TPP is a big, bad deal for workers

Rep. Marcy Kaptur called out TPP as bad for workers this morning.

Several House members gathered on Capitol Hill this morning to let the public know seeing isn't believing when it comes to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

Lawmakers rolled out a copy for the 12-nation Pacific Rim trade deal on a dolly -- all 5,600 pages of it -- and said it will take more than 90 days for lawmakers to fully dissect and digest the agreement. But they added what they've read thus far is worse than they imagined.

When it comes to American jobs, trade deficits, expanded rights for foreign investors and food safety, the TPP is a loser for everyday Americans, elected officials stated. It's time for the U.S. to learn from past history on trade deals, Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) said:

The Trans-Pacific Partnership is more of the great sucking sound of jobs out of this country. Not a single one has resulted in a trade balance...We are going to lose even more jobs. TPP is just more of the same.

House members said bipartisan opposition to the deal is growing on Capitol Hill. Now that the document is public, lawmakers can delve into it to get the details of the pact. And many are not liking what they read.

The TPP document in all its largeness.

For example, the agreement will allow members to challenge food safety checks made when goods are imported into the U.S. Given the concerns many have raised about seafood brought in from Vietnam and Malaysia, for example, that is not good news for consumers.

TPP also does nothing to curtail currency manipulation, which would lead to even larger U.S. trade deficits with member countries. And investor-state dispute resolution language actually gives investors a great ability to sue these Pacific Rim countries to have their laws overturned.

As Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) said, TPP is "too big to pass," given that only five chapters of the agreement even deal with trade. It's just another attempted corporate takeover sanctioned by member governments.

That's why Congress needs to say no to the TPP.

Hoffa: China's currency manipulation should serve as a warning about TPP

Editor's Note: The following column by Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa is also appearing on the Huffington Post website.

Currency manipulation has long been a drag on the U.S. economy and our jobs. But China’s decision last week to devalue the Yuan shows the kind of damage such tinkering can bring to America. And it’s why Congress cannot approve the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) until something is done about it.

The Teamsters for years have talked about how the issue is a cancer for trade deals like the 12-nation Pacific Rim pact. It makes imports cheaper to buy in the U.S. but drives up the cost of goods workers make here and export to the world. That, in turn, increases our trade deficits and forces U.S. manufacturers to either move overseas or close up shop.

The practice creates an unfair trade advantage that has already cost millions of jobs in this country and shuttered thousands of U.S. factories. And it will only get worse if America proceeds with the TPP. Japan, Singapore and Malaysia, for example, are part of the trade agreement and have a long history of engaging in currency manipulation. China’s decision to lower the value of the Yuan after four years of relative stability will likely cause others nations to do so as well.

The failure to address currency manipulation and undervaluation has been a major cause of the U.S. trade deficit and manufacturing decline. Yet there is no provision in the TPP to do so, even though policymakers understand how devastating it can be to America’s economic health.

It is even more startling when the U.S. already has proof that the lack of currency manipulation language is a major failing in modern trade deals. The three-year-old U.S.-Korea trade agreement, known as KORUS, is the model that the TPP is built upon.  While supporters said it would create upwards of 70,000 jobs, it instead has led to tens of thousands of lost American jobs and an 84-percent increase in this country's trade deficit with Korea. In fact, the U.S. rung up its highest monthly trade deficit ever with Korea in January, reaching $3 billion.

Those job losses are not low-wage jobs, either. As the Economic Policy Institute surmised earlier this year, increased trade deficits push jobs out of better-paying industries. And at a time when income inequality is running rampant in the U.S., workers don't need even more "free" trade agreements that will further strip this nation's economy of middle-income jobs.

Currency manipulation is serious enough that a bipartisan collection of lawmakers have aired their concerns about the issue. That’s a rarity in today’s bogged down Capitol Hill environment. But they know what the Teamsters are other advocates are saying is true – our existing currency policy has failed.

China’s latest actions highlight the importance of addressing this issue. Currency provisions must be placed in the TPP that could be enforced through trade sanctions. But just as importantly, any additional nations that wish to sign onto the pact in the future must also be approved by Congress.  That way, China won’t be able to continue its current practices that leave American workers behind with no way to compete going forward.

The war against bad trade deals continues

The Teamsters joined fair trade advocates earlier this month in protesting TPP.

The Senate is on the verge of giving final approval later today to fast track legislation that will allow lousy trade deals like the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) to speed through Congress with little debate and no chance to amend them. Sadly, a majority of lawmakers will choose to side with the powerful over the people.

It is discouraging to lose this battle. More than 57,000 contacts with lawmakers were made through the Teamsters' phone and e-mail tools in recent weeks to tell them to stick up for American workers. But it wasn't enough. As Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa said:

History shows it makes no sense to give a quick up-or-down vote to bad trade deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership that will only ship jobs overseas and lower wages in the U.S. Yet again, workers have been tossed aside by some lawmakers who are more interested in pleasing their corporate cronies than doing what’s best for their constituents.

But the trade war isn't over. Not by a long shot. The fast track fight has been a galvanizing battle in the effort to build a fair trade movement for the 21st century that protects American jobs and the environment. The momentum is on the side of the hundreds of thousands of people who are now engaged in this effort, organized in the states and intent to fight for their rights.

The battle now turns to the TPP. Americans have not yet seen the text of this lengthy and complex agreement and even elected officials have limited access to the document. How can Congress approve such a trade deal when it doesn’t know everything that is in it?

What the public does know, however, isn’t good. Several TPP chapters have been unveiled by WikiLeaks, and they show the 12-nation Pacific Rim trade deal would result in lost American jobs, bigger U.S. trade deficits due to the currency manipulation practices of other countries and even the possibility that this country’s laws could be challenged by foreign corporations and overturned by an international tribunal.

That’s why the Teamsters and other advocates plan on keeping up the pressure to build real and enforceable labor and environmental standards. A process also needs to be established that includes and informs the public, rather than keeping people on the outside of the negotiating process.

TPP backers have made big promises about how the trade deal will change the lives of Americans for the better, even though The Washington Post found it won’t create any new U.S. jobs. Now they have to make good on those promises. American workers need to get something from these agreements. The corporate class insists they will. The Teamsters and those standing up for workers will hold them accountable for their promises.

Fast track's finale could be upon us; make your voice heard!

Confused about where things stand with fast track? You're not alone.

Legislation that began in the Senate and failed its first procedural hurdle made it out of the chamber last month. However, once in the House, fast track failed on its first vote. That is, until its corporate crony supporters rejiggered the rules so they could bring back a different version of fast track that passed the House last week.

So now, the Senate needs to vote on fast track again because the House-approved bill is different from the one the Senate initially passed. The first, and likely most important, vote will probably happen tomorrow.

Fast track foes spoke out against the bill earlier this month.

