Today's Teamster News 03.05.14

Teamster News
Teamsters Local 174 Members Overwhelmingly Ratify Contract at First Student  teamster.org   ...Teamsters Local 174 has reached an agreement with First Student covering more than 450 school bus drivers who transport K-12 students for the Seattle School District...
Spring Grove school board hears bus safety complaints  York Dispatch   ...A group of bus drivers, parents and residents told Pennsylvania's Spring Grove Area School District's school board their concerns about multiple safety issues with vehicles from Durham School Services. The bus drivers are represented by Teamsters Local 776...
Trade
Daschle distorts NAFTA outcomes to sell TPP (Opinion)  The Hill Blog   ...The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and "fast track" trade authority are generating heated debate. TPP would expand on terms first established in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and extend them to additional countries.Unfortunately, former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) misconstrued the facts of NAFTA’s legacy in his February 20 op-ed in The Hill, “Trade Pacts Are a Tonic for the Economy.”...
Gibson joins labor, community groups to oppose TPP  Mid-Hudson News   ...Congressman Christopher Gibson (R, NY-19) Monday spoke out against the proposed Trans Pacific Partnership trade agreement that is being worked on by the administration in Washington behind closed doors...
The U.S. needs a stronger domestic supply chain in the event of an attack  Manufacture This   ...Where lies the United States' greatest vulnerability to a physical terrorist attack? Transformers.
No, not the robots in disguise: Those large gray boxes of steel that move power across the country pose a serious risk to our power grid... only a handful of companies build them in the U.S., and shipments from overseas could take months or years to arrive if one is unexpectedly damaged...
State Battles
Right-to-work among 12 Oregon ballot measures dropped  Statesman Journal   ...Twelve ballot initiatives have been dropped — including one that would have made Oregon’s public sector subject to “right to work” laws — as part of a deal reached by Gov. John Kitzhaber’s office...
The story behind those communist China "right to work" billboards in Kansas City  The Pitch   ...Terry Akins, a labor executive with International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers No. 124 in Kansas City, had this thought in mind when he brandished a map of China with an accompanying hammer and sickle upon a billboard along Interstate 70...
How large corporations avoid paying income taxes in Wisconsin  Fox6Now   ...“They were — in a sense — blackmailing Fond du Lac County, blackmailing the state of Wisconsin. The Mercury Marine story is really the perfect example of what’s wrong with assuming that business is always right, because here, we were begging them to take money, some of it was in low interest loans, some of it was just cash on the barrel head — and they’re not paying taxes in Wisconsin,”...
The War on Workers
McDonald’s to SEC: Strikes hurt, and we might have to hike pay  Salon   ...Worker strikes and social media shaming “can adversely affect us,” and “increasing public focus” on “income inequality” could spur higher wages, fast food giant McDonald’s acknowledged in an annual report filed Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission...
White House Suggests Social Security Cuts Remain 'On The Table'  Talking Points Memo   ...Even though President Barack Obama's formal budget proposal Tuesday omitted cuts to Social Security, the White House strongly suggested that a controversial policy to cut the program "remains on the table" if Republicans are willing to compromise...
Fed Nominee Stanley Fischer Has a Citigroup Problem  Wall Street on Parade   ...Citigroup collapsed in 2008 and is only alive today because the U.S. government pumped in $45 billion in equity, made $300 billion in asset guarantees, and the Fed chipped in over $2 trillion in below market rate loans to the listing shipwreck...
Exclusive: Report Finds Taking A Paid Day Off When Sick Is A Privilege Of The Wealthy  ThinkProgress  ...In 2012, 61 percent of private sector workers older than 18 had access to paid sick days, an increase from 57 percent in 2009, according to a new report...
Supreme Court extends whistle-blower protections under anti-fraud law  Los Angeles Times   ...The Supreme Court on Tuesday expanded protections for whistle blowers covered by an anti-fraud law passed following the collapse of energy giant Enron, ruling outside accountants, auditors and lawyers cannot be fired or punished for exposing fraud...
Toyota Union Cites ‘Big Gap’ With Carmaker in Wage Talks  Bloomberg News   ...Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s largest automaker, faces a “big gap” in negotiations with its workers’ union in Japan, according to the head of the Toyota Motor Workers’ Union...
Port driver files class action complaints against two California drayage companies  Land Line   ... Two new class action lawsuits have been filed against two Southern California-based drayage companies by a former port driver who worked for both companies. This comes just days after a report was released by labor groups, which was critical of port companies that allegedly misclassify port drivers as independent contractors...
Pittsburgh's Largest Employer Draws Hundreds Of Protesters Over 'Poverty' Wages  Huffington Post   ...Hundreds of demonstrators poured into downtown Pittsburgh Monday to protest low wages at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, escalating a two-year showdown between labor groups and the area's largest employer...
Miscellaneous
Sprint Accused of Overcharging Feds Millions for Wiretapping  Wired   ...Sprint, of Overland Park, Kansas, inflated charges approximately 58 percent between 2007 and 2010, according to a lawsuit (.pdf) the administration brought against the carrier today...
“Retirement Security in an Aging Society,” or the Lack Thereof  Baseline Scenario   ...50% of households have personal retirement accounts worth $5,000 or less; 50% of households have other financial assets of $15,000 or less; and 50% of households have no defined benefit pensions...
Bill protects taxpayers from government contractors  The Tennessean   ...All over the country, cash-strapped state and local governments have handed over control of critical public services and assets to corporations that promise to handle them better, faster and cheaper. Unfortunately for taxpayers, these services failed to keep this promise...
RadioShack to close up to 1,100 'underperforming' stores  Los Angeles Times   ...Beleaguered electronics retailer RadioShack Corp. reported its fourth-quarter store sales were down 19% compared to last year and that it would close up to 1,100 underperforming...
Chevron $9.5 Billion Judgment by Ecuador Is Ruled Fraudulent by U.S. Court  Bloomberg News   ...Chevron Corp. won a U.S. judge’s ruling that a multibillion-dollar pollution judgment issued in Ecuador was procured by fraud, making it less likely that plaintiffs will collect the $9.5 billion award...

