Teamster News
Hoffa Heads To Wisconsin To Urge Teamsters To The Polls teamster.org ...Jim Hoffa, Teamsters' General President, barnstormed the state of Wisconsin today to encourage fellow Teamsters to vote for working family candidates and those who support collective bargaining...
Teamsters Honor School Bus Worker Contributions To Safety During National School Bus Safety Week, Oct. 20-24 IBT ...The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is honoring school bus workers—including the more than 75,000 Teamster school bus workers—for their dedication to safety and service during National School Bus Safety Week, Oct. 20-24...
U.S. Senators seek antitrust scrutiny of Sysco deal to buy U.S. Foods Reuters ...The top two lawmakers on the Senate's antitrust panel have urged regulators to scrutinize food distributor Sysco Corp's planned purchase of rival U.S. Foods for $3.5 billion...
Trade
Trans-Pacific trade deal could bankrupt governments All Voices ...TPP is really about giving corporations the right to sue sovereign governments for profit...
State Battles
Scott Walker Puts Miles On State Vehicles For Job — And Campaigning Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ...Since taking office in January 2011, Walker has used a state SUV and sedan to get to political events on at least 365 days, or more than a year out of his four years leading the state, according to state records reviewed by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel...
Report Critical Of Corbett "Outsourcing" In Pennsylvania Public News Service ...Shrinking government has meant shifting responsibilities to private industry in some states, and Gov. Tom Corbett is one of seven governors taken to task in a new report that correlates these outsourcing decisions with major campaign donors and mixed results for taxpayers...
Kids As Crash Test Dummies: Brownback Outsources Child Support Services To Donor Huffington Post ...In March 2013, however, the Kansas Department of Children and Families (DCF) announced that all child support services would be outsourced, and a request for proposal was issued. Not limited to enforcement, the contracts would include services connected to court petitioning, locating parents, and establishing paternity, which had never been in private hands before...
Indiana Reinstates Time Limits For Some Food Stamp Recipients Indianapolis Star ...Advocates for the poor say it would be better for Indiana to first make sure it has sufficient programs to help the unemployed find jobs or new skills before reinstating the time limits...
Captive Customers: Outsourcing Prison Services Is Ruining Lives And Bilking Taxpayers Huffington Post ...Florida Governor Rick Scott campaigned on privatizing health care in Florida's prisons, and that is exactly what he has delivered. The Post investigation uncovered sky rocketing inmate deaths, as referrals to outside doctors have dropped by nearly 50 percent, and prescription pain management medications are replaced with over the counter drugs like Tylenol and ibuprofen. One inmate complained of lumps in her arm and was given a warm compress, Tylenol and solitary confinement. Six weeks later, she was dead of cancer that had spread throughout her body...
Supreme Court Allows Texas To Use Controversial Voter-ID Law Washington Post ...The Supreme Court’s order that Texas can proceed with its strict voter-ID law in next month’s election ended what is likely to be just the first round in a legal battle over election-law changes made by Republican-led legislatures around the country...
War on Workers
Taxi Shortage As Uber Lures Away Yellow Cabbies New York Post ...Fleet owners are blaming the Taxi and Limousine Commission for the mass migration, accusing it — or one of its employees — of supplying drivers’ contact information to Uber. “They’re leaking it,” said Tony Georgiton, of Queens Medallion, which leases its cars to some 2,000 drivers. “It has to be somebody within the agency, within the TLC.”...
Middletown Man Killed In Freak Farm Accident New Castle News Journal ...A tractor being operated by 64-year-old Robert L. Baker, of Odessa, was pulling a grain hopper, which had a tow strap attached to the back, and was attempting to pull out a tractor-trailer fully loaded with corn that was stuck in the mud, Fournier said...
Hartford jury awards $7M in DOT worker death case Associated Press ...The 41-year-old father of two from Rocky Hill was struck by a tractor trailer on the right shoulder of Route 8 northbound on March 22, 2012, after parking his DOT truck, which had its emergency lights on...
NYC Papa John's Pizza Franchisee Sued For $2 Million Reuters ...New York state's attorney general sued the owners of five Papa John's pizza restaurants in Manhattan on Thursday for about $2 million over claims that they had underpaid 400 delivery workers and shaved hours from their paychecks...
Showing posts with label tom corbett. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tom corbett. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Today's Teamster News 10.15.14
Teamster News
Teamsters Make History With First Ever Organizing Victory At FedEx Freight teamster.org ...A group of 47 drivers at FedEx Freight's East Philadelphia terminal in Croydon, Penn. made history today when they overwhelmingly voted to join Teamsters Local 107 in Philadelphia...
Philadelphia FedEx Freight Drivers Vote to Unionize Wall Street Journal ...A group of Philadelphia FedEx Freight drivers voted on Tuesday to join a local Teamsters union, a landmark move for the company’s drivers who are seeking improved working conditions...
Mexican trucking pilot expires Capital Press ...The Teamsters Union, citing safety and job loss concerns, opposed the pilot program...
Hoffa: Mexican Cross-Border Trucking Program Has Failed teamster.org ...After spending tens of millions of dollars over the past three years to monitor and inspect trucks domiciled in Mexico, the Mexican Cross-Border Trucking Program ends today...
SEPTA, Rail Engineers Reach Tentative Agreement Philadelphia Inquirer ...Negotiators for SEPTA and Regional Rail locomotive engineers reached a tentative agreement, which will avert a possible commuter rail strike if the pact is accepted by the engineers and the SEPTA board...
State Asks Bridgeton Landfill Owners To Do More To Keep Fire From Spreading St. Louis Post-Dispatch ...The owners of the Bridgeton Landfill need to step up their efforts to keep an underground fire from reaching nuclear waste at the adjacent West Lake Landfill, according to a letter released Monday by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources...
Sysco Plying FTC To Save US Foods Deal New York Post ...Executives at Sysco, the nation’s No. 1 food supplier to restaurants and schools, are talking with government regulators in an attempt to save the company’s $3.5 billion purchase of US Foods, The Post has learned...
Trade
Anti-TTIP Demonstrations Seize European Capitals EurActiv ...Some 400 activist groups marched all over Europe on Saturday (11 October) in protest against the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), as the EU-US trade deal crystallises opposition to a wide variety of issues – from shale gas to corporate finance...
State Battles
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker Doesn't Think The Minimum Wage 'Serves A Purpose' Huffington Post ...Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) on Tuesday bluntly put into words how he feels about the minimum wage. "Well, I'm not going to repeal it," he said in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "but I don't think it serves a purpose…
Philly Teachers Say They Already Give To Keep Schools Afloat Philadelphia Inquirer ...Inez Campbell has paid for students' medicine. Kimberly Lent has footed the bill for prom tickets and class dues. Sharnae Wilson bought her own copier because her school's machine doesn't always work. Emily Cohen has shelled out for enough books to fill a small library. For decades, Philadelphia School District teachers, counselors, nurses, school psychologists, and others made a trade-off, they say...
War on Workers
Nurses at Texas hospital: 'There were no protocols' about Ebola CNN ...A union made troubling allegations Tuesday about the Texas hospital where a nurse contracted Ebola, claiming "guidelines were constantly changing" and "there were no protocols" about how to deal with the deadly virus."...
Second Texas health-care worker tests positive for Ebola USA Today ...A second hospital worker who helped care for Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan has tested positive for the disease, the Texas Department of State Health Services said in a statement early Wednesday...
Union Urges Protection for Federal Workers at Possible Risk for Ebola Exposure Government Executive ...A federal employee union is urging agencies to “take all necessary measures” to protect government employees working at the country’s ports of entry from possible exposure to the Ebola virus...
Construction worker dies after Sept. crash Toledo Blade ...A construction worker critically injured last month in a crash on the Anthony Wayne Trail in Maumee died Monday...
Sharp rise in contract workers killed on the job wsws.org ...Last year 734 contract workers were killed on the job in the US...The Bureau of Labor Statistics only began keeping figures on the deaths of contract workers in 2011. But in that short time there has already been a dramatic increase in the number of such workers killed. In 2012, 715 contract workers died in on-the-job accidents, up from 542 in 2011...
Koch Donors Uncloaked Politico ...New York hedge fund billionaire Bob Mercer wrote the largest check — $2.5 million — followed by Charles and David Koch, who each stroked $2 million checks from trusts in their names. The group received $1 million apiece from Arkansas poultry producer Ronnie Cameron, Wisconsin roofing billionaire Diane Hendricks and Nebraska trucking magnate Clarence Werner...
Walmart’s Cuts To Worker Compensation Are Self-Defeating Al Jazeera America ...Walmart is cutting worker compensation — again. The stealthy way the giant retailer is cutting pay for most of its 1.4 million American workers not only throws sand in the gears of the nation’s economic engine but also misleads investors by disguising the company’s weakening finances...
Miscellaneous
Oil Keeps Crashing Business Insider ...This is just unbelievable what's happening in oil. Every day it's crashing. Markets are drifting lower overall, contributing to the general "risk off", deflationary-winds vibe. But man, oil! It's close to breaking below $80...
Uber Just Got A Failing Grade From The Better Business Bureau Jalopnik ...The heart of the BBB's charge apparently lies in Uber's "surge pricing" model, where the company charges you enormous amounts of money for a ride exactly when you need it most, like when they charged more than seven times the normal rate during a blizzard, or five times the normal rate during a busy conference...
Teamsters Make History With First Ever Organizing Victory At FedEx Freight teamster.org ...A group of 47 drivers at FedEx Freight's East Philadelphia terminal in Croydon, Penn. made history today when they overwhelmingly voted to join Teamsters Local 107 in Philadelphia...
Philadelphia FedEx Freight Drivers Vote to Unionize Wall Street Journal ...A group of Philadelphia FedEx Freight drivers voted on Tuesday to join a local Teamsters union, a landmark move for the company’s drivers who are seeking improved working conditions...
Mexican trucking pilot expires Capital Press ...The Teamsters Union, citing safety and job loss concerns, opposed the pilot program...
