Teamsters
Teamsters hit FMCSA with lawsuit over move to open border for Mexican carriers Overdrive ...The Teamsters Union announced this week it has filed a lawsuit against the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s recent move to expand its cross-border trucking program with Mexico...
Teamsters Win Landslide Shareholder Vote At Hologic teamster.org ... A shareholder proposal sponsored by the Teamsters-affiliated GCC Benevolent Trust Fund secured an overwhelming majority vote of shareholders at last week’s Hologic Incorporated annual meeting. The proposal called on the Board of Directors to submit the adoption, maintenance or extension of any poison pill plan to a vote of the shareholders...
Hoffa: Film Tax Credits Are Worth Saving Detroit News ...Lawmakers on the campaign trail in Michigan have rightfully stressed the need for jobs in recent years. They say it is a top priority. But once within the cozy confines of the Statehouse in Lansing, too many seem to lose sight of the issue or its importance to their constituents. Case in point — a House committee’s decision last week to back legislation that ends some $50 million in annual tax credits to encourage films and television shows to shoot in the Great Lakes State...
Teamsters, RI Hospital Negotiations Stall Rhode Island Public Radio ...The Teamsters represent about 2500 nursing assistants, food service, and other workers at Rhode Island Hospital. They’ve threatened to strike if negotiators can’t agree on job protections and wage hikes, as well as improvements to their retirement plan...
Debate Over Fawn's Police Coverage Intensifies Pittsburgh Tribune Review ...Smith had a copy of a letter dated March 2, from Tom Huck, business agent for Teamsters Local 249 which represents the police, to supervisors chairman David Montanari. The supervisors and Teamsters negotiators were unable to come to a contract agreement for the police and the contract is headed to arbitration. In the letter, also sent to the Valley News Dispatch, Huck criticized the supervisors for allowing the shifts to go unmanned...
County Employees Receive Pay Hike Ottumwa Courier ...Employees in two different bargaining units were given identical pay increases by Wapello County Board of Supervisors Tuesday night. Teamsters Local 238 for the courthouse bargaining unit and Teamsters Local 238 for the sheriff's bargaining unit will receive a two percent increase on July 1, 2015, and July 1, 2016 and a two and half percent increase on July 1, 2017...
Trade
Push against investment rules in U.S. trade deals picks up Reuters ...Law professors from across the United States urged lawmakers to keep rules to protect foreign investors out of trade pacts on Wednesday, warning they would give big companies too much power...
Huckabee slams 'globalists,' free trade agreements Politico ...Expressing deep skepticism of proposed free trade agreements, Mike Huckabee warned in Iowa Saturday that the United States is becoming like communist China...
Unions To Fight Trade Pact By Freezing Political Donations Wall Street Journal ...The move is part of the unions’ campaign against the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, which the Obama administration is negotiating with 11 nations around the Pacific Ocean. The unions worry the trade agreement could send more jobs to low-wage countries, including Vietnam and Malaysia...
Paul Krugman: TPP At The NABE New York Times ...Why, exactly, should the Obama administration spend any political capital – alienating labor, disillusioning progressive activists – over such a deal?...
Health Impact Assessment: TPP Poses Risks To Affordable Medicines, Tobacco Control And Nutrition Labeling Techdirt ...The negotiations are still being conducted with a total lack of transparency -- especially compared to TAFTA/TTIP, where public pressure has led to the release of a large number of documents from the EU, though not from the US...
State Battles
Unions Challenge Wisconsin's New 'Right-To-Work' Law In Court Reuters ...The Wisconsin state AFL-CIO and two other unions filed suit on Tuesday challenging a new statute that lets private-sector employees avoid joining unions or paying dues even when covered by union-negotiated contracts...
Right-To-Work: NM Senate Panel Tables Bill KOTA ...A New Mexico Senate panel has voted along party lines to stop the advance of a bill that prohibits requiring workers to join a union and pay dues as a condition of employment...
War on Workers
Not a Puzzle—Wages Growth is Sluggish Because Employers Hold All the Cards Economic Policy Institute ...We’ve finally seen 12 consecutive months of job growth above 200,000, but wage growth shows little sign of accelerating. The question that everyone seems to be asking now is, when will wage growth pick up?...
Business Pushes for Delay, Litigation, and One-Sided Access in Union Elections Economic Policy Institute ... The NLRB is updating obsolete election rules that fail to recognize modern developments like e-mail, and which encourage excessive litigation and delay. Yet a panel stacked with anti-union lawyers attacked the rules as if they were ending American democracy...
How income fraud made the housing bubble worse Science Daily ... The researchers place the blame for falsified earnings listed on mortgage applications -- which the researchers call "buyer income overstatement" -- on brokers producing mortgages intended to be sold as securities...
Worker Electrocuted, Killed On South Tropical Trail Space Coast Daily ...A worker was killed Tuesday at about 2:45 p.m. while replacing power poles...
Showing posts with label GCC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GCC. Show all posts
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Friday, December 19, 2014
Today's Teamster News 12.19.14
Teamster News
Teamsters settles grievance with town over surveilance cameras in town hall Watertown Daily Times ...the language added to the contract though helps alleviate concerns that the cameras were being installed to monitor employees...
Hamburg Ratifies Contract Sun News ...After about two and a half years, clerical staff in the Hamburg Central School District have a new contract, with a five-year collective bargaining agreement between the district and Teamsters Local 264 unanimously approved at the school board’s Dec. 9 meeting...
Opposition to Carriage Horse Ban is Growing: Poll New York Observer ...Some 67 percent of residents polled in new Quinnipiac University poll released today said they do not believe Mayor Bill de Blasio should ban horse-drawn carriages, something he promised to do on “day one” of his administration. Just 22 percent of those polled supported the mayor’s plans to nix the industry...
Backing The Wrong Horse City Journal ...In threatening to ban Central Park horse carriages, he is taking on a popular and well-connected industry and making enemies out of natural allies. The 300 or so carriage drivers, represented by Teamsters Local 553, enjoy the support of the Central Labor Council, representing 1.3 million workers in the five boroughs, as well as the left-wing Working Families Party...
Security Workers At Indian Point Have 5-Year Contract Patch ...Entergy and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 456 have a new contract for the union’s approximately 186 members who work in security positions at the Indian Point Energy Center...
Offset Paperback Won’t Eliminate 37 Jobs Citizens Voice ...Unionized employees are represented by the Graphic Communications Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 137C...
Hernando Commission Approves Proposed Contract With Employees Tampa Bay Times ...The county's roughly 430 bargaining unit members with Teamsters Local 79 will vote on the pact at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 5 in the jury assembly room at the Hernando County Government Center. Teamsters business agent John Sholtes is enthusiastically supportive of the proposed contract...
Trade
Elizabeth Warren, other Democrats raise concerns about free-trade pact with Asia Washington Post ...Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Wednesday voiced new concerns over President Obama’s trade agenda as congressional Democrats ramp up efforts to slow the administration’s bid to finalize a major free-trade pact in Asia that the president has called a top priority...
"NAFTA on Steroids" Trade Talks to Wrap Up The Free Press ..."This whole thing is an attempt to make sure that capitalism runs completely unabated by any legislator or regulator," said Jackson at the November meeting of Maine's Citizen Trade Policy Commission, a panel of state lawmakers and stakeholders who advise federal policy makers on trade policy. "The few elite will decide what's best for all of us, and it won't get debated. It'll get voted up or down, and that is not transparent government in any shape or form."...
Latest secret TPPA leak reveals mass surveillance plans The Daily Blog ...a seemingly innocuous e-commerce chapter in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) could become a stalking horse for the NSA to get its hands on our personal data, as well as sweeping away privacy protections and controls on internet commerce...
Democrats urge officials to leave out investor-state dispute provisions in major trade deals The Hill ...Several House and Senate Democrats are urging the Obama administration to leave out provisions in a two major trade deals they say could lead to changes in U.S. finanical regulations...
State Battles
Wisconsin Teamsters laying groundwork for right-to-work battle TeamsterNation ...Anti-worker politicians in Wisconsin are spoiling for a fight against working people in 2015, and Wisconsin Teamsters are ready to defend them if necessary...
Foes of Unions Try Their Luck in County Laws New York Times ...Beginning here in the hometown of Senator Rand Paul and the Chevy Corvette, groups including the American Legislative Exchange Council, the Heritage Foundation and a newly formed nonprofit called Protect My Check are working together to influence local governments the same way they have influenced state legislatures, and anti-union ordinances are just the first step in the coordinated effort they envision...
Indiana Supreme Court Dismisses ‘Right To Work’ Challenge Indianapolis Star ...The Indiana Supreme Court has dismissed a second challenge to the state’s “right to work” law. The state’s high court unanimously dismissed the case Tuesday — a move that was expected after justices upheld the law in a similar case last month...
