Kasich: 'It's clear the people have spoken' (video)

He says he's listening. Let's hope.

His claims about job creation are preposterous, though. Unemployment has been rising in Ohio since May.

Kasich argues that "controlling government costs" is the key to attracting business. We suggest he visit Mexico. Is that what he wants to do to Ohio?

Woo-hoo! Way to go, Ohio!

SB5 and Kountry Klub Kasich go down to huge defeat. This is a big, big win for all middle-class workers.

Congratulations to all our Teamsters brothers and sisters who worked so hard to defeat KKKasich's heinous bill. We'll let our Buckeye brothers spin it for you:

Ohio Teamsters’ leadership tonight said the defeat of Senate Bill 5 showed that Ohio voters support collective bargaining. SB5 would have stripped more than 350,000 public workers of nearly all their collective bargaining rights.

“On behalf of all Ohio Teamsters and organized labor, the citizens of Ohio sent a message to Gov. Kasich and the Koch brothers, ‘Keep your hands off our rights to collectively bargain’,” said William Lichtenwald, President of Teamsters Local 20 in Cincinnati and the Ohio Conference of Teamsters.

“I hope the politicians in Columbus wake up and start listening to the middle class and looking out for our interests as opposed to corporate interests,” said Randy Verst, president of Teamsters Joint Council 26 in Cincinnati.

“Extreme politicians tried to shift the burden of the economic crisis to the middle class,” said Al Mixon, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 507 in Cleveland and a Teamsters International Vice President. “They tried to destroy our basic right to freedom of speech, the freedom to negotiate, the freedom to have a voice in the workplace. SB5 doesn’t just affect labor, it affects everybody. If they take away our basic rights, then they’ll take away everybody’s. Fortunately, Ohioans have come together to defeat this bad legislation. We won’t get fooled again.”

“This isn’t just a big victory for the Teamster snowplow drivers, corrections officers and nurses who work for the State of Ohio. It’s a big victory for Ohio’s middle-class workers,” said Gary Tiboni, President of Teamsters Local 436 in Valley View and President of Joint Council 41 in Northern Ohio.

Despite sleazy tactics, OH's SB5 is on the ropes

Cross your fingers, everybody. Today's the day Ohioans vote on corporate stooge Gov. John Kasich's union-busting bill, SB5. The bill would take away the collective bargaining rights for Teamster nurses, corrections officers and snowplow drivers in Ohio. Teamsters in both the public and private sectors -- including warehouse workers and truck drivers -- have worked their butts off collecting signatures, phone banking, going door-to-door and posting giant messages on Ohio's highway overpasses.

In the "What Else Is New?" Department, Greg Sargent at the Washington Post reports the other side has been using sleazy last-minute tactics: 

In case you needed another sign of how far right wing groups are willing to go in a last ditch effort to avoid defeat in the Ohio labor fight, check out this tactic.

A flyer is making the rounds in Ohio (which you can view below) that advertises a “new hotline” designed to fight the “misinformation” being spread about Issue 2, the referendum that would affirm Governor John Kasich’s law rolling back public employee bargaining rights.
The flyer directs voters to call a phone number, where they can listen to a “short recorded message summarizing the issue” and get “real facts” about it.

“Please get the word out about this opportunity for voters to understand Issue 2,” the flyer says. “If you have been confused by misleading ads, or know someone who really wants to understand Issue 2, please call.”

But it turns out the recorded call makes all kinds of lurid claims against a No vote on the referendum — and even advances the argument that a No vote would be bad for public workers and force layoffs of cops and firefighters.

The flyer is not sourced to any group, aside from saying at the bottom: “Coast,” and “Gocoast on Twitter.” That’s a reference to a group called the “Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes,” which has no listed phone number, but has surfaced on the conservative side of Ohio fights in the past.

Mother Jones reports the polls are looking good for our side.

It is D-Day for Gov. John Kasich's anti-union law. Ohioans go to the polls today in one of the most anticipated off-year elections to decide Issue 2, a referendum on whether to repeal Kasich's law that curtails collective bargaining rights for public sector workers. Voters will also approve or reject Issue 3, a misguided constitutional amendment intended to exempt Ohioans from a federal health insurance mandate. Unions, businesses, trade groups, and out-of-state political outfits have spent more than $30 million to sway the vote on both measures. Polls show Issue 2 losing...