Hoffa: Mexican Cross-Border Trucking Program Has Failed teamster.org ...After spending tens of millions of dollars over the past three years to monitor and inspect trucks domiciled in Mexico, the Mexican Cross-Border Trucking Program ends today...
SEPTA, Rail Engineers Reach Tentative Agreement Philadelphia Inquirer ...Negotiators for SEPTA and Regional Rail locomotive engineers reached a tentative agreement, which will avert a possible commuter rail strike if the pact is accepted by the engineers and the SEPTA board...
State Asks Bridgeton Landfill Owners To Do More To Keep Fire From Spreading St. Louis Post-Dispatch ...The owners of the Bridgeton Landfill need to step up their efforts to keep an underground fire from reaching nuclear waste at the adjacent West Lake Landfill, according to a letter released Monday by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources...
Sysco Plying FTC To Save US Foods Deal New York Post ...Executives at Sysco, the nation’s No. 1 food supplier to restaurants and schools, are talking with government regulators in an attempt to save the company’s $3.5 billion purchase of US Foods, The Post has learned...
Trade
Anti-TTIP Demonstrations Seize European Capitals EurActiv ...Some 400 activist groups marched all over Europe on Saturday (11 October) in protest against the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), as the EU-US trade deal crystallises opposition to a wide variety of issues – from shale gas to corporate finance...
State Battles
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker Doesn't Think The Minimum Wage 'Serves A Purpose' Huffington Post ...Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) on Tuesday bluntly put into words how he feels about the minimum wage. "Well, I'm not going to repeal it," he said in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "but I don't think it serves a purpose…
Philly Teachers Say They Already Give To Keep Schools Afloat Philadelphia Inquirer ...Inez Campbell has paid for students' medicine. Kimberly Lent has footed the bill for prom tickets and class dues. Sharnae Wilson bought her own copier because her school's machine doesn't always work. Emily Cohen has shelled out for enough books to fill a small library. For decades, Philadelphia School District teachers, counselors, nurses, school psychologists, and others made a trade-off, they say...
War on Workers
Nurses at Texas hospital: 'There were no protocols' about Ebola CNN ...A union made troubling allegations Tuesday about the Texas hospital where a nurse contracted Ebola, claiming "guidelines were constantly changing" and "there were no protocols" about how to deal with the deadly virus."...
Second Texas health-care worker tests positive for Ebola USA Today ...A second hospital worker who helped care for Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan has tested positive for the disease, the Texas Department of State Health Services said in a statement early Wednesday...
Union Urges Protection for Federal Workers at Possible Risk for Ebola Exposure Government Executive ...A federal employee union is urging agencies to “take all necessary measures” to protect government employees working at the country’s ports of entry from possible exposure to the Ebola virus...
Construction worker dies after Sept. crash Toledo Blade ...A construction worker critically injured last month in a crash on the Anthony Wayne Trail in Maumee died Monday...
Sharp rise in contract workers killed on the job wsws.org ...Last year 734 contract workers were killed on the job in the US...The Bureau of Labor Statistics only began keeping figures on the deaths of contract workers in 2011. But in that short time there has already been a dramatic increase in the number of such workers killed. In 2012, 715 contract workers died in on-the-job accidents, up from 542 in 2011...
Koch Donors Uncloaked Politico ...New York hedge fund billionaire Bob Mercer wrote the largest check — $2.5 million — followed by Charles and David Koch, who each stroked $2 million checks from trusts in their names. The group received $1 million apiece from Arkansas poultry producer Ronnie Cameron, Wisconsin roofing billionaire Diane Hendricks and Nebraska trucking magnate Clarence Werner...
Walmart’s Cuts To Worker Compensation Are Self-Defeating Al Jazeera America ...Walmart is cutting worker compensation — again. The stealthy way the giant retailer is cutting pay for most of its 1.4 million American workers not only throws sand in the gears of the nation’s economic engine but also misleads investors by disguising the company’s weakening finances...
Miscellaneous
Oil Keeps Crashing Business Insider ...This is just unbelievable what's happening in oil. Every day it's crashing. Markets are drifting lower overall, contributing to the general "risk off", deflationary-winds vibe. But man, oil! It's close to breaking below $80...
Uber Just Got A Failing Grade From The Better Business Bureau Jalopnik ...The heart of the BBB's charge apparently lies in Uber's "surge pricing" model, where the company charges you enormous amounts of money for a ride exactly when you need it most, like when they charged more than seven times the normal rate during a blizzard, or five times the normal rate during a busy conference...
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Today's Teamster News 02.23.13
Court Scoffs at Light Sentence for CEO's Fraud Courthouse News Service ...The seven-day sentence given to a former CEO whose money-laundering scheme cost investors more $18 million was as "unreasonably low," the 6th Circuit ruled...
New Jersey sues Sandy relief fund USA Today ...Operators of a Sandy relief group diverted more than $17,000 in donated money to eat out, pay credit card bills and shop online while storm victims received just $1,650 in aid, an ongoing state investigation has found...
Detroit Anti-Eviction Campaign Keeping Families in Their Homes The Real News ...In Detroit, Michigan, the city many consider the epicenter of the nation's subprime and foreclosure crisis, banks continue to evict residents from their homes at an alarming pace. But over the past year, a growing grassroots movement has blocked evictions and kept families in their homes...
The American Trucking Industry Had Its Best January Ever Business Insider ...The American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 2.9% in January after jumping 2.4% in December. ... Tonnage has surged at least 2.4% every month since November, gaining a total of 9.1% over that period...
Ford announces re-shoring of engine manufacturing jobs manufacture this ...Ford announced this week that it would begin manufacturing EcoBoost engines for the North American market in Ohio. Previously workers in Spain built these engines. This move means 450 new manufacturing jobs for Cleveland...
UK loses top AAA credit rating for first time since 1978 BBC News ...The ratings agency Moody's became the first to cut the UK from its highest rating, to Aa1. Moody's said the government's debt reduction programme faced significant "challenges" ahead. Chancellor George Osborne said the decision was "a stark reminder of the debt problems facing our country"...
Right to work, prevailing wage debate for nought The Daily Independent ...The House Committee on Labor and Industry Thursday heard discussion on bills sponsored by Rep. Jim DeCesare, R-Bowling Green, which would make Kentucky a right-to-work state and repeal the prevailing wage law for public projects ...But at DeCesare’s request, there was no vote on either of the bills...
State Lawmakers Move to Restrict Living Wages, Sick Leave Ordinances Florida Center for Investigative Reporting ...This week, a bill that would remove local ordinances requiring companies to pay living wages passed through a committee in the Florida Legislature. The bill is aimed at cracking down on local laws in Orlando, Miami Beach and Gainesville that ask certain employers to pay employees slightly more than the minimum wage...
Bullock jobs bill tabled in legislative committee Associated Press ...A Republican-led committee is rejecting Gov. Steve Bullock's plan to increase the mandatory hiring percentage of Montana workers on public-works projects in the state...
Corbett: Challenge on lottery rejection is coming The Morning Call ... Corbett likely will file his challenge directly with the state Supreme Court...
Lawmakers make step toward privatization at MARTA The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ...Legislation was passed by state representatives that required the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority to privatize major functions — from payroll and cleaning to paratransit services. The reform also requires moving new employees from a pension to a 401(k) retirement plan and capping the heavily indebted agency’s bond debt at 35 percent of sales tax collections...
Aberdeen Man Among UPS Drivers Honored for 25 Accident-Free Years Matawan-Aberdeen Patch ...An Aberdeen man is one of 50 United Parcel Service drivers from New Jersey being honored for 25 years or more of accident-free driving...
Some Teamsters get pay raises during state contract negotiations Gatehouse News Service ...About 1,500 unionized workers at the Illinois Department of Transportation and other agencies received raises last month, even though their union is still negotiating a new contract with the state...
New Jersey sues Sandy relief fund USA Today ...Operators of a Sandy relief group diverted more than $17,000 in donated money to eat out, pay credit card bills and shop online while storm victims received just $1,650 in aid, an ongoing state investigation has found...
Detroit Anti-Eviction Campaign Keeping Families in Their Homes The Real News ...In Detroit, Michigan, the city many consider the epicenter of the nation's subprime and foreclosure crisis, banks continue to evict residents from their homes at an alarming pace. But over the past year, a growing grassroots movement has blocked evictions and kept families in their homes...
The American Trucking Industry Had Its Best January Ever Business Insider ...The American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 2.9% in January after jumping 2.4% in December. ... Tonnage has surged at least 2.4% every month since November, gaining a total of 9.1% over that period...
Ford announces re-shoring of engine manufacturing jobs manufacture this ...Ford announced this week that it would begin manufacturing EcoBoost engines for the North American market in Ohio. Previously workers in Spain built these engines. This move means 450 new manufacturing jobs for Cleveland...
UK loses top AAA credit rating for first time since 1978 BBC News ...The ratings agency Moody's became the first to cut the UK from its highest rating, to Aa1. Moody's said the government's debt reduction programme faced significant "challenges" ahead. Chancellor George Osborne said the decision was "a stark reminder of the debt problems facing our country"...
Right to work, prevailing wage debate for nought The Daily Independent ...The House Committee on Labor and Industry Thursday heard discussion on bills sponsored by Rep. Jim DeCesare, R-Bowling Green, which would make Kentucky a right-to-work state and repeal the prevailing wage law for public projects ...But at DeCesare’s request, there was no vote on either of the bills...
State Lawmakers Move to Restrict Living Wages, Sick Leave Ordinances Florida Center for Investigative Reporting ...This week, a bill that would remove local ordinances requiring companies to pay living wages passed through a committee in the Florida Legislature. The bill is aimed at cracking down on local laws in Orlando, Miami Beach and Gainesville that ask certain employers to pay employees slightly more than the minimum wage...
Bullock jobs bill tabled in legislative committee Associated Press ...A Republican-led committee is rejecting Gov. Steve Bullock's plan to increase the mandatory hiring percentage of Montana workers on public-works projects in the state...
