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Amazon scraps secret AI recruiting tool that showed bias against women

Jeffrey Dastin

October 09, 2018 |

Reuters |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

Amazon trashed its automated resume-reviewing software after the company discovered that the software had taught itself to discriminate against women applicants. The situation shows the limits of machine learning in human resources.

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Harvard Is Vaulting Workers Into the Middle Class With High Pay. Can Anyone Else Follow Its Lead?

Eduardo Porter

September 08, 2018 |

The New York Times |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Spurred by student activism and a research study on outsourcing, Harvard University implemented a parity policy in 2002. This means all university workers, regardless of whether the university or an outside contractor pays them, receive full benefits and higher pay. For an institution like Harvard that can afford to pay workers substantially more, there is greater employee satisfaction. However, researchers are still exploring if higher wages for some mean lower wages for others or fewer employees hired in the future.

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The searing photos that helped end child labor in America

Jessica Contrera

September 03, 2018 |

The Washington Post |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

In the 1900s Lewis Hine posed as a bible salesman so he could get inside factories and take pictures of child workers. At the time children from 10-15 were put to work, and had no legal protections. Years later his pictures became a catalyst for passing child labor laws.

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The right to disconnect: The new laws banning after-hours work emails

Rich Haridy

August 14, 2018 |

New Atlas |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

France, Italy, Germany, and now the U.S. are passing “anti-stress” laws, which make it illegal or harder for workers to receive emails after work. Research shows that when employees expect to be contacted after work through email, their levels of anxiety and stress go up. "I think this will lessen a lot of the anxiety that goes with having a job in the city and allow people to draw their own lines about when work ends."

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With Dirty Girl coffee, this entrepreneur strives to make life better for women in Appalachia

Sara Schonhardt

August 06, 2018 |

Public Radio International (PRI) |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Athens, Ohio

Jane Cavarozzi, an entrepreneur and activist, started Dirty Girl coffee to “support economic development and women’s advancement in the small, depressed villages around Appalachian Ohio.” She lives in the town of Glouster and is respected for living local and working local, as opposed to being an outsider problem-solver. Though her coffee company is just one small step forward, she works closely with community groups to move economic development initiatives for the region forward.

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Go Home, South Korea Tells Workers, as Stress Takes Its Toll

Su-Hyun Lee Tiffany May

July 28, 2018 |

The New York Times |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: South Korea

To change its culture of overwork, South Korea passed a law capping the workweek at 52 hours for many employees. The move follows the introduction of the five-day workweek in 2004. Young people are especially supportive of the changes, but some issues remain unclear such as how to record the hours required for business trips and entertaining clients, as well as how to prevent bosses from giving their employees work to do from home.

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Innovation schools are a cross between public and charter. Could they come to Rochester?

Justin Murphy

July 18, 2018 |

Rochester Democrat and Chronicle |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Indianapolis, Indiana

Recent reports show steady improvement for students attending Indianapolis’ Innovation Schools - a unique model that “marries the autonomy of charter schools with the resources and scale of a school district.” While Innovation Schools are controlled by an outside nonprofit or board of directors and are free to make their own curriculum decisions, they rely on the public school system for a number of key resources and their test scores count towards the district's overall performance. Could this structure work in other states with varying political cultures surrounding charters and unions?

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The cleaners who won fair wages and a way to belong

Aditya Chakrabortty

July 18, 2018 |

The Guardian |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom, London

Professors, workers’ rights advocates, and workers themselves united to change the standard for the compensation of cleaning staff at local universities. Low paid service jobs, including cleaning, tend to be outsourced. This leads to lower pay and a lack of job security. Now there is a trend for universities to bring cleaning services in-house, increasing wages for workers and creating a better work culture for all.

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Labor Organizers Look To Apps To Reach Wider Audiences

Teke Wiggin

July 13, 2018 |

The Huffington Post |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

Organized labor unions in WalMart used an app called WorkIt to mobilize workers. The app answers common questions that concern things like paid leave, absences, wages, and legal rights. “Eight years later, OUR Walmart, the flagship project of Organization United for Respect, has claimed a number of victories, including substantially better corporate-wide pay and leave policies.” Key to that has been WorkIt. Now organizers are looking to expand the app to other companies.

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Brazil's domestic workers get help with app

Ciara Long

July 12, 2018 |

Public Radio International (PRI) |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Brazil

Out of the 7 million domestic employees worldwide, 1 in every 7 are employed in Brazil.” A mobile app, Laudeline, is making it easier for them to be informed of their rights. Through the app domestic workers in Brazil can access salary and benefits calculators, rights explanations, and they can even locate the nearest union. “What they often lack is familiarity with the law,” she said. “A friend of mine has said to me for years, ‘You have to open the window to see the world.’ This app is a way to open that window.”

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