Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Today's Teamster News 01.14.15

Teamsters
Shippers Transport Drivers Join Teamsters At SoCal Ports  Truckinginfo   ...Prior to the start of the year the drivers for Shippers Transport Express, a wholly owned subsidiary of SSA Marine, were classified an independent contracts. In November, all drivers were notified that the company was transitioning to an employee-based business model on Jan. 1, and were invited to apply for employee jobs. Eighty-eight out of 111 employee drivers signed union authorization cards, with the union now beginning the process of negotiating a collective bargaining agreement with their employer...
Teamster Pilots With Allegiant Air Conduct Informational Pickets  teamster.org   ...Teamster pilots with Allegiant Air are conducting informational picketing today in an effort to bring awareness to their plight for investments into Allegiant Air’s operational systems, basic industry averages in salary and for other job protection measures that are standard in the airline industry...
Teamsters, city reach deal  WGAL.com   ...An agreement has been reached with public works employees and the city of York -- no furloughs in exchange for no pay raise...
Trade
Border Opens To Mexican Trucks  San Diego Union Tribune   ...The United States is preparing to open the border to Mexican long-haul truckers, allowing those who qualify for permits to make direct deliveries from Mexico to U.S. destinations — a measure stipulated more than two decades ago under the North American Free Trade Agreement...
TTIP: European commission faces huge scepticism towards free trade deal  Guardian   ...Officials are surprised after receiving 150,000 mainly negative responses to Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership...
State Battles
Michigan Justices To Weigh Right-To-Work Law  Detroit News   ...Michigan’s two-year-old right-to-work law will face the scrutiny of the Michigan Supreme Court during oral arguments Tuesday over a union lawsuit challenging whether the law applies to state workers...
Documents Show Notorious Union-Buster Backing Kentucky’s County Right-To-Work Laws  In These Times   ...Whereas a few months ago, there was a general understanding that the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act only permitted states and territories to pass these laws—which threaten unions’ solvency by allowing workers to receive the benefits of union representation without paying union dues—now five Kentucky counties are on track to pass local laws. And the coalition of conservative organizations promoting these questionable new measures has also morphed, as a new organization with hidden funding sources has formed to finance any possible litigation...
Democrats Propose Minimum Wage Increase, Mandatory Sick Leave For Coming Session  The Oregonian   ...Several bills — which include proposals to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour and to require employers to offer paid sick leave — signal an effort by the Democratic majority to follow with a core set of changes in the coming session promised to voters before last fall's election...
War on Workers
Democrat seeks U.S. middle-class tax breaks at expense of wealthy  Reuters   ...A senior U.S. House Democrat on Monday unveiled a more aggressive agenda to boost workers' paychecks by shifting significant tax breaks from the wealthiest Americans to the middle class...
Wage Gains Tepid in 2014 Despite Best Year of Job Creation Since 1999  Wall Street Journal   ...Hourly earnings fell by five cents last month from November to $24.57—marking the largest monthly decrease since at least 2006, the year the government began tracking wages for all private employees...
Senator Warren and America Win in a Skirmish in a Long Struggle Against Wall Street’s Coup  naked capitalism   ...Treasury does not “win” when we appoint such people – Wall Street wins...
Coming soon to a workplace near you: 'wellness or else'  Reuters   ...For some companies, however, just signing up for a wellness program isn't enough. They're linking financial incentives to specific goals such as losing weight, reducing cholesterol, or keeping blood glucose under control. The number of businesses imposing such outcomes-based wellness plans is expected to double this year to 46 percent, the survey found...
Worker Dies After Becoming Entangled In Machine  KSAZ   ...A 31-year-old worker was killed after he became entangled in a metal fabrication machine killed on Monday at an industrial plant...
Construction Worker Killed In Crane Accident  KSDK   ...A construction worker was killed in an industrial accident Monday after being crushed by a crane, said Edwardsville police...
Contract Worker Killed At Northeast Nevada Gold Mine  Las Vegas Sun   ...State and federal officials are investigating the death of a contract worker in an accident at an underground gold mine in northeast Nevada...
Miscellaneous
Senate Advances Bill To Approve Keystone Pipeline Despite Obama's Veto Threat  Huffington Post   ...The Senate voted 63-32 to clear a procedural hurdle and begin debate on the bill. Ten Democrats and one independent, Angus King (Maine), voted with every Republican to move the bill forward. Those Democrats included Sens. Michael Bennet (Colo.), Tom Carper (Del.), Bob Casey (Pa.), Joe Donnelly (Ind.), Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.), Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Claire McCaskill (Mo.), Jon Tester (Mont.), Tom Udall (N.M.) and Mark Warner (Va.). A final vote is expected later this week...