Study: Modern managers mimic slave owners

A <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_University" rel="nofollow">Harvard</a> historian discovered what many of us suspected: Today's corporations use many of the same management techniques plantation owners used on their slaves.<br /><br />The legacy of slavery can be seen in aloof corporate managers (<a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/10/hammergrens-high-pay-explains-workers-low-pay.html" rel="nofollow">McKesson's CEO John Hammergren</a>, for example.) They see workers as interchangeable units of production instead of human beings. They collect data on their work force, move workers around, demand speed-ups and liberally mete out punishment.<br /><br />That, at least, is what <a href="http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/7182.html" rel="nofollow">Prof. Caitlin C. Rosenthal</a> discovered, according to a story, titled "The Messy Link Between Slave Owners And Modern Management," in a pro-business magazine<a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/hbsworkingknowledge/2013/01/16/the-messy-link-between-slave-owners-and-modern-management/" rel="nofollow"> Forbes</a>. Forbes' take on the historian's research was that it could be seen as a justification for slavery. Leave it to a business magazine to miss the point that it's an indictment of modern corporate management. <br /><br />Here's what Rosenthal found when she set out to investigate the history of modern business practices:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Slave owners were able to collect data on their workforce in ways that other business owners couldn’t because they had complete control over their workers. They didn’t have to worry about turnover or recruiting new workers, and they could experiment with different tactics—moving workers around and demanding higher levels of output, even monitoring what they ate and how long new mothers breastfed their babies. And the slaves had no recourse... </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Tracking this information allowed planters to determine how far they could push their workers to get the most profit. Using the account books, slave owners could see how many pounds of cotton each slave picked and compare it to their output from previous years—and then create minimum picking requirements based on these calculations. </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">This led owners to experiment with ways of increasing the pace of labor, Rosenthal explains, such as holding contests with small cash prizes for those who picked the most cotton, and then requiring the winners to pick that much cotton from there on out. Slave narratives describe how others used the data to calculate punishment, meting out whippings according to how many pounds each picker fell short. </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Similar incentive plans reappeared in early twentieth-century factories, with managers dangling the promise of cash rewards if their workers reached certain production levels. </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Planters also used group incentives to encourage honesty, doling out a barrel of corn to each hand with the caveat that if anything was stolen from the farm and no one turned in the thief, double the value of that corn would be deducted from each of their Christmas awards. Collective penalties would later be adopted by salesmen and companies like Singer Sewing Company to encourage workers to police one another.</blockquote>Weove noted in the past that technology is allowing corporations to bring <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/02/tesco-target-treat-workers-like.html" rel="nofollow">employee surveillance to a new level</a>. At the British grocery chain Tesco, warehouse workers have to wear armbands so their bosses can monitor how hard they're working.<br /><br />Rosenthal said her research led to a question:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">If today we are using management techniques that were also used on slave plantations, how much more careful do we need to be? How much more do we need to think about our responsibility to people?</blockquote>One commenter put it more succinctly:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Slavery never ended, it just shifted to a different form.</blockquote>Actually, it hasn't shifted to a different form in a lot of places. There are 30 million slaves in the world. Click <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/10/17/this-map-shows-where-the-worlds-30-million-slaves-live-there-are-60000-in-the-u-s/" rel="nofollow">here</a> to see where they are.

ceo McKesson slavery Study: Modern managers mimic slave owners

A Harvard historian discovered what many of us suspected: Today's corporations use many of the same management techniques plantation owners used on their slaves.The legacy of slavery can be seen in aloof corporate managers (McKesson's CEO John Hammer…

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Today's Teamster News 10.21.13

