Saturday, May 18, 2013

Today's Teamster News 05.18.13

In Peru, Talks Resume for New Asia, Americas, Oceania Trade Pact  Wall Street Journal   ...Another round of talks aimed at reaching an agreement on an enormous new trading bloc linking nations from Asia, the Americas and Oceania officially kicked off Wednesday in Lima...
LIVE FROM LIMA: Our Health, Environment, and Rights are Not Negotiable!  Public Citizen   ...Several Peruvian organizations have joined together to launch the No Negociable! (Not Negotiable!) campaign to highlight the grave threats that the TPP poses to Internet freedom, the environment, workers' rights, and public health...
Probe begins in commuter train collision  USA Today   ...60 people were transported to hospitals and five people were hurt critically, one very critically, Friday night near Bridgeport, Conn., after a commuter train derailed and was hit by another train...
Malaria and HIV Spike as Greece Cuts Healthcare Spending  The Atlantic   ..."Greece is an example of perhaps the worst case of austerity leading to public health disasters...
Senator wants U.S. in oil price-fixing probe  USA Today   ...The request from Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., came after European Union investigators this week raided the offices of global energy giants BP, Royal Dutch Shell and Statoil. The anti-trust probe is examining whether the companies manipulated oil prices by making false reports to Platts, an energy industry data service owned by McGraw Hill Financial...
Elizabeth Warren Slams ‘Dangerous’ Legislation That Would Weaken Wall Street Reform  ThinkProgress   ...A week after a bipartisan group of lawmakers on the House Financial Services Committee overwhelmingly approved a rollback of certain financial reforms contained in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act, one of the Senate’s biggest consumer advocates is pushing back...
Protesters decry possible sale of Orlando Sentinel to Koch brothers  Orlando Sentinel   ...About 40 people gathered in front of the Orlando Sentinel building Thursday evening to protest a rumored sale of the newspaper to billionaire businessmen Charles and David Koch...
Payrolls Increased in 30 U.S. States in April, Led by Texas  Bloomberg   ...Texas led the gains in payrolls, adding 33,100 jobs last month, followed by New York andFlorida, according to figures released today in Washington by the Labor Department. California, New York and South Carolina were among states with the biggest decreases in joblessness...
Wisconsin sees biggest monthly job loss since 2009  The Cap Times   ...the Department of Workforce Development on Thursday quietly released the latest federal figures showing the state losing 22,000 jobs in April...
What You Should Know About the Philly Student Walkout  The Nation   ...Running a massive deficit of hundreds of millions of dollars, Philadelphia’s school system is planning to eliminate all sports, extracurricular activities, counselors and libraries—beyond which, for schools eviscerated by austerity politics, there’s not much left to lose...
Oklahoma workers' compensation measure signed into law  The Oklahoman   ... It also allows businesses to opt out of the workers' compensation system as long as they provide equivalent benefits to injured workers...
Ohio Republicans Push Law To Penalize Colleges For Helping Students Vote  Talking Points Memo   ...Republicans in the Ohio Legislature are pushing a plan that could cost the state’s public universities millions of dollars if they provide students with documents to help them register to vote...
Democrats Demand Revenues Go To Schools, Families, Cities  Michigan House Democrats   ...House Democratic Leader Tim Greimel (D-Auburn Hills) and state Representative Rashida H Tlaib(D-Detroit), Democratic vice chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee, said today the House Republicans and Gov. Rick Snyder should be using the increased revenues the state will take in this year to increase funding for schools, help Michigan’s middle-class families and help cash-strapped cities provide services such as police and fire protection...
EDITORIAL: Buy American steel for federal projects  NWI Times   ...U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky's legistion requiring the federal government to use U.S.-made steel for public projects makes sense...
Teamsters Applaud Senate Labor Committee Vote To Approve Perez Nomination  IBT   ...Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa expressed his hope that the Senate would move quickly to confirm Perez’s nomination...