Corbett: Challenge on lottery rejection is coming The Morning Call ... Corbett likely will file his challenge directly with the state Supreme Court...
Lawmakers make step toward privatization at MARTA The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ...Legislation was passed by state representatives that required the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority to privatize major functions — from payroll and cleaning to paratransit services. The reform also requires moving new employees from a pension to a 401(k) retirement plan and capping the heavily indebted agency’s bond debt at 35 percent of sales tax collections...
Aberdeen Man Among UPS Drivers Honored for 25 Accident-Free Years Matawan-Aberdeen Patch ...An Aberdeen man is one of 50 United Parcel Service drivers from New Jersey being honored for 25 years or more of accident-free driving...
Some Teamsters get pay raises during state contract negotiations Gatehouse News Service ...About 1,500 unionized workers at the Illinois Department of Transportation and other agencies received raises last month, even though their union is still negotiating a new contract with the state...
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Today's Teamster News 02.20.13
Speculators driving gas prices up, up, up McClatchy ...gasoline prices are soaring again and eating away at the purchasing power of ordinary Americans. And again, financial speculators appear to be a big part of the story. The national average pump price hit $3.74 for a gallon of unleaded gasoline Tuesday, up a sharp 44 cents per gallon from just a month ago...
It Takes a B.A. to Find a Job as a File Clerk New York Times ...Across industries and geographic areas, many other jobs that didn’t used to require a diploma — positions like dental hygienists, cargo agents, clerks and claims adjusters — are increasingly requiring one, according to Burning Glass, a company that analyzes job ads from more than 20,000 online sources, including major job boards and small- to midsize-employer sites...
Greeks Hold First General Strike as Samaras Implements Austerity Bloomberg ...The strike is the latest challenge from unions to Samaras, who has used emergency decrees twice in the past month to end walkouts prompted by the spending cuts and tax increases required to keep funds flowing to the country...The new pension and wage cuts and tax hikes follow a wave of austerity measures that has led the country to a sixth year of recession and unemployment to a record 27 percent...
Iberia strikers clash with police Irish Times ...Striking union workers clashed with police at Madrid’s Barajas airport yesterday on the first day of a week-long strike over more than 3,800 pending job cuts at Spain’s flagship airline Iberia. More than 80 Iberia flights were cancelled as workers at the carrier began a series of five-day walkouts...
Republican Bill Targets Private Sector Unions The Wheeler Report ...A bill being rushed through the Republican-controlled State Legislature is an attack on private sector
union bargaining rights, three legislators charged today. The proposal, sponsored by State Senator Paul Farrow (R-Pewaukee) and Representative Ed Brooks (RReedsburg), would allow employers to reduce the hours of their union-represented employees without the union’s approval...
Liquor privatization bill to be introduced The Patriot-News ...(Pennsylvania) State House Majority Leader Mike Turzai, a leading advocate for privatization, has begun circulating a memo asking lawmakers to sponsor a bill. The bill, House Bill 790, will be introduced March 4...Democrats have fought efforts to sell the state stores, siding with unions representing state store workers...
Florida House speaker's plan for pension reform hits a snag Bradenton Herald ...A report released Friday was supposed to provide an estimate of how much the change would cost to pay out benefits to the employees currently in the system while switching new state employees into 401(k)-style retirement plans. Instead, the report was deemed incomplete...
Controversy over teachers' union email continues in Lansing Livingston Daily Press & Argus ...State House Bill 4201, introduced this month, would prohibit a public employee from using public email for political campaigning, union activities, union recruitment, or fundraising...
Bills target public-sector unions Arizona Republic ...Republicans at the Arizona Legislature are continuing efforts to restrict public-employee unions. Three bills to restrict unions passed a Senate committee on Monday. Another is scheduled for a House committee vote today. Several other bills are at various stages in the legislative process...
New Boeing contract splits engineers, tech workers Associated Press ...Boeing Co.'s engineers have accepted a new four-year contract while technical workers rejected their offer and voted to authorize a future strike...
School Bus Drivers End Strike, in Win for New York Mayor New York Times ...The main union for New York City’s school bus drivers ended its monthlong strike Friday, handing a victory to the Bloomberg administration, which had refused to give in to the union’s demands for job protections...
Costco Teamsters Ratify Three-year Contract IBT ...Teamster members at Costco have voted overwhelmingly in favor of a new three-year contract that includes a 9 percent wage increase over the term of the agreement, stronger job protections and an improved grievance procedure for the 15,000 workers. Costco Teamsters, who are the highest-paid retail employees in the country with the best benefits, voted 77 percent in favor of the new contract...
It Takes a B.A. to Find a Job as a File Clerk New York Times ...Across industries and geographic areas, many other jobs that didn’t used to require a diploma — positions like dental hygienists, cargo agents, clerks and claims adjusters — are increasingly requiring one, according to Burning Glass, a company that analyzes job ads from more than 20,000 online sources, including major job boards and small- to midsize-employer sites...
Greeks Hold First General Strike as Samaras Implements Austerity Bloomberg ...The strike is the latest challenge from unions to Samaras, who has used emergency decrees twice in the past month to end walkouts prompted by the spending cuts and tax increases required to keep funds flowing to the country...The new pension and wage cuts and tax hikes follow a wave of austerity measures that has led the country to a sixth year of recession and unemployment to a record 27 percent...
Iberia strikers clash with police Irish Times ...Striking union workers clashed with police at Madrid’s Barajas airport yesterday on the first day of a week-long strike over more than 3,800 pending job cuts at Spain’s flagship airline Iberia. More than 80 Iberia flights were cancelled as workers at the carrier began a series of five-day walkouts...
Republican Bill Targets Private Sector Unions The Wheeler Report ...A bill being rushed through the Republican-controlled State Legislature is an attack on private sector
union bargaining rights, three legislators charged today. The proposal, sponsored by State Senator Paul Farrow (R-Pewaukee) and Representative Ed Brooks (RReedsburg), would allow employers to reduce the hours of their union-represented employees without the union’s approval...
Liquor privatization bill to be introduced The Patriot-News ...(Pennsylvania) State House Majority Leader Mike Turzai, a leading advocate for privatization, has begun circulating a memo asking lawmakers to sponsor a bill. The bill, House Bill 790, will be introduced March 4...Democrats have fought efforts to sell the state stores, siding with unions representing state store workers...
Florida House speaker's plan for pension reform hits a snag Bradenton Herald ...A report released Friday was supposed to provide an estimate of how much the change would cost to pay out benefits to the employees currently in the system while switching new state employees into 401(k)-style retirement plans. Instead, the report was deemed incomplete...
Controversy over teachers' union email continues in Lansing Livingston Daily Press & Argus ...State House Bill 4201, introduced this month, would prohibit a public employee from using public email for political campaigning, union activities, union recruitment, or fundraising...
Bills target public-sector unions Arizona Republic ...Republicans at the Arizona Legislature are continuing efforts to restrict public-employee unions. Three bills to restrict unions passed a Senate committee on Monday. Another is scheduled for a House committee vote today. Several other bills are at various stages in the legislative process...
New Boeing contract splits engineers, tech workers Associated Press ...Boeing Co.'s engineers have accepted a new four-year contract while technical workers rejected their offer and voted to authorize a future strike...
School Bus Drivers End Strike, in Win for New York Mayor New York Times ...The main union for New York City’s school bus drivers ended its monthlong strike Friday, handing a victory to the Bloomberg administration, which had refused to give in to the union’s demands for job protections...
Costco Teamsters Ratify Three-year Contract IBT ...Teamster members at Costco have voted overwhelmingly in favor of a new three-year contract that includes a 9 percent wage increase over the term of the agreement, stronger job protections and an improved grievance procedure for the 15,000 workers. Costco Teamsters, who are the highest-paid retail employees in the country with the best benefits, voted 77 percent in favor of the new contract...
Friday, February 15, 2013
Today's Teamster News 02.15.13
U.S. Grant Funded Workers' Play at LG Chem Factory Wall Street Journal ...The Obama administration's electric car efforts took another hit on Wednesday after a federal inspection found a South Korean advanced battery maker never scaled up U.S. production despite receiving $142 million in federal grants...
Wall Street wins again Salon ...The secret truth: There never was a “task force” dedicated to ferreting out mortgage fraud...
Euro-Area Economy Shrinks Most Since Depths of Recession Bloomberg ...The euro-area recession deepened more than economists forecast with the worst performance in almost four years as the region’s three biggest economies suffered slumping output....
New law credited with 'eye-popping' drop in California foreclosures Ventura County Star ...Foreclosure activity in California and Ventura County took a dramatic tumble in January as the state’s new Homeowner Bill of Rights kicked in...
Gas, Diesel Fuel Prices Continue to Rise USAgNet ...The U.S. average retail price of regular gasoline increased seven cents to $3.61 per gallon, up nine cents from last year at this time...The national average diesel fuel price increased eight cents to $4.10 per gallon, 16 cents higher than last year at this time...
Brewers of Corona and Budweiser revise buyout to appease US regulators Associated Press ...Anheuser-Busch InBev changed the terms of its proposed $20.1 billion acquisition of Mexican brewer Grupo Modelo Thursday in an attempt to push through a deal...Regulators are leery of the tie-up because AB InBev and Modelo control about 46 percent of annual U.S. sales...
Fat-Cat Pay Makes Swiss So Mad Wages Face National Vote Bloomberg ...With more than 100,000 Swiss citizens having signed a petition to limit “fat-cat” pay, voters will decide at a March 3 referendum whether top executives should have their compensation set by shareholders...
Minimum Wage Would Be $21.72 If It Kept Pace With Productivity: Study Huffington Post ...While advancements in technology have increased the amount of goods and services that can be produced in a set amount of time, wages have remained relatively flat, the study points out...
How Labor Made US Airways, AMR Merger Happen Forbes ...the turning point in the merger effort may have come on April 20, 2012 when US Airways said it had gathered support from American’s three major unions for its effort to merge with American...
