Eco Flow Port Drivers Vote To Join Teamsters Teamsters.org ...Late on July 8, 2015, port truck drivers from Eco Flow Transportation, LLC, voted unanimously and selected Teamsters Local 848 as their exclusive bargaining agent in an election conducted by Region 21 of the National Labor Relations Board. Pursuant to an agreement with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Eco Flow agreed to remain neutral with respect to the drivers’ efforts to form a union...
Teamsters Local 340 Members Protest At City Council Teamster.org ...Local 340 members were out in force last night at the Biddeford, Maine, city council meeting to demand action on new contracts. The city leaders have stalled negotiating on new contracts which cover 60 police officers and 50 public works employees which the local union has tried to negotiate for the past six months.
“The city is not negotiating in good faith…we have tried to meet them half way,” said Ray Cote, business agent with Local 340...
Danafilms workers vote to join Teamsters Telegram ...Production employees of RKW Danafilms Inc. have voted to organize under Teamsters Local 170, the union reported this week. Workers at the plastic film manufacturer voted in April, but their ballots were impounded while the Teamsters pursued unfair labor practice charges against the company. The Teamsters reported that when ballots were finally counted June 29, the final vote was 23-13 to unionize...
Marker honoring fallen Minneapolis Teamsters to be dedicated July 18 Union Advocate ...After a lengthy fundraising campaign, the Remember 1934 Committee will unveil a permanent plaque July 18 in the Warehouse District of downtown Minneapolis commemorating the historic Teamsters strikes that echoed across the U.S. – and made Minneapolis a union town...
Teamsters go on strike at Cranesville Block Company Daily Gazette ...Cement truck drivers at the Cranesville Block Co. plant in Glenville and Albany went on strike Wednesday. Among their demands are a reduction in what they pay toward company-provided health care and changes to the company’s pension program...
Global Labor & Trade
European Parliament backs key TTIP compromise Politico ...After months of fighting, the European Parliament voted to back a compromise on the most controversial piece in Europe’s evolving free trade pact with the U.S., while also giving its blessing to the future of the talks. The Parliament on Wednesday voted, 447-229, to green-light a proposal to revamp a disputed investor court...
Trans-Pacific Partnership’s Potential Impact Weighed in Asia and U.S. New York Times ...Banks from rich countries like the United States and Japan would have the right to be treated more like local banks in less affluent countries, including Peru, Malaysia and Vietnam. Japan would be required to let in more American farm goods. Makers of pharmaceuticals would have an extra tool to protect their patents abroad, limiting competition from less expensive generic drugs. Auto parts would move more smoothly around the Pacific, with fewer taxes...
Japan, U.S. resume talks ahead of TPP ministerial session in late July The Mainici ...Japan and the United States resumed bilateral talks for a Pacific free trade agreement Thursday ahead of a crucial ministerial meeting of all 12 negotiating countries in late July at which they will seek to reach a broad agreement. The working-level talks "will be the last negotiations before the ministerial meeting"...
Menendez worried Obama will upgrade Malaysia in trafficking report The Hill ...Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) expressed concern Wednesday night that Malaysia may get an upgrade from the Obama administration in its human-trafficking status in order to remove a potential hurdle to completing negotiations on a vast Pacific Rim trade agreement. The State Department is expected to bump up Malaysia to tier 2 from the lowest level in its Trafficking in Persons report that is expected to be released next week...
U.S. upgrades Malaysia in annual human trafficking report Daily Mail ...The United States is upgrading Malaysia from the lowest tier on its list of worst human trafficking centers, U.S. sources said on Wednesday, a move that could smooth the way for an ambitious U.S.-led free-trade deal with the Southeast Asian nation and 11 other countries. The upgrade to so-called "Tier 2 Watch List" status removes a potential barrier to President Barack Obama's signature global trade deal...
Greece PM Tsipras tells EU parliament: Greece has been failed austerity lab experiment Reuters ...Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras pleaded in the European Parliament on Wednesday for a fair deal to keep his country in the euro zone, acknowledging Greece's own responsibility for its plight, after EU leaders gave him five days to come up with reforms. With its banks closed, cash withdrawals rationed and the economy in freefall, Greece has never been closer to a total state bankruptcy...
London commuters battle to get home as tube strike begins The Guardian ...London commuters were starting to battle major transport problems as the most widespread tube strike in decades started on Wednesday evening. The strike action by four unions representing almost 20,000 staff, including train drivers, is the result of a continuing dispute over pay and rosters for the all-night tube services planned to start at weekends in September...
