democrats are Demons look at Baltimore City we are a Democratic State one of the 13th Colonies where Slavery began . KNow your History'.
************************************************
'Kenyan rail workers are protesting against China Road and ...
qz.com/africa/749177/kenyan-rail-workers-are...
Aug 03, 2016 ·
Kenyan rail workers are protesting against their Chinese employer for a raise—to $5 a day. There are high hopes for Kenya’s new rail project. The $13.8 billion standard-gauge railway, being built by a Chinese company, is meant to connect the port city of Mombasa to Nairobi and eventually the rest of East Africa'.
Global banking 1% FAKE NEWS media love to pretend Chinese wages are rising----when in fact EVERY indication is that the brutality of far-right extreme wealth extreme poverty LIBERTARIAN MARXISM is getting worse. So, slave labor being Chinese 99% WE THE PEOPLE and global labor sent in SLAVE trade from other nations are getting NOT PAID-----are getting PAID $5 a day which works to that $120----150 a month.
THIS IS WHAT WORKING ON THE RAILROAD TODAY WILL GET A US99% WE THE PEOPLE WITH MOVING FORWARD INFRASTRUCTURE OWNED BY FOREIGN CORPORATIONS.
Kenyan rail workers are protesting against their Chinese employer for a raise—to $5 a day
By Lily KuoAugust 3, 2016
There are high hopes for Kenya’s new rail project. The $13.8 billion standard-gauge railway, being built by a Chinese company, is meant to connect the port city of Mombasa to Nairobi and eventually the rest of East Africa. It should bring down transportation costs and cement Kenya’s status as the region’s largest economy. Most importantly, building it should create tens of thousands of jobs.
According to workers and locals, the jobs haven’t appeared, or at least not enough of them. On Aug. 2, residents of Kenya’s southwestern Narok county stormed a construction site of the project’s contractor, China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), attacking Chinese workers with clubs and knives and chanting “haki yetu” (“our rights”). Fourteen injured Chinese staff were sent to a nearby hospital, according to local media.
The demonstrators, mostly from Kenya’s pastoralist Masai tribe, say they were promised jobs as plant operators and drivers. ”But the job opportunities we have been given are negligible,” one protester told a local television station.
Complaints over pay and working conditions at the Chinese companies that have built many of the country’s roads, buildings, and infrastructure projects over the past few years have become common. But one of the biggest gripes is that Chinese companies in Kenya, as well as across much of the continent, import their own labor.
CRBC, a subsidiary of a state-owned Chinese construction company and one of the biggest Chinese enterprises in Kenya, has become a particular target. It was contracted to build the rail link between Nairobi and Mombasa as well as other parts of a network that will eventually connect Mombasa to hubs like Kampala, Uganda and Juba, South Sudan. In the two years since it began construction, the company has been accused of firing workers without cause, importing labor, stealing water from local communities, and secretly dredging sand from Kenyan beaches for construction material.
A day before the Narok attack, CRBC workers in Nakuru, another construction site for the railway, put down their tools and blocked traffic with sticks and stones. They wanted to be paid 500 shillings ($5) a day instead of 250 shillings—which is about the average wage for unskilled labor—and claimed that workers who had asked for more pay had been fired.
CRBC and Kenya Railways did not respond to requests for comment about the Narok protests or the attack. But the company has tried to defend its hiring practices.
In March, it said it had employed almost 20,000 Kenyans, and only 2,000 Chinese workers. Other attempts to endear itself to the local population include digging boreholes, funding students to study railway engineering in China, holding basketball tournaments, and having its staff enter essay contests. “We see ourselves as a force for good; a transformative agent among the people in the areas we operate,” Steven Zhao, a company official, told local media earlier this month.
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This story for Chinese workers who start as children in pre-K to career apprenticeships ---having children free labor as young as 8 years old---but, definitely replacing our MIDDLE-SCHOOL and HIGH SCHOOL with these free student labor structures. Now, as China and other foreign corporations like CHINESE RAIL AND LOGISTICS hit ITALY/SPAIN/FRANCE/PORTUGAL------they bring this CHILD FREE LABOR APPRENTICESHIP pre-K to career.
IT IS INDEED A MONEY-MAKER FOR THOSE CHINESE CORPORATE PROFITS.
'Forced student labour is central to the Chinese economic miracle
Aditya Chakrabortty
Aditya Chakrabortty
China has an army of student labour making Apple products, Playstation consoles and other gadgets for the west. The teenagers' stories make upsetting reading'
This article also states the Chinese labor getting these jobs in Western Europe are the MANAGEMENT ---WHITE COLLAR PROFESSIONALS while Western European workers get the manual labor and indeed it will be $1-3 an hour.
This is happening already in US where US FOREIGN ECONOMIC ZONES bring Chinese foreign corporations filling all MANAGEMENT LEVEL jobs with Chinese workers who don't receive our US professional wage. Meanwhile, our US 99.9% WE THE PEOPLE black, white, and brown not replaced by robotics----will be those WORKING ON THE RAIL ROAD----SLAVE LABOR BLUES.
Will Italy be Overrun by Chinese Workers?
EU Minimum Wages Compared with China’s Belt and Road Contractors
March 28, 2019 Posted by Silk Road Briefing
Op/Ed by Chris Devonshire-Ellis
With Italy controversially signing up to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, some mainstream media have been suggesting the country will face a multitude of problems, ranging from “debt traps” to becoming a “Chinese colony”.
Concerning the first issue, there have been occasions where governments in South-East Asia have either misunderstood the terms on offer or deliberately allowed costs to overrun or been overcharged as as an aide to corruption. In one case we are aware of, the then President of the country concerned complained that the Chinese interest on the loan was too low at two percent, and requested it be raised to six percent. The four percent balance to be collected by the Chinese was to then be transferred to offshore accounts controlled by that President’s family. That’s not a ‘debt trap’ – that’s out and out corruption. An issue, we note, that Italy has some familiarity with.
By and large, the Chinese loans that we have been made privy to have been at below market rates, suggesting that “debt trap” claims are a result of local and regional, rather than Chinese, corruption. Personally, I am also sure that the Chinese are aware of this and will facilitate such acts, essentially when required, placing them in the position of accomplice. However, it should be noted that the act itself tends to arise at the request of non-Chinese politicians.
The “Chinese Colony” remark, which was made by the Italian politician Matteo Salvini, has suggested the BRI risks “turning Italy into a Chinese colony” and will saddle it with more debt. He also has publicly indicated his security concerns about allowing the Chinese control of critical infrastructure, including major ports. His is an important voice; Salvini is head of the populist Lega party, which represents one-half of Italy’s coalition government. Interestingly, his opinions appeared in the US publication, Voice of America.
SALVINI IS THAT GLOBAL BANKING 1% FAKE ALT RIGHT ALT LEFT PLAYER-----FIRST PRETENDING TO BE LEFT COMMUNIST NOW ULTRA-RIGHT FASCIST NATIONALIST.
These two issues I see as unfounded. Handing the Chinese operational control of Italy’s ports only works if the nation state acquiesces. International laws that China is a signatory to also dictate that ultimate port control lies with the sovereign government, not any contracting entity. Besides, it would be extremely difficult for China to press home control of foreign ports via military means. Italy is also a member of NATO, with its “attack on one member is an attack on us all” policy. Salvini is misplaced in his concerns, unless of course he has no confidence in his own national military or NATO’s commitments.
Concerning labor, I have seen first hand the impact of Chinese labor operating in foreign countries. I have property in Sri Lanka, where the Chinese have built the North-South Expressway, as well as Hambantota port and airport. Chinese labor conducted much of that work, primarily as the locally available labor wasn’t up to the job. The Chinese laborers themselves were treated much as those familiar with Chinese migrant labor in China will recognize: living in temporary constructed building, mostly onsite. The Chinese contractors keep them well away from any locals, and in any event, practically all of their pay is made to their families back in China. Meals are cooked on site and a limited amount of tobaco and beer is imported. Chinese workers overseas have practically no interaction with the locals unless they are at a senior managerial level. Once the project is completed, they all move on.
The fact that Italy does have an illegally working population of Chinese workers, essentially operating in its garments and leather industries is nothing to do with Belt and Road, and more to do with collusion between industry, local government, and immigration. Any self-respecting Italian would rather lie on the beach and hang out than work in a shoe factory, as is the case for much of Europe. Italy is also one of the few EU countries not to have a minimum wage. Who wouldn’t want to talk with pretty local girls and have a cold beer rather than stitch soles onto leather uppers at minimal return? The same applies to the dangers of “cheap, Chinese imported goods” putting Italian workers out on the streets that Salvini mentions. He forgets that this has already happened, and Italian companies have been importing Chinese-manufactured goods into Italy for the past two decades.
In fact, there may be some justification for concerns over inexpensive Chinese labor into the EU. There may also be some benefits for workers in certain EU member states, and especially in Eastern EU. To understand this, we can take a look at the average salary of a Chinese welder in Shanghai. I choose welding as it is a common role in construction and similar in pay to many other semi-skilled professions within the infrastructure development industry, where much of Italy’s desire to buy into China’s Belt & Road seems to be focused. It is also pertinent to note that Shanghai is one of China’s more expensive cities:
Average salary; Chinese welder, Shanghai: €15,120 a year or €7.36 an hour
'OH, REALLY?????? THIS IS FAKE DATA-----
FIGHTING FOR $3.60 while working for $150 a month is more like it'.
