UAW expected to concede worker benefits for congressional approval
The UAW says they are open to all options, including re-opening the contract that was just negotiated in 2007. UAW officials meet today to negotiate some cutbacks that may help Chrysler, Ford and GM...
View ArticleEt tu, A-Rod? Positive test for steroids tarnishes reputation
When it came to light that Alex Rodriguez tested positive for steroids in 2003, baseball fans were shocked. His teammates and fellow players were shocked too, but for different reasons. The Baseball...
View ArticleBaseball union facing tough questions in wake of A-Rod steroid scandal
Alex Rodriguez broke the hearts of fans and delighted his detractors when he admitted this week that he took performance enhancing drugs during his years as a Texas Ranger. While fans may have a lot of...
View ArticleFrom the frontlines of GM a UAW worker weighs in
Later today President Obama is set to unveil his new plan to revive the flailing U.S. auto industry. As part of the administration's strategy, GM CEO Rick Wagoner was asked to step down. What does his...
View ArticleMajor League Baseball: The End of the Fehr Era
Major League Baseball is losing an icon. Don Fehr is retiring after 26 years. He's not a second baseman or even a coach. He's the executive director of the Major League Baseball Player's Association...
View ArticleNo 'Card Check' in the New Labor Union Bill
Labor leaders had pinned their hopes on a new bill in Congress called the Employee Free Choice Act. They hoped something called a "card check" would be part of that bill, which would have made it much...
View ArticleUnion Yes! President Takes His Message to Workers
President Obama is traveling across the nation to rally people behind health care reform. One of this biggest stops happened yesterday, with a speech in Pittsburgh before hundreds of members of the...
View ArticleDoes the United Autoworkers Union Still Matter?
At their convention today in Detroit, the United Autoworkers Union will elect a new president, ending the eight-year tenure of Ron Gettelfinger. Gettelfinger led the union through one of the most...
View ArticleToomey, Sestak and the Chocolate Factory
Takeaway Washington correspondent Todd Zwillich went to his hometown, Hershey, in Dauphin County, Penn. — home of America's most famous chocolate factory. He asked union members of Chocolate Workers...
View ArticleShould States Be Allowed to Declare Bankruptcy?
Forty-four states and Washington, D.C. anticipate budget shortfalls of over $125 million by the end of fiscal year 2011, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Many state policymakers...
View ArticlePrivatizing Pensions: Solution to States' Financial Woes?
We’ve talked a lot about states’ budget crises on The Takeaway. Yesterday we discussed legislation that would allow states to declare bankruptcy. Many state policymakers blame their financial woes on...
View ArticleProposed Bill Threatens Wisconsin Unions
Teachers and other state workers in Wisconsin are rallying at the State Capitol in Madison this week over a bill that would remove the unions' rights to collectively bargain over health care and...
View ArticleUnion Battles Spread to Ohio
In Wisconsin, demonstrators are camped out for a seventh day over a state bill that would cut state workers’ ability to bargain collectively. But Wisconsin isn’t the only state where union battles are...
View ArticleWisconsin Senate to Convene Without Democrats
In a press conference held Monday evening, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker said that it was time to move forward on a budget repair bill currently stalled by the absence of the state’s fourteen...
View ArticleWisconsin's Battle Continues Over Collective Bargaining
Senate Democrats are still hiding out in Illinois in an effort to stall a vote on a budget proposal that would restrict collective bargaining among public workers in Wisconsin. Police officers were...
View ArticleSocial Studies Lessons from the Wisconsin Budget Battle
The battle between Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and public unions continues. Tuessday, Governor Walker introduced his two-year budget proposal, which includes nearly $900 million in public school...
View ArticleNFL Union Battles and the Future of Football
The NFL management has accused its players of deliberately trying to decertify their own union. If no action is taken, the National Football League Players Association will be decertified at midnight...
View ArticleOhio Senate Passes Union Bill
Ohio’s Senate voted 17 to 16 in favor of a controversial bill that would effectively end collective bargaining rights for public sector workers. This is the first step towards passage of the bill — a...
View ArticleAre Union Issues Civil Rights Issues?
While the image of union workers is one of white men in hard hats, the reality is that African-Americans and other minorities may be hit hardest if the unions fall. Studies show that 14.5 percent of...
View ArticleGovernor Walker's Game of Chicken
Wisconsin's Governor Scott Walker has officially threatened to lay off some 1500 state employees if he can't get Democratic state senators to return and allow a vote on the Governor's much-disputed...
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