Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Today's Teamster News 12.12.12

TRENDING: Hoffa predicts 'civil war' in Michigan  CNN   ... Jimmy Hoffa, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, said Tuesday he expects Michigan unions and lawmakers to break out into "civil war" after the state legislature passed right-to-work bills that would weaken unions' power...
Editorial: Drinking the Kochs' Kool-Aid  Detroit Free Press   ...Michigan's proposed right-to-work bills mirror the ALEC language practically word-for-word...
Koch brothers, Tea Party cash drives Michigan right-to-work bill  Salon   ...it secures a dream of the anti-union Koch brothers and the American Legislative Exchange Council, whose associates are well-represented among Snyder’s donors, and whose economic agenda has been ascendant within the modern GOP...
GOP defends right-to-work exclusion of cop, fire unions  Detroit News   ...Some rank-and-file GOP lawmakers said there are other reasons why police and firefighters are getting a better deal than their union brethren who work in other dangerous jobs in prisons, construction and utilities. "They behave more like value-adding trade associations than unions," said state Rep. Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, the leading advocate for the drive to make Michigan the 24th right-to-work state...
There's Not A Single Spending Cut That Republican Voters Support  Business Insider   ...a new Marist-McClatchy poll shows that voters — including Republicans — oppose any and every specific spending cut proposed to them.
It goes hand in hand with the disparity between voters' wish for blanket "spending cuts" and their opposition to any cuts to an entitlement that benefits them...
DOJ refuses to indict HSBC explicitly because it is too big to fail  naked capitalism   ...State and federal authorities decided against indicting HSBC in a money-laundering case over concerns that criminal charges could jeopardize one of the world’s largest banks and ultimately destabilize the global financial system. Instead, HSBC announced on Tuesday that it had agreed to a record $1.92 billion settlement with authorities...
Monthly U.S. trade deficit with China hits new record.  manufacture this   ...The monthly U.S. international trade deficit in goods and services rose to $42.2 billion in October, up from $40.3 billion in September...
John Kasich paying a PR firm (with your money) to sell you his turnpike plan  Plunderbund   ...Yesterday we confirmed a top ODOT manager believed the consultants were hired specifically to help support Kasich’s plans to lease the turnpike...
Four Ohio prisons face possibility of closure under budget cuts  Columbus Dispatch   ...A fifth prison that seemed almost certain to close, the Hocking Correctional Facility, in Nelsonville, that houses older inmates, will get a reprieve, it now appears...
LABOR: Teamster food truck drivers strike in Washington  The Press-Enterprise   ...Truck drivers and warehouse workers at United Natural Foods went on strike in Auburn, Wash., citing unfair labor practices and lousy wages. Contract negotiations broke off prior to 166 Teamsters walking off their jobs...
Teamster DHL Workers Support Turkish Workers' Right To Organize  IBT   ...Teamsters working at DHL across the United States and Canada will join in solidarity for an International Day of Action on December 12 with DHL workers worldwide to support workers in Turkey who have been mistreated while trying to form a union...
CP, Teamsters Canada workers reach accord  Railway Age   ...The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference-Maintenance of Way Employees Division (TCRC-MWED), representing 2,600 maintenance of way workers, and Canadian Pacific reached a tentative historic five-year contract settlement, CP announced Tuesday....