tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43288993391354698692024-03-12T22:41:08.241-04:00Teamster NationNews for the Teamster worker.Teamster Powerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07063527689152007034noreply@blogger.comBlogger6345125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4328899339135469869.post-11946481398522152922016-01-18T13:00:00.000-05:002016-01-19T15:20:11.175-05:00Moving on ...FYI: This is the last post at <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/">http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/</a>. The Teamster Nation Blog will continue at Teamster.org/news moving forward. Please make note of this for your bookmarks. All new blog content will be posted at <a href="http://teamster.org/blog">Teamster.org/blog</a> starting on Tuesday, January 19th. Thanks!<br />
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- Communications Team, International Brotherhood of Teamsters.Teamster Powerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07063527689152007034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4328899339135469869.post-92013100045467049142016-01-18T09:00:00.000-05:002016-01-19T15:20:52.533-05:00In honor of Martin Luther King Day<i>Teamster Nation</i> is off in honor of Martin Luther King Day, celebrating Dr. King's unparalleled legacy of fighting for racial and economic justice.<br />
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We will resume blogging tomorrow at our new home on <a href="http://www.teamster.org/blog">www.Teamster.org/blog</a>.<br />
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<br />Teamster Powerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07063527689152007034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4328899339135469869.post-50837466600839246222016-01-15T14:09:00.000-05:002016-01-15T14:09:00.329-05:00Anti-unionism is real reason behind Supreme Court caseEveryday Americans are facing a real battle keeping their heads above water financially. While unemployment continues to fall, incomes aren't rising for most workers. So it is particularly troublesome that the Supreme Court seems to be setting its sites on lowering incomes for thousands of public sector employees.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CA86a79YHNg/UPRKX_Sm8uI/AAAAAAAAOpY/VkGWFYPYc2w/s1600/middle-class_I7bsn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="176" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CA86a79YHNg/UPRKX_Sm8uI/AAAAAAAAOpY/VkGWFYPYc2w/s320/middle-class_I7bsn.jpg" width="320" /></a>On Monday, the nation's highest court <a href="http://www.teamsternation.blogspot.com/2016/01/high-court-hears-critical-union-case.html">heard</a> arguments why several California public school teachers don't think they should have to pay reduced fees that cover collective bargaining costs of their contracts. Those fees, mind you, are not used for political donations. But no matter, their attorney said it's all political and violates the the First Amendment rights of plaintiffs in <i>Friedrich v. California Teachers Association.</i><br />
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Attorney Michael Carver, hired by right-to-work (RTW) forces, also insisted the case would not hurt unions:<br />
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Their burden of justification is much higher, because they can’t possibly show that abolition of the agency fees would lead to demise of unions.</blockquote>
Of course, that's exactly what it would do, and why the plaintiffs brought the case in the first place. And the Supreme Court appears ready to side with them, according to numerous media reports. As columnist Dana Milbank <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-roberts-court-finds-a-new-way-to-stack-the-deck-in-favor-of-the-rich/2016/01/11/559c5c9c-b8ac-11e5-b682-4bb4dd403c7d_story.html?can_id=447039cdf923c5d6415d70a43c1414f7&source=email-todays-headlines-jobs-with-justice-11516&email_referrer=todays-headlines-jobs-with-justice-11516&email_subject=todays-headlines-jobs-with-justice-11516&link_id=3" rel="nofollow">wrote</a> in <i>The Washi</i><i>ngton Post</i>:<br />
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The huge political consequences of the case were unstated in the chamber, but the argument was at times as partisan as a debate on the House floor. Carvin frequently interrupted and talked over the three female justices — classic “mansplaining,” as Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick observed from the press seats. Carvin referred to the other side’s argument as the “so-called opposition” and pronounced Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s surname as “Soto-my-ear.” At one point he quipped that he has a First Amendment right not to join the American Bar Association, “because virtually every word out of their mouth I disagree with.” Justice Samuel Alito guffawed. </blockquote>
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The argument was mostly for show, because there was little doubt the 1977 <i>Abood</i> decision will go down. This will make it easier for public-sector workers who benefit from collective bargaining but who don’t want to be in unions to avoid paying fees to the union, even for nonpolitical functions. Union finances will be further drained at a time when labor is historically weak.</blockquote>
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Hard-working Americans deserve more than to be shunted to the side by this nation's government. But that is exactly what will happen if the high court rules with the plaintiffs in this case. Union membership will likely further decline, wages will fall and fewer and fewer workers will have access to quality health care and retirement benefits.</div>
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A recent study showed that that a reduction in union membership <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/01/13/with-public-sector-unions-on-the-rocks-middle-class-may-take-another-hit/?postshare=7491452729660945&tid=ss_tw-bottom&can_id=447039cdf923c5d6415d70a43c1414f7&source=email-todays-headlines-jobs-with-justice-11416&email_referrer=todays-headlines-jobs-with-justice-11416&email_subject=todays-headlines-jobs-with-justice-11416&link_id=2" target="_blank">was responsible</a> for more than a third of the 7.6 percent decrease in the share of workers in the middle class between 1984 and 2014. That's what's at stake with this decision. </div>
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The Teamsters and workers can't change the decision of the Supreme Court. But both can counteract any such a ruling by continuing to organize and pushing our lawmakers for policies that benefit workers. That why the Teamsters unveiled their "Let's Get America Working" <a href="https://teamster.org/lets-get-america-working" target="_blank">platform</a> last year and why it will continue to fight like hell to get it implemented.</div>
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Never forget -- Teamsters Strong, America Stronger!</div>
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<ul>
<li><i>Press Associates, Inc., contributed to this report.</i></li>
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Teamster Powerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07063527689152007034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4328899339135469869.post-29423301983693333062016-01-15T11:32:00.000-05:002016-01-15T11:47:06.071-05:00Today's Teamster News 01.15.16<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">TEAMSTERS</span></b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.joc.com/port-news/us-ports/port-new-york-and-new-jersey/revised-ny-nj-clean-trucks-plan-stirs-controversy_20160114.html">Revised NY-NJ clean-trucks plan stirs up controversy</a></b> <i>JOC </i>...The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency this week criticized the port authority for lifting a Jan. 1, 2017 deadline that would have forced 70 percent of the port’s trucks to be replaced or refitted with newer, less-polluting engines. Consolidation of the port’s fragmented drayage industry into fewer, stronger companies that use employee drivers has been a longtime goal of the Teamsters union, which is part of the Coalition for Healthy Ports and claims many owner-operators are misclassified as independent contractors...<br />
<b><a href="http://labortribune.com/10000-needy-families-hospitalized-kids-aided-by-teamsters-joint-council-13-volunteers-friends-family/">10,000 needy families, hospitalized kids aided by Teamsters Joint Council 13 volunteers, friends, family</a></b> <i>Labor Tribune</i> ...More than 10,000 needy families and their children and dozens of children who had to be in the hospital over the holidays had a brighter Christmas this past season as a result of the generosity and hearts of Teamsters throughout the region, all members of Teamsters Joint Council 13. In three separate programs supported by the Teamsters, food and toys were provided to the less fortunate and the working poor...<br />
<b><a href="http://mandan-news.com/teamsters-and-freight-building-up-america/">Teamsters and Freight; building up America</a></b> <i>Mandan News</i> ...As many as three million heavy-duty trucks run on the highways, bringing freight to destination terminals from where smaller delivery trucks further carry the products to their destinations. The trucking industry reminds us that “Without trucks, America stops.” Another adage proclaims, “If you bought it, a truck brought it.” Truck drivers and other associated occupations can find membership in a large organization named the International Brotherhood of Teamsters...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.examiner.net/news/20160115/union-retirees-fearing-pension-cuts">Union retirees fearing pension cuts</a></b> <i>The Examiner </i> ...The president of the Missouri-Kansas-Nebraska Conference of Teamsters, Jim Kabell, outlined troubles in the union’s pension fund to a full house at American Legion Post 21. Many wore T-shirts reading, “Stop the rush to pension cuts!” He also took aim at Congress for actions he said made things worse and for not acting on needed solutions, and he urged Teamsters to get active to address that...<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>GLOBAL LABOR & TRADE</b></span><br />
<b><a href="http://wardsauto.com/industry/kia-workers-ok-wage-deal-after-5-strike-free-months">Kia Workers OK Wage Deal After 5 Strike-Free Months</a></b> <i>Wards Auto </i> ...Kia workers represented by the Korean Metal Workers Union sign a new wage agreement with the automaker Jan. 12, ending negotiations that dragged on for five months. Both sides had agreed when talks began Aug. 11 to conduct all sessions with a total news blackout. A tentative agreement was reached Jan. 6 and a ratification vote was held Jan. 10...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.ekathimerini.com/205100/article/ekathimerini/news/private-sector-workers-to-go-on-strike-on-feb-4">Private sector workers to go on strike on Feb 4</a></b> <i>Ekathimerini </i>...Greece’s biggest private sector union, GSEE, decided on Friday to call a 24-hour strike for Thursday, February 4, in protest at government reforms and particularly a contentious overhaul of the social security system. Meeting in Athens, GSEE’s executive committee decided to ramp up the pressure against the government’s proposal and to join forces with other unions...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/luas-workers-to-go-on-strike-34363235.html">Luas workers in Ireland to go on strike</a></b> <i>Irish News</i> ...Commuters face travel chaos after Luas staff announced plans to stage two 48 hour strikes next month. Workers will down tools on February 11 and 12 and again on February 18 and 19. The Siptu trade union confirmed three of four groups of workers, who balloted overwhelmingly to take industrial action, preferred to strike for 48 hours at meetings this week. Luas operator Transdev released figures claiming drivers are seeking a massive pay rise of almost 54pc...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.solidaritycenter.org/morocco-government-assaults-spur-sit-in/">Morocco Government Assaults Spur Sit-in</a></b> <i>Solidarity Center</i> ...About four thousand workers staged a sit-in outside parliament in Rabat yesterday in a show of popular protest against socioeconomic policies that are economically harmful to working people, among them planned pension reforms, a freeze on talks with civil society groups and ongoing violations of worker rights–including the government’s refusal to negotiate with trade unions on wages and working conditions for public service workers...<br />
<b><a href="http://thehill.com/policy/finance/265925-business-leaders-say-tpp-may-be-on-ice-until-after-the-elections">Business leaders doubt trade vote happens before elections</a></b> <i>The Hill</i> ...Business leaders on Thursday expressed doubt that a sweeping Pacific Rim trade agreement will come up for a vote in Congress before the November elections. Bruce Josten, the top lobbyist for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said that there are several significant factors in play that will determine whether lawmakers will be ready to vote on the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) by this summer...<br />
<b><a href="http://globalnews.ca/news/2454628/time-for-negotiations-is-finished-for-trans-pacific-partnership-trade-minister/">Time for negotiations is finished for Trans-Pacific Partnership: trade minister</a></b> <i>Global News</i> ...A renegotiation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal is not possible even though serious concerns may be raised during public consultations, Canada’s trade minister said Thursday. “The negotiations are finished and for Canadians it’s important to understand that it’s a decision of yes or no,” Chrystia Freeland told reporters Thursday after receiving varied feedback at a meeting at the University of Montreal...<br />
<b><a href="https://www.opendemocracy.net/ournhs/john-hilary/ttip-what-can-we-expect-from-2016">TTIP: what can we expect from 2016?</a></b> <i>Open Democracy</i> ...TTIP negotiations continue, as the two sides failed to meet their goal of concluding talks by the end of 2015. EU and US negotiators now hope to reach a final political settlement by the end of Obama’s presidency in January 2017, thus making the next 12 months vitally important in the fight to derail the talks. The next round of negotiations is set to take place in Brussels at the end of February...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.wfmz.com/news/news-regional-lehighvalley/protesters-rally-against-transpacific-partnership/37425988">Protesters rally against Trans-Pacific Partnership</a></b> <i>WFMZ </i>...Protesters gathered outside Congressman Charlie Dent's office in Allentown Wednesday, rallying against the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The partnership is a multi-national trade agreement that was reached in October after years of negotiations. The protest was organized by the Pennsylvania Fair Trade Coalition. Protesters want Congressman Dent to vote against the partnership when it reaches the house this spring...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/how-to-make-the-trans-pacific-partnership-work-for-workers-and-communities/">How to Make the Trans-Pacific Partnership Work for Workers and Communities</a></b> <i>The Nation</i> ... Allowing victimized workers and communities to use dispute-settlement mechanisms in trade agreements provides some measure of re-balance Nothing prevents the United States from going back to its TPP partners to negotiate a supplemental protocol creating a CIDS system to address all stakeholders’ concerns, not just the special interests of investors...<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>STATE & LIVING WAGE BATTLES</b></span><br />
<b><a href="http://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/20160114/wvu-right-to-work-study-disputed-as-legislature-considers-bill">WVU right-to-work study disputed as Legislature considers bill</a></b> <i>Gazette Mail</i> ...Just as the West Virginia Legislature began considering “right-to-work” legislation Thursday, a new economic analysis has alleged that the intellectual backbone behind the Republican proposal, a West Virginia University study of the issue, made basic mistakes and “is fraught with several problems.” In November, the WVU Bureau of Business and Economic Research unveiled a study of right-to-work laws that was requested and funded by the Republican-led Legislature...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.bdtonline.com/news/senate-fast-tracks-right-to-work-legislation/article_beb89046-bb37-11e5-85e0-1fcd0476260e.html">Senate fast tracks ‘Right-to-Work’ legislation</a></b> <i>Daily Telegraph</i> ...Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee spent hours Thursday sparring over the provisions of a Right to Work law, slowing if only momentarily its fast-track passage to the floor of the Senate. SB1, which Republicans have renamed “Workplace Freedom,” is the first of the GOP agenda bills...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.thenewscenter.tv/content/news/-West-Virginia-lawmakers-begin-60-day-session-365166451.html">West Virginia unions protest right-to-work</a></b> <i>News Center</i> ...Union groups have hit the Capitol for events opposing the right-to-work push introduced by the Republican-led Legislature. At a West Virginia AFL-CIO event Wednesday morning, workers shared negative experiences from Oklahoma and Virginia, both right-to-work states. Americans for Prosperity, a well-heeled conservative group fueled by the industrialist Koch brothers, also announced online and direct mail advertising in favor of right-to-work...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.state-journal.com/latest%20headlines/2016/01/14/prevailing-wage-passes-in-senate">Prevailing Wage Passes Kentucky Senate</a></b> <i>State Journal</i> ...Unlike the hugely bipartisan support of the bourbon, winery and microbrewing industry in the state, Republicans and Democrats in the Senate stood diametrically opposed to a prevailing wage bill that passed Thursday to the House. Republican Sen. Wil Schroder of Wilder sponsored the bill exempting public school projects of $250,000 or more from the state’s requirement for the prevailing wage cost to workers...<br />
<b><a href="http://money.cnn.com/2016/01/15/news/economy/oregon-minimum-wage-hikes/">Oregon governor asks for huge minimum wage hikes</a></b> <i>CNN </i>...Gov. Kate Brown is pushing a new, two-tiered system that would increases wages in Portland to $15.52 over the next six years, while other areas would have a minimum of $13.50. The state's current minimum wage is $9.25. If approved by state legislators, Oregon would join a growing list of states that are boosting minimum-wage paychecks. Thirteen states, including California, Nebraska and Vermont, are set to bolster their minimum wages in 2016...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/coralewis/minimum-wage-workers-plan-strike-of-democratic-debate#.quVWwQvDl">Minimum Wage Workers Plan Strike In Charleston Ahead Of Democratic Debate</a></b> <i>BuzzFeed</i> ...Low-wage workers will strike and protest in Charleston, South Carolina in the lead-up to the Democratic debate there Sunday night, according to the Fight for 15, the union-backed movement to raise the minimum wage. Hundreds of fast-food, home care, child care and other low-wage employees will converge on the city, according to Fight for 15 Organizing Director Kendall Fells...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/01/the-plot-against-paul-lepage/424014/">The Plot Against Paul LePage</a></b> <i>The Atlantic</i> ...On Thursday, a group of state legislators in Maine will introduce a measure to impeach LePage. “People have really had enough, all across the state,” Representative Ben Chipman of Portland, the lead sponsor, told me Wednesday. “They’re tired of the governor’s behavior and they’re tired of the legislature not doing anything about it." The impeachment order would create an investigative committee to look into allegations against LePage and then bring back articles of impeachment...<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">U.S. LABOR</span></b><br />
<b><a href="http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/18768/alliance-college-ready-public-schools-charter-teachers-union-los-angeles">Los Angeles Charter Teachers Say Their Administration Is Aggresively Trying To Bust Their Union</a></b> <i>In These Times</i> ...A formerly low-profile union organizing campaign by teachers at the largest charter school operation in Los Angeles is emerging into the public spotlight as the charter operator is ramping up its effort to defeat the organizing effort, teachers say. The school operator, Alliance College-Ready Public Schools, has been so aggressive against the union that a local judge issued an injunction December 3 against the operator’s apparent labor law violations...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-15/ski-patrols-seek-to-unionize-u-s-slopes-as-wealth-gap-grows">Ski Patrols Seek to Unionize U.S. Slopes as Wealth Gap Grows</a></b> <i>Bloomberg </i>...The snowiest peaks in the U.S. are the latest site of pitched union battles, a result of the growing corporatization of the $11 billion ski industry and a widening wealth divide between those who own resorts and those who keep them running. Labor’s promise of better compensation and job security has proved particularly enticing to ski patrollers...<br />
<b><a href="http://prospect.org/article/charged-firing-teachers-organizing-chicago-charter-network-settles">Charged with Firing Teachers for Organizing, a Chicago Charter Network Settles</a></b> <i>American Prospect</i> ...The National Labor Relations Board finalized a settlement agreement this week between Urban Prep Academies, an all-male charter network in Chicago, and more than a dozen Urban Prep teachers who were fired abruptly back in June. The firings came less than a month after a majority of teachers at Urban Prep voted to unionize with the Chicago Alliance of Charter Teachers and Staff (ChiACTS)...<br />
<b><a href="http://peoplesworld.org/nlrb-rejects-mcdonalds-request-to-treat-joint-employer-cases-separately/">NLRB rejects McDonalds’ request to treat joint employer cases separately</a></b> <i>People's World</i> ... Over the dissent of its remaining Republican member, the National Labor Relations Board has rejected McDonalds' request to split its "joint employer" cases into 31 separate cases involving 161 restaurants nationwide. The board's early-January decision allows the massive case of McDonald's labor law-breaking to go forward as one unified case...<br />
<b><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/01/13/with-public-sector-unions-on-the-rocks-middle-class-may-take-another-hit/">With public sector unions on the rocks, middle class may take another hit</a></b> <i>Washington Post</i> ...For all his talk about "middle class economics" in recent years, it might have seemed odd that President Obama didn't mention the "middle class" once during his nearly hour-long speech to Congress. Instead, he talked about "working families." Those phrases aren't interchangeable anymore — so many working people have exited the middle class that it's no longer the demographic majority...<br />
<b><a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/report/2016/01/13/128366/what-do-unions-do-for-the-middle-class/">What Do Unions Do for the Middle Class?</a></b> <i>Center for American Progress</i> ...The United States has long called itself a middle-class nation. But that statement is less true today than it was 30 years ago.<br />
The most widely used barometer of the financial health of the middle class—real median household income as published by the U.S. Census Bureau—has barely grown over the last thirty years. At the same time, the middle class has been hollowed out as incomes have polarized...<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">SOCIAL JUSTICE & OTHER NEWS</span></b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-immigration-idUSKCN0UT0FG">U.S. justices consider taking Obama appeal on immigration action</a></b> <i>Reuters </i>...The nine U.S. Supreme Court justices were due to meet privately on Friday to discuss whether to hear President Barack Obama's bid to revive his plan to shield more than 4 million immigrants from deportation, a move that bypassed the Republican-led Congress. The court could make an announcement as soon as Friday afternoon on whether it will take up the dispute, which would become one of the centerpiece cases of its current term...<br />
<b><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/immigration/2016/01/15/3739848/churches-vow-to-offer-sanctuary/">As Federal Government Launches New Deportation Raids, Churches Vow To Take In Immigrants</a></b> <i>Think Progress</i> ...Churches across the country are gearing up to defy the federal government’s deportation efforts, preparing to offer Central American asylum-seekers sanctuary in their churches and protect them from an aggressive new wave of federal raids. Shortly after New Year’s Day 2016, the Obama administration launched a barrage of highly publicized raids primarily intended to detain and deport Central American immigrants...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/news/a41147/half-of-americans-less-than-1000/">More Than Half of Americans Reportedly Have Less Than $1,000 to Their Name</a></b> <i>Esquire </i>...In a recent survey, 56 percent of Americans said they have less than $1,000 in their checking and savings accounts combined, Forbes reports. Nearly a quarter (24.8 percent) have less than $100 to their name. Meanwhile, 38 percent said they would pay less than their full credit card balance this month, and 11 percent said they would make the minimum payment...<br />
<b><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2016/01/14/3739622/flint-water-crisis-bills/">Residents Of Flint Are Being Billed For Poisoned Water And Threatened With Shutoffs If They Don’t Pay</a></b> <i>Think Progress</i> ...Last week Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) declared a state of emergency over the level of lead being found in Flint’s tap water, and this week he activated the state National Guard to help provide residents with bottled water, filters, and lead testing kits.<br />
But even in the midst of this crisis, city residents aren’t just being charged for their poisoned tap water — they’re being threatened with shutoffs if they don’t quickly pay their bills...<br />
<b><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2016/01/14/3739772/chicago-police-cedrick-chatman-video/">Chicago Releases Another Video Of A Police Officer Killing An Unarmed Teenager</a></b> <i>Think Progress </i> ...The city of Chicago released a video of another police officer killing an unarmed black teenager three years ago, after giving up a lengthy legal battle to keep it from the public eye. This time, the teenager’s name was not Laquan McDonald but Cedrick Chatman. The grainy video shows the 17-year-old Chatman fleeing the police before he is shot by Officer Kevin Fry...Teamster Powerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07063527689152007034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4328899339135469869.post-44960265512263501212016-01-14T13:58:00.002-05:002016-01-14T13:58:49.405-05:00Thousands turn out to say no to RTW in Mountaineer State<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z8mAdfqSMGA/Vpfud0cN99I/AAAAAAAAUy4/LJmkjWOwfbk/s1600/1.14.16HallRTWphoto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="312" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z8mAdfqSMGA/Vpfud0cN99I/AAAAAAAAUy4/LJmkjWOwfbk/s400/1.14.16HallRTWphoto.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">GST Ken Hall joins RTW protesters at rally last night.</td></tr>
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<i>The following is the latest installment of what will be occasional dispatches from a Teamster on the ground about the battle to defeat so-called right-to-work (RTW) in West Virginia this year.</i><br />
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- It was a day full of surprises following yesterday morning’s press conference. Shortly after the last dispatch from West Virginia, we returned to Local 175 only to find out from Local 175 business agent Luke Farley that RTW had been introduced — the <a href="http://wvmetronews.com/2016/01/13/right-to-work-one-of-1st-bills-out-of-gate-opposition-organized/" rel="nofollow">first bill</a> of the legislative session, SB 1:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
They’re trying to fast-track it. It’s going to judiciary tomorrow. Ken is set to testify. </blockquote>
Teamsters General Secretary-Treasurer Ken Hall had been busy throughout the day, speaking with the press, lobbying state legislators and preparing for the action at the Statehouse before Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s State of the State address that evening. Workers had spent the week planning to crowd the rotunda, forming a gauntlet of protesters for legislators to have to walk through on their way to hear the governor’s address.<br />
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But first there was work to be done. It was time to rally the troops nationwide. Hall appeared on <a href="http://thericksmithshow.podbean.com/e/ken-hall-fighting-the-norightsatwork-agenda/?token=da7ce6ac29a968d875e89027a51a9f87" rel="nofollow">labor radio</a> to explain to union members throughout the country the latest attack on workers in the Mountaineer State — and the show of solidarity on display in Charleston:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
A lot of these legislators don’t even understand what RTW is — they don’t know how it works … They call it workplace freedom — of course everyone wants workplace freedom. But that’s not what RTW really is.</blockquote>
Meanwhile, <a href="https://teamster.org/news/2016/01/teamsters-west-virginia-workers-stand-strong-against-right-work">surrounding</a> the upstairs rotunda, the hundreds of workers became thousands of workers, meaning the press needed to be updated with new figures for their press coverage. We had erred on the side of caution, assuming the new Capitol security and Wednesday afternoon timing of the event would mean lower turnout. As always, West Virginia workers defied expectations, creating a sea of union logos and anti-RTW signs throughout the Statehouse. One Teamster even dressed up like a lemon holding a sign that read: “The Bill Cole Agenda: A long history of selling lemons to West Virginia.”<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dfhMGuw8A7A/Vpfuj4mwNgI/AAAAAAAAUzA/LgG9z1761Y4/s1600/1.14.16WVRTWphoto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dfhMGuw8A7A/Vpfuj4mwNgI/AAAAAAAAUzA/LgG9z1761Y4/s320/1.14.16WVRTWphoto.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">RTW is leaving a sour taste in the mouths of many workers.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Cole, the Republican senator and majority leader, would later walk through with his GOP colleagues, greeted by the the booming echoes of booing from the workers as they made their way through thousands of workers. Hall spoke from the top stairs leading into the chamber, rousing the crowd with chants of: “Right to Work is wrong!” and “Not in my state!”<br />
<br />
The latest battleground in the War on Workers was symbolic. If Mountaineer workers can defeat RTW again, it would be historic — and in a state with labor history as rich as West Virginia, where so many workers lost their lives on the job, and all too many still struggle to get by — it could mark a turning point for the entire labor movement.<br />
<br />
