Teamster News
Teamsters Local 174 Members Overwhelmingly Ratify Contract at First Student teamster.org ...Teamsters Local 174 has reached an agreement with First
Student covering more than 450 school bus drivers who transport K-12 students
for the Seattle School District...
Spring Grove school board hears bus safety complaints York Dispatch ...A group of bus drivers, parents and residents told Pennsylvania's Spring Grove Area School District's school board their concerns about multiple safety issues with vehicles from Durham School Services. The bus drivers are represented by Teamsters Local 776...
Trade
Daschle distorts NAFTA outcomes to sell TPP (Opinion) The Hill Blog ...The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and "fast track" trade authority are generating heated debate. TPP would expand on terms first established in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and extend them to additional countries.Unfortunately, former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) misconstrued the facts of NAFTA’s legacy in his February 20 op-ed in The Hill, “Trade Pacts Are a Tonic for the Economy.”...
Gibson joins labor, community groups to oppose TPP Mid-Hudson News ...Congressman Christopher Gibson (R, NY-19) Monday spoke out against the proposed Trans Pacific Partnership trade agreement that is being worked on by the administration in Washington behind closed doors...
The U.S. needs a stronger domestic supply chain in the event of an attack Manufacture This ...Where lies the United States' greatest vulnerability to a physical terrorist attack? Transformers.
No, not the robots in disguise: Those large gray boxes of steel that move power across the country pose a serious risk to our power grid... only a handful of companies build them in the U.S., and shipments from overseas could take months or years to arrive if one is unexpectedly damaged...
State Battles
Right-to-work among 12 Oregon ballot measures dropped Statesman Journal ...Twelve ballot initiatives have been dropped — including one that would have made Oregon’s public sector subject to “right to work” laws — as part of a deal reached by Gov. John Kitzhaber’s office...
The story behind those communist China "right to work" billboards in Kansas City The Pitch ...Terry Akins, a labor executive with International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers No. 124 in Kansas City, had this thought in mind when he brandished a map of China with an accompanying hammer and sickle upon a billboard along Interstate 70...
How large corporations avoid paying income taxes in Wisconsin Fox6Now ...“They were — in a sense — blackmailing Fond du Lac County, blackmailing the state of Wisconsin. The Mercury Marine story is really the perfect example of what’s wrong with assuming that business is always right, because here, we were begging them to take money, some of it was in low interest loans, some of it was just cash on the barrel head — and they’re not paying taxes in Wisconsin,”...
The War on Workers
McDonald’s to SEC: Strikes hurt, and we might have to hike pay Salon ...Worker strikes and social media shaming “can adversely affect us,” and “increasing public focus” on “income inequality” could spur higher wages, fast food giant McDonald’s acknowledged in an annual report filed Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission...
White House Suggests Social Security Cuts Remain 'On The Table' Talking Points Memo ...Even though President Barack Obama's formal budget proposal Tuesday omitted cuts to Social Security, the White House strongly suggested that a controversial policy to cut the program "remains on the table" if Republicans are willing to compromise...
Fed Nominee Stanley Fischer Has a Citigroup Problem Wall Street on Parade ...Citigroup collapsed in 2008 and is only alive today because the U.S. government pumped in $45 billion in equity, made $300 billion in asset guarantees, and the Fed chipped in over $2 trillion in below market rate loans to the listing shipwreck...
Exclusive: Report Finds Taking A Paid Day Off When Sick Is A Privilege Of The Wealthy ThinkProgress ...In 2012, 61 percent of private sector workers older than 18 had access to paid sick days, an increase from 57 percent in 2009, according to a new report...
Supreme Court extends whistle-blower protections under anti-fraud law Los Angeles Times ...The Supreme Court on Tuesday expanded protections for whistle blowers covered by an anti-fraud law passed following the collapse of energy giant Enron, ruling outside accountants, auditors and lawyers cannot be fired or punished for exposing fraud...
Toyota Union Cites ‘Big Gap’ With Carmaker in Wage Talks Bloomberg News ...Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s largest automaker, faces a “big gap” in negotiations with its workers’ union in Japan, according to the head of the Toyota Motor Workers’ Union...
Port driver files class action complaints against two California drayage companies Land Line ... Two new class action lawsuits have been filed against two Southern California-based drayage companies by a former port driver who worked for both companies. This comes just days after a report was released by labor
groups, which was critical of port companies that allegedly misclassify
port drivers as independent contractors...
Pittsburgh's Largest Employer Draws Hundreds Of Protesters Over 'Poverty' Wages
Huffington Post ...Hundreds of demonstrators poured into downtown
Pittsburgh Monday to protest low wages at the University of Pittsburgh
Medical Center, escalating a two-year showdown between labor groups and
the area's largest employer...
Miscellaneous
Sprint Accused of Overcharging Feds Millions for Wiretapping Wired ...Sprint, of Overland Park, Kansas, inflated charges approximately 58 percent between 2007 and 2010, according to a lawsuit (.pdf) the administration brought against the carrier today...
