Showing posts with label Europe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Europe. Show all posts

Friday, September 18, 2015

Today's Teamster News 09.18.15

Teamsters
Hoffa Statement of Support of Bipartisan Effort to Repeal Excise Tax on High-Quality Health Plans  Teamster.org  ...Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa in response to the announcement of the introduction of a bipartisan companion bill in the Senate to HR 2050 which would repeal an excise tax set to be charged on those enrolled in high-quality health care plans: “The Teamsters support this bipartisan effort to repeal the destructive excise tax that is set to take effect in 2018"...
No deal after latest talks between Baumann & Sons Buses, Acme Buses and Teamsters Local 1205  Newsday  ...Talks continued early Friday morning between a Long Island school bus contractor and its workers to end a labor dispute and head off a strike that could leave 15,000 students scrambling for other forms of transportation. As of 2:30 a.m. Friday, negotiators for Teamsters Local 1205 and Ronkonkoma-based Baumann & Sons Buses Inc. still remained locked in discussions at the union's Farmingdale headquarters...
Teamsters Protest as Treasury Debates Allowing Pension Cuts for 1.5 Million Retirees  In These Times  ...About 300 angry Teamsters descended on Washington, D.C., September 10, demanding federal action to protect the pensions of union members threatened with benefit cuts. The retired Teamsters are among a group of as many as 1.5 million retirees from a long list of different labor unions nationwide that could see their pensions slashed under a new law quietly approved late last year...
Cleveland Bakers and Teamsters Pension Fund takes on Wall Street bank traders  Cleveland Business  ...The Cleveland Bakers and Teamsters Pension Fund is among plaintiffs in a lawsuit alleging that banks that deal in government securities rigged trading to boost their own profits. “The same analytical technique that uncovered cheating in currency markets and the Libor rates benchmark — resulting in about $20 billion of fines — suggests the dealers who control the U.S. Treasury market rigged bond auctions for years,” Bloomberg reports in describing a lawsuit...
EVSC Board and Teamsters disagree over form, will meet Friday  Courier & Press  ...After about a three-week hiatus, the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp. and Teamsters Local 215 negotiation teams will meet again Friday to continue working toward a collective bargaining agreement, as well as a new wage authorization form. Earlier this month, the EVSC ceased deducting union dues and representation fees for Local 215 employees...

Global Labor & Trade
Finland Anti-Austerity Strike Shuts Down Public Transport, Flights As Recession Pits Labor Unions Against Government  International Business Times  ...One of the biggest strikes in Finland's history closed down ports, canceled or delayed flights and disrupted other transportation Friday, amid protests against the government's latest proposed austerity measures. With the Nordic country in a recession for the past three years and on track for a fourth, the leading center-right coalition there has tried to implement cutbacks that include limiting overtime and benefits...
Canada must be part of Pacific pact, automakers might suffer: PM  Reuters  ...Canada must sign up to a proposed 12-nation Pacific trade pact, even though the country's auto makers might not be happy with some of the conditions, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Thursday. Trade ministers failed to clinch the Trans-Pacific Partnership at a meeting in late July amid disagreements over sectors such as autos and dairy...
Harper Says Trans-Pacific Trade Deal Will End ‘Successfully’  Bloomberg  ...Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he’s confident a Pacific trade deal that would stretch from Chile to Japan will be reached. Clinching a deal on the Trans-Pacific Partnership will form the “basis of the global trade network in the Asia Pacific for the generation to come,” Harper said Thursday in a leadership debate for the Oct. 19 Canadian federal election...
Japan has little room left to compromise on TPP deal: Amari   Fiscal Times  ...Trade ministers from the 12 nations negotiating a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) are expected to hold another meeting soon to clinch a deal, after failing to do so in Hawaii last month. The TPP would cover 40 percent of the global economy. "This is our last chance," Amari told a regular news conference. "If we don't have an agreement, a deal may be delayed for years given various uncertainties...
Obama sure of deal as ministers plan end-Sept talks on TPP  Today  ...Twelve Pacific Rim countries will hold a ministerial meeting later this month in Atlanta in the United States as they look to conclude years of negotiations on creating one of the world’s biggest free trade zones, negotiation sources said yesterday. US President Barack Obama on Wednesday raised hopes that the 12 countries could conclude the sweeping free trade agreement “in the next several weeks”...
Will TTIP be an ‘economic NATO’?  Politico  ...Back in 2012, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hailed a proposed transatlantic free trade pact as a job-creating, growth-boosting “economic NATO” that would forge new ties between old allies. Three years later, hopeful presidential candidate Hillary Clinton appears less enthusiastic. “Can you make it go away?” was the only-half-joking response of her campaign chairman, John Podesta, to a recent question on the trade deal now being negotiated between the United States and European Union....
Europe starts putting up walls   The Economist  ...Hungary declared an emergency, sealed its border with Serbia with barbed-wire fences and began arresting those trying to cross. Police fired tear gas at them; 20 officers and many refugees were hurt. Growing numbers of refugees are now trapped on the Serbian side and have started evading the barrier by marching into Romania and Croatia. Hungary responded by saying it will extend the fence to its Romanian border. The cascade of events is likely to continue...
Migrant Domestic Workers Network a First in Jordan  Solidarity Center   ...Domestic workers in Jordan are set to celebrate the official formation of a worker rights network that includes migrant workers from Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka. The September 19 launch is a first in Jordan and a rare move in the Arab region, where more than 2.4 million migrant domestic workers often toil 12–20 hour days, six or seven days a week cleaning homes, preparing meals and caring for children and the elderly...

