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<h2 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">10
WAYS TO KEEP YOUR BEST EMPLOYEES</font></b></h2>
<h2 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>
And More Reasons Why You Need To</b></font><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b></b></font></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Although
many people see the economy in a slump, most know that the U.S. economy is cyclical
and continues to move up and down. But what will remain constant is the
shortage of workers. That shortage is projected to last for more than
ten years and for skilled workers even longer. How can that be?
With unemployment growing to over five percent how can we have labor shortages?
There are many answers. Here are some of them.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Low birth rates and a preference for white collar jobs in the
most developed countries (like the United States) have resulted in industrial
labor shortages.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>High birth rates and a desire to move up into non-existent industrial
jobs in the less formally educated, third world countries have created labor
surpluses. That�s why so many immigrants seek employment in the United States.
It�s also why almost every developed country that is growing its economy
is doing it with immigrant workers.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>U.S. unemployment at just over five percent, is just about the
lowest in the world. In some cases, less than half the rate of other developed
countries.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>U.S. economic growth has almost doubled in the past ten years
and has absorbed many millions of new workers.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>The �U.S. Economic Outlook Survey� of 16,000 companies reported
that more than 30 percent of those companies plan to hire more staff over the
next year.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>The federal government recently announced that it has over 200,000
job openings and is starting a major hiring blitz. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that there will be a shortage
of ten million workers by the end of 2008.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">A
high percentage of unemployed workers do not have the skills for jobs that are
available. Fewer companies today can accommodate very many workers who
have no skills. So the difficulty of finding competent workers adds to
the shortage. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Now
let�s shift our focus to this observation; keeping one good worker in your company
for ten years is far better than having to find ten workers to replace him for
every one of those years. And let�s not even start on what the cost of that
turnover will be. So how do we go about keeping our best workers? Here are the
basics.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .25in"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span>Train supervisors in good management skills</b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
An Illinois survey reported that over 40 percent of
all turnover was related to bad supervisors. Supervisors need to know
how to clearly give direction, provide coaching, be good communicators and do
lots of monitoring and follow up. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .25in"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>2.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span>Match and cross train employees to jobs that fit them</b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.25in"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
Identify the skills and talents of each employee and try to delegate to them
those things they do best. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .25in"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>3.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span>Use and encourage grievance procedures</b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Don�t
be afraid to hear problems. To know what is troubling your employees is
a gift. It allows you the opportunity to make better decisions, head off problems
before they get too big. And employees like it. Grievance procedures
can head off many labor charges and law suits.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .25in"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>4.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span>Recognize success when you see it</b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Few
supervisors realize just how much influence they have on employee�s lives. 30
years later employees still remember and tell their grandchildren of the day
their boss told them how good they were and how important they were to the company.
Don�t flatter dishonestly but recognize good work. Praise in public,
criticize in private.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .25in"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>5.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span>Bring employees into the decision making process</b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Often
the person doing the job has ideas about better ways of doing it. Employees
want to work and want to stay where they are participants in the process and
their ideas get heard. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .25in"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>6.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span> Improve communications</b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Employees
need to know what is expected of them. They need clear direction.
They need to be heard. They need to know what is going on in the company
and they need to hear all this in a respectful manner.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .25in"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>7.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span>Don�t be too quick to terminate</b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">When
you are unhappy with an employee�s performance, don�t start looking for a legal
way to get rid of him. Look for ways to get the performance you want.
Let the individual know what is good, what is bad and describe clearly and respectfully
the changes he must make and the end results you want to see. Allow him
ample time and provide support. Only when you can see that this effort
has been fruitless is it time to terminate. (And don�t forget to document,
document, document.)</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .25in"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>8.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span>Do employee surveys</b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.25in"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
At least once a year give your employees a chance to anonymously tell you what
they�re thinking
and don�t be so afraid to hear it. Employee surveys can open
your eyes to underlying problems and head them off before they become
disasters. It lets employees know you care about them and their welfare.
