Showing posts with label student loan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label student loan. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Today's Teamster News 05.14.13

Teamster News
USF Reddaway Teamsters in Las Vegas Approve First Contract  teamster.org   ...USF Reddaway workers, represented by Teamsters Local 631 in Las Vegas, have unanimously ratified their first contract which provides excellent benefits and a grievance procedure, among other improvements. There are 45 workers in the bargaining unit...
Teamster Taxi Association Representatives, Drivers Blast D.C. Council Committee Bill  teamster.org   ...The representatives and drivers said the Council bill, titled the Transportation Network Services Innovation Act of 2014, favors the private sedan service companies and continues to give them an unfair competitive advantage over D.C. taxi drivers...
First Teamsters Contract For Warehouse Workers At IKEA  teamster.org   ...Congratulations to 64 warehouse workers at the IKEA distribution center in Frederickson, WA who voted overwhelmingly last night to ratify their first union contract.  Welcome to Teamsters Local 117!..
National Express Faces Joint Attack From Unite And Teamsters  The Guardian   ...National Express will face combined union pressure from Jim Hoffa Jr. president of the American Teamsters, and Len McClusky from Unite at its annual meeting on Wednesday...
Trade
No final deal on Pacific trade pact expected next week -US official  Reuters   ...Pacific trading partners are not expecting to reach a final agreement on an ambitious free trade pact at a ministerial meeting in Singapore next week, a senior U.S. official said on Tuesday...
Surging Steel Imports Put Up To Half a Million U.S. Jobs at Risk  Economic Policy Institute   ...The U.S. steel industry is facing its worst import crisis in more than a decade...
State Battles
Filling in the blanks on ALEC  Burlington Free Press   ...The American Association for Justice characterizes ALEC as “ghostwriting the law for corporate America,” because it develops legislation funded and designed by those corporations...
War On Workers
Sadness, Shock as Hundreds Perish in Turkish Coal Mine Tragedy  ABC News   ...Women wailed uncontrollably, men knelt sobbing and others just stared in disbelief outside a coal mine in western Turkey as rescue workers removed a steady stream of bodies Wednesday from an underground explosion and fire that killed at least 238 workers...
Sallie Mae, Navient To Pay $139 Million Settling Probes Into Cheating Troops On Student Loans  Huffington Post   ...The Department of Justice and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. accused Sallie Mae and its loan unit, now called Navient, of intentionally violating the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act by overcharging active-duty troops beginning in 2005, a period in which service members were fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The FDIC said Sallie Mae and Navient processed borrowers’ monthly student loan payments in a way designed to maximize late fees...
Banks At Walmart Are 'Exploiting The Poor': Investor  Huffington Post   ...Christopher Grisanti, co-founder of Grisanti Capital Management, said many of the independently-operated banks located in the retailer’s stores take advantage of cash-strapped consumers with nowhere else to turn. They allow poor Americans to overdraw their checking accounts and then subsequently charge overdraft fees...
The National Restaurant Association Spends Big to Keep Wages Low  Center for Media and Democracy   ...A majority of the Senate voted to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour recently, yet the bill failed to clear the 60 vote hurdle necessary for passage -- thanks in no small part to the political power of the National Restaurant Association, the restaurant industry's trade association...
Miscellaneous
When Driverless Cars Break the Law  New York Times   ...There is little doubt that the technology behind driverless cars is nearly advanced enough for mainstream use. Google plans to make its biggest public display yet of its cars on Tuesday...
Germany Sets New Record, Generating 74 Percent Of Energy Needs From Renewable Energy  Think Progress   ...On Sunday, Germany's impressive streak of renewable energy milestones continued, with renewable energy generation surging to a record portion --nearly 75 percent-- of the country's overall energy demand by midday...

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Today's Teamster News 01.23.14

Midwest Foods Warehouse Workers Choose Teamsters  teamstersjc25.com   ...Thirty distribution employees and drivers at Midwest Foods overwhelmingly voted to join Teamsters Local 703, which negotiated a strong, new five-year contract for their newest members... 
N.Y. Teamsters Join Anti-Fast Track Fight  teamster.org   ...The Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 553 in New York City, spoke out Tuesday against legislation that would force a quick up-or-down vote on bum trade deals like the TPP...
