Be American, Buy American

Larry Gross is a Vietnam vet and a small business owner who urges Americans to wake up and look around at our declining manufacturing. "Are you happy with your cheap foreign junk? he asks.

Our friends at Labor 411 posted this video on their terrific blog about buying union products.  They tell us:

Larry Gross, founder of the business, Backyard Buddy, wants to spread his message of a simple solution to declining American manufacturing. He calls it "Be American, Buy American." He argues that rather than wait around for politicians to do something about this growing problem, we should all take matters into our own hands and simply vote with our wallets. It's a terrific, inspirational talk that you can watch in its entirety in the video.

Today's Teamster News 07.03.14

Teamster News
Labor Decision Finds In Favor Of Bus Drivers  Washington Times   ...A challenged lone vote questioning whether employees of the Green Mountain Express bus company in Vermont will join the Teamsters Union has been resolved in favor of the union...
U.S. Supreme Court Rules In Favor Of Teamsters At Daycon  Teamsters Local 639   ...NLRB Administrative Law Judge Eric Fine awarded more than $1.1 million in back pay plus interest to the Teamsters at Daycon...
Trade
As American as Apple Pie — But Made Overseas  manufacture this   ...New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority recently outsourced the $235 million renovation of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge to a company in China, despite objections from steel producers and workers...
State Battles
Democracy For Some: Ohio’s Struggle For Voting Rights  Plunderbund   ...In February, the Ohio legislature passed Senate Bill 238, eliminating the first week of in-person absentee voting. Known as Golden Week, it was the only time when people could register and vote on the same day...
Plaintiffs gear up for voter ID hearing  News & Record   ...Organizers of lawsuits filed in response to the Voter Identification Act passed in North Carolina last year hope a federal judge will delay implementation of the law until after the November midterm elections...
How North Carolina Turned So Red So Fast  Governing   ...Finally in total control in 2013, Republicans passed a long list of contentious laws, from strict voter identification requirements to a system of private school payment vouchers. These moves have generated endless media coverage and drawn tens of thousands of people to “Moral Monday” protests...
John Doe documents reveal ugly picture for public  PostCrescent   ...The most revealing piece of information is an excerpt from an email that Walker wrote to national Republican political consultant Karl Rove in May 2011, telling Rove that R.J. Johnson, a Walker campaign strategist who also operated the special-interest organization Wisconsin Club for Growth, was operating the recall campaigns...
Super-Rich Guy To 'Zillionaires': Back $15 Minimum Wage Or Prepare For Revolution  Huffington Post   ...A Seattle millionaire is urging his super-rich peers to support a $15 minimum wage or face the possibility of a devastating populist revolt...
L.A. Unified Agrees To Pay Low-Wage Workers $15 An Hour  Los Angeles Times   ...Low-wage workers in the nation’s second-largest school system have won a minimum-wage pay increase to $15 an hour...
War On Workers
U.S. offshore tax evaders facing new scrutiny starting July 1  Agence France Presse   ...US tax evaders will find it harder to hide money abroad from Tuesday, when a law comes into effect requiring foreign banks to report their offshore accounts...
Employees' Pay Cut By Denied Overtime, Deductions For Equipment  NPR   ... All told about 15 percent, we estimate, of a worker's salary is lost to wage theft. And these are the lowest wage workers that we interviewed. So workers who make about $17,000 a year...
A 'Lost Generation Of Workers': The Cost Of Youth Unemployment  NPR   ...It's a development that experts warn could have ripple effects for decades to come — not only for young people's lifelong earning potential but also for their contributions to the tax base and the strength of the U.S. economy overall...
Hundreds Of City Workers Protest Bank Deals At L.A. City Hall  Los Angeles Times   ...Hundreds of city workers and their allies packed the streets and sidewalks outside Los Angeles City Hall on Tuesday morning, protesting "predatory fees" the city pays to Wall Street banks...
Chase’s fraudulent foreclosure: Court finds for plaintiffs  Housing Wire   ...JPMorgan Chase (JPM) created and recorded false documentation that showed the bank owned the mortgage of two California residents in order to foreclose on their home, the California Court of Appeals stated...
Miscellaneous
Goodbye, Malls of America  Bloomberg   ...Since 1990, when 16 million-square-feet of mall space opened, building has tailed off, and 2007 was the first year in more than four decades when no large malls opened in the U.S. Only one has opened since then, in 2012...

Tell Congress: Oppose trade agreements that undo 'Buy American'

To see a larger version of this map, click here.

Your tax dollars are spent by the federal government to buy goods and services. Don't you want those goods and services to be produced in America?

The Trans-Pacific Partnership currently being negotiated would forbid the U.S. government from preferring U.S. companies over foreign competitors.

Seventy House members and many senators said they oppose TPP measures that could weaken Buy American policies. They said in a statement the TPP’s rules “could result in large sums of U.S. tax dollars being invested to strengthen other countries’ manufacturing sectors, rather than our own.”

In May, The U.S. House of Representatives voted to block talks for trade agreements that void Buy American rules. The Senate has yet to pass a similar bill, but you can write your senators here to tell them to support initiatives that cut off funding for trade talks that undo 'Buy American.'

The TPP 'could result in the offshoring hundreds of millions in tax dollars now recycled into the U.S. economy under the Buy American procurement program, which started in 1933,' according to a new study by Public Citizen.

The amount of money at stake is enormous. For example,

• Each Texas taxpayer provides an estimated $2,645 annually in support of federal procurement, resulting in a statewide total of approximately $48.7 billion.
• Each year, taxpayers in California finance approximately $65.2 billion in federal procurement, or an estimated $2,280 per California taxpayer.
• Annual U.S. government procurement is funded with approximately $11.7 billion contributed by Washington state, which translates to $2,132 per taxpayer on average.

Public Citizen also points out the TPP would let companies owned by China in Vietnam undercut U.S. businesses to get contracts with the U.S. government. How can U.S. businesses compete with companies that pay an average minimum wage of 52 cents an hour?