State & Living Wage Battles
Poll: Wide support among N.Y. voters for $15 minimum wage  CBS  ...A new poll finds that New York voters support raising the state's minimum wage to $15 per hour. The poll released Friday by Quinnipiac University found 62 percent of voters supporting a phased-in increase. Thirty-five percent of the respondents opposed the idea. Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo is calling on the state Legislature to approve a $15 minimum wage...
9th Circuit rejects state's appeal, says anti-union law passed in 2011 was invalid  Spokesman-Review  ...The 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals today upheld a federal district court ruling that an anti-union law passed by the Idaho Legislature in 2011 was invalid, as it was pre-empted by the federal National Labor Relations Act. The law, which was immediately enjoined and never took effect, banned “job targeting” or “market recovery” programs, in which unions use funds they collect from workers to subsidize bids by union contractors on jobs...
Archbishop Takes Aim At ‘Right-To-Work’ Laws  CBS  ...Without mentioning Gov. Bruce Rauner by name, Chicago’s Roman Catholic Archbishop is raising concerns about moves to restrict labor unions. Blase Cupich made his remarks Thursday at the plumbers union hall on the West Side, before a union-heavy audience. He declared a society with a healthy labor movement is a better place than one where powerful economic interests have their way and the voices of workers are diminished...
California Activists Call for Fracking Ban  Truthout  ...The California Legislature approved an amended version of Senate Bill 350, a measure that legislative leaders and Governor Jerry Brown touted as "landmark climate legislation." In response, anti-fracking activists pointed out the contradiction between Brown's strong support of extreme oil extraction methods and his constant grandstanding about "clean energy" - and called on Brown to use his executive power to ban the environmentally destructive practice of fracking in California...
OUR Walmart Relaunches Its Campaign To Beat the World Retail Giant  In These Times  ...After four years as a growing, thriving voice of workers at Walmart, the Organization United for Respect at Walmart (OUR Walmart) re-launched itself on Thursday. Originally a legally independent, non-union worker organization that the United Food and Commercial Workers founded and funded, OUR Walmart will now have a different, still to-be-defined tie to the UFCW...
Paid Sick Leave, More Overtime Proposed For Mpls. Workers  CBS  ...Workers in Minneapolis could soon have more flexible schedules and more paid leave. One of the councilmembers behind a proposed ordinance says if it goes through, big changes could start early next year. The proposal would allow workers to know their schedules ahead of time and earn overtime if they work more than eight hours a day...

