DES MOINES, Iowa — Des Moines police have arrested a suspect in the fatal shooting of two men at a trucking company. Police said Friday that 39-year-old Ronald Hawkinson is expected to be charged with two counts of first-degree murder. He was detained in Winterset Thursday evening about 30 miles away from where the shooting took place in south Des Moines

“There is only enough spectrum right now to last 18 months” at the current rate of growth seen by wireless carriers and the spread of smart phones, Schenk said. That should concern carriers, shippers, technology providers and truck drivers who increasingly integrate these products into their daily lives and businesses, he said.

The production cost gap between the U.S. and China is steadily decreasing, but the number of U.S. jobs gained through near-sourcing will barely offset the amount of U.S. manufacturing jobs to be lost to countries with cheaper labor, according to a recent study. Although the gap in total landed costs between the U.S. and China will shrink to 16 percent next year, few low-skill manufacturing costs will return, according to the study by The Hackett Group. The jobs will instead go to other emerging markets with lower labor costs, including India, Thailand and Vietnam.

The workers, represented by Teamsters Local 436 in Cleveland, have been trying to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement for months, but Smucker’s is insisting on eliminating senior workers’ rights, which the company claims is necessary to operate their new plant.

May 16, 2012 On April 17, workers at Atlantic Aviation in Louisville, Kentucky voted in favor of joining Teamsters Local 89 by a 3-1 margin. The new bargaining unit includes 24 workers who fuel private and commercial aircraft at Standiford Field in Louisville.

Agency research shows the technology could prevent up to 56 percent of rollover crashes each year—the deadliest among all crash types—and another 14 percent of loss-of-control crashes, officials said.

BM&L Trucking and affiliated company IDM Transportation is the fourth motor carrier the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has shut down in the last four months for safety violations. Investigators found that BM&L didn’t conduct pre-employment drug screenings of its drivers, and the carrier operated vehicles with serious mechanical defects.

Bucking stereotype, not all bean counters in a crisis situation focus on counting beans. In the deluge of data available to YRC Worldwide CFO Jamie Pierson as he guides the trucker through a turnaround, he says that some of the most important data points are of the non-financial variety. YRC Worldwide CFO Jamie Pierson“I’ve got more stats than I can look at in any given day, but what I care about is that those stats turn into performance,” Pierson said. “If they don’t, then we’re watching the wrong ones.”

FORT SMITH, Ark., May 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Arkansas Best Corporation (ABFS) will appear at the 5th Annual Wolfe Trahan Global Transportation Conference in New York, New York, on Wednesday, May 23, at 9:00 a.m. ET. Michael E. Newcity, Vice President - Chief Financial Officer, will speak on the "Public LTL Carrier" panel. The live program will be webcast (in a listen-only mode) and an archive will be available following the presentation.

Instead of reporting to work, nearly 80 members of Teamsters Local 215 are spending their days picketing in front of their employer. On Tuesday, May 8, Allied Waste Services of Evansville locked out all of its union employees after contract negotiations broke down and the union didn’t accept the company’s “last, best and final offer.”

OVERLAND PARK, Kan., May 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- YRC Freight, the North American less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier of holding company YRC Worldwide Inc. (YRCW), is proud to announce its selection as the 2011 National Carrier of the Year by FreightCenter.com, a leading third-party logistics company. This marks the second consecutive year YRC Freight has received the FreightCenter.com award.

Romney’s campaign doesn’t foresee the 43rd president playing a substantive role in the race. Aides are carefully weighing how much the former president should be involved in the GOP convention _ and for good reason. The Bush fatigue that was a drag on GOP nominee John McCain four years ago, and on the country, still lingers, including among Republicans.

Adam DeGroot spends about 40 hours a week behind the counter at Which Wich near UNM's campus, taking orders and making sandwiches. A qualified electrician, DeGroot said this is the last thing he imagined doing. He graduated from Central New Mexico Community College two years ago. After a brief stint in his field, he was laid off and had to do something.

Republicans declared they had a “moral imperative” to reform the system, robotically insisting their plan was not merely to repeal health-care reform but “repeal and replace.” As Jonathan Bernstein notes, just last January, Republicans in Congress promised to have their all-gain, no-pain alternative ready and raring to go for the summer so they could move if the Supreme Court overturned Obamacare. But, in a development that received almost no attention at all, Republicans quietly conceded last week that they aren’t going to replace Obamacare at all.

(WASHINGTON) – In a victory for Hostess workers, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain issued an oral decision Monday night denying Hostess Brands Inc’s motion to reject all Teamster labor contracts, meaning that all contracts with Teamster local unions remain in effect

OVERLAND PARK, Kan., May 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- YRC Freight, a subsidiary of YRC Worldwide Inc. (YRCW), has announced immediate plans to hire 200 qualified over-the-road drivers in cities across the U.S., primarily in Maybrook, NY; Buffalo, NY; St. Paul, MN; Chicago, Il; Salt Lake City, UT; Akron, OH; Cleveland, OH; Cincinnati, OH; North Indianapolis, IN; Charlotte, NC; Jackson, MS: Albuquerque, NM; and Kansas City, MO.

"Carrier awards programs measure what matters most to a company's success," said Jim Ferguson, vice president of sales and marketing for Holland. "We are gratified by this prestigious recognition and honored that GlobalTranz has recognized our regional expertise in next-day deliveries, quality handling and on-time performance. Holland employees will continue to focus on providing exceptional freight services for GlobalTranz and its customers."

