Sunday, June 23, 2013

Today's Teamster News 06.23.13

Dead Being Billed for Life Insurance  ABC News   ... the nation's leading insurance companies continued billing customers for life insurance long after they were dead. The companies--including such household names as AIG, Hartford, John Hancock, Met Life, Prudential, Transamerica and TIAA-CREF-- have agreed to a multi-state settlement under which they will repay some $763 million owed the heirs of the deceased...
The other hacking scandal: Suppressed report reveals that law firms, telecoms giants and insurance companies routinely hire criminals to steal rivals' information  The Independent   ...Some of Britain’s most respected industries routinely employ criminals to hack, blag and steal personal information on business rivals and members of the public, according to a secret report leaked to The Independent...
Firing of 5 Walmart Strikers Condemned by Rep. Ellison: 'Completely Unjust and Illegal'  The Nation   ...Of the roughly one hundred Walmart workers who this month went on strike and traveled to Arkansas this month, OUR Walmart alleges that five have been fired, ten have received disciplinary “coachings,” and one has been suspended...
House GOP ratchets up battle with Senate over student loan rates  The Hill   ...Without congressional action, rates for subsidized Stafford loans will jump from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent on July 1...
Brazil: 250K protest against government corruption  USA Today   ...A quarter-million Brazilians took to the streets in the latest a wave of sometimes-violent protests that are increasingly focusing on corruption and reforming a government system in which people have lost faith. A new poll shows that 75 percent of citizens support the demonstrations...
How Currency Wars End in Violence as Brazil Erupts  (opinion)  The Market Oracle   ...Hot money is fleeing, the Real is sinking, inflation is soaring, and Brazil has no idea how to stem the tide (or the protests)...
Food Network Drops Paula Deen  New York Times   ...Paula Deen, the self-proclaimed queen of Southern cooking and a sugary mainstay of the Food Network, was dropped by the network on Friday, after a bewildering day in which she failed to show up for an interview on the “Today” show and then in two online videos begged her family and audience to forgive her for using racist language...
Woot! NY lawmakers vote to crack down on trucking co. cheats  TeamsterNation   ...Here's a real Teamster victory: Both chambers of the New York state Legislatures passed a bill today that cracks down on trucking companies that misclassify their employers. Bad actors like FedEx Ground would pay stiff fines for treating their employees as contractors...
Report Shows Majority Of Proposed Tax Cuts Benefits Those Earning $100K-Plus  Wisconsin Public Radio   ...63.4 percent of the overall tax cut would be paid to people earning more than $100,000...
Panera Bread uses Natl. Labor Relations Review Board dysfunction to exploit bakers trying to unionize  eclectablog   ...Over a year ago, Panera Bread bakers along the I-94 corridor Michigan voted to form a union. The parent company refused to recognize the union, forcing the workers to file a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) demanding that the company recognize and bargain with their union, the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers, and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM). The NLRB ruled for the workers. However, due to a decision in Noel Canning v. NLRB overturning President Obama’s recess appointments to the NLRB, Panera Bread has refused to comply...