U.S. Labor
UFCW sees 'difficulty' with Key Food over A&P stores  Supermarket News  ...New York locals of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union were scheduled to meet today with officials of Key Food Stores for “the first time in a while” to talk about the A&P units the retailer intends to buy, a union spokesman told SN. He said the union has had “a bunch of difficulty” with Key Food in the past because of the retailer’s desire to cut back the number of full-time jobs in favor of more part-timers at the 17 stores it said it intends to buy...
UAW-FCA agreement reportedly includes $5.3 billion U.S. production investment  MLive  ...As part of a tentative agreement with the UAW, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is shifting some of its production from Mexico to the U.S. - and vice versa. That's according to multiple reports, such as one in the Detroit Free Press that says FCA plans to commit $5.3 billion to U.S. auto plants over the next four years. That will also reportedly help retain thousands of American jobs...
Target pharmacy workers form union, first in company's history  Reuters  ...A group of pharmacy workers within Target Corp's store in Brooklyn, New York, have won a vote to form a microunion, making it the first unionized store at the retailer since its inception in 1902. Earlier on Wednesday, Reuters was first to report that a group of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians won an initial ballot, 7-2, to form the union, according to a filing on the National Labor Relations Board website and union officials...
Another Shot Fired in the Great Immigration vs. Wages War  Mother Jones  ...Does illegal immigration suppress the wages of native-born workers? The evidence suggests that it doesn't—or not much, anyway. One of the data points supporting this is a study done by David Card of the effect of the 1980 Mariel boatlift on workers in Miami. Even though Miami experienced a huge spike in immigrants during the boatlift, Card found no significant impact on wages...
The Fed Keeps Interest Rates Near Zero  The Atlantic  ...The U.S. Federal Reserve has decided not to raise interest rates at its September Federal Open Market Committee meeting. The committee’s two-day meeting concluded with Fed officials voting to keep interest rates near zero. The U.S. job market has been putting in solid numbers in recent months, data that Fed watchers believed might convince the Fed to hike rates...

Social Justice & Other News
Trump: 'We're Gonna Be Looking Into' How We Can Get Rid of All the Muslims  Common Dreams  ...In a week that has already seen collective outrage in response to the treatment of a Muslim teenager in Texas who was handcuffed and arrested simply for bringing a homemade clock to school, the pervasiveness of Islamaphobic sentiment was on display once again overnight after Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump fielded a question in New Hampshire about what he planned to do "about getting rid of" all the nation's Muslims...
The Beginning of Trump’s End?  Slate  ...This debate might mark the beginning of the end for Trump, who struggled to tackle substantive questions on foreign policy, his advisers, and what he’d actually do as president of the United States. More importantly, he faced a confident Carly Fiorina, who slammed and tweaked Trump on his obvious ignorance of key issues. “I think women all over this country heard very clearly what Mr. Trump said,” Fiorina said about his remarks on her appearance...
Bernie Sanders Unveils Ambitious Plan To End Private Prisons  Think Progress  ...Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is officially taking on the country’s private prison industry. By introducing a bill that would ban government contracts with private prisons, the presidential contender is quickly becoming the loudest advocate for criminal justice reform among his competitors. The Justice is Not For Sale Act, co-sponsored by Reps. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ), Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Bobby L. Rush (D-IL), would prohibit the federal government from entering contracts with private prison corporations within two years of the bill’s enactment...
America's Need for a Third Reconstruction  The Atlantic  ...Ta-Nehisi Coates mournfully excavates how the carceral state is deeply entangled in the racial DNA of the United States, and convincingly demonstrates that, for all the talk of a Kumbaya moment in penal reform between the left and the right, the carceral state remains largely intact with barely a nick. Four decades ago, the U.S. had many similar structural problems found today, but it did not have such an expansive penal system...
Climate Expert James Hansen: The Planet May Become Ungovernable  Alternet  ...The repercussions of climate disruption are still not being acknowledged fully, warned climatologist Dr. James Hansen. Hansen — formerly NASA’s head climate scientist, now adjunct professor at Columbia University — is probably best known for bringing definitive evidence of global warming to Congress in testimony in 1988...
The recession hasn’t changed a damn thing: Wall Street is still making off like bandits  Salon.com  ...Just a few years after the financial crisis, a new report tells an important story: Federal prosecution of white-collar crime has hit a 20-year low. The analysis by Syracuse University shows a more than 36 percent decline in such prosecutions since the middle of the Clinton administration, when the decline began...

Friday, July 5, 2013

TAFTA delay good for workers

Allegations that the U.S. government spied on several European governments is putting a cramp in efforts to kick off negotiations of the Trans-Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (TAFTA). Some EU officials have suggested that talks set to begin next week in Washington be postponed. That's good news for workers.

The French government is calling for a two-week delay in TAFTA discussions, while a German official suggested that citizens with privacy concerns should steer clear of U.S. Internet companies Google and Facebook. Their comments come after former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden accused the American government of intercepting communications with some EU diplomats.