Why Did Wisconsin Club for Growth Send $750K to a Dark-Money Group in Missouri Last Year? Express Express ...I’ve always wondered why a Missouri-based attorney was mixed up in a case involving Wisconsin’s campaign finance laws. Is the Wisconsin Club for Growth’s money the link? And, if so, why?...
EBay parts ways with controversial political group ALEC Reuters ...Ebay Inc said on Thursday that it will end its association with the American Legislative Exchange Council, a political group that other tech companies dropped earlier this year due to its views on climate change...
Uber Strikes Deal With Portland to Suspend Service for Three Months Wall Street Journal ...Uber reached an agreement with Portland to suspend operations in the city for three months while regulators work to revise rules around taxis that currently prohibit ridesharing apps...
After A Spate Of Bad Press For Uber, Some Turn Back To Traditional Taxicabs New York Daily News ...The renegade taxi service has been a worldwide punching bag all year — thanks to prices that become astronomical during peak times, a company official who suggested investigating reporters, drivers who have sexually harassed and allegedly raped customers, and claims of bizarre routes meant to jack up prices — and more and more New Yorkers are hitting delete...
War on Workers
America’s Wealth Gap Is Becoming a Wealth Chasm Slate …"The upper fifth of households by income, their typical wealth levels have indeed started to mend from the devastation of the Great Recession," says Richard Fry, a researcher at Pew and author on the report. "But for the bottom four-fifths of households, particularly the middle income households, they’ve made no gains."...
Meet the Men and Women on the Hill Who Told Citigroup to Go to Hell Wall Street on Parade ...Citigroup received the largest taxpayer bailout in history during the financial crisis as a result of its unchecked derivatives: $45 billion in TARP funds; over $306 billion in asset guarantees; and more than $2 trillion in low-cost loans from the Fed according to the General Accountability Office. The abject repulsion that the very bank that got the biggest handout and played a pivotal role in collapsing the economy should now be gaming Congress to repeal financial protections drew a joint letter of protest from Republican Senator David Vitter of Louisiana and Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio...
Sorry, Kevin Yoder: Your measure really is about helping the big banks (opinion) Kansas City Star ...Ever since he was named last week as the sponsor of a controversial measure rolling back a significant financial reform, U.S. Rep. Kevin Yoder has been trying to have it both ways. The Republican from Kansas wants constituents to think his motives were all about helping out community banks and farmers. But the biggest beneficiaries are Wall Street banks, which already have rewarded Yoder handsomely and will continue to do so...
20 States Raise Their Minimum Wages While the Federal Minimum Continues to Erode Economic Policy Institute ...these increases will provide workers with $2.5 billion in additional wages over the course of the year. This added pay represents a modest, but significant, boost to the spending power of the affected workers, many of whom have children and families to support...
Oil Trains Hold Upper Hand As Pipeline Called Off Houston Chronicle ...The big increase in rail transport has raised safety concerns and pushed regulators to examine hazardous materials shipping standards in the face of high-profile accidents - including a July 6, 2013, derailment and explosion that killed 47 people in Lac-Megantic, Quebec...
Miscellaneous
Beach man saved by UPS worker dies in hospital surrounded by family WTKR ... Last week Marvin went into cardiac arrest while inside the Calvary Baptist Church in Virginia Beach. At that moment, UPS workers Sisha Perea and her husband Rob pulled up to deliver a package. Sisha gave Marvin CPR and saved his life...
Teamsters settles grievance with town over surveilance cameras in town hall Watertown Daily Times ...the language added to the contract though helps alleviate concerns that the cameras were being installed to monitor employees...
Hamburg Ratifies Contract Sun News ...After about two and a half years, clerical staff in the Hamburg Central School District have a new contract, with a five-year collective bargaining agreement between the district and Teamsters Local 264 unanimously approved at the school board’s Dec. 9 meeting...
Opposition to Carriage Horse Ban is Growing: Poll New York Observer ...Some 67 percent of residents polled in new Quinnipiac University poll released today said they do not believe Mayor Bill de Blasio should ban horse-drawn carriages, something he promised to do on “day one” of his administration. Just 22 percent of those polled supported the mayor’s plans to nix the industry...
Backing The Wrong Horse City Journal ...In threatening to ban Central Park horse carriages, he is taking on a popular and well-connected industry and making enemies out of natural allies. The 300 or so carriage drivers, represented by Teamsters Local 553, enjoy the support of the Central Labor Council, representing 1.3 million workers in the five boroughs, as well as the left-wing Working Families Party...
Security Workers At Indian Point Have 5-Year Contract Patch ...Entergy and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 456 have a new contract for the union’s approximately 186 members who work in security positions at the Indian Point Energy Center...
Offset Paperback Won’t Eliminate 37 Jobs Citizens Voice ...Unionized employees are represented by the Graphic Communications Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 137C...
Hernando Commission Approves Proposed Contract With Employees Tampa Bay Times ...The county's roughly 430 bargaining unit members with Teamsters Local 79 will vote on the pact at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 5 in the jury assembly room at the Hernando County Government Center. Teamsters business agent John Sholtes is enthusiastically supportive of the proposed contract...
Trade
Elizabeth Warren, other Democrats raise concerns about free-trade pact with Asia Washington Post ...Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Wednesday voiced new concerns over President Obama’s trade agenda as congressional Democrats ramp up efforts to slow the administration’s bid to finalize a major free-trade pact in Asia that the president has called a top priority...
"NAFTA on Steroids" Trade Talks to Wrap Up The Free Press ..."This whole thing is an attempt to make sure that capitalism runs completely unabated by any legislator or regulator," said Jackson at the November meeting of Maine's Citizen Trade Policy Commission, a panel of state lawmakers and stakeholders who advise federal policy makers on trade policy. "The few elite will decide what's best for all of us, and it won't get debated. It'll get voted up or down, and that is not transparent government in any shape or form."...
Latest secret TPPA leak reveals mass surveillance plans The Daily Blog ...a seemingly innocuous e-commerce chapter in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) could become a stalking horse for the NSA to get its hands on our personal data, as well as sweeping away privacy protections and controls on internet commerce...
Democrats urge officials to leave out investor-state dispute provisions in major trade deals The Hill ...Several House and Senate Democrats are urging the Obama administration to leave out provisions in a two major trade deals they say could lead to changes in U.S. finanical regulations...
State Battles
Wisconsin Teamsters laying groundwork for right-to-work battle TeamsterNation ...Anti-worker politicians in Wisconsin are spoiling for a fight against working people in 2015, and Wisconsin Teamsters are ready to defend them if necessary...
Foes of Unions Try Their Luck in County Laws New York Times ...Beginning here in the hometown of Senator Rand Paul and the Chevy Corvette, groups including the American Legislative Exchange Council, the Heritage Foundation and a newly formed nonprofit called Protect My Check are working together to influence local governments the same way they have influenced state legislatures, and anti-union ordinances are just the first step in the coordinated effort they envision...
Indiana Supreme Court Dismisses ‘Right To Work’ Challenge Indianapolis Star ...The Indiana Supreme Court has dismissed a second challenge to the state’s “right to work” law. The state’s high court unanimously dismissed the case Tuesday — a move that was expected after justices upheld the law in a similar case last month...
Why Did Wisconsin Club for Growth Send $750K to a Dark-Money Group in Missouri Last Year? Express Express ...I’ve always wondered why a Missouri-based attorney was mixed up in a case involving Wisconsin’s campaign finance laws. Is the Wisconsin Club for Growth’s money the link? And, if so, why?...
EBay parts ways with controversial political group ALEC Reuters ...Ebay Inc said on Thursday that it will end its association with the American Legislative Exchange Council, a political group that other tech companies dropped earlier this year due to its views on climate change...
Uber Strikes Deal With Portland to Suspend Service for Three Months Wall Street Journal ...Uber reached an agreement with Portland to suspend operations in the city for three months while regulators work to revise rules around taxis that currently prohibit ridesharing apps...
After A Spate Of Bad Press For Uber, Some Turn Back To Traditional Taxicabs New York Daily News ...The renegade taxi service has been a worldwide punching bag all year — thanks to prices that become astronomical during peak times, a company official who suggested investigating reporters, drivers who have sexually harassed and allegedly raped customers, and claims of bizarre routes meant to jack up prices — and more and more New Yorkers are hitting delete...
War on Workers
America’s Wealth Gap Is Becoming a Wealth Chasm Slate …"The upper fifth of households by income, their typical wealth levels have indeed started to mend from the devastation of the Great Recession," says Richard Fry, a researcher at Pew and author on the report. "But for the bottom four-fifths of households, particularly the middle income households, they’ve made no gains."...