This legislation's path is convoluted, and that's what its supporters want. But the primary message is not. Fast track will result in thousands of U.S. jobs being shipped overseas, and will lead to a reduction in pay for many of the American jobs that remain in this country. It will allow unsafe food and products to flow freely onto this nation's shores. It won't do anything to stop other countries from manipulating their currency to make their products cheap in the U.S. and ours more expensive overseas. And it will allow foreign corporations to sue America to overturn our democratic laws.

Frankly, it's hard to imagine how the process has gotten to this point. Fast track will allow trade deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership to be rushed through Congress with little debate and no chance to be amended. That takes the power away from lawmakers. They are left to only rubber stamp trade pacts.

Senators who support fair trade and workers really only have one choice at this point -- vote NO on fast track. But they need to hear from their constituents.

The fight for hardworking Americans could end tomorrow if lawmakers decide to turn away from the people and endorse the views of the powerful. Don't let that happen.

House needs to continue stand against fast track

The House's overwhelming bipartisan rejection of fast track on Friday was a victory for all workers and a sign of the Teamsters' power to effect change when members of this union and our allies come together to challenge poor policy. But brothers and sisters, we're not done yet.

The Teamsters would like to thank all lawmakers who stood with the people in that important vote. Pro-fast track lawmakers, however, are likely to pull out every procedural trick in the book to overturn it. That could mean taking another vote on Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) as early as tomorrow. So that's why those standing up for hardworking Americans can't rest. Not yet, anyway.

As Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa said best:

The Teamsters and others who stand with American families must remain resolute. Corporate cronies are likely to try to get TAA and fast track through the House again as soon as [this] week. Workers’ voices need to continue to be heard on Capitol Hill.

TAA, which was legislatively linked to fast track by trade proponents in an effort to ease passage, blew up in their faces. And rightfully so. Fast track is unpopular for good reason -- it will ship American jobs overseas and threaten our food and water. Why should lawmakers approve worker training through TAA when they can vote to ensure workers won't lose their jobs from deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in the first place?

House members should again reject TAA for the same reasons they did last week. The measure doesn't help public sector workers who could lose their jobs due to trade and it doesn't provide enough funding for training. TAA shouldn't be used as a bargaining chip to provide cover for continuing the current failed trade model.

Remember, a vote against fast track and a vote against TAA is a stand for working families and American jobs.

Today's Teamster News 05.08.15

Teamsters
Teamsters Support Alaska Airlines Contract Workers Fight for $15, Union  Teamster.org   ...The Teamsters Airline Division has pledged its support of contract workers at Alaska Airlines who are fighting for fair wages and union representation. The contract workers picketed outside airports across country today in an effort to raise public awareness of their fight...
Fired Workers Win Back Their Jobs  Times News Weekly   ...Allan Henry, an organizer for the Teamsters, said that after speaking out against Five Star Carting and their working conditions, Bush and Darden were told to sign papers deeming them terminated before they could receive their paychecks. “Now they both have their jobs back, but this is the type of working conditions and the type of retaliation these workers are dealing in this industry,” Henry said...
Strike At McMahon Distributeur Pharmaceutique Inc’s Montreal DC  Materials Management & Distribution   ...Unionized employees, represented by the Teamsters Québec, local 1999, are on strike at McMahon Distributeur pharmaceutique inc’s Montreal DC. The union rejected the company’s offer after several months of bargaining...
De Blasio Administration To Begin Horse-Carriage Outreach  Capital New York   ...The de Blasio administration began its outreach on Monday to horse-carriage drivers and others who would be affected by legislation to abolish the industry...

Global Labor & Trade
Costa Rica Announces Plan To Eradicate Child Labor By 2020  Tico Times   ...During an event Monday morning, Costa Rica announced an initiative to get more than 40,000 children out of the workforce. The multi-pronged approach builds off previous efforts to reduce child labor and aims to eliminate the practice altogether by 2020...
TTIP Talks Dubbed Secretive And Undemocratic  Sputnik   ...As the EU Foreign Affairs Council re-starts discussions on Thursday on the trade and investment partnership with the United States (TTIP), a senior UN official has dubbed the talks undemocratic and secretive. The controversial TTIP agreement has been pushed through by US President Barack Obama, who has called for the negotiations for the world's biggest trade agreement to be speeded up. As the talks get underway in Brussels on May 7, the Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order, Alfred de Zayas, expressed deep concerns over the talks...
TPP, TTIP And TISA: How The Media Misrepresent Obama’s “Fast Track” “Secret” International Trade Deals  Centre for Research on Globalization   ...Both conservative and liberal ‘news’ media misrepresent U.S. President Barack Obama’s proposed international trade-deals as if they were about only such things as lowering tariffs and reducing national trade-protectionism — which are relatively minor surface-features of these huge proposed treaties: TTIP with Europe, TPP with Asia, and TISA (Trade in Services Agreement)...
Obama's Scheduled Visit To Nike Has Trade Deal Skeptics Scratching Their Heads  Huffington Post   ...Nike, which is regarded as a pioneer in overseas outsourcing, has a long and checkered labor history in Vietnam. The footwear and apparel giant was pilloried for alleged sweatshop conditions in its contracted factories in Vietnam back in the 1990s, bruising its public image. By most accounts, Nike has helped make significant safety improvements in factories through its own monitoring programs since then, but wages in Vietnam are still extremely low, and the government has a poor track record of enforcing labor laws there...

State & Living Wage Battles
Pennsylvania Senate OKs Public Employee Collective Bargaining Bills  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette   ...Republicans on Wednesday gave Senate approval to two bills that they said would increase transparency in collective bargaining for public employees, but which Democrats equated to union-busting...
Wisconsin GOP’s Latest Attack On Food Stamp Recipients Would Cost The State Millions  Think Progress   ...Wisconsin would have to spend millions of dollars to realize a Republican scheme to restrict how poor people shop for food, state fiscal analysts revealed Wednesday...
For Women In This State, Getting Pregnant Will No Longer Mean Losing A Job  Think Progress   ...On Tuesday, the New York State legislature passed a bill aimed at shielding pregnant women from workplace discrimination, which the governor has said he will sign...
Racist History Of ‘Right To Work’ Shows Threat To Black, Latino Workers  Chicago Reporter   ...Rauner may be a true believer in trickle-down ideology, but for major right-to-work supporters like the corporate-sponsored American Legislative Exchange Council (which pioneered the county-level approach Rauner is now taking), it’s all about removing unions as a political check on the power of corporations. But that will have real costs for working families in Illinois.  And the costs will be highest for blacks and Latinos...
Why The FEC Won’t Crack Down On Campaign Finance Violations In 2016  Think Progress   ...Though the election is more than a year away, several candidates and soon-to-be candidates have already been accused of campaign finance violations. But the head of the government’s main agency for investigating the claims and enforcing the laws on the books has publicly admitted that few violators will be brought to justice this election cycle...
Effort To Repeal Prevailing Wage Law Fails In Committee  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel   ...A bill to repeal the state's (Wisconsin) prevailing wage failed in committee Thursday, when Republican Sen. Howard Marklein joined the panel's two Democrats to block the measure...
Pence Signs Bill Repealing Indiana Construction Wage Law  Indianapolis Business Journal   ...Local boards will no longer set minimum wages for public construction projects in Indiana under a law signed Wednesday by Gov. Mike Pence. The bill will eliminate the boards that set what is known as the common construction wage that workers must be paid on most state or local government projects...
Senate Votes To Block Union Dues Deduction For Some Public Employees  Houston Chronicle   ...Senate Bill 1968 would allow the payroll deductions to continue for police, fire and emergency-services employees -- groups that generally vote Republican in most parts of Texas -- but would not allow them for other unions, such as those for teachers, construction trades and other unions...

