Teamster News
Data On Cross-Border Program Insufficient, FMCSA Committee Says; Mex Carriers Continue Operation Overdrive ...A Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration advisory committee approved Oct. 28 a report critical of several elements of the U.S.-Mexico cross-border pilot program, which ended earlier this month...
Utilizing The Union Vote In The 2014 Midterms MSNBC ...Ed Schultz and Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa discuss labor’s major role in the 2014 midterms...
Trade
The TTIP: A Very Scary Proposal Huffington Post ...though the agreement would have huge impacts on everything from the food we eat to the energy we use, the European Commission and Office of the U.S. Trade Representative are negotiating the TTIP in complete secret...
Japan Can’t Ratify The TPP This Year The Diplomat ...The largest remaining sticking point for successfully concluding the agreement still remains Japan’s protection of its sensitive agriculture and automotive industries, both of which have powerful political lobbies that even the dominant LDP must heed....
State Battles
Hedge fund billionaire, unions trade blows in Phoenix pension fight Reuters ...A push to reform Phoenix's retirement system has become the latest front in a battle between union-backed groups and a Texas hedge fund billionaire over the future of America's public pensions. Hundreds of thousands of dollars, much of it anonymous out-of-state money, has been flowing to backers of a November 4 ballot initiative in Phoenix that aims to end traditional public pension plans for the city's new hires...
Donald Trump's WI Club for Growth donation among those detailed in new records The Cap Times ...Court documents from a John Doe investigation into potentially illegal coordination between the Walker campaign and groups supporting him indicate that Walker's campaign had made the Club for Growth the de facto campaign engine for Walker's 2012 effort to fend off a recall. Walker himself, according to an April 28, 2011, email from campaign consultant Kate Doner, was "encouraging all to invest in the Wisconsin Club for Growth."...
Union power on the ballot Politico ...The result has been a campaign that echoes the same “Main Street vs. Wall Street” divide that has roiled the Democratic Party in recent years. But, as always in California, there’s a twist: The race has also become a referendum on the power of the California Teachers Association...
War on Workers
Bare-Knuckled Advice From Veteran Lobbyist: ‘Win Ugly or Lose Pretty’ New York Times ...“I get up every morning and I try to figure out how to screw with the labor unions — that’s my offense,” Mr. Berman said in his speech to the Western Energy Alliance. “I am just trying to figure out how I am going to reduce their brand...”
State Ecology Expects Full House For Meeting On Oil-By-Rail Safety Thursday Evening In Olympia The Olympian ...environmentalists want to see the state require more disclosure of oil shipments besides those from Bakken and boost tug-escort requirements for oil tankers on the Columbia River. She said there already is worry about risks from current levels of shipments of volatile Bakken crude oil primarily from North Dakota in the wake of the 2013 disaster in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, that killed 47 people...
Efforts to compromise with Maine nurse stall Associated Press ...Insisting she is perfectly healthy, nurse Kaci Hickox again defied the state's Ebola quarantine Thursday by taking a bike ride with her boyfriend, and Maine health authorities struggled to reach a compromise that would limit her contact with others...
Newest Legal Laborers In Bolivia: Children Wall Street Journal ...Newly Re-Elected President Morales Bucks World Trend in Legislating the Right for 10-Year-Olds to Work...
Name released of construction worker killed in Highway 68 crash KSBW.com ...A 50-year-old Salinas man is accused of hitting and killing a utility worker on Highway 68 Thursday morning while driving 90 miles per hour in a construction zone...
The Constitutional Right of Scabby the Rat Atlantic ..."Scabby the Rat," a giant inflatable rodent famous for blocking city sidewalks, is here to stay. The monstrous animal and the popular union protest tool is protected by the First Amendment, a New York district judge ruled this week...
Miscellaneous
Union-Made In America Halloween Candy Shopping List AFL-CIO ...If you want your Halloween to be all treats and no tricks, make sure all your candy is union-made in America. The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor's resource site, Labor 411, has an extensive list of union-made candies. Here are some highlights, featuring sweets made by the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers (BCTGM) and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW)...
Poll: Voters Support Keystone XL Pipeline 60-30 Argus Leader ...The Keystone XL pipeline has landslide support from South Dakota voters, an Argus Leader-KELO-TV poll says. A statewide survey shows 60 percent backing for the project, with 30 percent opposed and 10 percent undecided...
Congress Still Has No Idea How Much The NSA Spies On Americans The Atlantic ...even the most diligent, knowledgeable members of the Senate Intelligence Committee consistently lack basic information that's plainly needed for adequate oversight. No one who assesses the relevant evidence can credibly deny this...
Friday, October 31, 2014
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Today's Teamster News 10.30.14
Teamster News
Teamsters: Port Trucking Industry Dealt Another Blow teamster.org ...This week, the first of the fired drivers, Yesenia Rivas, was awarded $9,000 in unemployment benefits by the California Employment Development Department (EDD) – benefits that are only available to “employees,” not “independent contractors.”...
Recycling Workers Continue Strike At Waste Management Bay Area Sites San Jose Mercury News ...Teamsters Joint Council President Rome Aloise characterized the ILWU's struggle against Waste Management as unrealistic and called the workers "pawns" of the union leadership. "The slogan and campaign that has been developed is based on a promise that cannot be met and is designed to create false hope for the workers," Aloise said...
Grimes Courts Labor Votes With Warren In Kentucky Fresno Bee ...Stephen Piercey, a 32-year-old UPS worker and a steward in the Teamsters union, said he supports Grimes because she opposes right to work legislation that would allow companies to hire nonunion workers, which he said would weaken the labor union's ability to bargain for its members...
Trade
Germany Turning Sour on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership naked capitalism ...Germans are particularly aware of the dangers of these foreign investor panels due to payments the German government has been forced to make. Vattenfal, a Swedish company, is a serial trade pact litigant against Germany. In 2011, Der Spiegel reported on how it was suing for expected €1 billion plus losses due to Germany’s program to phase out nuclear power...
Why Support The TPP When It Will Let Foreign Corporations Take Our Democracies To Court? The Guardian ...ISDS clauses enable foreign corporations to sue a host country for laws or policies, or even court decisions, they find inconvenient and objectionable. This has the effect of giving foreign investors more rights than local investors; more influence than local citizens...
Monsanto Agritech Lobbying For The TTIP: Britain Spearheads Campaign To Make European GMO Regulation Meaningless Center For Research On Globalization ...The TTIP aims to force Europe to drop its GMO regulatory standards. If this occurs, Claire Robinson argues that Europe will adopt the type of worthless product-based regulatory assessments that occurs in the US...
Report Links Brands To 'Slavery' In Indian Mills Women's Wear Daily ...A new report alleging “modern-day slavery” in five Indian textile mills prompted at least three of the Western retailers —H&M, Primark and C&A — linked to the factories on Tuesday to pledge to take either punitive or remedial action...
State Battles
Court Refuses To Intervene In Case of 40,000 Missing Voters In Georgia Think Progress ...On Tuesday, Judge Christopher Brasher of the Fulton County Superior Court denied a petition from civil rights advocates to force Georgia’s Secretary of State to process an estimated 40,000 voter registrations that have gone missing from the public database...
Scott Walker Runs Ad Supporting Equal Pay After Repealing Wisconsin's Equal Pay Law Huffington Post ...Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) released an ad on Tuesday in which his female lieutenant governor applauds his support for equal pay for women -- just two years after the governor signed a bill repealing the state's equal pay law...
War on Workers
Money Koch Bros. Stole from Tribes Could Swing Mid-Term Elections Indian Country Media Network ...The committee issued its report (Senate Report 101-216) in 1989: “Koch Oil, the largest purchaser of Indian oil in the country, was engaged in a widespread and sophisticated scheme to steal crude oil from Indians and others through fraudulent mismeasuring and misreporting.” The committee sent the report to the Justice Department and DOJ convened a grand jury to examine possible criminal charges, but no indictments had been returned before the group was disbanded in 1992...
Oil Train Protesters March On Downtown Spokane KXLY ..."Oil trains are dangerous," said King County Executive Dow Constantine, "they can leak, they can catch fire. There have been explosions that are tremendously dangerous to people and property. Second, they take up space that could be used by people here producing agricultural products, manufactured products being shipped from Montana, Idaho, Eastern Washington to the ports, and that capacity that we're losing is costing Washington State jobs."...
Nurse Kaci Hickox 'Will Go to Court' Over Maine Ebola Quarantine Rule ABC News ...Kaci Hickox, a nurse who treated Ebolapatients and threatened to sue New Jersey over being quarantined before she was discharged, today threatened to sue Maine if officials there do not lift a 21-day quarantine restriction...
Amtrak worker killed by train MidHudson News ...An Amtrak employee was struck and killed by one of the railroad’s trains while he was working on a section of the track late Wednesday morning...
Construction worker dies after he's struck by truck on Verrazano-Narrows Bridge Staten Island Advance ...Shell, who was employed by STV, a contractor working on the bridge, was working in a closed work zone in front of the Verrazano-Narrows administration building in Staten Island when he was struck by a truck delivering asphalt to the site...
Recovery efforts continue for contractor who died in trench collapse MyFOXDetroit.com ...Crews are continuing the efforts Thursday morning to recover the body of a construction worker killed in a trench collapse in Grosse Pointe Woods...
Dead babies near oil drilling sites raise questions for researchers Denver Post ...Part of the reluctance of residents around Vernal to ascribe any ill effects to energy-field pollution could be tied to the average $3,963 average monthly nonfarm wage in Uintah County — the highest in Utah...
Why Does the U.S. Senate Need a Petition Drive to Hold Hearings on the Secret Goldman Sachs’ Tapes Wall Street on Parade ...Senators Elizabeth Warren and Sherrod Brown believe they may have a battle on their hands getting their colleagues on the Senate Banking Committee to agree to hold hearings on the now notorious tape recordings secretly made by former New York Fed bank examiner, Carmen Segarra, showing a cozy relationship between the regulator and Goldman Sachs...
Miscellaneous
Police: Woman Decapitated, Son Struck By Train In Murder-Suicide In Farmingdale CBS Local ...A woman was decapitated by her son in the middle of the street, he then killed himself by stepping in front of a Long Island Rail Road train in Farmingdale, police said Wednesday...
FBI demands new powers to hack into computers and carry out surveillance Guardian ...Agency requests rule change but civil liberties groups say ‘extremely invasive’ technique amounts to unconstitutional power grab...
UK Spies Get Bulk Access To NSA Data, Court Rules Fox News ...The British government's insistence that its spies don't use the vast espionage powers of the U.S. National Security Agency to sidestep U.K. restrictions on domestic eavesdropping was called into question by a court document published Wednesday...
Teamsters: Port Trucking Industry Dealt Another Blow teamster.org ...This week, the first of the fired drivers, Yesenia Rivas, was awarded $9,000 in unemployment benefits by the California Employment Development Department (EDD) – benefits that are only available to “employees,” not “independent contractors.”...
Recycling Workers Continue Strike At Waste Management Bay Area Sites San Jose Mercury News ...Teamsters Joint Council President Rome Aloise characterized the ILWU's struggle against Waste Management as unrealistic and called the workers "pawns" of the union leadership. "The slogan and campaign that has been developed is based on a promise that cannot be met and is designed to create false hope for the workers," Aloise said...
Grimes Courts Labor Votes With Warren In Kentucky Fresno Bee ...Stephen Piercey, a 32-year-old UPS worker and a steward in the Teamsters union, said he supports Grimes because she opposes right to work legislation that would allow companies to hire nonunion workers, which he said would weaken the labor union's ability to bargain for its members...
Trade
Germany Turning Sour on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership naked capitalism ...Germans are particularly aware of the dangers of these foreign investor panels due to payments the German government has been forced to make. Vattenfal, a Swedish company, is a serial trade pact litigant against Germany. In 2011, Der Spiegel reported on how it was suing for expected €1 billion plus losses due to Germany’s program to phase out nuclear power...
Why Support The TPP When It Will Let Foreign Corporations Take Our Democracies To Court? The Guardian ...ISDS clauses enable foreign corporations to sue a host country for laws or policies, or even court decisions, they find inconvenient and objectionable. This has the effect of giving foreign investors more rights than local investors; more influence than local citizens...
Monsanto Agritech Lobbying For The TTIP: Britain Spearheads Campaign To Make European GMO Regulation Meaningless Center For Research On Globalization ...The TTIP aims to force Europe to drop its GMO regulatory standards. If this occurs, Claire Robinson argues that Europe will adopt the type of worthless product-based regulatory assessments that occurs in the US...
Report Links Brands To 'Slavery' In Indian Mills Women's Wear Daily ...A new report alleging “modern-day slavery” in five Indian textile mills prompted at least three of the Western retailers —H&M, Primark and C&A — linked to the factories on Tuesday to pledge to take either punitive or remedial action...
State Battles
Court Refuses To Intervene In Case of 40,000 Missing Voters In Georgia Think Progress ...On Tuesday, Judge Christopher Brasher of the Fulton County Superior Court denied a petition from civil rights advocates to force Georgia’s Secretary of State to process an estimated 40,000 voter registrations that have gone missing from the public database...
Scott Walker Runs Ad Supporting Equal Pay After Repealing Wisconsin's Equal Pay Law Huffington Post ...Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) released an ad on Tuesday in which his female lieutenant governor applauds his support for equal pay for women -- just two years after the governor signed a bill repealing the state's equal pay law...
War on Workers
Money Koch Bros. Stole from Tribes Could Swing Mid-Term Elections Indian Country Media Network ...The committee issued its report (Senate Report 101-216) in 1989: “Koch Oil, the largest purchaser of Indian oil in the country, was engaged in a widespread and sophisticated scheme to steal crude oil from Indians and others through fraudulent mismeasuring and misreporting.” The committee sent the report to the Justice Department and DOJ convened a grand jury to examine possible criminal charges, but no indictments had been returned before the group was disbanded in 1992...
