Possible government closure is politics at its worst

Same stuff, different year. It's certainly true when it comes to a budget crisis in D.C.

If it seems like Congress has been down this federal government shutdown road before, that's of course because it has. As usual, it is one issue that a few lawmakers have gotten a bee in their bonnet about that is causing this. And they are willing to close the doors to the Capitol and throw millions out of work temporarily to prove their point.

Workers protested the last federal shutdown in October 2013.

Even though the public has time and again shown it doesn't support government shutdowns for whatever reason, that isn't stopping the most conservative elements of Congress from pushing for it. And if those on Capitol Hill decide to do it again, it will be yet another shining example of broken government.

As The Fiscal Times wrote:

Washington begins this week on high alert, with the very real prospect that federal workers will be sent packing, government buildings and museums will be shuttered and national parks and the Washington Monument will be closed to the public in a week and a half unless both sides come to their senses. Politics are as fractured as ever today, with right wing Republicans not only battling with President Obama and the Democrats over spending issues and the Iran nuclear deal, but also threatening to topple their own leaders.

The Teamsters, as part of our "Let's Get America Working" campaign, have stressed the need for government to work in a bipartisan manner to improve the lives of workers and the economy. Any move that shutters the government, obviously, doesn't help accomplish that goal. In fact, it just makes people more angry.

This union is pushing for rebuilding, repairing and reinvestment not only because it will improve infrastructure, but as a way to rebuild and repair the trust between government and workers by reinvesting in people that have and can continue to make this country great. Better pay will lead to more spending and improve our quality of life. That way we all win.

Nobody wins, however, when the federal government is shut down. Not politicians, not corporations, not the economy. And certainly not everyday Americans just trying to support their families.