Unions coalesce against ‘paycheck protection’ legislation  Pennsylvania Independent   ...Unions across Pennsylvania are fighting a proposal that would end the practice of automatically deducting dues from public workers’ paychecks. The plan squelches the voice of organized labor, the labor groups say...
Thievery: How Congress Keeps Stealing From Our Retirement Benefits and Social Safety Net   AlterNet...Military pensions, unemployment, disability and Social Security are all targets...
Labor, business interests debate Missouri 'right to work' legislation
  Colombia Missourian   ...Labor and business representatives turned out in large numbers Tuesday morning in the second public hearing for House Bills 1053 and 1143, popularly known as the "right to work" bills...
No, It’s About Profits, Not “Free Speech”
  NH Labor News   ...Don’t be fooled. Tueday's Supreme Court hearing in Harris v. Quinn was about corporate profits – the cold, hard cash that employers can save when they break their workers’ union...
BP Employees, Outraged by Lack of Compensation, Warn Oil Spill Victims  Truthout   ...Long-term employees accuse oil giant BP of greed, exploitation and lying about their pensions...
Public Employees Are Transforming the Workplace
  Jobs With Justice   ...As the 2014 state legislative sessions commence, an increasing number of elected officials have declared open season on public employees and their unions. Yet examples abound of productive labor-management relations in the public sector—even in the wake of government agencies reeling from the Great Recession...
NSA sets dangerous global trend for surveillance  The Raw Story   ...The U.S. is setting a dangerous example for the world with its sweeping surveillance programmes, giving governments an excuse for mass censorship of online communications, Human Rights Watch said in its annual report Tuesday...
Housing costs are killing the American Dream  Moyers & Company   ...Historically, economic and geographic mobility have been intertwined. Studies have shown that the number one reason that people pick up and move to another community is for work:. But something has happened. In the 1980s, we began to stay put...
West Virginia Governor On Safety Of Water Supply: ‘It’s Your Decision… I’m Not A Scientist’   ThinkProgress   ...Amid growing concern over whether or not West Virginia's water is actually safe, the state's governor said it was up to residents to decide whether they use it...
Company that contaminated WV water supply reaches bankruptcy deal, bemoans 'perception' problem
DailyKos   ...The spill is causing the spiller a "perception" problem...
The Myth of the Absent Black Father  ThinkProgress   ...CDC research dispels prevailing assumptions about black fathers, they're more involved with their children's lives than previously thought...
New study reveals major gaps in FDA’s ‘regulatory flexibility’  The Raw Story   ...Consumers may expect that medical treatments approved for the US market are safe and thoroughly tested, but a study out Tuesday said that is not always the case...
Ownership of WaPo by CIA Contractor Puts U.S. Journalism in Dangerous Terrain  The Real News   ...Norman Solomon: There is a major conflict of interest in the ownership of The Washington Post by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who holds a $600 million contract with the CIA...
Senator Warren: Let students refinance their loans  Associated Press   ...U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren is planning to file a bill to let students refinance their old loans at a new lower rate...
Slumping Intel to cut more than 5,000 jobs in 2014
  Associated Press   ...Intel plans to trim more than 5,000 jobs from its workforce this year in an effort to boost its earnings amid waning demand for its personal computer chips...
Texas Instruments cutting 1,100 jobs; 4Q profit up  Seattle Post-Intelligencer ...Chipmaker Texas Instruments Inc. said Tuesday that it will cut 1,100 jobs worldwide, about 3 percent of its workforce, to trim costs and will reduce its investments in certain markets...

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Today's Teamster News 10.22.13

Chicago Teamsters Hispanic Caucus Awards Scholarships   Teamsters Joint Council 25 … The Chicago Teamsters Hispanic Caucus awarded $6,000 in academic scholarships on Oct. 16 to a dozen Illinois Teamsters and the sons and daughters of active Teamster members...
Chester Upland approves deal with Teamsters  Delaware County Daily Times   ...Chester Upland School District (Pennsylvania) approved a one-month contract extension with the district’s custodial and maintenance employees, who represented by Teamsters Local 312...
BART Strike Has Commuters Facing Gridlock  Associated Press   …San Francisco Bay Area commuters started the new work week on Monday with gridlocked roadways and long lines for buses and ferries as a major transit strike entered its fourth day, while investigators are searching for clues to a train crash that killed two workers...
