Today's Teamster News 06.30.11

WI Recall: New Daily Kos polling shows path to victory  Daily Kos   ...In August, months and months of effort will culminate in a set of unprecedented recall elections in the state of Wisconsin, focused on a single aim: taking back the state Senate from Republicans and dealing a major blow to Gov. Scott Walker's war against the middle class, students, and above all, unions...
Record 1.3M back vote to torpedo Senate Bill 5  Toledo Blade   ...6,000 (people) paraded through downtown Columbus to file boxes containing 51,000 petitions...
Benton Harbor Emergency Manager restricts park access  Michigan Messenger   ...Locals are no longer allowed to take early morning walks in the park under an order issued by Benton Harbor’s Emergency Manager Joe Harris...
Rick Scott Admits He Was in Colorado for Koch Brothers Retreat  Broward-Palm Beach New Times   ...We finally have an answer as to where Gov. Rick Scott was this weekend, and it confirms our suspicion: at the billionaire Koch brothers' secret conference outside Vail, Colorado...
Minnesota government shutdown hours away  Politico   ...Minnesota is on the verge of a government meltdown if it does not pass a budget by the end of the day Thursday - potentially shuttering highway rest stops, suspending low-income child care, and even closing the state zoo...
LePage vows to renew union dues fight next year  Kennebec Journal   ...A day before the expiration of state workers' union contracts, Gov. Paul LePage told lawmakers Wednesday that he will push again next year for legislation to stop requiring nonunion state workers to pay a portion of union dues...

Today's Teamster News 06.15.11

Supreme Court reinstates collective bargaining law  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel   ... Acting with unusual speed, the state Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the reinstatement of Gov. Scott Walker's controversial plan to end most collective bargaining for tens of thousands of public workers...
Budget plan spares rich of the worst  Columbus Dispatch   ... in a spending plan that whacks schools, local governments, higher education, nursing homes, day care for children of low-income parents, the Ohio Consumers' Counsel, children's hospitals and work-support programs for the poor, one group was notably exempted from the pain. Ohio's biggest earners...
Firefighting cops to begin Benton Harbor patrols in July  Michigan Messenger   ...Benton Harbor Emergency Manager Joe Harris is downsizing and combining the city’s police and firefighting functions in a move he says will save the city $1 million...
Senate rejects bill requiring photo ID to vote  Bangor Daily News   ...Maine senators on Monday, in a reversal of a House vote last week, rejected a bill that sought to require voters to show photo identification on Election Day...
At least we know what they stand for (LTE)  Nashua Telegraph   ...it appears they have little regard for working-class families, an educated population, protecting our environment or creating meaningful jobs for the people of New Hampshire...
Christie on Copter-Gate: 'I Would Not Make a Different Decision’  Livingston Patch   ... "that was the way I could get to my son’s game that day. I make no apologies for it.”...

Today's Teamster News 05.16.11

The great government fire sale is on  Associated Press   ...And soon, if state legislators have their way, private investors will be able to buy plenty of other municipal treasures: power plants in Wisconsin, prisons in Louisiana and Ohio and municipal buildings in Boston...
Dramatic Job Revisions Bust Structural Unemployment Myths  The Roosevelt Institute   ...On average, there were 172,000 fewer job openings per month in 2009 and 235,000 fewer job opening per month in 2010...
Federal worker pensions emerge as target in debt-reduction talks  Washington Post   ...Republicans have proposed saving more than $120 billion over the next decade by requiring the civilian workforce to contribute more toward retirement — a plan that would effectively impose an immediate 5 percent pay cut on more than 2 million federal employees...
Trade Deficit with FTA Countries Continues to Climb  Global Trade Watch   ... the deficit with our 17 FTA (free trade agreement) partners continues to worsen, adding to the body of evidence that NAFTA-style trade agreements are hurting American workers...
Grass Roots: Forum sets stage for moving from Walker protests to people's movement  The Cap Times   ...Can a sustained grass roots movement grow from Wisconsin's season of protests?...
Crain's editorial: Quit playing  Crain's Cleveland Business   ...The governor chops away at expenses, but loudly proclaims his refusal to consider any form of tax increase, even though it's inexcusable not to raise the rate on the state's commercial activity tax...
Groups Protest Rick Scott In Daytona Beach  WFTV.com   ...Activists from both trade and teachers unions, as well as progressive groups, held signs and chanted from 4:00pm to 7:00pm on Sunday while Scott was right next-door...
Emergency manager's autocratic power puts Benton Harbor in national spotlight  Detroit Free Press   ...To Mayor Wilce Cook and others, Harris represents a corporate-state scheme to deny Benton Harbor voters rights to elect their own leaders...

