Teamsters
Hoffa: Let’s get America working again The Detroit News ...Everyday Americans are facing increased challenges at work and at home. The outsourcing of millions of good-paying jobs overseas has led to lower paychecks here in the U.S. That, in turn, has made it more difficult for many workers to provide for their families. The Teamsters, however, have a plan to help turn the tide. Called “Let’s Get America Working,” it will encourage both Democratic and Republican lawmakers to endorse a pro-worker platform. At the center of the campaign is the need for this country to invest in infrastructure...
Possible bus strike looms in Middle Country district Long Island News 12 ...A potential bus strike in the Middle Country School District has parents worrying about possible transportation disruptions this week. Timothy Lynch, the president of the Teamsters union that represents bus company workers, says they have been trying for months to come to an agreement with the Baumann and Sons bus company, which includes ACME buses...
School bus strike could affect dozens of LI districts Newsday ...A labor dispute between one of Long Island's largest school bus operators and its drivers has some parents worried about a potential strike if the parties fail to reach a resolution at a federal mediation meeting Wednesday. Timothy Lynch is president of Teamsters Local 1205, which represents bus drivers who work for Ronkonkoma-based Baumann & Sons Buses Inc. and its affiliate, ACME Buses...
Strike update: Sun Tran and Teamsters resume talks Arizona Daily Star ...The Teamsters and Professional Transit Management, which operates Sun Tran, met with a federal mediator Tuesday. Neither side would discuss the talks. They did not meet for three days during the Labor Day weekend. The Tucson City Council will get a report on the strike and Sun Tran management and operations at its 1:30 p.m. meeting Wednesday at City Hall, 255 W. Alameda...
Alton Agreements with AFSCME, Teamsters Pending RiverBender.com ...New agreements between the City of Alton and two of its collective bargaining units will be up for final approval at tonight’s City Council meeting. The Alton City Council Committee of the Whole gave preliminary approval to contracts with the Teamsters and AFSCME last night. Both bargaining units have already ratified the contracts...
Global Labor & Trade
Japan PM: One more round of TPP ministers' talks to lead to agreement Reuters ...Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the 12 Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) nations are at a stage where one more round of ministerial talks will lead to an agreement on remaining issues, according to the text of a message presented at an event organized by Bank of America Merrill Lynch in Tokyo. Japan and the United States will hold working-level bilateral talks on auto issues from Wednesday in Washington. Japan also plans to meet negotiators from Canada and Mexico...
Mitch McConnell Fights For Tobacco Interests In Trans-Pacific Trade Deal Forbes ...There is nothing good about tobacco. It’s addictive, poisonous and lethal. And it can damage the health of people who don’t use it. For those reasons, governments worldwide treat tobacco differently from other agricultural commodities. For example, the 12 governments negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership don’t want the agreement to give the American tobacco industry the same privileges it gives other industries...
Dem pans Obama's new trade liaison The Hill ...A House Democrat is calling on the Obama administration to provide more details about global trade agreements and dismissing efforts to create a special liaison to Congress. Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) on Friday called Tim Reif’s appointment as the U.S. Trade Representative's (USTR) chief transparency officer this week "a meaningless response to my demands for greater congressional and public access”...
NAFTA auto parts makers mount drive to sweeten terms of TPP deal Globe and Mail ...The North American auto industry is increasing the pressure on Canada, the U.S. and Mexico to extract a better deal for NAFTA car makers from a proposed Pacific Rim trade pact. For the first time, auto parts makers in all three countries are speaking publicly with a united voice on the matter – with industry leaders urging Ottawa, Washington and Mexico City to resist Japan’s efforts to water down domestic content rules...
EC President Juncker Calls for Maximum Transparency in TTIP Deal Sputnik ...Negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the European Union and the United States, criticized for their confidentiality, should be transparent to the limit, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said Wednesday. TIP’s stated goal is to ease the flow of goods and services across the Atlantic. The pact seeks to create the world's largest free trade zone...
Melbourne tram workers to go on strike on Thursday as pay negotiations stall The Guardian ...Melbourne’s tram workers will go on strike again on Thursday, with neither the public transport union nor Yarra Trams willing to compromise over a pay dispute that has dragged on for months.
The Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) is holding a four-hour stoppage between 10am and 2pm.
Yarra Trams held unsuccessful eleventh-hour talks with the union on Wednesday aimed at averting the industrial action...