ILA Halts Strike at Baltimore  Journal of Commerce   ...International Longshoremen’s Association workers agreed Friday to return to work for 90 days while negotiators work on a local contract that triggered a three-day strike at the Port of Baltimore. An arbitrator ruled that ILA Local 333’s walkout over a local contract violated the no-strike clause in the union’s coastwide master contract…
AFL-CIO To Democrats: We'll Work To End Your Career If You Cut Social Security Or Medicare  Huffington Post   ..."We will never forget. We will never forgive. And we will never stop working to end your career..."
McDowell County, USA Has Close to Haiti's Life Expectancy: Welcome to Third World America  Alternet   ...Many Americans, especially in the South, can look forward to dying far younger than their counterparts in Japan, Australia, New Zealand and much of Europe...
Suicide Rate Climbs by 30 Percent in Kansas as Government Slashes Mental Health Budgets  The Nation   ...the recession may have pushed already troubled people over the edge. Being unable to find a job or settling for one with lower pay or prestige could add “that final weight to a whole chain of events...”
JP Morgan to Pay $13 Billion in Fines, NYT Says, but Still No Criminal Charges Against Top Wall Street Execs  Buzzflash   ...Neither has there been any serious DOJ attempt -- as BuzzFlash has repeatedly written commentaries about over the past few years -- to hold the Wall Street execs criminally accountable for acts of fraud with a devastating financial impact that almost crashed the US economy. Our prisons are filled with burglars, check kiters, income tax evaders and others who are pikers compared to the masters of the universe who run Wall Street...
BofA Said to Face Three More U.S. Probes of Mortgage-Bond Sales  Bloomberg   ...Bank of America Corp., sued by U.S. attorneys in August over an $850 million mortgage bond, faces three additional Justice Department civil probes over mortgage-backed securities, according to two people with direct knowledge of the situation...
SEC Files Charges in Magnetar Deal  Pro Publica   ...Magnetar worked with investment banks to build CDOs that the hedge fund also bet against.  Magnetar would buy the riskiest part of the CDO, which gave it influence in picking which bonds would be included in the CDO. In turn, the hedge fund pushed riskier bonds that would make the investment more likely to fail...
Nissan under mounting pressure as United Auto Workers union targets Mississippi plant  Raw Story   ...The United Auto Workers is ratcheting up pressure on Nissan in the hopes it may finally succeed at organizing the Japanese automaker’s plant in the typically anti-union southern US state of Mississippi...
Privatization Benefits the 1%: Public Services Benefit Everyone  Truth-Out   ...Private systems are focused on making profits for a few well-positioned people. Public systems, when sufficiently supported by taxes, work for everyone in a generally equitable manner. The following are six specific reasons why privatization simply doesn't work...
How Taxpayers Get Punished by Private Prison “Lockup Quotas"   Demos   ...In the Public Interest (ITPI) recently released a shocking study on the alarming frequency of state private prison contracts that contain “occupancy quotas” that guarantee for-profit prison companies a steady stream of revenue even if prison populations decline...
More U.S. students borrowing for college  CBS News   ...The number of U.S. students who borrow money for college continues to climb, while the number of graduates who are paying off these loans is slipping...
Smithfield Foods Acquisition: A Lot of Bacon for China  Journal of Commerce   ...Chinese consumers soon could be in line for a lot more U.S. pork in mainland grocery stores. Shareholders in Smithfield Foods voted Sept. 24 to approve the company’s $4.7 billion purchase by Shuanghui International Holdings, the largest acquisition of a U.S. company by a Chinese business...
How dare you filthy peasants know…  Fire Dog Lake   ...Pretty much, oh 99 percent, of the country knows that the pay ratio of corporate CEOs to their workers is obscene. But to the CEOs the real obscenity is that people know just how obscene...
Secret probe spreads to five Wisconsin counties  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel   ...Sources familiar with the probe told the Journal Sentinel that it was scrutinizing a wide variety of state-related issues, including the recall races. Sources suggested the probe is looking at a current legislative leader and the governor's contest...