Today will be busy too. The Senate Judiciary Committee met this morning, where Hall testified in opposition of SB 1. The legislators have asked him to return at 3:00 p.m. for more questions. The press has been covering him throughout the day as he leads the fight for workers in West Virginia.<br />
<br />
Stay tuned.Teamster Powerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07063527689152007034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4328899339135469869.post-3319616825604187112016-01-14T11:17:00.000-05:002016-01-14T11:17:11.130-05:00Today's Teamster News 01.14.16<div>
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>TEAMSTERS</b></span><br />
<b><a href="https://teamster.org/news/2016/01/teamsters-west-virginia-workers-stand-strong-against-right-work">Teamsters, West Virginia Workers Stand Strong Against Right to Work</a></b> <i>Teamster.org</i> ...Teamsters General Secretary-Treasurer Ken Hall joined hundreds of labor union and community members at the State Capitol today to voice their opposition to right-to-work legislation introduced today in West Virginia. Delegates are expected to move forward on the measure as early as tomorrow...<br />
<a href="http://www.law360.com/employment/articles/746099?nl_pk=bcc3eedf-b5dd-41b9-9349-70c6636f30b2&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=employment"><b>NLRB Joint-Employer Rule Likely Headed For Appellate Review</b></a> <i> Law360 </i> ...The National Labor Relations Board’s new joint-employer standard is likely headed to an appeals court, after the board's ruling on Tuesday that Browning-Ferris and staffing agency Leadpoint, the parties in the case central to the new standard, unlawfully refused to bargain with the Teamsters. The ruling came four months after the NLRB adopted a looser joint-employer test...<br />
<b><a href="http://teamsterslocal727.org/2016/01/12/federal-appellate-court-enforces-nlrb-ruling-against-chicago-parking-valet/">Federal Appellate Court Enforces NLRB Ruling Against Chicago Parking Valet</a></b> <i>Local 727</i> ...A federal appellate court judge has enforced a decision and order issued last year by the National Labor Relations Board against Chicago Parking Valet in which the NLRB found the company had engaged in unfair labor practices. Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the NLRB’s decision and once again ordered the company to desist its unfair labor practices...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.examiner.com/article/teamsters-local-1932-hires-new-general-manager">Teamsters Local 1932 hires new general manager</a></b> <i>Examiner </i>...On Tuesday night at the regular meeting of the San Bernardino Public Employees Association/ Teamsters Local 1932 Board of Directors, General Manager Deidre Rodriguez stepped down. The board voted to hire Randy Korgan as the new manager in her place. Korgan most recently served as Teamsters Joint Council 42 Organizing Director...<br />
<b><a href="http://teamsters2010.org/index.cfm?zone=%2Funionactive%2Fview_article.cfm&HomeID=537714#.VpeK9T-KBNM.twitter">Teamsters Members Win Over $70,000 in Overtime Back Pay</a></b> <i>Local 2010</i> ...Christmas came for early for some members of Teamsters Local 2010 working in the UCSD Eye Institute. On December 22, 2015, 19 workers were awarded checks ranging from $126 to $5,074 for back pay owed for unpaid overtime. “If it wasn’t for the Teamsters we would have never gotten paid,” Leslie Medina said. “With your help, we got what was owed us"...<br />
<b><a href="https://teamster.org/news/2016/01/treasury-department-announces-additional-january-public-sessions-feedback-cspf-rescue">Treasury Department Announces Additional January Public Sessions for Feedback on CSPF Rescue Plan</a></b> <i>Teamster.org</i> ...The Treasury Department announced the details today for two additional public sessions in January for Central States, Southeast and Southwest Areas Pension Fund retirees and participants to offer feedback on the proposed rescue plan. The sessions will be hosted by Treasury appointee Kenneth R. Feinberg...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.kansascity.com/news/business/workplace/article54338970.html">Large pension cuts topic of Teamsters meeting Thursday</a></b> <i>Kansas City Star </i> ...Kansas City area retired Teamsters will meet Thursday in another effort to head off large cuts to their pension checks set to hit next summer. The Missouri-Kansas City Committee to Protect Our Pensions is holding the afternoon session to educate and mobilize beneficiaries of the Central States Pension Fund. Thursday’s meeting includes an address by Jim Kabell, president of the Missouri-Kansas-Nebraska Conference of Teamsters...<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>GLOBAL LABOR & TRADE</b></span><br />
<b><a href="http://www.smh.com.au/business/duluxgroup-workers-strike-amid-looming-job-cuts-20160112-gm4nx3.html">DuluxGroup workers in Australia strike amid looming job cuts</a></b> <i>Sydney Morning Herald</i> ...More than 100 staff at DuluxGroup have been barricaded from the paint maker's Brisbane factory after they voted to go on strike following the company's refusal to remove a cap on redundancy entitlements.<br />
Dulux - which has branded the strike as "opportunistic" - has installed temporary fencing on council land near the factory at Rocklea...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/01/12/name-patient-safety-and-future-national-healthcare-uk-doctors-strike">In Name of Patient Safety and Future of National Healthcare, UK Doctors Strike</a></b> <i>Common Dreams </i> ...Tens of thousands of junior doctors across the United Kingdom joined in strikes and pickets on Tuesday, protesting what they describe as "a fundamental breakdown in trust...for which the government is directly responsible." The strike stems from a dispute over pay and working conditions, weekend shifts in particular...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.torontosun.com/2016/01/14/torontos-outside-workers-union-announces-strike-mandate">Toronto's outside workers union announces strike mandate</a></b> <i>Toronto Sun </i> ...Toronto's outside civic workers have voted to strike if negotiations with the city fail, the union announced late Wednesday. CUPE Local 416, representing 6,000 employees including garbage collectors, sought the strike mandate after the city applied for a provincial conciliator late last month...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trans-pacific-trade-deal-signing-freeland-1.3402248">Canada won't commit yet to Feb. 4 TPP signing</a></b> <i>CBC </i>...Canada's international trade minister says her government hasn't decided whether it will participate in an expected signing ceremony for the Trans-Pacific Partnership in Auckland, New Zealand early next month. "We are aware that some of the countries are talking about a signing in New Zealand. Canada hasn't yet taken a decision," Chrystia Freeland told reporters in Vancouver Tuesday...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/transpacific-partnership-obamas-man-appeals-to-turnbull-for-help-20160113-gm57t5.html">Trans-Pacific Partnership: Obama's man appeals to Turnbull for help</a></b> <i>Sydney Morning Herald</i> ...The US Ambassador to Australia says he wants Malcolm Turnbull to argue the case for the Trans-Pacific Partnership when he visits Washington next week, where members of Congress are undecided about how to vote. On Wednesday, President Barack Obama used his last State of the Union address to appeal to Congress to approve the 12-nation mega trade deal...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2016/01/14/thailand-philippines-and-indonesia-might-join-tpp-says-miti/">Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia might join TPP, says Miti</a></b> <i>The Star </i> ...Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia have actually expressed interest to be part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), said the International Trade and Industry Ministry (Miti). Miti said this in its written response to issues raised by Dr Jomo Kwame Sundaram recently that countries such as Thailand and the Philippines had opted to distance themselves from this treaty...<br />
<b><a href="http://registerguard.com/rg/news/local/33947036-75/story.csp">Guest of Rep. Peter DeFazio at State of the Union has seen effect of trade agreements firsthand</a></b> <i>Register-Guard</i> ...DeFazio places the blame for Phillips’ troubles squarely on the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, which he and other critics say rewarded American companies that moved jobs overseas. NAFTA supporters say the tariff-cutting, investment-encouraging deal has helped boost the economies of the three signatories — the United States, Canada and Mexico. DeFazio has been a long-standing critic, however...<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>STATE & LIVING WAGE BATTLES</b></span><br />
<b><a href="http://wvmetronews.com/2016/01/13/right-to-work-one-of-1st-bills-out-of-gate-opposition-organized/">Right to work one of 1st bills out of gate; opposition organized</a></b> <i>Metro News</i> ...Republican legislative leaders are making right to work legislation a top priority for the 2016 Regular Legislative Session. The first bill introduced in the state Senate on Wednesday was the one written to make West Virginia a right to work state. Opponents of the legislation in West Virginia called right to work “destructive” legislation that, in their views, would clear the way for lower wages and the weakening of work protections...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.sunjournal.com/news/business/0001/11/30/minimum-wage-question-headed-toward-2016-ballot-maine/1852053">Minimum wage question headed toward 2016 ballot in Maine</a></b> <i>Maine Sun Journal</i> ...Leaders of a statewide referendum campaign to incrementally boost Maine's minimum wage from $7.50 an hour to $12 an hour by 2025 said Wednesday they would deliver more than 80,000 petition signatures to the secretary of state's office Thursday. The campaign, Mainers for Fair Wages, needed just over 61,000 signatures from Maine voters to put the question on the ballot in 2016...<br />
<b><a href="http://thesouthern.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/supporters-of-redistricting-amendment-nearing-signature-goal/article_04a07380-24ad-5ac6-aaf0-b480a69cf023.html">Supporters of redistricting amendment nearing signature goal</a></b> <i>The Southern </i> ...Changing the way Illinois’ legislative districts are drawn is one of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s priorities, and he may get some help this year from outside the General Assembly. Despite the Republican governor’s stance on the issue and his ongoing stalemate with legislative Democrats, putting the once-a-decade redistricting process in the hands of an independent commission has widespread bipartisan support...<br />
<b><a href="http://nhlabornews.com/2016/01/50755/">Workers In Right To Work States Are Less Likely To Have Access To Retirement Plans</a></b> <i>NH Labor News</i> ...Wide differences in access to and participation in employer-based retirement plans exist across states, with variations by employer size and industry type as well as by workers’ income, age, education, race and ethnicity, according to a report released today by The Pew Charitable Trusts. The report, Who’s In, Who’s Out: A Look at Access to Employer-Based Retirement Plans and Participation in the States, examines the rates of access to and participation in plans in all 50 states...<br />
<b><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2016/01/13/3739142/new-york-cuomo-paid-family-leave/">New York Governor Calls For Paid Family Leave With Moving Story About Caring For His Late Father</a></b> <i>Think Progress </i> ...In his State of the State address on Wednesday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) called for the passage of legislation that would ensure that state residents can take 12 weeks of paid family leave for a new child or a serious illness. Toward the end of his speech, he shared the story of caring for his late father, former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo, at the end of his life last year...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.northjersey.com/news/what-s-next-for-new-jersey-paid-sick-leave-bill-1.1489974">What's next for new Jersey paid sick leave bill?</a></b> <i>NorthJersey.com</i> ...The failure to advance a sick leave bill feared by business leaders but once touted by state New Jersey Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto as a top legislative priority has left both sides wondering what comes next. The bill, which would have required employers to give their workers paid sick leave, was never even posted for a vote...<br />
<b><a href="http://wvmetronews.com/2016/01/13/right-to-work-one-of-1st-bills-out-of-gate-opposition-organized/">NAACP: Postpone NC voter ID trial until after primaries</a></b> <i>Journal Now </i> ...The N.C. NAACP is asking a federal judge to postpone a trial on the state’s photo ID requirement until after the March 15 primary, according to court documents filed Tuesday. The trial is set to start Jan. 25 in U.S. District Court in Winston-Salem. The state NAACP, the U.S. Department of Justice and others sued North Carolina and Gov. Pat McCrory in 2013 after state Republican legislators passed a controversial sweeping elections law known as the Voter Information Verification Act...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/1/12/10755606/minimum-wage-study-cornell?can_id=be080fd9496cb4c4e68676d89e10f3b9&source=email-todays-headlines-jobs-with-justice-11316&email_referrer=todays-headlines-jobs-with-justice-11316&email_subject=todays-headlines-jobs-with-justice-11316&link_id=12">Study: Minimum Wage Hikes Don't Hurt the Restaurant Industry</a></b> <i>Eater </i>...When restaurants raise prices to offset moderate increases to the minimum wage, the industry as a whole is not adversely affected. Like, at all. This is the conclusion of a study (see below) released last month by the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration entitled "Have Minimum Wage Increases Hurt the Restaurant Industry? The Evidence Says No!"...<br />
<b><a href="http://wjla.com/news/local/dc-council-to-consider-bills-on-low-wage-worker-schedules">DC Council to consider bills on low-wage worker schedules</a></b> <i>WJLA </i>...The D.C. Council is considering two bills that are meant to provide low-wage workers with more predictable work hours. One bill would require the retail and food-service industries in the District of Columbia to provide their employees with written schedules at least 21 days in advance. The other would require janitors and maintenance workers in large office buildings to be given at least 30 hours of work per week...<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>U.S. LABOR</b></span><br />
<b><a href="http://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/arcelormittal-could-idle-some-lines-at-indiana-harbor/article_701e728c-2cd1-5dde-ad8a-838f49f37af4.html">ArcelorMittal could idle some lines at Indiana Harbor</a></b> <i>NWI Times </i> ...ArcelorMittal, one of Northwest Indiana's largest employers, may want to idle more operations at its steelmaking operations at Indiana Harbor in East Chicago. ArcelorMittal is currently discussing operations in East Chicago with the United Steelworkers union, as the two sides try to reach a new three-year labor pact...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/5043398-181/labor-talks-between-sonoma-county">Labor talks between Sonoma County, SEIU heading toward impasse</a></b> <i>Press Democrat</i> ...Labor negotiations between Sonoma County and its largest union — representing more than half of the county’s 4,100 public employees — are nearing a stalemate that could drag out contract talks for months. The county has initiated impasse proceedings with the Service Employees International Union Local 1021, which staged a three-day strike in November that disrupted some county services...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20160113/fort-greene/sweetn-low-workers-rally-outside-fort-greene-packing-plant-save-jobs">Sweet'N Low Workers Rally Outside Fort Greene Packing Plant to Save Jobs</a></b> <i>DNA Info</i> ...Workers are saying “hell no” to Sweet’N Low manufacturer Cumberland Packing after the company announced last week it would end production at its Fort Greene plant. “We’re outraged, to say the least,” said UFCW Local 2013 President Louis Mark Carotenuto. Carotenuto said the workers, who have been called part of the Cumberland family, have since received little information about what’s going to happen to their jobs...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.ccjdigital.com/mega-fleet-xpo-the-latest-to-be-hit-with-misclassification-suit-from-port-drivers/">Mega-fleet XPO the latest to be hit with misclassification suit from port drivers</a></b> <i>CCJ</i> ...Truck operators for three drayage carriers owned by carrier conglomerate XPO Logistics have filed a class action lawsuit seeking payment over alleged misclassification as contractors instead of employees, which led to lower wages and denial of state mandated breaks, plaintiffs claim...<br />
<b><a href="http://inthesetimes.org/working/entry/18743/st.paul-teachers-strike-education-parents-students">Will St. Paul, Minnesota Teachers Soon Be Out on Strike?</a></b> <i>In These Times</i> ...St. Paul teachers union organizer Patrick Burke says that the union has been practicing proactive behavior prevention strategies for a while now, with virtually no support from the district. The latest round of shocking school-based incidents, then, stand as more of a final straw than first steps on the road to a walk out. The union and district began contract negotiations in May of 2015, and Burke says the St. Paul Federation of Teachers put 25 proposals on the table...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.turnto23.com/news/local-news/ufw-informs-workers-of-undocumented-rights-in-wake-of-ice-raids">UFW informs workers of undocumented rights in wake of ICE raids</a></b> <i>Turnto23 </i>...One by one members of the UFW foundation approached people in Lamont passing out red cards that have the Fourth and Fifth Amendment on them in Spanish. The two amendments give workers constitutional protection from unlawful searches and the right to remain silent. On the other side of the card there are three statements that the UFW says the workers can say to the ICE agent...<br />
<b><a href="http://onlabor.org/2016/01/13/bar-associations-are-much-more-like-unions-than-friedrichs-attorney-acknowledged/">Bar Associations Are Much More Like Unions Than Friedrichs’ Attorney Acknowledged</a></b> <i>OnLabor </i> ...If the Supreme Court overturns Abood, it is not clear how States could continue to require lawyers to pay dues to State Bars. Clearly much of what State bars do to regulate the legal profession involves questions of public policy. And just as some teachers may disagree with the union’s position on teacher tenure or class size, some lawyers disagree with the bar association’s position on multi-jurisdictional practice or referral fees...<br />
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<b style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">SOCIAL JUSTICE & OTHER NEWS</b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.salon.com/2016/01/14/myth_of_the_middle_class_most_americans_dont_even_have_1000_in_savings/">Myth of the middle class: Most Americans don’t even have $1,000 in savings</a></b> <i>Salon </i>...What exactly is the middle class? A new study suggests that the U.S. hardly even has one. More than half of Americans — 56 percent, to be exact — have less than $1,000 combined in their checking and savings accounts, according to a recent survey, Forbes reported...<br />
<b><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/immigration/2016/01/14/3738349/wheaton-latino-owned-businesses/">Obama’s Immigration Raids Are Turning Latino Communities Into Ghost Towns</a></b> <i>Think Progress </i> ...Even though the raids have so far been concentrated in Texas, North Carolina, and Georgia, there has been a ripple effect across the country. Latino immigrants in other states — afraid of becoming the next individuals arrested in what they perceive to be random targetings — are resorting to hiding in their homes, keeping their children home from school, and calling on legal residents to do their grocery shopping for them...<br />
<b><a href="http://sunlightfoundation.com/blog/2016/01/13/the-influence-of-special-interests-extends-to-local-editorial-pages/">The influence of special interests extends to local editorial pages</a></b> <i>Sunlight Foundation </i> ...The editorial pages of local newspapers still remain a key gathering place for debates about local and regional matters of importance. It is also a place where industries and individuals alike seek to influence policymakers at the local level. Alaska Dispatch News columnist Dermot Cole recently took this tactic to task after an op-ed on the seemingly obscure topic of occupational licensing was placed in the Dispatch News by Mark Holden, a senior vice president at Koch Industries...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2016/01/13014/koch-daddy-and-nazis-revealing-timeline">Koch Daddy and the Nazis, a Revealing History from Jane Mayer</a></b> <i>PR Watch</i> ...Mayer uncovers new information about how Fred Koch joined forces with a genuine Nazi sympathizer from the U.S. to build a refinery personally approved by Adolf Hitler himself, one of the three largest refineries in the Third Reich, which was used to create fuels for Hitler's deadly attacks on peaceful nations. While Mayer does not call Fred Koch a "Nazi sympathizer" himself, readers may disagree when reading Fred Koch's public praise for Germany under Hitler, as well as the other Axis powers, Japan and Italy...</div>
<div>
<b><a href="http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/34386-clinton-sanders-and-o-malley-address-police-violence-and-white-privilege-at-brown-and-black-forum">Clinton, Sanders and O'Malley Address Police Violence and White Privilege at Brown and Black Forum</a></b> <i>Truthout </i>...Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Martin O'Malley fielded pointed questions about police violence, racial justice, reparations, white privilege and deportations at the Iowa Brown & Black Forum on Monday night. The Iowa Brown & Black Forum has been bringing presidential candidates to one of the whitest states in the country in order for them to speak on issues of diversity since 1984...</div>
Teamster Powerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07063527689152007034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4328899339135469869.post-42596071147553479752016-01-13T14:03:00.000-05:002016-01-13T14:03:16.380-05:00Hall on hand to kick off defeat of RTW in W.Va.<i>The following is the first of what will be occasional dispatches from a Teamster on the ground about the battle to defeat so-called right-to-work (RTW) in West Virginia this year.</i><br />
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- We arrived yesterday, greeted by a gusty snowfall on the way into Charleston — hopefully nothing compared to last year, where West Virginians braved the coldest winter in 20 years as they <a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/03/hall-joins-thousands-teamsters-west-virginia-rally-workers">fought</a> (and successfully defeated) state lawmakers' previous attempt to pass RTW here. Once again, <i>Teamster Nation</i> is on-the-scene to report from the Mountaineer State.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-16LFpSGOYXY/VpaaeMxxX0I/AAAAAAAAUyo/1x29Q85ef5s/s1600/1.13.16WVRTW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-16LFpSGOYXY/VpaaeMxxX0I/AAAAAAAAUyo/1x29Q85ef5s/s320/1.13.16WVRTW.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Okla. union members spoke out against RTW today.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After a year of preparations, the day West Virginia workers have long been waiting for has finally come. The first day of the legislative session is here, and the gloves are off —<br />
and union members are ready for the fight of their working lives.<br />
<br />
They have long been aware that the future of their state hangs in the balance of pending RTW legislation, which, according to delegates, could be introduced in the Legislature as early as tonight, following Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s State of the State address. IBT General Secretary-Treasurer and Local 175 President Ken Hall has been leading the fight for months, <a href="http://www.statejournal.com/clip/12070134/decision-makers-121315-segment-5">appearing</a> on television and <a href="http://www.wvgazettemail.com/gazette-opinion/20160113/ken-hall-know-the-truth-about-right-to-work-gazette">writing</a> op-eds to warn his fellow Mountaineers what is at stake. Today, he is set for a full day at the Statehouse.<br />
<br />
We are just halfway through the day, and already there is much to report. The day began with a press conference with union members from the Oklahoma, who delivered their cautionary tales of what West Virginia should expect should the legislature pass RTW:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
We’ve lost stable and gainful employment in my state. The so-called RTW law is an unnecessary government intrusion. Since passing in Oklahoma, too many unions are unable to negotiate contracts and thousands of jobs have been sent to Mexico.</blockquote>
There will be more workers from RTW states as well as academics on hand throughout the afternoon at the Statehouse today, so stay tuned for more on <i>Teamster Nation</i> to hear what they have to say. In the meantime, we will be with GST Hall as he prepares for an action later this afternoon before the State of the State address, where workers are planning to crowd the rotunda and tell delegates "Not In My State." In an op-ed that ran in the <i>Charleston Gazette-Mail</i> today, Hall gave a preview of what he plans to tell the elected officials:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Right-to-work won’t create jobs. It is only an attack on unions, plain and simple, and union jobs that provide fair wages and benefits to workers. West Virginians deserve to hear the truth and they aren’t getting it from our Senate or House leadership and certainly not from the Chamber of Commerce.</blockquote>
Teamster Powerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07063527689152007034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4328899339135469869.post-57166488927735161492016-01-13T11:22:00.001-05:002016-01-13T11:25:11.865-05:00Today's Teamster News 01.13.16<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">TEAMSTERS</span></b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.wvgazettemail.com/gazette-opinion/20160113/ken-hall-know-the-truth-about-right-to-work-gazette">Ken Hall: Know the truth about right-to-work</a></b> <i>Gazette Mail</i> ...Today at the State Capitol in Charleston I will join scores of Teamsters, union members and everyday West Virginians to let lawmakers know that approving so-called right-to-work is no way to improve the state’s economic woes. Make no mistake, West Virginia’s economy is extremely fragile and struggling. Our state is heavily dependent on coal production and with demand and pricings falling — things outside our control — we are in for a continued rough ride...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.wchstv.com/news/features/eyewitness-news/stories/Rally-Slated-For-Wednesday-Against-Right-To-Work-At-WV-Capitol-249958.shtml#.VpZ2ZfkrLcs">Rally Slated For Wednesday Against Right To Work At WV Capitol</a></b> <i>WCHTV </i>...Labor union members plan to rally against right-to-work legislation at the State Capitol on Wednesday. The Teamsters Local Union 175 announced members from across the state plan to visit the state Capitol, according to a news release. Members said they will voice their opposition to the passage of right-to-work law...<br />
<b><a href="https://teamster.org/news/2016/01/railway-crew-transport-drivers-texas-join-teamsters-local-745">Railway-Crew Transport Drivers in Texas Join Teamsters Local 745</a></b> <i>Teamster.org </i> ...On Thursday, January 7 drivers at Renzenberger, Inc., who transport crew members employed by Union Pacific Railroad, voted to join Teamsters Local 745 in Dallas. The road drivers, yard drivers, radius drivers, yard managers and yard coordinators at the company’s El Paso facility voted 27 to 1 to join Local 745. There are 54 workers in the bargaining unit...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/money/2016/01/12/teamsters-pension-cuts/78687312/">Teamsters look to fight pension cuts</a></b> <i>Green Bay Press Gazette</i> ...Local Teamsters affected by Central States’ application to cut pension payouts have written letters, lobbied federal legislators and launched a local committee to coordinate efforts to oppose the cuts. Many are concerned that the cuts are not evenly distributed among retirees. “We’ve sent letters. We’ve met on this, but what do we do now?” retired Teamster Larry Holterman asked...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.masslive.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/01/hampden_county_sheriff_candida_11.html">Hampden County sheriff candidate Nick Cocchi wins unanimous endorsement of Teamsters union</a></b> <i>Mass Live</i> ...Nick Cocchi's latest round of support in his bid to become Hampden County sheriff comes from the Teamsters union, which resoundingly endorsed the Ludlow Democrat for the countywide job. "It is with great pleasure to inform you that the entire executive board of Teamsters Local 404 welcomes the opportunity to unanimously endorse your candidacy for sheriff of Hampden County"...<br />
<b><a href="http://utu.org/2016/01/12/smart-td-blet-petition-fra-for-speed-signs/">SMART TD, BLET petition FRA for speed signs</a></b> <i>UTU.org</i> ...SMART TD and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen (BLET) have submitted a petition to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) for rulemaking that mandates uniform warning speed signs in advance of a permanent speed restriction. Recently, some railroads have begun removal of these safety indicators, which creates a hazard for operating crews and the public...<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>GLOBAL LABOR & TRADE</b></span><br />
<b><a href="http://www.miningweekly.com/article/workers-strike-at-bhp-billitons-chile-based-cerro-colorado-mine-2016-01-12">Workers strike at BHP Billiton's Chile-based Cerro Colorado mine</a></b> <i>Mining Weekly</i> ...Unionised workers at global miner BHP Billiton's Cerro Colorado copper mine in Chile went on strike on Monday after contract negotiations failed, revealed a union official and the company. Workers "abandoned the mine, and the strike became effective as of eight in the morning", said union director Gustavo Tapia...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/junior-doctors-strike-live-latest-7161931">UK junior doctors' strike live: Latest updates as NHS workers walk out</a></b> <i>Mirror </i>...The Junior Doctors' Strike has been running since 8am, and medics are continuing to picket outside hospitals. Sandwell Hospital, West Midlands, prompted fury and claims of "tactics" from doctors today by declaring a 'major incident' and telling its junior doctors to leave the picket lines within minutes of the strike starting...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/01/12/workers-strike-block-apple-subcontractor-factory-batam.html">Workers strike, block Apple subcontractor factory in Indonesia</a></b> <i>Jakarta Post</i> ...Some 2,000 workers from PT Amtek Engineering in Batam, Riau Islands province, went on strike as planned on Monday, blocking the main and only entrance to the company’s factory. Gathering at the Cammo industrial area from as early as 6:30 a.m., local time, workers only cleared the entrance gate after 10 military personnel used force to make them move away from the gate...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.politico.com/tipsheets/morning-trade/2016/01/obama-makes-tpp-push-in-sotu-thune-says-tpp-on-life-support-new-zealand-offering-to-host-tpp-signing-in-early-feb-212148">Obama makes TPP push in SOTU</a></b> <i>Politico </i>...President Barack Obama during his State of the Union speech Tuesday night made his expected appeal to Congress to approve the Trans-Pacific Partnership, arguing it would open overseas markets to more U.S. goods and help the United States compete against China in the global economy. The remarks were met with scattered applause...<br />
