Workers seeking respect should look to unions

Despite the picture being painted by some leaders engaged in political posturing, the vast majority of adults are working to earn a living. But it is employers who don't seem to value much of what everyday Americans do on the job.

As an excellent piece in The New York Times today highlights, society is quick to judge people on the work they do and categorize them and their salaries. Often, whether one uses their mind to complete their duties is the deciding factor. And if it is determined that a job is unskilled or low-skilled, any respect or dignity for that worker is thrown out the window:

The labels “low-skilled” or “unskilled” workers — the largest demographic being adult women and minorities — often inaccurately describe an individual’s abilities, but play a powerful role in determining their opportunity. The consequences are not only severe, but incredibly disempowering: poverty-level wages, erratic schedules, the absence of retirement planning, health benefits, paid sick or family leave and the constant threat of being replaced. 

Instead of improved job quality, the rewards for task-oriented workers are pats on the back and the constant encouragement to aspire for something better.

Of course, there are some who value these employees' contributions. The Teamsters and other unions stand up for workers like this everyday because they know these people are the backbone of the U.S. economy. Better pay, benefits and working conditions reward hard-working union workers by allowing them to provide for their families.

That idea isn't popular with corporate America. Some businesses, for instance, are fighting to overturn a National Labor Relations Board ruling in a case brought by Bay Area Teamsters that ruled parent companies can be held responsible for the treatment of temporary or contractor workers at their facilities.

But the benefits of union membership are well-known. The U.S. Labor Department’s own statistics show the median union worker earns more than $200 a week more than the median non-union worker. That’s an extra $10,000 a year that goes into the pockets of union workers. These jobs also offer health benefits and retirement security.

The jobs being done by those at the lower end of the income scale should be valued. By joining a union, workers can help themselves earn the respect and fair pay they're entitled to receive.

New bill would stand up for workers against misclassification

The issue of misclassification, in which workers are treated as independent contractors by their employers even though they have no independence when it comes to their work, is gaining more attention.

For years, the Teamsters have stood with port truck drivers in Southern California, Georgia and elsewhere who have been repeatedly shortchanged on wages, fair labor standards, health and safety protections and unemployment and workers' compensation benefits. But now policymakers are beginning to take notice as well.

First, the Department of Labor earlier this month issued an interpretation calling misclassification one of the most serious problems confronting workers on the job. And this afternoon, several members of Congress rolled out legislation that would prohibit the practice as a way for companies to avoid paying their fair share of taxes.

Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.), a chief sponsor of the bill in the House, said it is in the best interest of workers and businesses to address this issue:

Misclassification cheats hard-working Americans out of federally guaranteed labor rights and benefits, such as overtime pay, minimum wage, and family and medical leave. Misclassification cheats law-abiding businesses out of a level playing field. Misclassification cheats the American economy out of billions of dollars in tax revenues, putting a strain on already stressed programs like Medicare and Social Security.

The measure, "The Payroll Fraud Prevention Act," requires all workers to be accurately classified as employees or non-employees, and mandates that workers be given a written notice of their classification. It also creates a presumption that when a employer fails to address the issue, the worker is considered an employee.

In addition, the bill would make it a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act to "discharge or discriminate" against a worker for questioning their classification. Employers could face fines of up to $5,000 for each willful violation.

Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), a sponsor of companion legislation in the Senate, said lawmakers need to stand up to these corporate lawbreakers:

We owe workers a fair shot at good jobs where they can receive basic workplace protections. Too many workers are classified as independent contractors when it's clear that they are employees. This legislation is a common-sense fix that will ensure workers in Pennsylvania and throughout the nation are treated fairly.

It's time for the majority of Congress to represent the interests of workers as vigorously as they do for big business.