Judge holds employment commissioners in contempt in Act 10 ruling  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel   ...Monday's ruling by Circuit Judge Juan Colás will give teachers and local government workers the ability to immediately enter labor negotiations with their bosses; likely result in the cancellation of union recertification elections set for November; and grant official state recognition of a Kenosha teachers union that had been decertified...
Pennsylvania inmates on work detail declared public workers  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette   ...A jail inmate on a work detail can be considered a public employee, Commonwealth Court has ruled in a decision that could open the door to liability against a government entity for injuries that may stem from such work assignments...

Saturday, September 7, 2013

Today's Teamster News 09.07.13

Hoffa Signs Agreement With Brazil Union Leader  teamster.org   ...Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa and a top Brazilian labor leader inked an agreement today in Washington that will allow unions in the U.S. and Brazil to better work together and advocate for one another...
Teamsters Hold “Just Practicing” Picket at Darigold  Teamsters Local 117  ...Teamster production workers and lab technicians who work at Darigold participated in “just practicing” picketing actions on Thursday at the company’s facilities in Issaquah and Seattle in protest to the company’s refusal to bargain in good faith...
Teamsters settle on contract with Lake Transit operator  Lake County News   ...On Thursday, the nonprofit that operates Lake Transit Authority reached an agreement for a new three-year contract with union-represented workers who had gone out on two separate strikes this summer...
Teamster Locals Support Aggressive Measures to Protect Contract   teamster.org   ...Yesterday, Teamster Local Unions that represent more than 1,000 Allied Systems Holding workers unanimously supported informing its members on the need to take aggressive action – up to and including a lawful strike – if the current Black Diamond/Spectrum bid to buy Allied proceeds and is approved by the bankruptcy court on Tuesday, Sept. 10...
Wal-Mart and Washington D.C. in minimum wage showdown   Reuters   ...District of Columbia Mayor Vincent Gray could decide soon whether to sign a minimum wage bill that could discourage Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's biggest retailer, from opening stores in the U.S. capital...
Walmart workers tell us why they're protesting  KIRO Radio   ...Walmart workers were protesting in the Puget Sound region and around the country Thursday, prompting KIRO Radio's Dori Monson to invite a few on the show to find out why...
Exports Fall Short under Korea FTA for 16 out of 16 months  Public Citizen   ...government trade data released this week douses Obama's export promise with another bucket of cold reality. Under the Korea "free trade" agreement (FTA), a model for the TPP, U.S. exports have been steadily falling, imports have been rising, and job-displacing trade deficits have surged...
Enormous, Humongous Trade Deficit Grows  Trade Reform   ...So our vast, humongous, enormous, out-of-control trade deficit continues its upward trajectory, sucking more jobs and money from our economy. Our deficit with China, of course, is the biggest factor...
Monsanto and Walmart Influence Secret TPP Negotiations  New American   ...The 12 countries involved in the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade group reportedly plan to hammer out an agreement on tariffs during meetings late September. Although the American people (and the people of all nations involved in the pact) are prevented from participating or even watching the various rounds of meetings, global multi-nationals Monsanto and Walmart will help draft the agreement...
US employers add 169K jobs, rate falls to 7.3 pct  Associated Press   ...U.S. employers added 169,000 jobs in August and much fewer in July than previously thought. Hiring has slowed from the start of the year and could complicate the Federal Reserve's decision later this month on whether to reduce its bond purchases...
Ignore the headlines. This was a very bad jobs report.  Washington Post   ...in almost all the particulars, you can find signs that this job market is weaker than it appeared just a few months ago, and maybe getting worse...
The STEM Crisis Is a Myth  IEEE Spectrum   ...wages for U.S. workers in computer and math fields have largely stagnated since 2000. Even as the Great Recession slowly recedes, STEM workers at every stage of the career pipeline, from freshly minted grads to mid- and late-career Ph.D.s, still struggle to find employment as many companies, including Boeing, IBM, and Symantec, continue to lay off thousands of STEM workers...
Both parties wary of Obama's proposal to cut Social Security  Reuters   ...Republicans, Democrats and even the White House distanced themselves Thursday from President Barack Obama's proposal to trim Social Security and other safety-net benefits, illustrating yet again the difficulty of reaching a bargain to reduce spending and tame the deficit...
