Updates
June 24, 2012: American Crystal Sugar workers reject contract; 63% say "no." The lockout has lasted 11 months.
The company’s original offer included a 17 percent wage increase over five years — which is now closer to 14 percent because the contract had a deadline — and increased pension, leave and vacation benefits. The union continued to demand wage and pension increases “significantly above’’ the final offer, company officials have said.Am I missing something? Look at the inflation numbers coming out of Washington: nowhere near this. In fact, there is more and more talk of a recession affecting the rest of the country.
Original Post
- "Lamb Barbecue With an Ancient Twist"
- "It's Time to Make Your CDs Obsolete"
- "Unlocking Yourself From the Clock."
- "Go Ahead, Think It Over."
The Post-it Note was an invention that almost wasn't -- intended as a bookmark, it languished internally at 3M before finding its true purpose.Second section:
Waiting to the last minute gives you the benefit of all thetime ou possess, letting ideas form and coalesce.
- "Brent Oil Prices Signal Possible Turning Point"
- "IRA Rules Get Trickier" -- long, long article. If you find it, you may want to bookmark it.
- "The Tax Rules for Renting Out Your Vacation Home"
"States Face Pressure on Pension Shortfalls"
The revamped rules expected to be approved Monday by an accounting-standards group will force governments to record pension costs sooner than they did before and disclose shortfalls more prominently. The changes also will force some public pension funds to calculate retirement benefits using more conservative assumptions.Good, bad, or indifferent, a lot of current pension problems are due to changes in regulations. Did states have enough time to react? If they had enough time, did they react in a timely manner?
The new rules could hit pension plans in states like Illinois and New Jersey particularly hard, and even raise borrowing costs for certain municipalities, analysts say. "This could be the event that incites a bigger policy response than what we've seen so far," says Matt Fabian, managing director at Municipal Market Advisors, a research firm.
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"For Middle-Aged Job Seekers, a Long Road Back"
Much of the attention during the prolonged U.S. employment crisis has been on high rates of joblessness among young people. Less noticed, but no less significant to many economists, has been the plight of the middle-aged. More than 3.5 million Americans between the ages of 45 and 64 were unemployed as of May, 39% of them for a year or more—a rate of long-term unemployment that is unprecedented in modern U.S. history, and far higher than among younger workers. Millions more have quit looking for work or, like Mr. Daniel, have taken part-time jobs to get by.All I can think of when I read articles like this is the message we sent folks when we killed the Keystone XL. The actual project didn't matter in the big scheme of things. The message we sent folks was the problem. The message: we really aren't all that concerned about your employment. The approval agency now wants to start the entire review process over, sending another message: there is no urgency.
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This is the vote I'm most interested in this weekend: "Midwest Sugar-Beet Workers Hold Vote." The vote will be today, Saturday.A primary I am most interested in: "Orrin Hatch Battles Ted Kennedy's Ghost in Utah."
A little insight on the ACS vote, I live in Hillsboro, ND which its major employer is ACS. A lot of people voted no just for spite of the fact that they rejected this same contract twice before, as in we've been saying no this long we can't swallow our pride now and say yes 11 months later because we can barely afford to keep food on the table. They also had about 10% less turnout than last winter/fall when they had turnouts in the 90s% I believe this one was around 82% so probably 10-15% of the people have moved on and found other jobs because they see the writing on the wall didn't even bother to vote or have crossed the picket line. Many others have moved on to other careers.
ReplyDeleteACS gambled that they could make it work with temps and due to the less than average beet crop last year probably helped them a lot. The union liked to claim that the sugar output from the plants was due to the fact that the temps didn't know what they were doing, and not from the below average crop. ACS went about it in the right way never used the media to state their side other than to release the actual contracts that the union turned down and short well worded statements, where the union sort of self destructed itself in trying to get the public to believe that ACS was trying to take away all their health care benefits and other perks when ACS was moving closer to what most employers have in this country (and probably due to the Health Care mandate if upheld by Supreme Court would be a benefit to the workers down the road). They also claimed the 17% raise was wiped out by the health care premiums they'd have to pay. I don't believe that would be the case but I didn't have all the inside information on that.
Needless to say the union did not get much sympathy from the general public and in these down times they seemed quite greedy. If ACS can get through this fall with the new permanent hires (accepting the same terms the union turned down) and temps, I doubt the union will be back in the plants any time soon.
So yes you're not missing anything...
I appreciate the detail. I certainly don't know anything more than I read, and we all know how (in)accurate news reporting can be, but 17% over five years....
DeleteI put this in context with the cities (such as Stockton, California) that are going bankrupt because they can't afford to pay pensions, etc. Those folks will see their pensions cut significantly, and a lot of current city employees will lose their jobs. With unemployment in double digits in some parts of the country, sometimes one needs to consider the alternative...I agree with you...at this stage, it would be difficult for a union member to vote yes.....it becomes a matter of pride.....
... anyway, best of luck to all involved. Thank you for taking time to write a long note.