This is what we union THUGGS do after the Boston Marathon bombing

Teamster THUGGS today in Boston.

We hold a drive to replenish the area's blood supply in the wake of the marathon attacks.

Local 25 in Boston reports a packed house at the union hall in Charlestown today as people came in droves to donate blood. The Teamster Horsemen came to lend their support -- as they always are for a good cause!

The blood drive, which benefited the American Red Cross, took place from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 pm.

The Charlestown Patch tells us:

It's among our first impulses when disaster strikes: the rush to donate blood. Truth is the best time to donate blood is in the weeks or months after a disaster. Boston hospitals treated more than 180 patients after the marathon, making now the time to give blood. 

“Giving blood is free and only takes a few minutes but could help to save a life,” said Sean M. O’Brien, president of Local 25. “Saturday’s blood drive is one way we all can help our fellow mankind.”

And if you're wondering, these are the same THUGGS who protected marathon victims' funeral services from disruptions by the Westboro Baptist Church hate group.

Remember, THUGGS stands for Those Helpful Union Guys and Gals.

Today's Teamster News 04.26.13

Everything Is Rigged: The Biggest Price-Fixing Scandal Ever  Rolling Stone   ...The second huge financial scandal of the year reveals the real international conspiracy: There's no price the big banks can't fix...
Executive-Pay Tax Break Saved Fortune 500 Corporations $27 Billion Over the Past Three Years  Citizens for Tax Justice   ...One “single tax break, for executive stock options” allowed Fortune 500 corporations to avoid paying $11.2 billion in income taxes in 2012. The top 25 benefiting during 2010-12: Apple $3.2bn, Facebook $1.6bn, JP Morgan $1.1 bn, etc...
The West, Texas, explosion shows the deadly effect of profit before safety   The Guardian ...Poor regulation of the West Fertilizer plant likely contributed to 15 deaths – just as 13 US workers die at their jobs every single day…
Bangladesh Factory Disasters Will Become ‘More And More’ Common   Talking Points Memo   ...Walmart, H&M, Sears, Gap, etc. outsource to Bangladesh because of its low wages and labor standards. It also lacks safety regulations, resulting in the recent factory collapse which left at least 250 dead and more than 1,000 injured...
Four Reasons to Worry About the Potential Koch Takeover of Tribune Co. Newspapers (opinion)  The Nation   ...If their bid is successful, the Koch brothers won’t just have a strong influence over the laws we all live under and the climate we pass on to the next generation, they’ll be publishing the news we read...
Labor Department: Florida Unemployment Regime Violates Civil Rights Requirements  Huffington Post   ...Florida violated federal civil rights law with its new and unusual requirement that unemployment claimants file online and take math and reading tests before they can receive benefits, the U.S. Labor Department determined this month...
California Lawmakers Consider Soda Tax  KTLA5 ...A bill that would impose a tax on sugary drinks in California is in front of lawmakers in Sacramento this week. The state law would tax sugary drinks such as sodas, energy drinks and sweet teas one cent per fluid ounce.
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 Economic Policy Institute, the bills primarily disadvantage workers while preserving privileges for corporations...
Cincinnati city council votes no on right-to-work law  Business Courier   ...Cincinnati City Council unanimously passed a resolution opposing right-to-work laws and the “workplace freedom” amendment being pushed by some groups in Columbus...
Maine lawmakers kill right-to-work, dues bills  Associated Press   ...The Maine Senate has killed a pair of bills labeled by opponents as anti-union. Senators voted 21-13 Thursday against a right-to-work bill, which would have made it illegal for a private employer to require employees to join a labor organization or pay union dues or fees as a condition of employment...
Oregon lawmakers pass law to lower pension COLAs  Pensions & Investments   ...The Oregon House of Representatives passed a pension reform bill Wednesday that lowers the maximum cost-of-living adjustment for retirees of the $61.1 billion Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund...
Ind. lawmakers reach deal on tax cuts, road funds  Associated Press   ...Gov. Mike Pence and Indiana's Republican legislative leaders have reached a budget deal that increases spending on roads and schools while giving the governor a piece of the income tax cut he has arduously sought this session...
Teamsters Reach Tentative Agreements Covering 250,000 Workers at UPS, UPS Freight  IBT   ...The Teamsters Union announced last night that it has reached tentative agreements with UPS on new five-year national contracts for package and freight workers that protect their health care benefits, provide substantial wage increases and significantly raise contributions to pension and health and welfare benefits...
Hudson Valley Teamster School Bus Drivers Return To Work At Durham  IBT   ...After engaging in an unfair labor practice strike today, Teamsters Local 445 has given Durham School Services an unconditional offer to return to work at the beginning of the work day on Friday morning, April 26, 2013...
Torres Adds Teamsters To Trove of Union Endorsements  City & State ...Bronx City Council candidate Ritchie Torres continues to pick up support from organized labor in a crowded to replace City Council Majority Leader Joel Rivera, winning the endorsement of the Teamsters Joint Council 16, one of the largest unions in the city with roughly 120,000 members...
Striking Thorn Creek Basin workers to return Friday  NWI Times   ...A two-month picket by Teamsters members of the Thorn Creek Basin Sanitary District will come to an end this week...

