Teamsters
Teamsters Praise Lt. Governor Stack For Supporting Working Families IBT ...Teamsters across the state are praising Lt. Governor Mike Stack for standing strong and striking down an attempt by some lawmakers to place a stranglehold on unions...
Could The Gogama Derailment Have Been Prevented? NewsWire ...The Teamsters Union once again raises concerns following the third train derailment in Northern Ontario in less than a month. For years, the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC)—which represents more than 12,000 railway workers—have continually stressed the need for more inspectors to be hired to see to the optimal operation of the equipment and the integrity of the tracks...
Facebook approves shuttle drivers contract USA Today ...Facebook and the contractor that supplies the shuttle drivers who transport the social networking giant's employees have agreed to a union-negotiated contract...
Google Shuttle Drivers To See Pay Hike, Better Benefits San Jose Mercury News ...The overtures come amid a growing Silicon Valley labor movement that has unionized some companies' shuttle drivers and also sought to lift up janitors, cooks, security guards and other service workers who buttress the high-tech economy. Shuttle drivers for Yahoo, Apple, Genentech, eBay and Zynga voted to join the Teamsters last month, following the lead of Facebook drivers, who joined the union in November...
Ryder Drivers In California Unionize Materials Management and Distribution ...Drivers with Ryder Integrated Logistics at three California locations have voted to join the Teamsters Union, gaining representation for 105 workers in one week. Eight-four drivers in Riverside and nine drivers in Fontana are now members of Teamsters Local 166 in Bloomington, California, and 12 drivers in Orange, have joined Teamsters Local 952, also located in Orange...
Time to Celebrate with Some Union Wine Beeson Tayer & Bodine ...Nearly 50 workers at the Constellation Brands Woodbridge Winery have joined the ranks of Teamsters Local 601. Constellation Brands is one of the largest wineries in the United States and produces some of the finest wines in California, including Ravens Wood, Toasted Head and Robert Mondavi wines...
Trade
AFL-CIO head on Obama’s trade push: ‘We are going all out to oppose it’ Washington Post ...The head of the nation's largest labor organization on Tuesday slammed President Obama's trade push and vowed to block efforts in Congress to help the administration finalize a major free trade pact in the Asia Pacific...
Saving Obama from a Bad Trade Deal American Prospect ...lans to rush fast-track authority for two trade deals for a quick House and Senate vote abruptly broke down on Tuesday. The White House was hoping to put the vote to Congress as early as this week...
Elizabeth Warren Says Trade Deal May Force U.S. Payouts to Overseas Firms Bloomberg ...A nearly completed trade agreement among 12 Pacific Rim nations may require U.S. taxpayers to finance settlements to multinational corporations that say U.S. regulations hurt their companies, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren said Wednesday...
Major U.S. Unions Step Up Battle Against TPP Japan Times ...The largest American labor federation says it and its affiliated unions are freezing political contributions to federal candidates “until further notice” to channel funds into labor’s intensifying battle to stop or at least help shape a proposed free trade agreement being negotiated by the U.S. and other nations that border the Pacific Ocean...
State Battles
Bill would curtail bargaining power of public sector unions in Kansas Wichita Eagle ...Senate Bill 179, which had a hearing in the Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday, would define “conditions of employment” to exclusively mean salaries and wages in future contract negotiations between state and local governments and employees. That would mean that sick leave, insurance benefits and retirement benefits, for example, would no longer be included in negotiations between municipalities and police and firefighters’ unions...
Wages Are Lower in States With These Laws New York Times ...Where unions are strong, compensation increases even for workers not covered by any union contract, as nonunion employers face competitive pressure to match union standards...
House Narrowly Approves Right-To-Work Bill New Hampshire Union Leader ...A measure prohibiting labor unions from collecting agency fees to pay for negotiating and administering collective bargaining agreements was approved by the House on a 149-146 vote Wednesday. However, the bill faces a near-certain death in the Senate, which is evenly split 12-12 on the issue...
NY Assembly Democrats Propose State Budget Increasing Minimum Wage, School Aid Syracuse Post Standard ...Assembly Democrats on Tuesday proposed a $150.7 billion state budget they say will put families first, proposing larger increases in the minimum wage and public school aid than Gov. Andrew Cuomo did...
War on Workers
Wall Street's Yearly Bonuses Could Double the Pay for All of America's Minimum Wage Workers New Republic ...So how much are the wolves of Wall Street cashing in? Collectively, the report found, the employees received $28.5 billion in bonuses last year, a 3 percent jump, despite a decline in industry profits...
Union signals possible proposal coming to end U.S. refinery strike Reuters ...The United Steelworkers union signaled that lead refinery owner representative Shell Oil Co. may offer a possible settlement in the coming days that could end the largest refinery strike in 35 years...
Juries To Decide Landmark Cases Against Uber and Lyft Forbes ...Two landmark lawsuits that claim that drivers for ride-hailing services Uber and Lyft should be considered employees rather than contractors will both go to jury trial, two U.S. judges ruled Wednesday. The decisions could have a ripple effect on the business models of the burgeoning on-demand and sharing economies...
1 Worker Killed, 1 Hurt in New Mexico Oil Field Explosion Associated Press ...
An explosion at a New Mexico oil field site has killed one worker and injured another. Authorities say preliminary information indicates the workers were loading material into perforated pipe being installed into a drilling pipe in southern Lea County when the blast occurred Wednesday...
Why Salaries Don’t Rise (opinion) Washington Post ...At the root of our great pay stagnation is the appropriation by major investors of the funds that used to go to businesses’ research, modernization, expansion and workers. Full employment will certainly boost workers’ wages, but unless the power shift from workers to investors is reversed, the stagnant middle class we will always have with us...
Showing posts with label NH. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NH. Show all posts
Friday, March 13, 2015
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Today's Teamster News 07.27.14
Trade
GOP congressman rips Chamber of Commerce and gives back award Washington Post ...The Chamber of Commerce is beholden to special interests and has long since forgotten the main street businesses that struggle everyday to make payroll and keep their company afloat,” said Bentivolio. “It is with great pride that I reject their award, and call on them to stand on the side of America, instead of on the side of China and corporate interests seeking to exploit people for profit....”
State Battles
ALEC Picked Up Tab for Texas Lawmakers' Junkets Common Cause ...Five Texas lawmakers have accepted more than $7,600 in corporate-funded “scholarships” to cover the cost of air fares, hotel rooms and other travel expenses to attend meetings of the American Legislative Exchange Council, (ALEC), a corporate lobbying group, according to new research by Common Cause...
Right-to-work may get new life next year WMUR ...Right-to-work, a measure that allows workers to get union benefits without joining or paying dues, could come up again in the Legislature next session, depending on what happens in the November elections...
Ohio tries to diffuse controversy over charter-school whistle-blowers Akron Beacon Journal ...he four former teachers, who worked at Horizon Science Academy Dayton from 2004 to 2013, alleged at the July 15 state school board meeting that sexual games were played by students and condoned by other educators, and surveillance footage captured students having oral sex at a school function...
Koch brothers’ new racial gambit: What’s really behind a quiet battle with AFSCME Salon ...“The Koch brothers want a government-free society,” Saunders says. “Public service has enabled African-Americans to move into the middle class, but the Kochs are trying to dismantle that...”
State to pay nearly $1.7 million to identify buildings to sell Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ...The idea has been controversial, with critics saying they fear the state could make a short-term gain but a long-term loss. They fear getting rid of the heating and cooling plants could be costly because state prisons and University of Wisconsin campuses would have buy heating and cooling on the private market...
War on Workers
Federal regulators let utilities gouge customers David Cay Johnston ...Now the first in a raft of cases asserting that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is letting utilities gouge customers by setting egregiously high rates of return may finally get a hearing...
Private Equity's Free Pass New York Times ...But while private equity firms often operate like Goldman and Morgan Stanley, they are not uniformly subject to the same broker-dealer regulatory regime...
The Typical Household, Now Worth a Third Less New York Times ...The inflation-adjusted net worth for the typical household was $87,992 in 2003. Ten years later, it was only $56,335, or a 36 percent decline, according to a study financed by the Russell Sage Foundation...
NLRB ruling further expands 'micro unions' Washington Examiner ...In a case involving a Macy's department store cosmetics counter, the National Labor Relations Board on Tuesday further expanded its recent precedents allowing for so-called "micro-unions." The ruling will make it easier for unions to organize individual parts of an employer's workforce...
WHY THE ECONOMY SUCKS: Because American Companies And Their Owners Are Greedier Now Than At Any Time In History Business Insider ...Five years after the recovery began, unemployment remains high. And the Americans who are lucky enough to be working are getting paid less as a percent of the economy than they ever have in history. Meanwhile, America's corporations and their owners have never had it better...
GOP congressman rips Chamber of Commerce and gives back award Washington Post ...The Chamber of Commerce is beholden to special interests and has long since forgotten the main street businesses that struggle everyday to make payroll and keep their company afloat,” said Bentivolio. “It is with great pride that I reject their award, and call on them to stand on the side of America, instead of on the side of China and corporate interests seeking to exploit people for profit....”
State Battles
ALEC Picked Up Tab for Texas Lawmakers' Junkets Common Cause ...Five Texas lawmakers have accepted more than $7,600 in corporate-funded “scholarships” to cover the cost of air fares, hotel rooms and other travel expenses to attend meetings of the American Legislative Exchange Council, (ALEC), a corporate lobbying group, according to new research by Common Cause...
Right-to-work may get new life next year WMUR ...Right-to-work, a measure that allows workers to get union benefits without joining or paying dues, could come up again in the Legislature next session, depending on what happens in the November elections...
Ohio tries to diffuse controversy over charter-school whistle-blowers Akron Beacon Journal ...he four former teachers, who worked at Horizon Science Academy Dayton from 2004 to 2013, alleged at the July 15 state school board meeting that sexual games were played by students and condoned by other educators, and surveillance footage captured students having oral sex at a school function...
