Trade
The fight to save an industry and middle class jobs from imports Cleveland Plain Dealer ...The United States is losing middle class jobs; but those in the fight to limit steel imports are hoping they will be able to offer an example on how to save them. At its core, the effort to limit steel imports is part of a much bigger effort to save American jobs. Not just any job, but “decent-paying” and “family supporting” jobs, to draw upon the chants of organized labor...
State Battles
City council votes to repeal collective bargaining for some workers WANE.com ...In a 7-2 vote Tuesday night, Fort Wayne City Council approved an ordinance that will remove collective bargaining for some city workers. Council members had three ordinances to vote on Tuesday that would affect collective bargaining rights for most of the city’s union workers...
Scientists: Florida's congressional map is 'partisan gerrymander' Orlando Sentinel ...The coalition of groups trying to prove Florida's congressional map was intentionally gerrymandered to help Republicans turned to experts Tuesday who testified it was "virtually impossible" to have drawn the maps without political bias...
War On Workers
Supreme Court case could impact public unions Philadelphia Inquirer ...A largely overlooked Supreme Court case has the potential to fundamentally alter the right of public employees to unionize — and a ruling could be handed down as early as this week...
American jails have become the new mental asylums – and you're paying the bill (opinion) Guardian ...As sheriff, I run the Cook County Jail, the largest jail on a single site in the country with approximately 10,000 inmates on any given day – and approximately 30% of them suffering from a serious mental illness...
How Tech Companies Tricked A Generation Into Working For Free Forbes ...Valve’s Steam service is building an ecosystem of unwaged user productivity, selling games through its “Early Access” program, essentially allowing game developers to charge players to beta test their games in exchange for the flattering thrill of seeing something before it’s ready...
The Worst Places On The Planet To Be A Worker Huffington Post ...The U.S., embarrassingly, scored a 4, indicating "systematic violations" and "serious efforts to crush the collective voice of workers."s...
Walmart's Penny Pinching Doesn't Extend To Executives, Says Report Gawker ...The problems afflicting crap mecca Walmart extend beyond its persecuted workforce, all the way into the corporate executive suite. A new report from an outside overseer says the famously cheap company doesn't mind burning tons of money to benefit top executives...
Walmart Workers Launch Effort To Unseat Rob Walton As Chair Forbes Magazine ...Walmart has a new CEO in Doug McMillon, a one-time warehouse worker who took over the top job this year. Is it time for a new chairman too? A coalition of Walmart workers believe so, and they're mobilizing fellow shareholders in an effort to boot billionaire Rob Walton off the board at the big box giant's annual meeting on Friday, June 6...
Miscellaneous
VA investigators: Delayed care is everywhere USA Today ..."Our reviews at a growing number of VA medical facilities have thus far provided insight into the current extent of these inappropriate scheduling issues throughout the VA health care system and have confirmed that inappropriate scheduling practices" are widespread, the report said...
R.I.P., Maya Angelou, Proud Gun Owner and User National Review ...Angelou also emerged very late in life as an off-hand supporter of the right to bear arms. In a 2013 interview with Time magazine’s Belinda Luscombe, the ancient poetess talked Star Trek and death (“I’ll probably be writing when the Lord says, ‘Maya, Maya Angelou, it’s time’”), but she also recounted how she used a gun for home defense...
Showing posts with label prisons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label prisons. Show all posts
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Sunday, April 20, 2014
Today's Teamster News 04.20.14
Teamster News
SeaTac airport workers fight exclusion from $15 minimum wage PBS News Hour ...Tracey Thompson, Teamsters Local 117: It’s not just the represented workers that matter. It’s the non-represented workers, and women and persons of color are the ones who are suffering most by having such low minimum wage and poverty level wages here...
Animal rights protesters march outside Liam Neeson's home in support of horse ban New York Daily News ...About 60 activists gathered in front of Neeson’s building on Saturday, criticizing the actor for his support of the carriage horse industry...
Mayor Bill de Blasio's horse sense (opinion) Crain's New York Business ...when the mayor changed his mind last week, saying he'd postpone the industry ban until the end of the year, we welcomed the reprieve. Still, Mr. de Blasio's capricious approach to one industry continues to leave us concerned for every law-abiding business in this town. Apparently, following the rules and paying taxes is no longer sufficient for the privilege to try to earn a living in New York...
Trade
U.S.-Japan Talks Said Unable to Overcome Deal Obstacles Bloomberg ...U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and Japanese Minister for Economic and Fiscal Policy Akira Amari yesterday concluded talks in Washington on the Trans-Pacific Partnership without striking a deal on some of the most contentious issues...
State Battles
Local Media Fooled By Discredited Economic Competitiveness Report Media Matters ...Despite the uncritical, often glowing, pick-up by local media outlets, ALEC's competitiveness report has received scrutiny in the past, mostly due to evidence showing that economic data does not comport with the results of their study...
Column: Some fear Charles Koch's influence damages FSU's integrity Tampa Bay Tribune ...Koch's foundation has been funneling money to the economics department at FSU since 2008. This would be the same Koch who funds ultraconservative think tanks and preaches less government regulation...
Christina Bullins: Are our prisons safe in Florida? Florida Public Employees Partnership ...the inmate population had no significant changes. Despite the addition of 245 positions last year, the number of officers reported in DOC’s budget request is 727 officers less than the year before...
War on Workers
Jon Stewart Demolishes the NCAA's Case Against Student-Athlete Unions The Wire ...players are forbidden from accepting nearly any gifts, including food – just ask the Oklahoma players punished for being served "pasta in excess."...
Student debt holds back many would-be home buyers Los Angeles Times ...Of the many factors holding back young home buyers — rising prices, tougher lending standards, a still-shaky job market — none looms larger than the recent explosion of college debt...
UConn’s 2,135 graduate assistants unionize CT Mirror ...The governing board of the state's flagship university unanimously voted in a "special meeting" last week to approve an agreement between the newly formed union -- UConn GEU-UAW -- and the university...
Miscellaneous
Senator Holds Commuter Safety Presser, Almost Gets Hit By Train Gawker ...Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal received an unexpected lesson in practicing what you preach at a press conference yesterday. Standing on the platform at the Milford Metro-North station, Blumenthal and his easel narrowly dodged an oncoming train as Milford Mayor Ben Blake spoke about commuter safety...
SeaTac airport workers fight exclusion from $15 minimum wage PBS News Hour ...Tracey Thompson, Teamsters Local 117: It’s not just the represented workers that matter. It’s the non-represented workers, and women and persons of color are the ones who are suffering most by having such low minimum wage and poverty level wages here...
Animal rights protesters march outside Liam Neeson's home in support of horse ban New York Daily News ...About 60 activists gathered in front of Neeson’s building on Saturday, criticizing the actor for his support of the carriage horse industry...
Mayor Bill de Blasio's horse sense (opinion) Crain's New York Business ...when the mayor changed his mind last week, saying he'd postpone the industry ban until the end of the year, we welcomed the reprieve. Still, Mr. de Blasio's capricious approach to one industry continues to leave us concerned for every law-abiding business in this town. Apparently, following the rules and paying taxes is no longer sufficient for the privilege to try to earn a living in New York...
Trade
U.S.-Japan Talks Said Unable to Overcome Deal Obstacles Bloomberg ...U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and Japanese Minister for Economic and Fiscal Policy Akira Amari yesterday concluded talks in Washington on the Trans-Pacific Partnership without striking a deal on some of the most contentious issues...
State Battles
Local Media Fooled By Discredited Economic Competitiveness Report Media Matters ...Despite the uncritical, often glowing, pick-up by local media outlets, ALEC's competitiveness report has received scrutiny in the past, mostly due to evidence showing that economic data does not comport with the results of their study...
Column: Some fear Charles Koch's influence damages FSU's integrity Tampa Bay Tribune ...Koch's foundation has been funneling money to the economics department at FSU since 2008. This would be the same Koch who funds ultraconservative think tanks and preaches less government regulation...
Christina Bullins: Are our prisons safe in Florida? Florida Public Employees Partnership ...the inmate population had no significant changes. Despite the addition of 245 positions last year, the number of officers reported in DOC’s budget request is 727 officers less than the year before...
War on Workers
Jon Stewart Demolishes the NCAA's Case Against Student-Athlete Unions The Wire ...players are forbidden from accepting nearly any gifts, including food – just ask the Oklahoma players punished for being served "pasta in excess."...
Student debt holds back many would-be home buyers Los Angeles Times ...Of the many factors holding back young home buyers — rising prices, tougher lending standards, a still-shaky job market — none looms larger than the recent explosion of college debt...
UConn’s 2,135 graduate assistants unionize CT Mirror ...The governing board of the state's flagship university unanimously voted in a "special meeting" last week to approve an agreement between the newly formed union -- UConn GEU-UAW -- and the university...
Miscellaneous
Senator Holds Commuter Safety Presser, Almost Gets Hit By Train Gawker ...Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal received an unexpected lesson in practicing what you preach at a press conference yesterday. Standing on the platform at the Milford Metro-North station, Blumenthal and his easel narrowly dodged an oncoming train as Milford Mayor Ben Blake spoke about commuter safety...
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Today's Teamster News 12.31.13
Northern Tier shuts crude distillation unit -union Reuters ...Chris Riley, the business agent for Teamsters Local 120, which represents workers at the 89,500-barrel-per-day (bpd) plant in St. Paul, Minnesota, said a maintenance problem prompted the shutdown of the larger of two crude units for six to seven days. The unit shutdown at Northern Tier's only refinery came as a Dec. 31 contract expiration loomed. The union was considering a strike...
Train Derailment Causes Fiery Destruction In Casselton, ND Associated Press ...Authorities urged residents to evacuate a small North Dakota town Monday night after a mile-long train carrying crude oil derailed outside of town, shaking residents with a series of explosions that sent flames and black smoke skyward...
Fired Walmart Warehouse Workers Win $50,000 in Back Pay In These Times ... Last Monday, just days after a Walmart contractor agreed to pay out $4.7 million for alleged wage theft to more than 500 warehouse workers in southern California, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) secured a settlement over illegal retaliation against employees at the retail giant's distribution center in Elwood, Ill...
Clothing Brands Sidestep Blame for Safety Lapses New York Times ... four brands agreed last week to help finance a landmark $40 million compensation fund for the victims. But many other brands, including Mango, have so far refused to contribute to the fund…
Out of jobs, out of benefits, out of luck (Opinion. Note the author.) CNN ...People who can't work still must eat. Americans in distress have a claim on the rest of the nation. Extend unemployment insurance. Sustain food stamps. While we're looking for a new deal, at least quit deluding ourselves that the old deal is still operable. It's not...
