Teamster News
Teamsters, Human Rights Groups Decry Inaction By Salvadoran Government On Gilberto Soto Murder teamster.org ...A full-page ad scheduled for publication in tomorrow’s edition of El Salvador’s largest daily newspaper denounces the government for its continued inaction on the 10th anniversary of the assassination of Gilberto Soto, a representative of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Soto was killed while visiting El Salvador to establish fraternal relations with transport workers there and throughout Central America...
Rep. Marcy Kaptur celebrates victory at Teamsters Hall NBC24.com ...Rep. Kaptur arrived at the Teamsters Hall around 10 p.m. to thunderous applause from the crowd of about 100 that were assembled...
Voting No On 1 To Repeal AO 37 Will Save Anchorage Millions (opinion) Alaska Dispatch News ...Each year, Anchorage receives millions of dollars in federal grants that finance much of our public transit system. Since 2007, Anchorage has been awarded over $31 million in federal transit grants. If AO 37 remains law, Anchorage will lose eligibility for that funding, but will not lose the expense of replacing buses and maintaining bus stops...
ArcBest Sees Increase In Third-Quarter Revenue, Production Levels Fort Smith Times Record ...McReynolds said the new labor deal between ABF Freight and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters ratified last October is “tracking as expected” and the savings of $55 million to $65 million would be realized...
Sysco Keeps Planning For US Foods Merger Amid Delay Houston Chronicle ...The Teamsters Union is worried that jobs will be cut in regions where Sysco and US Foods overlap. The group represents more 7,600 Sysco warehouse workers and drivers and 4,000 US Foods warehouse workers. It said in its October newsletter that 2,500 jobs are at stake...
Trade
Agribusiness: TPP Won’t Be Decided This Month WHO ...U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman says the final agreement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will not be made at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit this month in Beijing...
State Battles
Republican Scott Walker wins Wisconsin governor race Capital Gazette ...Wisconsin Republican Governor Scott Walker has won re-election, Reuters/Ipsos projected on Tuesday, prevailing in a tough fight against Democratic challenger Mary Burke...
Gov. Paul LePage wins a second term; Michaud concedes Bangor Daily News ...Paul LePage, the outspoken former businessman who rode a Republican wave into the governor’s mansion and late-night talk show jokes in 2010, has won re-election in Maine...
Kasich, GOP roll in Ohio election Newark Advocate ...Gov. John Kasich led a Republican statewide trouncing of Democrats Tuesday night, assuring Kasich's spot in the discussion about GOP presidential candidates...
Wolf Ousts Corbett in Pa. Governor's Race NBCDFW.com ...Democrat Tom Wolf, who gave $10 million of his own money to underwrite an early TV ad campaign that endeared the businessman and first-time candidate to voters, unseated Gov. Tom Corbett on Tuesday, sending the unpopular incumbent to a historic defeat...
Republican Gov. Rick Scott Defeats Democrat Charlie Crist in Florida Wall Street Journal ...Republican Gov. Rick Scott of Florida won re-election Tuesday, fending off a vigorous challenge from Democrat Charlie Crist and providing the GOP a boost in a key swing state ahead of the 2016 presidential election...
GOP Gov. Rick Snyder Defeats Democrat Mark Schauer in Michigan Wall Street Journal ...Michigan Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, who acknowledged voters’ discontent with the state’s economy recovery, locked up his re-election Tuesday on a promise to help place workers in better-paying jobs...
Brownback Wins in Kansas, Keeping Alive Tax-Cut Crusade Bloomberg ...Kansas Governor Sam Brownback won a second term, surviving a backlash to an anti-tax crusade that pitted him against fellow Republicans and tested voters’ patience for the Tea Party agenda...
California Voters Deal Blow To Prisons, Drug War Huffington Post ...Nonviolent felonies like shoplifting and drug possession will be downgraded to misdemeanors under the ballot measure, Proposition 47. As many as 10,000 people could be eligible for early release from state prisons, and it's expected that courts will annually dispense around 40,000 fewer felony convictions...
War on Workers
Riding Wave of Discontent, G.O.P. Takes Senate New York Times ...Propelled by economic dissatisfaction and anger toward the president, Republicans grabbed Democratic Senate seats in North Carolina, Colorado, Iowa, West Virginia, Arkansas, Montana and South Dakota to gain their first Senate majority since 2006...
To Angry Voters, Washington Comes Out the Biggest Loser New York Times ...Optimism about the future was in short supply in this a-pox-on-all-your-houses climate. And the sense of pessimism appears greater than in the last big election: Nearly two-thirds of voters say the nation is on the wrong track, up from a little over half in 2012...
Construction Worker Killed In Turnpike Crash WMTW ...A worker has been killed in an accident at a construction site on the Maine Turnpike in York, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration...
Uber And Its Shady Partners Are Pushing Drivers Into Subprime Loans ValleyWag ...Instead of mortgages, this time a bubble has formed around auto loans, and reliably ruthless Uber is in the thick of it. Two "partners" in Uber's vehicle financing program are under federal investigation, but Uber hasn't slowed its aggressive marketing campaign to get drivers with bad credit to sign up for loans...
Chipotle Faces Wage Theft Allegations From Workers Franchise Herald ...Chipotle employees from Colorado and Minnesota are alleging that the company often makes workers continue their services "off the clock" without pay. Several of these employees wrote official court statements explaining that they had to continue to clean up their restaurant locations despite the time keeping system clocking them out at 12:30 a.m...
Judge Orders Joseph Esposito To Sit For Deposition After Ebola, ISIS Excuses Were Deemed ‘Not Satisfactory’ New York Daily News ...City lawyers contended that Emergency Management Commissioner Joseph Esposito was too busy to be deposed for an Occupy Wall Street-related civil suit last week because of the Ebola crisis....Esposito, 64, was slated to answer questions under oath last week for a suit brought by a woman who says she was wrongly arrested during the Occupy Wall Street protests in 2011...
Miscellaneous
NSA Chief Bet Money On AT&T As It Spied On You Daily Beast ...At the same time Gen. Keith Alexander was running the National Security Agency, the United States’ biggest spying outfit, he was also trading stocks in an obscure technology company that had a sweetheart deal with one of the NSA’s most important sources of intelligence—the global phone and Internet giant AT&T...
Showing posts with label FL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label FL. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
Thursday, October 9, 2014
Today's Teamster News 10.09.14
Teamster News
The Teamsters launch a television ad campaign on rail safety Teamsters Canada ..."We want to send a clear message to the federal government: we need more inspectors on the track," explains Robert Bouvier, president of Teamsters Canada...
Drivers Say Two-Tier System Will Give Uber, Others Unfair Advantage teamster.org ...Thousands of D.C. cab drivers affiliated with the Teamsters Union participated in a second “Fairness NOW!” caravan today throughout the city to demand equal regulatory treatment with private sedan services by the D.C. City Council...
A Clear Choice In November (opinion) Detroit News ...When you don't fight to close loopholes that encourage companies to ship their jobs overseas, you're not doing what's best for Michigan...
The Antique Car That Might Replace Horse-Drawn Carriages In NYC Yahoo News ...The eCarriage is the proposed replacement for all that animal-powered transportation capacity for tourists...
Trade
A New U.S. Tobacco Proposal in TPP? Politico ...U.S. trade officials have denied they plan to offer a new tobacco proposal in the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks in Australia later this month. The pushback comes amid growing industry concerns that the United States is discussing the idea of prohibiting tobacco companies from bringing lawsuits against TPP governments under an investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) clause...
Union Boss Len McCluskey Slams Vince Cable Over TTIP Threat To NHS The Independent ...unions and a plethora of NGOs are concerned about an element in the agreement which they say could pave the way for US multinationals to sue future British governments if they try to reverse the recent privatization of large parts of the NHS...
State Battles
Fla. Gov. Scott sued over finances by AG candidate Associated Press ..."The people of Florida don't really care whether Gov. Scott is worth $3 million or $300 million," said Sheldon. "What they care about is being able to determine whether he has a personal financial stake in the decisions he makes as a public official..."
AFL-CIO leaders decry Johnson's opposition to minimum wage increase Minneapolis Star Tribune ...AFL-CIO leaders on Tuesday decried what they say is Republican gubernatorial candidate Jeff Johnson’s opposition to increasing Minnesota’s minimum wage...
Philadelphia’s school reform debacle: Despised governor crosses the line Salon ...Parents, teachers and students have resisted full privatization, New Orleans-style, and have found themselves punished for resistance as Gov. Tom Corbett, who controls the schools after a 2001 takeover by the state, slashes school budgets, wipes out thousands of jobs, and shutters dozens of schools. The latest move by Corbett and the Philadelphia School Reform Commission (SRC), which replaced an elected school board after the 2001 takeover, is to unilaterally cancel the city’s contract with the 15,000 members of the Philadelphia Federation of teachers...
L.A. Lawmakers Lay Out Path To $15.25 Minimum Wage By 2019 Los Angeles Times ...Six members of the Los Angeles City Council launched an effort Tuesday to take the city's minimum wage to $15.25 by 2019, a move that would be more aggressive than the pay strategy backed by Mayor Eric Garcetti several weeks ago...
Mailers Sent By Koch Group Appear Designed To Misdirect Voters In Key U.S. Senate Race The American Prospect ...The North Carolina State Board of Elections announced this week that it is investigating a controversial mailer the conservative advocacy group Americans for Prosperity Foundation (AFPF) sent to thousands of state residents that contained inaccurate information about voter registration...
Court Decisions On Voting Rules Sow Confusion In State Races New York Times ...Just weeks before elections that will decide control of the Senate and crucial governors’ races, a cascade of court rulings about voting rules, issued by judges with an increasingly partisan edge, are sowing confusion and changing voting procedures with the potential to affect outcomes in some states...
Anti-ALEC Activists Pressure eBay to Drop Conservative Group National Journal ...More than 80 organizations are asking the e-commerce company to follow the lead of Google and other tech giants and divorce itself from the American Legislative Exchange Council...
Rightwing Groups Try to Stamp Out Local Union Contracts The Progressive ...A rightwing legal group is suing the school district, school board, and teacher’s union in Madison, Wisconsin, for honoring a labor contract negotiated before the state supreme court upheld Governor Scott Walker’s divisive Act 10 law, ending most collective bargaining rights for most public employees...
War on Workers
Union blocks traffic to protest casino givebacks Associated Press ...Casino workers blocked traffic on a highway Wednesday night to protest demands for contract givebacks being made to keep the Trump Taj Mahal casino open...24 protesters who sat down in the intersection and refused to move when ordered by officers were arrested and charged with obstructing a highway and failure to move...
Republicans Are Trying to Make Sure Minorities and Young People Don't Vote This November Mother Jones ...In 15 states, this year's midterms will mark the first federal election with a host of these new voting restrictions in action...
There Were Two Unemployed Persons Per Job Opening in August 2014 Economic Populist ...If one takes the U-6 broader measure of unemployment that includes people who are forced into part-time work and the marginally attached, the ratio is 3.9 people needing a job to each actual job opening....
Union Miners Rally At EPA To Protest New Emissions Standards Huffington Post ...Organizers said about 700 people made it to Washington for the protest, and another 50 or so were on a bus that arrived late. They carried signs that read "EPA Rules Destroy Good Jobs" and "EPA Rules Put Seniors At Risk," and some wore shirts that said "Stop The War On Coal."...
Burdened With Record Amount Of Debt, Graduates Delay Marriage NBC News ...Student loans have hit a record high of $1.2 trillion, putting a crimp in The American Dream of owning a home and starting a family. And it’s affecting the broader economy too...
Uber Skimps On Driver Training, Then Charges Drivers $65 For Basic Driver Skills Course Forbes ...Uber puts some drivers out on the road with no vehicle inspections and barely any training — and Uber makes them pay out of pocket if they want basic driver training, drivers say...
Worker killed at West Point Kia plant turnto10.com ...The worker who died during an industrial accident at the Kia production plant in West Point has been identified as 57-year-old John Edd Dunnivant, of Lanett, the West Point Police Department has announced...
Highway worker dies in Tilden, NE accident Associated Press ...55-year-old man has been killed while working on a highway project in northeast Nebraska...
The Teamsters launch a television ad campaign on rail safety Teamsters Canada ..."We want to send a clear message to the federal government: we need more inspectors on the track," explains Robert Bouvier, president of Teamsters Canada...
Drivers Say Two-Tier System Will Give Uber, Others Unfair Advantage teamster.org ...Thousands of D.C. cab drivers affiliated with the Teamsters Union participated in a second “Fairness NOW!” caravan today throughout the city to demand equal regulatory treatment with private sedan services by the D.C. City Council...
A Clear Choice In November (opinion) Detroit News ...When you don't fight to close loopholes that encourage companies to ship their jobs overseas, you're not doing what's best for Michigan...
The Antique Car That Might Replace Horse-Drawn Carriages In NYC Yahoo News ...The eCarriage is the proposed replacement for all that animal-powered transportation capacity for tourists...
Trade
A New U.S. Tobacco Proposal in TPP? Politico ...U.S. trade officials have denied they plan to offer a new tobacco proposal in the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks in Australia later this month. The pushback comes amid growing industry concerns that the United States is discussing the idea of prohibiting tobacco companies from bringing lawsuits against TPP governments under an investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) clause...
Union Boss Len McCluskey Slams Vince Cable Over TTIP Threat To NHS The Independent ...unions and a plethora of NGOs are concerned about an element in the agreement which they say could pave the way for US multinationals to sue future British governments if they try to reverse the recent privatization of large parts of the NHS...
