Thursday, June 26, 2014

Today's Teamster News 06.26.14

Teamster News
Downtown D.C. Traffic Gridlocked As Taxi Drivers Protest Uber, Lyft, Sidecar  Washington Post   ...Drivers in and around downtown D.C. were gridlocked in traffic Wednesday as a caravan of angry taxi drivers made its way  from East Potomac Park to Freedom Plaza — in a protest against app-based ride sharing services such as UberX...
DC Cabbies Join Protest Against Online Services  The Hill   ... The protest is being organized by the Washington, D.C. Taxi Operators Association, which is affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union. The union said cab drivers in the nation’s capital are upset because Internet-based taxi services don't face the same regulations as rank-and-file operators...
Teamsters hold 'Just Practicing' picket in Mobile to protest waste company's proposed health insurance plan changes  AL.com   ...Republic wants to be able to change health insurance plans without having to bargain with its workers, even though the National Labor Relations Board ruled that Republic is required to bargain over any changes to workers' health care," Jim Gookins, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 991, said in a press release...
How Do Los Angeles Uber Drivers Protest? They Take a Beach Day  Bloomberg   ...DeWolf says he and his fellow drivers were spurred by concerns over the company’s refusal to shoulder responsibility for insuring drivers; capricious-seeming policy changes, such as a recent announcement that pre-2010 cars will be phased out for Uber Black or Uber SUV services; and opaque disciplinary procedures...
Teamsters go on strike against concrete company  Turnto10   ...Twenty-two men from the Teamsters union in Smithfield and Cranston went on strike Wednesday morning. "We believe in a fair day's work for a fair day's pay," said Stu Mundy, a union supporter...
Teamsters Local 43 Overwhelmingly Votes To Merge With Local 200  Teamsters Local 200   ... Teamsters Local 200 announced that members of Local 43 in Racine, Wisc. overwhelmingly voted to merge with the Milwaukee-based chapter. With the vote, the more than 600 members of Local 43 will join the 3,700 members of Local 200...
Trade
Capitol Hill Shines Spotlight on #SOSJobs  manufacture this   ...The fight to Save Our Steel Jobs came to Capitol Hill on Wednesday, as the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing looking at how enforcing trade rules can level the playing field for U.S. companies and workers...
Mexican Shale Industry Hoist on Nafta-Induced Gang Violence Petard  naked capitalism   ...There’s perilous little recognition in the US of how much of the rise in gang violence and drug wars, as well as much harsher economic conditions for ordinary people, is the direct result of Nafta...
State Battles
Union Dues Deduction Bill Advances In Pennsylvania  WHTM   ...Business-backed legislation that would restrict labor union deductions from the paychecks of unionized public employees is advancing in the Pennsylvania state Legislature...
Under Scott Walker, Wisconsin keeps increasing its long-term borrowing  The Cap Times   ...Under Walker’s 2013-15 budget, debt service will climb even higher, claiming 5.26% of general fund dollars in 2014 and 4.88% in 2015, according to WISTAX. The state’s historical debt level target has been 4%...
War On Workers
U.S. Economy Shrank in First Quarter by Most in Five Years  Bloomberg   ...Gross domestic product fell at a 2.9 percent annualized rate, more than forecast and the worst reading since the same three months in 2009, after a previously reported 1 percent drop, the Commerce Department said today in Washington...
Microsoft lawyer says future is ‘bleak’ because of NSA surveillance  RT   ...Microsoft’s top lawyer doesn’t see much reason to be optimistic going forward if the National Security Agency doesn’t stop its bulk collection of private data, pointing to a “bleak future” and a lack of justice and accountability...
Walmart Flunks Its Fact-Check: The Truth Behind Its Sarcastic Response To The Times  Salon.com   ...Walmart isn’t going away and any conversation about wages, manufacturing and the reliance on public benefits by the employees of America’s largest corporations is ultimately going to include its participation. This latest salvo seems to indicate it remains intent on making it as unproductive a conversation as possible...
Miscellaneous
Supreme Court Issues Bold Ruling On Cell Phone Privacy  Think Progress   ...As of today, in nearly all circumstances, the police must obtain a warrant before they can search through your cell phone...
Fifty Years After Freedom Summer, The Voting Rights Act Is Needed More Than Ever (opinion)  Moyers & Company   ...All across the country, we’re seeing the most significant push to restrict voting rights since Reconstruction...