Wall Street wrecked the economy, and banks are still refusing to work with people who are trying to stay in their homes. The Campaign for a Fair Settlement, along with other partners, is calling on President Obama to champion an agenda that would:
1. Hold bankers accountable for their crimes.
2. Keep people in their homes by resetting their mortgages.
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More than 100 striking taxi drivers from Las Vegas traveled to the state Capitol in Carson City, Nev., this week to rally in support of legislation to crack down on the practice of "long-hauling" and to give drivers a voice on the Nevada Taxicab Authority Board. As previously reported, the drivers, who are members of ITPEU/OPEIU Local 4873, have been on strike since May 3 from Yellow-Checker-Star Transportation.
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Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) filed legislation to end the requirement that the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) pre-fund 75 years of retiree health care benefits. The requirement, passed by Congress in 2006, is unprecedented, as no other private or public entity has to meet such a standard. That requirement is the key factor driving Postal Service deficits and defaults and has led to proposals to end Saturday service, close rural post offices and lay off postal workers. Think Progress reports the USPS would have a $1.5 billion surplus if it wasn't for the pre-funding rule set by the Republican majority in Congress.
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Wednesday, May 1, is May Day, when working families, labor unions and their allies will be celebrating the holiday honoring workers and uniting in the struggle for immigrant and workers' rights.
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Ed Sills of the Texas AFL-CIO sends us this:
My wife and I are big fans of “The Good Wife,” which, besides the inspired-by-real-events plotline—a wife “stands by” a cheating politician who has a statewide profile—is as fine a legal procedural as I have seen on television. The show combines a “case-of-the-week” approach with the ongoing soap-opera-style plot, and it pops.
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Here is a great story about unions giving back and making a big difference in their community from David Groves, editor for the Washington State Labor Council’s (WSLC‘s) news site The Stand. Groves reports on the Central Washington Building and Construction Trades Council’s (CWBCTC's) volunteer efforts that provided 100% of the labor to build a 14,000-square-foot warehouse for Second Harvest, a network of 250 neighborhood food banks and meal centers throughout eastern Washington and north Idaho.
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A new report from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) shows that two Missouri paycheck deception bills are not necessary to protect workers and they would limit the free speech and political spending of unions and organized workers, while allowing unlimited corporate spending on political causes.
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