Today's Teamster News 04.24.13

Boston Teamsters to Westboro Hate Group: You Are Not Welcome Here  IBT   ...(Local 25 President Sean) O'Brien made it clear that Boston Teamsters will be at the funeral of officer Sean Collier on Wednesday, April 24, 2013 to ensure that the Westboro hate group is hidden from mourners - should they choose to show up...
Teamsters aim to shield Boston funeral from Westboro picketers  USA Today   ...Another memorial is planned (today) ... for Sean Collier, 26, the police officer at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who was shot and killed...
The deficit is falling fast. Can Washington accept victory?  Washington Post  ...the United States has made remarkable progress toward trimming its fiscal sails. We may not be doing austerity European-style (thankfully, if you’ve paid attention to recent economic numbers out of Europe), but American austerity, or at least steady deficit reduction, is well underway, as two new reports affirm...
Who Is Defending Austerity Now?  The Atlantic   ...It's not "just" that southern Europe is stuck in a depression and Britain is stuck in a no-growth trap. It's that the very intellectual foundations of austerity are unraveling. In other words, economists are finding out that austerity doesn't work in practice or in theory...
High Income Households Would Pay Most—But Not All—of the New Taxes in Obama’s 2014 Budget  Tax Policy Center   ...despite Obama’s long-standing pledge to protect individuals making below $200,000 (and couples making $250,000 or less) from any tax hikes, even many of those families would pay slightly more than under today’s tax law...
A Rise in Wealth for the Wealthy; Declines for the Lower 93%  Pew Research and Social Demographic Trends   ...During the first two years of the nation’s economic recovery, the mean net worth of households in the upper 7% of the wealth distribution rose by an estimated 28%, while the mean net worth of households in the lower 93% dropped by 4%, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of newly released Census Bureau data...
Federal employee furloughs begin  Washington Post   ...Labor Department employees have already begun taking their unpaid leave, part of the government’s cost-cutting hatchet known as the sequester...
Bangladeshi Activists Bring Fight to Wal-Mart’s Doorstep  Common Dreams   ...On top of the fire safety agreement to prevent future disasters, the International Labor Rights Forum has joined with Warehouse Workers United and other labor groups to push for stronger regulations at various links in the supply chain, from garment factories in Asia to warehouses in Illinois...
Death Trap Plants Win ‘Safe’ Certifications, New AFL-CIO Report Reveals  AFL-CIO   ...In the most recent fires, both factories had been certified as meeting working condition and safety standards by official-sounding groups financed by the very corporations profiting from the low-wage labor churning out the pants, sweaters, shirts and more destined for boutique stores and department store racks, according to Responsibility Outsourced: Social Audits, Workplace Certification and 20 Years of Failure to Protect Worker Rights...
Japanese Leaders Bring a Reality-Check to Washington about Japanese Participation in the TPP  The National Press Club   ...The reality: Japanese participation in TPP negotiations will delay their completion and require a reduction in the agreement’s “ambition.”...
Voting rights groups lambaste Florida GOP’s election law rewrite  The Miami Herald   ...The advocates said Republican lawmakers are trying to impose new barriers to voting and they aimed their opposition squarely at Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, architect of HB 7013, which requires anyone seeking to help a voter must previously be known to the voter and no one can help more than 10 voters in an election...
Wisconsin redistricting scandal deepens  Daily Kos  ...Republican staffers had deleted hundreds of thousands of files relating to the 2011 redistricting of Wisconsin...
Michigan Republicans introduce cut-and-pasted ALEC “forced privatization” legislation  eclectablog   ...The bill would prohibit public entities from competing against the private sector, and its definitions are so restrictive that it would allow corporations to take the state to court and force it to stop providing valuable public services...
Hearings set on bill to privatize liquor stores  Philadelphia Inquirer   ...The first of what will likely be three state Senate hearings on a controversial bill to privatize Pennsylvania's government-run wine and liquor stores has been scheduled for next Tuesday in the Capitol - and it is bound to be telling...
Teamsters sign off on YRC restructuring  Kansas City Business Journal   ...Leaders of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters approved YRC Worldwide Inc.’s change of operations request, the Overland Park less-than-truckload company announced on Tuesday...
Virginia Teamsters Endorse Herring For Attorney General  IBT   ...(Mark) Herring has worked tirelessly for Virginia working families during his two terms in the Virginia State Senate...
Teamsters, ABF again extend ‘frustrating’ labor talks  The City Wire   ...The Teamsters issued a statement on April 19 suggesting that new proposals from Arkansas Best have put the negotiations “at risk.”...
Garbage trucks roll, but labor strife still roils  Youngstown Vindicator   ...Though all 106 workers, represented by Teamsters International Local 377, lifted picket lines over the weekend, headwinds still remain as both sides plan to meet today and Wednesday during a new round of bargaining to discuss disagreements ranging from unfair labor practices to wages and retirement benefits...