Today's Teamster News 07.02.14

Teamster News
RTC Bus Driver Contract Extended To July 31  Reno Gazette-Journal   ...A contract extension until July 31 for Washoe County public transit employees was agreed to today by their labor union and MV Transportation, which operates the transit system for the Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County...
Labor Board Rules In Favor Of Union  Bennington Banner   ...Nearly a month after a single challenged ballot left the notion of Green Mountain Express bus driver joining the Teamsters Union hanging, the National Labor Relations Board has ruled in the union’s favor...
'Longmire' Crew Member's Death Is Suspected to Be Caused by Too-Long Working Hours  AceShowBiz   ...A crew member of A&E's crime drama series "Longmire" named Gary Tuck, 48, died early morning on Saturday, June 28, in a car accident. Gary's truck rolled over on a highway in an area known as Stanley, N. M. when he was on his way home from the drama's set around 4:30 A.M. Gary was a member of Teamsters Local 492...
NYCLASS Furious That Bill de Blasio Hasn’t Banned Horse Carriages Yet  New York Observer   ...Mr. de Blasio and his advisers have been shying away from banning the Central Park-based carriages, sources say, and are not pressuring the City Council to pass a bill after promising last year the carriages would be history when he took office...
Trade
Plan a Made-in-the-USA July 4th Celebration  manufacture this   ...Display your stars and stripes with a Made in the USA flag (you’d be surprised – not all flags are!)...
State Battles
Private Contractor For Michigan Prisons Repeatedly Failed To Give Inmates Enough Food  Think Progress   ...Less than a year after Michigan shifted responsibility for feeding its prisoners to a private contract with international food services conglomerate Aramark, the state Department of Corrections (DOC) is warning the company that it may yank the contract if chronic food shortages and security violations don’t cease...
The Minimum Wage Will Increase Tomorrow In D.C.  Washington City Paper   ...Beginning tomorrow, the minimum wage will jump to $9.50 per hour from today's $8.25...
California Minimum Wage Rising To $9 Per Hour Tuesday  KCRA   ...California's minimum wage will rise to $9 an hour when a new law takes effect on Tuesday and provides workers with the first such increase since 2008. That amount will increase again to $10 an hour starting on Jan. 1, 2016, under AB10, which Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law last fall...
Gov. Scott Walker to blame for poor job growth (opinion)  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel   ...The 2011-'12 reductions of 10% in real per student K-12 spending were the fourth-largest in the nation. Cuts in higher education spending, the reduction in the purchasing power of state employees through Act 10 and foregone federal dollars in Walker's rejection of high-speed rail and Medicaid investments all helped dampen aggregate demand in the state (compared to other states) and throw sand in the gears of Wisconsin's job creation machinery...
Dead Last in Jobs in the Midwest  Wisconsin State AFL-CIO   ...You know what doesn’t create jobs?  Rejecting high-speed rail projects, failing to expand Medicaid for the poor, focusing on voter disenfranchisement laws instead of job growth policies, taking money out of local economies with austerity policies such as Act 10, tax cuts for the rich and a lack of accountability and transparency in the WEDC, the jobs agency created by Gov. Walker that has been plagued by scandals...
Whistling Past the Intellectual Graveyard  Econbrowser   ...After three years of an experiment in ALEC-Laffernomics, Kansas lags the US economy significantly...
War On Workers
America Ranks 36th in Feeling Free to Choose What to Do With Your Life  firedoglake   ...many of the first world countries where people are more satisfied with their freedom of choice are the Scandinavian countries with very large social safety nets. Despite the Republican claim that a “government takeover” of health care would destroy our freedom, those countries with far more government involvement in health care feel freer...
Why is Washington still protecting the secret political power of corporations? (opinion)  Guardian   ...Regulators at the SEC could illuminate the future of campaign donations. But they aren't interested in disclosing the truth – even though voters are...
Profiteering on Banker Deaths: Regulator Says Public Has No Right to Details  Wall Street on Parade   ... JPMorgan held $17.9 billion in Bank-Owned Life Insurance (BOLI) assets, a dark corner of the insurance market that allows banks to take out life insurance policies on their workers, secretly pocket the death benefits, and receive generous tax perks subsidized by the U.S. taxpayer...
Miscellaneous
Court Gave NSA Broad Leeway In Surveillance, Documents Show  Washington Post   ...Virtually no foreign government is off-limits for the National Security Agency, which has been authorized to intercept information “concerning” all but four countries, according to top-secret documents...
Here Are 4 Lawsuits That Could Inflict More Damage On Unions After Harris V. Quinn  Mother Jones   ...It's possible that one of these cases could do further damage to the labor movement—with the potential to wipe out the precedent set in 1977's Abood v. Detroit Board of Education decision. (In Abood, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of public-employee unions collecting fair-share fees from non-members to pay the costs of collective bargaining.)...

Today's Teamster News 06.03.14

Teamsters
Teamsters Mourn Passing Of Troy Stapleton  teamster.org   ...The Teamsters Union lost a true friend and brother in the labor movement with the passing of retired Local 100 president Troy Stapleton on May 29 after succumbing to injuries suffered in an automobile accident...
Accelerated-Vesting Bans Win Shareholder Votes  Agenda   ...In landmark votes, shareholders of Valero Energy and Gannett separately approved shareholder proposals that would ban accelerated vesting of performance-based executive equity awards if the companies change hands… The Gannett measure was sponsored by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters General Fund...
Teamsters in Windsor: A look at the 1910 federal census  The Coloradan   ...In 1904, the teamsters conducted a sympathy strike in support of 18,000 Chicago meat cutters. In 1905, they supported tailors in the well-known Montgomery Ward strike of the same city...
Trade
Whoa! U.S. House passes bill banning 'Buy American' waivers for TPP, TTIP  TeamsterNation   ...The U.S. House of Representatives voted last week to block talks for trade agreements that void Buy American rules...
53 Democratic lawmakers push U.S. to toughen up Trans-Pacific Partnership rules  Reuters   ...U.S. trade negotiators must insist on tough standards on human and workers’ rights in a Pacific trade deal spanning 12 countries, more than 150 Democratic lawmakers said in a letter to the Obama administration on Thursday...
5 takeaways from #SOSJobs Lone Star Rally  manufacture this   ...the Alliance for American Manufacturing 9AAM) joined citizens, workers, and state and federal legislators in Texas to rally in support of steel jobs at U.S. Steel’s Lone Star Tubular Operations facility. The products produced there –- called oil country tubular goods (OCTG) –- are used for energy exploration...But America’s domestic producers of OCTG are in danger of being swamped by illegal competition...
State Battles
Seattle OKs $15 minimum wage  Associated Press   ...The Seattle City Council unanimously passed an ordinance Monday that gradually increases the minimum wage in the city to $15, which would make it the highest in the nation...
War on Workers
'Walmart Moms' Target Annual Shareholder Meeting  Women's eNews   ...When Walmart, holds its annual shareholder meeting on June 6, many of its female workers are planning to crash the event at the mega retailer's Bentonville, Ark., headquarters...
Quelle Surprise, Labor Productivity is Up while Labor Wages are Still Down!  Angry Bear   ...Labor worked the exact same number of hours in 1998 as they did in 2013 or ~194 billion hours. While there was no growth in the number of hours worked, the Non-Institutional Civilian Population grew by 40 million people, and new businesses were created by the thousands which should have needed more Labor...
Study: Privacy is gone, but that’s OK because we get stuff for free  Pando   ...A new study out from Accenture debuting at the end of last week, surveying 2,012 adults between the ages of 20 and 40 from across the United States and the United Kingdom, found that in today’s digital world 80 percent of us don’t believe that total privacy exists anymore. Worse, however, is that we seem to be accepting of with this new reality...
Miscellaneous
Latest EPA rules signal a bleaker future for coal  Arizona Republic   ...The Environmental Protection Agency proposed new restrictions on power plants Monday to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, a move that is likely to accelerate a shift away from coal...

