Today's Teamster News 03.28.12

Justices signal deep trouble for health care law  Associated Press   ...The fate of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul was cast into deeper jeopardy Tuesday as the Supreme Court's conservative justices sharply and repeatedly questioned its core requirement that virtually every American carry insurance...
Red States See Massive Public Sector Job Losses  The Nation   ...Republicans seized control of both branches of the legislature in 11 states after the 2010 elections. It’s in these very states that public sector layoffs are disproportionately concentrated, leading to one of the biggest rounds of job losses for the public workforce since record keeping began...
Home Prices in U.S. Cities Fell at Slower Pace in January  Bloomberg   ...Prices were little changed in January from the prior month, the best performance since July... 
A national sex strike! Spain's 'high-class hookers refuse to sleep with bankers until they open up credit lines to cash-strapped families'  Daily Mail   ...Sneaky bankers were trying to circumvent the protest by claiming to be architects or engineers, the sex-workers said...
When privatisation doesn't work (opinion)  The Guardian   ...What politicians typically mean when they speak of greater efficiency is lower costs, typically achieved by employing cheap, non-unionised labour. This is the real reason so many public services are outsourced...
Teamsters challenge Florida probation change  Associated Press   ...The Teamsters union is challenging a decision to suspend visits by Florida probation officers to the homes of released convicts...

Today's Teamster News 02.03.12

Indiana union president promises no Super Bowl disruptions following right-to-work battle loss  Associated Press   ...Nancy Guyott said Thursday that organized labor will take its fight to the ballot box in November rather than Super Bowl celebrations in downtown Indianapolis this week...
Opponents to prison privatization should hold firm (opinion)  Tampa Bay Times   ...Any idea too controversial to withstand the scrutiny of the full legislative process — particularly one that transfers public responsibility to for-profit businesses for questionable savings — is not one worth passing...
Leaders wage war on working people (opinion)  Arizona Republic   ...in addition to regular working people, Arizona lawmakers are waging war on children, on sick people, on poor people, on teachers and on unions...
Wisconsin Recall: Shooting the Moon  blue cheddar   ...Walker raised more than $1 million per week from mid-December to mid-January. According to Mike McCabe, director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, “The governor has raised more than any candidate for any state office in Wisconsin history...”
New poll demonstrates public support for manufacturing, investment in infrastructure  manufacturethis.org   ...70% of voters would be “somewhat more inclined” or “much more inclined” to vote for a presidential candidate who "has a very strong position on strengthening manufacturing industries and creating more manufacturing jobs...”
Teamsters Prepare to Strike Northern Ohio Red Cross  Local 507   ...More than 200 Teamsters who work as blood collection workers and mobile unit assistants for the American Red Cross in Northern Ohio announced today that they intend to strike on Feb. 14 over concerns about donor safety...

Security worse at private prisons. Sometimes it's terrible.




Florida citizens at a meeting opposing prison closures and privatization last night in Jefferson County.

  Private correctional facilities are a really, really bad idea. They don't save taxpayers' money because corporations need to make a profit.

And they're dangerous. Murderers, rapists and thieves are more likely to escape a private prison than a government-run institution, according to a nationwide study by researchers at the Federal Bureau of Prisons Office of Research and Evaluation.

Just this month, an inmate pleaded guilty to murdering Gary and Linda Haas, an Oklahoma couple on vacation in August 2010. He and two others had escaped from Arizona State Prison, which is run by Management And Training Corporation. Arizona's Department of Corrections issued a scathing assessment of the poor security and undertrained corrections officers. They actually ignored the alarm that sounded when the inmates cut the fence to escape.

Florida lawmakers want to turn nearly half of Florida's prisons over to a corporation -- though violent inmates have escaped from prisons run by GEO Group Inc. and the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), the two companies vying to run Florida’s privatized prisons.

Here are just a few of the delightful things that happened in money-making prisons:

In February 2008, a notorious rapist escaped for two days from a civil commitment center in Arcadia, Fla, according to the Tampa Bay Times. GEO Group ran the facility, which treats sex offenders too dangerous to be released. The escapee, Bruce Alan Young, is a former nurse convicted of raping seven female patients while they were sedated, including a 15-year-old girl at Citrus Memorial Hospital.