Meet the Men and Women on the Hill Who Told Citigroup to Go to Hell Wall Street on Parade ...Citigroup received the largest taxpayer bailout in history during the financial crisis as a result of its unchecked derivatives: $45 billion in TARP funds; over $306 billion in asset guarantees; and more than $2 trillion in low-cost loans from the Fed according to the General Accountability Office. The abject repulsion that the very bank that got the biggest handout and played a pivotal role in collapsing the economy should now be gaming Congress to repeal financial protections drew a joint letter of protest from Republican Senator David Vitter of Louisiana and Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio...
Sorry, Kevin Yoder: Your measure really is about helping the big banks (opinion) Kansas City Star ...Ever since he was named last week as the sponsor of a controversial measure rolling back a significant financial reform, U.S. Rep. Kevin Yoder has been trying to have it both ways. The Republican from Kansas wants constituents to think his motives were all about helping out community banks and farmers. But the biggest beneficiaries are Wall Street banks, which already have rewarded Yoder handsomely and will continue to do so...
20 States Raise Their Minimum Wages While the Federal Minimum Continues to Erode Economic Policy Institute ...these increases will provide workers with $2.5 billion in additional wages over the course of the year. This added pay represents a modest, but significant, boost to the spending power of the affected workers, many of whom have children and families to support...
Oil Trains Hold Upper Hand As Pipeline Called Off Houston Chronicle ...The big increase in rail transport has raised safety concerns and pushed regulators to examine hazardous materials shipping standards in the face of high-profile accidents - including a July 6, 2013, derailment and explosion that killed 47 people in Lac-Megantic, Quebec...
Miscellaneous
Beach man saved by UPS worker dies in hospital surrounded by family WTKR ... Last week Marvin went into cardiac arrest while inside the Calvary Baptist Church in Virginia Beach. At that moment, UPS workers Sisha Perea and her husband Rob pulled up to deliver a package. Sisha gave Marvin CPR and saved his life...
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Today's Teamster News 09.03.14
Teamster News
Republic Services Struggles To Gain Trust As It Deals With Landfill Headache St. Louis Post Dispatch ...the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which represents about 9,000 of Republic’s workers and has had a contentious relationship with the company over the years, joined the chorus calling for buyouts and removal of the waste...
Printing And Production Workers At Seattle Times Join Teamsters teamster.org ...Printing and production workers at the Seattle Times newspaper as well as some specialty printers in the Seattle area have voted to merge with Teamsters Local 117...
UAW President Dennis Williams, U.S. VP Joe Biden And Teamsters President James Hoffa Kick Off Labor Day Parade In Detroit UAW ...Thousands of union members and supporters gathered in Detroit for the historic Labor Day Parade down Michigan Avenue today, pledging to activate voters with the November election approaching with the theme "Together We WILL WIN!"...
Hawaii Teamsters union endorses Hannemann for governor khon2 ...Hawaii Independent Party gubernatorial candidate Mufi Hannemann received a big boost Tuesday when he was endorsed by the Hawaii Teamsters and Allied Workers Union, Local 996...
Trade
Time To Get Children Out Of Factories And Into Schools (opinion) CNN ...In a small village in central Afghanistan, 13-year-old Basma is about to start her first day of school –- ever.... Only weeks before, Basma was found working on a carpet loom. Her weaving fingers already showed signs of arthritis from holding tools since the age of nine, tying knots for 14 hours a day...
"Fast Track" Foes Sound Off in Oregon Politico ...Foes of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement will visit the Oregon offices of Sen. Ron Wyden (D) today to deliver petitions signed by nearly 5,000 people, urging him to ensure his new “smart track” version of trade promotion authority is “not outdated ‘fast track’ legislation in disguise...
Free trade promises, but it’s failed to deliver (opinion) The Bellingham Herald ... We’ve heard these promises before: Trade agreements will level the playing field, create jobs and even promote world peace. So far, their track record has been the opposite...
State Battles
Federal Court Upholds Right to Work, Local Labor Leaders Focused on State Cases tristatehomepage.com ...In a split decision, a federal appeals court has ruled Indiana's Right to Work law does not violate federal labor laws or the United States Constitution. The appellate court's ruling comes as the Indiana Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments on the same topic later this week. While the federal decision didn't come as a surprise, the focus now shifts to the state Supreme Court's decision, said Chuck Whobrey, the president of Teamsters Local 215...
Local Teamsters president speaks out on right-to-work ruling WFIE ...A federal appeals court has upheld Indiana's right-to-work law banning mandatory union fees in a split decision. The local Teamsters represent thousands of union workers. President Chuck Whobrey says this ruling will certainly effect the way the union operates...
GOP Tries Yet Again to Disenfranchise Ohio Voters with Photo ID Bill Moving Ohio Forward ...Today, a group of Republican legislators again pushed for passage of legislation requiring photo IDs to be shown at polling places in order to vote, despite evidence that demonstrates over 1.2 million Ohio voters would be directly disenfranchised from exercising their voting rights...
Texas Voter ID Law Heads To Trial In U.S. Court Huffington Post ...A U.S. court in Texas will hear arguments on Tuesday in a case over a law requiring voters to present photo identification, a move the state's Republican leaders say will prevent fraud while plaintiffs call it a veiled attempt at suppressing minority turnout...
Garcetti Calls For $13.25 Minimum Wage By 2017 Los Angeles Times ...Mayor Eric Garcetti on Monday launched an ambitious campaign to impose a $13.25-an-hour minimum wage requirement for all workers in Los Angeles by 2017, calling it the "largest anti-poverty program in the city's history."...
North Carolina Union Files SEC Pay-to-Play Complaint Against Erskine Bowles International Business Times ...A union representing 55,000 North Carolina current and retired state workers Tuesday filed a complaint with the Securities and Exchange Commission alleging that former White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles and his wife, a JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) director, may have violated federal pay-to-play rules in a major North Carolina pension contract...
War On Workers
The "40-Hour" Workweek Is Actually Longer -- by Seven Hours Gallup ...half of all full-time workers indicate they typically work more than 40 hours, and nearly four in 10 say they work at least 50 hours...
Fast food workers plan nationwide strike on Thursday MSNBC ...Thousands of fast food workers across the United States will once again go on strike this Thursday, representatives of the Fight for 15 movement announced Monday night...
America’s Exploding Oil Train Problem Moyers and Company ...If you reside in the US, there’s around an eight percent chance that you live in an oil train’s blast zone. And there’s a fight going on at the state and federal levels, between monied interests and regulatory agencies, over efforts to ensure that these trains — which have shown a tendency to burst into flames — will be relatively safe...
Police: Arrest made in case of Popeye's worker killed in Anne Arundel Baltimore Sun ...Anne Arundel police said they have made an arrest in the case of a Popeye's employee who was found dead at the restaurant early Sunday morning...
CPUC Fines PG&E $1.4 Billion in Connection with San Bruno Pipeline Explosion Associated Press ...California regulatory judges have issued a $1.4 billion penalty against the state's largest utility for a 2010 gas pipeline explosion that engulfed a suburban San Francisco neighborhood in fire, killing eight people and prompting national alerts about aging pipelines...
Russian bank hires two former U.S. senators The Center for Public Integrity ...Gazprombank GPB (OJSC), a Russian bank targeted with sanctions by President Obama over the Ukraine crisis, has hired two former U.S. senators to lobby against those sanctions, according to a new disclosure filed with the Senate…. former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., and former Senator John Breaux, D-La., are listed as the main lobbyists...
Car sharing service Uber banned in Germany Guardian ... The online car-sharing service Uber has vowed to continue operating across Germany after its mobile app was banned by a Frankfurt regional court...
Miscellaneous
We Need A Serious, Federal Digital Privacy Law (opinion) Huffington Post ...If anything good is to come from this weekend's celebrity phone hack, let's hope it's federal action that finally takes seriously the problem of non-consensual online sexual exploitation -- along with all other forms of digital privacy invasion...
Ruling On Keystone XL Pipeline Could Come Down To Two Key Points Omaha World-Herald ...The Nebraska Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Friday morning on a constitutional challenge involving one of the most bitterly fought environmental battles in a generation. President Barack Obama is awaiting a ruling from Nebraska before moving closer to deciding the fate of the massive oil pipeline...
Home Depot Investigating Possible Payment Card Data Breach Wall Street Journal ...Home Depot Inc. is working with banks and law enforcement agencies to investigate a potential breach of customer credit- or debit-card data.The home-improvement retailer said on Tuesday it is looking into what it called unusual activity and said that if it confirms a breach occurred, it will immediately notify customers...
