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> Wed., Sept. 10, 2003
FSRN
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Today's lead stories:
Senate Blocks Bush Labor Roll Back
WTO Meetings Open in Cancun
GMO Crops in Uganda - on WTO Agenda
No Jobs in Oregon
Medicare in Congress
FSRN Headlines Produced by Nell Abrahm
Middle East update
WTO Activists Take to the Streets
Shell Pipeline
Argentina Defaults the IMF
[top]
Senate Blocks Bush Labor Roll Back
A Bush administration plan to roll back the forty-hour work
week was dealt a serious blow in the Senate this morning.
By a narrow margin, Senators lent their support to an amendment
that blocks Labor Secretary Elaine Chao from amending the
Fair Labor Standards Act. According to the Economic Policy
Institute, the Labor Department's proposed plan would mean
one of the largest pay cuts in history, as a net eight million
Americans would lose their right to time-and-a-half pay. John
Hamilton reports from Washington, D.C.
[top]
WTO Meetings Open in Cancun
The World Trade Organization’s 5th ministerial opened
in Cancun this morning with negotiators focused on reaching
a compromise on trade and agriculture - seen by most observers
as the key to declaring success at the top level international
trade talks. On the table is a proposal from a group of 20
developing countries including Brazil, China and India, to
ask the US and the EU to completely abolish export subsidies
to their farmers to get access to southern markets. But as
Tim Russo reports, according to the many farmers gathered
from around the world, this will not solve the problems of
many of the world’s poorest farmers.
[top]
GMO Crops in Uganda - on WTO Agenda
As the world gathers for the World Trade Organization summit
in Cancun, Uganda is deciding on the use of Genetically Modified
Organisms. President Yoweri Museveni recently gave a green
light to the introduction of GMO’s, amidst strong opposition
from farmers. Ugandans feel that if the country introduces
GMO’s it will lose markets for its agricultural produce
in Europe whose countries are still opposed to genetic foods.
From Kampala Uganda Joshua Kyalimpa reports.
[top]
No Jobs in Oregon
Government officials and economists are saying the economy
is improving, but that may sound hollow to the millions of
workers who are currently looking for jobs. The nation has
lost 2.7 million jobs over the past three years and more than
1 million jobs have disappeared since the recession officially
ended in November 2001. In Oregon where the unemployment rate
is the highest in the nation, workers still struggle to find
jobs, as Miae Kim reports from Portland.
[top]
Medicare in Congress
Yesterday an agreement was reached that would grant low-income
seniors an annual subsidy of $600 to defray drug costs, allowing
millions of older Americans to sign up for prescription drug
cards offering discounts estimated at 15 percent or more.
This as Congress continues the debate over the Senate Medicare
bill and the proposed Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
regulation. Joel Edelstein reports.
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