'When those 18-wheelers pulled up in front of the church, that was a statement'

Teamsters and union members formed a human shield against hate.

Teamsters Local 25 President Sean O'Brien received this email following the funeral of Krystle Campbell, a Boston Marathon bombing victim. More than a thousand Teamsters and union members formed a human wall to protect mourners from a disruptive hate group.

We love the email and want to share it with you.

Dear President O'Brien, 

  Good morning. I wanted to take the opportunity to recognize your people, Teamsters Local 25 Boston. I know you must be a busy man, I'll keep it as brief as possible. 

 On Monday morning, I went to Medford to stand in your "Human Wall" and show support for, and preserve the dignity of the funeral service for our fallen fellow American and Bostonian, Krystal Campbell. 

   I'm a retired military man, and in my time in uniform, I've seen, and have participated in some pretty impressive gatherings of "Command Presence". But when those 18-wheelers pulled up in front of that church on Monday morning, that was a statement, to say the least. I was proud to be part of that crowd, to stand among your team members, many and rather large. What are you feeding those guys, anyway? I was reminded - I think everyone there was, especially the family and friends of Krystal on the other side of the street -  that no cowardly act of terrorism will ever break the American spirit, that no people can hold Boston down. 

  Maybe you'll do me a favor and get these words down to your troops on the front line. Forward the email, post it, or ultimately, read it as an opener at your next gathering, to set the tone and let your people know that the logo they wear on their shirts and paint on those trucks means a hell of a lot more to the citizens of this country and this great city than they can imagine. Should that be the case, should your people be listening to these words right now, give yourselves a well-deserved round of applause, 25, make some noise. 

   I'm not a big name with a power title. But I AM an AMERICAN, and I AM a BOSTONian - 2 of the proudest titles I've ever held, for life until death, Monday's display is why, and it's a good feeling to know that should the integrity of either is ever threatened, 25, their 18-wheelers, and their Patriots will have a little something to say about that, no matter who or where I am. 

  Good job, 25. A class act. 

  GOD BLESS AMERICA.
  GOD BLESS BOSTON.
  GOD BLESS UNION POWER AND
  LOCAL 25 BOSTON 

  ... and God help anyone who fucks
  with any of the 4!! 

- Bill
AMERICAN
BOSTONIAN
Lifetime Teamsters Local 25 fan 

p.s. - Sorry about the profanity, it's necessary emphasis, and if Big Papi can cuss on television, I guess I can.

Tomorrow, Teamsters will perform the same duty for the memorial service of slain MIT officer Sean Collier.