Two years ago, three dangerous inmates escaped from the Allen Correctional Center, a GEO facility, in Kinder, La. The Town Talk tells us government law enforcement officers brought them in.

CCA mistakenly released nine inmates from the Bay County Jail Annex in Florida in 2007. Six inmates escaped from the CCA-run Northeast Ohio Correctional Center in the summer of 1998. Four were in prison for murder and one was serving time for armed robbery. One of the inmates eluded capture for more than a month.

See why this is a bad idea? You can sign this petition to oppose prison privatization in Florida here.

Today's Teamster News 01.31.12

Indiana right-to-work bill heading for final vote  ABC News   ...An Indiana Senate committee has passed a right-to-work bill, and Governor Mitch Daniels says he is ready to sign the bill once it clears the full senate. The bill is expected to clear the senate on Wednesday...
Senate expected to begin floor debate on South Florida prison privatization plan  Associated Press   ...Debate on the bill (CS/CS/SB 2038) is set for Tuesday and a vote is expected Wednesday...
Bills to change workers' rights high on state Senate's agenda  St. Louis Beacon   ...Greater St. Louis Labor Council president Bob Soutier ...(said) the debate in the Missouri General Assembly over worker-related legislation is part of a national agenda orchestrated by big business...
Second Year In, Republican Governors Moderate Tone  New York Times   ...more laws that aim to curb the power of unions are being pursued in a number of states this year...
Hoeven-Lugar-Vitter, Bipartisan Group of Senators to Introduce Legislation to Approve the Keystone XL Pipeline  U.S. Sen. John Hoeven   ...U.S. Senators John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), David Vitter (R-La.) and a total of 44 senators today announced that they will introduce legislation to approve the Keystone XL pipeline project under Congress’s authority enumerated in the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution, Article 1, Section 8...
US economy stumbles  Macrobusiness   ...consumer spending has stalled as consumers return to tucking away this income boost as savings...
Hostess asks judge to slash union obligations  Associated Press   ...The Teamsters union issued a swift rebuke on Thursday, saying Hostess was trying to "bully" its way out of obligations to its employees...

Today's Teamster News 01.30.12

Indiana right-to-work law to get final push this week  Reuters   ...Republicans lawmakers were expected to give a final push this week to legislation that would make Indiana the first right-to-work state in the nation's manufacturing belt, dealing a setback to organized labor in a presidential election year...
Sneaky tactics are used for prisons (opinion)  Florida Times-Union   ...With so much at stake, including the jobs of 3,800 corrections employees and the public safety of 18 million Floridians, the rush to privatize prisons is not only an affront to the process but a danger to our citizens...
Heartbeat of protesters is stifled in the capitol  Wisconsin Citizens Media Cooperative   ...Republicans in the Assembly Session last night, in the process of passing highly controversial mining legislation, claimed they were seeking “decorum” when they ordered law enforcement to clear the gallery of all visitors...
New Yorkers Face “Downward Mobility”  Bloomberg   ...About one third of New York City residents nearing retirement age won’t be able to quit or will have to rely entirely on Social Security because they have less than $10,000 in savings, according to a study released today...
Meet the judge who is driving Wall Street and the SEC nuts  Washington Post   ...Jed Rakoff is driving regulators nuts by refusing to rubber-stamp the kind of deals that have long defined Securities and Exchange Commission justice — boilerplate settlements in which companies use shareholders' money to pay fines while they neither admit nor deny doing anything wrong...
Port of Longview signs off on ILWU and EGT settlement  The Daily News   ...The pact provides a framework for longshoremen to work inside the $200 million grain terminal and end one of the area's longest, angriest labor disputes in decades...