Republic Services Struggles To Gain Trust As It Deals With Landfill Headache St. Louis Post Dispatch ...the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which represents about 9,000 of Republic’s workers and has had a contentious relationship with the company over the years, joined the chorus calling for buyouts and removal of the waste...
Printing And Production Workers At Seattle Times Join Teamsters teamster.org ...Printing and production workers at the Seattle Times newspaper as well as some specialty printers in the Seattle area have voted to merge with Teamsters Local 117...
UAW President Dennis Williams, U.S. VP Joe Biden And Teamsters President James Hoffa Kick Off Labor Day Parade In Detroit UAW ...Thousands of union members and supporters gathered in Detroit for the historic Labor Day Parade down Michigan Avenue today, pledging to activate voters with the November election approaching with the theme "Together We WILL WIN!"...
Hawaii Teamsters union endorses Hannemann for governor khon2 ...Hawaii Independent Party gubernatorial candidate Mufi Hannemann received a big boost Tuesday when he was endorsed by the Hawaii Teamsters and Allied Workers Union, Local 996...
Trade
Time To Get Children Out Of Factories And Into Schools (opinion) CNN ...In a small village in central Afghanistan, 13-year-old Basma is about to start her first day of school –- ever.... Only weeks before, Basma was found working on a carpet loom. Her weaving fingers already showed signs of arthritis from holding tools since the age of nine, tying knots for 14 hours a day...
"Fast Track" Foes Sound Off in Oregon Politico ...Foes of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement will visit the Oregon offices of Sen. Ron Wyden (D) today to deliver petitions signed by nearly 5,000 people, urging him to ensure his new “smart track” version of trade promotion authority is “not outdated ‘fast track’ legislation in disguise...
Free trade promises, but it’s failed to deliver (opinion) The Bellingham Herald ... We’ve heard these promises before: Trade agreements will level the playing field, create jobs and even promote world peace. So far, their track record has been the opposite...
State Battles
Federal Court Upholds Right to Work, Local Labor Leaders Focused on State Cases tristatehomepage.com ...In a split decision, a federal appeals court has ruled Indiana's Right to Work law does not violate federal labor laws or the United States Constitution. The appellate court's ruling comes as the Indiana Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments on the same topic later this week. While the federal decision didn't come as a surprise, the focus now shifts to the state Supreme Court's decision, said Chuck Whobrey, the president of Teamsters Local 215...
Local Teamsters president speaks out on right-to-work ruling WFIE ...A federal appeals court has upheld Indiana's right-to-work law banning mandatory union fees in a split decision. The local Teamsters represent thousands of union workers. President Chuck Whobrey says this ruling will certainly effect the way the union operates...
GOP Tries Yet Again to Disenfranchise Ohio Voters with Photo ID Bill Moving Ohio Forward ...Today, a group of Republican legislators again pushed for passage of legislation requiring photo IDs to be shown at polling places in order to vote, despite evidence that demonstrates over 1.2 million Ohio voters would be directly disenfranchised from exercising their voting rights...
Texas Voter ID Law Heads To Trial In U.S. Court Huffington Post ...A U.S. court in Texas will hear arguments on Tuesday in a case over a law requiring voters to present photo identification, a move the state's Republican leaders say will prevent fraud while plaintiffs call it a veiled attempt at suppressing minority turnout...
Garcetti Calls For $13.25 Minimum Wage By 2017 Los Angeles Times ...Mayor Eric Garcetti on Monday launched an ambitious campaign to impose a $13.25-an-hour minimum wage requirement for all workers in Los Angeles by 2017, calling it the "largest anti-poverty program in the city's history."...
North Carolina Union Files SEC Pay-to-Play Complaint Against Erskine Bowles International Business Times ...A union representing 55,000 North Carolina current and retired state workers Tuesday filed a complaint with the Securities and Exchange Commission alleging that former White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles and his wife, a JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) director, may have violated federal pay-to-play rules in a major North Carolina pension contract...
War On Workers
The "40-Hour" Workweek Is Actually Longer -- by Seven Hours Gallup ...half of all full-time workers indicate they typically work more than 40 hours, and nearly four in 10 say they work at least 50 hours...
Fast food workers plan nationwide strike on Thursday MSNBC ...Thousands of fast food workers across the United States will once again go on strike this Thursday, representatives of the Fight for 15 movement announced Monday night...
America’s Exploding Oil Train Problem Moyers and Company ...If you reside in the US, there’s around an eight percent chance that you live in an oil train’s blast zone. And there’s a fight going on at the state and federal levels, between monied interests and regulatory agencies, over efforts to ensure that these trains — which have shown a tendency to burst into flames — will be relatively safe...
Police: Arrest made in case of Popeye's worker killed in Anne Arundel Baltimore Sun ...Anne Arundel police said they have made an arrest in the case of a Popeye's employee who was found dead at the restaurant early Sunday morning...
CPUC Fines PG&E $1.4 Billion in Connection with San Bruno Pipeline Explosion Associated Press ...California regulatory judges have issued a $1.4 billion penalty against the state's largest utility for a 2010 gas pipeline explosion that engulfed a suburban San Francisco neighborhood in fire, killing eight people and prompting national alerts about aging pipelines...
Russian bank hires two former U.S. senators The Center for Public Integrity ...Gazprombank GPB (OJSC), a Russian bank targeted with sanctions by President Obama over the Ukraine crisis, has hired two former U.S. senators to lobby against those sanctions, according to a new disclosure filed with the Senate…. former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., and former Senator John Breaux, D-La., are listed as the main lobbyists...
Car sharing service Uber banned in Germany Guardian ... The online car-sharing service Uber has vowed to continue operating across Germany after its mobile app was banned by a Frankfurt regional court...
Miscellaneous
We Need A Serious, Federal Digital Privacy Law (opinion) Huffington Post ...If anything good is to come from this weekend's celebrity phone hack, let's hope it's federal action that finally takes seriously the problem of non-consensual online sexual exploitation -- along with all other forms of digital privacy invasion...
Ruling On Keystone XL Pipeline Could Come Down To Two Key Points Omaha World-Herald ...The Nebraska Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Friday morning on a constitutional challenge involving one of the most bitterly fought environmental battles in a generation. President Barack Obama is awaiting a ruling from Nebraska before moving closer to deciding the fate of the massive oil pipeline...
Home Depot Investigating Possible Payment Card Data Breach Wall Street Journal ...Home Depot Inc. is working with banks and law enforcement agencies to investigate a potential breach of customer credit- or debit-card data.The home-improvement retailer said on Tuesday it is looking into what it called unusual activity and said that if it confirms a breach occurred, it will immediately notify customers...
Thursday, June 5, 2014
Colombia plan to strengthen workers' rights isn't working, witness says
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| Jorge Parra, John Walsh, and Manuel Ospina at the GM workers protest outside the US Embassy in Bogota. |
Colombia is the most dangerous place to be a trade unionist, and Brother Walsh works for justice in Latin America and the Caribbean. He is Portland regional vice president for the GCC/IBT 767M and serves on the board of directors of Witness for Peace, a grassroots nonprofits that tries to change U.S. policies and corporate practices that contribute to poverty and oppression.
Walsh visited the injured GM workers' protest at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota. The workers had been there for more than 1,000 days, protesting GM's refusal to put them on light duty after they were injured. According to Worker's World,
Since the beginning of the occupation, the workers have demanded that GM fulfill its legal obligation to place them in jobs they can perform despite their injuries. If they cannot work, GM is obligated to provide them with lifetime income. GM has gotten around the law, the workers say, by forging medical records to make the injuries appear not work-related.The injured workers have held hunger strikes from time to time. Recently, Brother Jorge Parra (pictured above) sewed his lips shut to show his commitment to the cause.
Brother Walsh shared his observations about Colombia with us:
“In Colombia, starting a union is easy, but keeping one going is difficult – it’s the reverse of the U.S.”
So says Jorge Eliécer Caicedo, leader of a local in the Colombian agricultural union Sintrainagro. Since he’s had the experience of visiting the U.S., where he spent time with Los Angeles-area Teamsters, he has a firsthand sense of the labor movement here.
An example of what he’s talking about in Colombia is the sugar cane refinery La Cabaña, where in 2012 Sintrainagro organized 600 workers, and 115 of them were quickly fired; another 100 were on the verge of losing their jobs when we met with Sintrainagro in May.
This happens because workers lack permanent employment. Companies hire for a limited time, and when that time is up, union members don’t get rehired. We heard the same story from workers with another cane- cutters union, Sintracatorce, and from the women of the flower workers union, Untraflores, whose product gets sold mostly in the United States.