I worked on the US drone program. The public should know what really goes on (opinion) The Guardian ... "How many soldiers have you seen die on the side of a road in Afghanistan because our ever-so-accurate UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] were unable to detect an IED [improvised explosive device] that awaited their convoy?"...
Younger military veterans are angered by budget cuts to their pension benefits Washington Post ...The plan to trim pension increases for working-age military retirees such as Preston is by far the most controversial provision in a bipartisan budget deal approved by Congress and signed last week by President Obama...
Nafta at 20 (.pdf) Public Citizen ...One Million U.S. Jobs Lost, Mass Displacement and Instability in Mexico, Record Income Inequality, Scores of Corporate Attacks on Environmental and Health Laws...
Moguls Rent South Dakota Addresses to Shelter Wealth Forever Bloomberg ...South Dakota’s sudden popularity illustrates how, at a time of rising U.S. economic inequality, the wealthiest Americans are embracing ever more creative ways to reduce taxes legally...
Ikea Isn't Only Furnishing Your Bedroom, It's Watching You There truthout ...Ikea has been able to access personal records including bank account information, driving records, vehicle registrations and property records. It has used these in vetting job applicants and in building cases against employees accused of wrongdoing...
South Korea's railway workers end three-week strike Straits Times ...Thousands of South Korean railway workers agreed on Monday to end a three-week partial strike after lawmakers promised to reflect their opinions in the government's controversial plan to reorganise railway services...
Greek prison system collapsing, labeled 'inhuman' Associated Press ...The crisis is playing out as Greece goes through a dramatic economic meltdown. As a result, prison populations are surging even as funds for guards and facilities are shrinking, a toxic mix that police and justice officials warn could explode in violence at any time...
Train Derailment Causes Fiery Destruction In Casselton, ND Associated Press ...Authorities urged residents to evacuate a small North Dakota town Monday night after a mile-long train carrying crude oil derailed outside of town, shaking residents with a series of explosions that sent flames and black smoke skyward...
Fired Walmart Warehouse Workers Win $50,000 in Back Pay In These Times ... Last Monday, just days after a Walmart contractor agreed to pay out $4.7 million for alleged wage theft to more than 500 warehouse workers in southern California, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) secured a settlement over illegal retaliation against employees at the retail giant's distribution center in Elwood, Ill...
Clothing Brands Sidestep Blame for Safety Lapses New York Times ... four brands agreed last week to help finance a landmark $40 million compensation fund for the victims. But many other brands, including Mango, have so far refused to contribute to the fund…
Out of jobs, out of benefits, out of luck (Opinion. Note the author.) CNN ...People who can't work still must eat. Americans in distress have a claim on the rest of the nation. Extend unemployment insurance. Sustain food stamps. While we're looking for a new deal, at least quit deluding ourselves that the old deal is still operable. It's not...
I worked on the US drone program. The public should know what really goes on (opinion) The Guardian ... "How many soldiers have you seen die on the side of a road in Afghanistan because our ever-so-accurate UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] were unable to detect an IED [improvised explosive device] that awaited their convoy?"...
Younger military veterans are angered by budget cuts to their pension benefits Washington Post ...The plan to trim pension increases for working-age military retirees such as Preston is by far the most controversial provision in a bipartisan budget deal approved by Congress and signed last week by President Obama...
Nafta at 20 (.pdf) Public Citizen ...One Million U.S. Jobs Lost, Mass Displacement and Instability in Mexico, Record Income Inequality, Scores of Corporate Attacks on Environmental and Health Laws...
Moguls Rent South Dakota Addresses to Shelter Wealth Forever Bloomberg ...South Dakota’s sudden popularity illustrates how, at a time of rising U.S. economic inequality, the wealthiest Americans are embracing ever more creative ways to reduce taxes legally...
Ikea Isn't Only Furnishing Your Bedroom, It's Watching You There truthout ...Ikea has been able to access personal records including bank account information, driving records, vehicle registrations and property records. It has used these in vetting job applicants and in building cases against employees accused of wrongdoing...
South Korea's railway workers end three-week strike Straits Times ...Thousands of South Korean railway workers agreed on Monday to end a three-week partial strike after lawmakers promised to reflect their opinions in the government's controversial plan to reorganise railway services...
Greek prison system collapsing, labeled 'inhuman' Associated Press ...The crisis is playing out as Greece goes through a dramatic economic meltdown. As a result, prison populations are surging even as funds for guards and facilities are shrinking, a toxic mix that police and justice officials warn could explode in violence at any time...
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Today's Teamster News 11.12.13
Teamsters Union Ad Criticizes Dart On Prison Staffing, Spending CBS Chicago ...The Teamsters Union – representing law enforcement officers at the Cook County Sheriff’s office – has taken out a full-page newspaper ad criticizing the sheriff’s staffing and spending priorities...
YRC to Teamsters: Make a deal or else Kansas City Business Journal ...YRC needs the help of the Teamsters, which represent more than 25,000 of the company's 32,000 employees. The company and union are operating under a labor agreement that lasts through March 2015. YRC wants to extend the pact, which includes a range of employee concessions...
Anheuser-Busch, Local 267 Teamsters begin contract talks Coloradoan.com ...Anheuser-Busch/InBev and the Teamsters union are starting their first contract negotiations since InBev purchased the iconic U.S. label in 2008. That means Local 267’s Howie Dorsher is busy juggling day-to-day union operations, representing about 500 members at the Fort Collins brewery and keeping abreast of national contract talks...
Iraq Vet: Losing Home ‘Worse Than Getting Blown Up’ truthdig ...Twenty-six year National Guardsman Jerrod Hays lost nearly half his face to a roadside bomb in Iraq. Now, like too many other Americans, he could lose his home to banks...
Amazon Teams With USPS For Sunday Delivery Slate ...Starting this week, the postal service will bring Amazon packages on Sundays to shoppers' doors in the Los Angeles and New York metropolitan areas at no extra charge. Next year, it plans to roll out year-round Sunday delivery to Dallas, New Orleans, Phoenix and other cities....
Unless Social Security Is Expanded with Increased Funding, We Face An Unprecedented Crisis of Millions of Baby Boomers In Poverty Alternet ...A majority of Americans, especially women and people of color, will spend their final years living in poverty in coming decades unless Social Security is improved and expanded ... and there are many fair ways to accomplish that, experts told a congressional briefing last week...
EU and US resume trade deal talks BBC News ...The EU and US have begun a second round of negotiations towards creating the world's biggest free-trade deal...
180,000 pounds of food recalled in E. coli scare Salon ...This Sunday, Glass Onion Catering of Richmond, Calif., recalled approximately 181,620 pounds of ready-to-eat salads and sandwich wraps that may be contaminated with E. coli. According to the USDA the items were produced between Sept. 23 and Nov. 6, and were sent off to distribution sites in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, Utah and Washington...
Report: Bloomberg News Spikes Stories That Could Anger China Slate ...Bloomberg News editors are telling reporters that cover Chinese news that they have to tread carefully, and are reportedly spiking stories deemed too sensitive out of fear that Beijing will make it impossible for the company to continue operating in the world’s second-largest economy...
Sweden closes four prisons as number of inmates plummets The Guardian ...Decline partly put down to strong focus on rehabilitation and more lenient sentences for some offences...
Mexico authorities say U.S. man led kidnapping ring Associated Press ...Mexican authorities say a U.S. citizen who once served in the U.S. Navy and was a police officer in Texas has been detained in northern Mexico for allegedly heading a group of kidnappers...
NSA revelations unleash flood of new customers for privacy products SFGate.com ...the unremitting surveillance scandal could take billion dollar bites out of businesses whose stock in trade is user information — which is to say, much of the online economy today...
YRC to Teamsters: Make a deal or else Kansas City Business Journal ...YRC needs the help of the Teamsters, which represent more than 25,000 of the company's 32,000 employees. The company and union are operating under a labor agreement that lasts through March 2015. YRC wants to extend the pact, which includes a range of employee concessions...
Anheuser-Busch, Local 267 Teamsters begin contract talks Coloradoan.com ...Anheuser-Busch/InBev and the Teamsters union are starting their first contract negotiations since InBev purchased the iconic U.S. label in 2008. That means Local 267’s Howie Dorsher is busy juggling day-to-day union operations, representing about 500 members at the Fort Collins brewery and keeping abreast of national contract talks...
Iraq Vet: Losing Home ‘Worse Than Getting Blown Up’ truthdig ...Twenty-six year National Guardsman Jerrod Hays lost nearly half his face to a roadside bomb in Iraq. Now, like too many other Americans, he could lose his home to banks...
Amazon Teams With USPS For Sunday Delivery Slate ...Starting this week, the postal service will bring Amazon packages on Sundays to shoppers' doors in the Los Angeles and New York metropolitan areas at no extra charge. Next year, it plans to roll out year-round Sunday delivery to Dallas, New Orleans, Phoenix and other cities....
Unless Social Security Is Expanded with Increased Funding, We Face An Unprecedented Crisis of Millions of Baby Boomers In Poverty Alternet ...A majority of Americans, especially women and people of color, will spend their final years living in poverty in coming decades unless Social Security is improved and expanded ... and there are many fair ways to accomplish that, experts told a congressional briefing last week...
EU and US resume trade deal talks BBC News ...The EU and US have begun a second round of negotiations towards creating the world's biggest free-trade deal...
180,000 pounds of food recalled in E. coli scare Salon ...This Sunday, Glass Onion Catering of Richmond, Calif., recalled approximately 181,620 pounds of ready-to-eat salads and sandwich wraps that may be contaminated with E. coli. According to the USDA the items were produced between Sept. 23 and Nov. 6, and were sent off to distribution sites in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, Utah and Washington...
Report: Bloomberg News Spikes Stories That Could Anger China Slate ...Bloomberg News editors are telling reporters that cover Chinese news that they have to tread carefully, and are reportedly spiking stories deemed too sensitive out of fear that Beijing will make it impossible for the company to continue operating in the world’s second-largest economy...
Sweden closes four prisons as number of inmates plummets The Guardian ...Decline partly put down to strong focus on rehabilitation and more lenient sentences for some offences...
Mexico authorities say U.S. man led kidnapping ring Associated Press ...Mexican authorities say a U.S. citizen who once served in the U.S. Navy and was a police officer in Texas has been detained in northern Mexico for allegedly heading a group of kidnappers...
NSA revelations unleash flood of new customers for privacy products SFGate.com ...the unremitting surveillance scandal could take billion dollar bites out of businesses whose stock in trade is user information — which is to say, much of the online economy today...
