Teamsters
EVSC, Teamsters to resume negotiations Monday Courier & Press ...After three weeks of standstill in discussions, the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp. and Teamsters Local 215 negotiating teams have agreed to meet next week for collective bargaining sessions. Local 215 President Chuck Whobrey said meetings are scheduled for Monday and Tuesday...
Teamsters Join Battle Against HOS Changes, Truck Size Provisions Trucking News ...The Teamsters Union this week stood with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), representatives for highway safety advocates and law enforcement and families of highway accident victims to denounce a series of provisions it claims would threaten the safety of the driving public. This week, the Senate will follow the House and mark up the FY 2016 transportation appropriations bill...
Teamsters at Fleischmann's Plant Make Vinegar for the World Local 727 ...Vinegar is Bob Maza’s unofficial family business. Maza followed in his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps as an operator at Fleischmann’s Vinegar Co., beginning at age 17. “My dad got me the job. I started there right out of high school in 1972, and I’ve been there ever since,” said Maza, a Teamsters Local 727 steward...
The war against bad trade deals continues TeamsterNation ...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. Teamsters and other advocates plan on keeping up the pressure to build real and enforceable labor and environmental standards...
Global Labor & Trade
Congress renews 'fast track' trade authority USA Today ...The Republican-controlled Congress delivered a significant second-term victory for President Obama, sending to his desk a six-year renewal of trade promotion authority intended to advance one of the largest trade pacts in history later this year. Trade promotion authority, more commonly referred to as "fast track" or TPA, reestablishes an expedited legislative process for presidents to submit trade deals to Congress that can only be approved or rejected, not amended...
Senate approves fast-track, sending trade bill to White House The Hill ...The Senate voted Wednesday to approve fast-track authority, securing a big second-term legislative win for President Obama after a months-long struggle. The 60-38 Senate vote capped weeks of fighting over the trade bill, which pitted Obama against most of his party — including Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)...
Fast-Track’s Passage Sets Up Round Two on Obama’s Trade Agenda Wall Street Journal ...The White House and Republican leaders notched a significant victory Wednesday with the Senate’s passage of divisive trade legislation, but the win kicks off a grueling, monthslong process to complete a Pacific trade pact that still faces domestic opposition and must win final congressional approval. President Barack Obama is expected to sign the fast-track legislation within days, clearing a negotiating roadblock that prevented officials from moving ahead on the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership...
Here’s how much corporations paid the Senate to fast-track passage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Raw Story ...The US Senate passed Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) — the fast-tracking bill — by a 65-33 margin on 14 May. Last Thursday, the Senate voted 62-38 to bring the debate on TPA to a close. Those impressive majorities follow months of behind-the-scenes wheeling and dealing by the world’s most well-heeled multinational corporations with just a handful of holdouts.
Even in Chicago, Democrats Sprint Away From Obama on Trade National Journal ...Even in Obama's home base, trade has driven a deep rift between the president and his fellow Democrats. At the same time, the labor movement has ramped up pressure on lawmakers to vote against fast-track, which they say will cost American jobs and slash wages. And Chicago-area Democrats locked in primaries that could be decided by a spare few thousand votes can ill afford to get on the wrong side of labor on a litmus-test issue...
Pay deal averts rail strike threat BBC ...The threat of a UK national rail strike has been averted after Network Rail agreed a two-year pay deal with unions. Members of the RMT, TSSA and Unite unions have voted to accept the offer. The deal includes a 2% pay rise this year and a pay increase in line with RPI inflation next year...
Greece 'Shoved Over Red Line' as IMF Pushes Even Harsher Cuts Common Dreams ...More austerity, more cuts, or no deal. That's the message the International Monetary Fund threw back at the Greek government after negotiators on Wednesday rejected the latest reform proposals submitted by the Syriza government. According to reporting on the ground, there were a "flurry of proposals, counter-proposals, leaks and verbal attacks" in Brussels as Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras continued to try to hash out an acceptable bail-out...
China Workers Contracted by Uniqlo Strike Over Plant Closure ABC News ...More than 300 Chinese workers at a garment factory that supplies international brands such as Uniqlo have been protesting for about two weeks what they say is a unilateral decision by the management to close down. The strike is one of more than 1,000 collective actions since January by Chinese workers, who are increasingly turning to group actions in fighting for their rights...
