Teamsters
Techs At St. Vincent Hospital Seek To Unionize Worcester Telegram ...Approximately 200 technicians have applied to the Boston bureau of the National Labor Relations Board for an election to join Teamsters Local 170 in Worcester...
As Dark Money Monsters Torment Investors, Shareholders Need SEC Chair To Be Superhero; They Ask: ‘Where Is Mary Jo White?’ Public Citizen ...Jim Hoffa, general president, Teamsters. The Teamsters invest more than $100 billion in the capital markets through affiliated pension and benefit funds...
Trade
U.S.-Korea Trade Deal Resulted In Growing Trade Deficits And More Than 75,000 Lost U.S. Jobs Economic Policy Institute ...March 15th was the third anniversary of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS). President Obama said that the agreement would support 70,000 U.S. jobs...
Digital Rights Activists Use Jumbotron ‘Film Fest’ To Pressure Ron Wyden Go Local PDX ...The Digital Rights group Fight for the Future, a posse of internet activists currently campaigning against an international trade deal they say would give officials too much power to censor online content, brought its message to Capitol Hill Monday...
City Council Opposes Fast Track For Pacific Rim Trade Pact Seattle Times ...Seattle City Council on Monday unanimously passed a resolution opposing the so-called fast-track consideration of the Trans-Pacific Partnership...
UAW, Dems Rally Against TPP Trade Agreement Detroit News ...Lortz, who works at the Toledo Assembly Complex producing the Jeep Cherokee, was one of hundreds of union members and others to attend an anti-TPP forum featuring U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Toledo, and local UAW leaders...
State Battles
Indiana Lawmakers Try To Quiet Firestorm Surrounding New Law Associated Press ...Gov. Mike Pence called off public appearances Monday and sports officials planned an "Indy Welcomes All" campaign ahead of this weekend's Final Four as lawmakers scrambled to quiet the firestorm over a new law that has much of the country portraying Indiana as a state of intolerance...
Senate To Consider Bill Raising Washington's Minimum Wage News Tribune ...A bill to raise Washington's highest-in-the-nation state minimum wage to $12-an-hour with a series of annual 50-cent increases is set to get a hearing in the state Senate...
War on Workers
Movement To Increase McDonald’s Minimum Wage Broadens Its Tactics New York Times ...in the wave of actions on April 15, organizers say more than 60,000 people will join strikes and protests in 200 cities nationwide...
NLRB To Weigh In On High-Stakes McDonald’s Labor Dispute The Hill ...An NLRB administrative law judge on Monday will begin weighing whether McDonald’s should be responsible for what employees say are poor working conditions and low pay at many of its franchise restaurants. A finding in the affirmative would mark the first time that a major franchisor would be found culpable for labor violations at individual chains...
U.S. Signed Agreement With Mexico To Teach Immigrants To Unionize Washington Examiner ...The federal government has signed agreements with three foreign countries — Mexico, Ecuador and the Philippines — to establish outreach programs to teach immigrants their rights to engage in labor organizing in the U.S...
After A Story Is Published, A Minimum Wage Worker Loses Her Job Washington Post ...When I wrote about her in The Post last month, she said the minimum wage hike would bring her a bit of financial relief, but it wouldn’t lift her above the poverty line. She called me the other day to say she didn’t get to enjoy the 25-cent hike for long...
Legions Of Women Workers In U.S. Still Lack Minimum Wage And Labor Protections American Prospect ...Today, the National Labor Relations Act still excludes domestic workers and farm laborers, and the Fair Labor Standards Act does not require overtime for farmworkers or even the minimum wage or overtime for many domestic workers. The implications of these exclusions have been profound, denying a growing workforce the basic workplace protections most of us take for granted...
In Surprise Show Of Support, Filibuster-Proof Senate Majority Backs Paid Sick Leave Washington Post ...Just a few weeks ago, the Healthy Families Act — which would allow employees to earn up to seven days of paid sick leave — seemed like just another White House proposal doomed to die in the newly Republican Senate. But this afternoon, it gained a surprise vote of confidence: 61 senators voted for an amendment to the budget that would do essentially the same thing...
Lawmakers Aim To Toughen Laws On Oil Trains Herald Net ...A spate of oil train accidents the past two years has fueled state and federal lawmakers' concerns about the ability of railroads to safely transport the material and the capability of communities to respond to an incident...
Don't Undermine Open Skies (opinion) USA Today ...The big three U.S. carriers — United Airlines, American Airlines and Delta Air Lines — are rightly asking the Department of Transportation to initiate talks with the UAE and Qatar over their estimated $40 billion in subsidies over a decade...
Miami Beach Maintenance Worker Killed By Flying Tabletop Miami Herald ...A Miami Beach maintenance worker was killed Friday night in what police called an unfortunate accident caused by bad weather...
Worker Killed In Blast At Berks Plant Allentown Morning Call ...Authorities say a worker was killed in an explosion at an eastern Pennsylvania manufacturing plant...
Miscellaneous
Amazon Tests Delivery Drones At Secret Canada Site After US Frustration The Guardian ...The company wants to offer its customers the ability to have packages dropped on their doorstep by flying robots within 30 minutes of ordering goods online. With innovation in the drone sector reaching lightning speeds, Amazon said it was not prepared to curtail its ambitions because of what Misener said was a lack of “impetus” on the US side of the border...
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Monday, March 30, 2015
Teamsters ask: Where is Mary Jo White, and why isn't she making corporations disclose their political contributions?
Dark money is destroying our democracy. Corporations are secretly spending hundreds of millions of dollars to buy political favors. That money comes from ordinary people and institutional investors -- like pension funds -- that invest in those corporations.
Surely investors have a right to know how the corporations they're investing in spend their political dollars.
A month-long ad campaign launched today by investors and public interest organizations aims to persuade the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to require publicly traded corporations to disclose their political spending. The campaign features comic-book style posters at heavily traveled Union Station, which is near the SEC. In the ads, illustrations of frightened investors and voters call on SEC Chair Mary Jo White to save them from monsters that have taken shareholder democracy hostage.
The Teamsters are supporting the ad campaign -- for good reason. The union invests more than $100 billion in the capital markets through affiliated pension and benefit funds.
“Corporations are secretly spending millions of dollars on political campaigns, and as investors, the Teamsters are concerned that we cannot evaluate potential conflicts or risks,” said Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is supposed to make sure corporations are open and honest with investors about where their money goes. Five years ago, the Supreme Court opened the floodgates for massive, secret political donations in its Citizens United decisions. Ever since then, investors have been clamoring for corporations to be more open about their political spending.
A proposal to require corporations to disclose their political spending has languished before the SEC. The SEC chair, Mary Jo White, has received more than 1 million comments supporting the proposal. And yet she hasn't done anything about it.
Rep. Michael Capuano, a Massachusetts Democrat, asked Mary Jo White about that in a recent congressional hearing. According to the New York Times, Capuano,
...observed that shareholders have a right to know how corporate cash is spent, and demanded to know why the S.E.C. has not required disclosure. Ms. White gave the same answer she has given since she became chairwoman in 2013 — essentially, that the agency is too busy with more important issues.
Since then, however, the S.E.C. has added new issues to its agenda, while neglecting to put political-spending disclosure on its to-do list. The omission is indefensible, because the investors’ need to know will only grow as the level of anonymous giving rises.You can help pressure the SEC to do the right thing. Follow this link to the Where Is Mary Jo White website and do as it suggests.
Today's Teamster News 03.30.15
Trade
Wikileaks papers reveal TPP's huge corporate giveaway Ecologist ...Leaked papers reveal that the Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal would represent a historic transfer of power and money from the US and other governments to corporations...
Wyden Shows Connection Between Rigged Trade & Rigged Government The People's Voice ...the US already has trade deals with most of the countries involved in the TPP so it will make little difference on Oregon’s exports. What is will do is give these foreign corporations the ability to move to locations with cheaper labor and resources as well as the power to sue if Oregon takes action in the public interest to protect people and planet...
Marriage Made in Corporatist Heaven Slams into Resistance Wolf Street ...Even the U.S.’s ever-faithful ally and fellow Five-Eye member, the United Kingdom, is beginning to express reservations about TTIP. Earlier this week an all-party committee of Members of Parliament released a scathing report on the trade agreement. The Business, Innovation and Skills committee said the government needed “stronger evidence” to back up its claim that TTIP would bring a boost of £100bn a year to the UK...
State Battles
Rauner’s ‘right-to-work’ proposal focus of larger debate on business climate GateHouse Media Illinois ... even the business groups that support right-to-work laws and empowerment zones say the governor can’t get that done...
After Months Of Scandalizing Clinton Foundation Donations, Press Silent On Walker's Reported Pay-For-Play Media Matters ...The press has almost entirely ignored the revelation that after the "richest man in Wisconsin" made secret donations benefitting Republican Governor Scott Walker, his company received special tax credits for that same donor's company...
Wisconsin Republicans abandoning Scott Walker Wisconsin Citizens Media Cooperative ...On March 25, 2015, former editor of the Waukesha Freeman and conservative Pete Kennedy published an opinion piece in the paper urging Wisconsin conservatives to not only reject Scott Walker, but to hold him accountable for the damage he has done to the state...
War on Workers
Walmart, Lowe's, Safeway, and Nordstrom Are Bankrolling a Nationwide Campaign to Gut Workers' Comp Mother Jones ...Nearly two dozen major corporations, including Walmart, Nordstrom, and Safeway, are bankrolling a quiet, multistate lobbying effort to make it harder for workers hurt on the job to access lost wages and medical care—the benefits collectively known as workers' compensation...
Fracking Town’s Desperate Laid-off Workers: ‘They Don’t Tell You It’s All a Lie’ Alternet ...The boom and bust in North Dakota has trapped people there, with little hope of work or escape...
Scientist Pretends Monsanto Products Are Totally Safe to Drink Gawker ...Monsanto pesticides are safe enough to drink in a glass of water, says an honest-to-goodness scientist who immediately refuses an offer to drink a glass of Monsanto pesticides. Not because Monsanto pesticides aren't safe, no, but because he's "not stupid" and the interviewer is "a complete jerk."...
Class Struggle In The USA Angry Bear ... none of the important 2016 candidates has expressed any willingness to raise taxes on the rich. The Republicans want to cut them and Clinton (and a spokesperson) dodge the question...
Farm worker dies after being buried under pile of corn CBS News ...Police say the collapse happened when 54-year-old Donald Merchant, of South Windham, was using equipment to move corn from a large mound at the Square A Farm on Monday. When he got off the equipment, some of it toppled onto him...
DOT worker hit by alleged impaired driver laid to rest in Kenly ABC News ...Family and friends remembered a DOT worker killed while on the job in Wayne County...
Friends, family rally in support of Delfino Velazquez, worker killed in Dana Ford Lincoln ceiling collapse (video) Staten Island Live ...Velazquez, a native of Mexico, was killed there on Nov. 28, 2014, when the building's mezzanine collapsed during an unpermitted demolition. The 43-year-old husband and father suffocated under heavy debris. He's the second Formica employee or subcontractor to die on the job in the past dozen years...
Wikileaks papers reveal TPP's huge corporate giveaway Ecologist ...Leaked papers reveal that the Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal would represent a historic transfer of power and money from the US and other governments to corporations...
Wyden Shows Connection Between Rigged Trade & Rigged Government The People's Voice ...the US already has trade deals with most of the countries involved in the TPP so it will make little difference on Oregon’s exports. What is will do is give these foreign corporations the ability to move to locations with cheaper labor and resources as well as the power to sue if Oregon takes action in the public interest to protect people and planet...
