Thursday, July 17, 2014

Today's Teamster News 07.17.14

Teamster News
Horse and carriage drivers rally at City Hall, drop off 40,000 signatures supporting the industry  New York Daily News   ...Three months after the Daily News kicked off its campaign to stop de Blasio's proposed ban on the horse-drawn carriages, over 100 supporters rallied on de Blasio's door step to drop off five bags of signed petitions supporting the industry...
Hoffa: Sufficient Rest Key To Truck Driver Safety  IBT   ...The Teamsters Union today called for a renewed commitment by Congress to protect the driving public by keeping current hours of service rules in place to help prevent tragedies that are the result of driver fatigue...
Teamsters Ratify New Pipeline Agreement  IBT   ...An overwhelming majority of Teamster local unions that represent pipeline construction workers in the United States voted in favor of a new three-year contract, the Teamsters Union announced today. The contract covers about 4,000 Teamsters...
Teamsters Submit Comments On FAA Requirements For Drug Testing At Foreign Repair Stations  IBT   ...The Teamsters Aviation Mechanics Coalition (TAMC) called for the implementation of a single standard of drug testing for airline mechanics in its comments submitted today to the FAA on its proposed rulemaking, (Docket No. FAA-2012-1058), for required drug testing at foreign repair stations...
Funeral Giant SCI Continues Mistreatment Of Chicago-Area Workers  IBT   ...Funeral giant Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) is once again mistreating its Chicago-area workers by proposing draconian, regressive changes while employing delay tactics and refusing to give Teamsters Local 727 a last, best and final offer for its membership to vote...
Oxford County Deputies Protest 'Low' Wages  Oxford Hills Sun Journal   ...Deputies from the Oxford County Sheriff's Office held a protest Tuesday morning to highlight their ongoing labor dispute with the county. Around 10 deputies and members of Teamsters Local 340 marched in front of the Oxford County Courthouse on Western Avenue to bring attention to the ongoing battle to raise their wages...
Trade
The TPP and Civil War  Counterpunch   ...While the poor, and what remains of the middle and the working classes, suffer defeat after defeat, the wealthy are hammering out yet another “free trade agreement.”...
To End Child Labor, Washington Must Press Companies to Act (opinion)  New York Times   ...Regulation and collective bargaining by independent unions free from political repression are the most important means to reduce child labor and other abuses in developing countries. Unfortunately the U.S. government has not put its enormous influence on the side of enforceable labor rights in the commercial agreements that it negotiates, fighting instead for the rights of patented drug companies and other corporations to exploit global monopolies. These priorities must be changed...
State Battles
Colorado Attorney General Files “Massive” Lawsuit Against Foreclosure Mills, Paving Way for Suits in Other States  naked capitalism   ...The Colorado case filed on Tuesday (embedded below) gives a detailed account of how the two largest foreclosure law firms in the state colluded to set prices on various services well above permissible levels, garnering as much as $97 million in ill-gotten gains since 2006...
Brownback Tax Cuts That Ravaged Surplus Hinder Re-Election Bid  Bloomerg   ...A policy that he promised would create an economic juggernaut produced a sinkhole. A projected $27 million surplus in fiscal 2015 is all that remains of $700 million two years ago, according to budget analysts. Job growth didn’t materialize, Moody’s Investors Service cut the state’s debt rating, former Republican Party chairwoman Rochelle Chronister called Brownback’s plan “ruinous” and “crazy” and 104 members of the party yesterday endorsed his Democratic opponent...
No outsourcing after taking WEDC money (opinion)  Racine Journal Times   ... at least two companies that received financial awards from the WEDC later outsourced jobs to foreign countries, with one of those companies receiving a second WEDC award after the fact...
War On Workers
US Port Strike Threat Highlights Supply Chain Risk  naked capitalism   ...Fears of a strike or lockout at the west coast ports that handle more than 40 per cent of all container imports to the US are disrupting businesses’ supply chains, as shippers anticipating a stoppage divert cargo to Canadian ports...
A Rare Win For The Unions? Staples Abandons Postal Service Trial  Wall Street Journal   ...The labor movement hasn’t had the best 2014 so far, with a bruising defeat for the UAW in its attempts to organize auto workers in the South, and an ominous Supreme Court ruling for public sector unions. But today, the American Postal Workers Union and its allies seem to be making progress in an important battle...
FBI warns driverless cars could be used as 'lethal weapons'  The Guardian   ...Google’s driverless car may remain a prototype, but the FBI believes the “game changing” vehicle could revolutionise high-speed car chases within a matter of years. The report also warned that autonomous cars may be used as "lethal weapons"...
Miscellaneous
Study Urges Pay Increase For Jersey's 'Tipped' Workers  Philadelphia Inquirer   ...New Jersey's servers, bellhops, and bartenders earn lower hourly wages than their counterparts in Pennsylvania and Delaware, pushing them into poverty, according to a report released Wednesday...