Sunday, May 11, 2014

Today's Teamster News 05.11.14

Teamster News
Employees of local bus company seek to join union  Bennington Banner   ...Employees of the Green Mountain Express may soon become part of the Teamsters Union...
Trade
TPP Is Another Upward Transfer of Wealth  naked capitalism   ...As with NAFTA, the TPP will benefit U.S. companies relocating jobs to low-wage, high-repression nations...
U.S. steelmakers ‘under assault’ from dumped imports  NWI Times   ...Steel dumping poses a real threat to jobs in Northwest Indiana, and policy-makers in Washington need to take heed, industry officials said...
War on Workers
Is the true unemployment rate 23.2%?   Trade Reform   ...The SGS unemployment rate for April 2014, unfortunately still dependent on government data, is: 23.2% — this being more consistent with the experience of live citizens... 
The Rise of the Gig Economy  truthout   ...Using the BLS definition, which includes independent contractors, temporary workers, on-call workers, and workers provided by contract firms, contingent workers made up over 11% of the labor force in 2005...
Now Trending: Whistleblowers in Low-Wage Jobs Turn to Social Media  Jobs With Justice   ...This recent step in the right direction comes after years of pressure from OUR Walmart, the association of current and former Walmart employees who have demanded more hours and stable work schedules from the retailer...
401(k)s are retirement robbery: How the Koch brothers, Wall Street and politicians conspire to drain Social Security  Salon   ... Thirty-five percent of total retirement contributions in the United States are made to Social Security, which puts them beyond the reach of the private market. The more that Social Security can be privatized, the more new profit opportunities the financial services industry will have...
The NSA’s Corporate Collaborators  Counterpunch   ...”There almost is no division between the private sector and the NSA, or the private sector and the Pentagon, when it comes to the American national security state. They really are essentially one...”
Getting past economic development subsidy hype  Angry Bear   ...The EU’s state aid rules guarantee transparency, restrict location subsidies to the poorest regions, and cap the amount of subsidy a project can receive based on two principles: 1) The richer the region, the lower the maximum subsidy allowed (with 0 as the maximum in many regions)...
Miscellaneous 
Federal Data: Americans keeping vehicles longer since start of recession  Washington Post   ...the average age of household autos increased from 10.1 years about 11.3 years between 2007 and 2012, while the average household income rose from $63,091 per year to $65,596 during the same period...
Target’s CEO didn’t leave because of a cybersecurity breach  Washington Post   ... The business model isn't working anymore, and it's going to take a serious overhaul to bring up to speed, when competitors are already far ahead...