It�s important to do them regularly and track the trends.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .25in"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>9.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span>Conduct exit interviews</b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Exit
interviews are overlooked by most companies as an embarrassing process that
will only yield a lot of gripes and belly-aching. Although it�s true that
no one single exit interview should be considered the norm for all employees,
they are invaluable in tracking the larger trends. After examining them
over months and years, trends do start to appear and can be tracked. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .25in"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>10.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span>Treat employees as individuals</b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.25in"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
The major reasons employees leave in the first 90 days is the lack of individuality
they feel. They often feel separated from the organization and never
assimilate. Employees say the three reasons this happens are:</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .75in"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span><u>Anonymity:</u> No one knows who I am, what I like or what I
think. I�m invisible and no one cares. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .75in"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span><u>Irrelevance:</u> What I do doesn�t make much difference. Whether
I show up each day or not makes no difference in what gets done. I don�t know
of anyone that my work has an impact on.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .75in"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span><u>No measurements:</u> I never know if I�m doing better
or worse. Nothing I do is ever measured. I can see no progress.
I just keep on keeping on.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">To
measure your turnover rate, take the number of people who terminated during
the previous month and divide that number by the average number of employees
you had during the month. (That�s the actual number of people you had each day
divided by the number of days in the month.) And multiply that number
by 100. (# of terminations divided by number of employees times 100 =
turnover rate) That number expressed as a percentage is your monthly turnover
rate. Track it each month and each year. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Once
you�ve grown those flowers, don�t let someone else pick them.
</font></p>
<hr>
<h2 style="margin-left:.75in" align="center">
<font face="Verdana" color="#008000">Have an employment question?</font></h2>
<h3 style="margin-left:.75in" align="center"><font face="Verdana">Send it to
<a href="mailto:[email protected]?subject=From HR On The Job">
[email protected]</a></font></h3>
<p style="margin-left:.75in" align="center"><b><font face="Verdana" size="2">
Please include Company Name and Association in your e-mail. Company
identification will be kept confidential.</font></b></p>
<hr>
<h2 align="left"><b><u><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Hitchhiking on the Information
Highway</font></u></b></h2>
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><font
size="4" color="#FF0000">Dateline: September 2008</font></b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">Note. Although we attempt to provide the HRU update on the first
of each month, we are normally delayed awaiting the release of several
monthly government statistical reports. We will hereafter update the information
as each report becomes available without waiting for all of them to be
released.</font></i></p>
<p> </p>
<table border="0" width="100%" height="3030">
<tr valign="top">
<td width="100%" height="3075">
<blockquote>
<div align="center">
<div align="left">
<h2 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b>
<font size="6" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">New
Federal Minimum is Too Low for Half the States</font></b></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Effective
July 24<sup>th,</sup> 2008 the new federal minimum wage rate for
non-exempt (hourly paid) workers moved from $5.85 per hour up to
<b>$6.55</b> per hour. That number will increase again on
July 24, 2009 to $7.25 per hour. Employers are also required
to display the new minimum wage poster (often available on your
states DOL web site free) by those dates.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">However,
this increase means little to companies in at least half of the
states as their minimum wage rate is higher and often automatic
as their based on cost of living and inflation rates.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Those
states are shown below:</font></p>
<table border="1" width="39%" id="table21">
<tr>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Alaska </font></td>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">$7.15</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Arizona </font></td>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">$6.90
indexed to inflation</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">California </font></td>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">$8.00</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Colorado </font></td>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">$7.02
indexed to inflation</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Connecticut </font></td>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">$7.65</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Delaware </font></td>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">$7.15</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Florida </font></td>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">$6.79
indexed to inflation</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Hawaii </font></td>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">$7.25</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Illinois </font></td>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">$7.75</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Iowa </font></td>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">$7.25</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Kentucky </font></td>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">$6.55</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Maine </font></td>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">$7.00</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Massachusetts </font></td>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">$8.00</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Michigan </font></td>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">$7.40</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Missouri </font></td>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">$6.65