For anyone concerned about the U.S. middle class and consumer safety, the postponement of talks would be a welcome respite. Those involved with TAFTA have done their best to keep discussion of the trade pact under wraps, much like what has been done for the Trans-Pacific Partnership. But some details have emerged.

A recent Public Citizen blog, for instance, exposes that U.S. and European corporations want to use TAFTA to water down necessary agriculture, communications, energy production and financial safeguards. That has drawn criticism from consumer, environmental, health, farmer, labor and tech groups in both the EU and here:
The NSA’s overreaching national security agenda has jeopardized their overreaching corporate agenda to use TAFTA to roll back financial, climate and food safety standards that make doing business less convenient.  If the two agendas would cancel each other out, perhaps we could get on with an agenda that’s actually supported by the public – from environmental stability to public health to personal privacy. 
The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), meanwhile, announced it obtained a set of EU position papers that summarize some of their initial regulatory goals within the automobile sector, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and competition policy, as well as a proposed chapter on trade and sustainable development. While there are some relevant points, the IATP notes they can't be considered in a vacuum:
Consistent multilateral rules on difficult issues make sense, but let’s make sure trade is put in its place. Rules that provide for a safe workplace, protect public health and the environment, and promote energy and food security have been lost in trade agreements of the past. And the fact is that many advances in standards start at the local level and work their way to the national and, ideally, international levels.
Stay tuned...


Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Today's Teamster News 05.29.13

Working moms are now main breadwinners in a record 40 percent of US households with children  Associated Press   ...While most are headed by single mothers, a growing number are families with married mothers who bring in more income than their husbands...
Chance at a Union Job Draws 800 Job Applicants in Queens, N.Y.  AFL-CIO   ...a union elevator mechanic job prompted nearly 1,000 young workers to haul out tents and mattresses and weather the great outdoors of Long Island City at the chance to be considered...
Feds investigate Md. train derailment, explosion  Associated Press   ...In the third serious derailment this month, a dozen or so rail cars — at least one carrying hazardous materials — went off the tracks around 2 p.m. Tuesday in Rosedale, Md., a suburb east of Baltimore. Several rail cars caught fire, sending a plume of black and gray smoke into the air that could be seen for miles, and an explosion rattled homes at least a half-mile away...
'Lost generation' fears for Europe's youth as unemployment soars across eurozone and leaves more than 19million without jobs  Daily Mail   ...In Greece, 58 per cent of under-25s are unemployed, along with 56 per cent in Spain and 38 per cent in Portugal and Italy. In the eurozone as a whole it is 24 per cent. In the UK it is 21 per cent...
Citi settles U.S. suit over $3.5 billion in mortgage securities  Reuters   ...Citigroup Inc (C.N) has reached a settlement with a federal agency that had accused the bank of misleading Fannie Mae (FNMA.OB) and Freddie Mac (FMCC.OB) into buying $3.5 billion of mortgage-backed securities...
US tax inspector targets Caribbean bank  The Guardian   ...A Caribbean bank formerly co-owned by Barclays has been targeted by US tax authorities seeking information on suspected American tax evaders...
US prosecutes '$6 bn money-laundering hub'  BBC News   ...The Liberty Reserve digital money service that was shut down laundered more than $6 billion in criminal cash, US authorities have said...
Wal-Mart pleads guilty in environmental case involving pesticides sent to Missouri contractor   Kansas City Star  ...Retailer Wal-Mart resolved years of hazardous-waste complaints Tuesday with criminal guilty pleas in Missouri and California and the settlement of a civil lawsuit filed by federal environmental authorities...
Elders Should Exercise Caution Before Turning to Payday Loans   Rocky Mount Telegram   ...An increasing number of cash-strapped elders are turning to payday loans—a highly-risky source of short-term financing—to cover their day-to-day expenses...
Appeals court says union groups may revise lawsuit  Associated Press   ...Union groups are getting a chance to revise their lawsuit and add new defendants in a challenge to two Idaho laws targeting organized labor...
Women still on the lower salary rungs in Wyoming state government  Star-Tribune   ...Women working in Wyoming’s state government hold relatively few high-paid jobs — including management positions — compared to men, a state-issued report found...
American Airlines Mechanics File for Election to Become Teamsters  IBT   ...American Airlines mechanics and related workers filed for an election today with the National Mediation Board (NMB) as part of a months-long effort to become Teamsters...
Local 117 Members Attend National Police Week  Teamsters Local 117   ...Two Local 117 Police Officers, Roger Gale of the City of Pacific and Willie Bergin from the University of Washington, attended National Police Week in Washington D.C. from May 12-18...
Collective Bargaining TLA Slated for June 18-21  IBT   ...The IBT Training and Development Department is conducting a Teamsters Leadership Academy on Collective Bargaining, June18-21, 2013, hosted by Joint Council 40 in Mars, Pennsylvania...
Advanced Business Agents’ Seminar Scheduled July 29-31  IBT   ...The IBT Training and Development Department will conduct an Advanced Business Agents seminar July 29-31, 2013 at Teamsters Joint Council 25 in Chicago...