State Battles
Fla. Gov. Scott sued over finances by AG candidate Associated Press ..."The people of Florida don't really care whether Gov. Scott is worth $3 million or $300 million," said Sheldon. "What they care about is being able to determine whether he has a personal financial stake in the decisions he makes as a public official..."
AFL-CIO leaders decry Johnson's opposition to minimum wage increase Minneapolis Star Tribune ...AFL-CIO leaders on Tuesday decried what they say is Republican gubernatorial candidate Jeff Johnson’s opposition to increasing Minnesota’s minimum wage...
Philadelphia’s school reform debacle: Despised governor crosses the line Salon ...Parents, teachers and students have resisted full privatization, New Orleans-style, and have found themselves punished for resistance as Gov. Tom Corbett, who controls the schools after a 2001 takeover by the state, slashes school budgets, wipes out thousands of jobs, and shutters dozens of schools. The latest move by Corbett and the Philadelphia School Reform Commission (SRC), which replaced an elected school board after the 2001 takeover, is to unilaterally cancel the city’s contract with the 15,000 members of the Philadelphia Federation of teachers...
L.A. Lawmakers Lay Out Path To $15.25 Minimum Wage By 2019 Los Angeles Times ...Six members of the Los Angeles City Council launched an effort Tuesday to take the city's minimum wage to $15.25 by 2019, a move that would be more aggressive than the pay strategy backed by Mayor Eric Garcetti several weeks ago...
Mailers Sent By Koch Group Appear Designed To Misdirect Voters In Key U.S. Senate Race The American Prospect ...The North Carolina State Board of Elections announced this week that it is investigating a controversial mailer the conservative advocacy group Americans for Prosperity Foundation (AFPF) sent to thousands of state residents that contained inaccurate information about voter registration...
Court Decisions On Voting Rules Sow Confusion In State Races New York Times ...Just weeks before elections that will decide control of the Senate and crucial governors’ races, a cascade of court rulings about voting rules, issued by judges with an increasingly partisan edge, are sowing confusion and changing voting procedures with the potential to affect outcomes in some states...
Anti-ALEC Activists Pressure eBay to Drop Conservative Group National Journal ...More than 80 organizations are asking the e-commerce company to follow the lead of Google and other tech giants and divorce itself from the American Legislative Exchange Council...
Rightwing Groups Try to Stamp Out Local Union Contracts The Progressive ...A rightwing legal group is suing the school district, school board, and teacher’s union in Madison, Wisconsin, for honoring a labor contract negotiated before the state supreme court upheld Governor Scott Walker’s divisive Act 10 law, ending most collective bargaining rights for most public employees...
War on Workers
Union blocks traffic to protest casino givebacks Associated Press ...Casino workers blocked traffic on a highway Wednesday night to protest demands for contract givebacks being made to keep the Trump Taj Mahal casino open...24 protesters who sat down in the intersection and refused to move when ordered by officers were arrested and charged with obstructing a highway and failure to move...
Republicans Are Trying to Make Sure Minorities and Young People Don't Vote This November Mother Jones ...In 15 states, this year's midterms will mark the first federal election with a host of these new voting restrictions in action...
There Were Two Unemployed Persons Per Job Opening in August 2014 Economic Populist ...If one takes the U-6 broader measure of unemployment that includes people who are forced into part-time work and the marginally attached, the ratio is 3.9 people needing a job to each actual job opening....
Union Miners Rally At EPA To Protest New Emissions Standards Huffington Post ...Organizers said about 700 people made it to Washington for the protest, and another 50 or so were on a bus that arrived late. They carried signs that read "EPA Rules Destroy Good Jobs" and "EPA Rules Put Seniors At Risk," and some wore shirts that said "Stop The War On Coal."...
Burdened With Record Amount Of Debt, Graduates Delay Marriage NBC News ...Student loans have hit a record high of $1.2 trillion, putting a crimp in The American Dream of owning a home and starting a family. And it’s affecting the broader economy too...
Uber Skimps On Driver Training, Then Charges Drivers $65 For Basic Driver Skills Course Forbes ...Uber puts some drivers out on the road with no vehicle inspections and barely any training — and Uber makes them pay out of pocket if they want basic driver training, drivers say...
Worker killed at West Point Kia plant turnto10.com ...The worker who died during an industrial accident at the Kia production plant in West Point has been identified as 57-year-old John Edd Dunnivant, of Lanett, the West Point Police Department has announced...
Highway worker dies in Tilden, NE accident Associated Press ...55-year-old man has been killed while working on a highway project in northeast Nebraska...
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Today's Teamster News 10.02.14
Teamster News
City Sanitation Workers Get In The Pink For Breast Cancer Awareness Month New York Daily News ...The 6,300 members of the Sanitation Department will be wearing pink ribbons on their green uniforms for the next 31 days in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. “This has touched a lot of us throughout the department,” said sanitation worker Brian Tullo, whose mother battled breast cancer. ..
BLET Members Convene 3rd National Convention teamster.org ...BLET National President Dennis R. Pierce delivered his state of the union speech during the opening session of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen's Third National Convention...
New Legislation Aimed At Curbing Ridesharing Controversy In DC WUSA ...The Teamsters Local 922, which has formed an association with more than one thousand independent Washington taxi drivers, also issued a statement criticizing Cheh's bill. The legislation "does not do enough to provide for public safety, industry stability, or equity for taxi drivers," the Teamsters statement said...
Trade
The vulnerability of being ill informed: the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement and Global Public Health Journal of Public Health ...the TPPA poses serious risks to global public health, particularly chronic, non-communicable diseases. At greatest risk are national tobacco regulations, regulations governing the emergence of generic drugs and controls over food imports by transnational corporations...
State Battles
Kansas: Continued Budget Hemorrhaging Econbrowser ...Tax collections by Kansas state government in September fell a sobering $21 million below projections to mark the fourth time in the past six months revenue failed to match targets, officials said Tuesday...
Wisconsin Has 3rd-Lowest Business Start-Up Rate In Country, According To Census Data Wisconsin Public Radio ...According to the data, about 5,700 businesses with employees were created in Wisconsin in 2012, which constitutes less than 6 percent of all Wisconsin firms. Only Iowa and West Virginia had lower rates for the year...
In Wisconsin, A Push For Voter ID Law, But Not Voter IDs Center for Media and Democracy ...The Advancement Project and ACLU have noted that the state would need to issue 6,000 IDs per day to protect the right to vote. Yet two-thirds of the state's Department of Motor Vehicles offices are only open part-time, and just one is open on Saturday, making it exceptionally difficult for working people to get an ID or to drive a friend or family member who doesn't have one...
Report: Fla. voters had country’s longest waits to cast ballots Miami Herald ...Voters in Florida waited far longer than those in other states to cast their votes in the 2012 election, hampered by long ballots and cutbacks in early voting options, according to a new report by congressional auditors...
National union leader visits Maine to back Michaud, condemn LePage ‘right to work’ push Bangor Daily News ...The president of the nation’s largest unionized labor organization came to Maine on Wednesday to boost Democratic U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud’s campaign for governor, calling the congressman “a friend of the working people, whether they’re union or not.”...
NJ’s minimum wage rising in January by 13 cents Asbury Park Press ...The 1.59 percent increase, from $8.25 an hour to $8.38, is required under a constitutional amendment approved by 61 percent of voters last November that raised the mimimum wage by $1 and provided for automatic yearly increases to keep pace with inflation...
Minimum wage to rise to $8.10 for Ohio workers in 2015, up 15 cents cleveland.com ...The increase, announced Tuesday by the Ohio Department of Commerce, will benefit workers employed by companies with annual gross receipts greater than $297,000 a year...
Court Blocks Part of New North Carolina Voting Law Associated Press ...Parts of North Carolina's new voting law, considered one of the toughest in the nation, were set aside for next month's elections because they were likely to disenfranchise black voters, a federal appeals court panel ruled Wednesday...
War On Workers
Two years after college, too many grads are still 'adrift' The Hill ... Two years after graduation, 24 percent of graduates have been forced to move back home with their parents. No less shocking, 74 percent of college graduates "are receiving financial support from their families." Moreover, 23 percent of graduates who are "in the labor market are unemployed or underemployed," that is, they find themselves in jobs in which they work fewer than "20 hours per week" or where the majority of peer employees "have not completed even a year of college." Finally, a mere 47 percent of working graduates enjoy full-time jobs that "pay $30,000 or more annually," and this at a time when the average debt load for students who borrowed to attend college stands at $29,400...
Wal-Mart’s New Scheme To Prey On America’s Poor Salon.com ...to open an account, you have to buy a $2.95 “starter kit” from Walmart. There’s also a minimum deposit of $20 required. A visit to an out-of-network ATM will get you a $2.50 charge, and customers who do not keep a balance of $500 a month will get hit with a fee of $8.95. This last bit is especially worrying: if you suddenly lose your job, you can quickly rack up burdensome fees...
Worker Killed in Valley Forklift Accident WOWT ...Valley police say George Young was using a standing forklift Monday night while working at Midwest Manufacturing. At some point, the machine backed into a shelving unit and pinned him...
Miscellaneous
September U.S. Consumer Confidence Unexpectedly Drops Wall Street Journal ...U.S. consumers unexpectedly pulled back on their economic optimism in September, according to a report released Tuesday. The Conference Board, a private research group, said its index of consumer confidence fell to 86.0 in September from a revised 93.4 in August, first reported as 92.4...
City Sanitation Workers Get In The Pink For Breast Cancer Awareness Month New York Daily News ...The 6,300 members of the Sanitation Department will be wearing pink ribbons on their green uniforms for the next 31 days in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. “This has touched a lot of us throughout the department,” said sanitation worker Brian Tullo, whose mother battled breast cancer. ..
BLET Members Convene 3rd National Convention teamster.org ...BLET National President Dennis R. Pierce delivered his state of the union speech during the opening session of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen's Third National Convention...
New Legislation Aimed At Curbing Ridesharing Controversy In DC WUSA ...The Teamsters Local 922, which has formed an association with more than one thousand independent Washington taxi drivers, also issued a statement criticizing Cheh's bill. The legislation "does not do enough to provide for public safety, industry stability, or equity for taxi drivers," the Teamsters statement said...
Trade
The vulnerability of being ill informed: the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement and Global Public Health Journal of Public Health ...the TPPA poses serious risks to global public health, particularly chronic, non-communicable diseases. At greatest risk are national tobacco regulations, regulations governing the emergence of generic drugs and controls over food imports by transnational corporations...
State Battles
Kansas: Continued Budget Hemorrhaging Econbrowser ...Tax collections by Kansas state government in September fell a sobering $21 million below projections to mark the fourth time in the past six months revenue failed to match targets, officials said Tuesday...
Wisconsin Has 3rd-Lowest Business Start-Up Rate In Country, According To Census Data Wisconsin Public Radio ...According to the data, about 5,700 businesses with employees were created in Wisconsin in 2012, which constitutes less than 6 percent of all Wisconsin firms. Only Iowa and West Virginia had lower rates for the year...
In Wisconsin, A Push For Voter ID Law, But Not Voter IDs Center for Media and Democracy ...The Advancement Project and ACLU have noted that the state would need to issue 6,000 IDs per day to protect the right to vote. Yet two-thirds of the state's Department of Motor Vehicles offices are only open part-time, and just one is open on Saturday, making it exceptionally difficult for working people to get an ID or to drive a friend or family member who doesn't have one...
Report: Fla. voters had country’s longest waits to cast ballots Miami Herald ...Voters in Florida waited far longer than those in other states to cast their votes in the 2012 election, hampered by long ballots and cutbacks in early voting options, according to a new report by congressional auditors...
National union leader visits Maine to back Michaud, condemn LePage ‘right to work’ push Bangor Daily News ...The president of the nation’s largest unionized labor organization came to Maine on Wednesday to boost Democratic U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud’s campaign for governor, calling the congressman “a friend of the working people, whether they’re union or not.”...
NJ’s minimum wage rising in January by 13 cents Asbury Park Press ...The 1.59 percent increase, from $8.25 an hour to $8.38, is required under a constitutional amendment approved by 61 percent of voters last November that raised the mimimum wage by $1 and provided for automatic yearly increases to keep pace with inflation...
Minimum wage to rise to $8.10 for Ohio workers in 2015, up 15 cents cleveland.com ...The increase, announced Tuesday by the Ohio Department of Commerce, will benefit workers employed by companies with annual gross receipts greater than $297,000 a year...
Court Blocks Part of New North Carolina Voting Law Associated Press ...Parts of North Carolina's new voting law, considered one of the toughest in the nation, were set aside for next month's elections because they were likely to disenfranchise black voters, a federal appeals court panel ruled Wednesday...
War On Workers
Two years after college, too many grads are still 'adrift' The Hill ... Two years after graduation, 24 percent of graduates have been forced to move back home with their parents. No less shocking, 74 percent of college graduates "are receiving financial support from their families." Moreover, 23 percent of graduates who are "in the labor market are unemployed or underemployed," that is, they find themselves in jobs in which they work fewer than "20 hours per week" or where the majority of peer employees "have not completed even a year of college." Finally, a mere 47 percent of working graduates enjoy full-time jobs that "pay $30,000 or more annually," and this at a time when the average debt load for students who borrowed to attend college stands at $29,400...
Wal-Mart’s New Scheme To Prey On America’s Poor Salon.com ...to open an account, you have to buy a $2.95 “starter kit” from Walmart. There’s also a minimum deposit of $20 required. A visit to an out-of-network ATM will get you a $2.50 charge, and customers who do not keep a balance of $500 a month will get hit with a fee of $8.95. This last bit is especially worrying: if you suddenly lose your job, you can quickly rack up burdensome fees...