It's not over 'til it's over, though. We're holding our breath.

Today's Teamster News 11.08.11

Issue 2 campaign still hot in last days  Columbus Dispatch   ...With everyone from the Obama campaign to Pat Boone trying to mobilize voters, the fight over collective bargaining in Ohio — or at least this round of it — is at its climax...
Ohio vote on collective bargaining may foreshadow Wisconsin recall efforts  Wisconsin State Journal   ..."These two situations are about as identical as you can get," said Mordecai Lee, UW-Milwaukee political science professor. "You can say one is about a law, the other is about a governor, but both really are about how the public at large feels about organized labor and whether they feel the Republicans are going too far..."
Gov. Rick Scott Heads To Panama City, Port Of Miami For “Let’s Get To Work” Days  Sunshine State   ...Rick Scott dove right into a Port of Miami workday, shucking it for Seaboard Marine, an ocean transportation company, and glad-handling guests for Carnival Cruise Lines, the world’s most popular cruise line...
Daniels says "right-to-work" would help Indiana  Daily Reporter   ...Gov. Mitch Daniels says Indiana could see an economic boost from a contentious "right-to-work" proposal, but stopped short of saying he wants state legislators to approve it...
Arizona Senate president may be ousted over his conservatism  Los Angeles Times   ...Pearce, president of the state Senate, will face off Tuesday against fellow Republican Jerry Lewis in a recall election in their suburban Phoenix district... 
Election Day: A POLITICO cheat sheet  Politico   ...there are a number of state and local issues at play that could make national waves...

Bad week for drunk OH Republicans

Picture this shirtless and drunk

Jarrod Martin (R-Beavercreek) is the second Ohio state representative to face drunken driving charges. Martin was arrested over the weekend when he swerved over the center line while hauling a trailer without a taillight.

The Dayton Daily News reports there were two other adults and two kids in the vehicle. Martin was also charged with child endangerment.

He refused to submit to a field sobriety test and, as a result, will automatically lose his driver’s license for one year. This will leave him with having to find alternative transportation to his ALEC meetings. And possibly an alternative voter ID.

Greene County Republican John Broughton spoke up for Martin, saying he admitted to drinking “a couple beers” earlier in the day but that alcohol was not involved in this incident.

Martin did not want to be seen on video recorded by the cruiser’s dashboard camera because he was shirtless.

Too bad. Video will be released Friday and we can’t wait to see it.

Last week, Ohio state Rep. Bob Mecklenborg (R-Cincinnati) resigned after his drunk driving arrest involving an expired license, a woman who works at a strip club, Viagra and voter ID fraud. He was supposed to go to court today, but his lawyer has asked for a jury trial, which delays his case until late August.

As for Martin, the SB-5 supporter said in a written statement:

I regret the incident regarding an OVI allegation that occurred in Jackson County on Friday, July 22. I take this matter very seriously and I look forward to the opportunity to vindicate myself in court.

In May Martin tweeted:

JarrodBMartin: Setting up an OVI checkpoint with the OSP and Beavercreek Police.

Priceless.

Today's Teamster News 06.30.11

WI Recall: New Daily Kos polling shows path to victory  Daily Kos   ...In August, months and months of effort will culminate in a set of unprecedented recall elections in the state of Wisconsin, focused on a single aim: taking back the state Senate from Republicans and dealing a major blow to Gov. Scott Walker's war against the middle class, students, and above all, unions...
Record 1.3M back vote to torpedo Senate Bill 5  Toledo Blade   ...6,000 (people) paraded through downtown Columbus to file boxes containing 51,000 petitions...
Benton Harbor Emergency Manager restricts park access  Michigan Messenger   ...Locals are no longer allowed to take early morning walks in the park under an order issued by Benton Harbor’s Emergency Manager Joe Harris...
Rick Scott Admits He Was in Colorado for Koch Brothers Retreat  Broward-Palm Beach New Times   ...We finally have an answer as to where Gov. Rick Scott was this weekend, and it confirms our suspicion: at the billionaire Koch brothers' secret conference outside Vail, Colorado...
Minnesota government shutdown hours away  Politico   ...Minnesota is on the verge of a government meltdown if it does not pass a budget by the end of the day Thursday - potentially shuttering highway rest stops, suspending low-income child care, and even closing the state zoo...
LePage vows to renew union dues fight next year  Kennebec Journal   ...A day before the expiration of state workers' union contracts, Gov. Paul LePage told lawmakers Wednesday that he will push again next year for legislation to stop requiring nonunion state workers to pay a portion of union dues...