Colbert gives Michigan EMF what for

The Colbert Report did a great piece last night on Michigan's emergency financial manager (EMF) law, which allows an appointee to take over local and municipal governments. Colbert had this to say about Joe Harris, Benton Harbor's EMF:

This takes all power away from the local elected officials, but Harris is still willing to listen to all the voices in city government because they are all now his voice. 

It's frightening, but true. Colbert then played audio quoting Harris, who said:

So, the fact of the matter is, the city manager is now gone. I am the city manager. I replace the finance director. So I am the finance director and the city manager. I am the mayor and the commission and I don't need them.  

"Them" refers to the democratically elected public officials who Harris replaced with his massive ego. Not only have residents of Benton Harbor been deprived of representation, publicly owned land is also being turned over to wealthy interests for their own luxury golf course.

Watch the Colbert video here.

Today's Teamster News 05.08.11

Big Bank Backlash: From Coast to Coast People are Moving their Money Common Dreams.org ...From San Francisco to Wall Street people are taking to the streets reminding governors and their friends on Wall Street and that they remember very well who tanked the global economy putting more than 8 million Americans out of work and creating a revenue crisis for many states...
Scott Walker rescinds layoff notices for assistant DAs The State Journal ...David Lasee, vice president of the Association of State Prosecutors, a union that represents ADAs, said he does not know what changed Walker's mind...
Wisconsin Republicans rush agenda before recalls Associated Press ...Republicans...plan to legalize concealed weapons, deregulate the telephone industry, require voters to show photo identification at the polls, expand school vouchers and ... may also act again on Walker's controversial plan stripping public employee unions of their collective bargaining rights...
Republicans losing the PR war World Net Daily ... latest Ohio polling shows that Republicans, while well-intentioned in their efforts to balance the state budget, are losing the public-relations battle and may end up losing much more...
Protesters greet Mich. governor UPI ...Opponents of a new state law that gives greater power to the appointed emergency managers of financially troubled municipalities held a rally before the parade started...
Business community won big in Florida Legislature — many others lost Orlando Sentinel ...Regulations, programs and entire state agencies built up over decades were demolished, disarmed or defunded...public employees took it on the chin...
NH public employees rush to retirement Boston Globe ...Public employees in New Hampshire are rushing to retire as lawmakers debate changes in the state pension system...
The DeVos Family: Meet the Super-Wealthy Right-Wingers Working With the Religious Right to Kill Public Education Alternet ...their goals include privatizing social security, reducing government regulations, thwarting environmental policy, dismantling unions -- and eliminating public schools...

Today's Teamster News 05.07.11

Milwaukee County prosecutors to work full-time despite 20% pay cuts  Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel   ..."I believe the Assistant District Attorneys are being treated dishonorably, but I also know that they consider it a great privilege, as do I, to serve you..."
Ohio House Budget Would Let Kasich Sell Assets Such as Prisons  Bloomberg  ...Ohio Governor John Kasich could sell or lease six prisons and the state turnpike under the $55.6 billion, two-year budget that passed the Republican-led House of Representatives 59-40 ...
'We Are Ohio' Movement Takes Aim At Senate Bill 5 That Became Law  The State Journal  ...They say collective bargaining was won with the sweat and blood of their grandfathers...
Florida budget has plenty of pain to go around  Associated Press   ...Special education teacher Hal Krantz hasn't had a raise in two years, but he'll be among 650,000 public employees whose pay checks will be cut to help balance an annual state budget that also slashes spending by nearly $4 billion...
Demonstrators to greet Snyder at Benton Harbor's annual parade  Detroit News   ...Gov. Rick Snyder will put himself at ground zero of a controversy over local control Saturday when he serves as grand marshal in a parade through Benton Harbor...
Collective bargaining should remain in N.H. (opinion)  Portsmouth Herald   ...Our legislators are intent on destroying unions and the collective bargaining process for partisan reasons that have nothing to do with creating jobs or helping to grow the economy...
State Representatives Attend Town Hall on Education  WestChester Patch   ...many parents who spoke out at the meeting said that Corbett’s plan would “dismantle the public education system in the state...”

