Tuesday, April 30, 2013

April 30 News Update


Each Monday-Friday, by 9AM Central, we’ll post links to news stories and analytical articles of interest to working people. Sometimes they will be accompanied by editorial commentary. Stories from the New York Times will be followed with a *. The Times pay wall policy allows free access to only about ten articles a month.

Cambodian Workers Camp Out, Hunger Strike Against Walmart and H&M - See more at: http://www.labornotes.org/#sthash.YOn2c1sR.dpuf
The High Human Price of Cheap T-Shirts
Texas fertilizer company didn't heed disclosure rules before blast
EPA Issues Plan on Tainted Water From Power Plants *
Part-Time Work Becomes Full-Time Wait for Better Job *
SF pride rescinds Manning honor
Wealth Gap Among Races Widened Since Recession *
Loans Borrowed Against Pensions Squeeze Retirees *
U.S. Steel locks out workers at Nanticoke plant
Thousands rally against EI reform in Montreal
Alberta workers remember those lost
Budget cuts nix $90m in federal college aid
‘Untold Stories’ offers lectures, tours and performances on labor history
AT&T Coordinated Bargaining Disintegrates
Terrorists? Arrest 'Em (Unless They're Walmart)
NDP slide to right sparks socialist opposition
An ineffective solution to climate change
Ecosocialist Conference shows potential for a united green left in North America
Climate Collision Course: CO2 Levels About to Hit 400 PPM
5 Things You Need to Know About the ‘Comp Time’ Bill
The Right to Go to Work…Come Back Home
Job Safety: 100 Years Ago, Bosses Had ‘Divine’ Rights, Workers None
Huge toxic algae bloom expected for Lake Erie
Eurozone jobless rate to hit new high
BP rebuked over North Sea oil leak
Flow of Tainted Water Is Latest Crisis at Japan Nuclear Plant *
A City That Turns Garbage Into Energy Copes With a Shortage *

Monday, April 22, 2013

We're Taking A Week Off

Our next News Update will be Tuesday, April 30. Anew Week In Review will come out about the same time.

Friday, April 19, 2013

April 19 News Update


Each Monday-Friday, by 9AM Central, we’ll post links to news stories and analytical articles of interest to working people. Sometimes they will be accompanied by editorial commentary. Stories from the New York Times will be followed with a *. The Times pay wall policy allows free access to only about ten articles a month.

Cambodian Workers Camp Out, Hunger Strike Against Walmart and H&M - See more at: http://www.labornotes.org/#sthash.YOn2c1sR.dpuf
Mayor says 14 dead in Texas fertilizer plant blast
Regulators fined Texas plant for safety violations    
No OSHA Inspections at Texas Plant in 5 Years
Texas explosion: residents of West shocked by devastation
Plant Explosion Tears at the Heart of a Texas Town *

Migrant Workers Gunned Down in Greece
EPA blamed for delaying asbestos study in Montana
Regal cutting theater workers' hours due to Obamacare
NYCity's contract offer infuriates unions
Labor, faith leaders applaud immigration reform legislation
Duluth nurses ratify new contract
Did a Spreadsheet Error Cost You Your Job?
Mexican Union Leader Vindicated in Court, Launches New Book
U of Michigan students arrested in protest for undocumented students
Voting on the future of teacher unionism
Why Women Are Leaving the Workforce in Record Numbers
OSSTF members approve deal with government
British Post Office staff set to strike
Guatemala suspends genocide trial
Keystone Pipeline Foes Vent in Nebraska *
3 Years Later: Oil Spill Cleanup, Study Carries On *
A Tough New Test Spurs Protest and Tears *

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

April 16 Week In Review

Week In Review
April 16 2013
by Bill Onasch

Slaves Legal and Hidden
Today, bipartisan immigration “reform” is being introduced in Congress. Though it is said to have the best chance of passage of any of the attempts made over the past 25 years it is by no means a slam dunk. It wouldn’t have got this far had it not been for a bargain reached by forces outside Congress.