Friday, March 8, 2013

Today's Teamster News 03.08.13

Senators blast financial regulators over 'prosecution-free zone for large banks'  The Hill   ..."If you're caught with an ounce of cocaine, the chances are good you're going to jail," said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) at the Banking Committee hearing. "Evidently, if you launder nearly $1 billion for drug cartels and violate our international sanctions, your company pays a fine and you go home and sleep in your own bed at night."...
Study Demolishes the Myth That U.S. Workers Lack Skills  In These Times   ... “The problem isn’t a malfunctioning ‘talent pipeline.' The problem is a sputtering job-creation machine, in both the quantity and quality of jobs created.”...
 The children going hungry in America  BBC   ...Child poverty in the US has reached record levels, with almost 17 million children now affected. A growing number are also going hungry on a daily basis...
Yes, America’s trade deficit with China just rose AGAIN.  manufacture this   ...the U.S. trade deficit with China jumped 14% from the previous month: ...While not a record, it is 6% larger than last year's historically high average...
Costco CEO: Raise The Minimum Wage To More Than $10 Per Hour  Huffington Post   ...paying employees good wages makes good sense for business," Jelinek said in a statement. "We pay a starting hourly wage of $11.50 in all states where we do business, and we are still able to keep our overhead costs low."...
Europe's recession deepens - ECB  CNN Money   ...The European Central Bank downgraded its forecast for the eurozone economy Thursday but decided against cutting interest rates to a new record low despite tame inflation, record unemployment and political instability in Italy...
Koch Brothers Organize to Stop Medicaid Expansion in Arizona, Nationwide  Blog for Arizona   ...Americans for Prosperity-- the Koch Brothers' astroturf  group-- is organizing the citizenry to fight against their own self interests to defeat Medicaid expansion...
No matter how you spin job numbers, Wisconsin near bottom compared to other states  The Cap Times   ...going back two years, Wisconsin is No. 50 in percentage change, with an actual decline of 15,900 jobs since January 2011...
Kasich, Yost in showdown over JobsOhio  Columbus Dispatch   ...State Auditor Dave Yost issued a subpoena for the financial records of JobsOhio yesterday after Gov. John Kasich’s privatized economic-development agency failed to turn them over...
Snyder's numbers still down in the dumps  Public Policy Polling   ...Rick Snyder's numbers are not recovering yet following the plunge they took in December after he signed the right to work law. Only 37% of voters in the state approve of the job he's doing to 54% who disapprove...
Council votes to appeal Snyder's plan for emergency manager  Detroit Free Press   ...The resolution passed by council this afternoon says the city does indeed have a plan to fix the financial problems that have plagued the city for years...
Mark Dayton envisions minimum wage between $9 and $9.50  Associated Press   ...As Minnesota legislators debate raising the state's minimum wage, Gov. Mark Dayton says he'd be comfortable with hiking the rate to $9 or $9.50 per hour...
Plan for LCB privatization is formally introduced  Philly.com   ...The plan faces a tough fight in the legislature, which for years has been loath to make even minor changes to the state-run liquor model that has been in place since Prohibition ended...
Teachers’ unions fighting restrictions on contract talks in Kansas  Kansas City Star   ...“We are seeing a lot of things that appear to be a direct attack on teachers...”
Flight Attendants Union Coalition Launches Nationwide Opposition to Knives in Cabin  AFA   ...The Flight Attendants Union Coalition, representing nearly 90,000 Flight Attendants at carriers across the county, is coordinating a nationwide legislative and public campaign to reverse yesterday's announcement from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) that effective April 25, knives would be allowed in the aircraft cabin for the first time since 9/11...