Worker Killed in Valley Forklift Accident WOWT ...Valley police say George Young was using a standing forklift Monday night while working at Midwest Manufacturing. At some point, the machine backed into a shelving unit and pinned him...
Miscellaneous
September U.S. Consumer Confidence Unexpectedly Drops Wall Street Journal ...U.S. consumers unexpectedly pulled back on their economic optimism in September, according to a report released Tuesday. The Conference Board, a private research group, said its index of consumer confidence fell to 86.0 in September from a revised 93.4 in August, first reported as 92.4...
Monday, September 22, 2014
Teamsters register members to vote so the billionaires don't call all the shots
Tomorrow is National Voter Registration Day, but for many Teamster locals EVERY day is voter registration day.
This year there are 36 governors up for election, and if you don't think that matters think again. Four years ago a crew of ALEC-backed candidates became governors and they applied ALEC economics to their states. The results have been disastrous.
Scott Walker was elected governor in Wisconsin and public service workers lost their collective bargaining rights. Now, Wisconsin faces a $1.8 billion budget deficit and the state is 33rd in the country in job creation. Last month, Wisconsin lost 4,300 jobs.
Same story in Kansas, where Sam Brownback slashed taxes for corporations and raised them for working-class families. The state's job growth is anemic and it faces hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue shortfalls. The New York Times reported,
In Michigan, Gov. Rick Snyder sneaked right-to-work past voters behind closed doors in a lame-duck session, after saying he wouldn't. Gov. Mitch Daniels did the same thing in Indiana.
In Florida, Gov. Rick Scott tried to privatize many of the state's prisons, and it was only the hard work of Teamster corrections officers that prevented that from happening.
Still think it doesn't matter if you vote? Fine, don't. Let the billionaires call the shots. But if you do think it matters and you haven't registered, click on this link: http://ibt.io/vote
It will take you to a web page where you can register online.
This year there are 36 governors up for election, and if you don't think that matters think again. Four years ago a crew of ALEC-backed candidates became governors and they applied ALEC economics to their states. The results have been disastrous.
 |
| Teamster Local 769's secretary-treasurer, Josh Zivalich |
Same story in Kansas, where Sam Brownback slashed taxes for corporations and raised them for working-class families. The state's job growth is anemic and it faces hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue shortfalls. The New York Times reported,
Mr. Brownback’s proudly conservative policies have turned out to be so divisive and his tax cuts have generated such a drop in state revenue that they have caused even many Republicans to revolt.In Ohio, John Kasich tried to do what Walker did in Wisconsin with SB5. It was only after a massive effort by Ohio Teamsters and other union members that SB5 was repealed.
In Michigan, Gov. Rick Snyder sneaked right-to-work past voters behind closed doors in a lame-duck session, after saying he wouldn't. Gov. Mitch Daniels did the same thing in Indiana.
In Florida, Gov. Rick Scott tried to privatize many of the state's prisons, and it was only the hard work of Teamster corrections officers that prevented that from happening.
Still think it doesn't matter if you vote? Fine, don't. Let the billionaires call the shots. But if you do think it matters and you haven't registered, click on this link: http://ibt.io/vote
It will take you to a web page where you can register online.
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Today's Teamster News 09.18.14
Teamster News
For the First Time in North America, Teamsters Successfully Organize Workers at FedEx Freight teamster.org ...In a historic first, dock associates at FedEx Freight in Surrey, British Columbia have joined Teamsters Local 31. Read Teamsters Canada press release, here. It’s a North American first for these workers at FedEx. Before this victory, the only unionized FedEx employees were the company’s U.S.-based pilots...
Oxford schools reach contract with Teamsters Daily Local News ...The Oxford Area School District has reached a contract agreement with its service and support staff who are members of Teamsters’ Local 384...
Teamsters Endorse McClain For County Prosecutor Chinook Observer ...Teamsters Joint Council No. 28, representing local teamsters throughout Washington, Idaho and Alaska have endorsed Mark McClain for Pacific County prosecutor...
Coroner IDs Security Guard Killed On Set Of TNT’s ‘Falling Skies’ Deadline Hollywood ...The Teamsters security guard killed Monday in Vancouver on the set of the TNT sci-fi drama Falling Skies has been identified as Amrik Singh Gill, 59, of Delta, BC. Gill was crushed to death when an unattended five-ton truck rolled down a hill and pinned him against a tree...
Trade
U.S. launches antidumping, countervailing duty probe against China’s boltless steel shelving Trade Reform ...The investigations are in response to a request from Edsal Manufacturing Company based in the state of Illinois. The company alleged that the products from China were sold below the fair value of the products in the U.S. market with dumping margin of 40 percent to 211 percent, and Chinese producers and exporters also received improper government subsidies...
As President’s Export Council Meets, No Chance to Meet Obama’s Export Doubling Goal; Export Growth Falls Under Free Trade Agreements Public Citizen ...Obama’s efforts to push more-of-the-same trade policies has been sidelined by the dismal outcomes of his 2011 U.S.-Korea FTA, with the U.S. goods trade deficit with Korea up 50 percent and U.S. exports to Korea down 5 percent in the first two years of the pact...
Business groups keep passage of fast-track high on list of priorities The Hill ...Business Roundtable and the National Association of Manufacturers are among the slew of groups that are aggressively pushing for action on fast-track authority before this Congress closes up shop for the year...
State Battles
State says 25 voter applications of 85,000 “confirmed” forgeries Atlanta Journal Constitution ...The New Georgia Project brought bins holding copies of more than 51,000 unprocessed voter applications to the state Capitol on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2014. Secretary of State Brian Kemp has put the group under investigation for alleged voter registration fraud, but group leaders said it was a “witch hunt” to intimidate their efforts...
Why Rick Scott Is Facing a Tea Party Revolt in Florida Mother Jones ...Scott soon discovered that governing like a tea partier made him one of the nation's most unpopular governors...
A dark-money cloud obscures issues that matter in Michigan MLive.com ...through Labor Day, the campaigns for governor and U.S. Senate had spent a total of nearly $30 million on advertising, mostly TV. In both cases, much of the spending is “dark money,” money for so-called issue-based advertising, in which the identity of those paying for the ads can legally be unreported and therefore effectively secret...
Portland Mayor Won’t Push For Higher Minimum Wage For Tipped Workers; Council Could See Proposal Next Month Bangor Daily News ...Mayor Michael Brennan last week said a proposed ordinance to raise the minimum wage in the city might be vetted next week by a City Council committee, and could go before the full council for consideration next month...
Virginia Sues 13 Big Banks, Claiming Mortgage Securities Fraud Washington Post ...Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring on Tuesday announced a $1.15 billion lawsuit against 13 of the nation’s biggest banks, accusing them of misleading a state retirement fund about the quality of bonds made up of residential mortgages...
Absentee Ballot Mailings Halted In Push To Restart Voter ID Law Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ...Local clerks and state elections officials are putting their absentee ballot mailings on hold as they hustle to reinstate Wisconsin's photo ID requirement for voters in the wake of Friday's federal appeals court decision...
New Rules Coming For Uber, Lyft Memphis Flyer ...New rules for Lyft and Uber are on the way as the Memphis City Council began formalizing them Tuesday but taxi companies protested that the rules did not go far enough to level the playing field...
War On Workers
Five Years Of Recovery Haven’t Boosted The Median Household Income FiveThirtyEight ...The income of the median U.S. household was $51,900 in 2013, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday. That’s essentially unchanged from 2012, after adjusting for inflation, and is 8 percent lower than in 2007, before the recession began...
Drowning In Debt, Younger Workers Feeling Disillusioned With American Dream CBS Detroit ...“Their unemployment levels are double that of the average, they’re drowning under debt whether it’s credit card debt – just to survive or the debt they accumulated trying to get a college degree and now can’t find a job to pay it off,” said Shuler...
Multinational Companies Court Lower-Income Consumers New York Times ...For years, multinational companies had little interest in lower-end consumers, figuring no money was to be made. Now, they are increasingly attractive to all types of industries, from consumer product makers to technology businesses...
Child Laborers. In America. In 2014. Politico Magazine ...Lax federal labor laws allow kids as young as 12 to work in tobacco fields, despite mounting evidence that they can contract acute nicotine poisoning from handling tobacco leaves. Even some tobacco growers and companies take the position that U.S. laws and regulations aren’t strong enough...
Worker Killed After Being Electrocuted Under NW OKC House Newson6.com ...One person was killed after being accidentally electrocuted while working under a home in northwest Oklahoma City, Wednesday morning...
For the First Time in North America, Teamsters Successfully Organize Workers at FedEx Freight teamster.org ...In a historic first, dock associates at FedEx Freight in Surrey, British Columbia have joined Teamsters Local 31. Read Teamsters Canada press release, here. It’s a North American first for these workers at FedEx. Before this victory, the only unionized FedEx employees were the company’s U.S.-based pilots...
Oxford schools reach contract with Teamsters Daily Local News ...The Oxford Area School District has reached a contract agreement with its service and support staff who are members of Teamsters’ Local 384...
Teamsters Endorse McClain For County Prosecutor Chinook Observer ...Teamsters Joint Council No. 28, representing local teamsters throughout Washington, Idaho and Alaska have endorsed Mark McClain for Pacific County prosecutor...
Coroner IDs Security Guard Killed On Set Of TNT’s ‘Falling Skies’ Deadline Hollywood ...The Teamsters security guard killed Monday in Vancouver on the set of the TNT sci-fi drama Falling Skies has been identified as Amrik Singh Gill, 59, of Delta, BC. Gill was crushed to death when an unattended five-ton truck rolled down a hill and pinned him against a tree...
Trade
U.S. launches antidumping, countervailing duty probe against China’s boltless steel shelving Trade Reform ...The investigations are in response to a request from Edsal Manufacturing Company based in the state of Illinois. The company alleged that the products from China were sold below the fair value of the products in the U.S. market with dumping margin of 40 percent to 211 percent, and Chinese producers and exporters also received improper government subsidies...
As President’s Export Council Meets, No Chance to Meet Obama’s Export Doubling Goal; Export Growth Falls Under Free Trade Agreements Public Citizen ...Obama’s efforts to push more-of-the-same trade policies has been sidelined by the dismal outcomes of his 2011 U.S.-Korea FTA, with the U.S. goods trade deficit with Korea up 50 percent and U.S. exports to Korea down 5 percent in the first two years of the pact...
Business groups keep passage of fast-track high on list of priorities The Hill ...Business Roundtable and the National Association of Manufacturers are among the slew of groups that are aggressively pushing for action on fast-track authority before this Congress closes up shop for the year...
State Battles
State says 25 voter applications of 85,000 “confirmed” forgeries Atlanta Journal Constitution ...The New Georgia Project brought bins holding copies of more than 51,000 unprocessed voter applications to the state Capitol on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2014. Secretary of State Brian Kemp has put the group under investigation for alleged voter registration fraud, but group leaders said it was a “witch hunt” to intimidate their efforts...
Why Rick Scott Is Facing a Tea Party Revolt in Florida Mother Jones ...Scott soon discovered that governing like a tea partier made him one of the nation's most unpopular governors...
A dark-money cloud obscures issues that matter in Michigan MLive.com ...through Labor Day, the campaigns for governor and U.S. Senate had spent a total of nearly $30 million on advertising, mostly TV. In both cases, much of the spending is “dark money,” money for so-called issue-based advertising, in which the identity of those paying for the ads can legally be unreported and therefore effectively secret...
Portland Mayor Won’t Push For Higher Minimum Wage For Tipped Workers; Council Could See Proposal Next Month Bangor Daily News ...Mayor Michael Brennan last week said a proposed ordinance to raise the minimum wage in the city might be vetted next week by a City Council committee, and could go before the full council for consideration next month...
Virginia Sues 13 Big Banks, Claiming Mortgage Securities Fraud Washington Post ...Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring on Tuesday announced a $1.15 billion lawsuit against 13 of the nation’s biggest banks, accusing them of misleading a state retirement fund about the quality of bonds made up of residential mortgages...
Absentee Ballot Mailings Halted In Push To Restart Voter ID Law Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ...Local clerks and state elections officials are putting their absentee ballot mailings on hold as they hustle to reinstate Wisconsin's photo ID requirement for voters in the wake of Friday's federal appeals court decision...
New Rules Coming For Uber, Lyft Memphis Flyer ...New rules for Lyft and Uber are on the way as the Memphis City Council began formalizing them Tuesday but taxi companies protested that the rules did not go far enough to level the playing field...
War On Workers
Five Years Of Recovery Haven’t Boosted The Median Household Income FiveThirtyEight ...The income of the median U.S. household was $51,900 in 2013, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday. That’s essentially unchanged from 2012, after adjusting for inflation, and is 8 percent lower than in 2007, before the recession began...
Drowning In Debt, Younger Workers Feeling Disillusioned With American Dream CBS Detroit ...“Their unemployment levels are double that of the average, they’re drowning under debt whether it’s credit card debt – just to survive or the debt they accumulated trying to get a college degree and now can’t find a job to pay it off,” said Shuler...
Multinational Companies Court Lower-Income Consumers New York Times ...For years, multinational companies had little interest in lower-end consumers, figuring no money was to be made. Now, they are increasingly attractive to all types of industries, from consumer product makers to technology businesses...
Child Laborers. In America. In 2014. Politico Magazine ...Lax federal labor laws allow kids as young as 12 to work in tobacco fields, despite mounting evidence that they can contract acute nicotine poisoning from handling tobacco leaves. Even some tobacco growers and companies take the position that U.S. laws and regulations aren’t strong enough...