<b><a href="http://thehill.com/policy/finance/265622-obama-expected-to-push-congress-to-pass-tpp">Obama expected to push Congress to pass TPP</a></b> <i>The Hill</i> ...Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) is sounding a cautious tone about the Asia-Pacific trade deal's chances in Congress. The House Ways and Means Committee chairman said that passing the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement between the United States and 11 other nations “is difficult but doable” during a Politico Morning Money event Monday evening...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.opb.org/news/article/seniors-protest-trans-pacific-partnership/">Seniors Protest Trans-Pacific Partnership</a></b> <i>OPB </i>...Seniors from Portland and about 20 other cities across the nation, are protesting the Trans-Pacific Partnership Tuesday. They chose Tuesday because President Obama is expected to push for the trade deal’s passage during his State of the Union address. Scott Blau with the Oregon Alliance for Retired Americans, says the TPP is bad for consumers, especially those who rely on prescription drugs...<br />
<b><a href="http://citizen.typepad.com/eyesontrade/2016/01/administrations-tpp-honey-sotu-guest-falsely-sweet-story-exemplifies-tpp-sales-job.html">Administration’s TPP Honey SOTU Guest: Falsely Sweet Story Exemplifies TPP Sales Job</a></b> <i>Eyes on Trade</i> ...Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy. Obama SOTU guest Ronna Rice and her company Rice’s Lucky Clover Honey should be congratulated on their success. Tomorrow the President will no doubt talk about how the TPP will help her sell more honey. Yet like much of the White House TPP sale job, the nice narrative is not supported by the facts...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/mcdonalds-faces-eu-anti-trust-complaint-1452592146">McDonald’s Faces EU Antitrust Complaint</a></b> <i>Wall Street Journal</i> ...McDonald’s Corp. could face fresh regulatory headwinds in Europe after three Italian consumer groups filed an antitrust complaint with the European Union alleging that the fast-food chain imposes illegal terms on its franchisees. The complaint, which is supported by U.S. and European trade unions, alleges that McDonald’s abuses its dominant market position and harms consumers by charging its franchisees rents that exceed market rates by up to 10 times...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.solidaritycenter.org/cambodia-collision-claims-more-garment-worker-lives/">Cambodia: Collision Claims More Garment Worker Lives</a></b> <i>Solidarity Center</i> ...Five garment workers lost their lives yesterday and dozens more were injured when the two flat-bed trucks they were commuting to work on collided, according to Solidarity Center staff at the site of the incident. One of the trucks was carrying 50 people and the other more than 70 workers. The deaths left at least eight children without their mother. Agence France-Presse reports that 13 of the injured workers are in critical condition...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/high-tech-manufacturings-disposable-workers/">High Tech Manufacturing’s Disposable Workers</a></b> <i>The Nation</i> ...The global electronics industry boasts of technical perfection and seamless production. But look closer and you can spot assembly lines tangled with rotten nerve endings and veins swollen with toxins. Workers of the high tech economy face hazards that echo the lethal smokestacks of Dickensian England. This time, however, it’s not Manchester where workers are ailing, but the semiconductor capitals of the world in East Asia...<br />
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<b style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">STATE & LIVING WAGE BATTLES</b><br />
<b><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/faith-leaders-add-voices-to-maryland-sick-leave-movement/2016/01/12/d2d16d0e-b8db-11e5-99f3-184bc379b12d_story.html">Faith leaders add voices to Maryland sick-leave movement</a></b> <i>Washington Post</i> ...Maryland faith leaders on Monday joined the swelling ranks of sick-leave advocates backing legislation to require employers in the state to pay workers for time off when they are ill — a proposal that has languished in Congress but found limited success at the state and local levels...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.wwl.com/Higher-Louisiana-minimum-wage-/22359366">Higher Louisiana minimum wage?</a></b> <i>WWL </i>...Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards wants to make it a priority to increase workers' earnings, including raising minimum wage in Louisiana. Federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. It's been that way since 2009. Twenty-nine other states and Washington, DC have higher mandatory minimum wages, but not Louisiana...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.adn.com/article/20160111/anchorage-democratic-senator-proposes-15-minimum-wage">Anchorage Democratic senator proposes $15 minimum wage</a></b> <i>Alaska Dispatch News</i> ...An Anchorage Democratic senator is proposing that the state increase its minimum wage to $15 an hour. The proposal is included in legislation from Sen. Johnny Ellis. The bill also calls for an annual report on pay practices in Alaska. It was released Friday in a wave of measures filed ahead of the upcoming legislative session...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/01/lawmakers_scramble_closer_to_d.html">Oregon lawmakers scramble closer to deals on minimum wage, housing relief</a></b> <i>Oregon Live </i> ...Lawmakers, advocates and Gov. Kate Brown are circling around compromises on two of the signature issues looming over next month's short legislative session: housing relief and whether to raise Oregon's minimum wage. Progress on both efforts, and several others, is expected to become clear during a three-day round of committee hearings set to start Wednesday morning...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.wthr.com/story/30939008/activists-call-for-hike-in-indianas-minimum-wage">Activists call for hike in Indiana's minimum wage</a></b> <i>WTHR </i>...A group of Hoosiers wants to more than double the state's minimum wage. Indiana's minimum wage currently sits at $7.25 an hour (the same as the federal rate), but a group of activists wants to raise that to $15 an hour (the same President Barack Obama lobbied for at the federal level)...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article54323200.html">Kentucky Senate again seeks to repeal prevailing wage law for school construction projects</a></b> <i>Herald Leader</i> ...Senate Republicans again are trying to exempt school and university construction from Kentucky’s prevailing wage law, which generally sets higher wage rates for public works projects. In past legislative sessions, the Democratic-led House, backed by labor unions, has thwarted Republican efforts to weaken the prevailing wage...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.bgdailynews.com/news/counties-still-await-right-to-work-ruling/article_a1567f4e-3fb4-5a75-8c21-b535eb791bc8.html">Counties still await right-to-work ruling</a></b> <i>Daily News</i> ...Laws regarding unions and workplaces are in the news this week, but a ruling on a local right-to-work ordinance is still in the hands of a federal judge. On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in a highly watched case regarding mandatory union dues being paid by California teachers. In August, U.S. District Judge David Hale heard similar arguments in Louisville regarding Hardin County’s right-to-work law...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.wxii12.com/news/NAACP-leader-says-NC-not-being-clear-on-new-voter-ID-law/37412116">NAACP leader says NC not being clear on new voter ID law</a></b> <i>WXII </i>...The president of the North Carolina chapter of the NAACP says the state isn't being clear on the requirements for the new voter identification law. The Rev. William Barber told a news conference in Durham on Tuesday that the state hasn't provided voters with adequate information on their rights on election day...<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>U.S. LABOR</b></span><br />
<b><a href="http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/seiu-prepares-for-contract-negotiations-with-ssm-calls-for-an/article_e37bb4c9-9ada-502b-923d-8d0cf3089e5e.html">SEIU prepares for contract negotiations with SSM, calls for $15 an hour minimum wage</a></b> <i>STL Today</i> ...The Service Employees International Union plans to seek a wage increase as the labor union prepares for its first contract negotiations with St. Louis University Hospital’s new owner, SSM Health. A handful of SEIU members petitioned outside St. Louis University Hospital on Tuesday afternoon calling for the minimum wage to be at least $15 per hour...<br />
<b><a href="https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20160112/fort-greene/hundreds-of-sweetn-low-workers-lose-jobs-as-plant-stops-manufacturing">Hundreds of Sweet'N Low Workers to Lose Jobs as Plant Stops Manufacturing</a></b> <i>DNAInfo </i>...Hundreds of local workers will lose their jobs after Cumberland Packing announced it would cease manufacturing operations at its Flushing Avenue plant Friday. The company, which produces Sweet’N Low, said it will transition out of the packing and manufacturing business within the next year and outsource work to other “co-packing” facilities...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/xpo-logistics-subsidiaries-sued-for-misclassifying-drivers-1452574254">XPO Logistics Subsidiaries Sued for Misclassifying Drivers</a></b> <i>Wall Street Journal</i> ...Three trucking company subsidiaries of XPO Logistics Inc. were sued in California on Monday for allegedly misclassifying their drivers as independent contractors. The lawsuit seeking class-action status, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, argues that drivers for XPO subsidiaries Pacer Cartage Inc., Harbor Rail Transport and PDS Transportation Inc. failed to pay minimum wage, provide meal breaks and rest breaks and reimburse business expenses...<br />
<b><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/01/08/the-under-the-radar-profit-maximizing-scheduling-practice-that-can-put-workers-in-a-downward-spiral/">The under-the-radar profit-maximizing scheduling practice that can put workers in a “downward spiral”</a></b> <i>Washington Post</i> ...In the world of high-end retail, salespeople have long supplemented their modest salaries with commissions for transactions they helped close. More recently, however, employers have added a twist: The most productive workers also get the busiest shifts, both as a reward for their high performance, and to boost revenues as much as possible. But Giving the busiest hours to the most productive workers boosts sales by pitting staff against each other...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/01/will-the-supreme-court-gut-public-employee-unions/423666/">Will the U.S. Supreme Court Gut Public-Employee Unions?</a></b> <i>The Atlantic</i> ...The most important fact about Monday’s oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association is that this case—one of the most important of the term—will be decided on the basis of no facts at all. The petitioners in Friedrichs are asking the Court to hobble unions that represent more than 9 million public employees in 23 states and the District of Columbia. That decision will have large consequences...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-11/raising-retirement-age-disproportionately-hurts-poor">Raising Retirement Age Disproportionately Hurts Poor</a></b> <i>Bloomberg </i>...The rich are increasingly outliving the poor, meaning policies aimed at delaying retirement could disproportionately hurt low socioeconomic status workers, new research shows. A disproportionately longer period of retirement means more years of collecting Social Security, Medicare and other government benefits for higher socioeconomic groups...<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>SOCIAL JUSTICE & OTHER NEWS</b></span><br />
<b><a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/01/white-house-immigration-raids-democrats-217619">White House, Hill Dems clash over immigration raids</a></b> <i>Politico </i>...Democratic furor over the Obama administration’s immigration raids erupted Tuesday when a senior White House official was summoned to the Capitol to meet with angry lawmakers and a top Senate Democrat pressed Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson to pause the controversial operations. The Democrats’ letter had criticized Obama for welcoming refugees from other parts of the world but treating immigrants from Central America differently...<br />
<b><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2016/01/13/3738628/private-probation-bill/">Private Probation Companies Have Created A Two-Tiered Justice System. This Congressman Is Fighting Back.</a></b> <i>Think Progress</i> ...More than 1,000 courts around the country contract with private companies, which promise cities that they will recoup revenue from those who owe fines and fees on things like traffic tickets. Many cities see them as a good bargain because the companies don’t charge anything for their services. Instead, they tack on extra fees to the probationers themselves, often people who are too poor to pay what they owe in the first place...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2016/1/12/why_is_ramsey_orta_man_who">Why is Ramsey Orta, Man Who Filmed Police Killing of Eric Garner, the Only One Criminally Charged?</a></b> <i>Democracy Now</i> ...As Sgt. Kizzy Adonis becomes the first officer to face reprimand for Eric Garner’s death, the only person present that day to be criminally charged is the young man who filmed it. Ramsey Orta, who recorded the fatal chokehold on his cellphone, has been arrested multiple times since. Orta says police have deliberately targeted him for capturing Garner’s death on video...<br />
<b><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2016/01/12/3738223/liheap-home-heating-assistance/">How Years Of Welfare Politics Is Leaving Thousands To Freeze This Winter</a></b> <i>Think Progress</i> ...The increase in people going without heating assistance for the winter reflects an unnecessary strain placed on the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) by Congress. Because Congress never puts enough money into LIHEAP to actually deliver on the ambitions of the program, plenty of people who are eligible for the aid go without it every year. Federal funding for the program has fallen by about a third since 2010...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.salon.com/2016/01/13/obamas_hypocrisy_he_said_blame_wall_street_not_food_stamps_but_he_bailed_out_bankers_and_cut_help_for_the_hungry/">Obama’s hypocrisy: He said blame Wall Street, not food stamps — but he bailed out bankers and cut help for the hungry</a></b> <i>Salon </i>...“Food stamp recipients didn’t cause the financial crisis; recklessness on Wall Street did,” Obama declared in his final State of the Union address. There is a problem with this, however: Obama cut food stamps and bailed out Wall Street, punishing none of the people he readily admits caused the crisis...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2016/1/13/tavis_smiley_calls_out_corporate_media">Tavis Smiley Calls Out Corporate Media for Uncritical Coverage of "Racial Arsonist" Donald Trump</a></b> <i>Democracy Now</i> ...The broadcaster Tavis Smiley made headlines this week for an appearance on ABC’s "This Week" when he called out Donald Trump for being an "unrepentant, irascible, religious and racial arsonist." Trump responded by calling Smiley a "hater and racist." Smiley responds to Trump while also criticizing the corporate media for what he calls a lax response to the Republican front-runner’s views...Teamster Powerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07063527689152007034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4328899339135469869.post-67166717840520231932016-01-12T12:16:00.000-05:002016-01-12T12:50:31.621-05:00Lawmakers, labor leaders line up against TPPLawmakers, union leaders and fair trade activists converged on Capitol Hill late yesterday to again <a href="http://ctmirror.org/2016/01/11/delauro-defies-obama-on-state-of-the-union-issue/" rel="nofollow">ramp up opposition</a> to the terrible Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) as Congress heads back to work for 2016.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Z3fXXLLPwO8/VpUwpNHuS_I/AAAAAAAAUyY/eUCo-TKg4Fo/s1600/1.12.16DeLauroTPP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Z3fXXLLPwO8/VpUwpNHuS_I/AAAAAAAAUyY/eUCo-TKg4Fo/s320/1.12.16DeLauroTPP.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rep. DeLauro speaks out against the TPP yesterday.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As President Obama gets ready to unveil his agenda for his final year in office tonight, opponents of the 12-nation Pacific Rim trade pact made it clear that approval of the deal won't do anything to help the U.S. economy. Instead, it will lead to further lost of jobs due to good jobs being shipped overseas.<br />
<br />
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) took aim at false claims that the TPP would create new jobs, and cited a recently released Tufts University report that actually estimates it would directly lead to nearly <a href="http://www.ase.tufts.edu/gdae/policy_research/TPP_simulations.html" rel="nofollow">450,000 lost American jobs</a> as proof. She urged attendees not to give up the fight:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
It is clear our concerns have been ignored. Yet we cannot offer any amendments [on TPP]. So we must defeat it.</blockquote>
Meanwhile, Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) introduced a paper mill employee from his district who has lost his job three times in recent years due to lousy trade deals. He said workers across this country find themselves in similar situations and the only way to stop more from suffering a similar fate is to defeat TPP:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
This is not a sustainable model for the United States. ... This is a race to the bottom.</blockquote>
The Teamsters join in support of elected and labor leaders speaking out against TPP. The union has long stood against this very bad trade deal because it will <a href="http://cepr.net/documents/publications/TPP-2013-09.pdf" rel="nofollow">only pad the wallets</a> of the richest few, not lift the economic fortunes of everyday Americans.<br />
<br />
Later today, the President is expected to talk at length about this trade deal. But Congress ultimately will have the final say on its future later this year. Whether it's because the TPP will further bloat the nation's trade deficit; allow foreign corporations to challenge U.S. laws; permit unsafe food and products to raid American stores; or drive up the cost of medicines, there are <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-p-hoffa/labor-unions-tpp_b_8740856.html">no shortage of reasons</a> why this trade deal should be defeated.<br />
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It's time to take a stand.Teamster Powerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07063527689152007034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4328899339135469869.post-66693371552553884082016-01-12T11:07:00.000-05:002016-01-12T11:07:19.700-05:00Today's Teamster News 01.12.16<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">TEAMSTERS</span></b><br />
<b><a href="https://wamu.org/news/16/01/11/dc_taxi_drivers_accuse_police_of_harassment_in_barrage_of_tickets">D.C. Taxi Drivers Accuse Police Of Harassment In Barrage Of Tickets</a></b> <i>WAMU </i>...Officers in the Metropolitan Police Department’s Fifth District were responsible for writing 1,368 tickets to cabbies from Jan. through Oct. 2015, more than three times the 394 tickets written in the city’s other six police districts combined, according to data obtained by the Teamsters Union Local 922 and shared with WAMU 88.5. The Teamsters’ lawyers are defending the drivers in court, claiming many of the tickets are bogus...<br />
<b><a href="https://teamster.org/news/2016/01/teamsters-carhaul-employers-resume-contract-negotiations">Teamsters, Carhaul Employers to Resume Contract Negotiations</a></b> <i>Teamster.org</i> ...The Teamsters National Automobile Transporters Industry Negotiating Committee (TNATINC) and carhaul employer representatives will reconvene this Wednesday, Jan. 13 and Thursday, Jan. 14 in Detroit to discuss and exchange proposals for a new national contract. In December, both sides made progress toward a new tentative agreement. While several of the outstanding contract issues have been largely resolved, both sides are still evaluating serious and difficult economic issues...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/education/school-district-support-staff-union-challenge-teamsters-election-victory">School district support staff union to challenge Teamsters election victory</a></b> <i>Review Journal </i> ...A nearly 15-year fight to unseat the labor union that represents more than 11,000 bus drivers, custodians and other support staff who work for the Clark County School District again will head to court soon.<br />
Thanks to a change in rules governing public-sector unions in Nevada, the Teamsters Local 14 claimed a landslide victory. But a lawyer for the Education Support Employees Association, which represents school support staff, promised to "promptly" challenge that in state court...<br />
<b><a href="https://teamster.org/news/2016/01/minnesota-teamsters-endorse-angie-craig-2nd-congressional-district">Minnesota Teamsters Endorse Angie Craig for 2nd Congressional District</a></b> <i>Teamster.org </i> ...Today, Teamsters across Minnesota endorsed Angie Craig for Congress in the 2nd Congressional seat race set for this fall. “We are pleased to put our support behind Angie Craig who we know will be a strong advocate for working men and women across Minnesota and our country,” said Teamsters Joint Council 32 President Larry Yoswa...<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>GLOBAL LABOR & TRADE</b></span><br />
<b><a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/01/11/tensions-rise-workers-apple-contractor-plan-strike.html">Tensions rise as workers for Apple contractor in Indonesia plan strike</a></b> <i>Jakarta Post</i> ...Authorities in Batam, Riau Islands, have called on thousands of workers from a major local company to drop plans to begin a three-week strike on Monday. Batam Free Trade Zone Management Agency public relations and promotions director Purnomo Andiantono said the concerns emerged after some 2,000 workers from PT Amtek Engineering Batam last week announced a plan to stage a collective strike...<br />
<b><a href="http://sputniknews.com/europe/20160111/1032957511/uk-transport-union-strike.html">UK Transport Union Announces Three 24-Hour Underground Strikes</a></b> <i>Sputnik News</i> ...The United Kingdom's biggest Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union announced on Monday that London Underground staff were to stage three 24-hour strikes and a week of industrial action in two separate disputes over pay and night tube services. According to the RMT statement, Underground workers will strike for 24 hours on January 26, February 15 and February 17 over disputes about pay...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.afr.com/news/policy/industrial-relations/tug-boat-workers-strike-to-disrupt-shipping-industry-20160111-gm3dmh">Tug boat workers' strike to disrupt shipping industry</a></b> <i>Financial Review</i> ...Delays are expected to plague Australia's big east coast ports on Tuesday and Wednesday, with workers planning to walk off the job after an agreement could not be struck with tug boat engineers. The industrial action is protected and is over a new enterprise agreement between the Australian Institute of Marine and Power Engineers and operator Svitzer Australia...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/correctional-workers-agreement-1.3396931">Ontario correctional workers give up right to strike to reach deal</a></b> <i>CBC</i> ...Ontario's correctional workers and the government have agreed to move to binding arbitration within the next 60 days — and to designate the province's nearly 6,000 jail guards, parole and probation officers as essential service workers. That means the union agreed to give up its right to strike, not just for this contract but for successive ones...<br />
<a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11572700"><b>Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal to be signed in NZ</b></a> <i>NZ Herald </i> ...The controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal will be signed into existence in New Zealand. Chile let the cat out of the bag early by announcing the signing last week, before officials were ready, leading to swift backpedaling from organisers. But the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has just confirmed an event will be held in Auckland in early February...<br />
<b><a href="http://ctmirror.org/2016/01/11/delauro-defies-obama-on-state-of-the-union-issue/">DeLauro defies Obama on State of the Union issue</a></b> <i>CT Mirror</i> ...Once again, U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro is defying President Obama as he prepares to deliver his State of the Union address. Once again, the split is over trade. DeLauro, D-3rd District, is leading a fight against one of the things Obama wants to leave as part of his legacy – a Trans-Pacific Partnership with 11 other nations that ring the Pacific Ocean...<br />
<b><a href="http://mashable.com/2016/01/11/tpp-trade-deal-australia/#ISYODVuAWSqW">Trans-Pacific Partnership could be worth almost nothing to Australia</a></b> <i>Mashable </i>...Over the five years it was negotiated, the potential economic impact of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), set to become one of the biggest free trade deals of all time, has been condemned and praised with equal ferocity. Australian Trade Minister Andrew Robb claimed the TPP would deliver "enormous benefits" to Australia. Now the World Bank has looked into the matter, and as it turns out, all that secrecy has added up to very little for Australia...<br />
<b><a href="https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2016/01/11/tna-j11.html">Tamil National Alliance backs austerity, pro-investor policies in Sri Lanka</a></b> <i>WSWS.org</i> ...As the year began, the Tamil nationalist organizations in Sri Lanka escalated their support for austerity and the use of Sri Lankan workers as cheap labor for international capital. Mavai Senathirajah, a leading parliamentarian of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), told the media, “we are expecting several development projects and economic zones in the North-East”...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/greece-renews-challenge-to-creditors-austerity-policies-1452591668">Greece Renews Challenge to Creditors’ Austerity Policies</a></b> <i>Wall Street Journal</i> ...Greece’s left-led government renewed its challenge to its creditors’ austerity policies on Tuesday, vowing to resist further pension cuts while calling on Europe to let Greece meet budget targets mainly via economic growth, not belt-tightening. “The best way to fill this gap [in Greece’s budget] isn't by reducing, but by increasing the economy,” Labor Minister George Katrougalos said...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.solidaritycenter.org/haiti-earthquake-anniversary-garment-workers-still-struggle-to-survive/">Haiti Earthquake Anniversary: Garment Workers Still Struggle to Survive</a></b> <i>Solidarity Center</i> ...Six years after a major earthquake devastated the Haitian capital and its environs and the international community promised to “build back better,” Haitian workers say their daily lives are a struggle for survival, with their meager wages insufficient to cover basic expenses. In recent interviews, Haitian garment workers told the Solidarity Center that they are worse off today than before the quake...<br />
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<b style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">STATE & LIVING WAGE BATTLES</b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2016/01/13012/corporate-political-donations-stay-secret">How Corporate Political Spending Will Stay Secret in Wisconsin</a></b> <i>PR Watch</i> ...Wisconsin Republicans are insisting that they didn't intend to allow corporate political donations to remain secret under the recent overhaul of the state's campaign finance laws. But secrecy, in fact, has become the distinguishing characteristic of Wisconsin elections. And that is by design. Sweeping campaign finance changes signed into law by Governor Scott Walker last month allowed corporations to donate up to $12,000 directly to "segregated funds"...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/new-statewide-initiative-would-raise-minimum-wage/">State ballot measure filed to raise minimum wage to $13.50</a></b> <i>Seattle Times</i> ...Supporters of raising Washington state’s minimum wage filed a ballot measure Monday that seeks to incrementally raise Washington’s minimum wage to $13.50 an hour over four years starting in 2017, as well as provide paid sick leave to employees without it. The initiative was announced at a news conference by a coalition of workers and union members...<br />
<b><a href="http://nhpr.org/post/are-neighboring-states-putting-pressure-nh-lawmakers-boost-minimum-wage">Are Neighboring States Putting Pressure on N.H. Lawmakers to Boost Minimum Wage?</a></b> <i>NHPR </i>...The new legislative session kicked off last week, as lawmakers began the process of again sifting through the hundreds of new bills. Many of these proposals would affect New Hampshire’s business community, including raising the state’s minimum wage, an issue that hasn’t gone anywhere in the past...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.ozarksfirst.com/news/house-committee-hears-voter-id-proposal-today">House Committee Hears Voter ID Proposal Today</a></b> <i>Ozarks First</i> ...Two voter photo ID proposals will be heard Tuesday by the Missouri House’s Elections committee. Representative Tony Dugger (R-Hartville) is proposing a constitutional amendment that would ask voters to approve requiring a photo ID at the polls. A companion bill sponsored by Representative Justin Alferman (R-Hermann) would create the structure for voter photo ID if the ballot issue passes...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/1/11/1468407/-Kasich-New-mothers-should-work-at-home-online-not-get-paid-family-leave">Kasich: New mothers should work at home online, not get paid family leave</a></b> <i> Daily Kos</i> ...Screw paid parental leave. Republican presidential candidate (yes, still) and Ohio Gov. John Kasich thinks new mothers and fathers should rely on their employers to “try to be creative” instead of being required to offer paid leave. And if the extent of their employers’ creativity is “come to work or you’re fired,” as it is for so many Americans, oh well...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/education/2016/01/11/ohio-headed-right--work-anyway/78641918/">Is Ohio headed for 'right-to-work' anyway?</a></b> <i>Cincinnati.com</i> ...Remember that political grudge match called Senate Bill 5? A U.S. Supreme Court case on whether government workers must pay union dues against their wills could upend a key part of Ohioans' decisive vote against the anti-collective bargaining law. If the court rules against unions – and it's looking like it might – Ohio's public workers could become "right-to-work" overnight...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/01/11/state_of_michigan_flint_broke_law_and_covered_up_lead_levels_in_water_expert.html">Michigan Knew Last Year That Flint’s Water Might Be Poisoned But Decided Not to Tell Anyone</a></b> <i>Slate </i>...Michigan governor Rick Snyder declared last week that the poisonously high levels of lead in drinking water in Flint, Michigan constitute a state of emergency. Reporting by Michigan Radio and research by the ACLU, though, alleges that the state government itself may have broken laws last year to cover up evidence of high lead levels that were turned up in tests it was supervising...<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>U.S. LABOR</b></span><br />
