Today's Teamster News 03.15.15

Teamsters
New JFK truck rules will drive job growth  Crain's New York Business   ...Not long ago, the Teamsters represented 5,000 air-freight drivers at JFK. Today, it's 1,200. And it's not just Teamsters. JFK supports more than 50,000 jobs in the city. An uncompetitive airport puts them at risk.
But a de Blasio administration regulation that took effect March 5 finally harmonized our trucking rules with the rest of the country, so industry-standard trucks can now pick up and drop off at JFK...
Trade
Do unions have the oomph to stop Obama's trade agenda?  Politico   ...“They certainly have gotten the attention of people who have relied on union support,” said Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), who acknowledged that her fellow Democrats often take labor’s loyalty for granted...
TPP: Just don't do it  The Ed Show   ...Nike implores employees to support TPP, which would boost trade to Nike's Vietnam manufacturing ties. Ed Schultz, Rep. Jan Schakowsky and Charles Kernaghan discuss...
State Battles
Over 350 Workers Gather in New Hampshire to Call on Gov. Scott Walker to Apologize for Anti-Worker Agenda, Statements  Granite State Progress   ...Over 350 workers gathered outside of a NH GOP event in New Hampshire today to condemn Scott Walker’s anti-working family agenda and call for an apology following his recent CPAC comments equating working men and women with the terror group, ISIS...
War on Workers
A Lot Fewer Americans Get Unemployment Benefits Than You Think  Huffington Post   ... The share of unemployed Americans who receive unemployment insurance benefits has dwindled to its lowest point in decades, thanks in part to benefit cuts in Republican-led states...
By Saving Billions in Retiree Health and Pension Benefits, Auto Bailouts Were an Even Bigger Success Than Acknowledged  Economic Policy Institute   ...Thanks to the success of the federal bailouts, the company pension plans have all continued and paid all benefits earned by the retirees. And no pension liabilities have been transferred to the PBGC or the federal government...
Housemate Takes Blame for Shining Laser at Planes in Bronx  New York Times   ...After being charged this week with injuring several pilots by shining a laser beam at their plane, Frank J. Egan was held up as a pest, his arrest an example of pinpoint investigative work...

Today's Teamster News 02.18.15

Teamsters
Teamsters Call on CEOs Of Six Companies To Denounce Anti-Union Tactics Used By Compass Trans.  teamster.org   …In a letter to the CEOs of six East Bay-area companies, Rome Aloise, International Vice President and President of Teamsters Local 853 in San Leandro, Calif., called on the executives to denounce alleged assertions made by management at Compass Transportation to its drivers that the six companies would likely end their service agreement with them if they voted for a union...
Judge Approves Agreement Ending Government Oversight Of Teamsters Union  teamster.org   …Today, Chief Judge Loretta Preska of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York approved an agreement that ends more than 25 years of government oversight of the Teamsters Union...
Trade
Let's Roll! February 17, speak out for Good-Paying Jobs & a Healthy Environment by Saying NO to "Fast Track"  Washington Fair Trade Coalition   …To voice opposition against the disastrous impacts Fast Track would have on the Pacific Northwest’s economy, environment and public health, the Washington Fair Trade Coalition, the Oregon Fair Trade Campaign, and their partners from the labor, environmental, public health and human rights movements are getting on a bus called the “Blue-Green Machine” for two action-packed days of rallies, press events and briefings that need your support...
Our Opinion: Skepticism about TPP, and no to its fast-tracking  Berkshire Eagle   …There is ample reason for doubt about the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), although its tenets have not been fully determined. There is more than enough reason to oppose its fast-tracking. Demonstrators in Pittsfield, Springfield and Washington, D.C. will lobby First District Congressman Richard Neal, a Springfield Democrat, to oppose both the agreement and its fast-tracking today. The senior member of the Massachusetts delegation, Mr. Neal anticipates taking part in talks on the TPP and wants to reserve judgment…
Letter: Polis should vote no on TPP, Fast Track  Coloradoan   …Our representative, Congressman Jared Polis, has not publicly voiced his opposition to TPP, which is a shame...
State Battles
Missouri Senate leader skeptical ‘right-to-work’ will make it to governor  PoliticMO   … Senate Majority Leader Ron Richard said despite last week’s vote by the House of Representatives to pass “right-to-work,” he sees a tough road ahead in the upper chamber...
Right-To-Work debated again  New Hampshire Union Leader   …The House could vote to approve the bill, but the Senate is currently tied 12-12 on the right-to-work issue.Whatever the Legislature does, Gov. Maggie Hassan has vowed to veto the bill and neither the House nor the Senate has the two-thirds majority needed to override...
West Virginia workers rally on statehouse steps  West Virginia Metro News   …The snow and bone-chilling temperatures didn’t stop state-wide union workers from rallying against the prevailing wage law change at the State Capitol Monday afternoon in Charleston...
War on Workers
Student-Loan Delinquencies Rise in U.S.  Bloomberg News   …Data from the New York Fed released Tuesday showed 11.3 percent of student loans were delinquent in the final three months of 2014, up from 11.1 percent in the prior quarter. The share of auto loans at least 90 days overdue also rose…
How rich conservatives bilk the rank and file into making them richer  Washington Post   … I like to call [it] the circle of scam. Organizations like the Heritage Foundation and FreedomWorks pay radio hosts like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity big money to offer on-air endorsements that are the radio equivalent of “native advertising.” Future presidential candidate Mike Huckabee sells his email list on “miracle cancer cures” hidden in the Bible. Conservative media figures like Dick Morris solicit contributions that somehow are never turned to the political ends they claim. Nobody wants to upend the system, because too many people are getting a taste...
Worker dies at Shelbyville Tyson plant  WSMV   …A worker with a contract cleaning company was killed at the Tyson Food plant in Shelbyville early Tuesday morning...