Koch brothers’ new racial gambit: What’s really behind a quiet battle with AFSCME Salon ...“The Koch brothers want a government-free society,” Saunders says. “Public service has enabled African-Americans to move into the middle class, but the Kochs are trying to dismantle that...”
State to pay nearly $1.7 million to identify buildings to sell Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ...The idea has been controversial, with critics saying they fear the state could make a short-term gain but a long-term loss. They fear getting rid of the heating and cooling plants could be costly because state prisons and University of Wisconsin campuses would have buy heating and cooling on the private market...
War on Workers
Federal regulators let utilities gouge customers David Cay Johnston ...Now the first in a raft of cases asserting that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is letting utilities gouge customers by setting egregiously high rates of return may finally get a hearing...
Private Equity's Free Pass New York Times ...But while private equity firms often operate like Goldman and Morgan Stanley, they are not uniformly subject to the same broker-dealer regulatory regime...
The Typical Household, Now Worth a Third Less New York Times ...The inflation-adjusted net worth for the typical household was $87,992 in 2003. Ten years later, it was only $56,335, or a 36 percent decline, according to a study financed by the Russell Sage Foundation...
NLRB ruling further expands 'micro unions' Washington Examiner ...In a case involving a Macy's department store cosmetics counter, the National Labor Relations Board on Tuesday further expanded its recent precedents allowing for so-called "micro-unions." The ruling will make it easier for unions to organize individual parts of an employer's workforce...
WHY THE ECONOMY SUCKS: Because American Companies And Their Owners Are Greedier Now Than At Any Time In History Business Insider ...Five years after the recovery began, unemployment remains high. And the Americans who are lucky enough to be working are getting paid less as a percent of the economy than they ever have in history. Meanwhile, America's corporations and their owners have never had it better...
Friday, February 14, 2014
Today's Teamster News 02.14.14
Teamster News
Teamsters Celebrate, Remember James R. Hoffa teamster.org ...“I shook his hand!” “He remembered my name.” “He was always one of us.” “He changed my life.” These comments and hundreds more like them still can be heard at Teamster retiree meetings held at union halls and truck stops all across the country...
Teamsters Local 542 and United Food and Commercial Workers 135 representatives meet with National Beef employees Imperial Valley Press ...National Beef workers met with their respective union representatives throughout the day Wednesday to discuss what they can expect to happen as the April 4 scheduled plant closing draws nearer...
Teamsters' 4-year contract with Allegheny County doesn't include retroactive raises Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ...Members of Teamsters Local Union 249, whose salt and plow truck driving members threatened to strike last week as a snow storm loomed, have signed a new contract with Allegheny County...
The elephant in the room New York Daily News ...Now that NYCLASS members expect Mayor de Blasio to banish the horses, as he promised, they have moved on to considering new wrongs to right. Next up? The circus...
Carriage horses focus of cruelty debate USA Today ..."What would be abuse is if we go out of business – we can't keep these horses," Hemingway said, standing next to a massive Belgian draft horse named Duke. "I guarantee you, we go out of business, they'd be in a bag of dog food in a month..."
State Battles
Whose vote is it? Move over politicians: This is a union vote timesfreepress.com ...It's a union election. It concerns more than 1,500 hourly workers and Volkswagen in Chattanooga. But with politicians wildly gesticulating on every podium from here to Nashville, you would think it was government business. It isn't...
John Doe investigation records to be released Feb. 19 Channel 3000 ...Thousands of emails and other documents uncovered during a secret investigation into a former aide to Gov. Scott Walker will be released Feb. 19...
Critics blast Arizona superintendent for promoting private schools azcentral.com ...John Huppenthal, the state’s superintendent of public instruction, made an automated call to families promoting a program that uses taxpayer dollars to send kids to private school...
Gubernatorial candidate Mark Schauer vows to repeal right-to-work law Michigan NBC News ...The gubernatorial candidate is making a lot of promises including a repeal of right-to-work. “Governor Snyder cannot point to one job that's been created as a result of right to work,” says Schauer...
Report: Missouri voter-ID bill could disenfranchise 220,000 MSNBC ...A proposed voter ID bill in Missouri could disenfranchise 220,000 registered voters, according to an impact report released on Tuesday by Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander...
New Hampshire low-wage workers: We need help to buy basics Associated Press ...Anita Mendes, 67, who lives in the Monadnock region, told a House committee she supplements her Social Security income with a minimum-wage job 18 hours a week, despite having a master's degree in social work. She also said her 90-year-old mother helps her make ends meet...
Koch brothers bombard vulnerable Senate Democrat Kay Hagan Politico ...Americans for Prosperity, a group co-founded by the conservative billionaires, has already dropped $8.2 million on TV, radio and digital ads in an effort to defeat the North Carolina Democrat. According to sources tracking media buys, the group has so far spent more in North Carolina than all Democratic outside groups in every Senate race in the country — combined...
Trade
As Obama Meets Neighbors, Nafta Critics Warn Over New Trade Deal Wall Street Journal ...Veteran critics of the North American Free Trade Agreement warn that some of the negative effects of the 20-year-old deal could be repeated in a larger trade bloc that spans the Pacific Ocean...
NAFTA’s 20-Year Legacy and the Fate of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Public Citizen ...NAFTA proponents’ projections of broad economic benefits from the deal have failed to materialize. Instead, millions have suffered job loss, wage stagnation, and economic instability from NAFTA...
War on Workers
Cold weather chills retail sales, jobless claims up Reuters ...U.S. retail sales fell unexpectedly in January and more Americans filed for jobless benefits last week, the latest signs the economy started the year on softer footing as unseasonably cold weather took its toll...
How Comcast Buying Time Warner Cable Could Impact You — And The Entire Entertainment Industry Think Progress ...this deal only means that Comcast is buying Time Warner Cable, rather than the suite of Time Warner entertainment businesses, which includes a number of magazine properties, cable networks like HBO, CNN, TNT, and CBS...
How ALEC Helps Big Telecom Change State Laws for Corporate Gain Center for Media and Democracy ... At closed-door ALEC meetings, state legislators sit down with lobbyists for corporations like AT&T, Time Warner Cable, Verizon, Comcast, and News Corp to be handed changes to our laws that further the right wing agenda and directly benefit the corporate bottom line...
Communities With More Walmart Stores Also Have More Crime Jezebel ...The study looked at annual crime rates in 3,109 counties between 1991 and 2009. Wolfe was especially focused on the 1990s, when crime rates plummeted nationwide and Walmart experienced dynamic growth. The study found that the crime reduction was slowed in communities where Walmart expanded, a trend that continued in the 2000s...
Opinion: Walmart Is Far From A Victim Of 'Partisan' Labor Board Forbes ...the Board’s General Counsel was simply upholding the law. The real victims here are Walmart employees who, according to the NLRB’s complaint, face retaliation and even termination if they speak out against poverty wages and poor working conditions...
Unemployment rate crosses 28% threshold, reaching new high Enet English ...Crossing a new threshold, the unemployment rate (in Greece) hit another historic high in November, with 28.0% of the workforce without a job, acccording to the Hellenic Statistics Authority (Elstat)...
Teamsters Celebrate, Remember James R. Hoffa teamster.org ...“I shook his hand!” “He remembered my name.” “He was always one of us.” “He changed my life.” These comments and hundreds more like them still can be heard at Teamster retiree meetings held at union halls and truck stops all across the country...
Teamsters Local 542 and United Food and Commercial Workers 135 representatives meet with National Beef employees Imperial Valley Press ...National Beef workers met with their respective union representatives throughout the day Wednesday to discuss what they can expect to happen as the April 4 scheduled plant closing draws nearer...
Teamsters' 4-year contract with Allegheny County doesn't include retroactive raises Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ...Members of Teamsters Local Union 249, whose salt and plow truck driving members threatened to strike last week as a snow storm loomed, have signed a new contract with Allegheny County...
The elephant in the room New York Daily News ...Now that NYCLASS members expect Mayor de Blasio to banish the horses, as he promised, they have moved on to considering new wrongs to right. Next up? The circus...
Carriage horses focus of cruelty debate USA Today ..."What would be abuse is if we go out of business – we can't keep these horses," Hemingway said, standing next to a massive Belgian draft horse named Duke. "I guarantee you, we go out of business, they'd be in a bag of dog food in a month..."
State Battles
Whose vote is it? Move over politicians: This is a union vote timesfreepress.com ...It's a union election. It concerns more than 1,500 hourly workers and Volkswagen in Chattanooga. But with politicians wildly gesticulating on every podium from here to Nashville, you would think it was government business. It isn't...
John Doe investigation records to be released Feb. 19 Channel 3000 ...Thousands of emails and other documents uncovered during a secret investigation into a former aide to Gov. Scott Walker will be released Feb. 19...
Critics blast Arizona superintendent for promoting private schools azcentral.com ...John Huppenthal, the state’s superintendent of public instruction, made an automated call to families promoting a program that uses taxpayer dollars to send kids to private school...
Gubernatorial candidate Mark Schauer vows to repeal right-to-work law Michigan NBC News ...The gubernatorial candidate is making a lot of promises including a repeal of right-to-work. “Governor Snyder cannot point to one job that's been created as a result of right to work,” says Schauer...
Report: Missouri voter-ID bill could disenfranchise 220,000 MSNBC ...A proposed voter ID bill in Missouri could disenfranchise 220,000 registered voters, according to an impact report released on Tuesday by Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander...
New Hampshire low-wage workers: We need help to buy basics Associated Press ...Anita Mendes, 67, who lives in the Monadnock region, told a House committee she supplements her Social Security income with a minimum-wage job 18 hours a week, despite having a master's degree in social work. She also said her 90-year-old mother helps her make ends meet...
Koch brothers bombard vulnerable Senate Democrat Kay Hagan Politico ...Americans for Prosperity, a group co-founded by the conservative billionaires, has already dropped $8.2 million on TV, radio and digital ads in an effort to defeat the North Carolina Democrat. According to sources tracking media buys, the group has so far spent more in North Carolina than all Democratic outside groups in every Senate race in the country — combined...