Marriage Made in Corporatist Heaven Slams into Resistance Wolf Street ...Even the U.S.’s ever-faithful ally and fellow Five-Eye member, the United Kingdom, is beginning to express reservations about TTIP. Earlier this week an all-party committee of Members of Parliament released a scathing report on the trade agreement. The Business, Innovation and Skills committee said the government needed “stronger evidence” to back up its claim that TTIP would bring a boost of £100bn a year to the UK...
State Battles
Rauner’s ‘right-to-work’ proposal focus of larger debate on business climate GateHouse Media Illinois ... even the business groups that support right-to-work laws and empowerment zones say the governor can’t get that done...
After Months Of Scandalizing Clinton Foundation Donations, Press Silent On Walker's Reported Pay-For-Play Media Matters ...The press has almost entirely ignored the revelation that after the "richest man in Wisconsin" made secret donations benefitting Republican Governor Scott Walker, his company received special tax credits for that same donor's company...
Wisconsin Republicans abandoning Scott Walker Wisconsin Citizens Media Cooperative ...On March 25, 2015, former editor of the Waukesha Freeman and conservative Pete Kennedy published an opinion piece in the paper urging Wisconsin conservatives to not only reject Scott Walker, but to hold him accountable for the damage he has done to the state...
War on Workers
Walmart, Lowe's, Safeway, and Nordstrom Are Bankrolling a Nationwide Campaign to Gut Workers' Comp Mother Jones ...Nearly two dozen major corporations, including Walmart, Nordstrom, and Safeway, are bankrolling a quiet, multistate lobbying effort to make it harder for workers hurt on the job to access lost wages and medical care—the benefits collectively known as workers' compensation...
Fracking Town’s Desperate Laid-off Workers: ‘They Don’t Tell You It’s All a Lie’ Alternet ...The boom and bust in North Dakota has trapped people there, with little hope of work or escape...
Scientist Pretends Monsanto Products Are Totally Safe to Drink Gawker ...Monsanto pesticides are safe enough to drink in a glass of water, says an honest-to-goodness scientist who immediately refuses an offer to drink a glass of Monsanto pesticides. Not because Monsanto pesticides aren't safe, no, but because he's "not stupid" and the interviewer is "a complete jerk."...
Class Struggle In The USA Angry Bear ... none of the important 2016 candidates has expressed any willingness to raise taxes on the rich. The Republicans want to cut them and Clinton (and a spokesperson) dodge the question...
Farm worker dies after being buried under pile of corn CBS News ...Police say the collapse happened when 54-year-old Donald Merchant, of South Windham, was using equipment to move corn from a large mound at the Square A Farm on Monday. When he got off the equipment, some of it toppled onto him...
DOT worker hit by alleged impaired driver laid to rest in Kenly ABC News ...Family and friends remembered a DOT worker killed while on the job in Wayne County...
Friends, family rally in support of Delfino Velazquez, worker killed in Dana Ford Lincoln ceiling collapse (video) Staten Island Live ...Velazquez, a native of Mexico, was killed there on Nov. 28, 2014, when the building's mezzanine collapsed during an unpermitted demolition. The 43-year-old husband and father suffocated under heavy debris. He's the second Formica employee or subcontractor to die on the job in the past dozen years...
Sunday, March 29, 2015
Today's Teamster News 03.29.15
Teamsters
Environmental Waste Workers Vote 11-0 to Join Teamsters Local 107 teamster.org ...On March 26, 2015, workers at PSC Environmental Outsourcing, LLC in Philadelphia voted 11-0 to join Teamsters Local 107...
Saint Vincent Hospital workers march on boss, request recognition as Teamsters TeamsterNation ...Holding signs that read "Recognize Our Union" and "Health Care Workers Deserve Good Health Care," the group marched from the hospital atrium to the CEO’s office to present a letter requesting recognition of their chosen union, Teamsters Local 170...
Trade
A new US-EU free trade agreement could make countries subservient to corporations Business Insider ...The potentially game-changing trade deal is aimed at radically reconfiguring the legal and regulatory superstructures of the world’s two largest markets, the United States and the European Union – for the almost exclusive benefit of the world’s biggest multinational corporations...
Struggling steel industry asks Congress for help Chicago Tribune ...CEOs for the country's largest steel companies told the Congressional Steel Caucus Thursday that the government needs to take a three-pronged approach to save the industry from illegal trade practices -- improve its trade policies, invest in the workforce and finance improvements to the nation's infrastructure...
Taiwan needs to address US beef-pork import issue to speed up TPP bid: DC officials China Post ...The Taiwan government needs to resolve issues surrounding the import of U.S. meat products to speed up its push to join the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), two senior U.S. government officials said Thursday in Washington, D.C...
Seattle mulls stance against fast track for Trans-Pacific Partnership Seattle Globalist ...Seattle City Council is set to vote on a resolution Monday that takes a stance against fast-track trade promotion authority for the free trade deal known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP...
State Battles
Right-to-work, outsourced lotto bills on hold Lansing State Journal ...No hearings have been held or scheduled on legislation that would expand right-to-work laws to public safety employees and the Michigan State Police...
A lawyer shows up at a 'right-to-work' hearing. And ... cue the laughter. Upworthy ..."Right-to-work is good for my business, the bankruptcy business..."
Businesses, workers adjusting to Oakland's higher minimum wage Inside Bay Area News ... As Oakland's minimum wage was raised from $9 to $12.25 an hour on March 2, Salazar no longer must choose between paying her rent on time and buying food for her family...
War on Workers
Wage increases by big retailers to sway pay at local companies Toledo Blade ...Next month several hundred retail workers at Wal-mart, Target, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, and HomeGoods stores in the Toledo area will get a raise. That will lead to other area retail workers’ paychecks getting bigger, experts predict...
Which Companies Are Buying the Election? (opinion) New York Times ...With each passing year since 2010, when the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United opened the floodgates to secretive political giving, politiciaans appear to value so-called dark money more and value disclosure of unnamed donors less...
Environmental Waste Workers Vote 11-0 to Join Teamsters Local 107 teamster.org ...On March 26, 2015, workers at PSC Environmental Outsourcing, LLC in Philadelphia voted 11-0 to join Teamsters Local 107...
Saint Vincent Hospital workers march on boss, request recognition as Teamsters TeamsterNation ...Holding signs that read "Recognize Our Union" and "Health Care Workers Deserve Good Health Care," the group marched from the hospital atrium to the CEO’s office to present a letter requesting recognition of their chosen union, Teamsters Local 170...
Trade
A new US-EU free trade agreement could make countries subservient to corporations Business Insider ...The potentially game-changing trade deal is aimed at radically reconfiguring the legal and regulatory superstructures of the world’s two largest markets, the United States and the European Union – for the almost exclusive benefit of the world’s biggest multinational corporations...
Struggling steel industry asks Congress for help Chicago Tribune ...CEOs for the country's largest steel companies told the Congressional Steel Caucus Thursday that the government needs to take a three-pronged approach to save the industry from illegal trade practices -- improve its trade policies, invest in the workforce and finance improvements to the nation's infrastructure...
Taiwan needs to address US beef-pork import issue to speed up TPP bid: DC officials China Post ...The Taiwan government needs to resolve issues surrounding the import of U.S. meat products to speed up its push to join the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), two senior U.S. government officials said Thursday in Washington, D.C...
Seattle mulls stance against fast track for Trans-Pacific Partnership Seattle Globalist ...Seattle City Council is set to vote on a resolution Monday that takes a stance against fast-track trade promotion authority for the free trade deal known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP...
State Battles
Right-to-work, outsourced lotto bills on hold Lansing State Journal ...No hearings have been held or scheduled on legislation that would expand right-to-work laws to public safety employees and the Michigan State Police...
A lawyer shows up at a 'right-to-work' hearing. And ... cue the laughter. Upworthy ..."Right-to-work is good for my business, the bankruptcy business..."
Businesses, workers adjusting to Oakland's higher minimum wage Inside Bay Area News ... As Oakland's minimum wage was raised from $9 to $12.25 an hour on March 2, Salazar no longer must choose between paying her rent on time and buying food for her family...
War on Workers
Wage increases by big retailers to sway pay at local companies Toledo Blade ...Next month several hundred retail workers at Wal-mart, Target, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, and HomeGoods stores in the Toledo area will get a raise. That will lead to other area retail workers’ paychecks getting bigger, experts predict...
Which Companies Are Buying the Election? (opinion) New York Times ...With each passing year since 2010, when the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United opened the floodgates to secretive political giving, politiciaans appear to value so-called dark money more and value disclosure of unnamed donors less...
Saturday, March 28, 2015
Saint Vincent Hospital workers march on boss, request recognition as Teamsters
A majority of the more than 200 workers in the unit signed Local 170 authorization cards. But instead of respecting the wishes of its employees, hospital management refused to recognize the union. Local 170 immediately filed for an election with the National Labor Relations Board.
Jennifer Fontaine, who has helped lead her coworkers in the organizing drive, explained on Facebook:
We marched to the CEO'S office with a large group. We had support from our nurses and friends. The secretaries in his office had their jaws on the floor. Our committee member Heather Daniels who made the appointment was ushered into Mr. McLaughlin’s office before he slammed the door in our face. We opened the door and Kim proudly read the demand letter. He stopped her 3/4 of the way in and said he refused to recognize us. Our union head Mike Hogan told the CEO we will see him in 42 days. The CEO said no he wouldn't and Mike stuck HIS hand out and introduced himself. Mike told him to take a good look at us and the CEO said I know some of them. Mike said to the CEO he was going to know us better and we deserve better health care.The tech workers at Saint Vincent Hospital, who are mostly women, are vital to the hospital’s operations. They perform professional technical work in radiology, surgery, respiratory, pharmacy, sterile processing and other departments.
Check out the video from the workers' action:
Saint Vincent is owned by Tenet Healthcare, which makes more than $15 billion in annual revenue. The hospital’s unionized nurses recently settled a contract with management, retaining their strong health insurance. But the techs like Jennifer and her coworkers are stuck with substandard health insurance which has left many of them buried in medical bills, facing debt and heavy workloads.
The irony of poor health care in a hospital is lost on no one, as the workers said in a statement:
How can health care workers like us be subjected to such terrible health care?Donna Franciosa, a 40-year employee at Saint Vincent, said:
We need to be reinstated with the health care coverage afforded to other union members. We deserve a fair wage and benefits package – and fair staffing levels. We have made this hospital the "premier" success for Tenet – now it’s time for our success.As Teamsters, we know coming together and standing up to the boss isn’t easy. And it’s especially scary when you don’t have a union contract protecting you. That's why the courage of Saint Vincent workers is so powerful and inspiring.
While workers around the country are under attack, some workers – like the brave hospital workers in Massachusetts – are fighting back. We can’t wait to welcome these future Teamsters to our union!
Today's Teamster News 03.28.15
Teamsters
Hoffa: TPP Investor Language Will Leave Taxpayers On The Hook Huffington Post ...Language included in the Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) chapter of the TPP would grant new rights to companies to challenge limitations and exceptions to copyrights, patents and other intellectual property. That means corporations could sue the U.S. or other countries included in the deal if they didn't like their laws. Such challenges would be handled by an unaccountable international arbitration forum. And taxpayers would end up paying the tab if the private sector wins...
Hoffa Addresses First Graduates Of Military Job Training Program teamster.org ...Today, Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa took part in a ceremony recognizing the first graduates of a program that helps active military personnel transition to a career in transportation. The ceremony was held at the Army’s new Industrial Training Complex (ITC) in Fort Sill, Okla. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was also held to inaugurate the ITC...
Highway Chief Denies Any Wrongdoing In Legal Action Against Town Hudson Register Star ...It has been alleged the Hillsdale Highway Department has not fulfilled legal obligations to their local Teamsters union, a union official wrote in a letter to the town supervisor. The town board recently mediated the dispute at their March 17 board meeting...