Friday, February 15, 2013

Today's Teamster News 02.15.13

U.S. Grant Funded Workers' Play at LG Chem Factory  Wall Street Journal   ...The Obama administration's electric car efforts took another hit on Wednesday after a federal inspection found a South Korean advanced battery maker never scaled up U.S. production despite receiving $142 million in federal grants...
Wall Street wins again  Salon   ...The secret truth: There never was a “task force” dedicated to ferreting out mortgage fraud...
Euro-Area Economy Shrinks Most Since Depths of Recession  Bloomberg   ...The euro-area recession deepened more than economists forecast with the worst performance in almost four years as the region’s three biggest economies suffered slumping output....
New law credited with 'eye-popping' drop in California foreclosures  Ventura County Star   ...Foreclosure activity in California and Ventura County took a dramatic tumble in January as the state’s new Homeowner Bill of Rights kicked in...
Gas, Diesel Fuel Prices Continue to Rise  USAgNet   ...The U.S. average retail price of regular gasoline increased seven cents to $3.61 per gallon, up nine cents from last year at this time...The national average diesel fuel price increased eight cents to $4.10 per gallon, 16 cents higher than last year at this time...
Brewers of Corona and Budweiser revise buyout to appease US regulators  Associated Press   ...Anheuser-Busch InBev changed the terms of its proposed $20.1 billion acquisition of Mexican brewer Grupo Modelo Thursday in an attempt to push through a deal...Regulators are leery of the tie-up because AB InBev and Modelo control about 46 percent of annual U.S. sales...
Fat-Cat Pay Makes Swiss So Mad Wages Face National Vote  Bloomberg   ...With more than 100,000 Swiss citizens having signed a petition to limit “fat-cat” pay, voters will decide at a March 3 referendum whether top executives should have their compensation set by shareholders...
Minimum Wage Would Be $21.72 If It Kept Pace With Productivity: Study  Huffington Post   ...While advancements in technology have increased the amount of goods and services that can be produced in a set amount of time, wages have remained relatively flat, the study points out...
How Labor Made US Airways, AMR Merger Happen  Forbes   ...the turning point in the merger effort may have come on April 20, 2012 when US Airways said it had gathered support from American’s three major unions for its effort to merge with American...
Ohio unions rally against outsiders doing pipeline construction  Akron Beacon Journal   ...Four building trades associated with pipeline construction will be holding a job action in Ohio's Carroll County early today where WillBros Inc., a company from over 1,300 miles away in Houston, TX is performing work...
Maine Lawmaker Proposes to Ban Union Campaign Contributions  Maine Public Broadcasting   ...a Republican lawmaker says it's a conflict of interest for public workers unions to contribute to candidates for state office, and has submitted legislation to prohibit the practice...
Kane rejects Pa. lottery contract, citing constitutional grounds  Philly.com   ...Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane rejected the Corbett administration's contract with a British firm to manage the $3.5 billion Pennsylvania Lottery, saying it "contravenes the Pennsylvania constitution."...
Scott aims to cut port regulations to spur economic growth Herald-Tribune ...(Florida Gov. Rick) Scott wants to increase the maximum gross vehicle weight for cargo containers by 5,000 pounds...
Obama trade proposal threatens more Minnesota jobs  Workday Minnesota   ...“The Trans-Pacific Partnership would accelerate job loss in Minnesota by forcing local employers to compete with companies that take advantage of sweatshop working conditions in places like Vietnam and Malaysia, which are undercutting even Chinese manufacturers,” said Josh Wise, director of the Minnesota Fair Trade Coalition...
Justice Details ‘History Of Abusive Behavior’ At Wisconsin Supreme Court  Talking Points Memo   ...Wisconsin State Supreme Court Justice Ann Walsh Bradley ... offered details about what she called “a history of abusive behavior in our workplace that has escalated from tantrums and rages, to threats, and now to physical contact.” As early as February 2010, Bradley wrote in the document, she had emailed other justices on the court about Prosser’s “abusive temper tantrums...”
Bloomberg: NYC school bus strike is 'lost cause;' union urges him to negotiate  Staten Island Advance   ...Mayor Michael Bloomberg struck a raw nerve with his statement Thursday that the ongoing school bus strike is a "lost cause." The president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1181, representing the striking workers, blasted Bloomberg over the remark...