U.S. Labor
The 40-Hour Work Week Is A Thing Of The Past  Wall Street Journal   ...The phrase “nine to five” is becoming an anachronism. About half of all managers work more than 40 hours a week, according to a new survey from tax and consulting firm EY, and 39% report that their hours have increased in the past five years. Little wonder, then, that one-third of workers say it’s getting more difficult to balance work and life...
U.S. Productivity Falls 1.9% In First Quarter  Wall Street Journal   ...U.S. worker productivity fell in the opening months of 2015, extending a poor track record since the recession and underscoring longer-term risks to American workers’ wages...
Making The Economy Work For The Many, Not The Few -- Step 1: Raise The Minimum Wage (opinion)  Huffington Post   ...If the minimum wage in 1968 had simply kept up with inflation it would be more than $10 today. If it also kept up with the added productivity of American workers since then, it would be more than $21 an hour. Some opponents say minimum wage workers are teenagers seeking some extra pocket money. Wrong. Half are 35 or older, and many are key breadwinners for their families. And don't believe scaremongers who say a $15 minimum will cause employers to cut employment. More money in people's pockets means more demand for goods and services, which means more jobs not fewer jobs...
U.S. Employers Add Solid 223,000 Jobs, Unemployment Rate Falls To 7-Year Low  Huffington Post   ...U.S. employers added 223,000 jobs in April, a solid gain that suggests that the economy may be recovering after stumbling at the start of the year. The Labor Department said Friday that the unemployment rate dipped to 5.4 percent from 5.5 percent in March. That is the lowest rate since May 2008, six months into the Great Recession...

Miscellaneous
Oil Train Erupts In Flames In North Dakota  Wall Street Journal   ...A BNSF Railway Co. train carrying crude oil derailed Wednesday morning in rural North Dakota, erupting into flames and sending billows of black smoke into the air...
What Will Happen To American Jobs, Incomes, And Wealth A Decade From Now? (opinion)  Huffington Post   ...We are now faced not just with labor-replacing technologies but with knowledge-replacing technologies. The combination of advanced sensors, voice recognition, artificial intelligence, big data, text-mining, and pattern-recognition algorithms, is generating smart robots capable of quickly learning human actions, and even learning from one another. A revolution in life sciences is also underway, allowing drugs to be tailored to a patient's particular condition and genome...
Break Up Big Banks (opinion)  Huffington Post   ...We don't hear it discussed much in the media, but the reality is that the middle class of this country, once the envy of the world, is collapsing, 45 million Americans are living in poverty, and the gap between the rich and everyone else is growing wider and wider...
Wall Street Had Five Years To Prove They Can Control Their Computers. They Failed.  Think Progress   ...Regulators have struggled to explain the 2010 flash crash, first blaming it on legitimate trades made by a Kansas-based firm and then charging one individual trader with intentionally creating the crash from his parents’ basement. It’s not clear that either explanation is correct, though, and that very inability to convincingly diagnose what happened that day underscores how loose human control over digitized trading strategies has become...
Trucking Company Shows Facebook Road To Future  New York Times   ...Frustrated by Swift Transportation’s co-founder and chief executive, Jerry Moyes, the company’s shareholders will be voting at Friday’s annual meeting whether to eliminate a dual-share structure that grants him control. Owners of Facebook and other similarly feudalistic frameworks one day may find themselves similarly frustrated...

Fast track is going off track in the House

Teamsters express their distaste for fast track at a D.C. rally.

For weeks, supporters of fast track trade authority that would speed proposed deals like the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) through Congress have expressed confidence they have the support within the hallowed halls of Capitol Hill to get it approved.

The reality, however, is much different. Not only are Democrats overwhelmingly opposed to fast track, but a growing number of Republicans, especially in the House, are expressing doubts. And Politico reports it could end up sinking efforts to back a deal that would ship U.S. jobs overseas:

The House is currently dozens of votes short of being able to pass legislation that would allow President Barack Obama to send trade deals to Congress for fast approval, according to senior lawmakers and aides in both parties, imperiling a top White House priority for the president's final years in office.

At this point, upward of 75 House Republicans could vote against trade promotion authority if it comes up for a vote in the coming weeks, according to aides and lawmakers involved in the process. Some of the lawmakers fear job losses in their districts from free trade; others distrust Obama and oppose giving him more power.

It is now more apparent than ever there is bipartisan opposition to fast track, and members are not backing down. Lawmakers can see that the trade vehicle will stop them from making changes to TPP that would jeopardize American workers, lower their wages and bring unsafe food and products to U.S. shores. Then there's the fact that it does nothing to stop currency manipulation that hurts the sale of American goods or lawsuits by foreign corporations against this country. It's even making one 2016 presidential candidate rethink her support for the deal.

It's time for fast track backers to admit that the reason the legislation doesn't have support is because it isn't a very good.

