States spend more on corporate tax breaks than worker pensions

In 10 states,  the revenue lost to corporations through loopholes and tax breaks is bigger the current cost of pension benefits to state employees, according to a new report by Good Jobs First.

Philip Mattera, research director of  Good Jobs First, said politicians are balancing their budgets on the backs of public employees, though Wall Street caused their revenue shortfalls. And:

...our research shows that corporate interests are generally prioritized over teachers, firefighters, police officers, and thousands of other employees who dedicate their lives to public service. 

No shock there. What is shocking is the size of the corporate subsidies. In Pennsylvania, for example, corporate subsidies and loopholes cost $4 billion every year -- two-and-a-half times the cost of public pensions. 
Said Mattera: 

As a matter of honest accounting and fair budgeting, state leaders should examine all forms of spending before  they single out pensions or any other expense,” said Mattera. “Corporate tax breaks and loopholes are often poorly understood and little-noticed because they do not get debated as appropriations, nor do they often get sunsetted or audited. But over time they add up to hundreds of millions, or even billions, of dollars per year.

Good Jobs First studied 10 states where legislatures are trying to steal pensions underfunding pensions or elected officials are threatening to cut them. They are:

• Arizona
• California
• Colorado
• Florida
• Illinois
• Louisiana
• Michigan
• Missouri
• Oklahoma
• Pennsylvania. 

Read the whole thing here.

Today's Teamster News 09.13.13

Teamster Proposal for FedEx Independent Board Chair Backed by Leading Proxy Advisers  teamster.org   ...The country’s two largest proxy advisers, ISS and Glass Lewis, have both recommended that FedEx shareholders support a Teamster proposal calling for an independent chairman of the board at the company’s annual meeting Sept. 23...
Video: Teamsters and Allies Fighting For Workers’ Rights, Worldwide  Thom Hartmann’s The Big Picture   ...Tim Beaty, Teamsters Director of Global Strategies, was interviewed about the relationships the union has with labor organizations around the world. Jim Hoffa recently signed an agreement with a top Brazilian labor leader that will help both organizations fight for workers’ rights...
DHL Teamsters Approve National Master Portions Of Tentative New Agreement And All Operational Supplements  teamster.org   ...Teamsters working at DHL Express across the country overwhelmingly approved the new tentative National Master Agreement. However, a small number of local riders were not approved...
35 to lose jobs at Franklin Foods  Duluth News Tribune   ...Dairy giant Kemps on Monday told workers at its Duluth milk processing facility that production was being shifted to a Minneapolis facility, meaning 35 workers will be out of a job at Franklin Foods on Oct. 4...
BMWED Members: Amtrak Arbitration Agreement  teamster.org   ...The Passenger Rail Labor Bargaining Coalition has finalized an agreement with Amtrak to arbitrate and settle the BMWED contract dispute...
Verizon's diabolical plan to turn the Web into pay-per-view  Industry Standard   ... The country's No. 1 carrier is fighting in court to end the Federal Communications Commission's policy of Net neutrality, a move that would open the gates to a whole new -- and wholly bad -- economic model on the Web...
Bailout Nr. 5? Euro Zone Eyes Slovenia's Troubled Banks  Der Spiegel   ...The euro crisis has been on the back burner lately, but the problems facing banks in Slovenia are coming to a head. Billions of euros in bad loans make the country a candidate for the next bailout...
Why Do We Spend Billions on the National Security State While We Let Detroit Go Bankrupt?  Alternet   ...During a peace-time economy, the budgets of the five intelligence agencies have grown exponentially while urban cities and social services have dwindled...
California Legislature Passes Historic Laws Protecting Immigrant Workers from Abusive Employers  teamster.org   ...The California State legislature has passed new protections designed to stop unscrupulous employers from retaliating against immigrant workers who stand up for their rights. The bills await signature by Governor Jerry Brown...  
Gov. Rick Snyder announces appointments to truck safety commission  ABC 10 News   ...Michigan’s Gov. Rick Snyder today announced two appointments and five reappointments, including Dave Goller, a Teamsters Local 406 business representative, to the Michigan Truck Safety Commission...
Bike night and car show has great attendance in Slatington  Times News   ...The Slatington Fire Department in Pennsylvania held a bike night and car show in honor of longtime firefighter Milt "Bup" Greene, who passed away last year. The event was hosted by the Teamster Horseman Motorcycle Club of which Greene, a firefighter for 35 years, was a member...
5 Years Later, Wall Street Still Sucking Life Out of America Like Vampires at a Blood Drive  AlterNet   ...On Sept. 15, 2008, the Lehman Brothers collapse became the 9/11 of the financial world, sending the global economy into panic, leading to the ugliest financial episode since the Great Depression—mostly because the financial sector had gotten out of control…
Why doesn’t NSA spy on Wall Street?  Salon   ...The government claims NSA conducts surveillance to avert financial crises. Seems like they have the wrong suspects...
Report:New Trade Pact Will Hurt U.S. Wages  CBS Money Watch ...The new trans-Pacific trade pact being pushed by the U.S. government will hurt most American workers' wages despite promises it will help them, according to a new report...
GE Ex-Labor Chief Switches to Defend Retirees’ Benefits  Bloomberg News   ...Ten years ago, Dennis Rocheleau sat across the bargaining table from General Electric Co. (GE)’s unions, pushing health-care cuts so deep they led to the first nationwide strike at the company in three decades...
Florida task force takes shape to study mandatory paid-sick-leave  Miami Herald   ...Florida Senate President Don Gaetz has announced the first four members of a task force that will study how state law affects the benefits companies can offer employees, including mandatory paid-sick-leave...
Oregon’s Revenue Department violated labor laws, state says  Statesman Journal   ...The Oregon Department of Revenue has been violating its agreement with employees for years by refusing to pay for some meal periods, according to a recent ruling released by the Employment Relations Board...
L.A. Mayor Garcetti working to rebuild ties to labor unions  Los Angeles Times   ...Months after much of organized labor fought hard to block his election as mayor of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti tried to mend fences Wednesday with a call for solidarity with unions in their struggle for jobs that pay middle-class wages...

