Monday, April 15, 2013

Today's Teamster News 04.15.13

Foreclosure Settlement Shows 4.2 Million Borrowers Shafted in 2009-2010  Economic Populist   ...Close to 1.2 million borrowers, or about 30 percent of the more than 3.9 million households whose properties were foreclosed on by 11 leading financial institutions in 2009 and 2010, had to battle potentially wrongful efforts to seize their homes despite not having defaulted on their loans, being protected under a host of federal laws, or having been in good standing under bank-approved plans to either restructure their mortgages or temporarily delay required payments...
Is the Fed Handing Out Valuable Tips to Insiders?  Washington Blog   ...Congressman Grayson Asks for an Investigation into Federal Reserve’s FOMC leak...
The Terrifying Reality of Long-Term Unemployment  The Atlantic   ...It's an awful catch-22: employers won't hire you if you've been out of work for more than six months...
U.S., Guatemala reach deal to resolve labor dispute  Reuters   ...The new 18-point labor enforcement plan "reflects Guatemala's commitment to constructive engagement to meet its labor obligations under our trade agreement," Acting U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis said in a statement...
Margaret Thatcher the tax snatcher? Mystery of her £6m house with links to THREE tax havens  Mirror   ...“How can a former prime minister spend more than two decades living in a house in London that has been owned for many years by a company based in the British Virgin Islands? ... We all have a duty to pay our taxes, and that includes former politicians...
Portugal's fed-up youth pack and go as their nation slides into reverse  The Guardian   ...Job prospects are grim, health and education are in crisis and, with more austerity to come, emigration is increasingly the only solution...
U.S. grants Michigan permit to build 2nd Detroit-Canada bridge  Detroit Free Press   ...The U.S. State Department announced its issuance of a presidential permit to the state of Michigan for the New International Trade Crossing between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, moving the project an important step closer to completion...
After Courts Block GOP Laws, Wisconsin GOP Pushes Bill To Strip Most State Courts’ Power To Block Laws  ThinkProgress   ...Last November, Wisconsin was able to run a fair election unmarred by one of the Republican Party’s favorite voter suppression tactics because two lower courts struck down the state’s unconstitutional voter ID law, and the conservative state supreme court repeatedly refused requests to take up the case before it winds its way through the normal appeals process. Now, a group of Wisconsin Republicans are pushing legislation to ensure that something like this never happens again:...
Flaws Seen in Protection of Animals on the Set  New York Times   ...Trainers, who are already heavily regulated by state and federal officials, are particularly incensed by the idea that the (American Humane) association might seek to extend its authority beyond film sets, to include certification of those who house and supply animals — something they see as an attempt to bolster funds by tapping them for fees...