Worker Killed After Being Electrocuted Under NW OKC House Newson6.com ...One person was killed after being accidentally electrocuted while working under a home in northwest Oklahoma City, Wednesday morning...
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Today's Teamster News 08.26.14
Teamsters
Teamsters concerned about cameras monitoring Massena town employees Watertown Daily Times ...Teamsters Union business agent Mickey S. Smith claims that town officials have refused to negotiate the use of security cameras in public areas throughout the town, but Supervisor Joseph D. Gray sees it differently...
Trade
UPS, Fedex get approval for express services in more Chinese cities Reuters ...After years of waiting, United Parcel Service Inc and FedEx Corp have received licenses in China to extend domestic express package services to Beijing and other cities without needing joint-venture partners...
State Battles
New Doe document links Walker campaign, two national groups Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ...A newly released document alleges Gov. Scott Walker's campaign illegally coordinated with two national groups on political advertising in a way that went further than what had been previously known...
WEDC board OK'd Ashley Furniture getting $6 million tax credit, cutting 1,900 jobs Wisconsin State Journal ...The board overseeing the state’s flagship job-creation agency has quietly approved a $6 million tax credit for Ashley Furniture Industries with a condition allowing the company to eliminate half of its state workforce...
6 Reasons Why Rick Scott Is One of the Worst Candidates for Working Families in the 2014 Elections AFL-CIO ...Scott rejects policies that would raise wages. “When I hear a politician say that we have to raise the minimum wage so working families can make ends meet, I cringe,” he said...
Companies that hire disabled ordered to pay back wages The Morning Call ...The U.S. Department of Labor has ordered Pennsylvania organizations to pay $118,000 in back wages to workers with disabilities since 2011, according to records PublicSource obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. The workers, who mostly have intellectual and developmental disabilities, already were earning far below minimum wage because the employers have a special license to pay people with disabilities less...
The Con Artistry of Charter Schools In These Times ...Charter schools are such a racket, across the nation they are attracting special attention from the FBI, which is working with the Department of Education’s inspector general to look into allegations of charter-school fraud...
Missourians Fight ALEC Over Big Agriculture’s “Right to Farm” Mint Press News ...the conflict was essentially between large agricultural factories and consumers increasingly concerned with the sustainability and ethics behind the food they eat...
Educators protest corporate influence on public education The Legislative Gazette ...Protestors from New York State United Teachers demonstrated on the steps of the State Education Department building, shredding a Pearson testing contract while speaking out against what they call the growing corporate influence on teaching and learning in New York's public schools and colleges...
Ride-sharing firms shift into overdrive to kill insurance bill Los Angeles Times ...The fight pits companies such as Uber and Lyft against insurers, taxicab firms and some consumer advocates. At issue is how much and what kind of insurance should be required for ride-sharing drivers in case of an accident...
War on Workers
Retirees' Social Security checks garnished for student loans CNN Money ...It's a growing national trend. Last year, 156,000 Americans had their Social Security checks garnished because of student loans they had defaulted on. It's tripled in number from 47,500 in 2006...
Amazon at odds with Germany over strong union tradition Seattle Times ...Unions are a part of the cultural fabric in Germany. For Amazon, that poses a persistent challenge as thousands of its German warehouse workers fight for union recognition, striking occasionally to demonstrate their commitment...
Indiana county highway worker killed when hit by tire rim Associated Press ...State safety officials are investigating the death of a northwestern Indiana county highway department worker who was killed when a tire rim blew off a road grader...
McDonald's maintenance worker Jose Carillo, 81, won't let his age keep him from waging the fight for fair wages for fast-food workers New York Daily News ...Peruvian immigrant Castillo is paid $8.10 an hour at a Midtown McDonald's and can't afford to retire. He is one of hundreds of fast-food workers campaigning to have their wages raised to $15 an hour...
Despite Economic Recovery, Millions Of Workers Stuck In Part-Time Jobs NPR ...Americans who'd like to have full-time jobs are often working two or more part-time jobs to make ends meet. Some are hamstrung by increasingly difficult labor tactics used by their employers...
Taco Bell Owners Sued For Forcing Workers to Give Fake Money as Change Jezebel ...The operators of two Manhattan Taco Bells have been handed a class-action lawsuit alleging they forced underage workers to hand out counterfeit $20 bills to customers as change...
The Kochs' commercial appeal Politico ...This cycle, Koch-affiliated groups, such as Americans for Prosperity, are expected to spend up to a staggering $290 million to support conservative causes and candidates, much of it on advertising...
Teamsters concerned about cameras monitoring Massena town employees Watertown Daily Times ...Teamsters Union business agent Mickey S. Smith claims that town officials have refused to negotiate the use of security cameras in public areas throughout the town, but Supervisor Joseph D. Gray sees it differently...
Trade
UPS, Fedex get approval for express services in more Chinese cities Reuters ...After years of waiting, United Parcel Service Inc and FedEx Corp have received licenses in China to extend domestic express package services to Beijing and other cities without needing joint-venture partners...
State Battles
New Doe document links Walker campaign, two national groups Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ...A newly released document alleges Gov. Scott Walker's campaign illegally coordinated with two national groups on political advertising in a way that went further than what had been previously known...
WEDC board OK'd Ashley Furniture getting $6 million tax credit, cutting 1,900 jobs Wisconsin State Journal ...The board overseeing the state’s flagship job-creation agency has quietly approved a $6 million tax credit for Ashley Furniture Industries with a condition allowing the company to eliminate half of its state workforce...
6 Reasons Why Rick Scott Is One of the Worst Candidates for Working Families in the 2014 Elections AFL-CIO ...Scott rejects policies that would raise wages. “When I hear a politician say that we have to raise the minimum wage so working families can make ends meet, I cringe,” he said...
Companies that hire disabled ordered to pay back wages The Morning Call ...The U.S. Department of Labor has ordered Pennsylvania organizations to pay $118,000 in back wages to workers with disabilities since 2011, according to records PublicSource obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. The workers, who mostly have intellectual and developmental disabilities, already were earning far below minimum wage because the employers have a special license to pay people with disabilities less...
The Con Artistry of Charter Schools In These Times ...Charter schools are such a racket, across the nation they are attracting special attention from the FBI, which is working with the Department of Education’s inspector general to look into allegations of charter-school fraud...
Missourians Fight ALEC Over Big Agriculture’s “Right to Farm” Mint Press News ...the conflict was essentially between large agricultural factories and consumers increasingly concerned with the sustainability and ethics behind the food they eat...
Educators protest corporate influence on public education The Legislative Gazette ...Protestors from New York State United Teachers demonstrated on the steps of the State Education Department building, shredding a Pearson testing contract while speaking out against what they call the growing corporate influence on teaching and learning in New York's public schools and colleges...
Ride-sharing firms shift into overdrive to kill insurance bill Los Angeles Times ...The fight pits companies such as Uber and Lyft against insurers, taxicab firms and some consumer advocates. At issue is how much and what kind of insurance should be required for ride-sharing drivers in case of an accident...
War on Workers
Retirees' Social Security checks garnished for student loans CNN Money ...It's a growing national trend. Last year, 156,000 Americans had their Social Security checks garnished because of student loans they had defaulted on. It's tripled in number from 47,500 in 2006...
Amazon at odds with Germany over strong union tradition Seattle Times ...Unions are a part of the cultural fabric in Germany. For Amazon, that poses a persistent challenge as thousands of its German warehouse workers fight for union recognition, striking occasionally to demonstrate their commitment...
Indiana county highway worker killed when hit by tire rim Associated Press ...State safety officials are investigating the death of a northwestern Indiana county highway department worker who was killed when a tire rim blew off a road grader...
McDonald's maintenance worker Jose Carillo, 81, won't let his age keep him from waging the fight for fair wages for fast-food workers New York Daily News ...Peruvian immigrant Castillo is paid $8.10 an hour at a Midtown McDonald's and can't afford to retire. He is one of hundreds of fast-food workers campaigning to have their wages raised to $15 an hour...
Despite Economic Recovery, Millions Of Workers Stuck In Part-Time Jobs NPR ...Americans who'd like to have full-time jobs are often working two or more part-time jobs to make ends meet. Some are hamstrung by increasingly difficult labor tactics used by their employers...
Taco Bell Owners Sued For Forcing Workers to Give Fake Money as Change Jezebel ...The operators of two Manhattan Taco Bells have been handed a class-action lawsuit alleging they forced underage workers to hand out counterfeit $20 bills to customers as change...
The Kochs' commercial appeal Politico ...This cycle, Koch-affiliated groups, such as Americans for Prosperity, are expected to spend up to a staggering $290 million to support conservative causes and candidates, much of it on advertising...
Sunday, August 24, 2014
Today's Teamster News 08.24.14
Trade
John Birch Society CEO Exposes Trade Schemes on Alex Jones Show The New American ...the TPP and TTIP negotiations are still proceeding apace. However, they are flying under the radar in stealth mode, with the compliant assistance of the mainstream media, which dutifully keeps the American public distracted from the profoundly destructive effect these agreements would have on our constitutional Republic and our entire way of life...
WTO Panel Decides Against U.S. in Meat-Labeling Dispute Wall Street Journal ...The U.S. has lost a key round at the World Trade Organization in a trade dispute with Canada and Mexico over meat labeling, according to people familiar with the WTO's findings...
State Battles
Measure 3 support kicks off with labor union rally in Fairbanks News Miner ...The chants of the crowd filled the air at Myrtle Thomas Park in Fairbanks on Thursday afternoon during the rally officially launching the Measure 3 campaign to raise and inflation-proof Alaska’s minimum wage...
Charter schools making big profits for private companies WTSP ...10 Investigates found a much bigger pot of money CUSA has been able to tap into: rent. When the company helps open a new school, its development arm, Red Apple Development, acquires land and constructs a school. Then, CUSA charges the school high rent...
Labor Day Parade organizers tell Gov. Corbett he's not welcome Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ...“I told them he wasn't invited,’’ said Jack Shea, the veteran Labor Council president. “You can’t be trying to do away with us for 364 days a year and then want to march with us.’’...
North Carolina judge rules private school voucher program unconstitutional Jurist ...The plaintiffs—public schools grades K through 12 and the taxpayers of North Carolina—will suffer irreparable harm if the state is not permanently enjoined from making unconstitutional disbursement of taxpayer funds to parents for the enrollment of their children in private schools...
New Quarterly Gross State Product Series: Wisconsin and Minnesota Econbrowser ...Minnesota per capita income has been statistically significantly higher than Wisconsin since end 2011 (equivalently, Wisconsin’s per capita income lower than Minnesota’s)...
War on Workers
It's Hard To Get Good Help: Trucking Industry Edition Center for Economic Policy and Research ...If we had more skilled people running trucking companies they would realize that they could bid away drivers from their competitors and get more people to learn to drive trucks if they offered higher pay...
The Housing Being Built in New York Doesn’t Meet the Needs of New Yorkers New York Observer ...The city demands cheaper, smaller housing units, with 57 percent of all adults in the city identifying as “single,” according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and 54.5 percent of the city’s population classified as rent-burdened—or paying more than 30 percent of their income on rent—in 2011, up from 40.7 percent in 2000...
Highway worker killed in St. Michaels work-zone crash Baltimore Sun ...A contracted highway worker for the State Highway Administration died Thursday evening after being struck by a vehicle in a work zone in St. Michaels, according to the SHA and Maryland State Police...
Worker killed in fall from I-40 bridge Commercial Appeal ...A 52-year-old worker was killed in a fall from the Interstate 40 bridge Friday near West Memphis...
Worker killed after explosion in Northwest Houston ABC 13 News ...Police say an explosion caused a large piece of metal to fall on top of employees. One person died, and there are no reports of anyone else injured...
Those Koch Attacks Are Working Wall Street Journal ...Democratic Super PACs and party campaign committees are outraising the Republicans...
John Birch Society CEO Exposes Trade Schemes on Alex Jones Show The New American ...the TPP and TTIP negotiations are still proceeding apace. However, they are flying under the radar in stealth mode, with the compliant assistance of the mainstream media, which dutifully keeps the American public distracted from the profoundly destructive effect these agreements would have on our constitutional Republic and our entire way of life...
WTO Panel Decides Against U.S. in Meat-Labeling Dispute Wall Street Journal ...The U.S. has lost a key round at the World Trade Organization in a trade dispute with Canada and Mexico over meat labeling, according to people familiar with the WTO's findings...
State Battles
Measure 3 support kicks off with labor union rally in Fairbanks News Miner ...The chants of the crowd filled the air at Myrtle Thomas Park in Fairbanks on Thursday afternoon during the rally officially launching the Measure 3 campaign to raise and inflation-proof Alaska’s minimum wage...
Charter schools making big profits for private companies WTSP ...10 Investigates found a much bigger pot of money CUSA has been able to tap into: rent. When the company helps open a new school, its development arm, Red Apple Development, acquires land and constructs a school. Then, CUSA charges the school high rent...
Labor Day Parade organizers tell Gov. Corbett he's not welcome Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ...“I told them he wasn't invited,’’ said Jack Shea, the veteran Labor Council president. “You can’t be trying to do away with us for 364 days a year and then want to march with us.’’...
North Carolina judge rules private school voucher program unconstitutional Jurist ...The plaintiffs—public schools grades K through 12 and the taxpayers of North Carolina—will suffer irreparable harm if the state is not permanently enjoined from making unconstitutional disbursement of taxpayer funds to parents for the enrollment of their children in private schools...
