Unions do worker training better

President Hoffa lauded CDL program grads earlier this year at Fort Sill, Okla.

We've written extensively about the importance of unions in American life -- how unions provide a pathway to the middle class by paying $200 a week more than non-union jobs as well as offering good health care and other benefits.

One thing that is often overlooked, however, is how unions provide skilled workers to American companies. For decades, trained labor professionals have taken up important roles in many different sectors of society. The Teamsters, for example, have been at the forefront of providing qualified truckers to businesses so they can safety transport cargo along the highways of this nation.

But increasingly, the corporate class has taken the cheap way out. And they are paying the price for that, as a Washington Post story states:

Although it has historically constructed high-quality educational pipelines to well-paying jobs in cooperation with employers, labor has lost ground over the years. In the absence of union training programs, businesses in vast sectors of the economy are scrambling to meet their workforce needs through other means, like piecemeal job training programs and partnerships with community colleges, with few solutions that have really broad reach.

Some have attempted to go around the union model and form apprenticeships. But as the article states, in many cases that can "lead to a proliferation of low-quality programs." Imitators often can't provide the same skills that unions have.

The Teamsters haven't stopped trying to improve the skills of hardworking Americans. In fact, it is a integral part of our core mission. Earlier this year, the union announced it was teaming with the U.S. Army and ABF Freight to provide commercial driver's license (CDL) training to veterans transitioning to civilian life. It's just the latest effort of the Teamster Military Assistance Program.

In addressing the first graduating class of drivers at Fort Sill, Okla. in March, Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa said the union was providing a service that he hoped would be expanded:

The men and women who defend and protect our country deserve good, full-time jobs when they return home. I am proud that our union is working in this great partnership to honor our military veterans and help them transition to a rewarding civilian career.

If America wants to compete in an increasingly global economy, it needs to do more to succeed. Better worker training means better services and safety for all Americans. Labor unions like the Teamsters make it happen every day.

A college degree is not the answer for all workers. It should be the goal of lawmakers across the political spectrum to encourage youth not pursuing post-secondary academic studies to obtain training in a skill area that will provide them with the opportunity to earn a living wage and give them a career track that will ultimately give them a foothold in the middle class.

Increasing worker training, particularly through labor unions like the Teamsters, will ensure that will happen. That's good for workers and good for America.

Today's Teamster News 06.30.15

Teamsters
Teamsters to US Foods, Sysco: Restore Labor Relations, Customer Confidence  Teamster.org ...Following today’s announcement that Sysco terminated its merger agreement with US Foods, the Teamsters Union cited the decision as a critical step toward restoring labor relations and renewing customer confidence at the two companies. “As Sysco and US Foods move forward, we remain committed to a meaningful dialogue about the future health and prosperity of these companies,” said Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa...
EVSC, Teamsters exchange contract proposals, negotiations to occur again Tuesday  Courier & Press  ...Contracts expire at the end of June 30 and an agreement has not yet been reached, but discussions are occurring between the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp. and Teamsters Local 215 negotiating teams. EVSC and Teamsters officials met on Monday afternoon. Local 215 President Chuck Whobrey said the union offered a proposal, the EVSC negotiating team countered, and the union offered another proposal...

Global Labor & Trade
In bipartisan ceremony, Obama signs trade legislation, calls for infrastructure bill Washington Post ...President Obama hailed a "true bipartisan effort" on Monday as he signed a package of trade bills into law, and he called on Washington to summon a similar spirit of compromise to address the nation's crumbling infrastructure. Obama was joined by seven members of Congress, including two Republicans, during a signing ceremony for the two bills, which will give his administration "fast-track" authority to complete trade accords and provide retraining for workers displaced by trade pacts...
TPP ministerial meeting set for last week of July: source  Reuters ...A ministerial meeting aimed at finalizing the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, trade deal is set for the last week of July, a source close to the negotiations said on Monday on condition of anonymity. The meeting of trade ministers from the dozen countries involved would likely mark the final stage in the TPP negotiations, a massive trade pact covering 40 percent of the world's economy...
New trade battle looms on the horizon  The Hill  ...President Obama’s prized fast-track authority is a done deal in Congress, but Washington is already steeling for the next major trade battle — this one over lawmakers’ approval of a sweeping Pacific Rim agreement. Completion of talks in support of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) could come as early as August, setting up a fall fight over ratification that is all but certain to spill into the 2016 presidential race...
Trade vote puts Froman on faster track  Politico ...Following Congress’ hard-fought approval of “fast-track” trade authority last week, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman vowed not only to complete the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership but an even bigger pact with the European Union and three other major trade deals — all in the 18 months remaining in President Barack Obama’s term. It could add up to the biggest trade blitz in history, transforming the rules under which the world does business...
Thousands Of Greeks March For A No Vote On Austerity Measures  Buzzfeed  ...Thousands of Greeks gathered outside the country’s parliament on Monday night to campaign for a No vote in Sunday’s referendum on whether to accept austerity measures demanded by international organizations. Following months of negotiations between the left-wing Syriza-led government and international institutions, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has called an all-or-nothing referendum...
13,700 Moroccan Call Center Workers Win Union  Solidarity Center  ...Some 13,700 workers won collective bargaining rights at 11 call centers across Morocco, a major victory for the country’s union movement that culminates a three-year effort to help call center workers form a union. Elections took place between June 1 and June 10, and the results were announced late last week. The Union Marocaine du Travail (Moroccan Labor Union, UMT) also won the right to represent all the country’s workers at the national level...

State & Living Wage Battles 
Pennsylvania’s Contentious Charter School Fight  Think Progress  ...On Sunday, the Pennsylvania Senate passed a bill allowing a state-run district, the Achievement School District, to take control of low-performing public schools. The bill would require that the lowest performing schools would make huge changes in three years by converting to charter schools or contracting out work. The bill has been controversial among some education advocates, who argue that these bills are an effort to privatize education or deprioritize spending on public schools...
Study: Repealing prevailing wage will hurt Michigan  Michigan Radio  ...One new study suggests repealing Michigan’s prevailing wage law is a bad idea. Smart Cities Prevail and the Midwest Economic Policy Institute — two groups that support union-level pay and benefits for workers on publicly-funded construction projects — say their research shows overturning the prevailing wage would have “quite profound impacts” on Michigan’s economy...
Prevailing wage remains sticking point in budget stalemate  Wisn.com   ...Nearly 60 percent of public projects in Wisconsin would not be subject to the prevailing wage law under a proposal introduced Monday by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos as the state budget stalemate enters its fifth week. What to do with the prevailing wage -- a law that sets minimum salaries for construction workers on a variety of public projects -- is one of several large issues that Republicans who control both the Senate and Assembly have not been able to agree on...
House speaker: Minimum wage hike 'unlikely' to pass this session  Oregon Live  ...House Speaker Tina Kotek said Monday it's "unlikely" that her proposal to raise Oregon's minimum wage to $13 an hour has enough support to pass before the end of session, all but confirming the Legislature won't vote on the issue until at least next year...
Puerto Rico Unemployment at 12.6%, Poverty at 41%  24/7  ...At the depth of the recession, unemployment reached 10.1% in the United States. Today, its sits at 5.5%, and job additions have surged at an average rate of over 250,000 a month. Puerto Rico has an unemployment rate of 12.6%, another sign of how poorly off the territory’s economy is. Puerto Rico’s civilian labor force is small, only 1.42 million, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, about the same as Nevada’s...
Meet One Of The First Home Care Workers In The Country To Win A $15 Minimum Wage  Think Progress  ...Kindalay Cummings-Akers has been working as a personal care attendant, caring for the elderly and disabled in their homes, for nearly a decade. But she will soon be making $15 an hour for the first time ever after she and her union, 1199SEIU, reached an agreement with Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) at the end of last week. Home care workers have long been poorly paid, thanks in part to the fact that they are excluded from federal minimum wage and overtime requirements.
Victory for Democracy as Court Sides with Voters over 'Self-Dealing Legislators'  Common Dreams  ...In a decision hailed as a "major victory for voters," the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday upheld an Arizona ballot initiative, adopted by voters in 2000, which took redistricting power away from elected politicians and gave it to a nonpartisan commission. The 5-4 decision, which saw Justice Anthony Kennedy serving as the swing vote, allows redistricting commissions to remain in place across the country and in turn works to curb the practice known as gerrymandering...
Citizenship proof for federal voter registration form rejected  Tucson.com  ...Arizona cannot require people to produce proof of citizenship before they register to vote, at least not for federal elections, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monday. The justices upheld a ruling by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals that said neither Arizona nor Kansas can demand the federal Election Assistance Commission add a proof-of-citizenship requirement to the federal registration form the panel designed...
Fast-Food Restaurants Should Raise Minimum Wage, New York Panel Says  New York Times  ...The minimum wage for fast-food workers in New York should be raised substantially, maybe even to $15 an hour, a state panel appointed to study the issue said on Monday. The three-man panel, known as a wage board, agreed that fast-food restaurants that are parts of national chains should be required to pay more than the state’s minimum wage of $8.75 an hour. But the panel said it was not ready to make a full recommendation...