Today's Teamster News 02.19.14

Teamster News
Seattle School Bus Drivers Prepare for Strike  teamster.org   ...Teamsters Local 174 represents more than 450 school bus drivers who transport K-12 students for the Seattle School District and are preparing to strike over unfair labor practice charges after First Student broke off talks and walked away from negotiations...
Bay Valley workers hold rally as strike continues  saukvalley.com   ...The Teamsters Local 722 workers went on strike at 11 p.m. last Thursday, after their contract with Bay Valley Foods, a Green Bay-based company, expired Dec. 28....
Trade
TPP Trade Officials Received Hefty Bonuses From Big Banks  Republic Report   ...Michael Froman, the current U.S. Trade Representative, received over $4 million as part of multiple exit payments when he left CitiGroup...
State Battles
Catching Up: Ticketed Capitol singers preparing to turn tables on the state  Wisconsin State Journal   ...The state could soon face thousands of dollars in civil rights lawsuits stemming from hundreds of tickets issued to singing protesters at the Capitol last summer...
Business tax replacements doomed to fail (opinion)  Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette   ...Our governor and legislature have been calling for the elimination of the business personal property tax, which has led to panic among local government officials because of the $1 billion negative effect on local revenue...
After comment to Gov. McCrory, food store cook fired in Charlotte  Charlotte News & Observer   ...On Sunday afternoon, McCrory was shopping at Reid’s Fine Foods when Drew Swope, a 45-year-old cook, said he asked if he could help McCrory. After realizing he was speaking with the governor, whom he disagrees with politically, Swope said he told McCrory, “Thanks for nothing,” and walked away...
Workers Shouldn’t Be Stopped from Voting -- Ever  teamster.org   ...GOP lawmakers in Georgia are behind legislation that would tighten the early voting window for municipal elections in the state...
The War on Workers
More workers take second jobs to bridge income gap  Boston Globe   ...‘‘More people have actually entered and remained in the underground economy than we have seen before,’’ he said. Workers are trying to raise their income even as job growth is sluggish, he said. So while employed, they may also do handyman repairs, or tutor, or fix computers...
Low-Wage Workers Have Experienced Wage Erosion in Nearly Every State  Economic Policy Institute   ... Between 2009 and 2013, low-wage earners’ wages declined in every state except three (West Virginia, Mississippi and North Dakota). Real (i.e. inflation-adjusted) wage erosion was greatest in Maryland (-$1.24), Massachusetts (-$1.18), and New Jersey (-$1.16) during this period...
Homeland Security is seeking a national license plate tracking system  Washington Post   ...The Department of Homeland Security wants a private company to provide a national license-plate tracking system that would give the agency access to vast amounts of information from commercial and law enforcement tag readers, according to a government proposal that does not specify what privacy safeguards would be put in place...
How Big Banks Are Cashing In On Food Stamps  American Prospect   ...Many benefit programs have gone high tech with debit cards and J.P. Morgan Chase and others are making a pretty penny charging users fees...

