Thursday, November 14, 2013

Today's Teamster News 11.14.13

Drivers Rally Outside D.C. Taxicab Commission Meeting  teamster.org   ...Hundreds of taxi drivers rallied outside the monthly meeting of the D.C. Taxicab Commission today to protest the unfair towing and ticketing of cabs and to demand a voice in the regulatory process. Also, watch this video of D.C. taxi drivers rallying November 4 at Freedom Plaza and delivering a letter outlining their concerns to Washington, D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray...
Hoffa: Congress, Detroit Have Role in Improving Retirement Confidence  teamster.org   ...A secure retirement used to be seen as a right for all hardworking Michiganders. Whether you were a city government employee in Detroit or a private sector worker in Pontiac, if you put in the time and did your job well, you would be rewarded with a nest egg for your golden years that would allow you live comfortably...
Wal-Mart Workers Strike, Target Workers Threaten to Join Black Friday Walkout  Portside   ...Sub-contracted Twin Cities janitorial workers who clean stores for Target and other corporations plan to announce today that they’re prepared to strike that day as well...
Reports shed light on how Koch brothers' money flows to campaigns  The Cap Times   ...A slew of reports released Wednesday reveal that a network of conservative think tanks, funded by multinational corporations and industrialists — most notably Charles and David Koch — comprise a vast dark-money campaign funding mechanism that funnels cash to conservative candidates, including Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker in last year’s recall election...
Scalia’s chance to smash unions: The huge under-the-radar case  Salon   ...A Supreme Court case being argued Wednesday could take away a tactic that's kept unions alive...
You won’t believe how much companies make every single second  Salon   ...The highest grosser on the list is Samsung, which hauls in almost $6,500 a second (In the five minutes it took us to write this post, Samsung made almost $2 million). It is followed closely by Apple at $4,540 a second...
House Pushing Back on Trade Deal; More Detail on How Secret Arbitration Panels Undermine Laws and Regulations   naked capitalism   ...Wow, this is amazing. Word has apparently gotten out even to Congressmen who can normally be lulled to sleep with the invocation of the magic phrase “free trade” that the pending Trans Pacific Partnership is toxic...
WikiLeaks releases major trade agreement draft chapter  Salon   ...“One could see the TPP as a Christmas wish-list for major corporations, and the copyright parts of the text support such a view...”
Bank Of America, Freddie Mac May Settle $1.4 Billion Mortgage Dispute  Reuters   ...The Bank of America is in talks with Freddie Mac to resolve disputes involving more than $1.4 billion in defective mortgages that Freddie wants the bank to take back...
Apple under investigation in Italy for alleged tax fraud  Reuters   ...U.S. tech giant Apple is under investigation in Milan for allegedly hiding more than 1 billion euros ($1.34 billion) from the Italian taxman, a judicial source with direct knowledge of the matter, confirming a local media report...
Congressional Approval Sinks to Record Low  Gallup   ...Americans' approval of the way Congress is handling its job has dropped to 9%, the lowest in Gallup's 39-year history of asking the question...
A Living Wage in Bangladesh (opinion)  New York Times   ...The government of Bangladesh is expected to soon announce an increase in the minimum wage for workers in the country’s clothing factories, which are big suppliers to Western retailers like Walmart and H&M. Its decision could improve the lives of millions of families that struggle to eke out an existence on as little as the equivalent of about $38 a month, the current minimum wage...
Costco, Nordstrom Refuse To Ruin Thanksgiving  Huffington Post   ...If you make a last-minute run to Costco on Thanksgiving Day, you'll be out of luck...
Top Democratic Pollster Says Don't Mess with Social Security -- Or Else Face the Wrath of Voters in 2014  Alternet   ...more than half of the 77 million baby boomers heading toward their mid-60s and older—especially women and people of color—have literally no retirement savings, and will fall into poverty as they age...
Occupy Wall Street activists buy $15 million of Americans' personal debt  The Guardian   ...A group of Occupy Wall Street activists has bought almost $15,000,000 of Americans' personal debt over the last year as part of the Rolling Jubilee project to help people pay off their outstanding credit...
Socialist candidate leading in Seattle City Council race  Raw Story   ...With about 62,000 ballots from King County yet to be counted following the Nov. 4 election, 41-year-old economics professor Kshama Sawant was reportedly ahead of longtime incumbent Richard Conlin by 41 votes, with Sawant gathering 79,751 votes against 79,710 for Conlin...
Corporate crime wave in Texas: How a crackdown could be coming  Salon   ...The nation’s fourth-largest city, Houston, is slated to vote today on cracking down on an alleged national epidemic: companies not paying employees the wages they’re legally owed. The proposed ordinance would make companies found guilty of serious “wage theft” ineligible for city support...
Koch Brothers’ Dark Money Flowed into Wisconsin Recall Fight  Express Milwaukee   ...Group busted in California gave serious money to Wisconsin Club for Growth...
In Unintimidated, Scott Walker Reveals Depth of Disdain for Unions, Protesters  Portside   ...He ...charges that collective bargaining "isn't a right, but a racket."...
Michigan bill would ban employers from asking about felony convictions on job applications Michigan Live   ...Michigan lawmakers are considering banning felony conviction check boxes on job applications. Supporters of the measure say the check boxes unfairly discriminate against people with criminal histories and hinder their ability to become successful members of society...
Freedom of Information Act requests could be cheaper, easier under Michigan House bill  Michigan Live   ...A state House panel on Tuesday unanimously approved a bill designed to update Michigan's Freedom of Information Act and ensure that government offices are not making it unnecessarily difficult for citizens to access public records...
State employee unions launch campaign to highlight government waste  Detroit Free Press   ...A coalition of unions representing 35,000 state employees has launched an effort to highlight areas where Michigan government can be more efficient and improve services to citizens...