Jun
2011 25
2011 25
Last Second Concessions from Republicans Save 50,000 Illinois Construction Jobs
A special session was called in the Illinois legislature Wednesday, to prevent the stoppage of billions of dollars of construction funding that hung in the balance as Democrats demanded over $400 million more be pumped into the state budget. From Pantagraph: …the House and Senate unanimously signed off on a plan to continue funding billions ...
Jun
2011 24
2011 24
Bait and Slash: With All Eyes on Right-to-Work, New Hampshire’s GOP Attacked the Minimum Wage
Discussion of veto override in New Hampshire has focused squarely on Right-to-Work in the press, but the state’s Republican legislators have now overturned three of Governor John Lynch’s other vetoes, putting into law a requirement that an underage girl tell a parent or a judge before getting an abortion, as well as measures that get ...
Jun
2011 23
2011 23
Training Camp Towns: Cortland, NY
This is the third in a series of posts by Chaz Bolte highlighting the economic impact of the NFL lockout on some of the NFL’s Training Camp Towns. CORTLAND, NY According to news sources, the NY Jets have placed a July 1st deadline to decide whether they will hold their training camp on the campus ...
Jun
2011 22
2011 22
Small Union Pension Investment Creates 10,000 Jobs and 9,000 Housing Units in 18 Cities
Below, cross-posted from Housing Investment Trust website, is an example of what a small fraction of pension investment has achieved in job creation during the recession while the bulk of the private sector has sat idly by. When the Obama Administration took office in 2009, union leaders were called to the White House to help ...
Jun
2011 22
2011 22
Yesterday’s Less Discussed Rule Change Could Enforce Transparency On Union-Busters
While the labor movement digs in for a battle with the Right Wing over the NLRB’s announcement that it will seek to make the unionization process more closely resemble the intention of precedented law, another potential rule change could be just as important for organizing efforts. From Wall Street Journal: The Obama administration Monday...
Jun
2011 21
2011 21
Bill Clinton Asserts the Building Trades’ Long-Hailed Job Creation Plan
Bill Clinton’s Newsweek article, 14 Ways to Put America Back to Work, features several solutions which Building Trades unions have long hailed as central to the future of our nation’s employment and economic resource stability. Clinton, though he does not use the words “apprenticeship” or “skilled trades,” touts...
Jun
2011 21
2011 21
Robocalls to Suppress Black Turnout in Maryland Stoke the Voter Disenfranchisement Flame
Last week, Republican operatives in Maryland were charged with voter disenfranchisement related to robocalls made during the 2010 gubernatorial election. From CBS in Baltimore: On Thursday, a grand jury indicted Ehrlich campaign manager Paul Schurick and consultant Julian Henson. They are charged with violating election laws with robocalls that...
Jun
2011 21
2011 21
“There is nobody on strike in the United States today.”
Where are we today? We have seemingly added jobs, but it is not because hiring has increased. In February 2009 there were 4.7 million separations—that is, jobs lost—but by March 2011 this had fallen to 3.8 million. In other words, the pace of layoffs has diminished, but that is not the same thing as more ...
Jun
2011 20
2011 20
Boehner’s Ties to Lobbyists Enabling Corporate Tax Evasion?
In 2006, Bloomberg published a concerned article as John Boehner and Roy Blunt vied for the House Majority Leadership position in the wake of Tom Delay’s indictment. The concern? Ties to lobbyists would run too deeply for Boehner and Blunt to be trusted with the top slot. Calling the men “key intermediaries between Republican lawmakers...
Jun
2011 20
2011 20
North Carolina Governor Expected to Veto Voter Suppression This Week
Voter Identification bills that seek to enforce tougher standards on people at the polls — despite almost zero evidence of voter fraud — continue to make their way to the desks of the governors of the nation. Ohio recently joined the ranks of states implementing what many label Voter Suppression, while Missouri governor Jay Nixon ...
Jun
2011 20
2011 20
Training Camp Towns: Spartanburg, SC
This is the second in a series of posts by Chaz Bolte highlighting the economic impact of the NFL lockout on some of the NFL’s Training Camp Towns. SPARTANBURG, SC In Spartanburg, S.C. the already recession worn owner of Image Printing worries about how her business will be effected by the NFL labor dispute. Her ...
Jun
2011 16
2011 16
“Their highest court decisions can no longer be relied upon when assessing the law.”
The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling that the state legislature did not violate Open Meetings Law when it voted on the Budget Repair Bill with only two hours notice has caused an incredible stir, in part because of the unpopularity of the decision, but more so because of the allegation, made by Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson ...