Today's Teamster News 01.29.12

State senate will hold right to work hearing Monday  Post-Tribune   ...On the heels of the Indiana House passing divisive right-to-work legislation, the Indiana Senate will hold a committee hearing Monday with the goal of sending the bill to the governor before the Super Bowl...
Dave Bachman: Prison makeover is too big and too fast  Tallahassee Democrat   ...The one consideration that I feel has not been sufficiently aired is the potential that such widespread changes may have to upset the good order, control and discipline in some institutions, resulting in "unintended consequences..."
Scott Walker Faces Tightening Noose in John Doe Investigation  Veterans News Now   ...a John Doe investigation covering Walker’s tenure as Milwaukee County executive and his successful 2010 run for governor has reached into the inner circles of Scott Walker’s longtime aides and allies. “A criminal complaint has uncovered a ’secret email system’ that was ‘routinely used by selected insiders within the Walker administration’ for county business as well as unofficial purposes such as campaigning...
A Victory for the Public on Foreclosures?  Rolling Stone   ...this deal ... appears to have been effectively negotiated down from a bloocurdling outrage to whatever it is now, which is probably something far less than that: it may still be a serious underpay, but it's not the unreal, criminal giveaway it was originally meant to be...
Trying to Inch the WTO Away from Extreme Financial Deregulation  Eyes on Trade   ...The World Trade Organization’s General Agreement on Trade in Services limits the kinds of financial regulations countries can impose...
Erie Teamsters vote to give leaders strike authorization  Go Erie   ...The union represents about 160 city of Erie workers, including Bureau of Streets employees...

Today's Teamster News 01.28.12

RTW Protestors gather outside Elkhart County senator's home  Fox 28   ...Union protestors took to the streets right in front of State Senator Carlin Yoder's home in Elkhart County Friday...
Rush to Privatization a Danger to Fla.  The Ledger   ...With so much at stake, including the jobs of 3,800 corrections employees and the public safety of 18 million Floridians, the rush to privatize prisons is not only an affront to the process, but a danger to our citizens...
Union membership grows slightly, but share of workforce remains at historic low  Associated Press   ...Union membership grew slightly last year, giving labor leaders hope that a period of steep declines has finally bottomed out...
Anti-Outsourcing Bill Stirs Fears In India, Philippines  Huffington Post   ...A bill that would punish American companies for sending their customer call centers overseas has caused an uproar in India and the Philippines, where politicians and corporations fear lost business due to the U.S. bill's protectionist measures...
Road to Damascus - Syria's Suburbs  RT.com   ...Deserted in the day and dangerous at night, nearly every evening there are reports of clashes and protests in these areas...
How Swedes and Norwegians Broke the Power of the ‘1 Percent’  The Indypendent   ...Under the leadership of the working class, however, both countries built robust and successful economies that nearly eliminated poverty, expanded free university education, abolished slums, provided excellent health care available to all as a matter of right and created a system of full employment... 
Teamsters Press Unionization of Toll Drivers  Journal of Commerce   ...The Teamsters union, as part of its national strategy to organize harbor truck drivers, has taken on Toll Global Forwarding, charging that the company is using national labor law to delay a vote among drivers to join the union...

Shame! FL lawmakers deny citizens their right to be heard

Florida lawmakers just can't wait to turn over half the state's prisons to the private companies that have filled their pockets with campaign cash. On Wednesday, several dozen Teamster correctional officers traveled a long way -- and at their own expense -- to testify against a bill to privatize Florida's prisons. 

Were they allowed to tell the Senate Budget Committee that private prisons are more expensive than government correctional facilities because they add a profit to existing costs? No.

Were they allowed to describe how private companies cut corners, putting profit above public safety? No.

Were they allowed to tell lawmakers that private prisons can't coordinate with with other law enforcement agencies when prisoners escape? No.

After almost two hours of longwinded debate, the committee announced there were only a few minutes left for testimony. Only paid lobbyists were allowed to speak. Then the committee passed the bill.

Cries of "Shame" filled the hearing room (you can hear it on the video above). Teamster attorney Ron Silver, who'd been a lawmaker for 24 years, said he'd never heard anything like it.

Here's something else: three out of four Floridians say they are very concerned that the state Legislature is trying to change state law to give private companies and donors billions of dollars in secret contracts -- with no cost-benefit analysis and no public review.