Today's Teamster News 04.23.13

The U.S. Corporate Tax Code Is a Giveaway  Economic Populist   ...The GAO issued a new report which shows use of corporate tax breaks cost the U.S. government $181.4 billion in 2011 alone...
Westboro Baptist Church No-Shows At Krystle Campbell Funeral As Teamsters Form Human Shield  The Inquistr   ...Westboro Baptist Church protesters apparently did not show up at yesterday's funeral for Krystle Campbell. But the local Teamsters Union wasn’t taking any chances...
Canada foils 'al-Qaeda linked' terror attack on train  BBC News   ...Two foreign men living in Canada have been charged with plotting a terrorist attack on a passenger train with support from al-Qaeda elements in Iran...
EU near austerity limit, says Barroso  The Guardian   ...The European Union's focus on austerity has hit the limits of public acceptance, according to the head of the EU's executive arm, as Brussels joined the International Monetary Fund in raising concerns over the impact of public spending cuts...
The Real Faces of the Minimum Wage  Common Dreams   ...Most minimum-wage workers are adults, the majority of them are women, and many are parents who are trying to raise their children on poverty wages...
White House: Federal agencies evaluating fertilizer plant inspections  The Hill Blog   ...That fertilizer plant in West, TX that exploded last week, killing at least 14 and injuring 100s more, had not been inspected by the Occupation Health and Safety Administration since 1985, though other federal and state officials were aware of the plant and its hazardous materials. Federal agencies are assessing “their inspection practices” now. That’s it?...
Restyled as Real Estate Trusts, Varied Businesses Avoid Taxes  The New York Times   ...“A small but growing number of American corporations . . . are declaring that they are not ordinary corporations at all.” They’re “special trusts that are typically exempt from paying taxes.” Congress will no doubt spring into action and fix this...
Former Nestle CEO: 'Water should be privatized, it's not a right'  Examiner.com   ...On April 20, Americans Against the Tea Party shared a video of the former CEO of Nestle, coincidentally also the largest seller of bottled water in the world, where he says that he feels that water is not a right and it should be privatized and sold. Really?...
Karl Rove, Koch brothers lead charge to control Republican data  Politico  ...The GOP didn’t have an answer for Big Democratic Data in 2012, costing them in close races from Congress to the White House. Now, they’ve got lots of answers — possibly too many...
Costs, number of deleted files pile up in redistricting case  Wisconsin State Journal   ...Names of two Republican legislative aides who deleted those “hundreds of thousands” of redistricting data files have now been revealed...
Michigan road funding: Americans For Prosperity launching 'Don't raise MI taxes' statewide tour Michigan Live   ...Americans For Prosperity-Michigan, the state chapter of the national conservative advocacy group, is fighting proposals by Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and Republican lawmakers to boost road funding through increased taxes or fees...
Detroit emergency manager eyes end to union bargaining  Reuters   ...Detroit's emergency manager indicated for the first time that he may end collective bargaining with city employees as part of his effort to shore up the city's sagging finances...
Prevailing wage challenged  News-Tribune   ...Both the federal and state governments require contractors to pay the “prevailing wage” on public construction projects, such as schools, municipal buildings and sewer systems. But some in the (Missouri) Legislature want to change that — to cancel the state law, which has been on the books since 1957...
Indiana suffers from bad tax system, bad tax cuts (opinion) The Indianapolis Star   ...Do Hoosiers even want Gov. Mike Pence’s income tax cut? And should they, considering that Indiana has one of the most regressive, elitist, tax systems in the nation, and what’s on the table will only make matters worse?...
Courtney Johnson commentary: Should Ohio voters support a right-to-work ballot issue? No  The Columbus Dispatch   ...The last time our state was confronted with an unsafe, unfair attack on workers — Senate Bill 5 — voters in Ohio emphatically rejected the flawed law...
Liquor privatization will change Pennsylvania (opinion)  The Quad   ...In March, the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed House Bill 790. If the bill is voted into law, the liquor industry will be privatized. When introduced, the bill quickly gained support from many Republicans including Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett. Supporters claim privatization will bring prosperity to the Commonwealth by instilling competition. Unfortunately, many people will be hurt by this bill...
Petition seeks repeal of Anchorage labor law  Associated Press   ...The Anchorage Assembly last month eliminated the right to strike by eight city unions and took away performance bonuses and incentives in future city contracts. The measure also limits annual pay hikes and creates a system for outsourcing certain city work...
Public employees deserve pensions (opinion)  Sun-Sentinel   ...it is not responsible or fair to cut further into the financial security of working Americans because they happen to be public employees...
LePage: “I am going to be the next Scott Walker”  Bangor Daily News   ...“I will guarantee you that you will see the most vicious education campaign ads that you’ve ever seen in your life next year, because I am going to be the next Scott Walker in this country, because I am challenging the status quo,” declared LePage...
Ohio Teamsters Suspend Strike Over Republic Services' Unfair Labor Practices  IBT   ...Today, 23 workers at Republic Services’ landfill in Youngstown, Ohio returned to work after an unfair labor practice strike that began on March 27, 2013...
Teamsters will decide soon on YRC network changes  Kansas City Business Journal   ...The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is expected to decide whether to adopt YRC Worldwide Inc.’s sweeping change of operations request by the end of the week after meeting with union leadership in Dallas on Friday...
ABF, Teamsters agree to another 30-day contract extension after union leaders spurn offer  DC Velocity   ...The Teamsters union and less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier ABF Freight System Inc. agreed late Friday to another 30-day extension of their current contract...