Ohio unions rally against outsiders doing pipeline construction Akron Beacon Journal ...Four building trades associated with pipeline construction will be holding a job action in Ohio's Carroll County early today where WillBros Inc., a company from over 1,300 miles away in Houston, TX is performing work...
Maine Lawmaker Proposes to Ban Union Campaign Contributions Maine Public Broadcasting ...a Republican lawmaker says it's a conflict of interest for public workers unions to contribute to candidates for state office, and has submitted legislation to prohibit the practice...
Kane rejects Pa. lottery contract, citing constitutional grounds Philly.com ...Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane rejected the Corbett administration's contract with a British firm to manage the $3.5 billion Pennsylvania Lottery, saying it "contravenes the Pennsylvania constitution."...
Scott aims to cut port regulations to spur economic growth Herald-Tribune ...(Florida Gov. Rick) Scott wants to increase the maximum gross vehicle weight for cargo containers by 5,000 pounds...
Obama trade proposal threatens more Minnesota jobs Workday Minnesota ...“The Trans-Pacific Partnership would accelerate job loss in Minnesota by forcing local employers to compete with companies that take advantage of sweatshop working conditions in places like Vietnam and Malaysia, which are undercutting even Chinese manufacturers,” said Josh Wise, director of the Minnesota Fair Trade Coalition...
Justice Details ‘History Of Abusive Behavior’ At Wisconsin Supreme Court Talking Points Memo ...Wisconsin State Supreme Court Justice Ann Walsh Bradley ... offered details about what she called “a history of abusive behavior in our workplace that has escalated from tantrums and rages, to threats, and now to physical contact.” As early as February 2010, Bradley wrote in the document, she had emailed other justices on the court about Prosser’s “abusive temper tantrums...”
Bloomberg: NYC school bus strike is 'lost cause;' union urges him to negotiate Staten Island Advance ...Mayor Michael Bloomberg struck a raw nerve with his statement Thursday that the ongoing school bus strike is a "lost cause." The president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1181, representing the striking workers, blasted Bloomberg over the remark...
Wall Street wins again Salon ...The secret truth: There never was a “task force” dedicated to ferreting out mortgage fraud...
Euro-Area Economy Shrinks Most Since Depths of Recession Bloomberg ...The euro-area recession deepened more than economists forecast with the worst performance in almost four years as the region’s three biggest economies suffered slumping output....
New law credited with 'eye-popping' drop in California foreclosures Ventura County Star ...Foreclosure activity in California and Ventura County took a dramatic tumble in January as the state’s new Homeowner Bill of Rights kicked in...
Gas, Diesel Fuel Prices Continue to Rise USAgNet ...The U.S. average retail price of regular gasoline increased seven cents to $3.61 per gallon, up nine cents from last year at this time...The national average diesel fuel price increased eight cents to $4.10 per gallon, 16 cents higher than last year at this time...
Brewers of Corona and Budweiser revise buyout to appease US regulators Associated Press ...Anheuser-Busch InBev changed the terms of its proposed $20.1 billion acquisition of Mexican brewer Grupo Modelo Thursday in an attempt to push through a deal...Regulators are leery of the tie-up because AB InBev and Modelo control about 46 percent of annual U.S. sales...
Fat-Cat Pay Makes Swiss So Mad Wages Face National Vote Bloomberg ...With more than 100,000 Swiss citizens having signed a petition to limit “fat-cat” pay, voters will decide at a March 3 referendum whether top executives should have their compensation set by shareholders...
Minimum Wage Would Be $21.72 If It Kept Pace With Productivity: Study Huffington Post ...While advancements in technology have increased the amount of goods and services that can be produced in a set amount of time, wages have remained relatively flat, the study points out...
How Labor Made US Airways, AMR Merger Happen Forbes ...the turning point in the merger effort may have come on April 20, 2012 when US Airways said it had gathered support from American’s three major unions for its effort to merge with American...
Ohio unions rally against outsiders doing pipeline construction Akron Beacon Journal ...Four building trades associated with pipeline construction will be holding a job action in Ohio's Carroll County early today where WillBros Inc., a company from over 1,300 miles away in Houston, TX is performing work...
Maine Lawmaker Proposes to Ban Union Campaign Contributions Maine Public Broadcasting ...a Republican lawmaker says it's a conflict of interest for public workers unions to contribute to candidates for state office, and has submitted legislation to prohibit the practice...
Kane rejects Pa. lottery contract, citing constitutional grounds Philly.com ...Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane rejected the Corbett administration's contract with a British firm to manage the $3.5 billion Pennsylvania Lottery, saying it "contravenes the Pennsylvania constitution."...
Scott aims to cut port regulations to spur economic growth Herald-Tribune ...(Florida Gov. Rick) Scott wants to increase the maximum gross vehicle weight for cargo containers by 5,000 pounds...
Obama trade proposal threatens more Minnesota jobs Workday Minnesota ...“The Trans-Pacific Partnership would accelerate job loss in Minnesota by forcing local employers to compete with companies that take advantage of sweatshop working conditions in places like Vietnam and Malaysia, which are undercutting even Chinese manufacturers,” said Josh Wise, director of the Minnesota Fair Trade Coalition...
Justice Details ‘History Of Abusive Behavior’ At Wisconsin Supreme Court Talking Points Memo ...Wisconsin State Supreme Court Justice Ann Walsh Bradley ... offered details about what she called “a history of abusive behavior in our workplace that has escalated from tantrums and rages, to threats, and now to physical contact.” As early as February 2010, Bradley wrote in the document, she had emailed other justices on the court about Prosser’s “abusive temper tantrums...”
Bloomberg: NYC school bus strike is 'lost cause;' union urges him to negotiate Staten Island Advance ...Mayor Michael Bloomberg struck a raw nerve with his statement Thursday that the ongoing school bus strike is a "lost cause." The president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1181, representing the striking workers, blasted Bloomberg over the remark...
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Today's Teamster News 02.14.13
Today is the 100th anniversary of the birth of James R. Hoffa. Happy Birthday, Jimmy!
Jimmy Hoffa's son, Teamsters work to burnish tarnished image Detroit News ...Teamsters President Jim Hoffa is working to polish the legacy of his father, James R. Hoffa, the legendary Detroit labor leader who would have turned 100 today...
Jimmy Hoffa's son, Teamsters work to burnish tarnished image Detroit News ...Teamsters President Jim Hoffa is working to polish the legacy of his father, James R. Hoffa, the legendary Detroit labor leader who would have turned 100 today...
EU and US free-trade talks launched BBC ...The US said that "everything is on the table" in the talks. A deal would bring down trading barriers between the two biggest economies in the world...
Federal workers’ unions rally near Capitol to protest sequestration Washington Post ...Public servants were out in force Tuesday, protesting potential federal budget cuts that would severely hinder their ability to serve the public...
Retail Sales in U.S. Increase for Third Straight Month Bloomberg ...Department stores and online merchants were among those showing growing demand as improving job prospects and a strengthening housing market helped companies...
American Airlines and US Airways agree to merge and create world’s biggest airline Associated Press ...The deal caps a turbulent period of bankruptcies and consolidation that leaves the U.S. airline industry dominated by four big carriers. The boards of American parent AMR Corp. and US Airways approved the deal late Wednesday...
Mexico unveils new strategy in war on drugs The Guardian ...Mexico's new administration has offered the first details of its new strategy in the country's war on drugs, saying the government will spend $9.2bn (£5.9bn) this year on social programmes...the announcement was a forceful rejection of his predecessor...
House Kills Latest Effort To Make Right-To-Work Law In N.H. New Hampshire Public Radio ...Union workers broke into raucous applause after Speaker of the House Terrie Norelli announced the tally of votes on the right to work bill brought before the full House on Wednesday...
Right-to-work building interest in Missouri St. Louis Post-Dispatch ...Legislation that could deal a blow to labor unions in Missouri is drawing increased interest at the Capitol, though the measure may still face a tough road to passage this year...
Mo. Sen. Committee Considers Bill That Would Eliminate Prevailing Wage Rule KBIA ...Randy Long is a non-union mechanical contractor from southwestern Missouri who sided with labor unions in opposing the bill. “Everybody deserves a good quality wage in this day and time," Long said...
MO House Speaker, Congressman candidate bury ALEC connections in campaign finance documents DailyKos ...you won't see the wining and dining of Missouri GOP leaders by ALEC special interests spelled out in lobbying documents filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission....The expenses, and there are plenty, are buried in finance documents filed with the Commission...
Americans for Prosperity tabulate at least 229 fiscal proposals, including Arch tax, on April ballot St. Louis Beacon ...In a sign that fiscally conservative groups are gearing up again in Missouri, the state’s chapter of Americans for Prosperity will be raising alarm bells Wednesday about the number of local tax proposals to be on ballots across the state on April 2...
Unions pack Assembly to protest labor-law rewrite Anchorage Daily News ...More than 750 people, many representing eight labor groups, clogged the Tuesday night Anchorage Assembly meeting in a sign of the fight to come over Mayor Dan Sullivan's proposal to weaken city unions...
Tax chief, legislators spar over Kasich’s budget Columbus Dispatch ... They questioned the state tax commissioner for hours about details of the sales-tax expansion, the impact of the income-tax cut and the facts behind a new severance tax on shale drilling...
Gov. Corbett Insists on Full Privatization of Pa. Liquor Store System CBS Philly ...even before he made his privatization proposal late last month, legislative leaders –- including the state House speaker — signalled that modernizing liquor sales, such as allowing beer and wine sales in grocery stores, seems more likely than full privatization...
Anti-union bill makes way through Kansas Legislature Kansas City Business Journal ...In addition to preventing the payment of union dues, House Bill 2023 would eliminate collective bargaining laws, change the process for workers' compensation appeals and delay unemployment benefits, the report says. The bill is a replica of model legislation by the American Legislative Exchange Council...
Canonsburg approves contract for 20 employees Observer-Reporter ...the contract, between Canonsburg Borough and Teamsters Local 205...calls for a 70-cent per hour raise in 2013; 75-cent raise in 2014 and an 80-cent per hour raise in 2015...