Today's Teamster News 03.26.15

Teamsters
San Francisco Board Of Supervisors Back Labor Harmony For Commuter Shuttles  teamster.org   ...The San Francisco Board of Supervisors today adopted a resolution that would require the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) to consider the labor practices of commuter shuttle operators as part of their permitting process...
Why Teamsters Present Walmart With A New Challenge  Forbes   ...When the Securities and Exchange Commission rejected a request by Walmart Stores to prevent shareholders from voting on a proposal to elect an independent board chairman at their annual shareholder meeting they were whistling up the wrong tree. The matter will now become part of the proxy for fiscal 2016 to be voted on in early June. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters General Fund submitted the proposal in an effort to unseat Walton family member, S. Robson (Rob) Walton from a position that he has held for many years...
BLET Urges Senators To Oppose PTC Extension  BLET   ...The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) announced today that it strongly opposes S. 650, the Railroad Safety and Positive Train Control Extension Act, which is expected to be voted on in the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation within hours...
Senator: Union's reversal makes Sunday growler sales likely in Minnesota  Associated Press   ...The Teamsters Joint Council 32 helped derail the measure near the end of the legislative session last year, citing concerns about its impact on the union's labor contracts. But union lobbyist Ed Reynoso told a Senate Committee on Monday that, "at this point" the union won't oppose the effort this year...
Railroads Need To Do More To Improve Track, Union Official Says  Progressive Railroading   ...The president of a national railroad labor union this week called on freight railroads to step up their maintenance of track carrying oil trains in order to help prevent future derailments. Track conditions are a leading cause of train derailments in the United States, accounting for a third of all train accidents, noted Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division President Freddie Simpson, who cited Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) data....
Trade
Trans-Pacific Partnership Seen as Door for Foreign Suits Against U.S.  New York Times   ...The Trans-Pacific Partnership -- a cornerstone of Mr. obama's remaining economic agenda -- would grant broad powers to multinational companies operating in North America, South America and Asia. Under the accord, still under negotiation but nearing completion, companies and investors would be empowered to challenge regulations, rules, government actions and curt rulings -- federal state or local -- before tribunals organized under the World Bank or the United Nations...
Oregon MoveOn Members: If Sen. Wyden Supports Fast Track for TPP, We’ll Back a Progressive Challenger in 2016 Primary  MoveOn.org   ...Oregon members of MoveOn.org Political Action said overwhelmingly that they would back a progressive challenger to Sen. Ron Wyden (D) if the state’s senior senator supports Fast Track for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a dangerous trade agreement that’s been called “NAFTA on steroids.”...
Ron Wyden avoids anti-trade pact protesters while continuing his fundraising  The Oregonian   ...A liberal Internet freedom group says it mounted an anti-free-trade protest Tuesday night that scared away Sen. Ron Wyden from holding a fundraiser at an upscale French restaurant near the Capitol...
State Battles
Work On Weekends: GOP Bill Takes Away Right To Weekend Day Off In Wisconsin  Inquisitr   ...Should you be forced to work on weekends? Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin think so, and they have introduced legislation to strip workers in that state of their right to a single, 24-hour “rest period,” once every seven days...
Public unions will lose power if new bill passes  Associated Press   ...The measure would prevent local government employers [in Nevada] from giving their employees paid time off for union tasks. It would bar supervisors and administrators from unionizing at all, and would expand local governments' ability to implement layoffs...
Bill Limiting Public Workers’ Payroll Deductions Stalls Without Charity Exemption  Wichita Eagle   ...A bill that would significantly scale back the collective bargaining power of public-sector unions hit a major snag Tuesday. One part of HB 2096 would prohibit automatic deductions from public workers’ paychecks for union dues or charitable contributions. The United Way of the Plains has said it would lose $300,000 if that happens. An amendment Tuesday sought to exempt charities from the bill, but it was rejected by conservative Republicans and Democrats...
Madigan: Rauner's right-to-work plans illegal  Dispatch-Argus   ... she also said Gov. Rauner's proposal to prevent unions from getting "fair share" dues from nonmembers working for the state would break the law as it stands...
Health Dept. To Study Landfill Effects  KSDK   ...The St. Louis County Health Department wants to study hundreds of north county residents. It's part of an effort to determine whether the smoldering Bridgeton Landfill is making people sick. The south quarry of the landfill has experienced an underground smoldering event since 2010. The reaction is releasing gas and odors into the air. Now St. Louis County's new Health Director wants to know what effect those emissions are having on people...
NLRB schedules union election for Boeing SC  Charleston Business Journal   ...More than 3,000 production and maintenance employees at Boeing South Carolina are eligible to vote on April 22 to decide whether they want union representation, following a National Labor Relations Board’s decision today to allow an election at the local plant...
War on Workers
The growing distance between people and jobs in metropolitan America  Brookings   ...Between 2000 and 2012, the number of jobs within the typical commute distance for residents in a major metro area fell by 7 percent...
America Needs Labor Unions (opinion)  Huffington Post   ...The reality is that unions are the greatest tool at most workers' disposal for rebuilding the middle class. Advocating for the elimination of this tool is the epitome of cutting off your nose to spite your face...
Senate Dems Seek Stronger Oil Train Safety Rules  The Hill   ...Senate Democrats have proposed a bill to set stronger safety rules for trains carrying oil, including regulating the content of the oil itself. Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) said the most critical problem with the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) ongoing regulatory effort on oil trains is that it does not confront the problem of the volatility of oil from North Dakota’s Bakken region...
Labor Board Still Grappling With Supreme Court Defeat  The Hill   ... In a case known as NLRB v. Noel Canning, the high court last June overturned a set of President Obama’s recess appointments to the labor board, concluding he overstepped in exerting his authority to fill vacancies while the Senate was technically in session. As a result, the board has had to revisit more than 100 labor cases that were decided while the NLRB was unconstitutionally constructed...
Miscellaneous
Inflation, New-Home Sales Firm Up  Wall Street Journal   ...The consumer-price index—covering everything from Americans’ rent to the cost of their dental care—rose in February for the first time in four months, the Labor Department said Tuesday. Overall prices were up 0.2% from January, though they were flat from a year ago. The move suggested inflation pressures are slowly building back up after succumbing to a six-month slide in oil prices...

Today's Teamster News 03.09.15

Teamsters
Teamsters Stand With Jimena Lopez, Women Union Leaders On International Women's Day  teamster.org   ...The Teamsters Union honors International Women’s Day today, standing in solidarity with Jimena Lopez, a woman union leader who was fired during a successful union organizing effort at LAN Ecuador, an subsidiary of LAN Airlines, the largest airline in Latin America...
Teamsters endorse Williams in mayoral campaign  Philly.com   ...State Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams' mayoral bid has won the endorsement of Philadelphia Teamsters District Council 107...
Trade
China is Obama's trump card in push for Pacific Rim trade pact  Los Angeles Times   ...As the White House looks to wrap up years of negotiations on a highly contested Pacific Rim trade pact, administration officials are increasingly casting the agreement as vital to helping the U.S. face its most daunting economic rival: China...
New Zealand Witnesses Protests Against Trans Pacific Pact: Critics Allege TPP Is Harmful To Common Man  International Business Times   ...New Zealand witnessed nationwide protests on March 7, against the proposed Trans Pacific Pact--the U.S.-led trade deal covering 12 countries in the Pacific region. Protesters held demonstrations, waved banners and placards while speakers addressed gatherings, giving their version of the trade deal...
State Battles
Right-to-work: the anti-union laws soon to be on the books in 25 states  Vox   ...Wisconsin's legislature passed a right-to-work law on Friday, and Gov. Scott Walker, a conservative hero and likely 2016 presidential candidate, will sign it Monday. That move will help cement his reputation as a fierce union opponent and make Wisconsin the 25th "right-to-work" state...
War on Workers
Jobs and the Federal Reserve  New York Times   ...rising rates in the near term would lock in high unemployment among minorities and wage stagnation...
NEWS & POLITICS
One Simple Way to Save American Democracy: Get Serious About Taxing the Mega-Rich  Alternet   ...The Founding Fathers were very clear that they didn't want America to ever degenerate into an oligarchy...
Why Your Workplace Might Be Killing You  Stanford Business   ...Stanford scholars identify 10 work stressors that are destroying your health...