<a href="http://aattp.org/tea-party-rep-farenthold-disabled-vets-hurt-gop-shut-make-sacrifices/" rel="nofollow">Tea Party Rep. Farenthold To Disabled Vets Hurt By GOP Shut-Down: ‘You have to Make Sacrifices!’</a>  aatp.org   ...Congressman Blake Farenthold (R- Texas...) told veterans about to lose their disability checks due to the government shutdown, that they would have to make sacrifices...<br /><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/20/democrats-social-security-cuts_n_4132087.html" rel="nofollow">Why Democrats Might Cave On Social Security Cuts</a>  Huffington Post   ...Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) on Sunday opened the door to Social Security cuts as part of a budget deal with congressional Republicans...<br /><a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/176715/farmworkers-hit-nyc-protest-wendys-labor-practices#" rel="nofollow">Farmworkers Hit NYC to Protest Wendy’s Labor Practices</a>  The Nation   ...The members of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) had just arrived in the city from Immokalee, Florida, and were gathered to pressure Wendy’s to sign on to CIW’s Fair Food Program (FFP), an initiative that ensures fast-food chains purchase tomatoes from ethical produce suppliers...<br /><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2013/10/19/how-stores-use-your-phones-wifi-to-track-your-shopping-habits/" rel="nofollow">How stores use your phone’s WiFi to track your shopping habits </a> Washington Post   ...in a retail environment, other in-store equipment can pick up your WiFi card, learn your device's unique ID number and use it to keep tabs on that device over time as you move through the store...<br /><a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/2013-10-20/indirect-slavery-we%E2%80%99re-all-guilty" rel="nofollow">(In)Direct Slavery: We’re All Guilty</a>  Pivotfarm   ...There are 29.8 million slaves in the world. They mostly work in developing and emerging countries producing goods that are destined for the Western world and our own markets...<br /><a href="http://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-mexico-cartel-honcho-reportedly-killed-by-clowns-20131019,0,4576466.story" rel="nofollow">Mexico cartel honcho reportedly killed by gunmen dressed as clowns</a>  Los Angeles Times   ...Gunmen dressed as clowns burst into a children’s party and shot to death the eldest brother of one of Mexico’s erstwhile largest and feared drug-trafficking families, Mexican officials and press said Saturday...<br /><a href="http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite1_1_20/10/2013_523992" rel="nofollow">In Greece, wisdom of privatizations under question</a>  Ekathimerini   ...Unions have long warned that the planned offloading of stakes in utility and transport companies will impose higher water and gas prices to a population already struggling through a six-year recession. Wages have fallen by over 22 percent since 2010 according to state statistics, and unemployment has soared to over 27 percent of the active workforce...<br /><a href="http://www.salon.com/2013/10/19/the_birth_of_fox_news/" rel="nofollow">The birth of Fox News</a>  Salon   ...From day one, Rupert Murdoch's baby was louder and angrier than its competitors. The media has never recovered...<br /><a href="http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/19519-meat-so-cheap-you-could-die" rel="nofollow">Meat So Cheap You Could Die</a>  Other Words   ...The first known salmonella cases from this latest bout of bad chicken occurred in March. They continued through at least late September. That means consumers bought and ate contaminated meat for at least seven months before they learned that something might be amiss. Since it takes a few weeks to report and confirm a new case, it’s likely more people will get sick than the early numbers indicated....<br /><a href="http://truth-out.org/news/item/19510-the-abject-failure-of-reaganomics" rel="nofollow">The Abject Failure of Reaganomics</a> (opinion)  Consortium News   ...If a large segment of the American public continues to buy into the Tea Party’s fake reality, then it is likely that both the political damage and the economic decline will continue apace, with fewer good-paying jobs, a shrinking middle class and more of the bitter alienation that has fed the Tea Party’s growth in the first place. In other words, the United States will remain in a vicious circle that is also a downward spiral...<br /><a href="http://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2011/05/03/ohios-hidden-bob-evans-subsidies?fb_action_ids=10153408293135347&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%7B%2210153408293135347%22%3A10150171024484651%7D&action_type_map=%7B%2210153408293135347%22%3A%22og.likes%22%7D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D" rel="nofollow">Ohio's Hidden Bob Evans Subsidies</a>  CleveScene   ... a just-released study … found that more than one in every eight Bob Evans employees qualifies for Medicaid, food assistance, or cash assistance from the state. The taxpayer cost is pegged at $14 million annually…

farmworkers fast food workers food safety Fox News Greece mexican drug violence slavery spying tea party veterans Today's Teamster News 10.21.13

Tea Party Rep. Farenthold To Disabled Vets Hurt By GOP Shut-Down: ‘You have to Make Sacrifices!’  aatp.org   ...Congressman Blake Farenthold (R- Texas...) told veterans about to lose their disability checks due to the government shutdown, that they w…

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Today's Teamster News 09.28.13

