Today's Teamster News 01.09.13

Jim Hoffa on How Fast Track Will Harm Working Families  The Ed Show   ...Check out the January 7 interview with Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa discussing fast-track legislation on MSNBC's The Ed Show...
Madison, Wisconsin, unions near deals  Portage Daily Register   ...The city is close to finalizing labor agreements with all three of the unions, including Teamsters Local 695 in Madison, Wisconsin, that represent city employees...
Hampton, Franklin County talk shared law communications  Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier   ...Hampton and Franklin County have taken another step forward to sharing communication services. The issue of transferring employees, including members of Teamsters Local 238, stalled negotiations last summer...
Dixfield Board of Selectmen chairman responds to union's grievance  River Valley Sun Journal   ...During a recent meeting, the town of Dixfield, Maine's Board of Selectmen Chairman Mac Gill read a prepared statement in response to the prohibitive practice complaint that Teamsters Local 340 filed against the town, claiming that they had showed discrimination and bad-faith bargaining during negotiations with the Public Works Department...
YRC Worldwide Looking to Borrow More Than $1 Billion to Stay Afloat  Truckinginfo.com   ...The financially troubled parent of several trucking companies, including YRC Freight, hopes to borrow $1.15 billion to refinance its debt...
Congress members urge Obama to bar currency manipulation in trade pact  Detroit News   ...Six members of Congress wrote President Barack Obama on Wednesday, urging the White House to include a crackdown on currency manipulation as part of a proposed 12-nation free-trade pact...
Survey: US companies add 238K jobs, most in year  Associated Press   ...A private survey shows businesses added the most jobs in a year in December, powered by a big gain in construction jobs...
Pension freeze for 5,600 Detroit workers delayed  The Detroit News   ...Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr on Monday temporarily halted a Dec. 31 freeze of pension benefits for 5,600 non-uniform employees to give retirees and labor unions more time to negotiate in bankruptcy mediation sessions...
Feds Probe Banks For Mortgage Misdeeds After Financial Crisis  Reuters   ...Federal regulators are probing whether several big banks deliberately mispriced mortgage bonds in the years following the financial crisis, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people close to the inquiry...
Borrowers Hit Social-Media Hurdles  Wall Street Journal   ...More lending companies are mining Facebook, FB +0.54%  Twitter TWTR -3.53%  and other social-media data to help determine a borrower's creditworthiness or identity, a trend that is raising concerns among consumer groups and regulators...
The Government Guide to Screwing Poor Homeowners  American Prospect   ...The expiration of federal mortgage-debt forgiveness at the end of last year means that struggling homeowners now owe unbearable amounts in taxes...
Macy’s Plans to Lay Off 2,500, Though Its Holiday Sales Were Up New York Times ...While it reported solid holiday sales on Wednesday, Macy’s also announced several cost-cutting measures, including plans to lay off 2,500 employees...
1 in 5 homeowners drowning  Housing Wire ...9.3 million U.S. residential properties were deeply underwater, or about 1 in 5 of every property with a mortgage. "Deeply underwater" is defined as worth at least 25% less than the combined loans secured by the property...Dear middle class: Welcome to poverty  AlterNet   ...With income inequality surging, the middle class is disappearing into the chasm...
This Is What Poverty Would Look Like If The GOP Had Its Way  Huffington Post   ...This week marks the 50th anniversary of Lyndon Johnson's declaration of the War on Poverty. Though far from over, and labeled a failure by Republicans who want to end it, the war has been a smashing success, a new study finds...
Soiled by the mud of the street:” Pope Francis and the Working Class  Portside ...Francis is calling for a wider struggle in the defense of the poor and working classes...
Several States Waiving Trucking Rules for Fuel Shipments  Truckinginfo.com   ...Extraordinarily cold weather in part of the U.S. has resulted in more states issuing emergency declarations, waiving mainly hours of service rules, when it comes to hauling various fuels...
"Recall Isn't the Wisconsin Way" Message Bankrolled by Koch Group  Center for Media and Democracy   ...In the final weeks of Wisconsin's 2012 recall elections, a previously-unknown group called Coalition for American Values Action flooded the state's airwaves with over $400,000 in ads that made a unique appeal: "recall is not the Wisconsin way," and to "stop the recall madness" by voting to reelect Walker...
Calls from unemployed workers overwhelm state phone system  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel   ...Unemployed workers who want to file for unemployment compensation are having trouble getting through on the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development's phone lines...
Port of Seattle says it will act by June on airport-wages issue  Seattle Times   ...The Port of Seattle Commission will work toward raising wages at Sea-Tac International Airport after a judge’s ruling that SeaTac’s Proposition 1 cannot be enforced there...

