May 14, 2015

Minimum wage hikes unaffordable for American Samoa cannery

The parent company of a recently opened tuna cannery in American Samoa says it cannot afford future minimum wage increases.

Tri Marine International's Samoa Tuna Processors plant was officially opened in American Samoa in January, and currently employs about 500 people, with the minimum wage for cannery workers set at $4.76.

The next mandated 50 cent minimum wage hike for the territory is set to be effective from September 30.

However, Tri Marine's chief operations officer, Joe Hamby, says the company has just started in ther territory and increasing costs will have a negative impact on its young business. http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/273575/minimum-wage-hikes-unaffordable-for-american-samoa-cannery

May 14, 2015

Unions call attention to protracted labor negotiations with Southwest

Unions representing pilots and ramp workers at Southwest Airlines sought Tuesday to call attention to their protracted labor negotiations with the Dallas-based carrier.

The ramp workers, who are working under a contract that became amendable in June 2011, announced plans to picket outside Southwest’s annual meeting Wednesday in downtown Houston.

“We’ve been talking to this company about a new agreement since 2011, but management still won’t offer a fair deal,” TWU Local 555 President Greg Puriski said in the union’s announcement. The local represents more than 11,000 Southwest Airlines ramp, operations, provisioning and freight agents.

Meanwhile, the union representing Southwest’s pilots said it was activating its strike preparedness committee. That doesn’t mean a strike is imminent, but it means the pilots are taking the necessary steps to be ready to strike if it gets to that point.

http://www.dallasnews.com/business/airline-industry/20150512-unions-call-attention-to-protracted-labor-negotiations-with-southwest.ece

May 14, 2015

Daily Holidays - May 14

National Buttermilk
 Biscuit Day It's time to celebrate biscuits, that go well with gravy.
Biscuits appeared in the USA prior to Civil War. Cooks used them as a cheap addition to meals. As far as biscuits do not require yeast, it's a kind of quickbread, that anyone can make for dinner and even breakfast.

The leavening agent in biscuits is baking soda, that reacts with buttermilk. The reaction results in production of carbon dioxide bubbles, that let dough expand while baking. As far as biscuits do not require any time for leavening, busy moms can bake them for breakfast.

Biscuits became popular when people realized, that their hardness, compared to sliced bread, worked better to wipe up gravy on the plate. This evolved into a well-known meal, biscuits and gravy.

Biscuits are great as breakfast bread and they are usually served with butter, molasses, jam, honey. Although dough for biscuits contains a healthy dose of butter, many people butter biscuits after they were served. No matter how you prefer buttermilk biscuits, it would be great to bake them for National Buttermilk Biscuit Day. https://anydayguide.com/calendar/1016

National Chicken Dance Day Dance Like a Chicken Day is celebrated each year on May 14th! This is a fun day from start to finish! Everyone has probably danced the ”Chicken Dance” at least once in their lifetime. This fun, silly song is popular at wedding dances, Oktoberfest and other celebrations. The song gets people of all ages up and moving on the dance floor.

The “Chicken Dance” is a fad dance to an oom-pah song and is now a contemporary dance throughout the Western world. The song was composed by Swiss accordion player, Werner Thomas, in the 1950?s and originally titled “Der Ententanz” (The Duck Dance). In the late 1970?s, the name of the song was changed to “Vogeltanz” (The Bird Dance) or “Vogerltanz” (Little Bird Dance or Birdie Dance). When arriving to America in the 1970?s, the song had acquired choreography with repetitive beak, wing, and tail motions and the name was again changed to “The Chicken Dance“. http://nationaldaycalendar.com/days-2/national-dance-like-a-chicken-day-may-14/

Underground America Day National Underground America Day is observed annually on May 14th and was created by architect Malcolm Wells in 1974. Wells (1926 – 2009) is considered “the father of modern earth-sheltered architecture”. Wells was also a writer, illustrator, draftsman, lecturer, cartoonist, columnist, and solar consultant, practiced what he preached by living in a modern earth-sheltered building of his own design. He took up the challenge of underground architecture as he believed the Earth’s surface was “made for living plants, not industrial plants”. http://nationaldaycalendar.com/days-2/national-underground-america-day-may-14/

http://www.famousbirthdays.com/may15.html

May 13, 2015

Missouri House passes, but may have killed, 'right to work,' as Diehl apologizes in sexting scandal

Amid a sex-text scandal engulfing the House speaker, the Missouri House voted Wednesday to approve an anti-union bill that would make Missouri the nation's 26th "right-to-work" state.

But the 92-66 vote was well shy the 109 needed to override Gov. Jay Nixon’s promised veto, prompting even some Republican lawmakers to blast their leadership for pressing for the controversial matter during the session’s final week.

“This symbolic gesture has killed all of our bills,’’ said state Rep. Kevin Engler, R-Farmington. “Does this make any sense?”

“Right to work” would bar employers and unions from requiring all workers to pay dues if a majority have voted to join a union. Such an arrangement is called a “closed shop.”

http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/missouri-house-passes-may-have-killed-right-work-diehl-apologizes-sexting-scandal

May 13, 2015

Mo. Senate shuts down debate to pass "right-to-work"

JEFFERSON CITY • Missouri Senate Republicans shut down debate Tuesday to pass a “right-to-work” measure after Democrats filibustered the bill for more than eight hours.

In return, Senate Democrats plan to shut down everything else until the session ends at 6 p.m. Friday.

The Republicans “are the ones who chose the nuclear option,” said Sen. Scott Sifton, D-St. Louis County. The rare measure to shut down debate, known as the previous question, has been used in the Senate only 14 times since 1970. It’s often used in the House.