1.3M signatures in OH!!

What an awesome effort. Hundreds of people today marched in the People's Parade in Columbus to deliver nearly five times as many signatures as are needed to put SB5 on the November ballot.

WKBN reports:

Hundreds took to the streets in Columbus this morning as part of what is being called the 'People's Parade.'
Those taking part in the event are opposed to Senate Bill 5 and delivered nearly 1.3 million signatures to the Ohio Secretary of State's Office in an effort to get the measure on the November ballot.

The opponents needed at least 231,000 signatures. They want to repeal the law, which limits collective bargaining and bans strikes by public employees.

We learn from We Are Ohio that 1,298,301 signatures have been collected to put Senate Bill 5 on the ballot for a citizens veto.

Tim Burga, president of Ohio's AFL-CIO, calls it "a historic moment for Ohio."  Burga said,

This unprecedented number is a record for any Ohio ballot initiative and shows that Ohioans are fed up with Gov. Kasich's extreme partisan agenda.
More than 10,000 volunteers participated in this effort and the Ohio AFL-CIO and the 650,000 working families it represents commend their hard work and dedication to going ahead and beyond to repeal this anti-working family bill. When the measure is approved by the State of Secretary, the Ohio AFL-CIO, working in coalition with the We Are Ohio campaign, will immediately turn our attention to continuing to educate voters on the detrimental effects Senate Bill 5 will have on communities across the state.

This is not just a referendum on Senate Bill 5, it is a referendum on Kasich and his political allies blatant assault on working families and the middle class. Senate Bill 5 has galvanized a true grassroots movement of Ohioans who have stood up and made their voice heard, not only on Senate Bill 5, but also on Kasichs jobs killing budget, bills that would suppress the vote, and a slew of other attacks.

Today's Teamster News 06.27.11

Union contracts will come to an end on Wednesday  Wisconsin State Journal   ...Tens of thousands of teachers and government workers will be without union contracts for the first time in decades on Wednesday...
State PBA Filing Suit Over Pension Changes  Belleville Patch   ...The ongoing debate over the landmark pension and health benefits reform package expected to be signed into law by Gov. Chris Christie on Monday will soon be heading to New Jersey's courts...
Follow the exit signs  Columbus Dispatch   ...Amid a push by Gov. John Kasich and the Ohio General Assembly to reduce public workers' take-home pay, benefits and collective-bargaining rights, state and local governments are seeing the biggest exodus of experienced workers in recent history, perhaps ever...
'Most Restrictive' Voter ID Law In The Country Loses Support Of Republican Secretary Of State  Talking Points Memo   ...Ohio's measure is so restrictive -- it requires the photo IDs to be issued by the state, so voters couldn't identify themselves with their full Social Security numbers -- that it lost the support of Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted...
FACT CHECK: McKenna campaigns with faulty data  Associated Press   ...(Washington State Attorney General) Rob McKenna launched his campaign for governor recently with a vow to curb the costs of personnel in state government, citing statistics that drew gasps from his audience of supporters...
The Selling of the World: Privatization Schemes Proliferate  firedoglake   ... Greece essentially must sell the family silver – their ports, their state-run water supply systems, their utility company, their telephone company – to get out of the mess created largely by the financial crisis and the Great Recession...

Look for Teamsters in SB 5 parade

We have word that a Teamster (not sure exactly who yet) will drive a semi tractor-trailer delivering petitions to repeal the heinous SB 5 bill on June 29, the day before the deadline.

We Are Ohio announced a parade will be held to deliver the petitions with at least 714,137 signatures on them to the state. They announced the total on Friday, but they're still asking people to sign the petitions. Will there be more than 1 million signatures? Stay tuned.