Today's Teamster News 03.06.15

Teamsters
Teamsters at ProJo File Federal Complaint Against Newspaper’s Owner GateHouse  GoLocalProv   …The labor union representing Providence Journal employees who work as inserters for the paper have filed federal charges against new owner GateHouse Media.  Business Agent Matthew Maini with the Teamsters Local 251, which represents the nearly 60 inserters in the Journal's production side, said that the charges were recently made with the federal government's National Labor Relations Board against the new owners…
Giant Eagle: Distribution center not staying in Austintown  WKBN   …As of Thursday, Giant Eagle is still planning to close its Tamarkin Distribution Center in Austintown, putting 200 jobs in jeopardy. Thursday, the Mahoning County Commissioners said they want Giant Eagle and the Teamsters union to hammer out a new agreement…
CP Rail will use management to maintain 100 per cent capacity in event of another strike: Harrison  Calgary Herald   …Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd.’s practice of training managers to drive and load trains means the company will be able to operate without a hitch in the event of a future rail strike, said CEO Hunter Harrison on Wednesday...
Trade
Anti-Fast-Track Momentum Builds  Huffington Post   …Opponents of fast track and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) are gaining momentum. In spite of a virtual media blackout, public awareness of the coming trade deal is increasing...
State Battles
Wisconsin close to becoming 25th right-to-work state  Associated Press   …With Wisconsin positioned to become the third Midwestern state in as many years to enact a right-to-work law, proponents are touting job growth in Indiana as reason for optimism while detractors say union membership slides in Michigan signal potential problems...
Effort to 'blast' right-to-work out of committee, onto Senate floor falls flat  The Taos News   …Republicans tried but failed Thursday to move the bill they call "right-to-work" straight to the full New Mexico Senate, saying they did not want it bottled up in committees controlled by Democrats...
War on Workers
BNSF oil train derails in rural Illinois; two cars aflame  Reuters   …A BNSF Railway [BNISF.UL] train loaded with crude oil derailed and caught fire on Thursday afternoon in a rural area south of Galena, Illinois, according to local officials and the company...
Energy Price Plunge Hits Jobs  Boston Globe   …Plunging oil prices have led to consumer friendly prices at the pump, but the trend is proving to be a double edged sword. Jobs in energy related fields are getting whacked..
Contractor cited after 31-year-old worker dies in cave-in in Birmingham  al.com   …If the general contractor who employed 31-year-old LeDonte McCruter had followed national labor rules, McCruter wouldn't have died in a cave-in in August, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission said Thursday...
Worker killed at Ace Pole recalled as ‘family’ The Blackshear Times   …“They were loading logs into the kiln to be kiln-dried and the victim was somehow caught and crushed between some logs,” said Bennett...
Miscellaneous
Ringling Bros. Eliminating Elephant Acts  Associated Press   …Animal rights groups took credit for generating the public concern that forced the company to announce its pachyderm retirement plan on Thursday. But Ringling Bros.' owners described it as the bittersweet result of years of internal family discussions...

Today's Teamster News 02.07.15

Teamsters
JCPS School Bus Driver Taken To Hospital, Assaulted By Student, Official Says  WHAS   ...A representative from the Teamsters Local 783, the union that represents school bus drivers, tells WHAS the driver was transporting students from the Binet School which serves special needs children. That teamsters representative says a student tried to open the bus' rear door, when a bus monitor intervened. When the bus driver walked back to help, the student allegedly pulled her by the hair, dragging her to the floor. The bus driver was taken to the hospital for arm and shoulder injuries...
CP Rail, Teamsters union tensions near boiling point  CBC News   ...Now, the union alleges the railway is violating a recent ruling regarding the use of union workers to teach CP Rail managers and office workers to operate trains. The union claims managers are telling locomotive engineers to vacate the train seat or be disciplined. The workers are then told to remain on the train engine...
Credentialing The Military  Military.com   ...One program to help military truck drivers get civilian credentials was developed by the Teamsters Union; it provides additional training, through the Teamsters Military Assistance Program, that helps service members earn commercial drivers' licenses. James P. Hoffa, the union's general president, is a featured speaker at the summit...
Air Canada And International Brotherhood Of Teamsters Reach Tentative Agreement On New Contract  AviTrader   ...Air Canada has reached a tentative collective agreement with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) for the airline’s U.S.-based workforce. The agreement is subject to ratification by the union membership...
Fashion Week Will Kick Off With City Horse Carriages Trotting Models Down Central Park South  New York Daily News   ...Fashion Week will kick off next week with a parade of horse-drawn carriages trotting models down Central Park South for the second year in a row, a four-legged tradition that organizers say will be a permanent part of the festivities...
Trade
The Need to Address Currency Manipulation in TPP, and Why U.S. Monetary Policy Is Not at Risk  Huffington Post   ...Over the past decade, currency manipulation by foreign governments has resulted in an increase in unfairly traded imports into the United States and has made it more difficult for U.S. exporters to compete in foreign markets. The practice has cost U.S. workers between one million and five million jobs -- and is responsible for as much as half of excess unemployment in the United States...
The Trans-Pacific Partnership Is a Huge Deal. So Why Is It Being Kept Secret?  In These Times   ...The trade rules of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership between the United States and 11 Asian nations would cover nearly 40 percent of the world economy—but don't ask what they are. Access to the text of the proposed deal is highly restricted...
‘Secret’ Trade Pact Stirs Up Suspicion  truthdig   ... “The public has a legitimate interest in knowing what has already been decided on its behalf, and what is now at stake with our various countries’ positions on these controversial regulatory issues.”...
Stop fast-track authority from removing the voice of the 100 percent (opinion)  The Hill   ...The morally responsible approach is to learn from damage caused by earlier trade deals and modify our approach. Just consider one example: last month, the Government Accountability Office reported that labor provisions, including the very terms sought by the Obama administration for TPP, have failed to improve working conditions internationally...
State Battles
Reality Check: Right To Work Hurts Working Families (opinion)  Ruidoso News   ... On average, workers who belong to a union and who have the power to bargain collectively with their employer take home nearly 20 percent more in earnings each week compared to workers who are not union members. The decline of union density over the past decades corresponds to the decline in income share for the vast majority, 60 percent, of middle class America....
Legislators Hear From Union Workers At Forum  Huntington Herald Leader   ...A major portion of attendees were union workers who spoke out against the prevailing wage and right to work bills, the first of which would eliminate the requirement of prevailing hourly rate wages for public improvement projects and the second of which would prohibit the requirement for workers to be in a union...
Gov. Rauner, Union Leaders Tangle During Mount Vernon Stop  The Southern   ...“He can call it as many ways as he can, but it’s right-to-work and it’s taking away from working class families in Southern Illinois, especially,” said Will Attig, a laborer from DeSoto. “We’re just out here to let him know, he’s not welcome here.” Bret Seferian, who works with the Illinois Education Association, based in Carterville, on behalf of SIU and John A. Logan employees’ unions, said it’s clear to him Rauner isn’t interested in “supporting employees.”...
Senate Democrats Pass $11-An-Hour State Minimum Wage In Rebuff To Rauner  Chicago Tribune   ...Senate Democrats on Thursday pushed through what could end up being a symbolic measure to raise the state's minimum wage to $11 an hour by 2019, bucking Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner's call a day earlier for a smaller increase that would be phased in over a longer period of time...
Kentucky Minimum Wage Bill Passed In House Labor And Industry Committee  WLKY   ...Kentucky House Speaker Greg Stumbo presented his minimum wage bill to the state Legislature Thursday. After discussion and voting, the bill passed in the House Labor and Industry Committee on a 13-to-3 vote...
Oh Sweet Irony: Walker Caught Lying About Removing "Search For Truth" from UW Mission Statement  Daily Kos   …He introduced a budget that removed several lines from the University of Wisconsin System's mission statement (aka a little thing known as "The Wisconsin Idea"), including the phrase, "basic to every purpose of the system is the search for truth."...
War on Workers
Only 20% are Middle-Class, Most Don't Come Close  Economic Populist   …The number of 18-29 year olds who consider themselves  lower-middle-class has doubled since 2008 reaching 49%...
How Nebraska Took Its Energy Out of Corporate Hands and Made It Affordable for Everyone  Alternet   ...In Nebraska, 121 publicly owned utilities, ten cooperatives, and 30 public power districts provide electricity to a population of around 1.8 million people. Public and cooperative ownership keeps costs low for the state’s consumers. Nebraskans pay one of the lowest rates for electricity in the nation and revenues are reinvested in infrastructure to ensure reliable and cheap service for years to come...
Gallup CEO Fears He Might “Suddenly Disappear” for Questioning U.S. Jobs Data  Wall Street on Parade   ... the percent of full time jobs in this country as a percent of the adult population “is the worst it’s been in 30 years.”...
Coke Settles Labor Dispute With Dismissed Employee  Atlanta Journal Constitution   ...Coca-Cola has settled a National Labor Relations Board complaint with a former employee who claimed the beverage giant fired him in retaliation for his role in trying to organize a union at a metro Atlanta bottling plant...
Comcast Employee Killed While Working On Utility Pole In Glen Ridge  NJ.com   ...A Comcast worker was killed while apparently working on a utility pole in Glen Ridge this morning...
Miscellaneous
What will passengers stand for?  The Economist   ...YET again a story has surfaced of an airline trying to get approval for a standing section on a plane. Previously the idea was mooted by Michael O’Leary, the boss of Ryanair—although that was probably more attention-seeking than serious proposal. Now reports suggest that Spring Airlines, a Chinese budget carrier, is trying to get approval for standing posts, to which passengers could be strapped, presumably in a similar fashion to a Wall of Death fairground ride, although the airline might want to think of a better name than that...

