Today's Teamster News 09.01.11

Wisconsin facing teacher exodus  Associated Press   ...teachers chose retirement over coming back following the passage of a bill that would have forced them to pay more for benefits and taken away most of their collective bargaining rights...
As Labor Day looms, the battle over SB 5 is joined (opinion)  Toledo Blade   ...the measure is not reform. It is extreme political posturing masquerading as responsible policy making...
State takes first steps to placing Emergency Managers in Flint and Highland Park  eclectablog   ...With only a $2 million deficit, (Flint) is still undergoing the initial review process. This is odd because ... other cities with much larger problems have had their requests for an EM denied...
Tea partiers join chorus vs. N.H. chair  Politico   ...New Hampshire Republicans are uniting ahead of embattled state party chairman Jack Kimball’s impending ouster — a marked contrast to the deep divide between the tea party and establishment wings Kimball warned would result from the efforts to remove him...
Russell Pearce recall: State's high court to consider appeal  The Arizona Republic   ...The Arizona Supreme Court will decide whether the Nov. 8 recall election for Senate President Russell Pearce will go forward...
The farmworkers are marching to Sacramento  San Francisco Chronicle   ...this march has drawn public attention to the union's cause, energized its members and current supporters and doubtless added to its many supporters worldwide...
The 10 States With the Worst Economies In America  Alternet   ... Mississippi, the Carolinas, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama are cheap-labor “right to work” states...

Today's Teamster News 06.26.11

John Nichols: Walker’s pay-to-play state budget  The Cap Times   ...Walker’s budget, the most fiscally and economically irresponsible in Wisconsin history, cheats Wisconsin taxpayers, families and communities in order to pay off his political benefactors...
Kasich’s $55.5 Billion Ohio Budget Will Sell Prisons  Bloomberg News   ...Kasich said there will be efforts apart from the budget to have companies take over state assets or services, including the lottery and the 241-mile (388-kilometer) Ohio Turnpike...
Financial Martial Law (P.A. 4) repeal gets a jump start in Ann Arbor  Eclectablog   ...nearly 100 local activists, concerned citizens and organizers got together for an informational townhall meeting...
Banner year for companies, not consumers  Palm Beach Post   ...The insurance bill Crist vetoed last year got passed and signed under Scott. It allows insurance companies to jack up rates 15 percent without getting approval from the Office of Insurance Regulation...
Workers target LePage at rally  Kennebec Journal   ...Workers rallied at the State House on Saturday to criticize Gov. Paul LePage for rejecting an offer to extend state worker contracts with no pay raises and for his decision to hire a (union-busting) New York lawyer to conduct negotiations...
Even for Cashiers, College Pays Off  New York Times   ...The educated American masses helped create the American century, as the economists Claudia Goldin and Lawrence Katz have written...

MI water privatized; is air next?

Among the distresssing trends brought to us by the Predator State is the privatization of water (along with any other taxpayer asset the crony capitalists can get their hands on).

In Michigan, residents of Pontiac are questioning why their emergency manager struck a deal with a water company that's been indicted for felony violations of the Clean Water Act. Chris Savage at Eclectablog broke the story a few weeks ago:

...in addition to dissolving Pontiac’s Planning Commission and replacing it with hand-picked, unelected members, (Emergency Financial Manager Michael) Stampfler privatized the water treatment services and hired United Water Services to takeover that role...United Water was indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice last December for violating the Clean Water Act...

(If you haven't been following, emergency financial managers are corporate stooges appointed by the governor and given dictatorial power over local governments. It used to be called taxation without representation, now it's called "value for money.")

Pontiac is pissed.  Reports the Oakland Press,

The wastewater treatment plants are a controversial topic in the city, with many people fearful the facilities will be sold off for pennies on the dollar.

Residents have been using Facebook to gripe about the deal, arguing Stampfler is continuing his push to privatize services and eliminate jobs.