Whoa! U.S. House passes bill banning 'Buy American' waivers for TPP, TTIP

The U.S. House of Representatives voted last week to block talks for trade agreements that void Buy American rules.

Now the U.S. Senate has a chance to do something good for the American people and pass that bill, too.

Rep. Alan Grayson, a Florida Democrat, proposed the ban as an amendment to a funding bill. The amendment was approved by a voice vote, and the underlying bill was passed 321-87.

According to Inside U.S. Trade,

Grayson's amendment, H. Amdt. 761, consists of one sentence stating that "[n]one of the funds made available by this Act may be used to negotiate an agreement that includes a waiver of the 'Buy American Act.'" 

...A congressional aide supportive of the language said it is intended to block USTR from negotiating agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) that would provide foreign suppliers the same treatment as domestic companies when it comes to procurement of goods by the U.S. federal government.

Inside U.S. Trade also quoted the aide saying the vote sends a signal that there is serious congressional opposition to trade agreements. Typically, Buy American requirements are waived as a result of trade deals.

(TTIP, by the way, is also known as TAFTA. For obvious reasons, supporters prefer  not to call it TAFTA.)

Indiana store sells only American-made products

Here's a store we'd like to be able to patronize. It's a new store in Angola, Ind., that sells only American-made products. Their goal is to expand to 500 stores.

We learned about it from our friends at Labor 411. They tell us:

The American Store, formerly known as American Made Shopper, is on a mission to provide consumers a no-hassle way of finding and buying American products. Its founder, Jeff Face, says that upon return from military duty overseas, “I decided somebody had to stand up and provide leadership. I'm not talking about politics; I'm talking about practical businesses that care about the country. I cannot stand by and watch our country go down the drain.” 

Good luck to them.

Spend your tax refund on American-made,union-made products

Our brothers and sisters at the AFL-CIO have some great ideas for spending your tax refund on American-made, union-made products.

• Buy an American car. For a list of vehicles made by our brothers and sisters at the UAW, click here. 
• Buy tires made in America. To find out how, click here.  
• Buy union-made appliances. Click on this chart here for the model numbers for union-made General Electric washers, dryers, dishwashers, refrigerators, along with other home appliances.
• Buy union-made sporting goods. Click on Labor 411's directory of athletic equipment here. 
• Take a union vacation. Click on the Union Plus Travel Center here or download UNITE HERE's Union Hotel & Casino Guide here. 

If you didn't get a tax refund, but had to pay taxes instead, consider a union-made adult beverage. Click here for a list of union-made beers and whiskies or here for union-made wines and champagnes.

Happy shopping!

Today's Teamster News 12.24.13

Just a reminder we will resume posting Teamster News on Monday, Dec. 30.

U.S. Flouts Its Own Advice in Procuring Overseas Clothing  New York Times   ...One of the world’s biggest clothing buyers, the United States government spends more than $1.5 billion a year at factories overseas, acquiring everything from the royal blue shirts worn by airport security workers to the olive button-downs required for forest rangers and the camouflage pants sold to troops on military bases...
PBS Drops a Bombshell on the Federal Reserve’s 100th Birthday Party  Wall Street on Parade   ...two famous stock market historians made the same stunning announcement – that the Fed has decided its job is to push up the stock market...
Holiday sales down for third week  Associated Press   ...After a strong start to the holiday shopping season, sales at stores have fallen for the third consecutive week as Americans continue to hold back on spending during what is traditionally the busiest buying period of the year...
Retail Traffic Plunges By "Staggering" 21% In Week Before Christmas  zero hedge   ...the "eroding middle class can no longer drive activity as it has in the past"...
Charts: The Worst Long-Term Unemployment Crisis Since the Depression  Mother Jones   ...The economic downturn remains in full effect for millions of Americans, particularly the nearly 40 percent of the unemployed who have been looking for work for six months or more. In less than a week, emergency federal unemployment benefits for 1.3 million of these jobless Americans are set to run out...
Phoenix Becomes First City To End Chronic Homelessness Among Veterans  ThinkProgress   ...Three years ago, city officials identified 222 homeless veterans living in Phoenix. Using both state and federal funds, the city had successfully housed the last veterans who were living without homes. ..
FALSE: Gov. Scott Walker says protesters surrounded his car, blocked his exit and rocked the vehicle after a 2011 appearance in La Crosse  Politifact   ...Based on the available information, we think the book’s depiction of what happened -- an organized effort to prevent Walker from leaving that placed him in direct danger -- is False...
De Blasio Hires Goldman Sachs Exec To Make City More Affordable  gothamist   ...For all his campaign bluster against the two cities New York has become, Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio isn't exactly shying away from some of the people who helped make it that way...