U.S. Labor
President Obama overtime rule could raise wages for 5 million   Politico  ...President Barack Obama will this week release a long-awaited overtime rule aimed at raising wages for 5 million people as soon as 2016, according to sources familiar with the plans. The proposed rule will more than double the salary level under which virtually all workers qualify for overtime pay whenever they work more than 40 hours in any given week. That threshold, now $23,660, will rise to $50,440...
Thousands of Santa Clara County Union Workers Set to Strike  NBC  ...Santa Clara County's largest union is on the verge of a strike. The union includes 911 dispatchers, public health nurses and many others. The union voted to strike if they can't reach a contract agreement with the county by Tuesday. The union has complained of unfair labor practices and worker shortages. The county says it's taking those concerns seriously and is close to making a deal...
Boston Airport Workers Strike, Join Growing Campaign to Unionize Subcontracted Airport Employees  In These Times  ...On the morning of June 17, a large group of non-union airport employees went on strike at Boston’s Logan Airport, with about 100 of them picketing outside the facility. The contracted workers belong to G2 Secure Staff and ReadyJet Flight Support; workers accuse both companies of engaging in unsafe labor practices and say they are seeking a fairer work environment and a union...
FairPoint workers seek more time to consider severance deal before layoffs  Portland Herald Press  ...FairPoint Communications workers in Maine have until Tuesday night to accept a voluntary severance deal before up to 80 employees are laid off in order of reverse seniority. But union leader Peter McLaughlin said that many employees had not received their severance offers as of Monday afternoon. McLaughlin, president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers’ Local 2327 in Augusta, said the union is asking North Carolina-based FairPoint to push back its 11:59 p.m. Tuesday deadline...
Largest federal workers union sues OPM over breach  The Hill  ...The country’s largest federal workers union has filed a class action lawsuit against the government agency at the center of the recent hack that exposed millions of people’s sensitive information. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) on Monday became the first to sue the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) in the wake of the massive data breach that has shaken the government...
Justices Take up Dispute Over Union Fees  ABC News  ...The Supreme Court will consider limiting the power of government employee unions to collect fees from non-members in a case that labor officials say could threaten membership and further weaken union clout. The justices said Tuesday they will hear an appeal from a group of California teachers who say it violates their First Amendment rights to have to pay any fees if they disagree with a union's positions and don't want to join it...

Miscellaneous
Americans Are Ready to Fight Powerful Interests  New York Times  ...Not long ago same-sex marriage was abhorrent to a majority of Americans, but now, according to polls, most approve of it. Meanwhile, the Confederate flag is being removed from public buildings and grounds. And even conservatives now agree fewer people should be imprisoned. But economic inclusiveness is proving more elusive. Yet Americans may be signaling they're ready for such a fight. Witness the current battle over the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the elections of Elizabeth Warren and Bill de Blasio...
President Obama’s immigration actions face skeptical judges  Politico  ...Two judges who dealt a significant blow to President Barack Obama’s executive actions on immigration last month will again play key roles in deciding whether the controversial programs are legally sound. Fifth Circuit Court Judges Jennifer Walker Elrod and Jerry Smith, both Republican appointees, in May ruled against the Obama administration’s request to proceed with the executive actions — which would protect more than 4 million immigrants here illegally from being deported...
Renting: Awful for Just About Everyone Right Now  The Atlantic  ...A recent report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) at Harvard, puts some numbers on just how bad this problem is: About half of all renters in the U.S. are using more than 30 percent of their income to cover housing costs, and about 25 percent have rent that exceeds 50 percent of their monthly pay. It’s not just the poorest city-dwellers who are feeling the rent pressure...
Robert Reich: Economic Apartheid in America  Alternet  ...In a 5-4 ruling, the Court found that the Fair Housing Act of 1968 requires plaintiffs to show only that the effect of a policy is discriminatory, not that defendants intended to discriminate. The decision is important in the fight against economic apartheid in America – racial segregation on a much larger geographic scale than ever before...
Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi are on the wrong side of history and they want us to know it  Daily Kos  ...As if determined that the South should retain its poor reputation on civil rights for another generation or two, the attorneys general of three states are saying "not so fast, Supreme Court" when it comes to marriage equality. In Texas, Attorney General Ken Paxton has told county clerks that they can refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and judges and justices of the peace that they can refuse to marry them...
"This Flag Comes Down Today": Bree Newsome Scales SC Capitol Flagpole, Removing Confederate Flag  Democracy Now  ...On Saturday, Bree Newsome, a 30-year-old African-American woman, was arrested at the state Capitol after scaling the 30-foot flagpole and unhooking the Confederate flag. As police officers shouted at her to come down, Bree Newsome shimmied to the top, took the flag in her hand and said, "You come against me with hatred and oppression and violence. I come against you in the name of God. This flag comes down today!"...

Housing costs are too damn high!

Homeownership, once considered the cornerstone of the American Dream, continues to slip away from more and more U.S. workers, a new report by Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) states. But the document also states that rent costs are straining the middle class as well.


The "State of the Nation's Housing 2015" paper detailed that the nation's housing recovery slipped last year as homeownership rates continued to fall. Meanwhile, rental markets continue to grow, but soaring rents combined with flat incomes means more and more households are paying too much for the roof over their heads.

Chris Herbert, JCHS's managing director, said:

Perhaps the most telling indicator of the state of the nation's housing is the drop in the homeownership rate to just 64.5 percent last year. This erases nearly all of the increase from the previous two decades. In fact, the number of homeowners fell for the eighth straight year, and the trend does not appear to be abating.

That, in turn, has caused a surge in rental demand. As a result, the national vacancy rate fell to its lowest point in nearly 20 years and rents rose 3.2 percent last year. Households headed by those aged 45-64 led the renter growth "movement."

Not surprisingly, the surge in rents has created an increase in the number of cost-burdened households -- those paying more than 30 percent of their income for housing. According to the latest numbers, nearly half of all renters now fall into that category.

This is what income inequality has done to this country. Working families are struggling to keep a roof over their heads. And increasingly, lower rent options are being torn down, replaced with high-rent alternatives that leave few places for low-income families to go.

A Slate article explains:

Rents are rising for the simple reason that, thanks to the never-ending hangover of the housing bust, a larger share of Americans are renting their living places now than they have in 20 years. And while developers have responded by building apartment buildings like mad—last year, there were the most multifamily housing starts for rent since 1987—it hasn't quite been enough to keep up with demand. (Moreover, new construction is largely catering to wealthier buyers, while the families most burdened by rent tend to be lower-income.)

Workers should be able to live a life of dignity. That means being able to have a place to call their own. But due to corporate greed, salaries aren't keep up. It's time for lawmakers to push for sustainable wages so hardworking Americans can afford the basics of life.

Today's Teamster News 6.29.15

Teamsters
Teamsters, Airgas employees on West Side, reject contract  Charleston Gazette  ...On Saturday, Teamster members working for Airgas Mid-America in Charleston unanimously rejected the company’s offer for a collective bargaining agreement. This would be the first contract negotiated by the union since the company’s employees on Charleston’s West Side voted to have the Teamsters represent them in July 2014. Local Airgas workers rejected the proposed contract in large part because the company refused to raise wages for their Charleston employees to a rate comparable to wages paid by its local competitor...