<b><a href="http://www.wilx.com/home/headlines/UAW-Donating-Water-To-Flint-Residents-364779821.html">UAW Donating Water To Flint Residents</a></b> <i>WILX</i> ...Members of the United Auto Workers union are donating drinking water to Flint residents affected by the city's water crisis. The Flint Journal reported Saturday that bottled water would be brought to the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan in a caravan of trucks. An emergency has been declared in Flint where water drawn from the Flint River leached lead from old plumbing for months...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/usw-nlrb-issues-third-consolidated-complaint-against-asarco-300202535.html">USW: NLRB Issues Third Consolidated Complaint against Asarco</a></b> <i>PR Newswire </i> ...The United Steelworkers (USW) today said that Region 28 of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued a third consolidated complaint against Asarco, LLC, which includes an allegation that the company unlawfully implemented portions of its so-called "last, best and final" contract proposal on Dec. 1, 2015, in the absence of a bargaining impasse...<br />
<b><a href="http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2016/1/10/national-labor-board-takes-mcdonalds-to-court.html">National Labor Board takes McDonald’s to court</a></b> <i>Al Jazeera</i> ...Current and former McDonald’s workers who accuse the fast-food giant of illegal union-busting will get their day in court on Monday, when an administrative law judge is expected to begin hearing arguments in a major unfair labor practice suit. The Obama administration's National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) will represent the workers in a case that could have wide-ranging consequences for the McDonald’s franchising model...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/graduate-students-at-private-universities-could-soon-have-the-right-to-unionize/">Graduate Students at Private Universities Could Soon Have the Right to Unionize</a></b> <i>The Nation</i> ... Late last year, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) finally agreed to review the cases of Columbia University and New School graduate students who have been campaigning for years to form an official union on their campus. Their pending decision could overturn a precedent that has hamstrung labor organizing on private college and university campuses for over a decade...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/01/11/detroit-teachers-hold-sick-out-demand-fixes-schools-abominable-problems">Detroit Teachers Hold Sick-Out to Demand Fixes to School's "Abominable" Problems</a></b> <i>Common Dreams</i> ...Detroit teachers on Monday organized a "sick-out" to call attention to the school district's "abominable" problems, including filthy buildings and overwhelmingly large class sizes, and called on officials to follow through on long-held promises to salvage the city's educational system. Ivy Bailey, interim president of the Detroit Federation of Teachers (DFT), said Monday, "The deplorable conditions in our schools have created a serious environmental and educational crisis"...<br />
<b><a href="http://ttd.org/blog/why-transportation-workers-should-care-about-friedrichs-v-california-teachers-association/">Why Transportation Workers Should Care About Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association</a></b> <i>TTD.org</i> ...Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association (CTA) is an orchestrated, malicious attack on workers’ rights. This case isn’t just about teachers in California—it’s about weakening the rights of workers, specifically those employed in the public sector. The group behind the court case is the Center for Individual Rights, which has ties to greedy CEOs and wealthy special interests...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.salon.com/2016/01/10/science_proves_that_being_on_call_is_just_as_stressful_as_working_partner/">This is why you’re burning out: Science proves being on call is just as stressful as working</a></b> <i>Salon </i>...A recent study links extended work availability with decreased calmness, mood, and energy levels. By looking at industries from technical services to nursing, the study evaluated the effects of being on-call — that is, not at work, but being expected to remain available by phone for questions or customer requests...<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>SOCIAL JUSTICE & OTHER NEWS</b></span><br />
<b><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2016/01/11/3737974/powerball-lotteries/">Powerball’s $1.3 Billion Swindle Of Americans</a></b> <i>Think Progress</i> ...In October, the consortium of states that runs Powerball approved a series of rule changes that made it much harder to win the jackpot. The purpose of this change was to increase the chances that there would be no grand prize winner for any given drawing. The purpose of creating massive jackpots is because they induce more people to play. The prospect of big payouts spark a flood of free media attention. For all the money Americans spend, they get very little in return — particularly the poorest...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/01/11/clinton-/78664912/">Clinton calls for stopping immigration raids</a></b> <i>USA Today</i> ...Hillary Clinton on Monday called on the Obama administration to end raids that target undocumented immigrants who recently arrived from Central America. Clinton, whose statement came during the Iowa Black and Brown forum, said that enforcement efforts should be "humane." "We have laws and we must be guided by those laws, but we shouldn't have armed federal officers showing up at peoples' homes, taking women and children out of their beds in the middle of the night"...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.alternet.org/economy/pill-cures-hepatitis-costs-just-4-if-you-live-america-its-1000">A Pill That Cures Hepatitis Costs Just $4, but If You Live in America It's $1,000</a></b> <i>Alternet </i>...Nearly one year after receiving FDA approval, on October 10, 2014, Gilead Sciences Inc. patented Harvoni, which is Solvaldi combined with one of these inhibitors. Global demand for Harvoni quickly skyrocketed as,according to the World Health Organization, there are currently 130-150 million people living with chronic hepatitis C, globally...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.salon.com/2016/01/10/why_the_corporate_media_refuses_to_talk_about_poverty_in_2016_coverage_partner/">The defining American crisis our corporate media still can’t be bothered to cover</a></b> <i>Salon</i> ...Of the five Republican debates and of the three Democratic debates, not one moderator has asked a question involving the words “poverty” or “poor.” In the GOP debates, the candidates only bring up the topic as a way to swipe President Obama, which is fair enough but is not a discussion of poverty much less a good-faith attempt to mitigate it. By comparison, the Democratic debate moderators brought up “ISIS” or “Terrorism” 21 times total in all three debates...<br />
<b><a href="http://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/trump-robocalls-white-nationalists-iowa">White Nationalist PAC Blankets Iowa With Robocalls For Trump</a></b> <i>TPM </i>...Some registered voters in Iowa received robocalls Saturday from a white nationalist super PAC that urged them to support Donald Trump in the 2016 election: “I urge you to vote for Donald Trump because he is the one candidate who points out that we should accept immigrants who are good for America. We don’t need Muslims. We need smart, well-educated white people who will assimilate to our culture"...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2016/1/11/historic_settlement_over_nypds_anti_muslim">Historic Settlement over NYPD's Anti-Muslim Spying Imposes Oversight & Bars Ethnic-Based Targeting</a></b> <i>Democracy Now</i> ...In a major legal victory, New York City will appoint an independent civilian monitor to oversee the New York Police Department’s counterterrorism activities. The announcement comes after two lawsuits challenged the NYPD’s programs of spying on Muslims and religious centers. The suits argued the NYPD violated the U.S. and New York state constitutions by singling out and stigmatizing entire communities based on their religion...Teamster Powerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07063527689152007034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4328899339135469869.post-77347351902344862582016-01-11T13:02:00.000-05:002016-01-11T13:37:54.513-05:00High court hears critical union caseThe most important union-related case in <a href="http://crooksandliars.com/2016/01/why-you-should-pay-attention-friedrichs" rel="nofollow">more than a generation</a> was heard before the U.S. Supreme Court this morning, and its effects could be wide-reaching for the Teamsters and other unions.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vLGrxMBD-gY/Vk4b57-JNVI/AAAAAAAAUsc/CyyxlA7OFbE/s1600/11.19.15supremecourtblog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vLGrxMBD-gY/Vk4b57-JNVI/AAAAAAAAUsc/CyyxlA7OFbE/s320/11.19.15supremecourtblog.jpg" width="320" /></a>A negative ruling in <i>Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association</i> involving public workers and their unions could hurt all workers nationwide in their fight for their rights and decency on the job. The case pits nine anti-union teachers against the two teachers unions in California who represent them and against the state. The issue is whether states can order anti-union workers – whom, however, the union represents -- to pay “agency fees” to <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/01/11/supreme-court-to-hear-arguments-over-requiring-union-members-to-pay-dues/" rel="nofollow">cover costs</a> of contract bargaining and administration, such as defending grievances.<br />
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Maryann Parker, associate general counsel for the Service Employees International Unions, said:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
This case should be seen for what it is: It would place substantial limitations on the ability of working people to advocate for themselves. In terms of what’s happening in the country [to workers, their wages, their declining standards of living and their rights], it’s very important.</blockquote>
The plaintiffs say such orders and laws violate their free speech rights by forcing them to support union political positions. But in reality, speakers at the Jan. 6 American Constitution Society panel said, <i>Friedrichs</i> is part of a broader movement to strip all workers of their rights.<br />
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They lost, intentionally, in lower courts, but took their case to the High Court at the outright invitation in a prior court ruling by Associate Justice Samuel Alito. In a parallel, but more restricted case two years ago, Alito questioned whether any public worker unions had the right to require non-members to pay agency fees.<br />
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He didn’t win then. If he wins now, there would be wide ramifications for all workers, public and private, union and non-union. Parker noted that by outlawing the right for unions to charge anyone even “agency fees” – not to mention membership dues – unions would lose funds that help workers band together and fight for their rights and a better standard of living.<br />
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Parker and panelist Anisha Gupta, New York state’s deputy solicitor general, also stressed the practical impact of a decision for the <i>Friedrichs</i> dissidents. It would overturn almost 40 years of laws, precedents and cases involving public workers, following a 1976 High Court ruling in a case, <i>Abood</i>, involving the Detroit school board and its teachers unions.<br />
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A decision in the case is not expected until June.<br />
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<ul>
<li><i>Press Associates, Inc., contributed to this report.</i></li>
</ul>
Teamster Powerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07063527689152007034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4328899339135469869.post-40392676295996085492016-01-11T11:34:00.001-05:002016-01-11T11:49:42.105-05:00Today's Teamster News 01.11.16<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">TEAMSTERS</span></b><br />
<b><a href="https://teamster.org/news/2016/01/local-727-members-overwhelmingtly-ratify-coca-cola-refreshments-contract">Local 727 Members Overwhelmingtly Ratify Coca-Cola Refreshments Contract</a></b> <i>Teamster.org </i> ...Teamsters Local 727 members voted by a 17-to-1 margin on Sunday, Jan. 10, to overwhelmingly ratify a new three-year contract with Coca-Cola Refreshments in Niles and Alsip, Ill. The agreement provides annual wage increases, retroactivity and improved health and welfare benefits for 319 Coca-Cola production and warehouse workers and transport drivers...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-coca-cola-teamsters-vote-0112-biz-20160110-story.html">Coca-Cola workers overwhelmingly approve 'strong' contract</a></b> <i>Chicago Tribune </i>...Coca-Cola workers who went on strike for nearly a month at two Chicago-area production plants approved a new three-year contract Sunday that includes annual wage hikes and better health benefits, bringing an end to contentious negotiations. Members of Teamsters Local 727 voted 170-10 to approve the contract offer from Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Refreshments, the union announced...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.ble-t.org/pr/news/newsflash.asp?id=5790">BLET members ratify new contract with DM&E</a></b> <i>BLE-T.org</i> ...Members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) ratified a new hourly-rate collective bargaining agreement with the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railway (DM&E) on November 30, 2015. The agreement governs rates of pay and work rules for approximately 300 locomotive engineers, assistant engineers, conductors and brakemen. It runs through December 31, 2019...<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>GLOBAL LABOR & TRADE</b></span><br />
<b><a href="http://buenosairesherald.com/article/206500/unions-kirchnerite-leaders-blast-%E2%80%98austerity-measures-repression%E2%80%99">Brazil unions, Kirchnerite leaders blast ‘austerity measures, repression’</a></b> <i>Buenos Aires Herald</i> ...As anger continued to rise yesterday over the sacking of between 12,000 and 15,000 state workers by President Mauricio Macri’s administration, Kirchnerite lawmakers and union representatives accused the government of deliberate repression and of trying to implement harsh austerity measures.<br />
“The model of austerity and economic concentration can only be implemented with repression and shielding by the media,” Andrés “Cuervo” Larroque...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/08/portugals-socialist-government-restores-holidays-cut-during-austerity-drive">Portugal's socialist government restores holidays cut during austerity drive</a></b> <i>The Guardian</i> ...The Portuguese government has restored four public holidays cut in the previous administration’s attempt to boost productivity. The new socialist government won parliament’s approval to discard one of the most unpopular legacies of a recent austerity drive and bring back the holidays cut two years ago...<br />
<b><a href="http://peoplesworld.org/potato-chip-boss-to-workers-screw-you-and-your-f-king-union/">Canada potato chip boss to workers: “Screw you and your f**king union”</a></b> <i>People's World</i> ...On Tuesday morning, half of the employees at the Covered Bridge Potato Chip Company walked off the job and hit the picket lines. The workers, who are members of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1288P, have had their union certified for more than two years but have yet to conclude a first contract with their employer...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.politico.com/tipsheets/morning-trade/2016/01/tpp-fight-kicks-off-tech-group-calls-out-protectionism-pork-producers-wary-about-japanese-subsidy-plan-212094">TPP fight kicks off</a></b> <i>Politico </i>...After the prologue of business endorsements last week, what could be the last big battle over the finalized Trans-Pacific Partnership kicks off this week. On Tuesday, President Barack Obama will make his pitch for the Asia-Pacific pact in his final State of the Union address to the nation, which will be followed by three days of testimony at the U.S. International Trade Commission...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/transpacific-partnership-will-barely-benefit-australia-says-world-bank-report-20160111-gm3g9w.html">Trans-Pacific Partnership will barely benefit Australia, says World Bank report</a></b> <i>Sydney Morning Herald</i> ...Australia stands to gain almost nothing from the mega trade deal sealed with 11 other nations including United States, Japan, and Singapore, the first comprehensive economic analysis finds. Prepared by staff from the World Bank, the study says the so-called Trans-Pacific Partnership would boost Australia's economy by just 0.7 per cent by the year 2030. The annual boost to growth would be less than one half of one 10th of 1 per cent...<br />
<b><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2016/01/08/how-obama-is-using-the-worlds-biggest-tech-show-as-a-political-opportunity/">How Obama is using the world’s biggest tech show as a political opportunity</a></b> <i>Washington Post </i> ...President Obama dispatched his top trade negotiator to Las Vegas on Thursday to talk up the benefits of a major multilateral deal on international business before a number of tech companies, in hopes that the companies will pressure their representatives in Washington to vote for the trade agreement when the time comes. The trade deal, known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, has support from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.bna.com/us-eu-look-n57982065951/">U.S., EU Look to Conclude TTIP Talks in 2016</a></b> <i>BNA </i>...The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations are expected to kick into high gear in 2016, with both sides doubling down on trying to finish talks during the last year of the Obama administration and rejecting the concept of a “TTIP light,” which officials said would be hard to sell to Congress and the European Parliament...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/the-law-page/transcanada-the-underdog-in-nafta-gambit-over-keystone-xl-rejection/article28061334/">TransCanada the underdog in NAFTA gambit over Keystone XL rejection</a></b> <i>Globe and Mail</i> ...Legal observers say that while TransCanada Corp. appears to have a strong case under the North American free-trade agreement to challenge Washington’s rejection of its Keystone XL pipeline, the Calgary-based company has just embarked on a long-haul process in which it remains an underdog...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jan/10/in-2016-better-trade-agreements-trans-pacific-partnership">In 2016, let's hope for better trade agreements - and the death of TPP</a></b> <i>The Guardian</i> ...The US concluded secret negotiations on what may turn out to be the worst trade agreement in decades, the so-called Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and now faces an uphill battle for ratification, as all the leading Democratic presidential candidates and many of the Republicans have weighed in against it. The problem is not so much with the agreement’s trade provisions, but with the “investment” chapter...<br />
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<b style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">STATE & LIVING WAGE BATTLES</b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/On-right-to-work-other-bills-W-Va-GOP-may-6750661.php">On right-to-work, other bills, W.Va. GOP may overturn vetoes</a></b> <i>Times Union</i> ...Republican lawmakers are pushing to make West Virginia a right-to-work state and repeal its prevailing wage for public construction projects this legislative session. And though those policies don't sit well with Democratic Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, it may not matter. It only takes more 'yes' than 'no' votes in the Legislature to cement a policy into law after the governor vetoes a bill...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.journalnow.com/news/elections/voter-id-case-will-go-to-trial-in-january/article_3241eec6-6a5c-593c-a9ad-33c0786d7e45.html">Voter ID case will go to trial in January</a></b> <i>Winston-Salem Journal</i> ...North Carolina’s photo ID requirement will go on trial late this month in U.S. District Court in Winston-Salem, a federal judge said in court papers filed Tuesday. U.S. District Judge Thomas Schroeder signed an order modifying the deadlines for discovery in the case so a trial on the photo ID requirement can begin Jan. 25. The N.C. NAACP, the U.S. Department of Justice and others sued North Carolina in 2013...<br />
<b><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2016/01/11/3737857/texas-governor-would-make-federal-anti-lynching-laws-unconstitutional/">Texas Governor Unveils Plan To Repeal The 20th Century</a></b> <i>Think Progress</i> ...Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) proposed a series of constitutional amendments on Friday that would so fundamentally alter our founding document that it would be akin to throwing out the system of government established by the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Abbott would place restrictions on the federal government that are so severe, both national child labor laws and anti-lynching laws would be unconstitutional under his proposals...<br />
<b><a href="http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/branstad-willing-to-consider-iowa-minimum-wage-increase/article_ec6cf30c-bcb9-5860-8b77-cead9adcbb35.html">Branstad willing to consider Iowa minimum wage increase</a></b> <i>WCF Courier </i> ... Gov. Terry Branstad said Thursday that he would be willing to consider an increase in the state minimum wage if a bill landed on his desk during the 2016 legislative session. In an interview, Branstad noted that a number of states have increased their minimum wages and that he signed the bill in 1989 that created Iowa’s minimum wage...<br />
<b><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2016/01/11/3737921/kasich-paid-family-leave/">Giving Workers Paid Family Leave ‘Should Be Up To Employers,’ Kasich Says</a></b> <i>Think Progress </i> ...Republican presidential candidate and Ohio Gov. John Kasich doesn’t think employers should be required to let their workers take paid time off for a new baby or serious illness. At a town hall on Friday in Hampton, New Hampshire, he was asked what he thinks about paid family leave. Rather than a government mandate ensuring that all Americans can take paid leave, Kasich said instead it should be “up to employers"...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/30620/20160108/minimum-wage-rate-likely-to-dominate-ny-2016-session">Minimum wage rate likely to dominate NY 2016 session</a></b> <i>NCPR </i>...The New York State Senate held a hearing on raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Governor Cuomo and Assembly Democrats support the phase-in to a higher wage, but many Senators remain uncommitted. Senate Labor Committee Chair Jack Martins said he wants to broaden the discussion...<br />
<b><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/01/09/3737165/south-carolina-poverty/">What Poor South Carolinians Think About The GOP’s Poverty Summit In South Carolina</a></b> <i>Think Progress</i> ...Jeb Bush has called for the end of food stamps. Chris Christie has vetoed an increase in the minimum wage in his state and Ben Carson believes Obama is purposefully depressing the economy to keep people on welfare. These three presidential candidates, along with Marco Rubio, John Kasich, Carly Fiorina, and Mike Huckabee, will speak in Columbia, South Carolina on Saturday at a summit on poverty...<br />
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<b style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">U.S. LABOR</b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/10/opinion/sunday/at-the-supreme-court-a-big-threat-to-unions.html?_r=0">At the Supreme Court, a Big Threat to Unions</a></b> <i>New York Times </i> ...A case the Supreme Court will hear on Monday morning threatens to undermine a four-decade-old ruling that upheld a key source of funding for public-sector unions, the last major bastion of unionized workers in America. In the 1977 decision Abood v. Detroit Board of Education, the justices ruled that public unions may charge all employees — members and nonmembers alike — for the costs of collective bargaining related to their employment...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/01/friedrichs-california-teachers-union-supreme-court-217525">Conservative group nears big payoff in Supreme Court case</a></b> <i>Politico </i>...The conservative Bradley Foundation has spent millions over three decades to smash labor unions. Now an investment that could barely buy a house in Washington may bring it closer to that goal than ever before.<br />
The vehicle is a Supreme Court case, Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, to bar public employee unions from compelling payments from nonmembers...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/usw-workers-to-start-voting-on-u-s-steel-contract/article_5eabb4e5-a879-581f-a67e-115cd3d7bf5d.html">USW workers to start voting on U.S. Steel contract</a></b> <i>NWI Times </i> ...The United Steelworkers union is now mailing out ballots to U.S. Steel employees, including those at Gary Works, East Chicago Tin and the Midwest Plant in Portage. Steelworkers will get a week or two to cast their votes to ratify or reject a new contract with the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker, after getting summaries of all the changes from the 2012 contract in the mail...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.fresnobee.com/news/business/agriculture/article53622930.html">Judge grants Gerawan Farming access to labor board documents</a></b> <i>Fresno Bee</i> ...A Sacramento Superior Court judge on Thursday partially granted Gerawan Farming Company’s request for documents related to an unfair labor practice complaint filed against it by the Agricultural Labor Relations Board. The ALRB said the employee was fired for his support of the United Farm Workers union...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.aflcio.org/Blog/Corporate-Greed/International-Food-Workers-Show-Solidarity-with-Chicago-Nabisco-Workers">International Food Workers Show Solidarity with Chicago Nabisco Workers</a></b> <i>AFL-CIO</i> ...The International Union of Food Workers (IUF) and the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers (BCTGM) have affirmed their solidarity with employees of Mondelēz International, the maker of Nabisco products, around the world. The state of Illinois has given Nabisco/Mondelēz millions of dollars in public assistance and tax breaks. BCTGM represents some 4,000 Mondelēz workers...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-01-08/why-no-wage-growth-multiple-jobholders-surge-highest-august-2008">Multiple Jobholders Surge To Highest Since August 2008</a></b> <i>Zero Hedge</i> ...The most troubling aspect of today's jobs report, and perhaps the clearest explanation why there was no wage growth in December, is that the number of multiple job holders soared by 324,000 bringing the total to 7.738 million. This was the highest since August 2008, which as a reminder is the month before the great financial crisis started...<br />
<b><a href="http://qz.com/587737/the-verdict-on-the-sharing-economy-from-the-20-of-americans-whove-worked-in-it/">The verdict on the “sharing” economy, from the 20% of Americans who’ve worked in it</a></b> <i>QZ.com </i> ...Just how big has the new digital economy—variously called “gig,” “on-demand,” “sharing,” and more—gotten? Big enough that one in five Americans say they’ve worked in it, and two in five say they’ve used services through it, according to a new survey from Burson-Marsteller...<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/carolineodonovan/if-most-of-your-income-comes-from-on-demand-work-youre-proba#.lr2Kk112B">If Most Of Your Income Comes From On-Demand Work, You’re Probably A Racial Minority</a></b> <i> BuzzFeed</i> ...Of survey respondents who earn more than 40% of their income from on-demand work, a whopping 67% identify as racial minorities. (For context, in 2010 the U.S. Census found that only 36.3% of the U.S. population identifies as a racial minority, which means racial minorities are overrepresented among this sector of gig workers by nearly double.)...</div>
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<b><a href="http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/1/11/1468370/-Chris-Christie-goes-back-to-what-made-him-famous-Attacking-teachers">Chris Christie goes back to what made him famous: Attacking teachers</a></b> <i>Daily Kos</i> ...Chris Christie went back to his wheelhouse on Saturday. That means attacking teachers, the move that helped gain Christie his early YouTube fame as the kind of bully Republicans can love. “The single most destructive force for public education in this country is the teachers union,” Christie said at a Jack Kemp Foundation panel discussion...</div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>SOCIAL JUSTICE & OTHER NEWS</b></span><br />