Buy union, buy Made in America (or Canada) this holiday season

We know we don't have to remind you to shop at Costco, buy union-made beer and ship your holiday packages by UPS. And if you're looking for a specific union-made product, Labor 411 is the place to go.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters has two -- count 'em -- two stores from which you can buy union-made Teamster gear. The Team Fund store offers Teamster Power golf shirts, Teamster flip flops, Teamster earrings and even a Teamster trailer hitch cover. The Teamsterwear store offers a variety of apparel, from "Feel the Strength" infant one-pieces to "I Love Teamsters night shirts to the 'I'm A Friend of Hoffa' collection.

The ManufactureThis blog also offers 51 ideas for gifts that were made in America. Some of them are a little over the top -- an Airstream trailer is beyond most budgets -- but it's a fun list, with an item for each state.

Here are some of our favorites:

• Idaho: For much of the country the cold weather has settled in, Balm Shot lip balm makes for a useful little gift. The balm’s shotgun shell exterior is designed to stay put in pockets.
• Nebraska: Bison makes basketball, volleyball, soccer and football gear in Lincoln. Some perfect gifts for the budding athletes in your life!
• Oregon: For all your friends and family in danger of getting snowed in this winter, Pendelton Woolen Mills makes beautiful blankets that are perfect for staying warm on the couch and binge-watching television.
• Wisconsin: For either the Packers fan or cheese lover in your life, Foamation’s cheesehead hats and sombreros.

Read the whole list here.

Today's Teamster News 09.30.13

Wegmans blames Teamsters for anti-Buffalo banner at Bills game  The Buffalo News   ...In addition to passing out union leaflets at the Bills game, the Teamsters were accused of using the airplane to fly over the stadium with a “Wegmans wants Buffalo to lose” banner...
JPMorgan’s Biggest Mistake  Bloomberg   ...the derivatives trades resulted in losses of $6.2 billion plus an additional $920 million in fines -- so far...
Elizabeth Warren Calls For Big Changes To Student Loans  Huffington Post   ...College graduates struggling to repay their student loans should have an easier time getting their debt eliminated if they go into bankruptcy, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said Saturday...
Social Security Does Not Redistribute From Young to Old, It Is a Public Pension System  Center for Economic and Policy Research   ...If workers contributed the same amount to a privately managed pension fund and then collected an annuity in their retirement no one would call it a redistribution from young to old...
Half of British pilots admit to falling asleep in cockpit -survey  Reuters   ...According to the British Airline Pilots' Association (BALPA), 56 percent of 500 commercial pilots admitted to being asleep while on the flight deck and, of those, nearly one in three said they had woken up to find their co-pilot also asleep...
Gasoline Prices down 35 cents per gallon year-over-year  Calculated Risk   ...Some of the year-over-year price decline is related to slightly lower Brent oil prices, but most of decline is because there were refinery and pipeline issues last year at this time...
Government Blurs the Lines Between Bad Guys and Average Americans  The Big Picture   ...If you’ve ever cared about privacy while using the Internet in public, you might be a terrorist. At least that’s the message from the FBI and Justice Department’s Communities Against Terrorism initiative...
TPP Protestors Scale Trade Building To Bring Attention to Secretive Deal  The Real News   ...The Trans-Pacific Partnership has nothing to do with trade or freedom, and ongoing demonstrations could encourage those on the inside to speak up...
Stuck: State of Working Ohio 2013  Policy Matters Ohio   ...While the national recovery is weak, Ohio’s is much worse...
UAW releases 2014 union-built vehicles list  UAW   ...The new editions to the list include Ford Motor Co.’s Fusion sedan, made for the first time at the Flat Rock (Mich.) Assembly Plant as a result of 2011 bargaining between the UAW and Ford...
Wisconsin leads nation in removing most people from Medicaid  The Cap Times   ...By a wide margin, Wisconsin would remove more low income people from Medicaid than any other state as part of a plan advanced by Gov. Scott Walker still awaiting federal approval...
Govt to Sue North Carolina Over New Voter Law  Associated Press   ...The Justice Department will sue the state of North Carolina for alleged racial discrimination over tough new voting rules, the latest effort by the Obama administration to fight back against a Supreme Court decision that struck down the most powerful part of the landmark Voting Rights Act and freed southern states from strict federal oversight of their elections...
Rising foreclosures hurt Island as nation recovers  Newsday   ...New foreclosure cases on Long Island are spiking, even as the mortgage crisis fades in the rest of the United States...