The GlobalTranz award program recognizes suppliers for exceptional performance and quality. To determine award recipients, GlobalTranz agents and representatives rated carriers on six key criteria: on-time pickup, on-time delivery, driver courtesy, claims and damages, billing accuracy and customer service.

The EEOC charged that the company used a reduction-in-force as a ruse to fire eight dockworkers, some of whom had worked at the company for 20 or more years and were approximately 50 years old and older.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Monday struck down new regulations governing union elections, saying the National Labor Relations Board did not follow proper voting procedures when it approved the rules last year.

Over the past decade, more than 300 oil and gas workers like Mr. Roth were killed in highway crashes, the largest cause of fatalities in the industry. Many of these deaths were due in part to oil field exemptions from highway safety rules that allow truckers to work longer hours than drivers in most other industries, according to safety and health experts.

Los Angeles, CA [May 14, 2012] – In the wake of Wal-Mart’s Mexican bribery scandal, unions in Los Angeles are going on a major offensive to stop Wal-Mart’s growth in that city. This comes on the heels of a controversy involving the issuance of building permits for a Wal-Mart in LA’s historic Chinatown. The building permits were issued on the close of business the day before an ordinance was to be introduced in City Council that would have blocked the store.

A state appeals court had ordered the case against JCP&L dismissed, reasoning that because neither the county nor the township had ordered JCP&L to move the pole, that “conferred immunity on JCP&L for any motor vehicle accident involving the pole,” according to the Supreme Court ruling. However, the Supreme Court reversed that decision and reinstated the suit against JCP&L, saying that because the utility was “solely responsible for the location of its pole,” it was not entitled to immunity.

Shipper index held ‘steady’ in March, but research firm sees rocky road ahead Shippers can expect more upward pressure on truck pricing through the fall as available capacity tightens, according to research firm FTR Associates.

Hundreds of protestors turned out for a rally in Addison, Texas on May 12, protesting the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) – a secretive multi-national deal that could lead to the loss of millions of American jobs overseas.

Driving the issue is a drop in revenue from the state fuel tax, which pays for highway and bridge maintenance. Revenue is falling as fuel efficiency increases and as more people are expected to drive hybrids or electric cars. The Road User Fee Task Force in 2006 looked at a GPS-based system that could track the number of miles a vehicle was driven. However, fearing their whereabouts could be tracked, drivers strongly opposed the system. The idea is now dead, said Jim Whitty, director of the task force.

As we celebrate National Police Week with our Teamster brothers and sisters in law enforcement, every year we are reminded of the daily sacrifices made by those who put their lives on the line in the name of justice and public safety. For members of Local 633 in Manchester, N.H., that painful reminder came a month early this year with the tragedy of another fallen officer on April 12, 2012.

CLEVELAND, May 11 — For the second time in 2012, BLET members have unanimously approved a new contract agreement with a short line railroad.

So-called extended benefits were eliminated Saturday in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas. The same thing already had happened in April in states including South Carolina, Oregon, Washington and Tennessee. Advertise | AdChoicesThat leaves a minority of states where workers are eligible for that last round of benefits.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Monday officially rescinded the so-called remedial Final Rule on “Electronic On-Board Recorders for Hours of Service Compliance” issued in April 2010, a rule that was vacated by a court of appeals in August 2011.

Meanwhile, the FMCSA is moving forward with a proposed rulemaking issued in January 2011 that would require all carriers to use EOBRs and had hoped to have that rule in place sometime last year.

Trucking activity is on the upswing in the U.S. — albeit a smaller upswing than a year earlier, according to the Orlando Business Journal. The American Trucking Associations reported the 12-month, seasonally-adjusted for-hire truck tonnage index — considered a measure of industry health — rose 0.2 percent in March. That was smaller than the 0.5 percent increase seen in February of this year, the report showed.

If approved, the job cuts would follow a pattern set two years ago, when women made up less than a third of the city's total workforce but constituted 54% of the layoffs called for by Villaraigosa, according to records. Dozens of child-care workers and library employees were among those let go. Union members have raised the issue at news conferences and council budget hearings, where one city worker this month drew cheers from the audience when she told lawmakers: "This is an attack on women!"

The political will of organized labor is still swelling, six months after unions mobilized against attempts to limit the collective-bargaining rights of public employees. Their campaign persuaded voters to trounce the law known as Senate Bill 5. But for unions, the success became more than a win. It was a transformation, at a time of declining union membership and political apathy.

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Gov. Scott Walker said Friday that Republicans gathering for the annual state convention this weekend should be focused on ensuring he and five other Republicans survive June 5 recall elections, even as an intraparty fight over endorsing GOP candidates for the U.S. Senate election threatens to be a distraction.

On Friday hundreds of pilots and other employees marched into AMR headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas, and in New York to deliver a message of "no confidence" in AMR management. The unions believe that a combined company would cut fewer jobs and stand a better chance at competing with industry leaders United and Delta.

Chains such as JCPenney and Gap are cultivating an inclusive vibe with new ads depicting gay couples, but they’re doing the math first: How many customers will they win vs. how many will they alienate? President Barack Obama worked a similar equation in declaring his support of same-sex marriage, according to pundits. “I can't imagine large companies like JCPenney and the Gap would make big investments without doing their homework and due diligence for it to make sense," said Karen Post, the author of "Brand Turnaround.”

Starting May 16, new United States Postal Service regulations will prohibit customers from mailing iPads, Kindles, Smartphones and other electronics with lithium batteries overseas, according to an article in the Atlanta Business Chronicle, a Business First sister publication.

