Inspiration Wednesday: 'Which Side Are You On?' (video)

Thanks to the Solidarity Singalong for today's 3+ minutes of inspiration.

Talk Like David Koch Day

What will those wild and crazy Badgers think of next? Today is the one-year anniversary of the infamous prank call in which Buffalo Beast blogger Ian Murphy called Koch whore Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and talked for 10 minutes pretending to be David Koch.

(Come to think of it, it's the one-year anniversary of calling Scott Walker a "Koch whore.")

Most amazing about the call was the way Murphy got through to the governor. According to Murphy,

I called at noon and was quickly transferred to ... Walker’s Chief of Staff Keith Gilkes. He was “expecting my call. 

“David!” he said with an audible smile. 

I politely said hello, not knowing how friendly Gilkes and Koch may be. He was eager to help. 

“I was really hoping to talk directly to Scott,” I said. He said that could be arranged and that I should just leave my number. I explained to Gilkes, “My goddamn maid, Maria, put my phone in the washer. I’d have her deported, but she works for next to nothing.” Gilkes found this amusing. “I’m calling from the VOID—with the VOID, or whatever it’s called. You know, the Snype!” 

“Gotcha,” Gilkes said. “Let me check the schedule here…OK, there’s an opening at 2 o’clock Central Standard Time. Just call this same number and we’ll put you through.”

 The official "Talk Like David Koch Day" Facebook event page suggests

...on the anniversary of that call, be a cruel, heartless, rich bastard and talk like David Koch all day long! "Crush those Bastards" "Fly you out to Cali" "Beautiful" "Goddamn right!" "Bring a baseball bat "

The latter is a reference to the following exchange between "Koch" and Walker at a time when the Statehouse was surrounded by peaceful protesters:

Koch: Bring a baseball bat. That’s what I’d do. 

Walker: I have one in my office; you’d be happy with that. I have a slugger with my name on it. 

Koch: Beautiful.

Then there's this:

Koch: We’ll back you any way we can. What we were thinking about the crowd was, uh, was planting some troublemakers. 

Walker: You know, well, the only problem with that —because we thought about that. The problem—the, my only gut reaction to that is right now the lawmakers I’ve talked to have just completely had it with them, the public is not really fond of this…

Since then, Koch and his brother Charles have been exposed for their attacks on democracy and Walker faces a recall election, tentatively on June 5.

What's disheartening is to think that someone as dumb as Scott Walker can become governor and harm thousands of working families just by sucking up to a cruel, heartless, rich bastard.

The mind boggles.

Today's Teamster News 02.22.12

Margins Widen at U.S. Companies as Wages Lag Behind: Economy  Bloomberg   ...Companies are improving margins and generating profits as wage growth for the American worker lags behind the prices of goods and services...  
Gallup survey shows 'sharp deterioration in job market' in Feburary  The Hill   ...Gallup's mid-month reading, which traditionally previews the government report issued at the end of the month, shows a rise of seven-tenths of a percentage from the 8.3 percent unemployment rate at the end of January...
Jobs scarce, but the stigma stays  McClatchy   ...An advocacy group for workers surveyed online job postings last year and found more than 100 companies that want only applicants who are currently employed...
25% of super PAC money coming from just 5 rich donors  USA Today   ...Five wealthy people, led by Dallas industrialist Harold Simmons and Las Vegas casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, have donated nearly $1 of every $4 flowing to the super PACs raising unlimited money in this year's presidential race...
Billionaire Sheldon Adelson Says He Might Give $100M To Newt Gingrich Or Other Republican  Forbes   ...Adelson could personally fund an entire presidential campaign—say, $1 billion or so—and not even notice...
We need to know who funds these thinktank lobbyists  The Guardian   ...The battle for democracy is becoming a fight against backroom billionaires seeking to shape politics to suit their own interests...
Unions countering GOP with voter campaign  Post-Tribune   ...(Indiana) Labor unions are starting new voter education campaigns in response to right-to-work legislation passed by the General Assembly. “We’re taking the anger and turning it into motivation,”...
Ohio voters may get say on ‘right to work’  Dayton Daily News   ...Ohioans for Workplace Freedom wants to collect the signatures of about 600,000 registered voters in Ohio, said Chris Littleton, a Butler County resident and former president of the conservative Ohio Liberty Council. The organization needs to collect a minimum 386,000 valid signatures, Littleton said...

