Nearly 350 Houston retirees still waiting on buyout payments
| September 9, 2025
Houston City Council member Edward Pollard is demanding accountability as nearly 350 of the 1,000 city workers who took early retirement buyouts are still waiting for their pension payments months after they were promised.
The buyout program, launched to help close a $330 million budget shortfall, offered lump-sum payouts of 25% of annual salary to eligible employees. The employees were promised the payments within 60 days of their May 1 retirement.
Pollard has expressed growing concern over the city's handling of the program, and wants a timeline from Mayor John Whitmire’s administration on when the retirees will be paid. He questioned the mayor during an Aug. 27 city council meeting.
5 unsung films that dramatize America’s rich labor history
| August 27, 2025
Community | CULTURE | ECONOMY | EQUALITY | FARMING | History | JOBS | LABOR | LIFESTYLE | LITERATURE | MEXICAN CULTURE | WORK
Hollywood studios and independent producers have long depicted the collective efforts of working people to improve their lives and gain a voice in their workplaces and the larger society.
As DEI faces pushback, Houston partners with Kroger to launch jobs initiative
| July 2, 2025
As DEI programs face pushback nationally, Houston is leaning in. Roderick Batson, with support from the city of Houston and Kroger, has launched Helping Heroes Staffing to create real job opportunities for people with special needs.
Making it in DFW: Dallas concert photographer faked it until she made it & it worked
| May 20, 2025
From Greyhound buses, Costco cameras, and getting paid in beer—to photographing Taylor Swift at the Eras Tour—Madison Truscan has proven she can make it as a concert photographer in Dallas.
Trade pre-apprentice program is ‘no-brainer’ for Texans looking for a new career
| May 2, 2025
This state-funded program gives cohorts from Austin, Houston, and DFW a pathway into green construction jobs, while paying them to learn.