Today's Edition of Lies from Scott Walker

During his campaign for governor of Wisconsin, Koch whore Scott Walker said,

I’ll get government out of the way and lower the tax burden so Wisconsin business owners and factories can create 250,000 jobs and 10,000 businesses in our state by 2015.

Not gonna happen.

He said recall petitioners are being paid.

They aren't.

So ends today's edition of "Lies from Scott Walker."

This is what we union T.H.U.G.S. do in Wisconsin

We donate food to local food pantries -- even as we're recalling Koch whore Gov. Scott Walker and his sidekick, Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch.

Kleefisch apparently doesn't think hungry people should be fed. Today she said, "I'm appalled at the way the union thugs are acting in our state."

Teamsters Joint Council 39 is sponsoring a Can Walker Food Drive tomorrow. We Are Wisconsin tells us that thousands are expected at the Recall Walker rally tomorrow, and participants are asked to bring food donations. Recalling Scott Walker and helping families in need are both ways to stand up for Wisconsin.

Says Beth Kirchman of Local 662:

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, we felt it was especially important to remember our fellow Wisconsinites in need. From supporting our local food pantries to recalling a governor who attacks our rights, our jobs, and our quality of life, the members of Teamsters Joint Council 39 are doing our best to make Wisconsin a better place to live.

"THUGS," by the way, stands for "Those Helpful Union Guys."

Today's Teamster News 11.05.11

South Jersey workers back Ill. action  Courier Post   ...Warehouse workers and truck drivers at US Foods halted deliveries of food Friday morning in sympathy with striking employees in Illinois. US Foods distributes food and related products to restaurants, military bases and hospitals in the greater Philadelphia and New York areas...
Art of the Protest: Teamsters Target Jackson Lewis's Work for Sotheby's  The American Lawyer   ...The labor and employment specialists at Jackson Lewis have again drawn the ire of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, with union members mustering this week outside Sotheby's locations in New York and Philadelphia to protest the law firm's representation of the famed auction house in an ongoing contract dispute with its art handlers...
MGM workers vote on 4-year deal  Detroit News   ...MGM Grand Detroit workers approved a new four-year contract with the casino Friday night after overwhelmingly rejecting a proposed agreement last week...
First recall effort launched against Walker, triggering unlimited fundraising   Milwaukee Journal Sentinel   ...A Republican campaign contributor officially filed a recall effort Friday against Gov. Scott Walker, triggering a powerful tool for the GOP leader: unlimited campaign fundraising...
Sarah Palin Endorses Ohio Issue 2 As Anti-Union Measure Heads To A Vote  Huffington Post   ...Ohio's Issue 2, a referendum on a controversial law curtailing collective bargaining rights for public employees, picked up the endorsement of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin Friday...
Herman Cain: 'I am the Koch brothers' brother from another mother'  New York Daily News   ...Herman Cain heaped praise on the Koch brothers Friday, calling himself the Republican power brokers' "brother from another mother..."

Today's Teamster News 11.01.11

Occupy Oakland: City braces for general strike  San Francisco Chronicle   ...From schools and downtown stores to the nation's fifth busiest port, Oakland is bracing for Wednesday's citywide general strike, a hastily planned and ambitious action called by Occupy protesters a day after police forcibly removed their City Hall encampment last week...
Eurozone debt crisis: Markets dive on Greek referendum  BBC   ...European markets have fallen following Monday's announcement of a Greek referendum on the latest aid package to solve its debt crisis. Eurozone leaders agreed a 50% debt write-off for Greece last week as well as strengthening Europe's bailout fund...
Union Hails New Rules Governing Railroad Camp Cars  IBT   ...The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) issued new regulations today to improve conditions of rail camp cars, backing several recommendations by the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division (BMWED) of the Teamsters Rail Conference...
Key Wisconsin Republican Opposes Change To Recall Law  Talking Points Memo   ...An effort by Wisconsin Republicans to make things harder for Democrats in any potential new state Senate recalls in the coming year appears to be out of the running — with state Sen. Dale Schultz, a moderate Republican who holds a key swing vote in the 17-16 chamber, announcing that he will vote against the measure...
A tale of corporate greed and political collusion  Huffington Post   ...Scott wants his state to be exempted from federal rules that would require insurance companies to send $140 million in premium rebates to families over the next three years. Enter the big winners, the health insurance companies that will get the money instead of Florida's hard-working families...
Gregoire outlines $2 billion in budget cuts  Seattle Times   ...Gov. Chris Gregoire Thursday proposed $2 billion in budgets cuts that would increase class sizes in public schools, eliminate subsidized health insurance for the working poor and cut the length of supervision for inmates released from prison...