Oil Train Protesters March On Downtown Spokane KXLY ..."Oil trains are dangerous," said King County Executive Dow Constantine, "they can leak, they can catch fire. There have been explosions that are tremendously dangerous to people and property. Second, they take up space that could be used by people here producing agricultural products, manufactured products being shipped from Montana, Idaho, Eastern Washington to the ports, and that capacity that we're losing is costing Washington State jobs."...
Nurse Kaci Hickox 'Will Go to Court' Over Maine Ebola Quarantine Rule ABC News ...Kaci Hickox, a nurse who treated Ebolapatients and threatened to sue New Jersey over being quarantined before she was discharged, today threatened to sue Maine if officials there do not lift a 21-day quarantine restriction...
Amtrak worker killed by train MidHudson News ...An Amtrak employee was struck and killed by one of the railroad’s trains while he was working on a section of the track late Wednesday morning...
Construction worker dies after he's struck by truck on Verrazano-Narrows Bridge Staten Island Advance ...Shell, who was employed by STV, a contractor working on the bridge, was working in a closed work zone in front of the Verrazano-Narrows administration building in Staten Island when he was struck by a truck delivering asphalt to the site...
Recovery efforts continue for contractor who died in trench collapse MyFOXDetroit.com ...Crews are continuing the efforts Thursday morning to recover the body of a construction worker killed in a trench collapse in Grosse Pointe Woods...
Dead babies near oil drilling sites raise questions for researchers Denver Post ...Part of the reluctance of residents around Vernal to ascribe any ill effects to energy-field pollution could be tied to the average $3,963 average monthly nonfarm wage in Uintah County — the highest in Utah...
Why Does the U.S. Senate Need a Petition Drive to Hold Hearings on the Secret Goldman Sachs’ Tapes Wall Street on Parade ...Senators Elizabeth Warren and Sherrod Brown believe they may have a battle on their hands getting their colleagues on the Senate Banking Committee to agree to hold hearings on the now notorious tape recordings secretly made by former New York Fed bank examiner, Carmen Segarra, showing a cozy relationship between the regulator and Goldman Sachs...
Miscellaneous
Police: Woman Decapitated, Son Struck By Train In Murder-Suicide In Farmingdale CBS Local ...A woman was decapitated by her son in the middle of the street, he then killed himself by stepping in front of a Long Island Rail Road train in Farmingdale, police said Wednesday...
FBI demands new powers to hack into computers and carry out surveillance Guardian ...Agency requests rule change but civil liberties groups say ‘extremely invasive’ technique amounts to unconstitutional power grab...
UK Spies Get Bulk Access To NSA Data, Court Rules Fox News ...The British government's insistence that its spies don't use the vast espionage powers of the U.S. National Security Agency to sidestep U.K. restrictions on domestic eavesdropping was called into question by a court document published Wednesday...
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Today's Teamster News 10.29.14
Teamster News
Second Con-way Terminal Joins Teamsters; Two Vote No Truckinginfo ...The Teamsters Union has gotten the go-ahead from workers at a second Con-way Freight terminal to represent them in talks with company management, but were turned back at two other locations in votes all supervised by the National Labor Relations Board...
Republic Waste Workers Approve 3-Year Contract Massillon Independent ...Members of Teamsters Local 92 employed by Republic Waste Services voted Sunday to ratify a three-year agreement with the company ... by a vote of 100 to 26...
UVM Maintenance Workers Ratify Contract Vermont Digger ...In August, the school agreed to a two-year contract with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which represents police officers, service officers and dispatchers on campus. The Teamsters FY15 increase also will be adjusted to 2.25 percent...
Avalon Truck Drivers Close To Contract Massillon Independent ...the union will meet with the company Friday with some proposals he believes may lead to a tentative agreement. Truck drivers of refrigerated tractor-trailers at Avalon Foodservice have been negotiating their first contract for a year. Drivers organized in August 2013...
D.C. Taxi Drivers Demonstrate As Council Votes On Bill To Regulate Ride Services teamster.org ...Hundreds of D.C. taxi drivers circled Freedom Plaza and packed a D.C. City Council hearing room today to protest a bill to regulate private sedan services that drivers say continues to give the services a huge competitive edge...
PaRR: Sysco/US Foods Divestitures Not Clear Solution, Industry Sources Say teamster.org ..It will be challenging for Sysco (NYSE:SSY) and US Foods to craft an antitrust remedy package that creates a new national competitor, industry sources said...
First Student drivers protest at bus yard WTOC ...First student bus drivers rallying today to protest what they call income insecurity during sommer months...
Nicholas Lanzilli Receives Teamster Endorsement Medford Transcript ..."It is with much pleasure that I announce that I have received the endorsement of the Teamsters Local 25 Union...
Trade
APEC next stop for TPP talks — Fast-track to move in lame duck? Politico ...Labor groups are waging a four-week ad campaign in the Washington metro system aimed at discouraging a vote on “fast-track” trade legislation during the upcoming lame-duck session of Congress. The legislation, also known as trade promotion authority, would allow the White House to submit trade agreements like the proposed TPP pact to Congress for a straight up-or-down vote without amendments...
H&M Blacklists Spinning Mill In India After Reports Of Child Labour And ‘Appalling’ Work Conditions Financial Post ...Hennes & Mauritz AB will blacklist a spinning mill in southern India after a report claimed five manufacturers there use child labour and subjected workers, mostly women and girls, to “appalling” working conditions...
State Battles
Power Players Behind the Corporate Takeover of Pennsylvania Schools Center for Media and Democracy ...at least 31 Pennsylvania legislators are still ALEC dues-paying members and many more appear to use the ALEC library of bills when shopping around for corporate education policy. Bills to institute school vouchers, take away local control for authorizing charter schools, expand tax credits to fund charter schools, or enact so-called “parent trigger legislation” can be traced back to ALEC and member groups like the American Federation of Children and the Cato Institute...
Arkansas Court Lets Minimum Wage Issue Stay On Ballot Huffington Post ...Arkansas' highest court ruled Monday that a proposal to gradually raise the state's minimum wage can remain on the November ballot. ...Arkansas is one of the few states with a minimum wage below the federal level of $7.25 an hour...
Will Conservative Kansas Vote Out Its Conservative Governor, Sam Brownback? Washington Post ...Sam Brownback ... is at risk of becoming an object lesson in the limits of conservative governance in a conservative state...
For-profit company’s role scaled back in plan for Maine second virtual charter school Portland Press Herald ...Officials trying to open a virtual charter school in Maine have significantly changed their business model, agreeing to staff the school with Mainers after critics and state officials said their original plan left too much power in the hands of a national for-profit company...
War on Workers
U.S. Homeownership Rate Falls to Lowest Since Early 1995 Bloomberg ...Entry-level buyers have been held back by stringent mortgage standards and slow wage growth. The share of first-time buyers was 29 percent in September for the third straight month, compared with about 40 percent historically...
Feds set to destroy H-1B records Computerworld ...The U.S. has changed its H-1B record retention policy to the concern of people who study the visa's impact on the workforce and economy...
AT&T Sued By Feds For Throttling “Unlimited” Wireless Customers Consumerist ...AT&T ticked off a lot of wireless customers with so-called “unlimited” plans byannouncing that it would throttle data speeds for users who passed certain monthly thresholds. Though customers tried to sue in response, AT&T’s terms of service generally prevent class action suits from customers and force users into private, binding arbitration. But even though millions of customers can’t sue, the federal government can...
Worker Killed in Explosion at Ammunition Factory jobs.aol.com ...Federal investigators are returning to the scene of a deadly explosion at an ammunition factory in Tennessee. One worker was killed and three others were injured in the blast...
Construction worker dies after falling off roof GreenvilleNews.com ...James Irby, a commercial painter, was securing a ladder on top of an apartment at 114 Asteria St. on Oct. 22 when he fell from the roof onto the concrete walkway about 25 feet below...
Miscellaneous
Report Reveals Wider Tracking Of Mail In U.S. New York Times ...the United States Postal Service reported that it approved nearly 50,000 requests last year from law enforcement agencies and its own internal inspection unit to secretly monitor the mail of Americans for use in criminal and national security investigations. ... the surveillance program is more extensive than previously disclosed and that oversight protecting Americans from potential abuses is lax...
Second Con-way Terminal Joins Teamsters; Two Vote No Truckinginfo ...The Teamsters Union has gotten the go-ahead from workers at a second Con-way Freight terminal to represent them in talks with company management, but were turned back at two other locations in votes all supervised by the National Labor Relations Board...
Republic Waste Workers Approve 3-Year Contract Massillon Independent ...Members of Teamsters Local 92 employed by Republic Waste Services voted Sunday to ratify a three-year agreement with the company ... by a vote of 100 to 26...
UVM Maintenance Workers Ratify Contract Vermont Digger ...In August, the school agreed to a two-year contract with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which represents police officers, service officers and dispatchers on campus. The Teamsters FY15 increase also will be adjusted to 2.25 percent...
Avalon Truck Drivers Close To Contract Massillon Independent ...the union will meet with the company Friday with some proposals he believes may lead to a tentative agreement. Truck drivers of refrigerated tractor-trailers at Avalon Foodservice have been negotiating their first contract for a year. Drivers organized in August 2013...
D.C. Taxi Drivers Demonstrate As Council Votes On Bill To Regulate Ride Services teamster.org ...Hundreds of D.C. taxi drivers circled Freedom Plaza and packed a D.C. City Council hearing room today to protest a bill to regulate private sedan services that drivers say continues to give the services a huge competitive edge...
PaRR: Sysco/US Foods Divestitures Not Clear Solution, Industry Sources Say teamster.org ..It will be challenging for Sysco (NYSE:SSY) and US Foods to craft an antitrust remedy package that creates a new national competitor, industry sources said...
First Student drivers protest at bus yard WTOC ...First student bus drivers rallying today to protest what they call income insecurity during sommer months...
Nicholas Lanzilli Receives Teamster Endorsement Medford Transcript ..."It is with much pleasure that I announce that I have received the endorsement of the Teamsters Local 25 Union...
Trade
APEC next stop for TPP talks — Fast-track to move in lame duck? Politico ...Labor groups are waging a four-week ad campaign in the Washington metro system aimed at discouraging a vote on “fast-track” trade legislation during the upcoming lame-duck session of Congress. The legislation, also known as trade promotion authority, would allow the White House to submit trade agreements like the proposed TPP pact to Congress for a straight up-or-down vote without amendments...
H&M Blacklists Spinning Mill In India After Reports Of Child Labour And ‘Appalling’ Work Conditions Financial Post ...Hennes & Mauritz AB will blacklist a spinning mill in southern India after a report claimed five manufacturers there use child labour and subjected workers, mostly women and girls, to “appalling” working conditions...
State Battles
Power Players Behind the Corporate Takeover of Pennsylvania Schools Center for Media and Democracy ...at least 31 Pennsylvania legislators are still ALEC dues-paying members and many more appear to use the ALEC library of bills when shopping around for corporate education policy. Bills to institute school vouchers, take away local control for authorizing charter schools, expand tax credits to fund charter schools, or enact so-called “parent trigger legislation” can be traced back to ALEC and member groups like the American Federation of Children and the Cato Institute...
Arkansas Court Lets Minimum Wage Issue Stay On Ballot Huffington Post ...Arkansas' highest court ruled Monday that a proposal to gradually raise the state's minimum wage can remain on the November ballot. ...Arkansas is one of the few states with a minimum wage below the federal level of $7.25 an hour...
Will Conservative Kansas Vote Out Its Conservative Governor, Sam Brownback? Washington Post ...Sam Brownback ... is at risk of becoming an object lesson in the limits of conservative governance in a conservative state...
For-profit company’s role scaled back in plan for Maine second virtual charter school Portland Press Herald ...Officials trying to open a virtual charter school in Maine have significantly changed their business model, agreeing to staff the school with Mainers after critics and state officials said their original plan left too much power in the hands of a national for-profit company...
War on Workers
U.S. Homeownership Rate Falls to Lowest Since Early 1995 Bloomberg ...Entry-level buyers have been held back by stringent mortgage standards and slow wage growth. The share of first-time buyers was 29 percent in September for the third straight month, compared with about 40 percent historically...
Feds set to destroy H-1B records Computerworld ...The U.S. has changed its H-1B record retention policy to the concern of people who study the visa's impact on the workforce and economy...
AT&T Sued By Feds For Throttling “Unlimited” Wireless Customers Consumerist ...AT&T ticked off a lot of wireless customers with so-called “unlimited” plans byannouncing that it would throttle data speeds for users who passed certain monthly thresholds. Though customers tried to sue in response, AT&T’s terms of service generally prevent class action suits from customers and force users into private, binding arbitration. But even though millions of customers can’t sue, the federal government can...
Worker Killed in Explosion at Ammunition Factory jobs.aol.com ...Federal investigators are returning to the scene of a deadly explosion at an ammunition factory in Tennessee. One worker was killed and three others were injured in the blast...
Construction worker dies after falling off roof GreenvilleNews.com ...James Irby, a commercial painter, was securing a ladder on top of an apartment at 114 Asteria St. on Oct. 22 when he fell from the roof onto the concrete walkway about 25 feet below...
Miscellaneous
Report Reveals Wider Tracking Of Mail In U.S. New York Times ...the United States Postal Service reported that it approved nearly 50,000 requests last year from law enforcement agencies and its own internal inspection unit to secretly monitor the mail of Americans for use in criminal and national security investigations. ... the surveillance program is more extensive than previously disclosed and that oversight protecting Americans from potential abuses is lax...
