Sherman A1
Sherman A1's JournalSupermarkets Waste Tons Of Food As They Woo Shoppers
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/09/25/351495274/supermarkets-waste-tons-of-food-as-they-woo-shoppers?Supermarkets and restaurants serve up more than 400 million pounds of food each year, but nearly a third of it never makes it to a stomach.
With consumers demanding large displays of unblemished, fresh produce, many retailers end up tossing a mountain of perfectly edible food. Despite efforts to cut down on all that waste, in the U.S., the consumer end of the food chain still accounts for the largest share. It comes down to shoppers demanding stocked shelves, buying too much and generally treating food as a renewable resource.
A recent visit to the Hy-Vee supermarket in Independence, Mo., illustrates the problem. Shopper Shirley Phelps scans the banana stand, looking for the perfect bunch.
"I don't want them too ripe," she says, skipping over brown-spotted bananas in favor of a bunch still tinged with green.
New Republican Bill Would Paralyze National Labor Relations Board
This week, Republican Senators introduced a bill they call the “The National Labor Relations Board Reform Act.” Its chances of passage are very slim, but that’s beside the point: The GOP wants to emphasize its displeasure with President Barack Obama’s appointments of labor-friendly board members who thwart businesses’ attempts to keep unions out of their workplaces.
The key feature of the bill would neuter the board (already too weak by many standards) by mandating that it be made up of three Republicans and three Democrats—a prescription apparently designed to ensure permanent partisan gridlock. It would also restrict the authority of the board’s chief prosecutor and cut the operating budget of the agency if cases weren’t decided in a timely manner. Larry Cohen, President of the Communications Workers of America (CWA), remarks that the bill would mean “the NLRB just can’t do anything any more—and that’s exactly what they [Republicans] want.”
“This legislation will turn the National Labor Relations Board from an advocate to the umpire it ought to be,” stated Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tennessee), in introducing the bill jointly with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky). “The board is too partisan, swinging from one side to the other with each new administration—and while this didn’t start with President Obama, it’s gotten worse as he's loaded the board with union insiders.”
Alexander’s statement came one week after the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing on Obama’s nomination of Sharon Block to fill an upcoming vacancy on the NLRB. The hearing is apparently what prompted Sen. Alexander to introduce the bill. Republican members of the committee were polite to Block but openly hostile to her nomination.
http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/17179/republican_nlrb_reform_act_would_paralyze_labor_board
Sen. Booker Shines Spotlight on Steel, Trade
U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) declared that a strong steel industry is an essential part of a healthy U.S. economy and pledged to continue fighting to strengthen it during a visit with USW members in New Jersey on Wednesday, Sept. 24.
Booker, who met with USW Local 8228 members and toured their workplaces at MRP Steel Fabricators and Harris Structural Steel in South Plainfield, N.J., said cracking down on unfair trade, promoting Buy American policies and curbing outsourcing are essential to the survival of American manufacturing.
“There is no simpler way to say it – manufacturing is important to America, to our economic well-being, and to New Jersey families and communities,” Booker said.
The senator, running for re-election this fall, recently sent letters to the U.S. International Trade Commission and U.S. Dept. of Commerce urging them to defend U.S. companies and workers against unfair trade practices and illegal dumping.
http://www.usw.org/news/media-center/articles/2014/sen-booker-shines-spotlight-on-steel-trade
Religious beliefs cost SEPTA worker his job, union says
A SEPTA janitorial worker and the transit agency are fighting over the worker's dismissal for refusing to work on holy days, including Rosh Hashanah.
Romel McAlpin of Germantown was fired last year by SEPTA for refusing to work on Rosh Hashanah and Oct. 12, his Sabbath.
McAlpin, according to legal documents, is an adherent of the Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ, a sect that observes Jewish holy days and marks the Sabbath from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday.
McAlpin, a maintenance custodian in subway tunnels, notified SEPTA of his religious beliefs shortly after he was hired in May 2012, according to a legal brief filed by Transport Workers Union Local 234.
http://articles.philly.com/2014-09-25/business/54322573_1_septa-bruce-bodner-rosh-hashanah
Nurses Stage Massive Protest on Las Vegas Strip, Highlighting Need for Ebola Readiness
Nurses and members of National Nurses United (NNU) staged a massive protest on the Las Vegas strip yesterday, raising concerns that U.S. hospitals are not equipped to handle an Ebola outbreak.
More than 1,000 nurses attended the protest and dozens held a “die-in,” laying on the ground by the Bellagio fountain, while others outlined their bodies in chalk, writing the hashtag #StopEbolaRNRN inside those tracings.
“We are going to stage protests wherever we can throughout the world. It’s not acceptable that these people are dying, and that nurses who are the first line of defense for the patients in West Africa are dying,” NNU Executive Director RoseAnn DeMoro said.
http://www.aflcio.org/Blog/Political-Action-Legislation/Nurses-Stage-Massive-Protest-on-Las-Vegas-Strip-Highlighting-Need-for-Ebola-Readiness
APWU Victory: 9,000 New Jobs
Some 9,000 new postal clerk jobs are on the way, thanks to action by the American Postal Workers Union (APWU). The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) in 2012 cut the hours of operation at small post offices around the country and filled new jobs at the offices with part-time, nonunion workers. APWU filed a grievance.
The collective bargaining agreement between the union and USPS committed management to assign any newly created or revised retail positions that had no managerial or supervisory duties to union employees.
An arbitrator agreed with the APWU and a memorandum of understanding between the union and the USPS reached earlier this week outlines how those new jobs will be filled. Said APWU President Mark Dimondstein:
http://www.aflcio.org/Blog/Organizing-Bargaining/APWU-Victory-9-000-New-Jobs
Reynoldsburg’s striking teachers, board schedule negotiations for Sunday
As the Reynoldsburg teachers strike reached Day 3, there was a bit of hope that an end could be in sight: Contract talks between the school board and union are scheduled to resume on Sunday.
But for parents and students, the weekend is still pretty far away.
The three school days before then are going to be rough, said parent Lori Van Horn, whose four daughters attend district schools.
“I don’t know why they can’t talk now,” she said. “The superintendent has been sighted in several of the buildings. They need to talk and get this done. There is no education going on.”
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2014/09/23/Reynoldsburg_Teachers_Strike_Day_Three.html
and Love Note Day 
St. Louis area Jimmy John's stores affected by data breach
ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOV.com) -- Multiple St. Louis area Jimmy John's locations were affected by a data breach between June 16, 2014 and September 6, 2014, according to a news release posted on the company's website.
Approximately 216 stores were affected by the event. The sandwich chain says cards impacted by the breach were swiped at the store, and did not include those cards entered manually or online. The credit and debit card information at issue may include the card number and in some cases the cardholder’s name, verification code, and/or the card’s expiration date. Information entered online, such as customer address, e-mail, and password, remains secure.
The security compromise has been contained, and customers can use their credit and debit cards securely at Jimmy John’s stores, the company said.
http://www.kmov.com/news/local/St-Louis-area-Jimmy-Johns-stores-affected-by-data-breach-276979291.html
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