New Quarterly Gross State Product Series: Wisconsin and Minnesota Econbrowser ...Minnesota per capita income has been statistically significantly higher than Wisconsin since end 2011 (equivalently, Wisconsin’s per capita income lower than Minnesota’s)...
War on Workers
It's Hard To Get Good Help: Trucking Industry Edition Center for Economic Policy and Research ...If we had more skilled people running trucking companies they would realize that they could bid away drivers from their competitors and get more people to learn to drive trucks if they offered higher pay...
The Housing Being Built in New York Doesn’t Meet the Needs of New Yorkers New York Observer ...The city demands cheaper, smaller housing units, with 57 percent of all adults in the city identifying as “single,” according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and 54.5 percent of the city’s population classified as rent-burdened—or paying more than 30 percent of their income on rent—in 2011, up from 40.7 percent in 2000...
Highway worker killed in St. Michaels work-zone crash Baltimore Sun ...A contracted highway worker for the State Highway Administration died Thursday evening after being struck by a vehicle in a work zone in St. Michaels, according to the SHA and Maryland State Police...
Worker killed in fall from I-40 bridge Commercial Appeal ...A 52-year-old worker was killed in a fall from the Interstate 40 bridge Friday near West Memphis...
Worker killed after explosion in Northwest Houston ABC 13 News ...Police say an explosion caused a large piece of metal to fall on top of employees. One person died, and there are no reports of anyone else injured...
Those Koch Attacks Are Working Wall Street Journal ...Democratic Super PACs and party campaign committees are outraising the Republicans...
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Today's Teamster News 08.14.14
Teamster News
BLET organizes Illinois Railway short line workers teamster.org ...The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) scored a short line organizing victory last week as a majority of workers at Illinois Railway voted to make the BLET their designated collective bargaining representative...
Teamster at US Foods Seeks Information About Merger teamster.org ...Frank Rinetti, a Teamster member and employee of US Foods, recently sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) seeking information about the proposed Sysco-US Foods merger and he also outlines his concerns about the merger's impact on jobs...
Union teamsters met Wednesday, will vote Thursday KERO Bakersfield ...GET union employees met Wednesday to discuss the proposal from GET...
Trade
Five Tests Walmart Must Pass to Show its 'Made In America' Street Cred manufacture this ...If Walmart is truly serious about its pledge to help American manufacturers, the corporation will slash its imports into the U.S...
Country-Of-Origin-Labeling Dispute Threatens U.S. Exports, Jobs The Hill ...A long list of U.S.-manufactured goods and agricultural products are being threatened by a trade dispute about whether U.S. Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) requirements discriminate against our bordering countries’ meat products. Absent quick action to settle the dispute, the governments of Canada and Mexico—currently the two largest markets for U.S. exports—could impose $2 billion in retaliatory tariffs that would endanger thousands of American jobs...
State Battles
Corporate front groups pushing laughable “National Employee Freedom Week” and other anti-union effort eclectablog ... “National Employee Freedom Week”... encourages union members to become freeloaders by leaving their unions while the unions continue to bargain for on their behalf for better wages, better working conditions, and better benefits...
Floridians tried to stop gerrymandering, and Republicans gerrymandered anyways. We’re about to see who wins. Washington Post ...If it passes muster with the courts in anything like its present form, it will have been a pretty major victory for the GOP in overcoming the so-called Fair Districts amendments -- and an equally large setback for redistricting reformers seeking to rein in partisan gerrymandering...
Christie: GOP governors to spend millions in Maine Associated Press ...New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie returned to Maine on Tuesday to help raise money for Gov. Paul LePage and predicted that the Republican Governors Association would spend millions of dollars in the state this fall to help LePage win a second term...
Record number of labor candidates prep to run for public office at New Jersey State AFL-CIO Labor Candidates School Politicker NJ ...A record-sized class of rank-and-file union members representing 23 local unions from across all sectors of the labor movement took part in the New Jersey State AFL-CIO Labor Candidates School August 9-10, 2014, at the Rutgers University Inn and Conference Center in New Brunswick...
The Big Money Behind Walker’s Campaign Express Milwaukee ...Walker returned to the deep pockets of his recall mega-contributors, including Las Vegas gambling billionaire Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Miriam. Adelson donated $250,000 to Walker in 2012...
Labor and small businesses team up on California franchising law MSNBC ...the theory appears to be that protecting franchisors against the threat of closure will make it easier for them to do things like raise workers’ wages...
War On Workers
Electric Worker Hit By Train, Killed In Edmond KWTV ...The train was traveling southbound when it hit and killed Edmond Electric Worker, Bob Waterson Tuesday evening. Edmond city officials say Waterson was with the company for more than 34 years...
Rail CEOs to Investors: "Bomb Trains" Safe At Almost Any Speed DeSmog Blog ...Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) recently said it would proceed with plans to increase speeds for oil-by-rail unit trains in Devil’s Lake, N.D. to 60 MPH from 30 MPH, despite opposition from local officials...
What’s Lost in the Market Basket Stories Economic Policy Institute ...they have succeeded by taking a distinctly high-road approach: the company takes care of its workers, paying decent wages, offering benefits to full- and part-time staff, and providing employees with a profit-sharing plan. At the same time, Market Basket still offers prices lower than its competitors, Walmart included...
Union Workers In Maine Join Protest Of FairPoint Outsourcing Plans Portland Press Herald ...Hundreds of unionized FairPoint Communications Inc. workers in Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire staged “informational protests” Tuesday to educate customers about the negative impact of company plans to boost outsourcing, union representatives said...
For Largest U.S. Companies, Jobs Growth Has Lagged Profits, Revenues Reuters ...From 2001 to 2013, inflation-adjusted revenue at 100 of the largest publicly traded companies grew 71 percent and inflation-adjusted operating profit rose 150 percent. Global headcount reported in company financial filings rose 31 percent...
Los Angeles To Vote On Killing Major Wall Street Deal As City Drowns In Financial Fees International Business Times ...Los Angeles lawmakers were expected to vote Wednesday on a proposal to renegotiate or terminate an interest rate swap deal from the mid-2000s that critics say now costs the city millions of dollars a year in fees. If successful, the initiative could make the city the nation's largest to challenge ballooning Wall Street levies that accompany similar interest rate swap deals throughout the nation...
Front and center: Amendment 3 pushes teacher tenure into the spotlight Southeast Missourian ...if teachers have been teaching in the same district for five years, they're granted due process rights by statute. "Before that, they're at-will," Meyer said. Five years, she said, is probably the longest probationary period used around the country...
Miscellaneous
Does Your Boss Know You’re Reading This? Surveillance Technology Boosts Efficiency But Creates Workplace Issues Atlanta Journal-Constitution ...There are few laws and court cases to help companies or workers understand the limits, leaving some gray areas for protection of employees’ privacy...
BLET organizes Illinois Railway short line workers teamster.org ...The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) scored a short line organizing victory last week as a majority of workers at Illinois Railway voted to make the BLET their designated collective bargaining representative...
Teamster at US Foods Seeks Information About Merger teamster.org ...Frank Rinetti, a Teamster member and employee of US Foods, recently sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) seeking information about the proposed Sysco-US Foods merger and he also outlines his concerns about the merger's impact on jobs...
Union teamsters met Wednesday, will vote Thursday KERO Bakersfield ...GET union employees met Wednesday to discuss the proposal from GET...
Trade
Five Tests Walmart Must Pass to Show its 'Made In America' Street Cred manufacture this ...If Walmart is truly serious about its pledge to help American manufacturers, the corporation will slash its imports into the U.S...
Country-Of-Origin-Labeling Dispute Threatens U.S. Exports, Jobs The Hill ...A long list of U.S.-manufactured goods and agricultural products are being threatened by a trade dispute about whether U.S. Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) requirements discriminate against our bordering countries’ meat products. Absent quick action to settle the dispute, the governments of Canada and Mexico—currently the two largest markets for U.S. exports—could impose $2 billion in retaliatory tariffs that would endanger thousands of American jobs...
State Battles
Corporate front groups pushing laughable “National Employee Freedom Week” and other anti-union effort eclectablog ... “National Employee Freedom Week”... encourages union members to become freeloaders by leaving their unions while the unions continue to bargain for on their behalf for better wages, better working conditions, and better benefits...
Floridians tried to stop gerrymandering, and Republicans gerrymandered anyways. We’re about to see who wins. Washington Post ...If it passes muster with the courts in anything like its present form, it will have been a pretty major victory for the GOP in overcoming the so-called Fair Districts amendments -- and an equally large setback for redistricting reformers seeking to rein in partisan gerrymandering...
Christie: GOP governors to spend millions in Maine Associated Press ...New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie returned to Maine on Tuesday to help raise money for Gov. Paul LePage and predicted that the Republican Governors Association would spend millions of dollars in the state this fall to help LePage win a second term...
Record number of labor candidates prep to run for public office at New Jersey State AFL-CIO Labor Candidates School Politicker NJ ...A record-sized class of rank-and-file union members representing 23 local unions from across all sectors of the labor movement took part in the New Jersey State AFL-CIO Labor Candidates School August 9-10, 2014, at the Rutgers University Inn and Conference Center in New Brunswick...
The Big Money Behind Walker’s Campaign Express Milwaukee ...Walker returned to the deep pockets of his recall mega-contributors, including Las Vegas gambling billionaire Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Miriam. Adelson donated $250,000 to Walker in 2012...
Labor and small businesses team up on California franchising law MSNBC ...the theory appears to be that protecting franchisors against the threat of closure will make it easier for them to do things like raise workers’ wages...
War On Workers
Electric Worker Hit By Train, Killed In Edmond KWTV ...The train was traveling southbound when it hit and killed Edmond Electric Worker, Bob Waterson Tuesday evening. Edmond city officials say Waterson was with the company for more than 34 years...
Rail CEOs to Investors: "Bomb Trains" Safe At Almost Any Speed DeSmog Blog ...Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) recently said it would proceed with plans to increase speeds for oil-by-rail unit trains in Devil’s Lake, N.D. to 60 MPH from 30 MPH, despite opposition from local officials...
What’s Lost in the Market Basket Stories Economic Policy Institute ...they have succeeded by taking a distinctly high-road approach: the company takes care of its workers, paying decent wages, offering benefits to full- and part-time staff, and providing employees with a profit-sharing plan. At the same time, Market Basket still offers prices lower than its competitors, Walmart included...
Union Workers In Maine Join Protest Of FairPoint Outsourcing Plans Portland Press Herald ...Hundreds of unionized FairPoint Communications Inc. workers in Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire staged “informational protests” Tuesday to educate customers about the negative impact of company plans to boost outsourcing, union representatives said...
For Largest U.S. Companies, Jobs Growth Has Lagged Profits, Revenues Reuters ...From 2001 to 2013, inflation-adjusted revenue at 100 of the largest publicly traded companies grew 71 percent and inflation-adjusted operating profit rose 150 percent. Global headcount reported in company financial filings rose 31 percent...
Los Angeles To Vote On Killing Major Wall Street Deal As City Drowns In Financial Fees International Business Times ...Los Angeles lawmakers were expected to vote Wednesday on a proposal to renegotiate or terminate an interest rate swap deal from the mid-2000s that critics say now costs the city millions of dollars a year in fees. If successful, the initiative could make the city the nation's largest to challenge ballooning Wall Street levies that accompany similar interest rate swap deals throughout the nation...
Front and center: Amendment 3 pushes teacher tenure into the spotlight Southeast Missourian ...if teachers have been teaching in the same district for five years, they're granted due process rights by statute. "Before that, they're at-will," Meyer said. Five years, she said, is probably the longest probationary period used around the country...
Miscellaneous
Does Your Boss Know You’re Reading This? Surveillance Technology Boosts Efficiency But Creates Workplace Issues Atlanta Journal-Constitution ...There are few laws and court cases to help companies or workers understand the limits, leaving some gray areas for protection of employees’ privacy...
Saturday, July 12, 2014
Today's Teamster News 07.12.14
Teamster News
Teamsters Take Their Case To City Of LA — And A Shipper Journal of Commerce ...Justice for Port Truckers, which is affiliated with the Teamsters, continued to picket the headquarters and truck yards of three companies they are attempting to organize — Green Fleet Systems, Pac-9 Transportation and Total Transportation Services...
Picketing Truckers Raise Tensions At LA Port Amid Dockworker Talks NPR ...Labor tensions are high at the largest port complex in the country — Los Angeles and Long Beach — which handles nearly half of all the cargo coming into the United States. Short-haul truck drivers are striking...
Chicago Company Counts the Minutes Workers Spend on the Toilet Lakeview Patch ...The workers, who build faucet stations that go into high schools, university labs and healthcare facilities, say they are allowed only 6 minutes per day for toilet breaks, according to Teamsters Local 743, and anyone who exceeds their allotted toilet time is reprimanded...
Teamsters Local 8 Announces Tentative Contract With Penn State teamster.org ...Penn State University employees have reached a tentative contract agreement with the university which will continue to give the 2,500 members of Teamsters Local 8 economic and job stability, the union announced today...
Trade
Steel Institute Pleased With Commerce Determination on OCTG Steel Works ... “Imports from these countries have surged in the past few years, and we are pleased that the Commerce Department has reversed its preliminary determination with respect to Korea and taken this critical step to find that imports from all nine investigated countries are benefitting from unfair trade practices. It is critical that the U.S. government continue to aggressively and strictly enforce our trade laws to ensure that relief is provided to steelmakers and the nearly one million workers directly or indirectly supported by the steel industry...