Trade
As Obama Meets Neighbors, Nafta Critics Warn Over New Trade Deal Wall Street Journal ...Veteran critics of the North American Free Trade Agreement warn that some of the negative effects of the 20-year-old deal could be repeated in a larger trade bloc that spans the Pacific Ocean...
NAFTA’s 20-Year Legacy and the Fate of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Public Citizen ...NAFTA proponents’ projections of broad economic benefits from the deal have failed to materialize. Instead, millions have suffered job loss, wage stagnation, and economic instability from NAFTA...
War on Workers
Cold weather chills retail sales, jobless claims up Reuters ...U.S. retail sales fell unexpectedly in January and more Americans filed for jobless benefits last week, the latest signs the economy started the year on softer footing as unseasonably cold weather took its toll...
How Comcast Buying Time Warner Cable Could Impact You — And The Entire Entertainment Industry Think Progress ...this deal only means that Comcast is buying Time Warner Cable, rather than the suite of Time Warner entertainment businesses, which includes a number of magazine properties, cable networks like HBO, CNN, TNT, and CBS...
How ALEC Helps Big Telecom Change State Laws for Corporate Gain Center for Media and Democracy ... At closed-door ALEC meetings, state legislators sit down with lobbyists for corporations like AT&T, Time Warner Cable, Verizon, Comcast, and News Corp to be handed changes to our laws that further the right wing agenda and directly benefit the corporate bottom line...
Communities With More Walmart Stores Also Have More Crime Jezebel ...The study looked at annual crime rates in 3,109 counties between 1991 and 2009. Wolfe was especially focused on the 1990s, when crime rates plummeted nationwide and Walmart experienced dynamic growth. The study found that the crime reduction was slowed in communities where Walmart expanded, a trend that continued in the 2000s...
Opinion: Walmart Is Far From A Victim Of 'Partisan' Labor Board Forbes ...the Board’s General Counsel was simply upholding the law. The real victims here are Walmart employees who, according to the NLRB’s complaint, face retaliation and even termination if they speak out against poverty wages and poor working conditions...
Unemployment rate crosses 28% threshold, reaching new high Enet English ...Crossing a new threshold, the unemployment rate (in Greece) hit another historic high in November, with 28.0% of the workforce without a job, acccording to the Hellenic Statistics Authority (Elstat)...
Friday, December 13, 2013
Today's Teamster News 12.13.13
Funeral Giant SCI Refuses Interest Arbitration teamster.org ...SCI, which operates under the Dignity Memorial brand name, rejected the arbitration deal after turning down an unconditional offer to return to work made by Teamsters Local 727 in September. The lockout affects 59 funeral directors and livery drivers at 16 Dignity Memorial funeral homes...
Teamsters Announce Formation Of Pennsylvania Law Enforcement Association Teamsters Pennsylvania Conference ...The association will represent the more than 2,000 law enforcement officers working in over 100 Pennsylvania borough and county departments who already belong to the Teamsters Union...
Teamsters Rally for Justice, Fair Election at Ohio Bottle Manufacturer teamster.org ...Teamsters Local 377 Secretary-Treasurer Sam Cook talks about the fight for a fair and free election for workers who manufacture aluminum bottles at EXAL Corp. in Youngstown, Ohio--a fight that the Teamsters recently took all the way to Canada...
Canadian IKEA Employees in Sweden to Appeal to Kamprad Sveriges Television ...300 workers at an IKEA store in Canada have been without a job for seven months during a protracted conflict between the union and the employer. The company has lost its Swedish values, they say, and now they visit Sweden to meet IKEA's founder Ingvar Kamprad...
House Passes Budget Bill to Increase Spending, Reverse Some Automatic Cuts Time ...Although Democrats are upset that unemployment benefits will not be extended in the deal, the agreement drafted by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Washington) drew bipartisan support in a fiercely divided Congress...
The Top 10 Threats of the Trans-Atlantic “Trade” Deal To U.S. Consumers Public Citizen ...A “trade” deal only in name, TAFTA, which corporate proponents have tried to rebrand as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), would require the United States and EU to conform domestic food and product safety standards, financial regulations, climate policies, data privacy protections and other non-trade policies to TAFTA rules – rules being negotiated in secret...
Iceland Sends Four Bank Bosses to the Slammer truthdig ...The onetime CEO of Iceland’s Kaupthing bank, one Hreidar Mar Sigurdsson, is going to jail for five and a half years for his part in his firm’s downfall—which also helped his country’s economy bottom out in 2008. He’ll be in good company. Three other former high-level Kaupthing execs, including ousted board Chairman Sigurdur Einarsson, will join Sigurdsson for shorter stints in prison for aiding in the cover-up of a sham deal with a Qatari financier that sank the firm late that year...
Ford to hire 11,000 workers in US and Asia in 2014 BBC News ...About 5,000 workers will be hired in the US and 6,000 in Asia, where Ford is opening two plants in China next year...
Feds To Examine NY commuter rail line for 2 months Associated Press ...Federal experts will spend the next two months examining safety compliance and safety culture at a commuter railroad that operated a train that derailed and killed four people this month...
Grass-roots economic protests spread across Italy Associated Press ...Students are marching through cities and towns, small business owners are blocking highway entrances and demonstrators have even tried to close the border with France. Their singular aim: To send all the politicians home in hopes of ending the country's malaise...
Orr: Detroit pensions still at risk in bankruptcy Associated Press ...Orr, appointed by the governor last spring to run Detroit, said he "absolutely" supports a campaign to tap foundations and wealthy people to prevent the possible sale of city-owned art and preserve pensions. But he warned that the "expectations of the retiree community should be sober..."
Group’s conservative funding questioned Nashua Telegraph ...A left-leaning interest group charged that the Concord-based, Josiah Bartlett Center was secretly bankrolled by national conservatives and promoting a national corporate agenda...
Teamsters Announce Formation Of Pennsylvania Law Enforcement Association Teamsters Pennsylvania Conference ...The association will represent the more than 2,000 law enforcement officers working in over 100 Pennsylvania borough and county departments who already belong to the Teamsters Union...
Teamsters Rally for Justice, Fair Election at Ohio Bottle Manufacturer teamster.org ...Teamsters Local 377 Secretary-Treasurer Sam Cook talks about the fight for a fair and free election for workers who manufacture aluminum bottles at EXAL Corp. in Youngstown, Ohio--a fight that the Teamsters recently took all the way to Canada...
Canadian IKEA Employees in Sweden to Appeal to Kamprad Sveriges Television ...300 workers at an IKEA store in Canada have been without a job for seven months during a protracted conflict between the union and the employer. The company has lost its Swedish values, they say, and now they visit Sweden to meet IKEA's founder Ingvar Kamprad...
House Passes Budget Bill to Increase Spending, Reverse Some Automatic Cuts Time ...Although Democrats are upset that unemployment benefits will not be extended in the deal, the agreement drafted by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Washington) drew bipartisan support in a fiercely divided Congress...
The Top 10 Threats of the Trans-Atlantic “Trade” Deal To U.S. Consumers Public Citizen ...A “trade” deal only in name, TAFTA, which corporate proponents have tried to rebrand as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), would require the United States and EU to conform domestic food and product safety standards, financial regulations, climate policies, data privacy protections and other non-trade policies to TAFTA rules – rules being negotiated in secret...
Iceland Sends Four Bank Bosses to the Slammer truthdig ...The onetime CEO of Iceland’s Kaupthing bank, one Hreidar Mar Sigurdsson, is going to jail for five and a half years for his part in his firm’s downfall—which also helped his country’s economy bottom out in 2008. He’ll be in good company. Three other former high-level Kaupthing execs, including ousted board Chairman Sigurdur Einarsson, will join Sigurdsson for shorter stints in prison for aiding in the cover-up of a sham deal with a Qatari financier that sank the firm late that year...
Ford to hire 11,000 workers in US and Asia in 2014 BBC News ...About 5,000 workers will be hired in the US and 6,000 in Asia, where Ford is opening two plants in China next year...
Feds To Examine NY commuter rail line for 2 months Associated Press ...Federal experts will spend the next two months examining safety compliance and safety culture at a commuter railroad that operated a train that derailed and killed four people this month...
Grass-roots economic protests spread across Italy Associated Press ...Students are marching through cities and towns, small business owners are blocking highway entrances and demonstrators have even tried to close the border with France. Their singular aim: To send all the politicians home in hopes of ending the country's malaise...
Orr: Detroit pensions still at risk in bankruptcy Associated Press ...Orr, appointed by the governor last spring to run Detroit, said he "absolutely" supports a campaign to tap foundations and wealthy people to prevent the possible sale of city-owned art and preserve pensions. But he warned that the "expectations of the retiree community should be sober..."
Group’s conservative funding questioned Nashua Telegraph ...A left-leaning interest group charged that the Concord-based, Josiah Bartlett Center was secretly bankrolled by national conservatives and promoting a national corporate agenda...
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Today's Teamster News 08.06.13
Teamsters, strikers call on Lake Transit, county leaders to take action Lake County Record-Bee ...Teamsters, Paratransit employees and members of the community gathered Friday at noon in front of Lake County’s City Hall to picket, address the media and call on county leaders and Lake Transit to take action on the public transportation issue...
New Hampshire Waste Workers Win Card-Check Recognition to Become Teamsters IBT ...Waste workers with Casella Waste Systems in Brentwood, N.H., will now be represented by the Teamsters Union, after Local 633 in Manchester, N.H., secured a card-check agreement. The workers overwhelmingly signed up to become Teamster members...
Gold Cross Strike Continues for EMTs, Paramedics Imperial Valley Press...Friends, families, and supporters of Teamsters Local 542 picket in front of Gold Cross Ambulance on Sunday afternoon in El Centro. Check out this photo gallery...
U.S. Trustee Objects to AMR Chief's $20 Million Severance, Again Wall Street Journal ...Justice Department officials monitoring the American Airlines bankruptcy case again objected to a proposed $20 million severance package for Tom Horton, AMR's current chief executive, according to a court filing made late Friday...