State & Living Wage Battles
Ballot measure could rekindle right-to-work debate Argus Leader ...A proposed constitutional amendment could reignite a decades-cooled debate over South Dakota’s right-to-work law, a union representative said Tuesday. The measure, if signed by enough South Dakotans and approved by a majority of voters in 2016, could “give certain organizations the right to charge fees,” despite the state’s nearly 70-year-old right-to-work law...
Paid Sick Leave Is Fast Becoming A Right -- Not A Privilege Huffington Post ...It’s getting harder for your boss to get away with not offering paid sick leave. That’s of course good news for the many workers, mostly hourly and low-paid, who either lose money when they’re ill or wind up coming to work sick. On Labor Day, President Barack Obama announced that starting in 2017, federal contractors must provide workers with paid sick time. Three states and 15 municipalities passed sick leave laws this year and last year, including Massachusetts, California, Oregon, Philadelphia and Newark...
Can Scott Walker Save Himself? The Atlantic ...Scott Walker was in Wisconsin for one day last week, but—curiously for a governor who’s been criticized for being away from his home state—he did not show his face publicly. The Wisconsin governor’s presidential campaign is in free fall—a development that puzzles the state he has dominated...
It’s officially impossible to afford NYC rents on the minimum wage Daily News ...New York City has closed the door on minimum-wage workers. A study found there is not one Big Apple neighborhood where a worker earning the state minimum can afford the median rent. In fact, a New Yorker would need to make at least $38.80 an hour — or more than four times the $8.75 minimum wage — to afford the city’s median asking rent of $2,690...
More unions ask U.S. Supreme Court to hear pension payment case NJ.com ...Another 16 New Jersey public worker unions are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to consider whether the state's highest court erred by declaring a pension funding agreement between the state and employees unenforceable. In a petition filed with the U.S. Supreme Court, lawyers for 16 labor groups argued that the New Jersey Supreme Court should have applied the protections of the federal Contract Clause to the deal...
Hoffa: Let’s get America working again The Detroit News ...Everyday Americans are facing increased challenges at work and at home. The outsourcing of millions of good-paying jobs overseas has led to lower paychecks here in the U.S. That, in turn, has made it more difficult for many workers to provide for their families. The Teamsters, however, have a plan to help turn the tide. Called “Let’s Get America Working,” it will encourage both Democratic and Republican lawmakers to endorse a pro-worker platform. At the center of the campaign is the need for this country to invest in infrastructure...
Possible bus strike looms in Middle Country district Long Island News 12 ...A potential bus strike in the Middle Country School District has parents worrying about possible transportation disruptions this week. Timothy Lynch, the president of the Teamsters union that represents bus company workers, says they have been trying for months to come to an agreement with the Baumann and Sons bus company, which includes ACME buses...
School bus strike could affect dozens of LI districts Newsday ...A labor dispute between one of Long Island's largest school bus operators and its drivers has some parents worried about a potential strike if the parties fail to reach a resolution at a federal mediation meeting Wednesday. Timothy Lynch is president of Teamsters Local 1205, which represents bus drivers who work for Ronkonkoma-based Baumann & Sons Buses Inc. and its affiliate, ACME Buses...
Strike update: Sun Tran and Teamsters resume talks Arizona Daily Star ...The Teamsters and Professional Transit Management, which operates Sun Tran, met with a federal mediator Tuesday. Neither side would discuss the talks. They did not meet for three days during the Labor Day weekend. The Tucson City Council will get a report on the strike and Sun Tran management and operations at its 1:30 p.m. meeting Wednesday at City Hall, 255 W. Alameda...
Alton Agreements with AFSCME, Teamsters Pending RiverBender.com ...New agreements between the City of Alton and two of its collective bargaining units will be up for final approval at tonight’s City Council meeting. The Alton City Council Committee of the Whole gave preliminary approval to contracts with the Teamsters and AFSCME last night. Both bargaining units have already ratified the contracts...
Global Labor & Trade
Japan PM: One more round of TPP ministers' talks to lead to agreement Reuters ...Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the 12 Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) nations are at a stage where one more round of ministerial talks will lead to an agreement on remaining issues, according to the text of a message presented at an event organized by Bank of America Merrill Lynch in Tokyo. Japan and the United States will hold working-level bilateral talks on auto issues from Wednesday in Washington. Japan also plans to meet negotiators from Canada and Mexico...
Mitch McConnell Fights For Tobacco Interests In Trans-Pacific Trade Deal Forbes ...There is nothing good about tobacco. It’s addictive, poisonous and lethal. And it can damage the health of people who don’t use it. For those reasons, governments worldwide treat tobacco differently from other agricultural commodities. For example, the 12 governments negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership don’t want the agreement to give the American tobacco industry the same privileges it gives other industries...
