Saturday, April 20, 2013

Today's Teamster News 04.20.13

Bombing Suspect in Custody  Boston Globe   ...After a two-hour standoff in Watertown, nineteen-year-old Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, the suspect in Monday’s fatal Marathon bombings, was taken into custody...
Chemical in Texas Blast Has a Well-Known Deadly Potential   Los Angeles Times   ...Massive explosion may have involved large amounts of ammonium nitrate stored at the site. It has caused some of the worst industrial accidents in U.S. history...
Republicans Accuse Labor Nominee Of Fighting For Civil Rights (opinion)  Campaign for America’s Future   ...Where does the Republican Party put its energy? On anything that furthers the interests of the wealthiest. Tax cuts and kicking government are right at the top of that list...
Anti-Sick Time Bill Has Little Public Support, But Lawmaker Says It’s ‘Right Thing’ To Do  Florida Center for INvestigative Reporting   ...HB 655 would prohibit local governments in the state from implementing laws that extend paid sick leave benefits to workers and would prevent local governments from requiring companies to pay workers a living wage. The bill is similar to others backed by the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council...
Pension reforms moving through Florida Legislature  HR.BLR.com   ...The Florida House of Representatives recently passed legislation that would move new employees in the Florida Retirement System (FRS) from a defined benefit pension plan to a 401(k)-type defined contribution plan. The bill moves to the Senate for consideration...
Federal official confirms Maine Labor Department probe; state workers union seeks independent review of LePage  Bangor Daily News   ...Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Seth Harris told Gov. Paul LePage during a telephone call late Wednesday that an audit of the Maine Department of Labor’s handling of unemployment claims came in response to complaints of inconsistencies, not due to comments the governor allegedly made last month during a Blaine House lunch...
Protesters rip efforts touted by governor  Livingston Daily   ...About 70 people Thursday protested Michigan’s right-to-work laws, school funding cuts and business tax breaks— all of which Gov. Rick Snyder later touted as signs of progress nearby inside Crystal Gardens banquet center in Genoa Township...
Senate committee approves bill exempting some schools from paying prevailing wage  MyNWMo.com   ...Some school districts would no longer be required to pay the state prevailing wage on construction projects under a bill approved by the Senate Small Business Committee Wednesday...
CWA protests N.J. lottery privatization plan that could lead to dozens of job losses  NJ.com   ...The New Jersey Treasury Department said today that 63 of the state lottery's 136 public employees could lose their jobs if the Christie administration signs a contract with a private company to take over parts of the lottery, which it said last week it intends to do...
Campaign Pushing "Right to Work" Legislation for Pennsylvania  Your Erie   ...Pennsylvanians for a "right to work" state are launching an aggressive summer campaign...
Judge Rejects Stay in Wis. Police Union Lawsuit  Associated Press ...A police union's lawsuit challenging Gov. Scott Walker's polarizing collective bargaining law will go forward, following a ruling Friday by a Madison judge who refused the state's request to delay proceedings until appeals in another case were settled…
East Chicago Mayor Cancels Furlough Days for Teamsters Local 142 Municipal Employees  NWI Times   ...City employees represented by Teamsters Local 142 will no longer have to take furlough days, Mayor Anthony Copeland announced Thursday. Employees not represented by a union are still required to take furloughs…
Drivers Express Bus Safety Concerns WEAR-TV ABC Pensacola   ...School bus drivers say they've raised safety issues with the buses and their concerns have gone unheard at Durham School Services in Santa Rosa County, Florida...
BLET Urges Investment In Amtrak At Senate Hearing  BLET   ...At a Senate subcommittee hearing on April 17, John Tolman, Vice President and National Legislative Representative of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, made a strong case for the U.S. to make a major investment in Amtrak...
Bon Appetit To Recognize Request for Unionization  The Daily Pennsylvania   ...Workers at Penn Hillel’s Falk Dining Commons might obtain official union recognition with Teamsters Local 929 by the end of the semester...
Dedicated Port Orchard UPS Driver Delivers 30 Years of Safety on the Road   Seattle Times   ...Peggy Larson is too polite to tell us how to drive. But if more of us drove like she does, the roads would be a lot safer...
Teamsters Vow To Continue Fight Against Dangerous Mexican Trucks in Wake of Court Decision  IBT   ...The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is disappointed in the court’s decision upholding the legality of the pilot program to open our borders to unsafe Mexican trucks. The union is reviewing its options with our attorneys...
Teamsters Demand Global Aviation Board Stop Costly Executive Search, Appoint CEO   IBT   ...The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which represents approximately 340 pilots and flight attendants for Global Aviation’s two airlines World Airways and North American Airlines, are calling on the company’s board of directors to take swift and decisive action in selecting a chief executive officer with a proven track record of turning an airline around...