Monday, March 25, 2013

Today's Teamster News 03.25.13

UNFIT FOR WORK: The startling rise of disability in America  NPR   ...There used to be a lot of jobs that you could do with just a high school degree, and that paid enough to be considered middle class. ... people who lost those jobs ... (have) been going on disability...
Corporate-Backed Trans-Pacific Partnership Shrouded in Secrecy  truthout   ...legislators around the world are being kept in the dark about what they're voting on until the deal is hammered out; it's expected to be completed this year. When it's finished, if the experience of Congress here is any indication, legislators will be feeling extraordinary pressure from corporate lobbyists and their heads of state to accept the deal without a fuss...
Cyprus reaches last-minute deal on 10 billion euro bailout  Reuters   ...Cyprus clinched a last-ditch deal with international lenders to shut down its second-largest bank and inflict heavy losses on uninsured depositors, including wealthy Russians, in return for a 10 billion euro ($13 billion) bailout...
Pro-Democracy Movement Rises Against 'Disaster Capitalism' in Detroit  Common Dreams   ...Community and pro-democracy activists in Detroit have no intention of rolling over and playing dead for Kevyn Orr, the city's new 'emergency manager' appointed by Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, who will begin his contract to run the city as a one-person government on Monday...
Right-to-work goes into effect March 28  Associated Press   ...When Michigan's right-to-work law takes effect Thursday it will signal the latest sign of turmoil in the union movement that has seen nationwide membership shrink to its lowest levels since at least the 1930s...
Real mess: Public works employees forced to bring toilet paper to work  KCTV   ...It's a real stink in one central Missouri town after male public works employees were forced to bring their own toilet paper to work...
Wisconsin: Hundreds of pardon apps sitting on gov's desk  Associated Press   ... Gov. Scott Walker has refused to consider any of at least 1,400 pardon applications since he's taken office...
Ohio lawmakers take up wind, solar energy rule  Fuel Fix   ...The American Legislative Exchange Council, a policy advisory group dominated by Republicans and targeted by liberals, is a leading force behind the push against the renewable energy targets...