The Senate’s vote of 21-13 to pass the measure, which would bar unions statewide from collecting fees from nonunion members, means Democrats will make the passage of a bill renewing health care provider taxes very complicated. Those taxes are used to draw matching payments from the federal government for the state’s Medicaid program.

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/mo-senate-shuts-down-debate-to-pass-right-to-work/article_0a78e410-d6d1-538c-bd94-46cd5624174f.html

May 13, 2015

Labor-management cooperation works – very well

Collinsville – A new research report says the Metro East area has become the ultimate proof that labor-management cooperation really does work – and that we need more of it.

Six construction projects described in the report, ranging from an elementary school to one of the Midwest’s largest power plants, shared common results that any builder would want:

The projects include two of the largest in the Midwest in recent years – the Prairie State Generating Campus, in Washington County, IL, southeast of St. Louis, and the Phillips 66 refinery renovation at Wood River in Madison County, both successfully completed.

All of the projects used Project Labor Agreements (PLA), arranged by the Southwestern Illinois Building & Construction Trades Council, to plan the work, organize the union workforce, control costs and deal successfully with delays and other setbacks.

http://labortribune.com/labor-management-cooperation-works-very-well/

May 13, 2015

Union barber struggling in aftermath of Ferguson riots

Marty Buchheit, UFCW Local 655’s longest existing member and, at 57 years in business, quite possibly the longest working barber in the metro area, says he’s slowing down – and he hates it.

He made it through the 1960s when long hair for men was in fashion. He survived when men started frequenting salons instead of barbers. He even endured through the riots following the police involved shooting death of Ferguson teenager Michael Brown, but business has been slow to come back.

Now, Buchheit is hoping for union support to get him through a time that seems insurmountable to some.

“People ask me why I don’t retire,” Buchheit said. “I am retired. Hey, I work three days a week and enjoy what I’m doing.”

http://labortribune.com/union-barber-struggling-in-aftermath-of-ferguson-riots/

May 13, 2015

Safeway sets nine closures in Denver

Safeway said it plans to close nine locations in the Denver metropolitan area by June 13.

“The stores have not been profitable for quite some time,” a company spokeswoman told SN, “and despite the best efforts of the company and our employees, we have not been able to reposition them to better compete in the marketplace.”

In a press release the company said the decision to close the stores came “after long and careful deliberation. For more than a year we evaluated these stores extensively and looked at options to improve their performance, but ultimately our business analysis indicated we needed to cease operations at these locations.”

http://supermarketnews.com/retail-financial/safeway-sets-nine-closures-denver

May 13, 2015

North Korea 'executes defence chief' on treason charges

North Korea has executed its defence chief on treason charges, Seoul's National Intelligence Service (NIS) has told South Korean politicians.

The execution appears to be the latest of a series of high-level purges since Kim Jong-un took power after his father's death in 2011.

NIS officials told a closed-door parliamentary committee meeting that People's Armed Forces Minister Hyon Yong-chol was killed by anti-aircraft gunfire with hundreds watching at a shooting range at Pyongyang's Kang Kon Military Academy in late April, according to lawmaker Shin Kyoung-min. Shin attended the briefing.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/05/north-korea-executes-defence-minister-pyongyang-hyon-yong-chol-150513045227664.html

May 13, 2015

Daily Holidays - May 13

National Apple Pie Day Apple pie is considered to be a national American dessert. Enjoy a piece or even two of apple pie to celebrate National Apple Pie Day, that falls on May 13.
Although there is a saying “as American as apple pie” apple pie actually isn't American invention. It was invented in England and its first printed recipe appeared in 1381. The very first apple pie called for good apples, good spices, raisins, figs, pears, saffron and cofyn, that is a casing of pastry. Apple pie became a common dish in the USA only in the 18th century, and during the next hundred years it evolved into a symbol of American prosperity and national pride.

Did you know that Yale College has got a tradition to serve apple pie every supper? This tradition has been lasting for more than 100 years. You don't need to follow Yale's tradition everyday, but today an apple pie would be a great choice for a dessert. Even if you have your favorite recipe of apple pie, it would be great if you tried a new filling for pie. Maybe, it will become your second or even first favorite apple pie. https://anydayguide.com/calendar/1036

National Fruit Cocktail 
Day National Fruit Cocktail Day is observed each year on May 13th. Many of us have childhood memories of a dish of fruit cocktail served regularly with a meal.

Fruit cocktail consists of various kinds of fruit, served in a liquid of it’s own juices or a syrup. It is often sold canned and is a staple in cafeterias, however, it can be made fresh.

The word “cocktail” in the name, does not refer to alcohol. The secondary definition of cocktail is “An appetizer made by combining pieces of food, such as fruit or seafood”.

In the United States, canned fruit cocktail is stipulated by the USDA to contain certain percentages of pears, grapes, cherries, peaches and pineapples. http://nationaldaycalendar.com/days-2/national-fruit-cocktail-day-may-13-2/

Frog Jumping Day Celebrated each year on May 13, National Frog Jumping Day is a favorite of young and old alike.

In 1865, Mark Twain’s first short story, “Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog” was published. Later, he changed the name and published it as, “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”. This same story also had a third title, “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”.

The current frog jumping record was set in 1986 by Rosie the Ribeter, who jumped 21 feet, 5-3/4 inches. http://nationaldaycalendar.com/days-2/national-frog-jumping-day-may-13/


National Third Shift Workers Day which is also known as National Night Shift Workers Day, is annually observed on the second Wednesday in May.

This day was created to honor all workers, who work hard through the night (night after night), for the necessity and benefit of the company of which they are employed. http://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-third-shift-workers-day-second-wednesday-in-may/

http://www.famousbirthdays.com/may13.html