Union organizers question wages at McKesson warehouse Des Moines Register ...Two Teamsters union organizers questioned Friday whether drug distributor McKesson Corp. would pay fair wages at a new warehouse in northern Iowa. "We as a local (union) and your brothers and sisters in Minnesota are concerned about the jobs being shipped down here at a discounted rate, to be honest with you," Troy Gustafson of Teamsters Local 120 told the Iowa Economic Development Authority Board Friday...
From the ranks of Microsoft’s permatemps Washington Post ...In Silicon Valley, contract workers are beginning to organize. Google and Facebook shuttle bus drivers have joined the Teamsters union...
Trade
Now We Know Why Huge TPP Trade Deal Is Kept Secret From the Public Huffington Post ...if corporations feel they have been denied "expected" profits by a government regulation, ISDS lets them circumvent a country's courts and go to an international corporate tribunal with their grievance. But if labor organizers are murdered, workers and their families have nowhere to go...
Trade Show: Today In What The Hell Is Going On With The TPP? Esquire ... It seems that in their desire to bless us all with the benefits of "free" trade, the negotiators have managed to outsource not only all the manufacturing jobs that are worth a damn, but also the job of domestic environmental spoilage...
State Battles
Plain Talk: Scott Walker a textbook case of why we don't trust politicians (opinion) The Cap Times ...Worse, though, is that Walker not only underhandedly cloaks his amibitions, he lies about them, too...
Mandatory Sick Leave Moves Forward In Capitol Statesman Journal ...Nearly every Oregon employee could have at least 40 hours of paid sick leave in the near future if the Oregon Legislature succeeds in passing one of two bills currently under discussion in the Capitol...
Minimum Wage, Equal Pay Bills Fail In House Subcommittee Memphis Business Journal ...A group of Democratic sponsored bills, including two to raise the state’s minimum wage and another to allow female employees recourse to sue over pay discrimination, failed in a Tennessee House subcommittee Wednesday. Votes on each piece of legislation were divided on party lines...
Buffalo Lawmaker Seeking Further Minimum Wage Hike Buffalo Business First ...The proposal would increase the state’s minimum wage to $10.50 now with staggered incremental increases leading to $15 in 2018. After three years of increases, the state’s minimum wage is set to reach $9 on Dec. 31, 2015. The current minimum wage in New York is set at $8.75. Panepinto said that number translates to $18,000 per year...
War on Workers
Metro workers say safety culture doesn’t exist Washington Post ...Metro train and bus operators, mechanics and other employees have lined up to criticize the agency’s safety culture nearly three months after a deadly smoke incident left one person dead and spurred new questions about the system’s management and training...
Amazon demands employees sign 18-month non-compete agreement to get a three-month-long job Pando ...The agreements last for up to 18 months. Seasonal workers can be employed by Amazon for as few as three. That’s a hell of a trade-off, especially considering that the non-compete agreements prevent Amazon’s employees from working “at any company where they ‘directly or indirectly’ support any good or service that competes with those they helped support at Amazon”...
Exclusive: Upset by Warren, U.S. banks debate halting some campaign donations Reuters ...Big Wall Street banks are so upset with U.S. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren's call for them to be broken up that some have discussed withholding campaign donations to Senate Democrats in symbolic protest, sources familiar with the discussions said...
Wall Street isn’t happy with us ElizabethWarren.com ... They want a showy way to tell Democrats across the country to be scared of speaking out, to be timid about standing up, and to stay away from fighting for what’s right. Ok, they have taken their shot, but it will not work...
Middle Class Jobs Are Still Lagging FiveThirtyEight ...This U-shaped recovery – faster growth at the top and bottom, slower in the middle – isn’t a new phenomenon. What’s unclear is how long it will last. Mid-tier jobs are often the last to rebound in a recovery. It’s possible that with job growth now picking up, the pattern will begin to reverse, or perhaps has even begun to do so already...
Raleigh Scaffolding Collapse Kills 3 Construction Workers Raleigh News and Observer ...Three construction workers were killed and another seriously injured late Monday morning when an exterior lift system tore from the side of an office building under construction in downtown Raleigh...
Oil Trains Put US On Target For More Derailments, Warn Experts Fox News ...Activists call them “bomb trains,” and they’re likely rolling through a town near you. The oil boom in North Dakota and Alberta, Canada, has put a record number of train cars on tracks carrying hundreds of thousands of barrels of crude oil each day all across the U.S. Several accidents have already happened, and local leaders say it is a matter of time until more occur...
Miscellaneous
NSA Doesn’t Need To Spy On Your Calls To Learn Your Secrets Wired ...Collecting metadata on people means putting them under surveillance...
The Shut-In Economy Medium ...the on-demand world isn’t about sharing at all. It’s about being served. This is an economy of shut-ins...
Hoffa: TPP Investor Language Will Leave Taxpayers On The Hook Huffington Post ...Language included in the Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) chapter of the TPP would grant new rights to companies to challenge limitations and exceptions to copyrights, patents and other intellectual property. That means corporations could sue the U.S. or other countries included in the deal if they didn't like their laws. Such challenges would be handled by an unaccountable international arbitration forum. And taxpayers would end up paying the tab if the private sector wins...
Hoffa Addresses First Graduates Of Military Job Training Program teamster.org ...Today, Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa took part in a ceremony recognizing the first graduates of a program that helps active military personnel transition to a career in transportation. The ceremony was held at the Army’s new Industrial Training Complex (ITC) in Fort Sill, Okla. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was also held to inaugurate the ITC...
Highway Chief Denies Any Wrongdoing In Legal Action Against Town Hudson Register Star ...It has been alleged the Hillsdale Highway Department has not fulfilled legal obligations to their local Teamsters union, a union official wrote in a letter to the town supervisor. The town board recently mediated the dispute at their March 17 board meeting...
Union organizers question wages at McKesson warehouse Des Moines Register ...Two Teamsters union organizers questioned Friday whether drug distributor McKesson Corp. would pay fair wages at a new warehouse in northern Iowa. "We as a local (union) and your brothers and sisters in Minnesota are concerned about the jobs being shipped down here at a discounted rate, to be honest with you," Troy Gustafson of Teamsters Local 120 told the Iowa Economic Development Authority Board Friday...
From the ranks of Microsoft’s permatemps Washington Post ...In Silicon Valley, contract workers are beginning to organize. Google and Facebook shuttle bus drivers have joined the Teamsters union...
Trade
Now We Know Why Huge TPP Trade Deal Is Kept Secret From the Public Huffington Post ...if corporations feel they have been denied "expected" profits by a government regulation, ISDS lets them circumvent a country's courts and go to an international corporate tribunal with their grievance. But if labor organizers are murdered, workers and their families have nowhere to go...
Trade Show: Today In What The Hell Is Going On With The TPP? Esquire ... It seems that in their desire to bless us all with the benefits of "free" trade, the negotiators have managed to outsource not only all the manufacturing jobs that are worth a damn, but also the job of domestic environmental spoilage...
State Battles
Plain Talk: Scott Walker a textbook case of why we don't trust politicians (opinion) The Cap Times ...Worse, though, is that Walker not only underhandedly cloaks his amibitions, he lies about them, too...
Mandatory Sick Leave Moves Forward In Capitol Statesman Journal ...Nearly every Oregon employee could have at least 40 hours of paid sick leave in the near future if the Oregon Legislature succeeds in passing one of two bills currently under discussion in the Capitol...
Minimum Wage, Equal Pay Bills Fail In House Subcommittee Memphis Business Journal ...A group of Democratic sponsored bills, including two to raise the state’s minimum wage and another to allow female employees recourse to sue over pay discrimination, failed in a Tennessee House subcommittee Wednesday. Votes on each piece of legislation were divided on party lines...
Buffalo Lawmaker Seeking Further Minimum Wage Hike Buffalo Business First ...The proposal would increase the state’s minimum wage to $10.50 now with staggered incremental increases leading to $15 in 2018. After three years of increases, the state’s minimum wage is set to reach $9 on Dec. 31, 2015. The current minimum wage in New York is set at $8.75. Panepinto said that number translates to $18,000 per year...
War on Workers
Metro workers say safety culture doesn’t exist Washington Post ...Metro train and bus operators, mechanics and other employees have lined up to criticize the agency’s safety culture nearly three months after a deadly smoke incident left one person dead and spurred new questions about the system’s management and training...
Amazon demands employees sign 18-month non-compete agreement to get a three-month-long job Pando ...The agreements last for up to 18 months. Seasonal workers can be employed by Amazon for as few as three. That’s a hell of a trade-off, especially considering that the non-compete agreements prevent Amazon’s employees from working “at any company where they ‘directly or indirectly’ support any good or service that competes with those they helped support at Amazon”...
Exclusive: Upset by Warren, U.S. banks debate halting some campaign donations Reuters ...Big Wall Street banks are so upset with U.S. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren's call for them to be broken up that some have discussed withholding campaign donations to Senate Democrats in symbolic protest, sources familiar with the discussions said...
Wall Street isn’t happy with us ElizabethWarren.com ... They want a showy way to tell Democrats across the country to be scared of speaking out, to be timid about standing up, and to stay away from fighting for what’s right. Ok, they have taken their shot, but it will not work...
Middle Class Jobs Are Still Lagging FiveThirtyEight ...This U-shaped recovery – faster growth at the top and bottom, slower in the middle – isn’t a new phenomenon. What’s unclear is how long it will last. Mid-tier jobs are often the last to rebound in a recovery. It’s possible that with job growth now picking up, the pattern will begin to reverse, or perhaps has even begun to do so already...
Raleigh Scaffolding Collapse Kills 3 Construction Workers Raleigh News and Observer ...Three construction workers were killed and another seriously injured late Monday morning when an exterior lift system tore from the side of an office building under construction in downtown Raleigh...
Oil Trains Put US On Target For More Derailments, Warn Experts Fox News ...Activists call them “bomb trains,” and they’re likely rolling through a town near you. The oil boom in North Dakota and Alberta, Canada, has put a record number of train cars on tracks carrying hundreds of thousands of barrels of crude oil each day all across the U.S. Several accidents have already happened, and local leaders say it is a matter of time until more occur...
Miscellaneous
NSA Doesn’t Need To Spy On Your Calls To Learn Your Secrets Wired ...Collecting metadata on people means putting them under surveillance...
The Shut-In Economy Medium ...the on-demand world isn’t about sharing at all. It’s about being served. This is an economy of shut-ins...
Friday, March 27, 2015
West Coast innovations in improving workers' lives
Two recent developments that promise to improve workers' lives caught our attention, and both have to do with the West Coast high-tech industry, including Microsoft, Apple, Genentech and Facebook.
In Seattle, Microsoft announced Thursday that it would require many of its 2,000 contractors and vendors to give 15 paid days off for sick days and vacation time for their employees who work for Microsoft. The New York Times notes,
As the economy has become more dependent on contract workers, workers’ rights advocates have voiced concern about their working conditions, especially for low-skilled jobs.
The situation is particularly acute in the tech industry, where average full-time employees earn more than $115,000 a year, along with generous benefits like child care, gourmet cafeterias and luxury shuttle rides to work. Many of the contracted service workers — who take care of the children, cook the food or drive the shuttles — earn near poverty-level wages and often do not receive basic benefits like sick leave.Of course, there's another way for contract employees to win paid time off: Organize. And that's what San Francisco shuttle drivers are doing with the Teamsters.
The city's Board of Supervisor on Tuesday may have made it easier. It passed a resolution urging the city’s transit agency to consider labor harmony when approving commuter shuttles to high-tech firms.