Global Labor & Trade
Pelosi on trade: 'The fight will continue'  The Hill  ...House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi vowed Thursday that liberals will carry their trade fight into the ongoing talks over a trans-Pacific deal at the top of President Obama's legislative wish list. The California Democrat said this week's passage of fast-track legislation, a key part of Obama's trade agenda, is just one setback in the much larger debate over the emerging Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)...
U.S. Democrats shrug off retribution threats for pro-trade votes  Reuters  ...Democrats in the U.S. Congress who backed legislation key to sealing a Pacific Rim trade pact this week shrugged off threats of retribution from labor unions and liberal activists who have vowed to hold them accountable at future elections. Forty-one Democrats this week defied pressure and supported legislation to let the White House seal trade deals and send them on a fast track through Congress...
The Trans-Pacific Partnership’s glaring double standard  Salon  ...Recently leaked drafts of the agreement show the pact includes the kind of “Investor-State Dispute Settlement” (ISDS) provisions written into most major trade deals passed since the North American Free Trade Agreement. Those provisions allow companies to use secretive international tribunals to sue sovereign governments. But also like past trade deals, the TPP is not expected to allow unions and public-interest groups to bring their own suits in the same tribunalss...
Why trade deals hurt Americans  PBS  ...The flood of imports has kept workers’ wages stagnant in the U.S. for decades and median household incomes declining—all at a time when importers like Wal-Mart and Apple are profiting tremendously from cheap overseas labor. While it costs only $2 to make bands for the Apple watch in Asia, those same bands retail at $49 in the U.S., making Apple a 96 percent profit. No wonder Apple has three times as much cash on hand as Uncle Sam. By shipping jobs overseas, companies make big profits, but deny Americans jobs. So yes, our trade policy is adding to inequality in the U.S...
King Obama, His Royal Court, and the TPP  (opinion) Common Dreams  ...The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) – a global corporate noose around U.S. local, state, and national sovereignty – narrowly passed a major procedural hurdle in the Congress by gaining “fast track” status. This term “fast track” is a euphemism for your members of Congress – senators and representatives – handcuffing themselves, so as to prevent any amendments or adequate debate before the final vote on the Trans-Pacific Partnership – another euphemism that is used to avoid the word “treaty”...
Anti-austerity protesters rally at Greek parliament  Reuters  ...Several hundred anti-austerity protesters, chanting slogans against the European Union and IMF, rallied near parliament in Athens on Sunday as a deepening crisis forced Greece's leftist government to announce capital controls on the banking system. The protest was the latest in a string of rallies both for and against the government in recent weeks...
Cash Withdrawals and Hoarding as Default Looms Over Greece  New York Times  ...Five years of economic misery have taught many Greeks how to endure hardship. There was no panic on the streets, even as the breakdown of negotiations in Brussels between the leftist government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and the country’s creditors could ultimately push Greece out of the eurozone...
Liberia Law Boosts Rights of Informal-Economy Workers  Solidarity Center  ...Liberian domestic workers and other informal-economy workers in Liberia are set to receive significant wage gains, collective bargaining rights and labor law protection under the Decent Work Bill signed today by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. The bill takes effect when printed into handbills for distribution. Unskilled workers will earn a minimum of $3.50 per day, an amount that is more than five times the $15 per month salary...

State & Living Wage Battles
State Moves To Block Cities From Increasing Minimum Wage Or Requiring Paid Sick Leave  Think Progress  ...Michigan’s legislature passed a bill this week that blocks any cities in the state from passing their own minimum wage increases or paid sick leave requirements. The text of the bill states that “the regulation of the employment relationship between a nonpublic employer and its employees is a matter of state concern”...
Assembly plan would scale back prevailing wage as budget stalemate enters fifth week  Star Tribune  ...Nearly 60 percent of public projects in Wisconsin would not be subject to the prevailing wage law under a proposal introduced Monday by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos as the state budget stalemate enters its fifth week. Gov. Scott Walker, who had previously said he wouldn't announce a presidential bid until after he signs the budget, is now planning to state his intentions as soon as July 13...
Maine lawmakers team-up to take down Right to Work  PR News Channel  ...In a move that surprised many labor supporters, especially in Ohio, Maine’s latest Right to Work effort was taken down with help from an unlikely source: state Republicans. Backed by Republican Gov. Paul LePage, the latest Right to Work bill was defeated 21-14 in the Republican-controlled state Senate. The Senate’s vote follows a similar result in the Democrat-controlled House earlier this month...
Changes to NC voter ID rankle some, but could preserve law  Citizen-Times  ...Federal and state lawsuits filed nearly two years ago challenging what’s in North Carolina’s election overhaul law are finally heading to trial starting next month. But unexpected moves on the way to the courthouse could break down arguments of plaintiffs seeking to overturn the law’s most high-profile component: a photo identification requirement to vote in person starting next year...
Jackson County Board votes to oppose 'Right to Work'  The Southern  ...In one of its largest gatherings in some time, the members of the Jackson County Board voted to support a resolution opposing right to work initiative. Last month, Gov. Bruce Rauner's proposal to allow Right to Work zones received zero votes from members of the Illinois State House...

U.S. Labor
Communications Workers Of America Ratify Agreement For AT&T  Nasdaq  ...AT&T on Friday said that wireline employees represented by the Communications Workers of America have voted to ratify a three-year contract for AT&T Corp. (CWA Telecommunications and Technology Office). The AT&T Corp. contract covers about 4,500 employees located throughout the country.
Milwaukee County Transit union members to vote on new contract  Fox 6 Now  ...A new contract is on the table. But no agreement has been reached between Milwaukee County and its bus drivers. The two sides spent Friday, June 26th negotiating. While a new proposal is out there, a strike is not out of the question. Drivers will vote on the contract on Monday, June 29th. The county is offering more money in this newest contract. But the Amalgamated Transit Union says, that’s not what this is about...
NLRB intervenes in clash between Time Inc. and News Guild  Capital New York  ...The National Labor Relations Board has announced its intent to issue a complaint against Time Inc. by the end of this month if the magazine publisher and the News Guild of New York fail to reach an agreement amenable to the federal agency. The announcement comes several months after the union filed a charge against Time Inc. with the NLRB, pushing back against what it characterized as the company's unilateral implementation of its "last, best and final offer"...
AFSCME, MAPE come to tentative contract agreements with state of Minnesota  Star Tribune  ...The two largest state government unions reached tentative contract agreements with the administration of Gov. Mark Dayton, giving raises to more than 30,000 state workers of 2.5 percent in July 2015 and another 2.5 percent in 2016. “It’s a proper balance between managing the state budget and a good pay package for the employees” that will help recruit, develop and retain a solid workforce...
Could This Be the Biggest Blow Yet to Uber’s Business Model?  The Nation  ...The sharing economy has been having a rough ride lately: Enraged taxi drivers rose up against Uber with flaming street blockades in Paris and San Francisco cabbies rallied at Uber headquarters to protest the “ride-share” platform’s outsized grip on local taxi markets. But another potentially more disruptive development unfolded more quietly, in a San Francisco courtroom, with the simple words “alleged employee”...
“I think America is out of hand”: The shocking numbers that reveal just how burnt out American workers are  Salon  ...The American worker is overworked, underpaid, and suffering from severe burnout. This sentiment isn’t populist rhetoric, there are numbers to back it up. A new study from WorkPlaceTrends — an HR-focused research firm — and  Staples Advantage polled over 2,500 workers and reached troubling results. According to the data, 53 percent of American workers report feeling burned out at work...
Once Again, Bosses Are Trying To Eliminate New Protections for Guestworkers  In These Times  ...Once again, the beleaguered H-2B guestworker program is the subject of a legal battle. Once again, the battle is over basic worker protections. While employers are fighting in court and in Congress to have newly implemented protections removed, guestworker advocates are calling for the public to demand that the government keep them...
GOP battles to defund work of Obama labor board  The Hill  ...Congressional Republicans are using the power of the purse to do battle against a series of controversial labor regulations from the Obama administration. They say the National Labor Relations Board (NRLB) gave a gift to labor unions by issuing what they call an “ambush election” rule that speeds up the process for organizing in the workplace...

Miscellaneous
Sysco Pulling Out of US Foods Buyout After FTC Move  New York Times  ...Sysco is scrapping its proposed $3.5 billion buyout of US Foods after a Federal Trade Commission legal victory that temporarily blocked the deal to combine the two food-service companies. The FTC opposed the deal, saying it would reduce competition. The U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., granted the halt on Tuesday...
Consumers Score Huge Victory as Federal Judge Blocks Sysco and US Foods Merger  Alternet  ...In a stunning victory for people, independent restaurants and public cafeterias, a federal judge struck down the proposed merger of Sysco and US Foods, the only two national food distribution companies in the United States. Sysco and US Foods are the only companies that provide national distribution networks to foodservice customers such as schools, restaurants and hospitals...
College is a con: The savage truth about your bachelor’s degree  Salon  ...Higher education wears the cloak of liberalism, but in policy and practice, it can be a corrupt and cutthroat system of power and exploitation. Tthe reality is that while college administrators might affix “down with the man” stickers on their office doors, many prop up a system that is severely unfair to American students and professors, a shocking number of whom struggle to make ends meet...
With Marriage Equality Won, LGBTQ Activism Continues for Bias Protections & Overlooked Trans Issues  Democracy Now  ...After the Supreme Court’s historic ruling on marriage equality, many LGBTQ leaders are now redirecting their attention to obtaining federal, state and local legal protections in areas of employment, housing and commerce. Nationwide, anti-discrimination laws for gay people are inconsistent and unequal with only 22 states barring discrimination based on sexual orientation...
The Supreme Court Knocks Down Major Death Penalty Challenge  Mother Jones  ...On Monday, the Supreme Court rejected a challenge to a state lethal injection protocol, allowing Oklahoma and other states to continue using a controversial sedative that's been implicated in a number of botched executions. The 5-4 decision in Glossip v. Gross was a win for conservatives who support the death penalty...