Today's Teamster News 10.30.11

Occupy Oakland: inspiration, frustration at return  San Francisco Chronicle   ...Dozens of new tents sprang up outside Oakland City Hall on Friday, a sight that encouraged some Occupy Wall Street supporters but infuriated others, who expressed frustration at the city's about-face on the encampment...
'Occupy' demonstrators battle wind and cold as storm moves in  CNN   ...Demonstrators encamped in a Lower Manhattan park faced New York's first snow storm of the season Saturday without the benefit of propane tanks and generators that they had been using to cook food and keep warm...
Why the latest eurozone bail-out is destined to fail within weeks  The Telegraph   ...the responses of our politicians to recent financial troubles – hiding behind complexity and kicking the can down the road – have not only failed to temper the volatility, but have actually made it much worse...
Qantas Fleet Grounded for Second Day  New York Times   ...A series of labor disputes has hit the airline, the world’s 10th largest, as employees have voiced concern about jobs being moved out of Australia...
Teamsters Protest Madison Dearborn's War on Workers  IBT   ...More than 100 members of the Teamsters Union, UNITE HERE, Occupy Chicago and religious and community supporters rallied in downtown Chicago today to protest private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners’ bad values and its disregard for American workers...
FL Teacher Faces $1000 Fine for Registering Students to VOTE!  Daily Kos   ...Mrs. Cicciarelli helps her senior class EVERY year with the paperwork to preregister for the voting rolls. But she was on maternity leave in the spring when the Legislature passed a a new voter suppression law that, among other things, requires third parties to register with the state before they help sign up new voters...
Poll: Majority don't like Walker's performance, but state residents split on recall  Wisconsin State Journal   ...Some 56 percent of those polled disapprove of Walker's performance. But only 47 percent want to recall him, compared to 49 percent who don't - a statistical tie...

Today's Teamster News 10.29.11

Walker recall could open spending spigot  Wisconsin Watch   ...Normal individual contribution limits, set at $10,000 for a gubernatorial race, are suspended from the time a recall drive is launched until … well, that’s a good question...
In Florida Battle, Casino Cash vs. Disney Image  New York Times   ...The focus of the battle is a bill that, if adopted, would drastically change the profile of the gambling industry here by allowing three lavish $2 billion resort casinos to open in South Florida — Dade and Broward Counties...
SB 5 camps report spending more than $23 million  Cincinnati Enquirer   ...We Are Ohio, which is seeking to defeat Issue 2, on Nov. 8 spent $17.3 million, while Building A Better Ohio spent $5.9 million to support Issue 2...
Occupy Wall Street protesters stripped of their power, literally, by fire department and NYPD  Daily News   ...Claiming safety concerns, city confiscates gas canisters and generators from Zuccotti Park...
Occupy Oakland: mayor sorry for clashes that injured Scott Olsen  The Guardian   ...Quan, who has been roundly criticised for her handling of the Occupy protests against economic inequality, said she had met Scott Olsen and his parents and was concerned about his recovery...
Goldman Sachs and Occupy Wall Street's bank: the real story  The Guardian   ...When Goldman got huffy at a credit union honouring OWS and pulled its anniversary dinner funding, much more was at stake...