“Retirement Security in an Aging Society,” or the Lack Thereof Baseline Scenario ...50% of households have personal retirement accounts worth $5,000 or less; 50% of households have other financial assets of $15,000 or less; and 50% of households have no defined benefit pensions...
Bill protects taxpayers from government contractors
The Tennessean ...All over the country, cash-strapped state and
local governments have handed over control of critical public services
and assets to corporations that promise to handle them better, faster
and cheaper. Unfortunately for taxpayers, these services failed to keep
this promise...
RadioShack to close up to 1,100 'underperforming' stores Los Angeles Times ...Beleaguered electronics retailer RadioShack Corp. reported its fourth-quarter store sales were down 19% compared to last year and that it would close up to 1,100 underperforming...
Chevron $9.5 Billion Judgment by Ecuador Is Ruled Fraudulent by U.S. Court
Bloomberg News ...Chevron Corp. won a U.S. judge’s ruling that a
multibillion-dollar pollution judgment issued in Ecuador was procured by
fraud, making it less likely that plaintiffs will collect the $9.5
billion award...
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
It's politics that determines union density
The study, called Politics Matter, points out that it's the political climate that makes the difference.
If globalization and technological change made unions obsolete, you would expect union membership to fall at the same rate across countries with the same level of globalization and technology change. Writes CEPR:
Instead, for 21 rich economies, including the United States, what we see over the last five decades is a wide range of trends in union membership and collective bargaining.Concludes CEPR:
Countries strongly identified during the postwar period with social democratic parties – Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland – have generally seen small increases in union coverage and only small decreases in union membership since 1980.Read the whole thing here.
Over the same period, countries typically described as “liberal market economies” – the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Canada, and Japan – have generally seen sharp drops in union coverage and membership.
Countries in the broad Christian democratic tradition, sometimes referred to as “coordinated market economies” or “continental market economies” – Germany, Austria, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, and Switzerland – typically have had outcomes somewhere in between the social democratic and liberal market economies, with small drops in union coverage and moderate declines in union membership.
These patterns are consistent with the view that national politics are a more important determinant of recent trends in unionization than globalization or technological change.
Calculate your income if it grew as fast as the One Percent's did
 |
| From Being Liberal / Facebook |
The richest one percent of Americans' income grew by 270 percent over the last 50 years, adjusted for inflation. The rest of us, not so much. The average income of the bottom 90 percent grew only 22 percent over the last five decades.
People who were earning $25,015 in 1960 would theoretically be earning $30,439 in 2010. But if their earnings had increased as fast as the richest Americans, they'd be making an average of $92,847.
Click here to see how much you'd be making if your income grew as fast as the one percent's.
Today's Teamster News 03.04.14
Teamster News
Government report: Too few pilots or too little pay? Associated Press ...The nation's regional airlines are having trouble hiring enough pilots, the government says, suggesting one reason may be that they simply don't pay enough. A pool of qualified pilots is available, but it's unclear whether they are willing to work for low entry-level wages, the Government Accountability Office said in a report released Friday...
Trade
Lies Our Political Elites Tell Us As They Rip Us Off Down With Tyranny! ...the last mega-trade deal corporate elites and their political handmaidens ... sold the American people, NAFTA, was a beautifully-packaged barrel of lies. Froman is uncomfortable and highly defensive when confronted with the analogy...
Obama’s trade chief undeterred by opposition Politico ...The Obama administration is confident it will win support in Congress for a big Asia-Pacific trade deal despite opposition from many Democrats that has stalled legislation needed for approval of the agreement, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said...
State Battles
Report: Privatizing government work reaps lavish profits for some Tallahassee.com ...there’s George Zoley of the GEO Group, which runs prisons all over the world. GEO has four of Florida’s six privately run prisons and is a mainstay of the state Republican Party and Gov. Rick Scott’s re-election campaign fund. CMD said Zoley took in $22 million in compensation between 2008 and 2012...
E-mails show Wisconsin Gov. Walker as hands-on tactician fixated on public image Washington Post ...An analysis by the Democratic super PAC American Bridge found that Walker was copied on 960 e-mails sent to the private e-mail addresses of public employees during work hours...
WI ALEC Leader in Hot Water over Allegations of Sexual Harassment Center for Media and Democracy ...Assembly Majority Leader Bill Kramer, a stalwart of the American Legislative Exchange Council, has been accused of sexually harassing two women while in Washington, D.C. last week for a Wisconsin GOP fundraiser...
Wisconsin income gap widening faster than nation as a whole The Cap Times ...Inflation-adjusted income for the bottom 99 percent of Wisconsin residents has actually fallen by 0.4 percent since 1979 while incomes for the upper 1 percent more than doubled over the period...