Report reveals McDonald's threw workers under the bus in Teamster campaign

The world's largest fast food company failed workers in its supply chain when it dropped business with Taylor Farms, the world's largest supplier of packed salad and produce.

That's the finding of a new report released by the International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF), documenting extensive violations of workers' rights at Taylor Farms' facility in Tracy, Calif., where workers have been trying to organize with Teamsters Local 601 for almost two years.

According to the report, titled "Golden Veneer: How McDonald’s Empty CSR Promises Failed Workers at Taylor Farms," McDonald's "failed to use its leverage" with Taylor Farms to address labor law violations and instead "caused further damage to the workers" by walking away from the situation altogether:

When workers asked McDonald’s to help address multiple cases of intimidation and sexual harassment at their supplier, Taylor Farms, McDonald’s response took workers by surprise. 

McDonald’s was a large buyer of Taylor Farms produce at the time and within a few months they sent representatives from a corporate social responsibility firm called Arche Advisors – a firm that promotes its expertise in stakeholder engagement – to look into the situation. Unfortunately, the only “report” workers received after the Arche Advisors’ visit was when McDonald’s pulled out of Taylor Farms four months after their visit, leaving dozens out of work just before the holidays. 

ILRF's report added that McDonald's actions inadvertently aided Taylor Farms' campaign against its workers and the Teamsters:

Although we have seen brands cut and run when trouble arises at a supplier before, the swiftness of McDonald’s action was destructive and the lack of transparency from Arche Advisors meant management was able to use McDonald’s review in its campaign against the union. Ironically, McDonald’s CSR programs actually undermined the same rights they were meant to protect.  

McDonald's code of conduct insists that suppliers must respect workers' freedom of association and collective bargaining rights. The code includes a phone number to call to report violations. And that's exactly what one Taylor Farms worker did last year after workers endured countless abuses by the company, included retaliatory firings, intimidation, threats to call immigration authorities and other unlawful tactics before and during the workers' election for Teamster representation.

After McDonald's consultants conducted several audits of the plants in Tracy, the fast-food giant cancelled its orders with Taylor Farms. Not only did this lead to loss of jobs for workers already suffering harsh conditions and company bullying, the salad company also blamed the loss of work on the Teamsters:

Multiple workers reported being told in one-on-one conversations with Taylor Farms managers that the union was the reason McDonald’s pulled its business. Flyers were widely circulated within the facility with photos of the union saying, “thanks for taking away McDonald’s,” and Taylor Farms managers had said repeatedly on previous occasions that union complaints would lead to job loss. Thus, rather than aiding in correction of the violation of McDonald’s Supplier Code, the audit became a tool management used to reinforce to the workforce that if they complain or attempt to unionize, they will face dismissal. 

ILRF concludes that a better "corporate responsibility" policy for McDonald's would be to re-engage with Taylor Farms in an effort to correct the union-busting behavior:

[W]e urge McDonald’s to correct the flaws in their system and to cut a new path in corporate accountability towards programs based on binding standards, transparent reporting, and engagement with trade unions to ensure workers’ rights are protected throughout their supply chain. We stand ready to engage in that redesign, but first we need McDonald’s to come back to the table to stand up for the workers’ whose rights were violated at Taylor Farms.

Teamsters have filed 87 unfair labor practice charges against Taylor Farms, which are still being investigated by the National Labor Relations Board after ballots were impounded from the election last year. Organizers say the Board is close to concluding its investigation and they believe a ruling favorable to workers' bargaining rights will be made soon.

The ILRF report shows us the limits of so-called "corporate social responsibility" -- and why these policies often mean nothing for workers without unions holding companies' feet to the fire. No wonder why Taylor Farms workers have bravely withstood so many indignities in their ongoing fight to become Teamsters.  

Today Teamster News 06.26.15

Teamsters
SEIRPC board OKs Teamsters contract   The Hawk Eye  ...The Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commissions approved a three-year contract with the Chauffeurs, Teamsters and Helpers Local Union No. 238, affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, at Wednesday's executive board meeting in West Burlington. The contract will need final approval by the full board at its July meeting. The contract includes a 3 percent increase in wages for each of the next three years for SEIBUS drivers and a maintenance manager...
GOP measure would permit longer tandem trucks  Associated Press  ...Over the objections of safety advocates, the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday approved a trucking industry bid to allow longer tandem trucks on the nation's highways. Pushing the measure were large trucking operations that stand to profit from lower costs. In opposition were unions such as the Teamsters, many states and local governments, and safety advocates. Many smaller trucking companies were against it as well...
Teamster Officers Training Being Held in Missouri  Teamster.org  ...A Teamsters officers’ training is being held today and Friday, June 26, at the Teamsters Complex in Kansas City, Mo. More than 50 Teamster officers are gathered to take part in the program that is hosted by Teamsters Joint Council 56 and Joint Council 56 President Jim Kabell and coordinated by the IBT Training and Development Department...

Global Labor & Trade
House completes Obama’s trade items as Pacific pact looms  Washington Post  ...The Republican-led Congress rounded out President Barack Obama’s trade package Thursday, overwhelmingly passing a worker training program just weeks after it was stymied. The House voted 286 to 138 to renew the program for workers displaced by international trade. Obama had said he wanted to sign that bill alongside the “fast track” negotiating authority that Congress approved a day earlier...
Congress approves assistance for workers who lose jobs to trade  LA Times  ...Congress gave final approval Thursday to a program that provides funds for retraining workers who lose their jobs to overseas trade, a key component of President Obama's trade agenda. The Trade Adjustment Assistance bill, which is now on its way to the White House, became tangled in a political debate over giving the administration fast-track authority to negotiate trade deals...
Obama Bolsters His Leverage With Trade Victory, but at a Cost  New York Times ...President Obama’s success in rescuing his high-priority trade legislation from a rebellion by fellow Democrats strengthens his hand internationally and paves the way for completion of the most expansive economic agreement in generations. While the turbulent process was embarrassing for the president and deeply confusing for foreign negotiating partners, Mr. Obama now has the leverage he sought to force the final concessions needed to wrap up a free-trade pact...
Democrats Mend Fences After Bloody Trade Fight  National Journal  ...After weeks of all-out fighting over President Obama's trade agenda—and a bitter defeat for its Democratic opponents—the combatants in the House Democratic Caucus are ready to bury the hatchet. That doesn't mean Democrats are done fighting over trade. TPA prevents Congress from amending the pending Trans-Pacific Partnership, but members will still get an up-or-down vote when the 12-nation trade deal is completed...
Sen. Stabenow Calls for Voluntary Country-of-Origin Labels on Meat  Wall Street Journal  ...U.S. lawmakers are weighing the fate of country-of-origin labels, known as COOL, after the World Trade Organization said in May that the existing requirement discriminates against animals from Canada and Mexico. Following their win at the WTO, both Canada and Mexico are now threatening retaliatory measures totaling more than a combined $3 billion. Canada has threatened trade restrictions on a range of U.S. products...
The Fight for Fair Trade: How Far We've Come, How Much Further We Will Go  (opinion) Huffington Post  ...After a long, arduous fight, Congress passed legislation that will put harmful trade pacts on the fast track. Now our job is to put aside this momentary loss, build on the incredible momentum we have created in the fight for fair and responsible trade, and shift focus to the even bigger fights ahead. We must now focus on defeating the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)...
In China, Walmart Is Unionized, But Workers Have No Power on the Job  In These Times  ...Walmart has succeeded in meeting the Chinese government’s demands that the company allow unions to be formally established, but this has not translated into any effective collective bargaining power for some 107,000 workers at the company’s 411 Chinese stores, says Han Dongfang, Executive Director of the Hong Kong-based China Labour Bulletin...