We can compare this with Italy. Interestingly, Italy, doesn’t have a legal minimum wage. But the average amount an Italian welder earns is €32,018 a year, or €15 an hour. That would suggest lots of Chinese workers could come to Italy to steal jobs.
But they don’t. Why?
Because they do not actually get $7.36 an hour.....wage theft takes much if not all of those published wage categories.
Firstly, because Italy as part of the EU immigration scheme employs the Schengen visa application protocols, and this makes it very difficult for non-EU labour to enter the country (unless this is done illegally or in collusion with the authorities). Secondly, a political issue currently exists where migrant workers are unwelcome in much of the EU and certainly Italy.
There are several EU nations however who national minimum wage is actually higher than that of a Chinese worker. These are Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. It would make no economic sense for Chinese workers to try and compete, and their own wage levels are at illegally low levels in these countries.
On the other hand, there are a number of EU countries whose minimum wage level is significantly lower than that of a Chinese worker. These include Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. Interestingly again, many of these nations make up the 16+1 CEEC grouping of China and Central and Eastern European Countries. Yet by and large, those Schengen visa rules still apply to Chinese workers. They will not be coming to work on EU infratructure projects anytime soon unless specific agreements are reached as to the need to employ them over available EU labour. We can see the disparity between Chinese labour at €7.36 an hour and in eastern europe, where the average is @€3.71 an hour.
And therein lies the truth. Italy will not become a “Chinese colony”,that’s just political scaremongering. But the infrastructure build countries like Italy need will be constructed by Chinese contractors and project managers. But the labour force will be Eastern European.
Because Chinese contractors will be hiring the next wave of workers for Chinese invested infrastructure projects into the EU from Eastern Europe’s labour pool.
________________________________________________
We have called our US workers being pushed out of stable employment structure into constantly changing job placement-----AKA no more career jobs------WHIRLING DERVISHES------because they are breaking down our US and Western Europe labor rights and regulations protecting workers from abuse. Gone the 8 hour day---gone the safety structures--gone any warning of layoff-----
This will be the labor structure ----where crews are brought through a project working 24/7 at extreme pace to compete a project. It looks highly organized and this is THE LOGISTICS CORPORATIONS tied to CHINESE INFRASTRUCTURE.
How 1,500 Chinese Workers Built a Railroad in Only 9 Hours
•Jan 23, 2018
China needed a railway station built - quickly. A small army of workers with a collective one-track mind later and the job was done overnight.
THIS WILL BE THE LABOR STRUCTURE COMING TO US /AFRICAN AND WESTERN EUROPEAN INFRASTRUCTURE BUILD-OUT.
Our LATINO infrastructure workers have been tied to this rapid deployment and run structure but they have been in DEVELOPED NATIONS-----this third world labor structure is far more BRUTAL.
HERE ARE THE CHINESE----YELLOW SHIRTS.
These stats are PROPAGANDA to promote Chinese corporations----one can imagine life working at this pace being moved from region to region in WHIRLING DERVISH fashion.
'Rio Tinto back on track to haul iron ore in driverless trains ...
www.mining.com/rio-tinto-back-on-track-to-haul... Oct 02, 2017 ·
Rio Tinto (ASX, LON:RIO), the world No.2 iron ore miner, is closer than ever to having a network of driverless trains in Western Australia as it has completed its first long-haul journey with a completely autonomous locomotive. The milestone trip,...'
'SNCF willingly collaborated with the Nazis.
They were paid by the Nazis per head and per kilometer to transport innocent victims across France and ultimately toward death camps like Auschwitz and Buchenwald. Had the company resisted, even to a small degree, the number of those killed from France would have been greatly reduced. Had SNCF not imposed horrific conditions on its trains, many additional lives could have been saved.
In the end, SNCF transported 76,000 Jews and thousands of others, including U.S. pilots shot down over France, toward the death camps. This included over 11,000 children. Of the 76,000 Jews deported on SNCF trains, only 2,000 would survive. I was one of the lucky few who managed to escape'.
In an age where talk of driverless transport is ubiquitous, the US Federal Railroad Administration is proposing regulations that two-person crews be required for US railroads, namely for safety reasons. So why the mistrust over autonomy in the US and is the situation any different elsewhere?
Driverless freight trains
It seems that not a day passes without yet another news story describing how the transport sector is changing with drivers being replaced by technology. ‘Driverless’ has become a buzz word, the term that is beginning to define transportation of the future.
Two of the biggest markets for this are cars and trucks. Andy Stern, former president of the Service Employees International Union, said in June: “Individuals can make their own choices about whether they want to get into a driverless car or taxi, but labour-saving technology will be deployed by businesses much quicker.”
There’s also been some form of automation on worldwide metro systems for many years. London’s Docklands Light Railway is one example, while the Copenhagen Metro is run by a fully automated system, consisting of automatic train protection, operation and supervision.
However, one area where technology has yet to gain a foothold is rail freight.
FRA: two-person crews for safety
On 15 August, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) urged the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to withdraw a proposed rule that mandates two-person crews on railroads. “The simple fact is that no data exist showing two-person crews will enhance safety," said Edward Hamberger, AAR president and CEO, in a statement.
Ed Greenberg, AAR head of media relations, says the organisation also “believes the FRA should leave crew size determination to freight railroads and their employees”, although the AAR’s opposition to the plan is not due to any explicit support for driverless technology.
Greenberg adds: “While the [US] Department of Transportation is throwing its full support behind development of autonomous vehicles as a way to improve safety on our roadways, it is backing a rule-making for the rail industry that goes in the opposite direction and would freeze rail productivity and chill innovation.”
"There is no magic bullet when it comes to safety."
For its part, the FRA, which failed to respond to a request for comment, has said in press statements that it believes “safety is enhanced with the use of a multiple person crew; safety dictates that you never allow a single point of failure”. But, as Hamberger’s comment shows, this is a point of contention.
Currently there’s unrest in the industry, as some feel rail freight is being left behind technologically and, consequently, its business could suffer. Former director of the research and development office of the FRA and now a rail consultant, rail freight could be left behind, but he also recognises occasions where two-person crews would be justified, “for example, a 120-car coal train going across Nebraska, at night, in the winter in a snow storm”.
As Ditmeyer explains: “Railroaders in the US aren’t always really good at foreseeing how new technology will work.
“Many of the top people are perhaps not technical people. That makes them more cautious. Also, technology is expensive to implement. It has potential major benefits, but some are not fully comfortable with it.”
That’s not to say, though, that technology is completely absent. Positive train control, which will have the ability to automatically stop a train, has been a long-running issue in the US, with the deadline for implementation now set at 2018, three years later than originally planned. There are also drones used for track and bridge inspections and what Greenberg calls “alerter systems” in freight cabs, among other things.
“There is no magic bullet when it comes to safety,” says Greenberg, “it requires relentless innovation. The industry increasingly resembles Silicon Valley rather than [the] iconic black and white railroad images of days gone by.”
Driverless trials planned in Europe and for Rio Tinto
Across the pond in Europe, there is greater progress on driverless technology.
It was revealed in June that Dutch company Prorail is planning to trial automated operation of freight trains on the Betuweroute freight line, which links Rotterdam to the German border, near Emmerich. The International Railway Journal reports that trials are expected to begin next year and that a driver will be present during the tests.
Meanwhile, German operator Deutsche Bahn has bigger ideas for its network. Its chairman, Rudiger Grube, told the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in June that “by 2021, 2022 or 2023 we will be able to run fully automatically in parts of our network”.
Foreshadowing that, there is still much to be done, as Grube added: “Autonomous driving on a complex rail system, with passenger trains and freight trains is more difficult than on a subway – but it is possible. The first pilot projects are already running, on a test field, we have built [on] the Erzgebirgsbahn."
"Prorail plans to trial automated operation of freight trains sometime next year."
Reports suggest that trains will be fitted with cameras and other technologies to detect obstacles on the track and stop the train if necessary. When asked for more information, a Deutsche Bahn spokesperson said: “The project is still in an initial stage. In order to make a precise and explicit statement, further detailed discussions and studies are necessary.”
A more concrete plan, albeit one that has been delayed, has been put forward by Rio Tinto. The $518m AutoHaul project – which Rio calls the world’s first fully autonomous, heavy-haul, long-distance railway system – is intended to transport iron ore from the company’s 15 mines in Australia's Pilbara region.
Rio Tinto has already run trials for AutoHaul, but the original target to have all trains with driverless operation by 2015 has been missed.
‘They can be made safe’
As the industry awaits news of the aforementioned trials, and as the FRA reviews comments it received regarding its plans, the question arises: how long before driverless tech becomes the norm?
“I would say greater than ten years. The technology isn’t quite there yet,” says Ditmeyer. But, he adds: “They could be made safe."
This view is shared by Bill Newman, senior advisor at HC Project Advisors. “I think driverless trains can be made safe, just as I think autonomous cars and trucks can be made safe,” he explains. Although, he admits that “there would need to be a substantial effort to educate and persuade the public of that conclusion”.