<a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-27/regulator-said-to-look-other-way-on-unsafe-mexican-trucks.html" rel="nofollow">Regulator Said to Look Other Way on Unsafe Mexican Trucks</a>  Bloomberg   ...“They need these companies, they need the numbers,” said Fred McLuckie, director of federal legislation and regulation for the Teamsters, which unsuccessfully sued to stop regulators from allowing Mexican trucks. “They’re looking the other way...”<br /><a href="http://www.suntimes.com/news/cityhall/22827341-418/chicago-teamsters-reject-rahm-emanuels-bid-for-contract-concessions-on-461-11-vote.html" rel="nofollow">Chicago Teamsters reject Rahm Emanuel’s bid for contract concessions on 461-11 vote</a>  Chicago Sun-Times   ...Already feuding with police, firefighters, teachers and other public employees, Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration sought but failed to win concessions this week from the only major labor group that had supported Emanuel’s election...<br /><a href="http://www.teamster.org/content/funeral-industry-giant-sci-committed-unfair-labor-practices-labor-board-says" rel="nofollow">Funeral Industry Giant SCI Committed Unfair Labor Practices, Labor Board Says</a>  teamster.org   ...Region 13 of the National Labor Relations Board has found merit in several unfair labor practice charges filed against funeral industry giant Service Corporation International (SCI), which has locked out 59 funeral directors and drivers at 16 Chicago-area funeral homes...<br /><a href="http://www.teamster.org/content/teamsters-vote-wegmans-offer" rel="nofollow">Teamsters To Vote Wegmans' Offer</a>  teamster.org   ...Workers will cast ballots on the company’s proposal that would eliminate the pensions of more than 900 of its Rochester employees and dramatically reduce their compensation package...<br /><a href="http://citizen.typepad.com/eyesontrade/2013/09/beware-of-outlandish-claims-about-economic-benefits-of-us-eu-free-trade-deal.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+eyesontrade+%28Eyes+on+Trade%29" rel="nofollow">Beware of Outlandish Claims About Economic Benefits of U.S.-EU ‘Free Trade’ Deal</a>  Public Citizen   ...The study ignored the predictable social and economic costs that would result from such extreme regulatory rollback, such as an increase in the incidence of foodborne illness and a rise in financial instability...<br /><a href="http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013/09/federal-ruling-domestic-workers-protection-charts" rel="nofollow">4 Reasons Why the White House's Domestic-Worker Protections Matter </a> Mother Jones   ...Starting in January 2015, the federal labor laws that currently ensure minimum wage and overtime protections will be extended to the nation's direct-care workers—some 2 million people who perform jobs like caring for the elderly and the disabled. And yesterday, Gov. Jerry Brown signed the California Domestic Workers' Bill of Rights into law, expanding the legal protections for its estimated <a href="http://nelp.3cdn.net/6568360c9c5188e6d6_4hm6ibsc7.pdf">360,000</a> (PDF) domestic workers...<br /><a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/10/how-the-nfl-fleeces-taxpayers/309448/" rel="nofollow">How the NFL Fleeces Taxpayers</a>  The Atlantic   ...Taxpayers fund the stadiums, antitrust law doesn't apply to broadcast deals, the league enjoys nonprofit status, and Commissioner Roger Goodell makes $30 million a year. It's time to stop the public giveaways to America's richest sports league—and to the feudal lords who own its teams...<br /><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/27/ron-wyden-nsa-systematically-deceived" rel="nofollow">Sen. Ron Wyden: NSA 'repeatedly deceived the American people'</a>  The Guardian   ..."the leadership of NSA built an intelligence collection system that repeatedly deceived the American people..."<br /><a href="http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/09/27/nsa-employees-used-surveillance-system-to-spy-on-spouses-lovers/" rel="nofollow">NSA employees used surveillance system to spy on spouses, lovers</a>  Raw Story   ... a woman told the NSA that she’d recorded a conversation between her husband and a foreign telephone number because she suspected he’d been unfaithful...<br /><a href="http://laborpress.org/sectors/green-initiatives/2778-school-bus-companies-ordered-to-restore-lost-wages-to-atu-1181-workers" rel="nofollow">School Bus Companies Ordered to Restore Lost Wages to ATU 1181 Workers</a>  LaaborPress   ...Judge Matsumoto ordered the companies to return to the bargaining table they abandoned in March; bargain in good faith with the union; rescind the wage and benefit cuts and all other terms and working conditions previously imposed by the companies; and restore the wages, benefits and working conditions in effect at the time the companies imposed their cuts...<br /><a href="http://www.salon.com/2013/09/27/i_worked_all_week_for_free_the_horrifying_true_story_of_0_paychecks/" rel="nofollow">I worked all week for free?!: The horrifying, true story of $0 paychecks</a>  Salon   ...Photos provided to Salon by the National Guestworker Alliance, the group behind the work stoppage, show checks reading “No Dollars and No Cents,” and a page dated June 25 warning guest workers on H-2B visas that, “Any worker who does not show up for your assignment will be immediately removed from Mister Clean Housing and will be reported as AWOL (Absent Without Leave) to ICE (Immigration Custom Enforcement)...”<br /><a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/09/27/american-workers-hanging-on-by-the-skin-of-their-teeth/" rel="nofollow">American Workers: Hanging on by the Skin of Their Teeth</a>  Counterpunch   ...Americans are losing faith in the nation’s economic recovery.” Because they don’t see any recovery...<br /><br /><br />