indexed to inflation</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">New
Jersey </font></td>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">$7.15</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">New
York</font></td>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">$7.15</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Ohio </font></td>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">$7.00</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Oregon </font></td>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">$7.95
indexed to inflation </font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Pennsylvania </font></td>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">$7.15</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Rhode
Island </font></td>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">$7.40</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Vermont </font></td>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">$7.68
indexed to inflation</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Washington </font></td>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">$8.07
indexed to inflation</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">West
Virginia </font></td>
<td><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"> $7.25
<i>(However many employers in WV are exempt from state minimum
wage laws and pay only the federal rate.)</i></font></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </div>
<table border="4" width="50%" id="table17" cellpadding="2" height="102" bordercolor="#000000">
<tr>
<td valign="top" height="85">
<h3 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center">
<b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">�If you
want a friend in Washington, get a dog�</font></b></h3>
<h3 class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="text-align: center">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><i>-Harry
Truman</i></b></font><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><i></i></b></font></h3>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<h1 align="center" style="text-align:center"> </h1>
<h2 class="MsoNormal" align="center"><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">A
Few More Laws for Employers</font></b></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">It
seems that every month some legislators somewhere aim another law
at employers. This month is no exception. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>Ohio</b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">A
new Ohio law forbids companies from charging jury duty time against
the employees vacation or sick leave. In some areas local laws require
employers to pay for jury duty which some small businesses have difficulty
providing and charge it against employee�s vacation time. Ohio
is the first state to outlaw this practice.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>Maryland</b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">In
Montgomery County MD, A new law requires employers of domestic workers
to negotiate and enter into an employment contract with each employee.
The contract must include negotiated wages and all terms of employment.
In addition, the employer is required to give written notice to each
employee of all his/her legal state law rights. This new law
thereby negates the Employment at Will doctrine. This
is the first legislation in the US to require domestic employees to
be placed under employment contracts. However, in the summer
of 2007, the state of New York passed a similar statewide bill requiring
employment contracts for sales employees.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<div align="center">
<table border="4" width="50%" id="table19" height="87" bordercolor="#000000">
<tr>
<td height="109" valign="top">
<div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border-top:solid white 1.0pt;
border-left:none;border-bottom:solid white 1.0pt;border-right:none;padding:
10.0pt 0in 10.0pt 0in">
<h3 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center">
<b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">�When
A annoys or injures B on the pretense of improving B, A is
a scoundrel�</font></b></h3>
<h3 class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="text-align: center">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><i>-H.L.
Mencken</i></b></font></h3>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>
</span>
<div align="center">
<h2 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The
Top 10 Highest Paying Blue-Collar Jobs</font></b></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Think
you have to have a degree to make good money? Not always.
Blue collar jobs are considered to be those that typically are paid
hourly wages and do not include self-employed workers.</font></p>
<div align="left">
<table border="0" width="73%" id="table22">
<tr>
<td align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">1.
Elevator installers and Repairers </font></td>
<td width="261"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">$32.69
hourly = $68,000 annually</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.
Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation
and relay </font></td>
<td width="261"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">$28.35
= $58,970</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">3.
Railroad Conductors and Yardmasters </font></td>
<td width="261"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">$28.20
= $58,650</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">4.
Locomotive Engineers </font></td>
<td width="261"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">$27.65
= $57,520</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">5.
Power Plant Operators </font></td>
<td width="261"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">$27.23
= $56,640</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">6.
Ship Engineers </font></td>
<td width="261"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">$26.97
= $56,090</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">7.
First-Line Supervisors /Managers of Construction
trades and Extraction Workers </font></td>
<td width="261"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">$26.90
= $55,950</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">8.
Gas Plant Operators </font></td>
<td width="261"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">$26.27
= $54,640</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left">
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">9.
Farm, Ranch and Other Agricultural Managers </font>
</td>
<td width="261"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">$25.83
= $53,720</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">10.