Today's Teamster News 04.24.14

Teamster News
New Teamsters Report Details Mounting Liabilities For One of Republic Services' Nuclear Waste Landfills  Teamster.org   ...Today the Teamsters released a report that details the escalating costs to the public and investors for Republic Service Inc's management of its Bridgeton/West Lake Superfund landfill in Bridgeton, Missouri...
Teamsters, Other Unions Pledge Support to Regional Pilots  Teamster.org   ...The head of one of the largest Teamster pilot unions joined other union leaders across the industry in spearheading an agreement to set new standards for regional pilot contracts and to stand together during negotiations...
UPS Employees Union votes to override local bargaining units  Atlanta Business Chronicle   ...The International Brotherhood of Teamsters said in the memo that the UPS national negotiating committee "voted overwhelmingly" to declare the new contract in effect...
Workers Memorial Day to highlight jobs that kill  People's World   ..."Forty-three years ago, Congress passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act, promising every worker the right to a safe job," Teamsters President James Hoffa adds.  "Decades of struggle by workers and their unions resulted in significant improvements in working conditions...
Trade
Obama trade push gets thumbs down from Democrats  Politico   ...In an atmosphere in which populism is driving both parties’ bases and more represented in the Senate than ever, convincing members to sign on to multinational trade deals is next to impossible...
Obama fails to secure breakthrough in Japan trade talks  CNN Money   ...Trade talks between the United States and Japan failed to produce a breakthrough Thursday, in yet another blow to the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement...
State Battles
Paycheck Protection heard in Senate  Missouri Times   ...So-called “paycheck protection” legislation that would be placed on the 2014 ballot if approved was heard in a senate committee today, marking another step in the fight between labor leaders and conservative Republicans...
Karl Rove And Americans For Prosperity Join Forces To Aid ALEC Stalwart in North Carolina Race  PR Watch   ...Some powerful players are coming to the aid of ALEC board member Thom Tillis, the Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives, who seeks to challenge Democrat Kay Hagen for her U.S. Senate seat...
War On Workers
Massive new fraud coverup: How banks are pillaging homes — while the government watches
Salon   ...Joseph and Mary Romero of Chimayo, N.M., found that their mortgage note was assigned to the Bank of New York three months after the same bank filed a foreclosure complaint against them; in other words, Bank of New York didn’t own the loan when they tried to foreclose on it... Housing Rebound in U.S. Losing Steam as Prices Rise  Bloomberg   ...Sales dropped a surprising 14.5 percent to a 384,000 annualized pace, lower than any forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg and the weakest since July, Commerce Department data showed today in Washington. Three of the four regions saw setbacks, with demand in the West slumping to the lowest level in more than two years...
The Koch Brothers Extra Baggage  Washington Post   ...The Republican Party's biggest sugar daddies, the Koch brothers are a mixed bag for the GOP: They bring money, but lots of baggage. Their downside isn't only that they're a convenient foil for Democratic turnout, but they could exacerbate existing tensions within the Republican Party...
Fast Food CEOs Earn Super Sized Salaries; Workers Earn Small Potatoes  NPR   ...At a time when fast-food workers earn an average of about $9 an hour, what are the chief executives bringing home? According to a new report, YUM! (Owner of KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut) compensated its CEO $22 million in 2013...
Kellogg Locked Out Kevin to Cut Costs, Paid CEO $8 Million  AFL-CIO Now   ...For 13 years Kevin worked at the Kellogg Co.’s Memphis, Tenn., cereal plant, until the company locked out him and 225 of his co-workers in October. While they missed the rest of the year’s paychecks—and continue to do so—Kellogg CEO John Bryant pocketed nearly $8 million in 2013 compensation...
Northwestern Football Players To Vote On Union Friday  Chicago Tribune   ...Northwestern University football players are scheduled to vote Friday morning on whether they want to be represented by a union. Northwestern, which is a private university, is not allowing reporters on campus at Welsh-Ryan arena, citing the players' wishes to avoid media attention...
US Workers Were Once Massacred Fighting For The Protections Being Rolled Back Today  Moyers & Company   ...On April 20, 1914, the Colorado National Guard and a private militia employed by the Colorado Fuel & Iron Company opened fire on a tent camp of striking coal miners at Ludlow, Colorado. At least 19 people died in the camp that day, mostly women and children...
Miscellaneous
Students Seek Loan Forgiveness In Overwhelming Numbers  MSNBC   ...Enrollment in federal student loan debt forgiveness programs skyrocketed nearly 40 percent in the last 6 months, the U.S. Education Department told the Wall Street Journal as education costs rise...
New Records: IRS Targeted Progressive Groups More Extensively Than Tea Party  ThinkProgress   ...A series of IRS documents, provided to ThinkProgress under the Freedom of Information Act, appears to contradict the claims by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and his House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that only Tea Party organizations applying for tax-exempt status “received systematic scrutiny because of their political beliefs.”...