More needs to be done as Family and Medical Leave Act turns 22 today

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) has been used more than 200 million times since President Bill Clinton signed it into law 22 years ago.

It could be used even more.

• About 40 percent of workers are not eligible for FMLA protections because their employers are too small or they have not worked for them long enough or for enough hours. 
• Because the FMLA is unpaid leave, 80 percent of eligible workers can't afford to take it.

Debra L. Ness, president of the National Partnership for Women & Families,
points out that every time the FMLA is used,

Each of those "uses" represents a person -- a mother or father, a daughter or son, a new parent -- who, thanks to the 12 weeks of unpaid leave the FMLA guarantees, was able to take time away from their paying jobs to care for a seriously ill loved one, recover from a serious medical condition, or welcome a new child, without sacrificing their jobs.

Workers have guaranteed paid leave through programs in three states: California, New Jersey and Rhode Island. U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) will introduce a bill in Congress to provide guaranteed paid leave for all American workers. It's called the FAMILY Act, for Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act.

“Being a working parent should not mean choosing between your job and taking care of yourself and your family," DeLauro said in a statement. “The single biggest economic issue facing Americans today is that too many jobs simply do not pay enough to live on."

Here's what the FAMILY Act will do:

• Provide workers with up to 12 weeks of partial income when they take time for their own serious health condition, including pregnancy and childbirth recovery; the serious health condition of a child, parent, spouse or domestic partner; the birth or adoption of child; and/or for particular military caregiving and leave purposes.
• Enable workers to earn 66 percent of their monthly wages, up to a capped amount.
• Cover workers in all companies, no matter their size. Younger, part-time, lower-wage and contingent workers would be eligible for benefits.
• Be funded by small employee and employer payroll contributions of two-tenths of one
• percent each (two cents per $10 in wages), or about $1.50 per week for a typical worker.

We've had 20 years of broken promises from trade agreements. Let's not have any more.

Pretty soon the world will learn how badly the U.S. government broke its promises about the trade deal with South Korea.

There isn't any way the treaty known as KORUS lived up to its advance billing. We were promised it would increase U.S. exports from $10 billion to $11 billion.

After two years, U.S. exports to South Korea fell by $3.1 billion.

We were told it would support 70,000 American jobs from increased goods exports alone.

After two years, it cost 60,000 U.S. jobs, most of them good-paying jobs in manufacturing.

It is now extremely unlikely the United States recovered from those losses and met the promises made three years ago by KORUS supporters.

Same with NAFTA.

NAFTA was supposed to create 170,000 new jobs.

After nearly 20 years, NAFTA cost 1 million jobs.

Caterpillar, Inc. lobbied for NAFTA claiming it would stop the company from outsourcing jobs. By 2008, Caterpillar laid off 338 workers in Illinois and moved their jobs to Mexico, while 105 workers lost their jobs at Caterpillar's Georgia plant because of imports from Mexico.

How about Colombia? Remember how a trade deal with Colombia was going to end the violence that made it the worst country in the world to be a trade unionist?

That didn't happen either. The violence in Colombia got worse. There were four more union leaders murdered in 2013 than in 2012.

Remember CAFTA, the Central American Free Trade Agreement? It was supposed to raise the standard of living for Central Americans.

It didn't.

In El Salvador, unemployment increased by 71 percent. Unescorted children -- CAFTA kids --  created a crisis at the U.S. border as they tried to escape the violence in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala.

Now we're hearing more promises about new trade deals: TPP, TTIP, TISA. The Economic Policy Institute issues a blunt warning:

Presidents of both parties from Clinton through Obama have sold free trade agreements on the basis of export growth. But free trade agreements impact a lot more than exports—they increase imports and encourage outsourcing, which means fewer American jobs. 

We should stop negotiating new free trade agreements, and work to fix the ones we have. The United States needs to base its projections on the real impact of free trade agreements—including effects on exports and imports, outsourcing, wages, and employment.