12K drug murders in '11. It's why US truckers don't haul freight in Mexico

The Teamsters Union is suing the federal government to end its latest Mexican truck pilot program. We'll submit legal briefs in about three weeks. In the meantime, our prediction that the program would be a dismal failure appears to be accurate. After six months, two trucks and three drivers have made nine -- count 'em, nine -- trips into the U.S. beyond the border zone.

Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa argued today in The Huffington Post that Mexico's inability to control drug violence is a barrier to trade -- and therefore a violation of Nafta. Here's what he had to say:

The State Department recently warned Americans against taking unnecessary trips to vast, dangerous sections of Mexico. Nearly all the states along the border are awash in violence, and there is no safe road to Mexico City. 

Mexico's 5-year-old narco-war is only getting worse. More than 12,000 people were killed in drug-related violence last year, a 6 percent increase over the previous year. Reports of torture, beheadings and killing of women are up as well. 

Just two weeks ago, Mexican troops announced that they seized 15 tons of methamphetamine near Guadalajara - an amount equal to half the meth seized in 2009 in the entire world. 

That's why U.S. truck drivers don't haul freight south of the border.

Read the whole thing here.

How Seattle port drivers are ripped off by their employers

The recent march for Seattle port drivers. 

In These Times posted a terrific story about the two-week Seattle port drivers strike. To hear the Port of Seattle tell it, the strike didn't have an impact. To hear people who were there tell it, the trucking companies lost a lot of money. According to In These Times, 

...the “cans,” as they’re called, stacked up on ships, in rail yards, and at warehouses. The port’s lifeblood slowed to a crawl. Cargo has to move for shippers and trucking companies to make money. A still container, a waiting ship and an idle truck all mean lost profits. It was clear the strike was costing employers a lot of money.

Here's how port drivers get ripped off: 

1. The drivers have to lease the tractors from the trucking companies -- but can't use them for anything other than company business. 
2. Employers punish drivers who refuse overweight loads by denying them work for a few days. If the drivers are stopped by the Highway Patrol for being overweight, they pay the fine. The trucking companies flat-out refuse to give them copies of the manifests.
3. Employers charge drivers $120 a week for liability insurance, though the freight is already insured by the shippers. If a driver doesn't work for a week, their employers take $120  from future earnings.

Read the whole thing here. 

Tell AT&T to stop the layoffs

Awaiting arrest outside of AT&T in Atlanta.

Our brothers and sisters at Local 728 in Atlanta are fighting against AT&T's layoff of 740 workers, along with CWA, Jobs With Justice and Occupy Atlanta. They've been rallying and staging sit-ins in the lobby. Some even got arrested.

Today, AT&T workers are getting their layoff dates. Last year,  AT&T had record revenues of $127 billion. Their CEO, Randall Stephenson, took home $27 million.

We agree with Occupy Atlanta:

The 1% wants to lower the standard of living for the average American worker, all so that they can pocket some extra cash. We can no longer allow them to squeeze every penny they can out of the 99%. The 99% creates the wealth; it is made on our backs.

Help our brothers and sisters who are getting laid off by AT&T. Email CEO Randall Stephenson at rs2982@att.com or call Michael Matthews, VP of Labor Relations at (205) 977-0722. Tell them to stop the layoffs.

MN carpenter blasts 'right to freeload' (video)

Anti-worker politicians in Minnesota are proposing a right-to-work-for-less amendment to the state Constitution. Our sister in the video above explains why it's a bad idea.