Peyton Looks to Delay Finding True Cost of Pension

Posted: March 24, 2010 - 4:15pm
By Matt Galnor

Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton wants to put off a study that would determine how much the city owes its pension fund - a move that will save the city millions in a tight budget year.

To make the change, Peyton will need a two-thirds vote from the City Council to waive city policy that requires an annual actuarial study. A bill was introduced Tuesday night and a vote is expected next month.

If the city did the study this year, it would without question be on the hook for more than the $30 million it pays to the pensions for all employees except police officers and firefighters, said Mickey Miller, the city's chief financial officer.

New Report: Unions Raise Immigrant Workers’ Wages, Benefits

by James Parks, Mar 26, 2010

Immigrant workers who belong to unions have a large wage and benefit advantage over their nonunion counterparts, according to a new study by the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR).

The report, released yesterday, shows that, on average, joining a union raises immigrants’ wages by 17 percent—about $2 per hour—compared with nonunion immigrant workers. In addition, immigrant workers in unions were much more likely to have health insurance benefits and a pension plan.

UNITEHERE! Calls for Boycott of 7 Hotels

by James Parks, Mar 26, 2010

Fed up with their employer paying off its high debt on the backs of workers, employees of Columbia Sussex Corp. rallied around the country this week and called on customers to boycott seven hotels owned by the company.

In the past few years, workers represented by UNITEHERE! at four hotels owned by Columbia Sussex have been laid off, seen their benefits reduced and their pay frozen and been forced to pay higher health care premiums as the company scrambles to pay off more than $1 billion in debt in securities it borrowed to buy 14 hotels in 2005.

(Publisher Note: See the rest of hotels owned by Columbia Sussex - http://www.columbiasussex.com/cscbybrand.lasso)

British Airways to Fly 75% of Flights in Looming Strike

Mar 26, 2010

LONDON (AFP) – Troubled British Airways said Friday it would fly more than three quarters of its customers during a four-day strike by cabin staff which starts this weekend.

The country's biggest trade union, Unite, staged a similar strike last week in a long-running dispute over changes to pay and working conditions.

"British Airways will fly more than 75 percent of customers booked to travel between tomorrow and March 30, despite these four days being targeted for strikes by Unite," the airline said in a statement on Friday.

Southwest Airlines Named Official Airline of National Hispanic PR Conference

Press Release Source: Southwest Airlines On Thursday March 25, 2010, 11:00 am EDT

DALLAS, March 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - News) has been named Official Airline of the National Hispanic PR Conference to be held May 10-13 in Dallas. The gathering of more than 400 public relations professionals hopes to foster discussion of new trends and common needs of Hispanic audiences

US Airways Puts Ads on Boarding Passes

by Dawn Gilbertson - Mar. 26, 2010 12:00 AM

The Arizona Republic US Airways passengers who check in online will now find more than a seat assignment and group number on their boarding passes.

In time for the spring-break travel rush, the Tempe-based airline started including advertisements, weather and other tourist information on the boarding documents. Several of its major competitors already do so.

United Airlines Applauds U.S. and European Union Negotiators on Historic Agreement

Source: United Airlines On Thursday March 25, 2010, 3:55 pm EDT

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--United Airlines applauds United States and European Union negotiators for concluding an historic agreement today that will further liberalize the transatlantic market and enable airlines and their alliance partners greater commercial flexibility to better serve their customers.

February Unemployment Climbed Locally and Statewide

Posted: March 26, 2010 - 10:26am
By Kevin Turner

Jacksonville’s adjusted unemployment rate climbed nearly three-tenths of a percent to 10.85 percent in February, The Local Economic Indicators Project at the University of North Florida’s Coggin College of Business reported today.


University of North Florida economist Paul Mason said the center’s adjusted unemployment figure for January, originally posted at 10.4 percent, has been revised to 10.57 percent. State-released unadjusted unemployment figures for the Jacksonville metro area were 12.1 percent for both January and February, but they were revised to different figures due to differing local employment market conditions in those months.

Working People in Boston, Detroit Tell Big Banks: ‘Good Jobs NOW!’

by Tula Connell, Mar 26, 2010

More than 200 union members and community activists gathered outside the Boston headquarters of Bank of America this week to call on Bank of America and other bailed-out Wall Street investment banks to pay their fair share to restore the jobs destroyed by their reckless actions and to stop their selfish obstruction of needed financial reforms.

Union, Community Rallies for Whirlpool Workers Punching Clock for the Last Time

Doris Nevill, a Whirlpool worker, says she cried all day about losing her job at the Evansville plant.

by Mike Hall, Mar 26, 2010

Braving a chilly and dreary rain yesterday, several dozen union and community activists rallied outside the gates of Whirlpool’s Evansville, Ind., plant. They were there to show their support for the nearly 500 second shift workers on their way to clock in for their last shift on the line.

Whirlpool is closing the refrigerator plant, laying off 1,100 people and moving jobs to Mexico. Eliminating the second shift is the first blow, the other jobs end in June.