How ALEC helped Duke Energy block stricter coal ash rules Facing South ...ALEC has been involved in efforts to block stricter regulation of coal ash, which is in the spotlight again following Duke Energy's massive spill into the Dan River from a coal ash pit at one of its North Carolina plants. It has carried out this work with the financial backing of Duke, which belonged to ALEC during the height of the group's work to block federal coal ash oversight...
Kasich’s policies hurt local governments The Columbus Dispatch ...Beginning in 2011, we have experienced a 50 percent reduction — more than $11 million annually — in local-government funding from the state, primarily due to Kasich’s aggressive income-tax cuts...
The War on Workers
Citi Affiliate’s Troubles Multiply as Money-Laundering Subpoenas Follow Fraud New York Times ...A headache is growing for Citigroup as a banking affiliate involved in money transfers across the Mexican border has become ensnared in a criminal investigation...
Amazon workers look for justice from a business-friendly Supreme Court Salon ...Temporary workers at Amazon warehouses can spend as long as 30 minutes waiting to get through security checks. Since the security checks are designed as a theft-prevention measure, reasonable people might consider them a part of the regular Amazon warehouse workday. Integrity Solutions Staffing, an Amazon contractor, disagrees...
Miscellaneous
Why Russia No Longer Fears the West Politico Magazine ...Putin’s inner circle no longer fear the European establishment. They once imagined them all in MI6. Now they know better. They have seen firsthand how obsequious Western aristocrats and corporate tycoons suddenly turn when their billions come into play. They now view them as hypocrites—the same European elites who help them hide their fortunes...
The Pattern of Job Creation and Destruction by Firm Age and Size Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta ...he rate of job creation and destruction tends to decline with firm age. Younger firms of all sizes tend to have higher job-creation (and job-destruction) rates than their older counterparts...
Government report: Too few pilots or too little pay? Associated Press ...The nation's regional airlines are having trouble hiring enough pilots, the government says, suggesting one reason may be that they simply don't pay enough. A pool of qualified pilots is available, but it's unclear whether they are willing to work for low entry-level wages, the Government Accountability Office said in a report released Friday...
Trade
Lies Our Political Elites Tell Us As They Rip Us Off Down With Tyranny! ...the last mega-trade deal corporate elites and their political handmaidens ... sold the American people, NAFTA, was a beautifully-packaged barrel of lies. Froman is uncomfortable and highly defensive when confronted with the analogy...
Obama’s trade chief undeterred by opposition Politico ...The Obama administration is confident it will win support in Congress for a big Asia-Pacific trade deal despite opposition from many Democrats that has stalled legislation needed for approval of the agreement, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said...
State Battles
Report: Privatizing government work reaps lavish profits for some Tallahassee.com ...there’s George Zoley of the GEO Group, which runs prisons all over the world. GEO has four of Florida’s six privately run prisons and is a mainstay of the state Republican Party and Gov. Rick Scott’s re-election campaign fund. CMD said Zoley took in $22 million in compensation between 2008 and 2012...
E-mails show Wisconsin Gov. Walker as hands-on tactician fixated on public image Washington Post ...An analysis by the Democratic super PAC American Bridge found that Walker was copied on 960 e-mails sent to the private e-mail addresses of public employees during work hours...
WI ALEC Leader in Hot Water over Allegations of Sexual Harassment Center for Media and Democracy ...Assembly Majority Leader Bill Kramer, a stalwart of the American Legislative Exchange Council, has been accused of sexually harassing two women while in Washington, D.C. last week for a Wisconsin GOP fundraiser...
Wisconsin income gap widening faster than nation as a whole The Cap Times ...Inflation-adjusted income for the bottom 99 percent of Wisconsin residents has actually fallen by 0.4 percent since 1979 while incomes for the upper 1 percent more than doubled over the period...
How ALEC helped Duke Energy block stricter coal ash rules Facing South ...ALEC has been involved in efforts to block stricter regulation of coal ash, which is in the spotlight again following Duke Energy's massive spill into the Dan River from a coal ash pit at one of its North Carolina plants. It has carried out this work with the financial backing of Duke, which belonged to ALEC during the height of the group's work to block federal coal ash oversight...
Kasich’s policies hurt local governments The Columbus Dispatch ...Beginning in 2011, we have experienced a 50 percent reduction — more than $11 million annually — in local-government funding from the state, primarily due to Kasich’s aggressive income-tax cuts...
The War on Workers
Citi Affiliate’s Troubles Multiply as Money-Laundering Subpoenas Follow Fraud New York Times ...A headache is growing for Citigroup as a banking affiliate involved in money transfers across the Mexican border has become ensnared in a criminal investigation...
Amazon workers look for justice from a business-friendly Supreme Court Salon ...Temporary workers at Amazon warehouses can spend as long as 30 minutes waiting to get through security checks. Since the security checks are designed as a theft-prevention measure, reasonable people might consider them a part of the regular Amazon warehouse workday. Integrity Solutions Staffing, an Amazon contractor, disagrees...