Woot! NH House votes to ban private prisons!

Great news from the Granite State! The New Hampshire House of Representatives just passed a bill prohibiting prison privatization! The roll call vote was 197-136.

The bill prohibits the department of corrections from transferring custody of prisoners to a correctional facility operated by a private or for-profit entity. There's one exception: when the governor declares by executive order that a corrections emergency exists.

Granite State Progress tells us the debate took place late this morning. Our brothers and sisters at the State Employees Association/SEIU were among the groups that worked on it.

The bill moves to the Senate next week, and we understand it will be harder to pass in the upper chamber.

The bill's highlights include:

I. The management and operation of a correctional facility involves functions that are inherently governmental. The imposition of punishment on errant citizens through incarceration requires the state and local government to exercise their coercive police powers over individuals and is thus distinguishable from privatization in other areas of government. 

II. Issues of liability, accountability and cost warrant a prohibition of the ownership, operation, or management of correctional facilities by for-profit private contractors... 

3 Applicability. This act shall not apply to any contract entered into prior to the effective date of this act by the commissioner of the department of corrections with a private entity for the custody of prisoners. Upon the expiration of any such contract, the commissioner shall transfer custody of such prisoners to a state or county correctional facility operated by the state of New Hampshire or another state government, or the federal government. This act shall not apply to contracts for goods and services which are ancillary to the custody of inmates such as medical or educational services, or repair and maintenance contracts. 

4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.

This will not make ALEC happy.

No Rights At Work defeated in NH, 212-141

Workers in the NH House gallery applaud the defeat of No Rights At Work.

The New Hampshire House of Representatives today soundly defeated a No Rights At Work bill, 212-141, as workers cheered in the gallery.

The victory ended a three-year battle by workers, small businesses, community members and legislators on both sides of the aisle. Teamster Local 633 in Manchester was especially effective working with Republican lawmakers to defeat the bill.

The bill was part of a nationwide push by extremist billionaires to lower wages and weaken workers' rights. The New Hampshire bill was cut-and-pasted from language provided by the corporate-and-Koch-funded American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC. Strikingly similar proposals have been introduced in Maine, Missouri, Kentucky and Pennsylvania. (General President Hoffa commented on that in today's Detroit News "Labor Voices" column.)

The Amherst Patch reported,

The New Hampshire House of Representatives voted 212 to 141 to kill the proposed Franklin Partin Right to Work Act on Wednesday, as Democrats and Republicans waged a familiar debate about unions and job creation. 