A couple of weeks ago New York Democrat Senator Charles Schumer, a key player in the reform effort, announced on the Sunday morning talk shows that AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka had concluded an agreement with Chamber of Commerce president Thomas Donohue on the future of unskilled “guest workers.” These “legal” migrants are brought in to the USA for labor in agriculture, food service, hotels, and other low pay jobs. The deal obtained by Trumka, considered vital for the success of legislation, sets some minimal wage rates and limits the number of these workers to about 200,000 a year–unless the bosses need more.

I can’t fault Trumka for negotiating with the Chamber. Bargaining with employers and employer groups is what unions do. Having been through some contract bargaining myself over the years I’m not eager to take any cheap shots at the results. But, unlike union contracts the union will have no means to enforce even the modest protections in this deal. And, if the Chamber has its way, no body else will either.

April 16 News Update


Each Monday-Friday, by 9AM Central, we’ll post links to news stories and analytical articles of interest to working people. Sometimes they will be accompanied by editorial commentary. Stories from the New York Times will be followed with a *. The Times pay wall policy allows free access to only about ten articles a month.

Cambodian Workers Camp Out, Hunger Strike Against Walmart and H&M - See more at: http://www.labornotes.org/#sthash.YOn2c1sR.dpuf
Bipartisan Bill Would Remake Immigration System
Immigration Overhaul Proposal Is Likely to Ignite Fierce Debate *

Republicans embrace Obama’s offer to trim Social Security benefits
German Amazon Workers out on Strike
The 'Organizing Model' Goes Global
Nicolás Maduro is Venezuela's Vote for Chávismo
13 Spills. 30 Days. Nearly 1.2 Million Toxic Gallons
Trumka Statement on the Explosions in Boston
We Are Living in the United States of Inequality
Minnesota Nurses union reaches deal with St. Luke’s
April 16 Rally to Keep Jobs in Erie
Local 1008 Enjoys String of Grievance Success
Unions: Walmart had role in NY minimum wage deal
High levels of nickel traced to company in Port of Quebec
Judge stops Miss. from closing sole abortion clinic
U.S. Practiced Torture After 9/11, Nonpartisan Review Concludes *
Alaska Grants a Tax Break to Oil Companies *
Drug Makers Use Safety Rule to Block Generics *


Thursday, April 11, 2013

April 11 News Update


Each Monday-Friday, by 9AM Central, we’ll post links to news stories and analytical articles of interest to working people. Sometimes they will be accompanied by editorial commentary. Stories from the New York Times will be followed with a *. The Times pay wall policy allows free access to only about ten articles a month.

Cambodian Workers Camp Out, Hunger Strike Against Walmart and H&M - See more at: http://www.labornotes.org/#sthash.YOn2c1sR.dpuf
Obama Budget Proposes Cuts in Social Security
Trumka: Budget Cuts to Social Security, Medicare ‘Wrong and Indefensible'

Pentagon looks to cut 40,000 to 50,000 civilians over five years
White House cuts long-run economic growth forecast
SPCO musicians pleased with tentative agreement
Toronto pipeline fight links local and global issues
Tens of Thousands Descend on Capitol to Demand Immigration Reform
USPS Delays End of Saturday Delivery
Britain snubs Argentina over Margaret Thatcher funeral
US congressman cites biblical flood to dispute human link to climate change
Health Care and Military Spending Bear the Brunt of Proposed Cuts *

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

April 10 News Update


Each Monday-Friday, by 9AM Central, we’ll post links to news stories and analytical articles of interest to working people. Sometimes they will be accompanied by editorial commentary. Stories from the New York Times will be followed with a *. The Times pay wall policy allows free access to only about ten articles a month.

Cambodian Workers Camp Out, Hunger Strike Against Walmart and H&M - See more at: http://www.labornotes.org/#sthash.YOn2c1sR.dpuf
The Big Do-Over at Kaiser
'Warning' strike at copper giant Codelco sparks fear of supply disruptions
Saving a Hospital, Keeping Profit Out of Patient Care
Germany's One-Party System
‘Chained’ CPI: A Million Times ‘No!’
CDC: Adults in US Skipping Medicine to Save Money
Iraq oil workers start new protests despite reprisals
Nuclear Plant in Japan Has Leak in Other Tank *
Dockworkers Ratify New 6-Year Contract *

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

April 9 Week In Review

Week In Review
April 9 2013
by Bill Onasch

Beyond Discouraged
The March jobs reports for both the USA and Canada were bad news. There were far fewer new American jobs created than the experts expected–just 88,000, about half of what’s needed to keep up with population growth.