Miscellaneous
Why Russia No Longer Fears the West Politico Magazine ...Putin’s inner circle no longer fear the European establishment. They once imagined them all in MI6. Now they know better. They have seen firsthand how obsequious Western aristocrats and corporate tycoons suddenly turn when their billions come into play. They now view them as hypocrites—the same European elites who help them hide their fortunes...
The Pattern of Job Creation and Destruction by Firm Age and Size Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta ...he rate of job creation and destruction tends to decline with firm age. Younger firms of all sizes tend to have higher job-creation (and job-destruction) rates than their older counterparts...
Monday, March 3, 2014
Today's Teamster News 03.03.14
Trade
As TPP Opposition Soars, Corporate Media Blackout Deafening Common Dreams ...Opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership—dubbed 'NAFTA on steroids'—is receiving unprecedented popular opposition and nearly no news coverage by major outlets...
State Battles
While Duke Energy Dodges Taxes, Its Pollution Costs the Public Dearly truthout ...The investor-owned company earned over $9 billion in profits during those years but received tax rebates totaling $299 million...
The War on Workers
Thrown in jail for being poor: the booming for-profit probation industry The Guardian ...Many poor Americans face jail when they can’t pay steep fines for nonviolent crimes, like $1,000 for stealing a $2 beer...
Income Inequality Hurts Economic Growth, But Fixing It Doesn’t ThinkProgress ...the conservative policy notion that a rising economic tide will lift even the poorest people’s boats is not supported by the data. It is “a mistake to focus on growth and let inequality take care of itself,” they write, in part because inequality impairs the growth poor people need to make gains...
Deficit Is Falling Because Of Government Austerity, Not Economic Recovery The Real News ...the deficit has been falling, as you mentioned, at its fastest clip since the end of World War II, and it's actually been falling at a pretty rapid clip for quite a long time now...
India's tea firms urged to act on slave trafficking after girls freed The Guardian ...Plantations pay below minimum wage, which campaigners say strengthens hand of slavers who take girls as young as 11...
Discover Faces Investigation Into Student Loan Debt Collection Practices Amid Rising Delinquencies Buzzfeed ...Discover Financial Services, one of the biggest providers of private student loans, is facing an investigation from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over its loan servicing practices...
Miscellaneous
Where Have All the Lobbyists Gone? The Nation ...On paper, the influence-peddling business is drying up. But lobbying money is flooding Washington, DC like never before. What’s going on?...
As TPP Opposition Soars, Corporate Media Blackout Deafening Common Dreams ...Opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership—dubbed 'NAFTA on steroids'—is receiving unprecedented popular opposition and nearly no news coverage by major outlets...
State Battles
While Duke Energy Dodges Taxes, Its Pollution Costs the Public Dearly truthout ...The investor-owned company earned over $9 billion in profits during those years but received tax rebates totaling $299 million...
The War on Workers
Thrown in jail for being poor: the booming for-profit probation industry The Guardian ...Many poor Americans face jail when they can’t pay steep fines for nonviolent crimes, like $1,000 for stealing a $2 beer...
Income Inequality Hurts Economic Growth, But Fixing It Doesn’t ThinkProgress ...the conservative policy notion that a rising economic tide will lift even the poorest people’s boats is not supported by the data. It is “a mistake to focus on growth and let inequality take care of itself,” they write, in part because inequality impairs the growth poor people need to make gains...
Deficit Is Falling Because Of Government Austerity, Not Economic Recovery The Real News ...the deficit has been falling, as you mentioned, at its fastest clip since the end of World War II, and it's actually been falling at a pretty rapid clip for quite a long time now...
India's tea firms urged to act on slave trafficking after girls freed The Guardian ...Plantations pay below minimum wage, which campaigners say strengthens hand of slavers who take girls as young as 11...
Discover Faces Investigation Into Student Loan Debt Collection Practices Amid Rising Delinquencies Buzzfeed ...Discover Financial Services, one of the biggest providers of private student loans, is facing an investigation from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over its loan servicing practices...
Miscellaneous
Where Have All the Lobbyists Gone? The Nation ...On paper, the influence-peddling business is drying up. But lobbying money is flooding Washington, DC like never before. What’s going on?...
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Today's Teamster News 03.02.14
Teamster News
Liam Neeson The Daily Show ..."Non-Stop" star Liam Neeson questions the American appreciation for tea, and defends New York City's horse and carriage industry...
Trade
Popular sentiment is hardening against free trade Financial Times ...Since the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement 20 years ago, voters have come to understand them better and like them less...
Trade deals a closely held secret, shared by more than 500 advisers Washington Post ...The details of the Obama administration’s proposals for a massive 12-nation trade zone in the Asia-Pacific region are off limits to most Americans, held close by negotiators who worry that too much openness would make it impossible to reach a deal...