ATLANTA (AP) -- United Parcel Service Inc. said Friday that it has lined up the financing it needs for its bid to acquire Europe's No. 2 express-mail company, Netherlands-based TNT Express.

YRC Worldwide Inc. today announced it has been named to the FORTUNE 500 list of the largest U.S.-based companies. YRCW was ranked 487 overall.

“We must have Wall Street in check to restore the balance between the financial economy and the real economy,” said Trumka, 62. The AFL-CIO is the nation’s largest labor federation.

ROME, N.Y. — Walking through his high-ceilinged factory here, explaining the production of sheets of copper, M. Brian O’Shaughnessy comes across as a staunch advocate of manufacturing in America. But he invariably adds: “There is nothing made in the United States that has to be made here — that can’t be shipped in from some other country.”

DALLAS (AP) — Carroll Shelby, the legendary car designer and champion auto racer who built the fabled Shelby Cobra sports car and injected testosterone into Ford's Mustang and Chrysler's Viper, has died. He was 89

“Obviously yesterday we made some news,” President Obama told $40,000-a-plate guests at a fundraiser at the home of George Clooney in Studio City, Calif., on Thursday. The event raised nearly $15 million, expected to be a record. Mr. Obama's statement supporting marriage equality for all couples fulfills a longstanding demand of a critical group of donors – the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender community. On Monday, the president is scheduled to appear at a fundraiser in New York sponsored by gay and Latino supporters. On June 6, he heads back to Los Angeles for a LGBT gala, which organizers say quickly exceeded its 700-person limit after the president’s announcement.

___

how gay are they?

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — A Mississippi truck driver pleaded guilty in the death of a woman who was pushed from his truck along a Missouri interstate.

It “creates a situation where these guys say, ‘You know what? I’m just going to hold on for a little bit and maybe cancel or move my order out a bit,’” said Eric Starks, president of Nashville, Indiana-based forecaster FTR Associates

Global investors increasingly prefer President Barack Obama to Republican challenger Mitt Romney and most say they believe the incumbent will remain in the White House for another four years. Asked who would be the better leader for the global economy, 49 percent favor Obama against 38 percent for Romney, according to a quarterly Bloomberg Global Poll. In January, the two candidates tied on the question

A recently passed Senate bill would reimburse the USPS about $11 billion for overpaying into federal workers’ retirement fund, but the legislation fell short in approving operation and work force cuts. The agency this week pulled back on plans to close rural post offices, electing instead to shorten the hours of remote sites.

Starbucks' one-button policy was carried out following an informal settlement with the NLRB in March 2006. The prohibited pins were less than 1 inch in diameter and bore the initials "IWW" for Industrial Workers of the World in white letters against a red background.

Much has been written over the past 24 hours that does well to explain why the Obama regime's despicable decision to bestow unprecedented constitutional protections on those whose only connection to America is that they have directed the incineration of thousands of our innocent countrymen or worked not quite as "successfully" for the same or worse.

The American Civil Liberties Union begs to differ. Its lawyers have filed motions against Guantanamo military prosecutors' plans to pre-emptively classify and erase any remarks made by the defendants alluding to their treatment in detention and interrogation. The rights group that has doggedly criticized the tribunal since it was created by presidential edict a few weeks after 9/11 also complains that the military commission's imposition of a 40-second delay in the audio feed from the proceedings to those watching behind a soundproof glass wall is unjustified and destined to be confusing. Hina Shamsi, one of the ACLU lawyers challenging the military's attempt to shield embarrassing disclosures by the defendants subjected to waterboarding and other now-banned interrogation methods, said the mistreatment of detainees is a "dark reality" of the tribunal and needs to be acknowledged.

This rat was water-boarded 183 times?
They should have drowned him after he gurgled out the info they wanted

Madison - A filmmaker released a video Thursday that shows Gov. Scott Walker saying he would use "divide and conquer" as a strategy against unions. Walker made the comments to Beloit billionaire Diane Hendricks, who has since given $510,000 to the governor's campaign - making her Walker's single-largest donor and the largest known donor to a candidate in state history.

It remains true, however, that Utah on the whole is a breeding ground for conservatives. According to a Gallup Poll of Americans' self-identified political ideologies, Utah is one of only three states in which a majority of pollees identify as conservatives. The only state with more conservatives is Mississippi. The "conservative advantage" in Utah, moreover, is 37 percent, meaning that there are 37 percent more conservatives than liberals.

Janis believes he has a duty, as a religious person, to follow Christ's example in his public and private life. Other LDS Democrats share in this sentiment. In the caucus' eyes, compassion and equality are the qualities Christ most exemplified. These qualities should find their way into social institutions, Janis says, and "Only one political party seems to care at all" about instituting them. That party is the Democratic Party, he says, and that's the reason some members of the Church are Democrats.

JPMorgan Chase disclosed on Thursday that a trading group had suffered “significant” losses in a portfolio of credit investments, with the chief executive, Jamie Dimon, estimating losses at $2 billion in a conference call. “These were egregious mistakes,” Mr. Dimon said on the call. “They were self-inflicted and this is not how we want to run a business.”

Shaun Winkler, a white supremacist in Idaho running as a Republican for Bonner County sheriff, is defending his recent cross burning ceremony, after having invited members of the media to attend the event last week.