Today's Teamster News 05.06.11

David Koch Gives President Obama Zero Credit for Bin Laden’s Death  New York Magazine   ..."He just made the decision, it was obvious where the guy is."..
The Double Dip's Official: Home Prices Fall to New Low  The Atlantic   ...National home prices are officially on the hunt for a new bottom...
Walker worker award plan draws hoots  Milwaukee-Journal Sentinel   ...He's telling them he wants to formally recognize their many fine achievements, and they're telling him to stick it...
Walker, Kasich Tributes To Public Workers Prompt Laughter, Derision  Huffington Post   ... Ohio House Minority Leader Armond Budish (D) said in a statement that he had to "check my calendar" to make sure it wasn't April Fool's Day...
Protesters rally for jobs  Columbus Dispatch   ...Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman joined officials from several of the city's first-ring suburbs to decry legislators' plans to repeal the Ohio estate tax...
Demonstrators to greet Snyder at Benton Harbor's annual parade  Detroit News   ...One of the protest organizers is Heartland Revolution, a Democratic group based in Walton, Ky., that is also backing efforts to recall state Rep. Al Pscholka, R-Stevensville, who sponsored the emergency manager bill...
Florida House Expands Corporate Income Tax Breaks, Readies for Budget  Sunshine State News   ...“It eliminates the corporate tax for about 15,000 businesses.”..
LePage Reveals Allegations Against Maine Commissioner  DownEast.com   ...“The problem with higher education today dates back to the civil rights movement in the ‘60’s that allowed blacks to enter colleges..."

Today's Teamster News 04.30.11

Plan to Protect 25,000 YRCW Freight Jobs Clears Important Financial Hurdle
IBT   ...The Teamsters National Freight Industry Negotiating Committee (TNFINC), along with lenders and the Teamster multi-employer pension funds, has entered into definitive agreements to move forward with the planned restructuring of YRCW...
Walker plan brings warning from USDA  Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel   ...Gov. Scott Walker's proposal to privatize work determining who is eligible for food assistance in the state would violate federal law and could expose the state to a loss of more than $20 million in federal money, federal officials say...
Republican Budget Booed, Jeered by Angry Voters   ShortNews.com   ...Republican Congressman Paul Ryan was jeered and booed by angry voters as he tried to explain the GOP budget of which he is the architect...
Petitions out to repeal SB 5  Record Herald   ...The grassroots coalition, "We Are Ohio," is in the midst of gathering thousands of signatures across the state, including here locally, in an attempt to repeal Senate Bill 5...
boeing
Defending Boeing, Pam Bondi Stands Up for Right to Work  Sunshine State News   ...State Attorney General Pam Bondi joined eight Republican attorneys general from other states Thursday to oppose a National Labor Relations Board complaint launched last week against the Boeing Co...
Union dues bill rears its head as amendment  Miami Herald   ...A bill to ban public employee unions from using payroll deduction to collect their dues was considered all but dead on Wednesday when Senate leaders couldn’t get the votes to pass it...
Benton Harbor is the new Selma  Michigan Messenger   ...Hundreds of people gathered in Benton Harbor yesterday to protest the Emergency Manager law that has stripped power from the local government...
Michigan House passes business tax cut, levy on pensions  Detroit News   ...A massive tax reform package granting nearly $1.8 billion in business tax breaks ... passed Thursday in the state House, but ...it faces tough scrutiny in the upper chamber...
Brewer vetoes privatization bill for city services  Arizona Capital Times   ...Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed a bill that would have forced Arizona’s two largest cities to bid out expensive municipal services...
Brewer vetoes bill to cap state spending  Arizona Capital Times   ...By vetoing a bill that would have placed strict limits on how quickly government spending could increase, Gov. Jan Brewer has drawn the ire of conservative tax policy advocates...
Is Massachusetts the next Wisconsin  Washington Post   ...Unions are outraged; conservatives are cheering, but they agree: like Wisconsin, this blue state has launched an assault on unionized public employees. Democrats in the state say they’re both wrong...