Boston Teamsters to Westboro Baptists: 'Show your face'

Off-duty Teamsters came out en masse to protect Krystle Campbell's funeral
from Westboro Baptists. Thanks to Crystal Haynes for the photo.

(UPDATES to ADD 3 penultimate grafs to ADD O'Brien quotes.)

Westboro Baptists are afraid to show their faces before the more than a thousand Boston Teamsters protecting the funeral Mass for Krystle Campbell.

Brother Steve Sullivan from Teamsters Local 25 tells us there is no sign of the Westboro Baptists outside of St. Joseph's Church in Medford, where the funeral Mass is being held for the 29-year-old victim of the Boston Marathon bombing.

That hasn't stopped the hate group from claiming online to be there -- and from posting taunts on Twitter.

"U c us in Boston?" the Westboro Baptist Church tweeted to the Boston Globe, the Boston police and Teamsters. "look around u."

Teamsters Local 25 replied on Twitter: "Show your face. We're here in the open."

More than a thousand off-duty Teamsters answered Local 25 President Sean O'Brien's call to form a human shield to protect Krystle's funeral. We understand UNITE HERE members are also there. Krystle's mother Patty and brother Billy are both long-time members of UNITE HERE Local 26 in Boston. Patty has been a member of Local 26 since 1983, and Billy since 2000.

“I’ve never been prouder to be a Teamster and a Bostonian,” said Sean O’Brien, president of Local 25 in Boston. “The city of Boston is filled with people who care about each other and will lift each other up when we are down or need a hand.”

O’Brien encouraged Teamster members to donate to the memorial fund set up by UNITE HERE’s Local 26.  Memorial contributions may be made to the Krystle M. Campbell Memorial Fund, 25 Park St., Medford, MA 02155.

Solidarity!

A wall of Teamsters protects Krystle Campbell's funeral from Westboro Baptists

Today in Medford. 

(UPDATES to DELETE repetitive 3rd graf.)

Hundreds of Boston Teamsters from Local 25 are answering the call to protect Krystle Campbell's funeral from a possible protest by Westboro Baptist church members. Campbell, 29, was killed in the Boston Marathon bombings.

Hundreds of Teamsters formed a solid wall on the suburban roadway approaching the church. They stood silent guard as mourners drove slowly by on the way to the 11 a.m. funeral service at St. Joseph's Church in Medford.

The Boston Globe reports  the Teamsters began gathering before 8 a.m.,

Sean O’Brien, president and principal officer of Teamster’s local, said the community reached out to the Teamsters yesterday “because they know how influential we are.” 

“It’s the right thing to do,” O’Brien said of the decision to protect the funeral. “The family deserves a peaceful grieving process that’s free from any coward-led group.” 

O’Brien said the Teamsters mobilized their members and other unions through Twitter and Facebook yesterday. He added that about 350 teamsters are expected this morning, “and we can get 1,000 if we need them.” 

The Westboro church is a fringe religious organization who stage protests at high-profile funeral services to draw attention to their views. 

On Sunday, about 1,000 mourners attended Campbell’s wake at the Dello Russo funeral home here. 