Today's Teamster News 01.24.15

Trade
The Trans-Pacific Partnership won't deliver jobs or curb China's power (opinion)  Los Angeles Times   ...U.S. leaders promised [previous free-trade] deals would create high-paying jobs, reduce the trade deficit, increase GDP and raise living standards. But none of this came true...
Trans-Pacific Partnership Deal Isn't Secret, Says US Official, But Access To Text Is Highly Restricted  International Business Times   ...[U.S. Trade Representative] Michael From an and Roberto Carvalho de Azevêdo, the director-general of the World Trade Organization, were asked at the World Economic Forum why the TPP is being kept secret by the U.S. at the same time the European Union has just published the full text of a separate proposed trade agreement with the United State….
Bipartisan push to stop currency cheats could derail TPP  Washington Post   …The latest news is that lawmakers will ask for any agreement to include a provision to stop foreign countries from manipulating their currencies at the expense of U.S. manufacturers...
America's Losing the Currency War (opinion)  Bloomberg  … Now the ball is in Japan's court again, and the U.S. is "just sitting here watching, being the one country whose currency is rallying because everyone else is trying to devalue."...
State Battles
Workers fight anti-worker local right-to-work laws in Kentucky  TeamsterNation   ...You can bet it isn't Kentucky workers who are passing right-to-work laws in six counties so far this year. The workers are fighting them...
Republicans vote to end Pay Equity Commission  Fox31 Denver   … Senate Republicans again reminded their Democratic colleagues what it’s like being in the minority as they voted Wednesday afternoon to do away with the Pay Equity Commission, arguing that it’s a feckless body that hasn’t accomplished much. Democrats …are already returning to their oft-used narrative that the GOP is hostile to women by scrapping a body charged with rooting out gender discrimination in the workplace...
AN ACT CONCERNING LARGE RETAIL STORES AND EMPLOYMENT OF WORKERS DURING THE HOLIDAY SEASON.  Connecticut General Assembly   ...To require retail stores of five thousand square feet or more to close on certain holidays unless employees are given the option not to work holidays without penalty...
Rauner pulls plug on Quinn's last-minute moves  Chicago Tribune   ...Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner has pulled the plug on Democratic predecessor Pat Quinn’s attempt to raise the minimum wage for state contractors, require the governor to release more details about his tax returns and stop Illinois State Police from detaining people based on their immigration status...
Prevailing wage emerges as unions' next big battle  CNHI   …The labor movement may be facing another high-stakes fight as sentiment grows to roll back the prevailing wage for workers on public projects. [in Indiana]...
“Right to Work” Is the Wrong Answer for Wisconsin’s Economy  Economic Policy Institute   ...What RTW laws do is to make it illegal for a group of unionized workers to negotiate a contract that requires each employee who enjoys the benefit of the contract to pay his or her share of the costs of negotiating and policing it...
War on Workers
Labor at a Crossroads: In Defense of Members-Only Unionism (opinion)  American Prospect   ...Allowing members-only unions would protect the rights of those who wish to bargain collectively even if they fail to surmount all the legal hurdles necessary to establish the union as the representative of all employees in the workplace. The decision of the United Auto Workers union to engage in members-only bargaining at the VW plant in Chattanooga is a potentially revolutionary experiment with a new approach to union representation...
Why the Energy Selloff Is So Dangerous to the U.S. Economy  Wall Street on Parade   ... Oil-related companies in the U.S. now account for between 35 to 40 percent of all capital spending. Announcements of sharp cutbacks in capital spending and job reductions by these companies create big ripples, forcing related companies to trim their own budgets, revenue assumptions, and payrolls accordingly...
Buying a Nominee  National Journal   ...The coming presidential contest is ushering in an epochal shift: the arrival of candidate-specific nonprofits, personalized vehicles for a politician's supporters to raise and spend unlimited cash—completely clandestinely. It is poised to yield a campaign season more dominated by secret money than any election since Watergate...
Bob Dylan wants billionaire ‘job creators’ to start actually creating some jobs  Raw Story   … “People have to create jobs, and these big billionaires are the ones who can do it. We don’t see that happening. We see crime and inner cities exploding with people who have nothing to do, turning to drink and drugs. They could all have work created for them by all these hotshot billionaires. For sure that would create lot of happiness.”...
Wells Fargo, JPMorgan loan officers took cash kickbacks  CNN Money   ...Regulators said more than 100 loan officers at Wells Fargo (WFC) locations in Maryland and Virginia steered thousands of loans to Genuine Title, which went out of business last year, in exchange for cash...
Number of NC workers killed on the job nearly doubled last year  Charlotte News & Observer   ...Forty-four people died in work-related accidents last year, up from 23 in 2013. It was the highest number of worker deaths since 2011, when 53 died, according to the Labor Department...
Worker killed in steel factory accident  Boston Globe   …the worker was struck by a piece of steel as it was swinging on a crane inside the warehouse...
Miscellaneous
Senate Sets Final Vote For Keystone XL After Long, Tense Night Of Amendment Voting  ThinkProgress   ...The Senate was in session until midnight Thursday night, debating and voting on fifteen amendments to a bill that would approve the construction of the controversial Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. At the end of it all, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell filed for cloture, a procedural move that effectively sets up a final vote on Keystone for next week...
Federal Court Order: Explosive DOT-111 "Bomb Train" Oil Tank Cars Can Continue to Roll  DeSmogBlog   …A U.S. federal court has ordered a halt in proceedings until May in a case centering around oil-by-rail tankers pitting the Sierra Club and ForestEthics against the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). As a result, potentially explosive DOT-111 oil tank cars, dubbed “bomb trains” by activists, can continue to roll through towns and cities across the U.S. indefinitely...

