Teamster News
Teamsters Host UPS Workers Union Network Meeting teamster.org ...The Teamsters Union this week is hosting an international delegation of representatives from trade unions that represent UPS workers worldwide to share information and coordinate strategies...
Teamsters reject CCTA offer; bus drivers set to strike on March 17 VtDigger.org ...Members of the drivers’ union, Teamsters Local 597, voted 54-0 on Wednesday to reject the latest offer from the Chittenden County Transit Authority. CCTA has 68 drivers; all are in the union...
Clara Day: A Teamster’s Life teamster.org ...She was a powerful voice in support of the civil rights movement...
Trade
Who is funding China's military rise? We are. manufacture this ...China has accumulated a massive trade surplus with the U.S., and they're using it on a military spending spree...
James P. Hoffa: U.S.-Korea Pact Shows the False Promises of ‘Free’ Trade Detroit News ...Michigan has lost 2,800 jobs from the pact and seen a $518 million drop in net exports to Korea. Overall, more than 40,000 Americans are now out of work due to the agreement...
Administration Uses Data Omissions and Distortions to Try to Hide Dismal Korea FTA Realities Public Citizen ... U.S. monthly goods exports to Korea are down 11 percent, imports from Korea have increased and the U.S. monthly trade deficit with Korea has swelled 47 percent...
Europe and U.S. divided on trade issues Pork Network ...Europe's reluctance to buy hormone meat or genetically modified food from the United States has exposed an "enormous gulf" that threatens the world's biggest trade pact, industry and labour groups told EU and U.S. negotiators on Wednesday...
Japan, U.S. make 'bit of progress' in trade talks -Japanese official Reuters ...Plans for a free trade agreement among 12 Pacific Rim nations, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), have been bogged down amid a stand-off between the United States and Japan over market access...
State Battles
Again, Florida trying to restrict voter rights Bradenton Herald ...Florida is once again trying to constrain voter rights by restricting satellite locations where citizens can deposit absentee ballots...
The Real Story Behind the Detroit Pension Fight and What it Means to America's Future Huffington Post ...pension underfunding and corruption go hand in hand: areas which have seen pension crises tend to have high rates of corruption, as measured by such indicators as the number of public officials who wind up in prison. Pay-to-play schemes are rampant, and reports of bribery, such as those revealed in Detroit, are common...
Right-to-work bill dies in House committee The Richmond Register ...The sponsor of a right-to-work law in Kentucky knew it had no chance of passing a House committee Thursday. But that didn’t stop Rep. Jeff Hoover, R-Jamestown, the House Minority Leader, and several others from making their case before the House Labor and Industry Committee in a room filled to overflowing, mostly with union members who oppose the measure...
Appeals Court Resurrects Initiative Petition Drive For Campaign Donation Limits St. Louis Public Radio ...The Western District Court of Appeals of Missouri has resurrected an initiative-petition effort to restore campaign donation limits in Missouri. But the proposal’s backers may not have enough time to collect the signatures needed to get their proposal before voters...
Scott Walker Will Push Wisconsin State Legislature To Modify Voter ID Requirements Huffington Post ...Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) told reporters Tuesday that he considers voter identification laws the most "pressing" election-related issue in the state, and as such will direct the state legislature hold a special session to modify a law that has been blocked by courts since 2011...
Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II of North Carolina's 'Moral Monday' protest movement comes to Madison The Daily Page ..."The parallels between North Carolina and Wisconsin are undeniable," Wendell Harris, vice-president of Wisconsin NAACP, said in a news release. "We welcome Rev. Barber -- one of the greatest civil rights leaders of our time -- with great enthusiasm..."
The War on Workers
McDonald’s Workers File Wage Suits in 3 States New York Times ...McDonald’s workers in California, Michigan and New York filed lawsuits this week against the company and several franchise owners, asserting that they illegally underpaid employees by erasing hours from their timecards, not paying overtime and ordering them to work off the clock...
Wall Street Bonuses Are Bouncing Back, While Everyone Else's Wages Are… Meh Business Insider ...Average Wall Street bonuses have exploded, reaching a height of nearly $218,000 in 2006 - seven times larger than the average bonus of $29,800 in 1985. ... Household income fell from a post-crash peak of about $55,600 to about $51,000 in 2012 - an 8% drop - declining in each year from 2008 to 2012...
Jobless deal comes down to wire Politico ...Senators struck a bipartisan deal on Thursday to revive expired long-term jobless benefits following months of dramatic stops and starts on the issue...
Obama says it's time to change overtime rules CNN ...Current rules governing overtime pay are "wrong," President Barack Obama said Thursday as he signed an order directing his administration to reexamine how employees are paid for working more than 40 hours per week...
Study Proves Campaign Donations Buy Access firedoglake ...this may be painfully obvious. Just in case you, for some reason I can’t fathom, had doubts that money buys influence in Washington our friends in the ivory tower decided to perform a scientific experiment to prove it...