Rhinebeck, Spackenkill school bus strike averted for now Poughkeepsie Journal ..."We have agreed to hold off on any kind of job action until they come back to the table and we will reevaluate at that point,” Teamsters Local 445 business agent Lori Polesel said...
Federal workers’ unions rally near Capitol to protest sequestration Washington Post ...Public servants were out in force Tuesday, protesting potential federal budget cuts that would severely hinder their ability to serve the public...
Retail Sales in U.S. Increase for Third Straight Month Bloomberg ...Department stores and online merchants were among those showing growing demand as improving job prospects and a strengthening housing market helped companies...
American Airlines and US Airways agree to merge and create world’s biggest airline Associated Press ...The deal caps a turbulent period of bankruptcies and consolidation that leaves the U.S. airline industry dominated by four big carriers. The boards of American parent AMR Corp. and US Airways approved the deal late Wednesday...
Mexico unveils new strategy in war on drugs The Guardian ...Mexico's new administration has offered the first details of its new strategy in the country's war on drugs, saying the government will spend $9.2bn (£5.9bn) this year on social programmes...the announcement was a forceful rejection of his predecessor...
House Kills Latest Effort To Make Right-To-Work Law In N.H. New Hampshire Public Radio ...Union workers broke into raucous applause after Speaker of the House Terrie Norelli announced the tally of votes on the right to work bill brought before the full House on Wednesday...
Right-to-work building interest in Missouri St. Louis Post-Dispatch ...Legislation that could deal a blow to labor unions in Missouri is drawing increased interest at the Capitol, though the measure may still face a tough road to passage this year...
Mo. Sen. Committee Considers Bill That Would Eliminate Prevailing Wage Rule KBIA ...Randy Long is a non-union mechanical contractor from southwestern Missouri who sided with labor unions in opposing the bill. “Everybody deserves a good quality wage in this day and time," Long said...
MO House Speaker, Congressman candidate bury ALEC connections in campaign finance documents DailyKos ...you won't see the wining and dining of Missouri GOP leaders by ALEC special interests spelled out in lobbying documents filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission....The expenses, and there are plenty, are buried in finance documents filed with the Commission...
Americans for Prosperity tabulate at least 229 fiscal proposals, including Arch tax, on April ballot St. Louis Beacon ...In a sign that fiscally conservative groups are gearing up again in Missouri, the state’s chapter of Americans for Prosperity will be raising alarm bells Wednesday about the number of local tax proposals to be on ballots across the state on April 2...
Unions pack Assembly to protest labor-law rewrite Anchorage Daily News ...More than 750 people, many representing eight labor groups, clogged the Tuesday night Anchorage Assembly meeting in a sign of the fight to come over Mayor Dan Sullivan's proposal to weaken city unions...
Tax chief, legislators spar over Kasich’s budget Columbus Dispatch ... They questioned the state tax commissioner for hours about details of the sales-tax expansion, the impact of the income-tax cut and the facts behind a new severance tax on shale drilling...
Gov. Corbett Insists on Full Privatization of Pa. Liquor Store System CBS Philly ...even before he made his privatization proposal late last month, legislative leaders –- including the state House speaker — signalled that modernizing liquor sales, such as allowing beer and wine sales in grocery stores, seems more likely than full privatization...
Anti-union bill makes way through Kansas Legislature Kansas City Business Journal ...In addition to preventing the payment of union dues, House Bill 2023 would eliminate collective bargaining laws, change the process for workers' compensation appeals and delay unemployment benefits, the report says. The bill is a replica of model legislation by the American Legislative Exchange Council...
Canonsburg approves contract for 20 employees Observer-Reporter ...the contract, between Canonsburg Borough and Teamsters Local 205...calls for a 70-cent per hour raise in 2013; 75-cent raise in 2014 and an 80-cent per hour raise in 2015...
Rhinebeck, Spackenkill school bus strike averted for now Poughkeepsie Journal ..."We have agreed to hold off on any kind of job action until they come back to the table and we will reevaluate at that point,” Teamsters Local 445 business agent Lori Polesel said...
Friday, February 8, 2013
Today's Teamster News 02.08.13
US citizens braced for austerity impact Financial Times ...The Pentagon has said that 800,000 civilian employees would see their hours cut by 20 per cent for the rest of the year and 46,000 temporary workers would be laid off. Other agencies would also see deep cuts in staff. There are estimates of a 25 per cent drop in border patrol agents, 600 fewer food safety inspectors at slaughterhouses and meat processing plants, and 1,200 fewer air traffic control operators...
Tax Holiday Ends, Consumers Scrimp Wall Street Journal ...Surveys show the majority of Americans who are aware of the tax increase say they plan to cut spending, and consumer confidence has wavered. Companies like Target Corp. and women's clothier Cato Corp. say the tax increase has crimped sales...
Profound Weight of Layoffs Is Seen in Work Trends Survey New York Times ...While about 8 percent of Americans are unemployed, nearly a quarter of Americans say they were laid off at some point during the recession or afterward...Of those laid off in recent years, nearly a quarter said they still had not found a job...
Postal Service dying from 1,000 cuts and a GOP stab in the back (opinion) Los Angeles Times ...Republicans are always insisting that the USPS be run like a good capitalist enterprise, but few, if any, private businesses could bear the burden of funding three-quarters of a century of retired employees’ medical costs over just one decade...
American Airlines And US Airways Near Merger Deal Forbes ...AA’s parent company, AMR Corp., is in the final stages of talks with US Airways Group on a merger deal, and an agreement could be reached as soon as February 15th...
Tunisia faces general strike after Belaid assassination sparks crisis The Guardian ...The UGTT, Tunisia's trade union federation, called the strike in protest at the murder of Chokri Belaid on Wednesday. It will be the first such strike since 1978...
Senators look to revamp local pension plans Sun-Sentinel ...A panel of Florida lawmakers on Wednesday debated how best to revamp 492 municipal pension plans across the state...
Washtenaw County takes stance against right-to-work legislation with unanswered legal questions AnnArbor.com ...the commission voted 6-1 to approve the resolution that not only served as a formal expression of the majority of the commission's opposition to the right-to-work measures passed by the lame duck Michigan legislature in December, but also to direct staff to expedite union contract negotiations...
Dayton: Tax cuts caused Minn. economic problems Minnesota Public Radio ..."In the decade after Minnesota's income tax reductions, our economy fared worse than the nation and most other states," Dayton said...
Voter poll pulls losing numbers for Corbett's lotto plan Philly.com ...Sixty-four percent of the voters polled said they oppose his plan to turn over control of the lottery to a British company, Camelot Global Services...
Walmart Workers Are Back on Strike Over a New Wave of Alleged Threats The Nation ...half a dozen workers in Laurel, Maryland, walked off the job in protest of alleged retaliation by Walmart management...
Workers at UNFI vote to ratify 5-year contract agreement Auburn Reporter ...Warehouse workers and drivers, represented by Teamsters Local 117, overwhelmingly voted to ratify a fully-recommended 5-year contract agreement with United Natural Foods, Inc. on Thursday...The agreement provides for the reinstatement of all workers, including the 72 who had been permanently replaced, health and welfare protections for workers, and meaningful wage increases...
Moreno Valley warehouse charged with harassing union Press Enterprise ...The National Labor Relations Board, the federal agency that enforces workplace laws and supervises union elections, has issued a complaint against a Moreno Valley food distribution center... union officials filed labor board charges alleging that employees were harassed and threatened by company officials...
Arbitrator rules in favor of deputy sheriffs on pay Capital Gazette ...An arbitrator has ruled in favor of the county's deputy sheriffs union in its grievance against the county for failing to pay negotiated wage increases in fiscal 2010...The sheriff's deputies are represented by Teamsters Union Local 355...
Teamsters Release Video Of Sanitation Workers At Martin Luther King, Jr. March IBT ...more than 400 sanitation workers from Atlanta, Ga., Pensacola, Fla., Mobile, Ala. and Memphis, Tenn. joined workers from the 1968 Memphis sanitation strike to demand that Republic Services/Allied Waste treat its workers with respect...
Tax Holiday Ends, Consumers Scrimp Wall Street Journal ...Surveys show the majority of Americans who are aware of the tax increase say they plan to cut spending, and consumer confidence has wavered. Companies like Target Corp. and women's clothier Cato Corp. say the tax increase has crimped sales...
Profound Weight of Layoffs Is Seen in Work Trends Survey New York Times ...While about 8 percent of Americans are unemployed, nearly a quarter of Americans say they were laid off at some point during the recession or afterward...Of those laid off in recent years, nearly a quarter said they still had not found a job...
Postal Service dying from 1,000 cuts and a GOP stab in the back (opinion) Los Angeles Times ...Republicans are always insisting that the USPS be run like a good capitalist enterprise, but few, if any, private businesses could bear the burden of funding three-quarters of a century of retired employees’ medical costs over just one decade...
American Airlines And US Airways Near Merger Deal Forbes ...AA’s parent company, AMR Corp., is in the final stages of talks with US Airways Group on a merger deal, and an agreement could be reached as soon as February 15th...
Tunisia faces general strike after Belaid assassination sparks crisis The Guardian ...The UGTT, Tunisia's trade union federation, called the strike in protest at the murder of Chokri Belaid on Wednesday. It will be the first such strike since 1978...
Senators look to revamp local pension plans Sun-Sentinel ...A panel of Florida lawmakers on Wednesday debated how best to revamp 492 municipal pension plans across the state...
Washtenaw County takes stance against right-to-work legislation with unanswered legal questions AnnArbor.com ...the commission voted 6-1 to approve the resolution that not only served as a formal expression of the majority of the commission's opposition to the right-to-work measures passed by the lame duck Michigan legislature in December, but also to direct staff to expedite union contract negotiations...
Dayton: Tax cuts caused Minn. economic problems Minnesota Public Radio ..."In the decade after Minnesota's income tax reductions, our economy fared worse than the nation and most other states," Dayton said...