Monday, November 11, 2013
Today's Teamster News 11.11.13
Today is Veterans Day. Remember to thank the veterans you know for their service. And check out the Teamsters Facebook page, where photos of Teamster veterans are being posted.
Mayor's Spokesperson Is Sorry If Anyone Thought His 'Third-World Taxicab System' Comment Was Offensive DCist ..."Those words are hurtful to each and every driver who works long days—often up to 16 hours, seven days a week—and who earn about $25,000 to $30,000 per year providing a valuable service," the statement from the Teamsters-affiliated association continued...
Teamsters choose sides in Inquirer owners' dispute philly.com ...The union local representing more than 325 truck drivers and other employees for The Inquirer on Sunday declared its support for the two newspaper co-owners seeking to reinstate fired editor William K. Marimow. During its monthly meeting in Bridesburg, Teamsters Local 628 president John P. Laigaie said the owners, Lewis Katz and H.F. "Gerry" Lenfest, would preserve the editorial integrity of the paper...
Everyone In America Is Even More Broke Than You Think Huffington Post ...more than half of U.S. wage earners made less than $30,000 last year, according to an analysis released by the Social Security Administration on Tuesday. That's not far above the $27,010 that marked the federal poverty line for a family of five in 2012...
The Pension Theft Crime Wave Rages On Alternet ...Rhode Island ... handed more than $1 billion in pension funds over to hedge fund companies to manage—in exchange for an expected $2.1 billion in fees over 20 years, effectively taken straight out of the pockets of retirees, who would forego $2.3 billion in COLAs over the same period...
Wal-Mart: An economic cancer on our cities Salon ... the small businesses that occupied the old Penney’s building employed fourteen people, which doesn’t seem like many until you realize that this is actually seventy-four jobs per acre, compared with the fewer than six jobs per acre created on a sprawling Walmart site...
Children Locked Up For Life: 10 Shockers About America's Prison System Alternet ...Twice as many people rot in prison for crack use than for violent crimes. Children are being locked up for life. What's wrong with our criminal justice system?...
Chinese labor camp inmate tells of true horror of Halloween 'SOS' CNN ..."Making products turned out to be an escape from the horrible violence," he said. "We thought we could protect ourselves, and avoid verbal and physical assaults as long as we worked and did the job well..."
Seattle council race tightens; socialist Sawant has 49.5% of vote The Seattle Times ...Kshama Sawant has steadily gained ground on Councilmember Richard Conlin, giving her a chance to pull off a shocking turnaround victory and become the first socialist on the Seattle City Council in modern history...
Every Green vote was a conscious vote Green Party ...40% for a Green Party candidate (for Syracuse, N.Y., Council) where the Democratic Party threw everything it had into the race is nothing to be discouraged about. Our capacity in terms of volunteers, fundraising, and campaign skills exploded. We offered realistic and positive alternatives to a status quo that is failing...
Your daily jolt: A Chamber-sponsored alternative to ALEC Atlanta Journal-Constitution ...One of the main generators of model legislation in Georgia and other red states has been the American Legislative Exchange Council, an organization sometimes criticized for its conservative social agenda. An alternative has sprung up recently, and come January it will be chaired by Chris Clark, the president and CEO of the Georgia Chamber...
For the First Time Ever, a Prosecutor Will Go to Jail for Wrongfully Convicting an Innocent Man Alternet ...Today in Texas, former prosecutor and judge Ken Anderson pled guilty to intentionally failing to disclose evidence in a case that sent an innocent man, Michael Morton, to prison for the murder of his wife...
It’s possible to end homelessness for veterans. Here’s where Maine stands so far Bangor Daily News ...Veterans Housing Services has served 308 veterans — either preventing homelessness or securing safe, permanent housing for homeless veterans and their families as quickly as possible...
Mayor's Spokesperson Is Sorry If Anyone Thought His 'Third-World Taxicab System' Comment Was Offensive DCist ..."Those words are hurtful to each and every driver who works long days—often up to 16 hours, seven days a week—and who earn about $25,000 to $30,000 per year providing a valuable service," the statement from the Teamsters-affiliated association continued...
Teamsters choose sides in Inquirer owners' dispute philly.com ...The union local representing more than 325 truck drivers and other employees for The Inquirer on Sunday declared its support for the two newspaper co-owners seeking to reinstate fired editor William K. Marimow. During its monthly meeting in Bridesburg, Teamsters Local 628 president John P. Laigaie said the owners, Lewis Katz and H.F. "Gerry" Lenfest, would preserve the editorial integrity of the paper...
Everyone In America Is Even More Broke Than You Think Huffington Post ...more than half of U.S. wage earners made less than $30,000 last year, according to an analysis released by the Social Security Administration on Tuesday. That's not far above the $27,010 that marked the federal poverty line for a family of five in 2012...
The Pension Theft Crime Wave Rages On Alternet ...Rhode Island ... handed more than $1 billion in pension funds over to hedge fund companies to manage—in exchange for an expected $2.1 billion in fees over 20 years, effectively taken straight out of the pockets of retirees, who would forego $2.3 billion in COLAs over the same period...
Wal-Mart: An economic cancer on our cities Salon ... the small businesses that occupied the old Penney’s building employed fourteen people, which doesn’t seem like many until you realize that this is actually seventy-four jobs per acre, compared with the fewer than six jobs per acre created on a sprawling Walmart site...
Children Locked Up For Life: 10 Shockers About America's Prison System Alternet ...Twice as many people rot in prison for crack use than for violent crimes. Children are being locked up for life. What's wrong with our criminal justice system?...
Chinese labor camp inmate tells of true horror of Halloween 'SOS' CNN ..."Making products turned out to be an escape from the horrible violence," he said. "We thought we could protect ourselves, and avoid verbal and physical assaults as long as we worked and did the job well..."
Seattle council race tightens; socialist Sawant has 49.5% of vote The Seattle Times ...Kshama Sawant has steadily gained ground on Councilmember Richard Conlin, giving her a chance to pull off a shocking turnaround victory and become the first socialist on the Seattle City Council in modern history...
Every Green vote was a conscious vote Green Party ...40% for a Green Party candidate (for Syracuse, N.Y., Council) where the Democratic Party threw everything it had into the race is nothing to be discouraged about. Our capacity in terms of volunteers, fundraising, and campaign skills exploded. We offered realistic and positive alternatives to a status quo that is failing...
Your daily jolt: A Chamber-sponsored alternative to ALEC Atlanta Journal-Constitution ...One of the main generators of model legislation in Georgia and other red states has been the American Legislative Exchange Council, an organization sometimes criticized for its conservative social agenda. An alternative has sprung up recently, and come January it will be chaired by Chris Clark, the president and CEO of the Georgia Chamber...
For the First Time Ever, a Prosecutor Will Go to Jail for Wrongfully Convicting an Innocent Man Alternet ...Today in Texas, former prosecutor and judge Ken Anderson pled guilty to intentionally failing to disclose evidence in a case that sent an innocent man, Michael Morton, to prison for the murder of his wife...
It’s possible to end homelessness for veterans. Here’s where Maine stands so far Bangor Daily News ...Veterans Housing Services has served 308 veterans — either preventing homelessness or securing safe, permanent housing for homeless veterans and their families as quickly as possible...
Saturday, November 9, 2013
Today's Teamster News 11.09.13
New Three-Year Contract For Teamsters At Hershey Medical Center teamster.org ...Hershey Medical Center members of Teamsters Local 776 concluded voting on a new three-year contract today. The proposed agreement was approved by a majority of those who cast ballots and covers more than 900 workers employed as clinical, supportive services and skilled trade workers at the medical facility...
Wegman's, Teamsters Announce Deal WHAM News ...The Teamsters Local 118 union announced Friday it reached a collective bargaining agreement with Wegmans, ending nine months of negotiations...
Calif. workers get $516M in bonus pay Associated Press ...A $1,000 bonus for parking attendants at the state Department of Food and Agriculture, a perk negotiated by the Teamsters Union...
Elected officials, union call for incoming NYC Controller to audit the city Housing Authority New York Daily News ...“We’re calling for a forensic audit of this agency so we can get things right,” Congresswoman Yvette Clarke (D-Brooklyn) said at a meeting convened by Teamsters Local 237, the union representing 8,000 NYCHA workers...
Threat of a workers' strike looms at Shoreway Recycling Center in San Carlos San Jose Mercury News ...Almost all of South Bay Recycling's 100 workers -- including drivers, equipment operators, mechanics and clerks -- are represented by the Teamsters Local 350 under three collective bargaining agreements...
Global Labour Leaders Vow Action in Richmond Ikea Fight The Tyee ...The two international labour leaders are members of a fact-finding panel invited to investigate the strike/lockout by the B.C. Federation of Labour and the Teamsters Union, which represents the IKEA workers...
Dominick's warns of 5,600 layoffs as stores prepare to close Chicago Tribune ...Some 4,000 Dominick's workers are represented by United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1546, with another 2,000 or so in UFCW Local 881. Teamsters Local 703 represents 65 drivers and 220 workers out of Dominick's Northlake warehouse...
D.C. Mayor: Apologize to City’s Taxi Drivers For Demeaning Remark teamster.org ...The Teamster-affiliated Washington, D.C. Taxi Operators Association is calling on Washington, D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray to publicly apologize for the shameful and callous comment made by his spokesman in an article about the lawsuit filed by the association...
Mayor's Spokesperson Is Sorry If Anyone Thought His 'Third-World Taxicab System' Comment Was Offensive DCist ...“For the past few years the drivers have been their own worst enemy,” Pedro Ribeiro told Washingtonian. “We barely have a third-world taxicab system in this city.” The Teamsters then sent out a release, saying Ribeiro's statement is "offensive and it demeans the more than 6,000 taxicab drivers in the District, many of whom are from developing countries in Africa and the Middle East..."
Boston Parking Workers Ratify Historic Contract teamster.org ...The contract is the first Teamster contract for parking workers in the Boston area. It provides workers with a pension and wage increases of up to 11.2 percent over the life of the contract...
October Unemployment Report Shows Almost a Million Drop Out of Labor Force Economic Populist ...There were 932,000 more people considered not in the labor force for October 2013 according to the BLS employment report. The labor participation rate plummeted to a new low of 62.8%...
In Los Angeles, 50 Workers Arrested in Biggest Civil Disobedience against Walmart -- Ever! Alternet ...Hundreds protested against Walmart’s “poverty wages” outside L.A’s Chinatown Walmart...
OSHA plans online reports Associated Press ...Safety data would be public; industry groups opposed...
Oil Train Derails and Explodes in Alabama Alternet ...A 90-car crude oil train derailed and exploded in Alabama early Friday morning, spilling oil and causing flames that shot 300 feet into the sky...
