Monday, April 29, 2013

Today's Teamster News 04.29.13

Report: Hidden overseas accounts quietly rising to surface  Washington Post   ...The IRS has recouped more than $5.5 billion under a series of programs that offered reduced penalties and no jail time to people who voluntarily disclosed assets they were hiding overseas. In all, more than 39,000 tax cheats have come clean. But there’s more...
Bangladesh factory collapse: police detain owners, as death toll exceeds 350  The Observer   ...Police in Bangladesh have detained two factory owners for criminal negligence over the deaths of at least 352 workers at an eight-storey building that collapsed on Wednesday – a day after warnings had been given that it was unsafe...
Who really pays for our cheap clothes? (opinion)  CNN   ...The sad fact behind the building collapse in Bangladesh is that it isn't an isolated problem. The story will leave the headlines at the end of this week but today, hundreds of thousands of workers will return to factories that are frankly further tragedies waiting to happen, and will keep producing clothes for high street brands...
Bill to boost California minimum wage approved by panel  Los Angeles Times   ...AB 10, which would give California its first minimum wage increase since 2008, was approved by the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee on a party-line vote...
Pa. beer laws add juice to liquor privatization debate  Associated Press   ...Where you can buy beer in Pennsylvania will be the subject of debate in the coming weeks in the state Senate, pitting profit-seeking businesses against one another and perhaps even against beer drinkers’ wishes...
Anti-Worker "Paycheck Protection" Bills Moving in Missouri  PR Watch   ...Missouri is the latest front in the attack on organized labor with so-called "paycheck protection" bills moving through the legislature, with backing from the usual array of corporate interests. But according to the Washington D.C.-based Economic Policy Institute, the bills primarily disadvantage workers while preserving privileges for corporations...
New York City Employee Pension Funds Sue BP Over Gulf Oil Spill  Bloomberg News   ...New York City pension funds sued BP for at least $39 million in investment losses, saying the oil company failed to disclose the risks and safety issues leading to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico...
Primacy of pensions in city bankruptcy may be issue for U.S. court in July  Reuters   ...A U.S. judge in July could take up the issue of whether a bankrupt city can shield workers' pensions while inflicting heavy losses on bond holders and other creditors, a lawyer for California's pension fund for public employees said on Friday...
Moody's, S&P settle lawsuits over debt ratings Associated Press ...King County, WA and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank sued Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and Morgan Stanley, accusing “them of hiding risky investments” (this goes back to the mortgage crisis). There has been a settlement; details were not disclosed...
Teamsters Urge "Special Pay Issue" Raises For Florida Correctional Officers  IBT   ...The following is a statement from Teamsters International Vice President Ken Wood recalling a Presidential Proclamation on Correctional Officers issued on May 5, 1984...
Teamsters Local Win $5M for Department of Aviation Members  IBT   ... Teamsters Local 700 has recouped approximately $5 million in lost wages for City of Chicago workers who were sent home early without pay while working snow removal shifts at area airports from 2009-2011...