State & Living Wage Battles
Dispute over union fees could return to Supreme Court Sacramento Bee ...Powerful public-sector unions are facing another high-profile legal challenge that they say could wipe away millions from their bank accounts and make it tougher for them to survive. A group of California schoolteachers, backed by a conservative group, has asked the Supreme Court to rule that unions representing government workers can't collect fees from those who choose not to join...
Scott Walker Reveals Extreme Views On Equal Pay Think Progress ...He likened the push for equal pay laws to seeking to make more people reliant on government. “For [Obama and Clinton], your measure of success in government is how many people are dependent on the government.”
But what Walker implies he’d rather do to address the wage gap — give women more education and qualifications — won’t do the trick...
Debate ramping up ahead of vote on right-to-work veto Joplin Globe ...While it never received support from a number of House and Senate Republicans from districts near the state’s urban cores, right-to-work received unanimous support from the Republicans who represent Southwest Missouri. The bill was passed out of a committee chaired by Lant, R-Pineville, who said in a recent interview that he is pushing the effort to override Nixon’s veto...
NAACP head says state ‘blinked’ on voter ID Winston-Salem Journal ...A noisy protest staged last week by the state NAACP at the N.C. Legislative Building in Raleigh forced legislators to pass the law that modifies the voter ID law, the Rev. William Barber, the president of the N.C. chapter of the NAACP, said Wednesday. “They blinked,” Barber said. “They had to go back and fix what was clearly voter suppression”...
De Blasio refused offer linking minimum wage to pension deal Capital New York ...Mayor Bill de Blasio was offered a deal to raise the minimum wage for New York City in exchange for supporting a police pension proposal, but he rejected the offer, multiple sources told Capital. The deal, offered by the Republican-controlled State Senate, would have established an $11.50-an-hour minimum wage for New York City, the sources familiar with the talks said...
Lawmakers Unanimously Approve Country’s Most Robust Paid Sick Leave Law Think Progress ...The Montgomery County, Maryland council voted unanimously to pass a paid sick leave bill on Tuesday, making the town the 23rd place in the country to enact such a requirement. The law is one of the most robust to be passed at the city or state level so far. “The Montgomery County paid sick days laws is one of the strongest yet, and it should serve as a model for the state of Maryland and the nation,” said Charly Carter, director of Maryland Working Families...
U.S. Labor
Someone Has to Sort Your Recycling, and It’s a Disgusting and Dangerous Job The Nation ...The industries that pride themselves on being friends of the earth are often hostile to workers, according to new research on the safety conditions in recycling plants. Published by the Massachusetts Council for Occupational Safety and Health (MassCOSH), National COSH, and other advocacy groups, the analysis of the industry shows that, despite the green sector’s clean, progressive image, workers remain imperiled by old-school industrial hazards...
Marathon refinery workers in Texas to end strike July 6 The Courier ...Unionized workers at Marathon Petroleum Corp.’s Galveston Bay refinery in Texas will go back to work July 6 following nearly five months of striking. They ratified a contract with the company on Tuesday. About 1,200 workers at the refinery in Texas City, Texas, walked off the job Feb. 1...
Verizon and its unions off to tough start to contract talks Times Union ...Verizon and the unions that represent 38,000 of its workers in the Northeast, including about 1,000 in the Capital Region, have gotten off to an acrimonious start to their contract negotiations. After Verizon publicized it had offered employees wage increases, which included a $1,000 cash payment in the final year of a proposed three-year agreement, union officials accused the company of trying to surgarcoat what was really a bad deal...
AT&T, CWA begin negotiations for 27,000 Southeast employees Fierce Telecom ...AT&T has begun contract negotiations with 27,000 employees in its Southeast territory represented by the Communications Workers of America (CWA). The Southeast region, which was formerly BellSouth, has wireline employees in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Both parties met yesterday with both presenting their own position statements on the negotiation process...
School bus company underpaid workers in NY state more than $290K, Cuomo says; Poughkeepsie employees affected Daily Freeman ...More than $290,000 in wages have been returned to 462 workers at Durham School Services locations across New York as the result if an investigation by the state Department of Labor’s Division of Worker Protection, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday. The labor department launched an investigation after Service Employees International Union Local 200 raised concerns about possible pay violations at the Durham location in Syracuse...
Miscellaneous
Federal Judge Halts Sysco-US Foods Merger Wall Street Journal ...A federal judge on Tuesday issued a preliminary injunction blocking Sysco Corp.’s planned acquisition of US Foods Inc., a ruling that could kill a deal to combine the nation’s two largest food distributors. The decision handed a high-profile victory to the Federal Trade Commission, which filed a lawsuit in February chanllenging the transaction on anti-trust grounds...
