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13 Jun 2011 11:21

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Biz: Apple Store worker really wants unions for some reason

  • what Cory Moll, a part-time Apple Store employee in San Francisco, has come forward with his plan to push for unions for the company’s 30,000 retail employees at 325 retail stores worldwide. Moll started a Web site for his campaign, which, from our vantage point, is currently down (we linked a cached version).
  • why Moll says that the big problems on his end are wages and benefits. He says he makes $14 an hour in a city where the minimum wage is nearly $10 an hour. “Right now what I hope to gain is to get people to start talking about it and get comfortable with it,” he says. Do you guys think he’ll win? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 May 2011 16:54

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U.S.: Wisconsin board approves recalls against GOP, but not Dems

  • six Wisconsin GOP Senators will face recall elections, following Wisconsin’s Government Accountability Board (GAB) approving the signatures collected by Democratic activists
  • three Wisconsin Democratic Senators may or may not face recall elections, as the same GAB stated that they’re not ready to approve the signatures collected by GOP activists source
  • » So, what’s going on here? Basically, the GAB’s decision means they believe the signatures collected by Democrats, in the aftermath of Gov. Scott Walker’s nationally spotlighted union-busting effort, are legitimate. The Republican signatures, however, “have raised numerous factual and legal issues which need to be investigated and analyzed,” the board says. This is likely to ignite a firestorm of accusations about political bias, favoritism and so forth — the Democrats likely see this as a major boon, as they’ve argued fraud on the GOP’s petitions. We’re inclined to sit tight and see how this plays out, but today’s events, suffice to say, don’t favor the Wisconsin GOP.
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 May 2011 02:08

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Politics: Scott Walker is becoming very unpopular

  • Watch out, Walker: If a recall election were held today, you’d get booted faster than you can say “Gray Davis.” source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Apr 2011 22:15

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Politics: Wisconsin: Recall campaign gains steam, control of State Senate now in play

  • three number of GOP State Senators in Wisconsin who will face a recall election, thanks to Democratic organizing efforts
  • three number of seats that have to change hands in order for Democrats to gain control of the Wisconsin State Senate source
  • » Total Recall: Democratic efforts to flip control of the Wisconsin State Senate just reached an important milestone, as organizers have now collected enough signatures to force three Republican senators into recall elections. If Democrats win all three elections, they’ll be rewarded with control of the Wisconsin State Senate. This is, of course, pending validation of the collected signatures; in all three cases, Democratic organizers submitted around 150% of the required number of signatures, so it’s unlikely that the petitions will be invalidated on those grounds. If Democrats are successful in recalling even one Wisconsin Republican, it’ll be an enormous victory for the pro-union movement, which launched the recall campaign last month in response to Governor Scott Walker’s union-busting “budget-repair” bill.
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Apr 2011 00:20

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Politics: More bad news for Walker: Judicial election shows major shift in county-level support

  • 19 counties in WI switched from Republican to Democrat source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Apr 2011 00:09

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Politics: In theory, Democrats have enough signatures to recall Scott Walker

  • 541,000 signatures needed to initiate a recall election for Scott Walker, once he’s eligible in 2012
  • 738,000 votes cast for the Democrat in Wisconsin’s judicial election last Tuesday source
  • » A few caveats: First, a lot can change in a year; who knows if Wisconsonites will even be thinking about Walker’s 2011 assault on unions in 2012? Second of all, an obscure judicial election isn’t really comparable to a signature-gathering recall campaign; they’re apples and oranges. Still, this is reason for Democrats to be cautiously optimistic about the feasibility of recalling Walker in a year. JoAnne Kloppenburg, the Democratic candidate in question, has claimed victory in the judicial election, although there will assuredly be a recount.
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Apr 2011 10:36

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Politics: Anti-union amendment added to FAA reauthorization bill; will Obama veto?

  • veto on the horizon: Remember that anti-union stuff House Republicans wanted in the FAA reauthorization bill? It survived the amendment process, and the House is now set to pass the legislation. After being merged with the already-passed Senate bill and then voted on again by both chambers, it’ll end up on the President’s desk. At that point, Obama will have to decide whether or not to bust out his veto pen. The White House issued a veto threat earlier this week, as the bill would roll back reforms that ease the ability of rail and aviation employees to unionize. While we suspect Obama may be bluffing here, given the rather milquetoast nature of the threat, we’ll only find out if the amended bill passes the Senate. And it’s never particularly wise to assume that the Senate will pass something. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

30 Mar 2011 23:56

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Politics: More GOP union-busting fun, this time at the federal level

  • goal Continuing full-steam ahead with their party’s attack on worker’s unions, House Republicans will vote on legislation making it more difficult for rail and aviation workers to unionize.
  • obstacle The White House, via the Office of Management in Budget, released a statement today threatening—though not explicitly pledging—to veto any bill that contained such changes. source
  • » What’s being proposed: The provision, which comes in the form of an amendment to the FAA reauthorization bill, would affect the way votes are tallied when rail or aviation workers decide whether or not to unionize. Under the proposed amendment, no-shows and abstentions would count as “no” votes (that is, votes against unionization; if anyone can explain the intellectual justification behind such a policy, we’re all ears). But not only does the bill face a possible presidential veto; there’s also doubt as to whether House leadership even has the votes to pass it. We’ll keep you posted as to how this plays out after tomorrow’s vote.
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Mar 2011 18:05

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U.S.: Ohio House passes anti-union bill, abortion next big fight

  • labor war The Republican-led Ohio House approved their much publicized anti-public union bill, adding payments for health care and pensions, and restricting collective bargaining for 360,000 or so people. The bill will now head to the Senate.
  • culture war The Ohio “heartbeat” bill heads to the House. It would make abortion illegal if a fetal heartbeat is detected (normally about six weeks into pregnancy). The doctor would be guilty of a felony and could be sentenced to a year in prison. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Mar 2011 20:25

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U.S.: Wisconsin: Judge blocks collective bargaining law once again

  • then Wisconsin-based Judge Maryann Sumi ruled a couple of weeks ago that the just-passed anti-collective bargaining law couldn’t be implemented for procedural reasons. Scott Walker continued to implement it anyway.
  • now Judge Maryann Sumi has ruled again, saying that Secretary of State Doug La Follette can’t do anything to allow the law to take effect. Walker’s folks tried to get around him. With the latest order, they pretty much failed. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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