Financial vultures are circling our cities and towns

Just when you thought Wall Street couldn't get any more avaricious, they do something so shameless it makes your head spin.

You'd think they'd be happy with a $4 trillion taxpayer bailout. But no, looting the federal treasury wasn't enough. Now they're figuring out how to plunder our cities and towns.

Wall Street's stooge in Michigan, Gov. Rick Snyder, set the stage by passing a financial manager law. The law lets appointees take over entire communities, override local laws, remove elected officials and abrogate union contracts. In the old days that was known as "taxation without representation." Today it's "value for money."

We've reported how Benton Harbor was stripped of its democratic rights. And we've reported how Snyder is building an army of emergency financial managers to take over municipalities across the state.

Today we learn what those eager beavers are thinking. Bloomberg Business Week, in a story called, "Financial Martial Law in Michigan," describes how one financial vulture views struggling municipalities: a chance to add to his loot.  Here a principal from accounting giant Grant Thornton describes a conversation he had with Michigan's treasurer:

"I told Andy Dillon: 'I want to copy your program and take it to other states.' We view this as a business opportunity. We can make a real meaningful difference for a lot of people. There's a nobility in that. If we can get paid for it, that's a good thing, too." -Michael Imber, a principal from the accounting and consulting firm Grant Thornton.

Here's more:

"This is the next wave of opportunity," says Scott Eisenberg, president of the Michigan Turnaround Management Assn "People are trying to figure out where the opportunity is. It may not be as emergency managers. It may be as consultants." And then Eisenberg says it—the sentiment that sounds reasonable to some and perverse to others: "This past recession brought forth a level of discipline and accountability and restructuring in the private sector that the public sector has not gone through yet. As a result there's no reason why you wouldn't use professionals to help. Good turnaround professionals will pay for themselves."

The emergency managers' salaries—which range from $150,000 for Stampfler to about $350,000 for Robert Bobb, the head of the Detroit school system—come out of local (or school) budgets. Consultants' fees could run about $150 an hour, estimates Eisenberg, a drop from what they're used to making but still lucrative.

Could it be any more obvious that this is about looting the middle class and not about solving our financial crisis.

Today's Teamster News 04.29.11

Benton Harbor protest against emergency manager  WZZM-13   ...Hundreds of people gathered in Benton Harbor Wednesday to protest Michigan's emergency financial manager law...
Black caucus plans federal case against Emergency Manager law  Michigan Messenger   ...The Michigan Legislative Black Caucus is working with the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, Rep. John Conyers (D-Detroit), and others on a lawsuit to challenge Michigan’s Emergency Manager law...
MU says video distorted labor professors’ meaning  Kansas City Star   ...Videos released on the Internet showing two University of Missouri instructors advocating union violence totally distorted their comments, a university official said this afternoon...
Afraid To Face Angry Voters, Rep. Paul Ryan Sneaks Out a Back Door  Crooks and Liars   ...Paul Ryan is flipping out that town hall attendees aren't going to follow his command to "play nice" in front of the media....
Shadow Right Wing Policy Group Holds Summit in Cincinnati  Progress Ohio   ...They meet in secret. They write our laws. And they want us silent...
Teachers union sues Otter, Luna over reform law  Idaho Statesman   ...Members of Idaho's statewide teachers union have filed a lawsuit against the state, the governor and Idaho's public schools chief over a new law that phases out teacher tenure and wipes out collective bargaining over salaries and benefits...
Oregon Unions Put Their Fists in the Air  Willamette Week   ...Raising their fists and chanting, “Good jobs for all, ” about 2,500 Oregon union members and their supporters packed Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse Square today to protest stagnant job growth and government budget cuts...
Philly schools may cut nearly 1,300 teachers jobs  Associated Press   ...The Philadelphia public schools will have to cut 3,800 jobs—including almost 1,300 teachers—if the governor's planned budget cuts are approved, the district's budget chief said Wednesday...