Canada was a real shocker–54,000 jobs lost. When you factor in the population difference between the two countries that’s equivalent to a half-million jobs in the USA.

Earlier in the week there were numerous media reports about the robust rebound of the auto industry. The average age of cars on the road today is eleven years and many need to be replaced. Both the Big Three and transplants have added some workers and Volkswagen opened a new plant in Chattanooga.

But there is no way the industry will ever replace the 100,000 jobs eliminated by President Obama’s bankruptcy-driven restructuring of General Motors and Chrysler during the Great Recession. And, since the new hires will earn little more than half the pre-2007 UAW wages, their consumer spending won’t be near the economic bump such hiring would have brought back in the day.

April 9 News Update


Each Monday-Friday, by 9AM Central, we’ll post links to news stories and analytical articles of interest to working people. Sometimes they will be accompanied by editorial commentary. Stories from the New York Times will be followed with a *. The Times pay wall policy allows free access to only about ten articles a month.

Cambodian Workers Camp Out, Hunger Strike Against Walmart and H&M - See more at: http://www.labornotes.org/#sthash.YOn2c1sR.dpuf
AFSCME Council 5 supports marriage equality
Immigrant Workers Strike Hits Warehouse Sector in Italy
Tariq Ali on Late British PM’s Legacy From Austerity to Apartheid
The Cost of European Austerity Measures: 10 Million Newly Jobless
Long Beach Hyatt Workers Vote to Join UNITE HERE
Walmart’s Waltons' Foundation Biggest Donor to ‘Parent Revolution’
The Forgotten Radical History of the March on Washington
Canadians not eligible for EI after parental leave
Student Loan Rate Set to Rise, Despite Lack of Support *
Ex-Regulator Says Reactors Are Flawed *
Amtrak Ridership Hitting Record Levels in FY 2013 *

Monday, April 8, 2013

April 8 News Update


Each Monday-Friday, by 9AM Central, we’ll post links to news stories and analytical articles of interest to working people. Sometimes they will be accompanied by editorial commentary. Stories from the New York Times will be followed with a *. The Times pay wall policy allows free access to only about ten articles a month.

Cambodian Workers Camp Out, Hunger Strike Against Walmart and H&M - See more at: http://www.labornotes.org/#sthash.YOn2c1sR.dpuf
US adds just 88,000 new jobs
Slower hiring imperils economic recovery
Anemic job gain deflates optimism
Dropouts: Discouraged Americans leave labor force
The Shrinking Ranks of the Working *
Canada loses 54,500 jobs in March

Obama to target federal retirement benefits
Private Sector Better, Cheaper? Not at All
Portugal constitutional court rejects budget articles
Judge lifts limit on morning-after pill
Court deals blow to human trafficking reforms
RBC replaces Canadian staff with foreign workers
State Supreme Court Limits Union Rights In Texas
Union workers at Oak Ridge plant agree to contract extension
James Hansen: Keystone XL is a pipeline to disaster

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

April 3 News Update


Each Monday-Friday, by 9AM Central, we’ll post links to news stories and analytical articles of interest to working people. Sometimes they will be accompanied by editorial commentary. Stories from the New York Times will be followed with a *. The Times pay wall policy allows free access to only about ten articles a month.

Cambodian Workers Camp Out, Hunger Strike Against Walmart and H&M - See more at: http://www.labornotes.org/#sthash.YOn2c1sR.dpuf
I.R.S. Reversal on ‘Church’ Pension Plan Rescues a Fund *
NASA Climate Scientist James Hansen Quits to Fight Global Warming
Taiwan union at state-owned firm wants to form political party
Union to rally in Norristown for immigration reform
Opening day — for BART labor talks
Mexican Workers Win Ownership of Tire Plant with Three-Year Strike
Harry Kelber, 1914-2013
Juicy Couture’s Health Care Dodge
The Tar Sands Disaster
Occupational Breast Cancer Study Challenges Cancer Establishment
Farmers’ Union: Why we support Idle No More
Can Europe Save Its Cap-and-Trade System?
Candidate Could Become Germany's First Black MP
Canadian mining companies subject of worldwide protests
Has Canada's government been muzzling its scientists?
Lock-out paralyses Danish schools
Fatal Landslide Draws Attention to the Toll of Mining on Tibet *
Pipeline Spills Stir New Criticism of Keystone Plan *
Decades After King's Death, Memphis Jobs at Risk *

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

April 2 News Update


Each Monday-Friday, by 9AM Central, we’ll post links to news stories and analytical articles of interest to working people. Sometimes they will be accompanied by editorial commentary. Stories from the New York Times will be followed with a *. The Times pay wall policy allows free access to only about ten articles a month.