As well as that, Newman acknowledges that the issues are complex and difficult. “That said, there is an announcement in the media every day of a major company investing in autonomous operation.”
Technology can improve safety, but as Ditmeyer outlined earlier, there may be some examples where human interaction is necessary. The safety of using automation on freight will only become evident once numerous trials have been completed. That said, it is very likely driverless technology will impact the rail freight sector in one way or another over the next few years, just not at the same speed as other industries.
“If Europe is going to do these driverless trials, it will be quite fascinating,” Ditmeyer says.
____________________________________________
This is today's PRIVATIZED SNCF/KEOLIS--------not that warm and fuzzy EURORAIL. This guy looks at his corporation as PROFITEERING AND GLOBAL COMPETITION------and we can be sure those FRENCH RAIL UNION MEMBERS---like our US RAIL UNION MEMBERS will be treated as this company was FOUNDED----and like CHINESE SILK ROAD RAILWAY workers.
SNCF is expanding in ITALY, SPAIN, GERMANY, PORTUGAL/US with partnering as global transportation logistics.
When we look at RAILROAD global transportation corporations they are all being tied to this same LOGISTICS.
What do we hear from European labor union members? THEY LIKE THE GERMAN LABOR UNION MODELS. Know what? Those models were created from REAL LEFT SOCIAL PROGRESSIVE LIBERAL CAPITALISM these several centuries of I AM MAN/WOMAN.
The GERMANY AS FOREIGN ECONOMIC ZONE will be EASTERN GERMANY------STALINIST/MAOIST MARXISM. This is the opposite of Western European/US labor union models.
CHINESE RAIL WORKERS MODEL IS THAT STALINIST/MAOIST RAILROAD WORKER-----
This apprenticeship model being called GERMAN------will mirror that apprenticeship model that is CHINESE.
Oct 20, 2019
Addressing the Skill Gap: The ICATT Apprenticeship Program
Updated: Oct 21, 2019
An SRG Leadership Interview with:
Mario Kratsch
American manufacturing is vying for a comeback and with the boomer work force retiring, there’s ample opportunity for great careers in the sector. But an entire generation of Americans has been taught that a bachelor’s degree is a necessity and that manufacturing jobs are undesirable—poor pay and bad conditions.
Many gen-z and millennials are struggling with debt and have difficulty establishing a career path; meanwhile, many good paying jobs in the manufacturing sector remain open without qualified candidates.
In 2012, German manufacturing companies in the Chicago area were beginning to realize that while the economy was recovering, their talent pipeline was drying up. This was a striking realization because this type of problem rarely occurs in Germany—a fact widely attributed to Germany’s robust apprenticeship system.
These Chicago based German companies were interested in developing the same system locally in order to attain the same ‘soft benefits’ that are available in Germany. They wanted to get young people involved in the business with the goal of showing them there is a possibility not just to earn money, but to establish a career in their company and industry.
This led to an inquiry at the German American Chamber of Commerce of the Midwest, Inc. (GACC Midwest) and, soon after, Mario Kratsch was boarding a plane to Chicago. Today, Mario and a team of ten run the Industry Consortium for Advanced Technical Training (ICATT)—the American apprenticeship model benchmarked against the time-tested German System.
ICATT provides a long-term solution to the skills-gap problem by cultivating a system that trains and supports skilled workforce. Apprentices commit to work-study programs, come out of the apprenticeship with an associate degree, a well-paying job and, here’s the kicker: no debt.
We recently sat down with Mario to learn how ICATT was adapted to meet the needs of American companies and apprentices.
What is the origin of the German Model?
The German model finds its basic origins in the pre-industrial era when skills needed to work in the trades were prized. Guilds formed and only approved apprentices were taught the craft – and only those with the skills were allowed to work in these trades. But by that time, the system was looking way different – for instance: apprentices had to cover the entire cost of such training.
When you fast forward to post-war Germany, when the country was in an era of reform, the government passed the current Vocational Training Act which created the Apprenticeship system under the Ministry of Economy with the goal of promoting and ensuring a stable economy. Additional partners are included, but, generally speaking, the apprenticeship system in Germany is much more seen as a matter of a healthy economy first - hence the close connection to the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
Today, within Germany’s apprenticeship system, the entire workforce breaks down into roughly 350 industry standardized occupational profiles. These profiles (e.g. job specs) describe the skills, experience, education and certifications necessary for any vocation. Industry and education closely cooperate in the process of defining these minimum standards. Companies train to these minimum standards and add specifics to fit their needs.
The good thing for the company is: they develop the workforce with the skills they need.
The good thing for the apprentices is: they end up with a transferable credential which is valid throughout the industry – rather than just a company internal qualification.
When German kids are in high school, they are encouraged to take on internships to test out different industries and to help them form thoughts about their ideal career path. From there, many choose the apprentice route after high school to gain valuable work experience which can be applied to a career path or give them a ‘leg up’ in college level education.
Tell us about the ICATT Model.
The initial challenge of launching the model was adapting the German system to American norms. It’s an industry backed system in Germany and everybody values it. Here in the U.S., apprenticeships as a career pathway are commonly unknown, or unappealing.
SORRY, MOVING FORWARD IS NOT CAPITALIST GERMANY-----IT IS EAST GERMAN LIBERTARIAN MARXISM AKA MAOIST MARXISM.
ICATT is changing that narrative by creating a pipeline that begins with outreach to high schools with the goal of advocating for careers in manufacturing to teachers, parents, and students. Interested students can apply for an apprenticeship, if accepted, they start with a company right away. In turn, by investing in the program and the apprentice, participating companies have access that stream of talent. While high- school graduates are the main target group for companies, companies are free to hire whomever they want as their apprentice.
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All of this discussion HASN'T HAPPENED YET.. Global banking 1% are still flying of US FLAG ----they are still pretending CONGRESS and US PRESIDENT are MOVING FORWARD ------MADE IN AMERICA BY AMERICAN holy grail. So, we still have a US FEDERAL government-----we still have local and state agencies tasked with ENFORCING these all-American labor conditions.
OUR US 99% WE THE PEOPLE BLACK, WHITE, AND BROWN CITIZENS AND ARE NOT COLONIAL SLAVE LABOR YET.
Please stop allowing all this consolidation of UTILITIES/PUBLIC WORKS------especially outsourced to FOREIGN CORPORATIONS because this is the goal of MOVING FORWARD ONE WORLD ONE GOVERNANCE.
Matter how much CLINTON/BUSH/OBAMA global banking neo-liberals and neo-cons want to pretend we are already in CHINESE FOREIGN ECONOMIC ZONE format------we are NOT. These few decades MOVING FORWARD infrastructure building will DECIDE THAT.
REMEMBER----FDR era was REAL LEFT SOCIAL PROGRESSIVE LIBERAL CAPITALISM--------when HARVARD and LOYOLA created all those US WORKER/JOB PLACE protections as part of THE NEW DEAL......If this WALSH was living today he would be HIT AND ILLEGALLY SURVEILLED 24/7 PORN ----DUCKING AND DODGING JUST LIKE ME A FELLOW WALSH........
anti-imperialist----Hmmm, I like this ancestor
'The Walsh-Healey Act that applies to U.S. government contracts exceeding $15,000 for the manufacturing or furnishing of goods. Walsh-Healey establishes overtime pay for hours worked by contractor employees in excess of 40 hours per week, and sets the minimum wage equal to the prevailing wage as determined by the Secretary of Labor. The law prohibits the employment of youths less than 16 years of age and convicts (only those currently in prison), except under certain conditions.[1] The Act sets standards for the use of convict labor, and job health and safety standards. The Walsh-Healey Act does not apply to commercial items'.
Summary of the Major Laws of the Department of Labor
On This Page
Wages and Hours
Workplace Safety and Health
Workers' Compensation
Employee Benefits
Unions and Their Members
Employee Protection
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act
Employee Polygraph Protection Act
Garnishment of Wages
Family and Medical Leave Act
Veterans' Preference
Government Contracts, Grants, or Financial Aid
Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Workers
Mine Safety and Health
Construction
Transportation
Plant Closings and Layoffs
Posters
Related Agencies
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) administers and enforces more than 180 federal laws.
These mandates and the regulations that implement them cover many workplace activities for about 10 million employers and 125 million workers.
Following is a brief description of many of DOL's principal statutes most commonly applicable to businesses, job seekers, workers, retirees, contractors and grantees. This brief summary is intended to acquaint you with the major labor laws and not to offer a detailed exposition. For authoritative information and references to fuller descriptions on these laws, you should consult the statutes and regulations themselves.
Rulemaking and Regulations provides brief descriptions of and links to various sources of information on DOL's rulemaking activities and regulations.
Wages and Hours
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) prescribes standards for wages and overtime pay, which affect most private and public employment. The act is administered by the Wage and Hour Division. It requires employers to pay covered employees who are not otherwise exempt at least the federal minimum wage and overtime pay of one-and-one-half-times the regular rate of pay. For nonagricultural operations, it restricts the hours that children under age 16 can work and forbids the employment of children under age 18 in certain jobs deemed too dangerous. For agricultural operations, it prohibits the employment of children under age 16 during school hours and in certain jobs deemed too dangerous.