Think the Senate Budget Committee shut down the public because a backroom deal was made to give a contract to a private company? We do. Think maybe Pink Slip Rick Scott had something to do with it? We do. And here's the reason why: Scott's administration has already emptied hard-core prisoners out of Region IV -- the area set to be privatized. According to the Miami Herald,

Prison guards are incensed that over the past year the Department of Corrections has quietly moved the most troublesome and costly inmates from South Florida prisons to prisons upstate, making the southern prisons more attractive to profit-minded prison vendors. A spokesman for the system, Ann Howard, said 79 inmates in the south are classified as “close management,” out of a total of 10,000.

Something's definitely rotten in the state of Florida.

Today's Teamster News 01.27.12

In rush to pass 'right to work' next week, Indiana Senate panel plans Monday hearing  Indy Star   ...Goal is to have Gov. Mitch Daniels sign it into law before the Super Bowl...
Senate disregards perils of privatization (opinion)  Tampa Bay Times   ...The Republican leaders' arrogant efforts to exempt the Legislature from most of a state law that requires rigorous public vetting of privatization deals would encourage one-sided deals at best and invite corruption at worst. Floridians deserve government in the sunshine...
Scott Walker Staffers Arrested-Reince Priebus Now Involved  Daily Kos   ...Two staffers who worked directly for Gov. Scott Walker while he was county executive were charged Thursday with illegally doing extensive political work while being paid by taxpayers to do county jobs. This is in addition to the three aides of Scott Walker that were arrested on January 5, 2012...
The British economy is now doing worse than it did during the Great Depression  Brad DeLong   ...In less than a year, if current forecasts come true, the Cameron-Osborne Depression will not be the worst depression in Britain since the Great Depression, but the worst depression in Britain… probably ever...
UN Gets 35 Pounds of Cocaine Sent From Mexico  Bloomberg   ...Two forged diplomatic pouches containing a total of 35 pounds (16 kilos) of cocaine were delivered last week to the UN headquarters building in New York,,,
Teamsters Warn Hostess Not To Misuse Bankruptcy Process  IBT   ...The Teamsters Union on Thursday warned Hostess Brands Inc. not to misuse the bankruptcy process in an attempt to bully its way to unnecessary operations changes, saying a consensual resolution with sacrifices by all stakeholders is what is required...

Today's Teamster News 01.25.12

Indiana Moves Closer To Right-to-Work Law  Wall Street Journal   ...The leader of the Indiana House Democrats, Rep. Patrick Bauer, conceded Tuesday that his party faces dwindling options to block passage of what would be the nation's first right-to-work law in a decade, meaning the legislation is likely to be adopted eventually...
Four donors jointly gave Walker $1 million in recent weeks  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel   ...Gov. Scott Walker received $1 million from just four donors in recent weeks, and most of his money came from out of state as he raced to collect funds to fight an effort to recall him...
Corrections workers oppose prison privatization bills en masse during hearing  Florida Independent   ...Dozens of current and former corrections workers from all over the state showed up at a state Senate rules committee meeting yesterday to voice their opposition to two bills that would allow the state to privatize prisons. Despite the emotional testimony warning of the calamitous effects of prison privatization, the bill eventually moved forward to its final committee stop...
EU ratchets up pressure with Greek default threat  The Telegraph   ...Austria's finance minister Maria Fekter said patience with Athens is exhausted. "Greece has failed its austerity targets by a wide margin...costs haven't come down. This situation has caused great consternation"...
Billionaires at Davos Bemoan Inequalities  Bloomberg   ...Ukrainian billionaire Victor Pinchuk wants to talk about income inequality. So does Irish billionaire Denis O’Brien and Indian billionaire Vikas Oberoi. The three are among a contingent of at least 70 billionaires who are joining more than 2,500 business and political leaders at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, this week...
First Student Monitors Join Teamsters  IBT 
...First Student monitors in Olathe, Kan., have voted overwhelmingly to join Teamsters Local 838 in Kansas City, Mo. The 95 workers are uniting for better wages, benefits, respect and a voice on the job...