Teamsters
Public Employees To San Bernardino: Keep Your Promises Teamster.org ...At this week’s San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors public meeting, more than 60 county employees, who are members of Teamsters Local 1932, attended in order to testify in front of the Board about how wage theft is directly impacting not only the cost of living, but their basic needs, many holding signs that read, “San Bernardino: Keep Your Promises.”...
Contract Between EVSC, Teamsters Still Up In The Air WFIE ...President of Teamsters Local 215 Chuck Whobrey says the EVSC never had any intention of reaching an agreement with the union...
Sun Tran Union Workers Contact Federal Mediator KTTU ...The Teamsters Local Union 104 released a press release on Thursday evening, stating they have contacted a federal mediator and presented a "comprehensive proposal addressing all open items."...
Burnco Ends Labour Dispute 660 News ...A labour dispute at the Burnco Rock Products plant in Calgary is over. The company and the Teamsters Local Union 362 reached an agreement Thursday evening, but no specific details have been released...
Global Labor & Trade
Greece Crisis: Eurogroup Agrees To Third Bailout BBC News ...Eurozone finance ministers have agreed on a new bailout deal for Greece after Athens backed the plan. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the deal sent a message "loud and clear" - Greece will stay in the eurozone...
Sen. Sherrod Brown Blocks Trade Nominee To Protest TPP Secrecy Cleveland Plain Dealer ...U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown has decided to block a cabinet-level trade nominee from being confirmed, saying he will relent if President Barack Obama drops a secrecy requirement that has made it hard for Congress to review a pending trade deal with Pacific Rim nations...
TTIP Controversy: Secret Trade Deal Can Only Be Read In Secure 'Reading Room' In Brussels The Independent ...The European Commission is making the secret Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) trade deal even more secret, introducing a new rule that means politicians can only view the text in a secure 'reading room' in Brussels...
State & Living Wage Battles
Court Rejects Suit Over Obama Immigration Moves Politico ...A federal appeals court Friday upheld the dismissal of an Arizona sheriff's lawsuit challenging President Barack Obama's executive actions on immigration, but one judge on the panel expressed strong doubts about the constitutionality of Obama's moves — now largely on hold as a result of other litigation...
Workers Score Paid Sick Leave Victory In Pittsburgh Next City ...The bill, which passed 7-1 with one abstention, requires employers with 15 employees or more to provide as much as 40 hours of paid sick time per year, while employers of fewer than 15 people will be required to provide up to 24 hours per year. Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto, who ran for office on a progressive track record and platform, is expected to sign the bill, in the face of assurances from business groups that a legal challenge is on its way...
Florida: Disputed Plan For Voting Map Advances New York Times ...A House panel on Thursday approved changes to Florida’s 27 congressional districts, despite criticism that the move would disenfranchise black voters. The new map would make several changes, including shifting the district now held by Representative Corrine Brown, a Democrat who is suing to stop the Legislature and says the proposal would dilute the voting strength of blacks...
City Begins Minimum Wage Outreach Santa Monica Daily Press ...Santa Monica is considering local rules that would raise the minimum wage in a way similar to a recently passed law in Los Angeles. As of July 1, 2016 Los Angeles will begin raising the minimum wage annually to $10.50, $12, $13.25, $14.25 and $15 by 2020. The rules allow small companies to delay implementation for a year and have an additional year exemption for nonprofits that help the disadvantage or receive a majority of funding from government grants. The increases are indexed to inflation and an enforcement office will be established...
How Corporate Farmers Are Waging War On Our 1st Amendment AlterNet ...The First Amendment may be inconvenient to some people at times, but it’s still the law of the land. Case in point: so-called “ag-gag laws.” These are laws in Idaho, Montana, Utah, North Dakota, Missouri, Kansas, and Iowa that prohibit people from taking photos or videos of farms without permission. They’re designed to prevent the exposure of cruelty to animals on factory farms...
$15 Minimum Wage Proposal Could Go On November Ballot In Kansas City Kansas City Star ...The Kansas City Council has taken the first step toward putting a $15 minimum wage question on the November ballot. In a procedural move Thursday, an ordinance was introduced on the council docket to submit a petition initiative to voters in the Nov. 3 election. The council must discuss and vote on the measure by next Thursday to meet election authorities’ deadline for the November ballot...
U.S. Labor
Pilots Are Spotting More Drones, Prompting Worries About Collisions Wall Street Journal ...Pilots are spotting drones in flight at a far higher rate than last year, U.S. regulators said, triggering authorities to step up efforts to prevent a midair collision as drones proliferate in U.S. skies...
The Many Ways You Can Be Screwed Out Of Unemployment Benefits The Nation ...Unemployment insurance provides a critical income support to workers who lose their jobs “through no fault of their own.” But this compensation, which states generally award on the basis of past earnings, don’t quite work for the millions who are forced to work irregular part-time shifts or stuck in unstable “casual” service work. For these “irregular” workers—filling our retail stores, restaurants and warehouses—being forced to quit because of unsustainable hours is routine. But the standard unemployment check is often out of reach...
Retirement Isn't What It Used To Be The Atlantic ...As the idea of retirement continues to evolve for Americans, the hope is that seniors still be able to afford the leisure they seek—whether it’s through social-security reforms or companies taking greater responsibility in their workers’ retirement plans—and that they’re healthy enough to work if they’d like...
Social Justice & Other News
Citizens United Means Wealthy, White Donors Dominate 2016 Presidential Fundraising The Intercept ...Though the American population is becoming more and more diverse, the presidential candidates are being bankrolled by a pool of very wealthy donors, the vast majority of whom are white...
John Kerry Raises U.S. Flag At American Embassy In Cuba Huffington Post ...Watched over by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, U.S. Marines raised the American flag at the embassy in Cuba for the first time in 54 years on Friday, symbolically ushering in an era of renewed diplomatic relations between the two Cold War-era foes...
Let's Expand Social Security On Its Birthday Huffington Post ...Eighty years ago, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law, creating a national plan to provide economic security for American workers. Since then, Social Security has proven to be the most successful anti-poverty program in our history. Each year, Social Security lifts more than 20 million Americans - including a million children - out of poverty...
Student Loan Delinquencies Jump As Crisis Spreads Huffington Post ...About 11.5 percent of outstanding student debt was at least 90 days late or in default as of June 30, up from around 10.9 percent at the same time last year, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The New York Fed estimates that nearly one in four borrowers whose loans have come due are severely delinquent, or double the published rate, because nearly half of student debt doesn't presently require a monthly payment...