The Wage and Hour Division also enforces the labor standards provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act that apply to aliens authorized to work in the U.S. under certain nonimmigrant visa programs (H-1B, H-1B1, H-1C, H2A).
Workplace Safety and Health
The Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act is administered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Safety and health conditions in most private industries are regulated by OSHA or OSHA-approved state programs, which also cover public sector employers. Employers covered by the OSH Act must comply with the regulations and the safety and health standards promulgated by OSHA. Employers also have a general duty under the OSH Act to provide their employees with work and a workplace free from recognized, serious hazards. OSHA enforces the Act through workplace inspections and investigations. Compliance assistance and other cooperative programs are also available.
Workers' Compensation
If you worked for a private company or a state government, you should contact the workers' compensation program for the state in which you lived or worked. The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Workers' Compensation Programs does not have a role in the administration or oversight of state workers' compensation programs.
The Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA), administered by The Office of Workers Compensation Programs (OWCP), provides for compensation and medical care to certain maritime employees (including a longshore worker or other person in longshore operations, and any harbor worker, including a ship repairer, shipbuilder, and shipbreaker) and to qualified dependent survivors of such employees who are disabled or die due to injuries that occur on the navigable waters of the United States, or in adjoining areas customarily used in loading, unloading, repairing or building a vessel.
The Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA) is a compensation program that provides a lump-sum payment of $150,000 and prospective medical benefits to employees (or certain of their survivors) of the Department of Energy and its contractors and subcontractors as a result of cancer caused by exposure to radiation, or certain illnesses caused by exposure to beryllium or silica incurred in the performance of duty, as well as for payment of a lump-sum of $50,000 and prospective medical benefits to individuals (or certain of their survivors) determined by the Department of Justice to be eligible for compensation as uranium workers under section 5 of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA).
The Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA), 5 U.S.C. 8101 et seq., establishes a comprehensive and exclusive workers' compensation program which pays compensation for the disability or death of a federal employee resulting from personal injury sustained while in the performance of duty. The FECA, administered by OWCP, provides benefits for wage loss compensation for total or partial disability, schedule awards for permanent loss or loss of use of specified members of the body, related medical costs, and vocational rehabilitation.
The Black Lung Benefits Act (BLBA) provides monthly cash payments and medical benefits to coal miners totally disabled from pneumoconiosis ("black lung disease") arising from their employment in the nation's coal mines. The statute also provides monthly benefits to a deceased miner's survivors if the miner's death was due to black lung disease.
Employee Benefit Security
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) regulates employers who offer pension or welfare benefit plans for their employees. Title I of ERISA is administered by the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) and imposes a wide range of fiduciary, disclosure and reporting requirements on fiduciaries of pension and welfare benefit plans and on others having dealings with these plans. These provisions preempt many similar state laws. Under Title IV, certain employers and plan administrators must fund an insurance system to protect certain kinds of retirement benefits, with premiums paid to the federal government's Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). EBSA also administers reporting requirements for continuation of health-care provisions, required under the Comprehensive Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) and the health care portability requirements on group plans under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
Unions and their Members
The Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) of 1959 (also known as the Landrum-Griffin Act) deals with the relationship between a union and its members. It protects union funds and promotes union democracy by requiring labor organizations to file annual financial reports, by requiring union officials, employers, and labor consultants to file reports regarding certain labor relations practices, and by establishing standards for the election of union officers. The act is administered by the Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS).
Employee Protection
Most labor and public safety laws and many environmental laws mandate whistleblower protections for employees who complain about violations of the law by their employers. Remedies can include job reinstatement and payment of back wages. OSHA enforces the whistleblower protections in most laws.
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act
Certain persons who serve in the armed forces have a right to reemployment with the employer they were with when they entered service. This includes those called up from the reserves or National Guard. These rights are administered by the Veterans' Employment and Training Service.
Employee Polygraph Protection Act
This law bars most employers from using lie detectors on employees, but permits polygraph tests only in limited circumstances. It is administered by the Wage and Hour Division.
Garnishment of Wages
Garnishment of employee wages by employers is regulated under the Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA) which is administered by the Wage and Hour Division.
Family and Medical Leave Act
Administered by the Wage and Hour Division, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requires employers of 50 or more employees to give up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave to eligible employees for the birth or adoption of a child or for the serious illness of the employee or a spouse, child or parent.
Veterans' Preference
Veterans and other eligible persons have special employment rights with the federal government. They are provided preference in initial hiring and protection in reductions in force. Claims of violation of these rights are investigated by the Veterans' Employment and Training Service.
Government Contracts, Grants, or Financial Aid
Recipients of government contracts, grants or financial aid are subject to wage, hour, benefits, and safety and health standards under:
The Davis-Bacon Act, which requires payment of prevailing wages and benefits to employees of contractors engaged in federal government construction projects;
The McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act, which sets wage rates and other labor standards for employees of contractors furnishing services to the federal government;
The Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act, which requires payment of minimum wages and other labor standards by contractors providing materials and supplies to the federal government.
Administration and enforcement of these laws are by The Wage and Hour Division. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) administers and enforces three federal contract-based civil rights laws that require most federal contractors and subcontractors, as well as federally assisted construction contractors, to provide equal employment opportunity. The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management's (OASAM) Civil Rights Center administers and enforces several federal assistance based civil rights laws requiring recipients of federal financial assistance from Department of Labor to provide equal opportunity.
Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Workers
The Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA) regulates the hiring and employment activities of agricultural employers, farm labor contractors, and associations using migrant and seasonal agricultural workers. The Act prescribes wage protections, housing and transportation safety standards, farm labor contractor registration requirements, and disclosure requirements. The Wage and Hour Division administers this law.
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) exempts agricultural workers from overtime premium pay, but requires the payment of the minimum wage to workers employed on larger farms (farms employing more than approximately seven full-time workers. The Act has special child-labor regulations that apply to agricultural employment; children under 16 are forbidden to work during school hours and in certain jobs deemed too dangerous. Children employed on their families' farms are exempt from these regulations. The Wage and Hour Division administers this law. OSHA also has special safety and health standards that may apply to agricultural operations.
The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) requires employers who want to use foreign temporary workers on H-2A visas to get a labor certificate from the Employment and Training Administration certifying that there are not sufficient, able, willing and qualified U.S. workers available to do the work. The labor standards protections of the H-2A program are enforced by The Wage and Hour Division.
Mine Safety and Health
The Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (Mine Act) covers all people who work on mine property. The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) administers this Act.
The Mine Act holds mine operators responsible for the safety and health of miners; provides for the setting of mandatory safety and health standards, mandates miners' training requirements; prescribes penalties for violations; and enables inspectors to close dangerous mines. The safety and health standards address numerous hazards including roof falls, flammable and explosive gases, fire, electricity, equipment rollovers and maintenance, airborne contaminants, noise, and respirable dust. MSHA enforces safety and health requirements at more than 13,000 mines, investigates mine accidents, and offers mine operators training, technical and compliance assistance.
Construction
Several agencies administer programs related solely to the construction industry. OSHA has special occupational safety and health standards for construction; The Wage and Hour Division, under Davis-Bacon and related acts, requires payment of prevailing wages and benefits; The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs enforces Executive Order 11246, which requires federal construction contractors and subcontractors, as well as federally assisted construction contractors, to provide equal employment opportunity; the anti-kickback section of the Copeland Act precludes a federal contractor from inducing any employee to sacrifice any part of the compensation required.
Transportation
Most laws with labor provisions regulating the transportation industry are administered by agencies outside the Department of Labor. However, longshoring and maritime industry safety and health standards are issued and enforced by OSHA. The Longshoring and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA), requires employers to assure that workers' compensation is funded and available to eligible employees. In addition, the rights of employees in the mass transit industry are protected when federal funds are used to acquire, improve, or operate a transit system. Under the Federal Transit law, the Department of Labor is responsible for approving employee protection arrangements before the department of Transportation can release funds to grantees.
Plant Closings and Layoffs
Such occurrences may be subject to the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN). WARN offers employees early warning of impending layoffs or plant closings. The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) provides information to the public on WARN, though neither ETA nor the Department of Labor has administrative responsibility for the statute, which is enforced through private action in the federal courts.
Posters
Some of the statutes and regulations enforced by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) require that notices be provided to employees and/or posted in the workplace. DOL provides free electronic and printed copies of these required posters.
The elaws Poster Advisor can be used to determine which poster(s) employers are required to display at their place(s) of business. Posters, available in English and other languages, may be downloaded and printed directly from the Advisor. If you already know which poster(s) you are required to display, see below to download and print the appropriate poster(s) free of charge.
Please note that the elaws Poster Advisor provides information on federal DOL poster requirements.
The article stated that the CHINESE SILK ROAD RAIL today only goes ONE WAY------from China to Western Europe. The goals is to bring foreign factories to Western/Eastern Europe to manufacture here as they do in overseas FOREIGN ECONOMIC ZONES. So, China's rail would be taking that CHINESE FACTORY IN ITALY/SPAIN/PORTUGAL/FRANCE back to Asia. They work in our FOREIGN ECONOMIC ZONES ---using global labor they choose---and export from these Western nation FOREIGN ECONOMIC ZONES.
SPANISH/FRENCH/ITALIAN/PORTUGESE 99% WE THE PEOPLE are exported as EX-PATS. That is what will happen in AFRICA and THE AMERICAS.
