Friday, February 22, 2013

Today's Teamster News 02.22.13

Koch World reboots  Politico   ...Americans for Prosperity, the Kochs’ main political outlet, parted ways with its chief operating officer, most of its 100-plus employee field staff and several fundraisers. Generation Opportunity, a Koch-backed youth mobilization effort, recently replaced its president...
Blanche Lincoln, Former Arkansas Senator, Hired By Walmart: Report  Huffington Post   ...Former Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) has been hired by Walmart as an outside consultant, according to Politico Influence. The senator, who is billed as a "special policy advisor" with Alston & Bird, is now free to lobby the Senate, having left the upper chamber two years ago...
Previously Owned U.S. Home Sales Climb to 4.92 Million  Bloomberg   ...Improving home sales combined with dwindling inventory spurred the biggest advance in property values since 2005, helping mend household finances. The gain in housing, the industry that was at the center of the financial crisis, may help consumers overcome an increase in the payroll tax and rising gasoline prices that pose a risk to spending...
Millennials reducing debt at fast pace, study says  Los Angeles Times  ...The millennial generation is aggressively whittling down its debt, as young people forgo homes and cars, according to a new study...
Obama to Press Japan's Abe on U.S. Automakers  Bloomberg   ...President Barack Obama won’t back off demands that Japan ease barriers for U.S. automakers before joining negotiations for a regional Pacific trade agreement when he meets today with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe...
Protesters halt eviction of 85-year-old  UPI   ...Some 200 protesters gathered to prevent the eviction of an 85-year-old Spanish woman from her home after she fell behind on rent by one month...
Union contract talks begin after Washtenaw County formally condemns right to work  Ann Arbor.com   ...the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution instructing administrators to promptly begin union contract negotiations ahead of schedule in an effort to avoid the immediate effects of a new right-to-work law in Michigan...
Mo. House Dem proposes ban on anti-union measures  Associated Press   ... A Missouri House Democrat's plan would send colleagues to prison for proposing legislation limiting collective bargaining rights. Representative Jeff Roorda, of Barnhart, introduced the bill Friday in response to a Republican House member's proposal to jail lawmakers for introducing gun control measures...
Labor lawyers try to rip apart mayor's proposal to rein in unions  Anchorage Daily News   ...The proposal takes power from the unions to strike or arbitrate disputes with the city, making the Assembly the final decision-maker. It also sets up " managed competition," in which city employees would bid against private contractors for work. And it limits raises to a five-year-average of the consumer price index...
Pension reporting bill clears Florida House committee  The News Service of Florida   ...A bill that would change the reporting requirements for the financial position of local pensions has drawn together an unlikely pair of allies: the Florida League of Cities and unions, who oppose the measure for their own reasons...
House committee votes to ban 'living wage' local ordinances  Tampa Bay Times   ...Miami-Dade and Broward counties would have their decades-old living wage ordinances repealed and local governments would be banned from enacting similar employment benefits under a bill passed Wednesday by a House committee...
Indiana Teachers: "We're Under Attack" From Lawmakers In Indianapolis  Tristatehomepage.com   ...Tuesday, the House Education Committee voted 7 to 3 to advance legislation barring schools from deducting union dues from a teacher's paycheck...
Kansas Creating Bill To End Civil Service Protections  Huffington Post   ...The state House Appropriations Committee is completing a draft of legislation that would allow for more jobs in state government to be taken out of the state's civil service system and made "at-will" employees...
Teamsters Drop Lawsuit Against Town of Atherton  Menlo Park-Atherton Patch   ...In a prepared statement Thursday, Local 856 Vice President Peter Finn defended the union’s original intention to prevent the layoffs and outsourcing, but said that the decision to dismiss the lawsuit arose after all of the union workers involved decided to pursue employment elsewhere...