The Toledo Blade reports

A group seeking to repeal Ohio's new law weakening public employee collective bargaining rights said Wednesday it will hold a parade when it files petitions Wednesday.

That's the day before the state deadline for filing.

On Friday, We Are Ohio claimed it had gathered more than 700,000 signatures. That's three times the 231,149 signatures that must stand up to scrutiny by county boards of elections to make the Nov. 8 ballot.

The filing of the signatures automatically would put Senate Bill 5 on hold pending the review process. If the referendum qualifies for the ballot and voters reject the law, it never would take effect.

We Are Ohio is keeping up the pressure against SB 5 in other ways. The group held a press conference in front of the Westerville (pop. 37,000) fire station yesterday. Westerville!

ThisWeekNews was there, and reported,

"It's so wrong what Senate Bill 5 is doing," said Brian Young, a lieutenant in the Westerville Division of Fire. "I always thought the government was here to protect our rights. This takes away our rights."

The employees said while legislators say the bill would allow public union groups to continue to bargain, the law restricts it so far that it really takes the power of collective bargaining away.

A pro-SB 5 (i.e., corporate-backed) group called "Build a Better Ohio" has also been formed. The Blade reports it hasn't been visible yet. SB 5 supporters shouldn't get too comfortable though. The Koch brothers and their cronies are certain to pour money into a pro-SB 5 campaign.

Then again, the Youngstown Vindicator opines,

If the opponents of SB 5 do file million-plus signatures, Gov. Kasich and Republicans in the General Assembly will know that they will have a fight on their hands come November.

And a commenter replied,

you say: "SB 5 has woken a sleeping giant in the form of the labor unions, their Democratic Party allies and Ohio’s public employees."

This is a true statement devoid of one big fact: many Republicans are also very much against this heinous bill. They understand that it is in no one's best interest to destroy labor unions, nor to devalue and demoralize your state employees. Those many signatures have an incredible amount of Republican and Independent voter support among them.

Koch Tea Party wrong about Boston Tea Party



A pro-union small business in Madison, Wisc.

What is it about the Tea Party's ignorance of  American history? Michele Bachmann thinks the shot heard round the world happened in New Hampshire. Sarah Palin thinks Paul Revere warned the British. And the Koch-funded Tea Party (Americans for Prosperity) thinks the Boston Tea Party was about taxation without representation.

Actually, the Boston Tea Party was about a special corporate tax break given to a corporate monopoly. The British crown gave a tax break on tea to the Dutch East India Company, a multinational. That preferential treatment threatened to put small American entrepreneurs out of business. Hence, the tea party.

Multinational corporations can be as much a threat to small businesses as to working Americans. We all know what Wal-Mart does to Main Street retailers, and Wal-Mart isn't the only one. Multinationals also pit their suppliers against each other to drive down their costs in much the same way they pit workers against each other to drive down wages.

So labor unions and small business have a lot more in common than you might think. And in the War on Workers, we're noticing more and more alliances among unions and small businesses.

In New Hampshire, small businesses had a tweet-a-thon to support unions by opposing HB474, a right-to-work bill to destroy unions. The AFL-CIO blog reports,

Hundreds of New Hampshire small businesses are taking part in a 36-hour tweet-a-thon, telling the New Hampshire Legislature, especially House Speaker Bill O’Brien, to keep the Granite State open for business and stop playing political games with so-called right to work legislation.

Here's a typical tweet:

Key to keeping NH open? NO to HB 474! Keystone Press LLC, Manchester wants to #keepNHopen4biz http://bit.ly/k5S0Le #NHhouse #standupNH

In Ohio, many small businesses are showing their support for labor by opposing SB 5, the heinous bill that strips collective bargaining rights from government workers. They're part of the Proud Ohio Workers campaign:

Proud Ohio Workers wants to ensure that small shops all across Ohio will remain open. If public employee wages are reduced and jobs are cut, local businesses will suffer. Supporting the creation and retention of good paying middle class jobs is good for local economies,

One of the first actions ever took place in Youngstown at the Our Family Restaurant, where three-fourths of the customers work at the Board of Education next door.

Small businesses in Madison showed their support of unions during the massive protests in February and March. Shopowners advertised 10 percent discounts for teachers. And some small businesses made the extra effort, like the one pictured above.