“After what he did to our water and sewer department, he should have charges brought against him for conspiracy with United Water services, but then everyone knew Stampfler’s background and work history when they sat back and just let this guy come in and take over,” resident Marcia Battles wrote.

“The (emergency manager) acts like every employee for the city is rotten to the core, doesn’t trust or respect any of us and yet hires a bunch of criminals being brought up on charges for corruption and pays them with our money,” resident and activist Mona Hofmeister wrote.

Savage, bless him, is working to repeal the taxation without representation law. There's a town hall meeting in Ann Arbor on Saturday to talk about it, and a legal challenge will be announced today (stay tuned).

The Italian people are pretty ticked off about water privatization as well. Food & Water Watch reports Italian voters blocked the government's attempt to privatize water earlier this week. According to F&WW,

The Italian government had initially pushed for private sector assistance to repair an aging water system, and they passed a law that would privatize water by the end of the year. But, Italians already had a poor taste of what water privatization would be like after some communities had to deal with mismanaged water resources at the hands of a few multinational corporations. Boosted by support from the Roman Catholic clergy and others who demand that water be treated as a human right, the people of Italy have called for their water to be managed by a public entity.

57 percent of eligible voters turned out to the polls and voted by an astounding 96 percent. This is certainly a victory for water advocates around the globe. Water privatization typically leads to higher consumer costs and services that are managed with an emphasis on profit over quality and safety.

F&WW has a web page about water privatization around the globe. Check it out.

Today's Teamster News 05.19.11

Sorry for the light posting lately. Blogger was having technical difficulties.

Officials dismiss ethics complaints over anti-union bill The Wisconsin State Journal   ...including a complaint against Walker after he was recorded saying he and his staff considered planting political agitators among demonstrators protesting his the bill...
Poll shows Senate Bill 5 could be repealed  Columbus Dispatch   ...The measure to strip many collective bargaining rights from state and local government workers would be rejected by 18 points, 54 percent to 36 percent, says the Quinnipiac Poll...
Right-to-work bills headed for quiet death?  Bangor Daily News   ...Opponents of legislation dealing with union membership say procedural maneuvers launched Tuesday may signal a quiet death for the two bills...
Traverse City officials support Emergency Manager law repeal  Michigan Messenger   ...local officials ... gathered at the town’s public waterfront Monday to announce support for efforts to repeal the Emergency Manager law...
Christie’s Popularity Takes a Hit in New Polls  Wall Street Journal   ...For the first time in over a year, the ranks of New Jersey residents who disapprove of Gov. Chris Christie have surpassed those who approve of his performance...
Hey Corbett: Fix the Mess, Keep Your Word and Give Us Our Money Back (Opinion)  Canon-McMillan Patch   ...The mess is simple—this Republican budget hurts our children and raises our property taxes. You want to keep your promise and “fix this mess?" It’s real easy- give us our $1 billion surplus back so we can prevent these tax hikes...

Financial vultures are circling our cities and towns

Just when you thought Wall Street couldn't get any more avaricious, they do something so shameless it makes your head spin.

You'd think they'd be happy with a $4 trillion taxpayer bailout. But no, looting the federal treasury wasn't enough. Now they're figuring out how to plunder our cities and towns.

Wall Street's stooge in Michigan, Gov. Rick Snyder, set the stage by passing a financial manager law. The law lets appointees take over entire communities, override local laws, remove elected officials and abrogate union contracts. In the old days that was known as "taxation without representation." Today it's "value for money."

We've reported how Benton Harbor was stripped of its democratic rights. And we've reported how Snyder is building an army of emergency financial managers to take over municipalities across the state.

Today we learn what those eager beavers are thinking. Bloomberg Business Week, in a story called, "Financial Martial Law in Michigan," describes how one financial vulture views struggling municipalities: a chance to add to his loot.  Here a principal from accounting giant Grant Thornton describes a conversation he had with Michigan's treasurer:

"I told Andy Dillon: 'I want to copy your program and take it to other states.' We view this as a business opportunity. We can make a real meaningful difference for a lot of people. There's a nobility in that. If we can get paid for it, that's a good thing, too." -Michael Imber, a principal from the accounting and consulting firm Grant Thornton.