State & Living Wage Battles
New Mexico Will Make It Even Harder To Get Food Stamps  Think Progress  ...With an unemployment rate well above the national average and more than one in four of its children on the brink of hunger, New Mexico is poised to make it harder to get food stamps. Like most other states, New Mexico has waived federal work requirements tied to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) since about 2009. The work rules are designed to lapse when the unemployment is severe, since requiring people to find work or starve makes little sense when there’s no work to be had...
Connecticut Just Passed a Law Requiring Bosses Who Steal Workers’ Wages to Pay Them Back Double  In These Times  ...For many employers, wage theft makes good business sense. The probability of getting caught refusing to pay a worker overtime, shaving hours off their check or paying less than the minimum wage is low. This Wednesday, Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy signed into law Senate Bill 914, a measure that will allow victims of wage theft to collect double the amount due them...
W.Va. governor: No prevailing wage July 1 due to lawmakers  Herald-Dispatch  ...Blaming inaction by state lawmakers, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin's administration says the state's prevailing wage will disappear July 1 for a short-term lapse that is creating uncertainty for the construction industry. On Thursday, the Democratic governor's spokesman, Chris Stadelman, said WorkForce West Virginia couldn't calculate the rate for public construction projects by July 1...
Lawsuit aims to declare Nevada minimum wage unconstitutional  Las Vegas Review-Journal  ...Several Nevada businesses are asking a federal judge to declare the state’s minimum wage law unconstitutional. According to a recent fact sheet prepared by a Legislative Counsel Bureau researcher, an amendment to the Nevada Constitution to raise the minimum wage paid to employees was approved by voters in 2004 and was reaffirmed in 2006. The 2006 voter-approved amendment requires the minimum wage to be recalculated each year...
Maine House members launching push to impeach LePage  Bangor Daily News  ...Six lawmakers said Thursday they will attempt to launch impeachment proceedings against Republican Gov. Paul LePage for his alleged role in pushing Democratic House Speaker Mark Eves out of a new job at Good Will-Hinckley School. The House of Representatives has “sole power of impeachment” according to Article 4 of the Maine Constitution...

U.S. Labor
Truckers end protest over terminal wait time at Port of New Orleans  NOLA.com  The independent truck drivers who protested outside the Port of New Orleans this week returned to work Thursday morning (June 25) after reaching an agreement with terminal operators and local trucking companies that satisfied part of their demands. As part of the deal, drivers said the local trucking companies that hire them have agreed to pay them $40 to transport each damaged shipping container to a repair facility...
More Than 9,000 Santa Clara County SEIU Union Workers Vote to Strike Over "Unfair Labor" Practices  NBC  ...More than 9,000 Santa Clara County union workers voted on Wednesday to authorize a strike next week over what they say are unfair labor practices – the first time in more than four decades. SEIU 521 spokeswoman Khanh Weinberg said that 97 percent of the union members comprising of 911 dispatchers, janitors, librarians and nurses, voted to authorize the strike on Tuesday. Workers voted to hold an "open-ended" strike with no end date...
Ford, UAW talking in advance of contract talks  NWI Times  ...Ford and the United Auto Workers union have been talking before upcoming contract negotiations, which should officially start next month. The UAW represents about 5,000 workers locally at the Chicago Assembly Plant in Hegewisch and the Chicago Stamping Plant in Chicago Heights. The union hopes to boost pay and eliminate a two-tier system where newer workers make less to do the same job as more senior employees...
State, AFSCME OK ongoing talks without lockout or strike  News & Observer  ...Negotiations on a contract with Illinois' largest public employee union will continue without the possibility of a strike or lockout for one month after the contract expires next week. Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner's office and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Council 31, released a statement Thursday about the agreement. The idea is to let both sides negotiate in July without the threat of disruption of public services. The statement says "all legal and contractual" rights will be preserved...

Showing Solidarity with Ink Master Workers  AFL-CIO  ...Workers at "Ink Master" voted overwhelmingly for a union last year. Since then, Original Media, the master behind "Ink Master," has refused to bargain in good faith with the Writers Guild of America, East, AFL-CIO. Original Media is being investigated currently by the National Labor Relations Board for failing to bargain in good faith...
Inside the Growing Movement to Unionize Charter Schools  The American Prospect  ...The labor struggle happening in Los Angeles mirrors a growing number of efforts taking place at charter schools around the country, where most teachers work with no job security on year-to-year contracts. For teachers, unions, and charter school advocates, the moment is fraught with challenges. Traditional unions are grappling with how they can both organize charter teachers and still work politically to curb charter expansion...
Diversifying labor ‘one way or the other’  St. Louis American  ...Attendees gave a nod to union members at the Communications Workers of America (CWA), who passed a “Black Lives Matter” resolution at their national convention on June 10 to address the issues of “systematic racism” in the United States. “Part of our goal in passing the resolution is to start active members of CWA talking about these issues,” said Bradley Harmon, president of the CWA Local 6355. “That has already started. I think it deepened our commitment towards working for racial justice”...

Miscellaneous
Senate Recommends $1.7 Billion In Education Cuts  Think Progress  ...The Senate Appropriations Committee advanced a labor, health and education bill for the next fiscal year out of committee Thursday. The U.S. Department of Education would lose $1.7 billion in the Senate spending bill compared to its current funding levels. Those cuts were significantly less than the House Appropriations Committee, which cut the department by $2.8 billion...
In Surprise Decision, SCOTUS Rules Against Discriminatory Housing Practices  Common Dreams  ...In a decision applauded by housing and civil rights groups on Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Fair Housing Act (FHA) allows people to pursue lawsuits when a housing practice has a discriminatory effect, even if that practice wasn't intended to discriminate—an effect known as "disparate impact"...
Gay marriage declared legal across the US in historic supreme court ruling  The Guardian  ...Same-sex marriages are now legal across the entirety of the United States after a historic supreme court ruling that declared attempts by conservative states to ban them unconstitutional. In what may prove the most important civil rights case in a generation, five of the nine court justices determined that the right to marriage equality was enshrined under the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment...
"Slavery Deeply Embedded" in South Carolina: Emanuel AME Church on Street Named for Racist Lawmaker  Democracy Now  ...When Rev. Clementa Pinckney lay in state at the Capitol this week, his body had to be brought past the Confederate flag that still flies there and is the symbol embraced by his killer, Dylann Roof. The Emanuel AME Church in Charleston is located on Calhoun Street, named for one of the most prominent pro-slavery figures in history, the late Senator and Vice President John C. Calhoun, who argued slavery was a "positive good" rather than a "necessary evil"...
Separate Attacks Leave One Dead in France and Dozens Killed in Tunisia  Common Dreams  ...Violence was making global news headlines in two countries on Friday as an earlier attack on a U.S.-owned gas plant in France was later overshadowed by an attack on a hotel in Sousse, Tunisia, where nearly thirty people are reported dead. The Associated Press reports on the attacks in Tunisia: "Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has confirmed that one of the two beachside hotels where tourists were shot in Tunisia, killing at least 27 people, is owned by a Spanish company"...

Misclassification is another corporate trick

Too many corporations are taking advantage of hardworking Americans who are trying to earn a living to support their families. Instead of bringing them on as full-time workers, these companies go on the cheap by hiring temporary or contract workers who don't have the same job protections or benefits. Meanwhile, the employer avoids paying some taxes and unemployment insurance.

Some firms are using temp workers to sort recycling.

Misclassification is getting worse nationwide, as we noted in another blog last week. A Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GALA) report released this week details another such example, U.S. recycling workers, who are often temp workers who have fewer workplace protections and are less likely to be informed of their legal right to a safe and healthy workplace.

As detailed in the document:

Reliance on temporary staffing agencies has allowed companies to distance themselves from responsibility for worker health and safety. Among employers who use temporary labor, failure to properly train and orient workers who are new to the job, or have been brought on as temporary labor, is a common practice and a serious concern. Research about work-related injuries for low-wage workers shows that workers who have received health and safety training are more likely to seek medical attention and to notify employers of injuries than workers who have not received health and safety training.

Such practices are the latest example of corporate America trying to fleece the public. Following the same playbook it uses to jam lousy trade deals through Congress, big business insists it needs to change the rules so can remain in business. This at a time when companies are registering record profits.

Luckily, there are some instances where misclassification is not allowed to run rampant. Fed Ex Ground, for instance, recently agreed to pay $228 million to about 2,300 drivers in California that the company improperly classified as independent contractors from 2000 to 2007. The settlement came after a federal appeals court in San Francisco last August determined the workers were employees under California law.

That determination and others like it are causing some employers to act. Instacart, an on-demand delivery service, announced this week that it will transition some 300 workers in Boston and Chicago from independent contractors to employees with benefits.