I didn't say that____

We have a domestic enemy of America's constitutional system sitting in the White House and almost every thing he has done has been directed at destroying America from within. He has created an iron fisted suppressive control unauthorized by our written Constitution over America’s businesses and industries, and has set America’s economic base fleeing to other nations to escape his destructive hand, while leaving America’s labor force unemployed and ripe for dependence upon government; Soros just happens to have invested hundreds of millions of dollars into the Brazilian oil company then I hear that Obama has promised 2 billion dollars for r&d of deep water drilling to this for- profit, foreign private company. Did I mention that this oil company will most likely be the biggest beneficiaries of the six month moritorium on deep water drilling in the gulf get a draconian cap and trade law passed through Congress, one that would relegate America to the level of a third-world country by raising the cost of living to such an extent that suicide might be a more attractive financial strategy. But then, what else can one expect of the radical Left, but a plan that doesn’t raise the living standard of the poorest inhabitant on the planet, but lowers that of the wealthiest?

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will publish a notice in the Federal Register Friday seeking public comments on data and information concerning the Pre-Authorization Safety Audits (PASA) for the three carriers — Higienicos Y Desechables Del Bajio, Servicios Refrigerados Internacionales and Transportes Del Valle De Guadalupe.

In a chapter discussing what he calls his “infamous” February 2003 speech to the United Nations where he authoritatively presented what was later exposed as gross misinformation about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, Powell notes that by that time, war “was approaching.” “By then, the President did not think war could be avoided,” Powell writes. “He had crossed the line in his own mind, even though the NSC [National Security Council] had never met -- and never would meet -- to discuss the decision.”

"In my opinion, labor unions are no different than lawyers or consultants. They negotiate contracts and fees with elected officials," Kean told The Huffington Post. "This would make pay-to-play more complete." Kean said that local governments spend close to 50 percent of their budgets on salaries, which are mostly negotiated with local unions.

President Obama on Wednesday endorsed same-sex marriages, becoming the first sitting U.S. president to take that position following days of speculation about his "evolving" stance on the issue.

(WASHINGTON) – Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa today said Wisconsin voters are demanding change after a year of Gov. Scott Walker's job-killing policies. Hoffa’s statement followed the announcement that Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Barrett won the primary and will take on Gov. Scott Walker.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Wednesday morning released its 2012-2016 Strategic Plan that includes a “vision for the future that moves toward zero commercial motor vehicle crashes, injuries and fatalities.”

ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

FORT SMITH, Ark., May 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Arkansas Best Corporation (ABFS) will appear at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch 2012 Global Transportation Conference in Boston, Massachusetts, on Thursday, May 17, at 10:10 a.m. ET. Michael E. Newcity, Vice President - Chief Financial Officer, will speak on a panel entitled "Walking the Volume/Pricing Tightrope." The live program will be webcast (in a listen-only mode) and an archive will be available following the presentation.

In 2010, the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington think tank that opposes illegal immigration and advocates for a reduction in the number of legal immigrants allowed to come to the country, cited a Zogby poll that showed 60 percent of union household supported enforcing current immigration laws. Less than 30 percent supported legalization.

Romney, the former Bain Capital President and CEO and presumptive Republican presidential nominee, again demonstrated how disconnected he is with the average American by belittling the value and contributions of one of the last advocates for working men and women, labor unions. In his remarks at Lansing Community College, Romney blamed unions for job loss, the decline of American industry and the demise of American companies

What is Article II Section II of the Constitution? The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session. Presidents from both parties have historically used recess appointments…when the Senate is in recess! That’s kinda sorta, in a roundabout way, what a recess appointment is. Well…the current Senate is not in recess. Yet Chairman Zero says “I don’t care to see it that way”, and so he has intentionally violated the Constitution he has sworn to uphold. Again. The man-child rules by fiat. He appointed his Consumer Financial Protection Bureau head, anti-business Richard Cordray, yesterday. His justification? The Senate has effectively been in recess for weeks, and is expected to remain in recess for weeks. Um…it IS NOT in recess. I missed the part in the Constitution where “effectively in recess” was located. If someone could point me to that, I’d appreciate it. He didn’t stop with Cordray, though. He “recess” appointed three NLRB appointees, too.

Got it. Screw liberty. Screw the Constitution. The ObamaCare mandate is the same as preventing discrimination against blacks (WRONG !), and screw that farmer who wanted to feed his fricking family too. Also notice the straw man argument, "The right to be free from federal regulations is not absolute". Yeah, no kidding. Nobody has EVER argued differently, but there are supposed to be limits to what government can do. That's why we have a Constitution in the first place. What the D.C. Court is basically saying is this – WE ARE THE GOVERNMENT, AND WE WILL DO WHATEVER WE DARN WELL PLEASE !!!

the mother of all kings

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - With more than 2 million votes cast, North Carolina's marriage amendment passed by a large margin on Tuesday. It was a history-making election in North Carolina, and WXII12.com offered live wire coverage. Click inside to read the posts and tweets, view photos, see election results and more. MORE Amendment 1 had 61 percent of the vote for it and nearly 39 percent of the vote against it, according to the Board of Elections website.

RALEIGH, North Carolina – North Carolina voters have approved a constitutional amendment defining marriage solely as a union between a man and a woman, making it the 30th U.S. state to adopt such a ban. With 35 percent of precincts reporting Tuesday, unofficial returns showed the amendment passing with about 58 percent of the vote to 42 percent against. Read more: North Carolina approves amendment banning gay marriage | Fox News

Rush Limbaugh is fighting back against the National Organization for Women, the progressive women's group that has been targeting local advertisers and affiliates in an effort to get the conservative talk show host off the air. On his program today, Limbaugh announced a new National Organizaion for Rush Babes "dedicated to the millions of conservative women who know what they believe in: family, American Values, and not being told by Faux Feminist Groups how to think."

