May
2012 17
2012 17
Chris Christie Tells LIUNA Conference that Atlantic City Construction Could Swell, Pensions May Need to be Addressed
Recently we gave Chris Christie a rightfully hard time for diminishing his commitment to New Jersey’s Building Trades unions via funding flip-flops and such. But yesterday, Christie uttered words of encouragement to members and leaders of the Laborers’ International Union of America (LIUNA) at their 2012 Northeast Regional Conference:...
May
2012 17
2012 17
Milwauke Ironworker Announces Bid for Wisconsin State Assembly
Organized Labor may add a friendly new face to the Wisconsin State Assembly this year as Randy Bryce, a Milwaukee Ironworker, has announced his filing of the proper paperwork to run in the newly redrawn 62nd District. Bryce is a political coordinator and holds an executive position on the board of Milwaukee Ironworkers Local 8. ...
May
2012 16
2012 16
Walker’s Billionaire “Divide and Conquer” Backer, Diane Hendricks, Isn’t Paying State Corporate Taxes
It seems the billionaire Scott Walker-backer with whom the Governor shared his “divide and conquer” strategy toward unions can give $500,000 to her favorite anti-worker puppet despite not paying a cent in state corporate income tax between the years of 2005 and 2008, the most recent years with records to show. Diane Hendricks, the...
May
2012 14
2012 14
Court Deems $6 Billion Worth of NYC Project Labor Agreements Fully Legal
A Second Circuit panel has decided that Project Labor Agreements between the City of New York and the Building and Construction Trades Council (BCTC) of Greater New York do not violate federal labor laws. The BCTC, which represents roughly 50 regional unions, has $6 billion of work committed to various PLAs through 2014. These PLAs ...
May
2012 14
2012 14
Labor Professor: In Pennsylvania, “Union Busting Won’t Help…”
The story of Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett begins with Pennsylvania unions being busted and ends with privatization in the name of “tax relief.” While the state’s money woes could easily be solved by higher taxation on corporations, Corbett is taking pages out of the American For Prosperity/ALEC playbook and demonizing...
May
2012 14
2012 14
VIDEO: Romney Speech Proves He’ll Do More Damage to Labor than Bush I, Bush II or Reagan Ever Did
Posting about a video like this is a bittersweet foray. On the one hand, the degree to which Mitt Romney is willing to spew falsehoods regarding organized labor is so outrageous that it must be answered. On the other hand, helping broadcast his smear to even one more viewer (at the time of publication this ...
May
2012 9
2012 9
DNC Returns $50,000 of Wal-Mart Gift Cards to Maintain Convention’s Anti-Corporate Donation Pledge
Organizers of the Democratic National Convention, to be held this September in Charlotte, North Carolina, decided in advance not to accept cash donations from corporations. This has led to funding difficulties. To skirt the imposed regulations, Wal-Mart made an “in-kind” donation of $50,000 in gift cards to help with convention costs....
May
2012 9
2012 9
Vikings Stadium Bill Clears MN Legislature but Team Owners Will Have to Pay Extra $100M
UPDATE: The stadium proposal has passed the Senate as well. See who voted how via IUOE Local 49. Minnesota’s effort to replace the aging Metrodome, where the Minnesota Vikings play, progressed on Monday when the House passed a stadium proposal by a vote of 73-58. It now moves on to the Senate. The $975 stadium ...
May
2012 8
2012 8
Polls Suggest Barrett Has Dem Gov Lead Going Into Wisconsin Primaries Today
As one Wisconsin Ironworker noted on Facebook last night: “Tomorrow is the playoffs. Super Bowl is in June!” While this afternoon’s cheesehead election drama will not nearly match that of the actual recall election in a month’s time, there is nonetheless ample intrigue as Democrats, labor unions and other progressive...
May
2012 8
2012 8
Insulators Local 12 Has Rising Star in Movement to Weatherize, Economize Buildings
Mathew Aracich was recently elected to the position of Business Manager of the Heat and Frost Insulators, Local Union 12, after his time as Financial Secretary there. Aracich is in a unique position to promote the importance of his trade as he has been part of the movement to weatherize America and has spent time ...
May
2012 8
2012 8
WORKER VICTORY: Connecticut Senate and House Overwhelmingly Support PLA Legislation
A bill that ensures that Connecticut can use Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) on public works projects cleared the State Senate with a 32-3 vote last week and, yesterday, cleared the House by an equally sizable margin. A legal battle in Hartford brought to light the need for this important legislation which allows the local hire, ...
May
2012 7
2012 7
ARAW Calls for Terence Flynn’s Immediate Resignation as NLRB Scandal Intensifies
The scandal that presumed Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney tried to distance himself from by asking Labor Policy advisor Peter Schaumber to leave the campaign is still swirling around the webosphere as new details have been released giving details about the improper doings between Schaumber and NLRB Board Member Terence Flynn. The...