Voter poll pulls losing numbers for Corbett's lotto plan Philly.com ...Sixty-four percent of the voters polled said they oppose his plan to turn over control of the lottery to a British company, Camelot Global Services...
Walmart Workers Are Back on Strike Over a New Wave of Alleged Threats The Nation ...half a dozen workers in Laurel, Maryland, walked off the job in protest of alleged retaliation by Walmart management...
Workers at UNFI vote to ratify 5-year contract agreement Auburn Reporter ...Warehouse workers and drivers, represented by Teamsters Local 117, overwhelmingly voted to ratify a fully-recommended 5-year contract agreement with United Natural Foods, Inc. on Thursday...The agreement provides for the reinstatement of all workers, including the 72 who had been permanently replaced, health and welfare protections for workers, and meaningful wage increases...
Moreno Valley warehouse charged with harassing union Press Enterprise ...The National Labor Relations Board, the federal agency that enforces workplace laws and supervises union elections, has issued a complaint against a Moreno Valley food distribution center... union officials filed labor board charges alleging that employees were harassed and threatened by company officials...
Arbitrator rules in favor of deputy sheriffs on pay Capital Gazette ...An arbitrator has ruled in favor of the county's deputy sheriffs union in its grievance against the county for failing to pay negotiated wage increases in fiscal 2010...The sheriff's deputies are represented by Teamsters Union Local 355...
Teamsters Release Video Of Sanitation Workers At Martin Luther King, Jr. March IBT ...more than 400 sanitation workers from Atlanta, Ga., Pensacola, Fla., Mobile, Ala. and Memphis, Tenn. joined workers from the 1968 Memphis sanitation strike to demand that Republic Services/Allied Waste treat its workers with respect...
Friday, September 16, 2011
Today's Teamster News 09.16.11
Michigan House passes school union dues proposal CNBC ...The Republican-led Michigan House on Thursday narrowly approved a proposal that would prohibit public schools from automatically deducting union dues from the paychecks of teachers and other employees...
Ohio Business Roundtable study finds compensation gap favors public workers Cleveland Plain Dealer ...As Ohio's public-employee unions fight to keep collective-bargaining power, a group of executives from the state's largest corporations is pushing a study that depicts less lucrative compensation in the private sector...
Republicans Push NLRB Attack Bill Through House unions.org ...House Republicans today continued their attack on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) when they passed (238-186) a bill that would cripple the agency and allow employers to retaliate against workers who exercise their workplace rights...
Senate approves FAA, highway funding extensions Reuters ...The U.S. Senate approved legislation on Thursday to temporarily renew funding for airport and highway improvement projects, averting threatened shutdowns of both programs and job cuts affecting thousands of construction and other workers...
FBI Agents Raid Home of Top Staffer to Scott Walker firedoglake ...The investigation has already secured one conviction, against a wealthy campaign contributor to Walker, William Gardner, who exceeded campaign finance limits and hid donations to Walker and others...
Gov. Corbett’s Plan to Disenfranchise PA Voters Gains Attention PW blog ...the facts point to Governor Tom Corbett doing everything he can to make sure Democrats—even if they represent the majority of the state—are underrepresented in elections, allowing Republicans to weasel their way to more representation in the Keystone State and tip the scale nationally...
Ohio Business Roundtable study finds compensation gap favors public workers Cleveland Plain Dealer ...As Ohio's public-employee unions fight to keep collective-bargaining power, a group of executives from the state's largest corporations is pushing a study that depicts less lucrative compensation in the private sector...
Republicans Push NLRB Attack Bill Through House unions.org ...House Republicans today continued their attack on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) when they passed (238-186) a bill that would cripple the agency and allow employers to retaliate against workers who exercise their workplace rights...
Senate approves FAA, highway funding extensions Reuters ...The U.S. Senate approved legislation on Thursday to temporarily renew funding for airport and highway improvement projects, averting threatened shutdowns of both programs and job cuts affecting thousands of construction and other workers...
FBI Agents Raid Home of Top Staffer to Scott Walker firedoglake ...The investigation has already secured one conviction, against a wealthy campaign contributor to Walker, William Gardner, who exceeded campaign finance limits and hid donations to Walker and others...
Gov. Corbett’s Plan to Disenfranchise PA Voters Gains Attention PW blog ...the facts point to Governor Tom Corbett doing everything he can to make sure Democrats—even if they represent the majority of the state—are underrepresented in elections, allowing Republicans to weasel their way to more representation in the Keystone State and tip the scale nationally...
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Today's Teamster News 09.14.11
Legislature begins fall session with arrests, heated debate WKOW.com ...After showing up for a pre-planned protest event called a "camera flash mob" in the State Assembly gallery, two people were arrested for videotaping Tuesday afternoon's session...
JobsOhio makes first big investment… in high-priced lawyers Plunderbund ... as we predicted and everyone fully expected, JobsOhio is facing legal challenges over its constitutionality...
State: Buss can't testify in prison privatization lawsuit Tallahassee Democrat ...The state does not want recently ousted Department of Corrections Secretary Ed Buss testifying in a lawsuit ... to stop privatization of prisons in South Florida...
Council May Challenge Voter ID Law Channel9News ...A new law requiring Tennessee voters to provide photo identification at the polls goes into effect next year, but the Chattanooga city council is considering a challenge to the new law...
Christie: A Koch and a smile (opinion) phillyburbs.com ...The troubling relationship between the oil billionaire Koch brothers and Gov. Chris Christie has been confirmed by the recent release of a recording of the keynote speech the governor delivered at a fundraising convention hosted by the fossil-fuel industry giants in June...
South Carolina governor faces scrutiny over trips Boston Herald ...Haley, a Tea Party-backed Republican who has decried wasteful spending since she took office this year, is fending off criticism that the trip was more of a personal vacation than an economic development mission...
Gov. Corbett, Keep Our State Parks Public (opinion) Nazareth Patch ... Gov. Tom Corbett recently told reporters that our stunning state park system tops his short list of state assets to privatize -- along with liquor stores and prisons...
Bankruptcy protection case tossed Kennebec Journal ...The largest chunk of this debt is $5.3 million for the New England Teamsters & Trucking Industry Pension Fund of Burlington, Mass...
Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2010 U.S. Census Bureau ...The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that in 2010, median household income declined, the poverty rate increased and the percentage without health insurance coverage was not statistically different from the previous year...
JobsOhio makes first big investment… in high-priced lawyers Plunderbund ... as we predicted and everyone fully expected, JobsOhio is facing legal challenges over its constitutionality...
State: Buss can't testify in prison privatization lawsuit Tallahassee Democrat ...The state does not want recently ousted Department of Corrections Secretary Ed Buss testifying in a lawsuit ... to stop privatization of prisons in South Florida...
Council May Challenge Voter ID Law Channel9News ...A new law requiring Tennessee voters to provide photo identification at the polls goes into effect next year, but the Chattanooga city council is considering a challenge to the new law...
Christie: A Koch and a smile (opinion) phillyburbs.com ...The troubling relationship between the oil billionaire Koch brothers and Gov. Chris Christie has been confirmed by the recent release of a recording of the keynote speech the governor delivered at a fundraising convention hosted by the fossil-fuel industry giants in June...
South Carolina governor faces scrutiny over trips Boston Herald ...Haley, a Tea Party-backed Republican who has decried wasteful spending since she took office this year, is fending off criticism that the trip was more of a personal vacation than an economic development mission...
Gov. Corbett, Keep Our State Parks Public (opinion) Nazareth Patch ... Gov. Tom Corbett recently told reporters that our stunning state park system tops his short list of state assets to privatize -- along with liquor stores and prisons...
Bankruptcy protection case tossed Kennebec Journal ...The largest chunk of this debt is $5.3 million for the New England Teamsters & Trucking Industry Pension Fund of Burlington, Mass...
Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2010 U.S. Census Bureau ...The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that in 2010, median household income declined, the poverty rate increased and the percentage without health insurance coverage was not statistically different from the previous year...
Saturday, August 20, 2011
How's that austerity working for you, Guvs?
Take Pennsylvania. Gov. Tom Corbett's budget severely cut education and services for the poor. Now the state's jobless rate is rising, to 7.8 percent in July from 7.6 percent in June.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports,
The state's unemployment rate had been falling over the last year, from the recession high of 8.8 percent in April 2010, to the lowest level of the recovery thus far -- 7.4 percent in May. But July marks the second month of a rising unemployment rate.This may come as a surprise to Corbett. Upon signing his savage budget, he crowed,
No budget is worth the trouble if it doesn't do something to grow the economy and create jobs.Corbett's administration seems to be a little, um, unfocused on the state's economy. Some of his top appointees have thrown tantrums over parking spots. One sicced the Department of Health on a restaurant when he didn't like his fried egg sandwich. The budget director's wife got a ride home from an on-duty state trooper after she led police on a car chase that resulted in her arrest for drunk driving.
That seems to be the story all over the country with these Governors Gone Wild. They're more interested in dismantling government (while enjoying the perks) than they are in actual, you know, governing. In Florida, Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan -- all Governors Gone Wild states -- unemployment rose last month, and it's stayed high in New Jersey, where Chris Christie's job-creation philosophy is to suck up to rich people.
Reality kind of bites, doesn't it?
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Today's Teamster News 08.04.11
Scott Walker took his anti-union marching orders from Americans for Prosperity Blogging Blue ...Americans For Prosperity has taken to sending out fraudulent mailers to Democratic voters in two Republican State Senate districts (districts 8 & 10), urging those voters to send in their absentee ballots by August 11, which is two days after those recall elections will have been decided...
Ballot language for Senate Bill 5 approved after hours-long meeting Cleveland Plain Dealer ...The Republican-controlled Ohio Ballot Board unanimously ruled that a "no" vote would go toward repealing SB 5 while a "yes" vote would go toward upholding the law...
Nixon: Special session is best chance to reform tax credits St. Louis Post-Dispatch ...Gov. Jay Nixon used a speech to school administrators today to press his case for reducing state tax credits that go to housing developers and historic preservationists...