But that in and of itself won't change the dynamic that seems to be increasingly gripping our government. Our elected officials too often are doing the bidding of big business and instituting policies that are hurting workers. It happened with the fast track trade bill and it's happening with misclassification. They say these moves create jobs, but there is no evidence that it does. Instead, there are just bigger profits for corporations.

This is part of the reason that a presidential candidate like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is resonating with so many people. He makes it clear he won't turn his back on people, like many on Capitol Hill already have. Too many believe government is of and by corporations now. It should be of and by the people like our founders intended.

Today's Teamster News 06.25.15

Teamsters
EVSC, Teamsters to resume negotiations Monday  Courier & Press  ...After three weeks of standstill in discussions, the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp. and Teamsters Local 215 negotiating teams have agreed to meet next week for collective bargaining sessions. Local 215 President Chuck Whobrey said meetings are scheduled for Monday and Tuesday...
Teamsters Join Battle Against HOS Changes, Truck Size Provisions  Trucking News  ...The Teamsters Union this week stood with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), representatives for highway safety advocates and law enforcement and families of highway accident victims to denounce a series of provisions it claims would threaten the safety of the driving public. This week, the Senate will follow the House and mark up the FY 2016 transportation appropriations bill...
Teamsters at Fleischmann's Plant Make Vinegar for the World  Local 727  ...Vinegar is Bob Maza’s unofficial family business. Maza followed in his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps as an operator at Fleischmann’s Vinegar Co., beginning at age 17. “My dad got me the job. I started there right out of high school in 1972, and I’ve been there ever since,” said Maza, a Teamsters Local 727 steward...
The war against bad trade deals continues  TeamsterNation  ...The battle now turns to the TPP. Americans have not yet seen the text of this lengthy and complex agreement and even elected officials have limited access to the document. Teamsters and other advocates plan on keeping up the pressure to build real and enforceable labor and environmental standards...

Global Labor & Trade
Congress renews 'fast track' trade authority  USA Today  ...The Republican-controlled Congress delivered a significant second-term victory for President Obama, sending to his desk a six-year renewal of trade promotion authority intended to advance one of the largest trade pacts in history later this year. Trade promotion authority, more commonly referred to as "fast track" or TPA, reestablishes an expedited legislative process for presidents to submit trade deals to Congress that can only be approved or rejected, not amended...
Senate approves fast-track, sending trade bill to White House  The Hill  ...The Senate voted Wednesday to approve fast-track authority, securing a big second-term legislative win for President Obama after a months-long struggle. The 60-38 Senate vote capped weeks of fighting over the trade bill, which pitted Obama against most of his party — including Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)...
Fast-Track’s Passage Sets Up Round Two on Obama’s Trade Agenda  Wall Street Journal  ...The White House and Republican leaders notched a significant victory Wednesday with the Senate’s passage of divisive trade legislation, but the win kicks off a grueling, monthslong process to complete a Pacific trade pact that still faces domestic opposition and must win final congressional approval. President  Barack Obama is expected to sign the fast-track legislation within days, clearing a negotiating roadblock that prevented officials from moving ahead on the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership...
Here’s how much corporations paid the Senate to fast-track passage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership  Raw Story  ...The US Senate passed Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) — the fast-tracking bill — by a 65-33 margin on 14 May. Last Thursday, the Senate voted 62-38 to bring the debate on TPA to a close. Those impressive majorities follow months of behind-the-scenes wheeling and dealing by the world’s most well-heeled multinational corporations with just a handful of holdouts.
Even in Chicago, Democrats Sprint Away From Obama on Trade  National Journal  ...Even in Obama's home base, trade has driven a deep rift between the president and his fellow Democrats. At the same time, the labor movement has ramped up pressure on lawmakers to vote against fast-track, which they say will cost American jobs and slash wages. And Chicago-area Democrats locked in primaries that could be decided by a spare few thousand votes can ill afford to get on the wrong side of labor on a litmus-test issue...
Pay deal averts rail strike threat  BBC  ...The threat of a UK national rail strike has been averted after Network Rail agreed a two-year pay deal with unions. Members of the RMT, TSSA and Unite unions have voted to accept the offer. The deal includes a 2% pay rise this year and a pay increase in line with RPI inflation next year...
Greece 'Shoved Over Red Line' as IMF Pushes Even Harsher Cuts  Common Dreams  ...More austerity, more cuts, or no deal. That's the message the International Monetary Fund threw back at the Greek government after negotiators on Wednesday rejected the latest reform proposals submitted by the Syriza government. According to reporting on the ground, there were a "flurry of proposals, counter-proposals, leaks and verbal attacks" in Brussels as Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras continued to try to hash out an acceptable bail-out...
China Workers Contracted by Uniqlo Strike Over Plant Closure  ABC News ...More than 300 Chinese workers at a garment factory that supplies international brands such as Uniqlo have been protesting for about two weeks what they say is a unilateral decision by the management to close down. The strike is one of more than 1,000 collective actions since January by Chinese workers, who are increasingly turning to group actions in fighting for their rights...

State & Living Wage Battles
Dispute over union fees could return to Supreme Court  Sacramento Bee  ...Powerful public-sector unions are facing another high-profile legal challenge that they say could wipe away millions from their bank accounts and make it tougher for them to survive. A group of California schoolteachers, backed by a conservative group, has asked the Supreme Court to rule that unions representing government workers can't collect fees from those who choose not to join...
Scott Walker Reveals Extreme Views On Equal Pay  Think Progress  ...He likened the push for equal pay laws to seeking to make more people reliant on government. “For [Obama and Clinton], your measure of success in government is how many people are dependent on the government.”
But what Walker implies he’d rather do to address the wage gap — give women more education and qualifications — won’t do the trick...
Debate ramping up ahead of vote on right-to-work veto  Joplin Globe  ...While it never received support from a number of House and Senate Republicans from districts near the state’s urban cores, right-to-work received unanimous support from the Republicans who represent Southwest Missouri. The bill was passed out of a committee chaired by Lant, R-Pineville, who said in a recent interview that he is pushing the effort to override Nixon’s veto...
NAACP head says state ‘blinked’ on voter ID  Winston-Salem Journal  ...A noisy protest staged last week by the state NAACP at the N.C. Legislative Building in Raleigh forced legislators to pass the law that modifies the voter ID law, the Rev. William Barber, the president of the N.C. chapter of the NAACP, said Wednesday. “They blinked,” Barber said. “They had to go back and fix what was clearly voter suppression”...
De Blasio refused offer linking minimum wage to pension deal  Capital New York  ...Mayor Bill de Blasio was offered a deal to raise the minimum wage for New York City in exchange for supporting a police pension proposal, but he rejected the offer, multiple sources told Capital. The deal, offered by the Republican-controlled State Senate, would have established an $11.50-an-hour minimum wage for New York City, the sources familiar with the talks said...
Lawmakers Unanimously Approve Country’s Most Robust Paid Sick Leave Law  Think Progress  ...The Montgomery County, Maryland council voted unanimously to pass a paid sick leave bill on Tuesday, making the town the 23rd place in the country to enact such a requirement. The law is one of the most robust to be passed at the city or state level so far. “The Montgomery County paid sick days laws is one of the strongest yet, and it should serve as a model for the state of Maryland and the nation,” said Charly Carter, director of Maryland Working Families...

U.S. Labor
Someone Has to Sort Your Recycling, and It’s a Disgusting and Dangerous Job  The Nation  ...The industries that pride themselves on being friends of the earth are often hostile to workers, according to new research on the safety conditions in recycling plants. Published by the Massachusetts Council for Occupational Safety and Health (MassCOSH), National COSH, and other advocacy groups, the analysis of the industry shows that, despite the green sector’s clean, progressive image, workers remain imperiled by old-school industrial hazards...
Marathon refinery workers in Texas to end strike July 6  The Courier  ...Unionized workers at Marathon Petroleum Corp.’s Galveston Bay refinery in Texas will go back to work July 6 following nearly five months of striking. They ratified a contract with the company on Tuesday. About 1,200 workers at the refinery in Texas City, Texas, walked off the job Feb. 1...
Verizon and its unions off to tough start to contract talks  Times Union  ...Verizon and the unions that represent 38,000 of its workers in the Northeast, including about 1,000 in the Capital Region, have gotten off to an acrimonious start to their contract negotiations. After Verizon publicized it had offered employees wage increases, which included a $1,000 cash payment in the final year of a proposed three-year agreement, union officials accused the company of trying to surgarcoat what was really a bad deal...
AT&T, CWA begin negotiations for 27,000 Southeast employees  Fierce Telecom  ...AT&T  has begun contract negotiations with 27,000 employees in its Southeast territory represented by the Communications Workers of America (CWA). The Southeast region, which was formerly BellSouth, has wireline employees in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Both parties met yesterday with both presenting their own position statements on the negotiation process...
School bus company underpaid workers in NY state more than $290K, Cuomo says; Poughkeepsie employees affected  Daily Freeman  ...More than $290,000 in wages have been returned to 462 workers at Durham School Services locations across New York as the result if an investigation by the state Department of Labor’s Division of Worker Protection, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday. The labor department launched an investigation after Service Employees International Union Local 200 raised concerns about possible pay violations at the Durham location in Syracuse...