U.S. Issues New Rail Safety Rules After Quebec Disaster Journal of Commerce ...The Federal Railroad Administration on Friday issued an emergency order aimed at making the hauling of hazardous materials safer, following last month's deadly Quebec fuel train accident...
Politicians must step up and make rail safety a top priority (opinion) Rabble ...Transport Canada's emergency safety directive issued following the Lac-Mégantic rail tragedy is welcome but more can be done...
100 homes evacuated in southern Louisiana after train derails Los Angeles Times ...About 100 homes remained evacuated on Monday as officials worked to clean up the area around the derailment of a train carrying chemicals near the town of Lawtell, Louisiana. The accident took place Sunday and derailed 27 cars of a Union Pacific train...
40 Percent Of U.S. Workers Make Less Than What A Full-Time Minimum Wage Worker Made In 1968 Men's News Daily ...Are American workers paid enough? Back in 1968, the minimum wage in the United States was $1.60 an hour. Using the inflation calculator that the Bureau of Labor Statistics provides, $1.60 in 1968 is equivalent to $10.74 today...
Bernie Sanders: Walmart family’s ‘obscene’ wealth subsidized by taxpayers Raw Story ...Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) appeared on MSNBC’s “The Ed Show” on Saturday and scoffed at the idea that major corporations like Walmart can’t afford to pay their workers a living wage and that to raise the U.S. minimum wage would be bad for the economy...
The rich are saving cash at a record pace CNBC ...Since the financial crisis, the wealthy have become the nation's top cash hoarders, filling up deposit accounts and money markets at a rapid clip...
Massive Toxic Black Cloud, Brought To You by the Koch Bros, Blows Over Detroit Common Dreams ...Mind-boggling video of a billowing, high-carbon, high-sulfur cloud from the mountain of petroleum coke - waste from Canadian tar sands shipped from Alberta to Detroit, and the dirtiest potential energy source ever - illegally stored by the Koch Brothers along the Detroit River...
Eight Ways Privatization Has Failed America (opinion) Truth-Out ...Some of America's leading news analysts are beginning to recognize the fallacy of the "free market." They're right. A little analysis reveals that privatization doesn't seem to work in any of the areas vital to the American public...
The Force Behind Bills To Lower Wages and Suppress Workers’ Rights? You Guessed It: ALEC In These Times ...As working Americans speak out for higher wages, better benefits and respect in the workplace, a coordinated, nationwide campaign to silence them is mounting—and ALEC is at the heart of it...
Report: State workers need raise to match private sector Denver Post ...Colorado's roughly 32,000 state workers need a 3.8 percent raise to catch up to their counterparts in the private sector, the state Department of Personnel and Administration said...
Washington Post to be sold to Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon Washington Post ...Ultimately, the paper’s financial challenges prompted the company’s board to consider a sale, a step once regarded as unthinkable by insiders and the Graham family...
Indiana senator to push for municipal bankruptcy law Associated Press ...A northwestern Indiana lawmaker says he will push a measure next year that would change state law to allow local governments to file for bankruptcy like Detroit did in July...
Judge to open documents in Idaho prison lawsuit Associated Press ...A federal judge has ordered that several documents be unsealed in a lawsuit between Idaho inmates and Corrections Corporation of America just days before a hearing is set over whether the private prison company should be held in contempt of court...
Four-day bus strike in suburbs east of Phoenix ends Associated Press ...First Transit bus drivers in the Phoenix suburbs tentatively reached an agreement Sunday with a national bus company to end a four-day strike by the drivers that would let bus service resume in time for Monday morning's commute...
BART strike averted as Governor orders inquiry Associated Press ...Hundreds of thousands of San Francisco Bay area commuters got at least a temporary reprieve from a massive transit strike today when Gov. Jerry Brown ordered an inquiry into a labor contract dispute...
New Hampshire Waste Workers Win Card-Check Recognition to Become Teamsters IBT ...Waste workers with Casella Waste Systems in Brentwood, N.H., will now be represented by the Teamsters Union, after Local 633 in Manchester, N.H., secured a card-check agreement. The workers overwhelmingly signed up to become Teamster members...
Gold Cross Strike Continues for EMTs, Paramedics Imperial Valley Press...Friends, families, and supporters of Teamsters Local 542 picket in front of Gold Cross Ambulance on Sunday afternoon in El Centro. Check out this photo gallery...
U.S. Trustee Objects to AMR Chief's $20 Million Severance, Again Wall Street Journal ...Justice Department officials monitoring the American Airlines bankruptcy case again objected to a proposed $20 million severance package for Tom Horton, AMR's current chief executive, according to a court filing made late Friday...
U.S. Issues New Rail Safety Rules After Quebec Disaster Journal of Commerce ...The Federal Railroad Administration on Friday issued an emergency order aimed at making the hauling of hazardous materials safer, following last month's deadly Quebec fuel train accident...
Politicians must step up and make rail safety a top priority (opinion) Rabble ...Transport Canada's emergency safety directive issued following the Lac-Mégantic rail tragedy is welcome but more can be done...
100 homes evacuated in southern Louisiana after train derails Los Angeles Times ...About 100 homes remained evacuated on Monday as officials worked to clean up the area around the derailment of a train carrying chemicals near the town of Lawtell, Louisiana. The accident took place Sunday and derailed 27 cars of a Union Pacific train...
40 Percent Of U.S. Workers Make Less Than What A Full-Time Minimum Wage Worker Made In 1968 Men's News Daily ...Are American workers paid enough? Back in 1968, the minimum wage in the United States was $1.60 an hour. Using the inflation calculator that the Bureau of Labor Statistics provides, $1.60 in 1968 is equivalent to $10.74 today...
Bernie Sanders: Walmart family’s ‘obscene’ wealth subsidized by taxpayers Raw Story ...Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) appeared on MSNBC’s “The Ed Show” on Saturday and scoffed at the idea that major corporations like Walmart can’t afford to pay their workers a living wage and that to raise the U.S. minimum wage would be bad for the economy...
The rich are saving cash at a record pace CNBC ...Since the financial crisis, the wealthy have become the nation's top cash hoarders, filling up deposit accounts and money markets at a rapid clip...
Massive Toxic Black Cloud, Brought To You by the Koch Bros, Blows Over Detroit Common Dreams ...Mind-boggling video of a billowing, high-carbon, high-sulfur cloud from the mountain of petroleum coke - waste from Canadian tar sands shipped from Alberta to Detroit, and the dirtiest potential energy source ever - illegally stored by the Koch Brothers along the Detroit River...
Eight Ways Privatization Has Failed America (opinion) Truth-Out ...Some of America's leading news analysts are beginning to recognize the fallacy of the "free market." They're right. A little analysis reveals that privatization doesn't seem to work in any of the areas vital to the American public...
The Force Behind Bills To Lower Wages and Suppress Workers’ Rights? You Guessed It: ALEC In These Times ...As working Americans speak out for higher wages, better benefits and respect in the workplace, a coordinated, nationwide campaign to silence them is mounting—and ALEC is at the heart of it...
Report: State workers need raise to match private sector Denver Post ...Colorado's roughly 32,000 state workers need a 3.8 percent raise to catch up to their counterparts in the private sector, the state Department of Personnel and Administration said...
Washington Post to be sold to Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon Washington Post ...Ultimately, the paper’s financial challenges prompted the company’s board to consider a sale, a step once regarded as unthinkable by insiders and the Graham family...
Indiana senator to push for municipal bankruptcy law Associated Press ...A northwestern Indiana lawmaker says he will push a measure next year that would change state law to allow local governments to file for bankruptcy like Detroit did in July...
Judge to open documents in Idaho prison lawsuit Associated Press ...A federal judge has ordered that several documents be unsealed in a lawsuit between Idaho inmates and Corrections Corporation of America just days before a hearing is set over whether the private prison company should be held in contempt of court...
Four-day bus strike in suburbs east of Phoenix ends Associated Press ...First Transit bus drivers in the Phoenix suburbs tentatively reached an agreement Sunday with a national bus company to end a four-day strike by the drivers that would let bus service resume in time for Monday morning's commute...
BART strike averted as Governor orders inquiry Associated Press ...Hundreds of thousands of San Francisco Bay area commuters got at least a temporary reprieve from a massive transit strike today when Gov. Jerry Brown ordered an inquiry into a labor contract dispute...
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Today's Teamster News 06.05.13
Low-wage workers seek Obama’s help Washington Post ...This week the Obama administration plans to ask Congress to amend the law so the government will not have to reimburse companies almost $1 million for the salaries of individual executives who work on government projects...
The Latest Report On Medicare Shows The Program Is Getting Stronger ThinkProgress ...The Medicare Trustees had great news for American seniors on Friday: the program’s solvency has been extended for two full years past what the trustees predicted in 2012...
IMF says US cutting spending too much too fast Associated Press ...The International Monetary Fund chief criticized the U.S. on Tuesday for cutting back government spending too much too fast, saying it was taking a toll on growth in one of the world's main economic engines...
US proposes labeling some banks threats Associated Press ...Federal regulators have proposed that a group of firms that aren't banks be deemed potential threats to the financial system that need stricter government oversight. Big insurers American International Group Inc. and Prudential Financial Inc., and General Electric Co.'s finance arm GE Capital...
Protesters Hit Bentonville Ahead of Wal-Mart's Annual Meeting Arkansas Business ...The national organization "Our Walmart" staged its rally today in Bentonville. Reps tell us one of their goals is to encourage the world's largest retailer to raise minimum salaries for associates...
Locked doors a sign of China work-safety failings Associated Press ...A fire breaks out in a Chinese factory, and panicked workers discover one exit after another is locked. That describes not only the poultry plant fire that killed 119 people Monday, but a toy-factory blaze that left 87 workers dead 20 years earlier...
'Chained CPI' hurts senior citizens (opinion) Journal News ...Here we go again! We’re going to balance the budget on the backs of senior citizens who had little to do with the present national debt, while corporate America enjoys massive subsidies and tax loopholes...