Today's Teamster News 04.28.11

Indiana OKs broadest private school voucher system in US as Daniels mulls White House bid  Associated Press   ...It would allow even middle-class families to use taxpayer money to send their children to private schools...
Little evidence found to support claims of voter fraud  Florida Independent  ...Republican legislators pushing new restrictions on groups that register voters and on voters trying to change their addresses at the polls have said the changes are intended to bring integrity to the voting process...
A State Manager Takes Over and Cuts What a City Can’t  New York Times   ...Only four entities in Michigan, including Detroit’s public school system, currently are deemed distressed enough to require oversight by emergency managers. But some economists predict those ranks will grow...
Big Jump In Disapproval For Pennsylvania Governor  Quinnipiac University   ...Pennsylvania voters say 50 - 39 percent that Gov. Corbett's budget-cutting proposals are unfair to people like them...
Angry voters crowd GOP town meetings  CBS   ...constituents from Twin Lakes to Kenosha are being turned away as capacity crowds inside come to praise or condemn the plan Ryan likes to call the "path to prosperity..."
Wisconsin pension system is nation's most solvent, study finds  Green Bay Press Gazette   ...At a Capitol Hill forum Tuesday sponsored by the American Action Forum, a conservative think tank, the consensus among panelists was pensions are not to blame for states' fiscal woes...
Advocates: Consumers 'betrayed' by high court ruling on class-action suits  MSNBC  ...Fine print in everyday consumer contracts can include provisions that require Americans to surrender their rights to file class-action lawsuits, the U.S Supreme Court ruled Wednesday...    

Today's Teamster News 04.27.11

NLRB will sue Ariz., SD over union laws  Associated Press   ...it will move ahead with lawsuits against Arizona and South Dakota over state constitutional amendments that require secret ballot elections to form unions...
With Lockout Lifted for Now, Questions on How to Proceed  New York Times  ...the N.F.L. was stuck in a state of confusion Tuesday, one day after an injunction to stop the six-week-long lockout was issued...
At least 9 Wisconsin state senators face recall  Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel   ...In all, three Democrats, and possibly four, have now escaped having signatures filed, and at least three campaigns are still active - against two Republicans and a Democrat...
House votes to restrict unions  Boston Globe   ...the push in Massachusetts was led by Democrats who have traditionally stood with labor to oppose any reduction in workers’ rights...
EFM Harris may use authority to terminate Benton Harbor union contracts  WNDU.com   ...EMF Joe Harris said Monday that it is "conceivable" that he will end contracts with union workers...
Ohio GOP lawmakers plan changes to Gov. John Kasich's education budget  Plain Dealer   ...Battered by angry crowds at suburban school district meetings in recent days, House Republican lawmakers will offer up changes Thursday limiting the budgetary pain inflicted on schools by Gov. John Kasich's budget proposal...
Rick Scott's Major Failure: Legislature Won't Eliminate Corporate Income Tax  New Times   ...Florida is undergoing a radical conservative transformation under Gov. Rick Scott, but one of his top proposals seems to be a bridge too far and too soon even for the Republican supermajorities in the state House and Senate...

Today's Teamster News 04.26.11

Gov. Walker Counting 125 Jobs Created by Doyle Administration  WTAQ.com   ...Walker ...(is) reportedly counting 125 jobs his predecessor announced last December...
Numerous polls suggest the repeal of SB5 would get significant support  The Daily-Record   ...A recent poll by Public Policy Polling found 54 percent of voters would repeal the law while only 31 percent would vote to keep the legislation...
Time for an uprising in Benton Harbor (opinion)  Chicago Sun-Times   ...Benton Harbor’s residents now live in a dictatorship imposed by a Republican governor famous for his belief that the poor should be punished and the rich rewarded...
Gov. Rick Scott pushes corporate tax cut plan but Senate committee balks  Tampa Bay Times Herald   ..."Is this just kind of an odd time to start this ... during the worst of times instead of the best of times?"...
Boeing flies into South Carolina labor turbulence  Salon   ...last week's decision that Boeing had violated the National Labor Relations Act by moving airline production from a union plant in Washington to a nonunion plant in South Carolina seems, on the face of it, like a pretty big deal...
Teamsters Support Planned Merger of AT&T and T-Mobile  IBT   ...The Teamsters Union supports the joining of these two mobile communications providers as a positive sign that T-Mobile workers will soon enjoy the same protections and bargaining power as the 42,000 unionized workers at AT&T...
Public Workers Have Until May 17 to Make Concessions to Avert Layoffs  Paramus Patch   ...Patrick Guaschino, vice president of Teamsters Local 97, which represents eight of the affected workers, was confident that he could find a solution to save $140,000...