The abuse is not limited to work in the fields. Workers on the docks, at Coca-Cola, in the transit system, in health care and for the phone company all told us the same thing. The failure to hire on a permanent basis violates the US-Colombia Labor Action Plan. The plan was supposed to guarantee union rights before the two countries implemented a free trade agreement, but enforcement is feeble. Even when the Colombian Ministry of Labor assesses fines for violations, there is no guarantee the fine will actually be collected, because that is the responsibility of a different agency of the Colombian government.
Monday, April 14, 2014
A plea for help for Colombian port truck drivers
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| Teamsters supporting striking port drivers in LA |
Brother John Walsh, Portland regional vice president for the GCC/IBT 767M, works for justice in Latin American and the Caribbean. He is on the board of directors of Witness for Peace, a grassroots nonprofits that tries to change U.S. policies and corporate practices that contribute to poverty and oppression.
We received a message from Brother Walsh recently, which we'd like to share:
Buenaventura, Colombia’s biggest port, reveals in stark terms what’s wrong with free trade. The people of the city are afflicted by poverty and violence, while thriving commerce puts big money in the hands of an economic and political oligarchy. But the largely Afro-Colombian population is fighting back. Having already carried out several protests, they plan a civic strike in May. Workers, especially the portworkers’ union, are actively engaged in building a movement for economic and social justice.
The port truck drivers are as far as I know unorganized and exploited. Virtually all of the trade passing through Buenaventura travels by truck over the one road between the interior of Colombia and the city, creating a great deal of potential leverage.
I’m working with Witness for Peace, where I’m a volunteer member of the national board, to pull together on short notice a delegation to accompany the May civic strike in Buenaventura.
We plan to meet with sugar cane cutters and injured GM workers as well. I’m wondering if Teamsters connected with organizing port truck drivers, or focused on stopping the TPP, would be interested - though Colombia is not presently one of the TPP countries, it could become one, and in any case the failures of the US-Colombia Labor Action Plan are a cautionary tale for future trade agreements.Specific information about the delegation is here.
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Today's Teamster News 10.30.13
Newsday drives off with new union pact New York Post ...Just two weeks after rejecting a new labor contract, workers, who are members of the IBT/Graphic Communications Conference at Newsday, ratified the same pact that cuts 25 driver jobs but hikes pay for the remaining workers by 6 percent over four years...
Grocery worker contract vote begins Tuesday KIRO TV ...Voting on the proposed contract will take place at several locations Tuesday and Wednesday for the unionized grocery workers, including members of Teamsters Local 38...
YRC requests meeting with Teamsters for company update Kansas City Business Journal ...YRC Worldwide Inc. is calling its members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to Dallas to talk about the company's future...
UPS TCI Supplement Passes teamster.org ...The UPS TCI Supplement has passed by a vote of 87 to 12. That brings the total number of revoted local supplements and riders that have been approved by members to seven...
Rail optimistic on union deal as strike deadline nears Reuters ...Canadian National Railway Co., the country's largest railroad, said on Monday it is still talking with the union representing about 3,300 conductors and other workers and expects the two sides will be able to avoid a strike...
U.S. sham corporations aid drug lords CNN ... the Russian "Merchant of Death" Victor Bout used a global network of shell companies to move the funds of his international outfit, which authorities say provided weapons used to fuel conflicts throughout Africa, South America and the Middle East. At least 12 shell companies in Texas, Florida and Delaware have been linked to him...
Dutch Rabobank fined $1 billion over Libor scandal Reuters ...U.S. and European regulators have fined Dutch lender Rabobank $1 billion for rigging benchmark interest rates, making it the fifth bank punished in a scandal that has helped to shred faith in the industry...
'We got away with murder': £2.2m avoidance boast of Gordon Ramsay's tax expert in leaked memo Daily Mail ...Gordon Ramsay ‘really got away with murder’ as his company hid ‘incriminating evidence’ of alleged fraud from the taxman, a leaked memo claims...
The Coming Food Stamp Cut Will Hit 900,000 Veterans ThinkProgress ...Benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), otherwise known as food stamps, will automatically drop come Friday thanks to the loss of additional funds from the 2009 stimulus bill. That cut will hit about 900,000 of the country’s veterans...
Senate OKs Obama pick for NLRB general counsel The Guardian ...Senators voted 62-37 Tuesday to end Republican delaying tactics against Richard Griffin, who Obama nominated to be NLRB general counsel...The general counsel investigates and prosecutes cases before the board. Griffin is a Democrat and long-time labor lawyer...
Another View: Americans' appetite for Amtrak service growing (opinion) Des Moines Register ...On the heaviest traveled passenger rail corridor in the nation, the Northeast Corridor, Amtrak keeps breaking ridership records...
Municipal workers, nurses, pensioners protest against austerity Cyprus Mail ...Tuesday, in the Republic of Cyprus, was a day of protests outside parliament and the finance ministry as nurses, pensioners and municipality workers all gathered to voice their discontent at government imposed cuts. Municipality workers from trade unions PEO and DEOK went on strike for four hours to protest against a further 12 per cent cut to state funding for 2014...
8 Scary Facts About The Trans-Pacific Partnership BuzzFeed ...The Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, is a massive, secret trade agreement being negotiated behind the backs of Congress and the American people...
Brunei Sultan Raises More Worries About TPP teamster.org ...The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) has rightfully come under fire for its potential to make things worse for workers and consumers both in the U.S. and the 11 other countries which are currently involved in negotiations...
Snyder rejected pension fund conditions Detroit News ...Gov. Rick Snyder’s testimony Monday in Detroit's historic Chapter 9 case marked a dramatic turn, featuring a sitting governor forced to defend a series of decisions likely to set a national precedent for union protections and pension rights in municipal bankruptcy...
Republican Says He'd Bring Back Slavery If His Constituents Asked Him To AlterNet ...A Nevada Republican sparked outrage after he told members of the GOP that he’d bring back slavery if that’s what his constituents wanted...
More follies from the Kasich circus! Toledo Blade ...A Blade investigation of Ohio’s taxpayer-funded job-creation efforts discovered that businesses did not create thousands of jobs that state documents said they did. The probe also revealed that Ohio development officials awarded tens of millions of dollars to companies they knew little about. Much of that money is now lost...
Gov. Walker says he cannot yet comment on alleged discrepancies in his book WKOW ...Governor Scott Walker (R-Wisconsin) says he cannot yet comment on alleged discrepancies between what is reportedly published in his upcoming book and the recording of a phone conversation he had with a blogger posing as billionaire Republican donor David Koch on February 22, 2011...
Grocery worker contract vote begins Tuesday KIRO TV ...Voting on the proposed contract will take place at several locations Tuesday and Wednesday for the unionized grocery workers, including members of Teamsters Local 38...
YRC requests meeting with Teamsters for company update Kansas City Business Journal ...YRC Worldwide Inc. is calling its members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to Dallas to talk about the company's future...
UPS TCI Supplement Passes teamster.org ...The UPS TCI Supplement has passed by a vote of 87 to 12. That brings the total number of revoted local supplements and riders that have been approved by members to seven...
Rail optimistic on union deal as strike deadline nears Reuters ...Canadian National Railway Co., the country's largest railroad, said on Monday it is still talking with the union representing about 3,300 conductors and other workers and expects the two sides will be able to avoid a strike...
U.S. sham corporations aid drug lords CNN ... the Russian "Merchant of Death" Victor Bout used a global network of shell companies to move the funds of his international outfit, which authorities say provided weapons used to fuel conflicts throughout Africa, South America and the Middle East. At least 12 shell companies in Texas, Florida and Delaware have been linked to him...
Dutch Rabobank fined $1 billion over Libor scandal Reuters ...U.S. and European regulators have fined Dutch lender Rabobank $1 billion for rigging benchmark interest rates, making it the fifth bank punished in a scandal that has helped to shred faith in the industry...
'We got away with murder': £2.2m avoidance boast of Gordon Ramsay's tax expert in leaked memo Daily Mail ...Gordon Ramsay ‘really got away with murder’ as his company hid ‘incriminating evidence’ of alleged fraud from the taxman, a leaked memo claims...
The Coming Food Stamp Cut Will Hit 900,000 Veterans ThinkProgress ...Benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), otherwise known as food stamps, will automatically drop come Friday thanks to the loss of additional funds from the 2009 stimulus bill. That cut will hit about 900,000 of the country’s veterans...
Senate OKs Obama pick for NLRB general counsel The Guardian ...Senators voted 62-37 Tuesday to end Republican delaying tactics against Richard Griffin, who Obama nominated to be NLRB general counsel...The general counsel investigates and prosecutes cases before the board. Griffin is a Democrat and long-time labor lawyer...
