Saturday, October 20, 2012

Today's Teamster News 10.20.12

Unemployment rate drops in 41 states, including most swing states  Washington Post   ...the state-based unemployment numbers can actually be a better indication of how the voters that matter in the 2012 election (i.e. swing state voters) are viewing the economy than the national unemployment figures...
Unions shift political muscle to state and local races to limit anti-labor measures  Associated Press   ...In New Hampshire, unions want to keep the governor’s seat in Democratic hands to prevent a right-to-work measure. In Maine and Minnesota, labor leaders hope to overturn Republican majorities in state legislatures. And in Michigan, unions are trying to enshrine collective bargaining rights in the state constitution...
Can Apple start making their product in the U.S. again? The answer is YES.  manufacture this   ... labor is a small part (probably less than 10 percent) of Apple’s cost of manufacturing, far less than capital equipment and components.  With wages rising in China and U.S. manufacturing workers actually being far more productive, the labor cost differential become very small...
Does the Romney Family Now Own Your e-Vote?  truthout   ...Through a closely held equity fund called Solamere, Mitt Romney and his wife, son and brother are major investors in an investment firm called H.I.G. Capital. H.I.G. in turn holds a majority share and three out of five board members in Hart Intercivic, a company that owns the notoriously faulty electronic voting machines that will count the ballots in swing state Ohio November 7...
Teamsters Applaud Signing Of Military Commercial Drivers' License Act  iBT   ...The demand for qualified, safe truck drivers has risen over the past few years and the new law will make it easier for veterans and service men and women to obtain Commercial Drivers Licenses (CDL), making them more employable once they leave active-duty...
Atlas Air / Polar Air Cargo Teamsters Reach Tentative Agreement By International Brotherhood of Teamsters  IBT   ...Flight Dispatchers to Vote on a First Contract, Securing Strong Job Improvements...