May
2013 17
2013 17
Building Trades Join Union Protest Over Sale of Tribune Co. Newspapers to the Koch Brothers
The potential sale of the Los Angeles Times (LAT) to the Koch Brothers’ empire has sparked outrage from a wide array of onlookers with the newspaper’s employees apparently leading the charge. Both right-leaning Hot Air and the Washington Post write that at a recent in-house awards ceremony, LAT columnist Steve Lopez asked his fellow...
May
2013 15
2013 15
USA Today’s List of the 8 Companies that Most Owe Their Workers a Raise Will Piss You Off
USA Today has put together a list of the 8 companies that most owe their workers a raise. The list was determined based on actual numbers not anger, sympathy or any other completely reasonable thing to feel in the face of rampant income inequality. Authors Douglas McIntyre and Samuel Weigley argue that the lowest paid ...
May
2013 8
2013 8
ALEC Removes Journalist from Oklahoma City Event After Distributing “Anti-ALEC Photos” Document
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) recently met in Oklahoma City to talk about things progressives hate. But when attendees arrived they were greeted by something progressives love: hundreds of protesters. The “ALEC is not OK” campaign managed to roundup over 600 anti-ALEC participants for a successful action. The real...
May
2013 3
2013 3
America’s List of Companies With the Most Low-Wage Workers Will Piss You Off
Since the dawn of man (or, perhaps capitalism), workers and management have disagreed on the impact of raising wages. For workers making less than $10/hour, a few extra bucks a week can make a huge difference in terms of quality of life. Management, on the other hand, predictably suggests that raising wages kills jobs and ...
Apr
2013 16
2013 16
Symbolic Anti-NLRB Bill Shows the True Desire of the House GOP: A United States Without Labor Laws
In a 219-210 vote, House Republican leadership pushed through H.R. 1120, a bill that would effectively end the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The bill will not be voted on by the Senate and is therefore only symbolic. H.R. 1120 has been a priority of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and is a clear indication ...
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 5
2013 5
Only One Kansas County Has a Prevailing Wage Law. That’s One Too Many for the Kansas Senate.
In a 31-9 vote, the Kansas State Senate passed a bill that bars cities and counties from having prevailing wage mandates for contractors. The bill will now move to the House. The state of Kansas has only one county (Wyandotte) in which prevailing wage laws are still on the books. This aggressive and spiteful action ...
Mar
2013 22
2013 22
Scott Walker’s Rejection of Obamacare Funds to Cost Wisconsin Businesses Upwards of $30 Million
According to a national study by Jackson Hewitt Tax services, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s opposition to Obamacare will cost Wisconsin employers between $24.1 million and $36.1 million a year. The news comes a month after Walker rejected expanding the states Badgercare program. Walker’s decisions on Medicare have created a...
Mar
2013 19
2013 19
Annual State of the Media Report Shows Dwindling Reporting, Continued Boost in Social Media, Word of Mouth News Gathering
In their annual State of the Media Report, the Pew Research Center dissects the changing landscape of the media and how its transition to the Internet is creating budget problems that are directly affecting the quality of traditional reporting work. In a year that saw unprecedented coverage of a Presidential election, traditional media continued...
Mar
2013 18
2013 18
NELP: 1 in 6 of ALEC Legislators’ Anti-Wage Bills Have Passed Since January 2011
The National Employment Law Project (NELP) has released a new study in which it exposes the American Legislative Exchange Council’s (ALEC) influence ‘behind the curtain’ of wage suppression. In “The Politics of Wage Suppression: Inside ALEC’s Legislative Campaign Against Low-Paid Workers,” NELP lays out...
Mar
2013 1
2013 1
Eric Cantor’s Alternate Universe Features No Overtime Pay for Anyone, Blinders for Everyone
In what would have been better presented as a “how not to rebrand the GOP” exercise, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor made mention of a bill that would end overtime pay for hourly workers. While no copy of the bill has been made public, Cantor’s “Make Life Work” speech given to the American Enterprise Institute ...
Feb
2013 25
2013 25
Missouri Lawmaker Introduces Bill to Jail Any Legislator Who Proposes an Anti-Union Bill
Here’s a fun one. A bit of a legislative urinating match but a fun one nonetheless. A Missouri legislator has responded to a bill from Rep. Mike Leara that would jail lawmakers who propose gun control bills by introducing a bill that would jail anti-union legislators: A Missouri House Democrat’s plan would send colleagues to ...