The global banking 5% freemason/Greek players in US -----the WE DON'T CARE group facilitate this. In US with its big economy ----we have a 5% player---while Africa and Arabia with smaller economies have that 2% to a 1% BOULE.
THIS IS THE LABOR STRUCTURE THAT COMES WITH GLOBAL BANKING 1% OWNING ALL SOVEREIGN NATION INFRASTRUCTURE.
A FB friend makes this comment------we agree far-right wing global banking CLINTON/OBAMA neo-liberal are the problem.
'This is what Boule looks like . He is Co-signing for Black people destruction.
Democrats are Demons look at Baltimore City we are a Democratic State one of the 13th Colonies where Slavery began . KNow your History'.
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'Kenyan rail workers are protesting against China Road and ...
qz.com/africa/749177/kenyan-rail-workers-are...
Aug 03, 2016 ·
Kenyan rail workers are protesting against their Chinese employer for a raise—to $5 a day. There are high hopes for Kenya’s new rail project. The $13.8 billion standard-gauge railway, being built by a Chinese company, is meant to connect the port city of Mombasa to Nairobi and eventually the rest of East Africa'.
Global banking 1% FAKE NEWS media love to pretend Chinese wages are rising----when in fact EVERY indication is that the brutality of far-right extreme wealth extreme poverty LIBERTARIAN MARXISM is getting worse. So, slave labor being Chinese 99% WE THE PEOPLE and global labor sent in SLAVE trade from other nations are getting NOT PAID-----are getting PAID $5 a day which works to that $120----150 a month.
THIS IS WHAT WORKING ON THE RAILROAD TODAY WILL GET A US99% WE THE PEOPLE WITH MOVING FORWARD INFRASTRUCTURE OWNED BY FOREIGN CORPORATIONS.
Kenyan rail workers are protesting against their Chinese employer for a raise—to $5 a day
By Lily KuoAugust 3, 2016
There are high hopes for Kenya’s new rail project. The $13.8 billion standard-gauge railway, being built by a Chinese company, is meant to connect the port city of Mombasa to Nairobi and eventually the rest of East Africa. It should bring down transportation costs and cement Kenya’s status as the region’s largest economy. Most importantly, building it should create tens of thousands of jobs.
According to workers and locals, the jobs haven’t appeared, or at least not enough of them. On Aug. 2, residents of Kenya’s southwestern Narok county stormed a construction site of the project’s contractor, China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), attacking Chinese workers with clubs and knives and chanting “haki yetu” (“our rights”). Fourteen injured Chinese staff were sent to a nearby hospital, according to local media.
The demonstrators, mostly from Kenya’s pastoralist Masai tribe, say they were promised jobs as plant operators and drivers. ”But the job opportunities we have been given are negligible,” one protester told a local television station.
Complaints over pay and working conditions at the Chinese companies that have built many of the country’s roads, buildings, and infrastructure projects over the past few years have become common. But one of the biggest gripes is that Chinese companies in Kenya, as well as across much of the continent, import their own labor.
CRBC, a subsidiary of a state-owned Chinese construction company and one of the biggest Chinese enterprises in Kenya, has become a particular target. It was contracted to build the rail link between Nairobi and Mombasa as well as other parts of a network that will eventually connect Mombasa to hubs like Kampala, Uganda and Juba, South Sudan. In the two years since it began construction, the company has been accused of firing workers without cause, importing labor, stealing water from local communities, and secretly dredging sand from Kenyan beaches for construction material.
A day before the Narok attack, CRBC workers in Nakuru, another construction site for the railway, put down their tools and blocked traffic with sticks and stones. They wanted to be paid 500 shillings ($5) a day instead of 250 shillings—which is about the average wage for unskilled labor—and claimed that workers who had asked for more pay had been fired.
CRBC and Kenya Railways did not respond to requests for comment about the Narok protests or the attack. But the company has tried to defend its hiring practices.
In March, it said it had employed almost 20,000 Kenyans, and only 2,000 Chinese workers. Other attempts to endear itself to the local population include digging boreholes, funding students to study railway engineering in China, holding basketball tournaments, and having its staff enter essay contests. “We see ourselves as a force for good; a transformative agent among the people in the areas we operate,” Steven Zhao, a company official, told local media earlier this month.
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This story for Chinese workers who start as children in pre-K to career apprenticeships ---having children free labor as young as 8 years old---but, definitely replacing our MIDDLE-SCHOOL and HIGH SCHOOL with these free student labor structures. Now, as China and other foreign corporations like CHINESE RAIL AND LOGISTICS hit ITALY/SPAIN/FRANCE/PORTUGAL------they bring this CHILD FREE LABOR APPRENTICESHIP pre-K to career.
IT IS INDEED A MONEY-MAKER FOR THOSE CHINESE CORPORATE PROFITS.
'Forced student labour is central to the Chinese economic miracle
Aditya Chakrabortty
Aditya Chakrabortty
China has an army of student labour making Apple products, Playstation consoles and other gadgets for the west. The teenagers' stories make upsetting reading'
This article also states the Chinese labor getting these jobs in Western Europe are the MANAGEMENT ---WHITE COLLAR PROFESSIONALS while Western European workers get the manual labor and indeed it will be $1-3 an hour.
This is happening already in US where US FOREIGN ECONOMIC ZONES bring Chinese foreign corporations filling all MANAGEMENT LEVEL jobs with Chinese workers who don't receive our US professional wage. Meanwhile, our US 99.9% WE THE PEOPLE black, white, and brown not replaced by robotics----will be those WORKING ON THE RAIL ROAD----SLAVE LABOR BLUES.
Will Italy be Overrun by Chinese Workers?
EU Minimum Wages Compared with China’s Belt and Road Contractors
March 28, 2019 Posted by Silk Road Briefing
Op/Ed by Chris Devonshire-Ellis
With Italy controversially signing up to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, some mainstream media have been suggesting the country will face a multitude of problems, ranging from “debt traps” to becoming a “Chinese colony”.
Concerning the first issue, there have been occasions where governments in South-East Asia have either misunderstood the terms on offer or deliberately allowed costs to overrun or been overcharged as as an aide to corruption. In one case we are aware of, the then President of the country concerned complained that the Chinese interest on the loan was too low at two percent, and requested it be raised to six percent. The four percent balance to be collected by the Chinese was to then be transferred to offshore accounts controlled by that President’s family. That’s not a ‘debt trap’ – that’s out and out corruption. An issue, we note, that Italy has some familiarity with.
By and large, the Chinese loans that we have been made privy to have been at below market rates, suggesting that “debt trap” claims are a result of local and regional, rather than Chinese, corruption. Personally, I am also sure that the Chinese are aware of this and will facilitate such acts, essentially when required, placing them in the position of accomplice. However, it should be noted that the act itself tends to arise at the request of non-Chinese politicians.
The “Chinese Colony” remark, which was made by the Italian politician Matteo Salvini, has suggested the BRI risks “turning Italy into a Chinese colony” and will saddle it with more debt. He also has publicly indicated his security concerns about allowing the Chinese control of critical infrastructure, including major ports. His is an important voice; Salvini is head of the populist Lega party, which represents one-half of Italy’s coalition government. Interestingly, his opinions appeared in the US publication, Voice of America.
SALVINI IS THAT GLOBAL BANKING 1% FAKE ALT RIGHT ALT LEFT PLAYER-----FIRST PRETENDING TO BE LEFT COMMUNIST NOW ULTRA-RIGHT FASCIST NATIONALIST.
These two issues I see as unfounded. Handing the Chinese operational control of Italy’s ports only works if the nation state acquiesces. International laws that China is a signatory to also dictate that ultimate port control lies with the sovereign government, not any contracting entity. Besides, it would be extremely difficult for China to press home control of foreign ports via military means. Italy is also a member of NATO, with its “attack on one member is an attack on us all” policy. Salvini is misplaced in his concerns, unless of course he has no confidence in his own national military or NATO’s commitments.
Concerning labor, I have seen first hand the impact of Chinese labor operating in foreign countries. I have property in Sri Lanka, where the Chinese have built the North-South Expressway, as well as Hambantota port and airport. Chinese labor conducted much of that work, primarily as the locally available labor wasn’t up to the job. The Chinese laborers themselves were treated much as those familiar with Chinese migrant labor in China will recognize: living in temporary constructed building, mostly onsite. The Chinese contractors keep them well away from any locals, and in any event, practically all of their pay is made to their families back in China. Meals are cooked on site and a limited amount of tobaco and beer is imported. Chinese workers overseas have practically no interaction with the locals unless they are at a senior managerial level. Once the project is completed, they all move on.
The fact that Italy does have an illegally working population of Chinese workers, essentially operating in its garments and leather industries is nothing to do with Belt and Road, and more to do with collusion between industry, local government, and immigration. Any self-respecting Italian would rather lie on the beach and hang out than work in a shoe factory, as is the case for much of Europe. Italy is also one of the few EU countries not to have a minimum wage. Who wouldn’t want to talk with pretty local girls and have a cold beer rather than stitch soles onto leather uppers at minimal return? The same applies to the dangers of “cheap, Chinese imported goods” putting Italian workers out on the streets that Salvini mentions. He forgets that this has already happened, and Italian companies have been importing Chinese-manufactured goods into Italy for the past two decades.
