Month: January 2009

Managers, workers prepare for refinery strike
— Houston Chronicle²

With just hours to go before labor agreements expire at 11 area refineries and chemical plants, workers and company officials were making preparations Friday for a possible strike.

Union members put together picket signs, and companies prepared their plants and management teams for possible work stoppages.

If a new agreement is not reached by 12:01 a.m. Sunday, 30,000 energy and chemical workers nationwide, including 4,200 in the Houston area, could walk off the job.

Union negotiators Thursday night rejected the latest contract offer that would have raised wages 2.5 percent each year for three years. The proposal also offered a one-time $500 ratification bonus and $250 a year to workers for their unreimbursed medical expenses, if they completed an unspecified health and wellness program.

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Footnotes
2 = article may expire in a few weeks.

The Smithsonian is looking to drag “the world’s greatest museum complex into the current century.” The Smithsonian 2.0 project sounds really interesting. Read more at the Houston Chronicle.

Many people are discovering the joys of substitute teaching as a way to ensure a job in today’s tough market, reports the Houston Chronicle. “In Houston and across the nation, school districts are reporting a spike in applications for substitute teaching jobs.” Interesting.

The GraveyardBook wins the 2009 John Newbery Medal. More info everywhere, but here’s the article at the Houston Chronicle.

And the Houston Chronicle has once again published the Houston Independent School District bonuses.
 

Copyblogger gives us “14 Foolproof Proofreading Tips for Bloggers.”

The Smithsonian is looking to drag “the world’s greatest museum complex into the current century.” The Smithsonian 2.0 project sounds really interesting. Read more at the Houston Chronicle.