Labor

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Jane Edmonds, former Massachusetts Secretary of Workforce addresses the Republican National Convention. (Rod Lamkey, Jr./ The Washington Times)

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South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley boasted Tuesday that airplanes at Boeing’s new plant in her state are made by “6,000 nonunion employees.” (Associated Press)

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New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie bragged Tuesday he wasn’t afraid to take on “the third rail of politics … public sector unions.” Union bashing has been a unifying theme at the Republican National Convention. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

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Terri Doring lost her secretarial job at a Philadelphia law firm in 2009. She now is on the verge of losing much of what remains of her middle-class lifestyle and is scrambling to make mortgage payments on her town house. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

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Terri Doring lost her secretarial job at a Philadelphia law firm in 2009. She now is on the verge of losing much of what remains of her middle-class lifestyle and is scrambling to make mortgage payments on her town house. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

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A power plant kept the IBM campus in Endicott, N.Y., running during the boom years. Employees enjoyed good pay, benefits and job security for years, but IBM has not been immune to the economic challenges faced by other U.S. companies. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

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Job seekers wait in line at a construction job fair in New York on Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

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Rep. Jason Chaffetz, Utah Republican, plans to ask White House officials for more information on why the Labor Department spent a half-million dollars in federal stimulus money for more than 100 commercials that ran on MSNBC. (Associated Press)

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FILE - This April 21, 2011 file photo shows baseball players union head Michael Weiner speaking at a news conference in New York. Weiner is undergoing treatment for a brain tumor. The union said Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2012, that he began treatment a day earlier. The union anticipates he will continue to work from its New York office on a daily basis. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)

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Columbus Crews' Eddie Gaven, left, reaches around Philadelphia Union's Freddy Adu as they chase the ball during the second half of an MLS soccer match, Saturday, April 14, 2012, in Chester, Pa. The Union won 1-0. (AP Photo/Tom Mihalek)