Recently, Facebook shuttle drivers who work for Loop Transportation were organized under the leadership of Rome Aloise, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 853. In February they worked out a contract that raised the drivers into the middle class. According to the local,
Under the contract, drivers now making $15-20/hr. will see their wages increase to $21-29/hr. They will enjoy fully paid family health insurance, paid vacation, holidays, sick days, retirement, and more.Local 853 went on to organize drivers for Compass Transportation, which makes up some of the fleets for Ebay, Genentech, Apple, Yahoo, and Zynga. They have yet to reach an agreement.
Said Brother Doug Bloch, Political Director for Teamsters Joint Council 7,
There are a couple organizing campaigns happening as we speak, and the workers are afraid of retaliation. But that’s what the board addresses with this resolution.Teamsters Local 665 is organizing shuttle drivers at Bauer Transportation, but not without difficulty. NBC Bay Area reported on Tuesday,
The Teamsters filed an unfair labor relations complaint with the National Labor Relations Board against Bauer, citing Bauer’s surveillance of employees and efforts to prevent employee union elections. That complaint is currently under review. Bauer is one of the eight major shuttle contractors for large, and typically high-tech, Bay Area companies.
When Teamsters began talking to Bauer’s shuttle drivers, the union felt that company management turned hostile. During outreach in the last month, Mark Gleason, principal officer for Teamsters 665, said that management at Bauer followed and confronted the Teamsters who were meeting with drivers in San Francisco. He wouldn't disclose the details of this supposed confrontation.
Let's hope San Francisco's transit agency heeds the Board of Supervisors.
Today's Teamster News 03.27.15
Teamsters
Teamsters At Northwest Steel And Pipe Vote Unanimously To Strike teamster.org ...Teamster warehouse workers, operators, and drivers at Northwest Steel and Pipe voted unanimously to strike last night. The strike vote took place Tuesday evening outside the company’s facility in Tacoma...
Teamsters Urge Support For Sen. Sanders' Pension Amendment teamster.org ...“Sen. Sanders is trying to do the right thing for retired Americans who receive benefits from a multiemployer pension plan like thousands of Teamsters do...
US Foods Volume Declines While Waiting For Merger With Sysco Chicago Tribune ...Sysco's attempt to buy US Foods for $3.5 billion was dealt a blow in February when the Federal Trade Commission, on a 3-2 vote, sought to block the deal along with 11 attorneys general. A district court hearing on the preliminary injunction is set to begin in Washington on May 5...
Students’ mosaic to Light up the Night at autism gala Boston Herald ...Longtime supporters of the Teamsters Local 25 Autism Gala know to expect a dazzling piece of artwork at tomorrow’s Light up the Night party. And judging from the effort the autistic students in Chris Hall’s art class put into their 54,000-piece mosaic, they won’t be disappointed...
EXCLUSIVE: NYCHA quietly sold off supplies needed for repairs and cleanup New York Daily News ..."They'd say they didn't have material to clean with. It was a continuous complaining and concern. They didn't have mops. They didn't have buckets," said Greg Floyd, president of Teamsters Local 237, which represents 8,000 NYCHA workers. "Now to find out that the Housing Authority was sitting on all of these things? Some of my members didn't have uniforms. Come to find out they had uniforms. They were warehousing all this material."...
Teamsters, ITF Warn Of Possible Disruptions Of LAN Airline Flights Aero News Network ...A number of flights of South American LAN Airlines could be affected as the unions of LAN Airlines began a series of actions on Wednesday, March 25th in Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Miami...
Trade
Despite Leak Of TPP Text, Obama Officials Say Trade Deal Will Not Let Companies Overturn US Laws International Business Times ...Less than three weeks after a classified draft of its proposed 12-nation trade pact included provisions that critics say empower foreign companies to overturn domestic regulations, the Obama administration explicitly declared that the deal would not permit such actions...
Germany’s SPD Won’t Back Down In US Trade Talks The Nation ...Germany’s economy minister has promised to block any clauses in a trade deal between the European Union and the United States that go against the ideals of his centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), including investor protection clauses wanted by the Americans...
State Battles
A Rare Victory for Black Voting Rights in the South The Nation ...Today the Court, in a 5-4 decision written by Justice Breyer, sided with the black plaintiffs and ordered a district court in Alabama to reexamine whether specific districts, like Ross’s, were improperly drawn with race as the predominant factor...
Indiana income growth slows Indianapolis Star ...The income Hoosiers received last year grew slightly slower than the national average, dropping the state from 38th to 39th in per capita income, according the Bureau of Economic Analysis...
Dayton Pushes For $10 Minimum Wage For Airport Workers Minneapolis Star Tribune ...“They deserve it, the airline industry can afford it, and one thing about raising the minimum wage at the airport is it’s not going to be a threat to move to South Dakota or China or somewhere else. It’s our airport, it’s a public facility and it ought to better reflect the values of the citizenry.”...
War on Workers
Yes, You Should Ask For A Raise (opinion) U.S. News and World Report ...In 2015, nearly 5 million American workers might get a pay raise. By joining together to ask for one. Through a union. Minimum wage hikes, overtime expansion, paid sick leave and other policy improvements are important to raise wages in America. But the best way for workers to get a raise is by asking for one with a collective voice. That’s what workers do – bargain together in unions to improve our lives...
Household Debt Is A National Crisis (opinion) Truthout ...Family debt is no personal failing — it's a national crisis. Even as unemployment declines, the debt crisis is holding back a full economic recovery and pushing more people into poverty...
Connecticut Farm Worker Dies After Corn Collapses On Him New York Daily News ...A Connecticut farm worker died Monday after a pile of milled corn collapsed and buried him, police said. Donald Merchant, 54, was using equipment to move corn from a large mound at the Square A Farm in Lebanon when some of it toppled onto him when he got off the vehicle...
North Carolina DOT Worker Dead In Accident In Wayne County WTVD ...State officials said a North Carolina Department of Transportation worker was killed in an accident on U.S. Highway 70 in Wayne County Monday. It happened just before 11 a.m. at Capps Bridge Road. The area is west of Goldsboro...
A Campaign Finance Idea Whose Time Has Come (opinion) Washington Post ...The bill — also known as the Government by the People Act — would provide House candidates with a way to raise funds without auctioning off themselves to Wall Street and K Street. If candidates chose to limit contributions to their campaigns to no more than $1,000, every contribution they received of $150 or less from residents of their state would trigger a contribution of public funds at a 6-to-1 ratio: A $100 donation would yield $600 in public funds; a $150 donation, $900. To qualify for matching funds, candidates would also have to reject contributions from political action committees, unless those PACS also raised their money in contributions of $150 or less...
Miscellaneous
Teamsters At Northwest Steel And Pipe Vote Unanimously To Strike teamster.org ...Teamster warehouse workers, operators, and drivers at Northwest Steel and Pipe voted unanimously to strike last night. The strike vote took place Tuesday evening outside the company’s facility in Tacoma...
Teamsters Urge Support For Sen. Sanders' Pension Amendment teamster.org ...“Sen. Sanders is trying to do the right thing for retired Americans who receive benefits from a multiemployer pension plan like thousands of Teamsters do...
US Foods Volume Declines While Waiting For Merger With Sysco Chicago Tribune ...Sysco's attempt to buy US Foods for $3.5 billion was dealt a blow in February when the Federal Trade Commission, on a 3-2 vote, sought to block the deal along with 11 attorneys general. A district court hearing on the preliminary injunction is set to begin in Washington on May 5...
Students’ mosaic to Light up the Night at autism gala Boston Herald ...Longtime supporters of the Teamsters Local 25 Autism Gala know to expect a dazzling piece of artwork at tomorrow’s Light up the Night party. And judging from the effort the autistic students in Chris Hall’s art class put into their 54,000-piece mosaic, they won’t be disappointed...
EXCLUSIVE: NYCHA quietly sold off supplies needed for repairs and cleanup New York Daily News ..."They'd say they didn't have material to clean with. It was a continuous complaining and concern. They didn't have mops. They didn't have buckets," said Greg Floyd, president of Teamsters Local 237, which represents 8,000 NYCHA workers. "Now to find out that the Housing Authority was sitting on all of these things? Some of my members didn't have uniforms. Come to find out they had uniforms. They were warehousing all this material."...
Teamsters, ITF Warn Of Possible Disruptions Of LAN Airline Flights Aero News Network ...A number of flights of South American LAN Airlines could be affected as the unions of LAN Airlines began a series of actions on Wednesday, March 25th in Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Miami...
Trade
Despite Leak Of TPP Text, Obama Officials Say Trade Deal Will Not Let Companies Overturn US Laws International Business Times ...Less than three weeks after a classified draft of its proposed 12-nation trade pact included provisions that critics say empower foreign companies to overturn domestic regulations, the Obama administration explicitly declared that the deal would not permit such actions...
Germany’s SPD Won’t Back Down In US Trade Talks The Nation ...Germany’s economy minister has promised to block any clauses in a trade deal between the European Union and the United States that go against the ideals of his centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), including investor protection clauses wanted by the Americans...
State Battles
A Rare Victory for Black Voting Rights in the South The Nation ...Today the Court, in a 5-4 decision written by Justice Breyer, sided with the black plaintiffs and ordered a district court in Alabama to reexamine whether specific districts, like Ross’s, were improperly drawn with race as the predominant factor...
Indiana income growth slows Indianapolis Star ...The income Hoosiers received last year grew slightly slower than the national average, dropping the state from 38th to 39th in per capita income, according the Bureau of Economic Analysis...
Dayton Pushes For $10 Minimum Wage For Airport Workers Minneapolis Star Tribune ...“They deserve it, the airline industry can afford it, and one thing about raising the minimum wage at the airport is it’s not going to be a threat to move to South Dakota or China or somewhere else. It’s our airport, it’s a public facility and it ought to better reflect the values of the citizenry.”...
War on Workers
Yes, You Should Ask For A Raise (opinion) U.S. News and World Report ...In 2015, nearly 5 million American workers might get a pay raise. By joining together to ask for one. Through a union. Minimum wage hikes, overtime expansion, paid sick leave and other policy improvements are important to raise wages in America. But the best way for workers to get a raise is by asking for one with a collective voice. That’s what workers do – bargain together in unions to improve our lives...
Household Debt Is A National Crisis (opinion) Truthout ...Family debt is no personal failing — it's a national crisis. Even as unemployment declines, the debt crisis is holding back a full economic recovery and pushing more people into poverty...
Connecticut Farm Worker Dies After Corn Collapses On Him New York Daily News ...A Connecticut farm worker died Monday after a pile of milled corn collapsed and buried him, police said. Donald Merchant, 54, was using equipment to move corn from a large mound at the Square A Farm in Lebanon when some of it toppled onto him when he got off the vehicle...
North Carolina DOT Worker Dead In Accident In Wayne County WTVD ...State officials said a North Carolina Department of Transportation worker was killed in an accident on U.S. Highway 70 in Wayne County Monday. It happened just before 11 a.m. at Capps Bridge Road. The area is west of Goldsboro...
A Campaign Finance Idea Whose Time Has Come (opinion) Washington Post ...The bill — also known as the Government by the People Act — would provide House candidates with a way to raise funds without auctioning off themselves to Wall Street and K Street. If candidates chose to limit contributions to their campaigns to no more than $1,000, every contribution they received of $150 or less from residents of their state would trigger a contribution of public funds at a 6-to-1 ratio: A $100 donation would yield $600 in public funds; a $150 donation, $900. To qualify for matching funds, candidates would also have to reject contributions from political action committees, unless those PACS also raised their money in contributions of $150 or less...
Miscellaneous
Thursday, March 26, 2015
United Teamsters face down divided ownership at Heidelberg Distributing Co.