Here's more:

"This is the next wave of opportunity," says Scott Eisenberg, president of the Michigan Turnaround Management Assn "People are trying to figure out where the opportunity is. It may not be as emergency managers. It may be as consultants." And then Eisenberg says it—the sentiment that sounds reasonable to some and perverse to others: "This past recession brought forth a level of discipline and accountability and restructuring in the private sector that the public sector has not gone through yet. As a result there's no reason why you wouldn't use professionals to help. Good turnaround professionals will pay for themselves."

The emergency managers' salaries—which range from $150,000 for Stampfler to about $350,000 for Robert Bobb, the head of the Detroit school system—come out of local (or school) budgets. Consultants' fees could run about $150 an hour, estimates Eisenberg, a drop from what they're used to making but still lucrative.

Could it be any more obvious that this is about looting the middle class and not about solving our financial crisis.

Today's Teamster News 04.24.11

More Questions Of Koch Brothers’ Fingers In Scott Walker’s Wisconsin Pie As ‘Jason’ Identity Revealed?  Forbes   ...Is a Koch brothers' lobbyist working on a financial emergency bill for Wisconsin?
Rachel Maddow -- and lots of readers -- comment on Kalamazoo Gazette column on Benton Harbor  Kalamazoo Gazette   ... Benton Harbor's financial manager was appointed by Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm and the fight over the park is completely separate from the fight over the financial manager...
Scott won't sign Florida budget without tax cuts  South Florida Times   ...Neither House nor Senate budget bills include the $1.7 billion in corporate income and school property tax cuts Scott has proposed...
Toledoans turn out to help overturn SB 5  WNWO   ... there was a line just to get to the petitions that would give voters the opportunity to repeal Senate Bill 5...
Federal judge nixes request to replace Maine mural  Associated Press   ...U.S. District Judge John Woodcock ruled that Gov. Paul LePage's order to remove the 36-foot-long mural in late March constituted government speech, or the right of government to say what it wishes regardless of the viewpoint expressed...
Are China’s high-speed trains heading off the rails?  Washington Post   ...China’s expanding network of ultramodern high-speed trains has come under growing scrutiny here over costs and because of concerns that builders ignored safety standards in the quest to build faster trains in record time...
A Crack in Wall Street's Defenses  New York Times   ...“Somebody’s got to do something about Wall Street. It is destroying the country."

Today's Teamster News 04.22.11

47,291 public and private jobs to be lost from cuts to education sectors in Ohio  Policy Matters Ohio   ...The $2 billion in cuts to Ohio's primary, secondary and higher education proposed in House Bill 153 for the FY2012-13 budget may have a larger impact than just the direct jobs cut and the weakening of education in Ohio...
Elections overhaul passed by Fla. House  Associated Press   ...The bill's passage follows a string of Republican-led victories this legislative session, including overhauling the state's courts system, easing growth management laws and weakening public employee unions...
State Pension in Perspective  Bangor Daily News   ...Beginning many decades ago, the state did not set aside enough money each year to meet its pension obligations...
Detroit pension systems challenge Emergency Manager law  Michigan Messenger   ...Allowing Emergency Managers to take over pension funds will illegally change collective bargaining agreements and violate the property rights of city workers, they say...
Lynch urges people to fight spending cuts  Manchester Union-Leader   ...Warning of "egregious cuts" in the House-passed state budget, Gov. John Lynch is urging residents to call their state senators and implore them to spend more on human services, higher education, and public safety...
Some at Pa. universities get pay hikes  Lancaster Online   ...While the state universities' lowest paid workers are gearing up to fight a proposed 4 percent pay cut in July, their bosses already are putting extra money in their own pockets...
84 percent oppose Ryan’s Medicare plan  Washington Post   ...Almost 80 percent of Americans oppose Medicare cuts ... The only deficit-reduction option that is popular? Raising taxes on the rich...