Obamacare upheld by US supreme court as conservative justices rescue law The Guardian ...Chief justice John Roberts has come to the rescue of Barack Obama’s healthcare reforms for a second time as the US supreme court struck down a Republican-led challenge to Obamacare that could have gutted the legislation and stripped millions of Americans of their health insurance. The decision in the high stakes case of King v Burwell all but guarantees that Obamacare will survive...
U.S. to Reduce Long Stays for Families at Immigration Centers New York Times ...In a sharp change of policy, Homeland Security officials announced plans Wednesday to end the long-term detention of mothers with children caught crossing the border illegally by allowing most of them to be released quickly on bond. The changes by Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson expanded policies he ordered last month that were designed to shorten family detention but that had only limited effect...
Deadly American Extremism: More White Than Muslim The Atlantic ...It’s an accident of fate that Dzokhar Tsarnaev’s formal sentencing for the Boston Marathon bombing is happening just now, as the U.S. continues to reel from the Charleston massacre. Jihadists have killed 26 people, versus 48 by what New America calls “right-wing extremists.” In that way, Dylann Roof is far more representative of political violence in 21st century America than Dzokhar Tsarnaev could ever be...
Showing posts with label Local 215. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Local 215. Show all posts
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Monday, June 22, 2015
Today's Teamster News 06.22.15
Teamsters
STA School Bus Drivers Choose Teamsters Local 445 Teamster.org ...The men and women who transport schoolchildren for Student Transportation of America (STA) in Middletown, N.Y., have voted 56-47 to join Teamsters Local 445 in Rock Tavern, N.Y., after a hard-fought campaign for respect, fair pay and better working conditions at the company. There are 110 drivers in the bargaining unit...
Uno Foods Workers in Brockton Join Teamsters Local 653 Teamster.org ...The workers who produce frozen pizzas for Uno Foods in Brockton, Mass., have voted by a more than 2-1 margin in favor of Teamsters Local 653 representation. The 90 workers joined the union seeking respect and better working conditions at the company...
Allegiant's Woes Continue, Exec's Pay Resolution Wins Shareholders' Support Teamster.org ...Shareholders of Allegiant Travel Company registered strong support for more robust executive pay policies and independent board oversight at the company’s annual meeting yesterday. A shareholder proposal sponsored by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters seeking to prevent unearned windfall awards being paid to executives in the event of a change of control won majority support, 56.8 percent, by public shareholders...
EVSC and Teamsters still clash on two points during collective bargaining, meetings have stopped Courier & Press ...Teamsters Local 215 President Chuck Whobrey plans to be at Monday night’s Evansville Vanderburgh School Board meeting with one request: to ask members to resume collective bargaining negotiations. Since April, three collective bargaining meetings for the five EVSC employee groups represented by Teamsters have occurred...
Global Labor & Trade
Fast-track back before Senate The Hill ...The Senate is poised to vote a second time on granting President Obama fast-track trade authority. The House revived the president’s trade agenda on Thursday, passing trade promotion authority (TPA), also known as fast-track, and sending the bill to the upper chamber. Obama has said he wants both TAA and fast-track to reach his desk, but pro-trade Senate Dems are wary of the new plan...
Hillary Clinton Says No to Granting ‘Fast Track’ Authority on Trade Deal New York Times ...Hillary Rodham Clinton said she would “probably not” vote for fast-track authority for the trade deal that President Obama is seeking, but she acknowledged that she once said positive things about “the potential” for the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement. Mrs. Clinton is in a bind over an agreement she once praised as a potential “gold standard” for trade deals when she was secretary of state...
Neoliberals’ pity party: Why an emboldened liberalism has corporate Dems running scared Salon ...While the ultimate fate of the TPP is still unclear, there’s one element of this ongoing fight within the Democratic Party that you should expect to see more of in the years to come. It’s not the rise of a more combative labor movement, though that’s certainly part of it. And it’s not the decline of the party’s neoliberal wing, though that’s happening, too. It's the wails of outrage and self-pity from moderate Democrats who resent the party’s once docile, but now ascendant, liberal base...
In House Trade Vote, Party Affiliation Mattered Wall Street Journal ...There’s no doubt international trade exact winners and losers across a vast economy. U.S. districts heavy on manufacturing get hit, while more highly educated areas, often big on service and tech jobs, hold their own or prosper. The GOP for decades has been the more pro-trade party, while the Democrats have channeled the apprehensions of unionized and working-class workers. In the trade vote, what mattered, above all, was party affiliation...