Transportation Inspectors </font></td>
<td width="261"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">$24.73
= $51,440</font></td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">When
you consider that these jobs also pay one-and-one-half times that
rate for overtime (worker no 1 then gets $49.04 per hour) and they
have no college costs ($50,000?) and they were working/earning during
that 4-year college time, makes a lot of college grads take a second
look.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"> </p>
<table border="4" width="50%" id="table20" bordercolor="#000000">
<tr>
<td valign="top">
<div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border-top:solid white 1.0pt;
border-left:none;border-bottom:solid white 1.0pt;border-right:none;padding:
10.0pt 0in 10.0pt 0in">
<h3 class="MsoNormal" align="center"><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">�The
way to wealth is as plain as the way to market. It depends
chiefly on two words, industry and frugality�</font></b></h3>
<h3 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: center">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><i>-Benjamin
Franklin</i></b></font></h3>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>
<blockquote>
<hr width="75%">
<p></p>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
<table border="0" width="47%">
<tr>
<td width="37%" valign="top">
<div style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1; padding-left: 4; padding-right: 4; padding-top: 1; padding-bottom: 1">
<p align="left"><font size="-1"
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Federal Minimum Wage:</b></font></p>
</div>
</td>
<center>
<td width="61%" valign="top">
<h3 align="left"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">$6.55/hr. </font></h3>
<p align="left"><i><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Increases
to $7.25 on 7/24/09</font></i>
</td>
</center>
</tr>
</table>
<table border="0" width="99%">
<tr>
<td width="13%" valign="middle" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1; border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1; border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>Average
Income:</b></font></td>
<td width="67%" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1">
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="100%" id="AutoNumber4" height="76">
<tr>
<td width="100%" height="76">
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="100%" id="AutoNumber5">
<tr>
<td width="50%" align="center"><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Hourly</font></b></td>
<td width="50%" align="center"><b><font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Weekly</font></b></td>
</tr>
</table>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="100%" id="AutoNumber6" height="50">
<tr>
<td width="25%" height="50">
<p align="center"> <b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u>
July
2007</u></font></b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><br>
$17.47</font>
</td>
<td width="25%" height="50">
<p align="center">
<b>
<span style="text-decoration: none"><u>
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
July</font></u></span><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="text-decoration: none"><u>
200</u></span></font></b><u><font size="-1"><b>8</b></font></u><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u><br>
</u>$18.06</font>
</td>
<td width="25%" height="50">
<p align="center">
<span style="text-decoration: none"><b><u>
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
July</font></u></b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b><u>
2007</u></b><br>
</font>
</span> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
$590.49</font>
</td>
<td width="25%" height="50">
<p align="center">
<span style="text-decoration: none"><b><u>
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
July</font></u></b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b><u>
2008</u></b></font></span><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u><br>
</u>$606.82</font>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
<td width="20%" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<table border="0" width="99%" height="96">
<tr>
<td width="100%" height="40" colspan="2">
<h3 align="center"><span style="text-decoration: none"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>Federal<br>
Poverty Level:</b></font></span></h3>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="50%" height="48">
<p align="center"><b><u><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">One
(1) Person<br>
</font></u></b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">$10,400</font></td>
<td width="50%" height="48">
<p align="center"><u><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Family
of Four</font></b></u><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><br>
$21,200</font>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<hr noshade color="#000000">
</font>
<table border="0" width="100%">
<b></b>
<tr> <b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
<td width="37%" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1">
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b>IRS Mileage Allowance :</b></font></p>
</td>
</font></b>
<center>
<b></b>
<td width="63%" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1">
<div align="left"><b> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u>January
1, 2008, IRS mileage allowance:</u></font></b></div>
<div align="left"> </div>
<div align="left"><b> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
Business Purposes: 58.5 cents per mile<br>
Medical or Moving Purposes: 27 cents per mile<br>
Charitable Purposes: 14 cents per mile</font></b></div>
</td>
</center>
</tr>
</table>
<table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<tr>
<td width="32%" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1">
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b>Postage:</b></font></p>
</td>
<center>
<td width="34%" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1"> </td>
</center>
<td width="34%" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>May
12. 2008</b></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%" style="border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">1 oz.</font></td>
<td width="34%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">.41</font></td>
<td width="34%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">.42</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">Each additional ounce</font></td>
<td width="34%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">.17</font></td>
<td width="34%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2
oz. .27</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><i>Postcards</i></font></td>
<td width="34%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">.26</font></td>
<td width="34%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">.27</font></td>
</tr>
</table>
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<b>
<p>
<table border="0" width="38%" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
</table>
<table border="0" width="98%">
<tr>
<td width="34%" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1">
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b><u>Population:</u></b></font></p>
</td>
<center>
<td width="82%" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1"> </td>
</center>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="34%" style="border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b>World</b></font></td>
<td width="82%">
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">6.5 Billion</font>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="34%" valign="top"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b>U.S.</b></font></td>
<td width="82%" valign="top">
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">300
Million</font>
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><i>One
birth every 8 seconds<br>
One death every 13 seconds<br>
One new immigrant every 30 seconds<br>
Net gain = 1 person every second</i></font>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</b>
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<table border="1" width="99%" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<tr> <b>
<td width="48%" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1">
<p align="left"><b> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">U.S.