China’s Food Safety Issues Worse Than You Thought Food Safety News ...Shuanghui International, China’s biggest meat products company (which purchased Smithfield Foods last year for $4.7 billion), has been plagued by constant reports here in this country of meat infested with maggots, customers succumbing to food poisoning, and random testing that shows illegal levels of bacteria and illegal additives such as clenbuterol in their meat...
Protesters Cry Foul At Secrecy Around Trans-Pacific Partnership Talks PostMedia ...Protesters gathered outside the Delta Hotel in Ottawa Thursday morning where trade talks are underway among Trans-Pacific Partnership members. Protesters held signs that said, “secret deal being negotiated here” and “stop the TPP,” while the Raging Grannies, an Ottawa-based satirical singing group, performed outside the hotel...
TTIP Is An Affront To Democracy New Internationalist ...Prime minister David Cameron ... is busy pushing for a deal that will hand the sovereignty of his country, and others, to multinational companies...
State Battles
UAW, VW reach agreement Associated Press ...United Auto Workers leaders said Thursday they have reached a consensus with Volkswagen and expect the German automaker to recognize the union if they sign up enough workers at a new local for the company’s assembly plant in Tennessee...
Judge Rules G.O.P. Illegally Redrew Florida Districts New York Times ...In a sharply worded decision, a Florida judge ruled late Thursday that Republicans illegally redrew the state’s congressional districts, saying they “made a mockery” of an amendment meant to inject fairness into a process that has long been politically tainted...
North Carolina Will Determine the Future of the Voting Rights Act The Nation ...Now, as a result of North Carolina’s new voting restrictions—widely regarded as the most onerous in the country—the 93-year-old activist could be disenfranchised by the state’s voter ID requirement because the name on her driver’s license does not match the name on her voter registration card...
Former Scott Walker aide exceeds top of pay scale with new job Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ...A former top aide to Gov. Scott Walker who was recently transferred into a new state job received $3,400 a year more than the top pay listed in an advertisement for the position, state records show...
War On Workers
Gallup Slams Lid On Hopes For US Economy Wolf Street ...Gallup found that “the increasing cost of essential items is further constraining family budgets already hit hard by the Great Recession and still reeling from a stagnant economy.” Hence, the less essential the expense, the more it got cut...
Worker dies after construction accident in Mesa AZFamily.com ...Mesa Fire Capt. Bob Tribbensee said some equipment fell on the worker, who was then treated by paramedics and transported to a hospital. The worker died at the hospital...
Worker killed in ceiling collapse at Haltom City building Fort Worth Star Telegram ...One worker was killed and two others were slightly injured Thursday morning when a ceiling collapsed inside a vacant building that was being remodeled, officials said...
Indiana Steelmaker Fined Over Worker’s Sinkhole Death Claims Journal ...he owner of a northwestern Indiana steel mill has agreed to pay a $7,000 fine over what state inspectors determined was a serious safety violation in a worker’s death...
New Bank Leak Shows How Rich Exploit Tax Haven Loopholes ICIJ ...Names range from vacuum cleaner tycoon James Dyson to Hollywood actor Mel Gibson. Today The Guardian identifies party donors who over the years have paid more than £8m to the governing Conservative party...
Shaving New York: Lyft receives cease-and-desist on eve of expansion Pando Daily ...Lyft’s expansion to New York has been delayed by a cease-and-desist letter from the city’s district attorney, who says the company has “thumbed its nose” at regulators who have warned it that its mustachioed ride service can’t operate in the city...
Why Small Biz Owners Back A Higher Minimum Wage CBS News ...Sixty-one percent of small-business owners with employees say they support increasing the baseline wage in three stages over two-and-a-half years and adjusting it after that to keep pace with increases in the cost of living. That's a finding in a new study from the American Sustainable Business Council and Business for a Fair Minimum Wage...
Miscellaneous
Amazon Marches Forward On Drones, Asks FAA For Permission To Test Prime Air Salon.com ... The company officially requested permission from the Federal Aviation Administration to test its drones outside in the Seattle area...
10 Supreme Court Rulings—Before Hobby Lobby—That Turned Corporations Into People Mother Jones ...A line of Supreme Court rulings stretching back 200 years has blurred the distinction between flesh-and-blood citizens and the businesses they own...
Teamsters Take Their Case To City Of LA — And A Shipper Journal of Commerce ...Justice for Port Truckers, which is affiliated with the Teamsters, continued to picket the headquarters and truck yards of three companies they are attempting to organize — Green Fleet Systems, Pac-9 Transportation and Total Transportation Services...
Picketing Truckers Raise Tensions At LA Port Amid Dockworker Talks NPR ...Labor tensions are high at the largest port complex in the country — Los Angeles and Long Beach — which handles nearly half of all the cargo coming into the United States. Short-haul truck drivers are striking...
Chicago Company Counts the Minutes Workers Spend on the Toilet Lakeview Patch ...The workers, who build faucet stations that go into high schools, university labs and healthcare facilities, say they are allowed only 6 minutes per day for toilet breaks, according to Teamsters Local 743, and anyone who exceeds their allotted toilet time is reprimanded...
Teamsters Local 8 Announces Tentative Contract With Penn State teamster.org ...Penn State University employees have reached a tentative contract agreement with the university which will continue to give the 2,500 members of Teamsters Local 8 economic and job stability, the union announced today...
Trade
Steel Institute Pleased With Commerce Determination on OCTG Steel Works ... “Imports from these countries have surged in the past few years, and we are pleased that the Commerce Department has reversed its preliminary determination with respect to Korea and taken this critical step to find that imports from all nine investigated countries are benefitting from unfair trade practices. It is critical that the U.S. government continue to aggressively and strictly enforce our trade laws to ensure that relief is provided to steelmakers and the nearly one million workers directly or indirectly supported by the steel industry...
China’s Food Safety Issues Worse Than You Thought Food Safety News ...Shuanghui International, China’s biggest meat products company (which purchased Smithfield Foods last year for $4.7 billion), has been plagued by constant reports here in this country of meat infested with maggots, customers succumbing to food poisoning, and random testing that shows illegal levels of bacteria and illegal additives such as clenbuterol in their meat...
Protesters Cry Foul At Secrecy Around Trans-Pacific Partnership Talks PostMedia ...Protesters gathered outside the Delta Hotel in Ottawa Thursday morning where trade talks are underway among Trans-Pacific Partnership members. Protesters held signs that said, “secret deal being negotiated here” and “stop the TPP,” while the Raging Grannies, an Ottawa-based satirical singing group, performed outside the hotel...
TTIP Is An Affront To Democracy New Internationalist ...Prime minister David Cameron ... is busy pushing for a deal that will hand the sovereignty of his country, and others, to multinational companies...
State Battles
UAW, VW reach agreement Associated Press ...United Auto Workers leaders said Thursday they have reached a consensus with Volkswagen and expect the German automaker to recognize the union if they sign up enough workers at a new local for the company’s assembly plant in Tennessee...
Judge Rules G.O.P. Illegally Redrew Florida Districts New York Times ...In a sharply worded decision, a Florida judge ruled late Thursday that Republicans illegally redrew the state’s congressional districts, saying they “made a mockery” of an amendment meant to inject fairness into a process that has long been politically tainted...
North Carolina Will Determine the Future of the Voting Rights Act The Nation ...Now, as a result of North Carolina’s new voting restrictions—widely regarded as the most onerous in the country—the 93-year-old activist could be disenfranchised by the state’s voter ID requirement because the name on her driver’s license does not match the name on her voter registration card...
Former Scott Walker aide exceeds top of pay scale with new job Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ...A former top aide to Gov. Scott Walker who was recently transferred into a new state job received $3,400 a year more than the top pay listed in an advertisement for the position, state records show...
War On Workers
Gallup Slams Lid On Hopes For US Economy Wolf Street ...Gallup found that “the increasing cost of essential items is further constraining family budgets already hit hard by the Great Recession and still reeling from a stagnant economy.” Hence, the less essential the expense, the more it got cut...
Worker dies after construction accident in Mesa AZFamily.com ...Mesa Fire Capt. Bob Tribbensee said some equipment fell on the worker, who was then treated by paramedics and transported to a hospital. The worker died at the hospital...
Worker killed in ceiling collapse at Haltom City building Fort Worth Star Telegram ...One worker was killed and two others were slightly injured Thursday morning when a ceiling collapsed inside a vacant building that was being remodeled, officials said...
Indiana Steelmaker Fined Over Worker’s Sinkhole Death Claims Journal ...he owner of a northwestern Indiana steel mill has agreed to pay a $7,000 fine over what state inspectors determined was a serious safety violation in a worker’s death...
New Bank Leak Shows How Rich Exploit Tax Haven Loopholes ICIJ ...Names range from vacuum cleaner tycoon James Dyson to Hollywood actor Mel Gibson. Today The Guardian identifies party donors who over the years have paid more than £8m to the governing Conservative party...
Shaving New York: Lyft receives cease-and-desist on eve of expansion Pando Daily ...Lyft’s expansion to New York has been delayed by a cease-and-desist letter from the city’s district attorney, who says the company has “thumbed its nose” at regulators who have warned it that its mustachioed ride service can’t operate in the city...
Why Small Biz Owners Back A Higher Minimum Wage CBS News ...Sixty-one percent of small-business owners with employees say they support increasing the baseline wage in three stages over two-and-a-half years and adjusting it after that to keep pace with increases in the cost of living. That's a finding in a new study from the American Sustainable Business Council and Business for a Fair Minimum Wage...
Miscellaneous
Amazon Marches Forward On Drones, Asks FAA For Permission To Test Prime Air Salon.com ... The company officially requested permission from the Federal Aviation Administration to test its drones outside in the Seattle area...
10 Supreme Court Rulings—Before Hobby Lobby—That Turned Corporations Into People Mother Jones ...A line of Supreme Court rulings stretching back 200 years has blurred the distinction between flesh-and-blood citizens and the businesses they own...
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Today's Teamster News 05.13.14
Teamster News
Teamsters End Strike At PepsiCo Plant Indianapolis Star ...A 10-day strike involving about 350 Teamsters who work at a PepsiCo bottling plant on the Northwest side ended after they approved a new five-year contract...
National Labor Relations Board Rules In Favor Of Teamsters Against Durham teamster.org ...School bus drivers and monitors in Santa Rosa County, Fla., who are members of Teamsters Local 991 in Mobile, Ala., have won a major victory in a decision handed down by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in Washington, D.C...
AGY, Union Leaders Remain Mum As 'Lock Out' Continues Aiken Standard ...Employees aren't the only ones being "locked out" after Aiken's AGY plant reportedly deactivated the access badges of all it's workers more than a week ago...
Trade
The Free-Trade Regime: Oligarchy In Action Asia Times ...The United States is not really a democracy. That's the (simplified) conclusion of a recent study from Princeton University. Instead, economic elites and special interest groups enjoy tremendous sway in Washington, while "the preferences of the average American...
Trade accord carries health warning Stuff ...a trade deal is interfering with New Zealand doing the right thing to control cigarettes...
State Battles
Missouri Senate Republicans send two priorities back to House after late-night deal is struck St. Louis Post-Dispatch ...Democrats agreed to stand down on a constitutional amendment to allow some early voting in Missouri and a measure to extend the waiting period before an abortion. In exchange, Senate Republicans agreed not to push for voter photo identification or the paycheck deduction bill...
Florida Couple Fined $746 For Crime Of Feeding Homeless People Think Progress ...After feeding the hungry in a Daytona Beach park every weekend for more than a year, it's just as easy to imagine Chico and Debbie Jiminez given a ticker-tape parade as what they actually got: a slew of citations and a permanent ban from the park...
GOP Vote Scheme Finally Imploding: Why The End May Be Here Salon.com ...it seems that the recent landmark court ruling in WI, followed by last week’s towel toss in Pennsylvania and embarrassing revelations in Iowa, may be seen in the not-too-distant future as the moment that the GOP “voter fraud” fraud finally began to permanently unravel...
For State Workers, a Thaw in Frozen Wages Stateline ...Government workers across the U.S. are expected to get raises this year, many of them for the first time since the Great Recession spurred states to freeze wages, furlough employees and slash workforces...
War On Workers
Looting The Pension Funds Rolling Stone Magazine ...In the final months of 2011, almost two years before the city of Detroit would shock America by declaring bankruptcy in the face of what it claimed were insurmountable pension costs, the state of Rhode Island took action to avert what it called its own looming pension crisis...
A Deal to Dodge the Tax Man in America New York Times ...Pfizer’s pursuit of AstraZeneca raises a huge public policy red flag. It plans to move its holding company to Britain from the United States so it can achieve a much lower tax rate and use cash that it has held abroad to avoid paying United States taxes...
ALEC Fires Back, But Proves Its 'Pro-Business' State Index Is Bogus Los Angeles Times ...Plainly stung by the chorus of ridicule that has greeted their latest attempt to paint anti-union policies and tax cuts for the rich as pathways to economic nirvana, the folks at the American Legislative Exchange Council have struck back with a "response to the critics"...
Despite Falling Revenues, Walmart Increases Pay for Top Execs firedoglake ...despite falling revenues, and despite only reluctantly paying minimum wage to its workers, Walmart increased the pay for its top executives...
Making Ends Meet At Walmart New York Times ...This has not been a good year for Walmart shareholders. Amid a torrid market over the last 12 months, this giant retailer's stock has flat lined, reflecting a slowdown in sales growth...
The Minimum Wage Loophole That's Screwing Over Waiters And Waitresses Mother Jones ...As Republicans stonewall President Obama's initiative to raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $10.10 an hour by 2016, some state lawmakers have taken the matter into their own hands...