Today's Teamster News 04.21.11

NH Teamsters Condemn Senate Vote Against the Middle Class  Local 633   ...Right-to-work's sole purpose is to destroy unions...
Wisconsin court race heads for recount  Reuters   ...the challenger in the close race for a seat on the state Supreme Court has asked for a recount...
Rick Scott: Forget the Oil Spill -- Let's Go Fishing!  Broward Palm Beach New Times   ... He's refusing to sue the owner of the Deepwater Horizon rig...
Michigan: SWATing Benton Harbor's Local Government  neon tommy   ...

(The) SWAT team of Emergency Financial Managers ... will be fully prepared to take action: removing elected school board members from office, closing schools, invalidating union contracts, suspending collective bargaining rights, selling public property, privatizing much-needed government services, removing elected local officials from office, and, finally, dissolving elected local governments altogether...

Big Brothers: Thought Control at Koch  The Nation   ... Koch Industries sent an urgent letter to most of its 50,000 employees advising them on whom to vote for and warning them about the dire consequences to their families, their jobs and their country should they choose to vote otherwise...

Labor Board Tells Boeing New Factory Breaks the Law  New York Times   ...Boeing’s decision to transfer a second production line for its new 787 Dreamliner passenger plane to South Carolina was motivated by an unlawful desire to retaliate against union workers for their past strikes in Washington...

Taxation without representation in Benton Harbor

If you're upset about the destruction of democracy in Benton Harbor, you ought to be. AmericaBlog has a great explanation of what's going on. Not only have residents been deprived of representation, publicly owned land is being turned over to wealthy interests for their own luxury golf course. Here's the story in a nutshel:

Benton Harbor, 85% black, with an average income of $10,000/year, is home to Whirlpool. A Whirlpool heir, Fred Upton, represents Benton Harbor in the U.S. House, and his former staffer, Al Pscholka, represents Benton Harbor in the state house. Pscholka's the guy who introduced the "financial martial law" bill. And thanks to that law, Benton Harbor is first to get it in the neck. Full circle.

What do the big boys have their eye on? Fiscal health for Benton Harbor? Not quite. They want to turn Benton Harbor's beautiful lakefront park into part of a beautiful rich-man's golf course and housing development, and with sweeping dictatorial powers, they can do it in a blink. (Much more at this Daily Kos link and in this earlier Maddow segment on Benton Harbor.)

Oh, and guess where Whirlpool just moved its Benton Harbor plant? You got it. Mexico.

Today's Teamster News 04.20.11

Teamsters president lobbys against anti-union bills in Missouri  Kansas City Star   ...“This is not about workers’ rights. It’s about getting rid of unions...”
Tea Party Activists Ready to Submit Recall Petitions Against Wisconsin Democrats  Slate   ...Don't be surprised to hear about a rush of petitions to recall Democrats in the next seven days...
Prosser Declares Win in Wisconsin Race With Recount Possible  Bloomberg   ...Challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg is deciding whether to seek a recount after Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David T. Prosser Jr. emerged with a 7,316-vote victory...
Oklahoma Senate approves collective bargaining repeal  The Oklahoman   ...The Senate on Tuesday sent Gov. Mary Fallin a bill that would strip collective bargaining rights from city employees in Oklahoma's largest cities...
Kasich comments on "shabby" benefits at Bob Evans  Columbus Dispatch   ...Five weeks ago, the state offered Bob Evans millions in incentives to ensure it did not move its headquarters out of the state...
Sarasota sees surge of independent voters  Herald-Tribune   ...Elections supervisors in the region say they have never seen such a dramatic shift away from the major parties...
Another labor battle brewing in Augusta  WLBZ.com   ...(A bill) would allow employers to pay students under the age of 20 a Training Wage that is two dollars below the minimum wage...
Detroit's pension boards sue over emergency manager law  Detroit News   ...The suit alleges the emergency manager statute is unconstitutional, would modify the City Charter and collective bargaining agreements and allow for the removal of pension fund trustees...
NH Senate to vote on right-to-work legislation  Boston Globe   ...Gov. John Lynch has said he will veto the bill, but Republicans hold supermajorities in both chambers and could override a veto...