Unlike last session, however, Democrats now enjoy majority control of the chamber. This bill's fate was sealed before today, the partisan divide leading observers to say the debate was more about the 2014 elections. 

The political stakes were clear: Rep. Bill O'Brien, the former Tea Party Republican Speaker of the House, was the prime sponsor of the bill. Other sponsors included John Cebrowski, R-Bedford, and Al Baldasaro, R-Londonderry. 

A large union presence, including members of the NHAFL-CIO and Professional Firefighters of NH, listened intently from the House gallery... 

Granite State Progress reminded readers that the legislation's sponsor, former House Speaker Bill O'Brien, had lied about the businesses that would come to New Hampshire if the bill passed.

O'Brien shepherded a No Rights At Work bill through the House last year, but Gov. John Lynch vetoed it. The House failed to override the governor's veto.

Obama surprises NH Teamsters today

(UPDATES to ADD Obama comment in 3rd graf.)

We just received an email from Brother Dennis Caza, Local 633's political coordinator:

We had a 15 minute notice that President Obama was coming to visit Teamsters Local 633 TODAY!!!!

The president was on his way to Nashua. When he arrived, he said,  "I saw a bunch of signs, said Teamsters for Obama, I thought I'd stop by."

You can see from the photo he was at the Manchester hall shortly after lunch.

The Associated Press reported:

A group of about 60 members greeted the president with loud cheers and chants of “fired up, ready to go!” Obama addressed the group briefly, telling them the state will be “very important” on Election Day on Nov. 6. 

“We don’t know how this thing is going to play out,” Obama said. “These four electoral votes right here could make the difference.” 

Obama won New Hampshire by 9 percentage points in 2008, but polls show the race tightening here. The New Hampshire Union Leader, the state’s most prominent newspaper, endorsed Republican Mitt Romney. 

Before leaving the Teamsters office, the president listed his accomplishments, including protecting equal pay for women, and he added: “I’m going to need you guys over the next 11 days to work as hard as you can. Do it not for me, do it for your kids.”

Our New Hampshire brothers and sisters cleaned up real nice, don't you think?

Biden visits Teamsters in NH

Vice President Biden with Ryan Ritkers, grandson of Local 633
Secretary-Treasurer Dave Laughton, at the union hall in Manchester.

Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Dr. Jill Biden got a warm welcome from New Hampshire Teamsters at Local 633 on Saturday.
 

Joining our Teamster brothers and sisters were carpenters, firefighters, teachers and SEIU members. They were ready to put their boots on the ground to get out the vote in November. Biden got them even more motivated.

Reported Fox News:

Vice President Joe Biden sought to rev up union support in yet another crucial swing state Saturday, stopping by the local Teamsters headquarters to address members getting ready to canvass neighborhoods on behalf of the Democratic ticket. 

The vice president professed his loyalty to the crowd soon after taking the podium. 

"I've never ridden anywhere without the Teamsters," he said. "I've never ridden anywhere without the Teamsters and all of labor industry," he repeated for emphasis.

(Fox seemed to think that was a bad thing.)

The Associated Press reported,

Vice President Joe Biden rallied union workers at a Teamsters union hall Saturday, saying their door-to-door efforts would be an antidote to the millions of dollars spent on advertising by Republican-leaning super PACs. 

Biden told teachers, firefighters and other union members at the rally in Manchester that the middle class wouldn't exist without organized labor and that he was counting on them to counter political advertising promoting the Republican ticket. 

"We're going to be outspent by these super PACs considerably," the vice president said. 

"There's only one antidote, and the people of New Hampshire are used to this ... it's a knock on a door, it's somebody saying 'Look, I know what you just heard, what you just saw in that ad ... I'm here to tell you, I know these guys ... I vouch for them.'" 

Biden said he was glad to hear GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney and running mate Paul Ryan talk about the struggles of the middle class but said they also should acknowledge the policies Ryan voted for in Congress caused those difficulties. A Romney-Ryan administration would bring more of the same, Biden said. 

"They're doubling down on everything that caused the economic crisis in the first place," he said.

Dennis Caza, Local 633's political coordinator, said days of preparation went into the vice president's visit. But it was worth it, said Brother Caza:

I think it’s nice to have a vice president come to your union hall.