Expose ALEC! Take the pledge today!

Our brothers and sisters in Oklahoma are spreading the word about the nefarious ALEC as the group heads toward Oklahoma City for an annual confab. Teamsters Local 886 is working hard to shine a bright light on ALEC's misdeeds during its stay in Oklahoma City on May 2-3. ALEC "delegates" will be treated to a boisterous march for the middle class (we're getting visuals of Teamsters trucks here) and a rally at a yet-to-be-disclosed location.

If you're new to ALEC, it's the corporate dating service for lobbyists and state lawmakers. Funded by the Benedict Arnold Koch brothers, it's a major tentacle in the vast right-wing conspiracy. ALEC is responsible for many state laws that are helping to make your lives miserable. No Rights At Work legislation is straight out of ALEC. So are most bills that punish workers and empower billionaires.

Here's a short list of giant corporations that benefit from ALEC's meddling in your state Legislature:

• Altria/Philip Morris USA benefits from ALEC’s tax break for moist tobacco that would make fruit flavored tobacco products cheaper and more attractive to youngsters.
• Health insurance companies such as Humana and Golden Rule Insurance (United Healthcare), benefit directly from ALEC model bills, such as the Health Savings Account bill that just passed in Wisconsin.
• Tobacco firms such as Reynolds and pharmaceutical firms such as Bayer benefit directly from ALEC tort reform measures that make it harder for Americans to sue when injured by dangerous products.
• Private prison firm Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) benefits directly from anti-immigrant legislation that requires expanded incarceration and housing of immigrants, along with other bills from ALEC’s crime task force.
• K-12 Inc., a large online education corporation, benefits from ALEC measures to eradicate public education and promote private on-line schools.

ALEC is also responsible for tax proposals so extreme that even Republicans oppose them. Huffington Post reports:

Governors who proposed major radical and unsound tax proposals this year, including Louisiana’s Bobby Jindal, Ohio’s John Kasich, Oklahoma’s Mary Fallin, and Nebraska’s Dave Heineman, are running into significant resistance from some surprising sources: their own states’ business communities and Republican legislative leadership. 