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Today's Teamster News 10.28.14
Teamster News
Zodiac Workers Approve New Contract, End Strike KTEN ...Workers from the largest employer in Cooke County will be heading back to work Monday after about a month on the picket line. Employees at the Zodiac Seats manufacturing facility in Gainesville approved a new contract by an overwhelming margin earlier Saturday afternoon. Teamsters Local 767 representative Terry Johnson says the key issues of the contract dispute were work environment, seniority rights, and work schedules...
NetJets To The Middle Class: Subsidize The Global Super-Rich teamster.org ...Berkshire Hathaway’s (BRK/B) NetJets, Inc. is demanding compensation and benefit cuts from more than 600 employees represented by the Teamsters Union as part of a plan to lower prices for its wealthy customers. The Columbus, Ohio-based business jet operator is owned by Warren Buffet's holding company and provides business and leisure travel to the global super-rich...
Celebration Of Life: Brian Robert Davis teamster.org ...Please join us in celebrating the life and accomplishments of Joint Council No. 28 Freight Director and Local 174 Business Agent Brian Davis...
Trade
Anti-TTIP Front Condemns Government For Supporting Free Trade Proposal Malta Today ...Social Europe: Front Against TTIP (Malta) condemned the government for supporting the proposed Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, while discussions on the free trade agreement are still ongoing between the European Union and the United States...
South Korea: Bitter harvest: Exploitation and forced labour of migrant agricultural workers in South Korea Amnesty International ...The migrant workers on whom South Korean agriculture depends suffer appalling living and working conditions, and the government's Employment Permit Scheme (EPS) directly contributes to this exploitation, according to a new report (Bitter Harvest) from Amnesty International...
State Battles
Labor Group To Sue Scott Walker's Administration For Minimum Wage Study Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ...A labor group plans to sue Gov. Scott Walker's administration Monday as part of an ongoing effort to force an increase in Wisconsin's minimum wage...
West Lake Protesters Warn Of 'Hidden Dangers' KSDK ...Protesters hit the streets of North St. Louis County again Sunday, but this time the demonstrations had to do with the World War Two-era nuclear waste buried at the West Lake Landfill in Bridgeton. The waste site sits adjacent to an underground fire at the Bridgeton Landfill...
The Great Kansas Tea Party Disaster Rolling Stone ...Brownback turned out to be even more radical when it came to economic policy. In 2012, he enacted the largest package of tax cuts in Kansas history, essentially transforming his state into a lab experiment for extreme free-market ideology. The results (disastrous) have reduced the governor to making appearances at grim strip malls like this one in a desperate attempt to salvage his re-election bid...
‘Right To Work’ Harms Working Families (opinion) Louisville Courier Journal ...Kentucky remains the only state in the South not to pass one of these laws, which shows our political independence and common sense. But Republicans in Frankfort, Sen. Mitch McConnell, and a group of out-of-state, big-moneyed special interests are doing everything in their power to change that. I strongly oppose right-to-work legislation because I love Kentucky and want a bright future for our children and grandchildren. Right to work is a sham. It is, as Martin Luther King Jr. said, “a false slogan” which will “rob us of our civil rights and job rights.”...
To see how Citizens United is hurting democracy, look at local elections msnbc ... in a scandal one news report called a “nightmare scenario” of corruption, former Utah Attorney General John Swallow used “independent” groups to orchestrate advertising for his 2012 campaign from payday loan companies, which he had in exchange promised to regulate lightly, according to an investigation by Utah’s legislature. Swallow’s campaign staff had created a web of benignly named groups, like the Proper Role of Government Education Association, to conceal more than $450,000 in spending by the lenders...
War on Workers
7 things the middle class can't afford anymore USA Today ...54% of people gave up purchasing big ticket items like TVs or electronics so they can go on a vacation...
The Real Crazy Train: Moving Bakken Crude By Rail (opinion) San Francisco Chronicle ...Community concerns include environmental risks but center on public safety because Bakken oil is more volatile than most other crudes. A derailed tanker train loaded with Bakken crude exploded in July 2013, killing 47 people in Canada and alerting transportation officials and the public to the real hazards of transporting this easily ignited oil. For Benicians, potentially explosive trains are no theoretical debate as two 50-car trains would pass daily through the north end of town...
How 'flexible' schedules have become a trap for working parents Vox ... According to a recent study, many workers in similar retail jobs with "just-in-time" scheduling can be called in for a shift just two hours ahead of time, and most are not guaranteed a minimum number of hours each week. That means paychecks fluctuate as much as shifts...
New fight over Ebola quarantine looms as nurse returns to Maine FOX News ...A nurse who treated Ebola patients in West Africa before being briefly and controversially quarantined in New Jersey could be the focus of a new battle over state health policy as she returns to her home state of Maine...
CNN poll: Voters are angry CNN Politics ...Nearly 7 in 10 Americans are angry at the direction the country is headed and 53% of Americans disapprove of President Barack Obama's job performance, two troubling signs for Democrats one week before the midterm elections...
The Stealth Campaign to Buy US Courts truthout ...the RSLC has run an aggressive—and successful—strategy to turn states red and keep them that way. This year, the group expanded from legislative and gubernatorial races, putting $5 million into a “Judicial Fairness Initiative” with the aim to elect judges who are “supportive of restraining government.” So far, the RSLC has funded judicial campaigns in Missouri, Montana, Tennessee and North Carolina. The group is still monitoring races in Ohio, Texas and Michigan...
Worker dies after Veolia industrial blast in Canada AFP ...A Veolia worker who was injured during a weekend blast at an industrial plant in Canada died Monday, officials said. Four other staff also were hospitalized Saturday in the as-yet-unexplained explosion that collapsed the roof at the Veolia ES Canada Industrial facility in Sarnia, Ontario...
Worker killed in construction accident in Phoenix azfamily.com ...A construction worker is dead after he got caught and crushed in a piece of equipment Monday afternoon...
Miscellaneous
NSA Director Was Investing In Shady Foreign Markets While Spying On Shady Foreign Markets Inquisitr ...Keith Alexander, the former National Security Agency Director owned and sold shares in commodities linked to China and Russia… all while the NSA was heavily spying on China and Russia. Depending on who you ask, it’s either a question of insider trading, cashing in on incidental job knowledge, or a case of coincidence...
Zodiac Workers Approve New Contract, End Strike KTEN ...Workers from the largest employer in Cooke County will be heading back to work Monday after about a month on the picket line. Employees at the Zodiac Seats manufacturing facility in Gainesville approved a new contract by an overwhelming margin earlier Saturday afternoon. Teamsters Local 767 representative Terry Johnson says the key issues of the contract dispute were work environment, seniority rights, and work schedules...
NetJets To The Middle Class: Subsidize The Global Super-Rich teamster.org ...Berkshire Hathaway’s (BRK/B) NetJets, Inc. is demanding compensation and benefit cuts from more than 600 employees represented by the Teamsters Union as part of a plan to lower prices for its wealthy customers. The Columbus, Ohio-based business jet operator is owned by Warren Buffet's holding company and provides business and leisure travel to the global super-rich...
Celebration Of Life: Brian Robert Davis teamster.org ...Please join us in celebrating the life and accomplishments of Joint Council No. 28 Freight Director and Local 174 Business Agent Brian Davis...
Trade
Anti-TTIP Front Condemns Government For Supporting Free Trade Proposal Malta Today ...Social Europe: Front Against TTIP (Malta) condemned the government for supporting the proposed Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, while discussions on the free trade agreement are still ongoing between the European Union and the United States...
South Korea: Bitter harvest: Exploitation and forced labour of migrant agricultural workers in South Korea Amnesty International ...The migrant workers on whom South Korean agriculture depends suffer appalling living and working conditions, and the government's Employment Permit Scheme (EPS) directly contributes to this exploitation, according to a new report (Bitter Harvest) from Amnesty International...
State Battles
Labor Group To Sue Scott Walker's Administration For Minimum Wage Study Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ...A labor group plans to sue Gov. Scott Walker's administration Monday as part of an ongoing effort to force an increase in Wisconsin's minimum wage...
West Lake Protesters Warn Of 'Hidden Dangers' KSDK ...Protesters hit the streets of North St. Louis County again Sunday, but this time the demonstrations had to do with the World War Two-era nuclear waste buried at the West Lake Landfill in Bridgeton. The waste site sits adjacent to an underground fire at the Bridgeton Landfill...
The Great Kansas Tea Party Disaster Rolling Stone ...Brownback turned out to be even more radical when it came to economic policy. In 2012, he enacted the largest package of tax cuts in Kansas history, essentially transforming his state into a lab experiment for extreme free-market ideology. The results (disastrous) have reduced the governor to making appearances at grim strip malls like this one in a desperate attempt to salvage his re-election bid...
‘Right To Work’ Harms Working Families (opinion) Louisville Courier Journal ...Kentucky remains the only state in the South not to pass one of these laws, which shows our political independence and common sense. But Republicans in Frankfort, Sen. Mitch McConnell, and a group of out-of-state, big-moneyed special interests are doing everything in their power to change that. I strongly oppose right-to-work legislation because I love Kentucky and want a bright future for our children and grandchildren. Right to work is a sham. It is, as Martin Luther King Jr. said, “a false slogan” which will “rob us of our civil rights and job rights.”...
To see how Citizens United is hurting democracy, look at local elections msnbc ... in a scandal one news report called a “nightmare scenario” of corruption, former Utah Attorney General John Swallow used “independent” groups to orchestrate advertising for his 2012 campaign from payday loan companies, which he had in exchange promised to regulate lightly, according to an investigation by Utah’s legislature. Swallow’s campaign staff had created a web of benignly named groups, like the Proper Role of Government Education Association, to conceal more than $450,000 in spending by the lenders...
War on Workers
7 things the middle class can't afford anymore USA Today ...54% of people gave up purchasing big ticket items like TVs or electronics so they can go on a vacation...
The Real Crazy Train: Moving Bakken Crude By Rail (opinion) San Francisco Chronicle ...Community concerns include environmental risks but center on public safety because Bakken oil is more volatile than most other crudes. A derailed tanker train loaded with Bakken crude exploded in July 2013, killing 47 people in Canada and alerting transportation officials and the public to the real hazards of transporting this easily ignited oil. For Benicians, potentially explosive trains are no theoretical debate as two 50-car trains would pass daily through the north end of town...
How 'flexible' schedules have become a trap for working parents Vox ... According to a recent study, many workers in similar retail jobs with "just-in-time" scheduling can be called in for a shift just two hours ahead of time, and most are not guaranteed a minimum number of hours each week. That means paychecks fluctuate as much as shifts...
New fight over Ebola quarantine looms as nurse returns to Maine FOX News ...A nurse who treated Ebola patients in West Africa before being briefly and controversially quarantined in New Jersey could be the focus of a new battle over state health policy as she returns to her home state of Maine...
CNN poll: Voters are angry CNN Politics ...Nearly 7 in 10 Americans are angry at the direction the country is headed and 53% of Americans disapprove of President Barack Obama's job performance, two troubling signs for Democrats one week before the midterm elections...
The Stealth Campaign to Buy US Courts truthout ...the RSLC has run an aggressive—and successful—strategy to turn states red and keep them that way. This year, the group expanded from legislative and gubernatorial races, putting $5 million into a “Judicial Fairness Initiative” with the aim to elect judges who are “supportive of restraining government.” So far, the RSLC has funded judicial campaigns in Missouri, Montana, Tennessee and North Carolina. The group is still monitoring races in Ohio, Texas and Michigan...
Worker dies after Veolia industrial blast in Canada AFP ...A Veolia worker who was injured during a weekend blast at an industrial plant in Canada died Monday, officials said. Four other staff also were hospitalized Saturday in the as-yet-unexplained explosion that collapsed the roof at the Veolia ES Canada Industrial facility in Sarnia, Ontario...
Worker killed in construction accident in Phoenix azfamily.com ...A construction worker is dead after he got caught and crushed in a piece of equipment Monday afternoon...
Miscellaneous
NSA Director Was Investing In Shady Foreign Markets While Spying On Shady Foreign Markets Inquisitr ...Keith Alexander, the former National Security Agency Director owned and sold shares in commodities linked to China and Russia… all while the NSA was heavily spying on China and Russia. Depending on who you ask, it’s either a question of insider trading, cashing in on incidental job knowledge, or a case of coincidence...
Monday, October 27, 2014
Today's Teamster News 10.27.14
Teamsters
Disney workers appeal firing over sweaty costumes Orlando Sentinel ...The Teamsters union that represents them is bringing the issue in front of a federal arbitrator later this year. The union argues Disney violated its contract by providing unsanitary clothing...
Philadelphia Labor Law Attorney Bruce M. Ludwig Presents at International Conference of Teamsters Lawyers North Fork View ...Bruce M. Ludwig, of the labor, employment and workers’ compensation law firm Willig, Williams & Davidson, recently presented a paper at the 29th meeting of the International Conference of Teamsters Lawyers in Providence, R.I., entitled “Growing the Union at Penn State University: Issues in Organizing a Residual Unit in the Public Sector.”...
Trade
TPP talks in Sydney end with no breakthrough Japan Times ...Japan and the United States failed to reach a much-awaited breakthrough, seen as vital to advancing the 12-country Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, at a three-day meeting on the proposed trade accord that wrapped in Sydney on Monday...
The row over TTIP rumbles on Left Foot Forward ...The row over TTIP (the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership deal between the EU and the USA) and the inclusion of an ISDS (Investor State Dispute Settlement) mechanism is growing almost daily...
UK poultry industry worried about TTIP impact on food safety Global Meat News ...Members of the UK poultry industry are concerned that trade negotiations under the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the EU and US could undermine food safety...