We do too.

Goodish news from NH: RTW4less passes, but not by a veto-proof margin

Call it a muted victory. The New Hampshire House of Representatives today voted to approve right to work for less (we also like the designation "right to freeload"). It will likely pass the state Senate. Then Gov. John Lynch will veto it. Then the House won't have enough votes to override his veto.

Then in November, Granite Staters will flock to the polls and vote out all those anti-worker lawmakers who care nothing about creating jobs while attacking the middle class. (We can dream, can't we?)

After this morning's vote, New Hampshire labor leaders issued a statement blasting the island-paradise dwelling House Speaker, Bill O'Brien:

After the New Hampshire House failed to get enough votes to pass a repeat of right-to-work by veto-proof margins, New Hampshire’s labor leaders lambasted Speaker O’Brien for pushing an extreme, unnecessary right-wing agenda over the real needs of Granite Staters for the second year in a row. The vote count (198-139) was essentially unchanged from last year.

A little too close for comfort.

Today's Teamster News 03.14.12

Trucking Sector Gains Momentum -- YRC Worldwide and Arkansas Best Looking Strong  Marketwatch   ..."Our emphasis on core LTL services has resulted in significant increases in on-time service and our customers are responding very favorably," said James Welch, chief executive officer of YRC Worldwide...
Feds Promise Action On Wall Street Speculation Blamed For High Gasoline Prices  nasdaq.com   ...Bart Chilton, commissioner of the U.S. Commodity Futures and Trading Commission, wrote independent Sen. Bernard Sanders of Vermont that he has drafted regulations to curtail "excessive speculative trading," which would go into effect within 60 days of announcement...
Snyder signs bill to bar U-M union  Detroit Free Press   ...Gov. Rick Snyder signed legislation Tuesday that bars the unionization of graduate assistants at Michigan's public universities, a move prompted by an attempt to form a union by grad assistants at the University of Michigan...
Scott Walker: Economic Failure for Wisconsin  United Wisconsin   ...Data released from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reveals that Wisconsin lost 12,500 jobs in 2011. This statistic puts Wisconsin dead last in job creation in the country...
'Right to work' battle pitched in Minnesota  Minneapolis Star-Tribune   ...More than 1,000 sign-wielding union workers and supporters poured into the Capitol on Monday, urging legislators to reject a proposed "right to work" constitutional amendment that is turning Minnesota into the latest Midwestern flashpoint in what has become a grinding clash between powerful unions and groups trying to break their grip on workplaces...
Revamped right-to-work bill returns to NH House among host of collective bargaining bills  Associated Press   ...The sponsor, Republican Rep. Will Smith, believes new additions repealing public unions' exclusive bargaining rights will bolster support...
Erie, Teamsters trade counterproposals in contract talks  Erie Times-News   ...Union members voted to grant strike authorization in January... 

Today's Teamster News 03.04.12

West Virginia House of Delegates Passes Buy America Bill  manufacture this   ...By a vote of 82-16, the West Virginia House of Delegates passed a "Buy American" bill today that would require contractors to use American-made components for public buildings and other tax-payer funded projects...
Election hacked, drunken robot elected to school board  The Register   ...Security experts have warned that electronic voting systems are decades away from being secure, and to prove it a team from the University of Michigan successfully got the foul-mouthed, drunken Futurama robot Bender elected to head of a school board...
Georgia Law Would Outlaw Picketing Homes of Corporate Executives  allgov.com   ...Coming only days after a protest outside a major telecommunications company, Republican lawmakers in Georgia have introduced a bill that would subject non-violent demonstrators involved in a labor dispute to heavy fines and felony convictions...
NH House to vote on collective bargaining bills  Associated Press   ...A reincarnation of last year’s right-to-work bill is at the head of a deluge of legislation hitting the House next week to restrict public union bargaining powers...
Spain's "Debt Crisis" Was Created by the ECB  CEPR   ...Spain's debt crisis is almost entirely a result of the European Central Bank's policy...Spain had been running budget surpluses before the crisis and its debt to GDP ratio remains below that of the UK, the United States and many other countries that have no difficulty borrowing in financial markets...
Hurricane Katrina flood ruling upheld by federal appeals court  nola.com   ...The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday upheld a lower court ruling finding the Army Corps of Engineers responsible for flooding portion of the Lower 9th Ward and St. Bernard Parish during Hurricane Katrina because of its failure to maintain the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet. If upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, the ruling could eventually result in residents, businesses and local governments being reimbursed for damages of as much as $20 billion...

