Economy

November 29, 2011 - As record numbers of North Carolinians struggle to put enough food on the table, Duke Energy pushes for the biggest residential rate hike in 20 years -- while raking in huge profits and avoiding federal taxes.

November 18, 2011 - Following a July vote to unionize, workers at the Ikea-owned Swedwood plant in Danville, Va. are struggling for their rights against union-hostile supervisors.

November 17, 2011 - Politicians have been repeating the mantra that "regulations kill jobs" -- but the numbers show that environmental regulations actually create jobs.

November 11, 2011 - U.S. unions are bitterly split on whether an oil pipeline should be built between Canada and Texas. The conflict has hamstrung the Blue-Green Alliance, which unifies union and environmental efforts, as transit unions argue labor must look beyond its own interests.

November 2, 2011 - Florida's tomato farmworkers and their allies brought a two-year fight to specialty grocer Trader Joe's California doorstep last week.

October 27, 2011 - A comprehensive new report from the Congressional Budget Office shows that the gap between rich and poor in the United States has grown dramatically over the past 30 years and is greatest in Southern cities.

October 25, 2011 - An undocumented farmworker leader was deported last week, reinforcing the findings of a new Farm Labor Organizing Committee report that says tobacco pickers struggling to organize are stymied by fear.