Another View: Americans' appetite for Amtrak service growing (opinion) Des Moines Register ...On the heaviest traveled passenger rail corridor in the nation, the Northeast Corridor, Amtrak keeps breaking ridership records...
Municipal workers, nurses, pensioners protest against austerity Cyprus Mail ...Tuesday, in the Republic of Cyprus, was a day of protests outside parliament and the finance ministry as nurses, pensioners and municipality workers all gathered to voice their discontent at government imposed cuts. Municipality workers from trade unions PEO and DEOK went on strike for four hours to protest against a further 12 per cent cut to state funding for 2014...
8 Scary Facts About The Trans-Pacific Partnership BuzzFeed ...The Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, is a massive, secret trade agreement being negotiated behind the backs of Congress and the American people...
Brunei Sultan Raises More Worries About TPP teamster.org ...The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) has rightfully come under fire for its potential to make things worse for workers and consumers both in the U.S. and the 11 other countries which are currently involved in negotiations...
Snyder rejected pension fund conditions Detroit News ...Gov. Rick Snyder’s testimony Monday in Detroit's historic Chapter 9 case marked a dramatic turn, featuring a sitting governor forced to defend a series of decisions likely to set a national precedent for union protections and pension rights in municipal bankruptcy...
Republican Says He'd Bring Back Slavery If His Constituents Asked Him To AlterNet ...A Nevada Republican sparked outrage after he told members of the GOP that he’d bring back slavery if that’s what his constituents wanted...
More follies from the Kasich circus! Toledo Blade ...A Blade investigation of Ohio’s taxpayer-funded job-creation efforts discovered that businesses did not create thousands of jobs that state documents said they did. The probe also revealed that Ohio development officials awarded tens of millions of dollars to companies they knew little about. Much of that money is now lost...
Gov. Walker says he cannot yet comment on alleged discrepancies in his book WKOW ...Governor Scott Walker (R-Wisconsin) says he cannot yet comment on alleged discrepancies between what is reportedly published in his upcoming book and the recording of a phone conversation he had with a blogger posing as billionaire Republican donor David Koch on February 22, 2011...
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Today's Teamster News 10.02.13
Bon Appetit workers vote for union representation Daily Pennsylvanian ...The Bon Appetit Management Company dining hall workers voted Monday morning to be represented by the Teamsters Local 929...
Star-Ledger, unions reach agreement Newspapers & Technology ...The Star-Ledger in Newark, N.J. reached a tentative agreement with production unions, Teamsters/GCC Local 8-N, to avoid a threatened shutdown…
Saginaw County fails to renew 14 of its 16 union contracts by Oct. 1 deadline Michigan Live ...About 540 employees in 14 of Saginaw County's 16 bargaining units are working under expired contracts, starting October 1. But during a special meeting Sept. 30, the Board of Commissioners approved two two-year contracts for workers who are members of Teamsters Local 214...
Will Poultry files notice of plant closing Buffalo Business First ...Will Poultry Co. has filed advance word of a shutdown of its William Street plant in Buffalo with the New York State Labor Department. The workers there are represented by Teamsters Local 264...
At 42 months and counting, current job “recovery” is slowest since Truman was president Pew Research Center ...In fact, not only were more jobs wiped out in the Great Recession than any other post-World War II downturn — 8.7 million, or 6.3% of the pre-recession peak payroll — but it’s taking longer to regain them than it did in the previous two post-recession recoveries combined...
Student Loan Defaults Surge To Highest Level In Nearly 2 Decades Huffington Post ...Recent college students are defaulting on federal loans at the highest rate in nearly two decades, reflecting "crisis" levels of student debt and a lackluster economy that leaves graduates with bleak employment prospects...
Multimillionaire Republican lawmaker says government shutdown ‘is my idea of fun’ Raw Story ...As 800,000 federal employees were set to be furloughed due to a government shutdown on Tuesday, a Republican lawmaker with a net worth of around $6 million was positively cheerful about the situation, telling NPR that it was his “idea of fun...”
Does Wall Street Have Primary Dealers or Primary Stealers? (opinion) ...There are three structural reasons we can’t get past the conversation that Wall Street is evil — the first being that it is evil under its current form and the public is reminded of just how evil on a weekly basis with the revelation of its ever more ingenious crimes, like over-charging by 80 times for electricity, withholding aluminum off the market and driving up the price of canned beer and soda, or selling investments designed to fail to unwary investors....
More Than 800,000 Federal Workers Are Furloughed Wall Street Journal ...Many national agencies, parks, museums closed and essential services unaffected...
Dollar weakens on government shutdown New York Post ...The first American government shutdown in 17 years weakened the dollar on Tuesday, sending it to an eight-month low against the euro, but otherwise left equity markets firmer while U.S. Treasury bonds fell...
Labor Department Confirms No Jobs Report Amid Shutdown Wall Street Journal ...The U.S. government Tuesday said it won’t release key economic data, including the monthly jobs report, while the government is partially closed because of the budget impasse...
21% of Americans without health insurance do not use the internet Pew Research Center ...Some of the groups most likely to not have health insurance are the same as those groups most likely to not be online...
Colombian workers' rights suffer despite US-Colombia free trade agreement MinnPost ...Was it a good-faith effort to improve labor rights in Colombia? Or a cynical maneuver to drum up votes for a trade pact? That’s the question human rights activists and some politicians are asking two years after the US Congress approved a free trade agreement with Colombia...
Wells Fargo Agrees To $869 Million Settlement With Freddie Mac Associated Press ...Wells Fargo & Co. has agreed to an $869 million settlement with Freddie Mac over claims on home loans it sold to the government-controlled mortgage finance company...
The Dishonesty of Voter ID Laws (opinion) New York Times ...The Justice Department on Monday sued North Carolina over the state’s restrictive new voting law, which requires photo identification for in-person voting and cuts back on early voting and same-day registration — all of which will disproportionately affect black voters...
Deal to privatize Port of Chicago falls through Chicago Tribune ...Negotiations to privatize the poorly run and foundering Port of Chicago by handing over management to a Denver company have fallen through, according to the transportation company that intended to take it over...
Stunning News On Preventable Deaths In Hospitals (opinion) Huffington Post ...In 1999, Americans learned that 98,000 people were dying every year from preventable errors in hospitals. As it turns out, those were the good old days...
Wearable tech such as Google Glass, Galaxy Gear raises alarms for privacy advocates Washington Post ...Samsung’s Galaxy Gear smart watch is set to hit U.S. stores this week, part of a new wave of wearable technology that some fear could open a largely unregulated door into users’ private lives...
OSHA Cites Georgia Power Co. with $119,000 in violations OSHA Online ...After a generator explosion at Plant Bowen of the Georgia Power Co. in April 2013, an investigation led by OSHA has issued the company with 17 serious safety violations. The explosion occurred during a maintenance shutdown at the Cartersville, GA plant...
Proposed California Laws Will Protect Immigrant Workers Even if Federal Reform Fails Economic Policy Institute ...If Governor Jerry Brown signs these four bills, the new laws will ameliorate some of the worst abuses immigrants suffer, including human trafficking, wage theft, and employer retaliation against workers who organize or report illegal acts to authorities...
Star-Ledger, unions reach agreement Newspapers & Technology ...The Star-Ledger in Newark, N.J. reached a tentative agreement with production unions, Teamsters/GCC Local 8-N, to avoid a threatened shutdown…
Saginaw County fails to renew 14 of its 16 union contracts by Oct. 1 deadline Michigan Live ...About 540 employees in 14 of Saginaw County's 16 bargaining units are working under expired contracts, starting October 1. But during a special meeting Sept. 30, the Board of Commissioners approved two two-year contracts for workers who are members of Teamsters Local 214...
Will Poultry files notice of plant closing Buffalo Business First ...Will Poultry Co. has filed advance word of a shutdown of its William Street plant in Buffalo with the New York State Labor Department. The workers there are represented by Teamsters Local 264...
At 42 months and counting, current job “recovery” is slowest since Truman was president Pew Research Center ...In fact, not only were more jobs wiped out in the Great Recession than any other post-World War II downturn — 8.7 million, or 6.3% of the pre-recession peak payroll — but it’s taking longer to regain them than it did in the previous two post-recession recoveries combined...
Student Loan Defaults Surge To Highest Level In Nearly 2 Decades Huffington Post ...Recent college students are defaulting on federal loans at the highest rate in nearly two decades, reflecting "crisis" levels of student debt and a lackluster economy that leaves graduates with bleak employment prospects...