<b><a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2016/1/8/resistance_outrage_as_obama_administration_rounds">Resistance & Outrage as Obama Administration Rounds Up Central American Refugees</a></b> <i>Democracy Now</i> ...The new year began inauspiciously for many immigrant families. Federal agents have detained at least 121 people, including children, in raids as part of an operation to deport families fleeing violence in Central America. The raids took place mainly in Georgia, North Carolina and Texas...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/postal-banking-worked-lets-bring-it-back/">Postal Banking Worked—Let’s Bring It Back</a></b> (opinion) <i>The Nation</i> ... Postal banking was the most successful experiment in financial inclusion in the United States—a problem in front of us once again. Postal banking brought millions of new immigrants and rural dwellers into the United States banking system. We are again facing the realization that our banking industry is unstable, but also, more crucially, that it is unfair...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/01/08/important-reminder-flint-crisis-people-still-have-no-safe-water">Important Reminder in the Flint Crisis: People Still Have No Safe Water</a></b> <i>Common Dreams </i> ...Republican Governor Rick Snyder on Thursday offered a second apology for the crisis, saying it's an "unfortunate situation." That problem, which began as the city was under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager, has left 200 children below the age of six with confirmed elevated blood lead levels...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2016/1/11/the_national_shame_continues_on_its">"The National Shame Continues": On Its 14th Anniversary, Will Guantánamo Ever Be Closed? </a></b><i> Democracy Now </i> ...Today marks the 14th anniversary of the opening of the U.S. military prison at Guantánamo, where 107 prisoners are still being held. Hina Shamsi, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Security Project, represented Mohamedou Ould Slahi, one of the men still being held. Last year a book collecting Slahi’s diary writings became a surprise best-seller. "This is a shame that threatens more than ever to mar President Obama’s legacy"...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.salon.com/2016/01/09/why_small_debts_matter_so_much_to_black_lives_partner/">Small debt is destroying black lives: Institutional racism and the wealth gap America still refuses to acknowledge</a></b> <i>Salon</i> ...It is not unreasonable to attribute these perils to discrimination. But there’s no question that the main reason small financial problems can have such a disproportionate effect on black families is that, for largely historical reasons rooted in racism, they have far smaller financial reserves to fall back on than white families...Teamster Powerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07063527689152007034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4328899339135469869.post-23589671213768851172016-01-08T13:07:00.001-05:002016-01-08T13:24:28.639-05:00New Year brings new laws to help workersNew Year's Day brought new pro-worker state and local laws into effect, as past worker activism at those levels provided an alternative to gridlock and anti-worker attitudes in the GOP-run Congress in Washington.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_dhMaTaw83c/Vo_6qOOWwiI/AAAAAAAAUyI/f_abPUfZI_8/s1600/10.22.15LGAWLocal455%25233.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_dhMaTaw83c/Vo_6qOOWwiI/AAAAAAAAUyI/f_abPUfZI_8/s320/10.22.15LGAWLocal455%25233.jpg" width="320" /></a>And it wasn't just <a href="http://www.teamsternation.blogspot.com/2016/01/wage-hikes-are-latest-sign-workers-are.html">minimum wage laws</a>, either. Data compiled by the <a href="http://www.nationalpartnership.org/" rel="nofollow">National Partnership for Women</a> and Families show a wide range of family-friendly and pro-worker legislation either took effect on New Year's Day or will take effect this year, on top of a host of new laws that began in 2015.<br />
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National Partnership Executive Director Debra Ness <a href="http://www.nationalpartnership.org/news-room/press-releases/family-friendly-workplace-laws-taking-effect-in-early-2016.html">called</a> 2015 a year filled with tremendous victories for America’s working families:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
We expect the progress to continue, but our nation still has a long way to go to ensure that hardworking people aren’t left struggling when illness strikes or new children arrive, or because we have failed to eradicate pay and pregnancy discrimination. </blockquote>
Not counting a carload of family-friendly laws that took effect last year, or state minimum wage hikes on Jan. 1, other state and local family-friendly laws that will start in 2016 included:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Paid parental leave laws in Oregon (statewide), New York City (city workers), California (teachers), New Brunswick, N.J. (citywide), Seattle and King County public workers, all on Jan. 1, Tacoma (citywide, Feb. 1), Kansas City, Mo.(for city workers on May 1), Elizabeth, N.J. (March 2, citywide) and Montgomery County, Md. (countywide), on Oct. 1.<br /></li>
<li>California's paid sick leave law had its one-year anniversary on Jan. 1. It was the second such statewide law, and Massachusetts became the third on July 1, 2015. Many laws outlawing pregnancy discrimination took effect in a wide range of states last year.<br /></li>
<li>A strong equal pay law in California, the nation's most-populous state and home to one of every eight people in the U.S., took effect this Jan. 1. Stronger statewide equal pay laws started in Oregon this Jan. 1 and will start in New York on Jan. 19. North Dakota’s stronger equal pay law started this past Aug. 1.<br /></li>
<li>With the GOP-run Congress refusing to strengthen the 53-year-old federal Equal Pay Act, California's legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown (D), backed by state unions, closed that law's loopholes -- at least in the Golden State.</li>
</ul>
<br />
While not in NPWF's chart, the Fight for 15 movement produced legislative and bargaining successes for low-wage workers in New York State and New York City, Massachusetts, Minnesota and elsewhere.<br />
<br />
The union-backed movement campaigns for $15 an hour as a living wage and the right to unionize without employer harassment, intimidation, spying, firing and labor law-breaking. Some 42 percent of all U.S. workers earn less than $15 hourly, data shows.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><i>Press Associates, Inc., contributed to this report.</i></li>
</ul>
Teamster Powerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07063527689152007034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4328899339135469869.post-35312500254016868012016-01-08T11:22:00.001-05:002016-01-08T11:22:20.531-05:00Today's Teamster News 01.08.16<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">TEAMSTERS</span></b><br />
<b><a href="http://teamsterslocal727.org/2016/01/07/arbitrator-rules-parking-employer-created-sham-company-to-avoid-paying-union/">Arbitrator Rules Parking Employer Created ‘Sham’ Company to Avoid Paying Union</a></b> <i>Local 727</i> ...An arbitrator has ordered PAS, LLC to pay Teamsters Local 727 more than $225,000 in back dues, penalties and late fees after the Chicago parking employer created a “sham” company to avoid its financial obligations to the union. In July 2013, VPS of Illinois closed its business without paying thousands of dollars owed to the union...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.joc.com/port-news/us-ports/port-new-york-and-new-jersey/ny-nj-port-authority-revises-truck-replacement-plan_20160107.html">NY-NJ port authority revises truck-replacement plan</a></b> <i>JOC </i>...Environmental groups have insisted that older trucks need to be phased out to reduce unhealthy emissions. Allied with the environmentalists is the Teamsters union, which has tried for years to organize port drivers. A likely side effect of banning older trucks would be to encourage a shift from owner-operators to company employees who would be eligible to unionize...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/money/2016/01/07/teamsters-pension-meeting/78425010/">Teamsters invited to pension session</a></b> <i>Press Gazette</i> ...The Wisconsin Committees to Protect Pensions will hold an informational meeting for active and retired Teamsters. Dobbs will talk about new developments in the effort to stop the cuts from taking effect this summer, legislative proposals introduced in Congress to try to stop the cuts and other information for Teamsters and retirees who want to take action to oppose the proposed cuts...<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>GLOBAL LABOR & TRADE</b></span><br />
<b><a href="http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Colombian-Unions-to-Protest-Paltry-Minimum-Wage-Increase-20160107-0016.html">Colombian Unions to Protest Paltry Minimum Wage Increase</a></b> <i>TeleSUR </i>...Labor leaders in Colombia say the Constitutional Court has previously ruled that wage increase cannot fall below the rate of inflation. Fabio Arias, secretary-general of Colombia's United Workers Trade Union Federation, said Wednesday that his organization will submit a formal complaint before the country's Council of State over a decree raising the minimum wage by only 7 percent...<br />
<b><a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/delhis-sanitation-workers-to-go-on-indefinite-strike-from-january-27/articleshow/50479039.cms">Delhi's sanitation workers to go on indefinite strike from January 27</a></b> <i>Economic Times</i> ...Scores of municipal sanitation workers on Wednesday decided to go on an indefinite strike from January 27 claiming the civic bodies' failure in meeting their demands, including regularization of salary. The workers have been sitting on a relay hunger strike for the past month at the Jantar Mantar under various unions...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/ontario-prepares-for-looming-strike-by-correctional-workers/article28068335/">Ontario prepares for looming strike by correctional workers</a></b> <i>Globe and Mail</i> ...This week across Ontario, however, the sudden appearance of construction crews outside jails has prompted weary acceptance that a looming strike could be long and, according to the correctional union, dangerous for the managers forced to operate the institutions. By Thursday, there was ample evidence that the province was preparing for protracted labour action...<br />
<b><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/01/07/hundreds-of-advocacy-groups-ask-congress-to-block-obamas-pacific-rim-trade-pact/?postshare=161452186053256&tid=ss_tw">Hundreds of advocacy groups ask Congress to block Obama’s Pacific Rim trade pact</a></b> <i>Washington Post</i> ...A coalition of more than 1,500 interest groups is sending a letter to Congress on Thursday demanding that lawmakers block the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the 12-nation Pacific Rim trade pact championed by the Obama administration. Labor unions, environmental groups, consumer advocates and faith groups are among the 1,525 organizations...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-07/pacific-trade-deal-opponents-say-keystone-case-shows-pact-s-risk">Pacific Trade Deal Foes Say Keystone Case Shows Pact's Risk</a></b> <i>Bloomberg </i>...A legal dispute over the Keystone XL oil pipeline is giving opponents of a Pacific trade agreement a fresh argument in their effort to get Congress to kill the pact. They say the case announced Wednesday, in which TransCanada Corp. is seeking arbitration to recover $15 billion tied to the Obama administration’s rejection of Keystone, shows how foreign companies could use provisions of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement to challenge U.S. policy on the environment and other matters...<br />
<b><a href="http://sputniknews.com/business/20160107/1032785126/tpp-trade-deal-japan-vietnam-malaysia-2030.html">World Bank: TPP Trade Deal to Benefit Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia Most by 2030</a></b> <i>Sputnik News </i> ...The US-backed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade deal is set to provide economic impetus predominantly to Vietnam, Japan and Malaysia among other parties to the agreement by 2030, a Global Economic Prospects report showed...<br />
<b><a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/india-set-to-push-for-liberalisation-of-services-trade-at-wto-geneva-talks/articleshow/50490944.cms">India set to push for liberalisation of services trade at WTO Geneva talks</a></b> <i>Economic Times </i> ...Reinstating its stand of continuing with the Doha Development Agenda, India will push for liberalising services trade at the World Trade Organization talks in Geneva. 23 countries of the WTO are separately negotiating the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA), which aims at opening up markets and improving rules in areas such as licensing, financial services, telecom, ecommerce, maritime transport and professionals moving abroad temporarily to provide services...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-07/u-s-says-tremendous-progress-made-on-south-africa-trade-talks">U.S. Says `Tremendous Progress' Made on South Africa Trade Talks</a></b> <i>Bloomberg </i>...South Africa and the U.S. made “tremendous progress” on talks to resolve a trade dispute between the two nations, U.S. Ambassador to South Africa Patrick Gaspard said. South Africa has been under pressure to reach agreement with the U.S. to open its market to American chicken and beef products in order to retain preferential trade benefits...<br />
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<b style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">STATE & LIVING WAGE BATTLES</b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/politics/2016/01/07/martinez-revives-right--work-debate-new-mexico/78448176/">Martinez revives right-to-work debate in New Mexico</a></b> <i> Las Cruces Sun-News</i> ...Republican Gov. Susana Martinez is reviving the right-to-work debate in New Mexico, saying she’ll include the issue on the agenda for the upcoming legislative session. She made the announcement Thursday during a panel discussion before a crowded room of business leaders...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article53583765.html">Minimum wage boost hangs over California budget negotiations</a></b> <i>SacBee </i>...They haven’t yet acquired enough signatures to go before voters, but ballot initiatives to bump California’s minimum wage to $15 figured into early discussions of the state budget proposal unveiled Thursday. Organized labor groups across the country have focused their energy on the push for a $15 wage...<br />
<b><a href="http://nypost.com/2016/01/03/cuomo-eyeing-plan-to-give-new-yorkers-12-weeks-paid-family-leave/">Cuomo eyeing plan to give New Yorkers 12 weeks paid family leave</a></b> <i>NY Post</i> ...Gov. Cuomo is mulling a plan to provide up to 12 weeks of paid family leave to New Yorkers in the coming year after Mayor de Blasio allowed city workers to receive the benefit in 2014. Gubernatorial aides met with advocates Dec. 29 in Manhattan to talk providing paid time off for employees with a new child, an injury or a sick family member...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/07/upshot/paid-family-leave-gets-more-attention-but-workers-still-struggle.html?can_id=be080fd9496cb4c4e68676d89e10f3b9&source=email-todays-headlines-jobs-with-justice-1616-2&email_referrer=todays-headlines-jobs-with-justice-1616-2&email_subject=todays-headlines-jobs-with-justice-1616&link_id=1&_r=2">Paid Family Leave Gets More Attention, but Workers Still Struggle</a></b> <i>New York Times </i> ...This year is shaping up to be a big one for paid family leave. On Thursday, the Independent Democratic Conference, a breakaway group of New York state senators, plans to introduce 12 weeks of paid leave as part of its legislative agenda; Gov. Andrew Cuomo is reportedly considering similar legislation...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/1/8/1467127/-Morning-Digest-Virginia-to-use-new-congressional-map-this-year-benefitting-Democrats#read-more">Virginia to use new congressional map this year, benefiting Democrats</a></b> <i>Daily Kos</i> ...In yet another victory for Democrats, the federal court hearing a lawsuit challenging the state's congressional lines just ruled that elections this year must go forward under a new map proposed by a court-appointed expert, one that all but guarantees that GOP Rep. Randy Forbes' 4th District will turn solidly blue...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.ajc.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/democrats-call-for-redistricting-reform/npyX8/">Democrats call for redistricting reform</a></b> <i>AJC </i>...Three Democratic lawmakers are pushing to create an independent commission to redraw political lines in the future. Sen. Elena Parent (D – Atlanta), Rep. Pat Gardner (D – Atlanta) and Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver (D – Decatur) said the legislation would be a fairer way to redraw current legislative and congressional district lines in coming years...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2016/1/8/gov_snyder_should_be_arrested_flint">"Gov. Snyder Should Be Arrested": Flint Residents Demand Justice over Water Poisoning</a></b> <i>Democracy Now</i> ...Protests are growing in Flint, Michigan, over the state’s cover-up of the ongoing water contamination crisis. Filmmaker Michael Moore is asking fans to sign a petition on his website calling for the immediate resignation of Governor Rick Snyder. In an open letter to the governor, he writes: "[Y]ou have effectively poisoned, not just some, but apparently ALL of the children in my hometown of Flint"...<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>U.S. LABOR</b></span><br />
<b><a href="http://www.npr.org/2016/01/06/457859684/one-step-closer-to-collective-bargaining-some-temp-workers-unionize?can_id=be080fd9496cb4c4e68676d89e10f3b9&source=email-todays-headlines-jobs-with-justice-1616-2&email_referrer=todays-headlines-jobs-with-justice-1616-2&email_subject=todays-headlines-jobs-with-justice-1616&link_id=2">One Step Closer To Collective Bargaining, Some Temp Workers Unionize</a></b> <i>NPR </i>...Advocates for temporary workers are celebrating a decision by the National Labor Relations Board to broaden the definition of joint employers — a move that could bring many temp workers closer to collective bargaining. One of the first to join a union following the new rule is a group of Guatemalans in New Bedford, Mass...<br />
<b><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2016/01/08/3737230/december-jobs-2015/">Strong Job Growth In 2015 Still Couldn’t Give Workers A Raise</a></b> <i>Think Progress</i> ...The economy added 292,000 jobs in December while the unemployment rate stayed at 5 percent, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Analysts had expected 200,000 jobs to be added. However, gains in wages were weak. Hourly earnings fell 1 cent in December after a 5-cent increase in November, and average hourly earnings have risen just 2.5 percent over the last year...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.kcci.com/news/company-must-pay-after-making-workers-clock-out-for-bathroom-breaks/37271964?utm_source=Social&utm_medium=FBPAGE&utm_campaign=KCCI">Company must pay after making workers clock out for bathroom breaks</a></b> <i>KCCI </i>...A Pennsylvania company that publishes business newsletters will pay about $1.75 million to thousands of employees who had to clock out while going on short breaks, including for the bathroom. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that a federal judge has given the U.S. Department of Labor and the Malvern-based company, American Future Systems Inc., until Thursday to submit proposals on managing payment...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.nwherald.com/2016/01/07/rauner-implements-merit-pay-for-some-workers-afscme-opposed/aq45ni0/">Rauner implements merit pay for some workers; AFSCME opposed</a></b> <i>NW Herald</i> ...Gov. Bruce Rauner's administration is starting a new compensation system for some state workers that includes merit pay and bonuses for saving taxpayers money, a plan the former businessman says will make government more efficient. It's the latest sticking point in long-running negotiations between Rauner's office and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents about 36,000 state employees...<br />
<b><a href="https://www.revealnews.org/article/when-companies-hire-temp-workers-by-race-black-applicants-lose-out/">When companies hire temp workers by race, black applicants lose out</a></b> <i>Reveal News</i> ...When its clients wanted to hire temp workers based on race, sex or age, Automation was happy to oblige, according to dozens of former employees. Often, the practice was blatant. A manager at a Georgia manufacturing plant asked Christie Ragland not to send him “any black thugs,” she said...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/this-supreme-court-case-could-make-all-public-unions-right-to-work/">This Supreme Court Case Could Make All Public Unions ‘Right to Work’</a></b> <i>The Nation</i> ...O n January 11, the Supreme Court will hear argument on Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, a full-bore attack on public-sector unions. The lead Friedrichs plaintiffs, a group of fiercely anti-union California public-school teachers, seek to reverse Abood v. Detroit Board of Education (1977) on First Amendment grounds. Abood has provided the bedrock constitutional analysis and recommended administrative structure for public-sector unionism...<br />
<b><a href="http://labor411.org/411-blog/977-can-millennials-save-organized-labor">Can Millennials Save Organized Labor?</a></b> <i>Labor 411</i> ...A new Pew survey reveals how Millennials, the oft-hyped demographic, view key social institutions. It turns out that Millennials have a more positive view of many major social institutions than their elders and that one of the most notable examples is organized labor. Labor unions are viewed more positively today than they were five years ago by all age groups, but the uptick in opinion is especially notable among those born after 1980...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/01/inequality-work-hours/422775/">Why Do Americans Work So Much?</a></b> <i>The Atlantic</i> ...In a new paper, Friedman tries to figure out why increased productivity has not translated into increased leisure time. American inequality means that the gains of increasing productivity are not widely shared. In other words, most Americans are too poor to work less...<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>SOCIAL JUSTICE & OTHER NEWS</b></span><br />
<b><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/09/us/a-rush-of-central-americans-compounds-obamas-immigration-task.html">A Rush of Central Americans Compounds Obama’s Immigration Task</a></b> <i>NY Times</i> ...When mothers and children streamed across the Texas border in 2014, the Obama administration devised a strategy to manage the influx, putting them in detention centers to convince others that illegal crossers would be caught and sent back. But that strategy is now under intense legal and political attack, leaving the administration with limited options...<br />
<b><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/01/07/3736895/bernie-sanders-deportations/">Bernie Sanders Demands President Obama End ‘Inhumane’ Roundups Of Immigrant Families</a></b> <i>Think Progress</i> ...Vermont Senator and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders wrote to the White House on Thursday, demanding an end to the stepped up immigration raids and deportations of Central Americans that the Obama Administration announced just before Christmas. Just after the new year, more than 100 people were arrested in Georgia, North Carolina, and Texas, including many women and children...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/01/06/sen-elizabeth-warren-cheers-bernies-fight-hold-big-banks-accountable">Sen. Elizabeth Warren Cheers Bernie's Fight to "Hold Big Banks Accountable"</a></b> <i>Common Dreams </i> ...Sen. Bernie Sanders got a shout-out from big bank critic Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Wednesday a day after the presidential hopeful gave a policy speech laying out his tough on Wall Street stance. During his speech in New York on Wednesday, Sanders said, "Wall Street and corporate greed is destroying the fabric of our nation." He also vowed to break up too-big-to- fail banks...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/01/07/making-the-world-safe-for-predatory-capitalism/">Making the World Safe for Predatory Capitalism</a></b> <i>CounterPunch</i> ...Steve Jobs used old-fashioned anti-raiding agreements to keep competitors from enticing away his workers. Gates and Google have both engaged in anti-competitive practices that likely would have brought antitrust enforcement in prior decades. And Amazon has prospered not only because of low prices and good service, but also by being exempted from the requirement to collect the same sales tax as its brick-and-mortar competitors...<br />
<b><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2016/01/08/3737307/oregon-sheriff-meets-ammon-bundy-greets-him-with-handshake-not-handcuffs/">Oregon Sheriff Meets Ammon Bundy, Greets Him With Handshake Not Handcuffs</a></b> <i>Think Progress </i> ...The treatment of armed militants conducting an illegal occupation in Oregon differs greatly from the response to overwhelmingly peaceful demonstrations by unarmed individuals protesting police misconduct. In Ferguson, for example, protesters were met by police with military-style equipment, full riot gear, and tear gas...Teamster Powerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07063527689152007034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4328899339135469869.post-59444581260130289352016-01-07T15:33:00.001-05:002016-01-07T15:34:00.638-05:00'Safe Rates' is goal for truckers worldwide<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MSpLijBirf4/Vo7I5uEXyEI/AAAAAAAAUx4/BjbDVeDfjmI/s1600/1.7.16TWUphoto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MSpLijBirf4/Vo7I5uEXyEI/AAAAAAAAUx4/BjbDVeDfjmI/s400/1.7.16TWUphoto.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Urata, Sterle and Sheldon (l. to r.) met with Teamsters' Hoffa today.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Australia's <a href="http://www.twu.com.au/" rel="nofollow">Transport Workers' Union</a> (TWU) pushed through legislation several years ago in that country that placed retailers whose goods are hailed by truck drivers on the hook for safety and wage standards. Now it's taking that message abroad.<br />
<br />
TWU Federal Secretary Tony Sheldon came to IBT headquarters in Washington today to explain the "Safe Rates" <a href="http://www.itfglobal.org/media/1103623/safe_rates_english_final_new.pdf" rel="nofollow">approach</a> approved Down Under in 2012 and how it could improve the lives of truck drivers and motorists globally if it was instituted more broadly. He was joined by Australian Senator Glenn Sterle and Mac Urata of the International Transport Worker's Federation who are strong supporters of the measure.<br />
<br />
Sheldon explained the approach as a way to improve not only the pay of professional drivers, but the profits of trucking companies they work for as well:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The concept is who is the economic employer and how do we hold then into account. ... It's about how you change people's consciousness on this.</blockquote>
He noted that giant retailers today largely create the conditions and wage scale that truck drivers are forced to worker under. In Australia, for example, the top two grocery companies make up 72 percent of market and thus if trucking firms want to compete, they need to adhere to their standards.The result is less safe roadways and lower pay for drivers, he said.<br />
<br />
But under changes made in the Safe Rates legislation, driver safety and the safety of all road users became the starting point when rates were determined for transporting goods. The result in Australia was the raising of standards for truckers and the strengthening of transportation unions. It's a model he and others want to take worldwide.<br />
<br />
Lamont Byrd, director of the IBT's Safety and Health Department, said he was impressed by the TWU's work on the issue:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I see this bringing the solution to the problem we have, not only in crash rates and fatalities, but in reducing the churn rates of drivers.</blockquote>
Sheldon, Sterle and Urata will be further discussing the idea at a global labor conference Sunday.Teamster Powerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07063527689152007034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4328899339135469869.post-20872576947462265852016-01-07T12:17:00.000-05:002016-01-07T12:17:17.445-05:00Today's Teamster News 01.07.16<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">TEAMSTERS</span></b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.joc.com/trucking-logistics/ltl-shipping/crystal-motor-express/teamsters-file-labor-charges-against-new-england-trucking-firm_20160106.html">Teamsters file labor charges against New England trucking firm</a></b> <i>JOC.com</i> ...The International Brotherhood of Teamsters union filed unfair labor practices charges against a Massachusetts-based trucking company that shut down Dec. 21, laying off 75 employees, including 40 truck drivers. Teamsters Local 42 in Lynn, Massachusetts filed charges against Crystal Motor Express with the National Labor Relations Board, a spokesperson for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters in Washington said...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.sfexaminer.com/teamsters-lose-unionization-vote-allege-tech-shuttle-company-bullied-drivers/">Teamsters allege tech shuttle company ‘bullied’ drivers</a></b> <i>SF Examiner</i> ...The Teamsters have filed a complaint alleging Bauer’s bullied its workers into voting down forming a union, which the National Labor Relations Board will address in an upcoming hearing on Feb. 1. Bauer’s is one major provider of so-called “tech shuttles” that ferry tech industry workers in their San Francisco-to-Silicon Valley commute. Teamsters successfully unionized two other providers of tech shuttles...<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>GLOBAL LABOR & TRADE</b></span><br />
<b><a href="http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2016/01/rotterdam-port-workers-strike-over-job-losses/">Rotterdam port workers strike over job losses</a></b> <i>Dutch News</i> ...Port workers at Rotterdam’s container terminal were set to begin a 24-hour strike on Thursday afternoon and five other day-long strikes are being planned, news agency ANP reports. The unions want port companies to rule out making compulsory redundancies, despite overcapacity and growing automation in the sector...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.bna.com/tpp-countries-sign-n57982065797/">TPP Countries to Sign Trade Pact in New Zealand Feb. 4</a></b> <i>BNA </i>...The 12 nations party to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will formally sign the agreement on Feb. 4 in New Zealand. Andres Rebolledo, director general of Chile's General International Economic Relations Bureau (DIRECON), confirmed the Feb. 4 date in a meeting yesterday with the country's National Human Rights Institute to discuss how the agreement would affect human rights issues in Chile...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.wfmj.com/story/30906617/sen-sherrod-brown-warns-against-tpp-threat-to-hurt-auto-industry">Sen. Sherrod Brown warns against TPP threat to hurt auto industry</a></b> <i>WFMJ </i>...With the increase in car sales, Senator Sherrod Brown warns against Trans-Pacific Partnership threat to turn its back on auto industry recovery and hurt auto jobs. U.S. car sales hit a record high in 2015. “To continue that progress and protect jobs, we must ensure a level playing field for America's auto suppliers, but TPP and it's weak auto provisions stand to roll back recovery and cost Ohio jobs,” said Brown...<br />