Today's Teamster News 03.18.13

Obama to announce Perez as labor secretary nominee  CNN   ...President Barack Obama on Monday will announce Thomas E. Perez, U.S. assistant attorney general heading the Justice Department's civil rights division, as his nominee for the next secretary of the Department of Labor...
Authorities: Mexican drug cartels are a Pennsylvania presence  Philadelphia Inquirer   ...federal, state, and local law enforcement authorities agreed Mexican cartels are the top wholesale suppliers of cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine to the Philadelphia region...
Unions split on plans for Keystone XL pipeline  Associated Press   ...Many unions such as the Laborers International Union, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the Teamsters, the Building and Construction Trades Department of the AFL-CIO and others strongly back construction of Keystone, calling it a way to create jobs. But the Amalgamated Transit Union and the Transport Workers Union oppose the Keystone XL due to environmental concerns about the oil sands and potential pipeline spills...
Cypriot Outrage Over Tax Could Derail Euro-Area Bailout  Bloomberg News   ...Europe braced for renewed turmoil as outrage in Cyprus over an unprecedented levy on bank deposits threatened to derail the nation’s bailout. European shares and the euro tumbled...
New Reality: Generational Wealth on the Decline  Fox Business   ...People in their 30s and younger currently  have a net worth half of what their parent’s had during the same age...
Richard Fisher Says Too-Big-To-Fail Banks Need To Be Broken Up  Reuters   ...The largest U.S. banks are "practitioners of crony capitalism," need to be broken up to ensure they are no longer considered too big to fail, and continue to threaten financial stability, a top Federal Reserve official said on Saturday...
Bills seek end to farm animal abuse videos  Associated Press   ...in a pushback led by the meat and poultry industries, state legislators across the country are introducing laws making it harder for animal welfare advocates to investigate cruelty and food safety cases...
Detroit protesters vow ‘civil disobedience’ in opposition to city’s emergency manager  Daily Caller   ...Hundreds of well-organized demonstrators vowing “civil disobedience” will greet Michigan Republican Gov. Rick Snyder’s visit to Cobo Hall in Detroit Monday for an economic summit in order to protest Snyder’s selection of a powerful “emergency manager” to save the city of Detroit from bankruptcy...
Liquor privatization faces key vote  citizensvoice.com   ...One of the first major votes of this legislative session is scheduled for today, when a House committee considers Gov. Tom Corbett's proposal to privatize the state-owned liquor system...
Unions, business face off over Conn. wages bill  Associated Press   ...Companies receiving state economic development aid would have to pay benefits and wages higher than the minimum to janitors, security guards and other service workers in legislation being considered by lawmakers...

