Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Today's Teamster News 08.21.13

Republic Waste Workers from Local 728 Ratify First Contract  IBT   ...Waste workers employed by Republic Services near Atlanta have ratified their first contract, which boosts wages and on-the-job protections...
Teamster Contract With Kittitas County Ratified  Daily Record   ...Kittitas County commissioners recently ratified a new, four-year collective bargaining labor contract with Teamsters Local 760, which represents 28 county sheriff’s deputies...
Funeral Industry Giant SCI Locks Out Chicago Teamster Funeral Directors  IBT   ...Funeral industry giant Service Corporation International (NYSE: SCI) has locked out 59 Chicago-area funeral directors and drivers represented by Teamsters Local 727, despite an unconditional offer from the union to return to work...
Contract negotiations with Teamsters back on at Sabreliner  Republic Monitor   ...Members of Teamsters Local 600 in Maryland Heights, Missouri, unanimously voted last Thursday to reject the “ last and final” contract terms. But less than 24 hours later, both parties agreed to re-enter negotiations and extend the union’s current contract until this Saturday...
Trucking strike ends for Fontana depot  Press-Enterprise  Drivers and dock workers at a Fontana trucking depot returned to work Monday following a three-day strike. The disputes between Teamsters Local 63 and company officials will be decided by an arbitrator later this week...
Teamster strikers at Gold Cross are attempting negotiations with management again  Imperial Valley Press   ...Teamsters at Gold Cross and their parent company, Schaefer Ambulance, are entering negotiations for the second time since the strike began for get better treatment for the employees, better working conditions, a pay increase, and no cuts to medical benefits...
Many Teamster strikers at Lake Transit return to picket line  Lake County Record-Bee   ...Paratransit Services employees, who are members of Teamsters Local 665, went back to the picket line after ending a three-week strike following the news that the majority of workers will likely not get their jobs back immediately...
Amtrak: Record-Breaking Ridership in July  Amtrak   ...Year-over-year ridership in July grew 4.8 percent to more than 2.9 million passengers, an all-time record for most passengers in one month. Northeast Corridor services, state-supported and other short-distance routes, and long-distance trains all showed gains for July...
Moly-Cop pushes CP Rail for service  Daily News   ...Moly-Cop’s Kamloops operation is demanding that rail service be returned to its plant six weeks after the Kelowna Pacific Railway shut down. The company contends to the Canadian Transportation Agency it has a right to service under the Fair Rail Freight Service Act — legislation that passed only last June...
Rail Traffic Picks Up Some Momentum  Pragmatic Capitalism   ...More decent news here in rail trends as we begin to see some signs of life in traffic. Intermodal jumped 6.1% year over year and total traffic was up 2.7%. Carloads were down marginally. This week’s reading brought the 12 week moving average in intermodal to 2.8% which is the highest reading since May...
‘Oligarchic tendencies’: Study finds only the wealthy get represented in the Senate  Raw Story   ...In all of the five Congresses examined, the voting records of Senators were consistently aligned with the opinions of their wealthiest constituents. The opinions of lower-class constituents, however, never appeared to influence the Senators’ voting behavior...
Koch-Funded Rand Paul Introduces National Anti-Union ‘Right To Work’ Bill To The Senate  Progressive Change Campaign Committee   ...Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) just introduced a federal so-called “right to work” law that would undermine labor organizing nationwide...
Fast Food Workers Plan Nationwide Walkout August 29  Business Review USA   ...“If you work in a fast food or retail store anywhere in the country, we urge you to join our growing movement,” said Terrance Wise, a 34-year old father of three who earns $9.30 an hour after eight years at Burger King and $7.47 at Pizza Hut in Kansas City. “Get together with some or all of your co-workers and make plans to take to the streets on August 29...
Unemployment rates rise in most US states in July  Associated Press   ...Unemployment rates rose in more than half of U.S. states in July and fewer states added jobs, echoing national data that show the job market may have lost some momentum...
Judge endorses use of fraud law against Bank of America  Reuters   ...A federal judge has endorsed a broad interpretation of a savings-and-loan era law that the Justice Department is trying to use in cases against Wall Street banks...
More students than ever rely on federal college aid  Politico   ...Students and families are more willing than ever to borrow to pay for college and increasingly reliant on federal grants and loans to help with tuition bills, statistics released yesterday from the U.S. Education Department show...
Trans-Pacific Partnership Will Remove What’s Left Of American Democracy  firedoglake   ...If TPP passes it will override American law. Again: we will not be able to pass laws that reign in the corporations. We will not be able to protect our jobs and wages because, as we have seen, companies can just close a factory and move your job to a country that pays very little, doesn’t protect the environment, and doesn’t let working people do anything about it...
Greece will need new bailout, says Germany's Schaeuble  BBC News   ...The country's economy has shrunk further than any other in Europe, with bailout money only released on condition that the government imposes cuts and implements restructuring...
First Maine Lobstering Union Meeting Held  WFVX Bangor News   ...Lobstering in Maine has had its fair share of ups and downs over the past year few years, but now with the 'Maine Lobstering Union' officially formed Sunday, lobstermen are hoping to see changes come to this booming business in the Pine Tree State...
Missouri Lt. Governor: ‘We’ll pass Right to Work in 2014;’ Ohioans prepare for legislative fallout Beverly Hills Courier   ...As pro-union supporters in Ohio begin preparations for the upcoming legislative session, their attention will also be focused on Missouri after Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder told an Associated Press reporter that he believes Right to Work is heading to the ballot in an attempt to bypass the state’s anti-right to work governor...
“Indescribably insane”: A public school system from hell  Salon   ...Pennsylvania's right-wing governor drains public schools of basic funds -- and the sickening details will shock you...
Florida teachers still waiting for first raise in a long time  Orlando Sentinel   ...Teachers welcomed the news earlier this year when Florida Gov. Rick Scott called for $2,500 pay hikes and then kept up the raises-for-teachers drumbeat in the months that followed. But seven months after Scott made his teacher-raise announcement, no Central Florida public-school teacher has gotten the pay hike he touted...
California discourages needy from receiving food stamps  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette   ...For years, Texas was among a handful of states that required every resident seeking help with grocery bills to first be fingerprinted, an exercise typically associated with criminals. Texas remains one of the most effective states at keeping its poor out of the giant federal food stamp program. But it is not No. 1. That distinction belongs to California...
Democratic North Carolina State Senator Resigns From Office To Help People Get Voter ID PoliticusUSA   ...Many Democrats talk about fighting back against voter suppression, but North Carolina state senator Ellie Kinnaird resigned from office today in order to work on a grassroots project to help people obtain voter IDs. Read her statement...
Bankruptcy Judge Should Respect Michigan’s Constitution Even If Michigan Governor Rick Snyder Doesn’t  Economic Policy Institute   ...By ignoring the state’s constitution and its protection for accrued public employee pensions, Snyder is undermining the rule of law and adopting the kind of “ends justify the means” reasoning that usually precedes violations of public trust...