In fact, there may be some justification for concerns over inexpensive Chinese labor into the EU. There may also be some benefits for workers in certain EU member states, and especially in Eastern EU. To understand this, we can take a look at the average salary of a Chinese welder in Shanghai. I choose welding as it is a common role in construction and similar in pay to many other semi-skilled professions within the infrastructure development industry, where much of Italy’s desire to buy into China’s Belt & Road seems to be focused. It is also pertinent to note that Shanghai is one of China’s more expensive cities:
Average salary; Chinese welder, Shanghai: €15,120 a year or €7.36 an hour
'OH, REALLY?????? THIS IS FAKE DATA-----
FIGHTING FOR $3.60 while working for $150 a month is more like it'.
We can compare this with Italy. Interestingly, Italy, doesn’t have a legal minimum wage. But the average amount an Italian welder earns is €32,018 a year, or €15 an hour. That would suggest lots of Chinese workers could come to Italy to steal jobs.
But they don’t. Why?
Because they do not actually get $7.36 an hour.....wage theft takes much if not all of those published wage categories.
Firstly, because Italy as part of the EU immigration scheme employs the Schengen visa application protocols, and this makes it very difficult for non-EU labour to enter the country (unless this is done illegally or in collusion with the authorities). Secondly, a political issue currently exists where migrant workers are unwelcome in much of the EU and certainly Italy.
There are several EU nations however who national minimum wage is actually higher than that of a Chinese worker. These are Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. It would make no economic sense for Chinese workers to try and compete, and their own wage levels are at illegally low levels in these countries.
On the other hand, there are a number of EU countries whose minimum wage level is significantly lower than that of a Chinese worker. These include Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. Interestingly again, many of these nations make up the 16+1 CEEC grouping of China and Central and Eastern European Countries. Yet by and large, those Schengen visa rules still apply to Chinese workers. They will not be coming to work on EU infratructure projects anytime soon unless specific agreements are reached as to the need to employ them over available EU labour. We can see the disparity between Chinese labour at €7.36 an hour and in eastern europe, where the average is @€3.71 an hour.
And therein lies the truth. Italy will not become a “Chinese colony”,that’s just political scaremongering. But the infrastructure build countries like Italy need will be constructed by Chinese contractors and project managers. But the labour force will be Eastern European.
Because Chinese contractors will be hiring the next wave of workers for Chinese invested infrastructure projects into the EU from Eastern Europe’s labour pool.
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We have called our US workers being pushed out of stable employment structure into constantly changing job placement-----AKA no more career jobs------WHIRLING DERVISHES------because they are breaking down our US and Western Europe labor rights and regulations protecting workers from abuse. Gone the 8 hour day---gone the safety structures--gone any warning of layoff-----
This will be the labor structure ----where crews are brought through a project working 24/7 at extreme pace to compete a project. It looks highly organized and this is THE LOGISTICS CORPORATIONS tied to CHINESE INFRASTRUCTURE.
How 1,500 Chinese Workers Built a Railroad in Only 9 Hours
•Jan 23, 2018
China needed a railway station built - quickly. A small army of workers with a collective one-track mind later and the job was done overnight.
THIS WILL BE THE LABOR STRUCTURE COMING TO US /AFRICAN AND WESTERN EUROPEAN INFRASTRUCTURE BUILD-OUT.
Our LATINO infrastructure workers have been tied to this rapid deployment and run structure but they have been in DEVELOPED NATIONS-----this third world labor structure is far more BRUTAL.
HERE ARE THE CHINESE----YELLOW SHIRTS.
These stats are PROPAGANDA to promote Chinese corporations----one can imagine life working at this pace being moved from region to region in WHIRLING DERVISH fashion.
'Rio Tinto back on track to haul iron ore in driverless trains ...
www.mining.com/rio-tinto-back-on-track-to-haul... Oct 02, 2017 ·
Rio Tinto (ASX, LON:RIO), the world No.2 iron ore miner, is closer than ever to having a network of driverless trains in Western Australia as it has completed its first long-haul journey with a completely autonomous locomotive. The milestone trip,...'
'SNCF willingly collaborated with the Nazis.
They were paid by the Nazis per head and per kilometer to transport innocent victims across France and ultimately toward death camps like Auschwitz and Buchenwald. Had the company resisted, even to a small degree, the number of those killed from France would have been greatly reduced. Had SNCF not imposed horrific conditions on its trains, many additional lives could have been saved.
In the end, SNCF transported 76,000 Jews and thousands of others, including U.S. pilots shot down over France, toward the death camps. This included over 11,000 children. Of the 76,000 Jews deported on SNCF trains, only 2,000 would survive. I was one of the lucky few who managed to escape'.
In an age where talk of driverless transport is ubiquitous, the US Federal Railroad Administration is proposing regulations that two-person crews be required for US railroads, namely for safety reasons. So why the mistrust over autonomy in the US and is the situation any different elsewhere?
Driverless freight trains
It seems that not a day passes without yet another news story describing how the transport sector is changing with drivers being replaced by technology. ‘Driverless’ has become a buzz word, the term that is beginning to define transportation of the future.
Two of the biggest markets for this are cars and trucks. Andy Stern, former president of the Service Employees International Union, said in June: “Individuals can make their own choices about whether they want to get into a driverless car or taxi, but labour-saving technology will be deployed by businesses much quicker.”
There’s also been some form of automation on worldwide metro systems for many years. London’s Docklands Light Railway is one example, while the Copenhagen Metro is run by a fully automated system, consisting of automatic train protection, operation and supervision.
However, one area where technology has yet to gain a foothold is rail freight.
FRA: two-person crews for safety
On 15 August, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) urged the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to withdraw a proposed rule that mandates two-person crews on railroads. “The simple fact is that no data exist showing two-person crews will enhance safety," said Edward Hamberger, AAR president and CEO, in a statement.
Ed Greenberg, AAR head of media relations, says the organisation also “believes the FRA should leave crew size determination to freight railroads and their employees”, although the AAR’s opposition to the plan is not due to any explicit support for driverless technology.
Greenberg adds: “While the [US] Department of Transportation is throwing its full support behind development of autonomous vehicles as a way to improve safety on our roadways, it is backing a rule-making for the rail industry that goes in the opposite direction and would freeze rail productivity and chill innovation.”
"There is no magic bullet when it comes to safety."
For its part, the FRA, which failed to respond to a request for comment, has said in press statements that it believes “safety is enhanced with the use of a multiple person crew; safety dictates that you never allow a single point of failure”. But, as Hamberger’s comment shows, this is a point of contention.
Currently there’s unrest in the industry, as some feel rail freight is being left behind technologically and, consequently, its business could suffer. Former director of the research and development office of the FRA and now a rail consultant, rail freight could be left behind, but he also recognises occasions where two-person crews would be justified, “for example, a 120-car coal train going across Nebraska, at night, in the winter in a snow storm”.
As Ditmeyer explains: “Railroaders in the US aren’t always really good at foreseeing how new technology will work.
“Many of the top people are perhaps not technical people. That makes them more cautious. Also, technology is expensive to implement. It has potential major benefits, but some are not fully comfortable with it.”
That’s not to say, though, that technology is completely absent. Positive train control, which will have the ability to automatically stop a train, has been a long-running issue in the US, with the deadline for implementation now set at 2018, three years later than originally planned. There are also drones used for track and bridge inspections and what Greenberg calls “alerter systems” in freight cabs, among other things.
“There is no magic bullet when it comes to safety,” says Greenberg, “it requires relentless innovation. The industry increasingly resembles Silicon Valley rather than [the] iconic black and white railroad images of days gone by.”
Driverless trials planned in Europe and for Rio Tinto
Across the pond in Europe, there is greater progress on driverless technology.
It was revealed in June that Dutch company Prorail is planning to trial automated operation of freight trains on the Betuweroute freight line, which links Rotterdam to the German border, near Emmerich. The International Railway Journal reports that trials are expected to begin next year and that a driver will be present during the tests.
Meanwhile, German operator Deutsche Bahn has bigger ideas for its network. Its chairman, Rudiger Grube, told the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in June that “by 2021, 2022 or 2023 we will be able to run fully automatically in parts of our network”.
Foreshadowing that, there is still much to be done, as Grube added: “Autonomous driving on a complex rail system, with passenger trains and freight trains is more difficult than on a subway – but it is possible. The first pilot projects are already running, on a test field, we have built [on] the Erzgebirgsbahn."
"Prorail plans to trial automated operation of freight trains sometime next year."
Reports suggest that trains will be fitted with cameras and other technologies to detect obstacles on the track and stop the train if necessary. When asked for more information, a Deutsche Bahn spokesperson said: “The project is still in an initial stage. In order to make a precise and explicit statement, further detailed discussions and studies are necessary.”
A more concrete plan, albeit one that has been delayed, has been put forward by Rio Tinto. The $518m AutoHaul project – which Rio calls the world’s first fully autonomous, heavy-haul, long-distance railway system – is intended to transport iron ore from the company’s 15 mines in Australia's Pilbara region.