Feuding family members who own Heidelberg Distributing Co.in Ohio are making unreasonable contract demands on Teamster employees, but Teamsters stand united against the owners.
Teamsters represent approximately 500 workers at six of Heidelberg’s family-owned distributorships of beer, wine and spirits in Ohio.
Heidelberg employees voted to join Teamsters Local 284 in Columbus two years ago, but are still without a contract. In Youngstown, Teamsters have been bargaining for a first contract for more than 18 months. Contracts with Heidelberg in Toledo, Cleveland and Dayton expired or are on the verge of expiring.
Members of Teamsters Local 1199 in Cincinnati have a contract until April 2016, but that didn't stop them last month from joining other Heidelberg Teamsters in a show of solidarity during contract talks in Columbus. Teamsters from six locals that represent Heidelberg declared their solidarity by marching together into negotiations with Teamsters Local 284.
Yesterday, 100 percent of Teamsters Local 957 who work at Heidelberg's Dayton facility voted yes on strike authorization. The strike vote followed a standing-room-only meeting in Cleveland with Teamsters General Secretary-Treasurer Ken Hall.
WCPO reported:
Teamsters represent approximately 500 workers at six of Heidelberg’s family-owned distributorships of beer, wine and spirits in Ohio.
Heidelberg employees voted to join Teamsters Local 284 in Columbus two years ago, but are still without a contract. In Youngstown, Teamsters have been bargaining for a first contract for more than 18 months. Contracts with Heidelberg in Toledo, Cleveland and Dayton expired or are on the verge of expiring.
Members of Teamsters Local 1199 in Cincinnati have a contract until April 2016, but that didn't stop them last month from joining other Heidelberg Teamsters in a show of solidarity during contract talks in Columbus. Teamsters from six locals that represent Heidelberg declared their solidarity by marching together into negotiations with Teamsters Local 284.
Yesterday, 100 percent of Teamsters Local 957 who work at Heidelberg's Dayton facility voted yes on strike authorization. The strike vote followed a standing-room-only meeting in Cleveland with Teamsters General Secretary-Treasurer Ken Hall.
 |
| From l to r: Bill Lichtenwald, Ken Hall, Randy Verst, and Max Zemla talk solidarity with Heidelberg TeamsterFamly! |
WCPO reported:
Union workers are threatening a statewide strike at one of the largest beer and wine distributorships in the Midwest, citing stalled contract negotiations over better wages and health care.
This is the latest blow for Heidelberg Distributing Co., which is embroiled in a bitter legal battle between its two sibling owners, who accuse each other of using the company for personal gain. Union leaders say the family dispute is spilling into the workplace and dampening contract negotiations.
The issue attracted a visit from the second-in-command of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Ken Hall, who met with Heidelberg workers in Cleveland on Sunday. He is secretary-treasurer of the Teamsters, just under president James P. Hoffa, at one of North America’s largest unions.
“We’re worried that this family feud is really going to lead to the destruction of a company that our members helped to build,” Hall said. “Right now, the company is just not bargaining reasonably with the union.”
Today's Teamster News 03.26.15
Teamsters
San Francisco Board Of Supervisors Back Labor Harmony For Commuter Shuttles teamster.org ...The San Francisco Board of Supervisors today adopted a resolution that would require the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) to consider the labor practices of commuter shuttle operators as part of their permitting process...
Why Teamsters Present Walmart With A New Challenge Forbes ...When the Securities and Exchange Commission rejected a request by Walmart Stores to prevent shareholders from voting on a proposal to elect an independent board chairman at their annual shareholder meeting they were whistling up the wrong tree. The matter will now become part of the proxy for fiscal 2016 to be voted on in early June. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters General Fund submitted the proposal in an effort to unseat Walton family member, S. Robson (Rob) Walton from a position that he has held for many years...
BLET Urges Senators To Oppose PTC Extension BLET ...The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) announced today that it strongly opposes S. 650, the Railroad Safety and Positive Train Control Extension Act, which is expected to be voted on in the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation within hours...
Senator: Union's reversal makes Sunday growler sales likely in Minnesota Associated Press ...The Teamsters Joint Council 32 helped derail the measure near the end of the legislative session last year, citing concerns about its impact on the union's labor contracts. But union lobbyist Ed Reynoso told a Senate Committee on Monday that, "at this point" the union won't oppose the effort this year...
Railroads Need To Do More To Improve Track, Union Official Says Progressive Railroading ...The president of a national railroad labor union this week called on freight railroads to step up their maintenance of track carrying oil trains in order to help prevent future derailments. Track conditions are a leading cause of train derailments in the United States, accounting for a third of all train accidents, noted Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division President Freddie Simpson, who cited Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) data....
Trade
Trans-Pacific Partnership Seen as Door for Foreign Suits Against U.S. New York Times ...The Trans-Pacific Partnership -- a cornerstone of Mr. obama's remaining economic agenda -- would grant broad powers to multinational companies operating in North America, South America and Asia. Under the accord, still under negotiation but nearing completion, companies and investors would be empowered to challenge regulations, rules, government actions and curt rulings -- federal state or local -- before tribunals organized under the World Bank or the United Nations...
Oregon MoveOn Members: If Sen. Wyden Supports Fast Track for TPP, We’ll Back a Progressive Challenger in 2016 Primary MoveOn.org ...Oregon members of MoveOn.org Political Action said overwhelmingly that they would back a progressive challenger to Sen. Ron Wyden (D) if the state’s senior senator supports Fast Track for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a dangerous trade agreement that’s been called “NAFTA on steroids.”...
Ron Wyden avoids anti-trade pact protesters while continuing his fundraising The Oregonian ...A liberal Internet freedom group says it mounted an anti-free-trade protest Tuesday night that scared away Sen. Ron Wyden from holding a fundraiser at an upscale French restaurant near the Capitol...
State Battles
Work On Weekends: GOP Bill Takes Away Right To Weekend Day Off In Wisconsin Inquisitr ...Should you be forced to work on weekends? Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin think so, and they have introduced legislation to strip workers in that state of their right to a single, 24-hour “rest period,” once every seven days...
Public unions will lose power if new bill passes Associated Press ...The measure would prevent local government employers [in Nevada] from giving their employees paid time off for union tasks. It would bar supervisors and administrators from unionizing at all, and would expand local governments' ability to implement layoffs...
Bill Limiting Public Workers’ Payroll Deductions Stalls Without Charity Exemption Wichita Eagle ...A bill that would significantly scale back the collective bargaining power of public-sector unions hit a major snag Tuesday. One part of HB 2096 would prohibit automatic deductions from public workers’ paychecks for union dues or charitable contributions. The United Way of the Plains has said it would lose $300,000 if that happens. An amendment Tuesday sought to exempt charities from the bill, but it was rejected by conservative Republicans and Democrats...
Madigan: Rauner's right-to-work plans illegal Dispatch-Argus ... she also said Gov. Rauner's proposal to prevent unions from getting "fair share" dues from nonmembers working for the state would break the law as it stands...
Health Dept. To Study Landfill Effects KSDK ...The St. Louis County Health Department wants to study hundreds of north county residents. It's part of an effort to determine whether the smoldering Bridgeton Landfill is making people sick. The south quarry of the landfill has experienced an underground smoldering event since 2010. The reaction is releasing gas and odors into the air. Now St. Louis County's new Health Director wants to know what effect those emissions are having on people...
NLRB schedules union election for Boeing SC Charleston Business Journal ...More than 3,000 production and maintenance employees at Boeing South Carolina are eligible to vote on April 22 to decide whether they want union representation, following a National Labor Relations Board’s decision today to allow an election at the local plant...
War on Workers
The growing distance between people and jobs in metropolitan America Brookings ...Between 2000 and 2012, the number of jobs within the typical commute distance for residents in a major metro area fell by 7 percent...
America Needs Labor Unions (opinion) Huffington Post ...The reality is that unions are the greatest tool at most workers' disposal for rebuilding the middle class. Advocating for the elimination of this tool is the epitome of cutting off your nose to spite your face...
Senate Dems Seek Stronger Oil Train Safety Rules The Hill ...Senate Democrats have proposed a bill to set stronger safety rules for trains carrying oil, including regulating the content of the oil itself. Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) said the most critical problem with the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) ongoing regulatory effort on oil trains is that it does not confront the problem of the volatility of oil from North Dakota’s Bakken region...
Labor Board Still Grappling With Supreme Court Defeat The Hill ... In a case known as NLRB v. Noel Canning, the high court last June overturned a set of President Obama’s recess appointments to the labor board, concluding he overstepped in exerting his authority to fill vacancies while the Senate was technically in session. As a result, the board has had to revisit more than 100 labor cases that were decided while the NLRB was unconstitutionally constructed...
Miscellaneous
Inflation, New-Home Sales Firm Up Wall Street Journal ...The consumer-price index—covering everything from Americans’ rent to the cost of their dental care—rose in February for the first time in four months, the Labor Department said Tuesday. Overall prices were up 0.2% from January, though they were flat from a year ago. The move suggested inflation pressures are slowly building back up after succumbing to a six-month slide in oil prices...
San Francisco Board Of Supervisors Back Labor Harmony For Commuter Shuttles teamster.org ...The San Francisco Board of Supervisors today adopted a resolution that would require the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) to consider the labor practices of commuter shuttle operators as part of their permitting process...
Why Teamsters Present Walmart With A New Challenge Forbes ...When the Securities and Exchange Commission rejected a request by Walmart Stores to prevent shareholders from voting on a proposal to elect an independent board chairman at their annual shareholder meeting they were whistling up the wrong tree. The matter will now become part of the proxy for fiscal 2016 to be voted on in early June. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters General Fund submitted the proposal in an effort to unseat Walton family member, S. Robson (Rob) Walton from a position that he has held for many years...
BLET Urges Senators To Oppose PTC Extension BLET ...The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) announced today that it strongly opposes S. 650, the Railroad Safety and Positive Train Control Extension Act, which is expected to be voted on in the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation within hours...
Senator: Union's reversal makes Sunday growler sales likely in Minnesota Associated Press ...The Teamsters Joint Council 32 helped derail the measure near the end of the legislative session last year, citing concerns about its impact on the union's labor contracts. But union lobbyist Ed Reynoso told a Senate Committee on Monday that, "at this point" the union won't oppose the effort this year...
Railroads Need To Do More To Improve Track, Union Official Says Progressive Railroading ...The president of a national railroad labor union this week called on freight railroads to step up their maintenance of track carrying oil trains in order to help prevent future derailments. Track conditions are a leading cause of train derailments in the United States, accounting for a third of all train accidents, noted Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division President Freddie Simpson, who cited Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) data....
Trade
Trans-Pacific Partnership Seen as Door for Foreign Suits Against U.S. New York Times ...The Trans-Pacific Partnership -- a cornerstone of Mr. obama's remaining economic agenda -- would grant broad powers to multinational companies operating in North America, South America and Asia. Under the accord, still under negotiation but nearing completion, companies and investors would be empowered to challenge regulations, rules, government actions and curt rulings -- federal state or local -- before tribunals organized under the World Bank or the United Nations...
Oregon MoveOn Members: If Sen. Wyden Supports Fast Track for TPP, We’ll Back a Progressive Challenger in 2016 Primary MoveOn.org ...Oregon members of MoveOn.org Political Action said overwhelmingly that they would back a progressive challenger to Sen. Ron Wyden (D) if the state’s senior senator supports Fast Track for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a dangerous trade agreement that’s been called “NAFTA on steroids.”...