Multimillionaire Republican lawmaker says government shutdown ‘is my idea of fun’ Raw Story ...As 800,000 federal employees were set to be furloughed due to a government shutdown on Tuesday, a Republican lawmaker with a net worth of around $6 million was positively cheerful about the situation, telling NPR that it was his “idea of fun...”
Does Wall Street Have Primary Dealers or Primary Stealers? (opinion) ...There are three structural reasons we can’t get past the conversation that Wall Street is evil — the first being that it is evil under its current form and the public is reminded of just how evil on a weekly basis with the revelation of its ever more ingenious crimes, like over-charging by 80 times for electricity, withholding aluminum off the market and driving up the price of canned beer and soda, or selling investments designed to fail to unwary investors....
More Than 800,000 Federal Workers Are Furloughed Wall Street Journal ...Many national agencies, parks, museums closed and essential services unaffected...
Dollar weakens on government shutdown New York Post ...The first American government shutdown in 17 years weakened the dollar on Tuesday, sending it to an eight-month low against the euro, but otherwise left equity markets firmer while U.S. Treasury bonds fell...
Labor Department Confirms No Jobs Report Amid Shutdown Wall Street Journal ...The U.S. government Tuesday said it won’t release key economic data, including the monthly jobs report, while the government is partially closed because of the budget impasse...
21% of Americans without health insurance do not use the internet Pew Research Center ...Some of the groups most likely to not have health insurance are the same as those groups most likely to not be online...
Colombian workers' rights suffer despite US-Colombia free trade agreement MinnPost ...Was it a good-faith effort to improve labor rights in Colombia? Or a cynical maneuver to drum up votes for a trade pact? That’s the question human rights activists and some politicians are asking two years after the US Congress approved a free trade agreement with Colombia...
Wells Fargo Agrees To $869 Million Settlement With Freddie Mac Associated Press ...Wells Fargo & Co. has agreed to an $869 million settlement with Freddie Mac over claims on home loans it sold to the government-controlled mortgage finance company...
The Dishonesty of Voter ID Laws (opinion) New York Times ...The Justice Department on Monday sued North Carolina over the state’s restrictive new voting law, which requires photo identification for in-person voting and cuts back on early voting and same-day registration — all of which will disproportionately affect black voters...
Deal to privatize Port of Chicago falls through Chicago Tribune ...Negotiations to privatize the poorly run and foundering Port of Chicago by handing over management to a Denver company have fallen through, according to the transportation company that intended to take it over...
Stunning News On Preventable Deaths In Hospitals (opinion) Huffington Post ...In 1999, Americans learned that 98,000 people were dying every year from preventable errors in hospitals. As it turns out, those were the good old days...
Wearable tech such as Google Glass, Galaxy Gear raises alarms for privacy advocates Washington Post ...Samsung’s Galaxy Gear smart watch is set to hit U.S. stores this week, part of a new wave of wearable technology that some fear could open a largely unregulated door into users’ private lives...
OSHA Cites Georgia Power Co. with $119,000 in violations OSHA Online ...After a generator explosion at Plant Bowen of the Georgia Power Co. in April 2013, an investigation led by OSHA has issued the company with 17 serious safety violations. The explosion occurred during a maintenance shutdown at the Cartersville, GA plant...
Proposed California Laws Will Protect Immigrant Workers Even if Federal Reform Fails Economic Policy Institute ...If Governor Jerry Brown signs these four bills, the new laws will ameliorate some of the worst abuses immigrants suffer, including human trafficking, wage theft, and employer retaliation against workers who organize or report illegal acts to authorities...
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Today's Teamster News 07.25.13
Labor and Human Rights Coalition, including Teamsters, Call for Suspension of Trade Discussion with Vietnam IBT ...Yesterday, a coalition of labor and human rights leaders called on negotiations with Vietnam around the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) to be suspended until the country can prove it has met basic labor, environmental and human right standards...
SCI is a Bad Neighbor, Forcing Teamsters Out on Strike IBT ...SCI, a $3.5 billion corporation which operates 16 funeral homes in the Chicagoland area, forced its Local 727 Teamsters out on an unfair labor practices strike on July 2. Visit http://www.integrityinillinois.com/ for updates on their fight for fairness. View the video here...
The Teamsters donate $40,000 to the victims of Lac-Mégantic Canada Newswire ...Teamsters Canada has collected $40,000 from its locals throughout the country and it will be donated to help out the victims of the Lac-Mégantic rail tragedy...
Teamster nursing staff at ECRMC in contract negotiations with hospital Imperial Valley Press ...El Centro Regional Medical Center’s nursing staff has presented the hospital with a financial proposal as part of its first contract with the hospital as an organized labor group, a representative from Teamsters Local 542 confirmed...
BLET wants feds to mandate 2-member train crews Associated Press ...Most railroads in the U.S. use at least two crew members to operate freight trains. But there's no federal rule to prevent them from using one employee as did a Maine-based railroad whose train, while unattended, careened into a Canadian town, causing an explosion and fire that killed 47 people…
Some CPD officers seek to join Teamsters Local 142 Chesterton Tribune ...Within the next 30 to 60 days, full-time employees of the Chesterton (Indiana) Police Department -- both sworn officers and civilians -- could put unionization to the vote...
Teamsters Support Vance-Cooks for U.S. Public Printer IBT ...George Tedeschi, on behalf of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, has written Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) in support of the nomination of Davita Vance-Cooks as U.S. Public Printer...
Fired Walmart Workers Arrested in Protest at Yahoo Headquarters The Nation ...Five activists were arrested at Yahoo! headquarters Monday afternoon in a protest over the firing of eleven Walmart employees who this month went on strike...
Wal-Mart Workers Launch Surprise Strike Over Safety Issues Mint Press News ...At least 30 non-union Wal-Mart warehouse workers in California launched a surprise two-day strike this morning to protest alleged retaliation for exposing safety risks...
Wisconsin Capitol Protest Leads To Two Dozen Arrests As Police Crack Down On Anti-GOP Demonstration Huffington Post ...Police made numerous arrests inside the Wisconsin's Capitol building on Wednesday, more than two years after tens of thousands of Wisconsinites filled the rotunda in Madison to protest Gov. Scott Walker's (R) budget...
Chicago Teachers Protest Layoffs, Chanting ‘Emanuel Has Got To Go!’ In These Times ...Bravo and Johnson were among several hundred teachers, parents and community members marching outside the Chicago Board of Education Wednesday morning, protesting the layoffs of more than 2,100 teachers and staff in the past week and other public school cuts...
Detroit firefighters protest outside of bankruptcy hearing Detroit News ...A group of about 40 Detroit firefighters joined protesters gathered outside the downtown federal courthouse Wednesday, to fight against expected cuts to pensions and the potential loss of public safety positions, as lawyers gathered inside for the first hearing in the historic bankruptcy case...
Congress Tells Detroit to Forget Financial Bailout Bloomberg ...Lawmakers in Congress are dismissing the possibility of a federal bailout for Detroit, the largest U.S. city to declare bankruptcy....
Hundreds protest Pittsburgh’s most notorious low-wage employers WPXI-TV ...Hundreds of protestors joined together Wednesday to call on Pittsburgh’s most notorious low wage employers...
North Carolina Senate Passes the Most Draconian Voter Suppression Bill Ever Politicususa ...This bill makes registering hard and voting harder – with the added bonus of longer voting lines. To add insult to the pretense that this is about preserving election integrity, they are making it easier for thugs like True the Vote and the Voter Integrity Project to intimidate voters and for outside groups to help Art Pope buy the government...
OSHA To Require Flight Department Hazmat Training Aviation International News ...New regulations from the OSHA mandate the training of thousands of airline workers by December 1 to educate them on how to identify and protect themselves from hazardous chemicals used in the workplace...
Are Shrinking Unions Making Workers Poorer? The Atlantic ...Here's what we know: Union membership has been nearly cut in half over the past thirty years. During that time, income inequality grew, with the top one percent of wealthiest Americans seeing especially big gains in their pre- and post-tax income. And although the economy has grown, wages have not…
Worker Centers Offer a Backdoor Approach to Union Organizing Wall Street Journal ...Juan Campis was sweating in the 90-plus degree heat as he whipped a white towel across a gleaming black Chevy TrailBlazer at a carwash here in Bronx, N.Y.—one of six in the city that was unionized in recent months with help from two nonprofit community groups…
3 Months After Texas Fertilizer Explosion, Workplace Safety Still Ignored Mint Press News ...Long after the explosion of a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, killed 15 people, workplace safety violations continue to plague workers across the U.S...
New Illinois law to fight misclassification of workers WREX13 ...A bill addressing the misclassification of construction workers as independent contractors has been signed into law by Governor Pat Quinn., meant to fight employers who missclassify their workers in an attempt to avoid paying state employment taxes, unemployment insurance, worker's compensation, and overtime...