Boeing says options open as workers protest 777X offer Reuters ...The 777X program would secure thousands of jobs in the Seattle area, which is competing with non-unionized workers in southern U.S. states where wages are lower...
State House for Sale: Big businesses pay off in jobs, political contributions The State ...There is good reason for S.C. politicians to feel an affinity for Boeing, Michelin and BMW. The three companies and tire maker Bridgestone have created – or promised to create – almost 8,000 jobs in work-starved South Carolina since 2008. In return, the four also have received – or stand to get – more than $800 million in state incentives and tax breaks. But that’s not all. Since 2008, the four companies also have contributed almost $600,000 to the campaign coffers of S.C. politicians, political action committees, political parties and caucuses, S.C. Ethics Commission records show...
Why Does JPMorgan Still Have A Banking License? The Automatic Earth ...JPMorgan's total assets amount to $2.509 trillion, its derivatives exposure is $70-$80 trillion, and it's certainly too big to fail and systemically important. But seeing a list like this, how can anyone not wonder that if this is what the system depends on, the system itself is so rotten we need to get rid of it?...
New York Fed Chief Levels Explosive Charge Against Big Banks Huffington Post ...The head of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said Thursday that some of America’s largest financial institutions appear to lack respect for the law, a potentially explosive charge against an industry already roiling from numerous government investigations into alleged wrongdoing...
Spire, Beacon of 1 World Trade Light Up NYC Associated Press ...The beacon and spire together stand 408 feet tall and bring the building, formerly called the Freedom Tower, to its symbolic height of 1,776 feet...
Mexican Mayor Who Denounced Extortion Found Dead Associated Press ...Officials said Friday that a crusading small-town Mexican mayor who denounced cartel extortion has been found dead on a roadside, a killing that has drawn national attention...
Senate Republicans Take Aim At Working Americans teamster.org ...The war on workers went national this week, led by the Senate’s GOP leader...
Gov. Scott Walker says typical Wisconsin homeowner will save $680 in property taxes over four years Politifact ...We rate his claim Pants on Fire...
California was sterilizing its female prisoners as late as 2010 The Guardian ...Doctors under contract with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation sterilized nearly 150 female inmates from 2006 to 2010 without required state approvals – and there were perhaps 100 more dating back to the late 1990s...
Homelessness a growing challenge for Illinois schools Chicago Tribune ...more than 600 schools — about 15 percent of Illinois schools — report homeless student populations of at least double the state average of 2 percent...
Wegman's, Teamsters Announce Deal WHAM News ...The Teamsters Local 118 union announced Friday it reached a collective bargaining agreement with Wegmans, ending nine months of negotiations...
Calif. workers get $516M in bonus pay Associated Press ...A $1,000 bonus for parking attendants at the state Department of Food and Agriculture, a perk negotiated by the Teamsters Union...
Elected officials, union call for incoming NYC Controller to audit the city Housing Authority New York Daily News ...“We’re calling for a forensic audit of this agency so we can get things right,” Congresswoman Yvette Clarke (D-Brooklyn) said at a meeting convened by Teamsters Local 237, the union representing 8,000 NYCHA workers...
Threat of a workers' strike looms at Shoreway Recycling Center in San Carlos San Jose Mercury News ...Almost all of South Bay Recycling's 100 workers -- including drivers, equipment operators, mechanics and clerks -- are represented by the Teamsters Local 350 under three collective bargaining agreements...
Global Labour Leaders Vow Action in Richmond Ikea Fight The Tyee ...The two international labour leaders are members of a fact-finding panel invited to investigate the strike/lockout by the B.C. Federation of Labour and the Teamsters Union, which represents the IKEA workers...
Dominick's warns of 5,600 layoffs as stores prepare to close Chicago Tribune ...Some 4,000 Dominick's workers are represented by United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1546, with another 2,000 or so in UFCW Local 881. Teamsters Local 703 represents 65 drivers and 220 workers out of Dominick's Northlake warehouse...
D.C. Mayor: Apologize to City’s Taxi Drivers For Demeaning Remark teamster.org ...The Teamster-affiliated Washington, D.C. Taxi Operators Association is calling on Washington, D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray to publicly apologize for the shameful and callous comment made by his spokesman in an article about the lawsuit filed by the association...
Mayor's Spokesperson Is Sorry If Anyone Thought His 'Third-World Taxicab System' Comment Was Offensive DCist ...“For the past few years the drivers have been their own worst enemy,” Pedro Ribeiro told Washingtonian. “We barely have a third-world taxicab system in this city.” The Teamsters then sent out a release, saying Ribeiro's statement is "offensive and it demeans the more than 6,000 taxicab drivers in the District, many of whom are from developing countries in Africa and the Middle East..."
Boston Parking Workers Ratify Historic Contract teamster.org ...The contract is the first Teamster contract for parking workers in the Boston area. It provides workers with a pension and wage increases of up to 11.2 percent over the life of the contract...
October Unemployment Report Shows Almost a Million Drop Out of Labor Force Economic Populist ...There were 932,000 more people considered not in the labor force for October 2013 according to the BLS employment report. The labor participation rate plummeted to a new low of 62.8%...
In Los Angeles, 50 Workers Arrested in Biggest Civil Disobedience against Walmart -- Ever! Alternet ...Hundreds protested against Walmart’s “poverty wages” outside L.A’s Chinatown Walmart...
OSHA plans online reports Associated Press ...Safety data would be public; industry groups opposed...
Oil Train Derails and Explodes in Alabama Alternet ...A 90-car crude oil train derailed and exploded in Alabama early Friday morning, spilling oil and causing flames that shot 300 feet into the sky...
Boeing says options open as workers protest 777X offer Reuters ...The 777X program would secure thousands of jobs in the Seattle area, which is competing with non-unionized workers in southern U.S. states where wages are lower...
State House for Sale: Big businesses pay off in jobs, political contributions The State ...There is good reason for S.C. politicians to feel an affinity for Boeing, Michelin and BMW. The three companies and tire maker Bridgestone have created – or promised to create – almost 8,000 jobs in work-starved South Carolina since 2008. In return, the four also have received – or stand to get – more than $800 million in state incentives and tax breaks. But that’s not all. Since 2008, the four companies also have contributed almost $600,000 to the campaign coffers of S.C. politicians, political action committees, political parties and caucuses, S.C. Ethics Commission records show...
Why Does JPMorgan Still Have A Banking License? The Automatic Earth ...JPMorgan's total assets amount to $2.509 trillion, its derivatives exposure is $70-$80 trillion, and it's certainly too big to fail and systemically important. But seeing a list like this, how can anyone not wonder that if this is what the system depends on, the system itself is so rotten we need to get rid of it?...
New York Fed Chief Levels Explosive Charge Against Big Banks Huffington Post ...The head of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said Thursday that some of America’s largest financial institutions appear to lack respect for the law, a potentially explosive charge against an industry already roiling from numerous government investigations into alleged wrongdoing...
Spire, Beacon of 1 World Trade Light Up NYC Associated Press ...The beacon and spire together stand 408 feet tall and bring the building, formerly called the Freedom Tower, to its symbolic height of 1,776 feet...
Mexican Mayor Who Denounced Extortion Found Dead Associated Press ...Officials said Friday that a crusading small-town Mexican mayor who denounced cartel extortion has been found dead on a roadside, a killing that has drawn national attention...
Senate Republicans Take Aim At Working Americans teamster.org ...The war on workers went national this week, led by the Senate’s GOP leader...
Gov. Scott Walker says typical Wisconsin homeowner will save $680 in property taxes over four years Politifact ...We rate his claim Pants on Fire...
California was sterilizing its female prisoners as late as 2010 The Guardian ...Doctors under contract with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation sterilized nearly 150 female inmates from 2006 to 2010 without required state approvals – and there were perhaps 100 more dating back to the late 1990s...
Homelessness a growing challenge for Illinois schools Chicago Tribune ...more than 600 schools — about 15 percent of Illinois schools — report homeless student populations of at least double the state average of 2 percent...
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Today's Teamster News 10.01.13
Teamsters: House GOP's Political Games Endanger Economy, Jobs teamster.org ...The Teamsters Union blasted extremist House Republicans today for endangering the U.S. economy and threatening the livelihood of millions of public and private sector workers with a possible government shutdown...
Teamsters reject Wegmans contract offer Rochester Democrat & Chronicle ...The International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 118 has rejected Wegmans "last, best and final" contract offer. The grocery company says the move authorizes union members to go on strike...
Hospital, union deserve praise (opinion) Montana Standard ...Congratulations are in order for St. James Healthcare and Teamsters Local 2, who reached a last-minute deal late on Sept. 19 to avoid a strike...
U.S. Wealth Is Now the Most Concentrated at the Top Since 1916 AlterNet ...The top ten-thousandth of the U.S. population have done very well under President Obama’s leadership, even if they had predominantly voted and contributed to Mitt Romney...
US Chamber of Commerce: TPP is one month away CNBC ..."I think we are getting close. The [U.S.] President will be able to announce, as will other world leaders, progress in the right direction [at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting], but my guess is that it's got another month in it," Donohue told CNBC Asia's Squawk Box on Tuesday...
FHA to get $1.7 billion in its first taxpayer-funded bailout Los Angeles Times ...The Federal Housing Administration dramatically expanded its role after the subprime market collapsed, but at the expense of its own finances. Now, the government agency will get a first-ever bailout of $1.7 billion...
Google Paid $55 Million In UK Taxes On $5.5 Billion Sales In 2012 Reuters ...Google, which has been grilled twice in the past year by a UK parliamentary committee over its tax practices, had a UK tax bill of 35 million pounds ($55 million) in 2012, on sales of $5.5 billion to British customers, its accounts showed...
A Wave of U.S. Sewing Jobs as Orders Pile Up New York Times ...Factories are finding that years of doing business overseas has shrunk what once was a thriving textile and apparel work force...
Toyota says it will export U.S.-built Corollas to Latin America Los Angeles Times ...The new Toyota Corolla has barely hit car dealers but Toyota is already saying it plans to export the U.S.-built version of the compact sedan to 18 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean starting next year...
NYC inmate almost as costly as Ivy League tuition Associated Press ...New York is indeed an expensive place, but experts say that alone doesn't explain a recent report that found the city's annual cost per inmate was $167,731 last year — nearly as much as it costs to pay for four years of tuition at an Ivy League university...
Huge Spike In Poverty Among Elderly Women Catches Analysts By Surprise Think Progress ...The number of women over the age of 65 living in extreme poverty jumped by 18 percent last year after having held steady for most of the previous decade the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) reported Thursday...