<b><a href="http://thehill.com/policy/finance/264914-us-chamber-annonces-support-for-tpp">US Chamber announces support for TPP</a></b> <i>The Hill</i> ...The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is throwing its weight behind President Obama's Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a trade agreement between the United States and 11 other nations. But the Chamber's endorsement comes with conditions.<br />
The business group wants the Obama administration to work with them and Congress to address concerns about the completed deal that range from intellectual property to financial services...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.politico.com/tipsheets/morning-trade/2016/01/business-groups-united-on-tpp-transcanada-to-file-isds-case-under-nafta-for-keystone-pipeline-world-bank-tpp-will-do-a-little-good-212043">Business groups united on TPP</a></b> <i>Politico </i>...The administration leveled up this week by officially scoring the endorsements of all the major trade associations, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday. But while the business groups said they would fight for the deal in Congress, the direct message in each of the statements of support this week is to the administration, not lawmakers...<br />
<b><a href="http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/01/06/tpp-could-still-get-derailed-us-congress/">The TPP Train Could Still Get Derailed</a></b> <i> Foreign Policy </i> ...Trade agreements only mean something in the United States if Congress passes implementing legislation. And that means grappling with domestic trade politics, which have become increasingly contentious. Trade votes, if they pass at all, frequently move with hardly a vote to spare...<br />
<b><a href="http://sputniknews.com/business/20160107/1032778948/turkey-ttip-deal.html">Turkey Seeks Inclusion in US-EU TTIP Free Trade Deal - Turkish Deputy PM</a></b> <i>Sputnik News</i> ...Turkey hopes to renegotiate its current trade agreements with the European Union, so it can be included in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) free trade deal between the United States and EU, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek said. The TTIP free trade agreement would reduce barriers to trade in goods and services between Europe and its largest export market, the United States...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jacob-devaney/tpp-public-comment-period_b_8897524.html">TPP, Public Comment Period Open!</a></b><i> Huffington Post</i> ...Activists from all sectors converged and spoke with a loud voice against this dangerous "trade" deal. This is important to Americans on both sides of the political aisle as well as anyone concerned with job security, the environment, social justice, or public health. Now the public has an opportunity to weigh-in before it is voted on...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/34322-bleak-prospects-for-latin-america-under-trans-pacific-partnership">Bleak Prospects for Latin America Under Trans-Pacific Partnership</a></b> <i>Truthout</i> ...The Trans-Pacific Partnership, agreed to on October 5, 2015 by the twelve participating countries, is likely to prove disastrous for the Latin American states - Chile, Mexico, and Perú - that have joined the pact up to now. Multinational economic interests based in the United States have exerted extraordinary influence over the accord, inserting language that will arguably serve to damage Latin American interests...<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>STATE & LIVING WAGE BATTLES</b></span><br />
<b><a href="http://nhlabornews.com/2016/01/50635/">Wisconsin Loses 10,000 More Jobs After Passing Right To Work</a></b> <i>NH Labor News </i> ...Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is in deep trouble as his state is losing jobs at record rates. Last year Walker promised that if the they passed Right To Work they would create tens of thousands of new jobs, once again proving that Right to Work is not a job creator. Gov. Walker’s administration quietly acknowledged over the busy holiday season that Wisconsin surpassed 10,000 layoffs last year as a result of plant closings and economic challenges...<br />
<b><a href="http://wfpl.org/republican-senate-majority-releases-legislative-priorities/">Republican Senate Majority’s Priorities: Education Reform, Right-to-Work and More</a></b> <i>WFPL </i>...The priority bills of the Kentucky state Senate’s Republican majority include several familiar policies: right-to-work, repealing the prevailing wage and enacting medical review panels. Senate Republican leaders announced on Wednesday the bills they’ll focus on passing during the 2016 legislative session, which began Tuesday...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article53379245.html">NC voter ID trial set for Jan. 25</a></b> <i>News & Observer</i> ...The federal judge who will preside over the trial about North Carolina’s voter ID law told attorneys in an order this week to be ready to make their arguments on Jan. 25. In a status report filed two days before the end of the year, the NAACP and others challenging the law continue to argue that much confusion remains about what voters will need in order to cast ballots...<br />
<b><a href="http://jezebel.com/michigan-governor-declares-state-of-emergency-due-to-fl-1751228863">Michigan Governor Declares State of Emergency Due to Flint's Lead Poisoned Water Crisis</a></b> <i>Jezebel </i>...In Michigan, Governor Rick Snyder has declared a state of emergency regarding the water crisis in Flint, Michigan where, due to deliberately careless resource management, the number of kids with dangerous levels of lead in their blood doubled in 2015. Sender’s announcement follows Flint Mayor Karen Weaver’s state of emergency declaration: she called the lead poisoning crisis a “manmade disaster” in December...<br />
<b><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/01/07/3736514/voter-suppression-2016/">Voter Suppression Battles To Watch In 2016</a></b> <i>Think Progress </i> ...As of this month, a total of 36 states have passed laws requiring voters to show some form of identification at the polls, and 33 of those states will enforce their laws in 2016. A number of the state’s provisions are being challenged in court, and litigation in Texas and North Carolina could determine the courts’ ability to apply the VRA after its vital provisions were gutted by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2013...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/this-is-what-15-an-hour-looks-like/">This Is What $15 an Hour Looks Like</a></b> <i>The Nation</i> ... The movement for a $15 minimum wage began three years earlier, on a chilly fall morning in 2012, when 200 fast-food workers walked off the job in New York City. Their demand was audacious: $15 an hour was more than twice what many of them earned. But more strikes and protests followed, with the movement spreading quickly, driven by workers...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.wvgazettemail.com/gazette-opinion/20160107/gazette-editorial-right-to-work-dangerous-for-wv">Gazette editorial: ‘Right to work’ dangerous for WV</a></b> <i>Gazette Mail</i> ...“Right to work” sounds so appealing, doesn’t it, with the vague suggestion that if West Virginia could just get some oppressor’s boot out of its back, its people would be free to prosper? It might be good marketing by out-of-state political interests, but it’s not good policy. The AFL-CIO is right to point out that states that enacted “right to work” laws have suffered...<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>U.S. LABOR</b></span><br />
<b><a href="http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2016/01/05/phoenix-bus-contract-negotiations-continue-strike-averted-now/78318590/">Phoenix bus contract negotiations continue, strike averted for now</a></b> <i>AZ Central</i> ...Negotiations to avoid a bus strike by hundreds of drivers along dozens of Phoenix routes will continue Wednesday, with service operating normally for now. Officials from Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1433 and transit company Transdev, which operates 34 routes for the city of Phoenix, did not reach a contract agreement Tuesday...<br />
<b><a href="http://woodtv.com/2016/01/06/uaw-dematic-considering-moving-from-gr-to-mexico/">Union: Dematic’s potential move to Mexico ‘a slap in the face’</a></b> <i>WoodTV </i>...Around 300 people could lose their jobs if Dematic moves forward with plans to relocate its manufacturing plant in Grand Rapids to Mexico. UAW Local 1485 President Scott Wahlfeld said employees were informed Wednesday morning by company leaders about the potential move. Wahlfeld said Dematic will consider finalizing the decision on Feb. 8...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.mprnews.org/story/2016/01/05/msp-airport-uber-lyft-cabs">Taxi drivers oppose MSP airport proposal on Uber, Lyft: What's at stake</a></b> <i>MPR News</i> ...Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport is weighing new rules that could better accommodate ride-sharing services like Lyft and Uber. But more than 200 cab drivers showed up at a Metropolitan Airports Commission meeting Monday night in Bloomington to voice their opposition to the plan. They said ride-sharing through smartphone apps like Lyft and Uber would have an unfair advantage...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2016/01/salt-mine-rescue/423021/">The Rescue of 17 Workers Trapped in a Salt Mine in Upstate New York</a></b> <i>The Atlantic </i> ...The miners became stuck 900 feet underground while descending in the elevator to the floor of the mine to begin their shift at around 10 p.m. Wednesday. Emergency officials from Tompkins County were able to communicate with the trapped miners, the county said, and send them blankets and other supplies for the night. The mine, which is north of Ithaca, New York, has been in operation since 1922...<br />
<b><a href="http://bangordailynews.com/2016/01/07/business/working-conditions-at-t-mobile-under-scrutiny/">Working conditions at T-Mobile under scrutiny</a></b> <i>Bangor Daily News</i> ...The German company’s biggest subsidiary has enjoyed two years of rapid expansion in a fiercely competitive U.S. market that has seen it overtake its closest rival Sprint in terms of subscribers. But it has been accused by its main labor union, the Communications Workers of America (CWA), of flouting employees’ rights and was last year found to have engaged in illegal work practices...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.kcrg.com/content/news/NRLB-Cites-Ingredion-for-Federal-Law-Violations-at-CR-Plant-364419981.html">NLRB Cites Ingredion for Federal Law Violations at CR Plant</a></b> <i>KCRG </i>...The National labor Relations Board has found “sufficient evidence” to issue a complaint against Ingredion Inc., owner of Penford Products in Cedar Rapids, alleging violations of federal law in its contract negotiations with the union at the plant. The Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM) Local 100G filed a complaint with the NLRB alleging multiple violations of the National Labor Relations Act...<br />
<b><a href="http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/18733/chicago-teachers-union-laquan-mcdonald-rahm-emanuel-anita-alvarez-resign">Chicago Teachers Union Joins Demand for Rahm Emanuel, Anita Alvarez To Resign</a></b> <i>In These Times</i> ...The Chicago Teachers Union's House of Delegates, the union's member-led governing body, voted tonight to demand the resignations of Mayor Rahm Emanuel and State's Attorney Anita Alvarez in the wake of the Laquan McDonald scandal, which has roiled the city for nearly two months and led to the resignations of multiple city officials, including Chicago police superintendent Garry McCarthy...<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>SOCIAL JUSTICE & OTHER NEWS</b></span><br />
<b><a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/01/immigration-deportation-democrats-obama-217378">Democrats lash out at Obama over immigration raids</a></b> <i>Politico </i>...Democrats and immigrant-rights groups have turned against the Obama administration in an uproar over recent deportation raids, likening the president to bombastic GOP front-runner Donald Trump and warning him that the controversial strategy will tarnish his legacy on immigration...<br />
<b><a href="http://time.com/4167626/donald-trump-ted-cruz-ads-immigration/">Psst: Illegal Immigration Is Actually Declining</a></b> <i>Time </i>...With Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Ted Cruz coming out with new ads this week featuring droves of people streaming over the U.S. border, you would be forgiven for thinking that illegal immigration is on the rise. But it isn’t. In fact, the number of immigrants crossing illegally into the U.S. has actually declined over the last nine years...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2016/1/6/executive_action_bush_opened_guantanamo_without">Executive Action: Bush Opened Guantánamo Without Congress, So Why Can't Obama Close It?</a></b> <i>Democracy Now</i> ...As President Obama takes executive action on gun control without going through Congress, could closing Guantánamo be next? In January 2009, Obama ordered the closure of the Guantánamo Bay military prison in one of his first executive actions. Seven years later, 107 prisoners are still there...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/sanders-promises-to-break-up-big-banks-tax-speculation-and-establish-postal-banking/">Sanders Promises to Break Up Big Banks, Tax Speculation, and Establish Postal Banking</a></b> <i>The Nation</i> ...Speaking just a few dozen blocks from Wall Street Wednesday, Bernie Sanders announced that, with regard to so-called “too-big-to-fail” banks, he would “break them up.” “If a bank is too big to fail, it is too big to exist,” announced the senator from Vermont, as he brought his presidential campaign to New York City’s Town Hall...<br />
<b><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2016/01/07/3736836/ben-carson-tax-plan/">Ben Carson’s Flat Tax Would Only Benefit The Rich</a></b> <i>Think Progress</i> ...On Monday, Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson released his tax plan, the center of which is a flat tax of 14.9 percent. On a static basis — that is, without any assumptions baked in about how the plan might change economic growth or other factors — the Tax Foundation found that only the richest 10 percent would see a benefit. Everyone else would actually see their tax burdens increase...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/01/06/state-trooper-who-arrested-sandra-bland-indicted-perjury-charge">State Trooper Who Arrested Sandra Bland Indicted on Perjury Charge</a></b> <i>Common Dreams</i> ...Brian T. Encinia, the Texas State Trooper who made the initial and violent arrest of Sandra Bland during a routine traffic stop just days before she was found dead in a jail cell last summer, was indicted on charges of perjury by state prosecutors on Wednesday for making false statements regarding his behavior during the incident...Teamster Powerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07063527689152007034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4328899339135469869.post-77355363595591720922016-01-06T13:58:00.000-05:002016-01-06T14:01:35.018-05:00VIDEO: NYC carriage drivers thank public for support<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/fSqIKKpaUKo/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fSqIKKpaUKo?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
For two years, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2014/01/new-york-mayors-top-priorities-get-rid-of-teamster-jobs.html">tried to outlaw</a> the beloved Central Park horse carriages that have become part of the fabric of the nation's largest city. And for two years, he has failed.<br />
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In fact, he has gone as far to admit he <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/de-blasio-admits-lacks-support-ban-nyc-carriage-horses-article-1.2330825" rel="nofollow">doesn't have the votes</a> to get it done. That is simply amazing, given how much of a priority he made putting 300 horse-carriage drivers out of work once taking office. But it a testament to the resolve of those workers and Teamsters Local 553 who have stood side-by-side to stall the effort.<br />
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That said, the success of keeping New York City's iconic carriages going couldn't have been accomplished without the public and advocates like <i>The New York Daily News</i>. The drivers and the union are aware of that, so they made the video above to <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-horse-carriage-industry-thanks-supporters-article-1.2482209" rel="nofollow">thank</a> supporters, city residents and others from around the world for rallying to their side.Teamster Powerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07063527689152007034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4328899339135469869.post-58969133813943132332016-01-06T11:36:00.001-05:002016-01-06T11:36:49.332-05:00Today's Teamster News 01.06.16<div>
<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">TEAMSTERS</span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.detroitnews.com/story/opinion/2016/01/05/hoffa-congress-must-act-avert-pension-crisis/78338988/">Hoffa: Congress must act to avert pension crisis</a></b> <i>The Detroit News </i> ...Opposition is growing in Michigan and across the Midwest against a devastating pension cut proposal put forward by the Central States Pension Fund that would slash benefits by as much as 65 percent. Thousands of Teamsters are letting the federal government know they must reject the plan if they want retirees to be able to subsist on their own...<br />
<b><a href="https://teamster.org/news/2016/01/treasury-department-announces-january-public-sessions-feedback-cspf-rescue-plan">Treasury Department Announces January Public Sessions for Feedback on CSPF Rescue Plan</a></b> <i>Teamster.org</i> ... The Treasury Department announced the details today for two public sessions in January for Central States, Southeast and Southwest Areas Pension Fund retirees and participants to offer feedback on the proposed rescue plan. The sessions will be hosted by Treasury appointee Kenneth R. Feinberg who is overseeing the rescue plan review process as outlined by the Kline-Miller Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014...<br />
<b><a href="https://teamster.org/news/2016/01/american-red-cross-workers-vote-join-teamsters-maine">American Red Cross Workers Vote to Join Teamsters in Maine</a></b> <i>Teamster.org</i> ...Workers at the American Red Cross’ Portland donation center have voted to join Teamsters Local 340. The blood donation center’s 57 employees will now form a bargaining unit that includes collections technicians, collections specialists and mobile unit assistants of various classifications. These employees are responsible for setting up and administering blood drives across the southern half of the state...<br />
<b><a href="http://teamsters710.com/2016/01/05/local-710-to-fight-wrongful-terminations-at-classic-party-rental/">Local 710 to Fight Wrongful Terminations at Classic Party Rental</a></b> <i>Local 710</i> ...Teamsters Local 710 met Friday, December 18 with Classic Party Rental to discuss the wrongful termination of 35 employees. Local 710 has filed a grievance to have those members reinstated. Classic Party required members to verify their employment eligibility but did not allow adequate time for them to do so. This resulted in the termination of nearly 30 percent of their workforce of 120 employees...</div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>GLOBAL LABOR & TRADE</b></span></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/We-ll-strike-until-we-are-paid-Railway-workers-405513">We'll strike until we are paid - Railway workers</a></b> <i>Ghana Web</i> ...Striking railway workers have reiterated that they will not call off their industrial action until all their demands are addressed by government. The Railway Workers Union announced the withdrawal of passenger services from Accra to Tema and Accra to Nsawam in December following government’s failure to pay their three-month salary arrears...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/can-brazils-workers-party-survive/">Can Brazil’s Workers’ Party Survive?</a></b> <i>The Nation</i> ... President Dilma Rousseff is facing an impeachment drive, a tanking economy—and grassroots party activists furious at her austerity policies and pro-corporate development strategy. Re-elected as president on a socially progressive program in October 2014, she has implemented austerity policies that have stopped the economy in its tracks and reversed many of the employment and wage gains made under previous PT governments...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/covered-bridge-chips-union-1.3389693">Covered Bridge Potato Chips workers stage strike in Canada</a></b> <i>CBC </i>...Unionized employees at Covered Bridge Potato Chips near Hartland have walked out and are now on strike to back demands for a first contract with the company. The 32 members of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1288P have been in a legal strike position since June. About 16 union members are picketing outside the company's factory in Hartland...<br />
<b><a href="http://thehill.com/policy/finance/264882-gop-in-no-hurry-to-move-on-trans-pacific-partnership">GOP in no hurry to move Obama's TPP</a></b> <i>The Hill</i> ...Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is brushing off calls from business groups for quick action on President Obama’s sweeping Pacific Rim trade deal. The National Association of Manufacturers and the Business Roundtable announced their support for the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) this week as part of what looks like a choreographed effort to raise pressure on Congress...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/01/05/surprise-corporate-america-throwing-down-tpp">Surprise! Corporate America Is Throwing Down for the TPP</a></b> <i>Common Dreams</i> ...American big business has now officially endorsed the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), giving many all the proof they need that the 12-nation deal—poised to be the largest ever—is bad news for people and the planet. An association of Chief Executive Officers known as the Business Roundtable (BRT) announced its formal backing on Tuesday, indicating that it plans to use its muscle to press Congress to approve the deal this year...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stan-sorscher/how-to-tell-tpp-is-a-bad_b_8914388.html">How to Tell TPP Is a Bad Deal</a></b> (opinion) <i>Huffington Post</i> ...TPP defines bad rules for globalization. It sets up skewed power relationships for dealing with climate change, inequality and many other important public policies. We have trade deals with Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras and Peru, where labor standards are at the level of life-and-death. Guatemala is arguably the most dangerous country in the world for labor leaders. Violence against workers in Colombia is still common...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.dailyprogress.com/news/virginia_politics/mcauliffe-announces-port-agreement-with-cuba/article_784f5a66-b409-11e5-b307-53f9ab8dbd6a.html">McAuliffe announces port agreement with Cuba</a></b> <i>Daily Progress</i> ...The Virginia Port Authority has struck a deal with its Cuban counterpart to explore commercial opportunities with the island nation, Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced Tuesday. McAuliffe, in the middle of a three-day trade mission to Cuba, said the Virginia delegation signed a memorandum of understanding with the Cuban Port Authority, which recently completed the $1 billion Port of Mariel project, according to the governor's office... </div>
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<b><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jan/04/greeces-economic-crisis-goes-on-odyssey-without-end?CMP=share_btn_tw">Greece's economic crisis goes on, like an odyssey without end</a></b> <i>The Guardian</i> ...Like an odyssey without end, Greece’s great economic crisis goes on and the predicament of people such as Staikos is igniting new fears of social unrest. Ushering in the new year, prime minister Alexis Tsipras predicted that 2016 marked the beginning of the end, “a final exit from economic crisis”. With a financial lifeline sealed via an €86bn (£63bn) aid package from the International Monetary Fund, EU and the European Central Bank, the country could look ahead to radical change...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/01/04/happy-2016-these-ceos-have-already-banked-average-workers-salary">Happy 2016! These CEOs Have Already Banked An Average Worker's Salary</a></b> <i>Common Dreams </i> ...By lunchtime Monday, Canada's top chief executives had already banked an average worker's annual salary. To put that another way, in 2014, the country's top-paid CEOs took home 184 times as much as the average Canadian worker, according to an annual report on publicly-traded companies released Monday by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives...<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>STATE & LIVING WAGE BATTLES</b></span></div>
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<b><a href="http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2016/01/05/californias-15-minimum-wage-initiative-likely-headed-voters/">California’s $15 Minimum Wage Initiative Is Likely Headed to Voters</a></b> <i>RH Reality Check</i> ...A California initiative calling for a $15 minimum wage by 2021 is likely headed to state voters in November after gathering more than enough signatures to qualify. The voter measure would hike the statewide minimum wage by a dollar on January 1 of every year from 2017 to 2021. California’s statewide minimum wage stands at $10, making it one of the nation’s highest and second only the District of Columbia...<br />
<b><a href="https://www.cpr.org/news/newsbeat/minority-groups-knock-redistricting-ballot-measure">Minority Groups Knock Redistricting Ballot Measure</a></b> <i>Colorado Public Radio</i> ...A proposed ballot measure that would change the way Colorado’s political maps are drawn is being criticized by some minority groups and lawmakers. Currently, the state Legislature determines Colorado's congressional districts after each census. The ballot measure would shift that responsibility to a 12-member independent commission...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/ky-governor/2016/01/05/transportation-budget-cut-1125-million/78301544/">Bevin's road fund cuts bemoaned in Louisville</a></b> <i>Courier-Journal</i> ...Due to falling state gas tax revenues, Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin issued an order Monday cutting the state Transportation Cabinet budget by $112.5 million. The order calls for more than half of the savings – $62 million – to be achieved by a reduction in state road aid to cities and counties...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.ky3.com/news/local/ethics-voter-id-among-measures-to-watch-in-missouri-session/21048998_37289624">Ethics, voter ID among measures to watch in Missouri session</a></b> <i>KY3.com</i> ...Missouri lawmakers are set to discuss issues ranging from how to repair state roads and bridges to laws on abortion. The 2016 legislative session begins Wednesday. Legislative leaders have said tightening state laws on ethics will be a top priority. Proposals on the table include banning lobbyist gifts to lawmakers... </div>
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<b><a href="http://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2016/01/6/minimum-wage-to-raise-for-all-city-workers-in-2018.html">Minimum Wage to Raise for All City Workers in 2018</a></b> <i>NY1.com</i> ...Minimum wage for city workers is going up. Mayor Bill de Blasio is expected to announce plans to raise the minimum wage for city workers to $15 an hour by 2018. Those who will see the increase include school crossing guards and teacher's aides. Not-for-profits with city contracts city will also have to pay their workers at least $15 an hour...<br />
<b><a href="http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2016/01/05/city-group-seeking-comment-from-mpls-workers-employers-on-paid-sick-leave/">Group Seeking Comment From Workers, Employers On Paid Sick Leave</a></b> <i>CBS </i>...A group looking to study the impact of workplace regulations in Minneapolis is holding a series of community meetings this month to get ideas related to earned sick time and paid time off. The city of Minneapolis says its Workplace Partnership Group will hold six meetings in January, with each one focused on different groups... <br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>U.S. LABOR</b></span></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/phoenix-bus-drivers-will-strike-union-leaders-say-7945762">Phoenix Bus Drivers Will Strike, Union Leaders Say</a></b> <i>New Times</i> ...About 650 bus drivers in Phoenix will go on strike tonight at midnight, according to local transportation union leaders. Bob Bean, president of the local Amalgamated Transit Union chapter says the strike, which will affect 75 percent of bus routes in Phoenix, comes after weeks of failed negotiations between ATU and Transdev...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.rep-am.com/articles/2016/01/05/business/930565.txt">Talks resume between ATI, union</a></b> <i>Rep-Am</i> ...Allegheny Technologies Inc. and the United Steelworkers met this week, resuming talks for the first time since September over a labor dispute involving a four-month lockout of more than 2,200 union employees -- including 30 workers at a plant in Waterbury. The talks were held in the union's Pittsburgh headquarters with a federal mediator...</div>
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<b><a href="http://www.delawareonline.com/story/money/business/2016/01/04/dupont-workers-learning-their-fate-today/78255924/">'Depressing' atmosphere envelops DuPont as layoffs begin</a></b> <i>Delaware Online</i> ...A grim mood hung in the air Monday as DuPont Co. workers in Delaware learned whether their positions will be included in a massive round of layoffs that will eliminate 1,700 positions in the First State. Ron Ozer, an engineer at the DuPont Experimental Station near Alapocas, lost his job Monday after nearly 25 years with the company...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.pennlive.com/news/2016/01/utz_workers_sue_snack_company.html">Utz workers sue Pa. snack company over pay</a></b> <i>PennLive </i>...The chips are down at Utz as the Hanover, Pa., company faces a federal lawsuit brought by three drivers who claim they are owed thousands in overtime pay, WITF is reporting. Right now, the suit is confined to three drivers from Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania who say they cart Utz snacks into stores and stock shelves for far longer than 40 hours a week -- but only receive their normal pay...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article53256545.html">United Farm Worker pioneer Alfredo R. Vazquez’s life remembered</a></b> <i>Fresno Bee </i> ...Civil rights activist and United Farm Workers Association pioneer Alfredo R. Vazquez, 98, died on Dec. 31, 2015. Vazquez often endured abuse and threats during farm labor strikes, marches, boycotts and fasts with civil activist, Cesar Chavez. Vazquez’s last words are reported to have been “I did what I came here to do,” according to his son, Miguel Vazquez...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/why-skills-are-not-enough-to-land-a-job/">Why Skills Are Not Enough to Land a Job</a></b> <i>The Nation</i> ... in light of rising graduation rates in recent years, education experts—presumably those who previously worried about low high school completion rates—now worry this seemingly good news is actually meaningless because diplomas are losing their “value”...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/felons-prisoners-right-to-work_56843d71e4b06fa68881d590">Denying People A Job After They've Left Prison Is Unconstitutional, Court Rules</a> </b> <i>Huffington Post </i> ...A court in Pennsylvania on Wednesday struck down a state law that imposed a lifetime ban from employment on as many as 200,000 people with criminal records in the state. A unanimous seven-judge panel ruled that part of the state's Older Adult Protective Services Act was unconstitutional because it was too broad in delineating the types of past crimes that disqualified people from jobs that involve caring for the elderly and other kinds of long-term care...<br />