New OSHA Form Will Fan The Flames In Whistle-Blower Filings  Forbes   ...OSHA’s newly approved procedure for whistle-blower retaliation complaints—which allows individuals to file a claim just by completing a simple online form, available 24 hours a day—is sure to spike the already mushrooming claim rate...
FTC asks court to shut down phony payday loan broker Seattle Post-Intelligencer   ...At the request of the Federal Trade Commission, a U.S. district court has halted a Tampa, Fla.-based operation that promised to help consumers get payday loans. Instead of loans, the defendants used consumers’ personal financial information to debit their bank accounts in increments of $30 without their authorization, the FTC alleges...
Chicago mayor may still seek airport deal after talks called off  Reuters   ...Emanuel late Thursday halted the city's efforts to privatize operations of Chicago's second-largest airport after one bidding consortium pulled out, leaving the city with only one prospective bidder...

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Today's Teamster News 08.21.13

Republic Waste Workers from Local 728 Ratify First Contract  IBT   ...Waste workers employed by Republic Services near Atlanta have ratified their first contract, which boosts wages and on-the-job protections...
Teamster Contract With Kittitas County Ratified  Daily Record   ...Kittitas County commissioners recently ratified a new, four-year collective bargaining labor contract with Teamsters Local 760, which represents 28 county sheriff’s deputies...
Funeral Industry Giant SCI Locks Out Chicago Teamster Funeral Directors  IBT   ...Funeral industry giant Service Corporation International (NYSE: SCI) has locked out 59 Chicago-area funeral directors and drivers represented by Teamsters Local 727, despite an unconditional offer from the union to return to work...
Contract negotiations with Teamsters back on at Sabreliner  Republic Monitor   ...Members of Teamsters Local 600 in Maryland Heights, Missouri, unanimously voted last Thursday to reject the “ last and final” contract terms. But less than 24 hours later, both parties agreed to re-enter negotiations and extend the union’s current contract until this Saturday...
Trucking strike ends for Fontana depot  Press-Enterprise  Drivers and dock workers at a Fontana trucking depot returned to work Monday following a three-day strike. The disputes between Teamsters Local 63 and company officials will be decided by an arbitrator later this week...
Teamster strikers at Gold Cross are attempting negotiations with management again  Imperial Valley Press   ...Teamsters at Gold Cross and their parent company, Schaefer Ambulance, are entering negotiations for the second time since the strike began for get better treatment for the employees, better working conditions, a pay increase, and no cuts to medical benefits...
Many Teamster strikers at Lake Transit return to picket line  Lake County Record-Bee   ...Paratransit Services employees, who are members of Teamsters Local 665, went back to the picket line after ending a three-week strike following the news that the majority of workers will likely not get their jobs back immediately...
Amtrak: Record-Breaking Ridership in July  Amtrak   ...Year-over-year ridership in July grew 4.8 percent to more than 2.9 million passengers, an all-time record for most passengers in one month. Northeast Corridor services, state-supported and other short-distance routes, and long-distance trains all showed gains for July...
Moly-Cop pushes CP Rail for service  Daily News   ...Moly-Cop’s Kamloops operation is demanding that rail service be returned to its plant six weeks after the Kelowna Pacific Railway shut down. The company contends to the Canadian Transportation Agency it has a right to service under the Fair Rail Freight Service Act — legislation that passed only last June...
Rail Traffic Picks Up Some Momentum  Pragmatic Capitalism   ...More decent news here in rail trends as we begin to see some signs of life in traffic. Intermodal jumped 6.1% year over year and total traffic was up 2.7%. Carloads were down marginally. This week’s reading brought the 12 week moving average in intermodal to 2.8% which is the highest reading since May...
‘Oligarchic tendencies’: Study finds only the wealthy get represented in the Senate  Raw Story   ...In all of the five Congresses examined, the voting records of Senators were consistently aligned with the opinions of their wealthiest constituents. The opinions of lower-class constituents, however, never appeared to influence the Senators’ voting behavior...
Koch-Funded Rand Paul Introduces National Anti-Union ‘Right To Work’ Bill To The Senate  Progressive Change Campaign Committee   ...Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) just introduced a federal so-called “right to work” law that would undermine labor organizing nationwide...