Rio Tinto has already run trials for AutoHaul, but the original target to have all trains with driverless operation by 2015 has been missed.
‘They can be made safe’
As the industry awaits news of the aforementioned trials, and as the FRA reviews comments it received regarding its plans, the question arises: how long before driverless tech becomes the norm?
“I would say greater than ten years. The technology isn’t quite there yet,” says Ditmeyer. But, he adds: “They could be made safe."
This view is shared by Bill Newman, senior advisor at HC Project Advisors. “I think driverless trains can be made safe, just as I think autonomous cars and trucks can be made safe,” he explains. Although, he admits that “there would need to be a substantial effort to educate and persuade the public of that conclusion”.
As well as that, Newman acknowledges that the issues are complex and difficult. “That said, there is an announcement in the media every day of a major company investing in autonomous operation.”
Technology can improve safety, but as Ditmeyer outlined earlier, there may be some examples where human interaction is necessary. The safety of using automation on freight will only become evident once numerous trials have been completed. That said, it is very likely driverless technology will impact the rail freight sector in one way or another over the next few years, just not at the same speed as other industries.
“If Europe is going to do these driverless trials, it will be quite fascinating,” Ditmeyer says.
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This is today's PRIVATIZED SNCF/KEOLIS--------not that warm and fuzzy EURORAIL. This guy looks at his corporation as PROFITEERING AND GLOBAL COMPETITION------and we can be sure those FRENCH RAIL UNION MEMBERS---like our US RAIL UNION MEMBERS will be treated as this company was FOUNDED----and like CHINESE SILK ROAD RAILWAY workers.
SNCF is expanding in ITALY, SPAIN, GERMANY, PORTUGAL/US with partnering as global transportation logistics.
When we look at RAILROAD global transportation corporations they are all being tied to this same LOGISTICS.
What do we hear from European labor union members? THEY LIKE THE GERMAN LABOR UNION MODELS. Know what? Those models were created from REAL LEFT SOCIAL PROGRESSIVE LIBERAL CAPITALISM these several centuries of I AM MAN/WOMAN.
The GERMANY AS FOREIGN ECONOMIC ZONE will be EASTERN GERMANY------STALINIST/MAOIST MARXISM. This is the opposite of Western European/US labor union models.
CHINESE RAIL WORKERS MODEL IS THAT STALINIST/MAOIST RAILROAD WORKER-----
This apprenticeship model being called GERMAN------will mirror that apprenticeship model that is CHINESE.
Oct 20, 2019
Addressing the Skill Gap: The ICATT Apprenticeship Program
Updated: Oct 21, 2019
An SRG Leadership Interview with:
Mario Kratsch
American manufacturing is vying for a comeback and with the boomer work force retiring, there’s ample opportunity for great careers in the sector. But an entire generation of Americans has been taught that a bachelor’s degree is a necessity and that manufacturing jobs are undesirable—poor pay and bad conditions.
Many gen-z and millennials are struggling with debt and have difficulty establishing a career path; meanwhile, many good paying jobs in the manufacturing sector remain open without qualified candidates.
In 2012, German manufacturing companies in the Chicago area were beginning to realize that while the economy was recovering, their talent pipeline was drying up. This was a striking realization because this type of problem rarely occurs in Germany—a fact widely attributed to Germany’s robust apprenticeship system.
These Chicago based German companies were interested in developing the same system locally in order to attain the same ‘soft benefits’ that are available in Germany. They wanted to get young people involved in the business with the goal of showing them there is a possibility not just to earn money, but to establish a career in their company and industry.
This led to an inquiry at the German American Chamber of Commerce of the Midwest, Inc. (GACC Midwest) and, soon after, Mario Kratsch was boarding a plane to Chicago. Today, Mario and a team of ten run the Industry Consortium for Advanced Technical Training (ICATT)—the American apprenticeship model benchmarked against the time-tested German System.
ICATT provides a long-term solution to the skills-gap problem by cultivating a system that trains and supports skilled workforce. Apprentices commit to work-study programs, come out of the apprenticeship with an associate degree, a well-paying job and, here’s the kicker: no debt.
We recently sat down with Mario to learn how ICATT was adapted to meet the needs of American companies and apprentices.
What is the origin of the German Model?
The German model finds its basic origins in the pre-industrial era when skills needed to work in the trades were prized. Guilds formed and only approved apprentices were taught the craft – and only those with the skills were allowed to work in these trades. But by that time, the system was looking way different – for instance: apprentices had to cover the entire cost of such training.
When you fast forward to post-war Germany, when the country was in an era of reform, the government passed the current Vocational Training Act which created the Apprenticeship system under the Ministry of Economy with the goal of promoting and ensuring a stable economy. Additional partners are included, but, generally speaking, the apprenticeship system in Germany is much more seen as a matter of a healthy economy first - hence the close connection to the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
Today, within Germany’s apprenticeship system, the entire workforce breaks down into roughly 350 industry standardized occupational profiles. These profiles (e.g. job specs) describe the skills, experience, education and certifications necessary for any vocation. Industry and education closely cooperate in the process of defining these minimum standards. Companies train to these minimum standards and add specifics to fit their needs.
The good thing for the company is: they develop the workforce with the skills they need.
The good thing for the apprentices is: they end up with a transferable credential which is valid throughout the industry – rather than just a company internal qualification.
When German kids are in high school, they are encouraged to take on internships to test out different industries and to help them form thoughts about their ideal career path. From there, many choose the apprentice route after high school to gain valuable work experience which can be applied to a career path or give them a ‘leg up’ in college level education.
Tell us about the ICATT Model.
The initial challenge of launching the model was adapting the German system to American norms. It’s an industry backed system in Germany and everybody values it. Here in the U.S., apprenticeships as a career pathway are commonly unknown, or unappealing.
SORRY, MOVING FORWARD IS NOT CAPITALIST GERMANY-----IT IS EAST GERMAN LIBERTARIAN MARXISM AKA MAOIST MARXISM.
ICATT is changing that narrative by creating a pipeline that begins with outreach to high schools with the goal of advocating for careers in manufacturing to teachers, parents, and students. Interested students can apply for an apprenticeship, if accepted, they start with a company right away. In turn, by investing in the program and the apprentice, participating companies have access that stream of talent. While high- school graduates are the main target group for companies, companies are free to hire whomever they want as their apprentice.
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All of this discussion HASN'T HAPPENED YET.. Global banking 1% are still flying of US FLAG ----they are still pretending CONGRESS and US PRESIDENT are MOVING FORWARD ------MADE IN AMERICA BY AMERICAN holy grail. So, we still have a US FEDERAL government-----we still have local and state agencies tasked with ENFORCING these all-American labor conditions.
OUR US 99% WE THE PEOPLE BLACK, WHITE, AND BROWN CITIZENS AND ARE NOT COLONIAL SLAVE LABOR YET.
Please stop allowing all this consolidation of UTILITIES/PUBLIC WORKS------especially outsourced to FOREIGN CORPORATIONS because this is the goal of MOVING FORWARD ONE WORLD ONE GOVERNANCE.
Matter how much CLINTON/BUSH/OBAMA global banking neo-liberals and neo-cons want to pretend we are already in CHINESE FOREIGN ECONOMIC ZONE format------we are NOT. These few decades MOVING FORWARD infrastructure building will DECIDE THAT.
REMEMBER----FDR era was REAL LEFT SOCIAL PROGRESSIVE LIBERAL CAPITALISM--------when HARVARD and LOYOLA created all those US WORKER/JOB PLACE protections as part of THE NEW DEAL......If this WALSH was living today he would be HIT AND ILLEGALLY SURVEILLED 24/7 PORN ----DUCKING AND DODGING JUST LIKE ME A FELLOW WALSH........
anti-imperialist----Hmmm, I like this ancestor
'The Walsh-Healey Act that applies to U.S. government contracts exceeding $15,000 for the manufacturing or furnishing of goods. Walsh-Healey establishes overtime pay for hours worked by contractor employees in excess of 40 hours per week, and sets the minimum wage equal to the prevailing wage as determined by the Secretary of Labor. The law prohibits the employment of youths less than 16 years of age and convicts (only those currently in prison), except under certain conditions.[1] The Act sets standards for the use of convict labor, and job health and safety standards. The Walsh-Healey Act does not apply to commercial items'.
Summary of the Major Laws of the Department of Labor
On This Page
Wages and Hours
Workplace Safety and Health
Workers' Compensation
Employee Benefits
Unions and Their Members
Employee Protection
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act
Employee Polygraph Protection Act
Garnishment of Wages
Family and Medical Leave Act
Veterans' Preference
Government Contracts, Grants, or Financial Aid
Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Workers
Mine Safety and Health
Construction
Transportation
Plant Closings and Layoffs
Posters
Related Agencies
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) administers and enforces more than 180 federal laws.
These mandates and the regulations that implement them cover many workplace activities for about 10 million employers and 125 million workers.
Following is a brief description of many of DOL's principal statutes most commonly applicable to businesses, job seekers, workers, retirees, contractors and grantees. This brief summary is intended to acquaint you with the major labor laws and not to offer a detailed exposition. For authoritative information and references to fuller descriptions on these laws, you should consult the statutes and regulations themselves.
Rulemaking and Regulations provides brief descriptions of and links to various sources of information on DOL's rulemaking activities and regulations.