WASHINGTON -- The Tea Party tossed another veteran Republican overboard Tuesday night, voting six-term Republican Sen. Dick Lugar from office in a heated Indiana primary.

"It's only going to give Democrats another pick-up opportunity," Schumer said. "The more the Republicans embrace the Tea Party agenda and its candidates, the more they damage their chances in November."

WASHINGTON — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Monday issued an Imminent Hazard Operations Out-of-Service Order against a Georgia-based logging company that was caught red-handed operating after being ordered by the agency to cease operations for an unsatisfactory safety fitness rating.

UPS Express Freight service expanded in South America with new service to Nicaragua and Honduras, which both call the United States their No. 1 trading partner.

“President Obama is the clear choice for working families in November,” Hoffa said. “Despite inheriting the worst economy since the Great Depression, President Obama has led the country down the long road back to prosperity, providing relief for the middle class and fighting for workers’ rights.”

The trucking industry is reluctant to add natural gas-powered vehicles to its fleets despite the lowcost and abundant supply of the fuel, according to a recent survey. Although the majority of the senior executives at 100 industrial freight carriers said they were aware of the technology or analyzing its use, none plan to buy liquefied natural gas-powered vehicles this year, according to a PLS Logistics Services report. The biggest barrier to adoption is a lack of refueling infrastructure, followed by the high cost of LNG vehicles, which run between $30,000 to $50,000 more than diesel-powered equipment. The limitation of LNG-powered equipment to pull as much cargo as diesel-powered engines was also a concern of executives.

"America has grown up with me," Lindsey said in an Associated Press interview in 1985. "Goober is every man; everyone finds something to like about ol' Goober." He joined "The Andy Griffith Show" in 1964 when Jim Nabors, portraying Gomer Pyle, left the program. Goober Pyle, who had been mentioned on the show as Gomer's cousin, thus replaced him.

In what some dubbed “a global race to the bottom,” labor rights have dwindled all along the way and the American middle class, long sustained by those manufacturing jobs, finds itself gutted. Now the fate of what is left of the American middle class is at the center of a presidential election and forcing a reexamination of the impact of the global decline of labor rights. But after years of pain for America’s manufacturing sector and its workers, some economists and analysts are wondering if the tide may be turning. Call it “re-shoring” or “rebalancing” or just “revenge,” but the dynamics of global labor, transportation and productivity costs that eviscerated American manufacturing over the past decade have begun to shift again.

In the American mind, renting has long symbolized striving—striving, that is, well short of achieving. But as we climb our way out of the Great Recession, it seems something has changed. Americans are getting over the idea of owning the American dream; increasingly, they're OK with renting it. Homeownership is on the decline, and home rentership is on the rise. But the trend isn't limited to the housing market. Across the board—for goods ranging from cars to books to clothes—Americans are increasingly acclimating to the idea of giving up the stability of being an owner for the flexibility of being a renter.

Johnson easily became the party's presidential nominee at the Libertarian national convention in Las Vegas on Saturday. He hopes to appeal to voters fed up with the traditional two-party system this November.

What if Walker, the prime target of the country’s labor movement in a campaign viewed by many on the political left as rivaling the presidential race in importance, were to prevail? “He would be a debilitated governor for the next two years in office, and he would be finished the next time he runs,” Trumka said in a new interview. The union leader made his comments in an interview taped Friday for C-SPAN’s Newsmakers program, which is scheduled to air Sunday at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.

The California State Teachers' Retirement System which holds more than 5.3 million shares of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., filed what's called a derivative suit late Thursday in state court in Delaware seeking changes in corporate governance and improvements in its internal procedures at the world's biggest retailer.

SACRAMENTO, Calif -- SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Pushed to the margins of the U.S. economy, labor unions are engaged in an epic struggle to preserve their members' wages and benefits. For the most part, they're losing. Union members across America still enjoy higher pay on average than their nonunion counterparts, but the gap is shrinking. Organized labor is under persistent pressure to make concessions. Diminishing membership also has eroded union power.

That oppression, he said, has included the seizure of lands and resources, the removal of children from their families and communities, the loss of languages, violation of treaties, and brutality, all grounded in racial discrimination.

“The crisis gets worse by the day. From Pittsburgh, PA, to Everett, WA, to Detroit, MI, to Charleston, SC, more and more transit-dependent Americans are being stranded at bus stops and rail stations as cities implement some of the most severe service cuts and fare increases in history.”

For-hire trucking picked up 1,800 jobs for the month, after losing 1,900 in March. The preliminary April number for trucking is better than the same month a year ago by 38,500 jobs, and it's 99,300 jobs better than March 2010, the low point in the downturn. But the current total is still 120,800 jobs shy of the industry peak in early 2007 — a slip of 8.3 percent.

The Overland Park-based company YRCW said Thursday that it had a comprehensive loss of $79.8 million

A primary refrain of the jobless recovery is that a growing skills mismatch is largely to blame, that many of the unemployed simply aren’t qualified to fill the jobs that are out there—like trying to squeeze square workers into round openings. It’s an argument both sides of the political spectrum make. The Right uses it as an excuse to oppose more fiscal stimulus aimed at job creation, while the Left uses it to propose further funding to goose demand and retrain the unemployed.

The stunning closure comes as Big Labor is facing a membership death spiral. Some 11.8 percent of American workers belong to unions, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 1983, 20.1 percent carried union cards.