Today's Teamster News 04.19.11

Can Dems take back Wisconsin state senate?  Washington Post   ...for the first time, it’s fair to say that the possibility, as improbable as it still seems, is now in play...
Petitions to repeal SB5 to begin circulating soon  WTOL    ...The coalition group called "We Are Ohio" says they will begin circulating petitions later this week to repeal Senate Bill 5 now passed into law...
Low-wage jobs too big a part of recovery (opinion)  Dayton Daily News  ...the number of Ohioans earning $7.25 an hour (the federal minimum wage) or less has more than doubled since the beginning of the recession. From 77,000, it is most recently reported at 172,000...
Moveon.org stages 300 Tax Day rallies  The Hill  ...to protest tax-dodging by 12 U.S. corporations...
Senate weakens anti-union bill amid strong opposition  Miami Herald   ...Public employee unions could continue to deduct dues from paychecks under new Senate plan but couldn’t use the money for political purposes...
Teen 'training wage' bill draws opposition  Bangor Daily News  ... it would establish a training wage for new workers 20 years old or younger of $5.62 per hour for their first 90 days of employment. Maine minimum wage is $7.50 an hour...
NH Senate to consider House pension reform bill  Boston Globe  ...A measure that strips New Hampshire's public unions of much of their bargaining power is back...
Pay increases for them, but not for you  Pocono Record   ...While Pennsylvanians of all stripes continue to be saddled with wage freezes, pay cuts or job uncertainty ... politicians are selfishly taking care of their own, apparently without fear of reprisal from taxpayers who are required to foot the bill...

Woo-hoo! Repeal SB5 campaign gets the green light

We just got the news: Ohio officials gave the go-ahead for SB5 opponents to collect signatures to put repealing the law on the November ballot.

Ohio's attorney general certified the "short version " of proposed summary language. Columbus Business First has the story:

The “We Are Ohio” group backing a repeal of the state’s recently approved collective bargaining legislation clinched key green lights from Secretary of State Jon Husted and Attorney General Mike DeWine Friday. Husted certified a batch of signatures backing petition language as valid, while DeWine approved a version of the petition language itself.

The groups submitted a short version of the Senate Bill 5 repeal language and a longer, 28-page version that DeWine rejected in a letter as “far too lengthy and detailed to be considered a short and concise summing up the matter to be referred.”

The shorter, five-page version will be the one put before registered voters. Petitioners have until June 30.

TJI: OH hates SB5 and corporate stooge governor

This just in: A new survey shows strong support for a citizens' veto of SB5, the bill that stripped Ohio workers of their rights to collectively bargain.

The Wenzel Strategies survey shows 51 percent of Ohio voters favor a repeal of SB5, compared with just 38 percent who said they would vote to keep the new law in place. Another 11 percent were unsure of the question.

Corporate stooge Gov. John Kasich's approval ratings are looking worse every day. Only 37 percent of respondents gave him positive job approval marks, compared to 56 percent who rated him negatively. That includes 43 percent who said he is doing a "poor" job, the most negative option available in the poll. Sounds like voters needed some stronger options than "poor," like "reprehensible," "deplorable" or "shameful."

That bodes well for the campaign to repeal the bill. Ohioans must collect 231,149 signatures to put SB 5 on the ballot. (Actually, they have to collect way more, because signatures are often invalid for one reason or another.) Training sessions on how to collect signatures are happening all over the state. Brother Fred Crow from Local 436 says,

Now they're really flying.

Fred attended an SB 5 petition training in Geauga County earlier this week. Geauga County is pretty solidly Republican, but there were 60 people at the training. It was sponsored by the Geauga County Democratic Committee. Fred’s planning on going to another one in Columbus.

Signatures can be collected up until June 30, 2011. Make sure you are registered to vote here.

For more information, check out a FAQ flier on repealing SB5 here.