Cambodian Workers Camp Out, Hunger Strike Against Walmart and H&M - See more at: http://www.labornotes.org/#sthash.YOn2c1sR.dpuf
Exxon Tar Sands Spill Continues to Devastate Arkansas Community
Labor Law Loses Its Watchdog
Workers march for Cesar Chavez Day in San Diego
Court Overturns NLRB Decision in Stella D'Oro
Lawmakers push to unionize, regulate Medi-Cal interpreters
Harry Kelber, labor activist, agitator, journalist, dies at 98
Round Two in High-Stakes California Health Care Vote
The Methane Beneath Our Feet
Thousands Rally in West Virginia in Support of Patriot Retirees
Report predicts ever-bigger Lake Erie algae blooms
Ambulance workers begin strike
Global warming predictions prove accurate
Meat inspectors may be missing deadly contamination, audit warns

Monday, April 1, 2013

April 1 Week In Review

Week In Review
April 1 2013
by Bill Onasch

Outdated and Confusing
That’s what Representative Kevin Brady, Republican of Texas and chairman of a health subcommittee, recently said about Medicare. Perhaps unwittingly, he makes some good points as quoted in a recent New York Times article by Jackie Calmes and Robert Pear,

“Can you imagine a world in which someone has to buy hospital and nursing home coverage from one insurance company, physician office coverage from another insurance company, prescription drug coverage from yet another company, and likely supplemental coverage from a fourth insurance company? This is exactly how the current Medicare benefit is designed.”

These true life examples are one reason I have never been comfortable with the slogan Medicare For All. Call me an ingrate, but I’m here to tell you that present Medicare is not what it’s cracked up to be. That’s why ninety percent of us old folks are also are signed up with Medigap, employer retiree, or Medicaid plans to supplement what Medicare doesn’t pay.

April 1 News Update


Each Monday-Friday, by 9AM Central, we’ll post links to news stories and analytical articles of interest to working people. Sometimes they will be accompanied by editorial commentary. Stories from the New York Times will be followed with a *. The Times pay wall policy allows free access to only about ten articles a month.

Cambodian Workers Camp Out, Hunger Strike Against Walmart and H&M - See more at: http://www.labornotes.org/#sthash.YOn2c1sR.dpuf
British Anti-Austerity March Hopes to Break Iraq Rally Record
British welfare cuts unjust, say churches
The Left, Austerity, and the People's Assembly

Business, labor get deal on worker program
Guest worker deal clears way for bill
Labor and Business Reach Deal on Immigration Issue *

Why Is Socialism Doing So Darn Well in North Dakota?
Grocery Unions At Stop & Shop Take Obamacare’s Leap of Faith
Unionized workers reject UAW-GM bargaining proposal
Advocates start making case for minimum wage hike
Nine Reasons Your Labor Organization Needs a Radio Station
Post Office staff go on strike
Cost of Environmental Damage in China Growing Rapidly *
City gets help in selling the public on a single terminal at KCI
ity.com/#storylink=cpy
China's urbanization drive leaves migrant workers out in the cold
ARH, union reach labor agreement, avoid strike
Old iron gas pipes leaking across Michigan; replacement slow, can be deadly
As OSHA Emphasizes Safety, Long-Term Health Risks Fester *
Short of Money, Egypt Sees Crisis on Fuel and Food *
Anger Over Plan to Sell Site of Wounded Knee Massacre *
Oil Pipeline Ruptures in Arkansas *
Wyo. Power Plant Stalls 17 Years, Faces Skepticism *
Ontario high school teachers reach deal with province
Sounds of Strike Ending Come From SF Symphony *