Sunday, March 11, 2012

Today's Teamster News 03.11.12

IN lawmakers end RTW dominated session  Associated Press   ...Indiana lawmakers came roaring into their 2012 session with a battle over right-to-work legislation. Now they are leaving quietly with a new statewide smoking ban, more money for state fair victims, changes to the state's education system and rules giving homeowners the right to forcibly keep police from entering their homes...(No jobs bill?)
Madison, Wis.: Protests mark year since Gov. Scott Walker's collective bargaining law  Associated Press   ...Thousands of demonstrators descended on the Wisconsin Capitol on Saturday to voice their anger at Gov. Scott Walker, using the anniversary of the passage of his collective bargaining law to rally support for efforts to remove him and five other Republicans from office. About 35,000 people, including many members of public employee unions who lost nearly all their collective bargaining rights under the Republican-backed law, chanted, drummed and waved anti-Walker signs...
Employers Need Wind Power Technicians  slashdot   ...With a wind power rush underway, companies are competing to secure the windiest spots, while breathing life into small towns. The problem is, each turbine requires regular maintenance during its 20-year lifespan, with a requirement of one turbine technician for every 10 turbines on the ground. So even with a job that can pay a good starting salary (for technicians with a GED or high school diploma who complete a four-week turbine maintenance training program), there aren't enough qualified technicians to do the work..
Deficits Push NY Cities and Towns to Desperation  New York Times   ... The problems are spreading as municipalities face a toxic mix of stresses that has been brewing for years, including soaring pension, Medicaid and retiree health care costs. And many have exhausted creative accounting maneuvers and one-time spending cuts or revenue-raisers to bail themselves out...
HAWAII SENATE RESOLUTION DIRECTING THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TO INVESTIGATE CASES WHERE FRAUDULENT TRANSFERS AND ASSIGNMENTS OF MORTGAGE LOAN DOCUMENTS ARE ALLEGED  Deadly Clear   ...In an effort to get the Hawaii Attorney General’s focus on the fraudulent documents filed in the Hawaii Bureau of Conveyances, the Hawaii Senate drafted a Concurrent Resolution in cooperation with the House Representatives...
WV Senate OK’s Buy American Act as a study  The State Journal   ...The bill as the Senate passed it, would require the state purchasing division and Division of Labor to make a joint task force to study the use of American-constructed materials and manufactured goods. The bill would require the task force report back to the Legislature's joint committee on government and finance by Dec. 31, 2012...
Student Loan Debt Hits Home for Bernanke  Wall Street Journal   ...The most interesting anecdote to come out of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke‘s semiannual testimony to Congress: His son, who is in medical school in New York, is likely to rack up $400,000 of student loan debt in the process of getting his degree...