Voters give Corbett positive job approval rating Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ...The Republican governor is enjoying a 44-36 percent job approval, his first noticeable boost since he took office in January, according to a Quinnipiac University poll...
Record Numbers Are Receiving Food Stamps Bloomberg News ...The number of Americans receiving food stamps rose to a record 45.753 million in May, up 2.5 percent from the previous month, the Department of Agriculture said...
Odds of U.S. Recession Seen Rising by Academic Panel Majority Bloomberg News ...The two-year-old U.S. recovery’s staying power may be diminishing as consumers and the government pare spending, say five of the nine economists on the academic panel that dates recessions...
Ballot language for Senate Bill 5 approved after hours-long meeting Cleveland Plain Dealer ...The Republican-controlled Ohio Ballot Board unanimously ruled that a "no" vote would go toward repealing SB 5 while a "yes" vote would go toward upholding the law...
Nixon: Special session is best chance to reform tax credits St. Louis Post-Dispatch ...Gov. Jay Nixon used a speech to school administrators today to press his case for reducing state tax credits that go to housing developers and historic preservationists...
Voters give Corbett positive job approval rating Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ...The Republican governor is enjoying a 44-36 percent job approval, his first noticeable boost since he took office in January, according to a Quinnipiac University poll...
Record Numbers Are Receiving Food Stamps Bloomberg News ...The number of Americans receiving food stamps rose to a record 45.753 million in May, up 2.5 percent from the previous month, the Department of Agriculture said...
Odds of U.S. Recession Seen Rising by Academic Panel Majority Bloomberg News ...The two-year-old U.S. recovery’s staying power may be diminishing as consumers and the government pare spending, say five of the nine economists on the academic panel that dates recessions...
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Today's Teamster News 06.07.11
Connecticut Passes First-in-the-Nation Sick Days Bill Public News Service ...It requires certain businesses with 50 or more employees to allow workers to earn up to five sick days a year...
Wisconsin Republicans accused of dirty tricks in recall elections TwinCities.com ... Republicans said Monday that they're working on running candidates as Democrats in recall elections against Senate Republicans in order to force primaries and give incumbents more time to campaign....
Expected changes to Senate budget would cut legislators' pay, ax Kasich's JobsOhio role axed Columbus Dispatch ...The Senate also is expected to remove a change that Republicans made last week to take $10 million from a fund that provides housing to poor Ohioans and give it to county recorders...
Vote on bill to limit union fees delayed until next year Kennebec Journal ...Lawmakers delayed until next year votes on a bill that would end the requirement that nonunion state workers pay a portion of union dues...
Gov. Tom Corbett's spending leaves some wondering about his budget 'sacrifice' message Patriot News ...He asks state employees to take a pay cut and urges teachers and state university professors to consider a pay freeze. At the same time, some of his senior staffers are being paid more than their predecessors...
Empowering Public Employees: Lessons From the Women's Movement (opinion) The Atlantic ...Just as the women's movement supported individual women and girls (like me), unions give public servants their identity....
Wisconsin Republicans accused of dirty tricks in recall elections TwinCities.com ... Republicans said Monday that they're working on running candidates as Democrats in recall elections against Senate Republicans in order to force primaries and give incumbents more time to campaign....
Expected changes to Senate budget would cut legislators' pay, ax Kasich's JobsOhio role axed Columbus Dispatch ...The Senate also is expected to remove a change that Republicans made last week to take $10 million from a fund that provides housing to poor Ohioans and give it to county recorders...
Vote on bill to limit union fees delayed until next year Kennebec Journal ...Lawmakers delayed until next year votes on a bill that would end the requirement that nonunion state workers pay a portion of union dues...
Gov. Tom Corbett's spending leaves some wondering about his budget 'sacrifice' message Patriot News ...He asks state employees to take a pay cut and urges teachers and state university professors to consider a pay freeze. At the same time, some of his senior staffers are being paid more than their predecessors...
Empowering Public Employees: Lessons From the Women's Movement (opinion) The Atlantic ...Just as the women's movement supported individual women and girls (like me), unions give public servants their identity....
Friday, May 20, 2011
Today's Teamster News 05.20.11
Voter ID passed by Wisconsin Senate, sends bill to Gov. Scott Walker Sheboygan Press ...Spectators in the Senate gallery exploded into shouts and screams after the vote, yelling “Shame! Shame! Shame!” and “Recall! Recall! Recall!” They then burst into singing “We Shall Overcome...”
Does Alvin Brown's victory in politically conservative Jacksonville mean tougher times for Florida's Gov. Rick Scott and the GOP? Florida Courier ...(He) comes into office raising questions about whether his win could portend tougher times for Republicans in what has been a staunchly conservative county...
Maine moves to loosen teen labor laws Stateline ...A controversial proposal to let teenagers work longer hours during the school year is headed to the desk of Governor Paul LePage, a Republican who supports the changes...
Montgomery County Democrats bash Corbett budget, agenda The Times-Herald ...they claim (it) would cripple public schools, social services agencies and cut jobs...
Anxiety keeps the super-rich safe from middle-class rage The Guardian ...The Institute for Fiscal Studies reports that last year incomes among the top 1% grew at the fastest rate in a decade...
Editorial: Missouri Legislature, governor, fail on job creation promise stltoday.com ...Its leaders' alleged job creation agenda lay in tatters on the Capitol's marble floors, trampled by a stampede of partisan politicians, with plenty of evidence that most of them were worried mostly about one job and one job only: their own...
Teamsters Endorse U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley for U.S. Senate IBT ...The Teamsters Union is proudly backing U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley in her election campaign for U.S. Senate for the state of Nevada, the union announced today...
Teamsters Call on Loomis Leadership to Restore Workers' Rights in U.S. IBT ...Teamsters International Vice President Rome Aloise formally called on Loomis AB’s CEO Lars Blecko and Chairman of the Board Alf Göransson to meet with the Teamsters and restore the fundamental rights of their U.S. employees to be represented by the union of their choice...
Does Alvin Brown's victory in politically conservative Jacksonville mean tougher times for Florida's Gov. Rick Scott and the GOP? Florida Courier ...(He) comes into office raising questions about whether his win could portend tougher times for Republicans in what has been a staunchly conservative county...
Maine moves to loosen teen labor laws Stateline ...A controversial proposal to let teenagers work longer hours during the school year is headed to the desk of Governor Paul LePage, a Republican who supports the changes...
Montgomery County Democrats bash Corbett budget, agenda The Times-Herald ...they claim (it) would cripple public schools, social services agencies and cut jobs...
Anxiety keeps the super-rich safe from middle-class rage The Guardian ...The Institute for Fiscal Studies reports that last year incomes among the top 1% grew at the fastest rate in a decade...
Editorial: Missouri Legislature, governor, fail on job creation promise stltoday.com ...Its leaders' alleged job creation agenda lay in tatters on the Capitol's marble floors, trampled by a stampede of partisan politicians, with plenty of evidence that most of them were worried mostly about one job and one job only: their own...
Teamsters Endorse U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley for U.S. Senate IBT ...The Teamsters Union is proudly backing U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley in her election campaign for U.S. Senate for the state of Nevada, the union announced today...
Teamsters Call on Loomis Leadership to Restore Workers' Rights in U.S. IBT ...Teamsters International Vice President Rome Aloise formally called on Loomis AB’s CEO Lars Blecko and Chairman of the Board Alf Göransson to meet with the Teamsters and restore the fundamental rights of their U.S. employees to be represented by the union of their choice...
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Today's Teamster News 05.19.11
Sorry for the light posting lately. Blogger was having technical difficulties.
Officials dismiss ethics complaints over anti-union bill The Wisconsin State Journal ...including a complaint against Walker after he was recorded saying he and his staff considered planting political agitators among demonstrators protesting his the bill...
Poll shows Senate Bill 5 could be repealed Columbus Dispatch ...The measure to strip many collective bargaining rights from state and local government workers would be rejected by 18 points, 54 percent to 36 percent, says the Quinnipiac Poll...
Right-to-work bills headed for quiet death? Bangor Daily News ...Opponents of legislation dealing with union membership say procedural maneuvers launched Tuesday may signal a quiet death for the two bills...
Traverse City officials support Emergency Manager law repeal Michigan Messenger ...local officials ... gathered at the town’s public waterfront Monday to announce support for efforts to repeal the Emergency Manager law...
Christie’s Popularity Takes a Hit in New Polls Wall Street Journal ...For the first time in over a year, the ranks of New Jersey residents who disapprove of Gov. Chris Christie have surpassed those who approve of his performance...
Hey Corbett: Fix the Mess, Keep Your Word and Give Us Our Money Back (Opinion) Canon-McMillan Patch ...The mess is simple—this Republican budget hurts our children and raises our property taxes. You want to keep your promise and “fix this mess?" It’s real easy- give us our $1 billion surplus back so we can prevent these tax hikes...
Officials dismiss ethics complaints over anti-union bill The Wisconsin State Journal ...including a complaint against Walker after he was recorded saying he and his staff considered planting political agitators among demonstrators protesting his the bill...
Poll shows Senate Bill 5 could be repealed Columbus Dispatch ...The measure to strip many collective bargaining rights from state and local government workers would be rejected by 18 points, 54 percent to 36 percent, says the Quinnipiac Poll...
Right-to-work bills headed for quiet death? Bangor Daily News ...Opponents of legislation dealing with union membership say procedural maneuvers launched Tuesday may signal a quiet death for the two bills...
Traverse City officials support Emergency Manager law repeal Michigan Messenger ...local officials ... gathered at the town’s public waterfront Monday to announce support for efforts to repeal the Emergency Manager law...
Christie’s Popularity Takes a Hit in New Polls Wall Street Journal ...For the first time in over a year, the ranks of New Jersey residents who disapprove of Gov. Chris Christie have surpassed those who approve of his performance...
Hey Corbett: Fix the Mess, Keep Your Word and Give Us Our Money Back (Opinion) Canon-McMillan Patch ...The mess is simple—this Republican budget hurts our children and raises our property taxes. You want to keep your promise and “fix this mess?" It’s real easy- give us our $1 billion surplus back so we can prevent these tax hikes...
