The former president of a Massey Energy subsidiary, who also served for 20 years in top positions throughout Massey, implicated former Massey CEO Donald Blankenship in a long-term scheme to hide mine safety violations from federal inspectors.

"Fix the Debt" portrays itself as a nonpartisan group designed to convince government to do something drastic about the national debt, which it says is a significant danger to the country. And despite widespread evidence from economists that their proposals would hurt the economy, Fix the Debt's members are pushing for a set of policies based on tax cuts for corporations and the wealthiest Americans and benefit cuts to lifelines like Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare.

On Tuesday, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA) joined with hotel workers for a rally demanding that Hyatt Hotels change a host of practices that the Hyatt Hurts campaign touts as the worst in the United States. More than 100 members of AFA-CWA rallied at Hyatt's headquarters in Chicago, picketing the building and delivering a letter to Hyatt endorsing the boycott.

Patriot Coal filed a motion in the Bankruptcy Court of the Eastern District of Missouri to be allowed to pay $6 million to 120 senior executives, company managers and office personnel. The company's top six executives would receive no bonuses in the plan, but the bonuses are being condemned by working families and retirees the company is attempting to deny health care coverage.

If you have an iPhone, make sure you take a minute to download the new free app, BizVizz. BizVizz people track taxes, government subsidies and political campaign donations of major corporations. Once you download the app, simply enter a company’s name or snap a picture of its logo and then the company information pops up. Future developments include creating an Android version of the app and expanding the catalog of corporate information. 

The American Legislative Exchange Council’s (ALEC's) long history of influencing state legislators—sometimes even writing legislation for them—to pass laws and promote policies that advance a corporate profit agenda, and at times an extreme conservative agenda, is well documented.

Now a new report shows another group—led by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush—is following the ALEC blueprint in pushing state education policy backed by for-profit education corporations.

Transport Workers (TWU) began running ads this week in the Provo Daily Herald, asking whether or not the airline, Allegiant, will actually be around to provide service to the community. In connection with the ads, TWU launched the website “WillAllegiantBeThere.org,” which includes an “UnRoute Map” of canceled service. Also on the website are reports of the low level of service the airline has provided in recent years.

Mine Workers (UMWA) President Cecil Roberts and nine other union members were arrested in front of Peabody Energy’s corporate headquarters in St. Louis yesterday, as more than 750 members and retirees sang Amazing Grace and held signs calling for fairness. Several of those arrested had oxygen tanks, and many in the crowd were brought to tears as the arrested protesters were peacefully loaded into the sheriff’s van while Which Side Are You On played on the loudspeakers. The protesters arrived at Peabody after marching from federal bankruptcy court, where Patriot Coal’s lawyers were inside. Those arrested were released later in the day, according to the St. Louis City Division of Corrections. 

As educated consumers, we try to keep up on the latest boycotts and ethical practices of employers so we can make responsible buying decisions, but it isn't always easy. Next Monday, a free iPhone app, BizVizz, will be available in the app store to help people track taxes, government subsidies and political campaign donations of major corporations. 

The AFL-CIO has long called for an end to tax subsidies for companies that ship jobs overseas. Now, in a new report, Citizens for Tax Justice shows just how much money these loopholes are costing us. The new report finds that U.S. multinational corporations are engaging in a massive amount of tax avoidance, particularly through tax havens in small countries like Bermuda. The corporations report that they "earned" large portions of their profits in tiny, low-tax countries in order to lower their tax rates, despite not having much, if any, actual activity or profit in those countries. Bermuda, for instance, is home to reported profits by American companies that are 1,000% of the country's actual GDP.