Saturday, July 6, 2013

Today's Teamster News 07.06.13

Yes, the Sequester Is Affecting the Job Market  New York Times   ... in the last few months, the defense-sensitive industries have been shedding jobs, while the rest of the country’s employers have been adding jobs over all...
The Fall of the American Worker  New Yorker   ...Without unions to support them, they are all at the mercy of indifferent employers and the harsh vagaries of the post-industrial economy...
Chinese Officials Ignored Safety Violations, Leading To The Industrial Fire That Killed 121 People Think Progress   ...Dozens of Chinese public officials were charged Friday with dereliction of duty for failing to inspect the site of a fire at the Jilin Baoyuanfeng Poultry Co. plant that killed 121 in June...
So-called free trade talks should be in the public, not corporate interest (opinion)  The Guardian   ... the goal is a managed trade regime – managed, that is, to serve the special interests that have long dominated trade policy in the west...
Pensioners at ‘breaking point’ because of austerity budgets  Independent.ie   ..."The feedback we received during our national consultation process in March (in Ireland) was shocking, with older people telling us how they were going to bed in the early evening to stay warm, using hot water bottles to stay warm rather than turning on their heating, or seriously considering the option of getting rid of their pet cat because they could no longer afford to feed it..."
Next week's Moral Mondays protest to focus on the numbers  News and Observer  ...Next week’s “Moral Mondays” protest by the NAACP will be about numbers. Each protest has focused on a theme. Monday’s theme will be about the number of people that the organization says have been harmed by Republican legislators’ economic actions, including ending some Medicaid funding and unemployment benefits...
Top Mich. court won't rule early on right-to-work  Associated Press   ...The Michigan Supreme Court on Friday unanimously decided not to step in early to decide the legality of the state's right-to-work law...
How Scott Walker strangled Wisconsin’s jobs recovery  Institute for Wisconsin's Future   ...The only ‘good news’ is that we’re not falling behind the nation quite as rapidly as we once were. But Wisconsin is still missing out on the national recovery. And our governor’s policies are largely to blame...
Alabama voters' photo ID law can now be implemented for 2014 elections  The Clarion   ...The U.S. Supreme Court voted to strike down Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, an act created to outlaw practices such as literacy tests and other discriminatory means that disenfranchised voters based on race or color...
Delaware Supreme Court weighs whether former Countrywide shareholders can pursue lawsuit Associated Press   ...The Delaware Supreme Court is considering whether former shareholders of Countrywide Financial Corp. should be allowed to pursue a federal lawsuit filed against leaders of the former mortgage lending giant before it was acquired by Bank of America in 2008...
American Airlines fires back against lawsuit to stop merger  Dallas Business Journal   ...American Airlines has returned fired against a lawsuit claiming the Fort Worth-based carrier's planned merger with US Airways Group will harm consumers, calling the suit baseless...
Calif. lawmakers approve bill to extend tax breaks as part of business incentive overhaul  Associated Press   ...The Senate and Assembly voted Wednesday to extend a sales tax exemption for manufacturing and research-and-development equipment to eight years. The credit would have expired for some businesses after 4 1/2 years...
Washington County to get workers comp refund check  Marietta Times   ...About 210,000 employers across the state will see refund checks form the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation in amounts ranging from $5 to more than $3 million...
New Jersey postpones surcharge on unemployment premiums in effort to boost job market  Press of Atlantic City   ...Lawmakers passed a bill that postponed a 10 percent insurance surcharge, which Gov. Chris Christie signed into law June 28. The increase was meant to fill a projected $300 million shortfall in the fund that provides unemployment benefits to the state's laid-off workers...
Rural/Metro union signals its intention to go on strike  Buffalo News   ...Teamsters Local 375 on Friday delivered 10-day notice signaling its intent to strike privately owned Rural/Metro Medical Services if progress is not made to fix a system in which, according to the union, first responders are paid below the city’s living wage...