Friday, March 9, 2012

Today's Teamster News 03.09.12

Labor negotiations between LePage administration, union going to trial  Bangor Daily News   ...Ayotte ultimately ruled that the LePage administration must stand trial before the board on charges that it negotiated in bad faith and interfered with the rights of MSEA workers...
Right-to-work schism dominates GOP amendment debate  Politics in Minnesota   ...talks on right-to-work have stalled as internal GOP discussions of constitutional amendments in the House and Senate have heated up...
Federal judge tosses NJ unions' pensions suit  CBS News   ...A federal judge on Monday threw out a lawsuit brought by New Jersey teachers, police officers, firefighters and public workers challenging a law that requires them to pay more for their pensions and health benefits ... an appeal will be filed...
Union-buster joins Wisconsin recall fight  Salon   ...The Wisconsin recall ad wars have a new player: the Center for Union Facts, the well-heeled union-bashing outfit founded by food and beverage super-lobbyist Rick Berman.  A CUF source says the self-described “union watchdog” is spending “just over a million dollars” in Wisconsin, and “may do more in the coming weeks.”...
Banks foreclosing on US churches in record numbers  Reuters   ...The surge in church foreclosures represents a new wave of distressed property seizures triggered by the 2008 financial crash, analysts say, with many banks no longer willing to grant struggling religious organizations forbearance.Since 2010, 270 churches have been sold after defaulting on their loans...
GOP Loses Big Voter Suppression Case In Federal Court  Alternet   ...A federal court has rejected an appeal from the Republican National Committee to modify a 30-year-old legal agreement that prevented it from engaging in one of the most offensive forms of voter suppression: targeting minority voters whose credentials were to be challenged once they enter polling places...
GAO: Almost Half of Bailed Banks Repaid the Government With Money "From Other Federal Programs"  naked capitalism   ...Our banking system is still reliant on the government for support...