Dem pans Obama's new trade liaison The Hill ...A House Democrat is calling on the Obama administration to provide more details about global trade agreements and dismissing efforts to create a special liaison to Congress. Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) on Friday called Tim Reif’s appointment as the U.S. Trade Representative's (USTR) chief transparency officer this week "a meaningless response to my demands for greater congressional and public access”...
NAFTA auto parts makers mount drive to sweeten terms of TPP deal Globe and Mail ...The North American auto industry is increasing the pressure on Canada, the U.S. and Mexico to extract a better deal for NAFTA car makers from a proposed Pacific Rim trade pact. For the first time, auto parts makers in all three countries are speaking publicly with a united voice on the matter – with industry leaders urging Ottawa, Washington and Mexico City to resist Japan’s efforts to water down domestic content rules...
EC President Juncker Calls for Maximum Transparency in TTIP Deal Sputnik ...Negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the European Union and the United States, criticized for their confidentiality, should be transparent to the limit, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said Wednesday. TIP’s stated goal is to ease the flow of goods and services across the Atlantic. The pact seeks to create the world's largest free trade zone...
Melbourne tram workers to go on strike on Thursday as pay negotiations stall The Guardian ...Melbourne’s tram workers will go on strike again on Thursday, with neither the public transport union nor Yarra Trams willing to compromise over a pay dispute that has dragged on for months.
The Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) is holding a four-hour stoppage between 10am and 2pm.
Yarra Trams held unsuccessful eleventh-hour talks with the union on Wednesday aimed at averting the industrial action...
State & Living Wage Battles
Ballot measure could rekindle right-to-work debate Argus Leader ...A proposed constitutional amendment could reignite a decades-cooled debate over South Dakota’s right-to-work law, a union representative said Tuesday. The measure, if signed by enough South Dakotans and approved by a majority of voters in 2016, could “give certain organizations the right to charge fees,” despite the state’s nearly 70-year-old right-to-work law...
Paid Sick Leave Is Fast Becoming A Right -- Not A Privilege Huffington Post ...It’s getting harder for your boss to get away with not offering paid sick leave. That’s of course good news for the many workers, mostly hourly and low-paid, who either lose money when they’re ill or wind up coming to work sick. On Labor Day, President Barack Obama announced that starting in 2017, federal contractors must provide workers with paid sick time. Three states and 15 municipalities passed sick leave laws this year and last year, including Massachusetts, California, Oregon, Philadelphia and Newark...
Can Scott Walker Save Himself? The Atlantic ...Scott Walker was in Wisconsin for one day last week, but—curiously for a governor who’s been criticized for being away from his home state—he did not show his face publicly. The Wisconsin governor’s presidential campaign is in free fall—a development that puzzles the state he has dominated...
It’s officially impossible to afford NYC rents on the minimum wage Daily News ...New York City has closed the door on minimum-wage workers. A study found there is not one Big Apple neighborhood where a worker earning the state minimum can afford the median rent. In fact, a New Yorker would need to make at least $38.80 an hour — or more than four times the $8.75 minimum wage — to afford the city’s median asking rent of $2,690...
More unions ask U.S. Supreme Court to hear pension payment case NJ.com ...Another 16 New Jersey public worker unions are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to consider whether the state's highest court erred by declaring a pension funding agreement between the state and employees unenforceable. In a petition filed with the U.S. Supreme Court, lawyers for 16 labor groups argued that the New Jersey Supreme Court should have applied the protections of the federal Contract Clause to the deal...
U.S. Labor
The Six-State Steelworker Fight Back Against Corporate Lockouts and Exploitation In These Times ...Instead of picnicking, Steelworkers in six states spent this Labor Day picketing the gates of a dozen Allegheny Technologies Inc. (ATI) specialty mills. These 2,200 Steelworkers are not on strike. They never even took a strike vote to threaten a walkout. ATI locked them out of their jobs. ATI threw them out of the mills on Aug. 15...
UAW VPs stress patience as contract deadline looms The Detroit News ...The United Auto Workers will not release details of contract discussions with the Detroit automakers until tentative agreements are reached. That’s according to two separate messages directed at union workers Tuesday from UAW Vice President Norwood Jewell, who is overseeing talks with Fiat Chrysler, and UAW Vice President Cindy Estrada, head of the union’s General Motors department...