State Battles
Wisconsin Voters Know Walker -- and That’s His Problem Bloomberg ...Yet if Walker is to advance his momentum into the 2016 presidential race, he needs to win re-election next week in a state where roughly half of the voters say they’ve had enough of him...
Fox News Host Calls Out Chris Christie For Putting Millionaires Over State’s Economy ThinkProgress ...You decided to cut payments to pension funds and instead of raising taxes on millionaires and businesses. The credit rating for New Jersey has actually been downgraded eight times your watch, and the polls in New Jersey show you with your lowest favorability rating since you became governor...
War on Workers
States With The Widest Gap Between Rich And Poor: 24/7 Wall St. Huffington Post ...New York was one of only two states, along with Connecticut, where more than 25% of all income was earned by just the top 5% of households...
Inflation Deceptive, CPI 0.1% Yet Some Items Off the Charts Economic Populist ...The average hourly real wage feel -0.2% [in September] and is now $10.32. and has increased just 0.3% for the year. This means wages are not keeping up with inflation. Weekly real earnings increased by only because people were working 0.3% more hours per week...
Police Pay Gap: Many of America's Finest Struggle on Poverty Wages NBC News ...Data obtained by NBC News from 24 municipal police departments in St. Louis County reveal a gulf between police officer pay in poor, majority African-American northern cities and wealthier, whiter cities further south. Average annual patrol officer pay ranges from $23,000 in Hillsdale to nearly $70,000 in Town and County and Des Peres...
Chris Christie Stuck Her In 'Prison.' So Ebola Nurse Says She'll Sue. Forbes ...She worked for Doctors Without Borders — the aid group fighting West Africa’s Ebola epidemic — before flying home on Friday and being rushed into a surprise isolation that she’s described as scary, disorganized, and even cruel...
Disney workers appeal firing over sweaty costumes Orlando Sentinel ...The Teamsters union that represents them is bringing the issue in front of a federal arbitrator later this year. The union argues Disney violated its contract by providing unsanitary clothing...
Philadelphia Labor Law Attorney Bruce M. Ludwig Presents at International Conference of Teamsters Lawyers North Fork View ...Bruce M. Ludwig, of the labor, employment and workers’ compensation law firm Willig, Williams & Davidson, recently presented a paper at the 29th meeting of the International Conference of Teamsters Lawyers in Providence, R.I., entitled “Growing the Union at Penn State University: Issues in Organizing a Residual Unit in the Public Sector.”...
Trade
TPP talks in Sydney end with no breakthrough Japan Times ...Japan and the United States failed to reach a much-awaited breakthrough, seen as vital to advancing the 12-country Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, at a three-day meeting on the proposed trade accord that wrapped in Sydney on Monday...
The row over TTIP rumbles on Left Foot Forward ...The row over TTIP (the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership deal between the EU and the USA) and the inclusion of an ISDS (Investor State Dispute Settlement) mechanism is growing almost daily...
UK poultry industry worried about TTIP impact on food safety Global Meat News ...Members of the UK poultry industry are concerned that trade negotiations under the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the EU and US could undermine food safety...
State Battles
Wisconsin Voters Know Walker -- and That’s His Problem Bloomberg ...Yet if Walker is to advance his momentum into the 2016 presidential race, he needs to win re-election next week in a state where roughly half of the voters say they’ve had enough of him...
Fox News Host Calls Out Chris Christie For Putting Millionaires Over State’s Economy ThinkProgress ...You decided to cut payments to pension funds and instead of raising taxes on millionaires and businesses. The credit rating for New Jersey has actually been downgraded eight times your watch, and the polls in New Jersey show you with your lowest favorability rating since you became governor...
War on Workers
States With The Widest Gap Between Rich And Poor: 24/7 Wall St. Huffington Post ...New York was one of only two states, along with Connecticut, where more than 25% of all income was earned by just the top 5% of households...
Inflation Deceptive, CPI 0.1% Yet Some Items Off the Charts Economic Populist ...The average hourly real wage feel -0.2% [in September] and is now $10.32. and has increased just 0.3% for the year. This means wages are not keeping up with inflation. Weekly real earnings increased by only because people were working 0.3% more hours per week...
Police Pay Gap: Many of America's Finest Struggle on Poverty Wages NBC News ...Data obtained by NBC News from 24 municipal police departments in St. Louis County reveal a gulf between police officer pay in poor, majority African-American northern cities and wealthier, whiter cities further south. Average annual patrol officer pay ranges from $23,000 in Hillsdale to nearly $70,000 in Town and County and Des Peres...
Chris Christie Stuck Her In 'Prison.' So Ebola Nurse Says She'll Sue. Forbes ...She worked for Doctors Without Borders — the aid group fighting West Africa’s Ebola epidemic — before flying home on Friday and being rushed into a surprise isolation that she’s described as scary, disorganized, and even cruel...
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Today's Teamster News 10.26.14
Teamsters
Teamsters show support for FairPoint strikers Lewiston-Auburn Sun Journal ...Teamsters Local 340 came to support the striking FairPoint workers on Davis Farm Road in Portland on Saturday. Business agents from Local 340 brought hamburgers and hot dogs for 500, letting IBEW members know that they were not alone in their dispute with FairPoint management...
U.S. Sen. Carper, Tennant lead Democrats at South Charleston rally West Virginia Sunday Gazette-Mail ...U.S. Sen. Tom Carper, of Delaware, makes an appearance in support of Natalie Tennant and other Democrats at a rally held at the Teamsters Local 175 headquarters in South Charleston on Saturday...
Trade
Japan Market Access Still Hurdle at Trans-Pacific Partnership Talks Wall Street Journal ...Japan will come under renewed pressure to further open up its automotive and agriculture industries to global trade during Trans-Pacific Partnership talks here over coming days, amid heightened calls for Tokyo to ensure increased market access remains a key plank of its structural reform agenda under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe...
Momentum building on TPP deal despite U.S.-Japan impasse Japan Times ...Froman said there was now an opportunity to narrow differences ahead of leaders meetings in Asia in coming weeks. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Beijing and G20 summit in Brisbane will both take place next month...
State Battles
Another 150,000 Detroit Residents Are About To Become Homeless Under GOP Governor’s Emergency Manager Addicting Info ...there has been a ‘billionaire’s buying spree‘, as the rich swoop in like the vultures they are, to buy up the property of the very people they made poor, through their own criminal activity...
Walker Claims Next Budget Will Start With Surplus, Though Evidence Indicates Otherwise Wisconsin Public Radio ... the bureau found that the state would begin the next budget with a gross balance of zero dollars — a far cry from the half-billion the governor is claiming...
Scott Walker’s Corruption Problem The Progressive ...Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, who is locked in a dead-heat for reelection on November 4, has been dogged throughout his tenure by secret criminal investigations that so far have led to 15 felony indictments of six of his closest aides and associates. This week, new documents released on a judge’s orders show that Walker, while he was Milwaukee County executive, helped his longtime campaign treasurer get inside information for a bid to lease office space to the county...
North Carolina Fights To Take Voting Site Away From Pesky College Kids Moyers & Co. ...Early voting starts today, Thursday in North Carolina, even as the state has pushed to move early voting sites farther away from college campuses...
Christie wants GOP control of voting rules, election officials msnbc ...New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) stunned voting-rights advocates this week, arguing that Republican governors should control “voting mechanisms” in order to help the party win the 2016 presidential election...
Rick Explains It All You Got Schooled ...During his first year as governor, Rick Snyder made drastic cuts to education. He’s been trying to explain his way out of this for years, but this handy-dandy graph shows that his math doesn’t quite add up...
War on Workers
FairPoint and striking unions brace for a long stalemate Portland Press Herald ...While workers get ready to go without paychecks, the company pays for police details at picketing sites...
Ebola outbreak: US nurse criticises quarantine treatment BBC News ...A nurse quarantined on her return to the US from treating Ebola patients in Sierra Leone has criticised the way she was dealt with at Newark airport. Kaci Hickox said the experience was frightening and could deter other health workers from travelling to West Africa to help tackle the Ebola virus...
High school cafeteria worker tried to stop gunman USA Today ... A high school cafeteria worker tried to stop a gunman who killed one girl and shot four other students before taking his own life inside the cafeteria at a school north of Seattle, officials said Saturday...
'Koch Congress' Could Make Oligarchy Official The Progressive ...At a time when most Americans agree that the country has too much power in too few hands, the world’s two wealthiest men are only six seats away from seizing the Senate and consolidating their current control of the House...
Dark Money Will Decide Which Party Controls the Senate Center for Public Integrity ...In the most competitive U.S. Senate races this year, big-money special interests that proliferated after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision are routinely out-muscling and out-messaging the candidates themselves...
Teamsters show support for FairPoint strikers Lewiston-Auburn Sun Journal ...Teamsters Local 340 came to support the striking FairPoint workers on Davis Farm Road in Portland on Saturday. Business agents from Local 340 brought hamburgers and hot dogs for 500, letting IBEW members know that they were not alone in their dispute with FairPoint management...
U.S. Sen. Carper, Tennant lead Democrats at South Charleston rally West Virginia Sunday Gazette-Mail ...U.S. Sen. Tom Carper, of Delaware, makes an appearance in support of Natalie Tennant and other Democrats at a rally held at the Teamsters Local 175 headquarters in South Charleston on Saturday...
Trade
Japan Market Access Still Hurdle at Trans-Pacific Partnership Talks Wall Street Journal ...Japan will come under renewed pressure to further open up its automotive and agriculture industries to global trade during Trans-Pacific Partnership talks here over coming days, amid heightened calls for Tokyo to ensure increased market access remains a key plank of its structural reform agenda under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe...
Momentum building on TPP deal despite U.S.-Japan impasse Japan Times ...Froman said there was now an opportunity to narrow differences ahead of leaders meetings in Asia in coming weeks. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Beijing and G20 summit in Brisbane will both take place next month...
State Battles
Another 150,000 Detroit Residents Are About To Become Homeless Under GOP Governor’s Emergency Manager Addicting Info ...there has been a ‘billionaire’s buying spree‘, as the rich swoop in like the vultures they are, to buy up the property of the very people they made poor, through their own criminal activity...
Walker Claims Next Budget Will Start With Surplus, Though Evidence Indicates Otherwise Wisconsin Public Radio ... the bureau found that the state would begin the next budget with a gross balance of zero dollars — a far cry from the half-billion the governor is claiming...
Scott Walker’s Corruption Problem The Progressive ...Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, who is locked in a dead-heat for reelection on November 4, has been dogged throughout his tenure by secret criminal investigations that so far have led to 15 felony indictments of six of his closest aides and associates. This week, new documents released on a judge’s orders show that Walker, while he was Milwaukee County executive, helped his longtime campaign treasurer get inside information for a bid to lease office space to the county...
North Carolina Fights To Take Voting Site Away From Pesky College Kids Moyers & Co. ...Early voting starts today, Thursday in North Carolina, even as the state has pushed to move early voting sites farther away from college campuses...
Christie wants GOP control of voting rules, election officials msnbc ...New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) stunned voting-rights advocates this week, arguing that Republican governors should control “voting mechanisms” in order to help the party win the 2016 presidential election...
Rick Explains It All You Got Schooled ...During his first year as governor, Rick Snyder made drastic cuts to education. He’s been trying to explain his way out of this for years, but this handy-dandy graph shows that his math doesn’t quite add up...
War on Workers
FairPoint and striking unions brace for a long stalemate Portland Press Herald ...While workers get ready to go without paychecks, the company pays for police details at picketing sites...
Ebola outbreak: US nurse criticises quarantine treatment BBC News ...A nurse quarantined on her return to the US from treating Ebola patients in Sierra Leone has criticised the way she was dealt with at Newark airport. Kaci Hickox said the experience was frightening and could deter other health workers from travelling to West Africa to help tackle the Ebola virus...
High school cafeteria worker tried to stop gunman USA Today ... A high school cafeteria worker tried to stop a gunman who killed one girl and shot four other students before taking his own life inside the cafeteria at a school north of Seattle, officials said Saturday...
'Koch Congress' Could Make Oligarchy Official The Progressive ...At a time when most Americans agree that the country has too much power in too few hands, the world’s two wealthiest men are only six seats away from seizing the Senate and consolidating their current control of the House...
Dark Money Will Decide Which Party Controls the Senate Center for Public Integrity ...In the most competitive U.S. Senate races this year, big-money special interests that proliferated after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision are routinely out-muscling and out-messaging the candidates themselves...
Saturday, October 25, 2014
Today's Teamster News 10.25.14
Teamster News
Oakland School Bus Drivers Choose Teamsters Representation teamster.org ...First Student school bus drivers in Oakland, Calif., have voted by an overwhelming 15-1 margin in favor of representation by Teamsters Local 853 in San Leandro, Calif. The 150 drivers transport children in the Oakland Unified School District...
Meeting Celebrates Million Worker March Movement Workers World ...Founding members of the Million Worker March Movement held a 10th commemorative anniversary meeting Oct. 16 at Teamsters Local 808 in Long Island City, Queens, N.Y...
DiNapoli, Schneiderman hold “get out the vote’ rally in Orange County MidHudson News ...Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli brought their “get out the vote” tour to the Teamsters Local 445 hall in Rock Tavern on Friday...
Trade
Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement: Secret Deal Means Bad News For Consumers, Choice Warns News.com ...The TPP is being negotiated in secret by 12 countries, including Australia, with governments having full access to the draft agreement while the public have nothing, a WikiLeaks press release said. WikiLeaks Editor-in-Chief Julian Assange said it had a duty to reveal what is in the TPP. “The selective secrecy surrounding the TPP negotiations, which has let in a few cashed-up megacorps but excluded everyone else, reveals a fear of public scrutiny,” he said. “By publishing this text we allow the public to engage in issues that will have such a fundamental impact on their lives...
