Today's Teamster News 01.24.13

Austerity Fails: European Nations See Debt Grow Despite Deep Spending Cuts  ThinkProgres  ...Since the onset of the financial crisis, European countries have attempted to deal with their economic malaise by implementing austerity packages, slashing government spending and laying off public workers. However, such measures have proved self-defeating, as the austerity measures blunted economic growth and caused Europe’s debt to actually grow...

British PM proposes vote on EU membership  AP ...Prime Minister David Cameron said Wednesday he will offer British citizens a vote on whether to leave the European Union if his party wins the next election, a move which could trigger alarm among fellow member states...
Two Democrats try for long-shot financial transaction tax   Reuters ...Two congressional Democrats said on Tuesday they will revive a bill to tax financial transactions after 11 euro zone countries won approval for such a tax...

Austerity bites for unions  Washington Post ...The Labor Department is out this morning with its annual report on union membership in America, and once again, it shows a year-over-year drop in how many workers belong to labor unions. The big culprit for last year’s drop doesn’t appear to be outsourcing (though union factory employment has fallen since the recession, while non-union employment has risen). The issue was austerity...

Senate Democrats proclaim victory, will move quickly to pass House debt-ceiling bill  The Hill ...The Senate will immediately pass a House bill to extend the federal debt limit to May 19 on condition that both chambers pass budget resolutions by mid-April, according to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.)...

Senate to examine FAA approval of Dreamliner battery  Reuters ...A key Senate committee will hold a hearing in coming weeks to examine U.S. aviation safety oversight and the Federal Aviation Administration's decision to allow Boeing Co to use highly flammable lithium-ion batteries on board its new 787 Dreamliner...

Wal-Mart Factory Rules Won’t Make Them Safer, Activists Say  Bloomberg ...Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT)’s new zero-tolerance policy for suppliers that source garments from unauthorized factories won’t make workers safer, a labor-rights activist said...
Colorado right to work bill gets quick axing  Denver Business Journal ...it took just 21 minutes for a Senate committee to dismiss a freshman senator’s effort to turn Colorado into the 25th right-to-work state, dismissing it with nary a word...
Maine lawmakers join effort to amend Constitution to allow campaign funding limits  Bangor Daily News   ...Republican state Sen. Edward Youngblood of Brewer and Democratic state Sen. Geoff Gratwick of Bangor joined forces Tuesday to endorse a constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling that equates campaign donations to free speech protected by the First Amendment...
Unions pan NH proposal as management power grab  NECN.com   ...New Hampshire's labor unions are criticizing legislation that would give public employers more control in the collective bargaining process as a power grab...
Supreme Court to hear whether JobsOhio lawsuit can proceed  Plain Dealer   ...No court has ever heard ProgressOhio's main contention: That it violates the Ohio Constitution for Kasich to funnel state liquor profits to support JobsOhio, a private economic development entity that he set up...
Voter ID trial set for July  WITF   ...Today Judge Robert Simpson issued an order scheduling the voter ID trial for July 15, 2013, at the Pennsylvania Judicial Center in Harrisburg...
Virginia State Senate Moves Ahead on Electoral College-Rigging Bill  Slate   ...Virginia's Republican-ruled legislature has taken the first steps toward ending the state's winner-takes-all system of apportioning its 13 presidential electoral votes...
Board Approves Pay Raise  The Sentinel  ...the approval of collective bargaining agreements with the Teamsters Local 776 Juniata County Commissioners residual unit and appointed employees unit...meant close to a 10 percent pay increase for employees during the next four years...