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25 Oct 2011 00:04

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U.S.: Occupy Chicago: Nurses union protests controversial Grant Park arrests

  • cause Early Sunday, police arrested two members of National Nurses United who cared for protesters at Occupy Chicago, in the process ignoring Grant Park’s closing time of 11 pm. They were among 100 people arrested.
  • reaction After getting out of jail on Monday morning, the nurses were joined by more than two dozen fellow union members outside of Mayor Emanuel’s office on the fifth floor of Chicago’s City Hall, causing a bit of an emotional scene. source
  • » Hiding a story from the media? The nurses arrested suggest that police were trying to hide an awkward scene from the cameras. “We were among the last protesters released, for no good reason that we can tell, except for they clearly knew when the media cameras had left,” said Jan Rodolfo, the Midwest director for NNU. “We were tearful and exhausted and shell shocked.” Rodolfo was among those arrested; her court date has been set for November 15.

30 Jun 2011 16:36

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Culture: NBA headed for a lockout as collective bargaining talks fall apart

  • NBA headed for lockout: As talks between league officials and the player’s union on a new collective bargaining agreement have fallen apart, it’s clear that the NBA will suffer a work stoppage. It’s been thirteen years since this last happened, when the 1998-1999 season was cut 32 games short. The impasse is mainly about salary versus revenue; the NBA claims 22 of its 30 franchises are losing money, and they want lower player salaries (likely a lower cap) to compensate — obviously, the players feel otherwise. Said union head Billy Hunter: “I’ve been waiting for a lockout for two, three years. Now it’s here. Our guys are anxious to get a deal.” source

24 Feb 2011 22:24

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Politics: PolitiFact: Scott Walker revealed new things during prank call

  • While some of the discussion was old news, and no show-stopping revelation emerged, the chat did produce some revelations about strategy, tactics and Walker’s view of his actions. Most notable was his comparison to Reagan busting the government air traffic union.
  • PolitiFact Wisconsin • Regarding Scott Walker’s claim that his chat with the gonzo journalist pretending to be David Koch produced “no new revelations.” The site, which works with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, has managed to correct a number of various facts about the current budget crisis, specifically when he compared his union-busting abilities to Ronald Reagan. To everyone claiming that there’s a budget surplus and Walker is lying to everyone – we point you to this entry. Regarding the scope of this bill, which Walker has said is exactly what he promised over the past two years – we point you to this one. There is a real issue here, and Walker is dealing with it, but the facts clearly point out that his tactics are way too harsh considering what promised to the press. source

27 Mar 2010 16:48

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U.S.: Security fail: A year later, Obama still doesn’t have a TSA head

  • 2 TSA leader nominees have withdrawn their names so far source

20 Jan 2010 10:30

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U.S.: Sign of weakness? Obama’s TSA pick drops out after Senate fight

  • It is clear that my nomination has become a lightning rod for those who have chosen to push a political agenda at the risk of the safety and security of the American people.
  • Transportation Security Administration chief nominee Erroll Southers • Regarding his decision to drop out after a brutal, months-long stalling created by Sen. Jim DeMint. DeMint’s big problem with Southers? He didn’t like the fact that he might unionize the TSA. This nomination became contentious, by the way, after the attempted terror attack in Detroit last month. source

03 Nov 2009 08:47

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U.S.: Thanks to a transit strike, it’s always hard to get around in Philadelphia

  • 5,500 SEPTA workers are on strike in Philly, which means no bus or train service for you this sunny morning source

19 Sep 2009 10:43

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Sports: The NBA’s ready to use scab referees for the upcoming season

  • They couldn’t reach a deal with the ref’s union. Earlier this week, talks between the league and the National Basketball Referees Association broke down. Now, the NBA’s on its way to using replacements in its ref training camp. The NBRA was ready for it. “I predicted that a lockout was forthcoming and yet it does not mean that both sides cannot continue to talk and work through some of these issues,” said lead negotiator Lamell McMorris. source
 

16 Aug 2009 22:39

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U.S.: BART decides not to strike; Lisa still holding out for more

  • Bay Area, your commutes are safe once again! After some last-minute wheeling and dealing between negotiators, one of the largest mass-transit systems in the country, BART, has a deal with the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555, meaning its 865 (or so) workers won’t strike and BART’s 300,000 riders can go another day without riding in a car if they so choose. If the agreement wasn’t made, they would have gone on strike tomorrow. source

27 May 2009 22:47

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Biz: Who will own the new Chrysler when it’s ready to go?

  • Chrysler will be largely employee-owned, with a retiree-owned trust getting 55% of the new company. source
  • The company whose initials stand for “fix it again, Tony” will own 20%, and could have 35% over time. source
  • Finally, taxpayers from the U.S. and Canada will be happy to know that they own a minority stake in Chrysler. source

06 May 2009 11:06

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Biz, U.S.: The Boston Globe reaches a deal with its last union

  • Crisis averted. Cuts made. Hands shaken. The Boston Globe, which nearly faced a death march this week, narrowly avoided it by getting six of its seven unions to agree to price cuts and a relaxing of a job guarantee policy which was the sticking point. The largest union, the Boston Newspaper Guild, which represents the newsroom, wouldn’t budge on the job security front. An agreement was met last night, but no word – yet – on whether they got to keep job security. source