May
2013 16
2013 16
HORRIFIC: Underground Ring of Wealthy Mothers Hiring Handicapped Tour Guides to Avoid Waiting in Line at Disney World
We are shocked that a recent New York Post piece about rich Manhattan mothers hiring handicapped tour guides in order to shorten amusement park wait times for their kids isn’t getting more attention. Perhaps the NY Post‘s credibility has something to do with it? In hiring these “black market Disney tour guides” the wealthy...
May
2013 3
2013 3
Baseball Phenom Bryce Harper Credits Union Ironworker Father With His Limitless Work Ethic
Nurture versus Nature. It is the age-old philosophical question of human development that has been asked of countless people who display out of the ordinary physical ability, moral positions or social proclivities. Were you born that way? Or were you taught to be that way? Any baseball fan who has had the pleasure of watching ...
May
2013 2
2013 2
UNION THUG ALERT: Building Trades Volunteer Time, Labor in Washington and Arizona
We turn the channel to the good news today with a pair of feel-good stories about pesky union thugs donating their wicked time and evil labor to help out in the community… WASHINGTON In the Pacific Northwest, a new regional distribution center for Second Harvest, a non-profit organization that provides 1.7 million pounds of food ...
Apr
2013 30
2013 30
Seattle Coffee Owner Pulls a Papa John, Raises Prices to Make Up for Paid Sick Leave
As Paid Sick Leave becomes the new norm in Seattle, business owners are taking different, um, “approaches” to making it work for their alleged bottom lines. Remember when Papa John’s, Darden Restaurants and that one Denny’s franchise owner said they were going to pass the costs of healthcare reform on to customers? Welp,...
Apr
2013 29
2013 29
UA Local 669 Loses Member Who Was First Responder in West, TX Explosion
Sad news came down labor’s mountain this morning when the Building and Construction Trades Department (BCTD) of the AFL-CIO announced the death of United Association (UA) Local 669 member Morris Bridges in a statement by President Sean McGarvey. Bridges, a sprinklerfitter, was a volunteer first responder on the scene of the horrifying West,...
Apr
2013 26
2013 26
IUPAT DC 35 Reaches Out for Support for 18-Year Old Girl Injured in Boston Bombings
The International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) District Council 35 family is coming together to help a brother whose family was directly affected by the Boston Marathon bombings: Celeste and Sydney Corcoran, were badly injured in the blasts at the Boston Marathon on 4/15/13. Sydney, 18, suffered severe injuries and deep arterial...
Apr
2013 16
2013 16
Don’t Let Kevin Bacon Die.
Hilarious image passed along by a friend. Of course, the Steve Jobs aspect to this could be perceived as decidedly anti-worker, but the sentiment seems well-placed. Cue “Kevin Bacon Eternal Life SuperPAC.&#...
Apr
2013 16
2013 16
Insulators are Among Seven Unions Pulling $1B in Pension Funds from Royal Bank of Canada Over Outsourcing Scandal
Seven unions in Canada have announced that they will pull over $1 billion in pension funds from Royal Bank of Canada Investor Services if their parent company proceeds with a plan to outsource information technology jobs. In a letter sent to Royal Bank of Canada, representatives of the B.C. Insulators Union announced their intentions. The ...
Apr
2013 12
2013 12
IRON-IC CURTAIN: U.S. Border Patrol Outfits Being Manufactured in Mexico
Newly granted contracts to provide uniforms for United States Customs and Border Protections (CBP) contain one very ironic piece of information: they will largely be manufactured in Mexico. WHY AM I TYPING? THIS POST WRITES ITSELF. Via CPA Trade Reform: The latest contract with the company was awarded on Dec. 20, 2012, to make “uniform ...
Apr
2013 11
2013 11
In-Depth NELP Report Highlights the Ongoing Tragedy of the Long-Term Unemployed
A new report from the National Employment Law Project (NELP) gives a detailed demographic analysis of the nation’s long-term unemployed. Four years after the recession there are still 27 million unemployed or underemployed workers in the American labor force. This number includes those included by official jobs numbers as well as the nearly...
Apr
2013 8
2013 8
VIDEO: San Diego IBEW Members Discuss Union-Owned, Union-Operated Affordable Housing
Tom Lemmon, Business Manager for the San Diego Building and Construction Trades Council (SDBCTC), recently gave an interview in which he describes his experiences growing up in the National City Apartments. The apartment complex, now owned and operated by local unions, provides affordable, quality housing for low-to-moderate income families....
Apr
2013 8
2013 8
Australia’s 4-Year Old Equivalent to OSHA is Racking Up Misclassified Worker Back Pay
Much like in the United States, Austrailia officials in the office of the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) are cracking down on employee misclassification. In the past financial year, the FWO recouped $17.4 million in back-pay for 5066 workers. Recently, workers have been awarded thousands in back pay for being classified as independent contractors by...