The Tea Party's over in NH

Politico reports that President Obama's popularity is improving in New Hampshire -- partly because of the Tea Party's unpopularity. Reports Politico:

According to a memo shared with POLITICO, the president’s rebound in the state coincides with voters turning against the Republican state legislature there. In February of 2011, 49 percent of voters said they favored the agenda of the GOP legislature; now, only 38 percent say they support it, with 51 percent saying the opposite.

Half of voters say they have an unfavorable view of the tea party, while 29 percent say they have a favorable view of the conservative activist movement. And tea party-aligned State House Speaker Bill O’Brien has gone from a 6 percent favorable, 16 percent unfavorable rating, to 15 percent favorable, 29 percent unfavorable.

Apparently island-paradise-dweller O'Brien overreached in his zeal to lower wages for Granite State workers:

Perhaps the central legislative flash point in New Hampshire politics over the last year has been a “right to work” law Republicans have pushed, but have not been able to pass due to the opposition of Democratic Gov. John Lynch. The BSG memo makes the case that Democrats are winning the message war on the issue: Sixty-four percent of voters said a right to work bill should not be a high priority and 51 percent of voters agreed with the statement: “Unions are good. They make sure employers provide good wages, benefits and a safe work environment.”

Today's Teamster News 02.10.12

Haridopolos: Private prison vote is next week  Orlando Sentinel   ...Haridopolos was coy though when asked if that meant he had the votes to pass the bill. “We’ll see,” he said...
Pro-labor Republicans recruit challengers for right-to-work supporters in Indiana House  Associated Press   ...some candidates, such as high school teacher Diana Boersma, are taking on powerful House members, such as Rep. Douglas Gutwein of Francesville. Others, such as Randy Conner and Jon D. Hare, are challenging freshmen legislators elected in 2010's Republican sweep...
ALEC wrote parts of LePage education agenda  Maine's Majority   ...ALEC, a corporate-funded organization that encourages conservative lawmakers to advance big business-friendly laws on the state level, is currently under fire for its efforts to influence the legislative process in several states, including Maine...
Jobs, Economy Most Important Issues To NH Residents  WMUR   ...Coming in a distant second place is the Republican majority in the Legislature...
SD Panel Strikes Down Collective Bargaining Ban  Keloland.com   ...Lawmakers unanimously rejected a bill Wednesday that would have ended collective bargaining for public employees in South Dakota...
This is no bailout for Main Street America  The Guardian   ...While the government's help to homeowners is far from adequate or just, it represents a partial and late recognition of trickle-down economics' inadequacy as policy...
Disgruntled Greeks Start 48-Hour National Strike  New York Times   ...Greek workers walked off the job for the second time this week on Friday in a snap 48-hour general strike called to protest new austerity measures the country must take to avert a disastrous default next month...
This Teamsters Memo Shows How The Threat Of A Union Strike Could Seal Hostess' Fate  Business Insider   ...union officials are calling Hostess's demands — which include a five-year wage freeze and scrapping employer contributions to health and pension plans — unreasonable...

Ruh-roh: NH House passes RTW for government workers

What is this, open season on working people?

Oh wait, that's exactly what it is.

Today, New Hampshire House members were the latest to try to shrink the middle class by passing a right-to-work for less bill that applies to government workers. The Associated Press reports,

New Hampshire's House has voted to bar the unions representing state workers from collecting fees from non-union members to cover the bargaining and other costs.

The House voted 212-128 Thursday to send the bill to the Senate. Workers who choose not to pay a fee would have to submit a notarized statement relinquishing any rights and benefits bargained for by the union...

The AP also reports island paradise dweller House Speaker William O'Brien made right-to-work for less "a priority of his administration." (Um, hello? Since when does a legislator have an administration?)

