Oil Exports Trim U.S. Deficit as Fuel Gap Shrinks: Economy Bloomberg ...Record petroleum exports helped shrink the U.S. trade deficit in December to the smallest in almost three years as America moved closer to energy self- sufficiency, a goal the nation has been pursuing since the 1973 Arab oil embargo...
USW Statement on Record U.S. Trade Deficit with China United Steelworkers ...The U.S. trade deficit in goods with the world was $735.7 billion last year, a minor decrease of less than 1/100th of a percent, but our trade deficit with China reached an historic high of $315 billion. “What we need are fundamental changes in trade policy to alter the destructive path we’re on...
U.K. Lesson: Austerity Leads to More Debt (Opinion) The New Yorker ...U.S. fiscal policy is heading in the wrong direction, toward the economics of austerity. If you want to know where this path can lead, look across the Atlantic to poor old Blighty...
EU leaders agree to push for U.S. trade deal Reuters ...European leaders agreed on Friday to push for a free-trade pact with the United States, putting the onus on the White House to decide whether to try for a deal that would encompass half the world's economic output...
Storm hits US north-east The Guardian ...A blizzard that forecasters predicted would dump up to two feet of snow onto the north-east United States prompted five governors to declare states of emergency on Friday. Airlines cancelled flights, public transit systems were shut down and people were urged to stay indoors...
Workers strike at Colombia's top coal exporter Reuters ...Workers at Colombia's largest coal exporting company Cerrejon began a strike on Thursday, the first in more than two decades, after the two sides failed to reach an agreement during last-minute talks on wages and benefits...
Proposal to change Florida state pensions to 401(k) plan moves forward Tampa Bay Times ...A bill placing all new state employees in a 401(k)-style retirement plan passed a House subcommittee on a party-line vote Thursday, setting up a major showdown between legislative Republicans and public workers' unions...
Snyder: Not interested in repealing prevailing wage Associated Press ...The Republican governor told reporters Wednesday that trying to repeal prevailing wages is a "very divisive" issue...
Minnesota Senate approves raise for state employees Pioneer Press ...More than 35,000 Minnesota state employees are a step closer to receiving a 2 percent across-the-board pay raise retroactive to Jan. 2...
Born in the U.S.A: Right-to-work wrong for workers (Opinion) Murray State News ...Right-to-work isn’t about giving anyone a job. These laws simply mean that a citizen of a right-to-work state is entitled to all of the benefits of being in a union without having to pay any union dues...
Ohio Governor’s Tax Plan Would Cut Taxes For Wealthy, Raise Them On The Poor Think Progress ...Kasich’s plan would raise taxes on the poorest 60 percent of the state’s residents by as much as $77. The top 1 percent, though, would see an average tax cut of $10,369...
Kasich plans to privatize food service at prisons The Columbus Dispatch ...A request for proposals will go out today for a privatized joint food-service contract for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction and the Department of Youth Services...Up to 456 state jobs could be lost...
Bill to eliminate 'Prevailing Wage Law' dies in committee KATV.com ...The 'Prevailing Wage Law' in Arkansas sets the rate construction workers will be paid for public projects. Neighboring states like Louisiana and Mississippi have done away with comparable laws, and some argued Arkansas should do the same to save local government money...
US Airways Pilots Approve Merger Contract in Win for Union President Forbes ...US Airways pilots have overwhelmingly backed a memorandum of understanding that stipulates temporary contract provisions if an expected merger with bankrupt American Airlines takes place...
YRC trucking operations profitable in 2012, a first in six years Kansas City Star ...The recovery remains incomplete as YRC’s trucking operating income couldn’t cover all the interest payments on the company’s debts. YRC on Friday reported a net loss for the year. But management hailed the milestone in its hauling business while promising further improvements ahead...
Ports face labor discord Los Angeles Times ...Members of a small clerks union have voted down a proposed contract, which raises the prospect of restarting the strike that paralyzed the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach for eight days late last year...