Today's Teamster News 07.10.13

The recovery: Not jobless, but full of McJobs  manufacture this   ...195,000 new jobs would be great if they were the kind on which you could build a recovery. But they aren’t. Roughly a third of those jobs are in the leisure and hospitality sector; another 37,000 of them are in the retail sector. And these jobs don’t pay well. In fact, they pay even less than they did only a few years ago...
Ensure that American infrastructure is repaired with American materials and by American workers.  White House Petitions   ...The Verrazano Bridge in New York city is going to be repaired with Steel made in China...
The secret weapon that could save the Voting Rights Act  MSNBC   ...Voting rights advocates are testing whether a little-used provision of the Voting Rights Act could limit the damage of the Supreme Court ruling that struck down a key part of the landmark civil rights law...
Shocker: Only 1% of So Called Terrorists Nabbed by the FBI Were Real  Alternet   ... there has yet to be a case of some Al-Qaeda operative providing the means for a wannabe terrorist to do an act of terrorism. It’s only the FBI that’s providing the means through these sting operations...
Walmart Threatening to Pull Plans for D.C. Stores NBC Washington ...Walmart, Inc. is threatening to pull its plans to build three urban stores in Washington, D.C. if Mayor Vincent Gray signs a new living wage bill into law that would force the large retailer to pay its employees and subcontractors at least $11.75 per hour...
Canadian train disaster sharpens debate on oil transportation  Washington Post   ...The railroad put the small lakeside town of Lac-Mégantic on the map. And over the weekend, the railroad wiped part of the town off the map Saturday when an oil-laden train bound for a Saint John refinery derailed and exploded, leaving at least 13 dead and dozens unaccounted for...
Unions turn up the heat on lawmakers as first furlough week arrives  Huntsville Times   ...A coalition of 20 unions that represents federal workers is turning up the heat on lawmakers in an effort to stave off the 20 percent pay cut that will hit Department of Defense workers in the next three months...
Anonymous Exposes US' Biggest Private Prison Company as a Bad Financial Investment   Huffington Post   ...The oldest and largest for-profit prison company is not what it would have you believe, at least according to Anonymous. A recently released report concludes that the publicly traded prison operator Corrections Corporation of America is not an efficient, profitable free-market solution -- but a bad investment for shareholders...
Judge Says Capitol Free Speech Restrictions “Create Extraordinary Chilling Effect”  ACLU of Wisconsin   ...A federal judge yesterday granted a preliminary injunction in the Capitol free speech case, allowing groups of up to 20 people to gather without a permit inside the Capitol...
Indiana working families not advancing on path to prosperity  NWI Times   ... nearly half of Indiana children and altogether 2.24 million Hoosiers are officially "low income" -- earning less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level, which is $22,980 for an individual or $47,100 for a family of four...
30,000 California prisoners refuse meals in apparent hunger strike  Los Angeles Times   ...Officials said 30,000 California inmates refused meals Monday at the start of a prison strike involving two-thirds of the state's 33 lockups, as well as four out-of-state facilities...
Nikki Haley Takes Heat After Report Blows Up 'Bogus' Voter Fraud Claims In South Carolina  Huffington Post   ...For years, South Carolina Republicans have complained about the names of dead voters being used to cast ballots in a broad voter fraud scheme. Now that a recent report by the State Law Enforcement Division has blown up those claims, unable to find a single example of a "zombie voter" committing fraud, one Democrat is demanding that Gov. Nikki Haley (R) apologize for her party's "bogus" crusade...
Local 690 Fights Hard to Win Back Public Employee’s Job  IBT   ...Local 690 recently came to the defense of one of its public defenders and won her reinstatement complete with back pay, benefits, and sick leave...
Arbitrator Orders DOC to Reinstate Four Monroe Correctional Employees  IBT   ...An arbitrator has issued a stinging rebuke to the Department of Corrections in a ruling that favors four correctional employees at the Monroe Correctional Complex, who were disciplined by the DOC after the murder of Officer Jayme Biendl in the prison chapel in January 2011...
Rural/Metro pledges to continue EMS service if strike occurs  Buffalo Business First   ...With a strike set to begin in a little over a week, executives at Rural/Metro Medical Services of Western New York are hoping to avoid a work stoppage but plan to continue coverage of emergency medical services...
Dignity Memorial Solicits Striking Employee To Apply For Funeral Director Job  IBT   ...Striking Funeral Director Lawrence Mandel was surprised that Dignity Memorial would bother offering him an “opportunity” to become a strikebreaker...
City, Teamsters Local 251 Reach Tentative Contract Deal  Cranston Patch   ...The city of Cranston (Rhode Island) and the Teamsters Local 251 have reached a tentative deal on a new contract that will run through 2015 and gives municipal workers raises each year...
Have you signed up for the 2013 Teamster Women's Conference yet?  IBT   ...There is still time left to register for the Teamster Women’s Conference, scheduled for September 19-21, 2013 in New Orleans. Join your Teamster Brothers and Sister for this dynamic gathering...

Today's Teamster News 06.11.13

Class of 2013: All Dressed Up and No Place to Work  Alternet   ...the past four years of high unemployment numbers represent the worst economy the country has suffered in 70 years, and young adults are shouldering a hefty part of the burden...
Why a Romney economic adviser wants the government to just hire people  Washington Post   ..."Direct hiring, or a direct subsidy for hiring, could save taxpayers a fortune. And it could save a life"...
The Great Gerrymander of 2012 (opinion)  New York Times   ...Democrats received 1.4 million more votes for the House of Representatives, yet Republicans won control of the House by a 234 to 201 margin...
Shining a Light on the Wage Gap  Huffington Post  ...When the Equal Pay Act (EPA) was passed 50 years ago, discrimination was, in many ways, openly accepted in the workplace and women were expected to earn less than men in the same jobs. The EPA signed by President John F. Kennedy on June 10, 1963, helped to reduce this type of blatant employment discrimination, but it is still present and the wage gap persists...
If the NSA Trusted Edward Snowden With Our Data, Why Should We Trust the NSA?  Slate   ...he’s the IT guy, and not a very accomplished, experienced one at that...But he was given access way beyond what even a supergeek should have gotten...
‘Buy American’ campaign would save U.S. jobs (opinion)  Portland Press Herald   ...If the federal government required soldiers and airmen to wear American-made athletic shoes, jobs would be created in Maine...
Understaffed police ask East Bay garbage collectors, postal workers to keep eye out for crime Mercury News   ...Garbage truck driver Juan Gallo sees his share of trouble in the course of his work on Antioch's streets. But he was surprised to learn how few police officers are patrolling the city at any one time, which has prompted Antioch Police Department to reach out to the city's garbage disposal provider, Republic Services Inc., as well as the U.S. Postal Service...
More 'Moral Monday' arrests at General Assembly  ABC WTVD-TV   ...Moral Monday drew another large crowd in the thousands and also some attention from Washington. Close to 100 were arrested including Charlotte Observer reporter Tim Funk, who was hauled off to jail despite press identification around his neck...
72,000 Michigan homeowners may receive payout after deceptive mortgage settlement  Detroit Free Press   ...Nearly 72,000 Michigan residents who lost a home to foreclosure in recent years will soon find a check in the mail for about $1,480 as a result of last year’s $25-billion landmark settlement between 49 state attorneys general and the country’s five largest mortgage-servicing companies...
Mass. lawmakers to weigh hike in minimum wage  Associated Press   ...A large turnout is expected for a Statehouse hearing that will consider legislation to raise the minimum wage, which has been at $8 an hour since 2008 and is not adjusted automatically for inflation...
Dems speak out against proposed ‘right-to-work’ measures  Athens News   ...State Rep. Debbie Phillips, a Democrat from Albany, has joined others in her party in slamming so-called "right to work" legislation that Ohio Republicans want to bring to the ballot box...
Sunsweet Workers Unite For A Fair Contract  IBT   ...Jeff Fry recently rallied outside the Sunsweet Growers facility in Yuba City, Calif., along with hundreds of his co-workers in a powerful showing of unity...
BLET Safety Task Force Dispatched To Major Accidents During May  BLET   ...In May, the BLET National Division dispatched members of its Safety Task Force to the scene of three major incidents throughout the United States...