Wages and Hours
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) prescribes standards for wages and overtime pay, which affect most private and public employment. The act is administered by the Wage and Hour Division. It requires employers to pay covered employees who are not otherwise exempt at least the federal minimum wage and overtime pay of one-and-one-half-times the regular rate of pay. For nonagricultural operations, it restricts the hours that children under age 16 can work and forbids the employment of children under age 18 in certain jobs deemed too dangerous. For agricultural operations, it prohibits the employment of children under age 16 during school hours and in certain jobs deemed too dangerous.
The Wage and Hour Division also enforces the labor standards provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act that apply to aliens authorized to work in the U.S. under certain nonimmigrant visa programs (H-1B, H-1B1, H-1C, H2A).
Workplace Safety and Health
The Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act is administered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Safety and health conditions in most private industries are regulated by OSHA or OSHA-approved state programs, which also cover public sector employers. Employers covered by the OSH Act must comply with the regulations and the safety and health standards promulgated by OSHA. Employers also have a general duty under the OSH Act to provide their employees with work and a workplace free from recognized, serious hazards. OSHA enforces the Act through workplace inspections and investigations. Compliance assistance and other cooperative programs are also available.
Workers' Compensation
If you worked for a private company or a state government, you should contact the workers' compensation program for the state in which you lived or worked. The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Workers' Compensation Programs does not have a role in the administration or oversight of state workers' compensation programs.
The Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA), administered by The Office of Workers Compensation Programs (OWCP), provides for compensation and medical care to certain maritime employees (including a longshore worker or other person in longshore operations, and any harbor worker, including a ship repairer, shipbuilder, and shipbreaker) and to qualified dependent survivors of such employees who are disabled or die due to injuries that occur on the navigable waters of the United States, or in adjoining areas customarily used in loading, unloading, repairing or building a vessel.
The Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA) is a compensation program that provides a lump-sum payment of $150,000 and prospective medical benefits to employees (or certain of their survivors) of the Department of Energy and its contractors and subcontractors as a result of cancer caused by exposure to radiation, or certain illnesses caused by exposure to beryllium or silica incurred in the performance of duty, as well as for payment of a lump-sum of $50,000 and prospective medical benefits to individuals (or certain of their survivors) determined by the Department of Justice to be eligible for compensation as uranium workers under section 5 of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA).
The Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA), 5 U.S.C. 8101 et seq., establishes a comprehensive and exclusive workers' compensation program which pays compensation for the disability or death of a federal employee resulting from personal injury sustained while in the performance of duty. The FECA, administered by OWCP, provides benefits for wage loss compensation for total or partial disability, schedule awards for permanent loss or loss of use of specified members of the body, related medical costs, and vocational rehabilitation.
The Black Lung Benefits Act (BLBA) provides monthly cash payments and medical benefits to coal miners totally disabled from pneumoconiosis ("black lung disease") arising from their employment in the nation's coal mines. The statute also provides monthly benefits to a deceased miner's survivors if the miner's death was due to black lung disease.
Employee Benefit Security
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) regulates employers who offer pension or welfare benefit plans for their employees. Title I of ERISA is administered by the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) and imposes a wide range of fiduciary, disclosure and reporting requirements on fiduciaries of pension and welfare benefit plans and on others having dealings with these plans. These provisions preempt many similar state laws. Under Title IV, certain employers and plan administrators must fund an insurance system to protect certain kinds of retirement benefits, with premiums paid to the federal government's Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). EBSA also administers reporting requirements for continuation of health-care provisions, required under the Comprehensive Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) and the health care portability requirements on group plans under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
Unions and their Members
The Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) of 1959 (also known as the Landrum-Griffin Act) deals with the relationship between a union and its members. It protects union funds and promotes union democracy by requiring labor organizations to file annual financial reports, by requiring union officials, employers, and labor consultants to file reports regarding certain labor relations practices, and by establishing standards for the election of union officers. The act is administered by the Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS).
Employee Protection
Most labor and public safety laws and many environmental laws mandate whistleblower protections for employees who complain about violations of the law by their employers. Remedies can include job reinstatement and payment of back wages. OSHA enforces the whistleblower protections in most laws.
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act
Certain persons who serve in the armed forces have a right to reemployment with the employer they were with when they entered service. This includes those called up from the reserves or National Guard. These rights are administered by the Veterans' Employment and Training Service.
Employee Polygraph Protection Act
This law bars most employers from using lie detectors on employees, but permits polygraph tests only in limited circumstances. It is administered by the Wage and Hour Division.
Garnishment of Wages
Garnishment of employee wages by employers is regulated under the Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA) which is administered by the Wage and Hour Division.
Family and Medical Leave Act
Administered by the Wage and Hour Division, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requires employers of 50 or more employees to give up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave to eligible employees for the birth or adoption of a child or for the serious illness of the employee or a spouse, child or parent.
Veterans' Preference
Veterans and other eligible persons have special employment rights with the federal government. They are provided preference in initial hiring and protection in reductions in force. Claims of violation of these rights are investigated by the Veterans' Employment and Training Service.
Government Contracts, Grants, or Financial Aid
Recipients of government contracts, grants or financial aid are subject to wage, hour, benefits, and safety and health standards under:
The Davis-Bacon Act, which requires payment of prevailing wages and benefits to employees of contractors engaged in federal government construction projects;
The McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act, which sets wage rates and other labor standards for employees of contractors furnishing services to the federal government;
The Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act, which requires payment of minimum wages and other labor standards by contractors providing materials and supplies to the federal government.
Administration and enforcement of these laws are by The Wage and Hour Division. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) administers and enforces three federal contract-based civil rights laws that require most federal contractors and subcontractors, as well as federally assisted construction contractors, to provide equal employment opportunity. The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management's (OASAM) Civil Rights Center administers and enforces several federal assistance based civil rights laws requiring recipients of federal financial assistance from Department of Labor to provide equal opportunity.
Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Workers
The Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA) regulates the hiring and employment activities of agricultural employers, farm labor contractors, and associations using migrant and seasonal agricultural workers. The Act prescribes wage protections, housing and transportation safety standards, farm labor contractor registration requirements, and disclosure requirements. The Wage and Hour Division administers this law.
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) exempts agricultural workers from overtime premium pay, but requires the payment of the minimum wage to workers employed on larger farms (farms employing more than approximately seven full-time workers. The Act has special child-labor regulations that apply to agricultural employment; children under 16 are forbidden to work during school hours and in certain jobs deemed too dangerous. Children employed on their families' farms are exempt from these regulations. The Wage and Hour Division administers this law. OSHA also has special safety and health standards that may apply to agricultural operations.
The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) requires employers who want to use foreign temporary workers on H-2A visas to get a labor certificate from the Employment and Training Administration certifying that there are not sufficient, able, willing and qualified U.S. workers available to do the work. The labor standards protections of the H-2A program are enforced by The Wage and Hour Division.
Mine Safety and Health
The Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (Mine Act) covers all people who work on mine property. The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) administers this Act.
The Mine Act holds mine operators responsible for the safety and health of miners; provides for the setting of mandatory safety and health standards, mandates miners' training requirements; prescribes penalties for violations; and enables inspectors to close dangerous mines. The safety and health standards address numerous hazards including roof falls, flammable and explosive gases, fire, electricity, equipment rollovers and maintenance, airborne contaminants, noise, and respirable dust. MSHA enforces safety and health requirements at more than 13,000 mines, investigates mine accidents, and offers mine operators training, technical and compliance assistance.
Construction
Several agencies administer programs related solely to the construction industry. OSHA has special occupational safety and health standards for construction; The Wage and Hour Division, under Davis-Bacon and related acts, requires payment of prevailing wages and benefits; The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs enforces Executive Order 11246, which requires federal construction contractors and subcontractors, as well as federally assisted construction contractors, to provide equal employment opportunity; the anti-kickback section of the Copeland Act precludes a federal contractor from inducing any employee to sacrifice any part of the compensation required.
Transportation
Most laws with labor provisions regulating the transportation industry are administered by agencies outside the Department of Labor. However, longshoring and maritime industry safety and health standards are issued and enforced by OSHA. The Longshoring and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA), requires employers to assure that workers' compensation is funded and available to eligible employees. In addition, the rights of employees in the mass transit industry are protected when federal funds are used to acquire, improve, or operate a transit system. Under the Federal Transit law, the Department of Labor is responsible for approving employee protection arrangements before the department of Transportation can release funds to grantees.
Plant Closings and Layoffs
Such occurrences may be subject to the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN). WARN offers employees early warning of impending layoffs or plant closings. The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) provides information to the public on WARN, though neither ETA nor the Department of Labor has administrative responsibility for the statute, which is enforced through private action in the federal courts.
Posters
Some of the statutes and regulations enforced by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) require that notices be provided to employees and/or posted in the workplace. DOL provides free electronic and printed copies of these required posters.
The elaws Poster Advisor can be used to determine which poster(s) employers are required to display at their place(s) of business. Posters, available in English and other languages, may be downloaded and printed directly from the Advisor. If you already know which poster(s) you are required to display, see below to download and print the appropriate poster(s) free of charge.
Please note that the elaws Poster Advisor provides information on federal DOL poster requirements.
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