Teamsters
Hoffa, Gov. Nixon Rally With Hundreds to Defeat Right-to-Work in Missouri Teamster.org ... Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa joined Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon and Missouri AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer and House Minority Leader Jake Hummel at a rally in Kansas City, Mo. today to support a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers working to uphold the governor’s veto of right-to-work legislation...
Hoffa: Mo. Legislature Must Remember Workers While Mulling RTW Veto Override Huffington Post ...Corporations, not satisfied enough with their sky-high profits, are trying yet again to rally Missouri lawmakers in an attempt to override the veto of Gov. Jay Nixon and pass so-called right-to-work (RTW) legislation that would drive down salaries and hamper workplace rights of everyday workers. A bipartisan collection of legislators stand in the way of an override. And the Teamsters and other allies are mobilizing in advance...
Teamsters Union Remembers Sept. 11 Teamster.org ...The Teamsters Union remembers the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks today, and the Teamster members who were critical to rescue, recovery and rebuilding efforts. The Teamster response to the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, was enormous and encompassed dozens of Teamster local unions across multiple states...
Mediation resumes Monday between school bus company, workers Newsday ...Federal mediation will resume Monday between a Long Island school bus company and its workers in a dispute that could affect an estimated 15,000 students in Nassau and Suffolk counties. Ronkonkoma-based Baumann & Sons Buses Inc. and its affiliate, Acme Buses, and employees in Teamsters Local 1205 had resumed talks at 4 p.m. Thursday...
Kansas City Unions Rally As Crucial 'Right To Work' Vote Nears In Missouri KCUR ...More than 500 union members and politicians rallied in Kansas City on Saturday to show their support for Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon's veto of a so-called "right-to-work" bill. International Brotherhood of Teamsters President James P. Hoffa spoke passionately to the crowd of people packed into the Teamsters Local 41 hall...
Global Labor & Trade
TPP talks motor on Politico ...Trade negotiators from Japan, Canada and Mexico are back in their capitals to mull the progress they made during three days of talks in Washington last week on auto issues in the Trans-Pacific Partnership. "There are issues we still have to resolve," Japan's lead auto negotiator, Takeo Mori, told reporters late Friday. Negotiators were “very productive” but will have to consult with their governments...
Auto parts differences between Japan, U.S. and others seen clouding prospects for next TPP ministerial talks The Japan Times ...The 12 countries taking part in Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade negotiations are likely to face difficulties in arranging a ministerial meeting as Japan, the United States and others were unable to narrow the gap over the automotive sector in recent working-level talks. The participating nations are aiming to hold a ministerial session later this month or in early October...
Japan's Amari says Japan-U.S. auto trade talks 'very severe' Reuters ...Japanese Economy Minister Akira Amari said on Friday officials from Japan and the United States are having "very severe" auto trade talks but aim to narrow the gap between the two sides. Amari also said the schedule for the next round of talks among ministers from a 12 nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade pact cannot be fixed unless there is the prospect for an agreement...
Kenya: Cotu Suspends Nationwide Workers Strike AllAfrica ...The Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU) has suspended a nationwide workers strike slated for Monday. COTU Secretary-General Francis Atwoli said that they took the action pending a Tuesday's court ruling on case by Teachers Service Commission in which it is challenging the legality of the two week old teachers strike...
First-Ever Domestic Workers Union Launched in Mexico Solidarity Center ...Dozens of union members and their allies from across Mexico gathered today to celebrate the official launch of the country’s first domestic workers’ union, SINACTTRAHO. The union’s formation culminated a 15-year struggle for rights on the job by those whose work often goes unrecognized, and today’s events marked the union filing for official government recognition...
Across Europe, Tens of Thousands Rally to Welcome Refugees Common Dreams ...Tens of thousands of Europeans took to streets in London and elsewhere across the continent Saturday in a massive demonstration of support and solidarity for those seeking refuge from the war and violence in the Middle East. The day of action was called to welcome the refugees, and send a signal to leaders worldwide who have either turned their back or or reluctantly agreed to house a small portion of the migrants...
In Upset, Socialist Jeremy Corbyn Elected as U.K. Labour Leader on Antiwar, Pro-Refugee Platform Democracy Now ...Longtime British socialist MP Jeremy Corbyn has just been elected leader of the opposition Labour Party after running on an antiwar, anti-austerity platform. When Corbyn first announced his candidacy three months ago, oddsmakers put his odds of winning at 200 to one. But on Saturday, Corbyn won in a landslide...
State & Living Wage Battles
Scott Walker wants every state to be a right-to-work state Washington Post ...Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) is best known for severely weakening the public unions in his state in 2011, sparking angry protests and a recall election that he survived. Now, as Walker tries to revive his bid for the presidency, he is reminding primary voters of that fight -- and plans to call for sweeping national labor reforms during a speech in Las Vegas on Monday afternoon...
Unions rally against 'right-to-work' override in Missouri St. Louis Public Radio ...Union members are making sure Missouri Republican lawmakers who voted against ‘right-to-work’ earlier this year know that they will have union support during the next election. Missouri's chapter of the AFL-CIO held a rally and knocked on doors Saturday in Jefferson County ahead of the General Assembly’s veto session next Wednesday. That's when a vote to override Gov. Jay Nixon's veto of a "right-to-work" bill could be brought to the floor...
Senator says Unemployment Bill Could Wind up in Court OzarksFirst ...State Senate Republicans think they can override the veto of an unemployment bill during the Legislature’s veto session. The chamber’s Democratic leader disagrees. The bill would reduce the length of time a person could receive unemployment benefits to as few as 13 weeks depending on the state’s unemployment rate. The current length is 20 weeks...