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Today's Teamster News 02.06.13

Obama seeks $5T European trade deal  The Hill  ...The Obama administration is poised to launch trade talks with the European Union that would form a $5 trillion trans-Atlantic free-trade zone...
No Evidence of U.S. Manufacturing Revival  Wall Street Journal   ...For the past 13 years, the rate of factory closings in the U.S. has been declining. The bad news is that over that time the rate of ribbon cuttings on new operations have consistently fallen even more...
Homes Sell in Two Weeks With Low Supply for Spring Buyers  Bloomberg   ...A plunge in U.S. home listings to a 12-year low is driving up prices and preventing transactions from returning to historically normal levels. Many potential sellers are holding off until values rise more, while investors are snatching up distressed properties before they reach the market. Builders, reporting their best orders in years, can’t increase production fast enough...
Banks No Match for Trucks Where Rigs Pay Twice as Much  Bloomberg   ...(There is) a wave of job growth at trucking companies as they post payroll increases at more than double the pace of the nation’s workforce since the end of 2010. Demand is being driven by the economic expansion, new regulations that cap driver hours and rising turnover caused by long days and time away from home...
Study Says States Lose Billions in Offshore Tax Avoidance  Bloomberg   ...State governments in the U.S. lost $39.8 billion in 2011 because of offshore tax avoidance...
E-mails show plotting by lawmakers, GOP on Florida redistricting  Tampa Bay Times   ...The emails show that a month after voters in 2010 approved an amendment banning coordination between the party and lawmakers, GOP consultant and Gaetz adviser Rich Heffley called a redistricting "brainstorming" meeting at the chairman's conference room at party headquarters in Tallahassee...
Virginia GOP no longer even trying to hide true purpose of voter ID laws  Salon   ...Concealed carry permits, but not utility bills, now accepted at Virginia polling places...
Unions protest ahead of governor's budget  Herald-Standard   ...John Rzodkiewicz, business representative for the UFWU, said the governor’s plan to privatize state-owned liquor stores will destroy 5,000 jobs...
Colorado Senate gives first OK to bill making it easier for firefighters to unionize  Denver Post   ...The Colorado Senate gave initial approval Monday to a Democratic bill expanding unionization rights for firefighters – legislation virtually the same as a bill vetoed four years earlier under a Democratic governor...
Negotiations Between Teamsters, Durham Falter  Summerville Patch  ...Negotiations between a school bus contractor and its union employees have deteriorated, putting school transportation for three Lowcountry school districts into question...The contractor's representatives allegedly walked out of a meeting with its employees during negotiations Tuesday morning...
Teamsters Local 332 president is named health care adviser for union's Michigan council  Michigan Live  ...The president of Teamsters Local 332 in Flint has been named health care adviser for Michigan Teamsters Joint Council 43...

Monday, May 7, 2012

Today's Teamster News 05.07.12

Sarkozy loses in France; Greek voters also turn on leaders  McClatchy Newspapers   ...the publics in both countries appeared to be rejecting the European Union’s austerity program that was undertaken largely on German demands to stabilize the euro following fiscal crises in Greece, Spain, Portugal and Ireland...
Quebec students to vote on tuition compromise  CBC News   ...Students in Quebec have been holding protests and clashing with police for almost three months, denouncing the government's plans to raise tuition fees...
Protesters in Miami clean garbage from foreclosed homes and dump it at bank  Photoblog   ...''It's bad enough these big banks put families out of their homes, now they just let the houses sit there bringing down the property value for everyone else in the neighborhood...
Dozens of Police Evict Georgia Family at Gunpoint at 3am  Alternet   ...The eviction came as Frazer, 63, who lost her husband and then job in 2009, had been challenging the foreclosure in county and federal courts by seeking to restructure the terms of a delinquent mortgage. However, the latest holder of her loan, Investors One Corporation—the fourth company that bought her mortgage in an eight-month period—allowed the eviction to proceed even thought it was "negotiating" new loan terms with her attorney one day before the police raid...
Walker talking less about new jobs  LaCrosse Tribune   ...Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is downplaying his pledge to create 250,000 new private-sector jobs by the end of his term, a review of his official pronouncements suggests...
Sotheby’s Handlers to Confront Board, Pay Plan Backed  Bloomberg   ...Locked-out art handlers who own shares will confront directors about labor practices, according to the union representing the workers...