Elizabeth Warren Calls for Grassroots Movement on Student Loan Debt Mother Jones ...Over the past decade, student loan debt has nearly quadrupled, and now stands close to $1 trillion. On July 1, rates for federal need-based student loans are set to double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent. The deadline has lawmakers scrambling for a fix...
Union backers protest Ohio right-to-work bill NewsNet5 ...Hundreds showed up Tuesday at the Ohio Statehouse, where the first -- and probably the last -- hearing was being held on right-to-work legislation proposed by Republican state Reps. Kristina Roegner and Ron Maag...
Protesters Crowd Legislature For Fifth 'Moral Monday' WUNC 91.5 ...151 people were arrested at the General Assembly Monday night. It was the fifth “Moral Monday” demonstration at the legislature, and it was the largest yet...
Foreclosed NH homeowners to get settlement checks Associated Press ...More than 4,000 New Hampshire residents who lost their homes to foreclosure will receive checks this month as part of the $26 billion national mortgage settlement involving five of the nation’s largest lenders...
Enterprise zones under fire in Sacramento KGO-TV ...The financial perk designed to attract businesses to troubled neighborhoods is under fire in Sacramento. Under this program, even strip clubs qualify for tax breaks for hiring in economically depressed areas. As much as $37,400 per employee can be claimed even though many jobs are barely above minimum wage...
Cd'A board supports anti-union resolution Coeur d'Alene Press ...School trustees in Coeur d'Alene on Monday voted unanimously to, as a board, support the Idaho School Boards Association's efforts to lobby state lawmakers for legislation that would tighten Idaho's right to work statute in the state's schools...
Connecticut Truck Safety Crackdown Underway WTIC News Talk 1080 ...Once again, Connecticut’s Department of Motor Vehicles is conducting a three-day truck safety enforcement campaign...
This Is What Killing Democracy Looks Like: Ryan Wherley on WI AB225 Monologues of Dissent ...The bill introduced by Jeff Stone is straight out of the ALEC playbook and an all-out, full-frontal assault on democracy...
Unionized liquor store clerks cheer Ferlo opposition to Corbett privatization plan Pittsburgh Tribune-Review ...To cheers of union workers in the crowd, Democratic Sen. Jim Ferlo on Tuesday delivered a tongue-lashing to the Corbett administration for pushing liquor privatization...
The Latest Report On Medicare Shows The Program Is Getting Stronger ThinkProgress ...The Medicare Trustees had great news for American seniors on Friday: the program’s solvency has been extended for two full years past what the trustees predicted in 2012...
IMF says US cutting spending too much too fast Associated Press ...The International Monetary Fund chief criticized the U.S. on Tuesday for cutting back government spending too much too fast, saying it was taking a toll on growth in one of the world's main economic engines...
US proposes labeling some banks threats Associated Press ...Federal regulators have proposed that a group of firms that aren't banks be deemed potential threats to the financial system that need stricter government oversight. Big insurers American International Group Inc. and Prudential Financial Inc., and General Electric Co.'s finance arm GE Capital...
Protesters Hit Bentonville Ahead of Wal-Mart's Annual Meeting Arkansas Business ...The national organization "Our Walmart" staged its rally today in Bentonville. Reps tell us one of their goals is to encourage the world's largest retailer to raise minimum salaries for associates...
Locked doors a sign of China work-safety failings Associated Press ...A fire breaks out in a Chinese factory, and panicked workers discover one exit after another is locked. That describes not only the poultry plant fire that killed 119 people Monday, but a toy-factory blaze that left 87 workers dead 20 years earlier...
'Chained CPI' hurts senior citizens (opinion) Journal News ...Here we go again! We’re going to balance the budget on the backs of senior citizens who had little to do with the present national debt, while corporate America enjoys massive subsidies and tax loopholes...
Elizabeth Warren Calls for Grassroots Movement on Student Loan Debt Mother Jones ...Over the past decade, student loan debt has nearly quadrupled, and now stands close to $1 trillion. On July 1, rates for federal need-based student loans are set to double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent. The deadline has lawmakers scrambling for a fix...
Union backers protest Ohio right-to-work bill NewsNet5 ...Hundreds showed up Tuesday at the Ohio Statehouse, where the first -- and probably the last -- hearing was being held on right-to-work legislation proposed by Republican state Reps. Kristina Roegner and Ron Maag...
Protesters Crowd Legislature For Fifth 'Moral Monday' WUNC 91.5 ...151 people were arrested at the General Assembly Monday night. It was the fifth “Moral Monday” demonstration at the legislature, and it was the largest yet...
Foreclosed NH homeowners to get settlement checks Associated Press ...More than 4,000 New Hampshire residents who lost their homes to foreclosure will receive checks this month as part of the $26 billion national mortgage settlement involving five of the nation’s largest lenders...
Enterprise zones under fire in Sacramento KGO-TV ...The financial perk designed to attract businesses to troubled neighborhoods is under fire in Sacramento. Under this program, even strip clubs qualify for tax breaks for hiring in economically depressed areas. As much as $37,400 per employee can be claimed even though many jobs are barely above minimum wage...
Cd'A board supports anti-union resolution Coeur d'Alene Press ...School trustees in Coeur d'Alene on Monday voted unanimously to, as a board, support the Idaho School Boards Association's efforts to lobby state lawmakers for legislation that would tighten Idaho's right to work statute in the state's schools...
Connecticut Truck Safety Crackdown Underway WTIC News Talk 1080 ...Once again, Connecticut’s Department of Motor Vehicles is conducting a three-day truck safety enforcement campaign...
This Is What Killing Democracy Looks Like: Ryan Wherley on WI AB225 Monologues of Dissent ...The bill introduced by Jeff Stone is straight out of the ALEC playbook and an all-out, full-frontal assault on democracy...
Unionized liquor store clerks cheer Ferlo opposition to Corbett privatization plan Pittsburgh Tribune-Review ...To cheers of union workers in the crowd, Democratic Sen. Jim Ferlo on Tuesday delivered a tongue-lashing to the Corbett administration for pushing liquor privatization...
Thursday, May 30, 2013
NH thwarts ALEC attempt to allow paycheck looting
An attempted scam on workers' paychecks was defeated in the New Hampshire earlier this week, a victory in the fight against ALEC (the American Legislative Exchange Council).
ALEC, the escort service for corporations and state lawmakers, was pushing a bill to let New Hampshire businesses get rid of paper paychecks. Instead, workers would be paid with a debit-style "payroll card," which carries hidden fees for withdrawals, payments and balance inquiries.
The Concord Monitor reported.
ALEC, the escort service for corporations and state lawmakers, was pushing a bill to let New Hampshire businesses get rid of paper paychecks. Instead, workers would be paid with a debit-style "payroll card," which carries hidden fees for withdrawals, payments and balance inquiries.
The Concord Monitor reported.
The Democratic-led House voted, 235-93, to kill the bill, which passed the Republican-led Senate, 20-4, on March 21.
“This bill is pretty offensive,” said Rep. Tim Smith, a Manchester Democrat. “This is one of the newer scams that’s been pushed on our hardworking citizens, and it’s taken the form of a payroll card.”
State law requires businesses to offer employees the option of being paid with a physical paycheck. The bill would have eliminated that requirement for businesses that offer their workers both direct deposit and a preloaded card, such as versions offered by Visa and MasterCard.Our friends at Granite State Progress outed ALEC and the corporate backers of the bill (you know it didn't come from workers):
Corporations like Visa have been eager to transition workers to payroll cards to collect more fees from the transactions, including transaction fees charged at local businesses who accept the cards for payment. At an ALEC Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development Task Force meeting in 2011, a lobbyist from Visa brought forward a resolution in support of payroll cards. Rep. Gary Daniels, a long-time ALEC member and current ALEC State Co-Chair, is a member of that ALEC task force. Daniels wrote the minority blurb in support of SB 100 and spoke in its favor on the House floor.Zandra Rice Hawkins, Granite State Progress executive director, said the bill,
...would have been purposefully harmful to employees, creating additional fees and expenses for them to collect and use their paycheck, and specifically avoiding sharing that information upfront.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Today's Teamster News 02.19.13
Job-Killing Trade Deficits Soar under "Free Trade" Agreements Public Citizen ... the newly-released government trade data for 2012 shows that job-eroding U.S. trade deficits have ballooned with "free trade" agreement (FTA) partners while declining with the rest of the world...
Mississippi Officially Ratifies the 13th Amendment and Outlaws Slavery Deep South Progressive ...Mississippi had in fact voted to ratify the amendment in a more timely fashion – only 130 years late in 1995 – but because of an "oversight" in which the state never officially notified the US Archivist, it wasn't official. That glaring "oversight" has been corrected...
Incoming SEC head faces early test Financial Times ...A proposal to force public companies for the first time to disclose all their political activity to investors is emerging as an early litmus test for Mary Jo White...
Now A Vast Political Espionage Scandal To Top Off The Sordid Corruption Scandal In Spain Testosterone Pit ...Spain just can’t catch a break—a horrid economy with dizzying unemployment, collapsing banks, a prime minister and ruling party tarred by corruption.... Now a political espionage scandal blew up, scattering debris and money laundering allegations far and wide...
Rally held in Joplin against right-to-work push Joplin Globe ...Jim Kabell, a representative of Teamsters Local 245 in Springfield, was one of the morning’s featured speakers. “This is long-term bad for Missouri workers,” Kabell said...
National conservative group's 'model legislation' ends up becoming law in Oklahoma The Oklahoman ...“Model legislation” developed by the American Legislative Exchange Council or shared through conferences the council has hosted, played a part in a 2006 “Stand Your Ground” law that allows Oklahomans to use deadly force when threatened in public places, a 2010 resolution that prohibits any law from compelling a person to purchase health care and a state question that same year that requires voters to show an identification card before receiving a ballot...
GOP Electoral Vote Scheme Still Alive And Kicking In Pennsylvania Talking Points Memo ...State Senate president Dominic Pileggi (R) is pushing a plan to change Pennsylvania’s current winner-take-all allocation of the state’s 20 electoral votes to a system that apportions them proportionally by each candidate’s share of the statewide vote...