Today's Teamster News 03.09.13

Koch group turns up heat on GOP state lawmakers  USA Today   ...Americans for Prosperity has been increasingly involved in state politics. In North Carolina, the group successfully fought proposed tax hikes. In Michigan, it rallied for the passage of a right-to-work law. In Wisconsin, it's supporting the deregulation of mining...
Sanders, Reid, DeFazio Introduce Legislation to Strengthen Social Security  Bernie Sanders   ...Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today introduced legislation cosponsored by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to strengthen Social Security by making the wealthiest Americans pay the same payroll tax that nearly everyone else already pays. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) introduced the companion bill in the House...
U.S. Economy Adds 236,000 Jobs; Unemployment Rate Down To 7.7  Huffington Post   ...the U.S. economy managed one of the best months for job gains in the past year in February, driving the unemployment rate to its lowest level in more than four years. But the job market would be even better, and the unemployment rate even lower, had not the government spent most of the recovery cutting spending and jobs...
U.S. Trade Deficit with Korea Soars to Highest Point on Record under FTA  Public Citizen   ...January's U.S. trade deficit with Korea topped $2.4 billion -- the largest monthly deficit with Korea on record. In short, another month of trade with Korea under the Korea FTA has produced another month of remarkably large job-displacing trade imbalances...
Obama Choice for Labor Secretary Said to Be Justice’s Perez  Bloomberg   ...President Barack Obama is close to choosing Thomas Perez, currently the assistant U.S. attorney general for civil rights, to be labor secretary. He was formerly secretary of the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, which enforces workplace safety laws and wage-and-hour regulations as well as consumer-protection laws...
Right-to-work amendment passes Senate  Anniston Star   ...The Alabama Senate voted 22-10 to add "right-to-work" wording to the state Constitution on Thursday, a move that would still need approval of the House and, eventually, the voters...
No state law on ‘dark money’ coming this legislative session  Cronkite News   ... For all of the controversy during the last election over the influence of so-called dark money in politics, the Arizona State Legislature is unlikely to produce any laws on the subject this session...
Miami-Dade politicians blast Legislature over wage laws  Miami Herald   ...(Natacha) Seijas, a Republican who has kept a low profile since being recalled from office two years ago, joined former Hialeah Mayor Raul Martinez, a Democrat, and union workers on the steps of downtown Miami’s historic courthouse to ask Miami-Dade lawmakers and the public to oppose legislation banning local-government wage laws...
Conservative (Koch brothers) group that supports spending cuts, Right to Work to lobby for Pence tax cuts  Evansville Courier & Post   ...The Indiana chapter of Americans for Prosperity, a tea party-fueled organization funded by the Koch brothers, will launch a "six-figure" advertising buy in Indiana and accompany it with emails, phone calls and door-to-door efforts...
Rep. Driskell Denounces Bill to Limit Paid Sick Leave for Michigan Workers  Saline Patch   ...House Bill 4249, sponsored by state Rep. Earl Poleski, R-Jackson, would bar municipalities from enacting paid leave policies greater than those of the state or federal government...
Unions Oppose Bill Requiring Yearly Reauthorization for Political Contributions  El Dorado Springs Sun   ...“There seems to be a concerted effort in ... (the Missouri) General Assembly to decimate labor unions” ...
Conservative group fundraiser draws ire of Montana Democrats  Missoulian   ...A conservative think tank is drawing the ire of some Democrats for using a state building for a membership drive. The American Legislative Exchange Council has helped draft model legislation used by Republican lawmakers...
Montana Senate backs campaign-finance bill  Great Falls Tribune   ...The measure would make it illegal for corporations to make independent expenditures that advocate for or against a candidate or to fund any electioneering communications...
Senate backs new check on union contracts  New Hampshire Union Leader   ...New labor contracts with state workers unions would need to be cleared by a powerful legislative committee under a bill approved in the Senate this week...
N.H. House panel recommends rolling back new voter ID law  Concord Monitor   ...A House committee yesterday recommended that legislators roll back, but not fully repeal, New Hampshire’s new voter identification requirement...
Ohio Senate bill would restrict number of days to gather signatures for referendum petitions  Cleveland Plain Dealer   ...The Ohio Senate passed legislation Wednesday that would make it harder for citizens to mount petition drives to repeal laws, by putting a clamp on the number of days in which signatures could be collected...
Florida’s failed experiment with sales tax expansion  Innovation Ohio   ...Governor Kasich is seeking to expand the state sales tax base to help pay for a $4 billion income tax cut...
At the end of the 1986 legislative session, the Florida legislature passed a bill extending the state’s five percent state sales tax ...Businesses hated it...
Council approves raise for Teamsters local  Toledo Blade   ...Toledo City Council approved a fact-finder report Friday that granted one of the city’s Teamsters locals a 5 percent raise over three years but slashed payments to employees’ pensions...
LABOR: UPS, Teamsters still talking  Press-Enterprise   ...According to a Teamsters communique released today, the two sides have been at the table consistently for the last two weeks. UPS negotiators outlined the company’s issues on health care costs, and the union is studying them to come up with a solution that guarantees workers don’t have to pay for coverage...

