Jobs

Today was the first of Intel's Zero E-Mail Fridays, when workers are supposed to take time to actually talk to each other -- face-to-face. Other companies have similar policies. The Marketplace Players think it might take some workers a while to adapt.

What's it mean for the economy that 110,000 jobs were created last month and unemployment ticked up to 4.7%? Steve Tripoli asked economists for some clarity in the Labor Department figures. But, well, they're economists.

The Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate ticked up last month to 4.7 percent, the highest rate in more than a year. But Amy Scott reports why economists still think this report is pretty good.

Wall Street's layoff count is up to 130,000, which is four times higher than last year. And Amy Scott reports that the ax is likely to fall even further beyond banking jobs.

The first nationwide strike against General Motors in 37 years came and went during the past week. Bob Moon looks back and reports on the effectiveness of strikes in this era of labor relations.

He may not be a member of any government office in Washington, D.C., but rest assured, he can certainly... open a lot of doors.

One of the key agreements in the new GM-UAW contract is a trust fund for employee and retiree health care benefits. It allows GM to erase tens of billions of dollars of liability from its books. But it still might not be enough. Alisa Roth reports.

There's no indication how long the United Auto Workers strike against General Motors will last, or how much damage it might do to an already battered economy. But commentator Dan Neil says the strike is about something bigger than that, anyway.

The UAW is about as set as it can be for a walkout, with about $800 million in its strike fund -- enough to give every striker $200 a day and medical benefits for two months. Kai Ryssdal talked with Doug Rademacher, president of UAW local 602 in Lansing, Mich.

At General Motors this morning 73,000 UAW members walked off the job and onto the picket lines in the first nationwide strike against an American car maker since 1976. Until the walkout, negotiations had appeared positive. Alisa Roth reports on where things got off track.