Teamsters
Leaders of Carhaul Local Unions Approve Contract Proposals Teamster.org ...Leaders of local unions that represent Carhaul Teamsters overwhelmingly approved contract proposals today in Detroit that will be presented to the employer group on Thursday, June 4 as both sides prepare to negotiate a new National Master Automobile Transporters Agreement (NMATA). “Thanks to our members who filled out surveys and our local unions that sent in proposals, we were able to come up with a package of contract proposals that local unions approved today,” said Kevin Moore, Director of the Teamsters Carhaul Division...
EVSC and Teamsters clash on two points during collective bargaining Courier & Press ...Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp. officials called an impromptu news conference late Wednesday afternoon to disclose two key concerns they have in current collective bargaining negotiations with Teamsters Local 215 representatives. EVSC School Board Negotiator Susan Traynor Chastain spoke on behalf of the board to discuss contract negotiations with the five EVSC employee groups represented by the Teamsters — bus drivers, secretaries, custodians, special education assistants and bus aides...
Global Labor & Trade
Progressives Mount Final Push Against Bill That 'Threatens Everything You Care About' Common Dreams ...With President Barack Obama "in overdrive" pushing his trade agenda and the House expected to take up so-called Fast Track authority "any day now," progressives are flooding Capitol Hill on Wednesday with phone calls and petitions expressing their opposition to corporate-friendly trade deals...
Barack Obama: China might join trade deal — eventually Politico ...China could eventually join the trade pact currently under negotiation with 12 Pacific Rim nations, President Barack Obama said Wednesday. A central part of Obama’s pitch for the trade deal known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership has been that it would prevent China from making the rules in the region...
In ‘Fast-Track’ Pitch, Obama Ready to Fight Unions in Democratic Primaries Roll Call ...President Barack Obama will protect pro-trade Democrats in party primaries against unions and others opposed to his “fast-track” trade agenda, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Wednesday. Earnest said the president is vowing to work hard to get Democrats on board, and that includes a vow to have their back politically...
Mayors leading Obama's charge on trade Politico ...President Barack Obama will have to hope America’s mayors are a little more convincing than he’s been. Faced with House Democrats who aren’t buying the administration’s efforts to draw a connection between global trade and local job growth, big-city mayors — most of them Democrats — are stepping up...
Trade deficit drops sharply to $40.9B in April USA Today ...The U.S. trade deficit declined sharply in April as exports posted a modest gain and imports fell, raising hopes that trade will not be as big a drag on economic growth in the current quarter. The April deficit dropped 19.2 percent to $40.9 billion...
WikiLeaks Strikes Again: Leaked TISA Docs Expose Corporate Plan For Reshaping Global Economy Common Dreams ...An enormous corporate-friendly treaty that many people haven't heard of was thrust into the public limelight Wednesday when famed publisher of government and corporate secrets, WikiLeaks, released 17 documents from closed-door negotiations between countries that together comprise two-thirds of the word's economy. Analysts warn that preliminary review shows that the pact, known as the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA), is aimed at further privatizing and deregulating vital services...
The TPP Gang That Can’t Shoot Straight (opinion) Other Words ...As Congress gets ready to vote on whether to “fast-track” the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), its proponents are making weaker and more far-fetched arguments for the deal. And they keep getting their facts wrong and their logic twisted. This hit parade of failed arguments should convince any fence sitters that this is a bad deal...
Zimbabwe Economy in Crisis, Few Jobs, Workers Unpaid Solidarity Center ...Zimbabwe’s economy is in deep decline, making it harder for average Zimbabweans to work and live, and leaving them less and less confident in their future, according to Solidarity Center Regional Program Director for Africa Imani Countess, in testimony yesterday on Capitol Hill. “Most workers earn salaries far below the poverty level, and many workers—even in the formal sector—go for months without receiving their wages,” Countess said...
Greek unemployment rate stable at 25.6% MarketWatch ...About 1.2 million Greeks remain without a job, with the inactive population--those who aren't in employment or searching for a job, often because they have become discouraged--amounting to 3.4 million. Austerity measures imposed by creditors have allowed Greece to achieve a surplus in the primary budget, which excludes interest payments, but Athens underscores how much of a toll it has taken on economic growth and employment...
State & Living Wage Battles
Nixon expected to veto Missouri right-to-work measure KSPR ...Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon on Thursday is set to take action on the bill alongside United AutoWorkers members near Ford's Kansas City Assembly Plant. The measure would prohibit workplace contracts that require union fees to be collected from nonmembers. Nixon has criticized the bill, which he says could lead to lower wages. Other opponents have said it could undermine unions...
Proposed initiative petition would up state’s minimum wage Rolla Daily News ...Three initiative petitions to increase Missouri's minimum wage have been approved for circulation. Secretary of State Jason Kander on Tuesday announced supporters of all three now can begin collecting signatures. The petitions need to be signed by at least 5 percent of legal voters in six of the state's eight congressional districts to make it onto a ballot...