Labour Ministry intervenes to stop maritime workers strike News24 Nigeria ...The Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity, has formally intervened in the strike threat by Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) against the Nigeria Ports Authority over the demand for non-payment of wage arrears to tally clerks and on-board security gangway men. Samuel Olowookere, Deputy Director of Press in the ministry, the intervention is in line with section 4 and 5 of Trade Dispute Act...
State & Living Wage Battles
Labor Battles Heat Up In State Legislatures Huffington Post ...The battles this year over the legislation — perceived as free-market initiatives by proponents and anti-union by foes — reflect the tremendous power that Republicans have gained in state capitols following November’s elections and the declining political clout of organized labor in many states...
What Is Scott Walker Trying to Hide? The Nation ...The governor—who former White House counsel John Dean refers to as “more Nixonian than Nixon”—has never been much for transparency. But a botched attempt by his legislative allies to gut the state’s open-records law has blown up on Walker in a big way...
Prevailing Wage Law fight heats up WLNS ...It is a law that has been around for 50 years and the fight to change it is picking up steam. Opponents have raised $1 million to their petition drive; the Prevailing Wage Law. Currently the law reads state funded construction projects must pay workers wage scales that are similar to local union groups...
Wisconsin lawmakers pass state budget, partial repeal of prevailing wage law Business Insider ...Wisconsin lawmakers approved early on Thursday a $73 billion state budget that partly repeals the state's prevailing wage law, one of several contentious measures that delayed the two-year spending plan for five weeks. The state Assembly voted 52-46 on the measure, a day after the state Senate approved the spending package...
MO Sec. of State approves voter ID amendment KHQA ...The Missouri Secretary of State approved for circulation the photo voter ID constitutional amendment on Tuesday. The amendment was filed by Jay Ashcroft on May 21, 2015. Ashcroft issued the following statement following the announcement: "Requiring a photo ID to vote is a common sense way to protect our elections from fraud"...
About 2,000 expected for voter ID protest on Monday Winston-Salem Journal ...Winston-Salem police officers have been assigned to protect the nearly 2,000 participants expected for the N.C. NAACP’s downtown march and rally Monday, authorities said Wednesday. Monday is scheduled to be the first day of a trial in U.S. District Court in Winston-Salem on the constitutionality of the state’s voter ID law...
Japan, U.S. resume talks ahead of TPP ministerial session in late July The Mainici ...Japan and the United States resumed bilateral talks for a Pacific free trade agreement Thursday ahead of a crucial ministerial meeting of all 12 negotiating countries in late July at which they will seek to reach a broad agreement. The working-level talks "will be the last negotiations before the ministerial meeting"...
Menendez worried Obama will upgrade Malaysia in trafficking report The Hill ...Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) expressed concern Wednesday night that Malaysia may get an upgrade from the Obama administration in its human-trafficking status in order to remove a potential hurdle to completing negotiations on a vast Pacific Rim trade agreement. The State Department is expected to bump up Malaysia to tier 2 from the lowest level in its Trafficking in Persons report that is expected to be released next week...
U.S. upgrades Malaysia in annual human trafficking report Daily Mail ...The United States is upgrading Malaysia from the lowest tier on its list of worst human trafficking centers, U.S. sources said on Wednesday, a move that could smooth the way for an ambitious U.S.-led free-trade deal with the Southeast Asian nation and 11 other countries. The upgrade to so-called "Tier 2 Watch List" status removes a potential barrier to President Barack Obama's signature global trade deal...
Greece PM Tsipras tells EU parliament: Greece has been failed austerity lab experiment Reuters ...Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras pleaded in the European Parliament on Wednesday for a fair deal to keep his country in the euro zone, acknowledging Greece's own responsibility for its plight, after EU leaders gave him five days to come up with reforms. With its banks closed, cash withdrawals rationed and the economy in freefall, Greece has never been closer to a total state bankruptcy...
London commuters battle to get home as tube strike begins The Guardian ...London commuters were starting to battle major transport problems as the most widespread tube strike in decades started on Wednesday evening. The strike action by four unions representing almost 20,000 staff, including train drivers, is the result of a continuing dispute over pay and rosters for the all-night tube services planned to start at weekends in September...
Labour Ministry intervenes to stop maritime workers strike News24 Nigeria ...The Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity, has formally intervened in the strike threat by Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) against the Nigeria Ports Authority over the demand for non-payment of wage arrears to tally clerks and on-board security gangway men. Samuel Olowookere, Deputy Director of Press in the ministry, the intervention is in line with section 4 and 5 of Trade Dispute Act...