Wall Street Predators Wage Secret War on American Retirements AlterNet ...Financiers are lying their way to another giant theft of public money...
BP returns to court over Deepwater Horizon spill as $18 billion in fines loom The Guardian ...Penalties against BP for the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster could add up to $18 billion – five times the $3.5 billion originally set aside for fines...
Airlines shift focus from baggage fees to new services to make flying better, boosting revenue Associated Press ...Airlines are introducing a new bevy of fees, but this time passengers might actually like them...
American Airlines plans to hire 1,500 pilots Reuters ...American Airlines plans to hire 1,500 pilots over the next five years as it expands international flying and takes delivery of new planes, the carrier said on Monday...
Indiana, Illinois governors endorse Illiana Expressway Associated Press ...The governors of Indiana and Illinois have given their endorsement to a planned 47-mile expressway aimed at relieving traffic congestion in the Chicago area and creating jobs in both states...
Consultants' contracts soar to more than $62 million for Detroit bankruptcy Detroit Free Press ...Contracts approved for consultants and lawyers advising emergency manager Kevyn Orr’s team as it restructures city government and prepares for a likely Chapter 9 bankruptcy have skyrocketed to at least $62 million, with some firms getting more than $10-million increases, according to records reviewed by the Free Press...
Teamsters reject Wegmans contract offer Rochester Democrat & Chronicle ...The International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 118 has rejected Wegmans "last, best and final" contract offer. The grocery company says the move authorizes union members to go on strike...
Hospital, union deserve praise (opinion) Montana Standard ...Congratulations are in order for St. James Healthcare and Teamsters Local 2, who reached a last-minute deal late on Sept. 19 to avoid a strike...
U.S. Wealth Is Now the Most Concentrated at the Top Since 1916 AlterNet ...The top ten-thousandth of the U.S. population have done very well under President Obama’s leadership, even if they had predominantly voted and contributed to Mitt Romney...
US Chamber of Commerce: TPP is one month away CNBC ..."I think we are getting close. The [U.S.] President will be able to announce, as will other world leaders, progress in the right direction [at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting], but my guess is that it's got another month in it," Donohue told CNBC Asia's Squawk Box on Tuesday...
FHA to get $1.7 billion in its first taxpayer-funded bailout Los Angeles Times ...The Federal Housing Administration dramatically expanded its role after the subprime market collapsed, but at the expense of its own finances. Now, the government agency will get a first-ever bailout of $1.7 billion...
Google Paid $55 Million In UK Taxes On $5.5 Billion Sales In 2012 Reuters ...Google, which has been grilled twice in the past year by a UK parliamentary committee over its tax practices, had a UK tax bill of 35 million pounds ($55 million) in 2012, on sales of $5.5 billion to British customers, its accounts showed...
A Wave of U.S. Sewing Jobs as Orders Pile Up New York Times ...Factories are finding that years of doing business overseas has shrunk what once was a thriving textile and apparel work force...
Toyota says it will export U.S.-built Corollas to Latin America Los Angeles Times ...The new Toyota Corolla has barely hit car dealers but Toyota is already saying it plans to export the U.S.-built version of the compact sedan to 18 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean starting next year...
NYC inmate almost as costly as Ivy League tuition Associated Press ...New York is indeed an expensive place, but experts say that alone doesn't explain a recent report that found the city's annual cost per inmate was $167,731 last year — nearly as much as it costs to pay for four years of tuition at an Ivy League university...
Huge Spike In Poverty Among Elderly Women Catches Analysts By Surprise Think Progress ...The number of women over the age of 65 living in extreme poverty jumped by 18 percent last year after having held steady for most of the previous decade the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) reported Thursday...
Wall Street Predators Wage Secret War on American Retirements AlterNet ...Financiers are lying their way to another giant theft of public money...
BP returns to court over Deepwater Horizon spill as $18 billion in fines loom The Guardian ...Penalties against BP for the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster could add up to $18 billion – five times the $3.5 billion originally set aside for fines...
Airlines shift focus from baggage fees to new services to make flying better, boosting revenue Associated Press ...Airlines are introducing a new bevy of fees, but this time passengers might actually like them...
American Airlines plans to hire 1,500 pilots Reuters ...American Airlines plans to hire 1,500 pilots over the next five years as it expands international flying and takes delivery of new planes, the carrier said on Monday...
Indiana, Illinois governors endorse Illiana Expressway Associated Press ...The governors of Indiana and Illinois have given their endorsement to a planned 47-mile expressway aimed at relieving traffic congestion in the Chicago area and creating jobs in both states...
Consultants' contracts soar to more than $62 million for Detroit bankruptcy Detroit Free Press ...Contracts approved for consultants and lawyers advising emergency manager Kevyn Orr’s team as it restructures city government and prepares for a likely Chapter 9 bankruptcy have skyrocketed to at least $62 million, with some firms getting more than $10-million increases, according to records reviewed by the Free Press...
Monday, July 8, 2013
Today's Teamster News 07.08.13
Freight train derailment causes huge fire and evacuations in Canada Guardian ...Train of 73 fuel-carrying rail cars was driverless when it derailed at 1am local time Saturday in Lac-Magéntic, in Quebec...
Deaths in the workplace are no accident Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette ...The deaths of two workers in grain bins last month at the Union Mills Co-op and in Veedersburg are even more tragic because they could have been prevented...
Daily CEO Pay Now Exceeds the Average Worker's Annual Salary The Contributor ...These “golden parachute” arrangements have had a negative impact on corporate performance, say experts...
Jobless about to take big hit from sequester NBC News ...As of July 1, the average weekly benefit of $289 will fall by $43 a week, adding pressure at a time when the labor market is trying to find its bearings but has yet to generate the kind of employment that would indicate a strong recovery...
Banks pushing for repeal of credit unions' federal tax exemption Los Angeles Times ...Credit unions have been snatching customers from banks amid consumer frustration over rising fees and outrage over Wall Street's role in the financial crisis. Now banks are fighting back by trying to take away something vital to credit unions — their federal tax exemption...
Jaguar Land Rover production faces shutdown after DHL strike vote Guardian ...DHL workers serving Jaguar's Midlands plants at Castle Bromwich and Solihull vote for industrial action over pay...
Greeks close to getting latest bailout payout BBC News ...Eurozone finance ministers meet on Monday to decide whether to release the next instalment of rescue funds worth 6.3bn euros ($8.1bn; £5.4bn)...Talks have centred around 4,000 civil service jobs that are due to be cut...
Female inmates sterilized in California prisons without approval Center for Investigative Reporting ...At least 148 women received tubal ligations in violation of prison rules during those five years – and there are perhaps 100 more dating back to the late 1990s, according to state documents and interviews...
Fee'd Me: NY AG to Investigate Use of 'Payroll Cards' that Depress Already Low Take-Home Pay The Contributor ...Devonte Yates, 21, who earns $7.25 an hour working a drive-through station at a McDonald’s in Milwaukee, says he spends $40 to $50 a month on fees associated with his JPMorgan Chase payroll card. “It’s pretty bad,” he said. “There’s a fee for literally everything you do...”
America's Most Dynamic (Yet Under-Covered) Movement: Overturning 'Citizens United' The Nation ...On the eve of the nation’s Fourth of July celebrations, Oregon became the sixteenth state to formally call for an amendment. With bipartisan support, the state House and Senate requested that Congress take necessary steps to re-establish the basic American premise that “money is property and not speech, and [that] the Congress of the United States, state legislatures and local legislative bodies should have the authority to regulate political contributions and expenditures…”
Waltham student wins Teamsters scholarship Wicked Local ...Rion Hallaran of Waltham was recently awarded a $2,000 Teamsters Local 25 scholarship...
Deaths in the workplace are no accident Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette ...The deaths of two workers in grain bins last month at the Union Mills Co-op and in Veedersburg are even more tragic because they could have been prevented...
Daily CEO Pay Now Exceeds the Average Worker's Annual Salary The Contributor ...These “golden parachute” arrangements have had a negative impact on corporate performance, say experts...
Jobless about to take big hit from sequester NBC News ...As of July 1, the average weekly benefit of $289 will fall by $43 a week, adding pressure at a time when the labor market is trying to find its bearings but has yet to generate the kind of employment that would indicate a strong recovery...
Banks pushing for repeal of credit unions' federal tax exemption Los Angeles Times ...Credit unions have been snatching customers from banks amid consumer frustration over rising fees and outrage over Wall Street's role in the financial crisis. Now banks are fighting back by trying to take away something vital to credit unions — their federal tax exemption...
Jaguar Land Rover production faces shutdown after DHL strike vote Guardian ...DHL workers serving Jaguar's Midlands plants at Castle Bromwich and Solihull vote for industrial action over pay...
Greeks close to getting latest bailout payout BBC News ...Eurozone finance ministers meet on Monday to decide whether to release the next instalment of rescue funds worth 6.3bn euros ($8.1bn; £5.4bn)...Talks have centred around 4,000 civil service jobs that are due to be cut...
Female inmates sterilized in California prisons without approval Center for Investigative Reporting ...At least 148 women received tubal ligations in violation of prison rules during those five years – and there are perhaps 100 more dating back to the late 1990s, according to state documents and interviews...
Fee'd Me: NY AG to Investigate Use of 'Payroll Cards' that Depress Already Low Take-Home Pay The Contributor ...Devonte Yates, 21, who earns $7.25 an hour working a drive-through station at a McDonald’s in Milwaukee, says he spends $40 to $50 a month on fees associated with his JPMorgan Chase payroll card. “It’s pretty bad,” he said. “There’s a fee for literally everything you do...”
America's Most Dynamic (Yet Under-Covered) Movement: Overturning 'Citizens United' The Nation ...On the eve of the nation’s Fourth of July celebrations, Oregon became the sixteenth state to formally call for an amendment. With bipartisan support, the state House and Senate requested that Congress take necessary steps to re-establish the basic American premise that “money is property and not speech, and [that] the Congress of the United States, state legislatures and local legislative bodies should have the authority to regulate political contributions and expenditures…”
Waltham student wins Teamsters scholarship Wicked Local ...Rion Hallaran of Waltham was recently awarded a $2,000 Teamsters Local 25 scholarship...
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Today's Teamster News 12.12.12
TRENDING: Hoffa predicts 'civil war' in Michigan CNN ... Jimmy Hoffa, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, said Tuesday he expects Michigan unions and lawmakers to break out into "civil war" after the state legislature passed right-to-work bills that would weaken unions' power...