These governors produced proposals straight out of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) fiscal policy playbook. In slightly different ways, all four governors sought to provide huge boons to upper-income taxpayers and profitable corporations, and they (wrongly) touted their proposals as surefire paths to economic growth.

No state is immune from ALEC. So help your brothers and sisters in Oklahoma -- and help yourself by taking the pledge to tell your union brothers and sisters, your family, your friends and your neighbors about ALEC.

There's Plenty of information has recently been brought to light about ALEC at the www.alecexposed.org website.

You can find a list of ALEC politicians in your state here and here.

You can find a list of ALEC stink think tanks (which pretend to be non partisan) in your state here.

You can find a list of ALEC scholars here (you'll also see them on Fox News).

So please take the pledge and sign this petition here.

Today's Teamster News 04.09.13

U.S. Border Patrol Uniforms Manufactured in Mexico  CNS News   ...U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has granted uniform contracts to VF Imagewear, Inc., an apparel company that relies on manufacturing sites in Mexico for a “significant percentage” of its occupational garments...
The Koch Brothers War On Renewable Energy Is Killing Jobs and Destroying Our Air  Politicususa   ...ALEC is at Koch’s beck and call to grind out templates for Republicans to fill in to kill renewable energy standards in 28 states, as well as keep the money flowing into their coffers from the Kochs...
Critics question investment fund's Sacramento rental venture  Sacramento Bee   ...The giant New York investment fund – with its global portfolio of shopping malls, the Weather Channel and Motel 6 – owns nearly 10 times as many rental homes in Sacramento as any other private landlord, along with thousands of other homes across the nation...
Some 30,000 households a month have power supply cut  Ekathimerini   ...About 1,000 electricity connections are cut every day in Greece as Public Power Corporation customers are increasingly unable to pay their power bills on time, while accumulated debts to the country’s electricity giant stood at more than 1.3 billion euros at the end of 2012. This is not only due to the economic crisis that has eaten into household incomes, but also to the special property tax paid via power bills...
UPS Appeals Decision Blocking TNT Express Takeover  NY Times   ...LONDON — United Parcel Service has appealed a recent decision by European antitrust authorities that blocked its $6.7 billion takeover bid for the Dutch shipping company TNT Express...
State Supreme Court limits union rights in Texas  Statesman   ...Unionized government workers in Texas — including firefighters, police and teachers — don’t have the right to be accompanied by a union representative while being questioned during internal investigations, a divided Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday...
‘Right’ and Wrong (opinion) Toledo Blade   ...if lawmakers didn’t violate the letter of the open-meetings act, they violated its spirit by shoving this highly controversial law through a lame-duck session without a committee hearing or anything that could pass for a real debate....
'Right-to-Work' Bills Die in Committee  Mainebiz   ...Two bills intended to reduce a union's ability to collect dues were defeated in a legislative committee's party-line vote Friday. The Bangor Daily News reported that the Legislature's Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development Committee voted ...
Bobby Jindal Pulls Tax Plan After Outcry  Talking Points Memo   ...Lousiana Governor Bobby Jindal (R) is pulling a plan to replace the income and corporate tax with a new sales tax amid an outcry from groups ranging from clergy to business lobbyists...
Red Cross’ Teamsters ratify new contract  Boston Herald   ...The American Red Cross Massachusetts Blood Services Region received notification yesterday that employees represented by Teamsters Local 25 have voted to ratify a new three-year contract, officials said...
Teamsters Speak Out About National Express  Drive Up Standards   ...Teamster school bus drivers with Durham School Services and Teamster representatives recently traveled to the United Kingdom to call on National Express Group to honor the human rights of its workers in North America. Durham is a subsidiary of National Express, a multinational transportation company headquartered in Birmingham, England...
Teamsters to Observe Workers’ Memorial Day – April 28  IBT   ...The Teamsters Union, and trade unionists around the world, recognize April 28 as Workers' Memorial Day — a day of remembrance and action for workers killed, disabled, injured or made unwell by their work. To help mark this important day, the Teamsters are providing resources to help with the planning of activities at local unions and workplaces...

