Friday, June 28, 2013

Today's Teamster News 06.28.13

U.S. to Suspend Trade Privileges With Bangladesh  New York Times   ...The Obama administration on Thursday will suspend trade privileges for Bangladesh over concerns about safety problems and labor rights violations in that country’s garment industry, according to administration and Congressional officials...
Macy’s Agrees To Pay $175,000 Civil Penalty For Immigrant Worker Treatment; Here Are The H1 Visa Workers Macy's Asked For In 2011  International Business Times   ...Congress is currently debating a major immigration reform bill that would increase the number of these and other categories of guest workers allowed to work in the United States...
Chilean police evict student protesters from schools  The Guardian   ...Chilean police have evicted student protesters from 21 Santiago schools that will be used as polling stations for the weekend's primary elections, a day after a massive march for education reform in the capital...
Ecuador Scraps Trade Pact Over U.S. Threats in Snowden Case  Bloomberg   ...Ecuador, the South American nation considering an asylum request from fugitive U.S. intelligence leaker Edward Snowden, renounced its U.S. trade benefits today, saying they were being used as “blackmail.”...
Mulally warns feds about impact of Japanese trade on U.S. auto sales  Detroit News   ...Ford Motor Co. Chief Executive Alan Mulally warned senators and Obama administration office about the impact of Japanese trade and currency policies on U.S. auto sales. He said his message was needed for free trade agreements and the “importance of letting the markets establish the currencies” and ensuring that they reflect “the global trade rules.”...
The Koch Brothers' PAC Is Off To Its Fastest Start Ever In A Federal Election Cycle  Business Insider   ...KOCHPAC donated $559,000 to federal-level political candidates and committees during the first five months of the year, according to a Center for Public Integrity review of Federal Election Commission disclosure released today...
License-plate readers let police collect millions of records on drivers  ThinkProgress   ...At a rapid pace, and mostly hidden from the public, police agencies throughout California have been collecting millions of records on drivers and feeding them to intelligence fusion centers operated by local, state and federal law enforcement...
Public Research for Private Gain  East Bay Express   ...UC Regents recently approved a new corporate entity that will likely give a group of well-connected businesspeople control over how academic research is used...
Toronto propane firm guilty in fatal 2008 blast  CBC News   ...The directors of Sunrise Propane have been found guilty of environmental and workplace safety violations following an explosion in 2008 in northwest Toronto that killed a worker and forced thousands from their homes...
Judge approves $139 million settlement in lawsuit against News Corp.  Associated Press  ...A Delaware judge on Wednesday approved a $139 million cash settlement between News Corp. and shareholders in a lawsuit over the British phone hacking scandal and the media conglomerate’s purchase of an entertainment company run by News Corp. founder Rupert Murdoch’s daughter...
Florida’s governor wants you to go to work sick  The Guardian   ...As attempts to dehumanize the workplace go, few could be more sadistic than forcing workers to come to work sick, but that’s precisely what the Florida legislature and Governor Rick Scott recently did...
RI Senate to vote on paid family leave bill  Associated Press   ...A proposal that would allow workers in Rhode Island to take paid time off to care for a new child or sick loved one is heading to a vote in the state Senate...
Paid sick leave is now the law in NYC  Washington Post   ...It will now be much easier for many New Yorkers to take a sick day from work . Early Thursday, lawmakers overrode a veto by Mayor Michael Bloomberg to pass a law that would require businesses to offer paid sick leave for their workers...
At New York City Hall, fast-food workers rally for better pay and allege 'wage theft'  Staten Island Live   ...Fast food workers had a simple message outside City Hall Thursday morning: "We can't survive on $7.25."...
BART Negotiations Underway as Strike Looms  NBC Bay Area   ...BART has asked Gov. Jerry Brown not to order a 60-day cooling off period that would delay a strike if an agreement isn't reached by Sunday. The unions' contracts expire Sunday at 11:59 p.m. If no agreement is reached, a Monday strike looms.
Teamsters Approve National ABF Agreement; Most Supplements Also Approved  IBT   ...Teamsters employed at ABF Freight System, Inc. have voted to approve the national master portion of the ABF National Master Freight Agreement as well as 21 of the 27 supplements. Some local/area supplemental agreements, however, were rejected and issues in those areas must be addressed before the national agreement can be implemented...
Ask Congress To Fund High Speed Rail And Amtrak  IBT   ...The Republicans in the House have taken a whack at funding for Amtrak and eliminated funding for high speed rail. They want to cut federal spending on Amtrak by 29 percent and eliminate funding for High Speed Rail. Please ask your representatives in Washington to support expanding the system in 2014...
Publisher threatens to close NJ's largest paper by year's end if unions don't make concessions  Associated Press   ...The owners of The Star-Ledger plan to close New Jersey's largest newspaper by year's end if its production unions don't make concessions in contract negotiations, the publisher said...
'Landmark' union agreement will help Detroit auto show, officials say  Michigan Live   ...A new labor pact between five unions and the Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority should help improve the North American International Auto Show...
Unfair Labor Practice Charges Filed Against Funeral Giant SCI  IBT   ...Teamsters Local 727, which represents funeral directors and drivers at Service Corporation International (NYSE: SCI), filed unfair labor practice charges against the company today...
Getting Down With The ‘Roots!   Rick Smith Show   ...The Rick Smith Show came to San Jose June 21-22 to talk to attendees at the Netroots Nation conference about the state of labor where employees of Wal-Mart and Google also shared the challenges they face in the workplace. Listen here. Visit the People’s Tour of America page daily to hear the latest from Rick Smith’s road travels...