NH Voter ID Law Under Attack Lawrence Eagle-Tribune ...A year after New Hampshire asked voters to present photo identifications at the polls, state lawmakers are considering repeal of the new Voter ID Law...
Winds of protest still blow around Wisconsin Capitol USA Today ...Anger over Gov. Scott Walker's union measures hasn't subsided two years later...
DeCesare pushes right-to-work bill The Daily News ...Proposed right-to-work and prevailing wage legislation was filed as a rallying point, not necessarily with the expectation it would immediately pass, a local (Kentucky) lawmaker says...
Right-to-work roils Dem leadership Crain's Detroit Business ...A rift among Michigan Democrats over the future leadership of the party has pitted longtime state party chairman Mark Brewer against challenger Lon Johnson, who has deep ties to Washington...
GOP wary of measures attacking unions Arizona Daily Sun ...House Speaker Andy Tobin is sidelining two anti-union measures rather than bringing them to the floor for a divisive -- and potentially losing -- vote...
American Airlines, US Airways Merger: Teamsters Look To Acquire AA Mechanic Representation At Tulsa Maintenance Base International Business Times ...The Teamsters Airline Division and the Teamsters Aviation Mechanics Coalition is looking to capitalize on the recently announced merger of American Airlines and U.S. Airways (NYSE: LCC)...
Mississippi Officially Ratifies the 13th Amendment and Outlaws Slavery Deep South Progressive ...Mississippi had in fact voted to ratify the amendment in a more timely fashion – only 130 years late in 1995 – but because of an "oversight" in which the state never officially notified the US Archivist, it wasn't official. That glaring "oversight" has been corrected...
Incoming SEC head faces early test Financial Times ...A proposal to force public companies for the first time to disclose all their political activity to investors is emerging as an early litmus test for Mary Jo White...
Now A Vast Political Espionage Scandal To Top Off The Sordid Corruption Scandal In Spain Testosterone Pit ...Spain just can’t catch a break—a horrid economy with dizzying unemployment, collapsing banks, a prime minister and ruling party tarred by corruption.... Now a political espionage scandal blew up, scattering debris and money laundering allegations far and wide...
Rally held in Joplin against right-to-work push Joplin Globe ...Jim Kabell, a representative of Teamsters Local 245 in Springfield, was one of the morning’s featured speakers. “This is long-term bad for Missouri workers,” Kabell said...
National conservative group's 'model legislation' ends up becoming law in Oklahoma The Oklahoman ...“Model legislation” developed by the American Legislative Exchange Council or shared through conferences the council has hosted, played a part in a 2006 “Stand Your Ground” law that allows Oklahomans to use deadly force when threatened in public places, a 2010 resolution that prohibits any law from compelling a person to purchase health care and a state question that same year that requires voters to show an identification card before receiving a ballot...
GOP Electoral Vote Scheme Still Alive And Kicking In Pennsylvania Talking Points Memo ...State Senate president Dominic Pileggi (R) is pushing a plan to change Pennsylvania’s current winner-take-all allocation of the state’s 20 electoral votes to a system that apportions them proportionally by each candidate’s share of the statewide vote...
NH Voter ID Law Under Attack Lawrence Eagle-Tribune ...A year after New Hampshire asked voters to present photo identifications at the polls, state lawmakers are considering repeal of the new Voter ID Law...
Winds of protest still blow around Wisconsin Capitol USA Today ...Anger over Gov. Scott Walker's union measures hasn't subsided two years later...
DeCesare pushes right-to-work bill The Daily News ...Proposed right-to-work and prevailing wage legislation was filed as a rallying point, not necessarily with the expectation it would immediately pass, a local (Kentucky) lawmaker says...
Right-to-work roils Dem leadership Crain's Detroit Business ...A rift among Michigan Democrats over the future leadership of the party has pitted longtime state party chairman Mark Brewer against challenger Lon Johnson, who has deep ties to Washington...
GOP wary of measures attacking unions Arizona Daily Sun ...House Speaker Andy Tobin is sidelining two anti-union measures rather than bringing them to the floor for a divisive -- and potentially losing -- vote...
American Airlines, US Airways Merger: Teamsters Look To Acquire AA Mechanic Representation At Tulsa Maintenance Base International Business Times ...The Teamsters Airline Division and the Teamsters Aviation Mechanics Coalition is looking to capitalize on the recently announced merger of American Airlines and U.S. Airways (NYSE: LCC)...
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Today's Teamster News 02.14.13
Today is the 100th anniversary of the birth of James R. Hoffa. Happy Birthday, Jimmy!
Jimmy Hoffa's son, Teamsters work to burnish tarnished image Detroit News ...Teamsters President Jim Hoffa is working to polish the legacy of his father, James R. Hoffa, the legendary Detroit labor leader who would have turned 100 today...
Jimmy Hoffa's son, Teamsters work to burnish tarnished image Detroit News ...Teamsters President Jim Hoffa is working to polish the legacy of his father, James R. Hoffa, the legendary Detroit labor leader who would have turned 100 today...
EU and US free-trade talks launched BBC ...The US said that "everything is on the table" in the talks. A deal would bring down trading barriers between the two biggest economies in the world...
Federal workers’ unions rally near Capitol to protest sequestration Washington Post ...Public servants were out in force Tuesday, protesting potential federal budget cuts that would severely hinder their ability to serve the public...
Retail Sales in U.S. Increase for Third Straight Month Bloomberg ...Department stores and online merchants were among those showing growing demand as improving job prospects and a strengthening housing market helped companies...
American Airlines and US Airways agree to merge and create world’s biggest airline Associated Press ...The deal caps a turbulent period of bankruptcies and consolidation that leaves the U.S. airline industry dominated by four big carriers. The boards of American parent AMR Corp. and US Airways approved the deal late Wednesday...
Mexico unveils new strategy in war on drugs The Guardian ...Mexico's new administration has offered the first details of its new strategy in the country's war on drugs, saying the government will spend $9.2bn (£5.9bn) this year on social programmes...the announcement was a forceful rejection of his predecessor...
House Kills Latest Effort To Make Right-To-Work Law In N.H. New Hampshire Public Radio ...Union workers broke into raucous applause after Speaker of the House Terrie Norelli announced the tally of votes on the right to work bill brought before the full House on Wednesday...
Right-to-work building interest in Missouri St. Louis Post-Dispatch ...Legislation that could deal a blow to labor unions in Missouri is drawing increased interest at the Capitol, though the measure may still face a tough road to passage this year...
Mo. Sen. Committee Considers Bill That Would Eliminate Prevailing Wage Rule KBIA ...Randy Long is a non-union mechanical contractor from southwestern Missouri who sided with labor unions in opposing the bill. “Everybody deserves a good quality wage in this day and time," Long said...
MO House Speaker, Congressman candidate bury ALEC connections in campaign finance documents DailyKos ...you won't see the wining and dining of Missouri GOP leaders by ALEC special interests spelled out in lobbying documents filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission....The expenses, and there are plenty, are buried in finance documents filed with the Commission...
Americans for Prosperity tabulate at least 229 fiscal proposals, including Arch tax, on April ballot St. Louis Beacon ...In a sign that fiscally conservative groups are gearing up again in Missouri, the state’s chapter of Americans for Prosperity will be raising alarm bells Wednesday about the number of local tax proposals to be on ballots across the state on April 2...
Unions pack Assembly to protest labor-law rewrite Anchorage Daily News ...More than 750 people, many representing eight labor groups, clogged the Tuesday night Anchorage Assembly meeting in a sign of the fight to come over Mayor Dan Sullivan's proposal to weaken city unions...
Tax chief, legislators spar over Kasich’s budget Columbus Dispatch ... They questioned the state tax commissioner for hours about details of the sales-tax expansion, the impact of the income-tax cut and the facts behind a new severance tax on shale drilling...
Gov. Corbett Insists on Full Privatization of Pa. Liquor Store System CBS Philly ...even before he made his privatization proposal late last month, legislative leaders –- including the state House speaker — signalled that modernizing liquor sales, such as allowing beer and wine sales in grocery stores, seems more likely than full privatization...
Anti-union bill makes way through Kansas Legislature Kansas City Business Journal ...In addition to preventing the payment of union dues, House Bill 2023 would eliminate collective bargaining laws, change the process for workers' compensation appeals and delay unemployment benefits, the report says. The bill is a replica of model legislation by the American Legislative Exchange Council...
Canonsburg approves contract for 20 employees Observer-Reporter ...the contract, between Canonsburg Borough and Teamsters Local 205...calls for a 70-cent per hour raise in 2013; 75-cent raise in 2014 and an 80-cent per hour raise in 2015...
Rhinebeck, Spackenkill school bus strike averted for now Poughkeepsie Journal ..."We have agreed to hold off on any kind of job action until they come back to the table and we will reevaluate at that point,” Teamsters Local 445 business agent Lori Polesel said...
Federal workers’ unions rally near Capitol to protest sequestration Washington Post ...Public servants were out in force Tuesday, protesting potential federal budget cuts that would severely hinder their ability to serve the public...
Retail Sales in U.S. Increase for Third Straight Month Bloomberg ...Department stores and online merchants were among those showing growing demand as improving job prospects and a strengthening housing market helped companies...
American Airlines and US Airways agree to merge and create world’s biggest airline Associated Press ...The deal caps a turbulent period of bankruptcies and consolidation that leaves the U.S. airline industry dominated by four big carriers. The boards of American parent AMR Corp. and US Airways approved the deal late Wednesday...
Mexico unveils new strategy in war on drugs The Guardian ...Mexico's new administration has offered the first details of its new strategy in the country's war on drugs, saying the government will spend $9.2bn (£5.9bn) this year on social programmes...the announcement was a forceful rejection of his predecessor...
House Kills Latest Effort To Make Right-To-Work Law In N.H. New Hampshire Public Radio ...Union workers broke into raucous applause after Speaker of the House Terrie Norelli announced the tally of votes on the right to work bill brought before the full House on Wednesday...