State Battles
Ash Spill Shows How Watchdog Was Defanged New York Times ...The spill, which coated the river bottom 70 miles downstream and threatened drinking water and aquatic life, drew attention to a deal that the (North Carolina) environmental department’s new leadership reached with Duke last year over pollution from coal ash ponds. It included a minimal fine but no order that Duke remove the ash — the waste from burning coal to generate electricity — from its leaky, unlined ponds...
Trampling on our First Amendment Rights Michigan AFL-CIO ...The State House is contemplating the passage of HB 4643, a bill sponsored by Representative Tom McMillin (R). HB 4643 will result in civil fines of up to $10,000 per day for picketing that is deemed illegal; creating a huge chilling effect on your First Amendment rights...
No Attacks on Mississippi Workers Mississippi AFL-CIO ...(three) bills would limit the free speech rights of Mississippians and would restrict local governments from being able to hire local, skilled workers for construction projects and let shady contractors take these projects and bring in out-of-state workers to do the job...
Stand up for Missouri's Middle Class: Rally at Missouri State Capitol 3/26/14 Facebook ...All union members are invited to join The Missouri State Building & Construction Trades for lobby day & rally at Noon...
Casey urges Pa. legislature to sidestep union bill Associated Press ...Stepping into a heated political battle, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey is urging Republican leaders of Pennsylvania's legislature not to move forward on a bill that would make it harder for labor unions to collect dues and political action contributions through payroll deductions...
Assembly pares back 'living wage' ordinance Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel ...Working into the night as they near the end of the legislative session, Assembly Republicans on Thursday passed bills to sell vacant Milwaukee Public Schools buildings, to pare back a "living wage" ordinance for contractors in Milwaukee County and to redraw the shoreline of Lake Michigan in an attempt to boost a development in Milwaukee...
Walker Violated Public Records Law: So say former AG and Milwaukee supervisor The Progressive ...A former Wisconsin attorney general and a Milwaukee county supervisor who was subpoenaed by the John Doe prosecutor are both wondering why Scott Walker wasn’t charged with violating the state’s public records law while he was Milwaukee county executive...
Scott Walker campaign is paying for attorney working to fight John Doe investigation blue cheddar ...The attorney for Gov. Scott Walker’s campaign is named in a court order as a lawyer in a case challenging the ongoing secret investigation into possible illegal campaigning...
Wisconsin income gap widening faster than nation as a whole The Cap Times ...The top 1 percent in Wisconsin — households with incomes over $283,000 — captured 15.7 percent of all the income generated in the state in 2011. That compares to a 7 percent slice for the top 1 percent four decades ago...
The War on Workers
Liam Neeson The Daily Show ..."Non-Stop" star Liam Neeson questions the American appreciation for tea, and defends New York City's horse and carriage industry...
Trade
Popular sentiment is hardening against free trade Financial Times ...Since the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement 20 years ago, voters have come to understand them better and like them less...
Trade deals a closely held secret, shared by more than 500 advisers Washington Post ...The details of the Obama administration’s proposals for a massive 12-nation trade zone in the Asia-Pacific region are off limits to most Americans, held close by negotiators who worry that too much openness would make it impossible to reach a deal...
State Battles
Ash Spill Shows How Watchdog Was Defanged New York Times ...The spill, which coated the river bottom 70 miles downstream and threatened drinking water and aquatic life, drew attention to a deal that the (North Carolina) environmental department’s new leadership reached with Duke last year over pollution from coal ash ponds. It included a minimal fine but no order that Duke remove the ash — the waste from burning coal to generate electricity — from its leaky, unlined ponds...
Trampling on our First Amendment Rights Michigan AFL-CIO ...The State House is contemplating the passage of HB 4643, a bill sponsored by Representative Tom McMillin (R). HB 4643 will result in civil fines of up to $10,000 per day for picketing that is deemed illegal; creating a huge chilling effect on your First Amendment rights...
No Attacks on Mississippi Workers Mississippi AFL-CIO ...(three) bills would limit the free speech rights of Mississippians and would restrict local governments from being able to hire local, skilled workers for construction projects and let shady contractors take these projects and bring in out-of-state workers to do the job...
Stand up for Missouri's Middle Class: Rally at Missouri State Capitol 3/26/14 Facebook ...All union members are invited to join The Missouri State Building & Construction Trades for lobby day & rally at Noon...
Casey urges Pa. legislature to sidestep union bill Associated Press ...Stepping into a heated political battle, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey is urging Republican leaders of Pennsylvania's legislature not to move forward on a bill that would make it harder for labor unions to collect dues and political action contributions through payroll deductions...
Assembly pares back 'living wage' ordinance Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel ...Working into the night as they near the end of the legislative session, Assembly Republicans on Thursday passed bills to sell vacant Milwaukee Public Schools buildings, to pare back a "living wage" ordinance for contractors in Milwaukee County and to redraw the shoreline of Lake Michigan in an attempt to boost a development in Milwaukee...
