Economic/Political Articles
USW Wants Relief From Subsidized Chinese Paper
A new study documenting illegal subsidies to Chinese paper producers shows that U.S., policymakers must intervene now to preserve the domestic paper industry and hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs, the United Steelworkers (USW) said in a statement released on Wednesday. The report, entitled No Paper Tiger: Subsidies to China’s Paper Industry from 2002-2009 was released by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) and documents $33 billion in government subsidies to the Chinese paper industry for pulp, coal … more
How to Spot a Deficit Peacock
Four Ways to Tell When Someone Isn't Serious About the Deficit
President Barack Obama will release his fiscal year 2011 budget proposal on Monday, February 1, and the fiscal future it projects is sure to be troubling. It is very likely that the budget will show substantial deficits throughout the next decade, even with any newly proposed deficit reduction measures. It is also very likely that the release of these projections will set off another chorus of concerned pundits and lawmakers who will loudly insist that they are true deficit hawks and want to reduce the deficit. Deficit hawks come in a variety … more
Jim McDermott: Unemployment Standoff 'A Class Warfare Issue'
The House of Representatives approved a bill to reauthorize expired unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless on Thursday, after a similar measure failed for the fourth time in the Senate the previous night due to a Republican filibuster. The House measure, sponsored by Reps. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) and Sander Levin (D-Mich.), is essentially moot until the Senate is able to pass a bill of its own, which, because of the Independence Day recess, won't happen until July 12 at the earliest. The Republican party, along … more
Steering U.S.-China Economic Relations Toward A New Normal
Let's take a moment to note that stock prices fell sharply Tuesday in part because of a downward revision of leading economic indicators -- in China. I suspect that Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger had no idea what they were getting us into 40 years ago when they first broached the subject of normalizing relations between the world's most populous nation and its richest. Nor could Bill Clinton and his team have foreseen how imbalanced an economic relationship they were ushering in with the deal that effectively opened U.S. markets to … more
Steelworker Articles
Safety Hazard? Union Raps Job Cuts At Sunoco Plant – District 10
As the sun rose over the horizon, about two dozen union steelworkers handed out leaflets and stickers at four of Sunoco’s gates Thursday morning to highlight safety in the oil refinery industry, especially in light of incidents that occurred locally, such as the May 2009 ethylene complex explosion. “We’ve got to protect our own people,” Jerry Dugan of United Steelworkers Local 10-901 said as he distributed the materials by the B-11 gate. “We’ve got to protect the community.” Later in the day, Thomas Golembeski, Sunoco’s manager, corporate … more
Union To Take 'Strike Vote' On Latest Alcan Offer – District 8
Union workers at the Alcan Rolled Products plant in Ravenswood are prepared to strike later this month if they reject the company's latest "final" contract offer, a United Steelworkers official said Thursday. "This will be a strike vote," said Nathan Miller, vice president of the USW's Local 5668 in Ravenswood. "If it votes down, we'll be on strike." Union employees plan to vote on the proposed contract July 8-9 at the aluminum plant's main gate. Union leaders and Alcan executives met Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss the company's … more
Company Buys 2 Nursing Homes, Discharges Staff – District 1
Workers caught by surprise
Westlake-based JAG Healthcare acquired Village Care Center, 925 Wagner Ave. in Galion, and Heritage Care Center, 100 Rogers Lane in Shelby. Former owner Continium Health Care informed employees around midnight Wednesday that their services were no longer needed. JAG owns several small-scale nursing homes in Ohio, with facilities in Marion, Wayne, Medina and Knox counties, all with 200 or fewer beds. "They said there was nothing to worry about a month ago when our (patient) census got low," Village Care nursing assistant … more
Questions Remain After First Day Of New Gun Law – District 7
Companies still are attempting to figure out their policies after a new state law took allowing workers to store guns and ammunition in their vehicles while at work took effect Thursday. Some employees who contacted The Times on Wednesday were worried about possible vehicle searches at ArcelorMittal plants. But outside the gates of the east side of the Indiana Harbor complex early Thursday morning, the only activity seen was cars whizzing by to enter company property. Tom Hargrove, president of United Steelworkers Local 1010 … more
Union Voting On New Contracts Today – District 7
Steelworkers, Haynes say tentative agreement is ‘fair for the times’
Kokomo’s steelworkers’ union plans to vote today on a proposed three-year contract with Haynes International Inc. Rex Ambrose, president of United Steelworkers 2958, said Wednesday he could not release specific details about the tentative collective bargaining agreement because the union had not yet released all the information to members. He described the contract as “fair for the times” for the union’s members, who he said earn an average wage of about $26 per hour. The contract will cover the union’s more than 400 members … more |