Friday, May 13, 2011
Today's Teamster News 05.13.11
Once again, apologies for the late posts. The blogger has been experiencing technical difficulties.
State not so broke after all The Cap Times …Turns out Wisconsin is not facing as big a financial crisis as some have claimed…(but Walker, GOP not changing tune with news of budget boost)...
Bill would extend bargaining restrictions to police, firefighters The Cap Times …A bill was quietly introduced Tuesday that would expand on Gov. Scott Walker's proposal to strip most collective bargaining rights from public employees by extending bargaining restrictions to police and firefighters…
House Finance Chairman: Of course, the companies that buy our State prisons shouldn’t pay taxes… that would be unfair! Plunderbund …why is it unfair to tax the profits a private company makes from privatization, when all other profits are fair game?...
Kick them when they’re down, governor (opinion) Bangor Daily News …The impact to the Katahdin region is a stark example of the disproportionate impact of his proposed budget on Mainers most in need, especially in this economy...
Right-to-work laws 'drive down the quality of life' (opinion) Kennebec Journal ... but they also undermine the sense of collective good...
Showdown looming over Snyder's tax overhaul Detroit Free Press …The sweeping proposal to lower business taxes, begin taxing most untaxed pension income and eliminate most tax credits already has passed the state House…
Missouri rep: Union bill likely dead News-Leader …Rep. Shane Schoeller, R-Willard, said the bill that would restrict unions’ ability to contribute to political campaigns is most likely dead…
Spend the surplus: How can Republicans let Pennsylvanians suffer? Pittsburgh Post-Gazette …How Mr. Corbett and other Republican leaders can sock it into the bank while their budget triggers layoffs, tuition hikes and property tax increases shocks the conscience…
State not so broke after all The Cap Times …Turns out Wisconsin is not facing as big a financial crisis as some have claimed…(but Walker, GOP not changing tune with news of budget boost)...
Bill would extend bargaining restrictions to police, firefighters The Cap Times …A bill was quietly introduced Tuesday that would expand on Gov. Scott Walker's proposal to strip most collective bargaining rights from public employees by extending bargaining restrictions to police and firefighters…
House Finance Chairman: Of course, the companies that buy our State prisons shouldn’t pay taxes… that would be unfair! Plunderbund …why is it unfair to tax the profits a private company makes from privatization, when all other profits are fair game?...
Kick them when they’re down, governor (opinion) Bangor Daily News …The impact to the Katahdin region is a stark example of the disproportionate impact of his proposed budget on Mainers most in need, especially in this economy...
Right-to-work laws 'drive down the quality of life' (opinion) Kennebec Journal ... but they also undermine the sense of collective good...
Showdown looming over Snyder's tax overhaul Detroit Free Press …The sweeping proposal to lower business taxes, begin taxing most untaxed pension income and eliminate most tax credits already has passed the state House…
Missouri rep: Union bill likely dead News-Leader …Rep. Shane Schoeller, R-Willard, said the bill that would restrict unions’ ability to contribute to political campaigns is most likely dead…
Spend the surplus: How can Republicans let Pennsylvanians suffer? Pittsburgh Post-Gazette …How Mr. Corbett and other Republican leaders can sock it into the bank while their budget triggers layoffs, tuition hikes and property tax increases shocks the conscience…
Monday, May 9, 2011
A great success: Walker-Corbett-Rhee rally in DC
The energetic protesters in front of the hotel got plenty of press attention, which detracted from the message flogged by the three enemies of public education. It can't have helped that the protest helped expose the extremist billionaire backers of the voucher movement.
The program went off without a hitch. Parents, teachers and students were all heard. It was well worth the effort for all those who traveled by plane from Wisconsin, by bus from Pennsylvania and on foot, Metro and cab from Washington to march and speak up for public education.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported
Protestors from Philadelphia, Bucks County and Harrisburgh made their way to Washington, D.C., this morning to protest at an education-related conference where Gov. Corbett was scheduled to speak.
About 200 demonstrators gathered shortly before noon outside the Washington Marriott Hotel, chanting "Save Our Schools," and holding signs, such as "Vouchers Aren't the Answer."..
Corbett's budget "is a sure-fire way to send the city back into more poverty," said former city middle school teacher, Lisa Haver, 55...
Senate Bill 1, expected to come up for a vote soon, would "strip money from public schools," diverting hundreds of millions of dollars away from already hard-hit districts statewide...
Parent Tim Brown, waiting for the bus to D.C., said he saw vouchers as "cynical maneuvering" by "right-wing billionaires," who want to privatize all education in America.
"If they're complaining there's a budget problem, why are they turning around and subsidizing private schools," he asked.
“The American Federation for Children (AFC),” said the groups in a joint media advisory, “is a group founded by the conservative DeVos family and a small core group of donors ideologically opposed to public education.”
“Walker and Corbett are carrying the water for DeVos and AFC, attacking teachers and students while gutting public education funding and silencing their voices.”
The Pennsylvania Democratic Party jumped on board with the criticism, forwarding news stories to the press about a recent poll showing that most Pennsylvania voters oppose school vouchers.
Salon also picked up on the fact that extremist billionaires are behind the push to eradicate public education:
The "American Federation for Children" -- a right-wing "education reform" organization founded and funded by religious right activist multimillionaire Betsy DeVos (former Republican candidate for governor of Michigan and sister of Blackwater founder Eirk Prince) and dedicated to electing state legislators who'll fund Christian schools with taxpayer money and crush public employees' unions -- is having a party in Washington, D.C., today, and they have invited Republican governors who have been working to fix education forever by firing all the greedy teachers and letting profit-seeking private interests manage the schools more "efficiently."
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett are two of the honored guests of the Federation. The third, of course, is crusading former D.C. schools chancellor Michelle Rhee, movie star and hero of the Democratic elite. Rhee's address at the "policy summit" will probably not detail how to cover up evidence of widespread standardized test cheating, but it should.
Young protestor speaks his mind at education rally
"Tom Corbett is making stupid cuts and isn't giving children rights to learn and grow up to be smart adults."Go Noah!
Ralliers say "no" to corporate-run education
There are some great signs and chants coming out of the Walker-Corbett-Rhee protest, which has taken over both sides of the street now.
Rally Girl reports:
People are chanting and holding signs that say, "Say 'no' to vouchers." "Save our schools, Corbett is a fool." "Do you want hedge fund managers running our schools? No!"
Rachel Tabachnick, one of the speakers, is explaining the interlocking network of right wing think tanks that are funding efforts to turn education over to corporations. She says go to http://www.keystoneprogress.org/.
About a dozen supporters from Sierra Club are here. Two busloads of folks from Pennsylvania are here. There are also about seven obnoxious Koch whores carrying "Support SB1" signs.The Twitter is abuzz. Go to: #SavePublicEd.
Walker, Corbett to face protest today in DC
Their front group, "America Federation for Children" is holding a confab at a hotel in Washington, D.C. Teamsternation will be outside on the pavement with a sign, along with students, parents and teachers from Pennylvania. Also present will be our Teamster brother Rick Smith, folks from Save Public Education and union allies from the area.
You may wonder why this particular unwholesome trio was invited. Here's why:
- Corbett wants to slash funding for local schools to pay for tax giveaways to millionare CEOs. He's hurting the hardest hit kids in order to hand over taxpayer dollars to the corporations who run for-profit private schools.
- Walker wants to yank resources from public schools and spend them on vouchers so taxpayers are forced to subsidize wealthier private schools. When Walker was Milwaukee county executive he started a failed voucher program, so now he wants to get rid of the measures that hold voucher schools accountable.
- Rhee is standing with the politicians who want to gut public schools while they reward their donors with tax giveaways.
WHAT: Standing Up for All Our Kids
WHEN: Monday, 12:00 – 1:00p
WHERE: Washington Marriott, 1221 22nd St NW Washington DC
Monday, April 25, 2011
Today's Teamster News 04.25.11
Numbers show Walker recall a real prospect The Capital Times ...If the pattern were to hold statewide, that would yield roughly 760,000 signatures ... The baseline number of signatures needed to recall Walker ... is 540,208...
Kasich now urging voters to reject local school levies Plunderbund ...many school districts have recently announced they would be seeking to put levies on the ballot to help make up for Kasich’s funding cuts...
Documents show a Scott push to shutter Citizens Sarasota Herald-Tribune ...Governor Scott's top staff sought to force the 1.3 million property owners who now have a policy from the state-run carrier back into the private market...
Gov. should veto 'Right to Work' (opinion) Portsmouth Herald ...The proposed law change is designed simply to weaken workers' ability to bargain for fair wages, benefits and working conditions...
Corbett's reluctance to tax drillers undermines confidence in his leadership Patriot-News ...Corbett remains adamant against any sort of severance tax on the Marcellus Shale drillers despite poll after poll that shows the majority of Pennsylvanians favor such a tax...
Self-Employed Hurting Worse Than Workers Economic Populist ...a strong economy and a strong middle class with supports for opportunity are what generates entrepreneurship...
Kasich now urging voters to reject local school levies Plunderbund ...many school districts have recently announced they would be seeking to put levies on the ballot to help make up for Kasich’s funding cuts...
Documents show a Scott push to shutter Citizens Sarasota Herald-Tribune ...Governor Scott's top staff sought to force the 1.3 million property owners who now have a policy from the state-run carrier back into the private market...
Gov. should veto 'Right to Work' (opinion) Portsmouth Herald ...The proposed law change is designed simply to weaken workers' ability to bargain for fair wages, benefits and working conditions...
Corbett's reluctance to tax drillers undermines confidence in his leadership Patriot-News ...Corbett remains adamant against any sort of severance tax on the Marcellus Shale drillers despite poll after poll that shows the majority of Pennsylvanians favor such a tax...
Self-Employed Hurting Worse Than Workers Economic Populist ...a strong economy and a strong middle class with supports for opportunity are what generates entrepreneurship...
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