State Battles
Minimum Wage: Scott Walker Based 'Living Wage' Ruling On Restaurant Industry Study Business Insider ...Under pressure to raise the state's minimum wage, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker confidently declared that there was no need....That official government finding ... was largely based on information provided by the state's restaurant industry -- which represents major low-wage employers including fast-food companies...
Sacramento Crude Oil Transfers Halted; Air Quality Official Says Permit Was Granted In Error Sacramento Bee ...A Sacramento fuel distributor has agreed to stop unloading train shipments of crude oil at McClellan Business Park after the county’s top air quality official said his agency mistakenly skirted the state’s environmental rules by issuing a permit for the operation...
A GOP Governor Tried A Radical Tax 'Experiment' — And Now He's Hanging On For His Political Life Business Insider ...Kansas' budget, which has to be balanced each year by law, has serious revenue shortfalls. The state's credit rating has been downgraded by two major ratings agencies — Moody's and Standard and Poor's. School funding is being stretched thin, and there are whispers of concerns in rural parts of the state that some will close entirely. And now, a governor is in trouble...
War on Workers
The 1% are more likely to vote than the poor or the middle class, and it matters — a lot Vox ...After 1972, voters and non-voters differ significantly on most issues relating to the role of government in redistributive policies. In addition to these differences being evident in nearly every election since 1972, we also note that the nature of the electoral bias is clear as well: voters are substantially more conservative than non-voters on class-based issues...
Billionaire Investor Says Atlantic City's Taj 'Will Almost Certainly Close' NBC News ...Billionaire investor Carl Icahn says the struggling Trump Taj Mahal casino "will almost certainly close." The would-be purchaser of the casino told The Associated Press on Thursday night that the casino's finances are dire...
Picket Lines Due At Atlantic City's Taj Mahal Casino Friday NBC News ...Picket lines were to go up outside Atlantic City's Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort as union members planned to protest the court-ordered termination of their health insurance and pension plans. The picketing was scheduled to run from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday...
The Real Bailout Victims (opinion) New York Times ...It’s certainly true that the government deserves criticism for how it spent the A.I.G. bailout money: It funneled the money to the banks to make them whole on deals they had done with A.I.G., instead of requiring them to absorb some of the losses. But again, the real victim of the overly generous treatment of the banks is the American public...
Plutocrats Against Democracy (opinion) New York Times ...now you understand why there’s so much furor on the right over the alleged but actually almost nonexistent problem of voter fraud, and so much support for voter ID laws that make it hard for the poor and even the working class to cast ballots. American politicians don’t dare say outright that only the wealthy should have political rights ...a lot of what’s going on in American politics is, at root, a fight between democracy and plutocracy. And it’s by no means clear which side will win...
Construction worker dies in hit and run Associated Press ... 53-year-old Barry Asbury of Vance was struck and killed shortly after 2 a.m. Thursday on state Highway 170. Asbury was working with a paving crew on the road in Okatie when he was struck by a car...
Miscellaneous
Where Is The Investigation Into Financial Corruption At The NSA? The Atlantic ...Earlier this year, when Keith Alexander resigned as head of the National Security Agency, he began trying to cash in on expertise he'd gained while in government, pitching himself as a security consultant who could protect Wall Street banks and other large corporations from cyber-attacks by hackers or foreign governments. Early reports focused on the eye-popping price tag for his services: He reportedly asked for $1 million a month, later decreasing his rate to $600,000...
Oakland School Bus Drivers Choose Teamsters Representation teamster.org ...First Student school bus drivers in Oakland, Calif., have voted by an overwhelming 15-1 margin in favor of representation by Teamsters Local 853 in San Leandro, Calif. The 150 drivers transport children in the Oakland Unified School District...
Meeting Celebrates Million Worker March Movement Workers World ...Founding members of the Million Worker March Movement held a 10th commemorative anniversary meeting Oct. 16 at Teamsters Local 808 in Long Island City, Queens, N.Y...
DiNapoli, Schneiderman hold “get out the vote’ rally in Orange County MidHudson News ...Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli brought their “get out the vote” tour to the Teamsters Local 445 hall in Rock Tavern on Friday...
Trade
Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement: Secret Deal Means Bad News For Consumers, Choice Warns News.com ...The TPP is being negotiated in secret by 12 countries, including Australia, with governments having full access to the draft agreement while the public have nothing, a WikiLeaks press release said. WikiLeaks Editor-in-Chief Julian Assange said it had a duty to reveal what is in the TPP. “The selective secrecy surrounding the TPP negotiations, which has let in a few cashed-up megacorps but excluded everyone else, reveals a fear of public scrutiny,” he said. “By publishing this text we allow the public to engage in issues that will have such a fundamental impact on their lives...
State Battles
Minimum Wage: Scott Walker Based 'Living Wage' Ruling On Restaurant Industry Study Business Insider ...Under pressure to raise the state's minimum wage, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker confidently declared that there was no need....That official government finding ... was largely based on information provided by the state's restaurant industry -- which represents major low-wage employers including fast-food companies...
Sacramento Crude Oil Transfers Halted; Air Quality Official Says Permit Was Granted In Error Sacramento Bee ...A Sacramento fuel distributor has agreed to stop unloading train shipments of crude oil at McClellan Business Park after the county’s top air quality official said his agency mistakenly skirted the state’s environmental rules by issuing a permit for the operation...
A GOP Governor Tried A Radical Tax 'Experiment' — And Now He's Hanging On For His Political Life Business Insider ...Kansas' budget, which has to be balanced each year by law, has serious revenue shortfalls. The state's credit rating has been downgraded by two major ratings agencies — Moody's and Standard and Poor's. School funding is being stretched thin, and there are whispers of concerns in rural parts of the state that some will close entirely. And now, a governor is in trouble...
War on Workers
The 1% are more likely to vote than the poor or the middle class, and it matters — a lot Vox ...After 1972, voters and non-voters differ significantly on most issues relating to the role of government in redistributive policies. In addition to these differences being evident in nearly every election since 1972, we also note that the nature of the electoral bias is clear as well: voters are substantially more conservative than non-voters on class-based issues...
Billionaire Investor Says Atlantic City's Taj 'Will Almost Certainly Close' NBC News ...Billionaire investor Carl Icahn says the struggling Trump Taj Mahal casino "will almost certainly close." The would-be purchaser of the casino told The Associated Press on Thursday night that the casino's finances are dire...
Picket Lines Due At Atlantic City's Taj Mahal Casino Friday NBC News ...Picket lines were to go up outside Atlantic City's Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort as union members planned to protest the court-ordered termination of their health insurance and pension plans. The picketing was scheduled to run from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday...
The Real Bailout Victims (opinion) New York Times ...It’s certainly true that the government deserves criticism for how it spent the A.I.G. bailout money: It funneled the money to the banks to make them whole on deals they had done with A.I.G., instead of requiring them to absorb some of the losses. But again, the real victim of the overly generous treatment of the banks is the American public...
Plutocrats Against Democracy (opinion) New York Times ...now you understand why there’s so much furor on the right over the alleged but actually almost nonexistent problem of voter fraud, and so much support for voter ID laws that make it hard for the poor and even the working class to cast ballots. American politicians don’t dare say outright that only the wealthy should have political rights ...a lot of what’s going on in American politics is, at root, a fight between democracy and plutocracy. And it’s by no means clear which side will win...
Construction worker dies in hit and run Associated Press ... 53-year-old Barry Asbury of Vance was struck and killed shortly after 2 a.m. Thursday on state Highway 170. Asbury was working with a paving crew on the road in Okatie when he was struck by a car...
Miscellaneous
Where Is The Investigation Into Financial Corruption At The NSA? The Atlantic ...Earlier this year, when Keith Alexander resigned as head of the National Security Agency, he began trying to cash in on expertise he'd gained while in government, pitching himself as a security consultant who could protect Wall Street banks and other large corporations from cyber-attacks by hackers or foreign governments. Early reports focused on the eye-popping price tag for his services: He reportedly asked for $1 million a month, later decreasing his rate to $600,000...
Friday, October 24, 2014
Today's Teamster News 10.24.14
Teamster News
Teamsters Continue Get-Out-The-Vote Effort in Chicago teamster.org ...Brewers and bottlers at Lagunitas Brewery Company, members of Teamsters Local 727 in Chicago, today confirmed they will be voting in advance of the Nov. 4 election during a visit by Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa...
Uber Drivers Protest Company's Business Practices Outside Santa Monica Office CBS Local ...Teamsters Local 989 organized the demonstration at 11 a.m. outside Uber Technology offices, 1437 Seventh St. in Santa Monica...
Online petition calls for living wage for Facebook drivers USA Today ...Activist group CREDO Action is calling on Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to support paying a living wage to shuttle bus drivers who ferry Facebook workers to and from the company's Menlo Park, Calif., campus...
Facebook drivers plan union vote Fusion ...Facebook’s bus drivers have scheduled an election to unionize to seek better working conditions...
How Fedex is trying to save the business model that saved it millions Washington Post ...In FedEx’s case, courts in several states, including California and Massachusetts, have told the company that its strategy of treating drivers as independent contractors doesn’t fly, prompting the shift to the independent service provider model. Now, at least one court has questioned whether even this new model passes muster...
Trade
The Trans-Pacific Partnership – One Sick Treaty? RT ...The TPP will help to maximize profits by increasing the ability of large corporations to acquire or hold international monopolies on a product for longer periods than they are currently able to. They can use this position to ensure that prices remain high – too high for many. Those unable to afford necessary medicine will suffer, become sicker, and in many cases die...
State Battles
Kansas and Wisconsin Continue to Lag Nation Econbrowser ...Some observers have argued that Wisconsin’s poor performance is attributable to regional shocks; if so, it is strange that Minnesota — Wisconsin’s next door neighbor — has failed to evidence a similar slowdown relative to the United States...
St. Pete Plans $12.50 Minimum Wage For City Workers St. Petersburg Tribune ...St. Petersburg is planning to introduce a $12.50 per hour minimum wage for all city workers. ... That will mean a pay raise for about 70 city workers who earn below that amount, including library assistants, sanitation workers, custodians and laborers. Increasing their pay will cost about $125,000...
Kansas Faces Additional Revenue Shortfalls After Tax Cuts New York Times ...Revenue numbers for July through September, the first three months of fiscal year 2015, suggest Kansas’ revenue gap is permanent, not temporary...
Judge Extends Blocking Wisconsin Campaign Law FOX6 ...A federal judge has extended until Nov. 12 his order blocking a Wisconsin campaign coordination law that’s at the center of an investigation into Gov. Scott Walker’s 2012 recall campaign and more than two dozen conservative groups...
Gov. Rick Scott To Avoid Testifying In Public Records Lawsuit Before Election WESH ...Scott was scheduled to give a deposition this Friday over private Google email accounts set up by the governor and two former aides...
War on Workers
Compensation shrinks for all income groups – except the very highest Aljazeera America ...Average pay for 2013 was $43,041 — down $79 from the previous year when measured in 2013 dollars. Worse, average pay fell $508 below the 2007 level, my analysis of the new Social Security Administration data shows...
Elizabeth Warren Demands An Investigation Of Mortgage Companies Mother Jones ...Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) called on the Government Accountability Office to investigate non-bank companies that service Americans' mortgages, noting in a letter co-signed by Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) that an increasing number of lawsuits has been filed in recent years against these firms—which are not regulated as strictly as banks...
Port Has Valid Concerns About Oil Trains (opinion) The Olympian ...all South Sound residents should worry about the environmental and economic impacts of building terminals that could bring dangerous oil tanker trains moving 175,000 barrels of highly flammable Bakken crude oil per day through Thurston County...
SC Construction Worker Killed In Hit And Run On Highway 170 WSAV ...A construction worker was killed early Thursday morning in a hit and run on S.C. Highway 170 near Cherry Point. Beaufort County Deputy Coroner David Ott identifies the man as 53-year-old Barry Asbury...
Construction worker dies on-site in southern Saskatchewan Leader-Post ...A 43-year-old man from Kelvington is dead after a construction-site accident in southern Saskatchewan...
The Bottom 90 Percent Are Poorer Today Than They Were In 1987 Washington Post ...Once upon a time, the American economy worked for everybody, and even the middle class got richer. But this story has only been a fairy tale for almost 30 years now. The new, harsh reality is that the bottom 90 percent of households are poorer today than they were in 1987...
Miscellaneous
Owners: Taj Mahal To Stay Open Throughout November NBC News ...Trump Entertainment Resorts is dropping its threat to close Atlantic City's Taj Mahal casino on Nov. 13. The company said Wednesday it still cannot guarantee the Taj Mahal won't close by the end of the year, but added it will definitely remain open throughout the month of November...
Why Was The NSA Chief Playing The Market? Foreign Policy ...At the same time that he was running the United States' biggest intelligence-gathering organization, former National Security Agency Director Keith Alexander owned and sold shares in commodities linked to China and Russia, two countries that the NSA was spying on heavily...
Teamsters Continue Get-Out-The-Vote Effort in Chicago teamster.org ...Brewers and bottlers at Lagunitas Brewery Company, members of Teamsters Local 727 in Chicago, today confirmed they will be voting in advance of the Nov. 4 election during a visit by Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa...
Uber Drivers Protest Company's Business Practices Outside Santa Monica Office CBS Local ...Teamsters Local 989 organized the demonstration at 11 a.m. outside Uber Technology offices, 1437 Seventh St. in Santa Monica...
Online petition calls for living wage for Facebook drivers USA Today ...Activist group CREDO Action is calling on Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to support paying a living wage to shuttle bus drivers who ferry Facebook workers to and from the company's Menlo Park, Calif., campus...