"We knew that many companies in the private sector were waiting to do the same thing to us," had Walker's law been routinely accepted, Pocan added. "They felt, 'Hell, if the governor can bust unions, why can't we?' But in 35 days, the working families of Wisconsin are going to look Scott Walker in the eye and hand him a pink slip. They'll tell him, 'You go back to the Koch brothers and ask for a job,'" Pocan said, to cheers.

Naatz was made president of USF Holland last year. He worked for USF Corp. for 11 years until YRC bought the company in 2005. He also worked as chief integration officer for the Yellow-Roadway combination and as president of YRC’s customer care division.

FORT SMITH, Ark., May 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- ABF® service centers in Kansas City, Mo., Seattle, Wash., Ogden, Utah, and St. Joseph, Mo., are being recognized with the prestigious President's Quality Award from ABF President and CEO Roy Slagle. The award recognizes service centers most exemplifying the ABF Quality Process, which are considered the "Best of the Best."

NEW YORK — The mystery began with a heart attack, a man with a past, and a bag of money that federal authorities now want to keep. In August, a retired Teamster from Boston stepped off an Amtrak train in New York City and collapsed on the platform at Pennsylvania Station. As medics tried to revive him, police searched his backpack for identification. Inside, they found the stuff that "Law & Order" episodes are made of: $179,980 in cash, bundled with rubber bands and tucked inside two plastic bags. Coyman's old union, International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 25, was notorious for its organized crime ties in the 1990s. Years ago, Coyman's name was mentioned in news articles about allegations that union officials were shaking down Hollywood film crews and forcing producers to give cushy film set jobs to gangland hoodlums. He'd worked as a driver on some of the films in question.

May 3 (Reuters) - Trucking company Arkansas Best Corp is in talks to buy logistics firm Panther Expedited Services Inc from private equity firm Fenway Partners for more than $150 million, two sources familiar with the matter said.

"It really would be nice to take some of the really bad junk off the road," he said. That's why he favors what other states have but Minnesota doesn't: mandated annual safety inspections of all vehicles. But he'd better not hold his breath waiting for that to happen, because in Minnesota political will is nil for that.

New evidence in the International Labor Organization's "World at Work Report 2012" shows how workers' rights have been eroded by governments between 2008 and 2012 under the guise of the economic crisis.

Consolidated operating revenue for the seasonally slow first quarter of 2012 was $1.194 billion, up 6.4% over 2011, and consolidated operating loss was $48.8 million, which included an $8.4 million loss on asset disposals. As a comparison, the company reported consolidated operating revenue of $1.123 billion for the first quarter of 2011 and a consolidated operating loss of $68.4 million, which included a $3.0 million gain on asset disposals. On Monday, the company also announced that 100% of its senior credit facility lenders agreed to reset certain financial covenants over the life of the loans and allow the company to retain all proceeds from the auction of certain surplus properties to pay or settle workers' compensation and bodily injury and property damage ("BIPD") claims.

Sean Harris of the Berean Baptist Church Fayetteville, North Carolina is the latest pro-Amendment One pastor to demonstrate just how virulently anti-gay the campaign is. In his sermon this past Sunday, he gave the parents in his congregation “special dispensation” to use violence against their children if they violate gender norms. For example, if you see your four-year-old son “dropping the limp wrist, you walk over there and crack that wrist.” Pastor Harris says boys should have their girlish behavior “squashed like a cockroach” and similarly advises forcing girls to conform to female gender norms. Listen to it:

In 2010, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 4,690 workers were killed on the job—an average of 13 workers every day—and an estimated 50,000 died from occupational diseases. Workers suffer an additional 7.6 million to 11.4 million job injuries and illnesses each year. The cost of job injuries and illnesses is enormous—estimated at $250 billion to $300 billion a year.

We want to show you how to share the road safely with a truck so you won’t be so afraid of trucks,” said David Boyer, a road driver for ABF Freight System Inc. in Wytheville.

Across the country on Tuesday, Occupy activists and people from established groups marched and talked together, sometimes borrowing from each other's lexicon. In New York, for example, you could see a 60-year-old community activist leading a chant of "We are the 99 percent," while familiar figures from the Zuccotti takeover spoke about the "working-class" and its venerable struggle. Those scenes aren't exactly novel. Labor unions and occupiers have been working together at least since early October, when occupiers and union members rallied together in New York's Foley Square. What's different about the May Day rallies is the extent to which the groups have formalized these connections.

The sharp increase surprised analysts, who had predicted a decline after several regional reports showed manufacturing growth weakened last month. The gain led investors to shift money out of bonds and into stocks. The Dow Jones industrial added 66 points to 13,279, its best close since Dec. 28, 2007. Broader indexes also surged.

Patricia Hajek-McClure, of Mulberry, was being held without bail in the shooting death of 54-year-old Sharren Richards, Van Buren Police Detective Jonathan Wear said. Investigators believe that Richards was going to check on Hajek-McClure, who was parked at the Fort Smith/Van Buren Welcome Center, on Tuesday morning when she was shot twice in the chest, Wear said.

“We made some forecasts in November and, since that time, we have been performing at our expected levels,” Welch said.

It has taken Congress years to get this far. Work on a transportation overhaul began before the last long-term transportation bill expired in 2009. The Senate finally passed a $109 billion bill with broad bipartisan support in March. The bill would give states more flexibility in how they spend federal money, step up the pace of road construction by shortening environmental reviews, impose a wide array of new safety regulations and boost funding for a federal loan guarantee program to encourage private investment for major infrastructure projects.