The GOP is raising your taxes all over the US

In the up-is-down propaganda of greedy billionaires, Hitler was a union supporter, right-to-work empowers employees, privatization saves taxpayers' money and tax hikes are tax cuts.

The latest round of billionaire-backed assaults on working people includes tax hikes for nearly everyone except -- you guessed it -- the very wealthy. Billionaires' manservants -- aka "Republican governors" -- are trying to raise taxes on the working class in Ohio, Louisiana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Kansas. Only they're calling it the opposite of what it actually is. So when you hear a Republican governor use the words "tax reform," be very afraid.

In Ohio, Republican Gov. John Kasich is trying to raise taxes on practically everything: real estate rents, credit processing fees, trademarks, franchises, licenses, stocks, bonds, money market funds, funerals, courier services, dry cleaning, haircuts, cable tv and advertising. To name a few.

Why? Because Kasich wants to cut taxes for the very wealthy by more than $10,000 a year. Policy Matters Ohio reports:

The proposal would provide a $10,369 annual tax cut on average to taxpayers in the top 1 percent of the income spectrum, who made more than $335,000 in 2012. The bottom fifth of taxpayers, making less than $18,000 a year, would see an average increase of $63. 

In Louisiana, Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal wants to raise taxes on the bottom 80 percent of people in the state. Why? Because he wants to pay for tax cuts for the top 1 percent. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy reports Jindal's proposal would raise taxes on the poorest Louisianans by an average of $395 and cut taxes for the very wealthy by an average of $25,423.

In Kansas, Republican Gov. Sam Brownback wants to make permanent a "temporary" sales tax increase of a penny. You know why. The poorest Kansans would pay an average of $22 more a year, and the richest 1 percent would pay $28,000 less, according to Citizens for Tax Justice.

In Michigan, Republican Gov. Rick Snyder's $1.4 billion tax increase of 2011 is just now hitting working families -- hard. The Associated Press reports that half of all Michigan taxpayers will pay considerably more this year: 

Homeowners and renters used to qualify for a credit if their household income was no more than $82,650 a year. Now they don’t get it unless their total household resources are $50,000 or less and their home’s taxable value (roughly half the market value) is no more than $135,000. 

That will affect about 400,000 returns. 

The child deduction is gone. So are special exemptions for seniors and those getting at least half their income from unemployment checks. 

A refundable credit for low-income workers was reduced, impacting about 783,000 returns. Eliminated are state credits for city income taxes, college tuition, adoptions and donations to universities, public radio and TV stations, food banks and homeless shelters.

We feel safe in assuming the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, is behind the tax hikes. Whenever you see state legislation that will empower corporations, enrich billionaires and wipe out the middle class, you can bet that ALEC is behind it. ALEC, the dating service for corporations and state lawmakers, peddles its copycat bills in every state capital in the country.

ALEC's devastating agenda is supported by an interlocking network of foundations and think tanks funded by billionaires. They call themselves "charities." When needed, they trot out Arthur Laffer to testify in statehouses on their behalf. They call him an "economist."

Never forget, up is down in the propaganda world created by greedy billionaires.  

5K chanting 'Hoffa' in LA as march begins

Teamsters set out to march on L.A.

Five thousand Teamsters strong are just setting out on the March for Jobs from the Staples Center to Pershing Square. We're told the crowd of union members, students and community activists is huge. Right now the Teamsters are shouting "Hoffa, Hoffa," "Three Ninety Six (local 396)" and "Teamsters, Teamsters."

They will stop along the way at companies that attack their own workers: the Luxe Hotel, T-Mobile, Ralph's and J.P. Morgan/Chase bank.

Earlier, several busloads of Southern Cal Teamsters arrived for a 10 am rally. Elvis Costello's "Pump It Up" played at the stage next to Staples Center. Drums pulsated as the cheering crowd built up its energy by the minute.

@Equita just tweeted:

beautiful day just got more beautiful. people marching down past the shop from the teamsters temple to stand for workers + peace.

@LALabor tweets that Mahlon Mitchell, president of the Wisconsin Fire Fighters Association, has been spotted.

Meanwhile, our brothers and sisters in London are wrapping up their massive demonstration. We liked the tweet from @jpilmanic,

A movement of the millions against the millionaires.