Today's Teamster News 10.27.11

Cities Begin Cracking Down on ‘Occupy’ Protests  New York Times   ...The protests showed little sign of slacking...
Crony Capitalism Comes Home (opinion)  New York Times   ...while alarmists seem to think that the movement is a “mob” trying to overthrow capitalism, one can make a case that, on the contrary, it highlights the need to restore basic capitalist principles like accountability...
Repealing SB5: On the verge of victory in Ohio  In These Times   ...Two weeks before Election Day, a union canvasser says efforts to repeal the state's new anti-union law through the ballot are paying off...
Wis. Democrats to start process of recalling Gov. Scott Walker  The Advance-Titan   ...United Wisconsin and the Democratic Party of Wisconsin will have 60 days beginning on Nov. 15 to gather 540, 206 valid signatures for a recall election on Gov. Scott Walker to occur...
Ethics commission tosses Teamsters complaint against Scott  Palm Beach Post   ...The Florida Commission on Ethics dismissed a complaint filed by the Teamsters accusing Gov. Rick Scott of a conflict of interest in a prison privatization plan ordered by the legislature...
Why is the SEC Willing to Get Aggressive and Creative on Big Names Only in Insider Trading Cases? (opinion)  naked capitalism   ... Given the level of criminality in the top echelons in the US, we should see a lot more in the way of prosecutions...

Today's Teamster News 10.26.11

Top Earners Doubled Share of Nation’s Income, Study Finds  New York Times   ...government policy has become less redistributive since the late 1970s, doing less to reduce the concentration of income...
U.S. Expected to Charge Executive Tied to Galleon Case  New York Times   ...Federal prosecutors are expected to file criminal charges on Wednesday against Rajat K. Gupta, the most prominent business executive ensnared in an aggressive insider trading investigation...
Televangelist Pat Robertson Calls GOP Field Too ‘Extreme’ To Win General Election  ThinkProgress   ... You know you’ve hit rock bottom when one of the most radical, hate-spewing figures in America calls you “extreme.”...
EU rescue plans hostage to raw politics  The Telegraph   ...Europe's debt crisis has taken a deeply political turn as parliamentary battles rock Italy and Greece and once again cause simmering dissent in Germany, vastly complicating the search for a workable solution...
Romney supported Kasich laws in June  Politico   ...In a visit to Ohio today, Mitt Romney declined to state on his position on a high-profile referendum there on the new state law that curtails the bargaining rights of public employee unions. But earlier this year, Romney indicated support for the reforms signed by Gov. John Kasich...
Wis. Dems Kicking Off Rallies And Training For Recall-Walker Effort  Talking Points Memo   ...Wisconsin Democrats are gearing up for their petition drive to recall Republican Gov. Scott Walker, in the wake of his anti-public employee union legislation, with a series of public rallies and closed volunteer-training sessions...
Judge Blocks Florida's New Welfare Drug Testing Law  Associated Press   ...A federal judge temporarily blocked Florida's new law that requires welfare applicants to pass a drug test before receiving benefits on Monday, saying it may violate the Constitution's ban on unreasonable searches and seizures...

Today's Teamster News 09.30.11

Occupy Wall Street gets union support  UPI   ...The union representing New York City transit workers has come out in support of Occupy Wall Street protesters demanding U.S. social and economic policy changes...
The Wisconsin GOP's Clever Plan to Block Scott Walker's Recall  Mother Jones   ...GOP legislators in Wisconsin are doing their best to give Walker more power over the recall process and make it harder for recall organizers to gather the signatures needed to trigger a recall election...
Ohio Delivers Required Signatures to Block Voter Suppression Law, Force Referendum  firedoglake   ...A voter suppression law would shorten the successful early voting program in Ohio, prohibit the boards of election from mailing unsolicited absentee ballot requests out to voters, and allow poll workers to refuse to give information to voters about where their polling station is...
Group seeks to raise Mo. minimum wage  Associated Press   ...Missouri voters could be asked to raise the state's minimum wage to $8.25 an hour. A group that backed a successful wage increase in the 2006 elections is now pushing to get the minimum wage issue back on the ballot for Missouri's 2012 elections...
Snyder recall effort may end‎ The Detroit News   ...There are signs a committee working to recall Gov. Rick Snyder is calling it quits...
Mortgage modifications are still messed up, 4 years later  McClatchy News   ...
Today there are at least 4.2 million homeowners who, like Palomo, are late on their mortgage payments or somewhere in the delinquency and foreclosure process...