Fast Food Workers Plan Nationwide Walkout August 29  Business Review USA   ...“If you work in a fast food or retail store anywhere in the country, we urge you to join our growing movement,” said Terrance Wise, a 34-year old father of three who earns $9.30 an hour after eight years at Burger King and $7.47 at Pizza Hut in Kansas City. “Get together with some or all of your co-workers and make plans to take to the streets on August 29...
Unemployment rates rise in most US states in July  Associated Press   ...Unemployment rates rose in more than half of U.S. states in July and fewer states added jobs, echoing national data that show the job market may have lost some momentum...
Judge endorses use of fraud law against Bank of America  Reuters   ...A federal judge has endorsed a broad interpretation of a savings-and-loan era law that the Justice Department is trying to use in cases against Wall Street banks...
More students than ever rely on federal college aid  Politico   ...Students and families are more willing than ever to borrow to pay for college and increasingly reliant on federal grants and loans to help with tuition bills, statistics released yesterday from the U.S. Education Department show...
Trans-Pacific Partnership Will Remove What’s Left Of American Democracy  firedoglake   ...If TPP passes it will override American law. Again: we will not be able to pass laws that reign in the corporations. We will not be able to protect our jobs and wages because, as we have seen, companies can just close a factory and move your job to a country that pays very little, doesn’t protect the environment, and doesn’t let working people do anything about it...
Greece will need new bailout, says Germany's Schaeuble  BBC News   ...The country's economy has shrunk further than any other in Europe, with bailout money only released on condition that the government imposes cuts and implements restructuring...
First Maine Lobstering Union Meeting Held  WFVX Bangor News   ...Lobstering in Maine has had its fair share of ups and downs over the past year few years, but now with the 'Maine Lobstering Union' officially formed Sunday, lobstermen are hoping to see changes come to this booming business in the Pine Tree State...
Missouri Lt. Governor: ‘We’ll pass Right to Work in 2014;’ Ohioans prepare for legislative fallout Beverly Hills Courier   ...As pro-union supporters in Ohio begin preparations for the upcoming legislative session, their attention will also be focused on Missouri after Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder told an Associated Press reporter that he believes Right to Work is heading to the ballot in an attempt to bypass the state’s anti-right to work governor...
“Indescribably insane”: A public school system from hell  Salon   ...Pennsylvania's right-wing governor drains public schools of basic funds -- and the sickening details will shock you...
Florida teachers still waiting for first raise in a long time  Orlando Sentinel   ...Teachers welcomed the news earlier this year when Florida Gov. Rick Scott called for $2,500 pay hikes and then kept up the raises-for-teachers drumbeat in the months that followed. But seven months after Scott made his teacher-raise announcement, no Central Florida public-school teacher has gotten the pay hike he touted...
California discourages needy from receiving food stamps  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette   ...For years, Texas was among a handful of states that required every resident seeking help with grocery bills to first be fingerprinted, an exercise typically associated with criminals. Texas remains one of the most effective states at keeping its poor out of the giant federal food stamp program. But it is not No. 1. That distinction belongs to California...
Democratic North Carolina State Senator Resigns From Office To Help People Get Voter ID PoliticusUSA   ...Many Democrats talk about fighting back against voter suppression, but North Carolina state senator Ellie Kinnaird resigned from office today in order to work on a grassroots project to help people obtain voter IDs. Read her statement...
Bankruptcy Judge Should Respect Michigan’s Constitution Even If Michigan Governor Rick Snyder Doesn’t  Economic Policy Institute   ...By ignoring the state’s constitution and its protection for accrued public employee pensions, Snyder is undermining the rule of law and adopting the kind of “ends justify the means” reasoning that usually precedes violations of public trust...

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Today's Teamster News 05.16.13

Upcoming Trans-Pacific Partnership Looks Like Corporate Takeover  Huffington Post   ...TPP's negotiations are being held in secret with details kept secret even from our Congress. But giant corporations are in the loop... 
Blame Citizens United for the IRS scandal Salon   ...The real outrage is why these political groups have tax-exempt status in the first place...
Unions mobilize as labor board faces paralysis in Obama’s second term The Hill ...Labor is mounting an all-out push to fill the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) as the agency faces the prospect of being sidelined for the rest of President Obama’s second term...