Today's Teamster News 06.07.13

Federal unemployment checks to shrink by $51 next week   Chicago-Tribune   ...Those collecting extended, federal unemployment benefits will see weekly checks shrink by $51 as of June 10 because of sequestration budget cuts...
Mexico's Drug War Claims 70, 000 Lives in 6 Years  The Real News   ...Mexico's government estimates 26,000 people have gone missing since 2007 and as many as 70,000 killed in drug-related violence...
Nicaragua gives Chinese firm contract to build alternative to Panama Canal  Guardian   ...Project will reinforce China's growing influence on global trade and weaken US dominance over a key shipping route...
U.S. lawmakers air concerns about Smithfield-Shuanghui deal  Reuters   ...Chinese meat company Shuanghui International's plans to buy U.S.-based pork producer Smithfield Foods Inc has some lawmakers worried the deal could create food safety issues for U.S. consumers...
Walmart's War Against Unions -- and the U.S. Laws That Make It Possible  Huffington Post   ...As Walmart workers from across the country once again converge this week on the corporation's headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas, one startling fact stands out: none of them, or any of the retail giant's 1.4 million workers, are represented by a union...
Senate GOP Puts Corporate Tax Loopholes Over Student Loans  Think Progress   ...After their own proposal on student loan interest rates failed, Republican senators blocked a Democratic proposal to forestall the doubling of rates for the poorest students for two years. Republicans object to the way Democrats would pay for the extension – by closing tax loopholes for oil companies, wealthy pensioners, and multinational corporations...
Costco CEO Craig Jelinek Leads the Cheapest, Happiest Company in the World  Bloomberg BusinessWeek   ...59-year-old Joe Carcello has an annual salary of $52,700, gets five weeks of vacation a year, and is looking forward to retiring on the sizable nest egg in his 401(k), which his employer augments with matching funds. After 26 years at his company, he’s not worried about layoffs. In 2009, as the recession deepened, his bosses handed out raises. This wouldn’t be remarkable except that Carcello works in retail, one of the stingiest industries in America, with some of the most dissatisfied workers. But Carcello works at Costco...
Bustos makes push to have U.S. government only purchase flags made in USA  Rock River Times   ...U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., continued her push for American jobs by fighting to ensure all American flags are made in America by offering an amendment, which passed by a bipartisan voice vote, to the FY 2014 Homeland Security Appropriations Act (H.R. 2217)...
Unions fight Koch brothers' bid to buy the public square  AFT News   ...Union members are mobilizing against the potential sale of the Los Angeles Times, the Baltimore Sun, and other print, electronic and online media assets held by Tribune Co., to billionaire brothers David and Charles Koch, two of the most virulent anti-worker voices in the nation...
Documents: U.S. mining data from 9 leading Internet firms; companies deny knowledge  Washington Post   ...The National Security Agency and the FBI are tapping directly into the central servers of nine leading U.S. Internet companies, extracting audio and video chats, photographs, e-mails, documents, and connection logs that enable analysts to track foreign targets...
Verizon provides all call records to U.S. under court order   Washington Post   ...The National Security Agency appears to be collecting the telephone records of tens of millions of American customers of Verizon, one of the nation’s largest phone companies, under a top-secret court order issued in April...
Fed index ranks Wisconsin 49th in economic outlook  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel   ... the Leading Index is also the most recent report that suggests that Wisconsin is struggling in comparison with other states...
$1,480 checks going out to more than 72,000 foreclosed Floridians  Sun Sentinel   ...More than 72,000 eligible Floridians who lost their homes to foreclosure from 2008 to 2011 will receive $1,480 from the landmark mortgage settlement involving the nation's five largest mortgage lenders, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi announced...
MV Transportation Puts Paratransit Services, Public at Risk  Teamsters Local 727   ...Paratransit services in Cook County could be suspended starting next week because MV Transportation is on the cusp of forcing a work stoppage...
NMB Approves US Airways Election to Move Forward  IBT   ...On June 6, the National Mediation Board (NMB) announced that the Teamsters Union has a showing of interest (sufficient authorization cards) and will be scheduling an election soon. This is a huge step forward in our campaign to win a more secure future as Teamsters at the world’s largest airline...
First Transit Workers Join Teamsters  Teamsters Local 727   ... Dispatchers and call takers at First Transit have voted unanimously to join the Teamsters Union...

Hoffa incensed by lack of support for 'Buy American' provisions

Texas Gov. Rick Perry thinks it's wrong for his state to buy American. But James P. Hoffa, general president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, says the former presidential hopeful isn't the only one missing a major opportunity to help put more people back to work.

Hoffa, speaking on MSNBC's "The Ed Show" Saturday, was incensed with Perry's decision last week to veto "Buy American" legislation. He said it was illogical to do so at a time when politicians are looking to create jobs. While leaders in other countries look to give their home-grown industries a helping hand, Perry and too many other U.S. lawmakers won't do the same for their own constituents, he stated.

"This country is being inundated and flooded with foreign steel, foreign iron, foreign products, and that's why we have so much unemployment in this country. What better than to have a bill that says buy American? What's wrong with having American steel, American iron, American things that go into what makes Texas strong or makes our country strong? ... it's incredible that he would veto such a bill."

Despite Perry's audacity, however, Hoffa said he was hopeful the Texas legislature would override the governor's veto this week. The House previously approved the bill unanimously, 145-to-0, while it passed the Senate by a 23-to-7 vote.

Hoffa said the Teamsters would continue their fight to stick up for workers both in Texas and across the nation. He noted there is a need to convince policymakers about the importance of supporting American employees especially during these challenging economic times.

"We fight this battle every day, we fight it in trade bills. There's a Trans-Pacific Partnership bill, guess what they want to do? Take out buy America. We fight the Pentagon, the military wants to take out buy America. What do they want to do, get their tanks from China? What are they thinking out there? And we have to basically make it stronger and mobilize people in the Congress and House and Senate, and the people, the good people of Texas, to make a stand to say, hey, let's buy American, let's put America to work, let's be proud of who we are."

