Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Today's Teamster News 11.20.12

House passes Russia trade bill. But will we benefit?  Trade Reform   ...For those of you who remember the 1999 debate of permanent normalized trade relations with China, as part of their entry into the WTO, all the predictions of U.S. economic benefit were drastically and painfully wrong...
Catalonia is voting on its future in Spain – and Madrid is worried  Guardian   ...Spain is suffering its most agonising economic decline in decades. Catalonia has not been spared. But it still claims it subsidises the rest of Spain to the tune of €16bn a year...
Wal-Mart warns workers on Black Friday strike  CNNMoney   ...Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500) has filed a complaint with a federal agency accusing one of the largest labor unions in the country of unlawfully organizing picket lines, in-store "flash mobs" and other demonstrations in the past six months...
Fla. judge skeptical about prison privatization  Associated Press   ...A skeptical judge on Monday raised questions about whether it was legal for the state to move ahead with a plan to privatize nearly 3,000 health care jobs in Florida's prisons...
Proposed park in Merrillville would honor area unions  NWI Times   ...Town Councilwoman Carol Miano said the facility won't include playground equipment. Instead, it would be a place for reflection. She said she will contact local unions to seek their participation in creating the facility...
Is Gov. Walker the target of John Doe?  WTDY   ... For the first time, prosecutors directly linked the John Doe investigation to Gov. Walker...
A Public Service Reminder: Paul Ryan is a Con Man (opinion)  New York Times   ...Ryan did his best to impersonate a budget wonk. It wasn’t a very good impersonation — in fact, he’s pretty bad at budget math...
Bakers union must be allowed to vote on concessions to keep Hostess in business (opinion)  New York Daily News   ...(Bakers Union President Frank) Hurt should at least have his people vote in secret on a deal similar to the Teamsters’ pact. The Teamsters are asking for that courtesy, and they should get it with all these jobs on the line...
Exclusive: Sun Capital wants to buy Hostess  Fortune   ...The proposal would be to operate Hostess as a going concern, including reopening the shuttered factories and continuing union representation of Hostess workers...