Walker Violated Public Records Law: So say former AG and Milwaukee supervisor The Progressive ...A former Wisconsin attorney general and a Milwaukee county supervisor who was subpoenaed by the John Doe prosecutor are both wondering why Scott Walker wasn’t charged with violating the state’s public records law while he was Milwaukee county executive...
Scott Walker campaign is paying for attorney working to fight John Doe investigation blue cheddar ...The attorney for Gov. Scott Walker’s campaign is named in a court order as a lawyer in a case challenging the ongoing secret investigation into possible illegal campaigning...
Wisconsin income gap widening faster than nation as a whole The Cap Times ...The top 1 percent in Wisconsin — households with incomes over $283,000 — captured 15.7 percent of all the income generated in the state in 2011. That compares to a 7 percent slice for the top 1 percent four decades ago...
The War on Workers
The Political Underbelly of the Pensions Crisis: What Broke the System, and How Do We Fix It? Next New Deal ...Beyond the economic crisis, which put enormous pressure on state and municipal budgets, a range of factors including poor decision-making and the influence of big money interests has led to the underfunding of some state and city public pensions...
Big-Money Donors Demand Larger Say in Party Strategy New York Times ...some of the biggest contributors to Republican outside groups in 2012 are now gravitating toward the more donor-centric political and philanthropic network overseen by Charles and David Koch, who have wooed them in part by promising more accountability over how money is spent...
Saturday, March 1, 2014
Today's Teamster News 03.01.14
Teamster News
Listen to Teamster Nation News teamster.org ...Introducing the inaugural episode of Teamster Nation News, the Teamster's new podcast. Teamster Nation News is your weekly stop for key Teamster news for working families. Thanks for listening and be sure to subscribe...
CEO's Lavish Pay Trimmed At McKesson, A Teamster Employer TeamsterNation ...McKesson CEO John Hammergren took a 'voluntary' $45 million cut to his pension after shareholders said 'no more' to his lavish wages at the company's annual meeting in August...
Teamsters, First Student in Seattle reach agreement Seattle Times ...After a daylong negotiation, Teamsters Local 174, which represents about 450 bus drivers for Seattle Public Schools, has reached a fully recommended tentative settlement with First Student, a private contractor that provides busing for the district. The agreement means that bus service will continue uninterrupted...
Teamsters back to work Sunday: Bay Valley strike ends Sauk Valley Media ...Dan Dring, vice president of human resources and operations for the Green Bay, Wis.-based company, said the workers of Teamsters Local 722 had voted earlier in the day to approve the contract...
Teamsters Airline Division Statement on GAO 2014 Aviation Workforce Report teamster.org ...Teamsters Airline Division Director Capt. David Bourne issued an official statement on the U.S. Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) 2014 Aviation Workforce report, “Current and Future Availability of Airline Pilots”…
Teamsters Celebrate Women’s History teamster.org ...March is Women’s History Month, a time to reflect upon and celebrate the contributions American women have made to society. Teamster women have made significant contributions to the work force over the years, bravely fighting for economic and social justice...
Teamsters: Single Mothers Struggling Even More To Support Families teamster.org ...Women trying to support a family on their own are having a harder time doing so, according to a new report that details the plight of the working poor. As this nation enters Women’s History Month, single mothers are disproportionately struggling to make ends meet, and the document shows conditions are getting worse for them, not better...
Trade
U.S. staring contest with Japan stretches out Pacific trade pact Reuters ...A standoff between the United States and Japan is holding up talks on a sweeping Pacific free trade pact and a lack of authority to push an eventual deal through the U.S. Congress without amendment may be undercutting Washington's hand...
How TPP Would Harm You at the Drug Store and on the Internet Truthout ...A law affecting content on the Internet that was rejected by Congress shows up in a trade agreement designed to bypass and override Congress. Small, innovative companies that manufacture low-cost, generic drugs find their products blocked...
EU-U.S. trade talks face growing hostility, ministers warn Reuters ...Free-trade talks between the United States and the European Union are in danger of being derailed by populist groups opposing everything from globalization to multinationals, EU ministers and business leaders said on Friday...
State Battles
Fifteen States Move to Curb Reckless Outsourcing In the Public Interest ...Lawmakers in Iowa, Kansas and Oregon join movement to improve transparency and accountability, keep taxpayer in control of their services...
State will lose if RTW passes (Opinion) News-Leader ...The Missouri House may pass “Right to Work” and may override Gov. Jay Nixon’s veto, but Missouri will be the loser. An example is the new Boeing passenger aircraft plant. Billions in lucrative concessions were given, but Boeing needed the skilled union workers available. Building huge passenger aircraft is entirely too risky to hire low-wage, unskilled laborers and train them to standards...
No sign of expansion at plant where UAW dealt loss Associated Press ...Friday marks the end of the two-week period within which U.S. Sen. Bob Corker promised Volkswagen would announce another line at its factory in Tennessee if workers there rejected representation by the United Auto Workers union...
