Arizona

Unions Scramble As Arizona GOP Moves Quickly On Labor Bills

Nick R. Martin | February 1, 2012, 11:54PM

Union members were searching for a way out of the wilderness on Wednesday in Arizona as the Republican-controlled Senate moved ahead quickly on several bills that could devastate organized labor in the state.

The measures caught many union leaders by surprise, being introduced on Monday night and passed in committee less than 48 hours later.

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Topics: AFL-CIO, Arizona, GOP, Unions, Wisconsin

Wall Street

Wall Street Takes Aim At New Transparency Rule For Executive Pay

Susan Crabtree | July 22, 2011, 6:00AM

Wall Street has deployed an army of lobbyists to try to whittle away as much of the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill as possible, spending $242.2 million on 712 hired guns to press their message on Capitol Hill since the beginning of 2010, according to a new report by Public Citizen.

The 30 most politically active business and financial industry organizations also ponied up $15.6 million in federal political contributions during the same time period. The entities with the deepest pockets include: the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Bankers Association, the Financial Services Roundtable, MetLife, Goldman Sachs, to name just a few.

Why lay out so much cash to influence Washington in the months leading up to the first anniversary of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law? Some of Wall Street's biggest firms are gunning for a rule specifically designed to address one the main causes of the financial meltdown: exorbitant incentive-based executive compensation packages.

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Topics: AFL-CIO, Dodd-Frank, Executive Compensation, Financial Crisis, Public Citizen, Unions, Wall Street

Wisconsin

WI House Dems Warn Gov. Walker Not To Cross NFL Packers

Susan Crabtree | February 18, 2011, 11:13AM

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker may be engaged in a high-stakes political battle with Democrats and state workers, but he's playing with fire by clashing with the Green Bay Packers, warn two Democratic members of the state's delegation in the U.S. House.

In a match-up between Walker and the Packers, Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI), a popular former county prosecutor in the state, says his money is on his Superbowl champions.

"I wouldn't want to be going up against the Packers right now," he said.

"Yeah, I like those odds," remarked Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI).

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Topics: AFL-CIO, Green Bay Packers, Ron Kind, Scott Walker, Tammy Baldwin, Unions, Wisconsin