Saturday, January 5, 2013

Today's Teamster News 01.05.13

More jobs in December, but unemployment rate unchanged  McClatchy   ...With the additional December jobs, employers added 1.835 million jobs in 2012, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In normal times, that’d be a good showing, but recovery from the Great Recession continues to lumber along and the hiring numbers aren’t enough to bring down the high jobless rate...
Why We Need A Currency War With China (And Denmark And Singapore … )  TradeReform   ...Eliminating currency manipulation ...  would reduce the value of the dollar by 10 to 25 percent. Taking the low-end figure, a 10 percent depreciation would, in the short run, boost GDP by 1.5 percent and create 2 million jobs...
AAR: Rail Traffic "mixed" in December  Calculated Risk   ...“Coal and grain typically account for around half of U.S. rail carloads, so when they’re down, chances are good that overall rail carloads are down too, as we saw in 2012,” said AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray. “That said, a number of key rail carload categories showed solid improvement in 2012, including categories like autos and lumber that are most highly correlated with economic growth. Meanwhile, intermodal just missed setting a new volume record in 2012...”
Six States Outlaw Employer Snooping on Facebook  Chicago Defender   ...As of 2013, California and Illinois have joined the ranks of Michigan, New Jersey, Maryland, and Delaware in passing state laws against the practice...
N. J. and N.Y. lawmakers lukewarm over just-passed Sandy relief bill  Philadelphia Inquirer   ...The $9.7 billion approved for flood insurance is only a piece of the $60 billion sought by states hit hard by the October storm, and Northeastern lawmakers, still angry that the full package was sent back to the legislative starting line earlier in the week, are anticipating a much tougher fight over the remaining funds...
Protesters urge Sen. Mitch McConnell to change filibuster rule  Louisville Courier-Journal   ...“We have to stop this historic abuse of the democratic process,” said Bill Londrigan, president of the Kentucky AFL-CIO. The protesters accused McConnell of accepting contributions from groups that would benefit from filibusters at the same time the filibusters were being initiated...
Wisconsin Republicans expected to push private-school vouchers, charter-school expansion in 2013 session  Isthmus Daily Page   ...In the upcoming legislative session, which opens Jan. 7, many of the ideas that generated packed hearing rooms, hours of tearful testimony and, ultimately, a divided Republican caucus are coming back...
Teamsters union in Jackson files new unfair labor practice charges against Hendrickson Trucking Co.  Michigan Live   ...The Teamsters Local 164 union has filed new unfair labor-practice charges against Jackson’s Hendrickson Trucking Co. as some employees’ jobs appear to be in limbo...