Facebook drivers plan union vote Fusion ...Facebook’s bus drivers have scheduled an election to unionize to seek better working conditions...
How Fedex is trying to save the business model that saved it millions Washington Post ...In FedEx’s case, courts in several states, including California and Massachusetts, have told the company that its strategy of treating drivers as independent contractors doesn’t fly, prompting the shift to the independent service provider model. Now, at least one court has questioned whether even this new model passes muster...
Trade
The Trans-Pacific Partnership – One Sick Treaty? RT ...The TPP will help to maximize profits by increasing the ability of large corporations to acquire or hold international monopolies on a product for longer periods than they are currently able to. They can use this position to ensure that prices remain high – too high for many. Those unable to afford necessary medicine will suffer, become sicker, and in many cases die...
State Battles
Kansas and Wisconsin Continue to Lag Nation Econbrowser ...Some observers have argued that Wisconsin’s poor performance is attributable to regional shocks; if so, it is strange that Minnesota — Wisconsin’s next door neighbor — has failed to evidence a similar slowdown relative to the United States...
St. Pete Plans $12.50 Minimum Wage For City Workers St. Petersburg Tribune ...St. Petersburg is planning to introduce a $12.50 per hour minimum wage for all city workers. ... That will mean a pay raise for about 70 city workers who earn below that amount, including library assistants, sanitation workers, custodians and laborers. Increasing their pay will cost about $125,000...
Kansas Faces Additional Revenue Shortfalls After Tax Cuts New York Times ...Revenue numbers for July through September, the first three months of fiscal year 2015, suggest Kansas’ revenue gap is permanent, not temporary...
Judge Extends Blocking Wisconsin Campaign Law FOX6 ...A federal judge has extended until Nov. 12 his order blocking a Wisconsin campaign coordination law that’s at the center of an investigation into Gov. Scott Walker’s 2012 recall campaign and more than two dozen conservative groups...
Gov. Rick Scott To Avoid Testifying In Public Records Lawsuit Before Election WESH ...Scott was scheduled to give a deposition this Friday over private Google email accounts set up by the governor and two former aides...
War on Workers
Compensation shrinks for all income groups – except the very highest Aljazeera America ...Average pay for 2013 was $43,041 — down $79 from the previous year when measured in 2013 dollars. Worse, average pay fell $508 below the 2007 level, my analysis of the new Social Security Administration data shows...
Elizabeth Warren Demands An Investigation Of Mortgage Companies Mother Jones ...Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) called on the Government Accountability Office to investigate non-bank companies that service Americans' mortgages, noting in a letter co-signed by Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) that an increasing number of lawsuits has been filed in recent years against these firms—which are not regulated as strictly as banks...
Port Has Valid Concerns About Oil Trains (opinion) The Olympian ...all South Sound residents should worry about the environmental and economic impacts of building terminals that could bring dangerous oil tanker trains moving 175,000 barrels of highly flammable Bakken crude oil per day through Thurston County...
SC Construction Worker Killed In Hit And Run On Highway 170 WSAV ...A construction worker was killed early Thursday morning in a hit and run on S.C. Highway 170 near Cherry Point. Beaufort County Deputy Coroner David Ott identifies the man as 53-year-old Barry Asbury...
Construction worker dies on-site in southern Saskatchewan Leader-Post ...A 43-year-old man from Kelvington is dead after a construction-site accident in southern Saskatchewan...
The Bottom 90 Percent Are Poorer Today Than They Were In 1987 Washington Post ...Once upon a time, the American economy worked for everybody, and even the middle class got richer. But this story has only been a fairy tale for almost 30 years now. The new, harsh reality is that the bottom 90 percent of households are poorer today than they were in 1987...
Miscellaneous
Owners: Taj Mahal To Stay Open Throughout November NBC News ...Trump Entertainment Resorts is dropping its threat to close Atlantic City's Taj Mahal casino on Nov. 13. The company said Wednesday it still cannot guarantee the Taj Mahal won't close by the end of the year, but added it will definitely remain open throughout the month of November...
Why Was The NSA Chief Playing The Market? Foreign Policy ...At the same time that he was running the United States' biggest intelligence-gathering organization, former National Security Agency Director Keith Alexander owned and sold shares in commodities linked to China and Russia, two countries that the NSA was spying on heavily...
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Teamsters Local 117 is on an organizing tear
Teamsters Local 117 has been on an organizing tear in the parking, warehouse and cold storage industries as well as the public sector.
According to Paul Zilly at the local,
Over the last year, workers at Animal Supply, Americold, Impark, Doug Fox, ATZ, and the City of Black Diamond have come together to fight for a voice in the workplace.
Now, after winning their Union elections, the workers are sitting down, face to face with their employers, along with Union staff, to engage in the collective bargaining process.
Some groups, like the workers at Americold, have already met with their employer several times and have made slow, but steady progress at the table. Other groups, like the Impark unit, are just pinning the employer down with bargaining dates.Awgaw Fanta, a bargaining committee member and Impark employee, said,
We’ll be at the table soon, fighting for fair wages and good benefits. We also need a break room. The Teamsters are good for us and have already helped us a lot.Local 117 organizers are organizing three more companies right now in the Puget Sound region.
Here's a list of companies where new Teamsters can expect job security, a voice on the job and a way to settle disputes:
Puget Sound taxi cab operators - 600They also have the 16,000 Teamsters of Local 117 standing beside them -- not to mention the 1.4 million hardworking men and women of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.
Steeler (construction) - 40
IKEA (warehouse) - 65
GCA (airport shuttlers) - 175
AmeriCold (cold storage) - 30
Impark (parking) - 86
App-Based Drivers Association (Uber drivers) - 160
Doug Fox (parking) - 25
Shuttle Park 2 (parking) - 21
Animal Supply (warehouse) - 85
City of Black Diamond (public sector) - 20
The organizing wins are good for all workers in the region. As the local points out:
Bringing new workers into the Union builds power by creating Union density in key industries, which helps improve wages and benefits for all members.
Today's Teamster News 10.23.14
Teamster News
The Teamsters Of The 21st Century: How Uber, Lyft, And Facebook Drivers Are Organizing Fast Company ...Teamsters are taking a bold step into the new sharing economy by organizing Uber and Lyft drivers in Los Angeles and San Diego and attempting to represent drivers for Facebook and Cisco employee shuttles...
Hoffa Tells Chicago Teamsters They Play Pivotal Role In Election teamster.org ...The Teamsters’ get-out-the-vote effort in advance of the Nov. 4 election moved onto Illinois today, with General President Jim Hoffa encouraging early voting among union members and working families at workplaces throughout the Chicagoland area...
We Stand With Italy's Workers! teamster.org ...Workers at the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Union in Washington D.C. sent a message of solidarity to their Italian brothers and sisters today as they prepare to protest labor law deregulation that will destroy workers' rights on the job...
Ikea and union strike a deal after 17-month dispute Vancouver Sun ...Ikea Canada announced Wednesday afternoon a 17-month labour dispute between the furniture giant and its Teamsters employees is over...
Grundy sergeants and dispatchers Teamsters endorse Briley Morris Daily Herald ... Teamsters Local 700, which represents the sergeants and dispatchers of Grundy County, announced Wednesday they are endorsing Ken Briley for Grundy County Sheriff...
Union chief maintains that Local 25 is a kinder, gentler Teamsters group Boston Business Journal ...He called the "Top Chef" story "fiction at best" and bristles as he discusses the negative media that resulted. Most frustrating, O'Brien said, is that the rough-and-tumble image of the Teamsters is the very thing he has been working to change as he works to increase the local's representation in new industries...
Polling place finds new home in Spring Garden Twp. York Dispatch ...The polling place that serves District 2 in the township is being moved from the Teamsters Local 430 building, 1780 Sixth Ave., to St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 1502 Fourth Ave. The emergency move comes after mold was discovered in the Teamsters building...
Mayoral race heats up with new endorsements, donations Brown Daily Herald ...Teamsters Local 251, a union that has more than 3,000 members working in Providence, endorsed Cianci because “we thought he was the best candidate,” said Matt Taibi, the union’s principal officer...
Canfield Township, Teamsters continue negotiating for months Youngstown Vindicator ...Canfield Township officials continue to negotiate a contract with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 377 after it expired nearly a year-and-a-half ago...the township is being asked to pay between $229 and $238 per week per employee versus what they are negotiating, $220...
Phillips Pet Food workers will vote to form union Morning Call ...Some 200 warehouse workers at a Northampton County pet supply company will vote Thursday to join the Teamsters, a union and government official said today...
Trade
Profits Before Health: The Next Chapter Of The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Center For Research On Globalization ...The Transpacific-Partnership (TPP) continues its ride through the negotiating rooms in top secrecy, punctured occasionally by a WikiLeaks release and the utterings of concerned bystanders. The latest variant of the TPP’s intellectual property chapter (the “second release”) suggests a predictably corporate driven agenda on the issue of health care...
State Battles
Paul LePage's New Idea: Indentured Servants DailyKos ...Recently he has been talking about selling student loans to workers' employers in part because "I think we can make it sort of a very profitable operation."...
Why Voter ID Laws Aren’t Really About Fraud PBS ...Six of the 16 states that have passed voter ID laws since 2010 have a documented history of discriminating against minority voters. All but one of those states’ laws were put in place after the Supreme Court overturned a key provision of the Voting Rights Act that required them to seek approval from the Justice Department for any voting-law changes...
Kansans Are Moderate As Hell And They're Not Going To Take It Anymore Huffington Post ...Members of Republicans for Kansas Values, a stodgy group of lawmakers past and present, assailed the state's increasing deficits, depleted trust funds and lowered credit rating. All these grievances were laid at the doorstep of the state's Republican governor, Sam Brownback, whose re-election the group opposed. ...
Gov. Snyder’s Karma: Elections Have Consequences (opinion) Detroit News ...Four years ago, Rick Snyder was elected governor and the Republicans won complete control of the Legislature. One-party control has created clear-cut winners and losers. The winners, large corporations and CEOs, have been given huge tax cuts, while the consequences for the losers — senior citizens, middle-class families, public school students and low income workers — have been devastating...
Scott Walker Campaign Staffer OK'd Statement Denying Political Activity By County Staff Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ...When Scott Walker's county staff members needed to release a statement in 2010 saying they did not engage in campaign activity, who exactly did they ask to approve the language? Walker's top campaign aides, naturally...
City May Refuse Licenses To Companies Convicted Of Wage Theft KVIA ...The City of El Paso is preparing an ordinance meant to deter companies from stealing wages from workers...
War on Workers
How Quantitative Easing Contributed to the Nation’s Inequality Problem New York Times ...Quantitative easing adds to the problem of income inequality by making the rich richer and the poor poorer. By intentionally driving down interest rates to low levels, it allows people who can get access to cheap money on a regular basis to benefit in extraordinary ways...
New Study Confirms EPA’s Proposed Carbon Regulations To Hurt W.Va. West Virginia Record ...A new analysis by a global economic consulting firm is projecting “significant negative economic impacts” to West Virginia under a proposed plan by the federal Environmental Protection Agency to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from existing fossil-fuel power plants...
Most People Oppose Changes To Trucker Hours-Of-Service Requirements Safety and Health Magazine ...Four out of five Americans oppose legislative efforts to increase the number of hours truck drivers can be behind the wheel per week, according to the results of a poll released by Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety and the Truck Safety Coalition...
The Teamsters Of The 21st Century: How Uber, Lyft, And Facebook Drivers Are Organizing Fast Company ...Teamsters are taking a bold step into the new sharing economy by organizing Uber and Lyft drivers in Los Angeles and San Diego and attempting to represent drivers for Facebook and Cisco employee shuttles...
Hoffa Tells Chicago Teamsters They Play Pivotal Role In Election teamster.org ...The Teamsters’ get-out-the-vote effort in advance of the Nov. 4 election moved onto Illinois today, with General President Jim Hoffa encouraging early voting among union members and working families at workplaces throughout the Chicagoland area...
We Stand With Italy's Workers! teamster.org ...Workers at the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Union in Washington D.C. sent a message of solidarity to their Italian brothers and sisters today as they prepare to protest labor law deregulation that will destroy workers' rights on the job...
Ikea and union strike a deal after 17-month dispute Vancouver Sun ...Ikea Canada announced Wednesday afternoon a 17-month labour dispute between the furniture giant and its Teamsters employees is over...
Grundy sergeants and dispatchers Teamsters endorse Briley Morris Daily Herald ... Teamsters Local 700, which represents the sergeants and dispatchers of Grundy County, announced Wednesday they are endorsing Ken Briley for Grundy County Sheriff...
Union chief maintains that Local 25 is a kinder, gentler Teamsters group Boston Business Journal ...He called the "Top Chef" story "fiction at best" and bristles as he discusses the negative media that resulted. Most frustrating, O'Brien said, is that the rough-and-tumble image of the Teamsters is the very thing he has been working to change as he works to increase the local's representation in new industries...
Polling place finds new home in Spring Garden Twp. York Dispatch ...The polling place that serves District 2 in the township is being moved from the Teamsters Local 430 building, 1780 Sixth Ave., to St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 1502 Fourth Ave. The emergency move comes after mold was discovered in the Teamsters building...
Mayoral race heats up with new endorsements, donations Brown Daily Herald ...Teamsters Local 251, a union that has more than 3,000 members working in Providence, endorsed Cianci because “we thought he was the best candidate,” said Matt Taibi, the union’s principal officer...
Canfield Township, Teamsters continue negotiating for months Youngstown Vindicator ...Canfield Township officials continue to negotiate a contract with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 377 after it expired nearly a year-and-a-half ago...the township is being asked to pay between $229 and $238 per week per employee versus what they are negotiating, $220...