The good news is we think Gov. John Lynch will veto  this nasty piece of legislation -- and the good guys have the votes to sustain his veto.

Still, you wonder why these lawmakers can't chase after wascally wabbits instead of working men and women.

Today's Teamster News 12.02.11

For Jobless, Little Hope of Restoring Better Days  New York Times   ...just 7 percent of those who lost jobs after the financial crisis have returned to or exceeded their previous financial position and maintained their lifestyles...
In Recording, American Crystal Sugar President Likens Union Workers to Cancerous Tumor  Minnesota AFL-CIO   ...The already strained relationship between management of American Crystal Sugar Company (ACSC) and its 1,300 locked out workers was dealt another serious blow when recordings of anti-worker statements by ACSC President and CEO Dave Berg were made public this week...
Speaker O'Brien Lies in Press Statement, Unable to Name a Single Business to Move to NH if HB 474 Had Passed  Granite State Progress   ..."Not once has the topic of right-to-work ever come up in all of [their] discussions with New Hampshire businesses and prospective businesses..."
Opinion: N.J. unions will achieve goals by speaking with collective voice  Times of Trenton   ...When our political system gets so out of whack that it stops working for the very people it represents, working- and middle-class voters do what too many politicians have been refusing to do: Come together to restore balance to our economy and our politics...
Wisconsin Recall Drive Surpasses 300,000 Signatures  The Nation   ...What is truly remarkable is where the signatures are coming from: rural and small-town Wisconsin communities are contributing disproportionally high numbers of signatures to the total...
How Republicans are being taught to talk about Occupy Wall Street  The Ticket   ..."I'm so scared of this anti-Wall Street effort. I'm frightened to death," said Frank Luntz, a Republican strategist and one of the nation's foremost experts on crafting the perfect political message. "They're having an impact on what the American people think of capitalism..."
Mayor Bloomberg: ‘I Have My Own Army’  New York Observer   ...“I have my own army in the NYPD, which is the seventh biggest army in the world..."

Today's Teamster News 11.30.11

Teamsters Support UK Strike By Public Sector Workers  IBT   ...Teamsters are joining the National Nurses Union and other union members at the British Embassy today to stand in solidarity with the more than three million public sector workers on strike in the UK to protest government austerity measures and attacks on pensions there...
Right to work veto override vote coming?  Manchester Union-Leader   ...Supporters and opponents of right to work legislation plan to be at the (New Hampshire) State House in force Wednesday for a possible veto override vote...
GOP Pushes 'Right-To-Work' In TV Ads  The Indychannel   ...The ads, airing in Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, show House Speaker Brian Bosma calling right-to-work a top priority in the next legislative session...
Occupy L.A.: Cleanup of City Hall campsite begins  Los Angeles Times   ...A small cadre of police officers remained on the steps on the south side of Los Angeles City Hall early Wednesday, but most had already cleared out after the LAPD's sweep of the Occupy L.A. encampment...
Yes, Virginia. The banks really were bailed out.  interfluidity   ...the government paid for and ought to have owned several large banks lock, stock, and barrel. Instead, officials carefully engineered deals to avoid ownership and control...
The Real America  The Economic Populist   ... Like prey in the spider's web of tall tales, we're stunned and hypnotized into no longer seeing the poverty and despair all around us...

Today's Teamster News 11.22.11

Right-to-work battle begins again Tuesday  NWITimes.com   ...Hundreds of Northwest Indiana union workers will be at the Statehouse on Tuesday hoping to speak with state lawmakers as they convene for the ceremonial first day of the legislative session, known as Organization Day...
Gov. wins major tax ruling at Mich. Supreme Court  Associated Press   ...Key parts of a Michigan law that taxes public pension income for the first time are constitutional, the state Supreme Court said Friday in a major victory for Gov. Rick Snyder...
14 arrested as unions, Occupy St. Louis protestors unite  St. Louis Post-Dispatch   ...About 800 people, bolstered by representatives of the Teamsters, United Auto Workers, Service Employees International and other unions, participated in the rally and the subsequent march north through downtown...
Americans For Prosperity NH will be there on Nov 30th WILL YOU?  NH Labor News   ... the Koch Funded Americans For Prosperity of New Hampshire is trying to get members to show up to push for RTW...
Ohio’s job market remains sluggish  Policy Matters Ohio   ...Since July, the state has lost 8,300 jobs after gains earlier in the year. The unemployment rate in October inched down 0.1 point to 9.0 percent from a month earlier...
Egypt’s Cabinet Offers to Resign as Protests Rage  New York Times   ... The cabinet offered its resignation on Monday to Egypt’s transitional military rulers as security forces carried out an increasingly lethal crackdown on three days of violent street protests...
Deutsche Bank Could Transfer Financial Contagion: Simon Johnson  Bloomberg   ...You’ve probably never heard of Taunus Corp., but according to the Federal Reserve, it’s the U.S.’s eighth-largest bank holding company...

