Teamsters
Brockton Custodians Ratify First Teamsters Contract Teamster.org ...By a vote of 90-6, custodians, craftsmen and outside ground crews in the Brockton township public school system have voted to ratify their first-ever collective bargaining agreement with Teamsters Local 653 in South Easton, Mass. This continues the tradition of strong contracts and benefits that has been a hallmark of Local 653’s representation of its members...
Labor Unrest At California Ports Continue As More Subcontracted Workers Go On Strike In These Times ...The nation’s largest port—spread across parts of both Los Angeles and Long Beach, CA—is a strangely varied workplace. And after years of tenacious effort, workers throughout the port may soon share one important tool their predecessors once had: a union and, therefore, a better job...
Drivers Who Shuttle Genentech Workers Will Get Wage Increase San Francisco Chronicle ...Shuttle drivers who transport Genentech employees received a wage increase Thursday as negotiations continue between their employer, Compass Transportation, and the Teamsters...
Teachers, Drivers Team Up Against Violence From Students WHAS ...For the first time the Jefferson County Teachers Association and the union for the bus drivers, are teaming up and fighting back...
Truck Driver Run Over By Own Trailer At Port Of Long Beach Last Week, Police Say Long Beach Post ...A truck driver was fatally struck by his own vehicle last week at the Port of Long Beach (POLB) when he attempted to unlatch a trailer from his tractor, which was not adequately parked, authorities said. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters held a press conference yesterday demanding more information from port. Details regarding the fatality were released by the Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) today...
Union Questions Plan To Shift City Workers To GSD Chicago Tribune ...On Monday, Paul Berkowitz, an attorney for Teamsters Local 142, in Gary, sought clarification from the GSD commissioners. He said 37 Teamsters received a letter from the city's human resources department stating they would be transferred to the GSD by Dec. 4. He said 14 members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) would also shift to GSD...
Global Labor & Trade
Car Industry 'Buried Report Revealing U.S. Car Safety Flaws Over Fears For TTIP Deal' The Independent ...The motor industry has been accused of withholding a report that reveals US cars are substantially less safe than European vehicles - for fear that the findings would hamper the drive to harmonise safety standards as part of the controversial Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) deal...
Japan TPP Chief Negotiator: Broad Agreement Is Within Reach: Jiji Reuters ...Japan's chief negotiator for the 12-nation pan-Pacific trade talks said on Friday a broad agreement of the ambitious trade pact was within reach, Jiji news agency reported...
State & Living Wage Battles
The Great Divide In Workplace Benefits New York Times ...For a small, lucky set of parents, the work-family juggle is relatively easy. Their employers give them paid leave; nannies to accompany them on business trips; flexible hours; child and elder care; and even on-site haircuts and nap rooms. For the rest of American workers, life tends to be much more difficult...
Fairness For Franchise Businesses And Workers New York Times ...In California today, nearly 83,000 fast-food restaurants, convenience stores and other franchise businesses generate $94 billion in annual revenue and employ almost one million people. In California, and in the rest of the nation, however, developments in franchise law in recent decades have increasingly reduced the power of franchisees in dealings with their corporate parents. The result has been lower franchisee profits and lower worker pay, while corporate profits and executive compensation soar...
Council Will Consider $15 Minimum Wage For Santa Monica Santa Monica Lookout ...Santa Monica’s lowest wage earners could soon get a raise. The City Council on Tuesday will consider a gradual minimum wage hike that calls for it to reach $15 in 2020...
U.S. Labor
Troubling Signs Emerge In UAW-FCA Contract Voting Detroit Free Press ...Signs began to emerge late Thursday that a proposed contract between the UAW and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is in early trouble as large UAW locals in Sterling Heights, Center Line and Kokomo, Ind. voted against the new four-year deal...
I'm Making Only $2.64 An Hour Working As An Uber Driver AlterNet ...Twenty-six-year-old Takele Gobena is part of the “on-demand” economy, working full-time as a driver for Uber and part time for Lyft. The Ethiopian immigrant quit his job at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and purchased a new car to drive for the ride-hailing firms, believing it would make him a better provider for his one-year-old daughter. Instead, Gobena now finds himself in debt and, after expenses, making well below minimum wage. But because Uber and Lyft drivers are classified as independent contractors, Gobena is not protected by minimum wage laws...
Social Justice & Other News
We Need To Protect And Preserve Public Housing In New York City New York Amsterdam News ...May 19, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced his 10-year plan to eliminate NYCHA’s operating deficit to prevent the downfall of a program that houses over 600,000 and employs over 11,000 New Yorkers. In fact, 1 out of every 8 New Yorkers lives in NYCHA housing...
John Boehner To Resign From Congress At End Of October Huffington Post ...House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) will resign from Congress at the end of October, his office announced Friday...
Pope Francis’ Challenge To America New York Times ...In an address of memorable passion and nuance, Francis focused widely on the divisive immigration issues at home and abroad, the economic divide driving poverty, the threat to the environment, the “brutal atrocities” and “simplistic reductionism” of the world’s continuing conflicts, and the need, above all, for “courageous actions and strategies” rather than “facile proposals” from leaders responsible for solutions...
Pope To U.N.: Economics, Climate Change, And War Are All Connected Think Progress ...Pope Francis spoke before the United Nations General Assembly Friday morning, articulating an urgent — but intentionally nuanced — call to address the world’s many interconnected problems, especially economic inequality, climate change, and war...
China Says It Will Start The World's Biggest Carbon Market By 2017 Mother Jones ...On Friday, Chinese president Xi Jinping will announce that China will start the world's largest carbon trading system by 2017, according to a statement released Thursday night by the White House...
Astounding Drug Prices Show How U.S. Government Is In Cahoots With Big Pharma AlterNet ...While Shkreli’s move may have been extremely ostentatious, and drawn the public’s attention, the issue of overpriced drugs in America is one that is not confined to Shkreli and Turing Pharmaceuticals...
How Many Deaths Did Volkswagen's Pollution Scandal Cause? Vox ...Using these figures, the extra pollution from Volkswagen's US cars can be expected to lead to an additional 5 to 27 premature deaths per year. If we extrapolated worldwide to all 11 million vehicles, that would come to somewhere between 74 and 404 premature deaths each year...