Today's Teamster News 04.24.11

More Questions Of Koch Brothers’ Fingers In Scott Walker’s Wisconsin Pie As ‘Jason’ Identity Revealed?  Forbes   ...Is a Koch brothers' lobbyist working on a financial emergency bill for Wisconsin?
Rachel Maddow -- and lots of readers -- comment on Kalamazoo Gazette column on Benton Harbor  Kalamazoo Gazette   ... Benton Harbor's financial manager was appointed by Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm and the fight over the park is completely separate from the fight over the financial manager...
Scott won't sign Florida budget without tax cuts  South Florida Times   ...Neither House nor Senate budget bills include the $1.7 billion in corporate income and school property tax cuts Scott has proposed...
Toledoans turn out to help overturn SB 5  WNWO   ... there was a line just to get to the petitions that would give voters the opportunity to repeal Senate Bill 5...
Federal judge nixes request to replace Maine mural  Associated Press   ...U.S. District Judge John Woodcock ruled that Gov. Paul LePage's order to remove the 36-foot-long mural in late March constituted government speech, or the right of government to say what it wishes regardless of the viewpoint expressed...
Are China’s high-speed trains heading off the rails?  Washington Post   ...China’s expanding network of ultramodern high-speed trains has come under growing scrutiny here over costs and because of concerns that builders ignored safety standards in the quest to build faster trains in record time...
A Crack in Wall Street's Defenses  New York Times   ...“Somebody’s got to do something about Wall Street. It is destroying the country."

Today's Teamster News 04.21.11

NH Teamsters Condemn Senate Vote Against the Middle Class  Local 633   ...Right-to-work's sole purpose is to destroy unions...
Wisconsin court race heads for recount  Reuters   ...the challenger in the close race for a seat on the state Supreme Court has asked for a recount...
Rick Scott: Forget the Oil Spill -- Let's Go Fishing!  Broward Palm Beach New Times   ... He's refusing to sue the owner of the Deepwater Horizon rig...
Michigan: SWATing Benton Harbor's Local Government  neon tommy   ...

(The) SWAT team of Emergency Financial Managers ... will be fully prepared to take action: removing elected school board members from office, closing schools, invalidating union contracts, suspending collective bargaining rights, selling public property, privatizing much-needed government services, removing elected local officials from office, and, finally, dissolving elected local governments altogether...

Big Brothers: Thought Control at Koch  The Nation   ... Koch Industries sent an urgent letter to most of its 50,000 employees advising them on whom to vote for and warning them about the dire consequences to their families, their jobs and their country should they choose to vote otherwise...

Labor Board Tells Boeing New Factory Breaks the Law  New York Times   ...Boeing’s decision to transfer a second production line for its new 787 Dreamliner passenger plane to South Carolina was motivated by an unlawful desire to retaliate against union workers for their past strikes in Washington...

Taxation without representation in Benton Harbor

If you're upset about the destruction of democracy in Benton Harbor, you ought to be. AmericaBlog has a great explanation of what's going on. Not only have residents been deprived of representation, publicly owned land is being turned over to wealthy interests for their own luxury golf course. Here's the story in a nutshel:

Benton Harbor, 85% black, with an average income of $10,000/year, is home to Whirlpool. A Whirlpool heir, Fred Upton, represents Benton Harbor in the U.S. House, and his former staffer, Al Pscholka, represents Benton Harbor in the state house. Pscholka's the guy who introduced the "financial martial law" bill. And thanks to that law, Benton Harbor is first to get it in the neck. Full circle.

What do the big boys have their eye on? Fiscal health for Benton Harbor? Not quite. They want to turn Benton Harbor's beautiful lakefront park into part of a beautiful rich-man's golf course and housing development, and with sweeping dictatorial powers, they can do it in a blink. (Much more at this Daily Kos link and in this earlier Maddow segment on Benton Harbor.)

Oh, and guess where Whirlpool just moved its Benton Harbor plant? You got it. Mexico.