TEAMSTERS
Clark County School District Workers Vote to Join Teamsters Teamster.org ...Clark County School District (CCSD) support workers have voted overwhelmingly to join the Teamsters Union, the Employee-Management Relations Board (EMRB) announced today. There are more than 11,000 support workers in the bargaining unit. The vote for Teamsters Local 14 was a decisive win over the current bargaining representative at CCSD, with nearly 82 percent of workers voting to join the Teamsters...
CCSD support staff ousts ESEA in favor of Teamsters union Review-Journal ...A decade-long fight to unseat the labor union that represents more than 11,000 bus drivers, custodians and support staff who work for the Clark County School District culminated Saturday in a landslide vote for Teamsters Local 14. Claiming 81 percent of 5, 339 ballots cast in a runoff election, Teamsters leaders and supporters credited their victory to a change in rules that govern union elections...
GLOBAL LABOR & TRADE
U.S. car makers count among Pacific trade pact skeptics Yahoo ...U.S. auto makers are unlikely to win a much bigger share of the Japanese vehicle market despite a bid to break down trade barriers under a new Pacific trade pact, highlighting the difficulties ahead in winning votes for the deal through Congress. Car makers joined the tobacco industry, pharmaceutical companies and financial services in expressing reservations about parts of the Trans-Pacific Partnership...
Vietnam Sees Record-High Foreign Investment on TPP, Eased Rules Bloomberg ...Vietnam expects disbursed foreign direct investment to reach a record high this year after the government eased business regulations, luring investors seeking to benefit from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact. The surge in the Southeast Asian country’s foreign investments comes as neighboring countries such as the Philippines report declines, reflecting overseas investors’ increasing attraction to Vietnam...
Drug prices expected to rise as result of TPP deal Globe and Mail ...The intellectual-property provisions in the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement will drive up global drug prices and make it harder to treat diseases in developing countries, Médecins sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) says. A month after the final text of the TPP was released, the medical humanitarian organization has completed its analysis of the portions of the massive trade pact that will affect drug costs...
How the TPP Fulfills Big Ag's Wish List Alternet ...An initial review reveals that the agreement compromises food safety and public health, notably through measures pertaining to U.S. border inspection of food imports. The agreement limits food import inspections “to what is reasonable and necessary,” and—perhaps most alarming—requires border inspectors to notify food importers if a negative food safety check is issued so they can challenge the port inspection findings...
U.S. trade deficit rises 3.4% in October to $43.9 billion LA Times ...The U.S. trade deficit widened in October, the Commerce Department said Friday, as exports of U.S. goods fell to the lowest level in more than four years, a reflection of the impact of a weak global economy and stronger dollar. The trade deficit, the difference between exports and imports, widened 3.4% in October to $43.9 billion, compared to a revised $42.5 billion deficit in September...
Greek parliament narrowly approves 2016 austerity budget Euronews ...The Greek parliament has narrowly approved a 2016 budget which includes sharp cuts in spending and some tax increases. The measures were conditions set by the country’s international lenders when Athens signed up to a third rescue package from euro zone governments in August worth up to 84 billion euros. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said it was difficult for a government that wants to promote social justice...
To Lift Quality of Life and Economy, Finland Champions Universal Basic Income Common Dreams ...As a way to improve living standards and boosts its economy, the nation of Finland is moving closer towards offering all of its adult citizens a basic permanent income of approximately 800 euros per month. The monthly allotment would replace other existing social benefits, but is an idea long advocated for by progressive-minded social scientists and economists as a solution—counter-intuitive as it may first appear at first—that actually decreases government expenditures...
STATE & LIVING WAGE BATTLES
Pre-filed bill targets prevailing wage in disaster areas Missouri Times ...One of the shorter pre-filed bills submitted so far calls for a prohibition on prevailing hourly wage to be paid for a tax credit funded project in a disaster area. Rep. Bill White, R-Joplin, filed HB 1406, which “prohibits the Missouri Housing Development Commission from requiring a prevailing hourly wage to be paid to a contractor on a project for a housing tax credit if it is in a Governor-declared disaster area”...
Rauner: Right to work off the table “for now” Capitol Fax ...Gov. Rauner has long said he is not pushing a “right-to-work” agenda for Illinois, but when speaking to a friendly crowd Friday at the Illinois Manufacturers Association’s annual luncheon, Rauner said the idea was only off the table “for now.” “Our labor regulations, while all the states around us have gone right-to-work, that’s killing a lot of employers,” Rauner said. “I’ve taken that off the table, for now anyway, in the spirit of trying to get a deal”...