Entire MI city stripped of democratic rights

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder is building an army of emergency financial managers to take over municipalities across the state. About 400 financial professionals, lawyers and others have started classes in Lansing on topics like "Dealing with the Unionized Workforce." Bloomberg quotes the training participants, and what they have to say is frightening:

"It enables qualified professionals to walk around cities and towns in Michigan and say, 'How can I help?'" said Michael Imber, a principal in Grant Thornton LLP’s corporate advisory and restructuring services group.

“A SWAT team is an OK way to look at this,” said Michigan State University's Eric Scorsone, an economist who helped organize the class with the turnaround association.

Corporate stooge Snyder signed a law in March giving power to emergency managers to take over Michigan schools and communities and abrogate union contracts. Now, these trainees will be taking over the jobs of Michigan's elected leaders.

Already, the impact has been felt in places like Benton Harbor, where an emergency financial manager appointed by Snyder has taken charge and issued an order taking away all powers of the city’s elected officials. DailyKos reports Joseph Harris, the financial manager, fired people on the Planning Commission and the Brownfield Development Commission in Benton Harbor and replaced them with his own picks. These commissions deal with real estate development and permits.

Real estate development is a big issue in Benton Harbor, a town that is 85 percent African American and has an average per capita annual income of $10,235. The residents of the town don't have much. Whirlpool pulled out its last manufacturing plant in March, taking all the jobs with it. What they do have is a nice waterfront community park.

Whirlpool has now decided to build Harbor Shores, a $500 million golf course and residential development, on the land where the park is part of a "public-private partnership" (translation: corporations looting the government) that will only help the wealthy visiting public, not the poor resident public.

The emergency financial manager bill was sponsored by Al Pscholka, the former aid to Rep. Fred Upton, a Whirlpool heir. Pscholka "represents" an area that includes Benton Harbor and is a former vice-president of a development company responsible for building Harbor Shores.

Benton Harbor's residents can't complain to the state because their park falls under local jurisdiction, and they can't complain to local leaders because they don't have any! What they have are emergency financial managers who have a stake in building a golf course. And since when does building a golf course constitute a financial emergency?

The residents of Benton Harbor won't be spending any time teeing off. An annual family pass to Harbor Shores costs $5,000, half the yearly income for a family in Benton Harbor.

There's a rally in Benton Harbor tomorrow to protest this shameful attack on working people. Here's the link to the event.

Today's Teamster News 04.18.11

World Bank president: 'One shock away from crisis'  BBC   ..."The crisis in the Middle East and North Africa underscores ... the importance of citizen security, justice and jobs," he said.
WATCH: Andrew Breitbart to Wisconsin Labor Activists: "Go to Hell"  Mother Jones   ...there's nothing hypocritical about describing a movement as uncivil and then blithely telling it to go to hell...
Unions fuming over Robert DeLeo’s ‘Wisconsin-esque’ budget  Boston Herald   ...It’s almost Wisconsin-esque, I would say, that they would eliminate our right to bargain, sit down and meet with our employer on the issue of health insurance,”...
SB 5 likely to swing voting  Columbus Dispatch   ...A state law that weakens public employees' bargaining power will take center stage in Columbus' mayoral and council races this year...
Detroit Moves Against Unions  Wall Street Journl   ...Robert Bobb, the head of the Detroit Public Schools, late last week sent layoff notices to the district's 5,466 salaried employees, including all of its teachers...
Retaking state: Floridians need to get active now (opinion)  Sun-Sentinel   ...Under the pretense of achieving fiscal soundness, Tallahassee is giving Florida an extreme makeover — as a state in which corporate interests trump people's rights and religious zealots tell everyone how to live...