Ron Wyden avoids anti-trade pact protesters while continuing his fundraising The Oregonian ...A liberal Internet freedom group says it mounted an anti-free-trade protest Tuesday night that scared away Sen. Ron Wyden from holding a fundraiser at an upscale French restaurant near the Capitol...
State Battles
Work On Weekends: GOP Bill Takes Away Right To Weekend Day Off In Wisconsin Inquisitr ...Should you be forced to work on weekends? Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin think so, and they have introduced legislation to strip workers in that state of their right to a single, 24-hour “rest period,” once every seven days...
Public unions will lose power if new bill passes Associated Press ...The measure would prevent local government employers [in Nevada] from giving their employees paid time off for union tasks. It would bar supervisors and administrators from unionizing at all, and would expand local governments' ability to implement layoffs...
Bill Limiting Public Workers’ Payroll Deductions Stalls Without Charity Exemption Wichita Eagle ...A bill that would significantly scale back the collective bargaining power of public-sector unions hit a major snag Tuesday. One part of HB 2096 would prohibit automatic deductions from public workers’ paychecks for union dues or charitable contributions. The United Way of the Plains has said it would lose $300,000 if that happens. An amendment Tuesday sought to exempt charities from the bill, but it was rejected by conservative Republicans and Democrats...
Madigan: Rauner's right-to-work plans illegal Dispatch-Argus ... she also said Gov. Rauner's proposal to prevent unions from getting "fair share" dues from nonmembers working for the state would break the law as it stands...
Health Dept. To Study Landfill Effects KSDK ...The St. Louis County Health Department wants to study hundreds of north county residents. It's part of an effort to determine whether the smoldering Bridgeton Landfill is making people sick. The south quarry of the landfill has experienced an underground smoldering event since 2010. The reaction is releasing gas and odors into the air. Now St. Louis County's new Health Director wants to know what effect those emissions are having on people...
NLRB schedules union election for Boeing SC Charleston Business Journal ...More than 3,000 production and maintenance employees at Boeing South Carolina are eligible to vote on April 22 to decide whether they want union representation, following a National Labor Relations Board’s decision today to allow an election at the local plant...
War on Workers
The growing distance between people and jobs in metropolitan America Brookings ...Between 2000 and 2012, the number of jobs within the typical commute distance for residents in a major metro area fell by 7 percent...
America Needs Labor Unions (opinion) Huffington Post ...The reality is that unions are the greatest tool at most workers' disposal for rebuilding the middle class. Advocating for the elimination of this tool is the epitome of cutting off your nose to spite your face...
Senate Dems Seek Stronger Oil Train Safety Rules The Hill ...Senate Democrats have proposed a bill to set stronger safety rules for trains carrying oil, including regulating the content of the oil itself. Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) said the most critical problem with the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) ongoing regulatory effort on oil trains is that it does not confront the problem of the volatility of oil from North Dakota’s Bakken region...
Labor Board Still Grappling With Supreme Court Defeat The Hill ... In a case known as NLRB v. Noel Canning, the high court last June overturned a set of President Obama’s recess appointments to the labor board, concluding he overstepped in exerting his authority to fill vacancies while the Senate was technically in session. As a result, the board has had to revisit more than 100 labor cases that were decided while the NLRB was unconstitutionally constructed...
Miscellaneous
Inflation, New-Home Sales Firm Up Wall Street Journal ...The consumer-price index—covering everything from Americans’ rent to the cost of their dental care—rose in February for the first time in four months, the Labor Department said Tuesday. Overall prices were up 0.2% from January, though they were flat from a year ago. The move suggested inflation pressures are slowly building back up after succumbing to a six-month slide in oil prices...
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Why the geopolitical argument for the TPP is really stupid
President Obama can't argue the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) would create jobs (no one believes him), so he's arguing the deal would improve the U.S. geopolitical position with China.
People aren't buying that, either.
Don Lee reported earlier this month in the Los Angeles Times,
Some trump card.
Most people grasp that weakening the U.S. manufacturing base by sending more U.S. jobs overseas (which is what happens with these trade deals) will not make the United States stronger. Especially when we're letting China equip our military and build crucial components.
Alan Beattie, writing in the Financial Times, makes another important point: trade deals don't have much strategic impact:
Bam.
People aren't buying that, either.
Don Lee reported earlier this month in the Los Angeles Times,
In recent weeks, one Obama official after another has hammered away at the same line of argument: It’s crucial that Congress supports the TPP — including passing a related trade-promotion bill that would strengthen the president’s negotiating hand — because the alternative is that China, not the U.S., will write the rules of global trade...
Opponents of the TPP say that pulling out the China card at this stage represents an act of desperation in the face of persistent congressional uneasiness about Obama's trade agenda.The article was titled, "China is Obama's trump card in push for Pacific Rim trade pact."
Some trump card.
Most people grasp that weakening the U.S. manufacturing base by sending more U.S. jobs overseas (which is what happens with these trade deals) will not make the United States stronger. Especially when we're letting China equip our military and build crucial components.
Alan Beattie, writing in the Financial Times, makes another important point: trade deals don't have much strategic impact:
...quickly scanning the two main bilateral trade deals the US has signed over the past decade in the region, Australia and South Korea, it is hard to see much strategic impact. In both nations, belief in the US’s economic power and future superpower status have either stagnated or declined over the past decade. Other geopolitical issues, such as America’s ability to serve as a military counterweight to Chinese or North Korean belligerence, are surely far more important.Beattie also notes U.S. trade partners aren't always happy with the deals we make with them.
And rather than blithely assuming that a consenting trade partner is a happy trade partner, the US might also look at whether the content of TPP is conducive to future good relations...
It’s not clear that a country’s affection for the US will increase after being required to rewrite its patent and copyright law every few years on a model dictated by, respectively, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America and the Recording Industry Association of America. The US itself does not offer much liberalisation. It is highly unlikely to substantially dismantle its agricultural subsidy and protection regime to allow Australian and New Zealand farmers abundant access to its dairy market or stop its rice subsidies disadvantaging Vietnamese rice exports in world markets. America’s trading partners are thus on a permanent treadmill of enforced policy change in order to keep their trade access to the US...Meanwhile, he argues, China is doing trade better than we are:
Chinese trade deals tend to ask less liberalisation from (and offer less liberalisation to) their negotiating partners. Instead, Beijing presses on with a highly attractive proposition to regional emerging markets: cheap money from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank...Beattie concludes: "Washington should not delude itself that trade deals which inflict political pain on the US’s negotiating partners will necessarily function as durable and positive elements of a wider diplomatic relationship."
Bam.
#NoFastTrack TwitterStorm for Thursday, March 26, 1-2 pm Eastern
Let's fill the Twittersphere with the next #NoFastTrack Twitterstorm. More and more people are catching on to the threat posed by the TPP. We're seeing more stories in the mainstream media and the phony progressive group, www.pcaj.org, had to find some real people to shill for it!
We’ll hold it at the same time as usual, Thursday from 1-2 pm Eastern. We're using the #NoFastTrack hashtag.
Happy Tweeting!
Sample Tweets
HAPPENING NOW! Join our #NoFastTrack Twitterstorm for the #TPP! Today, March 26 from 1-2 pm Eastern
Whoa! New leaked text of #TPP shows it opens the door for foreign suits against US http://nyti.ms/1HHruhT #NoFastTrack
Florida doesn't buy Citigroup exec's #TPP promises http://www.citizenstrade.org/ctc/blog/2015/03/20/florida-isnt-buying-citigroup-execs-tpp-promises/ … … #NoFastTrack
Multinational front group called the 'US' Chamber of Commerce tells lies http://ibt.io/tpa pic.twitter.com/Z03P96fqyf #TPP #NoFastTrack
If #TPP is so good for American workers, why do @AFLCIO @CWAUnion @Teamsters say #NoFastTrack: http://bit.ly/1CLP0ek pic.twitter.com/YcNomlbbiQ
Please don't betray us, @RonWyden! Don't cave in to GOP! Stand strong and say #NoFastTrack for #TPP! https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=923903510963109
The Coalition to Stop Fast Track has a message for @ronwyden http://www.wweek.com/portland/ #NoFastTrack #TPP
MoveOn: If Senator @RonWyden Supports Fast Track for #TPP, We’ll Back a Challenger in 2016 Primary http://front.moveon.org/oregon-moveon-members-if-sen-wyden-supports-fast-track-for-tpp-well-back-a-progressive-challenger-in-2016-primary/#.VRMFnaatygM.twitter … #NoFastTrack
#TPP isn't about 'free trade.' It's about corporate power, says @thenation: http://bit.ly/1FTyM3m #NoFastTrack pic.twitter.com/hZuxsJabN6
Former Citigroup exec USTR says #TPP will level the playing field. REAL progressive groups know better #NoFastTrack pic.twitter.com/E0thpe1QqH
The long arm of Richard Nixon reaches from beyond the grave for one more power grab pic.twitter.com/i4Iddd96ix #NoFastTrack #TPP
Unions aren’t the only ones who say #NoFastTrack for the #TPP. So do digital rights advocates. https://youtu.be/WDKzwB8GhN0
Unions aren’t the only ones who say #NoFastTrack for the #TPP. So do as many as 60 GOP U.S. House members http://www.wsj.com/articles/house-republican-bloc-poses-a-threat-to-pacific-trade-deal-1426618844 #tcot
Unions aren’t the only ones who say #NoFastTrack for the TPP. So do hundreds of REAL progressive groups https://www.sierraclub.org/sites/www.sierraclub.org/files/uploadswysiwig/Wyden%20Fast%20Track%20Letter%20Final_0.pdf #UniteBlue
Unions aren’t the only ones who say #NoFastTrack for the #TPP. So does the NAACP. http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/foreign-policy/234014-we-need-a-voice-oppose-fast-track-for-the-tpp
The ENTIRE US labor movement is united around #NoFastTrack for the unfair, job-killing #TPP: http://bit.ly/LaborLetter #1u
PROMISE: The SKorea trade deal would create 70K US jobs. REALITY: It COST 84K US jobs http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2015/03/by-3rd-anniversary-trade-deal-with-s.html #NoFastTrack #TPP
We’ll hold it at the same time as usual, Thursday from 1-2 pm Eastern. We're using the #NoFastTrack hashtag.
Happy Tweeting!
