Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Today's Teamster News 02.18.15

Teamsters
Teamsters Call on CEOs Of Six Companies To Denounce Anti-Union Tactics Used By Compass Trans.  teamster.org   …In a letter to the CEOs of six East Bay-area companies, Rome Aloise, International Vice President and President of Teamsters Local 853 in San Leandro, Calif., called on the executives to denounce alleged assertions made by management at Compass Transportation to its drivers that the six companies would likely end their service agreement with them if they voted for a union...
Judge Approves Agreement Ending Government Oversight Of Teamsters Union  teamster.org   …Today, Chief Judge Loretta Preska of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York approved an agreement that ends more than 25 years of government oversight of the Teamsters Union...
Trade
Let's Roll! February 17, speak out for Good-Paying Jobs & a Healthy Environment by Saying NO to "Fast Track"  Washington Fair Trade Coalition   …To voice opposition against the disastrous impacts Fast Track would have on the Pacific Northwest’s economy, environment and public health, the Washington Fair Trade Coalition, the Oregon Fair Trade Campaign, and their partners from the labor, environmental, public health and human rights movements are getting on a bus called the “Blue-Green Machine” for two action-packed days of rallies, press events and briefings that need your support...
Our Opinion: Skepticism about TPP, and no to its fast-tracking  Berkshire Eagle   …There is ample reason for doubt about the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), although its tenets have not been fully determined. There is more than enough reason to oppose its fast-tracking. Demonstrators in Pittsfield, Springfield and Washington, D.C. will lobby First District Congressman Richard Neal, a Springfield Democrat, to oppose both the agreement and its fast-tracking today. The senior member of the Massachusetts delegation, Mr. Neal anticipates taking part in talks on the TPP and wants to reserve judgment…
Letter: Polis should vote no on TPP, Fast Track  Coloradoan   …Our representative, Congressman Jared Polis, has not publicly voiced his opposition to TPP, which is a shame...
State Battles
Missouri Senate leader skeptical ‘right-to-work’ will make it to governor  PoliticMO   … Senate Majority Leader Ron Richard said despite last week’s vote by the House of Representatives to pass “right-to-work,” he sees a tough road ahead in the upper chamber...
Right-To-Work debated again  New Hampshire Union Leader   …The House could vote to approve the bill, but the Senate is currently tied 12-12 on the right-to-work issue.Whatever the Legislature does, Gov. Maggie Hassan has vowed to veto the bill and neither the House nor the Senate has the two-thirds majority needed to override...
West Virginia workers rally on statehouse steps  West Virginia Metro News   …The snow and bone-chilling temperatures didn’t stop state-wide union workers from rallying against the prevailing wage law change at the State Capitol Monday afternoon in Charleston...
War on Workers
Student-Loan Delinquencies Rise in U.S.  Bloomberg News   …Data from the New York Fed released Tuesday showed 11.3 percent of student loans were delinquent in the final three months of 2014, up from 11.1 percent in the prior quarter. The share of auto loans at least 90 days overdue also rose…
How rich conservatives bilk the rank and file into making them richer  Washington Post   … I like to call [it] the circle of scam. Organizations like the Heritage Foundation and FreedomWorks pay radio hosts like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity big money to offer on-air endorsements that are the radio equivalent of “native advertising.” Future presidential candidate Mike Huckabee sells his email list on “miracle cancer cures” hidden in the Bible. Conservative media figures like Dick Morris solicit contributions that somehow are never turned to the political ends they claim. Nobody wants to upend the system, because too many people are getting a taste...
Worker dies at Shelbyville Tyson plant  WSMV   …A worker with a contract cleaning company was killed at the Tyson Food plant in Shelbyville early Tuesday morning...