Business, labor groups battle over prevailing wage, corporate income tax initiatives MiBiz ...Two statewide petition drives could change the business landscape in Michigan if they’re enacted by the Legislature or eventually passed by voters in 2016. Organized labor groups have started collecting signatures for a plan that would increase the corporate income tax rate from 6 percent to 11 percent to raise $900 million a year for road funding. Meanwhile, labor groups are also opposed to a separate petition drive seeking to repeal Michigan’s prevailing wage law...
Gov. Cuomo: Raising State Minimum Wage Could Spur Economy CBS ...Gov. Andrew Cuomo continued his push for a higher state minimum wage on Saturday. As WCBS 880’s Sophia Hall reported, after the governor marched in the Labor Day Parade down Fifth Avenue he said the minimum wage was designed to allow people to work full-time and have a decent living. But Cuomo said on $8.75 an hour, it’s just not enough in New York...
Puerto Rican workers, unions, protest new austerity plan Reuters ...Thousands of public sector workers demonstrated on Friday against an austerity plan to help pull Puerto Rico out of a massive debt crisis, saying the private sector should take more of the pain. The island's government is calling for shared sacrifice, and concessions from citizens and investors alike, as it tries to lift itself out of a $72 billion debt hole...
Right Wing's False Narrative on Scott Walker Probe Fueling Attack on Election Watchdog Truthout ...Newly-released emails from the now-halted campaign finance investigation into Scott Walker and his allies are being touted by right-wing media as proof of the probe's partisan motivations. In truth, the emails demonstrate that prosecutors had a stated goal of not influencing the gubernatorial election, and show a career federal prosecutor leaning over backwards to avoid doing so...
U.S. Labor
Seattle teacher strike: parents show support despite scheduling upheaval The Guardian ...With parents rushing to find last-minute childcare, Seawell and four other families from Hawthorne Elementary collaborated to create an ad hoc childcare collective – a creative solution for a situation that took many by surprise. Despite the inconvenience, Seawell fully supports the teachers entering the third day of a strike that kept kids home on their first days back at school...
Fiat Chrysler in Weaker State Is Surprise UAW Talks Target Bloomberg ...The United Auto Workers chose Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, the weakest of the Detroit Three carmakers, as the surprise target for negotiating a new labor agreement, indicating a high priority on having fundamentally similar contracts with all three companies. The choice bucks the union’s tradition of choosing the strongest company among Fiat Chrysler, General Motors Co. or Ford Motor Co. to extract the best terms for its 140,000 members...
Negotiations break down between USW, ArcelorMittal Duluth News Tribune ...Te United Steelworkers union reported over the weekend that contract talks with ArcelorMittal have broken down and representatives have returned to plants. The contract negotiations directly affect 30,000 USW workers across the U.S. ArcelorMittal owns and operates the Minorca mine in Virginia with about 300 employees where, so far, layoffs have been avoided...
Evidence Keeps Piling Up: Unions Are Very, Very, Very Good for Workers Common Dreams ...With most of the largest organized workforces in the U.S. going to the bargaining table before the end of next year, "it is likely that more workers will be seeking raises through the collective bargaining process in 2015–2016 than at any other point in recent American labor history." So says the AFL-CIO, whose report, released Friday, offers a comprehensive look at the current state of collective bargaining in a period when an estimated 5 million American workers will bargain for new contracts...
Inflation-Adjusted Wages Have Declined Since Great Recession, and Worse for Low-Wage Occupations Alternet ...While the overall economy and the job situation has improved markedly since those early months of 2009 when 700-800,000 Americans were being laid off every month, the percentage of people not working or who are working part-time and want full-time jobs or have given up looking for a job but would accept one if offered is still 10.3 percent, well above the pre-recession rate...
Woman Fired For Being Transgender Scores A Victory Think Progress ...On Thursday, the Southern Poverty Law Center, which represented her in her lawsuit against Summerford, announced that the nursing home has agreed to pay her a financial settlement, as well as to implement a workplace nondiscrimination policy for sexual orientation and gender and to provide LGBT training for human resource employees...
Scott Walker to Propose Restrictions on Unions Nationwide Wall Street Journal ...Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who rose to national prominence by battling his state’s public-sector labor unions, is set to unveil Monday a plan to strip power from unions nationwide. The Republican presidential candidate’s proposal, which he plans to announce at an afternoon speech in Las Vegas, would eliminate the National Labor Relations Board, prohibit federal employee unions, institute right-to-work laws nationwide and repeal the Davis-Bacon Act of 1931...
How Child Care Is Becoming A Crisis In America Think Progress ...Child care is both an economic necessity and barrier to employment for most families: 65 percent of children under six have either both parents or a single parent in the workforce. At the same time, most working parents encounter significant barriers to finding affordable, high-quality child care. The cost of child care is increasing squeezing middle class families...
Social Justice & Other News
What Is Really At Stake With The Debate Over Whether To Eliminate Perkins Loans Think Progress ...As the Perkins loan program comes back for reauthorization, 95 members of Congress, along with groups representing universities and colleges, are ready to defend it from Republican lawmakers who would like to eliminate it. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, advocates for streamlining student loans by eliminating Perkins and combining the student loan programs into one student loan program...
Meet the busboy who's taking on Donald Trump over immigration LA Times ...Aca was angry about Trump's pronouncements that Mexico was sending rapists and criminals to the U.S. An aspiring photographer, he had recently started taking pictures of fellow immigrants holding signs that said, "I am not a rapist" and "I am not a criminal." He said yes to the friend who asked to film him, and they got to work on a short video with a provocative title: "Meet the Undocumented Immigrant Who Works in a Trump Hotel"...