State & Living Wage Battles
Labor Battles Heat Up In State Legislatures Huffington Post ...The battles this year over the legislation — perceived as free-market initiatives by proponents and anti-union by foes — reflect the tremendous power that Republicans have gained in state capitols following November’s elections and the declining political clout of organized labor in many states...
What Is Scott Walker Trying to Hide? The Nation ...The governor—who former White House counsel John Dean refers to as “more Nixonian than Nixon”—has never been much for transparency. But a botched attempt by his legislative allies to gut the state’s open-records law has blown up on Walker in a big way...
Prevailing Wage Law fight heats up WLNS ...It is a law that has been around for 50 years and the fight to change it is picking up steam. Opponents have raised $1 million to their petition drive; the Prevailing Wage Law. Currently the law reads state funded construction projects must pay workers wage scales that are similar to local union groups...
Wisconsin lawmakers pass state budget, partial repeal of prevailing wage law Business Insider ...Wisconsin lawmakers approved early on Thursday a $73 billion state budget that partly repeals the state's prevailing wage law, one of several contentious measures that delayed the two-year spending plan for five weeks. The state Assembly voted 52-46 on the measure, a day after the state Senate approved the spending package...
MO Sec. of State approves voter ID amendment KHQA ...The Missouri Secretary of State approved for circulation the photo voter ID constitutional amendment on Tuesday. The amendment was filed by Jay Ashcroft on May 21, 2015. Ashcroft issued the following statement following the announcement: "Requiring a photo ID to vote is a common sense way to protect our elections from fraud"...
About 2,000 expected for voter ID protest on Monday Winston-Salem Journal ...Winston-Salem police officers have been assigned to protect the nearly 2,000 participants expected for the N.C. NAACP’s downtown march and rally Monday, authorities said Wednesday. Monday is scheduled to be the first day of a trial in U.S. District Court in Winston-Salem on the constitutionality of the state’s voter ID law...
The Roots of Puerto Rico’s Debt Crisis—and Why Austerity Will Not Solve It The Nation ...What Puerto Rico has in common with Greece is that it is a peripheral economy that has been invaded by hedge funds and pushed, by speculation and ballooning debt-service payments, to its limits. But since Puerto Rico’s banks are tied to the US Federal Reserve and not its own government, there is no bank panic. What it has in common with Detroit is a history of inefficient administrations...
U.S. Labor
Applications for U.S. unemployment benefits climb to 297,000 Dallas Morning News ...he number of people seeking unemployment benefits rose last week to the highest level since late February. But the increase likely reflected temporary auto plant shutdowns rather than any underlying labor market weakness. The number of people filing applications for unemployment benefits rose by 15,000 to 297,000...
Verizon preps for a strike as labor talks continue RCR Wireless News ...Amid labor negotiations with some 45,000 union employees, Verizon is prepping for a potential work stoppage by training more than 15,000 non-union employees to take over in the event of a strike. Verizon is working on a three-year contract with representatives from the Communication Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers...
The UAW gears up for a labor talks showdown CBS ...The day before hundreds of United Auto Workers delegates gathered to set strategy for contract talks with the Detroit Three, General Motors (GM) sent them a not-so-subtle message. GM announced a $350 million investment in a Mexican factory to build the Chevrolet Cruze compact car, currently built for all of North America at a sprawling plant in Lordstown, Ohio, east of Cleveland...
State reaches tentative deal with AFSCME East Oregonian ...The state has reached a tentative two-year agreement with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the union that represents the second-largest group of state workers. The agreement was reached late Tuesday after a 14-hour bargaining session...
“It’s not a good record”: When it comes to worker safety, Obama is a lot like Bush Salon ...Not only are many of the laws already on the books to protect workers desperately in need of updating, but the government resources devoted to protecting workers are woefully insufficient. The result? Some tens of thousands of human beings, every year, suffer due to health hazards that could be addressed with relative ease...
If You Could Decrease a Workplace’s Injury Rate by 65 Percent, Would You? The Nation ...Registered nurses face more than 50 percent the rate of musculoskeletal injury of the general workforce; nursing assistants more than six times the rate. Registered nurses face more than 50 percent the rate of musculoskeletal injury of the general workforce; nursing assistants more than six times the rate...
Miscellaneous
Report: Immigrants commit fewer crimes than native born Monterey Herald ...t a time when the century-long American debate on whether immigrants commit more crimes than native-born residents is raging again, a new report concludes exactly the opposite. The debate, which has always been present when immigration increases, is being renewed by the killing of a young woman in San Francisco by a Mexican national who entered the country illegally several times...