Today's Teamster News 10.10.14

Teamster News
Strike called on Golden Gate Bridge bus lines for Oct. 17  sfgate.com   ...Buses operated by the Golden Gate Transportation District will not be crossing the Bay Area’s most famous bridge next Friday as workers from the Teamsters Union Local 856 and 665, which represents dispatchers, supervisors and maintenance crews, announced a one-day strike...
Local 237, Ex-Council Speaker In Push to Pass Women’s Equality Act  The Chief   ...Citing a recent agreement to settle a gender-pay lawsuit brought by its members against the city as an example of an incremental victory for income equality between the sexes, Teamsters Local 237 President Gregory Floyd joined former City Council Speaker Christine Quinn to gather political support for a long-stalled equal-rights bill...
Teamster Taxi Drivers Turn Out In Mass Again To Protest Unequal Treatment By D.C. City Council  IBT   ...Thousands of D.C. cab drivers affiliated with the Teamsters Union participated in a second “Fairness NOW!” caravan today throughout the city to demand equal regulatory treatment with private sedan services by the D.C. City Council...
County Rescinds Blood Draw Surcharge After Unions Object  Billings Gazette   ...A proposed surcharge on Yellowstone County employees who failed to participate in a health fair blood draw backfired this week after two unions objected. The county commissioners voted 3-0 on Tuesday to rescind the surcharge after the Teamsters and the Montana Public Employees Association both told the county the issue must be part of contract negotiations. The Teamsters Local 190 also filed a grievance...
Trade
Michael Perelman: Globalization, “Free Trade,” and Food as a Strategic Weapon  naked capitalilsm   ...much of the pressure to intensify globalization does not necessarily come from market successes, but often comes from disappointment in market outcomes. Dissatisfied that markets were not providing sufficient profits, powerful states adopted a strategy of pressuring their weaker counterparts to join in so called free trade deals...
TTIP's Threat To Democracy (opinion)  Huffington Post   ...TTIP marks the merging of the EU's common market with that of the United States, but without the social and political safeguards that at least theoretically exist in the EU. It is worth noting that little has been divulged in terms of the exact content and the extent of the risks to public services. But what we do know should be a matter of concern for everyone...
State Battles
Supreme Court blocks Wisconsin's voter ID law  USA Today   ...The Supreme Court on Thursday night blocked Wisconsin from implementing its new voter identification law on the eve of next month's elections. In a related action, a district court judge in Texas ruled that state's voter ID law is racially discriminatory and violates the Voting Rights Act. The state attorney general's office said it would appeal...
Parts Of North Carolina Law Limiting Vote Are Restored By Justices  New York Times   ...The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued a brief, unsigned order reinstating provisions of a North Carolina voting law that bar same-day registration and counting votes cast in the wrong precinct. A federal appeals court had blocked the provisions, saying they disproportionately harmed black voters...
Even After Gov. Sam Brownback’s Tax Cuts, Jobs Aren’t Fleeing Missouri To Kansas In The KC Area (opinion)  ...The tax cuts have led to deeper losses in state revenue than predicted. They have not created a significant growth in jobs that could begin to replace money lost from the tax reductions. The state’s bond rating has been reduced...
War on Workers
New York Airport Workers Go On Strike Over Ebola  Gawker   ...LaGuardia Airport employees responsible for cleaning airplanes and bathrooms staged a walkout this week, saying they're not being adequately protected against the Ebola virus...
Slow Hiring Shows That The Job Market Isn’t Fully Healed  FiveThirtyEight   ...Companies are posting new jobs a lot faster than they’re filling them. Employers hired nearly 300,000 fewer workers in August than in July. This has been a persistent problem in the recovery: Job openings have more than doubled since the recession ended, but hiring is up by just 27 percent...
As Trains Move Oil Bonanza, Delays Mount For Other Goods And Passengers  New York Times   ...An energy boom that has created a sharp increase in rail freight traffic nationwide is causing major delays for Amtrak passenger trains and is holding up the transport of vital consumer and industrial goods, including chemicals, coal and hundreds of thousands of new American cars, rail officials and federal and state regulators say...
Worker Killed After Fall From Truck In Ogden  Fox29   ...A worker has died after falling from a bucket truck in Delaware County, authorities say...
Construction worker dies near Correctionville  Cherokee Chronicle Times   ... Authorities say a construction worker has died after he was pinned under a piece of equipment in northwest Iowa...
Miscellaneous
Here's How Much Business S&P 500 Companies Generate Outside Of The US  Business Insider   ..."Foreign sales accounted for 33% of aggregate revenue for the S&P 500 in 2013," Goldman Sachs' Amanda Sneider writes...

A winning campaign slogan: 'Jail the bankers'

A very powerful Republican Congressman lost an election last night after his unknown opponent accused him of pampering bankers rather than jailing them.

Eric Cantor is the first House Majority Leader to lose an election since 1899. He spent $5 million on his campaign for the Republican nomination. His opponent, economics professor Dave Brat, spent $122,000.

Cantor's campaign spent more money at steakhouses over the past year ($168,000) than Brat spent on his ($122,000). 

But more important is where Cantor got his money (certainly not from unions). Politico reports Cantor's donors were...

...a who’s who of Beltway power players. Once seen as a top contender for House speaker, he had the support of 377 political action committees representing almost every major corporate and special interest from all sectors of the economy, including airlines, telecom, energy, food, and manufacturing groups. 

Here's what Brat had: A dislike of criminal bankers. The New Republic reported,

Speaking last month before the Mechanicsville Tea Party, Brat tied Cantor to Wall Street and big business, whom he blamed partly for the financial crisis. “All the investment banks in the New York and D.C.—those guys should have gone to jail. Instead of going to jail, they went on Eric’s Rolodex, and they are sending him big checks,” he said. Brat echoed these charges in a radio interview. “The crooks up on Wall Street and some of the big banks—I’m pro business, I’m just talking about the crooks—they didn’t go to jail they are on Eric’s Rolodex,” he said.

Looks like there may be more incumbents out of work in November.