Phillips Pet Food workers will vote to form union Morning Call ...Some 200 warehouse workers at a Northampton County pet supply company will vote Thursday to join the Teamsters, a union and government official said today...
Trade
Profits Before Health: The Next Chapter Of The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Center For Research On Globalization ...The Transpacific-Partnership (TPP) continues its ride through the negotiating rooms in top secrecy, punctured occasionally by a WikiLeaks release and the utterings of concerned bystanders. The latest variant of the TPP’s intellectual property chapter (the “second release”) suggests a predictably corporate driven agenda on the issue of health care...
State Battles
Paul LePage's New Idea: Indentured Servants DailyKos ...Recently he has been talking about selling student loans to workers' employers in part because "I think we can make it sort of a very profitable operation."...
Why Voter ID Laws Aren’t Really About Fraud PBS ...Six of the 16 states that have passed voter ID laws since 2010 have a documented history of discriminating against minority voters. All but one of those states’ laws were put in place after the Supreme Court overturned a key provision of the Voting Rights Act that required them to seek approval from the Justice Department for any voting-law changes...
Kansans Are Moderate As Hell And They're Not Going To Take It Anymore Huffington Post ...Members of Republicans for Kansas Values, a stodgy group of lawmakers past and present, assailed the state's increasing deficits, depleted trust funds and lowered credit rating. All these grievances were laid at the doorstep of the state's Republican governor, Sam Brownback, whose re-election the group opposed. ...
Gov. Snyder’s Karma: Elections Have Consequences (opinion) Detroit News ...Four years ago, Rick Snyder was elected governor and the Republicans won complete control of the Legislature. One-party control has created clear-cut winners and losers. The winners, large corporations and CEOs, have been given huge tax cuts, while the consequences for the losers — senior citizens, middle-class families, public school students and low income workers — have been devastating...
Scott Walker Campaign Staffer OK'd Statement Denying Political Activity By County Staff Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ...When Scott Walker's county staff members needed to release a statement in 2010 saying they did not engage in campaign activity, who exactly did they ask to approve the language? Walker's top campaign aides, naturally...
City May Refuse Licenses To Companies Convicted Of Wage Theft KVIA ...The City of El Paso is preparing an ordinance meant to deter companies from stealing wages from workers...
War on Workers
How Quantitative Easing Contributed to the Nation’s Inequality Problem New York Times ...Quantitative easing adds to the problem of income inequality by making the rich richer and the poor poorer. By intentionally driving down interest rates to low levels, it allows people who can get access to cheap money on a regular basis to benefit in extraordinary ways...
New Study Confirms EPA’s Proposed Carbon Regulations To Hurt W.Va. West Virginia Record ...A new analysis by a global economic consulting firm is projecting “significant negative economic impacts” to West Virginia under a proposed plan by the federal Environmental Protection Agency to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from existing fossil-fuel power plants...
Most People Oppose Changes To Trucker Hours-Of-Service Requirements Safety and Health Magazine ...Four out of five Americans oppose legislative efforts to increase the number of hours truck drivers can be behind the wheel per week, according to the results of a poll released by Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety and the Truck Safety Coalition...
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Today's Teamster News 10.22.14
Teamster News
Teamsters Local 769 In Miami Files For Representational Elections At Con-Way Freight IBT ..."For far too long, these hardworking employees have not had the respect and dignity on the job that they deserve," said Mike Scott, President of Local 769. "When they form their union with the Teamsters, they will be treated fairly and we will work hard to negotiate a strong Teamster contract for them that addresses their issues including job security."...
The Frozen-Egg Gap: Silicon Valley's Perks Aren't For Everyone NBC News ...“We’ve got companies that make stupendous amounts of money and can afford to treat them better,” said Rome Aloise, principal officer of Teamsters Local 853 in San Leandro, Calif. The Teamsters is seeking to organize shuttle drivers who work at tech firms through third-party contractors...
Brinks Workers In Alberta Ratify New Labour Contract Canadian Labour Reporter ...Alberta workers with the logistics cash provider Brinks recently ratified a new labour contract. The new collective agreement — negotiated with Teamsters Local Union 362 — includes wage increases of 2.5 per cent to three per cent every year for the next four years. Approximately 230 workers are covered by the contract. The agreement will expire in September 2018...
Brian Davis IBT ...Dear Brothers and Sisters: We are saddened to inform you that Teamster Local 174 Business Agent and Joint Council 28 Freight Division Director Brian Davis tragically passed away on Sunday, October 19, 2014...
Americold Workers in Wisconsin Choose Teamsters teamster.org ...Cold storage warehouse workers at Americold in Darien, Wisc., have voted by nearly a 2-1 margin to join Teamsters Local 695 in Madison, Wisc. There are 133 workers in the bargaining unit...
Hoffa Tells Wisconsin Teamsters They Can Effect Change teamster.org ...Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa continued his whirlwind tour of the union’s workplaces in Wisconsin today, urging members at UPS, Roundy’s grocery and Nestle to get out and vote to ensure that pro-worker candidates are elected in Madison and Washington, D.C...
Funeral Giant SCI Accepts Union's Offer to Enter Federal Mediation teamster.org ... Funeral industry giant Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) has accepted Teamsters Local 727’s offer to enter federal mediation as the union attempts to reach an agreement on a new contract for Chicago-area funeral workers...
Trade
WTO Rejects US Country-of-Origin Labels for Meat Associated Press ...In a ruling Monday, the World Trade Organization rejected U.S. rules requiring labels on packaged steaks, ribs and other cuts of meat identifying where the animals were born, raised and slaughtered. The WTO said the requirements put Canadian and Mexican livestock at an unfair disadvantage...
U.S. floats cutting tobacco from part of Pacific trade pact -sources Reuters ...The United States has floated excluding tobacco products from a key section of a 12-nation Pacific trade deal and signaled it may present a formal proposal to trading partners at talks in Australia, sources briefed on the negotiations said...
Don’t Let Congress Trade U.S. Jobs Away teamster.org ...Hardworking Americans have seen a significant decline in the availability of middle-class jobs in this country during the last 20 years. And that is largely due to one thing – lousy trade deals approved by Congress...
State Battles
Emails show Scott Walker campaign treasurer got inside information on real-estate deal Wisconsin State Journal ...The campaign treasurer for Gov. Scott Walker got detailed financial information from a top Walker aide around the time he was bidding on a real estate deal involving Milwaukee County, according to correspondence released Tuesday as part of a now-closed investigation into Walker’s office while he was county executive...
Wisconsin: Effort To Reinstate Voter ID Law Is Abandoned New York Times ...J. B. Van Hollen, the state’s attorney general, is giving up on finding a way to get a voter photo identification law in place for the Nov. 4 election...
Why is the Boston Globe Covering Up for Gubernatorial Candidate Charlie Baker? (Updated) naked capitalism ...Boston’s paper of record is effectively covering up for Massachusetts gubernatorial candidate Charlie Baker by failing to cover a growing pay to play scandal in New Jersey, with Baker as one of its central figures...
Minimum Wage Increase Headed To Ballot NBC News ...San Diego City Council voted unanimously to let voters decide whether to raise the city’s minimum wage. But it’s not as though they had much of a choice. On Monday, the council voted on whether to put the matter on the ballot or rescind an ordinance that would have raised the minimum wage to $11.50 over the next three years, beginning in January...
Minimum Wage In Mountain View To Jump From $9 An Hour To $10.30 This Summer San Jose Mercury News ...the Mountain View City Council followed San Jose's lead by voting ... to increase the minimum wage in the city from $9 to $10.30 an hour. After the initial bump in July, the wage is supposed to increase every Jan. 1 based on inflation. The council set a goal of $15 per hour by 2018...
White Hat’s Magic Trick: Transforming Public Schools into Private Assets Center for Media and Democracy ...There’s a lot of money at stake in Ohio charter schools, which as a group will receive almost $900 million in 2014. Charters get about $7,200 per student in taxpayer funding, compared to about $3,500 per student in traditional public schools...
ALEC’s Corporate Sponsors Should Be Held Accountable For Forcing Taxpayers to Subsidize Their Lobbying Common Cause ...A complaint pending in the IRS Whistleblower office, filed by Common Cause, used thousands of pages of ALEC’s own records to challenge the group’s claim that it does not engage in lobbying. If the tax agency finds that ALEC is a corporate lobby masquerading as a charity, and its corporate sponsors knew this all along, the businesses which contribute to its $7 million annual budget could be on the hook for back taxes, too...
War on Workers
Labor Secretary Says U.S. Record On Paid Parental Leave Is 'Dismal': 'We Need To Lead' Huffington Post ...Labor Secretary Tom Perez said Monday the path to more "shared prosperity" in the U.S. economy lies in a higher minimum wage, paid family leave for workers and stronger union density in the private sector...
Uber Will Lower GDP Forbes ...If someone takes an Uber ride instead of a regular cab, what happens? The customer is spending less, a taxi driver somewhere is losing a customer, the Uber driver is making less than the taxi driver would have, and the customer gets where they want to go in a happier state. Alternatively, traditional taxi companies may try to compete and start lowering their prices, as they appear to be doing. Add it all up; you get a smaller number. GDP goes down..
New Efforts To Ban Tobacco Farm Child Labor ABC News ...Two years after the Obama administration backed off a rule that would have banned children from dangerous agriculture jobs, public health advocates and lawmakers are trying anew to get kids off tobacco farms. The new efforts were jumpstarted by a Human Rights Watch report in May that said nearly three-quarters of the children interviewed by the group reported vomiting, nausea and headaches while working on tobacco farms...
Worker killed at North Antelope Rochelle Mine identified Associated Press ...A contractor died in a weekend accident at Peabody Energy's North Antelope Rochelle Mine in northeastern Wyoming…The contractor's death was the second this year at North Antelope Rochelle...
Friends, relatives remember Pittsburgh sanitation worker killed in Carrick Pittsburgh Post-Tribune ...Those who knew Mr. Hodges, who had no criminal record and who worked three jobs to try to support two children he treated as his own, said they were stunned by the way he died...
Greece: Deficit would be just 1.8% without the "support" to banks! unbalanced evolution ...Another official source, Eurostat this time, confirms that the banks in Greece received billions in bailout packages, leading to the unprecedented enlargement of the national deficit. Of the total 12.2% of GDP revised deficit, 10.4% is due to recapitalization of the banks!...
Miscellaneous
Low Oil Prices Hurting U.S. Shale Operations naked capitalism ...The number of active rigs drilling for oil and gas fell by their most in two months, according to the latest data from oil services firm Baker Hughes. There were 19 oil rigs that were removed from operation as of Oct. 17, compared to the prior week. There are now 1,590 active oil rigs, the lowest level in six weeks...
U.S. to funnel travelers from Ebola-hit region through five airports Reuters ...The United States ratcheted up its safeguards against Ebola on Tuesday, requiring travelers from three countries at the center of an epidemic in West Africa to fly into one of five major airports conducting enhanced screening for the virus...
Help, We're in a Living Hell and We Don't Know How To Get Out Esquire ...There have always been fools, and rancorous factionalism, too. What is new in this part of history that we are living through is that we have been taken hostage by them and by the heroes of the Constitution and various other charlatans...
Teamsters Local 769 In Miami Files For Representational Elections At Con-Way Freight IBT ..."For far too long, these hardworking employees have not had the respect and dignity on the job that they deserve," said Mike Scott, President of Local 769. "When they form their union with the Teamsters, they will be treated fairly and we will work hard to negotiate a strong Teamster contract for them that addresses their issues including job security."...
The Frozen-Egg Gap: Silicon Valley's Perks Aren't For Everyone NBC News ...“We’ve got companies that make stupendous amounts of money and can afford to treat them better,” said Rome Aloise, principal officer of Teamsters Local 853 in San Leandro, Calif. The Teamsters is seeking to organize shuttle drivers who work at tech firms through third-party contractors...
Brinks Workers In Alberta Ratify New Labour Contract Canadian Labour Reporter ...Alberta workers with the logistics cash provider Brinks recently ratified a new labour contract. The new collective agreement — negotiated with Teamsters Local Union 362 — includes wage increases of 2.5 per cent to three per cent every year for the next four years. Approximately 230 workers are covered by the contract. The agreement will expire in September 2018...
Brian Davis IBT ...Dear Brothers and Sisters: We are saddened to inform you that Teamster Local 174 Business Agent and Joint Council 28 Freight Division Director Brian Davis tragically passed away on Sunday, October 19, 2014...
Americold Workers in Wisconsin Choose Teamsters teamster.org ...Cold storage warehouse workers at Americold in Darien, Wisc., have voted by nearly a 2-1 margin to join Teamsters Local 695 in Madison, Wisc. There are 133 workers in the bargaining unit...
Hoffa Tells Wisconsin Teamsters They Can Effect Change teamster.org ...Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa continued his whirlwind tour of the union’s workplaces in Wisconsin today, urging members at UPS, Roundy’s grocery and Nestle to get out and vote to ensure that pro-worker candidates are elected in Madison and Washington, D.C...
Funeral Giant SCI Accepts Union's Offer to Enter Federal Mediation teamster.org ... Funeral industry giant Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) has accepted Teamsters Local 727’s offer to enter federal mediation as the union attempts to reach an agreement on a new contract for Chicago-area funeral workers...
Trade
WTO Rejects US Country-of-Origin Labels for Meat Associated Press ...In a ruling Monday, the World Trade Organization rejected U.S. rules requiring labels on packaged steaks, ribs and other cuts of meat identifying where the animals were born, raised and slaughtered. The WTO said the requirements put Canadian and Mexican livestock at an unfair disadvantage...
U.S. floats cutting tobacco from part of Pacific trade pact -sources Reuters ...The United States has floated excluding tobacco products from a key section of a 12-nation Pacific trade deal and signaled it may present a formal proposal to trading partners at talks in Australia, sources briefed on the negotiations said...