Sample Tweets
HAPPENING NOW! Join our #NoFastTrack Twitterstorm for the #TPP! Today, March 26 from 1-2 pm Eastern
Whoa! New leaked text of #TPP shows it opens the door for foreign suits against US http://nyti.ms/1HHruhT #NoFastTrack
Florida doesn't buy Citigroup exec's #TPP promises http://www.citizenstrade.org/ctc/blog/2015/03/20/florida-isnt-buying-citigroup-execs-tpp-promises/ … … #NoFastTrack
Multinational front group called the 'US' Chamber of Commerce tells lies http://ibt.io/tpa pic.twitter.com/Z03P96fqyf #TPP #NoFastTrack
If #TPP is so good for American workers, why do @AFLCIO @CWAUnion @Teamsters say #NoFastTrack: http://bit.ly/1CLP0ek pic.twitter.com/YcNomlbbiQ
Please don't betray us, @RonWyden! Don't cave in to GOP! Stand strong and say #NoFastTrack for #TPP! https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=923903510963109
The Coalition to Stop Fast Track has a message for @ronwyden http://www.wweek.com/portland/ #NoFastTrack #TPP
MoveOn: If Senator @RonWyden Supports Fast Track for #TPP, We’ll Back a Challenger in 2016 Primary http://front.moveon.org/oregon-moveon-members-if-sen-wyden-supports-fast-track-for-tpp-well-back-a-progressive-challenger-in-2016-primary/#.VRMFnaatygM.twitter … #NoFastTrack
#TPP isn't about 'free trade.' It's about corporate power, says @thenation: http://bit.ly/1FTyM3m #NoFastTrack pic.twitter.com/hZuxsJabN6
Former Citigroup exec USTR says #TPP will level the playing field. REAL progressive groups know better #NoFastTrack pic.twitter.com/E0thpe1QqH
The long arm of Richard Nixon reaches from beyond the grave for one more power grab pic.twitter.com/i4Iddd96ix #NoFastTrack #TPP
Unions aren’t the only ones who say #NoFastTrack for the #TPP. So do digital rights advocates. https://youtu.be/WDKzwB8GhN0
Unions aren’t the only ones who say #NoFastTrack for the #TPP. So do as many as 60 GOP U.S. House members http://www.wsj.com/articles/house-republican-bloc-poses-a-threat-to-pacific-trade-deal-1426618844 #tcot
Unions aren’t the only ones who say #NoFastTrack for the TPP. So do hundreds of REAL progressive groups https://www.sierraclub.org/sites/www.sierraclub.org/files/uploadswysiwig/Wyden%20Fast%20Track%20Letter%20Final_0.pdf #UniteBlue
Unions aren’t the only ones who say #NoFastTrack for the #TPP. So does the NAACP. http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/foreign-policy/234014-we-need-a-voice-oppose-fast-track-for-the-tpp
The ENTIRE US labor movement is united around #NoFastTrack for the unfair, job-killing #TPP: http://bit.ly/LaborLetter #1u
PROMISE: The SKorea trade deal would create 70K US jobs. REALITY: It COST 84K US jobs http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2015/03/by-3rd-anniversary-trade-deal-with-s.html #NoFastTrack #TPP
Today's Teamster News 03.25.15
Teamsters
Ownership Fight At Heidelberg Distributing Could Affect Teamster Contracts WCPO ...Union workers are threatening a statewide strike at one of the largest beer and wine distributorships in the Midwest, citing stalled contract negotiations over better wages and health care...
State Education Association Replaces Leader Amid Turmoil Las Vegas Review Journal ...During the March 12 meeting, the Local Government Employee-Management Relations Board discussed holding a runoff election between ESEA and Teamsters Local 14 to decide who will represent district support staff at the bargaining table. That election could prove to be the downfall of ESEA, which has represented school district support staff for more than 40 years...
Labor Federation Re-Elects Top Officers To 3-Year Terms Buffalo News ...Richard Lipsitz Jr. of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters will continue to serve as president of the Western New York Area Labor Federation, AFL-CIO. His new term runs until March 2018; Lipsitz and the three other officers ran unopposed. The federation is an umbrella group that covers unions with about 125,000 dues-paying members, stretching as far east as Batavia and as far south as Jamestown...
ONTC And Union Reach Five-Year Deal North Bay Nugget ...This year the ONTC will be negotiating with the remaining four unions (Unifor, Teamsters-Rail, Teamsters-Motor Coach, and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers System). Eight collective agreements remain to be negotiated...
Union Drops Objection To Sunday Growler Sales KARE ...Ed Reynoso of the Teamsters Joint Council 32 told a Senate committee on Monday that "at this point" the union won't oppose a bill legalizing those growler sales on Sunday. It's a shift from last year when Teamsters' concerns about those sales affecting labor contracts helped derail the proposal...
City Council Candidates Stockpile Endorsements Philadelphia Tribune ...Teamsters Joint Council 53 recently endorsed at–large candidate Isaiah Thomas. “I am proud to have the support from Teamsters Joint Council 53,” Thomas said. “I have received endorsements from many members of the labor community and am excited that the Teamsters Union joins this extensive list. As the candidate who will work for Philadelphia, I understand the importance of strong labor support...
Teamsters Local 25 Will Honor David O. Russell Boston Globe ...Teamsters Local 25 will honor writer-director David O. Russell at its annual Light Up the Night Gala for Autism on Saturday. Russell has worked closely with Local 25 while filming the Massachusetts movies “The Fighter,” “American Hustle,” and “Joy,” which is now in production. He’ll be recognized for his work as an advocate for mental health issues...
Trade
Rep. Sander Levin, 83, may pose greatest obstacle to sweeping Asia trade pact Los Angeles Times ...If the president wants to push the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, through Congress this year, first he must win over Levin and other leading liberals, convincing them to ease their demands and give U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman a freer hand...
U.S. fast-track trade deal unlikely until next month: Senator Hatch Reuters ..."I will do my very best to come up with something between now and when we get back, but if he doesn't do it, that would be very unfortunate, but we are going to have to go ahead," Hatch said...
State Battles
ALEC, NFIB Push Prevailing Wage Repeal Center for Media and Democracy ...As unions and working people battle "right-to-work" legislation in several states, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and allies have opened another flank in their war on good jobs. Targeted this time are state prevailing wage laws, which require public construction projects to support local wage standards instead of undercutting them...
Changes to collective bargaining in Nevada? MyNews4 ...A hot topic is set to go before a committee of lawmakers on Wednesday. It’s a bill that would change collective bargaining involving public employee unions...
Unions Win Round Over Rauner In Fee Lawsuit Chicago Tribune ...Unions sued this month to halt an executive order Rauner issued that stopped the "fair share" fees from being sent to them, asking a St. Clair County judge to free up the money while the legal process plays out. Rauner attempted to have the matter moved to a federal court, but U.S. District Judge Staci Yandle ruled that the suit deals with questions regarding Illinois law and should be debated in state court...
Colorado Lawmakers Begin Debate For A $12.50 Minimum Wage By 2020 Denver Post ...A Colorado House committee passed two bills Monday to potentially raise the minimum wage. The first would allow urban and resort communities to raise the local minimum wages, and the other would let voters in 2016 decide on a plan that could hike the state minimum wage to $12.50 an hour by 2020. Both passed on a 6-5 party-line vote with Democrats in support...
Supreme Court Lets Wisconsin’s Voter-ID Law Stand Washington Post ...The justices’ decision not to review a federal appeals court ruling that upheld the law was a victory for Gov. Scott Walker (R), who supported and signed the law, and perhaps for other states that have tightened voting procedures to require additional identification. More challenges to specific state laws are in the pipeline...
War on Workers
AP Investigation: Slavery taints global supply of seafood Associated Press ...Here, in the Indonesian island village of Benjina and the surrounding waters, hundreds of trapped men represent one of the most desperate links criss-crossing between companies and countries in the seafood industry. This intricate web of connections separates the fish we eat from the men who catch it, and obscures a brutal truth: Your seafood may come from slaves...
Scientists to Smithsonian: Cut ties with Koch brothers Washington Post ...Three dozen scientists sent an open letter to museums of natural history calling on them to cut ties with the Koch brothers and anyone else with connections to the fossil fuel industry...
Power from the People International Monetary Fund ...The decline in unionization in recent decades has fed the rise in incomes at the top...
Miscellaneous
RadioShack's Bankruptcy Could Give Your Customer Data to the Highest Bidder Bloomberg ...The phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and shopping habits of more than 100 million customers are part of RadioShack's bankruptcy auction...
Ownership Fight At Heidelberg Distributing Could Affect Teamster Contracts WCPO ...Union workers are threatening a statewide strike at one of the largest beer and wine distributorships in the Midwest, citing stalled contract negotiations over better wages and health care...
State Education Association Replaces Leader Amid Turmoil Las Vegas Review Journal ...During the March 12 meeting, the Local Government Employee-Management Relations Board discussed holding a runoff election between ESEA and Teamsters Local 14 to decide who will represent district support staff at the bargaining table. That election could prove to be the downfall of ESEA, which has represented school district support staff for more than 40 years...
Labor Federation Re-Elects Top Officers To 3-Year Terms Buffalo News ...Richard Lipsitz Jr. of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters will continue to serve as president of the Western New York Area Labor Federation, AFL-CIO. His new term runs until March 2018; Lipsitz and the three other officers ran unopposed. The federation is an umbrella group that covers unions with about 125,000 dues-paying members, stretching as far east as Batavia and as far south as Jamestown...
ONTC And Union Reach Five-Year Deal North Bay Nugget ...This year the ONTC will be negotiating with the remaining four unions (Unifor, Teamsters-Rail, Teamsters-Motor Coach, and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers System). Eight collective agreements remain to be negotiated...
Union Drops Objection To Sunday Growler Sales KARE ...Ed Reynoso of the Teamsters Joint Council 32 told a Senate committee on Monday that "at this point" the union won't oppose a bill legalizing those growler sales on Sunday. It's a shift from last year when Teamsters' concerns about those sales affecting labor contracts helped derail the proposal...
City Council Candidates Stockpile Endorsements Philadelphia Tribune ...Teamsters Joint Council 53 recently endorsed at–large candidate Isaiah Thomas. “I am proud to have the support from Teamsters Joint Council 53,” Thomas said. “I have received endorsements from many members of the labor community and am excited that the Teamsters Union joins this extensive list. As the candidate who will work for Philadelphia, I understand the importance of strong labor support...
Teamsters Local 25 Will Honor David O. Russell Boston Globe ...Teamsters Local 25 will honor writer-director David O. Russell at its annual Light Up the Night Gala for Autism on Saturday. Russell has worked closely with Local 25 while filming the Massachusetts movies “The Fighter,” “American Hustle,” and “Joy,” which is now in production. He’ll be recognized for his work as an advocate for mental health issues...
Trade
Rep. Sander Levin, 83, may pose greatest obstacle to sweeping Asia trade pact Los Angeles Times ...If the president wants to push the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, through Congress this year, first he must win over Levin and other leading liberals, convincing them to ease their demands and give U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman a freer hand...
U.S. fast-track trade deal unlikely until next month: Senator Hatch Reuters ..."I will do my very best to come up with something between now and when we get back, but if he doesn't do it, that would be very unfortunate, but we are going to have to go ahead," Hatch said...
State Battles
ALEC, NFIB Push Prevailing Wage Repeal Center for Media and Democracy ...As unions and working people battle "right-to-work" legislation in several states, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and allies have opened another flank in their war on good jobs. Targeted this time are state prevailing wage laws, which require public construction projects to support local wage standards instead of undercutting them...
Changes to collective bargaining in Nevada? MyNews4 ...A hot topic is set to go before a committee of lawmakers on Wednesday. It’s a bill that would change collective bargaining involving public employee unions...
Unions Win Round Over Rauner In Fee Lawsuit Chicago Tribune ...Unions sued this month to halt an executive order Rauner issued that stopped the "fair share" fees from being sent to them, asking a St. Clair County judge to free up the money while the legal process plays out. Rauner attempted to have the matter moved to a federal court, but U.S. District Judge Staci Yandle ruled that the suit deals with questions regarding Illinois law and should be debated in state court...
Colorado Lawmakers Begin Debate For A $12.50 Minimum Wage By 2020 Denver Post ...A Colorado House committee passed two bills Monday to potentially raise the minimum wage. The first would allow urban and resort communities to raise the local minimum wages, and the other would let voters in 2016 decide on a plan that could hike the state minimum wage to $12.50 an hour by 2020. Both passed on a 6-5 party-line vote with Democrats in support...
Supreme Court Lets Wisconsin’s Voter-ID Law Stand Washington Post ...The justices’ decision not to review a federal appeals court ruling that upheld the law was a victory for Gov. Scott Walker (R), who supported and signed the law, and perhaps for other states that have tightened voting procedures to require additional identification. More challenges to specific state laws are in the pipeline...
War on Workers
AP Investigation: Slavery taints global supply of seafood Associated Press ...Here, in the Indonesian island village of Benjina and the surrounding waters, hundreds of trapped men represent one of the most desperate links criss-crossing between companies and countries in the seafood industry. This intricate web of connections separates the fish we eat from the men who catch it, and obscures a brutal truth: Your seafood may come from slaves...