Today's Teamster News 11.11.11

Unions win, Personhood loses: what does it mean?  Washington Times   ...Ohio and Mississippi sent a message to the Right Wing and the Tea Party: “We’re mad as Hell and we're not going to take it anymore...”
Tea Party Groups Propose ‘Right-To-Work' Ballot Issue  Gongwer   ...Two days after voters trounced Republicans' attempt to curb collective bargaining, tea party groups announced plans to place a right-to-work issue on the ballot, eliciting a wave of criticism from unions and Democrats...
Daniels not intimidated by labor victory in Ohio referendum  nwi.com   ...Gov. Mitch Daniels believes Tuesday's decision by Ohio voters to overturn a state law restricting collective bargaining for public employees will not affect Indiana's right-to-work debate...
Michigan Gov. Snyder Counsels a New Approach After Ohio Vote  Wall Street Journal   ...Mr. Snyder said his new Republican administration has been able to avoid the rancor rocking newly elected Republican governors in nearby Wisconsin and Ohio by steering clear of challenges to collective bargaining agreements with state employees. Instead, he counseled dialogue and negotiation with union leaders...
Missouri AFL-CIO chief calls on legislators to heed Ohio vote  St. Louis Beacon   ...Missouri AFL-CIO president Hugh McVey has sent out a veiled message to the Republican leaders in the General Assembly to reconsider any sort of push for right to work legislation, in the wake of Tuesday's vote in Ohio that overturned a recent law removing bargaining rights for public employees...
O'Brien proposes NH House meet again  Boston Globe   ...House Speaker William O'Brien is proposing to call the New Hampshire House into session two more days this fall -- to hear from Gov. John Lynch on education funding and possibly act on vetoed bills...
Walker foes energized by Ohio's repeal of union law  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel   ...Opponents of Gov. Scott Walker's union bargaining law are celebrating Ohio voters' decisive repeal of a similar law in their state, with Wisconsin activists saying it could boost their efforts to recall the Republican governor...

NH NFIB director goes to jail for stealing $880K

Some rob with a 6 gun, some with a fountain pen.

An influence-peddler linked to the Benedict Arnold Koch brothers is convicted of a crime. A big one.

Joan LaPlante, a New Hampshire lobbyist for the National Federation of Independent Businesses (no friend of unions), was sentenced to 66 months in prison for running a Ponzi scheme.

According to the Manchester Union Leader,

Laplante was the director of the state chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business, a trade association made up of small businesses, in the early 2000s, according to newspaper articles from the time. In 2010, she registered as a lobbyist representing the soft drink industry and an out-of-state information services company, according to the Secretary of State’s online records.

From 1996 to 2002, Laplante owned and operated JRL Business Resources LLC, a business that collected money on account receivables it purchased at discounted prices from 1996 to 2002.

But JRL discontinued its legitimate business activity by the end of 2002, prosecutors said. During the next four years, she obtained more than $2 million in loans, promising 12 to 18 percent interest and claiming she would use them in her legitimate business.

Instead, in Ponzi-like fashion, Laplante used the lenders’ money to repay loans that had been previously been made to her business, prosecutors said. When the scheme was exposed, Laplante owed more than $880,000 to people who had loaned money to her business.

Investigative journalist Bob Sloan points out that NFIB has wide and deep links to ALEC (the American Legislative Exchange Council) -- which, of course, is funded by the Benedict Arnold Koch brothers. 