Miscellaneous
Federal Judge Halts Sysco-US Foods Merger  Wall Street Journal  ...A federal judge on Tuesday issued a preliminary injunction blocking Sysco Corp.’s planned acquisition of US Foods Inc., a ruling that could kill a deal to combine the nation’s two largest food distributors. The decision handed a high-profile victory to the Federal Trade Commission, which filed a lawsuit in February chanllenging the transaction on anti-trust grounds...
Obamacare upheld by US supreme court as conservative justices rescue law  The Guardian  ...Chief justice John Roberts has come to the rescue of Barack Obama’s healthcare reforms for a second time as the US supreme court struck down a Republican-led challenge to Obamacare that could have gutted the legislation and stripped millions of Americans of their health insurance. The decision in the high stakes case of King v Burwell all but guarantees that Obamacare will survive...
U.S. to Reduce Long Stays for Families at Immigration Centers  New York Times  ...In a sharp change of policy, Homeland Security officials announced plans Wednesday to end the long-term detention of mothers with children caught crossing the border illegally by allowing most of them to be released quickly on bond. The changes by Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson expanded policies he ordered last month that were designed to shorten family detention but that had only limited effect...
Deadly American Extremism: More White Than Muslim  The Atlantic  ...It’s an accident of fate that Dzokhar Tsarnaev’s formal sentencing for the Boston Marathon bombing is happening just now, as the U.S. continues to reel from the Charleston massacre. Jihadists have killed 26 people, versus 48 by what New America calls “right-wing extremists.” In that way, Dylann Roof is far more representative of political violence in 21st century America than Dzokhar Tsarnaev could ever be...

The war against bad trade deals continues

The Teamsters joined fair trade advocates earlier this month in protesting TPP.

The Senate is on the verge of giving final approval later today to fast track legislation that will allow lousy trade deals like the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) to speed through Congress with little debate and no chance to amend them. Sadly, a majority of lawmakers will choose to side with the powerful over the people.

It is discouraging to lose this battle. More than 57,000 contacts with lawmakers were made through the Teamsters' phone and e-mail tools in recent weeks to tell them to stick up for American workers. But it wasn't enough. As Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa said:

History shows it makes no sense to give a quick up-or-down vote to bad trade deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership that will only ship jobs overseas and lower wages in the U.S. Yet again, workers have been tossed aside by some lawmakers who are more interested in pleasing their corporate cronies than doing what’s best for their constituents.

But the trade war isn't over. Not by a long shot. The fast track fight has been a galvanizing battle in the effort to build a fair trade movement for the 21st century that protects American jobs and the environment. The momentum is on the side of the hundreds of thousands of people who are now engaged in this effort, organized in the states and intent to fight for their rights.

The battle now turns to the TPP. Americans have not yet seen the text of this lengthy and complex agreement and even elected officials have limited access to the document. How can Congress approve such a trade deal when it doesn’t know everything that is in it?

What the public does know, however, isn’t good. Several TPP chapters have been unveiled by WikiLeaks, and they show the 12-nation Pacific Rim trade deal would result in lost American jobs, bigger U.S. trade deficits due to the currency manipulation practices of other countries and even the possibility that this country’s laws could be challenged by foreign corporations and overturned by an international tribunal.

That’s why the Teamsters and other advocates plan on keeping up the pressure to build real and enforceable labor and environmental standards. A process also needs to be established that includes and informs the public, rather than keeping people on the outside of the negotiating process.

TPP backers have made big promises about how the trade deal will change the lives of Americans for the better, even though The Washington Post found it won’t create any new U.S. jobs. Now they have to make good on those promises. American workers need to get something from these agreements. The corporate class insists they will. The Teamsters and those standing up for workers will hold them accountable for their promises.

Today's Teamster News 06.24.15

Teamsters
Hoffa Statement on Senate Fast Track Cloture Vote  Teamster.org  ...Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa in response to the Senate’s decision to invoke cloture and cut off debate on the fast track trade bill currently being considered by the chamber: “The process surrounding fast track has been convoluted and confusing. And today, too many senators decided to trust big business and the House instead of standing up for American workers"...
Teamsters Join Sen. Blumenthal, Highway Safety Advocates, Families of Victims in Fight Against Truck Safety Rollbacks  Teamster.org  ...The Teamsters Union stood with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), representatives for highway safety advocates and law enforcement and families of highway accident victims to denounce a series of dangerous provisions that would threaten the safety of the driving public. This week, the Senate will follow the House and mark up the FY 2016 transportation appropriations bill...
McDonald's Accused Of Hanging California Produce Workers Out To Dry  Huffington Post  ...After impounding the ballots for more than a year, federal officials last week tallied the votes in an acrimonious union election at Taylor Farms Pacific, a California vegetable producer that supplies garnishes to major fast-food companies. After launching the union campaign in the fall of 2013, the Teamsters accused Taylor Farms supervisors of intimidating workers and interfering with organizing efforts, as Capital & Main reported last year...
New Report: U.S. Recycling Workers Exposed to Safety Hazards and High Injury Rates  Teamster.org  ... A new study, released Tuesday, June 23 by environmental, occupational safety, and community benefits experts in collaboration with researchers at the University of Illinois School of Public Health, finds that recycling work is unnecessarily hazardous to workers’ health and safety. The report notes that unionized workers, with negotiated contracts in place enjoy more effective enforcement of legally mandated health and safety protections and also have the ability to bargain for additional safeguards to improve working conditions...

Global Labor & Trade
Trade Accord, Once Blocked, Nears Passage  New York Times  ... President Obama’s ambitious trade push is back on track, after several near-death moments, in large measure because top Republicans stood by him. The Senate on Tuesday narrowly voted to end debate on legislation granting Mr. Obama enhanced negotiating powers to complete a major Pacific trade accord, virtually assuring final passage Wednesday of Mr. Obama’s top legislative priority in his final years in office...
Senate pushes Obama's Pacific Rim trade pact forward  Reuters  ...President Barack Obama's call for "fast-track" trade negotiating authority to help him strike a Pacific Rim deal cleared a key hurdle in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, paving the way for a final vote on the legislation on Wednesday. On Wednesday, the Senate was likely to vote to grant Obama the power to speed trade deals through Congress, including his Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). If that happens, the fast-track measure would then go to the White House for Obama's signature...
Sanders and Warren stand tall on trade  The Hill  ...The U.S. Senate today passed the fast-track trade bill and sent it to President Obama for his signature. Those who believe in fighting for working men and women should give a standing ovation to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who waged what The Hill correctly called in a news story her "last stand on trade" — until the next fight begins tomorrow...
'A Great Day for Corporate America': US Senate Passes Fast Track  Common Dreams  ...In a win for multinational corporations and the global one percent, the U.S. Senate on Tuesday narrowly advanced Fast Track, or Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) —ensuring for all practical purposes the continued rubber-stamping of clandestine trade agreements like the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) and TransAtlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)...
Is the Trans-Pacific Partnership Unconstitutional?  The Atlantic  ...Despite the fairness of our court system, the U.S. government has consented in prior trade agreements, and in a leaked version of the still-secret TPP, to allow foreign investors to bypass our courts and instead move to “investor-state” arbitration. Thus, challenges based upon TPP to our duly enacted laws and other regulatory actions would be decided by three individuals who are not government officials and need not be American citizens...