One such opportunity to get more American workers on the job is to further invest in U.S. infrastructure by rebuilding roads and bridges, Hoffa said. He issued his support for President Obama's call to do so, saying it would benefit the entire nation.

Today's Teamster News 06.01.13

US Lawmakers Press Obama to Include Currency in Pacific Trade Deal  Reuters   ...Nearly 200 U.S. lawmakers have signed a letter urging President Barack Obama to insist on new rules against currency manipulation in a proposed trade agreement with Japan and 10 other countries in the Asia-Pacific region...
Walmart’s Shocking Threats And Employee Bullying Detailed In 27-Page Report  Opposing Views   ...Walmart continually asks Americans to consider what’s more important: justice for its workers or low prices for its customers?...
Catalonia firefighters were starting fires rather than putting them out this week during a demonstration held in Barcelona  Metro   ...emergency workers clashed with riot police while protesting over austerity cuts in the recession hit Catalonian capital...
Judge: Coal company can drop retirement benefits for 13,000 workers, Underwood says  MSNBC   ...Bankrupt coal mining company Patriot Coal will be able to void its agreement with the United Mine Workers union (UMWA) and stop funding pensions for retired miners, thanks to a ruling from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Eastern District of Missouri...
Pension bill stuns counties, could force tax increases  Tampa Bay Times   ..."Is that money going to FRS to actually shore it up? Or is it a long-term strategy to pressure those of us at the local level to say we can't sustain these increases?"...
New Jersey Passes Misclassification Bill; Gov. Christie Could Veto  Truckinginfo   ...Though the Teamsters-backed employee misclassification bill was passed Thursday by the New Jersey State Senate, opponents say they will continue to work to make sure the measure does not actually become law...
Kasich frustrating safety unions  Toledo Blade   ...Gov. John Kasich and Republican lawmakers are pursuing tax cuts and banking huge surpluses, according to police and professional firefighters, at the expense of public safety...
UW education dean warns school boards that ALEC seeks to wipe them out  The Cap Times   ...The model legislation disseminated by the pro-free market American Legislative Exchange Council’s national network of corporate members and conservative legislators seeks to privatize education and erode the local control...
Appeals court upholds voter ID law  WISN   ...A Wisconsin law requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls is constitutional, a state appeals court ruled Thursday...
How Enterprise Zones Are Killing the California Dream  Truth-Out   ...(Teamsters) John Thomas and Hans Burkhardt  ... are now collecting unemployment, having lost their $22-an-hour jobs after their employers moved to take advantage of California’s enterprise zone plan…
Connecticut State House boosts minimum wage  CT Post   ...More than 106,000 of Connecticut's lowest-earning workers will see the current $8.25-per-hour minimum wage rise to $9 by January 2015...
Perry Vetoes "Buy American" Bill Approved 145-0 By Texas House  Opposing Views   ...Texas Gov. Rick Perry vetoed the “Buy American” bill, despite a unanimous bipartisan vote in the Texas House. The bill, which would have given preference to American-made goods...
Port Truck Drivers Take a Stand  WTOC-TV   ...WTOC-TV in Savannah, Ga., reports on port truck driver misclassification and how it impacts drivers and their families. Visit the Stand Up for Savannah! website for more information...
Teamsters Protect Nine-Hour Workday for CVS Pharmacists  Teamsters Joint Council 25   ...CVS pharmacists ratified a new three-year contract yielding raises and improved working conditions after Teamsters Local 727 representatives fought to protect the nine-hour workday from the management that wanted 12-14 hour workdays...
The Union Edge Reports On Durham School Bus Campaign  Union Edge   ...Teamsters Local 570 and Durham School Services drivers in the Baltimore area are standing up for safe school buses, respect and an end to wage theft. Hear what they have to say on The Union Edge radio program...
Dairy Workers in Washington Win With Teamsters  IBT   ...A unit of 30 drivers at Estenson Logistics, who voted to be represented by the Teamsters Local 690 in Spokane in late 2011, recently ratified their first contract...

'Made in USA' store inspired by book about low-wage work

What a great idea -- a traditional general store that sells only products made in the U.S.A.

Norton's USA in Barrington, Ill., has been selling American-made products for six years with the intention of keeping the country working.

The owner was inspired to start  because of a book:  Nickel And Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America. Here's Amazon's reveiw:

...how does anyone survive, let alone prosper, on $6 an hour? To find out, Ehrenreich left her home, took the cheapest lodgings she could find, and accepted whatever jobs she was offered. Moving from Florida to Maine to Minnesota, she worked as a waitress, a hotel maid, a cleaning woman, a nursing-home aide, and a Wal-Mart sales clerk. She lived in trailer parks and crumbling residential motels. Very quickly, she discovered that no job is truly "unskilled," that even the lowliest occupations require exhausting mental and muscular effort. She also learned that one job is not enough; you need at least two if you int to live indoors.

manufacture this tells us Norton's proprietor (and actress) Deborah Leydig says her inspiration for launching Norton's U.S.A. came after after portraying Barbara Ehrenreich in a stage adaptation of the book..

Leydig began to research made in U.S.A. products and was upset to "learn how many jobs had been shipped overseas." 

She explains that Norton's U.S.A. was born from a mission "to keep America working."

The store sells clothes, pet supplies, toys, housewares and flags and patriotic decor:

At NORTON'S U.S.A., we sell only products made in the United States! 

We wanted to do something positive to support the American worker and the American manufacturer, so we have spent the last ten years researching American made goods. 

We have over 425 manufacturers from around the country and we add new companies everyday. 

BUY American Made Products with ease. 

When you shop at NORTON'S U.S.A., you help keep America working!

Watch a short video about the store here.