The NYSE Shutdown Isn’t Just A Glitch, It’s A Glimpse Into Our Chaotic Future Think Progress ...The digital sky is officially falling as the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) suddenly shut down all trading activity Wednesday, raising speculation of a major technical glitch or a malicious cyberattack. The exchange is experiencing an unexplained “critical issue,” according to alerts on the NYSE website, and stocks are tumbling fast. The NYSE hasn’t provided any additional information regarding the cause of the unexpected trading suspension...
The Confederate Flag Will Be Removed The Atlantic ...After more than six decades flying at the statehouse—first atop it, then nearby—the Confederate battle flag will soon come down for the final time in Columbia. The state House of Representatives voted 94-20 on Thursday to remove the flag, following a 36-3 vote in the Senate on Tuesday. Many people deserve credit for the flag coming down, from the thousands who marched in Charleston to Bree Newsome, who took matters into her own hands...
Obama Administration Takes On Segregation And Racist Housing Schemes Think Progress ...Cities and counties that want federal grants for development projects will have to start taking segregation much more seriously under a set of rules to be announced Wednesday by Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julian Castro. The new system will require cities to report regularly and in far greater detail on segregation in their communities, making it harder for towns to quietly maintain existing racial inequities in development...
U.S. Labor
Applications for U.S. unemployment benefits climb to 297,000 Dallas Morning News ...he number of people seeking unemployment benefits rose last week to the highest level since late February. But the increase likely reflected temporary auto plant shutdowns rather than any underlying labor market weakness. The number of people filing applications for unemployment benefits rose by 15,000 to 297,000...
Verizon preps for a strike as labor talks continue RCR Wireless News ...Amid labor negotiations with some 45,000 union employees, Verizon is prepping for a potential work stoppage by training more than 15,000 non-union employees to take over in the event of a strike. Verizon is working on a three-year contract with representatives from the Communication Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers...
The UAW gears up for a labor talks showdown CBS ...The day before hundreds of United Auto Workers delegates gathered to set strategy for contract talks with the Detroit Three, General Motors (GM) sent them a not-so-subtle message. GM announced a $350 million investment in a Mexican factory to build the Chevrolet Cruze compact car, currently built for all of North America at a sprawling plant in Lordstown, Ohio, east of Cleveland...
State reaches tentative deal with AFSCME East Oregonian ...The state has reached a tentative two-year agreement with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the union that represents the second-largest group of state workers. The agreement was reached late Tuesday after a 14-hour bargaining session...
“It’s not a good record”: When it comes to worker safety, Obama is a lot like Bush Salon ...Not only are many of the laws already on the books to protect workers desperately in need of updating, but the government resources devoted to protecting workers are woefully insufficient. The result? Some tens of thousands of human beings, every year, suffer due to health hazards that could be addressed with relative ease...
If You Could Decrease a Workplace’s Injury Rate by 65 Percent, Would You? The Nation ...Registered nurses face more than 50 percent the rate of musculoskeletal injury of the general workforce; nursing assistants more than six times the rate. Registered nurses face more than 50 percent the rate of musculoskeletal injury of the general workforce; nursing assistants more than six times the rate...
Miscellaneous
Report: Immigrants commit fewer crimes than native born Monterey Herald ...t a time when the century-long American debate on whether immigrants commit more crimes than native-born residents is raging again, a new report concludes exactly the opposite. The debate, which has always been present when immigration increases, is being renewed by the killing of a young woman in San Francisco by a Mexican national who entered the country illegally several times...
The NYSE Shutdown Isn’t Just A Glitch, It’s A Glimpse Into Our Chaotic Future Think Progress ...The digital sky is officially falling as the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) suddenly shut down all trading activity Wednesday, raising speculation of a major technical glitch or a malicious cyberattack. The exchange is experiencing an unexplained “critical issue,” according to alerts on the NYSE website, and stocks are tumbling fast. The NYSE hasn’t provided any additional information regarding the cause of the unexpected trading suspension...
The Confederate Flag Will Be Removed The Atlantic ...After more than six decades flying at the statehouse—first atop it, then nearby—the Confederate battle flag will soon come down for the final time in Columbia. The state House of Representatives voted 94-20 on Thursday to remove the flag, following a 36-3 vote in the Senate on Tuesday. Many people deserve credit for the flag coming down, from the thousands who marched in Charleston to Bree Newsome, who took matters into her own hands...
Obama Administration Takes On Segregation And Racist Housing Schemes Think Progress ...Cities and counties that want federal grants for development projects will have to start taking segregation much more seriously under a set of rules to be announced Wednesday by Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julian Castro. The new system will require cities to report regularly and in far greater detail on segregation in their communities, making it harder for towns to quietly maintain existing racial inequities in development...