Sunday, June 8, 2014

Today's Teamster News 06.08.14

Teamsters
Dispatchers, Customer Service Reps Unite for Teamster Representation  teamster.org   ...Dispatchers and customer service representatives at Cook DuPage Transportation (CDT) joined their paratransit driver and garage attendant co-workers by voting for Teamsters Local 727 representation on June 2... 
Trade
The Real Effects of KORUS Can Be Seen in Our Struggling Economy  Economy in Crisis   ...Since it was enacted, our total trade deficit with South Korea has been over 55 billion dollars. Our exports actually fell by 12 percent in the first month, which was exactly the opposite of what we were told would happen…
State Battles
Infrastructure Sticker Shock: Financing Costs More than Construction  Washington's Blog   ...California needs $700 billion in infrastructure over the next decade, and the state doesn’t have that sort of money in its general fund. Where will the money come from? ... The Chinese government has a hidden funding source: it owns its own banks. That means it gets its financing effectively interest-free...
New signature rule causing headaches for candidates, state election officials  Wisconsin State Journal   ...(Lt. Gov. candidate Mary Jo) Walters said the new law is an effort at “voter intimidation” akin to putting the recall petitions online...
War on Workers
Lack of funding is the real VA scandal  Physicians for a National Health Program   ...There are two primary reasons for the problem of wait times. One has to do with Congress’ consistent failure to provide adequate funding so that the VA could hire more staff to care for an increasing number of veterans who live longer with complex service and age related health problems...
Genius deal? Apple's staff paid less than Coles' checkout workers  Sydney Morning Herald   ...Tech giant Apple has struck a new pay deal with retail staff that locks in starting rates lower than supermarket checkout workers and probable pay cuts in real terms every year for the next four years....
America’s Wealthiest Family Uses Phony Philanthropy to Increase Personal Wealth  Jobs With Justice   ...America’s richest family contributes almost none of their personal wealth to the family’s charity, according to a new report by the Walmart 1 Percent...
CEO Performance Pay is Bad for Everyone Except CEOs  Next New Deal   ...CEO pay is not just unfair, but harmful. It’s bad for businesses, workers, and taxpayers, and it’s one of the reasons that the economy remains sluggish...
University Presidents Are Laughing All the Way to the Bank While the People Who Work for Them Are on Food Stamps  History News Network   ...as the incomes of the 25 best-paid public university presidents soared, the livelihoods of their faculty deteriorated. This deterioration resulted largely from the fact that tenured and tenure-track faculty were replaced with adjuncts (part-time instructors, paid by the course) and contingents (temporary faculty)...
Miscellaneous
Feds propose chemical safety overhaul  The Hill   ...The 121-page plan calls for strengthened regulations at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as steps to protect chemical plants from the threat of a terrorist strike....
Billionaire Heir Sentenced To Four Months In Jail For Sexually Assaulting His Stepdaughter  ThinkProgress   ...A Wisconsin billionaire pled guilty to sexual assault of his stepdaughter, but was only sentenced to four months in jail on Friday. Samuel Curtis Johnson III, heir to the SC Johnson cleaning supplies empire, will have to serve at least 60 days of his sentence and pay a fine up to $6,000...