<b><a href="http://prospect.org/article/labor-prospect-what-watch-2016?can_id=be080fd9496cb4c4e68676d89e10f3b9&source=email-todays-headlines-jobs-with-justice-1516&email_referrer=todays-headlines-jobs-with-justice-1516&email_subject=todays-headlines-jobs-with-justice-1516&link_id=17">The Labor Prospect: What to Watch in 2016</a></b> <i>American Prospect </i> ...The year 2015 was widely regarded as a reinvigorating one for the labor movement, with federal administrative rulings and local minimum-wage ordinances breaking workers’ way. Last year, however, merely set the stage for a much more consequential 2016. This year could either go very badly or very well, depending on a whole host of labor prospects...</div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>SOCIAL JUSTICE & OTHER NEWS</b></span></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.salon.com/2016/01/06/uber_fail_why_the_start_up_giant_stumbled_in_europe_and_how_it_could_happen_in_the_u_s/">Uber fail: Why the start-up giant stumbled in Europe — and how it could happen in the U.S.</a></b> <i>Salon </i>...It’s hard to imagine Uber permanently giving up on Europe’s biggest economy, of course. But according to a report in The New York Times, Uber’s problem goes well beyond Germany’s borders. Deutschland is just one of many places where Uber’s struggling — and it’s almost always for the same reason...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/01/06/ice_raids_on_central_american_families_are_not_what_obama_promised.html">Obama Said He Would Focus on Deporting Criminals. He’s Targeting Families Instead.</a></b> <i>Slate </i>...A nation-wide deportation campaign targeting families fleeing violence from Central America began this past weekend, sending immigrants from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala—and their governments—scrambling to prepare for more. This isn’t the first or the biggest ICE, or Immigration and Customs Enforcement, raid: George W. Bush’s administration is infamous for its raids on residential areas and workplaces...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2016/1/6/every_time_i_think_about_those">"Every Time I Think About Those Kids It Gets Me Mad": Obama Tears Up as He Orders New Gun Control</a></b> <i>Democracy Now</i> ...President Obama has laid out his plans to take executive action in an attempt to cut gun violence. Part of his plan will result in mandatory background checks for individuals purchasing firearms online or at gun shows. The administration is also calling for the hiring of 200 new federal agents to enforce the nation’s gun laws...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2016/01/the-oregon-standoff-debate/422556/">The Oregon Standoff, Black Lives Matter, and Criminal-Justice Reform</a></b> <i>The Atlantic </i> ...The standoff in Oregon between armed militias and federal law-enforcement provides a great moment for reflecting on some of the lessons of Black Lives Matter and the criminal-justice-reform movement that grew over the last year. The antigovernment protesters took over the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in support of two ranchers convicted of committing arson on public lands and have vowed “to stay as long as it takes”...</div>
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<b><a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/how-to-understand-donald-trumps-sexist-new-low/">How to Understand Donald Trump’s Sexist New Low</a></b> <i>The Nation</i> ...Donald Trump, the man of the bottomless bottom, is making headlines for slurring Hillary Clinton as an “enabler” of her husband’s sexual misbehavior. Chris Matthews of MSNBC’s Hardball, who doesn’t shock easily, seemed staggered by it Monday night, insisting he’d never heard such a claim about Clinton before. “It’s beyond indecent,” he said...<br />
<b><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2016/01/05/3736126/sanders-on-trumps-china-climate-hoax/">Sanders Blasts Trump On Weird Climate Change Claim</a></b> <i>Think Progress </i> ...On Monday night, the Democratic candidate blasted Trump’s claim that climate change is a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese. “What an insight. The entire scientific community has concluded that climate change is real and causing major problems, and Trump believes that it’s a hoax created by the Chinese. Surprised it wasn’t the Mexicans”...</div>
Teamster Powerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07063527689152007034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4328899339135469869.post-62802155969729573702016-01-05T13:10:00.001-05:002016-01-05T13:12:49.894-05:00NLRB election changes help workers<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vuSL2Ce7R1c/UOXwjTDOIqI/AAAAAAAAOeU/ubvyBB4KEnY/s1600/godblessunions.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vuSL2Ce7R1c/UOXwjTDOIqI/AAAAAAAAOeU/ubvyBB4KEnY/s1600/godblessunions.jpg" /></a>Reforms made to the National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB's) union election rules last April are paying dividends for workers seeking to organize around the country, according to a <a href="http://www.bna.com/election-speed-nlrb" rel="nofollow">new report</a>.<br />
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According to statistics compiled by Bloomberg BNA, during the first four months following when the NLRB instituted the changes, the agency fit 31 more resolved elections in compared to the same period in 2014. And all of those additional elections ended in a victory for the union.<br />
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What's more, the median length of time it took a union's representation petition to reach the election stage fell from 38 days in May-August 2014 to 24 days during the same four months last year.<br />
As a BNA Bloomberg <a href="http://www.bna.com/analysis-nlrb-elections-b57982065730/?can_id=447039cdf923c5d6415d70a43c1414f7&source=email-todays-headlines-jobs-with-justice-1516&email_referrer=todays-headlines-jobs-with-justice-1516&email_subject=todays-headlines-jobs-with-justice-1516&link_id=2" rel="nofollow">blog</a> stated:<br />
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This is significant, the report says, because quicker elections have favored labor over management for many years. Calendar years 2014 and 2015 were no exceptions: Elections that were resolved within 24 days went the union’s way 88 percent of the time in 2014, and 75 percent of the time in 2015. But because about half of the elections in the 2015 sample clocked in at 24 days or less, this translated to 140 union wins—compared with only 21 union wins in 2014.</blockquote>
The Teamsters are strong advocates of the rule change. Back in August 2011, General President Jim Hoffa filed comments <a href="http://teamsterslocal238.com/node/56783">saying</a> the changes would streamline the process and make election rules more fair for workers looking to organize.<br />
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But not surprisingly, there have been plenty of opponents who have been looking to rein in the NLRB's action. Republicans in Congress <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/search?q=NLRB+elections">took aim</a> at trying to stop the implementation of the changes last year but failed.<br />
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But overturning the rule changes <a href="http://www.natlawreview.com/article/quickie-election-rule-challenge-to-be-heard-fifth-circuit" rel="nofollow">through the courts</a> remains a possibility. The Fifth Circuit U.S. Appeals Court in New Orleans is due to hear the case Feb. 29, and if they side with the plaintiff, it could invalidate the results of all those elections.Teamster Powerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07063527689152007034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4328899339135469869.post-44212648715830329402016-01-05T11:16:00.002-05:002016-01-05T11:16:26.598-05:00Today's Teamster News 01.05.16<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">TEAMSTERS</span></b><br />
<b><a href="https://teamster.org/news/2016/01/teamsters-call-solutions-one-industries-recognize-union-honor-contract">Teamsters Call On Solutions One Industries To Recognize Union, Honor Contract</a></b> <i>Teamster.org </i> ...Teamsters that provide logistical and warehousing support for the men and women who serve at the Fort Irwin National Training Center are fighting an effort by One Solutions Industries to deny the wages and benefits guaranteed to the workers under their collective bargaining agreement. Solutions One Industries (SOI) was awarded the federal contract that covers the 23 members of Teamsters Local 166 on Nov. 1, 2015...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_29330180/cargill-tried-resolve-issues-before-firing-colorado-muslim">Cargill: Tried to resolve issues before firing Colorado Muslim workers</a></b> <i>Denver Post </i> ...About 190 workers, mostly Somali, were let go after they left the meatpacking line to protest changes to prayer policy. The workers earn $14 per hour and up and are represented by a union, Teamsters Local 455. More than 2,000 people are employed at the plant...<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>GLOBAL LABOR & TRADE</b></span><br />
<b><a href="http://www.labour-reporter.com/articleview/26382-strike-deadline-set-in-ontario-corrections-talks">Strike deadline set in Ontario corrections talks</a></b> <i>Canadian Labour Reporter </i> ...Ontario correctional workers will be in a legal strike or lockout position on Jan. 10. The Ontario Ministry of Labour issued a “no board” report on Dec. 24, 2015, with respect to negotiations between the provincial government and Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) members in the Correctional Bargaining Unit of the Ontario Public Service...<br />
<b><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/12/30/with-european-trade-deal-unfinished-obama-to-head-to-germany-in-the-spring/">With European trade deal unfinished, Obama to head to Germany in the spring</a></b> <i>Washington Post </i> ...President Obama will head to Hannover, Germany in late April to attend a trade fair, the White House announced Wednesday, part of the administration's push to secure a European trade deal before he leaves office. Administration officials are hoping to make progress on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), negotiations between the United States and the European Union that have taken a back seat to the recently-forged Trans Pacific Partnership...<br />
<b><a href="http://thehill.com/policy/finance/264753-business-leaders-announce-support-for-tpp">Business leaders announce support for TPP</a></b> <i>The Hill</i> ..A group of the nation's chief executives is endorsing a sweeping Asia-Pacific trade agreement, calling on Congress to pass the pact this year. The Business Roundtable announced support Tuesday for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) saying it is a “significant” agreement that will open foreign markets and create U.S. jobs. BRT is the second major business group this week to announce support for the 12-nation TPP deal...<br />
<b><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2015/12/29/the-five-biggest-lobbying-fights-to-watch-in-2016/">The five biggest lobbying fights to watch in 2016</a></b> <i>Washington Post</i> ...1. Trans-Pacific Partnership: TPP, the sweeping trade deal reached in October between the United States and 11 other Pacific Rim nations, is expected to be hotly contested, both from members of Congress and from a wide swath of interest groups. It will be the biggest showdown among lawmakers, interest groups and the White House in 2016...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.freshplaza.com/article/151162/Chile-will-sign-the-TPP-in-February">Chile will sign the TPP in February</a></b> <i>Fresh Plaza</i> ...The Chilean government announced that it would sign the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) in February in New Zealand. For this purpose, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Heraldo Munoz, will travel to New Zealand to complete the processing of an arrangement that involves 12 countries, including the United States, Japan, Mexico, Canada, and Peru...<br />
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<b style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">STATE & LIVING WAGE BATTLES</b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.wcax.com/story/30874227/dems-say-paid-sick-leave-bill-a-priority">Dems say paid sick leave bill a priority</a></b> <i>WCAX</i> ...Vermont lawmakers will return to Montpelier Tuesday. With a budget to balance, a revenue bill to compose and potentially marijuana legalization to debate, their schedule is full. Democrats also have their sights set on changing the way some companies do business. The two political parties differ wildly over whether mandating that employers offer paid sick leave is a good idea...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/05/nyregion/cuomo-to-lift-minimum-wage-for-workers-at-new-york-universities.html">Cuomo Lifts Minimum Wage for Workers at New York Universities</a></b> <i>New York Times</i> ...Continuing a push for the payment of higher wages for public-sector jobs, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York announced a plan on Monday to raise the minimum wage for state university workers to $15. Mr. Cuomo’s action was the latest to address what he sees as subpar wages: He used a state wage board to increase hourly pay to $15 for fast-food workers last summer and unveiled a similar plan for an estimated 10,000 state workers in November...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.mlive.com/lansing-news/index.ssf/2016/01/marijuana_lgbt_protections_and.html">16 Michigan political issues to watch in 2016</a></b> <i>MLive </i>...There is a legislative appetite to repeal prevailing wage in the state which provides union-scale wages on publicly funded construction projects. But Gov. Rick Snyder has telegraphed that it's not a priority of his. The ballot proposal could essentially circumvent the governor, repealing prevailing wage by getting 252,523 signatures and submitting it to the legislature...<br />
<b><a href="http://nhpr.org/post/nhs-voter-id-law-remains-big-unknown-presidential-primary-day">N.H.'s Voter ID Law Remains Big Unknown for Presidential Primary Day</a></b> <i>NHPR </i>...New Hampshire’s primary is just five weeks away, and state election officials are anticipating record turnout. There’s something else on their minds too—this will be the first presidential primary with the state’s new voter ID law in place. The law, which passed three and a half years ago, was part of a wave of stricter voter laws pushed by Republicans across the country...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.herald-dispatch.com/opinion/rick-wilson-right-to-work-law-would-hurt-workers-weaken/article_61233812-fa7b-523b-a761-b51715c6596c.html">Right-to-work law would hurt workers, weaken labor unions in West Virginia</a></b> (opinion) <i>Herald Dispatch</i> ...One piece of legislation likely to be considered in West Virginia in 2016 is misleadingly called "right to work," or RTW. It really has nothing to do with that right but a lot to do with targeting all working families. It's more like "right to work for less." According to current law, if most eligible workers in a private-sector job vote to join a union in a National Labor Relations Board election, all belong... <br />
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<b style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">U.S. LABOR</b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/business/aroundregion/story/2015/dec/31/vw-appeals-uaw-electichattanooga/342644/">Volkswagen appeals UAW election at Chattanooga plant</a></b> <i>Times Free Press</i> ...In the latest salvo between Volkswagen and the United Auto Workers, VW has asked in an appeal of the union election at its Chattanooga plant this month that regulators scrap key cases on which the UAW based much of its legal footing. Lawyers for VW said the Specialty Healthcare legal cases on which the UAW depended to organize a small group of workers should be abandoned...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.wsoctv.com/news/news/local/uaw-receives-notice-936-layoffs-cleveland-freightl/npxM5/">UAW receives notice of 936 layoffs at Freightliner plant</a></b> <i>WSOCTV </i>...A representative of the United Auto Workers Union told channel 9 on Monday that the union received a notice that 936 people will be laid off from the Cleveland Freightliner plant in Rowan County. The representative said the UAW received a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice dated Dec. 31. The last day of work will be Friday...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.pal-item.com/story/money/2016/01/04/richmond-baking-company-workers-strike/78258118/">Richmond Baking Company workers strike</a></b> <i>Pal-Item </i> ...The company was notified Sunday by the Bakery Workers Union that employees would begin a strike at 2 p.m. Monday, and they did just that. Workers held signs saying "On strike unfair contract," "We have pride too," "More work? Less pay? No way," "Work up; family and pay down," "United We Stand Local 1," "Fair work fair pay" and "Honk 2 Help"...<br />
<b><a href="http://ktar.com/story/834320/mediation-begins-in-valley-bus-union-operator-negotiations/">Mediation begins in Valley bus union-operator negotiations</a></b> <i>KTAR </i>...Mediation begins Monday between the union representing bus drivers in the metro Phoenix area and the company that operates them. There is a new middle man in the fight between Transdev and the Amalgamated Transit Union. Former Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Ruth McGregor has been hired to help the two parties settle a collective bargaining agreement in hopes of avoiding a bus driver strike...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.bna.com/analysis-nlrb-elections-b57982065730/">Analysis of NLRB Elections Shows Quicker Elections, More Union Wins</a></b> <i>BNA </i>...Since the National Labor Relations Board’s controversial amendments to its representation election rules took effect last April, supporters and opponents alike have asked two questions: Have the new rules served to speed up the election process? And, if so, has this pickup in tempo favored unions more than employers? Bloomberg BNA has released a report, Election Speed and the NLRB: How Unions Fare in the Representation Process, which suggests that the answer to both questions is yes...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.salon.com/2016/01/03/the_middle_class_is_just_this_screwed_janet_yellen_declares_victory_while_workers_drown/">The middle class is just this screwed: Janet Yellen declares victory while workers drown</a></b> <i>Salon</i> ...Earlier this month when Fed chair Janet Yellen offered her rationale for raising interest rates, it was sadly reminiscent of President George W. Bush’s infamous “Mission Accomplished” speech, given on the USS Abraham Lincoln when he declared that major combat operations in Iraq were over in 2003. Between 2010 and 2014 poverty increased in one third of America’s 3,000 counties...<br />
<a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/whos-fighting-the-mental-health-crisis-on-campus-unions/"><b>Who’s Fighting the Mental-Health Crisis on Campus? Unions.</b></a> <i>The Nation</i> .... Though Yale’s Mental Health Services system is supposed to provide general psychiatric care for all students and employees, Yale’s Graduate Employee Student Organization (GESO) - the UNITE HERE!–affiliated labor group that Yale graduate employees have been trying to turn into an official union for over a decade - argues that services on campus are deeply inadequate and fraught with bureaucratic barriers...<br />
<b><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2016/01/04/3735723/board-diversity-gao/">Women Can’t Expect Equality In The Boardroom Until At Least 2065</a></b> <i>Think Progress</i> ...The share of women on corporate board seats among hundreds of the country’s biggest corporations has doubled over the last 17 years. But even if the rate of change significantly increased, it will take decades until women reach equality. In 2014, women made up about 16 percent of board seats among companies in the S&P 1500 index...<br />
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<b style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">SOCIAL JUSTICE & OTHER NEWS</b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-immigrant-sweep-20160104-story.html">'Don't open the door,' immigrants are warned as family deportation roundup continues</a></b> <i>LA Times </i> ...More than a hundred immigrants, mostly Central American families, were detained in a handful of states through the weekend in a federal effort to deport those who recently entered the country and stayed illegally, according to officials and advocates. As part of the operation, 121 people were taken into custody -- primarily in Georgia, North Carolina and Texas -- and are being processed for deportation...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/01/04/economy-2016-edge-recession">Robert Reich: The Economy in 2016: On the Edge of Recession</a></b> <i>Common Dreams</i> ...Economic forecasters exist to make astrologers look good, but I’ll hazard a guess. I expect the U.S. economy to sputter in 2016. That’s because the economy faces a deep structural problem: not enough demand for all the goods and services it’s capable of producing. American consumers account for almost 70 percent of economic activity, but they won’t have enough purchasing power in 2016 to keep the economy going on more than two cylinders. Blame widening inequality..<br />
<b><a href="http://usuncut.com/news/5-things-you-need-to-know-about-the-oregon-militia-takeover/">5 Things You Need to Know About Oregon’s Militia Movement</a></b> <i>U.S. Uncut</i> ...The ‘Patriot’ movement is a child of the White Power movement. Many of the tactics and talking points being used were popularized in the 1970s by the white supremacist group Posse Comitatus. This group promoted the “Christian Patriot” movement, advocated the formation of “Citizens Militias,” helped forge an idiosyncratic reading of the Constitution...<br />
<b><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2016/01/04/3735745/move-vs-oregon-standoff/">Here’s What Happened When Black People Tried Armed Occupation</a></b> <i>Think Progress</i> ...30 years ago, a similar standoff between police and a black anti-government group in Philadelphia played out very differently. Armed members of a fringe liberation group called MOVE were bombed and burned alive for directing their weapons at police. The bombing highlighted the stark contrast in the way cops treat black and white radicals...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/01/ammon-bundy-oregon-protest-sba-loan">How the Leader of the Oregon Armed Protest Benefited From a Federal Loan Program</a></b> <i>Mother Jones</i> ...As one of the leaders of a band of armed, anti-government activists who have taken over a Fish and Wildlife Service building in Oregon, Ammon Bundy has denounced the "tyranny" of the federal government. But not long ago, Ammon Bundy sought out help from the government he now decries and received a federal small-business loan guarantee...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/34276-the-melting-arctic-s-dramatic-impact-on-global-weather-patterns">The Melting Arctic's Dramatic Impact on Global Weather Patterns</a></b> <i>Truthout </i>...Arctic sea ice is melting at a record pace - and every summer looks grimmer. This past summer saw the ice pack at its fourth-lowest level on record, and the overall trend in recent decades suggests this will only continue. "Using satellites, scientists have found that the area of sea ice coverage each September has declined by more than 40 percent since the late 1970s, a trend that has accelerated since 2007"...Teamster Powerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07063527689152007034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4328899339135469869.post-21031631663518566312016-01-04T14:09:00.000-05:002016-01-04T14:09:59.223-05:00Wage hikes are latest sign workers are winningThe movement to raise the minimum wage paid off for workers Jan. 1 in <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-minimumwage-idUSKBN0UF1QA20160101?can_id=447039cdf923c5d6415d70a43c1414f7&source=email-todays-headlines-jobs-with-justice-1416&email_referrer=todays-headlines-jobs-with-justice-1416&email_subject=todays-headlines-jobs-with-justice-1416&link_id=13" rel="nofollow">14 states and numerous cities</a> across the nation. And it is a testament to the thousands of everyday Americans who <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2015/07/fight-for-15-strikes-dc-as-sanders.html">took to the streets</a> and demanded a higher salary floor in living wage protests across the country.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7U2FCIj7TO0/UZuM-hrDY-I/AAAAAAAAQxk/TqxiwD_BlU4/s1600/good%2Bjobs%2Brally.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7U2FCIj7TO0/UZuM-hrDY-I/AAAAAAAAQxk/TqxiwD_BlU4/s320/good%2Bjobs%2Brally.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Workers across the nation have rallied for higher wages.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As a result, workers from Alaska to West Virginia will see a little extra in their paychecks starting this month. The largest gains are in California and Massachusetts, which are bumping the minimum wage up $1, to $10 an hour. It will help families keep food on the table as well as the economic buying power of the entire nation.<br />
<br />
As an article in <i>The Atlantic</i> <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/01/minimum-wages-2016/422379/?can_id=447039cdf923c5d6415d70a43c1414f7&source=email-todays-headlines-jobs-with-justice-1416&email_referrer=todays-headlines-jobs-with-justice-1416&email_subject=todays-headlines-jobs-with-justice-1416&link_id=14" rel="nofollow">stated</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Efforts to raise the minimum wage paid off in 2015, and as the movement has gained momentum—the current target for many activists and some economists is $15 an hour—the debate over whether raising minimum wage is a good idea will likely become even more heated in 2016. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
On the side for raising minimum wage, labor activists argue that the current minimum wage is not enough to live on. There’s also the argument that raising it might also be beneficial for closing the gender wage gap, as women are more likely to hold minimum-wage jobs.</blockquote>
<div>
One instance of government listening to the people and going further on the issue is in New York, where Gov. Andrew Cuomo <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/05/nyregion/cuomo-to-lift-minimum-wage-for-workers-at-new-york-universities.html?_r=1&can_id=447039cdf923c5d6415d70a43c1414f7&source=email-todays-headlines-jobs-with-justice-1416&email_referrer=todays-headlines-jobs-with-justice-1416&email_subject=todays-headlines-jobs-with-justice-1416&link_id=12" rel="nofollow">announced</a> a plan to raise the minimum wage for state university workers to $15 an hour. The increase will effect some 28,000 workers and is designed to include students who use work-study jobs to cover their college costs.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
But clearly, more needs to be done. It is beyond unlikely that Congress will take action to raise the federal minimum wage this year. But where action can be taken on the local, state and federal front, it must happen. Hard-working Americans deserve to earn a wage that lets them live a simple but sustainable life.</div>
Teamster Powerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07063527689152007034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4328899339135469869.post-1223587524156713582016-01-04T12:00:00.001-05:002016-01-04T12:00:13.853-05:00Today's Teamster News 01.04.16<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">TEAMSTERS</span></b><br />
<b><a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/12/strike-ends-chicago-teamsters-reach-tentative-agreement-coca-cola">Strike Ends as Chicago Teamsters Reach Tentative Agreement with Coca-Cola</a></b> <i>Teamster.org </i> ...Teamsters Local 727 ended its unfair labor practice strike against Coca-Cola Refreshments late on Tuesday, Dec. 29, after reaching tentative agreement on a fair three-year contract for 319 production and warehouse workers. Upon ratification, the tentative agreement will transfer Local 727 members into a new health and welfare plan previously available to Coca-Cola management...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-coke-strike-teamsters-1231-biz-20151229-story.html">Teamsters reach tentative pact with Coca-Cola, end strike</a></b> <i>Chicago Tribune</i> ...Coca-Cola workers who have been on strike for nearly a month are heading back to work after their union reached a tentative three-year contract with the company. Teamsters Local 727, which says it represents 319 production workers at Coca-Cola plants in Niles and Alsip, announced late Tuesday that the bargaining committee recommended ratification of what it called a "fair" contract offer by Coke...<br />
<b><a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/12/teamsters-port-drivers-win-nearly-7-million-wages-end-misclassification">Teamsters: Port Drivers Win Nearly $7 Million in Wages, End Misclassification</a></b> <i>Teamster.org</i> ...On Dec. 14, the California Labor Commissioner determined that 38 drivers at leading port trucking company Pacific 9 Transportation, which hauls containers from the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach for some of America’s premiere brands – including Costco, Goodyear Tires, Ugg Boots, and Microsoft – are in fact employees, not independent contractors, and ordered Pac 9 to pay them nearly $6.9 million in stolen wages...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-trucker-back-wages-20151223-story.html">Port drivers win millions in back pay from trucking firm</a></b> <i>LA Times</i> ...A port trucking firm in Carson has been ordered to turn over nearly $7 million in back pay to 38 drivers, the latest in a series of recent wins for port drivers and the Teamsters union that has been trying to organize them. The state Labor Commissioner's Office ruled this month that the drivers at Pacific 9 Transportation were improperly treated as independent contractors rather than as employees...<br />