Today's Teamster News 04.15.11

Walker's Political Theater, Brought to You By the Koch Brothers  Huffington Post   ...We've all heard Walker's fantasies before. They're an attempt to disguise the ugly reality that he's doing the bidding of the billionaires and CEOs who fund his political ambitions...
Scott Walker says stripping collective bargaining rights doesn't save any money  Daily Kos   ...Additionally, under questioning from Representative Gerry Connolly, Walker admitted that he did not explicitly campaign on stripping collective bargaining rights...
Wenzel Poll: Majority Favors Repeal of Senate Bill 5  Wenzel Strategies   ...If the repeal of Ohio’s Senate Bill 5 were on the ballot today, the repeal would be successful by a double-digit margin...
Businesses sign up to show solidarity with public workers  Athens Messenger   ...Fourteen local businesses have signed a pledge and are displaying the “Proud Ohio Worker” program sticker at their businesses in support of public employees...
Another poll trashes Rick Scott  Orlando Sentinel   ..."it’s taken Gov. Scott less than 100 days to begin a free fall in popularity and to generate negative perceptions about job performance and damaging the state he was elected to lead...”
Florida GOP employs new tactics to push antiunion bill  St. Petersburg Times   ...The goal is to put into law a bill that would ban public employee unions from collecting dues through payroll deductions and require unions to obtain permission from members each year to use their dues for political activity...
'Truth and facts don't matter' in GOP-run states (opinion)  Kennebec Journal   ...distant corporate interests have scripted, funded and staffed long-range plans to rule our statehouses...
A bitter labor law campaign comes to New Hampshire (opinion)  Keene Sentinel   ...Business support of the most visible initiative — a so-called “right-to-work” bill that would prevent unions from charging non-union workers for the costs of collective bargaining — has been nil...
Corbett numbers down in the dumps  Public Policy Polling   ...To the list of states already regretting their new Republican Governor you can add Pennsylvania: Tom Corbett has only a 34% approval rating to 44% of voters disapproving of him...

Today's Teamster News 04.13.11

Scott Walker heads to Hill  Politico   ...Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif)...is slated to host Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker on Capitol Hill Thursday for a hearing on “State and Municipal Debt: Tough Choices Ahead.”...
More Controversy Clouds Wisconsin Supreme Court Race  Wall Street Journal   ...the 80-year-old Democratic election observer who vouched for the conduct of the Waukesha County Clerk in the April 5 state Supreme Court race said she was kept in the dark and now isn't sure what happened...
Business Breaking With Kasich Over Union-Busting Bill  Talking Points Memo   ... the support of the state Chamber of Commerce, which broke with tradition and made Kasich the first gubernatorial candidate to ever get its endorsement, is fracturing...
Gov. Scott trying to sell off family stake in clinics   Palm Beach Post   ...the governor transferred his controlling interest in the clinic chain to his wife's trust shortly before he was inaugurated ... a complaint had been filed against Scott with the Florida Commission on Ethics...
Loss of education jobs will have ripple effect  Allentown Morning Call   ...If all jobs are eliminated on July 1 when school budgets take effect, that would be the single largest job cut in the Lehigh Valley since Bethlehem Steel let go 1,800 local employees...
Koch's web of influence  Center for Public Integrity   ...examination of lobbying disclosure files and federal regulatory records reveals a lobbying steamroller for the company’s interests, at times in conflict with its public pose...

Watch the anti-SB 5 rally in OH

If you didn't make it to the rally in Columbus last weekend, you can watch it here. Teamsters joined 11,000 union members and supporters to kick off the campaign to repeal the anti-worker bill known as SB 5. (You can pick them out holding "Stop the War on Workers" signs.)

We especially like the kid who says, "Governor Kasich, quit messing with my daddy."