Today's Teamster News 05.18.13

In Peru, Talks Resume for New Asia, Americas, Oceania Trade Pact  Wall Street Journal   ...Another round of talks aimed at reaching an agreement on an enormous new trading bloc linking nations from Asia, the Americas and Oceania officially kicked off Wednesday in Lima...
LIVE FROM LIMA: Our Health, Environment, and Rights are Not Negotiable!  Public Citizen   ...Several Peruvian organizations have joined together to launch the No Negociable! (Not Negotiable!) campaign to highlight the grave threats that the TPP poses to Internet freedom, the environment, workers' rights, and public health...
Probe begins in commuter train collision  USA Today   ...60 people were transported to hospitals and five people were hurt critically, one very critically, Friday night near Bridgeport, Conn., after a commuter train derailed and was hit by another train...
Malaria and HIV Spike as Greece Cuts Healthcare Spending  The Atlantic   ..."Greece is an example of perhaps the worst case of austerity leading to public health disasters...
Senator wants U.S. in oil price-fixing probe  USA Today   ...The request from Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., came after European Union investigators this week raided the offices of global energy giants BP, Royal Dutch Shell and Statoil. The anti-trust probe is examining whether the companies manipulated oil prices by making false reports to Platts, an energy industry data service owned by McGraw Hill Financial...
Elizabeth Warren Slams ‘Dangerous’ Legislation That Would Weaken Wall Street Reform  ThinkProgress   ...A week after a bipartisan group of lawmakers on the House Financial Services Committee overwhelmingly approved a rollback of certain financial reforms contained in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act, one of the Senate’s biggest consumer advocates is pushing back...
Protesters decry possible sale of Orlando Sentinel to Koch brothers  Orlando Sentinel   ...About 40 people gathered in front of the Orlando Sentinel building Thursday evening to protest a rumored sale of the newspaper to billionaire businessmen Charles and David Koch...
Payrolls Increased in 30 U.S. States in April, Led by Texas  Bloomberg   ...Texas led the gains in payrolls, adding 33,100 jobs last month, followed by New York andFlorida, according to figures released today in Washington by the Labor Department. California, New York and South Carolina were among states with the biggest decreases in joblessness...
Wisconsin sees biggest monthly job loss since 2009  The Cap Times   ...the Department of Workforce Development on Thursday quietly released the latest federal figures showing the state losing 22,000 jobs in April...
What You Should Know About the Philly Student Walkout  The Nation   ...Running a massive deficit of hundreds of millions of dollars, Philadelphia’s school system is planning to eliminate all sports, extracurricular activities, counselors and libraries—beyond which, for schools eviscerated by austerity politics, there’s not much left to lose...
Oklahoma workers' compensation measure signed into law  The Oklahoman   ... It also allows businesses to opt out of the workers' compensation system as long as they provide equivalent benefits to injured workers...
Ohio Republicans Push Law To Penalize Colleges For Helping Students Vote  Talking Points Memo   ...Republicans in the Ohio Legislature are pushing a plan that could cost the state’s public universities millions of dollars if they provide students with documents to help them register to vote...
Democrats Demand Revenues Go To Schools, Families, Cities  Michigan House Democrats   ...House Democratic Leader Tim Greimel (D-Auburn Hills) and state Representative Rashida H Tlaib(D-Detroit), Democratic vice chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee, said today the House Republicans and Gov. Rick Snyder should be using the increased revenues the state will take in this year to increase funding for schools, help Michigan’s middle-class families and help cash-strapped cities provide services such as police and fire protection...
EDITORIAL: Buy American steel for federal projects  NWI Times   ...U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky's legistion requiring the federal government to use U.S.-made steel for public projects makes sense...
Teamsters Applaud Senate Labor Committee Vote To Approve Perez Nomination  IBT   ...Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa expressed his hope that the Senate would move quickly to confirm Perez’s nomination...

Labor 411 has the union info consumers need

When you buy American union-made products, it means the money you spend goes toward protecting working people. It helps working families earn a livable wage in safe conditions, provide health care for their families and create a better life for future generations.

When you buy Teamster-made products, you’re doing more than supporting working families. You’re supporting your Teamster brothers and sisters.

Labor 411 is making it easier for all Americans to support products and services made by American union members, and this week is “Support Teamsters Week” at the website. Here’s a little more about the group:

Labor 411 believes that working people deserve the support of their neighbors, communities and friends. By making the choice to spend our money on union-made goods and services that are made in our country by workers who are treated fairly, we are helping to protect the middle class, strengthen our national economy and build a stronger America. We call that ethical consumerism, and we hope you will join us in making the everyday decisions count…

A one-stop resource for people who want to buy union-made goods and services, Labor 411’s print and online directory provides greater visibility to union products and union-made goods and services and helps union decision makers ensure that their dollars and their values are connecting with the community at large. Distributed to over 17,000 union officers and staff, union-friendly vendors and powerful friends of organized labor, Labor 411's directory of union services reaches a committed and influential audience.

And check out Labor 411’s Facebook page here.

Kid Rock embarrassed to be a Republican (sometimes)

Kid Rock, the rapper-turned-rocker, famously supported Mitt Romney for president but now says he's ashamed to be a Republican. Sometimes.

Here's what he told Rolling Stone:

Athletes and musicians make astronomical amounts of money. People get paid $100 million to throw a baseball! Shouldn't we all take less and pass some of that money onto others? Think about firefighters, teachers and policemen. We should celebrate people that are intellectually smart and trying to make this world a better place.

We think maybe the Kid is confused. (It's been known to happen to rock musicians.) Kid Rock's concern about teachers doesn't square with support for the Republican Party. After all, it was Republican lawmakers who savagely attacked teachers last year by ramming No Rights At Work laws through the Michigan  Legislature.

Kid Rock is also trying to make his concerts more affordable, a laudable goal. But Republican lawmakers are repealing laws eliminating the cap on scalped tickets, which are aimed at protecting consumers. The Kid doesn't like that either:

That's one of the times I'm fucking embarrassed to be a Republican. It's fucking Republican lawmakers passing those laws, you dumbasses. They already did it in New York and they're trying to do it in Michigan. I've even called some of those guys to try and stop it.

Wish he'd call some of those guys when No Rights At Work was moving through the Legislature as fast as, um, poop through a goose.

There's further evidence that maybe Kid Rock was dropped on his head when he was a little boy. Remember his "Made in Detroit" line of clothing ... that isn't made in Detroit? The Detroit Free Press published an expose about it last year. Columnist Susan Tompor wrote,

So why in the world are Kid Rock's high-end "Made in Detroit" T-shirts made in the Dominican Republic? Or some other country?... 

On top of that, many of the adult-sized Made in Detroit shirts no longer have any labels to tell you exactly where the T-shirts themselves are made.

You just can't make this stuff up.