A funeral director said that among those who came to pay their respects were US Senator Elizabeth Warren, US Representative Edward Markey, Attorney General Martha Coakley, Medford Mayor Michael McGlynn, and Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone. 

Mourners waited in a line that sometimes lasted nearly an hour and a half to file by photo displays chronicling Campbell’s life from when she was a baby through her childhood and teen years to when she was an adult.

Teamsters who want to help but can't be in Medford can donate to a memorial fund set up by UNITE HERE. UNITE HERE President D. Taylor sent this missive to members:

It is my sad duty to report that Krystle Campbell, daughter of longtime Local 26 member Patty Campbell and sister of member Billy Campbell, was among the fatalities at the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday.  Both Patty and Billy work at the Harvard University Business School.  Patty has been a member of Local 26 since 1983, and Billy since 2000.

Krystle, 29, was a graduate of Medford High School and had also attended the University of Massachusetts at Boston.

Krystle's funeral will be on Monday in Medford, Massachusetts.   Memorial contributions may be made to the Krystle M. Campbell Memorial Fund, 25 Park St., Medford, MA 02155.

Rest in peace, sister.

Today's Teamster News 04.22.13

Teamsters to Help Stop Protest of Campbell Funeral  Medford Patch   ...Teamsters Local 25 has encouraged off-duty members to go to Medford Monday morning to prevent the fundamentalist Westboro Baptist Church from picketing the funeral of Krystle Campbell...
Texas Fertilizer Company Didn't Heed Disclosure Rules Before Blast  Reuters   ...The fertilizer plant that exploded on Wednesday, obliterating part of a small Texas town and killing at least 14 people and injuring 200, had last year been storing 1,350 times the amount of ammonium nitrate that would normally trigger safety oversight by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security...
Victims Leader Assassinated in Colombia  Justice for Colombia   ...Ana Isabel Gomez Perez, the leader of the Committee of Victims of Violence in Cordoba (COMFAVIC), was killed in a rural region of Cordoba by two men on motorcycles. Her daughter, who was with her at the time of her murder, escaped the April 15th attack unhurt...
Rail Traffic Continues To Trend Lower  Business Insider   ...Recent rail trends have weakened substantially from very strong levels earlier this year...
Americans Can't Stop Talking About Income Inequality, But No One Is Doing Anything About It   Business Insider   ...The US has the highest level of income gap of any of the advanced countries, with the top 1% capturing over 90% of the income growth, with the continual “hollowing out of the middle and increasing poverty at the bottom”…
Keeping Jobs in Colorado  Trade Reform   ...A measure to make sure more Colorado taxpayer dollars stay in Colorado, supporting Colorado businesses and putting Coloradans to work, passed its first legislative test today...
City Report Shows More Were Near Poverty in 2011  New York Times   ...The rise in New York City’s poverty rate as a result of the recession has apparently eased, but not before pushing nearly half of the city’s population into the ranks of the poor or near-poor in 2011, according to an analysis by the Bloomberg administration...
Update from the midwest subsidiary of Koch Industries, formerly known as the state of Wisconsin  Wisconsin State Journal   ...WI Republicans were supposed to turn over state computerized redistricting files to Democrats for review, but thousands of files were deleted before the handover. Democrats are suing... 
Florida sues BP, Halliburton over 2010 oil spill  CNN   ...The state of Florida on Saturday filed a lawsuit against BP and Halliburton over the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The suit argues that Florida is entitled to the revenues it lost because of the spill...
Teamsters Participate in Rally to Stop Right-to-Work Legislation in Pennsylvania  Chambersburg Public Opinion Online   …Members of Teamsters Local 776 in Harrisburg were among the marchers who sang, chanted and displayed their handmade signs at a rally in Chambersburg Saturday to raise awareness for what right-to-work legislation would do (or not) for union and non-union people...

Boston Teamsters to form human shield for bombing victim's burial as Westboro Baptists plans a protest

Teamsters from Local 25 in Boston will protect the family of bombing victim Krystle Campbell during her funeral tomorrow morning. Members of the Westboro Baptist Church are expected to protest.

The Associated Press reports,

Family and friends are saying final good-byes to Krystle Campbell, one of the three people who lost their lives in the bombing at the Boston Marathon finish line. 