Student debt may hurt housing recovery by hampering first-time buyers  Washington Post   ...loan applications for home purchases have slipped nearly 20 percent in the past four months compared with the same period a year earlier...
5 of the strangest lawsuits making headlines  Inside Counsel   ... the servers at several eastern Pennsylvania Red Robin restaurants had another uniform-related problem: They claim their employer illegally took deductions from employee paychecks to pay for uniforms...
Will a Minimum Wage Hike Really Cost Jobs?  The Nation   ...Several economists Tuesday, including Jason Furman and Betsy Stevenson at the White House, stressed that the CBO report doesn’t match the “consensus view” of economists...
Miscellaneous
Exclusive: Mega-donors plan GOP war council  Politico   ...A group of major GOP donors, led by New York billionaire Paul Singer, is quietly expanding its political footprint ahead of the midterm elections in an increasingly assertive effort to shape the direction of the Republican Party...
Angry Residents Wave Pitchforks, Torches In Protest Of Mayor's Crackdown On Homelessness  Huffington Post   ...An estimated 4,000 people sleep on the streets of Portland, Ore., on any given night and, since last summer, life has become increasingly difficult for them. So, a group of protesters descended upon Portland City Hall on Tuesday night carrying pitchforks and torches to "shame the mayor into action," ...
Train accidents stir worries about crude transport  Associated Press   ...Experts say recent efforts to improve the safety of oil shipments belie an unsettling fact: With increasing volumes of crude now moving by rail, it's become impossible to send oil-hauling trains to refineries without passing major population centers, where more lives and property are at risk...
JP Morgan Banker Jumps to his Death From Hong Kong Skyscraper  International Business Times   ...His death comes as a London coroner's office gathers evidence into the death of JP Morgan IT executive Gabriel Magee, who is thought to have leapt to his death from the roof of the investment bank's European headquarters in Canary Wharf last month. The incident also follows the apparent suicide of US JP Morgan banker Ryan Crane, who was found dead at his Connecticut home on February 3...

Today's Teamster News 06.20.13

American middle-class prosperity is pure fantasy  Salon   ...New research reveals that the US ranks 27th in the world when it comes to middle-class wealth...
Wages in U.S. fall amid overseas pressure  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel   ...Competition from China and other low-wage rivals, coupled with fallout from the 2007-09 financial crisis, has put American wages under such unprecedented strain that they have shifted into reverse -- not merely stagnating, but falling...
Brazil protesters win U-turn on fare rises  The Guardian   ...A quarter of a million people took to the streets in at least 12 cities on Monday to call for better public services, an end to corruption, punishment for police brutality, and less wasteful spending on the World Cup. Sporadic protests have continued since and spread to smaller cities...
U.S. piracy law opens new possibilities for exporters  The Hindu   ...The Unfair Competition Act (UCA), an anti-piracy law that was recently introduced in the United States, may provide Indian rubber exporters a chance to improve their presence in the fast growing U.S. rubber products market...
Port truckers unite  Connect Savannah   ...Oh, how we struggle with our love/hate relationship with cheap stuff. We knit our brows over children toiling away in faraway places like Saipan and China, but we can't help but help ourselves to six-dollar Old Navy t-shirts and 50 percent off tube socks at Sam's...
U.S. lawmakers urge careful review of American-US Airways deal  Reuters   ...Two U.S. lawmakers with antitrust oversight have urged the Obama administration to carefully review a planned merger of American Airlines and US Airways Group to ensure that it will not lead to higher prices for air travelers...
Moral Monday Protests Lead To 84 More Arrests In North Carolina: 'We Cannot Be Silenced' Huffington Post   ...For the seventh week in a row, protesters crowded into the North Carolina General Assembly building on Monday in a boisterous demonstration against state GOP policies that ultimately led to 84 arrests...
Brewer signs controversial election bill into law  Arizona Republic   ...Her signature Wednesday on House Bill 2305 ushers in a wave of changes, from limits on who can return a voter’s ballot to the polls, to stricter controls on citizen initiatives, to tougher requirements for minor-party candidates to qualify for the Arizona ballot...
RI senate committee approves biweekly pay bill sought by business  Providence Journal   ...Over the objections of organized labor, a Senate committee has approved a bill that would relieve private-sector employers from having to pay their workers weekly...
Amazon dumps Minnesota affiliates to avoid collecting online state sales tax  Pioneer Press   ...In advance of having to collect online state sales tax, Amazon.com said that at the end of the month it will sever ties with its Minnesota-based affiliate websites that receive a fee for referring shoppers to the retail giant's online store…
Walker’s anti-union law heads for new test in court  People’s World   ...Here we go again in Wisconsin: Right-wing Gov. Scott Walker's anti-union law is headed for another test in the state's Supreme Court....
Hoffa: CEOs Want To Hide Riches Through Repeal Of Wage Gap Disclosure Requirement (opinion)  Huffington Post   ...The divide in pay between top executives and regular workers is out of control. A recent Bloomberg News calculation concluded that chief executives on average take home 204 times more than their rank-and-file employees...
First Student Drivers Join Local 174  IBT   ....More than 370 First Student school bus drivers in Seattle have joined Teamsters Local 174 in Tukwila, Wash. The drivers, who work at four First Student yards, join the 17 school bus mechanics who are already members of Teamsters Local 174.
Teamster clerical workers at Washington Hospital get raises  The Daily Review   ...Clerical workers at Washington Hospital in Fremont, Calif., who are represented by Teamsters Local 856, will see their pay jump 5 percent under a deal approved by the board of directors...
UPS trucker wins Oklahoma driving championship  The Oklahoman   ...UPS driver Richie Guess, who has worked for UPS for 29 years, is one of nine truck drivers who will represent Oklahoma at the National Truck Driving Championships in August. Guess was named grand champion at this month's Oklahoma Truck Driving Championships...