Today's Teamster News 04.12.11

Teamsters rally to fight Pa. right-to-work bill  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette   ...A Teamsters rally today drew almost 400 laborers to the Capitol, where union leaders promised to bring thousands next time if lawmakers push through anti-worker legislation...
Inquiry needed  (opinion)  Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel   ...A full explanation into what happened with the vote tally in Waukesha County is required...
Unions gear up for Ohio fight  Akron Beacon Journal   ...Senate Bill 5 foes prepare to collect a half-million signatures for November referendum that would strike down new law...
Battle brews over who speaks for Florida firefighters, police officers and teachers  Naplesnews.com  ...Florida Chamber of Commerce recently released a 30-second television ad supporting legislation that would end automatic payroll deductions of union dues for government workers, and would require written authorization by union members for their dues to be used for any political activities...
Rick Snyder recap: Latest developments on the pension tax, job growth, and film incentives  mlive.com   ...Debate flares up on whether Snyder’s tax and budget plans will create jobs...
The Drought Is Over (At Least for CEOs)  New York Times   ...C.E.O.’s in finance, technology, energy and beyond are pulling down multimillion-dollar paychecks. What many of these executives aren’t doing, however, is hiring...
Why the United States Is Destroying Its Education System  (opinion)  truthdig.com   ...A nation that destroys its systems of education, degrades its public information, guts its public libraries and turns its airwaves into vehicles for cheap, mindless amusement becomes deaf, dumb and blind...

Today's Teamster News 04.11.11

Congresswoman Seeks Federal Investigation of Wisconsin Election  The Nation   ...Wisconsin Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin has asked U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to initiate a federal investigation into the questionable handling of disputed vote records in the state's Waukesha County...
Most Ohio big city mayors do not like collective bargaining law Gov. John Kasich says was intended to help them  Cleveland Plain Dealer   ...All but one of the mayors of the state's five largest cities are now publicly blasting SB5 as an attack on middle class families...
Third day of 'sleep-in' at Washington state capitol   NWCN.com   ...small groups of protesters have been permitted to sleep on the hard marble floor inside the central rotunda...
The Mindless Mantra of Wall Street: The Corporate Tax Rate Is Too High  CommonDreams.org   ...If these 100 companies had paid the 35% tax designated by U.S. tax law, an additional $150 billion would have been collected in federal taxes in just one year. This is approximately equal to the total budget deficits for all 50 states...
With aid and migrants, China expands its presence in a South American nation  New York Times   ...China’s aid to Suriname includes military assistance, construction of low-income housing, a plan to derive renewable energy from rice husks, help for shrimp farming and an upgrade of the state television network...
Teamsters fight to oust the PBA  Tallahassee.com   ...The Teamsters union is mounting a serious effort to replace the PBA as bargaining agent for probation and prison officers across the state...

Today's Teamster News 04.09.11

Hoffa: Possible Government Shutdown Will Harm Workers, Economy  IBT   ...“We elected these men and women to create jobs, not to put thousands of Americans out of work”...
2011 is not 1995  Washington Post   ...Right now, the economy is weak. Giving into austerity will weaken it further, or at least delay recovery for longer...
Thousands protest in Olympia over proposed budget cuts  The Seattle Times   ...The boisterous chant "We are union! We are one!" echoed throughout the state Capitol Friday as thousands of union members protested budget cuts in what was the largest labor rally this legislative session...
Teamsters to rally Monday at State Capitol  Central Penn Business Journal   ...to voice their objections to House Bill 50...which...would prohibit union membership or paying dues to a union as a condition for employment...
Do as Corbett says, not as he does?  Pocono Record   ...How about Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett, his highly paid administrators and state legislators donating part of their salaries to stem the budget deficit?...
Wisconsin court race won't be certified without probe  Reuters   ..."We're going to do a review of the procedures and the records in Waukesha before we certify the statewide results..."
Proud Ohio continues fight against union bill  ABC   ...Some small business owners are part of a grassroots program to support union workers. The program is called Proud Ohio Workers...
N.J. governor assails teachers union  Bloomberg   ... Good teachers do not need unions, he said. “They’re there to protect the lousy ones so they continue to pay their dues every year.’’...

How to fight the power in OH

This Saturday is the official kickoff for the citizens’ veto of SB5, which stripped Ohio government workers of their rights to collectively bargain. Teamsters will be out in full force at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, along with fellow union members and allies. More than 10,000 people are expected to turn out. They are all eager to get this anti-worker bill repealed.

Here are the basics on signing the petition to repeal SB5:

You can circulate petitions at work, as long as you are not on the clock and in non-work areas;

Any Ohio registered voter can sign a petition, but you have to sign a petition from the county in which you are registered to vote;

Petitions will be ready to circulate near the end of April;

Signatures can be collected up until June 30, 2011;

Check that you are registered to vote at http://www.sos.state.oh.us/.

For more information, check out a FAQ flier on repealing SB5 here.