Right-to-work building interest in Missouri St. Louis Post-Dispatch ...Legislation that could deal a blow to labor unions in Missouri is drawing increased interest at the Capitol, though the measure may still face a tough road to passage this year...
Mo. Sen. Committee Considers Bill That Would Eliminate Prevailing Wage Rule KBIA ...Randy Long is a non-union mechanical contractor from southwestern Missouri who sided with labor unions in opposing the bill. “Everybody deserves a good quality wage in this day and time," Long said...
MO House Speaker, Congressman candidate bury ALEC connections in campaign finance documents DailyKos ...you won't see the wining and dining of Missouri GOP leaders by ALEC special interests spelled out in lobbying documents filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission....The expenses, and there are plenty, are buried in finance documents filed with the Commission...
Americans for Prosperity tabulate at least 229 fiscal proposals, including Arch tax, on April ballot St. Louis Beacon ...In a sign that fiscally conservative groups are gearing up again in Missouri, the state’s chapter of Americans for Prosperity will be raising alarm bells Wednesday about the number of local tax proposals to be on ballots across the state on April 2...
Unions pack Assembly to protest labor-law rewrite Anchorage Daily News ...More than 750 people, many representing eight labor groups, clogged the Tuesday night Anchorage Assembly meeting in a sign of the fight to come over Mayor Dan Sullivan's proposal to weaken city unions...
Tax chief, legislators spar over Kasich’s budget Columbus Dispatch ... They questioned the state tax commissioner for hours about details of the sales-tax expansion, the impact of the income-tax cut and the facts behind a new severance tax on shale drilling...
Gov. Corbett Insists on Full Privatization of Pa. Liquor Store System CBS Philly ...even before he made his privatization proposal late last month, legislative leaders –- including the state House speaker — signalled that modernizing liquor sales, such as allowing beer and wine sales in grocery stores, seems more likely than full privatization...
Anti-union bill makes way through Kansas Legislature Kansas City Business Journal ...In addition to preventing the payment of union dues, House Bill 2023 would eliminate collective bargaining laws, change the process for workers' compensation appeals and delay unemployment benefits, the report says. The bill is a replica of model legislation by the American Legislative Exchange Council...
Canonsburg approves contract for 20 employees Observer-Reporter ...the contract, between Canonsburg Borough and Teamsters Local 205...calls for a 70-cent per hour raise in 2013; 75-cent raise in 2014 and an 80-cent per hour raise in 2015...
Rhinebeck, Spackenkill school bus strike averted for now Poughkeepsie Journal ..."We have agreed to hold off on any kind of job action until they come back to the table and we will reevaluate at that point,” Teamsters Local 445 business agent Lori Polesel said...
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Today's Teamster News 02.07.13
401Ks are a disaster (opinion) USA Today ...Recent and near-retirees, the first major cohort of the 401(k) era, do not have nearly enough in retirement savings to even come close to maintaining their current lifestyles...
RBS fined $612 million for rate rigging Reuters ...Royal Bank of Scotland will pay $612 million to U.S. and British authorities to settle allegations it manipulated benchmark interest rates, and regulators warned there is more to come in the global investigation. RBS became the third bank to pay fines in the Libor scandal...
China made 1.2B mobile phones in 2012 ZDNet ...China produced 1.18 billion mobile phones in 2012, accounting for more than 50 percent of mobile phone sales worldwide...
China unveils major tax reforms to make rich pay more The Guardian ...China has unveiled sweeping tax reforms to make wealthy state-owned firms, property speculators and the rich pay more to narrow the gap between the urban elite and hundreds of millions of rural poor...
Greece orders seamen back to work on 6th day of strike BBC ...Workers manning ferry services to Greece's numerous islands have been demanding the payment of wages more than six months in arrears and the signing of collective work contracts with ferry companies...
Thanks To Congressional Incompetence, Saturday Mail Delivery Is History ThinkProgress ...Under the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, Congress has for years forced the USPS to pre-fund 75 years’ worth of pensions for its employees, a requirement not made of any other public or private institution...
Pointless attacks on unions in Kansas, Missouri (opinion) Kansas City Star ...The unnecessary attacks on unions demonstrate how susceptible state legislatures are to outside forces...
Hearing on Missouri 'right to work' bill attracts crowd Associated Press ...A standing room only crowd spilled into the Capitol hallway Wednesday to watch a Missouri House committee hearing on a bill barring payment of union dues as a condition of employment...
Senate approves constitutional amendment on union elections Northwest Indiana Times ...All union organizing elections would have to be conducted by secret ballot under an amendment to the Indiana Constitution approved 33-16 by the Republican-controlled Senate on Tuesday...
Local 150 will appeal judge’s dismissal of its challenge to right-to-work law Post-Tribune ...Attorneys for International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 filed the notice to appeal Monday in the U.S. District Court in Hammond...
Maine Voter ID Law Not Recommended By Independent Elections Panel Huffington Post ..."The Commission, by a 4 to 1 vote, finds that the negative aspects of a Voter ID law outweigh its potential benefits and recommends that a Voter ID system not be pursued in Maine," read the report from the five-member panel...
Rich DeVos family gave $1.75 million to fight Michigan's Proposal 2 on union collective bargaining Michigan Live ...Betsy DeVos, Dan DeVos, Dick DeVos, Doug DeVos, Elisabeth DeVos, Helen DeVos, Maria DeVos, Pamella DeVos and Richard DeVos altogether gave $2.8 million to the Republican party, political candidates and conservative causes in Michigan last year, a MIRS report calculates...
Right-to-work bill finding little support in NH House Nashua Telegraph ...The House Labor, Industrial and Rehabilitative Services Committee dealt a blow to the latest attempt to pass right-to-work legislation in New Hampshire. The committee voted 13-5 to recommend House Bill 322 be killed when the full House takes up the measure...
Sprucing Up Suppression: Pennsylvania GOP Proposes New Election-Rigging Scheme Center for Media and Democracy ...Pennsylvania's Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi intends to introduce legislation that would award that state's electoral votes proportionally according to the popular vote, rather than according to the winner in each Congressional district. If the plan had been in place for last November's election Romney would have received 8 of Pennsylvania's 20 electoral votes...
Labor lawyer: Kansas union bill will silence workers Associated Press ...The payroll bill is one of several proposed measures that Democrats and union representatives see as eroding the rights of public employees to participate in the political process, whether it be supporting candidates with political action committees or advocating public policy changes...
Talks of Bus Strikes Still Alive The Coastal Source ...Talks of a possible bus strike for Beaufort County Schools are still up in the air...The Teamsters Union and Durham Services are trying to reach a compromise about possible pay raises for current bus drivers and better benefits, but Tuesday afternoon, rumors spread that Durham Bus Services walked out of the meeting...
Cecil supervisors approve police, public works contracts Observer-Reporter ...Public works employees, members of Teamsters Local 205, will receive a 3 percent salary increase over the course of their four-year contract...
RBS fined $612 million for rate rigging Reuters ...Royal Bank of Scotland will pay $612 million to U.S. and British authorities to settle allegations it manipulated benchmark interest rates, and regulators warned there is more to come in the global investigation. RBS became the third bank to pay fines in the Libor scandal...
China made 1.2B mobile phones in 2012 ZDNet ...China produced 1.18 billion mobile phones in 2012, accounting for more than 50 percent of mobile phone sales worldwide...
China unveils major tax reforms to make rich pay more The Guardian ...China has unveiled sweeping tax reforms to make wealthy state-owned firms, property speculators and the rich pay more to narrow the gap between the urban elite and hundreds of millions of rural poor...
Greece orders seamen back to work on 6th day of strike BBC ...Workers manning ferry services to Greece's numerous islands have been demanding the payment of wages more than six months in arrears and the signing of collective work contracts with ferry companies...
Thanks To Congressional Incompetence, Saturday Mail Delivery Is History ThinkProgress ...Under the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, Congress has for years forced the USPS to pre-fund 75 years’ worth of pensions for its employees, a requirement not made of any other public or private institution...
Pointless attacks on unions in Kansas, Missouri (opinion) Kansas City Star ...The unnecessary attacks on unions demonstrate how susceptible state legislatures are to outside forces...
Hearing on Missouri 'right to work' bill attracts crowd Associated Press ...A standing room only crowd spilled into the Capitol hallway Wednesday to watch a Missouri House committee hearing on a bill barring payment of union dues as a condition of employment...
Senate approves constitutional amendment on union elections Northwest Indiana Times ...All union organizing elections would have to be conducted by secret ballot under an amendment to the Indiana Constitution approved 33-16 by the Republican-controlled Senate on Tuesday...
Local 150 will appeal judge’s dismissal of its challenge to right-to-work law Post-Tribune ...Attorneys for International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 filed the notice to appeal Monday in the U.S. District Court in Hammond...
Maine Voter ID Law Not Recommended By Independent Elections Panel Huffington Post ..."The Commission, by a 4 to 1 vote, finds that the negative aspects of a Voter ID law outweigh its potential benefits and recommends that a Voter ID system not be pursued in Maine," read the report from the five-member panel...
Rich DeVos family gave $1.75 million to fight Michigan's Proposal 2 on union collective bargaining Michigan Live ...Betsy DeVos, Dan DeVos, Dick DeVos, Doug DeVos, Elisabeth DeVos, Helen DeVos, Maria DeVos, Pamella DeVos and Richard DeVos altogether gave $2.8 million to the Republican party, political candidates and conservative causes in Michigan last year, a MIRS report calculates...
Right-to-work bill finding little support in NH House Nashua Telegraph ...The House Labor, Industrial and Rehabilitative Services Committee dealt a blow to the latest attempt to pass right-to-work legislation in New Hampshire. The committee voted 13-5 to recommend House Bill 322 be killed when the full House takes up the measure...
Sprucing Up Suppression: Pennsylvania GOP Proposes New Election-Rigging Scheme Center for Media and Democracy ...Pennsylvania's Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi intends to introduce legislation that would award that state's electoral votes proportionally according to the popular vote, rather than according to the winner in each Congressional district. If the plan had been in place for last November's election Romney would have received 8 of Pennsylvania's 20 electoral votes...