Editorial: Drinking the Kochs' Kool-Aid Detroit Free Press ...Michigan's proposed right-to-work bills mirror the ALEC language practically word-for-word...
Koch brothers, Tea Party cash drives Michigan right-to-work bill Salon ...it secures a dream of the anti-union Koch brothers and the American Legislative Exchange Council, whose associates are well-represented among Snyder’s donors, and whose economic agenda has been ascendant within the modern GOP...
GOP defends right-to-work exclusion of cop, fire unions Detroit News ...Some rank-and-file GOP lawmakers said there are other reasons why police and firefighters are getting a better deal than their union brethren who work in other dangerous jobs in prisons, construction and utilities. "They behave more like value-adding trade associations than unions," said state Rep. Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, the leading advocate for the drive to make Michigan the 24th right-to-work state...
There's Not A Single Spending Cut That Republican Voters Support Business Insider ...a new Marist-McClatchy poll shows that voters — including Republicans — oppose any and every specific spending cut proposed to them.
It goes hand in hand with the disparity between voters' wish for blanket "spending cuts" and their opposition to any cuts to an entitlement that benefits them...
DOJ refuses to indict HSBC explicitly because it is too big to fail naked capitalism ...State and federal authorities decided against indicting HSBC in a money-laundering case over concerns that criminal charges could jeopardize one of the world’s largest banks and ultimately destabilize the global financial system. Instead, HSBC announced on Tuesday that it had agreed to a record $1.92 billion settlement with authorities...
Monthly U.S. trade deficit with China hits new record. manufacture this ...The monthly U.S. international trade deficit in goods and services rose to $42.2 billion in October, up from $40.3 billion in September...
John Kasich paying a PR firm (with your money) to sell you his turnpike plan Plunderbund ...Yesterday we confirmed a top ODOT manager believed the consultants were hired specifically to help support Kasich’s plans to lease the turnpike...
Four Ohio prisons face possibility of closure under budget cuts Columbus Dispatch ...A fifth prison that seemed almost certain to close, the Hocking Correctional Facility, in Nelsonville, that houses older inmates, will get a reprieve, it now appears...
LABOR: Teamster food truck drivers strike in Washington The Press-Enterprise ...Truck drivers and warehouse workers at United Natural Foods went on strike in Auburn, Wash., citing unfair labor practices and lousy wages. Contract negotiations broke off prior to 166 Teamsters walking off their jobs...
Teamster DHL Workers Support Turkish Workers' Right To Organize IBT ...Teamsters working at DHL across the United States and Canada will join in solidarity for an International Day of Action on December 12 with DHL workers worldwide to support workers in Turkey who have been mistreated while trying to form a union...
CP, Teamsters Canada workers reach accord Railway Age ...The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference-Maintenance of Way Employees Division (TCRC-MWED), representing 2,600 maintenance of way workers, and Canadian Pacific reached a tentative historic five-year contract settlement, CP announced Tuesday....
Editorial: Drinking the Kochs' Kool-Aid Detroit Free Press ...Michigan's proposed right-to-work bills mirror the ALEC language practically word-for-word...
Koch brothers, Tea Party cash drives Michigan right-to-work bill Salon ...it secures a dream of the anti-union Koch brothers and the American Legislative Exchange Council, whose associates are well-represented among Snyder’s donors, and whose economic agenda has been ascendant within the modern GOP...
GOP defends right-to-work exclusion of cop, fire unions Detroit News ...Some rank-and-file GOP lawmakers said there are other reasons why police and firefighters are getting a better deal than their union brethren who work in other dangerous jobs in prisons, construction and utilities. "They behave more like value-adding trade associations than unions," said state Rep. Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, the leading advocate for the drive to make Michigan the 24th right-to-work state...
There's Not A Single Spending Cut That Republican Voters Support Business Insider ...a new Marist-McClatchy poll shows that voters — including Republicans — oppose any and every specific spending cut proposed to them.
It goes hand in hand with the disparity between voters' wish for blanket "spending cuts" and their opposition to any cuts to an entitlement that benefits them...
DOJ refuses to indict HSBC explicitly because it is too big to fail naked capitalism ...State and federal authorities decided against indicting HSBC in a money-laundering case over concerns that criminal charges could jeopardize one of the world’s largest banks and ultimately destabilize the global financial system. Instead, HSBC announced on Tuesday that it had agreed to a record $1.92 billion settlement with authorities...
Monthly U.S. trade deficit with China hits new record. manufacture this ...The monthly U.S. international trade deficit in goods and services rose to $42.2 billion in October, up from $40.3 billion in September...
John Kasich paying a PR firm (with your money) to sell you his turnpike plan Plunderbund ...Yesterday we confirmed a top ODOT manager believed the consultants were hired specifically to help support Kasich’s plans to lease the turnpike...
Four Ohio prisons face possibility of closure under budget cuts Columbus Dispatch ...A fifth prison that seemed almost certain to close, the Hocking Correctional Facility, in Nelsonville, that houses older inmates, will get a reprieve, it now appears...
LABOR: Teamster food truck drivers strike in Washington The Press-Enterprise ...Truck drivers and warehouse workers at United Natural Foods went on strike in Auburn, Wash., citing unfair labor practices and lousy wages. Contract negotiations broke off prior to 166 Teamsters walking off their jobs...
Teamster DHL Workers Support Turkish Workers' Right To Organize IBT ...Teamsters working at DHL across the United States and Canada will join in solidarity for an International Day of Action on December 12 with DHL workers worldwide to support workers in Turkey who have been mistreated while trying to form a union...
CP, Teamsters Canada workers reach accord Railway Age ...The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference-Maintenance of Way Employees Division (TCRC-MWED), representing 2,600 maintenance of way workers, and Canadian Pacific reached a tentative historic five-year contract settlement, CP announced Tuesday....
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Today's Teamster News 02.28.12
Towards a Creditor State: One in Seven Americans Pursued by Debt Collectors nakedcapitalism ...There are now thousands of people legally jailed because they aren’t paying their bills, ie. debtor’s prisons have returned...
Threatened Goldman Japan workers unionize Japan Times ...At Goldman Sachs Japan, things became so unusual that some of its staff even took the remarkable step of unionizing after the firm's attempts to force workers to voluntarily resign — and thus sidestep the notoriously tough restrictions on layoffs under Japanese labor law — apparently backfired...
Controversy over Scientology influence clouds future of Pinellas charter school Tampa Bay Times ...Some parents and former teachers at Life Force, which receives about $800,000 a year in public funding, say the Pinellas County charter school has become a Scientology recruiting post targeting children...
Indiana Speaker of the House Brian Bosma Moonlighting as a Union-Busting Attorney? We Party Patriots ...Isn’t “hiring, disciplining, and terminating public employees” union-busting? Isn’t mediation of “employee civil right claims” and “contract disputes” by the House Speaker for a private firm a little bit of an issue?...
Walker Using Out-of-State Tea Party Group to Indirectly Challenge Recall PR Watch ..."Registering [the poor] to vote is like handing out burglary tools to criminals,” he wrote. “It is profoundly anti-social and un-American to empower the nonproductive segments of the population to destroy the country."...
New York Motor Truck Says 'Fair Play Act' Anything But Trucking Info ...in New York State between 2002 and 2005, nearly 40,000 employers misclassified more than 700,000 workers...
IATSE and Teamsters picket producers of '1000 Ways to Die' Los Angeles Times ...“1000 Ways to Die” has become the latest flash point in an effort by Hollywood's leading unions to extend contracts to the rapidly growing cable TV sector...
Unions reveal 'serious concerns' over National Express' human rights approach Fresh Business Thinking ...Over the course of a decade serious concerns have been raised over the negative human rights and labour relations record of National Express Group’s US private school bus transportation subsidiary, Durham School Services...
Threatened Goldman Japan workers unionize Japan Times ...At Goldman Sachs Japan, things became so unusual that some of its staff even took the remarkable step of unionizing after the firm's attempts to force workers to voluntarily resign — and thus sidestep the notoriously tough restrictions on layoffs under Japanese labor law — apparently backfired...
Controversy over Scientology influence clouds future of Pinellas charter school Tampa Bay Times ...Some parents and former teachers at Life Force, which receives about $800,000 a year in public funding, say the Pinellas County charter school has become a Scientology recruiting post targeting children...
Indiana Speaker of the House Brian Bosma Moonlighting as a Union-Busting Attorney? We Party Patriots ...Isn’t “hiring, disciplining, and terminating public employees” union-busting? Isn’t mediation of “employee civil right claims” and “contract disputes” by the House Speaker for a private firm a little bit of an issue?...
Walker Using Out-of-State Tea Party Group to Indirectly Challenge Recall PR Watch ..."Registering [the poor] to vote is like handing out burglary tools to criminals,” he wrote. “It is profoundly anti-social and un-American to empower the nonproductive segments of the population to destroy the country."...
New York Motor Truck Says 'Fair Play Act' Anything But Trucking Info ...in New York State between 2002 and 2005, nearly 40,000 employers misclassified more than 700,000 workers...
IATSE and Teamsters picket producers of '1000 Ways to Die' Los Angeles Times ...“1000 Ways to Die” has become the latest flash point in an effort by Hollywood's leading unions to extend contracts to the rapidly growing cable TV sector...
Unions reveal 'serious concerns' over National Express' human rights approach Fresh Business Thinking ...Over the course of a decade serious concerns have been raised over the negative human rights and labour relations record of National Express Group’s US private school bus transportation subsidiary, Durham School Services...
Friday, December 30, 2011
Today's Teamster News 12.30.11
Darker Nights as Some Cities Turn Off the Lights New York Times ...Cities around the nation, grappling with what is expected to be a fifth consecutive year of declining revenues and having exhausted the predictable budget trims, are increasingly considering something that would once have been untouchable: the lights...
Egypt Raids Offices of Nonprofits, 3 Backed by U.S. New York Times ...The raids are the latest and most forceful effort yet by the country’s ruling generals to crack down on perceived sources of criticism amid rising calls from Egyptian politicians and protesters and some Western leaders for the military to hand over power to a civilian government...
An Uproar on the Web Over $2 Fee by Verizon New York Times ...The $2 monthly fee, which takes effect Jan. 15, will apply to people who make one-time credit or debit card payments on the phone or online...
Tournament of Roses to Occupiers: You Can't March in Our Parade CNS News ...Although the group is not part of the parade, its Web site OccupytheRoseParade.org says, “Float #44/#99 will be our float with visual displays including a 250 foot ‘We the People’ U.S. Constitution, a 50 foot ‘We The Corporations’ version, a giant ‘Goldie Sachs’ Wheel of Fortune exhibit, a Wall Street ‘Occupy The Octopus’ (Occupy The Vampire Squid) representing Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and Citibank...