To recognize Perez for his selfless actions, TCA has sent a Highway Angel certificate, lapel pin, and patch to Sechrist, who will present them to Perez’s wife and children. The organization also mailed Sechrist a certificate that can be hung at Aquatic Trucking’s office acknowledging the efforts of this caring professional driver.

In this story, serious people seriously contemplate giving Wall Street traders particle accelerators -- yes, I said "particle accelerators" -- to create neutrinos, sub-atomic particles that move roughly at the speed of light and can pass through solid objects with nary a shrug, expressly for the purpose of high-speed trading.

WASHINGTON -- Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) pulled in $13 million in the most recent three-month reporting period to fight off a Democratic attempt to recall him from office, an unprecedented sum of money for a gubernatorial race in the state

“While Wisconsin loses more jobs than any other state, Gov. Walker has spent his time trying to save his own job," said Falk in a statement, responding to the news of Walker's fundraising. "He raised $13 million from across the country because he's delivered an extreme agenda that isn't our Wisconsin values, and I'm proud to stand with the nearly one million people who have signed a recall petition to remove him from office."

That increase points to a broad resurgence in trucking and freight shipping also evident in the 11.6 percent increase in revenue among the 50 largest motor carriers in 2011. However, the number of active motor carriers with satisfactory safety ratings declined by 2.4 percent, according to an analysis of Department of Transportation carrier data.

TRENTON — A year ago, Gov. Chris Christie emphasized how different his approach to pension and benefit reform was from Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s elimination of collective bargaining rights. On Tuesday, he will stand shoulder to shoulder with the controversial Walker, who on June 5 will become the first governor in the history of the Badger State to face a recall election.

Whirlpool Corp. confirmed in a letter that its refrigerator manufacturing plant in Fort Smith will close June 29, immediately eliminating about 834 jobs but cutting a total of roughly 944 by the end of the summer.

OVERLAND PARK, Kan., April 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- YRC Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ: YRCW) today announced that it has reached an agreement with its lenders to reset certain financial covenants over the life of the loans and allow the company to retain all proceeds from the auction of certain surplus properties. The amendments were supported by 100 percent of its Term Credit Agreement lenders and 100 percent of its ABL Credit Agreement lenders. James Welch, chief executive officer of YRC Worldwide said, "When YRCW's new leadership team was put in place last year, we refocused the company on its core strengths to position the business as a respected industry leader in the North American less-than-truckload (LTL) shipping industry. The new leadership team developed a strategy and business plan, including updated forecasts focused on reinvesting in the quality of the service we provide, and we have successfully executed against both our qualitative and quantitative objectives. To date, we are pleased to have exceeded our forecast and to have reached this agreement with our lenders, which will allow us to continue building on our current momentum and successes." "Today, YRCW has the financial flexibility needed to support our growth strategies and to continue gaining market share. Thanks to the company's talented and dedicated workforce, comprised of 32,000 of the best freight professionals in the industry, we are achieving operational improvements, increasing profitability and better serving our customers," Welch concluded.

Challenges facing shippers and motor carriers in an uncertain economy and on Capitol Hill will top the agenda Monday at the NASSTRAC Logistics Conference and Expo, held in Orlando, Fla., April 29-May 1. A panel of chief executives from Estes Express, UPS Freight, FedEx Freight and ABF Freight System kicks off the conference Monday with a discussion of the state of the less-than-truckload freight market.

WASHINGTON – The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration next month will enact administrative rule changes to strengthen the agency’s ability to crack down on “reincarnated” carriers and brokers.

ORLANDO, Fla., April 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Shippers Strategic Transportation Council (NASSTRAC) presented its 2012 LTL Carrier of the Year to YRC Freight, a subsidiary of YRC Worldwide Inc. (YRCW) at its annual Logistics Conference & Expo.

“If the unions win the recall, there will be no stopping union power.”

The recall vote here has been billed as a critical test of labor muscle versus corporate money. But it is only a warm-up for a confrontation that will play out during the presidential election, which both sides view as the biggest political showdown in at least 30 years between pro- and anti-union forces — a labor-management fight writ large

Top Mitt Romney adviser Eric Fehrnstrom claimed that President Obama's auto bailout was the GOP presidential hopeful's idea. Fehrnstrom said Obama followed Romney's course to help the auto industry during an appearance at a Saturday roundtable discussion hosted by the The Washington Post.

(CNN) -- It's not often that the White House holds a news conference late on a Sunday night. Especially an unscheduled one. So when it was announced, around 9:45 p.m. ET on May 1, that President Obama would be addressing the nation within the hour, you knew it had to be important. Had there been a major development in Libya? Things had been heating up since NATO started intervening against Moammar Gadhafi's forces.

For their determination to put an end to veterans living on the streets, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will receive the highest honor given to homeless advocates.

To date, Joining Forces has helped employ 50,000 military spouses and veterans, encouraged schools to improve the experience of military children and connected veterans with community health centers in areas where the VA doesn’t have a prominent presence.

Police issued citations that included driving while suspended, driving without a valid license and failing to provide proof of insurance. One person was even arrested for possessing meth.

This rosy scenario is prompted by the fact that the price for one of the most common types of gasoline futures traded in New York has dropped 30 cents, going from over $3.40 a gallon at the beginning of April to $3.10 a gallon Wednesday.

A UPS driver from Rahway was delivered to jail on Wednesday, suspected of possessing about $30,000 worth of electronics and other items that had gone missing from a company facility in Bridgewater, township police said.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Jack Balestreri was 17 when he got a job helping build the Golden Gate Bridge. He had hoped to make it to the span's 75th anniversary next month. But Balestreri — believed to be the last surviving bridge worker — died of natural causes at his San Francisco home on April 21, his daughter, Gayle Balestreri, told The Associated Press on Friday. He was 95.