Senate passes student loan interest rate compromise Politico ...A hard fought deal to keep student loan interest rates down cleared the Senate Wednesday on a 81-18 vote, despite strong opposition from liberal Democrats who believe it would make skyrocketing student debt even worse in the long run...
SCI is a Bad Neighbor, Forcing Teamsters Out on Strike IBT ...SCI, a $3.5 billion corporation which operates 16 funeral homes in the Chicagoland area, forced its Local 727 Teamsters out on an unfair labor practices strike on July 2. Visit http://www.integrityinillinois.com/ for updates on their fight for fairness. View the video here...
The Teamsters donate $40,000 to the victims of Lac-Mégantic Canada Newswire ...Teamsters Canada has collected $40,000 from its locals throughout the country and it will be donated to help out the victims of the Lac-Mégantic rail tragedy...
Teamster nursing staff at ECRMC in contract negotiations with hospital Imperial Valley Press ...El Centro Regional Medical Center’s nursing staff has presented the hospital with a financial proposal as part of its first contract with the hospital as an organized labor group, a representative from Teamsters Local 542 confirmed...
BLET wants feds to mandate 2-member train crews Associated Press ...Most railroads in the U.S. use at least two crew members to operate freight trains. But there's no federal rule to prevent them from using one employee as did a Maine-based railroad whose train, while unattended, careened into a Canadian town, causing an explosion and fire that killed 47 people…
Some CPD officers seek to join Teamsters Local 142 Chesterton Tribune ...Within the next 30 to 60 days, full-time employees of the Chesterton (Indiana) Police Department -- both sworn officers and civilians -- could put unionization to the vote...
Teamsters Support Vance-Cooks for U.S. Public Printer IBT ...George Tedeschi, on behalf of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, has written Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) in support of the nomination of Davita Vance-Cooks as U.S. Public Printer...
Fired Walmart Workers Arrested in Protest at Yahoo Headquarters The Nation ...Five activists were arrested at Yahoo! headquarters Monday afternoon in a protest over the firing of eleven Walmart employees who this month went on strike...
Wal-Mart Workers Launch Surprise Strike Over Safety Issues Mint Press News ...At least 30 non-union Wal-Mart warehouse workers in California launched a surprise two-day strike this morning to protest alleged retaliation for exposing safety risks...
Wisconsin Capitol Protest Leads To Two Dozen Arrests As Police Crack Down On Anti-GOP Demonstration Huffington Post ...Police made numerous arrests inside the Wisconsin's Capitol building on Wednesday, more than two years after tens of thousands of Wisconsinites filled the rotunda in Madison to protest Gov. Scott Walker's (R) budget...
Chicago Teachers Protest Layoffs, Chanting ‘Emanuel Has Got To Go!’ In These Times ...Bravo and Johnson were among several hundred teachers, parents and community members marching outside the Chicago Board of Education Wednesday morning, protesting the layoffs of more than 2,100 teachers and staff in the past week and other public school cuts...
Detroit firefighters protest outside of bankruptcy hearing Detroit News ...A group of about 40 Detroit firefighters joined protesters gathered outside the downtown federal courthouse Wednesday, to fight against expected cuts to pensions and the potential loss of public safety positions, as lawyers gathered inside for the first hearing in the historic bankruptcy case...
Congress Tells Detroit to Forget Financial Bailout Bloomberg ...Lawmakers in Congress are dismissing the possibility of a federal bailout for Detroit, the largest U.S. city to declare bankruptcy....
Hundreds protest Pittsburgh’s most notorious low-wage employers WPXI-TV ...Hundreds of protestors joined together Wednesday to call on Pittsburgh’s most notorious low wage employers...
North Carolina Senate Passes the Most Draconian Voter Suppression Bill Ever Politicususa ...This bill makes registering hard and voting harder – with the added bonus of longer voting lines. To add insult to the pretense that this is about preserving election integrity, they are making it easier for thugs like True the Vote and the Voter Integrity Project to intimidate voters and for outside groups to help Art Pope buy the government...
OSHA To Require Flight Department Hazmat Training Aviation International News ...New regulations from the OSHA mandate the training of thousands of airline workers by December 1 to educate them on how to identify and protect themselves from hazardous chemicals used in the workplace...
Are Shrinking Unions Making Workers Poorer? The Atlantic ...Here's what we know: Union membership has been nearly cut in half over the past thirty years. During that time, income inequality grew, with the top one percent of wealthiest Americans seeing especially big gains in their pre- and post-tax income. And although the economy has grown, wages have not…
Worker Centers Offer a Backdoor Approach to Union Organizing Wall Street Journal ...Juan Campis was sweating in the 90-plus degree heat as he whipped a white towel across a gleaming black Chevy TrailBlazer at a carwash here in Bronx, N.Y.—one of six in the city that was unionized in recent months with help from two nonprofit community groups…
3 Months After Texas Fertilizer Explosion, Workplace Safety Still Ignored Mint Press News ...Long after the explosion of a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, killed 15 people, workplace safety violations continue to plague workers across the U.S...
New Illinois law to fight misclassification of workers WREX13 ...A bill addressing the misclassification of construction workers as independent contractors has been signed into law by Governor Pat Quinn., meant to fight employers who missclassify their workers in an attempt to avoid paying state employment taxes, unemployment insurance, worker's compensation, and overtime...
Senate passes student loan interest rate compromise Politico ...A hard fought deal to keep student loan interest rates down cleared the Senate Wednesday on a 81-18 vote, despite strong opposition from liberal Democrats who believe it would make skyrocketing student debt even worse in the long run...
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Today's Teamster News 01.13.11
St. Louis County's Teamsters Could Go On Strike Duluth News Tribune ...The Teamsters, which represents 170 county employees, are one of five county bargaining units that have been without a contract since since Dec. 31, 2009...
United Parcel Service Delivers Relief eMoney Daily ...United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) has decided to partner with the American Red Cross to provide humanitarian relief...
Teamsters Applaud New Public Printer Boarman IBT ...The Government Printing Office (GPO) ...has a new chief, William Boarman. More than 1,000 employees of the GPO are represented by the Graphic Communications Conference (GCC)...
FedEx Takes on UPS with Long-Range China Jets Bloomberg News ...“If you’re an international logistics provider, which they both are, you’ve got to be big in China...
Lawmaker proposes strict vetting of planned Keystone XL oil pipeline Lincoln Journal Star ...Dubas introduced legislation (LB340) on Wednesday that would require oil pipeline companies such as TransCanada, which wants to build the XL, to go through a complex permit process overseen by the state Public Service Commission...
Calif. to cancel cell phone service for thousands of government workers KDRV-TV News ...Just days after taking office, Brown announced he will be eliminating phone service for over 48,000 government workers...
Auto Rebound Pays Dividend to Work Force New York Times ...The sweeping overhaul and surprising recovery of the American auto industry is about to pay off handsomely for the blue-collar workers at Ford and General Motors...the payouts — expected to top $5,000 at Ford...
Our Country is in Serious Trouble (opinion) Economy in Crisis ...We have sold 16,613 of our best companies in the past 30 years, increasing the number of American registered foreign owned companies in the U.S. When we work for foreign owned companies, the technology and the profits go overseas...
United Parcel Service Delivers Relief eMoney Daily ...United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) has decided to partner with the American Red Cross to provide humanitarian relief...
Teamsters Applaud New Public Printer Boarman IBT ...The Government Printing Office (GPO) ...has a new chief, William Boarman. More than 1,000 employees of the GPO are represented by the Graphic Communications Conference (GCC)...
FedEx Takes on UPS with Long-Range China Jets Bloomberg News ...“If you’re an international logistics provider, which they both are, you’ve got to be big in China...
Lawmaker proposes strict vetting of planned Keystone XL oil pipeline Lincoln Journal Star ...Dubas introduced legislation (LB340) on Wednesday that would require oil pipeline companies such as TransCanada, which wants to build the XL, to go through a complex permit process overseen by the state Public Service Commission...
Calif. to cancel cell phone service for thousands of government workers KDRV-TV News ...Just days after taking office, Brown announced he will be eliminating phone service for over 48,000 government workers...
Auto Rebound Pays Dividend to Work Force New York Times ...The sweeping overhaul and surprising recovery of the American auto industry is about to pay off handsomely for the blue-collar workers at Ford and General Motors...the payouts — expected to top $5,000 at Ford...
Our Country is in Serious Trouble (opinion) Economy in Crisis ...We have sold 16,613 of our best companies in the past 30 years, increasing the number of American registered foreign owned companies in the U.S. When we work for foreign owned companies, the technology and the profits go overseas...
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