Today in Labor History

Today's Teamster News 01.30.13

Wall Street Banks Seize Opportunity to Profit from Nation's Unemployed  Common Dreams  ...'Too Big to Fail' banks including JP Morgan Chase, U.S. Bancorp and Bank of America have seized on an opportunity to profit off the nation's jobless by siphoning millions of dollars in fees from state unemployment programs...

Case-Shiller Index Shows Home Prices Increased 5.5% From a Year Ago in November 2012  Economic Populist   ...home prices are now comparable to September 2003...

Ray LaHood to step down as U.S. transportation secretary  Washington Post  ...Ray LaHood, the Illinois Republican who turned distracted driving into a national crusade while serving a Democratic president, will step down after four years as transportation secretary in the Obama administration... 

Obama Urges Speed on Immigration Plan, but Exposes Conflicts  New York Times ...President Obama challenged Congress on Tuesday to act swiftly to put 11 million illegal immigrants living in the United States on a clear path to citizenship... 

31 Senate Republicans Opposed Sandy Relief After Supporting Disaster Aid For Home States  Think Progress  ...When the Senate passed the long-delayed $50.5 billion Hurricane Sandy relief package Monday, 36 Republicans voted against the bill. But of the 32 no-votes from Senators who are not brand-new members, at least 31 came from Republicans who had previously supported emergency aid efforts following disasters in their own states... 

Viewpoint: The Decline of Unions Is Your Problem Too  TIME  ...If we want a better economy, then, we need a better story about how the economy works, in which a union worker is not a cost but a customer... 

Right-to-work legislation returns to Augusta  Bangor Daily News  ...Two controversial proposals that would make Maine a “right-to-work” state are back on the table in Augusta... 

Michigan asks for state high court ruling on 'right-to-work' law  Reuters ...Michigan Governor Rick Snyder has asked the state Supreme Court to rule whether a law passed last month making payment of union dues voluntary is constitutional, a move critics said was designed to circumvent legal challenges by labor unions... 

Gov. Rick Snyder Backs Off ‘Unfair’ Electoral Rigging Plan  Think Progress  ...Gov. Rick Snyder (R) came out against the plan this year... 

Republicans say Electoral College changes not in store for Ohio  Plain Dealer ...Ohio's Republican leaders...told The Plain Dealer this week that they are not pursuing plans to award electoral votes proportionally by congressional district...

Bill Gates: nice charity work, shame about the business practices  The Guardian  ...Perhaps the Republic Services dispute indicates that relying upon the generosity of billionaires is not a model upon which we can build a just and equal society – especially since the road to billionaire-dom oft seems paved with exploitation of workers, tax avoidance (hello Microsoft), and ever-decreasing wages...

Republic Services replacement worker fires shot in air at picket line  MENAFN.com  ...a replacement worker fired shots into the air at a picket line at the company's North Shelby Landfill in Millington...About 180 Teamsters went on strike early Monday morning over what they charge is the company's unfair labor practices...

‘Conciliators’ will decide on raise for sheriff’s staff  Columbus Dispatch ...Pickaway County is pleading poverty, but unionized sheriff’s-office employees contend that the county can afford to award them their first pay raises since 2009...Teamsters Local 285, which represents 30 corrections and communications employees, sought a 4 percent raise each of the next three years...