Scientists to Smithsonian: Cut ties with Koch brothers Washington Post ...Three dozen scientists sent an open letter to museums of natural history calling on them to cut ties with the Koch brothers and anyone else with connections to the fossil fuel industry...
Power from the People International Monetary Fund ...The decline in unionization in recent decades has fed the rise in incomes at the top...
Miscellaneous
RadioShack's Bankruptcy Could Give Your Customer Data to the Highest Bidder Bloomberg ...The phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and shopping habits of more than 100 million customers are part of RadioShack's bankruptcy auction...
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
BP flees, but ALEC still wreaks havoc on workers
Just when ALEC was starting to succeed in killing states' renewable energy standards, one of its biggest fossil-fuels members decided to stop paying membership dues. On Monday, oil-and-gas giant BP announced it was parting company with ALEC.
ALEC, if you haven't been paying attention, is a corporate escort service that finds willing politicians to, ahem, 'influence' on behalf of polluters, union-busters, privatizers, monopolists and purveyors of dangerous products. For companies that pretend to care about the environment, workers or consumers, exposure as an ALEC member can be pretty embarrassing.
A campaign to expose ALEC's members, of which the Teamsters has long been part, helped force more than 100 organizations to quit. The total market capitalization of the companies that left ALEC in recent years is more than $7.25 trillion.
One company isn't likely to leave ALEC any time soon: Koch Industries, the company the Koch brothers inherited from their father. The Kochs have bankrolled ALEC over the years to weaken unions, lower wages and discourage clean energy. Their motives are purely mercenary and not 'conservative.' Koch Industries, which employs unionized workers and refines and distributes non-renewable energy sources, wants to lower costs and expand its markets.
ALEC had little success fighting state programs to encourage renewable energy -- until recently. In 2013, ALEC's flunkies in state legislatures filed 37 bills to discourage state renewable energy standards. ALEC failed in all 37, and four states even increased their standards.
That changed last year, when ALEC managed to freeze Ohio's renewable energy standard. This year, ALEC actually prevailed upon West Virginia lawmakers to repeal that state's standard for clean energy.
Perhaps BP's departure will end ALEC's string of successes against renewable energy standards. It probably won't have much impact on ALEC's anti-worker, anti-regulatory agenda.
Prevailing wage laws are in ALEC's sights this year. As the legislative sessions reach an end, ALEC has successfully weakened prevailing wage laws in Nevada and West Virginia. Bills to repeal prevailing wage laws are moving through legislatures in Michigan, Missouri, Indiana and Wisconsin. As our friends at the Center for Media and Democracy note,
Prevailing wage repeal, according to Marquette University Law Professor Paul Secunda, "is just another way in the building industry to get cheap labor."...
Studies have consistently found that prevailing wage laws do not increase government contracting costs, and repeal of prevailing wage laws does not save taxpayer money, primarily because higher-wage construction workers are much more productive.The worst thing ALEC did this year was to ram a right-to-work bill through Wisconsin's Legislature. ALEC didn't just provide goodies (like free vacations and access to campaign cash) to GOP lawmakers who fought for it. ALEC actually wrote the right-to-work bill and paid for lobbyists to testify for it.
As one a sign held by one Wisconsin protester read,
Unless your name is ALEC, you no longer have a voice in this state.
Today's Teamster News 03.24.15
Teamsters
BMWED/Teamsters: Improving Track Safety Is Key To Oil Train Safety teamster.org ...“The key to reducing the frequency of oil train derailments plaguing North America is improved track maintenance,” says Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division President Freddie N. Simpson...
Teamsters, Rhode Island Hospital Forge Tentative Agreement NPR ...The Teamsters Union Local 251 and Rhode Island Hospital management have reached a tentative agreement on a four-year contract that the union says will bring $19 million in improved wages and benefits to workers at the Lifespan hospital network...
Sysco, US Foods To Reveal FTC Informants The Packer ...Defense attorneys representing Sysco Corp. and US Foods Inc. plan to reveal the names and employers of 92 people who provided information to the Federal Trade Commission for its anti-trust investigation into the foodservice suppliers’ merger...
Teamsters And Technology: Developing Labor Issues For Technology Industry Employers National Law Review ...Unions have been using this discontent to increase their influence in the TMT industry. Facebook’s shuttle bus drivers voted to unionize this past November and ratified a first contract on February 21 of this year. On February 27th shuttle bus drivers employed by a contractor that provides shuttle services for Apple, eBay, Yahoo, and Zynga employees voted to be represented by the Teamsters...
Trade
TPP Facing Stiff Opposition In Congress (opinion) Denver Post ...Keen to reach a trade deal with 11 other countries along the Pacific Rim, the Obama administration is actively engaged in intense negotiations. But the proposed deal, the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal (TPP) — the largest such accord since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) — is facing stiff opposition in Congress, primarily from Democrats...
State Battles
Labor groups fear `union Armageddon' in Nevada Legislature Associated Press ...Despite union protests, a bevy of bills to weaken collective bargaining and restructure public employee pensions remain on the legislative agenda, including one scheduled for a hearing Wednesday that labor groups call the "Union Armageddon Bill."...
Oil Giant BP Drops Membership With ALEC National Journal ... Major oil-and-gas corporation BP announced Monday it is parting ways with the American Legislative Exchange Council, marking just the latest—and likely most significant—departure of a blue-chip company from the conservative group in recent months, National Journal has learned. Major oil-and-gas corporation BP announced Monday it is parting ways with the American Legislative Exchange Council, marking just the latest—and likely most significant—departure of a blue-chip company from the conservative group in recent months, National Journal has learned...
Minimum Wage Increase Killing Seattle Restaurants? Anatomy Of A Lie From Inside The Bubble Forbes ...Never mind that not so much as one of the restaurant closings discussed in the original piece referenced the coming rise in minimum wage as a reason for their decision to shutter their business. And never mind that the owner of one of the four eateries discussed is currently opening two new restaurants in Seattle. It was a headline that opponents of the citywide minimum wage increase could not resist—and the facts could not be allowed to stand in the way...
'It's a disgrace': civil liberties groups in frantic bid to stop Wisconsin voter ID law Guardian ...Civil liberties campaigners filed an emergency motion on Monday to stop Wisconsin’s “disenfranchising” new voter identification requirements from going into effect, setting up an instant showdown after the US supreme court turned away an appeal to throw out Wisconsin’s controversial law that forces people already registered to vote to show photo ID...
New St. Louis County Health Chief Promises To Study Bridgeton Landfill Effects St. Louis Post Dispatch ...St. Louis County’s new health director made it clear that his department would be more involved in the issues stemming from the smoldering landfill here, promising first a new survey of residents’ health conditions...
War on Workers
If We Don't Overturn Citizens United, the Congress Will Become Paid Employees Of The Billionaire Class (opinion) Huffington Post ...Who are those members of Congress elected with the help of billionaires going to be representing? Do you think they're going to be representing the middle class and working families? The answers seem clear to me. Unless the campaign financing system is reformed, the U.S. Congress will become paid employees of the people who pay for their campaigns -- the billionaire class. Needless to say, not everyone on the Committee agreed. It was an interesting and informative debate. Not one Republican supported the amendment and it lost by a 12-10 vote...
Miscellaneous
Congress Won’t Tackle NSA Reform Before Cybersecurity National Journal ...Congress likely needs to pass cybersecurity legislation before it can pave the way to addressing the National Security Agency bulk collection of American phone records, despite the looming June expiration of a key surveillance authority, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee says...
BMWED/Teamsters: Improving Track Safety Is Key To Oil Train Safety teamster.org ...“The key to reducing the frequency of oil train derailments plaguing North America is improved track maintenance,” says Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division President Freddie N. Simpson...
Teamsters, Rhode Island Hospital Forge Tentative Agreement NPR ...The Teamsters Union Local 251 and Rhode Island Hospital management have reached a tentative agreement on a four-year contract that the union says will bring $19 million in improved wages and benefits to workers at the Lifespan hospital network...
Sysco, US Foods To Reveal FTC Informants The Packer ...Defense attorneys representing Sysco Corp. and US Foods Inc. plan to reveal the names and employers of 92 people who provided information to the Federal Trade Commission for its anti-trust investigation into the foodservice suppliers’ merger...
Teamsters And Technology: Developing Labor Issues For Technology Industry Employers National Law Review ...Unions have been using this discontent to increase their influence in the TMT industry. Facebook’s shuttle bus drivers voted to unionize this past November and ratified a first contract on February 21 of this year. On February 27th shuttle bus drivers employed by a contractor that provides shuttle services for Apple, eBay, Yahoo, and Zynga employees voted to be represented by the Teamsters...
Trade
TPP Facing Stiff Opposition In Congress (opinion) Denver Post ...Keen to reach a trade deal with 11 other countries along the Pacific Rim, the Obama administration is actively engaged in intense negotiations. But the proposed deal, the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal (TPP) — the largest such accord since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) — is facing stiff opposition in Congress, primarily from Democrats...
State Battles
Labor groups fear `union Armageddon' in Nevada Legislature Associated Press ...Despite union protests, a bevy of bills to weaken collective bargaining and restructure public employee pensions remain on the legislative agenda, including one scheduled for a hearing Wednesday that labor groups call the "Union Armageddon Bill."...
Oil Giant BP Drops Membership With ALEC National Journal ... Major oil-and-gas corporation BP announced Monday it is parting ways with the American Legislative Exchange Council, marking just the latest—and likely most significant—departure of a blue-chip company from the conservative group in recent months, National Journal has learned. Major oil-and-gas corporation BP announced Monday it is parting ways with the American Legislative Exchange Council, marking just the latest—and likely most significant—departure of a blue-chip company from the conservative group in recent months, National Journal has learned...
Minimum Wage Increase Killing Seattle Restaurants? Anatomy Of A Lie From Inside The Bubble Forbes ...Never mind that not so much as one of the restaurant closings discussed in the original piece referenced the coming rise in minimum wage as a reason for their decision to shutter their business. And never mind that the owner of one of the four eateries discussed is currently opening two new restaurants in Seattle. It was a headline that opponents of the citywide minimum wage increase could not resist—and the facts could not be allowed to stand in the way...
'It's a disgrace': civil liberties groups in frantic bid to stop Wisconsin voter ID law Guardian ...Civil liberties campaigners filed an emergency motion on Monday to stop Wisconsin’s “disenfranchising” new voter identification requirements from going into effect, setting up an instant showdown after the US supreme court turned away an appeal to throw out Wisconsin’s controversial law that forces people already registered to vote to show photo ID...
New St. Louis County Health Chief Promises To Study Bridgeton Landfill Effects St. Louis Post Dispatch ...St. Louis County’s new health director made it clear that his department would be more involved in the issues stemming from the smoldering landfill here, promising first a new survey of residents’ health conditions...
War on Workers
If We Don't Overturn Citizens United, the Congress Will Become Paid Employees Of The Billionaire Class (opinion) Huffington Post ...Who are those members of Congress elected with the help of billionaires going to be representing? Do you think they're going to be representing the middle class and working families? The answers seem clear to me. Unless the campaign financing system is reformed, the U.S. Congress will become paid employees of the people who pay for their campaigns -- the billionaire class. Needless to say, not everyone on the Committee agreed. It was an interesting and informative debate. Not one Republican supported the amendment and it lost by a 12-10 vote...
Miscellaneous
Congress Won’t Tackle NSA Reform Before Cybersecurity National Journal ...Congress likely needs to pass cybersecurity legislation before it can pave the way to addressing the National Security Agency bulk collection of American phone records, despite the looming June expiration of a key surveillance authority, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee says...