Indiana State Sen. Jim Tomes (R) Comes Out Against Mitch Daniels' Right-to-Work Agenda Crooks and Liars ...an Indiana Republican is challenging the governor's anti-union agenda. State Sen. Jim Tomes broke ranks with his party and penned a letter to the Evansville Courier & Press telling the truth about the law and the Republican agenda...
Violence at Merced County Jail prompts call for action KFSN ...Merced County (Teamsters) correctional officers say understaffing at the Merced County jail is putting officers and the public's safety at risk. Now they're asking for a special hearing on the issue...
Teamsters mechanics at United Airlines OK contract, pave way for deal with Continental workers Associated Press ...The union said the deal with United includes wage increases, continued health care benefits and improved job-security protection. Workers also got an $11,500 signing bonus and regained items that were lost when United went through a bankruptcy reorganization in the last decade...
Egypt Raids Offices of Nonprofits, 3 Backed by U.S. New York Times ...The raids are the latest and most forceful effort yet by the country’s ruling generals to crack down on perceived sources of criticism amid rising calls from Egyptian politicians and protesters and some Western leaders for the military to hand over power to a civilian government...
An Uproar on the Web Over $2 Fee by Verizon New York Times ...The $2 monthly fee, which takes effect Jan. 15, will apply to people who make one-time credit or debit card payments on the phone or online...
Tournament of Roses to Occupiers: You Can't March in Our Parade CNS News ...Although the group is not part of the parade, its Web site OccupytheRoseParade.org says, “Float #44/#99 will be our float with visual displays including a 250 foot ‘We the People’ U.S. Constitution, a 50 foot ‘We The Corporations’ version, a giant ‘Goldie Sachs’ Wheel of Fortune exhibit, a Wall Street ‘Occupy The Octopus’ (Occupy The Vampire Squid) representing Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and Citibank...
Indiana State Sen. Jim Tomes (R) Comes Out Against Mitch Daniels' Right-to-Work Agenda Crooks and Liars ...an Indiana Republican is challenging the governor's anti-union agenda. State Sen. Jim Tomes broke ranks with his party and penned a letter to the Evansville Courier & Press telling the truth about the law and the Republican agenda...
Violence at Merced County Jail prompts call for action KFSN ...Merced County (Teamsters) correctional officers say understaffing at the Merced County jail is putting officers and the public's safety at risk. Now they're asking for a special hearing on the issue...
Teamsters mechanics at United Airlines OK contract, pave way for deal with Continental workers Associated Press ...The union said the deal with United includes wage increases, continued health care benefits and improved job-security protection. Workers also got an $11,500 signing bonus and regained items that were lost when United went through a bankruptcy reorganization in the last decade...
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Today's Teamster News 12.29.11
Lure of Chinese Tuition Squeezes Out Asian-American Students Bloomberg ...The University of California system, rocked by budget cuts, is enrolling record numbers of out-of-state and international students, who pay almost twice that of in-state residents... JPMorgan’s Swaps Occupying Cassino Prove Curse Like World War II
Bloomberg ...Soaring costs forced Cassino, 80 miles southeast of Rome, to settle an interest-rate swap with JPMorgan Chase & Co. in 2009, leaving the town unable to pay for daycare for 60 infants and services for the poor...
Next up for sale in Florida: the naming rights to public school cafeterias? Tampa Bay Times ...Rep. Irv Slosberg, D-Boca Raton, the same lawmaker who proposed naming rights for state trails and advertising on the sides of school buses, has another money-making idea up his sleeve. Naming rights for public school cafeterias...
Corporate interests fuel group’s desire to shape Va. legislation, critics say Washington Post ...“The American Legislative Exchange Council, a secretive organization funded by big corporations, has been writing bills that Virginia legislators are passing off as their own work on everything from education to health care to voting rights,” said Anna Scholl, executive director of ProgressVA...
Morton Marcus: Slow and slower income growth for Hoosiers Howey Politics Indiana ...What Indiana needs is not just jobs. If we are to see our general welfare improve, we require higher paying jobs to generate more income...
Merced County Jail violence prompts call for action Merced County Sun-Star ...After a violent outbreak Monday at the Merced County Jail left one inmate with several stab wounds, the Teamsters Law Enforcement League called on the Board of Supervisors to hold a hearing on jail staffing...
Bloomberg ...Soaring costs forced Cassino, 80 miles southeast of Rome, to settle an interest-rate swap with JPMorgan Chase & Co. in 2009, leaving the town unable to pay for daycare for 60 infants and services for the poor...
Next up for sale in Florida: the naming rights to public school cafeterias? Tampa Bay Times ...Rep. Irv Slosberg, D-Boca Raton, the same lawmaker who proposed naming rights for state trails and advertising on the sides of school buses, has another money-making idea up his sleeve. Naming rights for public school cafeterias...
Corporate interests fuel group’s desire to shape Va. legislation, critics say Washington Post ...“The American Legislative Exchange Council, a secretive organization funded by big corporations, has been writing bills that Virginia legislators are passing off as their own work on everything from education to health care to voting rights,” said Anna Scholl, executive director of ProgressVA...
Morton Marcus: Slow and slower income growth for Hoosiers Howey Politics Indiana ...What Indiana needs is not just jobs. If we are to see our general welfare improve, we require higher paying jobs to generate more income...
Merced County Jail violence prompts call for action Merced County Sun-Star ...After a violent outbreak Monday at the Merced County Jail left one inmate with several stab wounds, the Teamsters Law Enforcement League called on the Board of Supervisors to hold a hearing on jail staffing...
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Today's Teamster News 12.28.11
Homeowner wins $21MILLION payout from mortgage firm in dispute over credit rating Daily Mail ...U.S. Army sergeant David Brash has won more than $21million in damages from PHH Mortgage after it falsely claimed he defaulted on his loan...
House prices fell to new post-bubble lows in October Calculated Risk ...these indexes will hit new lows in the next few months since prices are falling again...
Jed S. Rakoff: Federal District Judge Of New York's Southern District (The Inspirationals) Huffington Post ...it is a measure of how timid our politics have become that this federal judge is widely viewed as the only man in government with the cojones to take on the banking corporations that nearly destroyed the American economy in 2008 and that seem, for the most part, unrepentant...
LETTER: Poverty rises in right-to-work states The Republic ...seven of the 10 states with the highest unemployment rate are right-to-work states...
Four inmates escape cell, stab man, officials say Merced Sun-Star ...Several Norteño gang members broke free of their cell and attacked an inmate worker Monday night at the Merced County Jail, officials said, an ordeal that some think is a result of lowered staffing at the jail...
Oscar Makers in Chicago Ratify New Contract Local 743 ...Fifty Teamsters with R.S. Owens & Company in Chicago voted overwhelmingly to ratify their first new contract in four years. The three-year agreement includes the workers' first new wage increases since 2006...
House prices fell to new post-bubble lows in October Calculated Risk ...these indexes will hit new lows in the next few months since prices are falling again...
Jed S. Rakoff: Federal District Judge Of New York's Southern District (The Inspirationals) Huffington Post ...it is a measure of how timid our politics have become that this federal judge is widely viewed as the only man in government with the cojones to take on the banking corporations that nearly destroyed the American economy in 2008 and that seem, for the most part, unrepentant...
LETTER: Poverty rises in right-to-work states The Republic ...seven of the 10 states with the highest unemployment rate are right-to-work states...
Four inmates escape cell, stab man, officials say Merced Sun-Star ...Several Norteño gang members broke free of their cell and attacked an inmate worker Monday night at the Merced County Jail, officials said, an ordeal that some think is a result of lowered staffing at the jail...
Oscar Makers in Chicago Ratify New Contract Local 743 ...Fifty Teamsters with R.S. Owens & Company in Chicago voted overwhelmingly to ratify their first new contract in four years. The three-year agreement includes the workers' first new wage increases since 2006...
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Today's Teamster News 11.06.11
Anti-Union Retaliation at US Foods Sets Off Protests Nationwide Food Integrity Campaign ...more than 2100 Teamsters who work at these facilities have honored the picket lines, disrupting shipments that feed many restaurants and other customers nationwide...
Judge orders Gov. Scott administration to stop prison privatization bidding The Palm Beach Post News ...A Leon County circuit judge has stopped short Gov. Rick Scott's attempt to bypass her previous order halting bids on a prison privatization plan she earlier ruled was unconstitutional...
Eyes of nation on Ohio vote on union-limiting law Associated Press ...A ballot battle in Ohio that pits the union rights of public workers against Republican efforts to shrink government and limit organized labor's reach culminates Tuesday in a vote with political consequences from statehouses to Pennsylvania Avenue...
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker recall effort off to a surprise start Green Bay Press Gazette ...Supporter of governor, not foe, files paperwork...
Some Monroe prison employees say changes have improved safety
Herald.net ...Corrections workers explain the changes that have been made to protect staff after an officer's death...
Money movers and Occupy Wall Street shakers rattle US banking world RT ...statistics show that since September 2011, over 650,000 people have made the swap, tired of hidden charges, poor customer service and overall corporate greed...
Judge orders Gov. Scott administration to stop prison privatization bidding The Palm Beach Post News ...A Leon County circuit judge has stopped short Gov. Rick Scott's attempt to bypass her previous order halting bids on a prison privatization plan she earlier ruled was unconstitutional...
Eyes of nation on Ohio vote on union-limiting law Associated Press ...A ballot battle in Ohio that pits the union rights of public workers against Republican efforts to shrink government and limit organized labor's reach culminates Tuesday in a vote with political consequences from statehouses to Pennsylvania Avenue...
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker recall effort off to a surprise start Green Bay Press Gazette ...Supporter of governor, not foe, files paperwork...
Some Monroe prison employees say changes have improved safety
Herald.net ...Corrections workers explain the changes that have been made to protect staff after an officer's death...
Money movers and Occupy Wall Street shakers rattle US banking world RT ...statistics show that since September 2011, over 650,000 people have made the swap, tired of hidden charges, poor customer service and overall corporate greed...
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Rick Scott as popular as Ebola virus (VIDEO)
Rick Scott, who somehow went to the governor's office instead of jail, has a 27 percent approval rating in Florida. That makes him the least popular governor in the United States, at least according to the pollsters. Even less popular than John Kasich, Scott Walker and Paul LePage. Wow.
(Above is some very raw footage of the latest Rick Scott protest, at least the latest on youtube.)
The right-wing Sunshine State News conducted the poll with the brutal numbers. Given the paper's bias, things might be even worse for Scott.
Just moments ago, the Capital News Service reported Scott has failed to report his use of a private jet as a gift.
