Labor

WALMART_20121123_001.JPG

Chris Hicks (left) of Jobs With Justice and Yvette Bryant of the Florida Avenue Baptist Church Social Justice Ministry raise their hands in solidarity with Walmart workers on Nov. 23, 2012, during a demonstration outside the Walmart in Capital Plaza Mall in Hyattsville, Md. The workers have been protesting low wages, reductions in hours, changes in schedules and firings. There has been some concern that Walmart will retaliate against employees who speak out or strike. This protest was one of about 1,000 nationwide. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

THANKSGIVING_112218

Central Union Mission resident Jerry Leathers, 60, reacts to receiving his meal during the Thanksgiving Day dinner at the Central Union Mission in Washington, D.C., Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

THANKSGIVING_112217

Central Union Mission resident James Higdon, 56, pauses during the opening prayer during the Thanksgiving Day dinner at the Central Union Mission in Washington, D.C., Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

COZY_6527_20121121

A sign sits outside a destroyed restaurant in Union Beach, N.J. on Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2012. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

State Unemployment_Live.jpg

**FILE** Job seekers wait in line to see employers at a National Career Fairs' job fair in New York on Oct. 24, 2012. (Associated Press)

20121115-185952-pic-615813836.jpg

Protesters march past a closed shop during a union demonstration Wednesday in Thessaloniki, Greece. Officials announced Europe has been in the second leg of a double-dip recession since the fourth quarter of last year. The overall European unemployment rate is at a record-high 11.6 percent, and it is hovering around 25 percent in Greece and Spain. (Associated Press)

AUSTERITY_6117_20121114

Police officers try to push protesters back onto the pavement Nov. 14, 2012, after they blocked traffic on Oxford Street in London while demonstrating against the dismissal of 28 workers employed by contractors on the Crossrail transport project, whom they say were fired for being trade union members. (Associated Press)

AUSTERITY_6116_20121114

A police officer fires tear gas as police face demonstrators during a protest against Italian Government austerity measures in Turin, Italy, Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012. Workers across the European Union sought to present a united front against rampant unemployment and government spending cuts Wednesday with a string of strikes and demonstrations across the region. Protesters clashed with police in various demonstrations in Rome, Milan, Turin, Padua and Brescia. (AP Photo/Fabio Ferrari, Lapresse)

AUSTERITY_6115_20121114

A woman cries out as she tries to help a protestor who lies injured on the ground as a policeman stands nearby, after clashes with riot police during a general strike in Valencia, Spain, Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012. Spain's General Workers' Union said the nationwide stoppage, the second this year, was being observed by nearly all workers in the automobile, energy, shipbuilding and constructions industries. (AP Photo/Fernando Hernandez)

AUSTERITY_6112_20121114

Demonstrators clash with riot police during a protest against Italian Government austerity measures in Rome, Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012. Workers across the European Union sought to present a united front against rampant unemployment and government spending cuts Wednesday with a string of strikes and demonstrations across the region. Protesters clashed with police in various demonstrations in Rome, Milan, Turin, Padua and Brescia. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

AUSTERITY_6111_20121114

A protestor is held by riot police during clashes in a general strike in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012. Spain's General Workers' Union said the nationwide stoppage, the second this year, was being observed by nearly all workers in the automobile, energy, shipbuilding and constructions industries. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)

AUSTERITY_6110_20121114

Demonstrators shout and wave flags as they march through Gran Via street during a general strike in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012. Spain's General Workers' Union said the nationwide stoppage, the second this year, was being observed by nearly all workers in the automobile, energy, shipbuilding and constructions industries. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)

AUSTERITY_6108_20121114

Protestors use spoons and pans to make noise during an European trade union protest in Brussels on Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012. With rampant unemployment spreading misery in southern Europe and companies shutting factories across the continent, workers around the European Union sought to unite in a string of strikes and demonstrations on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

AUSTERITY_6105_20121114

Police clash with demonstrators during a protest against Italian Government austerity measures in Rome, Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012. Workers across the European Union sought to present a united front against rampant unemployment and government spending cuts Wednesday with a string of strikes and demonstrations across the region. Protesters clashed with police in various demonstrations in Rome, Milan, Turin, Padua and Brescia. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)