The banking industry is getting personal in its tireless fight against regulation. Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase and the industry's regulation-basher in chief, has called for a sit-down next week between the heads of four of the nation's biggest banks -- JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley -- and Federal Reserve Governor Daniel Tarullo, the Wall Street Journal is reporting. The purpose of this friendly get-together will be to express the banks' displeasure about financial regulation, particularly a Fed plan to limit the banks' exposure to derivatives tied to the credit of foreign governments and other banks. More...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A Florida Highway Patrol lieutenant didn't have any formal training or know the procedures before he re-opened a fog- and smoke-shrouded highway where a series of crashes killed 11 people in January, investigators said in a report released Thursday.

Jabin Bogan, 27, of Dallas, is confined to the Villa Aldama federal prison in the state of Veracruz and could face up to 35 years in prison, the embassy said in a statement. Bogan was trying to drive the truck across the border from El Paso, Texas, when Mexican customs inspectors found the assault rifle ammunition, according to authorities. Bogan's boss, Dennis Mekenye, operations manager of Demco freight company, has said Bogan told him he took a wrong turn in El Paso and inadvertently crossed the border into Mexico.

U.S. union and consumer groups have complained for years about dangerous Mexican trucks. Now independent Mexican truckers have grown fed up after two horrifying crashes in less than a month

FORT SMITH, Ark., April 27, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Arkansas Best Corporation /quotes/zigman/68396/quotes/nls/abfs ABFS -2.63% today announced a first quarter 2012 net loss of $18.2 million, or $0.71 per share, compared to a net loss of $12.8 million, or $0.51 per share in the first quarter of 2011. Arkansas Best's first quarter 2012 results were impacted by a number of unusual items which are listed below with the corresponding diluted per share effect: Low corporate tax benefit rate - ($0.18/share) High ABF workers' compensation costs - ($0.13/share) Investments in sales, customer service and IT for all subsidiaries - ($0.12/share)

“Everything we do is focused on strengthening our core North American LTL operations,” said Welch in an interview at YRC’s Kansas headquarters – quite a reversal of sentiment from Mr. Zollars 2008 pledge to actively develop China’s nascent trucking industry.

They say that there are only two certainties in life: death and taxes. In a capitalist economy, many regard death as the lesser of those evils. That may be amusing but only in the same disturbing way as the NRA slogan 'gun control is hitting your target.' Given that the hot-button issue of taxes could sway the presidential elections and impact our future, it is critical to examine it more closely and dispel the absurd myths surrounding it. Broadly speaking, there are four big arguments to consider:...More....

The U.S. Postal Service said the Senate decision on Wednesday to reimburse the ailing agency about $11 billion for overpaying into the federal workers’ retirement fund will help but isn’t enough.

“We appreciate the hard work of the Senate in addressing postal issues, and we believe that there are important and valuable provisions contained in the legislation,” said Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe. “We would have preferred the Senate allow the Postal Service to move further and faster in addressing its cost reduction goals.”

This week's reports from the New York Times about Walmart's practices in Mexico are breathtaking. The Times found "credible evidence that bribery played a persistent and significant role in Walmart's rapid growth in Mexico." The Times interviewed an executive of Walmart's Mexican subsidiary who "bought zoning approvals and reductions in environmental impact fees." According to the New York Times, when lawyers for Walmart discovered this activity and informed senior management, then Walmart CEO Lee Scott ordered Walmart's internal investigative protocols revised to give the targets of internal investigations more control over those same investigations. The specific reports about conduct in Mexico were ignored, the executives involved were promoted and a senior in-house lawyer who objected subsequently left Walmart. The apparent result was that Walmart grew dramatically in Mexico at the expense of its Mexican competitors, leading to Mexico becoming Walmart's second largest market after the United States. The executive identified in Walmart's in-house investigator's notes as "most responsible" was promoted to head of all U.S. Walmart stores.

Package delivery giant UPS reported a 4.3 percent increase in first quarter revenue to $13.1 billion from $12.6 billion a year earlier. The company’s operating profit rose 6.3 percent to $1.6 billion year-over-year, on a 4.3 percent increase in packages delivered, to 1 billion. The company attributed the gain to “rapid e-commerce growth and demand for lightweight shipping solutions.”

According to the study, between the year 2015 and 2020, these higher “California-only” diesel fuel costs will cause a loss of nearly 617,000 jobs in the containerized import sector, $68.5 billion in lost state domestic product, $21.7 billion in lost income and $5.3 billion in lost state and local taxes. California’s transportation and logistics industry is responsible for almost 14 percent of the state’s economy and is an important source of reliable good paying jobs in this state. However the study states that a California-only diesel price caused by CARB’s program design will put California’s transportation sector at a significant competitive disadvantage.

BNSF Logistics, LLC, an industry leading global third party logistics and supply chain solutions provider, has announced that YRC Freight, an Overland Park, Kan.-based “less than truckload (LTL)” services provider, has been recognized for exceptional service and selected as the 2011 “Carrier Excellence Award” winner in the LTL services category. YRC Freight was selected after evaluation of multiple performance metrics, including on-time service, capacity and overall customer service performance

“We urge conferees in both bodies to adopt the Senate’s requirement for carriers to use electronic logging devices to monitor drivers’ hours-of-service compliance,” Graves said. “Clearly, these devices lead to greater compliance with maximum driving limits — which is very good for the trucking industry as a whole and highway safety.”