Killing a Nation With Euphemisms: TPP-Eats-Medicare Edition  Truthout  ...If you lose your job to the TPP, you will get insufficient "assistance," followed by less-funded Medicare support. If you don't lose your job, you'll still be dealing with the smoking hole in Medicare funding made by the trade bill that caused your neighbor to lose her house after she lost her job...
Norway Oil-Rig Unions in Last-Chance Talks to Avoid Strike  Bloomberg  ...Norwegian oil-rig unions and employers started government-backed mediation on Wednesday in a final bid to avoid a strike that could shut down two North Sea oil fields. Talks started at 10 a.m. Oslo time, said Benedikte Naess, spokeswoman for the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association, which is representing employers. If the parties fail to reach a deal by midnight, 189 workers will go on strike...
Cabin crew give Lufthansa deadline to avoid strike  Reuters  ...German airline Lufthansa faces a June 30 deadline to make concessions to cabin crew over pay and pensions or suffer further strikes that would compound the effects of a costly dispute with its pilots. The UFO flight attendants' union said on Monday its members would strike on July 1 if an agreement was not reached with Lufthansa by then...
Embattled Alexis Tsipras faces domestic revolt over plans to implement 'harsh' austerity blitz  The Telegraph  ...Embattled Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras is facing a revolt within his radical Left party over austerity measures the country must approve to secure its future in the euro. Following a late-night emergency summit in Brussels on Monday, Athens laid out plans to carry out a series of economic reforms worth €8bn over the next two years...
The U.N. Investigated An Airline Accused Of Banning Employees From Getting Married. Here’s What They Found.  Think Progress  ...Qatar Airways has denied widespread accusations that it bans employees from getting married and that it doesn’t always summarily fire pregnant workers. But the International Labour Organisation (ILO) says otherwise. After a yearlong investigation into complaints made by the International Trade Union Confederation and the International Transport Workers’ Federation, it decided that parts of the airlines’ policies do in fact require workers to notify the company when they become pregnant and that doing so often ends up in those workers getting terminated...

State & Living Wage Battles
Congressional Democrats to Introduce Ambitious New Bill to Restore the Voting Rights Act  The Nation  ...Two years ago, on June 25, 2013, in Shelby County v. Holder, the Supreme Court invalidated the centerpiece of the Voting Rights Act. Tomorrow, congressional Democrats will introduce an ambitious new bill that would restore the important voting-rights protections. The Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2015 would compel states with a well-documented history of recent voting discrimination to clear future voting changes with the federal government, require federal approval for voter ID laws...
Chicago Activists Say City's $10 Minimum Wage Is Not Enough, Decry Rauner Cuts  Progress Illinois  ...While Chicago's minimum wage is set to increase to $10 per hour in two weeks, a group of community activists gathered Tuesday morning in the Loop to say the raise is not enough. Highlighting the plight of "chronically underpaid and undervalued" home and child care workers, Kelly-Rushton was one of roughly two-dozen people to call for a statewide $15 minimum wage--a yearly salary of about $31,000--during the demonstration at Daley Plaza downtown...
Bobby Jindal Is Running For President. Here Is How He Ran Louisiana. Think Progress  ...Since Gov. Jindal took office in 2008, Louisiana has earned some dubious honors. The state has the largest gender pay gap in the country, with women making 66 cents for every dollar a man earns. A study by the Violence Policy Center published in late January found the state also has the second-highest rate of gun deaths in the nation, and the state’s rate of incarceration currently leads the U.S. — and thus, the world...
Governor marks Rhode Island's minimum wage increase  ABC  ...Gov. Gina Raimondo has marked the passage of legislation to raise Rhode Island's minimum wage with a ceremonial bill signing. The governor was joined by state lawmakers Monday to mark the occasion. Raimondo says she's proud to raise the state's hourly rate from $9 to $9.60 starting Jan. 1...
Kate Brown signs bill making it easier for parents to opt students out of state tests -- but says they shouldn't  Oregon Live  ...Gov. Kate Brown announced Tuesday that on Monday she signed a bill making it easier for parents to opt their children out of taking state standardized tests. But she said educators and state officials should convince parents not to do so. House Bill 2655, which was strongly backed by the Oregon Education Association, prioritizes the rights of parents to exempt their children from that one aspect of public schooling...
Ikea Will Raise U.S. Minimum Wage to $11.87 to Retain Workforce  Bloomberg  ...Ikea Group, the world’s largest furniture retailer, will raise the hourly minimum wage it pays workers in the U.S. by 10 percent to $11.87, seeking to keep employees from moving to other merchants that have boosted pay recently. The increase, which takes effect Jan. 1, follows a 17 percent boost to $10.76 an hour this year...
Montgomery Co. Council approves paid sick leave  WUSA  ...Tuesday, Montgomery County council members voted unanimously (9-0) in favor of a bill that requires employers to give full-time employees seven paid sick days. The Earned Sick and Safe Leave Bill requires employers to provide a minimum of one-hour paid time off for every 30 hours worked. Employers with fewer than five workers would have to offer seven sick days. Of those, four days would be paid and three days would be unpaid...

U.S. Labor
Marathon Galveston Bay workers OK contract, end five-month strike  Business Insider  ...Striking workers from Marathon Petroleum Corp's Galveston Bay Refinery ratified a new contract on Tuesday, ending a five-month strike, said local union officials. About 90 percent of the more than 1,000 workers cast secret ballots at their local union hall in Texas City, Texas, within sight of the 451,000 barrel per day (bpd) refinery on Monday and Tuesday to end the work stoppage that began on Feb. 1...
‘Marriage Boot Camp’ Strike Over; IATSE And Producers Reach Deal  Deadline  ...Members of the postproduction crew on WE tv’s Marriage Boot Camp went on strike today to win an IATSE contract. After less than 12 hours, they have a deal, and everyone’s going back to work. IATSE reps and Marriage Boot Camp producers at Thinkfactory have agreed that their postproduction and production staff now will be unionized...
UAW, GM to open bargaining July 13, FCA the next day  Detroit Free Press  ...Negotiations between the UAW and the Detroit 3 automakers open July 13 amid the industry's most financially healthy period in more than a decade, especially in North America. The talks begin with ceremonial handshakes July 13 for General Motors; July 14, Fiat Chrysler; and July 23, Ford...
Boeing sued over 'toxic' plane cabin air  The Hill  ...A group of flight attendants are suing airplane manufacturer Boeing for allegedly exposing them to "toxic" air inside its planes, the Chicago Tribune reports. The flight attendants, who worked for Alaska Airlines, are alleging that Boeing knowingly exposed passengers and flight crews to toxic air that was sucked into its planes through the engine by the system that is used to maintain cabin pressure during flights, according to the report...
GE, unions reach labor agreement  Louisville Business First  ...Fairfield, Conn.-based General Electric Co., has reached tentative agreements on new labor contracts with national leaders of its two largest unions: the International Union of Electronic, Electrical, Salaried, Machine and Furniture Workers-Communications Workers of America and the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America. Workers at the company's GE Appliances division, which is based in Louisville, are represented by the IEU-CWA. The company has about 6,230 workers in Louisville...
Workers at Berkshires mental health, addiction center vote for strike  Mass Live  ...Workers at the Brien Center, a Berkshires-based mental health and addiction treatment agency, are set to strike unless a contract agreement is reached in the next two weeks. Clinicians and care staff represented by SEIU Local 509 voted to authorize the strike to protest what they describe as near-poverty wages and unproductive negotiations with the center, according to a union press release...

Miscellaneous
National Movement to Lower Flag of Racial Hatred, 150 Years Overdue  Common Dreams  ...One hundred and fifteen years after the end of the American Civil War and despite decades of calls for its retirement, the Confederate Flag—the emblem of the Old South and its racist legacy—may finally be coming down. In South Carolina on Tuesday, lawmakers voted to take up legislation to remove the flag from statehouse grounds, one day after Republican Governor Nikki Haley made similar remarks...
Public Spending on Infrastructure Construction Sinking to Great Recession Levels  We Party Patriots  ...New numbers from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis show the extent to which government has failed to adequately fund infrastructure construction and the effect this has had on the overall economy.  The new statistics show that total public construction spending is nearing Great Recession lows at a time when the American Society of Civil Engineers grades America’s infrastructure as a D+...
"Perpetrator Has Been Arrested, But Killer is Still at Large": Calls Rise to Remove Confederate Flag  Democracy Now  ...Calls are growing in South Carolina to remove the Confederate battle flag at the state Capitol after last week’s mass shooting of nine African-American worshipers at the historic Emanuel AME Church. The flag has been the source of controversy for decades in South Carolina, but a growing number of politicians, including South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, are calling for its removal...
After 13 Years of Hell, Human Held Without Charges Has One Question for US  Common Dreams  ...Moath al-Alwi, who has been a prisoner of the U.S. government and detained at the offshore prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba since 2002 without ever being charged with a crime or afforded a trial, has a simple yet urgent question for the American people and the U.S. government: Why am I still here?...