Chicago funeral directors contract negotiations economy FLSA Mexican trucks NFL school bus slavery spying trade Today's Teamster News 09.28.13

Regulator Said to Look Other Way on Unsafe Mexican Trucks  Bloomberg   ...“They need these companies, they need the numbers,” said Fred McLuckie, director of federal legislation and regulation for the Teamsters, which unsuccessfully sued to stop regu…

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Today's Teamster News 09.01.13

<a href="http://business.time.com/2013/08/30/this-labor-day-much-of-america-will-be-laboring/" rel="nofollow">This Labor Day, Much of America Will Be . . . Laboring</a>  Time   ...39 percent of employers will keep operations open and require some workers to come into work, while a seperate survey of Beyond.com users says that 45% of those folks will spend Labor Day working or looking for work...<br /><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/08/30/2556301/burrito-chain-pays-entry-level-workers-10-hour-pay/" rel="nofollow">The Burrito Chain That Pays Entry-Level Workers $10 An Hour And Wants To Pay More </a> ThinkProgress   ...Boloco, a Boston-based burrito chain, pays its entry-level workers anywhere from $9 to $11 an hour, most of them making $10, with many who advance into higher roles making $17 an hour or more, CEO John Pepper told Fox Business News...<br /><a href="http://progressive.org/Wisconsin-republicans-ban-public-for-miles-from-mine" rel="nofollow">Wis. GOP to Ban Public for Miles from Mine</a>  The Progressive   ...A new bill to allow the Gogebic Taconite iron mining company to bar the public from using public access land on an eight-square-mile parcel near their proposed mine site. This is an area that attracts people from all over the country to enjoy the excellent trout fishing and hunting...<br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/01/business/income-gap-grows-wider-and-faster.html?partner=yahoofinance&_r=1&" rel="nofollow">Income Gap Grows Wider (and Faster)</a>  New York Times   ...when average wages grow faster than the median, as happened from 2009 through 2011, it means that lower earners are falling further behind those at the top...<br /><a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/08/30/freedom-from-jobs/" rel="nofollow">Freedom From Jobs</a>  Counterpunch   ... though some gains have certainly been made over the past half-century toward a more inclusive, egalitarian society, in many respects – particularly in economic matters – there has been little or no progress whatsoever...<br /><a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2013/08/longshore_union_pulls_out_of_n.html#incart_flyout_business" rel="nofollow">Longshore union pulls out of national AFL-CIO, citing attacks at Northwest grain terminals</a>  The Oregonian   ...The West Coast longshore union is pulling out of the national AFL-CIO, citing "attacks" in which the umbrella organization's members blatantly cross picket lines at Northwest grain terminals...<br /><a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/the-exchange/why-wall-street-wants-larry-summers-why-rest-180751330.html" rel="nofollow">Why Wall Street Wants Larry Summers (and Why the Rest of Us Should Not)</a>  Yahoo Finance!   ...Our recent near-death experience under Alan Greenspan’s anti-regulation Fed chairmanship, aided and abetted by the deregulation pushed by Summers, should cause the President to think hard about banking regulation...<br /><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2013/08/27/nsa-snowden-russia-obama-column/2702461/" rel="nofollow">NSA intimidation expanding surveillance state: Column </a> USA Today   ...If you run a business, and the FBI or NSA want to turn it into a mass surveillance tool, they believe they can do so, solely on their own initiative. They can force you to modify your system. They can do it all in secret and then force your business to keep that secret. Once they do that, you no longer control that part of your business...<br /><a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/2013-08-30/slavery" rel="nofollow">Slavery! </a> zero hedge   ...There are more slaves today working in the world than ever before...<br /><br />

AFL-CIO inequality Labor Day Larry Summers March on Washington public lands slavery spying wages Today's Teamster News 09.01.13

This Labor Day, Much of America Will Be . . . Laboring  Time   ...39 percent of employers will keep operations open and require some workers to come into work, while a seperate survey of Beyond.com users says that 45% of those folks will spend Labor …

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