Players Union Has Been Beneficial For Baseball Philadelphia Inquirer ...A prominent plaque at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum contains this familiar quotation from French-born historian Jacques Barzun: "Whoever wants to learn the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball"...
Teamsters End Strike At PepsiCo Plant Indianapolis Star ...A 10-day strike involving about 350 Teamsters who work at a PepsiCo bottling plant on the Northwest side ended after they approved a new five-year contract...
National Labor Relations Board Rules In Favor Of Teamsters Against Durham teamster.org ...School bus drivers and monitors in Santa Rosa County, Fla., who are members of Teamsters Local 991 in Mobile, Ala., have won a major victory in a decision handed down by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in Washington, D.C...
AGY, Union Leaders Remain Mum As 'Lock Out' Continues Aiken Standard ...Employees aren't the only ones being "locked out" after Aiken's AGY plant reportedly deactivated the access badges of all it's workers more than a week ago...
Trade
The Free-Trade Regime: Oligarchy In Action Asia Times ...The United States is not really a democracy. That's the (simplified) conclusion of a recent study from Princeton University. Instead, economic elites and special interest groups enjoy tremendous sway in Washington, while "the preferences of the average American...
Trade accord carries health warning Stuff ...a trade deal is interfering with New Zealand doing the right thing to control cigarettes...
State Battles
Missouri Senate Republicans send two priorities back to House after late-night deal is struck St. Louis Post-Dispatch ...Democrats agreed to stand down on a constitutional amendment to allow some early voting in Missouri and a measure to extend the waiting period before an abortion. In exchange, Senate Republicans agreed not to push for voter photo identification or the paycheck deduction bill...
Florida Couple Fined $746 For Crime Of Feeding Homeless People Think Progress ...After feeding the hungry in a Daytona Beach park every weekend for more than a year, it's just as easy to imagine Chico and Debbie Jiminez given a ticker-tape parade as what they actually got: a slew of citations and a permanent ban from the park...
GOP Vote Scheme Finally Imploding: Why The End May Be Here Salon.com ...it seems that the recent landmark court ruling in WI, followed by last week’s towel toss in Pennsylvania and embarrassing revelations in Iowa, may be seen in the not-too-distant future as the moment that the GOP “voter fraud” fraud finally began to permanently unravel...
For State Workers, a Thaw in Frozen Wages Stateline ...Government workers across the U.S. are expected to get raises this year, many of them for the first time since the Great Recession spurred states to freeze wages, furlough employees and slash workforces...
War On Workers
Looting The Pension Funds Rolling Stone Magazine ...In the final months of 2011, almost two years before the city of Detroit would shock America by declaring bankruptcy in the face of what it claimed were insurmountable pension costs, the state of Rhode Island took action to avert what it called its own looming pension crisis...
A Deal to Dodge the Tax Man in America New York Times ...Pfizer’s pursuit of AstraZeneca raises a huge public policy red flag. It plans to move its holding company to Britain from the United States so it can achieve a much lower tax rate and use cash that it has held abroad to avoid paying United States taxes...
ALEC Fires Back, But Proves Its 'Pro-Business' State Index Is Bogus Los Angeles Times ...Plainly stung by the chorus of ridicule that has greeted their latest attempt to paint anti-union policies and tax cuts for the rich as pathways to economic nirvana, the folks at the American Legislative Exchange Council have struck back with a "response to the critics"...
Despite Falling Revenues, Walmart Increases Pay for Top Execs firedoglake ...despite falling revenues, and despite only reluctantly paying minimum wage to its workers, Walmart increased the pay for its top executives...
Making Ends Meet At Walmart New York Times ...This has not been a good year for Walmart shareholders. Amid a torrid market over the last 12 months, this giant retailer's stock has flat lined, reflecting a slowdown in sales growth...
The Minimum Wage Loophole That's Screwing Over Waiters And Waitresses Mother Jones ...As Republicans stonewall President Obama's initiative to raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $10.10 an hour by 2016, some state lawmakers have taken the matter into their own hands...
Players Union Has Been Beneficial For Baseball Philadelphia Inquirer ...A prominent plaque at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum contains this familiar quotation from French-born historian Jacques Barzun: "Whoever wants to learn the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball"...
Sunday, April 20, 2014
Today's Teamster News 04.20.14
Teamster News
SeaTac airport workers fight exclusion from $15 minimum wage PBS News Hour ...Tracey Thompson, Teamsters Local 117: It’s not just the represented workers that matter. It’s the non-represented workers, and women and persons of color are the ones who are suffering most by having such low minimum wage and poverty level wages here...
Animal rights protesters march outside Liam Neeson's home in support of horse ban New York Daily News ...About 60 activists gathered in front of Neeson’s building on Saturday, criticizing the actor for his support of the carriage horse industry...
Mayor Bill de Blasio's horse sense (opinion) Crain's New York Business ...when the mayor changed his mind last week, saying he'd postpone the industry ban until the end of the year, we welcomed the reprieve. Still, Mr. de Blasio's capricious approach to one industry continues to leave us concerned for every law-abiding business in this town. Apparently, following the rules and paying taxes is no longer sufficient for the privilege to try to earn a living in New York...
Trade
U.S.-Japan Talks Said Unable to Overcome Deal Obstacles Bloomberg ...U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and Japanese Minister for Economic and Fiscal Policy Akira Amari yesterday concluded talks in Washington on the Trans-Pacific Partnership without striking a deal on some of the most contentious issues...
State Battles
Local Media Fooled By Discredited Economic Competitiveness Report Media Matters ...Despite the uncritical, often glowing, pick-up by local media outlets, ALEC's competitiveness report has received scrutiny in the past, mostly due to evidence showing that economic data does not comport with the results of their study...
Column: Some fear Charles Koch's influence damages FSU's integrity Tampa Bay Tribune ...Koch's foundation has been funneling money to the economics department at FSU since 2008. This would be the same Koch who funds ultraconservative think tanks and preaches less government regulation...
Christina Bullins: Are our prisons safe in Florida? Florida Public Employees Partnership ...the inmate population had no significant changes. Despite the addition of 245 positions last year, the number of officers reported in DOC’s budget request is 727 officers less than the year before...
War on Workers
Jon Stewart Demolishes the NCAA's Case Against Student-Athlete Unions The Wire ...players are forbidden from accepting nearly any gifts, including food – just ask the Oklahoma players punished for being served "pasta in excess."...
Student debt holds back many would-be home buyers Los Angeles Times ...Of the many factors holding back young home buyers — rising prices, tougher lending standards, a still-shaky job market — none looms larger than the recent explosion of college debt...
UConn’s 2,135 graduate assistants unionize CT Mirror ...The governing board of the state's flagship university unanimously voted in a "special meeting" last week to approve an agreement between the newly formed union -- UConn GEU-UAW -- and the university...
Miscellaneous
Senator Holds Commuter Safety Presser, Almost Gets Hit By Train Gawker ...Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal received an unexpected lesson in practicing what you preach at a press conference yesterday. Standing on the platform at the Milford Metro-North station, Blumenthal and his easel narrowly dodged an oncoming train as Milford Mayor Ben Blake spoke about commuter safety...
SeaTac airport workers fight exclusion from $15 minimum wage PBS News Hour ...Tracey Thompson, Teamsters Local 117: It’s not just the represented workers that matter. It’s the non-represented workers, and women and persons of color are the ones who are suffering most by having such low minimum wage and poverty level wages here...
Animal rights protesters march outside Liam Neeson's home in support of horse ban New York Daily News ...About 60 activists gathered in front of Neeson’s building on Saturday, criticizing the actor for his support of the carriage horse industry...
Mayor Bill de Blasio's horse sense (opinion) Crain's New York Business ...when the mayor changed his mind last week, saying he'd postpone the industry ban until the end of the year, we welcomed the reprieve. Still, Mr. de Blasio's capricious approach to one industry continues to leave us concerned for every law-abiding business in this town. Apparently, following the rules and paying taxes is no longer sufficient for the privilege to try to earn a living in New York...
Trade
U.S.-Japan Talks Said Unable to Overcome Deal Obstacles Bloomberg ...U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and Japanese Minister for Economic and Fiscal Policy Akira Amari yesterday concluded talks in Washington on the Trans-Pacific Partnership without striking a deal on some of the most contentious issues...
State Battles
Local Media Fooled By Discredited Economic Competitiveness Report Media Matters ...Despite the uncritical, often glowing, pick-up by local media outlets, ALEC's competitiveness report has received scrutiny in the past, mostly due to evidence showing that economic data does not comport with the results of their study...
Column: Some fear Charles Koch's influence damages FSU's integrity Tampa Bay Tribune ...Koch's foundation has been funneling money to the economics department at FSU since 2008. This would be the same Koch who funds ultraconservative think tanks and preaches less government regulation...
Christina Bullins: Are our prisons safe in Florida? Florida Public Employees Partnership ...the inmate population had no significant changes. Despite the addition of 245 positions last year, the number of officers reported in DOC’s budget request is 727 officers less than the year before...
War on Workers
Jon Stewart Demolishes the NCAA's Case Against Student-Athlete Unions The Wire ...players are forbidden from accepting nearly any gifts, including food – just ask the Oklahoma players punished for being served "pasta in excess."...
Student debt holds back many would-be home buyers Los Angeles Times ...Of the many factors holding back young home buyers — rising prices, tougher lending standards, a still-shaky job market — none looms larger than the recent explosion of college debt...
UConn’s 2,135 graduate assistants unionize CT Mirror ...The governing board of the state's flagship university unanimously voted in a "special meeting" last week to approve an agreement between the newly formed union -- UConn GEU-UAW -- and the university...
Miscellaneous
Senator Holds Commuter Safety Presser, Almost Gets Hit By Train Gawker ...Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal received an unexpected lesson in practicing what you preach at a press conference yesterday. Standing on the platform at the Milford Metro-North station, Blumenthal and his easel narrowly dodged an oncoming train as Milford Mayor Ben Blake spoke about commuter safety...
Friday, March 14, 2014
Today's Teamster News 03.14.14
Teamster News
Teamsters Host UPS Workers Union Network Meeting teamster.org ...The Teamsters Union this week is hosting an international delegation of representatives from trade unions that represent UPS workers worldwide to share information and coordinate strategies...
Teamsters reject CCTA offer; bus drivers set to strike on March 17 VtDigger.org ...Members of the drivers’ union, Teamsters Local 597, voted 54-0 on Wednesday to reject the latest offer from the Chittenden County Transit Authority. CCTA has 68 drivers; all are in the union...
Clara Day: A Teamster’s Life teamster.org ...She was a powerful voice in support of the civil rights movement...
Trade
Who is funding China's military rise? We are. manufacture this ...China has accumulated a massive trade surplus with the U.S., and they're using it on a military spending spree...
James P. Hoffa: U.S.-Korea Pact Shows the False Promises of ‘Free’ Trade Detroit News ...Michigan has lost 2,800 jobs from the pact and seen a $518 million drop in net exports to Korea. Overall, more than 40,000 Americans are now out of work due to the agreement...
Administration Uses Data Omissions and Distortions to Try to Hide Dismal Korea FTA Realities Public Citizen ... U.S. monthly goods exports to Korea are down 11 percent, imports from Korea have increased and the U.S. monthly trade deficit with Korea has swelled 47 percent...
Europe and U.S. divided on trade issues Pork Network ...Europe's reluctance to buy hormone meat or genetically modified food from the United States has exposed an "enormous gulf" that threatens the world's biggest trade pact, industry and labour groups told EU and U.S. negotiators on Wednesday...
Japan, U.S. make 'bit of progress' in trade talks -Japanese official Reuters ...Plans for a free trade agreement among 12 Pacific Rim nations, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), have been bogged down amid a stand-off between the United States and Japan over market access...
State Battles
Again, Florida trying to restrict voter rights Bradenton Herald ...Florida is once again trying to constrain voter rights by restricting satellite locations where citizens can deposit absentee ballots...
The Real Story Behind the Detroit Pension Fight and What it Means to America's Future Huffington Post ...pension underfunding and corruption go hand in hand: areas which have seen pension crises tend to have high rates of corruption, as measured by such indicators as the number of public officials who wind up in prison. Pay-to-play schemes are rampant, and reports of bribery, such as those revealed in Detroit, are common...
Right-to-work bill dies in House committee The Richmond Register ...The sponsor of a right-to-work law in Kentucky knew it had no chance of passing a House committee Thursday. But that didn’t stop Rep. Jeff Hoover, R-Jamestown, the House Minority Leader, and several others from making their case before the House Labor and Industry Committee in a room filled to overflowing, mostly with union members who oppose the measure...
Appeals Court Resurrects Initiative Petition Drive For Campaign Donation Limits St. Louis Public Radio ...The Western District Court of Appeals of Missouri has resurrected an initiative-petition effort to restore campaign donation limits in Missouri. But the proposal’s backers may not have enough time to collect the signatures needed to get their proposal before voters...
Scott Walker Will Push Wisconsin State Legislature To Modify Voter ID Requirements Huffington Post ...Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) told reporters Tuesday that he considers voter identification laws the most "pressing" election-related issue in the state, and as such will direct the state legislature hold a special session to modify a law that has been blocked by courts since 2011...
Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II of North Carolina's 'Moral Monday' protest movement comes to Madison The Daily Page ..."The parallels between North Carolina and Wisconsin are undeniable," Wendell Harris, vice-president of Wisconsin NAACP, said in a news release. "We welcome Rev. Barber -- one of the greatest civil rights leaders of our time -- with great enthusiasm..."