Walker Supporter Says Governor Needs To 'Tell The Truth' About Emails Wisconsin Public Radio ...Seymer calls it a serious violation of Wisconsin's open records law to have a campaign making these decisions...
War on Workers
Poultry workers, industry take fight to Capitol Hill over proposal to speed processing lines Washington Post ...Poultry workers, chicken industry lobbyists and food-safety advocates have been converging on Capitol Hill in recent weeks with dueling efforts to either boost or kill a proposal to overhaul the way the $60 billion-a-year poultry industry operates processing plants...
A Third Of America’s Most Successful Corporations Pay Less Than A 10 Percent Income Tax Rate ThinkProgress ...The average effective income tax rate for giant, profitable companies from 2008 to 2012 was just 19.4 percent...
Thousands More New York City Workers Will Now Get Paid Sick Days ThinkProgress ...The New York City Council overwhelmingly passed an expansion of paid sick days...
5 'Good' Jobs that Require Lots of Education and Training and Shockingly Pay Little More than Minimum Wage AlterNet ...You will never guess which highly skilled professions pay poverty wages...
Medical Marijuana Workers Have The Same Labor Rights As Everyone Else, Feds Say Huffington Post ...The next time a pot shop gets a visit from the feds, it won't necessarily be from drug enforcement agents looking to shut the operation down. It might just come from workplace regulators making sure that labor laws are being followed...
Miscellaneous
Bank Allegedly Neglects Foreclosed Houses In Black And Latino Neighborhoods ThinkProgress ...Housing discrimination advocates filed a complaint against a fourth major bank for failing to maintain foreclosed homes in non-white neighborhoods...
U.S. Retail Chains See First Profit Decline Since Recession Bloomberg ...The results paint a grim picture of an industry hit hard by the sluggish job recovery and slow wage growth, which have turned U.S. consumers into a nation of penny pinchers...
Gold Fix Study Shows Signs of Decade of Bank Manipulation Bloomberg ...The London gold fix, the benchmark used by miners, jewelers and central banks to value the metal, may have been manipulated for a decade by the banks setting it, researchers say...
Citigroup reports fraud in Mexico unit, lowers 2013 results Reuters ... Citigroup Inc (C.N) said on Friday that it has discovered at least $400 million in fraudulent loans in its Mexico subsidiary and said employees may have been in on the crime...
Poorly Regulated, High-Speed 'Bomb Trains' Are One Crash Away from Devastating Towns in NYC Suburbs AlterNet ...Few residents of the city's bucolic 'burbs know of the huge risks whirring by at top speeds...
NSA surveillance hurting tech firms' business USA Today ...The National Security Agency, and revelations about its extensive surveillance operations — sometimes with the cooperation of tech firms — have undermined the ability of many U.S. companies to sell products in key foreign countries, creating a fissure with the U.S. government and prompting some to scramble to create "NSA-resistant" products...
Swiss Bank That Facilitated U.S. Tax Evasion Continues To Avoid Prosecution Real News ...Although Credit Suisse helped ultra-wealthy Americans evade taxes, the bank will face no prosecution due to Swiss bank secrecy laws and a heedless U.S. Justice department...
Listen to Teamster Nation News teamster.org ...Introducing the inaugural episode of Teamster Nation News, the Teamster's new podcast. Teamster Nation News is your weekly stop for key Teamster news for working families. Thanks for listening and be sure to subscribe...
CEO's Lavish Pay Trimmed At McKesson, A Teamster Employer TeamsterNation ...McKesson CEO John Hammergren took a 'voluntary' $45 million cut to his pension after shareholders said 'no more' to his lavish wages at the company's annual meeting in August...
Teamsters, First Student in Seattle reach agreement Seattle Times ...After a daylong negotiation, Teamsters Local 174, which represents about 450 bus drivers for Seattle Public Schools, has reached a fully recommended tentative settlement with First Student, a private contractor that provides busing for the district. The agreement means that bus service will continue uninterrupted...
Teamsters back to work Sunday: Bay Valley strike ends Sauk Valley Media ...Dan Dring, vice president of human resources and operations for the Green Bay, Wis.-based company, said the workers of Teamsters Local 722 had voted earlier in the day to approve the contract...
Teamsters Airline Division Statement on GAO 2014 Aviation Workforce Report teamster.org ...Teamsters Airline Division Director Capt. David Bourne issued an official statement on the U.S. Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) 2014 Aviation Workforce report, “Current and Future Availability of Airline Pilots”…
Teamsters Celebrate Women’s History teamster.org ...March is Women’s History Month, a time to reflect upon and celebrate the contributions American women have made to society. Teamster women have made significant contributions to the work force over the years, bravely fighting for economic and social justice...
Teamsters: Single Mothers Struggling Even More To Support Families teamster.org ...Women trying to support a family on their own are having a harder time doing so, according to a new report that details the plight of the working poor. As this nation enters Women’s History Month, single mothers are disproportionately struggling to make ends meet, and the document shows conditions are getting worse for them, not better...