• The NFIB is an active partner in filing friend-of-the court briefs in cases where the US Chamber of Commerce and ALEC file such briefs.
• NFIB is a member of ALEC and represented by Rosemary Elebash ALEC’s Private Sector State Chair
• NFIB staffers revolve in and out of ALEC; including Jean Card, who started with ALEC and now works for NFIB;
• NFIB uses ALEC's disinformation.

We're not sure we're shocked. 

Right-to-work-for-less fails again in NH

Woo-hoo! Island-paradise-dweller Bill O'Brien, speaker of the New Hampshire House, again failed in his crusade to destroy the middle class.

In a special session of the New Hampshire House yesterday, O'Brien failed to muster enough votes to override a veto of his right-to-work bill to destroy unions. The AFL-CIO reports,

The Republican Speaker of the New Hampshire House enlisted no fewer than five Republican presidential candidates today in an unsuccessful attempt to convince state representatives to override Gov. John Lynch’s veto of a “right to work” for less bill (H.B. 474).

...O’Brien turned the legislative session into a Republican presidential forum, inviting the candidates to spend more than three hours giving stump speeches to a captive audience of both Democrat and Republican lawmakers. More than 100 firefighters, teachers and other workers from every edge of the state turned out to protest the potential vote on “right to work” for less and to ask the candidates to keep state issues out of the debate around the primary.

...The speeches were staggered by 10-minute recesses and roll call votes during which O’Brien and his aides checked the attendance rolls to see if they had the numbers to override Gov. Lynch’s veto of “right to work.”

After the candidates left, with little hope of passing the bill, it was business as usual for O’Brien: voting to cut Medicaid for poor families and seniors, lecturing lawmakers on their failure to follow precedents (and failing to follow those precedents himself) and introducing a motion to call a third special session two days before the December holidays.

O’Brien has until the start of the new legislative session on Jan. 4 to override Lynch’s veto of H.B. 474.

BREAKING: Prez candidates to lobby for Right to Work for Less in NH today

New Hampshire's island-paradise-dwelling House Speaker called a special session today to pass a right to work bill to destroy unions. Our peeps on the ground expect him to pull out all the stops in his attempt to override the governor's veto of right to work to destroy unions – including parading five Republican presidential candidates through the Legislature.

Granite State firefighters aren't pleased. Neither are we.

Dave Lang, president of the Professional Fire Fighters of New Hampshire, put out a statement saying Speaker Bill O'Brien is using presidential candidates as personal lobbyists to push his anti-union agenda.

The speaker is orchestrating a dog and pony show, using GOP presidential candidates to generate support for a right-to-work bill that doesn't have support in the New Hampshire House and would do nothing more than erode the rights of New Hampshire workers...

Using this special session as a backdrop, we believe the speaker is showcasing his anti-worker agenda, which will destroy the New Hampshire advantage. The leadership of the New Hampshire House needs to focus on creating jobs and strengthening our state's economy and not pander to a national, out-of-state agenda.

Stay tuned. We'll keep you posted.

Woo-hoo! Vote tabled on NH right-to-work bill

Wouldn't you know it. On the very day that Teamsters President Jim Hoffa opines that common sense is returning to New Hampshire, an expected vote to pass a right-to-work bill to destroy unions didn't happen.

Turns out Speaker of the House Bill O'Brien didn't think he had enough votes. (He may try again in October.)

Here's what Hoffa had to say in the Concord Monitor:

It appears common sense may finally be returning to New Hampshire politics. In state houses across the country, including New Hampshire, corporate-backed politicians used the past legislative session to wage war on the middle class. They tried to pit union versus non-union, worker versus worker. New Hampshire's workers are remaining vigilant, expecting more from their elected leaders. And it's working.

In the last legislative session, the New Hampshire House and Senate voted to pass a "right-to-work" bill to destroy unions. Gov. John Lynch did the right thing by vetoing this dangerous bill.

Since July, three special elections in New Hampshire have resulted in wins for right-to-work opponents - two Democrats and a Republican - and two members who voted for right-to-work have resigned.

Hoffa's absolutely right when he says the voters will support candidates who support working families -- and will vote out corporate-funded politicians who want to destroy the middle class. Just look at what's happening in New Hampshire.