Oregon union fight heats up Statesman Journal ...The Northwest Accountability Project has filed a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service asking to have the Freedom Foundation's tax-exempt charity status revoked. The complaint is intensifying the battle over public unions in Oregon and Washington, and was co-signed by 18 organizations including labor unions and left-leaning activist groups. The Northwest Accountability Project is working to counter the Freedom Foundation's campaign to have home-care workers opt out of paying union dues...
Right to Work is DOA in Ohio for fear of a Senate Bill 5 reprise (opinion) Cleveland.com ...Bystanders can unbunch their Dockers: Right to Work isn't going anywhere in Ohio anytime soon, if ever, because the last thing key Republicans want is another Senate Bill 5. True, an Ohio House committee gave a proposed Right to Work (for Less) plan, House Bill 377, a hearing last week. House rules require every House bill to get at least one hearing...
When It Comes to Female Apprenticeship Numbers, Oregon is Blowing Other States Away We Party Patriots ...In Oregon, outreach efforts to ensure women have apprenticeship opportunities were rewarded at a ceremony earlier this month, during which elected officials and union leaders touted the state’s leadership and celebrated the receipt of a $3 million federal grant to develop such programs. According to the numbers, Oregon has more than double the number of women in apprenticeships (6.9 percent) than the national average (3.2 percent)...
Paul Ryan Just Accidentally Made a Great Case for Raising the Minimum Wage The Nation ... While Ryan pushed many of his favorite myths about the safety net, he also inadvertently made one of the strongest cases to date for raising the minimum wage and investing in policies to help people balance work and caregiving. Indeed, in his grand finale, Ryan called on Congress to: “Push wages up. Push the cost of living down. Get people off the sidelines. I could think of no better way to restore confidence in the American economy”...
U.S. LABOR
UAW wins historic victory in U.S. South with vote at VW plant Reuters ...The United Auto Workers union won its first organizing vote at a foreign-owned auto assembly plant in the U.S. South on Friday, in a groundbreaking victory after decades of failed attempts. About 71 percent of skilled trades workers who cast ballots at Volkswagen AG's factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee voted to join the UAW, according to the company and the union. The skilled trades workers account for about 11 percent of the 1,450 hourly employees at the plant...
Communications Workers of America Ratify Agreements Covering AT&T Southeast Wireline Employees Fierce Telecom ...AT&T today announced that employees represented by the Communications Workers of America have voted to ratify a four-year contract with AT&T Southeast wireline operations. Employees also voted to ratify tentative agreements on two southeast regional contracts covering AT&T Billing Southeast and Southeast Utility Operations. The contracts cover about 24,000 employees in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee...
Nexteer UAW workers reject proposed contract by a landslide MLive ...Nexteer Automotive workers represented by UAW Local 699 rejected a proposed contract in a landslide vote, according to the group. UAW Local 699 on Monday, Dec. 7 posted the tentative results of the vote on its Facebook page. The outcome was 399 "no" votes to 8 "yes" votes for trade workers, and 2,704 "no" votes to 72 "yes" votes for production workers...
The single ugliest myth the rich perpetuate about the poor Salon ...Many wealthy white conservative males believe they deserve their good fortunes, and that the poor are taking handouts. But on average little of the money of the wealthiest Americans is spent on productive job-creating ventures. Based on the evidence, the very people demeaned by the rich as ‘lazy’ are generally the hardest workers. 73 percent of public support recipients are members of working families...
SOCIAL JUSTICE & OTHER NEWS
Activists Stage Paris Sit-In To Protest Role of Corporate Polluters in Climate Talks Democracy Now ...Despite restrictions on protests following the November 13 attacks that killed 130 people, activists attempted to stage a mass sit-in at the Grand Palais in Paris today to protest corporate sponsors pushing for so-called "solutions" to climate change that include genetically modified foods, privatized water and biofuels...
Chicago Cover-Up Deepens as 80 Minutes of Footage Confirmed Missing Common Dreams ...Chicago's cover-up scandal is deepening after city officials were forced to release additional surveillance footage of the deadly shooting of 17-year-old African American Laquan McDonald by a white officer—and it showed an unexplained 80-minute gap covering the time the teenager was killed...
Hunger-Striking Asylum Seekers Bring Their Case to Clinton’s Front Door The Nation ...Immigration activists brought the current fight over immigrant detention to Hillary Clinton’s doorstep Thursday. Two dozen activists protested outside Clinton’s Brooklyn headquarters to push the Democratic presidential front-runner and Bernie Sanders to respond to #Freedomgiving—the name activists gave to a week-long hunger strike that began the day before Thanksgiving...