Trade
U.S. staring contest with Japan stretches out Pacific trade pact Reuters ...A standoff between the United States and Japan is holding up talks on a sweeping Pacific free trade pact and a lack of authority to push an eventual deal through the U.S. Congress without amendment may be undercutting Washington's hand...
How TPP Would Harm You at the Drug Store and on the Internet Truthout ...A law affecting content on the Internet that was rejected by Congress shows up in a trade agreement designed to bypass and override Congress. Small, innovative companies that manufacture low-cost, generic drugs find their products blocked...
EU-U.S. trade talks face growing hostility, ministers warn Reuters ...Free-trade talks between the United States and the European Union are in danger of being derailed by populist groups opposing everything from globalization to multinationals, EU ministers and business leaders said on Friday...
State Battles
Fifteen States Move to Curb Reckless Outsourcing In the Public Interest ...Lawmakers in Iowa, Kansas and Oregon join movement to improve transparency and accountability, keep taxpayer in control of their services...
State will lose if RTW passes (Opinion) News-Leader ...The Missouri House may pass “Right to Work” and may override Gov. Jay Nixon’s veto, but Missouri will be the loser. An example is the new Boeing passenger aircraft plant. Billions in lucrative concessions were given, but Boeing needed the skilled union workers available. Building huge passenger aircraft is entirely too risky to hire low-wage, unskilled laborers and train them to standards...
No sign of expansion at plant where UAW dealt loss Associated Press ...Friday marks the end of the two-week period within which U.S. Sen. Bob Corker promised Volkswagen would announce another line at its factory in Tennessee if workers there rejected representation by the United Auto Workers union...
Walker Supporter Says Governor Needs To 'Tell The Truth' About Emails Wisconsin Public Radio ...Seymer calls it a serious violation of Wisconsin's open records law to have a campaign making these decisions...
War on Workers
Poultry workers, industry take fight to Capitol Hill over proposal to speed processing lines Washington Post ...Poultry workers, chicken industry lobbyists and food-safety advocates have been converging on Capitol Hill in recent weeks with dueling efforts to either boost or kill a proposal to overhaul the way the $60 billion-a-year poultry industry operates processing plants...
A Third Of America’s Most Successful Corporations Pay Less Than A 10 Percent Income Tax Rate ThinkProgress ...The average effective income tax rate for giant, profitable companies from 2008 to 2012 was just 19.4 percent...
Thousands More New York City Workers Will Now Get Paid Sick Days ThinkProgress ...The New York City Council overwhelmingly passed an expansion of paid sick days...
5 'Good' Jobs that Require Lots of Education and Training and Shockingly Pay Little More than Minimum Wage AlterNet ...You will never guess which highly skilled professions pay poverty wages...
Medical Marijuana Workers Have The Same Labor Rights As Everyone Else, Feds Say Huffington Post ...The next time a pot shop gets a visit from the feds, it won't necessarily be from drug enforcement agents looking to shut the operation down. It might just come from workplace regulators making sure that labor laws are being followed...
Miscellaneous
Bank Allegedly Neglects Foreclosed Houses In Black And Latino Neighborhoods ThinkProgress ...Housing discrimination advocates filed a complaint against a fourth major bank for failing to maintain foreclosed homes in non-white neighborhoods...
U.S. Retail Chains See First Profit Decline Since Recession Bloomberg ...The results paint a grim picture of an industry hit hard by the sluggish job recovery and slow wage growth, which have turned U.S. consumers into a nation of penny pinchers...
Gold Fix Study Shows Signs of Decade of Bank Manipulation Bloomberg ...The London gold fix, the benchmark used by miners, jewelers and central banks to value the metal, may have been manipulated for a decade by the banks setting it, researchers say...
Citigroup reports fraud in Mexico unit, lowers 2013 results Reuters ... Citigroup Inc (C.N) said on Friday that it has discovered at least $400 million in fraudulent loans in its Mexico subsidiary and said employees may have been in on the crime...
Poorly Regulated, High-Speed 'Bomb Trains' Are One Crash Away from Devastating Towns in NYC Suburbs AlterNet ...Few residents of the city's bucolic 'burbs know of the huge risks whirring by at top speeds...
NSA surveillance hurting tech firms' business USA Today ...The National Security Agency, and revelations about its extensive surveillance operations — sometimes with the cooperation of tech firms — have undermined the ability of many U.S. companies to sell products in key foreign countries, creating a fissure with the U.S. government and prompting some to scramble to create "NSA-resistant" products...
Swiss Bank That Facilitated U.S. Tax Evasion Continues To Avoid Prosecution Real News ...Although Credit Suisse helped ultra-wealthy Americans evade taxes, the bank will face no prosecution due to Swiss bank secrecy laws and a heedless U.S. Justice department...
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