Today's Teamster News 01.31.13

Libor Lies Revealed in Rigging of $300 Trillion Benchmark   Bloomberg  ...the manipulation of Libor stands out for its breadth and audacity. Details are only now revealing just how far-reaching the scam was...
Activists shine a light on secretive Trans-Pacific Partnership talks  The Straight  ...“We are talking about allowing, basically, a parallel system that would undermine national sovereignty...It would allow conglomerates to sue citizens, threaten citizens, and remove [Internet] content that they disagree with or that they think is infringing on their intellectual property.”...
GOP's Electoral Vote Scheme Already on Life Support  Talking Points Memo  ...Key Republican officials in Virginia, Ohio, Florida, and Michigan are coming out against a RNC-backed scheme to rig the electoral vote in Democratic-leaning states in order to boost Republican presidential candidates. That leaves just Pennsylvania and Wisconsin ...
States Tax The Richest 1 Percent At Half The Rate Of The Poor  Think Progress  ...The poorest Americans are subject to a tax rate at the state and local level that is twice as high as the tax rate paid by the wealthiest earners... Middle-class taxpayers also pay higher effective rates than the wealthy....
Right-to-work bill back before N.H. Legislators  Associated Press  ...Legislation that would excuse nonunion employees from contract-negotiation fees is up for discussion once again before lawmakers, after two recent failed attempts...
UAW, salaried Chrysler workers receiving bonuses or profit sharing checks  Michigan Live  ...All eligible Chrysler Group LLC’s salaried and hourly workers will receive either a performance bonus or a profit-sharing check ... the Auburn Hills-based automaker’s turnaround ... included a $1.7 billion profit, up from $183 million in 2011...
Hoffa Statement On The Decline In U.S. Gross Domestic Product  IBT   ...the U.S. economy is shrinking due to a fall in government spending. That should tell us that government austerity is not just wrong, it's bad economic policy...
Hoffa Statement On President Obama's Immigration Reform Proposal  IBT ...We're especially concerned that the final result truly protects all workers and isn't reminiscent of guest worker programs of the past...
Nowak Sworn In As New President of Michigan Teamsters Joint Council 43  IBT ...Determined to chart a new course for Michigan Teamsters during the challenging months and years ahead, Teamsters Local 1038 President Greg Nowak was sworn in today...
Durham, Teamsters Negotiate on School Bus Driver Salaries  Mount Pleasant Patch   ...A Durham School Services spokesman said Wednesday the company is offering school bus drivers a 3 percent raise in response to their request for a 12 percent raise, ABC News 4 reported...In response to Durham's press conference Wednesday, Teamsters 509 released this statement: Durham School Services initially told us they did not want to negotiate this contract through the media. We have honored their request despite the fact that they have not done the same...
Sanitation workers end strike against Republic Services  The Commercial Appeal  ...The 180 members of Teamsters Local 984 still don't have a contract with Republic Services; it expired last fall. But they decided to end a three-day strike after learning the company is handing over bonus checks that were two weeks late...
Workers at Avis Budget Group in Florida Join Teamsters Local 385  IBT  ...by a 15-7 vote, workers at the Avis Budget Group chose to join Local 385 in Orlando, Florida. There are 27 workers in the bargaining unit, located at Orlando International Airport...
Arkansas Best Corp. Reports Loss, Seeks End to Teamsters Talk  Arkansas Business Online  ...ABF Freight System Inc. expects contract negotiations with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to be resolved by a March 31 deadline, but the CEO of its parent company said Wednesday that the firm is exploring options in case a new agreement can't be reached...
Union: We offered to suspend NYC school bus strike, but Bloomberg said 'no'  Staten Island Advance ...The striking workers of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1181 say they've offered a two-to-three-month "cooling off" period where they would return to their school bus routes...

Media biased against working people: federal official

This won't come as a surprise to any of us in the labor movement: the mainstream media is so biased against working people that it won't even report on a federal agency.

The Department of Labor says it can't get its message out because of media prejudice against workers, according to People's World.

People's World was reporting on a talk given by Carl Fillichio, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis's senior adviser for public affairs and communications, at a meeting of the International Labor Communications Association.

Fillichio said the media elitists failed to report that, since Solis took over, the Department of Labor has hired 720 bilingual grievance personnel, issued the largest OSHA fine in history, and, in a move unprecedented in U.S. history, completely shut down a mine because of worker fatalities.


A good explanation for the media bias against workers can be found in a recent issue of The Nation: the corporate-owned media is drowning in money from corporate-funded campaigns. Says The Nation...

...in the 1990s the average commercial TV station received about 3 percent of its revenues from campaign ads, this year campaign money could account for as much as 20 percent ... thirty-second spots that went for $2,000 in 2008 were jacked up to $5,000 this year... Much of this money will go to stations owned by a handful of Fortune 500 firms...

On top of that, a 30-minute newscast at election time has more political advertising than campaign news.

The last election was the worst-ever because of the Supreme Court's Citizen United ruling, which, The Nation says,

...wiped away a century of campaign finance regulations designed to prevent corporations and business alliances from using their immense resources to buy the results that best serve their interests...

The corporate-owned media serves the corporate interests by restricting debate and participation, which, the Nation points out, makes it easier to buy the government. And yet broadcasters receive free monopoly licenses from the government -- under the condition that they serve the public interest. 

The last election cost at least $4 billion in campaign cash. Most of that money went to buy the media. And it's buying our democracy, lock, stock and barrel.

Nice to have someone on our side at the Labor Department

Obama's Labor Department wants companies to comply with wage, job safety and equal employment laws. The New York Times' Steve Greenhouse has the story:

In a move that will affect most American corporations, the Labor Department
plans to require companies to prepare and adopt compliance plans aimed at
ensuring they do not violate wage, job safety and equal employment laws. Read the whole thing here.

We've come a long way from the days of Elaine Chao!