Public sounds off to election board over voter ID law WNCN ...The State Board of Elections is giving the public a chance to raise concerns about North Carolina's voter ID law. Officials held the first of nine public hearings Wednesday night to get input from residents. The public hearings are being used to see how residents would like to see this law implemented...
Illinois House to vote on changes to workers’ compensation KTRS ...Democratic Speaker Michael Madigan says the Illinois House will consider changes to the state’s workers’ compensation insurance system when it reconvenes Thursday. Madigan put out a release Wednesday noting overhauling workers’ compensation is one of Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner’s top priorities...
In Houston, Clinton to Target Texas' Voter ID Law Texas Tribune ...Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will use a speech Thursday in Houston to call for expanded early voting across the country and criticize states like Texas for tightening election laws, according to her presidential campaign. Speaking at historically black Texas Southern University, the Democratic front-runner will propose a national requirement of at least 20 days of in-person early voting...
Walmart's latest raises show just how low its pay is Daily Kos ...You know you're a low-wage employer when you're bragging about raising base pay levels to $15 an hour ... for your managers. And not even all of them: Wal-Mart told The Associated Press late Monday that department managers of complex and service-oriented jobs in areas like produce, electronics and auto care, will start at $13 per hour...
Attempts To Limit Voting Rights Stunted As Efforts To Enhance Voting Access Prevail Huff Post ...A number of state legislatures are adjourning, and supporters of expanded access to the ballot box may be sighing in relief as they see some of the major efforts to restrict voting access were stymied during this legislative session. As the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University highlighted Wednesday, "For the third year in a row, bills to expand voters’ access to the ballot box outpace those to restrict voting, both in terms of introduction and enactment"...
Los Angeles City Council approves landmark minimum wage increase LA Times ...andmark ordinance boosting the minimum wage in Los Angeles won approval Wednesday from the City Council despite a variety of unresolved issues about how the law would work. The law, which would raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2020, affects hundreds of thousands of workers and makes Los Angeles the largest city in the country to mandate higher pay for workers at the bottom of the income ladder...
U.S. Labor
SEIU, County close the gap in latest labor deal Sun Gazette ...Tulare County Services Employees International Union (SEIU) are looking forward to a padded pocketbook in their new deal with the County pending ratification and acceptance. In previous years SEIU has attempted to gain back some of its pay held by the County as they struggled through the Great Recession. As recent as last year SEIU Chapter 251 fought for a 9% raise that they were not able to garner. However, now there appears to be a deal that satisfies both parties...
Northwestern University still awaiting ruling from National Labor Relations Board Chicago Business Journal ...A full 10 months after legal teams from Northwestern University and the College Athletes Players Association (CAPA) submitted their final filings to the full National Labor Relations Board in Washington, D.C., there's still no indication when the NLRB will issue a final ruling on whether Northwestern University's football team can unionize under the CAPA banner...
Talk of Philly newspaper strike, unionizing move at Gawker, big window onto media labor relations Poynter ...Union members in Philadelphia will vote Wednesday evening on whether to give leaders the right to call a walkout and potentially trigger an American labor relations rarity: a big city newspaper strike. And, by total coincidence, what could prove a notable if unrelated labor relations happening is playing out in New York: an attempt to unionize workers at Gawker Media...
Streetcar pact signed by SORTA, transit union Business Courier ...The union that represents Cincinnati transit workers has signed a deal with the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority, clearing the way for its members to operate Cincinnati’s streetcar – if the City Council chooses to go that route...
US Unemployment Aid Applications Drop to 276,000 AP ...Fewer Americans sought unemployment benefits last week, a sign that job cuts remain low as employers are confident enough in the business outlook to hold onto their staffs. The Labor Department says applications for unemployment aid dropped 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 276,000. The four-week average, a less volatile figure, ticked up 2,750 to 274,750...
Miscellaneous
All This Economic Inequality Sucks, Say Most Americans Common Dreams ...The new poll, conducted jointly by the New York Times and CBS News, found that a "strong majority"—more than six out of 10 people across party lines—think the nation's "wealth should be more evenly divided" among its people and only slightly less (with Republican support falling off) think government policies should drive the effort to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor...
New US trucking technology mandate to contribute to higher rates JOC ...The U.S. federal government on Wednesday mandated that heavy trucks be equipped with electronic stability controls by Aug. 1, 2017, the latest in a series of actions taken by the federal government to improve safety that will ultimately contribute to higher truck rates. Once implemented, the National Highway Transit Safety Association said the controls could prevent 1,700 crashes annually...
After Ruling That McDonald’s Can’t Pay Workers In Bank Cards, The Bank Pays Up Think Progress ...Paying employees through prepaid debit cards that incur fees when workers try to withdraw their cash is illegal in Pennsylvania, a judge ruled Tuesday. The lawsuit targeting a McDonald’s franchisee in the eastern-central part of the state has already prompted a powerful Wall Street bank to voluntarily give money back...
