Today in Labor History

January 07  --  SOURCE: Union Communications Services, Inc.

An explosion at Osage Coal and Mining Company’s Mine Number 11 near Krebs, Okla. kills 100, injures 150 when an untrained worker accidentally sets off a stash of explosives - 1892

Wobbly Tom Mooney, accused of a murder by bombing in San Francisco, pardoned and freed after 22 years in San Quentin - 1939

The presidents of 12 of the nation’s largest unions meet and call for reuniting the American labor movement, which split into two factions in 2005 when when seven unions left the AFL-CIO and formed a rival federation. The meeting followed signals from President-elect Barack Obama that he would prefer dealing with a united movement, rather than a fractured one that often had two competing voices. Unions from both sides of the split participated in the meeting. The reunification effort failed - 2009

(The Civil Wars in U.S. Labor: Birth of a New Workers’ Movement or Death Throes of the Old? Between 2008 and 2010, the progressive wing of the U.S. labor movement tore itself apart in a series of union-on-union struggles. More than 140 million dollars was expended, by all sides, on organizing conflicts that tarnished union reputations and undermined the campaign for real health care and labor law reform. Campus and community allies, along with many rank-and-file union members, were left angered and dismayed. It was ugly and destructive.)

Teamsters 

Today's Teamster News 01.07.13

N.H.L. and Players Union Reach Tentative Agreement to End Lockout  New York Times   ...The agreement will be for 10 years, and either side can opt out after 8. The salary cap for the 2013-14 season would drop from $70.2 million in 2012-13 to $64.3 million. Each team will be allowed two contract buyouts to get under the lowered cap...

Surprise, Surprise: The Banks Win  New York Times   ...A settlement reportedly in the works with big banks will soon end a review into foreclosure abuses, and it means more of the same: no accountability for financial institutions and little help for borrowers...

Pamplona's locksmiths join revolt as banks throw families from their homes  The Guardian   ...In the years of the housing boom, Spain's banks offered 100% mortgages. Now, while receiving millions in public aid, they are throwing people out of their homes. But there's a rebellion under way...

Experts: Deal with Indianapolis flavoring manufacturer Sensient doesn't go far enough  Indianapolis Star   ...Under a settlement agreement with state regulators, an Indianapolis flavoring manufacturer that had exposed its workers to high levels of potentially unsafe chemicals will spend $4 million on safety upgrades to better protect employees...

Revisiting Florida’s 2012 Charter School Scandals  Florida Public Employees Partnership   ...Life Force Arts and Technology Academy, a publicly funded charter school in Dunedin, was open for only two years, but in that time it accumulated a lengthy list of shortcomings: mismanagement, misappropriation of funds, deviations from the authorized curriculum, bankruptcy and some of the lowest student test scores in the Tampa Bay area. Students lacked for school supplies, and teachers were paid only $85 a day, with no benefits or contracts...

Oregon charter school founders accused in $20 million racketeering lawsuit  The Oregonian   ...Tim King and Norm Donohoe, who ran a chain of taxpayer-funded charter schools across small-town Oregon from their headquarters in Clackamas, scammed the state out of $17 million and must repay that plus $2.7 million more...

Poverty in Kansas: Some fear rules cast poor families adrift  The Kansas City Star   ...Some 384,000 Kansans, or 13.8 percent of the state’s population, live at or below the poverty line, $23,050 a year for a family of four. That’s up by nearly 80,000 people since before the recession hit in 2008...