Turning the tide on voter suppression

Voting rights is a key issue of our time, challenging democracy and the ability of the American people to participate in the electoral process as guaranteed under U.S. law.

N.C. residents took to the streets against voter suppression.

Many states in recent years have approved rules that tamp down on the ability of particularly minority voters to make it to the polls. An ongoing federal lawsuit challenging restrictive voter suppression rules approved by North Carolina lawmakers in 2013 stands as one of the leading examples of how legislatures across the country have tried to tip the scales toward a more corporate-friendly landscape.

As part of North Carolina NAACP v. McCrory, plaintiffs are rightfully questioning the trimming or eliminating measures that had been adopted over the previous 15 years in an effort to help boost electoral participation by minority and younger voters in North Carolina.

It appears even some of the proponents of those changes have had a change of heart in regards to the provisions they enacted two years ago. Gov. Pat McCrory (R.), for instance, recently signed into law changes that lessened the identification requirements to vote.

Efforts to defeat voter suppression or even make state laws less restrictive are actually on the rise, according to a panel that discussed the issue at the Netroots Nation conference in Phoenix last week. In fact, DeNora Getachew, campaign manager and legislative counsel for the Brennan Center's Democracy Program, said four times as many bills to expand voter rights were introduced in 2014 than to restrict them.

The trends we have seen ... is that the trend is actually in favor of increasing access to voting.

Participants from Nevada, Oregon and New Mexico discussed how building coalitions were essential to their efforts either to defeat stricter voting rules or to get measures passed that made it easier for state residents to cast a ballot. And in some instances, the results were truly monumental. In Oregon, for instance, the state earlier this year approved automatic voter registration.

The Teamsters have been active for years in registering union members to vote. That is the way this country makes sure the voices of all Americans are heard. Oregon is doing that. North Carolina isn't. Others need to follow the more inclusive model.

Today's Teamster News 04.29.13

Report: Hidden overseas accounts quietly rising to surface  Washington Post   ...The IRS has recouped more than $5.5 billion under a series of programs that offered reduced penalties and no jail time to people who voluntarily disclosed assets they were hiding overseas. In all, more than 39,000 tax cheats have come clean. But there’s more...
Bangladesh factory collapse: police detain owners, as death toll exceeds 350  The Observer   ...Police in Bangladesh have detained two factory owners for criminal negligence over the deaths of at least 352 workers at an eight-storey building that collapsed on Wednesday – a day after warnings had been given that it was unsafe...
Who really pays for our cheap clothes? (opinion)  CNN   ...The sad fact behind the building collapse in Bangladesh is that it isn't an isolated problem. The story will leave the headlines at the end of this week but today, hundreds of thousands of workers will return to factories that are frankly further tragedies waiting to happen, and will keep producing clothes for high street brands...
Bill to boost California minimum wage approved by panel  Los Angeles Times   ...AB 10, which would give California its first minimum wage increase since 2008, was approved by the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee on a party-line vote...
Pa. beer laws add juice to liquor privatization debate  Associated Press   ...Where you can buy beer in Pennsylvania will be the subject of debate in the coming weeks in the state Senate, pitting profit-seeking businesses against one another and perhaps even against beer drinkers’ wishes...
Anti-Worker "Paycheck Protection" Bills Moving in Missouri  PR Watch   ...Missouri is the latest front in the attack on organized labor with so-called "paycheck protection" bills moving through the legislature, with backing from the usual array of corporate interests. But according to the Washington D.C.-based Economic Policy Institute, the bills primarily disadvantage workers while preserving privileges for corporations...
New York City Employee Pension Funds Sue BP Over Gulf Oil Spill  Bloomberg News   ...New York City pension funds sued BP for at least $39 million in investment losses, saying the oil company failed to disclose the risks and safety issues leading to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico...
Primacy of pensions in city bankruptcy may be issue for U.S. court in July  Reuters   ...A U.S. judge in July could take up the issue of whether a bankrupt city can shield workers' pensions while inflicting heavy losses on bond holders and other creditors, a lawyer for California's pension fund for public employees said on Friday...
Moody's, S&P settle lawsuits over debt ratings Associated Press ...King County, WA and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank sued Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and Morgan Stanley, accusing “them of hiding risky investments” (this goes back to the mortgage crisis). There has been a settlement; details were not disclosed...
Teamsters Urge "Special Pay Issue" Raises For Florida Correctional Officers  IBT   ...The following is a statement from Teamsters International Vice President Ken Wood recalling a Presidential Proclamation on Correctional Officers issued on May 5, 1984...
Teamsters Local Win $5M for Department of Aviation Members  IBT   ... Teamsters Local 700 has recouped approximately $5 million in lost wages for City of Chicago workers who were sent home early without pay while working snow removal shifts at area airports from 2009-2011...

Today's Teamster News 04.29.11

Benton Harbor protest against emergency manager  WZZM-13   ...Hundreds of people gathered in Benton Harbor Wednesday to protest Michigan's emergency financial manager law...
Black caucus plans federal case against Emergency Manager law  Michigan Messenger   ...The Michigan Legislative Black Caucus is working with the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, Rep. John Conyers (D-Detroit), and others on a lawsuit to challenge Michigan’s Emergency Manager law...
MU says video distorted labor professors’ meaning  Kansas City Star   ...Videos released on the Internet showing two University of Missouri instructors advocating union violence totally distorted their comments, a university official said this afternoon...
Afraid To Face Angry Voters, Rep. Paul Ryan Sneaks Out a Back Door  Crooks and Liars   ...Paul Ryan is flipping out that town hall attendees aren't going to follow his command to "play nice" in front of the media....
Shadow Right Wing Policy Group Holds Summit in Cincinnati  Progress Ohio   ...They meet in secret. They write our laws. And they want us silent...
Teachers union sues Otter, Luna over reform law  Idaho Statesman   ...Members of Idaho's statewide teachers union have filed a lawsuit against the state, the governor and Idaho's public schools chief over a new law that phases out teacher tenure and wipes out collective bargaining over salaries and benefits...
Oregon Unions Put Their Fists in the Air  Willamette Week   ...Raising their fists and chanting, “Good jobs for all, ” about 2,500 Oregon union members and their supporters packed Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse Square today to protest stagnant job growth and government budget cuts...
Philly schools may cut nearly 1,300 teachers jobs  Associated Press   ...The Philadelphia public schools will have to cut 3,800 jobs—including almost 1,300 teachers—if the governor's planned budget cuts are approved, the district's budget chief said Wednesday...