Labor lawyer: Kansas union bill will silence workers Associated Press ...The payroll bill is one of several proposed measures that Democrats and union representatives see as eroding the rights of public employees to participate in the political process, whether it be supporting candidates with political action committees or advocating public policy changes...
Talks of Bus Strikes Still Alive The Coastal Source ...Talks of a possible bus strike for Beaufort County Schools are still up in the air...The Teamsters Union and Durham Services are trying to reach a compromise about possible pay raises for current bus drivers and better benefits, but Tuesday afternoon, rumors spread that Durham Bus Services walked out of the meeting...
Cecil supervisors approve police, public works contracts Observer-Reporter ...Public works employees, members of Teamsters Local 205, will receive a 3 percent salary increase over the course of their four-year contract...
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Today's Teamster News 01.24.13
Austerity Fails: European Nations See Debt Grow Despite Deep Spending Cuts ThinkProgres ...Since the onset of the financial crisis,
European countries have attempted to deal with their economic
malaise by implementing austerity packages, slashing government
spending and laying off public workers. However, such measures
have proved self-defeating, as the austerity measures blunted
economic growth and caused Europe’s debt to actually grow...
British PM proposes vote on EU membership AP ...Prime Minister David Cameron said Wednesday he
will offer British citizens a vote on whether to leave the
European Union if his party wins the next election, a move which
could trigger alarm among fellow member states...
Two Democrats try for long-shot financial transaction tax Reuters ...Two congressional Democrats said on Tuesday they will revive a bill to tax financial transactions after 11 euro zone countries won approval for such a tax...
Two Democrats try for long-shot financial transaction tax Reuters ...Two congressional Democrats said on Tuesday they will revive a bill to tax financial transactions after 11 euro zone countries won approval for such a tax...
Austerity bites for unions Washington Post ...The Labor Department
is out this morning with its annual report on union membership in
America, and once again, it shows a year-over-year drop in how many
workers belong to labor unions. The big culprit for last year’s
drop doesn’t appear to be outsourcing (though union factory
employment has fallen since the recession, while non-union employment
has risen). The issue was austerity...
Senate Democrats proclaim victory, will move quickly to pass House debt-ceiling bill The Hill ...The Senate
will immediately pass a House bill to extend the federal debt limit
to May 19 on condition that both chambers pass budget resolutions by
mid-April, according to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.)...
Friday, May 27, 2011
Today's Teamster News 05.27.11
State Senate limits collective bargaining rights; approves $30.5b budget Boston Globe ...The Massachusetts Senate voted tonight to curb the collective bargaining rights of police officers, teachers, and other municipal employees, making it likely the overwhelming Democratic state will limit union power in an effort to ease budget woes...
Judge Voids Wisconsin Law Curbing Unions New York Times ...Some Democrats could flee the state again, and some Republican senators are facing recall elections...
Ohio schools cut jobs anticipating funding cuts Associated Press ...Ohio school districts already are cutting thousands of jobs in anticipation of losing funding in the upcoming state budget, as unions and other education groups lobby hard at the Statehouse to get some of it restored...
Collective bargaining bill revived for June 2 hearing Portland Daily Sun ...A Thursday, June 2 public hearing on a controversial "right-to-work" bill in Augusta could be a prelude to quick passage of a piece of Maine legislation that critics say is similar to what happened with collective bargaining rights in Wisconsin...
Bully House speaker shows his true colors Seacoast Online ... O'Brien retreated to wait for a time when the numbers in the House chamber are stacked in his favor. He and his leadership team are literally going to wait until enough Democrats or anti-Right to Work Republicans are away and then, when they think they have the numbers, they'll call the vote...
Massive corporate tax cut becomes law in Michigan The American Independent ...Gov. Rick Snyder has signed legislation which eliminates the state’s Michigan Business Tax and Surcharge, replacing it with a six percent tax on businesses...
Judge Voids Wisconsin Law Curbing Unions New York Times ...Some Democrats could flee the state again, and some Republican senators are facing recall elections...
Ohio schools cut jobs anticipating funding cuts Associated Press ...Ohio school districts already are cutting thousands of jobs in anticipation of losing funding in the upcoming state budget, as unions and other education groups lobby hard at the Statehouse to get some of it restored...
Collective bargaining bill revived for June 2 hearing Portland Daily Sun ...A Thursday, June 2 public hearing on a controversial "right-to-work" bill in Augusta could be a prelude to quick passage of a piece of Maine legislation that critics say is similar to what happened with collective bargaining rights in Wisconsin...
Bully House speaker shows his true colors Seacoast Online ... O'Brien retreated to wait for a time when the numbers in the House chamber are stacked in his favor. He and his leadership team are literally going to wait until enough Democrats or anti-Right to Work Republicans are away and then, when they think they have the numbers, they'll call the vote...
Massive corporate tax cut becomes law in Michigan The American Independent ...Gov. Rick Snyder has signed legislation which eliminates the state’s Michigan Business Tax and Surcharge, replacing it with a six percent tax on businesses...
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
TJI: NH postpones right-to-work veto override
This just in: Republicans postponed a much-anticipated vote today to override New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch's veto of a right-to-work bill to destroy unions.
The Nashua Telegraph reported this morning that Speaker William O'Brien was 5 to 10 votes short of the majority needed to override the heinous bill. Around noon today O'Brien held a press conference in which he said he'd hold the vote, "When he sees fit." The public was shut out of the meeting.
Though right-to-work to destroy union bills had been introduced in more than a dozen states this year, New Hampshire was the only state in which the bill had advanced to the governor's desk for a veto. Fortunately for the Granite State's working families, Lynch strongly opposes right-to-work laws.
File this under "Good-ish News."
The Nashua Telegraph reported this morning that Speaker William O'Brien was 5 to 10 votes short of the majority needed to override the heinous bill. Around noon today O'Brien held a press conference in which he said he'd hold the vote, "When he sees fit." The public was shut out of the meeting.
Though right-to-work to destroy union bills had been introduced in more than a dozen states this year, New Hampshire was the only state in which the bill had advanced to the governor's desk for a veto. Fortunately for the Granite State's working families, Lynch strongly opposes right-to-work laws.
File this under "Good-ish News."
Sunday, March 27, 2011
A ray of hope in NH?
In the spirit of Mel Thomson and Marty Harty, the New Hampshire House is set to vote on a cruel anti-worker bill. It has been aptly called "Wisconsin on steroids." The bill would destroy the state's government unions when their contracts expire by automatically making their members "at-will" employees.
Concord erupted last week when the House Finance Committee voted to add the provision to the budget. Protesting union members jammed the hearing room and refused to leave. Reports the Concord Monitor,
...The vote was met by jeers and chants from the activists who spilled out of the House Finance Committee hearing room, down the stairs and outside the Legislative Office Building.Though New Hampshire's House and Senate are both lopsidedly Republican, the budget as it stands may not pass the Senate. The Senate President, Milford Republican Peter Bragdon, told WMUR the provision should at least have had a hearing.
During a taping of WMUR-TV's "Close Up" political show Friday, Senate President Peter Bragdon said a provision in the House budget plan strongly opposed by unions may doom the bill in the Senate.
"In all honesty, I have not talked to a single senator who will vote for the budget with that provision in it," Bragdon said.Now, you have to be careful with politicians. That may simply mean that Bragdon hasn't talked to a single senator about anything since the anti-worker amendment passed the committee. But it could also mean the bill won't pass the Senate.
Here's more good news: Marty Harty retired once his comments made the national news.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Good(ish) news on right-to-work (for LESS) in NH and MO
The good guys won a few battles yesterday against the campaign to force workers to work for less.
In New Hampshire, the Manchester Union-Leader reported that a hearing on a proposed "right to work (for LESS) law drew overwhelming opposition. Reports the U-L from Concord:
David Hoffman, a retired attorney from Mishawaka, wrote an opinion piece in the South Bend Tribune explaining that "right to work (for LESS)" proposals demonstrate goverment's contempt for the working class. He writes,
In New Hampshire, the Manchester Union-Leader reported that a hearing on a proposed "right to work (for LESS) law drew overwhelming opposition. Reports the U-L from Concord:
A public hearing on the bill Thursday drew a huge crowd of supporters, union opposition and businesses on either side of the bill.
The overwhelming sentiment of those who showed up for the hearing, which ran for more than six hours, was to kill the bill. Of the roughly 300 people on hand, 34 registered in favor of it.In Missouri, the Jefferson County Central Republican Committee unanimously approved a resolution opposing "right to work (for LESS)" proposals in the state legislature. According to the AFL-CIO blog
So called “right-to-work” bills are “divisive and are not the way our state should go,” said Committee Chairman Janet Engelbach.We still have a long way to go to defeat these proposals, which are popping up in Maine, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan, to name a few. But we got a terrific letter of support from a retired attorney in Indiana on Thursday.
We’ve got a lot of serious economic problems to deal with, and we need to remember the important role of unions in our county and in our state.Engelbach, whose husband George is a member of Sheet Metal Workers Local 36, added that
We got involved in this issue because it is so important for our workers and our families.When the resolution was announced to a wider audience at the Jefferson County Republican Club meeting, Englebach said there were no objections. She says “keeping good jobs here isn’t a partisan issue, and our legislators shouldn’t be pushing ‘right to work,’ especially not right now.”
David Hoffman, a retired attorney from Mishawaka, wrote an opinion piece in the South Bend Tribune explaining that "right to work (for LESS)" proposals demonstrate goverment's contempt for the working class. He writes,
A fundamental weakness of the Bill of Rights is that it does not apply to the private sector. As a result, people who exercise their legally protected rights, such as the right to freedom of speech, may be exempt from governmental retaliation for doing so, but they can still face retaliation from their employers.
One consequence of this reality is that workers are often reluctant to talk and/or write about the rights, and plights, of the working class.It's a tremendous argument. Read the whole thing here.
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