News Briefs - April 12
The Latest Headlines:
- Support Grows in Congress for Raising Gasoline Tax
- Lundberg: Gasoline Prices Rise to Another Record
- Bush Signs Pension Relief Bill
- USF Dugan Workers in Cincinnati Vote to Join Teamsters
- Lundberg: Gasoline Prices Rise to Another Record
Support Grows in Congress for Raising Gasoline Tax
Despite President Bush's opposition, there is growing support among many Republicans and Democrats in Congress for an increase in the federal tax on gasoline, the Washington Post reported Saturday.Rep. Don Young (R - Alaska), who chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has sought an immediate nickel increase in the tax, followed by annual increases of half a cent, the Post said. He is supported by top Democrats on the committee, and also by Republican Rep. Thomas E. Petri (Wis.), who chairs the committee's panel on surface transportation.
The extra revenue raised from highway users would go to the Highway Trust Fund, which finances road, mass-transit and safety programs. The last increase was in 1993.
Lundberg: Gasoline Prices Rise to Another Record
The price of gasoline rose another 2.5 cents over the past two weeks to a record nationwide average of $1.82 per gallon for all grades on April 9, according to the Lunberg surbey of 8,000 stations across the United States.Analyst Trilby Lundberg said high crude oil prices and tight capacity contributed to the rise, the Associated Press reported. Trucking burns an estimate 269 million gallons of gasoline each week.
Gasoline prices are up 31.5 cents per gallon nationwide since late December, the survey found.
The national weighted average price of gasoline, including taxes, at self-serve pumps Friday was about $1.79 for regular, $1.89 for midgrade and $1.98 for premium. Transport Topics
Bush Signs Pension Relief Bill
President Bush on Saturday signed into law on Saturday a measure aimed at saving U.S. companies more than $80 billion in pension contributions over two years, Reuters reported.The relief comes from replacing a formula for calculating pension contributions. The law goes into effect in time for the next round of payments, set for Thursday, and is intended as a temporary measure to help keep plans afloat while Congress works on longer-term pension reform.
Some Democrats opposed the legislation because it contained little help for plans sponsored by more than one employer, which cover mostly union workers like in the construction and trucking industries, Reuters said.
Unions including the Teamsters opposed to bill, while others like the the United Autoworkers Union and Airline Pilots Association favored it. Transport Topics
USF Dugan Workers in Cincinnati Vote to Join Teamsters
The Teamsters union said Friday that truck drivers at the USF Dugan terminal in Cincinnati voted unanimously to join Teamsters Local 100.USF Dugan is a regional less-than-truckload carrier owned by USF Corp., which is ranked No. 10 on the Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies.
Earlier this month, truck drivers at the USF Dugan terminal in Mobile, Ala., voted to join Teamsters Local 991.
The Teamsters' release also said workers at USF Dugan terminals in Tennessee cities of Nashville and Memphis have filed petitions with the National Labor Relations Board for elections. Transport Topics