Today's Teamster News 01.11.15

Teamsters
City and Teamsters to detail agreement in York  ydr.com   ...It's not clear what the agreement entails, but a city official said it will help the city financially…The Teamsters represent employees in the public works department as well as the parking bureau…
Trade
Growing Chorus of Diverse Voices Rejects TPP  Huffington Post   ...Those arguing to pass the TPP while bypassing Congress say that it is "inconvenient" for international negotiations to involve Congress. Any U.S. Official who openly is minimizing the process laid out in our Constitution deserves scrutiny...
Stopping the Biggest Corporate Power Grab in Years  Alternet   ...The TPP is a corporate power grab clearly worthy of Seattle-caliber mobilization. But the fight against this reprehensible deal requires different types of tactics. And the place to start is by derailing “Fast Track,” the mechanism that would allow TPP approval to rush through the U.S. Congress with little debate and no amendments...
State Battles
Right-to-Work Fate Appears Sealed in Kentucky General Assembly  WKU   ...All indications from Frankfort suggest Kentucky counties will continue to take the lead on right-to-work measures...
Governor: Right to work ‘common sense’  Albuquerque Journal   ...Gov. Susana Martinez said she will push for so-called “right-to-work” legislation during the upcoming legislative session, calling a change to the state’s labor laws “common sense” and long overdue...
War on Workers
Unemployment Rate Drops Due to Almost Half a Million More Not in Labor Force  Economic Populist   ...The labor participation rate went back to 38 year record lows and is 62.7%.  From a year ago, the number of people considered not in the labor force has increased by 1.2 million...
Family ties that bind: Having the right surname sets you up for life  Springer   ...If your surname reveals that you descended from the “in” crowd in the England of 1066—the Norman Conquerors—then even now you are more likely than the average Brit to be upper class. To a surprising degree, the social status of your ancestors many generations in the past still exerts an influence on your life chances, say Gregory Clark of the University of California...
Collective Bargaining’s Erosion Expanded the Productivity–Pay Gap  Economic Policy Institute   ...Over the last few decades, productivity has grown substantially, but the hourly compensation of the typical worker has grown much less, especially in the last 10 years or so...
NC agency ends solo status for Koch-funded history materials  Associated Press   ...North Carolina's education agency will encourage teachers to draw their American history course materials from nearly a dozen sources, not just those provided by a group backed by the politically influential, conservative Koch family...
Labor chief pushes White House on overtime  The Hill   ...AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka said in an interview published Friday that he believed President Obama should take an executive action ensuring overtime pay for workers with an annual salary under $51,168. That would represent more than doubling the current threshold, which provides time-and-a-half pay for workers making $23,660 per year or less...
States adding more protections for pregnant workers  Jacksonville.com   ...As of Jan. 1, employers in Illinois must provide pregnant workers who request them more or longer bathroom breaks, rest periods, light duty, job transfers, leave time or other accommodations, unless doing so creates an undue hardship for the employer...Eleven other states have passed laws requiring employers to provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant workers. In 2014, laws took effect in Delaware, Minnesota, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. Since 2011, Alaska, Connecticut, Maryland and New Jersey also have approved laws...
Maintenance Worker Killed in Concrete Crusher Accident  Associated Press   ...Authorities say a worker performing routine maintenance on a concrete crusher was killed when he somehow got entangled in the machinery...
Worker Dies, Crushed by Elevator in NYC Residential Tower  Wall Street Journal   ...“There was some movement in the elevator and the gentleman below got crushed by the elevator between the first floor and the basement,” said Roger Sakowich, FDNY deputy assistant chief, who was on scene. The elevator that crushed the man had been three floors above when it moved...

Today's Teamster News 01.10.15

Teamsters
Teamsters Denounce DOT Decision To Open Border To Mexican Trucks  teamster.org   ...“I am outraged that the Department of Transportation has chosen to ignore the findings of the DOT Inspector General and is moving forward with a plan to open the border to Mexican trucks in the coming months....
Teamsters' Update About YRCW Executives' Employment Restructuring  teamster.org   ...On Friday, January 2, YRCW announced it was restructuring its employment relationships with its CEO James Welch and its CFO Jamie Pierson. The Teamsters National Freight Industry Negotiating Committee had no prior knowledge of the January 2 announcement although we were aware that both Welch and Pierson’s existing four-year contracts were expiring in 2015...
Port Truck Drivers With Shippers Transport Express Join Teamsters Local 848  teamster.org   ... Port truck drivers from Shippers Transport Express, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SSA Marine, have designated Teamsters Local 848 as their exclusive bargaining representative and will now begin the process of negotiating a collective bargaining agreement with their employer...
POLB, POLA Truckers Agree To Neutral Unionization Process, Employee-Based Business Model  Long Beach Post   ...months of productive dialogue between Shippers Transport Express and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the union seeking to represent the employees, has produced a "historic agreement to modernize drayage operations that the parties predict will improve efficiency and stabilize the workforce while respecting drivers' rights to decide whether to form a union."...
Trade
Will Fast-Track/TPP Warnings Reach The Public? It’s Up To You.  Campaign for America's Future   ...There is a virtual media blackout of news that might inform the public about TPP and the “fast track” process that will be pushed through Congress. Fast track essentially pre-approves TPP before its contents are even revealed...
Sanders blasts leaders over trade negotiations  Burlington Free Press   ...Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont is blasting the Obama administration for a lack of transparency in negotiating a major trade deal that he says will be "disastrous" for workers...
Now Or Never: Fight Back Against Fast Track (opinion)  Huffington Post   ...Except for corporate management and their large shareholders, the rest of us will lose big if Fast Track is adopted, making TPP a certainty. Passing Fast Track means a guaranteed vote in the House and Senate on TPP within a short period of time and with no amendments allowed on a 2000 page Trade treaty that has been negotiated in almost total secrecy...
State Battles
Nebraska Court Clears Obstacle For Keystone Pipeline  Politico   ...Rejecting arguments from three anti-Keystone landowners, the Nebraska justices upheld a 2012 state law that allowed Republican Gov. Dave Heineman — rather than an independent commission — to approve Keystone’s route inside the state...
Senate Passes Heroin, Right-To-Work Bills  Richmond Register   ...The [Kentucky] Senate also passed a “right-to-work bill,” sponsored by Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, easily – but no Democrat voted for it...
War on Workers
US to Allow Mexican Trucks in With Screening  Associated Press   ...The U.S. Department of Transportation says it will soon allow Mexican trucking firms to apply for authorization to make long-haul cross-border runs, potentially ending a longstanding dispute...
December Caps A Strong Year For Jobs, But Wages Dip  New York Times   ...the good news on job creation was tempered by a poor showing in average hourly earnings, which fell 0.2 percent in December after rising 0.4 percent in November...
The AFL-CIO Is On Sound Political Ground To Push For Wage Increases (opinion)  Washington Post   ...the AFL-CIO would launch projects this year in the four states that hold the first four presidential primaries and caucuses of 2016 — Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina — as a way to make presidential candidates spell out exactly what they would do to boost Americans’ increasingly anemic wages...
Keystone XL Moves Closer To Congressional Approval  Wall Street Journal   ...Congress moved closer to a likely approval of the Keystone XL pipeline Thursday, as a Senate panel advanced the legislation and the House prepared for a vote on Friday...
Local Worker Killed In Accident  Harlingen Morning Valley Star   ...A 30-year employee of the Harlingen Irrigation District was killed when he was pinned by a backhoe, officials said Thursday...
Miscellaneous
Uber, On A Collision Course With City Officials Around The World, Doubles Down On Politico Hires  Fast Company   ...Uber, with its operations facing suspension in cities around the world, is marshaling a small army of policy staffers to do battle with local authorities. India and Spain banned the on-demand taxi service last year, France followed suit, and today China announced that it would be cracking down on unauthorized private cars, less than a month after Uber inked a $600 million deal with Chinese search engine Baidu...
Minnesota Bill Would Ban NSA Activity Called The “Biggest Threat Since the Civil War”  Tenth Amendment Center   ...Introduced by Sen. Branden Petersen (R Dist. 35), SF33 stipulates that “a government entity may not obtain personal identifying information concerning an individual without a search warrant. A court order granting access to this information must be issued only if the government entity shows  that there is probable cause for belief that the individual who is the subject of the personal  identifying information is committing, has committed, or is about to commit a criminal offense.”...