Don’t Let Congress Trade U.S. Jobs Away teamster.org ...Hardworking Americans have seen a significant decline in the availability of middle-class jobs in this country during the last 20 years. And that is largely due to one thing – lousy trade deals approved by Congress...
State Battles
Emails show Scott Walker campaign treasurer got inside information on real-estate deal Wisconsin State Journal ...The campaign treasurer for Gov. Scott Walker got detailed financial information from a top Walker aide around the time he was bidding on a real estate deal involving Milwaukee County, according to correspondence released Tuesday as part of a now-closed investigation into Walker’s office while he was county executive...
Wisconsin: Effort To Reinstate Voter ID Law Is Abandoned New York Times ...J. B. Van Hollen, the state’s attorney general, is giving up on finding a way to get a voter photo identification law in place for the Nov. 4 election...
Why is the Boston Globe Covering Up for Gubernatorial Candidate Charlie Baker? (Updated) naked capitalism ...Boston’s paper of record is effectively covering up for Massachusetts gubernatorial candidate Charlie Baker by failing to cover a growing pay to play scandal in New Jersey, with Baker as one of its central figures...
Minimum Wage Increase Headed To Ballot NBC News ...San Diego City Council voted unanimously to let voters decide whether to raise the city’s minimum wage. But it’s not as though they had much of a choice. On Monday, the council voted on whether to put the matter on the ballot or rescind an ordinance that would have raised the minimum wage to $11.50 over the next three years, beginning in January...
Minimum Wage In Mountain View To Jump From $9 An Hour To $10.30 This Summer San Jose Mercury News ...the Mountain View City Council followed San Jose's lead by voting ... to increase the minimum wage in the city from $9 to $10.30 an hour. After the initial bump in July, the wage is supposed to increase every Jan. 1 based on inflation. The council set a goal of $15 per hour by 2018...
White Hat’s Magic Trick: Transforming Public Schools into Private Assets Center for Media and Democracy ...There’s a lot of money at stake in Ohio charter schools, which as a group will receive almost $900 million in 2014. Charters get about $7,200 per student in taxpayer funding, compared to about $3,500 per student in traditional public schools...
ALEC’s Corporate Sponsors Should Be Held Accountable For Forcing Taxpayers to Subsidize Their Lobbying Common Cause ...A complaint pending in the IRS Whistleblower office, filed by Common Cause, used thousands of pages of ALEC’s own records to challenge the group’s claim that it does not engage in lobbying. If the tax agency finds that ALEC is a corporate lobby masquerading as a charity, and its corporate sponsors knew this all along, the businesses which contribute to its $7 million annual budget could be on the hook for back taxes, too...
War on Workers
Labor Secretary Says U.S. Record On Paid Parental Leave Is 'Dismal': 'We Need To Lead' Huffington Post ...Labor Secretary Tom Perez said Monday the path to more "shared prosperity" in the U.S. economy lies in a higher minimum wage, paid family leave for workers and stronger union density in the private sector...
Uber Will Lower GDP Forbes ...If someone takes an Uber ride instead of a regular cab, what happens? The customer is spending less, a taxi driver somewhere is losing a customer, the Uber driver is making less than the taxi driver would have, and the customer gets where they want to go in a happier state. Alternatively, traditional taxi companies may try to compete and start lowering their prices, as they appear to be doing. Add it all up; you get a smaller number. GDP goes down..
New Efforts To Ban Tobacco Farm Child Labor ABC News ...Two years after the Obama administration backed off a rule that would have banned children from dangerous agriculture jobs, public health advocates and lawmakers are trying anew to get kids off tobacco farms. The new efforts were jumpstarted by a Human Rights Watch report in May that said nearly three-quarters of the children interviewed by the group reported vomiting, nausea and headaches while working on tobacco farms...
Worker killed at North Antelope Rochelle Mine identified Associated Press ...A contractor died in a weekend accident at Peabody Energy's North Antelope Rochelle Mine in northeastern Wyoming…The contractor's death was the second this year at North Antelope Rochelle...
Friends, relatives remember Pittsburgh sanitation worker killed in Carrick Pittsburgh Post-Tribune ...Those who knew Mr. Hodges, who had no criminal record and who worked three jobs to try to support two children he treated as his own, said they were stunned by the way he died...
Greece: Deficit would be just 1.8% without the "support" to banks! unbalanced evolution ...Another official source, Eurostat this time, confirms that the banks in Greece received billions in bailout packages, leading to the unprecedented enlargement of the national deficit. Of the total 12.2% of GDP revised deficit, 10.4% is due to recapitalization of the banks!...
Miscellaneous
Low Oil Prices Hurting U.S. Shale Operations naked capitalism ...The number of active rigs drilling for oil and gas fell by their most in two months, according to the latest data from oil services firm Baker Hughes. There were 19 oil rigs that were removed from operation as of Oct. 17, compared to the prior week. There are now 1,590 active oil rigs, the lowest level in six weeks...
U.S. to funnel travelers from Ebola-hit region through five airports Reuters ...The United States ratcheted up its safeguards against Ebola on Tuesday, requiring travelers from three countries at the center of an epidemic in West Africa to fly into one of five major airports conducting enhanced screening for the virus...
Help, We're in a Living Hell and We Don't Know How To Get Out Esquire ...There have always been fools, and rancorous factionalism, too. What is new in this part of history that we are living through is that we have been taken hostage by them and by the heroes of the Constitution and various other charlatans...
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Today's Teamster News 10.21.14
Teamster News
Hoffa Heads To Wisconsin To Urge Teamsters To The Polls teamster.org ...Jim Hoffa, Teamsters' General President, barnstormed the state of Wisconsin today to encourage fellow Teamsters to vote for working family candidates and those who support collective bargaining...
Teamsters Honor School Bus Worker Contributions To Safety During National School Bus Safety Week, Oct. 20-24 IBT ...The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is honoring school bus workers—including the more than 75,000 Teamster school bus workers—for their dedication to safety and service during National School Bus Safety Week, Oct. 20-24...
U.S. Senators seek antitrust scrutiny of Sysco deal to buy U.S. Foods Reuters ...The top two lawmakers on the Senate's antitrust panel have urged regulators to scrutinize food distributor Sysco Corp's planned purchase of rival U.S. Foods for $3.5 billion...
Trade
Trans-Pacific trade deal could bankrupt governments All Voices ...TPP is really about giving corporations the right to sue sovereign governments for profit...
State Battles
Scott Walker Puts Miles On State Vehicles For Job — And Campaigning Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ...Since taking office in January 2011, Walker has used a state SUV and sedan to get to political events on at least 365 days, or more than a year out of his four years leading the state, according to state records reviewed by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel...
Report Critical Of Corbett "Outsourcing" In Pennsylvania Public News Service ...Shrinking government has meant shifting responsibilities to private industry in some states, and Gov. Tom Corbett is one of seven governors taken to task in a new report that correlates these outsourcing decisions with major campaign donors and mixed results for taxpayers...
Kids As Crash Test Dummies: Brownback Outsources Child Support Services To Donor Huffington Post ...In March 2013, however, the Kansas Department of Children and Families (DCF) announced that all child support services would be outsourced, and a request for proposal was issued. Not limited to enforcement, the contracts would include services connected to court petitioning, locating parents, and establishing paternity, which had never been in private hands before...
Indiana Reinstates Time Limits For Some Food Stamp Recipients Indianapolis Star ...Advocates for the poor say it would be better for Indiana to first make sure it has sufficient programs to help the unemployed find jobs or new skills before reinstating the time limits...
Captive Customers: Outsourcing Prison Services Is Ruining Lives And Bilking Taxpayers Huffington Post ...Florida Governor Rick Scott campaigned on privatizing health care in Florida's prisons, and that is exactly what he has delivered. The Post investigation uncovered sky rocketing inmate deaths, as referrals to outside doctors have dropped by nearly 50 percent, and prescription pain management medications are replaced with over the counter drugs like Tylenol and ibuprofen. One inmate complained of lumps in her arm and was given a warm compress, Tylenol and solitary confinement. Six weeks later, she was dead of cancer that had spread throughout her body...
Supreme Court Allows Texas To Use Controversial Voter-ID Law Washington Post ...The Supreme Court’s order that Texas can proceed with its strict voter-ID law in next month’s election ended what is likely to be just the first round in a legal battle over election-law changes made by Republican-led legislatures around the country...
War on Workers
Taxi Shortage As Uber Lures Away Yellow Cabbies New York Post ...Fleet owners are blaming the Taxi and Limousine Commission for the mass migration, accusing it — or one of its employees — of supplying drivers’ contact information to Uber. “They’re leaking it,” said Tony Georgiton, of Queens Medallion, which leases its cars to some 2,000 drivers. “It has to be somebody within the agency, within the TLC.”...
Middletown Man Killed In Freak Farm Accident New Castle News Journal ...A tractor being operated by 64-year-old Robert L. Baker, of Odessa, was pulling a grain hopper, which had a tow strap attached to the back, and was attempting to pull out a tractor-trailer fully loaded with corn that was stuck in the mud, Fournier said...
Hartford jury awards $7M in DOT worker death case Associated Press ...The 41-year-old father of two from Rocky Hill was struck by a tractor trailer on the right shoulder of Route 8 northbound on March 22, 2012, after parking his DOT truck, which had its emergency lights on...
NYC Papa John's Pizza Franchisee Sued For $2 Million Reuters ...New York state's attorney general sued the owners of five Papa John's pizza restaurants in Manhattan on Thursday for about $2 million over claims that they had underpaid 400 delivery workers and shaved hours from their paychecks...
Hoffa Heads To Wisconsin To Urge Teamsters To The Polls teamster.org ...Jim Hoffa, Teamsters' General President, barnstormed the state of Wisconsin today to encourage fellow Teamsters to vote for working family candidates and those who support collective bargaining...
Teamsters Honor School Bus Worker Contributions To Safety During National School Bus Safety Week, Oct. 20-24 IBT ...The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is honoring school bus workers—including the more than 75,000 Teamster school bus workers—for their dedication to safety and service during National School Bus Safety Week, Oct. 20-24...
U.S. Senators seek antitrust scrutiny of Sysco deal to buy U.S. Foods Reuters ...The top two lawmakers on the Senate's antitrust panel have urged regulators to scrutinize food distributor Sysco Corp's planned purchase of rival U.S. Foods for $3.5 billion...
Trade
Trans-Pacific trade deal could bankrupt governments All Voices ...TPP is really about giving corporations the right to sue sovereign governments for profit...
State Battles
Scott Walker Puts Miles On State Vehicles For Job — And Campaigning Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ...Since taking office in January 2011, Walker has used a state SUV and sedan to get to political events on at least 365 days, or more than a year out of his four years leading the state, according to state records reviewed by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel...
Report Critical Of Corbett "Outsourcing" In Pennsylvania Public News Service ...Shrinking government has meant shifting responsibilities to private industry in some states, and Gov. Tom Corbett is one of seven governors taken to task in a new report that correlates these outsourcing decisions with major campaign donors and mixed results for taxpayers...
Kids As Crash Test Dummies: Brownback Outsources Child Support Services To Donor Huffington Post ...In March 2013, however, the Kansas Department of Children and Families (DCF) announced that all child support services would be outsourced, and a request for proposal was issued. Not limited to enforcement, the contracts would include services connected to court petitioning, locating parents, and establishing paternity, which had never been in private hands before...
Indiana Reinstates Time Limits For Some Food Stamp Recipients Indianapolis Star ...Advocates for the poor say it would be better for Indiana to first make sure it has sufficient programs to help the unemployed find jobs or new skills before reinstating the time limits...
Captive Customers: Outsourcing Prison Services Is Ruining Lives And Bilking Taxpayers Huffington Post ...Florida Governor Rick Scott campaigned on privatizing health care in Florida's prisons, and that is exactly what he has delivered. The Post investigation uncovered sky rocketing inmate deaths, as referrals to outside doctors have dropped by nearly 50 percent, and prescription pain management medications are replaced with over the counter drugs like Tylenol and ibuprofen. One inmate complained of lumps in her arm and was given a warm compress, Tylenol and solitary confinement. Six weeks later, she was dead of cancer that had spread throughout her body...
Supreme Court Allows Texas To Use Controversial Voter-ID Law Washington Post ...The Supreme Court’s order that Texas can proceed with its strict voter-ID law in next month’s election ended what is likely to be just the first round in a legal battle over election-law changes made by Republican-led legislatures around the country...
War on Workers
Taxi Shortage As Uber Lures Away Yellow Cabbies New York Post ...Fleet owners are blaming the Taxi and Limousine Commission for the mass migration, accusing it — or one of its employees — of supplying drivers’ contact information to Uber. “They’re leaking it,” said Tony Georgiton, of Queens Medallion, which leases its cars to some 2,000 drivers. “It has to be somebody within the agency, within the TLC.”...
Middletown Man Killed In Freak Farm Accident New Castle News Journal ...A tractor being operated by 64-year-old Robert L. Baker, of Odessa, was pulling a grain hopper, which had a tow strap attached to the back, and was attempting to pull out a tractor-trailer fully loaded with corn that was stuck in the mud, Fournier said...
Hartford jury awards $7M in DOT worker death case Associated Press ...The 41-year-old father of two from Rocky Hill was struck by a tractor trailer on the right shoulder of Route 8 northbound on March 22, 2012, after parking his DOT truck, which had its emergency lights on...
NYC Papa John's Pizza Franchisee Sued For $2 Million Reuters ...New York state's attorney general sued the owners of five Papa John's pizza restaurants in Manhattan on Thursday for about $2 million over claims that they had underpaid 400 delivery workers and shaved hours from their paychecks...