<b><a href="http://m.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-horse-carriage-industry-thanks-supporters-article-1.2482209">NYC horse carriage industry thanks supporters for help</a></b> <i>Daily News</i> ...Horse carriages — which for the past two years have operated under a cloud of uncertainty — are starting 2016 on a positive note. The industry, which Mayor de Blasio threatened to ban on his first day in office, bought a full page ad in Friday’s Daily News thanking its supporters for helping them stay around for the past two years...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/american-red-cross-workers-vote-to-join-teamsters-in-maine-300197372.html">American Red Cross Workers Vote To Join Teamsters In Maine</a></b> <i>PR Newswire</i> ...Workers at the American Red Cross' Portland donation center have voted to join Teamsters Local 340. The blood donation center's 57 employees will now form a bargaining unit that includes collections technicians, collections specialists and mobile unit assistants of various classifications. These employees are responsible for setting up and administering blood drives across the southern half of the state...<br />
<b><a href="https://nwlaborpress.org/2015/12/beer-hauler-moves-to-bust-teamsters-union/">Beer hauler moves to bust Teamsters union</a></b> <i>NW Labor Press </i> ...Teamsters Local 162 is facing what more and more looks like a union-busting effort by General Distributors Inc. When truck drivers, warehouse workers, and sales employees learned that the profitable company would seek $1.5 million a year in concessions from them in their next union contract, they voted 59 to 5 to strike, and about 80 members of Teamsters Local 162 walked off the job Nov. 17. In response, the company threatened to permanently replace them...<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>GLOBAL LABOR & TRADE</b></span><br />
<b><a href="http://www.theafricareport.com/Southern-Africa/zimbabwe-public-workers-threaten-strike-over-delayed-pay.html">Zimbabwe: Public workers threaten strike over delayed pay</a></b> <i>Africa Report</i> ...The year is opening on a tense note for the Zimbabwean government, as tens of thousands of public workers have threatened to go on strike over delayed salaries. Civil servants in the southern African nation are yet to be paid their December salaries, with the government promising to pay them by Tuesday, but this has not been enough to calm the restive workers...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/jerusalem-sanitation-workers-strike-after-170-fired/">Jerusalem sanitation workers strike after 170 fired</a></b> <i>Times of Israel </i> ...Jerusalem sanitation workers went on strike Thursday, after the city sent termination letters to 170 employees in the department. The municipality also warned that the move was the first of many necessary cutbacks to come — with up to 2,000 more firings — if the Finance Ministry does not transfer to the city the funds needed to keep a balanced budget in 2016...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-election-debate-complicates-passage-of-pacific-trade-pact-1451347037">U.S. Election Debate Complicates Passage of Pacific Trade Pact</a></b> <i>Wall Street Journal </i>...An international trade agreement embraced by President Barack Obama and the Republican-controlled Congress is drawing fire from many presidential candidates, illustrating the populist shift of both parties in the age of Donald Trump. Contenders ranging from Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton to Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas have spoken out against the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/12/29/business/tpp-nations-arranging-sign-free-trade-deal-early-february/#.VoqQCLEo7ct">TPP nations arranging to sign free-trade deal in early February</a></b> <i>Japan Times</i> ...Japan, the United States and 10 other nations that reached a broad agreement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade pact in October are arranging to sign the deal in early February, an official from one of the nations has said. Following the broad agreement after more than five years of negotiations, the 12 nations released the text of the landmark trade deal in November...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2016/01/03/Trans-Pacific-Partnership-trade-deal-pits-Pittsburgh-against-Philly/stories/201601030111">TPP trade deal pits Pittsburgh against Philadelphia</a></b> <i> Pittsburgh Post-Gazette</i> ...Pittsburgh manufactures the products. Philadelphia ships them around the world. One city stands to gain from expanding trade into the Pacific Rim while the other has much to lose, their mayors say. That’s why Philadelphia’s outgoing mayor, Michael Nutter, has been helping the White House stump for the Trans-Pacific Partnership while Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto stands opposed...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/12/31/corporate-friendly-trade-deals-threatening-ordinary-people-2016">The Corporate-Friendly Trade Deals Threatening Ordinary People in 2016</a></b> <i>Common Dreams </i> ...Corporate media failed to cover the dangers of business-friendly trade deals in 2015, despite growing grassroots opposition to such pacts—and increasing public awareness about their contents. Will 2016 be the year looming toxic trade policies catapult into the mainstream? Sierra Club trade representative Ilana Solomon hopes so...<br />
<b><a href="http://sputniknews.com/europe/20160103/1032627998/greece-unreasonable-austerity-demands.html">Greece Not to Agree to Creditors Unreasonable Austerity Demands - Tsipras</a></b> <i>Sputnik News </i> ...Athens will follow the memorandum signed with its international creditors, but will not agree to unreasonable austerity demands, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said, as quoted by the local media on Sunday. According to Tsipras, 2016 will be a pivotal year, after several years of crisis for the country. The Greek economy has been severely strained because of the country’s multibillion debt accumulated after the 2008 world economic crisis...<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>STATE & LIVING WAGE BATTLES</b></span><br />
<b><a href="http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2016/1/3/minimum-wage-rises-in-14-states-and-several-cities.html">Minimum wage rises in 14 states and several cities</a></b> <i>Al Jazeera</i> ...As the United States marks more than six years without an increase in the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, 14 states and several cities are moving forward with their own increases, with most having taken effect Jan. 1. California and Massachusetts are highest among the states, both increasing from $9 to $10 an hour, according to an analysis by the National Conference of State Legislatures...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2015/12/31/1461272/-American-workers-see-progress-on-paid-sick-leave-no-thanks-to-Congress">American workers see progress on paid sick leave, no thanks to Congress</a></b> <i>Daily Kos</i> ...Paid sick days have gained a lot of ground in the last few years, and continued to do so in 2015. Oregon became the fourth state to require paid sick leave for most workers, following Connecticut, California, and Massachusetts. The cities of Tacoma, Washington, and Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, also passed paid sick leave laws...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/missouri-speaker-sounds-doubtful-over-right-to-work/article_928e559a-54b1-56e1-a7c3-f227893673e0.html">Missouri speaker sounds doubtful over 'right to work'</a></b> <i>STL Today</i> ...When it comes to a GOP-led charge to make Missouri a “right to work” state, a top Republican is throwing cold water on one of the hot-button issues of the last legislative session. In an interview with the Post-Dispatch, House Speaker Todd Richardson sounded doubtful that right to work would be a top goal for Republicans when the House and Senate return Wednesday...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.unionleader.com/article/20160103/NEWS02/160109899">Wages in NH expected to increase in 2016</a></b> <i>Union Leader </i> ...Wal-Mart, the state's largest retail employer, plans to raise wages for its 7,785 New Hampshire employees in 2016, in one of several signs that the year ahead could finally see meaningful improvement in earnings for hourly workers after years of wage stagnation...<br />
<b><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2016/01/02/3735561/christie-food-stamps-waiver/">Chris Christie Refuses To Help Unemployed New Jersey Residents Hold Onto Food Stamps</a></b> <i>Think Progress</i> ...About 11,000 New Jersey residents are set to lose their food stamps after Gov. Chris Christie (R)’s administration said it won’t seek any waivers from the program’s work requirements. Since 2009, state governors have been encouraged to get waivers from the federal government for the requirement that able-bodied, childless adults work at least 20 hours a week to enroll in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/judges-ruling-a-mixed-bag-for-those-challenging-voter-id-law-b99644007z1-364062231.html">Judge's ruling a mixed bag for those challenging voter ID law</a></b> <i>Journal Sentinel</i> ...A federal judge has thrown out portions of a challenge to Wisconsin's voting laws but is allowing a key part of the lawsuit to proceed that could allow more types of identification to be used under the voter ID law. In his ruling last month, U.S. District Judge James Peterson in Madison also found the liberal One Wisconsin Institute could pursue its argument that recent restrictions on early voting violate the U.S. Constitution...<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>U.S. LABOR</b></span><br />
<b><a href="http://www.centralctcommunications.com/bristolpress/article_c329b368-b0eb-11e5-b82d-577a2551243f.html">Tentative agreement prevents custodial workers strike</a></b> <i>Bristol Press</i> ...Just one day before a strike could have begun, a bargaining committee representing more than 2,100 janitors in Hartford, New Haven and other Connecticut cities and towns reached a tentative agreement with the Hartford County Cleaning Contractors Association. The four-year contract agreed to Wednesday — subject to ratification — includes incremental wage increases...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/labor-board-hands-whole-foods-workers-a-victory/">Labor board hands Whole Foods workers a victory</a></b> <i>CBS </i>...Whole Foods Market (WFM) can no longer forbid its employees from taking photographs or recording conversations at work, according to a recent federal ruling. "Smartphone pics and videos in this day and age are particularly 'essential' to proving an employee's rights have been violated," said the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in a decision issued late last week...<br />
<b><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2016/01/03/3735649/at-least-150-muslim-workers-fired-in-prayer-dispute/">150 Muslims Fired For Protesting Their Workplace’s Prayer Policies</a></b> <i>Think Progress</i> ...About 150 Muslim workers at a meat processing plant have been fired for refusing to show up for work during an ongoing dispute over prayer accommodations. The controversy began on December 18, when 11 Somali Muslim workers at the Cargill Meat Solutions plant in Fort Morgan, Colorado requested to visit the building’s prayer room at the same time...<br />
<b><a href="http://linkis.com/huffingtonpost.com/rH15w">Ten of the Best Things That Happened to American Workers in 2015</a></b> <i>Huffington Post</i> ...Historians may remember 2015 as the year of the minimum wage -- and for good reason. Twenty-one states and multiple cities raised the minimum wage in the past 12 months, scarcely two years after the "Fight for $15" was dismissed as a pipe dream by some observers. The past year also saw other major advances for working Americans...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.ibtimes.com/end-unions-upcoming-supreme-court-case-could-overturn-power-collect-fees-2244362">The End Of Unions? Upcoming Supreme Court Case Could Overturn Power To Collect Fees</a></b> <i> IBTimes </i> ...A Supreme Court case beginning Jan. 11 has union members wondering if a ruling could sound a death knell on labor organizations that have grown accustomed to heightened limitations and declining memberships in recent years. Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association will determine whether mandatory union dues violate workers' freedom of speech, and experts say a ruling could dictate the future of unions' ability to collect fees...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/34263-workers-comp-industrial-complex-the-middlemen-silencing-injured-workers">Workers' Comp Industrial Complex: The Middlemen Silencing Injured Workers</a></b> <i>Truthout </i>...Workers' comp is supposed to be simple. If you're injured on the job, your employer pays your medical bills and part of your wages while you recover. But over the past two decades, a cottage industry of middlemen has emerged, which some have dubbed the "workers' comp industrial complex." Even private equity firms have bought in, seeing profit opportunities in employers' and insurers' quest to contain spending...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/adjuncts-at-loyola-university-chicago-want-a-union-will-the-jesuit-university-respect-their-demands/">Adjuncts at Loyola University Chicago Want a Union. Will the Jesuit University Respect Their Demands?</a></b> <i>The Nation </i> ...Loyola University Chicago now faces the challenge of putting its Jesuit principles into practice as frustrated professors push for a union. The administration argues a union would interfere with the university’s “mission.” But according to Loyola’s struggling non-tenured faculty members, their poverty wages and exhausting working conditions prove that it is the administration’s corporate greed that is flouting the Jesuit tradition of social justice...<br />
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<b style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">SOCIAL JUSTICE & OTHER NEWS</b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/happy-new-year-youre-deported/">Happy New Year. You’re Deported.</a></b> <i>The Nation</i> ...This is how the Department of Homeland Security says happy holidays: The federal government will reportedly begin raids to deport families who’ve arrived in the country in the last two years, according to The Washington Post. The enforcement operation could begin in a matter of weeks, and was first reported on Christmas Eve. The raids would target hundreds of adults and children who have a standing order of deportation against them...<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2016/01/02/3735532/tamir-rice-mcginty-protests/">Hundreds Demand Prosecutor In Tamir Rice Case Resign</a></b> <i>Think Progress</i> ...Protests continued on Friday following a grand jury’s recent decision not to indict the two white police officers who fatally shot 12-year-old Tamir Rice. More than 100 activists marched to the home of the prosecutor who handled Rice’s case, Timothy McGinty, on New Year’s Day and demanded his resignation. Chanting “New year, no more!”...</span><br />
<b><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/01/03/media-coverage-oregon-militia-standoff-raises-eyebrows-and-ire">Media Coverage of Oregon Militia Standoff Raises Eyebrows — and Ire</a></b> <i>Common Dreams</i> ...After members of a rightwing militia seized the headquarters of a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon on Saturday afternoon, observers questioned the corporate media's treatment of the event, pointing to a double standard in coverage compared to other recent protests. Watchdog site Media Matters pointed out that while Fox's coverage of campus protests against racial discrimination was dismissive, its reporting "looked drastically different when those protesting have aligned with the network's conservative agenda"...<br />
<b><a href="http://www.salon.com/2016/01/04/theyd_be_killed_if_they_were_black_the_racial_double_standard_at_the_heart_of_the_new_bundy_family_standoff/">They’d be killed if they were black: The racial double standard at the heart of the new Bundy family standoff</a></b> <i>Salon </i>...At least 150 armed white men have seized control of a federal building outside of Burns, Oregon. The actions taken by Ammon Bundy, Ryan Bundy, and their supporters in Oregon are the very definition of terrorism and armed insurrection. If Muslims took up arms, occupied a federal building, recorded martyrdom videos, and threatened to kill police and other authorities, they would be called “terrorists”...Teamster Powerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07063527689152007034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4328899339135469869.post-27866569529415450392015-12-23T13:00:00.000-05:002015-12-23T13:00:10.176-05:00Happy Holidays! Teamster Nation is off until Jan. 4, 2016<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">SEASON'S GREETINGS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">Teamster Nation</i><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;"> is off for the holiday. We wish all our readers a safe and happy holiday season with family and friends. And we look forward to a happy new year in 2016 - a new year of Teamster unity and justice for workers everywhere.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">We will resume normal posting Monday Jan. 4, 2016.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;"><br /></span></span>Teamster Powerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07063527689152007034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4328899339135469869.post-79801554114661973572015-12-23T10:00:00.000-05:002015-12-23T10:00:00.173-05:00A look back at 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This year has been a big one for the Teamsters union. Historic organizing victories, monumental contract wins, ongoing legislative battles, and the fight against job-killing trade deals filled up the calendar throughout 2015. Rallies and strikes demonstrated the power of Teamster solidarity over the months.<br />
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As we close out the year and look forward to another year of progress for Teamster power in 2016, we look back at some of the important moments of 2015 for our union. We could not possibly mention every organizing victory and action that took place this year, but here (in no particular order) are some highlights:<br />
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<li>More than <a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/04/san-bernardino-public-employees-vote-become-teamsters">13,000 San Bernardino County public employees</a> affiliate and join Teamsters Local 1932 in California</li>
<li>After a very long fight, more than <a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/12/clark-county-school-district-workers-vote-join-teamsters">11,000 Clark County School District workers</a> join Teamsters Local 14 in Nevada </li>
<li>Teamsters nationwide fight against the <a href="https://teamster.org/fast-track-wrong-track-teamsters">job-killing Trans Pacific Partnership</a> trade deal and fast-track trade promotion authority in Congress</li>
<li>Teamsters win historic NLRB joint employer ruling in the <a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/08/teamsters-applaud-national-labor-relations-board-joint-employer-ruling">Browning Ferris case</a></li>
<li>Teamsters escalate the fight against <a href="https://teamster.org/divisions/port">misclassification and wage theft of port drivers</a> in multiple strikes and other actions on the West Coast and the Port of Savannah</li>
<li>Teamsters <a href="https://teamster.org/protect-pensions-say-no-pension-cuts">speak out against pension cuts</a>, backing legislation to protect the retirement savings of thousands of workers</li>
<li>Teamsters launch big legislative and media campaign - called '<a href="https://teamster.org/lets-get-america-working">Let's Get America Working</a>' - calling for more infrastructure spending and pro-worker reforms </li>
<li>Teamsters ramp up the <a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/10/teamsters-highway-safety-should-come-higher-trucking-industry-profits">fight against big trucks</a> in the highway spending bill</li>
<li>Teamsters launch a major campaign to <a href="https://teamster.org/alec-bad-for-ups-worse-for-you">demand UPS to end its membership in the anti-worker ALEC organization</a></li>
<li>After a long Teamster-led fight to protect warehouse jobs, <a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/06/teamsters-us-foods-sysco-restore-labor-relations-customer-confidence">Sysco and US Foods call off potentially job-killing mega merger</a> </li>
<li>Teamsters nationwide <a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/11/teamsters-across-united-states-join-worker-campaigns-justice">leaflet Fed Ex Freight terminals</a> in national push for fair wages and benefits at the carrier</li>
<li>First Student Teamsters <a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/10/teamsters-ratify-national-agreement-first-student">ratify national agreement</a> covering more than 20,000 workers</li>
<li>More than <a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/12/flexjet-and-flight-options-pilots-vote-join-teamsters">600 Flexjet pilots vote yes</a> to join Teamsters Local 1108 </li>
<li>Teamsters Local 117-backed <a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/12/teamsters-seattle-drivers-win-voice-historic-city-council-vote">Seattle for-hire drivers</a>, including Uber and Lyft, win big in a City Council vote giving them the right to collective bargaining</li>
<li>More than 500 Teamster <a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/09/new-contract-sun-tran">transit drivers with Sun Tran</a>, represented by Local 104 in Tucson, strike for 41 days</li>
<li><a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/12/chicago-teamsters-strike-coca-cola-refreshments-over-unfair-labor-practices">Coca-Cola Teamsters strike</a> against unfair labor practices in Chicago, Local 727 </li>
<li>Valet <a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/05/teamsters-local-986-launches-strike-sls-hotel-and-casino">parking attendants at SLS Hotel and Casino</a> launch an unfair labor practice strike in Vegas</li>
<li>Virginia Teamsters, Local 639, <a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/01/virginia-teamsters-strike-tw-perry-construction-supplier">strike at TW Perry</a> construction supplier</li>
<li>Teamsters in Maryland launch a <a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/10/teamsters-elected-officials-community-leaders-tell-safeway-keep-jobs-maryland">campaign to stop closure of Safeway warehouse</a> and save Teamster jobs</li>
<li><a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/03/facebook-teamster-shuttle-drivers-approve-contract">Facebook drivers</a>, members of Local 853, win their first contract; <a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/12/more-facebook-drivers-join-teamsters-ratify-strong-agreement">more drivers join</a> the union </li>
<li>More than <a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/12/orange-county-employees-join-teamsters">400 Orange County public employees vote to join</a> Teamsters Local 952</li>
<li><a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/08/google-express-workers-choose-teamsters-representation">Google Express warehouse workers</a> join Local 853</li>
<li><a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/04/technicians-saint-vincent-hospital-vote-overwhelmingly-join-teamsters-local-170">Saint Vincent hospital tech workers</a> vote to join Local 170 in Massachusetts </li>
<li><a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/07/eco-flow-port-drivers-vote-join-teamsters">Eco Flow port drivers choose Teamster representation</a> with Local 848</li>
<li>Teamsters ratify a new agreement covering more than <a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/10/teamsters-ratify-new-contract-ralphs-vons-and-albertsons">2,000 workers at Ralphs, Vons and Albertsons</a> grocery chains in Southern California</li>
<li>Teamsters <a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/02/teamsters-approve-new-contracts-millercoors-breweries-nc-and-texas">approve a new contract at Miller Coors</a> covering more than 900 members; and launch <a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/12/nc-legislators-community-turn-heat-millercoors">protests against a proposed facility closure</a> in North Carolina </li>
<li>Teamsters, other unions <a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/10/teamsters-elected-officials-community-leaders-tell-safeway-keep-jobs-maryland">ratify new agreement with American Red Cross</a>, covering more than 1,100 Teamsters</li>
<li><a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/06/teamsters-rally-republic-airways-shareholders-meeting">Republic pilots rally</a> at shareholder meetings; <a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/10/teamster-pilots-republic-airways-approve-new-three-year-contract">ratify 3-year contract</a> covering more than 2,000 Teamster pilots</li>
<li><a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/06/supervalu-teamsters-overwhelmingly-approve-contract">Supervalu Teamsters, Local 120</a>, approve strong contract covering more than 700 members </li>
<li><a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/06/united-airlines-maintenance-workers-warn-shareholders-problems-airline">United Airlines Teamster mechanics rally</a> outside shareholder meetings for a fair contract</li>
<li>Teamsters and other unions successfully push back against <a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/09/hoffa-gov-nixon-rally-hundreds-defeat-right-work-missouri">right-to-work in Missouri</a> and <a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/03/hall-joins-thousands-teamsters-west-virginia-rally-workers">West Virginia</a></li>
<li>More than <a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/08/teamsters-womens-conference-kicks-boston">1,000 Teamster women gather in Boston for the 2015 Teamsters Women's Conference</a></li>
<li>Teamsters, <a href="https://teamster.org/magazine/2015/spring/teamsters-march-selmaagain">Teamster National Black Caucus members march in Selma</a> on the 50th anniversary of "Bloody Sunday" of the Civil Rights Movement</li>
<li>Some other organizing victories include: <a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/07/allentown-healthcare-workers-vote-teamster-representation">Allentown healthcare workers</a>, Local 773; <a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/10/coca-cola-workers-vote-teamsters-yes-pennsylvania">Coca-Cola workers</a>, Local 773; <a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/12/local-528-welcomes-pepsi-workers">Pepsi workers</a>, Local 528; <a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/02/roma-warehouse-workers-california-win-teamster-representation">Roma warehouse workers</a> and <a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/08/vistar-drivers-and-warehouse-workers-join-teamsters-local-630">Vistar drivers</a> and warehouse workers, Local 630; <a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/03/woodbridge-winery-workers-join-teamsters-local-601-california">Woodbridge winery workers</a>, Local 601; <a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/04/first-transit-workers-auburn-university-choose-teamsters-local-612">First Transit workers</a>, Local 612; <a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/05/first-transit-drivers-disney-choose-teamsters-union">First Transit workers at Disney</a>, Local 952; <a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/06/sta-school-bus-drivers-choose-teamsters-local-445">STA school bus drivers</a>, Local 445; <a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/12/parsippany-school-bus-workers-choose-teamsters-union">STA school bus workers</a>, Local 102; <a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/11/air-general-workers-detroit-metropolitan-airport-choose-teamsters">Air General workers</a> at Detroit airport, Local 283 - and many more...</li>
<li>Some other contract victories include: <a href="https://teamster.org/magazine/2015/spring/shippers-port-drivers-ratify-first-contract">Shippers Transport Express</a> drivers, Local 848; <a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/09/brockton-custodians-ratify-first-teamsters-contract">Brockton custodians</a>, Local 653; <a href="https://teamster.org/news/2015/02/cdt-workers-ratify-first-union-contract">Cook DuPage Transportation</a> paratransit employees, Local 727 - and more... </li>
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Wow - what a year! And that's not even covering everything that has happened at various conferences, locals, joint councils, and individual shops around the country. </div>
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Teamsters continued facing challenges head on and winning this year. And we're ready to keep up the fight in 2016. </div>
Teamster Powerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07063527689152007034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4328899339135469869.post-65667546924539041452015-12-22T16:30:00.000-05:002015-12-22T23:10:25.982-05:00Talking to your right-wing relatives over the holidays<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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We all have things we love about this time of year. And things we don't.<br />
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Time off from work, receiving gifts, Christmas cookies and seeing our kids' eyes light up when they open the presents we got them are all in the good column. On the other hand, navigating crowded shopping malls, fighting through traffic and busy airports - these are not pleasant.</div>
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Now labor friend and economist Robert Reich has a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByhKM8NBK2E&feature=youtu.be">new video</a> to guide you through another unpleasant part of the holidays: talking to your right-wing relatives who want to give you an earful about how terrible unions are and how "big government" is hurting the corporate "job creators."</div>
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Reich plays the part of crotchety conservative uncle and the better-informed progressive who debunks all of "Uncle Bob's" anti-union, anti-worker arguments. In the latter role, Reich points out that Uncle Bob's gripping about paying high taxes to support lazy poor people is unfounded. In fact, Reich explains, while low-income folks are working harder than ever (more than 40-hour weeks and multiple jobs), they are also paying a larger portion of their earnings in taxes than the wealthy whose taxes are at an all-time low.</div>
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And while Uncle Bob is pretty sure that raising the minimum wage will cause the sky to fall, Reich points out that raising the minimum wage actually doesn't destroy jobs. With more money to spend, a higher minimum wage in workers' pockets means more consumer demand, which in turn requires businesses to hire more people. </div>
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Predictably, Uncle Bob blames unions - it's not clear what be blames unions for but we can assume he thinks most bad things in our economy are the unions' fault. Reich shuts up Uncle Bob quickly by reminding him that the heyday of the American middle class of the 50s and 60s was a direct result of high unionization in America. As union membership has fallen, wages have stagnated and the middle class is withering away.</div>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByhKM8NBK2E&feature=youtu.be">Check out the entire video</a> and enjoy your time with family this holiday season. </div>
Teamster Powerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07063527689152007034noreply@blogger.com