Workforce</font></b></p>
</td>
</b>
<center>
<td width="12%" align="center">
<b>
<span style="text-decoration: none"><u>
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
July</font></u></span></b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><u><font size="-1">
2007</font></u></b></font></td>
<b>
<td width="12%" align="center">
<b>
<span style="text-decoration: none"><u>
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
July</font></u></span></b><u><span style="font-weight:700"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
</font></span> </u><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u>
<b> 2008</b></u></font></td>
</b>
</center>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="48%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">U.S. Civilian Workforce</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">153,182,000</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"><font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">154,603,000</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="48%"><font size="-1">Number Employed</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"> <font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">146,045,000</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"> <font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
145,819,000</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="48%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">Number Unemployed</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"> <font size="-1">7,137,000</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"> <font size="-1">8</font><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">,784,000</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="48%"><span style="text-decoration: none"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">Persons Who Currently Want A Job</font></span></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"> <span style="text-decoration: none">
<font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">4,773,000</font></span></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"> <span style="text-decoration: none">
<font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">4,997,000</font></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="48%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">Unemployment Rate</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center">
<p><font size="-1">4.7</font><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">%</font></p>
</td>
<td width="12%" align="center">
<p><font size="-1">4.9</font><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="100%" id="AutoNumber3" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<tr>
<td width="100%">
<h4><b><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">PRODUCTIVITY
OF THE AMERICAN WORKFORCE</font></b><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br>
(The amount of goods produced, divided by the number of work hours
it took to produce it)</font></h4>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="100%" id="AutoNumber2" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1992</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">3.7%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1993</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">0.5%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1994</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">1.3%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1995</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">0.9%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1996</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.5%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1997</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.0%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1998</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.6%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1999</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.4%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>2000</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.9%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>2001</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">1.1%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>2002</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">4.7%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>2003</b></font></td>
<td width="68%"><font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">4.5%</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%"><font size="-1"><b>2004</b></font></td>
<td width="68%"><font size="-1">4.0%</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%"> <span style="text-decoration: none"> <font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>2005</b></font></span></td>
<td width="68%"> <span style="text-decoration: none"> <font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">2.6%</font></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%"> <span style="text-decoration: none"> <font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>2006</b></font></span></td>
<td width="68%"> <span style="text-decoration: none"> <font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">3.0%</font></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<span style="text-decoration: none"> <font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>2007</b></font></span></td>
<td width="68%">
<span style="text-decoration: none">
<font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">1.9%</font></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%"> <span style="text-decoration: none"> <font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>200</b></font></span><font size="-1"><b>8
1st Quarter</b></font></td>
<td width="68%">
<span style="text-decoration: none">
<font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">+2.6%</font></span></td>
</tr>
</table>
</font></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="100%" height="21"> </td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><font face="Verdana" size="2">� William J. Cook</font></p>
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