Fair Trade Chocolate Trumps Hershey’s this Halloween

The largest candy company in the United States has recently come under fire not for the sugar-laden, teeth-rotting treats they sling at children, but rather for the children they employ to do the slinging.  The Hershey Food Corporation may have a corporate headquarters located in aptly named Hershey, Pennsylvania, but the cocoa beans that are harvested to make the chocolate for which they are internationally famous can be found in Ghana and Ivory Coast in Africa, along with underage and exploited workers.  A recent report released by Tulane University’s Payson Center for International Development cited Hershey as one of the companies responsible for the endurance of child labor in these countries, and called for them to embrace fair trade practices that would help to bring about the end of child labor in the cocoa industry.  But until they take up the call, there are several other organizations willing to adopt fair trade practices when it comes to making chocolate.  And you may want to use your consumer dollars to send a message to Hershey this Halloween: that the exploitation of children is too frightening for even this spooky holiday. Read more

Halloween: Good for Business, Bad for the Environment

Nobody wants to rain on the parade of kids who are celebrating a holiday (no matter how commercial it is).  But anyone who’s interested in the future of the planet they’re leaving their children should be aware of the ecological ramifications of holiday gluttony.  While the holiday season is often the best time of year for businesses (both retail and service oriented), who make a fortune selling their wares to gift-giving customers, it also heralds a marked increase in the amount of non-recyclable waste that gets dumped into our ever-expanding landfills.  So which is more important: supporting an economy that is currently ailing, threatening to throw our consumer-driven society into total social upheaval, or the environment that sustains our life in the first place?  Well, it’s not hard to see which one is winning.
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Holiday Time Off: Good for Employees, Good for Business

Many companies struggle with whether or not to give employees a week off between Christmas and New Year.  This can be a difficult decision in the corporate world because time lost generally equates to money lost, especially since policy usually dictates that mandatory time off must still be paid.  And even small businesses (that are really starting to feel the pressure from the trickle-down effect of the ongoing recession) may need to use every man-hour to get product out the door and keep things running smoothly.  But the truth is, employers would be better served to shut down operations for awhile and allow everyone a little time off around the holidays. Read more

“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Makes Some Noise

You may have heard about the federal judge in Riverside, California who, earlier this month, placed an injunction on the enforcement of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, ordering officials to disregard it.  This came only a few weeks after the policy was declared unconstitutional by the very same judge (Virginia A. Phillips) in Log Cabin Republicans v. United States of America.  And of course, this followed the very public gay rights rally in Washington earlier this year in which comedienne Kathy Griffin (amongst others) waxed poetic about the rights of gays in the military. Read more

Is “Right-to-Work” Legislation a Strike Against Unions?

Perhaps the only thing you know about the unionization of workers is what you have seen in movies like Hoffa and Norma Rae.  Or maybe you have been a member of a union, since they are prevalent in many common professions (teachers, auto workers, the entertainment industry, etc.).  Whatever you know about unions, you probably at least realize that their main purpose is to protect the rights of workers by ensuring that they receive a fair wage, avoid exploitation, and that labor laws are followed in the workplace.  However, unionization in some industries has made it difficult for non-union workers to secure gainful employment.  And let’s face it; not everyone who wants to hold a job has a desire to become beholden to a union, or pay their dues (despite any advantages they may offer).  As a response to this backlash, many states have enacted right-to-work legislation to counteract the “closed shop” situation that only allows certain businesses to hire union workers.  But is this legislation good for workers, or is it merely a bid for businesses to regain control of their employees? Read more

The Fate of E-Waste and What it Means for Our Environment

What do you think happens to your computer parts and other related electronics when you throw them away?  For starters, you probably realize that you can’t just toss them in the trash.  You no doubt have to call your local garbage collectors for a special hazardous materials pick-up.  But where do they go from there?  You may think that these items are refurbished, recycled, or at least picked through for useful components, but by and large, that is not the case.  For the most part, these unwanted electronics are shipped overseas by the boatload to be dumped in landfills in China, India, Africa, and other developing nations, where they are broken down, scrounged for scrap, and then either abandoned or incinerated.  Either way, they are left to release harmful contaminants into the ground, water, and air, leading to massive pollution and who-knows what kind of long-term damage. Read more

Gender Issues in the Global Workplace

It’s been a good long while since the traditional role of the woman as a happy homemaker (and nothing else) has held sway in America (sorry, Norman Rockwell).  While many women still decide to make childcare their primary function, at least for a portion of their adult lives, most women work and build careers outside the home either simultaneously or as an alternative to raising a family.  In some cases, this is a situation bred by necessity, but more often than not, women seek the fulfillment and enrichment that a job can provide.  And accordingly, the global workplace is beginning to open opportunities for female occupations abroad. Read more