Senate Dems introduce bill to stop low-wage non-compete agreements

June 4, 2015June 14, 2015 ~ susie ~ 2 Comments

If the Dems would just stick to laws like this, they would have no problem winning elections:

Chiding companies such as Jimmy John’s and Amazon.com, Senate Democrats introduced a bill Wednesday that would forbid employers from requiring low-wage workers to sign noncompete agreements, a practice they said locks workers into their jobs and depresses wages.

The bill, called the Mobility and Opportunity for Vulnerable Employees Act, or MOVE ACT, would bar non-competes for workers earning less $15 per hour, and would require companies to inform job seekers ahead of time if they will be asked to sign such an agreement.
Continue reading “Senate Dems introduce bill to stop low-wage non-compete agreements” →

Congresswoman on tech industry: ‘They know more about TPP than we do’

June 4, 2015June 14, 2015 ~ susie ~ 1 Comment

Well, of course! It’s for the benefit of Big Business and telling Congress critters the pesky details would only get in the way:

The technology industry knows more about the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal that many members of Congress, Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) said Wednesday.

Speier, who opposes President Obama’s plan to fast-track the deal through Congress, has lamented the secrecy surrounding the draft text of the trade agreement.

“This process has been going on for a long time without our benefit. I was sitting in a meeting with tech execs from the valley who knew more about the TPP than I did,” she said on the “The Bill Press Show.”

“Because they’re the ones drafting it,” she told Press, who is a columnist for The Hill.

“I think we’ve got to go back to you know a Democratic process to forge a deal that will provide for TPP and the kind of transparency that we expect.”

The Senate passed the fast track trade promotion authority last month but it faces opposition from most Democrats and some Republicans in the House.
Continue reading “Congresswoman on tech industry: ‘They know more about TPP than we do’” →

Scott Walker is a douchebag

June 4, 2015June 14, 2015 ~ susie

There’s a crowded field, but I’d say he and Marco Rubio are tied for sheer enthusiasm in performing fellatio on extremist right-wing donors. They will do or say just about anything in pursuit of the Republican nomination:

Wisconsin governor Scott Walker said he is prepared to sign into law a 20-week abortion ban without any exceptions for victims of rape or incest, arguing that women are concerned with those issues “in the initial months” of pregnancy.

Walker, a Republican who is expected to run for president in 2016, made the comments ahead of a public hearing in the Wisconsin legislature on proposed legislation that would outlaw abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Local television station WKOW aired Walker’s claim that an exception for rape or incest is not necessarily needed in the bill.
Continue reading “Scott Walker is a douchebag” →

Woo hoo! Wikileaks does it again

June 4, 2015June 3, 2015 ~ susie

We don’t know how recent they are, of course, but it’s better than nothing:

WASHINGTON — The latest trove of secret trade documents released by Wikileaks is offering opponents of the massive deals currently being crafted by the Obama administration more fodder to show that such agreements can impact United States laws and regulations.

The latest leak purports to include 17 documents from negotiations on the Trade In Services Agreement, a blandly named trade deal that would cover the United States, the European Union and more than 20 other countries. More than 80 percent of the United States economy is in service sectors.

According to the Wikileaks release, TISA, as the deal is known, would take a major step towards deregulating financial industries, and could affect everything from local maritime and air traffic rules to domestic regulations on almost anything if an internationally traded service is involved.

The pact would be one of three enormous deals whose passage through Congress could be eased with passage of Trade Promotion Authority, also known as fast-track authority. The Senate has passed fast-track, and it could be taken up in the House this month.