A Teacher's Strike in Seattle The Atlantic ...Seattle teachers voted to go on strike Wednesday, the first day of school, over stalled contract negotiations with the city’s school district. “After bargaining until midnight Monday and for most of the day Tuesday, it was clear that a settlement wasn’t close,” the Seattle Education Association, the union that represents about 5,000 teachers, said in a statement...
UAW workers for Ford approve strike authorization MLive ...UAW workers for Ford became the last of the Big Three auto workers to give leadership permission to strike. The UAW's National Ford Department said more than 98 percent of its members approved the strike authorization, according to a statement. "I am pleased with both the high margin of support and high turnout as nearly 80 percent of our membership took part in the voting process," said Jimmy Settles, UAW vice president...
The Unionization of Digital Media The Nation ...The digital news team at Al Jazeera America announced last week that it wants to go union, following a string of similar campaigns in recent weeks by web-based journalists who have moved toward or formally voted to establish unions at The Guardian US, Vice, Salon, and Gawker. The organizing bump suggests that, while journalism faces a troubled future, on the labor front, there’s good news to tell...
Social Justice & Other News
ICE Program Focused On ‘National Security’ Detains Immigrants With Zero Criminal Convictions Think Progress ...Even as Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Sec. Jeh Johnson has pledged to focus on undocumented immigrants who pose a “demonstrable risk to national security,” a new report shows that federal immigration officials continue to detain people with no criminal record at all. At least two-thirds of targets detained in April by local or state police departments on behalf of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency “had no criminal conviction of any type”...
Scaring Up the Vote Slate ...GOP presidential contenders are blaming Black Lives Matter for crime. It’s a desperate attempt to frighten white voters into supporting them. National rates of violent crime are down to their lowest levels in a generation, with steep drops in gun homicide among all groups. And while violence is still a problem for isolated, low-income black Americans, the overall portrait is good...
The Six-State Steelworker Fight Back Against Corporate Lockouts and Exploitation In These Times ...Instead of picnicking, Steelworkers in six states spent this Labor Day picketing the gates of a dozen Allegheny Technologies Inc. (ATI) specialty mills. These 2,200 Steelworkers are not on strike. They never even took a strike vote to threaten a walkout. ATI locked them out of their jobs. ATI threw them out of the mills on Aug. 15...
UAW VPs stress patience as contract deadline looms The Detroit News ...The United Auto Workers will not release details of contract discussions with the Detroit automakers until tentative agreements are reached. That’s according to two separate messages directed at union workers Tuesday from UAW Vice President Norwood Jewell, who is overseeing talks with Fiat Chrysler, and UAW Vice President Cindy Estrada, head of the union’s General Motors department...
A Teacher's Strike in Seattle The Atlantic ...Seattle teachers voted to go on strike Wednesday, the first day of school, over stalled contract negotiations with the city’s school district. “After bargaining until midnight Monday and for most of the day Tuesday, it was clear that a settlement wasn’t close,” the Seattle Education Association, the union that represents about 5,000 teachers, said in a statement...
UAW workers for Ford approve strike authorization MLive ...UAW workers for Ford became the last of the Big Three auto workers to give leadership permission to strike. The UAW's National Ford Department said more than 98 percent of its members approved the strike authorization, according to a statement. "I am pleased with both the high margin of support and high turnout as nearly 80 percent of our membership took part in the voting process," said Jimmy Settles, UAW vice president...
The Unionization of Digital Media The Nation ...The digital news team at Al Jazeera America announced last week that it wants to go union, following a string of similar campaigns in recent weeks by web-based journalists who have moved toward or formally voted to establish unions at The Guardian US, Vice, Salon, and Gawker. The organizing bump suggests that, while journalism faces a troubled future, on the labor front, there’s good news to tell...
Social Justice & Other News
ICE Program Focused On ‘National Security’ Detains Immigrants With Zero Criminal Convictions Think Progress ...Even as Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Sec. Jeh Johnson has pledged to focus on undocumented immigrants who pose a “demonstrable risk to national security,” a new report shows that federal immigration officials continue to detain people with no criminal record at all. At least two-thirds of targets detained in April by local or state police departments on behalf of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency “had no criminal conviction of any type”...
Scaring Up the Vote Slate ...GOP presidential contenders are blaming Black Lives Matter for crime. It’s a desperate attempt to frighten white voters into supporting them. National rates of violent crime are down to their lowest levels in a generation, with steep drops in gun homicide among all groups. And while violence is still a problem for isolated, low-income black Americans, the overall portrait is good...
