Thursday, May 9, 2013

Today's Teamster News 05.09.13

Court Bars Notice to Workers on Right to Unionize  New York Times   ...A federal appeals court on Tuesday struck down a National Labor Relations Board rule requiring most private sector employers to post a notice informing employees of their right to unionize...
US Under Fire over Privatization of Prisons  PressTV   ...Outside a correctional facility just a few miles from the US Congress, prison guards and rights activists gathered to speak out against the continued privatization of prisons throughout the US...
Death Toll Passes 900 In Bangladesh Factory Collapse  Associated Press   ...The death toll from a garment factory building that collapsed outside the Bangladesh capital has climbed past 900, as recovery workers continue pulling bodies from the wreckage more than two weeks after the disaster...
Study: U.S. taxpayers employ more low-wage workers than Wal-Mart, McDonald’s combined  Washington Post   ...Federal taxpayers employ more low-wage workers than Wal-Mart and McDonald’s combined, a new study calculates...
Elizabeth Warren: Trade talks could weaken bank oversight  Politico   ...Elizabeth Warren raised concerns Tuesday that negotiations over new trade agreements could be used as a backdoor way to water down financial regulations. Speaking at a Senate confirmation hearing for Export-Import Bank President Fred Hochberg...
Sanford victory could spell trouble for House GOP leadership  The Hill   ...Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R) is heading back to Congress — and that may not be good news for House GOP leadership...
Legislative package seeks to weaken derivatives provisions of Dodd-Frank law  Washington Post   ...Nearly three years after Congress passed the Dodd-Frank financial law to limit risky activities on Wall Street, a series of bills could weaken regulation of derivatives — the exotic securities that helped fuel the crisis...
California set to fine utility $2.25 billion for deadly pipeline failure  CNN   ...California regulators recommended a record $2.25 billion fine for the state's largest utility Monday in the 2010 gas pipeline explosion that killed eight people in a San Francisco suburb...
California Farm Workers Fired for Leaving Fields During Wildfire  NBC4   ...More than a dozen farm workers in Southern California were out of a job after walking out of the fields last week, forced indoors because of heavy smoke from a massive wildfire burning nearby...
TSA knife rule: would an airborne fistfight been worse?  Washington Post   ...Seems a serious fistfight broke out in the first-class section of an American Airlines flight last week. “They were actually throwing punches,” Army Brig. Gen. Jason T. Evans told a local television reporter. “It was actually a fight,” Evans said. Might have been worse if they’d pulled out their knives, but of course knives aren’t allowed on airplanes...for now...
Washington State Has Third Fewest Workplace Deaths for 2011 NBC KNDO 23   ...Washington state ranks third in the nation for having the fewest workers killed on the job in 2011...
Minnesota Senate approves 'modest' minimum wage hike   Star Tribune   ...The Minnesota Senate on Wednesday approved a minimum wage hike that could give 200,000 a raise. The measure, passed on a 39-28 vote, would raise the minimum wage to $7.75 an hour by 2015...
Pa. high court upholds redrawn legislative maps  Associated Press  ...A revised plan to redraw the boundaries of Pennsylvania's legislative districts won the unanimous approval Wednesday of the state Supreme Court, which rejected renewed appeals by citizen challengers and Democrats who argued the plan...
Surprise fast food strike planned in St. Louis  Salon   ...For the third time in five weeks, non-union fast food workers in a major American city are scheduled to strike for higher wages and the chance to form a union without intimidation... 
NY officials vow attack on predatory debt-fixing  Associated Press   ...Federal authorities announced a crackdown Tuesday on predatory businesses that cheat "desperate and vulnerable" people harmed by the 2008 financial crisis with phony promises to consolidate their debt...
Iowa Senate rejects voter ID proposal  Des Moines Register   ...The Iowa Senate Tuesday night rejected a Republican-sponsored amendment to require Iowa voters to show a photo identification when they are voting. The effort failed on a 26-24 vote with Democrats against and Republicans in support...
NM legislators receive pensions, but no salary  Associated Press   ...Voters booted Republican Dan Foley from office after a decade in the New Mexico Legislature, and within months he began collecting taxpayer-financed pension benefits — even though he was only 39 years old...
$667M in business tax cuts advances in Texas House  Associated Press   ...A major tax bill proposing $667 million in breaks for Texas businesses cleared the state House on Tuesday night against the backdrop of Gov. Rick Perry demanding muscular tax relief as the Legislature enters a furious final three weeks...
Teamsters Honor 150 Year Anniversary Of The Brotherhood Of Locomotive Engineers And Trainmen   IBT ...The following is a statement by Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa and General Secretary-Treasurer Ken Hall on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen...