Teamster News
Teamsters Win Settlement For Taxi Driver Barred From Speaking At Public Meeting IBT ...Teamsters Local 922 scored a major victory for a D.C. taxi driver who will receive a monetary settlement as part of an agreement reached with the city after he was barred from speaking at a D.C. Taxi Commission (DCTC) meeting over concerns that his accent made him difficult to understand...
Hinckley Springs Employees Are Back At Work After 25-Day Strike Des Plaines Valley News ...Teamsters union members at the Hinckley Springs water bottling plant at 6055 S. Harlem Ave. in Chicago ended their 25-day strike on July 17. ...the workers felt the offer presented by DS Services of America Inc., which owns and operates the Hinckley Springs plants, was the best under the circumstances...
Trade
German NGO Says TTIP Will Undermine Global Food Security EurActiv ...The planned Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the EU and the US threatens the concept of sustainable food security, the development NGO Brot für die Welt announced at a presentation of its annual report, in Berlin...
Ethiopia Becomes China’s China In Global Search For Cheap Labor Bloomberg News ...Huajian is nonetheless becoming a case study of Ethiopia’s emerging potential as a production center for labor-intensive products from shoes to T-shirts to handbags....
State Battles
Governor Rick Scott Shows What A Real Scandal Looks Like Time Magazine ...There’s nothing inherently wrong with government support for a train linking Miami and Orlando ... but it looks pretty sketchy after Governor Scott (at the urging of his conflicted chief of staff) rejected $2.4 billion in federal money for a high-speed rail project that would have eventually linked Miami, Orlando and Tampa. ...
WEDC to hold its board meeting at China outsourcer Jake's Economic TA Funhouse ...Here's more on the absurdity of Gov Walker's quickly-backfiring ads against Trek bicycle. Walker's pet "jobs creator" organization, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), has its next Board meeting on Monday, and it's located at the headquarters of Briggs and Stratton Corporation in Wauwatosa...
On the stump, Hanaway calls for ‘right to work’, eliminating state income tax, and tort reform PoliticM ...Hanaway is the only announced Republican candidate for (Missouri) governor in 2016...
War On Workers
40-hour workweek just a memory, survey finds South Bend Tribune ...The "Take Back 60" study found that 88 percent of the 617 respondents who took the online survey last month said they work more than 40 hours a week...
Construction Worker On Fort Bragg Killed When Trench Caves In Fayetteville Observer ...Federal labor investigators are working to determine how a trench on Fort Bragg collapsed, killing a man Thursday morning...
Fired Walmart CEO to Get $4.5 Million To Leave Job 2 Paragraphs ...Walmart also suffers from some PR problems, given its much publicized low-wage workforce, an unsightly percentage of whom are also using government-funded food stamps to sustain themselves...
At 3 Years Old, The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Gives Americans A Soapbox Huffington Post ...Despite vehement opposition, the CFPB continues to build on a solid track record that to date includes winning $4.6 billion in damages for 15 million consumers harmed by illegal practices. Included in that figure are major accomplishments, like forcing credit card companies to return $1.5 billion to consumers duped by add-on products and changing lending rules to ensure loans can and will be paid back so there will never again be a repeat of the Great Meltdown of 2008. The agency has also started the arduous process of taking entities that offer predatory student loans to the mat in court...
Miscellaneous
Senator’s Bill Is Stricter On N.S.A. Than House’s ...Senator Patrick J. Leahy said Thursday that next week he would file a new version of a bill aimed at ending the National Security Agency’s bulk phone records collection program after extensive negotiations with the Obama administration and privacy groups...
Showing posts with label CFPB. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CFPB. Show all posts
Saturday, July 26, 2014
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Elizabeth Warren, the most hated woman on Wall Street (video)
While we're on the topic of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, here's Stephen Colbert interviewing Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren about the need to protect consumers from credit card companies. Warren, a former professor of contract law at Harvard, said she can't read her own credit card agreement -- because credit card agreements are designed not to be read.
No wonder Colbert said:
It's just like the old Wall Street adage — if you don't have anything nice to say, it's probably about Elizabeth Warren.Here's more:
Banks hate the CFPB, and now House Republicans are trying to weaken it
,br /> A new public database that lists customer complaints about the way banks treat them is threatening to force banks to clean up their act -- and the banks don't like it one little bit.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau manages the database (you can see if your bank is on it here). The American Banker reported last year that consumers are now banks' biggest regulatory threat -- because of the database:
CFPB officials have aggressively urged consumers to file a complaint on the agency's public database, which has swelled to more than 200,000 complaints since going live in March. The agency uses that data to determine where it will focus its attention next, including both what regulations it writes and enforcement actions it takes against individual institutions.
As a result, some observers said banks need to realize that the best way to avoid the added attention or an enforcement action derived from complaints is by making it easier for customers to resolve the issue with the institution first. That includes improving the visibility of their complaint-taking systems and attempting to address problems quickly before a customer seeks out regulators for help.
"All of the [banking] agencies are looking at complaints much more intensely," said Ed Kramer, executive vice president of regulatory affairs at Wolters Kluwer Financial Services.
That's why House Republicans are doing the banks' bidding and trying to cripple the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Today, the House House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit today heard testimony on 11 bills that weaken the CFPB's authority, subject it to regulatory burdens and possible litigation.
Here are some more reasons why the banks hate the CFPB:
- It has returned more than $400 million to nearly 6 million consumers cheated by credit card companies;
- Established rules to ban banks and mortgage companies from lending money without verifying borrowers' ability to repay;
- Protected military families against illegal foreclosures;
- Protected veterans from for-profit trade school scams;
- Allowed consumers to find out how much they are charged for sending money overseas;
- Investigated banks for abusive overdraft practices.
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Payday lender gets tagged with huge fine
The Teamsters strongly support the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to protect American workers from predatory banks -- and the agency has done exactly what we hoped it would. The CFPB is cracking down on financial companies that cheat and lie to their customers -- like Cash America, a payday loan company that rips off active servicemen and women.
Here's the latest from Credit Slips:
Here's the latest from Credit Slips:
The CFPB just settled an enormous enforcement action against payday lender Cash America. Under the settlement, Cash America will pay $5 million in penalties and $14 million in refunds to overcharged customers.The Washington Post reported the disgusting details about Cash America:
For five years, employees at Cash America, one of the country’s largest payday lenders, were told to stamp a lawyer’s signature on court documents used to sue customers for past-due debts.
This “robo-signing” helped the company improperly squeeze money out of at least 14,397 Americans, who are entitled to millions of dollars in restitution...
The bureau also discovered instances of Cash America charging active-duty service members and their families more than 36 percent interest on payday loans in violation of the Military Lending Act, according to the enforcement order.
The CFPB found that Cash America or its affiliates robo-signed documents in debt collection lawsuits, made loans to military servicemen in violation of the federal Military Lending Act, and even destroyed documents during discovery.The good news is that Cash America probably would have gotten away with it had the CFPB not been created in 2011. Check out its website here.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Student debt burden hurting the housing recovery
The student loan crisis is devastating the housing recovery, according to Rohit Chopra, student loan ombudsmen for the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, at a conference presentation late last week.
As student debt loans increase every year, the struggle to pay for college debt is replacing mortgage savings, Chopra said:
For the past 30 years, the typical first-time homebuyer has been 30-32 years-old, according to the National Realty Association’s annual home buyer survey.
A tough job market and over $1 trillion in student debt has the next generation unable to think about a future home. Only 32 percent of buyers this August bought a house for the first time. Compare that to three years ago, when first-time buyers made up 50 percent of the total. And over a quarter of first-time buyers had to rely on their parents to afford a down payment on their house.
With student debt on the rise, experts predict it will get worse. Nearly half -- 40 percent -- of the 25-year-old who are expected to buy houses in the next five years hold student loan debt. Their average balance is $25,000 – and one in every seven graduates with student loan debt currently defaults in the first three years.
So much for young people's home-buying dreams. And for their parents hopes of an empty nest.
As student debt loans increase every year, the struggle to pay for college debt is replacing mortgage savings, Chopra said:
...student indebtness impacts the credit profile of first-time homebuyers. Three-fourths of the fall in household formation can be directly correlated to student debt.First-time home buyers represent a significant section of the house market. On average, 40 percent of houses bought are by first-time buyers.
For the past 30 years, the typical first-time homebuyer has been 30-32 years-old, according to the National Realty Association’s annual home buyer survey.
A tough job market and over $1 trillion in student debt has the next generation unable to think about a future home. Only 32 percent of buyers this August bought a house for the first time. Compare that to three years ago, when first-time buyers made up 50 percent of the total. And over a quarter of first-time buyers had to rely on their parents to afford a down payment on their house.
With student debt on the rise, experts predict it will get worse. Nearly half -- 40 percent -- of the 25-year-old who are expected to buy houses in the next five years hold student loan debt. Their average balance is $25,000 – and one in every seven graduates with student loan debt currently defaults in the first three years.
So much for young people's home-buying dreams. And for their parents hopes of an empty nest.
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Today's Teamster News 10.05.13
Wegmans, Teamsters to talk Democrat & Chronicle ...Following Lt. Gov. Robert Duffy’s plea for resolution, Wegmans Food Markets and Teamsters Local 118 representatives have agreed to return to negotiations October 11...
Sikorsky union rep prepares workers for furloughs San Francisco Chronicle ...Rocco Calo is angry, but even as head of Teamsters Local 1150 that represents employees at Sikorsky Aircraft, he cannot do anything to prevent the furlough of 2,000 workers from the expansive plant that manufactures helicopters for the U.S. military...
Labour dispute drags on at Richmond Ikea Canadian Labour Reporter ...There is no end in sight for the labour dispute between the Richmond, B.C., Ikea and its union, Teamsters Local 213. The two parties even disagree on what to call the dispute — the union refers to the past 70 days as a lockout while the company is calling it a strike...
The Loss of U.S. Pre-eminence (opinion) New York Times ...The United States won its global predominance in a short period … Now the groundwork has been laid for its decline with political polarization, a longstanding tax revolt and a well-orchestrated campaign to undermine the legitimacy of the federal government...
Government Close Down - Another Grand Betrayal in the Works? The Real News ...is the outcome here not that (Obama) gives up on health care, but he gives another important concession somewhere else, and then everybody calls it a victory--Obama saved health care, but the Republicans actually get some other big cut ... in the social safety net…?
Washington’s Z-Burger Shuts Down Shutdown Special Wall Street Journal ...The chain Z-Burger, which has been offering free burgers to furloughed workers, said it has ended the promotion, citing overwhelming demand in the first three days of the government shutdown. Peter Tabibian, Z-Burger’s owner, said the chain gave out 15,840 hamburgers during the promotion, the equivalent of more than $88,000 at retail prices...
"A Corporate Trojan Horse": Obama Pushes Secretive TPP Trade Pact, Would Rewrite Swath of U.S. Laws Democracy Now ...While the text of the treaty has been largely negotiated behind closed doors and, until June, kept secret from Congress, more than 600 corporate advisers reportedly have access to the measure, including employees of Halliburton and Monsanto...
Obama Cancels Trip to Asia Trade Summit as Elected, Labor and Business Leaders Detail TPP Trade Pact Problems Public Citizen ...President Obama has now announced that due to the government shutdown, he will not be attending the summit next week in Indonesia that his administration had (mis)identified as a deadline for concluding the long-lingering negotiations for the sprawling Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) "trade" pact...
Why are Nurses at Vanderbilt Medical Center Cleaning Bathrooms? Health care's Fight Between Labor and Capital Portside ...Hospital budget cuts became viscerally visible earlier this month when Vanderbilt Medical Center announced that nurses must now perform housekeeping duties - cleaning patients' rooms and bathrooms...
Adobe Hacked: Cyber-Thieves Accessed Credit Card Information Of Nearly 3 Million Customers Associated Press ...Adobe Systems Inc. said a cyber attack on its systems has exposed credit-card information of 2.9 million customers. The maker of Photoshop and other software said Thursday that the attacker accessed Adobe customer IDs and passwords on its systems...
CFPB Pledges To Enforce Consumer Protection Laws Over Mandatory Payroll Cards MintPress News ...Mandatory payroll cards force employees to consent to a bank fee structure as a condition of employment, ranging from $1.75 to $7. In other words, making the workers pay to be paid. And the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau wants to put a stop to that type of abuse…
Michigan turns down idea of prison privatization WIN 98.5 News ...It’s hard to say yet what it could mean for the future of prisons in the state, but the Michigan Department of Management and Budget on Thursday declined to put prisoners in a privately run correctional facility after bids came in at nearly $6 million over the state's current cost...
Illinois Says Banks to Improve Loan-Modification Process Bloomberg News ...Bank of America Corp. and the four other biggest U.S. mortgage servicers will put in place new procedures to improve the process for borrowers to seek loan modifications, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said...
As Missouri Lt. Gov. digs in on Right to Work policy, unions mobilize to fight PR News ...With state lawmakers in Missouri back in session, the Show-Me state is once again front and center in the controversial Right to Work battle...
MBTA, union sue over arbitrator's pay award Associated Press ...Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority management and the union representing some workers have filed dueling lawsuits in a dispute over an arbitrator's award that would increase workers' salaries by an average of more than 10 percent...
Government Shutdown Reduces OSHA Inspection Force by More Than 90 Percent Bloomberg News ...The Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration furloughed more than 90 percent of its inspectors as a result of the Oct. 1 shutdown of the federal government, leaving the agency with only enough personnel to respond to the most serious workplace emergencies...
Sikorsky union rep prepares workers for furloughs San Francisco Chronicle ...Rocco Calo is angry, but even as head of Teamsters Local 1150 that represents employees at Sikorsky Aircraft, he cannot do anything to prevent the furlough of 2,000 workers from the expansive plant that manufactures helicopters for the U.S. military...
Labour dispute drags on at Richmond Ikea Canadian Labour Reporter ...There is no end in sight for the labour dispute between the Richmond, B.C., Ikea and its union, Teamsters Local 213. The two parties even disagree on what to call the dispute — the union refers to the past 70 days as a lockout while the company is calling it a strike...
The Loss of U.S. Pre-eminence (opinion) New York Times ...The United States won its global predominance in a short period … Now the groundwork has been laid for its decline with political polarization, a longstanding tax revolt and a well-orchestrated campaign to undermine the legitimacy of the federal government...
Government Close Down - Another Grand Betrayal in the Works? The Real News ...is the outcome here not that (Obama) gives up on health care, but he gives another important concession somewhere else, and then everybody calls it a victory--Obama saved health care, but the Republicans actually get some other big cut ... in the social safety net…?
Washington’s Z-Burger Shuts Down Shutdown Special Wall Street Journal ...The chain Z-Burger, which has been offering free burgers to furloughed workers, said it has ended the promotion, citing overwhelming demand in the first three days of the government shutdown. Peter Tabibian, Z-Burger’s owner, said the chain gave out 15,840 hamburgers during the promotion, the equivalent of more than $88,000 at retail prices...
"A Corporate Trojan Horse": Obama Pushes Secretive TPP Trade Pact, Would Rewrite Swath of U.S. Laws Democracy Now ...While the text of the treaty has been largely negotiated behind closed doors and, until June, kept secret from Congress, more than 600 corporate advisers reportedly have access to the measure, including employees of Halliburton and Monsanto...
Obama Cancels Trip to Asia Trade Summit as Elected, Labor and Business Leaders Detail TPP Trade Pact Problems Public Citizen ...President Obama has now announced that due to the government shutdown, he will not be attending the summit next week in Indonesia that his administration had (mis)identified as a deadline for concluding the long-lingering negotiations for the sprawling Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) "trade" pact...
Why are Nurses at Vanderbilt Medical Center Cleaning Bathrooms? Health care's Fight Between Labor and Capital Portside ...Hospital budget cuts became viscerally visible earlier this month when Vanderbilt Medical Center announced that nurses must now perform housekeeping duties - cleaning patients' rooms and bathrooms...
Adobe Hacked: Cyber-Thieves Accessed Credit Card Information Of Nearly 3 Million Customers Associated Press ...Adobe Systems Inc. said a cyber attack on its systems has exposed credit-card information of 2.9 million customers. The maker of Photoshop and other software said Thursday that the attacker accessed Adobe customer IDs and passwords on its systems...
CFPB Pledges To Enforce Consumer Protection Laws Over Mandatory Payroll Cards MintPress News ...Mandatory payroll cards force employees to consent to a bank fee structure as a condition of employment, ranging from $1.75 to $7. In other words, making the workers pay to be paid. And the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau wants to put a stop to that type of abuse…
Michigan turns down idea of prison privatization WIN 98.5 News ...It’s hard to say yet what it could mean for the future of prisons in the state, but the Michigan Department of Management and Budget on Thursday declined to put prisoners in a privately run correctional facility after bids came in at nearly $6 million over the state's current cost...
Illinois Says Banks to Improve Loan-Modification Process Bloomberg News ...Bank of America Corp. and the four other biggest U.S. mortgage servicers will put in place new procedures to improve the process for borrowers to seek loan modifications, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said...
As Missouri Lt. Gov. digs in on Right to Work policy, unions mobilize to fight PR News ...With state lawmakers in Missouri back in session, the Show-Me state is once again front and center in the controversial Right to Work battle...
MBTA, union sue over arbitrator's pay award Associated Press ...Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority management and the union representing some workers have filed dueling lawsuits in a dispute over an arbitrator's award that would increase workers' salaries by an average of more than 10 percent...
Government Shutdown Reduces OSHA Inspection Force by More Than 90 Percent Bloomberg News ...The Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration furloughed more than 90 percent of its inspectors as a result of the Oct. 1 shutdown of the federal government, leaving the agency with only enough personnel to respond to the most serious workplace emergencies...
Monday, August 19, 2013
Today's Teamster News 08.19.13
A Night To Remember As the 38th Annual TNBC Comes to an End IBT ...members and leaders were recognized and rewarded for their dedication to the Teamsters National Black Caucus, locally and nationally...
Man Arrested for Attempting to Drive Over Union Demonstrators on a Picket Line NH Labor News ...On Thursday 08/15/13 the day on the line started out like any other, until an unnamed worker that is said to have been doing woodwork at this site decided to cross the line and get in the demonstrators faces…with his VAN...
Moral Monday, now in Charlotte, employs the language of faith Charlotte Observer ...The protests, which have received national attention, are not only grounded in religion but expanding their reach into churches. Organizers say they seek to reclaim the language of political morality...
Report: Rules skirted to give police chief raise Associated Press ...Gov. Scott Walker's administration gave the Capitol Police chief and his top deputy double-digit pay raises after moving them on paper to fake jobs and then back to their real posts...
Dems Defy Obama on Mortgage Protections Mother Jones ...President Barack Obama laid out his new housing plan, emphasizing the importance of safe, simple, affordable mortgages. But lawmakers in his own party are working against him, trying to gut historic new safeguards on home loans...
5 Companies That Make Money By Keeping Americans Terrified of Terror Attacks Alternet ...The drive to privatize America's national security apparatus accelerated in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks, and it’s gotten to the point where 70 percent of the national intelligence budget is now spent on private contractors...
America's Growing Income Inequality Problem Economic Populist ...While the Great Recession might be relabeled the great wealth transfer from the middle classes to the super rich, it is not the actual cause for such American economic injustice. The primary cause is Congress and their never ending giving to the rich through the U.S. tax code...
Greece privatisation boss Stelios Stavridis dismissed BBC News ...Mr Stavridis had only been in the job for four months but had faced criticism for the slow pace of privatisations...
Hiring in China by JPMorgan Under Scrutiny New York Times ...Federal authorities have opened a bribery investigation into whether JPMorgan Chase hired the children of powerful Chinese officials to help the bank win lucrative business in the booming nation...
“We’re Building a Domestic Army” – Marine Corps Colonel Peter Martino Before Concord, NH Town Council naked capitalism ...What’s happening here is that we’re building a domestic military because it’s unlawful or unconstitutional to use American troops on American soil...
Man Arrested for Attempting to Drive Over Union Demonstrators on a Picket Line NH Labor News ...On Thursday 08/15/13 the day on the line started out like any other, until an unnamed worker that is said to have been doing woodwork at this site decided to cross the line and get in the demonstrators faces…with his VAN...
Moral Monday, now in Charlotte, employs the language of faith Charlotte Observer ...The protests, which have received national attention, are not only grounded in religion but expanding their reach into churches. Organizers say they seek to reclaim the language of political morality...
Report: Rules skirted to give police chief raise Associated Press ...Gov. Scott Walker's administration gave the Capitol Police chief and his top deputy double-digit pay raises after moving them on paper to fake jobs and then back to their real posts...
Dems Defy Obama on Mortgage Protections Mother Jones ...President Barack Obama laid out his new housing plan, emphasizing the importance of safe, simple, affordable mortgages. But lawmakers in his own party are working against him, trying to gut historic new safeguards on home loans...
5 Companies That Make Money By Keeping Americans Terrified of Terror Attacks Alternet ...The drive to privatize America's national security apparatus accelerated in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks, and it’s gotten to the point where 70 percent of the national intelligence budget is now spent on private contractors...
America's Growing Income Inequality Problem Economic Populist ...While the Great Recession might be relabeled the great wealth transfer from the middle classes to the super rich, it is not the actual cause for such American economic injustice. The primary cause is Congress and their never ending giving to the rich through the U.S. tax code...
Greece privatisation boss Stelios Stavridis dismissed BBC News ...Mr Stavridis had only been in the job for four months but had faced criticism for the slow pace of privatisations...
Hiring in China by JPMorgan Under Scrutiny New York Times ...Federal authorities have opened a bribery investigation into whether JPMorgan Chase hired the children of powerful Chinese officials to help the bank win lucrative business in the booming nation...
“We’re Building a Domestic Army” – Marine Corps Colonel Peter Martino Before Concord, NH Town Council naked capitalism ...What’s happening here is that we’re building a domestic military because it’s unlawful or unconstitutional to use American troops on American soil...
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Today's Teamster News 07.17.13
Obama makes new NLRB nominations USA Today ...President Obama fulfilled his part of a Senate deal Tuesday to avoid major changes in the filibuster rules, making two new nominations to the National Labor Relations Board. Obama put up Nancy Schiffer, associate general counsel at the AFL-CIO, and Kent Hirozawa, chief counsel to NLRB chairman Mark Pearce...
Cordray Confirmed as Head of Financial Watchdog, After Long Wait New York Times ...Republicans agreed to allow the confirmation of Richard Cordray, by a vote of 66 to 34, cementing a new era of expansive federal oversight of companies that lend money to consumers...
Greeks take to streets again amid general strike over job cut plans The Guardian ...Tens of thousands of Greeks took to the streets on Tuesday as unions, protesting controversial plans to slash 25,000 public sector jobs, brought the country to a standstill in a fourth general strike this year...
Native American tribes’ lawsuit could decide who controls Senate in 2015 The Hill ... A high-profile lawsuit on the voting rights of Native Americans could help determine control of the Senate in the next Congress…
Fitzpatrick begins push to certify, label American-made products Philadelphia Business Journal ...Congressmen Mike Fitzpatrick (R-Penn.) introduced legislation that would encourage consumers to buy more U.S.-made goods. The America Star initiative would be similar to the popular Energy Star program that certifies energy-efficient appliances...
Department of Justice slaps Gallup with $10.5M fine Politico ...Gallup Organization has agreed to pay the government $10.5 million to settle a false claims case against the company for allegedly inflating cost estimates in government contracts. The Justice Department announced the settlement, resolving a complaint originally brought under the Whistleblower Protection Act by a former Gallup director of client services...
FEEA overwhelmed with furlough aid requests Federal News Radio ...Federal workers hit by furloughs are increasingly applying for aid from the Federal Employee Education and Assistance Fund (FEEA), a nonprofit organization that provides emergency loans to feds who have trouble meeting basic living expenses...
Wal-Mart faceoff with DC fuels minimum wage debate Associated Press ...The bitter standoff between Wal-Mart and District of Columbia officials over the city’s effort to impose a higher minimum wage on big-box retailers is fueling a wider debate about how far cities should go in trying to raise pay for low-wage workers — and whether larger companies should be required to pay more...
Rotunda Announcement: “Any participants or spectators are subject to arrest” blue cheddar ...today the Capitol Police announced that the people singing in the rotunda from noon to 1 P.M. were “Unlawfully Assembled” and “any participants or spectators are subject to arrest”...
New Report: Unions Shield Workers—and States—Against Recession In These Times ...The report’s findings strongly suggest that the decline of unionization has played a considerable role in the increase of income inequality in Illinois, which can in turn slow economic growth. The report also suggests that lags in union membership put a strain on the social safety net, sapping resources that could otherwise be invested to speed the state's recovery...
Halliburton fined in North Dakota after Duluth worker’s death Duluth News Tribune ...For the first time, oil industry giant Halliburton has been cited for workplace safety violations in North Dakota. A release issued Monday by the U.S. Department of Labor detailed two “serious safety violations” levied against the energy giant in relation to the Jan. 19 death of a Duluth man at an oil rig site...
Hawaii hotel workers could be in line for millions in tips KHON2 News ...The Hawaii State Supreme Court ruled Monday that a class action lawsuit against certain hotels “can” move forward with a class action suit that could eventually mean thousands of employees are due millions of dollars in lost tips...
Photo ID Law on Trial in Pennsylvania: What's at Stake for Our Democracy Huffington Post ...PA’s photo ID law which mainly affects the elderly, disabled and poor people is being challenged by the ACLU...
Bay City Commissioners approve new Teamsters contract for 9 supervisors Michigan Live ...Bay City commissioners approved a new contract for nine City Hall managers, who are represented by Teamsters Local 214...
Buffalo Teamsters Reach Tentative Agreement With Rural/Metro Medical IBT ...Early yesterday morning after 21 hours of negotiating, Teamsters Local 375, which represents the 400 EMTs and paramedics working at Rural/Metro medical services, reached a tentative agreement for a new 4-year contract that includes a wage increase and benefit improvements...
Cordray Confirmed as Head of Financial Watchdog, After Long Wait New York Times ...Republicans agreed to allow the confirmation of Richard Cordray, by a vote of 66 to 34, cementing a new era of expansive federal oversight of companies that lend money to consumers...
Greeks take to streets again amid general strike over job cut plans The Guardian ...Tens of thousands of Greeks took to the streets on Tuesday as unions, protesting controversial plans to slash 25,000 public sector jobs, brought the country to a standstill in a fourth general strike this year...
Native American tribes’ lawsuit could decide who controls Senate in 2015 The Hill ... A high-profile lawsuit on the voting rights of Native Americans could help determine control of the Senate in the next Congress…
Fitzpatrick begins push to certify, label American-made products Philadelphia Business Journal ...Congressmen Mike Fitzpatrick (R-Penn.) introduced legislation that would encourage consumers to buy more U.S.-made goods. The America Star initiative would be similar to the popular Energy Star program that certifies energy-efficient appliances...
Department of Justice slaps Gallup with $10.5M fine Politico ...Gallup Organization has agreed to pay the government $10.5 million to settle a false claims case against the company for allegedly inflating cost estimates in government contracts. The Justice Department announced the settlement, resolving a complaint originally brought under the Whistleblower Protection Act by a former Gallup director of client services...
FEEA overwhelmed with furlough aid requests Federal News Radio ...Federal workers hit by furloughs are increasingly applying for aid from the Federal Employee Education and Assistance Fund (FEEA), a nonprofit organization that provides emergency loans to feds who have trouble meeting basic living expenses...
Wal-Mart faceoff with DC fuels minimum wage debate Associated Press ...The bitter standoff between Wal-Mart and District of Columbia officials over the city’s effort to impose a higher minimum wage on big-box retailers is fueling a wider debate about how far cities should go in trying to raise pay for low-wage workers — and whether larger companies should be required to pay more...
Rotunda Announcement: “Any participants or spectators are subject to arrest” blue cheddar ...today the Capitol Police announced that the people singing in the rotunda from noon to 1 P.M. were “Unlawfully Assembled” and “any participants or spectators are subject to arrest”...
New Report: Unions Shield Workers—and States—Against Recession In These Times ...The report’s findings strongly suggest that the decline of unionization has played a considerable role in the increase of income inequality in Illinois, which can in turn slow economic growth. The report also suggests that lags in union membership put a strain on the social safety net, sapping resources that could otherwise be invested to speed the state's recovery...
Halliburton fined in North Dakota after Duluth worker’s death Duluth News Tribune ...For the first time, oil industry giant Halliburton has been cited for workplace safety violations in North Dakota. A release issued Monday by the U.S. Department of Labor detailed two “serious safety violations” levied against the energy giant in relation to the Jan. 19 death of a Duluth man at an oil rig site...
Hawaii hotel workers could be in line for millions in tips KHON2 News ...The Hawaii State Supreme Court ruled Monday that a class action lawsuit against certain hotels “can” move forward with a class action suit that could eventually mean thousands of employees are due millions of dollars in lost tips...
Photo ID Law on Trial in Pennsylvania: What's at Stake for Our Democracy Huffington Post ...PA’s photo ID law which mainly affects the elderly, disabled and poor people is being challenged by the ACLU...
Bay City Commissioners approve new Teamsters contract for 9 supervisors Michigan Live ...Bay City commissioners approved a new contract for nine City Hall managers, who are represented by Teamsters Local 214...
Buffalo Teamsters Reach Tentative Agreement With Rural/Metro Medical IBT ...Early yesterday morning after 21 hours of negotiating, Teamsters Local 375, which represents the 400 EMTs and paramedics working at Rural/Metro medical services, reached a tentative agreement for a new 4-year contract that includes a wage increase and benefit improvements...
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Elizabeth Warren keeps up her badass questioning
Here's Sen. Elizabeth Warren chastising congressional Republicans for filibustering the nomination of Richard Cordray as chief of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Because, you know, he's been demanding restitution from banks who steal from consumers. Our favorite line from Sen. Warren:
The American people deserve a Congress that worries less about helping big banks and more about helping regular people who've been cheated on mortgages, on credit cards, on student loans, on credit reports.Warren defeated banker-friendly Scott Brown for the Massachusetts Senate seat in November. Brown is now working -- wait for it -- as a Fox News commentator and for Goldman Sachs' lobbying firm.
Today's Teamster News 03.13.13
Are the Koch Brothers Trying to Buy the Los Angeles Times? LA Weekly ...Multiple sources tell L.A. Weekly that Charles and David Koch -- the infamous right-wing billionaire brothers -- are considering an offer on either the Tribune Co. newspaper group, which includes the L.A. Times, the Chicago Tribune and the Baltimore Sun or the entire Tribune Co., which includes more than 20 stations like WGN and KTLA Channel 5...
How Deadbeat Banks Pushed Detroit To The Brink The National Memo ...Detroit has been ravaged by an unending foreclosure crisis. Predatory loans trapped borrowers into monthly mortgage rates they couldn’t pay, with lenders particularly targeting lower-income minority areas like Detroit...
NLRB To Seek Supreme Court Review in Noel Canning v. NLRB NLRB ...The Board, in consultation with the Department of Justice, intends to file a petition for certiorari with the United States Supreme Court for review of that decision....
If Corporations Don’t Pay Taxes, Why Should You? Truthdig.com ...60 of the largest U.S. corporations “parked a total of $166 billion offshore last year” shielding more than 40 percent of their profits from U.S. taxes. But they all still expect Uncle Sam to come to their aid with military firepower in case the natives abroad get restless and nationalize their company’s assets...
Job Openings Increase as U.S. Labor Market Improves Bloomberg ...The fewest workers on record were fired in January and job openings rebounded, showing employers are gaining confidence the U.S. expansion will be sustained even as lawmakers battle to trim the federal budget deficit...
TPP: What you need to know about this 'super-sized' trade deal Rabble.ca ...Like NAFTA, the TPP will handcuff our ability to set regulations in key areas like finance, industry, the environment, public procurement and fostering programs to create jobs at home. Free trade offers corporate subsidies for the rich and cut-throat competition for everyone else...
Lawmakers grill Cordray in duel over consumer watchdog MoneyWatch ...No legislators or financial experts question Cordray's credentials to lead the CFPB. But congressional Republicans have opposed the bureau even before it was created in 2010 under the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, which seeks to protect people from deceptive financial practices...
Mo. House endorses union paycheck bill Associated Press ...After steadfast opposition from Democrats, the Missouri House and Senate each endorsed separate measures Tuesday that would change the way labor unions can collect and spend fees...
Appeals court refuses to grant stay in Act 10 case WisPolitics Budget Blog ...A state appeals court refused today to stay a Dane County judge's ruling that the governor's collective bargaining changes for some municipal employees are unconstitutional....
Florida senate president aims to hand out rare pay raises Florida Today ...The Senate president reiterated Friday that lawmakers will try to give state workers their first raise in six years, though he warned about the unpredictable nature of economic circumstances that could derail the plan...
Poll: Tom Corbett losing to 5 Democratic hopefuls Politico ...Only a third of voters approve of the Republican’s job performance. Fifty-eight percent disapprove...
Compass: Mayor's labor law guts a system that works for the city (opinion) Anchorage Daily News ...these drastic rules would end forever a cost-effective system that for decades has worked fairly for taxpayers and employees. Sullivan's new law is a stab in the back to every citizen of Anchorage...
Soda Wars Backlash: Mississippi Passes 'Anti-Bloomberg' Bill National Public Radio ...A bill now on the governor's desk would bar counties and towns from enacting rules that require calorie counts to be posted, that cap portion sizes, or that keep toys out of kids' meals...
State pays millions as prison populations sink Colorado Public News ...Colorado’s governor and legislature quietly agreed last year to pay millions to a private prison company for cells the state would not need...
Twinkies sold by Hostess Brands in private equity deal BBC News ...In a joint bid, Metropoulos & Co and Apollo Global Management are paying $410m (£275m) for the bankrupt company...
Teamsters Call On TSA To Reverse Policy Allowing Knives On Planes IBT ...The Transportation Security Administration's recent decision allowing knives in the aircraft cabin is an outrageous move that will endanger the security of the flying public and the safety of thousands of flight attendants and pilots, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters said today...
California Teamsters Urge Fair Treatment Of Immigrants IBT ...Teamsters Joint Council 7 spoke out at a recent hearing on the abuse of immigrant workers by California businesses. The hearing, called for by Assemblymember Roger Hernandez, Chair of the Assembly Labor & Employment Committee, included testimony from immigrant workers at Marquez Brothers and the warehouse, car wash and recycling industries...
Teamsters Local 705 on strike at sanitary district NWITimes.com ...District officials have said the two sides are stuck on issues related to wages and health insurance premium contributions, but Neil Messino, the Teamsters' contract administrator, said Monday the union has filed an unfair labor practices charge against Thorn Creek officials, saying they have refused to bargain in good faith with the union...
How Deadbeat Banks Pushed Detroit To The Brink The National Memo ...Detroit has been ravaged by an unending foreclosure crisis. Predatory loans trapped borrowers into monthly mortgage rates they couldn’t pay, with lenders particularly targeting lower-income minority areas like Detroit...
NLRB To Seek Supreme Court Review in Noel Canning v. NLRB NLRB ...The Board, in consultation with the Department of Justice, intends to file a petition for certiorari with the United States Supreme Court for review of that decision....
If Corporations Don’t Pay Taxes, Why Should You? Truthdig.com ...60 of the largest U.S. corporations “parked a total of $166 billion offshore last year” shielding more than 40 percent of their profits from U.S. taxes. But they all still expect Uncle Sam to come to their aid with military firepower in case the natives abroad get restless and nationalize their company’s assets...
Job Openings Increase as U.S. Labor Market Improves Bloomberg ...The fewest workers on record were fired in January and job openings rebounded, showing employers are gaining confidence the U.S. expansion will be sustained even as lawmakers battle to trim the federal budget deficit...
TPP: What you need to know about this 'super-sized' trade deal Rabble.ca ...Like NAFTA, the TPP will handcuff our ability to set regulations in key areas like finance, industry, the environment, public procurement and fostering programs to create jobs at home. Free trade offers corporate subsidies for the rich and cut-throat competition for everyone else...
Lawmakers grill Cordray in duel over consumer watchdog MoneyWatch ...No legislators or financial experts question Cordray's credentials to lead the CFPB. But congressional Republicans have opposed the bureau even before it was created in 2010 under the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, which seeks to protect people from deceptive financial practices...
Mo. House endorses union paycheck bill Associated Press ...After steadfast opposition from Democrats, the Missouri House and Senate each endorsed separate measures Tuesday that would change the way labor unions can collect and spend fees...
Appeals court refuses to grant stay in Act 10 case WisPolitics Budget Blog ...A state appeals court refused today to stay a Dane County judge's ruling that the governor's collective bargaining changes for some municipal employees are unconstitutional....
Florida senate president aims to hand out rare pay raises Florida Today ...The Senate president reiterated Friday that lawmakers will try to give state workers their first raise in six years, though he warned about the unpredictable nature of economic circumstances that could derail the plan...
Poll: Tom Corbett losing to 5 Democratic hopefuls Politico ...Only a third of voters approve of the Republican’s job performance. Fifty-eight percent disapprove...
Compass: Mayor's labor law guts a system that works for the city (opinion) Anchorage Daily News ...these drastic rules would end forever a cost-effective system that for decades has worked fairly for taxpayers and employees. Sullivan's new law is a stab in the back to every citizen of Anchorage...
Soda Wars Backlash: Mississippi Passes 'Anti-Bloomberg' Bill National Public Radio ...A bill now on the governor's desk would bar counties and towns from enacting rules that require calorie counts to be posted, that cap portion sizes, or that keep toys out of kids' meals...
State pays millions as prison populations sink Colorado Public News ...Colorado’s governor and legislature quietly agreed last year to pay millions to a private prison company for cells the state would not need...
Twinkies sold by Hostess Brands in private equity deal BBC News ...In a joint bid, Metropoulos & Co and Apollo Global Management are paying $410m (£275m) for the bankrupt company...
Teamsters Call On TSA To Reverse Policy Allowing Knives On Planes IBT ...The Transportation Security Administration's recent decision allowing knives in the aircraft cabin is an outrageous move that will endanger the security of the flying public and the safety of thousands of flight attendants and pilots, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters said today...
California Teamsters Urge Fair Treatment Of Immigrants IBT ...Teamsters Joint Council 7 spoke out at a recent hearing on the abuse of immigrant workers by California businesses. The hearing, called for by Assemblymember Roger Hernandez, Chair of the Assembly Labor & Employment Committee, included testimony from immigrant workers at Marquez Brothers and the warehouse, car wash and recycling industries...
Teamsters Local 705 on strike at sanitary district NWITimes.com ...District officials have said the two sides are stuck on issues related to wages and health insurance premium contributions, but Neil Messino, the Teamsters' contract administrator, said Monday the union has filed an unfair labor practices charge against Thorn Creek officials, saying they have refused to bargain in good faith with the union...
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
10 reasons the Senate should confirm Richard Cordray and let the CFPB protect consumers from predatory banks
If the Senate doesn't approve Cordray's nomination, you'll know why: too many senators are beholden to banks that want a free hand to exploit their customers.
Americans for Financial Reform provides a list of 10 reasons the Senate should approve Cordray's nomination and let the CFPB do its job.
Since the CFPB was created in July 2011, it has:
- Returned $457 million to nearly 6 million credit card holders cheated by Capital One, Discover and American Express.
- Wrote new regulations that prohibit banks and mortgage companies from disguising costs and making loans that borrowers can't afford.
- Recovered money for people who've been ripped off on their student loans.
- Cracked down on illegal foreclosures of military families.
- Force disclosure of the fees for sending money overseas.
- Shut down fraudulent companies that collect up-front fees for help they don’t deliver to desperate borrowers.
- Investigated banks for conning customers to opt into expensive overdraft protection programs, including JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, PNC, Bank of America, and five other banks.(Still ongoing.)
- Investigated allegations of harassment and deception by the 175 largest debt-collection firms. (Still ongoing.)
- Set up a complaint system in which more than half of people complaining about credit card companies got a financial settlement.
- Established a database where consumers can find out what credit card companies people are complaining about.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Congressional GOP: Making the US safe for fraud
They are filibustering the appointment of Teamster friend Richard Cordray to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. They're also trying to take away the agency's independence -- and its teeth.
Cordray is running the agency now because President Obama made him a recess appointment. (He is also a five-time undefeated Jeopardy champion.)
Paul Krugman explains that the CFPB was a shining example of how to reform banking regulation the right way. He called it "a stand-alone agency with its own funding, charged with protecting consumers against financial fraud and abuse." Writes Krugman:
Why is consumer financial protection necessary? Because fraud and abuse happen.
Don’t say that educated and informed consumers can take care of themselves. For one thing, not all consumers are educated and informed. Edward Gramlich, the Federal Reserve official who warned in vain about the dangers of subprime, famously asked, “Why are the most risky loan products sold to the least sophisticated borrowers?” He went on, “The question answers itself — the least sophisticated borrowers are probably duped into taking these products.”
And even well-educated adults can have a hard time understanding the risks and payoffs associated with financial deals — a fact of which shady operators are all too aware. To take an area in which the bureau has already done excellent work, how many of us know what’s actually in our credit-card contracts?Here's what CFPB has done for you already: Gotten rid of misleading add-on products to credit card accounts. Big credit card companies canceled their add-ons after the CFPB dinged Discover, American Express and Capitol One $536.5 million for lying about things like identity theft protection.
And three weeks ago, the agency announced new rules protecting mortgage borrowers from unscrupulous lenders. The rules prohibit mortgage brokers from selling risky loans to unsuspecting borrowers.
Two-thirds of Americans agreed the agency is necessary. Nine out of 10 Americans support requirements that clear explanations of rates, terms and fees be required of banks, lenders and credit card companies. Eighty four percent of small businesses support the CFPB.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Today's Teamster News 02.03.13
GOP to Filibuster Obama's Consumer Watchdog Pick Mother Jones ...A little more than a week after Senate Democrats decided not to weaken the filibuster, Republicans are vowing to filibuster President Barack Obama's nominee to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau unless its powers are reduced...
Banks, at Least, Had a Friend in Geithner New York Times ...“The legal and regulatory framework that Geithner leaves behind for preventing a future financial crisis inspires little confidence, especially amid scandals emerging almost weekly at banks too big and complex to manage, regulate, police and fail....”
Deep Military Cuts Begin as Congress Dawdles Military.com ...Congressional leaders appear to have reach consensus that it is safer politically to allow deep and arbitrary cuts to military budgets than it is to negotiate a large debt-reduction deal that would have names attached...
Applebee’s fires waitress who posted receipt from pastor complaining about auto-tip Yahoo News ...An Applebee's waitress who posted a receipt with a note from a pastor complaining about the automatic gratuity added to the bill on the Internet was fired on Wednesday after the pastor complained to her manager...
Helmets to Hardhats: Placing soldiers in good jobs Northwest Indiana Times ...Programs like the Helmets to Hardhats organization and the Iron Workers Local 395 Apprenticeship Program are working to combat this problem and bring quality careers to America’s troops returning home from overseas...
Union backers say Nissan threatens plant closure Associated Press ...Pro-union workers said Tuesday that Nissan Motor Co. has threatened to close its Canton, Miss. assembly plant if workers vote for the United Auto Workers to represent them, though the company denies such threats...
Ford's UAW workers to get $8,300 profit payout Detroit Free Press ...UAW members have not had a wage increase in at least eight years, relying on lump-sum payments and profit sharing for between 20% and 25% of their annual pay...
Plan to sell state-owned power plants might be revived Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ..."The plan to sell off some or all of the 37 state government-run power and heating plants was dropped in 2011 amid complaints the bill did not include provisions requiring that they be sold through a competitive bidding process..."
Banks, at Least, Had a Friend in Geithner New York Times ...“The legal and regulatory framework that Geithner leaves behind for preventing a future financial crisis inspires little confidence, especially amid scandals emerging almost weekly at banks too big and complex to manage, regulate, police and fail....”
Deep Military Cuts Begin as Congress Dawdles Military.com ...Congressional leaders appear to have reach consensus that it is safer politically to allow deep and arbitrary cuts to military budgets than it is to negotiate a large debt-reduction deal that would have names attached...
Applebee’s fires waitress who posted receipt from pastor complaining about auto-tip Yahoo News ...An Applebee's waitress who posted a receipt with a note from a pastor complaining about the automatic gratuity added to the bill on the Internet was fired on Wednesday after the pastor complained to her manager...
Helmets to Hardhats: Placing soldiers in good jobs Northwest Indiana Times ...Programs like the Helmets to Hardhats organization and the Iron Workers Local 395 Apprenticeship Program are working to combat this problem and bring quality careers to America’s troops returning home from overseas...
Union backers say Nissan threatens plant closure Associated Press ...Pro-union workers said Tuesday that Nissan Motor Co. has threatened to close its Canton, Miss. assembly plant if workers vote for the United Auto Workers to represent them, though the company denies such threats...
Ford's UAW workers to get $8,300 profit payout Detroit Free Press ...UAW members have not had a wage increase in at least eight years, relying on lump-sum payments and profit sharing for between 20% and 25% of their annual pay...
Plan to sell state-owned power plants might be revived Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ..."The plan to sell off some or all of the 37 state government-run power and heating plants was dropped in 2011 amid complaints the bill did not include provisions requiring that they be sold through a competitive bidding process..."
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Crackdown on credit card companies from new CFPB
 |
| Some will rob you with a six gun Some with a fountain pen. |
Capital One and Discover were fined more than $200 million each this summer for pushing questionable payment protection plans. Last week, American Express got dinged for $112 million. The CFPB found American Express had discriminated against older customers, collected debts improperly and failed to report consumer disputes to the credit bureaus.
The American Banker said the fine should scare bankers:
The broad reach of the American Express action is clearly intended as a warning to other banks, observers said.
"This order is putting everyone on notice that the regulators are looking for any potentially misleading or deceptive practices when it comes to interacting with consumers," said Jaret Seiberg, a financial services policy analyst with Guggenheim Securities. "No one should have had any doubt beforehand that the regulators were actively investigating every interaction between card companies and consumers. But if you had any doubt, this erases it."One lawyer said it looks as if CFPB tried to enforce a lot of existing laws.
That's exactly what Cordray said in a press release:
Several American Express companies violated consumer protection laws and those laws were violated at all stages of the game — from the moment a consumer shopped for a card to the moment the consumer got a phone call about long overdue debt.Here's the kind of crap American Express was pulling: promising bonus points and then reneging; charging late fees based on a percentage of the borrowers' debt (that's illegal); giving older applicants different credit scores; lying to applicants. Now the company has to pay restitution of about $340 to every person it cheated.
The CFPB was created in 2010 as part of the Dodd-Frank financial reform act. But it was the brainchild of Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren.
Would American Express be fined for ripping off customers if the CFPB didn't exist? Here's one answer from Isaac Boltansky, an analyst with Compass Point Research and Trading:
Now that we have the Dodd-Frank Act and a regulator who is for the first time charged with focusing on consumer financial issues, there was a driving force to get a coordinated and complete settlement action in place. I don't think that this action would have happened on the same scale or the same timeline without a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.Nice to know there's a new cop on the beat.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Wall St. caught red-handed. Capital One to pay back customers $140M
 |
| Some will rob you with a six-gun, some with a fountain pen. |
The new Consumer Financial Reform Bureau does. The agency just slapped Capitol One with a $25 million fine and ordered it to repay 2 million customers $140 million. According to the CFPB press release,
...CFPB ... identified deceptive marketing tactics used by Capital One’s vendors to pressure or mislead consumers into paying for “add-on products” such as payment protection and credit monitoring when they activated their credit cards.Here's what happened: Capital One customers with low credit ratings or low credit limits would call to activate their cards. The call center people would tell them to buy the "add-on" products because they'd improve their credit score (they wouldn't). Or that they had to buy the add-on (they didn't). Or they'd lie and say it was free (it wasn't). Or they'd offer "payment protection" in case of disability or unemployment -- when the customer was already disabled or unemployed and didn't qualify.
Sometimes the call centers would even enroll customers in the "add-on" program without their permission. And guess how easy it was for customers to get out of paying that charge when the bill came? (Not easy.)
So thanks to the CFPB, Capital One isn't allowed to do that any more. It has to pay back customers who bought (or got stuck with) the add-on product on or after Aug. 1, 2010. An independent auditor will decide if Capital One behaves itself.
The CFPB was created by the Dodd-Frank financial reform two years ago and headed by Teamster friend Richard Cordray, Ohio's former attorney general. Here's Cordray:
Today’s action puts $140 million back in the pockets of two million Capital One customers who were pressured or misled into buying credit card products they didn’t understand, didn’t want, or in some cases, couldn’t even use. We are putting companies on notice that these deceptive practices are against the law and will not be tolerated.Despite all the crap you hear about regulation hurting the banks, a new poll shows that three out of four Americans want strong oversight of Wall Street. It showed two-thirds of voters support the CFPB and believe it's necessary.
The CFPB celebrates its first birthday on July 26. Mark your calendars.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Today's Teamster News 05.10.12
Bank Vs. America – Protests Outside, Inside BofA Shareholder Meeting firedoglake ...Inside the Bank of America meeting, disgruntled shareholders — including Trillium Asset Management, the City of New York and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees — will force votes on proposals that would curb the bank’s political spending and force it to review its foreclosure practices...
New Rules May Curtail Some Fees in Mortgage New York Times ...The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said it planned to propose tighter mortgage lending regulations that would limit the ability of banks and mortgage brokers to charge certain transaction fees, possibly ending one of the most abusive costs levied on consumers when they buy a house...
Are public sector pensions too generous? The Guardian ...Public state employees including police, lecturers and border control staff are striking today over government plans to shave billions from the the pensions bill by worsening the terms of their pensions...
Spain nationalises Bankia as euro crisis escalates The Telegraph ...Spain has nationalised crippled lender Bankia in a dramatic move to contain the escalating crisis and restore faith in the country's management...
Scott Walker's extreme hypocrisy on Milwaukee jobs Washington Post ...In other words, when Milwaukee was adding jobs early in Walker’s term, his policies deserved all the credit. When it began to lose jobs, it was the fault only of his opponent’s policies — even though the rest of the state lost jobs, too...
Union Workers Picket Allied Waste Services Lockout Tristatehomepage.com ...Union workers are picketing Evansville's Allied Waste Services just a day after the company locked them out. The company confirmed last night most of its workers were locked out. 79 drivers, mechanics and landfill operators are affected by the lockout...
New Rules May Curtail Some Fees in Mortgage New York Times ...The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said it planned to propose tighter mortgage lending regulations that would limit the ability of banks and mortgage brokers to charge certain transaction fees, possibly ending one of the most abusive costs levied on consumers when they buy a house...
Are public sector pensions too generous? The Guardian ...Public state employees including police, lecturers and border control staff are striking today over government plans to shave billions from the the pensions bill by worsening the terms of their pensions...
Spain nationalises Bankia as euro crisis escalates The Telegraph ...Spain has nationalised crippled lender Bankia in a dramatic move to contain the escalating crisis and restore faith in the country's management...
Scott Walker's extreme hypocrisy on Milwaukee jobs Washington Post ...In other words, when Milwaukee was adding jobs early in Walker’s term, his policies deserved all the credit. When it began to lose jobs, it was the fault only of his opponent’s policies — even though the rest of the state lost jobs, too...
Union Workers Picket Allied Waste Services Lockout Tristatehomepage.com ...Union workers are picketing Evansville's Allied Waste Services just a day after the company locked them out. The company confirmed last night most of its workers were locked out. 79 drivers, mechanics and landfill operators are affected by the lockout...
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Woo-hoo! Obama names NLRB members, consumer protection chief
 |
| Cordray |
He named three people to the National Labor Relations Board, making sure the board functions to protect workers' rights to organize. ThinkProgress has a good explainer:
...Republicans have spent the past year blocking nominations to the NLRB in an effort to keep the agency from functioning. Those efforts would have paid off soon, since after Craig Becker’s term on the board expired this week, the NLRB would have been reduced to two members, which is the number it had for more than two years from 2008 to 2010. This effectively shuts down the board, since the Supreme Court ruled in 2010 that two members does not constitute a legal quorum, and thus, a two-member board can’t make binding rulings.Ohio Teamsters should be especially pleased with the appointment of Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau because he did such a great job there as attorney general. Here's what Cordray himself had to say about the CFPB in the Huffington Post today:
...without a director, ... we lacked the ability to supervise financial institutions other than big banks -- like nonbank mortgage lenders and servicers, and payday lenders. Many of these institutions had no regular federal oversight in the run up to the financial crisis. They led a race to the bottom that pushed aside responsible businesses, including community banks and credit unions, and greatly harmed consumers.
I am pleased to say that we will now be able to exercise the full authorities granted to us under the law and begin to supervise these nonbanks. Standing up this program is a top priority for the CFPB.And here's what Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa had to say:
There can’t be any doubt which side President Obama is on after the recess appointments he made today. He stood up to Republicans in Congress who hate the idea of consumer protections and fairness in the workplace. They’ve tried everything they could think of to destroy the NLRB and to prevent the CFPB from functioning, including blocking appointments. President Obama made the right decision on behalf of the American people by bypassing obstructionists in the Senate.
Richard Cordray is a solid public official who has done much to protect Ohio’s retirees, investors and business owners from financial fraud. Richard Griffin, as general counsel for the International Union of Operating Engineers, is a strong choice for the NLRB. Sharon Block, currently deputy assistant secretary for congressional affairs at the Labor Department, has worked for the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, a great protector of workers’ rights.
And the appointment of Terrence Flynn, the Republican nominee to the NLRB, shows the president’s determination to rise above petty partisan politics.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Today's Teamster News 03.20.11
Volunteers ramping up recall efforts Channel 3000 ...Throughout the state, groups are working to recall senators...
Wisconsin's coalition against corporate power The Guardian ...Stirred to action, a new popular movement is determined to roll back the rightwing assault on collective bargaining rights...
Indiana House negotiations aren't really over Louisville Courier-Journal ...The problem for Republicans is this: They can’t pass that agenda without Democrats present. Period...
FedEx: Faces Civil DoJ Probe Alongside UPS Over Consultants Wall Street Journal ...FedEx Corp (FDX) said Friday that it was the subject of a Department of Justice civil investigation into alleged anticompetitive behavior in the parcel-delivery market...
An Advocate Who Scares Republicans New York Times ...if protecting financial consumers — and helping the millions of Americans struggling to hold onto their homes — isn’t worth fighting for, then what is?
Nearly 20% of Florida homes are vacant CNN Money ...That's a rise of more than 63% over the past 10 years...
Who Is Bankrolling A Lawsuit To End The Ban On Foreign Money In U.S. Elections? ThinkProgress ...the case is being litigated by two high-dollar attorneys from a firm whose clients include some of the biggest corporate beneficiaries of the Citizens United decision — including Koch Industries and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce...
Wisconsin's coalition against corporate power The Guardian ...Stirred to action, a new popular movement is determined to roll back the rightwing assault on collective bargaining rights...
Indiana House negotiations aren't really over Louisville Courier-Journal ...The problem for Republicans is this: They can’t pass that agenda without Democrats present. Period...
FedEx: Faces Civil DoJ Probe Alongside UPS Over Consultants Wall Street Journal ...FedEx Corp (FDX) said Friday that it was the subject of a Department of Justice civil investigation into alleged anticompetitive behavior in the parcel-delivery market...
An Advocate Who Scares Republicans New York Times ...if protecting financial consumers — and helping the millions of Americans struggling to hold onto their homes — isn’t worth fighting for, then what is?
Nearly 20% of Florida homes are vacant CNN Money ...That's a rise of more than 63% over the past 10 years...
Who Is Bankrolling A Lawsuit To End The Ban On Foreign Money In U.S. Elections? ThinkProgress ...the case is being litigated by two high-dollar attorneys from a firm whose clients include some of the biggest corporate beneficiaries of the Citizens United decision — including Koch Industries and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce...
Friday, September 17, 2010
Today's Teamster News 09/17/10
Lost Decade for Family Income Wall Street Journal ...new Census data show ... years of stagnant wage growth ... made the past decade the worst for American families in at least half a century.
After Vote on Airline Merger, Real Work Starts Wall Street Journal ...Shareholders of United Airlines ... and Continental Airlines ... will vote Friday ... on the merger of their carriers, the last major step before the transaction can close by Oct. 1.
Obama Appoints Elizabeth Warren To Advisory Position On Consumer Protection Talking Points Memo ...The White House ... appoint(ed) Elizabeth Warren to ... help the administration set up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Protecting workers' rights builds a win-win economy (opinion) Gaston Gazette ...It’s encouraging that the National Labor Relations Board is taking preliminary steps toward justice for Stabilus, Inc. workers...
After Vote on Airline Merger, Real Work Starts Wall Street Journal ...Shareholders of United Airlines ... and Continental Airlines ... will vote Friday ... on the merger of their carriers, the last major step before the transaction can close by Oct. 1.
Obama Appoints Elizabeth Warren To Advisory Position On Consumer Protection Talking Points Memo ...The White House ... appoint(ed) Elizabeth Warren to ... help the administration set up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Protecting workers' rights builds a win-win economy (opinion) Gaston Gazette ...It’s encouraging that the National Labor Relations Board is taking preliminary steps toward justice for Stabilus, Inc. workers...
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