A wake for Campbell is being held Sunday at a funeral home in Medford, where the 29-year-old restaurant manager was raised and graduated from high school in 2001. A private funeral is scheduled for Monday at St. Joseph Church.

Local 25 was contacted by some concerned citizens of Medford asking for help to keep members of the Westboro Baptist Church from protesting the funeral of Krystle Campbell, scheduled for tomorrow morning at 10 AM in Medford.

Local 25 President Sean O’Brien asked all off-duty Teamsters to participate:

Teamsters Local 25 will be out in full force tomorrow morning at St. Joseph’s Church in Medford to form a human shield and block the Westboro Baptist Church from protesting the funeral of Krystle Campbell. The Campbell family and friends have already endured immeasurable amounts of heartache and tragedy this week, and deserve a peaceful funeral with time to grieve privately. 

Westboro Baptist Church should understand that we will go to great lengths to make sure they don't protest any funerals of the victims of the past week’s tragedies, and that those we lost receive a proper burial.

Teamsters Local 25 represents 11,000 hardworking men and women from the Boston area.

According to information sent out from the Westboro Baptist Church, the protest will happen from 9:15 - 10:00 AM.

Just when you thought the Billionaires' News Network couldn't get worse...

We've noted from time to time that there's a news network devoted to empowering billionaires and impoverishing 99 percent of Americans.

It's about to get bigger.

The New York Post and Fox News, owned by billionaire Rupert Murdoch, are the best known and most hated of the Billionaire Empowerment Network. There's plenty more, though: Glenn Beck's Blaze website, for example, is practically a subsidiary of the billionaire astroturf group FreedomWorks. The Franklin Center, which has a statehouse news service in four states, gets its funding from the shadowy billionaire group called Donor's Trust.

Last week's coverage of the Boston Marathon bombing and manhunt was a spectacular disaster for the Billionaire Empowerment Network, though. Eric Boehlert gives us the lowlights at Huffington Post:

It was a memorable week in which the conservative media's highest profile newspaper, Rupert Murdoch's New York Post, seemed committed to getting as many stories wrong about the Boston attack as possible. 

The hapless Post somehow managed to completely botch the simplest Journalism 101 fact of how many people were killed in the Patriot's Day attack. But hey, according to beleaguered Post editor Col Allan the Post tried its best and that's all that really matters.

Then there's Glenn Beck:

Glenn Beck on April 18 announced that his website, The Blaze, was breaking news about the Boston Marathon bombing: A Saudi national student on a student visa was "absolutely involved" in the Patriot's Day blast was being deported by the U.S. government for security reason. 

Beck went further, claiming the student, or "dirt bag," as the host described him, was "possibly the ringleader" in the bombing that killed three people and injured more than one hundred, and the government was deliberately covering it up. 

Beck urged listeners to spread the breaking news via Twitter and Facebook because, he warned, the mainstream media would ignore the revelation. But the right-wing media would pick up the slack. Fox News' Sean Hannity helped launch the story on April 17 and continued to fan it yesterday, claiming the student had previously "been involved with a terrorist or terror activity," while a swarm of right-wing sites pushed the paranoid tale. 

So the news that the Benedict Arnold Koch brothers want to buy some of the biggest and most reputable newspapers in the country does not bode well for the state of journalism. They are reportedly salivating over the prospect of buying the Tribune Company, which includes the Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, The Baltimore Sun, The Hartford Courant and The Orlando Sentinel. Their goal is to make sure the "libertarian" voice is heard.

Let's be clear. There's nothing "libertarian" or "conservative" about the Koch brothers. It's misleading to put that label on what is basically a gigantic ripoff of American taxpayers and an attempt to restrict the rights and independence of ordinary people.

They are relentlessly trying to squash First Amendment rights through ag-gag laws promoted by ALEC, the corporate escort service for state lawmakers they fund. That's not libertarian and it's not conservative.

Through ALEC, they want to eradicate public education so privatized education companies can loot taxpayers for their shareholders' benefit. That's not conservative and it's not libertarian. It's piracy.

They want to ranch and log on public lands owned by U.S. taxpayers for their next to nothing. That's not conservative and it's not libertarian.  It's pillage.

They want the government to seize private property by the power of eminent domain for their pipelines. That sure as hell isn't libertarian.

We could go on about the Koch brothers, but we'll leave it for another day. Or days.