Obama Student Loan Policy Reaping $51 Billion Profit  Huffington Post   ...The Obama administration is forecast to turn a record $51 billion profit this year from student loan borrowers, a sum greater than the earnings of the nation's most profitable companies and roughly equal to the combined net income of the four largest U.S. banks by assets...
U.S. Senate Passes Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) with Buy America Amendment Included. manufacture this ...The Merkley/Brown amendment #866 included in the legislation would ensure that American-made iron, steel, and manufactured goods are used in projects financed by a new Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Authority (WIFIA) program whenever they are available and competitively priced...
U.S. tax dollars promote Monsanto's GMO crops overseas: report  Reuters   ...U.S. taxpayers are footing the bill for overseas lobbying that promotes controversial biotech crops developed by U.S.-based Monsanto Co and other seed makers, a report issued on Tuesday said...
The reason France has gone into double-dip recession  The Guardian     ...This isn't a uniquely French problem – EU nations of various political hues are in trouble because of a fixation on austerity...
Texas Fertilizer Explosion Victims in No Mood to Pay Property Taxes  ABC News   ...After a fertilizer plant explosion destroyed part of a small city last month, the leaders of West, Texas, find themselves in the difficult financial position of having to collect property taxes from residents whose homes were destroyed...
Missouri legislation could weaken public labor unions  St. Louis Post-Dispatch   ...The Missouri Legislature is sending a bill to Gov. Jay Nixon that would make public employee unions ask their members each year if they want to continue being members...
Michigan bill would impose fines on unions for illegal picketing  Lansing State Journal   ... Individuals and labor unions could face steep fines for engaging in illegal pickets if the Michigan Legislature takes up a bill that a Republican lawmaker recently reintroduced...
$483M tax windfall brightens Michigan's budget picture  Detroit Free Press   ...The state of Michigan will have more than $640 million in unanticipated revenues to work with as it finalizes the 2013-14 budget, John Nixon, the state budget director, said after yesterday’s revenue estimating conference at the state Capitol. But the bulk of that money will be “one-time money” that the state can’t build into ongoing budgets...
Health advocates oppose NC Senate smoking bill  Associated Press   ...Health advocates say a North Carolina Senate bill would repeal hundreds of local and community college rules restricting smoking outdoors...
Defense furloughs clobber Arizona employees  Arizona Republic   ...Thousands of civilian defense employees across Arizona will face sharp reductions in work and pay through the rest of the fiscal year as the Department of Defense implements furloughs…
New Jersey Property Taxes Rise to Record as Growth Slows  Bloomberg News   ...New Jersey’s average residential property-tax bill rose 1.6 percent to a record $7,885 last year as most towns abided by Governor Chris Christie’s 2 percent cap on the levies, slowing the growth rate, according to state data...
Why are women so absent from Georgia leadership?   Atlanta Journal-Constitution   ...None of Georgia’s eight statewide constitutional offices, from governor through agriculture commissioner, is held by a woman. None of the five members of the state Public Service Commission, elected statewide to regulate utilities, is a woman. Likewise, none of Georgia’s 16 seats in Congress — 14 in the House and two in the Senate — is held by a woman. For those keeping score at home, that’s zero for 29...
Illinois passes law to make Busch divest beer distributorship  Chicago Tribune   ...A bill that will require Anheuser-Busch to sell its minority stake in Chicago's City Beverage has passed the Illinois Senate. Anheuser and the Illinois Liquor Control Commission have been involved in a string of litigation on this issue since the commission blocked the world's largest brewer from acquiring City Beverage in 2010...
Pa. Dems line up to run vs. hobbled Corbett  Politico   ...Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett may be the most vulnerable incumbent governor in the country — and Keystone State Democrats are lining up to challenge him...
U.S. DOT Allowing Unsafe Mexico-Domiciled Truck Companies to Participate in NAFTA Pilot Program Threatening Safety of Motorists  IBT   ...The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation charged with overseeing the cross-border long-haul Pilot Program on North American Free Trade Agreement Trucking Provisions, has not taken definitive action to bar participation of unsafe Mexico-domiciled motor carriers...
Teamster Taxi Operator Shares His Experiences at Unity Conference  Teamsters Local 117   …Local 117 is on the forefront of a new effort by the Teamsters Union to organize thousands of taxicab operators across the country...