Since taking office in January, Governor Rick Scott has been using a private jet to travel. The plane is owned by a corporation controlled by Scott, and, as Mike Vasilinda tells us, the Governor has apparently made a “rookie” mistake in failing to report the plane use as a gift.Yeah, right. He's done lots more. The Miami New Times neatly sums up Scott's dirtiest deeds in a paragraph:
He slashed funding for public schools, disabled people, and the unemployed; gave health-care companies control of Medicaid; and privatized nearly all of the prisons in the southern part of the state. Meanwhile, he enacted some of the most restrictive voting laws Florida has seen since the 2000 election debacle.And here are more deets about Scott's pay-to-play prison privatization:
Last year, the private prison industry gave nearly $1 million to political campaigns in Florida, according to the nonpartisan National Institute on Money in Politics. The majority of the cash went to Republicans, and the largest chunk, $822,000, came from the GEO Group, a Boca Raton-based prison company formerly known as Wackenhut Corrections. (GEO also contributed $25,000 to Scott's inauguration party.) The prison lobby's influence on the Republican-dominated Legislature was immediately evident.
In early February, Scott proposed a plan to transfer 1,500 inmates from state-run lockups to private ones. The next month, lawmakers in the state Senate slipped language into their massive budget bill that privatized nearly all of the state prisons in 18 counties, including Broward and Palm Beach. The budget passed in May, opening the door for the GEO Group and other companies to begin bidding for contracts.
Proponents said the prison contracts will go only to bidders who reduce costs by 7 percent, saving the state about $27 million a year. But a legislative analyst who testified before the state Senate in February admitted it was tough to figure out the cost savings, because private and public prisons often operate differently. "They're never apples to apples," analyst Byron Brown said.Here's another reason Floridians are mad: Demos reports the Sunshine State's middle class is collapsing, with falling earnings, a lack of good jobs, declining access to benefits, higher costs to raise a family, diminished prospects for young people and increasing difficulty getting a college degree.
Way to go, Rick.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
WI swaps Teamsters for convict labor
Now that the Koch brothers' favorite lackey destroyed collective bargaining rights for Wisconsin's government workers, Racine's county executive said he'll have prison inmates do work that Teamsters had been paid to do.
Penal servitude, how lovely.
The Cap Times reports:
Racine County Executive Jim Ladwig told several media outlets earlier this week he plans to add shoveling, landscaping and painting to the to-do lists of county inmates. Until recently, inmates were only allowed to cut the grass along highways.Last June, Racine County tried to use inmates to cut the grass, but Teamsters Local 43 sued because it had a contract with the county. A judge sided with us. Not anymore, thanks to Scotty boy and the six Republican senators who'll be recalled within six weeks.
That changed Wednesday when the state's controversial collective bargaining law took effect.
Besides losing their right to negotiate over the percentage of their paycheck that will go toward health care and retirement, unions also lost the ability to claim work as a "union-only" job, opening the door for private workers and evidently even inmates to step in and take their place.
ThinkProgress notes,
While giving prisoners more work and activity options is generally positive, using free inmate labor to replace public sector workers is a disturbing trend.Ya think? Here's wikipedia on the "convict lease" system so popular in the South after the Civil War:
Since the impoverished state governments could not afford penitentiaries, they leased out prisoners to work at private firms. Douglas A. Blackmon argues that it was Southern policy to intimidate blacks; tens of thousands of African Americans were arbitrarily arrested and leased to coal mines, lumber camps, brickyards, railroads, quarries and farm plantations.[8] The state governments maximized profits by putting the responsibility on the lessee to provide food, clothing, shelter, and medical care for the prisoners, which resulted in extremely poor conditions, numerous deaths, and perhaps the most inhumane system of labour in the United States.[9] Reformers abolished convict lease in the Progressive Era, stopping the system in Florida in 1919. The last state to abolish the practice was Alabama in 1927.In not-so-bad news from Wisconsin, a second lawsuit against the collective bargaining rights law has been filed. Courthouse News Service reports a coalition of unions sued Walker in federal court,
...claiming his "Budget Repair Bill" violates the Municipal Employment Relations Act and the Constitution.
The unions...say the union-busting law illegally amends the Municipal Employment Relations Act and "effectively undermines and substantially eliminates the right of local government employees to bargain with their employers."
The unions say their ability "to maintain themselves and to express the collective viewpoint of their members" is substantially impaired by the bill, also known as Wisconsin Act 10. They say it impairs individuals' right to associate with and support their unions of choice.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Teamsters protest confab to rip off taxpayers
Florida Teamsters called it by its right name when they protested today outside of the confab:
"Looking for further opportunities to sell our vital state services to the lowest bidder."
That was Teamsters International Vice President Ken Wood, who's also president of Joint Council 75. And here's what William C.F. Muse, a retired FDOC colonel had to say:
We know what dangerous criminals are capable of. We work hard to keep the public safe, and putting the public’s security in the hands of companies looking to make a big profit is wrong.Just yesterday, the Justice Policy Institute released a study showing how prison companies profit through the suffering of mostly poor people. JPI reported
The three main companies have contributed $835,514 to federal candidates and over $6 million to state politicians. They have also spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on direct lobbying efforts. CCA has spent over $900,000 on federal lobbying and GEO spent anywhere from $120,000 to $199,992 in Florida alone during a short three-month span this year.
Meanwhile, “the relationship between government officials and private prison companies has been part of the fabric of the industry from the start,” notes the report. The cofounder of CCA himself used to be the chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party...
In Arizona, 30 of the 36 legislators who co-sponsored the state’s controversial immigration law that would undoubtedly put more immigrants behind bars received campaign contributions from private prison lobbyists or companies.Florida's
Here's one question: What will these people feast on when they've finally devoured every last morsel from the carcass of the middle class?
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
FL: Bad for people, great for corporations (VIDEO)
With acid sarcasm, The Campaign for America's Future brings us three good reasons to do business in Florida: prisons, poverty and unemployment. Re prisons:
Are you doing business in a state that puts public safety above profits? Then come to the Sunshine State, where facilities for more than 20,000 inmates have been privatized for your profit-seeking pleasure. With more offenders getting locked up each day, there are limitless opportunities for growth...Repeat offenders are really just loyal customers.And what is it with these Republican governors? Do any of them have an original idea? We understand that the attacks on workers are a conspiracy cooked up by billionaires and CEOs, but can't they at least use different words? The ones who destroy collective bargaining rights for government workers ALL call it a "toolkit" for local governments. And they ALL say their state is "Open for business."
In Maine, a Tea Party supporter of wingnut Gov. Paul LePage actually paid for a highway sign that said "Open for Business." Which he bought in Alabama. (Maine DOES have companies that make highway signs.) LePage's administration put the sign up in York, a gateway to the state.
Then the sign was stolen.
Reports Counterpunch in "The Moral of the Mural,"
In a move worthy of Abbie Hoffman, someone stole an "Open for Business" sign that Maine's controversial right-wing Governor Paul LePage had placed on the Maine Turnpike near the primary highway entrance to the state, and days later another unknown soul offered to trade the sign for a mural depicting Maine's labor history that LePage had previously removed from the state Department of Labor in an act that drew national attention.
The much-ballyhooed Open for Business highway sign went missing before Memorial Day and has yet to be found. But on June 2 an ad appeared on Craigslist offering to sell a "right-wing political sign" for $1,000 or trade it for "a multi-panel mural depicting the labor movement," a clear reference to the Labor Department mural removed by LePage.Maine's Senate Republicans loved the sign so much they had a cardboard replica made up to hang in their office.
A "ransom note" for the highway sign was also found taped to the door of WKIT/WZON, two Bangor radio stations owned by Stephen King, an erstwhile Bangor resident. In classic ransom note style the message was written with letters from newspapers and magazines that had been cut out and glued to a sheet of paper.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Scott to privatize prison health services -- but will it save money?
 |
| Scary-looking Gov Gone Wild. |
Whether privatizing prison health care will actually save money is quite another matter. PolitiFact points out that Florida's record isn't a good one.
First, here's the plan:
Budget language requires the Department of Corrections to issue requests for proposals to private companies to provide health care services for all public prison facilities in three of the state's four prison "regions." The fourth region -- in South Florida -- is being required to go one step further and privatize all of its facilities, including health care services.In 2000, Florida tried to privatize prison health care services.
The northernmost counties included in the fourth region include Manatee, Hardee, Highlands, Okeechobee, and Indian River. Prisons to the north of those counties will remain publicly run with outsourced health care services. The rest, from those counties south, are slated to become privately run.
The private health care contracts are required to take effect between July 1, 2011, and June 30, 2012...
Initially, the state experienced staffing shortfalls before it could execute a contract with a private vendor. State prison health care workers either transferred to facilities where they could keep their positions as state workers, or left altogether because their government jobs were being eliminated.Then, a deal was signed with Wexford Health Sources. It didn't go so well.
According to the Senate analysis, "there did not appear to be a system of internal controls," and there were "poor or nonexistent tracking mechanisms," and "unacceptable pharmacy systems." By 2003, the state Correctional Medical Authority -- which was set up to monitor health services provided to inmates -- encouraged the Department of Corrections to try to terminate the contract with Wexford for non-performance.Then Wexford wanted more money (we hope no one was surprised by that). The state got out of the contract and tried again. No luck that time, either.
We're skeptical that Scott, who has a long record of plundering taxpayers, will save any money at all with his prison privatization plan. It's just a well-established way for corporations to loot state governments.
We hope we're wrong. But we don't think so.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Florida outlaws sex
In answer to yesterday's question, "Has Florida gone mad?": The answer is "yes."
The Sunshine State Legislature not only privatized prisons, outlawed baggy pants, made welfare recipients take drug tests, cut unemployment benefits to pay for corporate tax cuts and stopped voter registration drives, but it outlawed sex.
The bill intended to outlaw bestiality actually bans "knowing sexual conduct or sexual contact with an animal."
Southern Fried Science points out that human beings are animals. He advises:
The Sunshine State Legislature not only privatized prisons, outlawed baggy pants, made welfare recipients take drug tests, cut unemployment benefits to pay for corporate tax cuts and stopped voter registration drives, but it outlawed sex.
The bill intended to outlaw bestiality actually bans "knowing sexual conduct or sexual contact with an animal."
Southern Fried Science points out that human beings are animals. He advises:
...if you’re living in Florida on October 1, 2011 and would like to have sexual intercourse with a consenting adult, please check with your veterinarian or local livestock breeder first to make sure you abide by ”accepted animal husbandry practices, conformation judging practices, or accepted veterinary medical practices.”
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