The War on Workers
McDonald’s Workers File Wage Suits in 3 States New York Times ...McDonald’s workers in California, Michigan and New York filed lawsuits this week against the company and several franchise owners, asserting that they illegally underpaid employees by erasing hours from their timecards, not paying overtime and ordering them to work off the clock...
Wall Street Bonuses Are Bouncing Back, While Everyone Else's Wages Are… Meh Business Insider ...Average Wall Street bonuses have exploded, reaching a height of nearly $218,000 in 2006 - seven times larger than the average bonus of $29,800 in 1985. ... Household income fell from a post-crash peak of about $55,600 to about $51,000 in 2012 - an 8% drop - declining in each year from 2008 to 2012...
Jobless deal comes down to wire Politico ...Senators struck a bipartisan deal on Thursday to revive expired long-term jobless benefits following months of dramatic stops and starts on the issue...
Obama says it's time to change overtime rules CNN ...Current rules governing overtime pay are "wrong," President Barack Obama said Thursday as he signed an order directing his administration to reexamine how employees are paid for working more than 40 hours per week...
Study Proves Campaign Donations Buy Access firedoglake ...this may be painfully obvious. Just in case you, for some reason I can’t fathom, had doubts that money buys influence in Washington our friends in the ivory tower decided to perform a scientific experiment to prove it...
Teamsters Host UPS Workers Union Network Meeting teamster.org ...The Teamsters Union this week is hosting an international delegation of representatives from trade unions that represent UPS workers worldwide to share information and coordinate strategies...
Teamsters reject CCTA offer; bus drivers set to strike on March 17 VtDigger.org ...Members of the drivers’ union, Teamsters Local 597, voted 54-0 on Wednesday to reject the latest offer from the Chittenden County Transit Authority. CCTA has 68 drivers; all are in the union...
Clara Day: A Teamster’s Life teamster.org ...She was a powerful voice in support of the civil rights movement...
Trade
Who is funding China's military rise? We are. manufacture this ...China has accumulated a massive trade surplus with the U.S., and they're using it on a military spending spree...
James P. Hoffa: U.S.-Korea Pact Shows the False Promises of ‘Free’ Trade Detroit News ...Michigan has lost 2,800 jobs from the pact and seen a $518 million drop in net exports to Korea. Overall, more than 40,000 Americans are now out of work due to the agreement...
Administration Uses Data Omissions and Distortions to Try to Hide Dismal Korea FTA Realities Public Citizen ... U.S. monthly goods exports to Korea are down 11 percent, imports from Korea have increased and the U.S. monthly trade deficit with Korea has swelled 47 percent...
Europe and U.S. divided on trade issues Pork Network ...Europe's reluctance to buy hormone meat or genetically modified food from the United States has exposed an "enormous gulf" that threatens the world's biggest trade pact, industry and labour groups told EU and U.S. negotiators on Wednesday...
Japan, U.S. make 'bit of progress' in trade talks -Japanese official Reuters ...Plans for a free trade agreement among 12 Pacific Rim nations, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), have been bogged down amid a stand-off between the United States and Japan over market access...
State Battles
Again, Florida trying to restrict voter rights Bradenton Herald ...Florida is once again trying to constrain voter rights by restricting satellite locations where citizens can deposit absentee ballots...
The Real Story Behind the Detroit Pension Fight and What it Means to America's Future Huffington Post ...pension underfunding and corruption go hand in hand: areas which have seen pension crises tend to have high rates of corruption, as measured by such indicators as the number of public officials who wind up in prison. Pay-to-play schemes are rampant, and reports of bribery, such as those revealed in Detroit, are common...
Right-to-work bill dies in House committee The Richmond Register ...The sponsor of a right-to-work law in Kentucky knew it had no chance of passing a House committee Thursday. But that didn’t stop Rep. Jeff Hoover, R-Jamestown, the House Minority Leader, and several others from making their case before the House Labor and Industry Committee in a room filled to overflowing, mostly with union members who oppose the measure...
Appeals Court Resurrects Initiative Petition Drive For Campaign Donation Limits St. Louis Public Radio ...The Western District Court of Appeals of Missouri has resurrected an initiative-petition effort to restore campaign donation limits in Missouri. But the proposal’s backers may not have enough time to collect the signatures needed to get their proposal before voters...
Scott Walker Will Push Wisconsin State Legislature To Modify Voter ID Requirements Huffington Post ...Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) told reporters Tuesday that he considers voter identification laws the most "pressing" election-related issue in the state, and as such will direct the state legislature hold a special session to modify a law that has been blocked by courts since 2011...
Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II of North Carolina's 'Moral Monday' protest movement comes to Madison The Daily Page ..."The parallels between North Carolina and Wisconsin are undeniable," Wendell Harris, vice-president of Wisconsin NAACP, said in a news release. "We welcome Rev. Barber -- one of the greatest civil rights leaders of our time -- with great enthusiasm..."
The War on Workers
McDonald’s Workers File Wage Suits in 3 States New York Times ...McDonald’s workers in California, Michigan and New York filed lawsuits this week against the company and several franchise owners, asserting that they illegally underpaid employees by erasing hours from their timecards, not paying overtime and ordering them to work off the clock...
Wall Street Bonuses Are Bouncing Back, While Everyone Else's Wages Are… Meh Business Insider ...Average Wall Street bonuses have exploded, reaching a height of nearly $218,000 in 2006 - seven times larger than the average bonus of $29,800 in 1985. ... Household income fell from a post-crash peak of about $55,600 to about $51,000 in 2012 - an 8% drop - declining in each year from 2008 to 2012...
Jobless deal comes down to wire Politico ...Senators struck a bipartisan deal on Thursday to revive expired long-term jobless benefits following months of dramatic stops and starts on the issue...
Obama says it's time to change overtime rules CNN ...Current rules governing overtime pay are "wrong," President Barack Obama said Thursday as he signed an order directing his administration to reexamine how employees are paid for working more than 40 hours per week...
Study Proves Campaign Donations Buy Access firedoglake ...this may be painfully obvious. Just in case you, for some reason I can’t fathom, had doubts that money buys influence in Washington our friends in the ivory tower decided to perform a scientific experiment to prove it...
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Today's Teamster News 03.04.14
Teamster News
Government report: Too few pilots or too little pay? Associated Press ...The nation's regional airlines are having trouble hiring enough pilots, the government says, suggesting one reason may be that they simply don't pay enough. A pool of qualified pilots is available, but it's unclear whether they are willing to work for low entry-level wages, the Government Accountability Office said in a report released Friday...
Trade
Lies Our Political Elites Tell Us As They Rip Us Off Down With Tyranny! ...the last mega-trade deal corporate elites and their political handmaidens ... sold the American people, NAFTA, was a beautifully-packaged barrel of lies. Froman is uncomfortable and highly defensive when confronted with the analogy...
Obama’s trade chief undeterred by opposition Politico ...The Obama administration is confident it will win support in Congress for a big Asia-Pacific trade deal despite opposition from many Democrats that has stalled legislation needed for approval of the agreement, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said...
State Battles
Report: Privatizing government work reaps lavish profits for some Tallahassee.com ...there’s George Zoley of the GEO Group, which runs prisons all over the world. GEO has four of Florida’s six privately run prisons and is a mainstay of the state Republican Party and Gov. Rick Scott’s re-election campaign fund. CMD said Zoley took in $22 million in compensation between 2008 and 2012...
E-mails show Wisconsin Gov. Walker as hands-on tactician fixated on public image Washington Post ...An analysis by the Democratic super PAC American Bridge found that Walker was copied on 960 e-mails sent to the private e-mail addresses of public employees during work hours...
WI ALEC Leader in Hot Water over Allegations of Sexual Harassment Center for Media and Democracy ...Assembly Majority Leader Bill Kramer, a stalwart of the American Legislative Exchange Council, has been accused of sexually harassing two women while in Washington, D.C. last week for a Wisconsin GOP fundraiser...
Wisconsin income gap widening faster than nation as a whole The Cap Times ...Inflation-adjusted income for the bottom 99 percent of Wisconsin residents has actually fallen by 0.4 percent since 1979 while incomes for the upper 1 percent more than doubled over the period...
How ALEC helped Duke Energy block stricter coal ash rules Facing South ...ALEC has been involved in efforts to block stricter regulation of coal ash, which is in the spotlight again following Duke Energy's massive spill into the Dan River from a coal ash pit at one of its North Carolina plants. It has carried out this work with the financial backing of Duke, which belonged to ALEC during the height of the group's work to block federal coal ash oversight...
Kasich’s policies hurt local governments The Columbus Dispatch ...Beginning in 2011, we have experienced a 50 percent reduction — more than $11 million annually — in local-government funding from the state, primarily due to Kasich’s aggressive income-tax cuts...
The War on Workers
Citi Affiliate’s Troubles Multiply as Money-Laundering Subpoenas Follow Fraud New York Times ...A headache is growing for Citigroup as a banking affiliate involved in money transfers across the Mexican border has become ensnared in a criminal investigation...
Amazon workers look for justice from a business-friendly Supreme Court Salon ...Temporary workers at Amazon warehouses can spend as long as 30 minutes waiting to get through security checks. Since the security checks are designed as a theft-prevention measure, reasonable people might consider them a part of the regular Amazon warehouse workday. Integrity Solutions Staffing, an Amazon contractor, disagrees...
Miscellaneous
Why Russia No Longer Fears the West Politico Magazine ...Putin’s inner circle no longer fear the European establishment. They once imagined them all in MI6. Now they know better. They have seen firsthand how obsequious Western aristocrats and corporate tycoons suddenly turn when their billions come into play. They now view them as hypocrites—the same European elites who help them hide their fortunes...
The Pattern of Job Creation and Destruction by Firm Age and Size Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta ...he rate of job creation and destruction tends to decline with firm age. Younger firms of all sizes tend to have higher job-creation (and job-destruction) rates than their older counterparts...
Government report: Too few pilots or too little pay? Associated Press ...The nation's regional airlines are having trouble hiring enough pilots, the government says, suggesting one reason may be that they simply don't pay enough. A pool of qualified pilots is available, but it's unclear whether they are willing to work for low entry-level wages, the Government Accountability Office said in a report released Friday...
Trade
Lies Our Political Elites Tell Us As They Rip Us Off Down With Tyranny! ...the last mega-trade deal corporate elites and their political handmaidens ... sold the American people, NAFTA, was a beautifully-packaged barrel of lies. Froman is uncomfortable and highly defensive when confronted with the analogy...
Obama’s trade chief undeterred by opposition Politico ...The Obama administration is confident it will win support in Congress for a big Asia-Pacific trade deal despite opposition from many Democrats that has stalled legislation needed for approval of the agreement, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said...
State Battles
Report: Privatizing government work reaps lavish profits for some Tallahassee.com ...there’s George Zoley of the GEO Group, which runs prisons all over the world. GEO has four of Florida’s six privately run prisons and is a mainstay of the state Republican Party and Gov. Rick Scott’s re-election campaign fund. CMD said Zoley took in $22 million in compensation between 2008 and 2012...
E-mails show Wisconsin Gov. Walker as hands-on tactician fixated on public image Washington Post ...An analysis by the Democratic super PAC American Bridge found that Walker was copied on 960 e-mails sent to the private e-mail addresses of public employees during work hours...
WI ALEC Leader in Hot Water over Allegations of Sexual Harassment Center for Media and Democracy ...Assembly Majority Leader Bill Kramer, a stalwart of the American Legislative Exchange Council, has been accused of sexually harassing two women while in Washington, D.C. last week for a Wisconsin GOP fundraiser...
Wisconsin income gap widening faster than nation as a whole The Cap Times ...Inflation-adjusted income for the bottom 99 percent of Wisconsin residents has actually fallen by 0.4 percent since 1979 while incomes for the upper 1 percent more than doubled over the period...
How ALEC helped Duke Energy block stricter coal ash rules Facing South ...ALEC has been involved in efforts to block stricter regulation of coal ash, which is in the spotlight again following Duke Energy's massive spill into the Dan River from a coal ash pit at one of its North Carolina plants. It has carried out this work with the financial backing of Duke, which belonged to ALEC during the height of the group's work to block federal coal ash oversight...
Kasich’s policies hurt local governments The Columbus Dispatch ...Beginning in 2011, we have experienced a 50 percent reduction — more than $11 million annually — in local-government funding from the state, primarily due to Kasich’s aggressive income-tax cuts...
The War on Workers
Citi Affiliate’s Troubles Multiply as Money-Laundering Subpoenas Follow Fraud New York Times ...A headache is growing for Citigroup as a banking affiliate involved in money transfers across the Mexican border has become ensnared in a criminal investigation...
Amazon workers look for justice from a business-friendly Supreme Court Salon ...Temporary workers at Amazon warehouses can spend as long as 30 minutes waiting to get through security checks. Since the security checks are designed as a theft-prevention measure, reasonable people might consider them a part of the regular Amazon warehouse workday. Integrity Solutions Staffing, an Amazon contractor, disagrees...
Miscellaneous
Why Russia No Longer Fears the West Politico Magazine ...Putin’s inner circle no longer fear the European establishment. They once imagined them all in MI6. Now they know better. They have seen firsthand how obsequious Western aristocrats and corporate tycoons suddenly turn when their billions come into play. They now view them as hypocrites—the same European elites who help them hide their fortunes...
The Pattern of Job Creation and Destruction by Firm Age and Size Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta ...he rate of job creation and destruction tends to decline with firm age. Younger firms of all sizes tend to have higher job-creation (and job-destruction) rates than their older counterparts...
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