Sunday, December 25, 2011

Today's Teamster News 12.25.11

A tale of two systems  Remapping Debate   ...In 2010, over 5.5 million cars were produced in Germany, twice the 2.7 million built in the United States. Average compensation (a figure including wages and employer-paid benefits) for autoworkers in Germany was 48.97 Euros per hour ($67.14 US), while compensation for auto work in the United States averaged $33.77 per hour, or about half as much as in Germany... Archbishop of York attacks bankers' 'massive bonuses'  The Telegraph   ...The Archbishop of York has criticised the growing divide between high and low earners and asked whether it is right that bankers "who helped cause the economic crisis" should "rake in massive bonuses"...
What Does it Take to Shut Down an Unsafe Trucking Company?  Digital Journal   ...the traveling public may be wondering how a person convicted of felony crimes involving operation of an unsafe trucking company can be licensed to start up another trucking business. And why it took two years worth of safety violations before the business was ordered to shut down...
Fair Trade Proving Anything But in $6B Market  Bloomberg   ...The push to increase sales of goods deemed to be free of child labor and other practices has divided the movement, raised questions of whether going mainstream will undermine the cooperative farmers it was created to help and, most of all, strained the integrity of the certification systems that vouch for the fair-trade stamps that allow companies to charge consumers more...
Vast Rally in Moscow Is a Challenge to Putin’s Power  New York Times   ... people poured all afternoon into a canyon created by vast government buildings, and the police put the crowd at 30,000, more than they reported on Dec. 10...
Indiana’s Republican Chief Election Officer Charged With Voter Fraud  PoliticsUSA   ...in the flagship state for Republican Voter ID laws, Indiana’s Republican Sec. of State and chief election officer Charlie White was ordered to be removed from office after an Indiana judge ruled that he was ineligible for the office. White is also being charged in a separate matter with seven criminal felony charges, including three counts of “voter fraud” and charges of theft and perjury...