Why ‘Fast Track’ Was Defeated Once — and Why That Was the Right Decision (opinion) Roll Call ...With the effective defeat of the initial vote on the trade bill package, advocates of the trade agreement are making a herculean last gasp effort to get the bill passed on a re-vote. They are castigating opponents as Luddites who favor a new isolationism, diminishing the influence of the U.S. in the world. They claim the bill is a job creator. None of this is true...
The President's Trade Deal Struggles Because It's Bad Policy (opinion) Huffington Post ...Proponents of NAFTA-style trade deals promise we will share the gains from trade, raise labor standards and protect the environment. Our lived experience tells us otherwise. Our US Trade Representative has never enforced environmental standards. Peru violated its commitments for environmental standards, and relaxed labor protections it needed to qualify for the US-Peru trade deal...
Several thousand rally in Athens against austerity Reuters ...Thousands of people rallied in front of parliament in Athens on Sunday, urging Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to resist pressure from international creditors to accept more austerity in exchange for unlocking billions of euros in bailout funds. The demonstration by supporters of Tsipras's ruling Syriza party and others opposed to the euro, was the second anti-euro rally in a week in central Athens...
Thousands join anti-austerity march in London Aljazeera ...Thousands of demonstrators staged an anti-austerity march in London on Saturday, in the first major public protest since Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron won a general election. Opposition politicians, trade union bosses and celebrities were among the crowds marching through the capital's financial district...
Workers may be losers in Mexico’s car boom Washington Post ...It wasn’t a planned strike, more an impromptu protest: A group of assembly-line workers at the Mazda car factory one spring morning just stepped away from their posts. In addition to long, strenuous hours, they said, they endured constant taunts from one assistant manager, who also had allegedly sexually harassed an employee. They refused to work until they could air their grievances with his superiors...
University Union Leader Murdered in Honduras Solidarity Center ...Héctor Martínez Motiño, president of a local sectional union of Workers of the National Autonomous University of Honduras (SITRAUNAH), was murdered Tuesday, shot by gunmen as he drove home from work. Martínez Motiño, a lecturer at the Choluteca campus of the National Autonomous University of Honduras, in the south of the country, had faced three other attempts on his life and numerous anonymous threats, the result of his reporting of violations of human and worker rights within the university... Sumifru banana workers regain jobs after 9-day strike Bulatlat ...The 147 workers in packing plant 90 of Japanese giant Sumitomo Fruit Corp. (Sumifru) in Compostela Valley are back at work beginning today June 19, after the conclusion of their strike which lasted nine days. Sumifru reportedly agreed to reinstate all the workers it fired last week in what the unions in the banana packing plants described as a foul, retaliatory action by Sumifru for their previous success in opposing wage cuts...
State & Living Wage Battles
With Lawsuit Looming, North Carolina Scrambles To Loosen Voter ID Rules Think Progress ...Just weeks ahead of a major court case from civil rights groups challenging North Carolina’s voting restrictions, state legislators passed a bill Thursday easing the controversial voter ID provision. If Governor Pat McCrory signs the new bill, voters who lack the an ID will still be able to cast a ballot, but only if they sign an affidavit swearing they fall into one of the acceptable categories...
US unemployment rates rose in half of states in May Press TV ...The Unemployment rate rose in half of US states last month, largely due to more people beginning to search for work but unable to find jobs, according to the latest government data. The growth in unemployment rates came as 37 states added jobs last month, while 12 states cut jobs, the report said. Montana’s unemployment rate was unchanged...
Paid sick leave for all N.J. workers? Bill set to advance Monday NJ.com ...Slowly but surely, Democrats who control the Legislature are advancing a bill that would require all New Jersey employers to provide paid sick leave to their workers. The state Senate Labor Committee is scheduled to consider the legislation (S785) Monday afternoon...
Democrats plan event to support 'right-to-work' veto Jopline Globe ...State Rep. Charlie Norr, of Springfield, will be the keynote speaker on Wednesday when Southwest Missouri Democrats sponsor a town hall meeting in support of Gov. Jay Nixon's decision to veto the "right-to-work" measure passed by lawmakers in the recent session of the General Assembly. Republican members of the Missouri House and Senate have indicated they will attempt to override Nixon's veto in September...
New prevailing wage to miss July 1 deadline Metro News ...No decision has been made by Gov. Tomblin’s administration on what to do if there’s no new prevailing wage in West Virginia by July 1. WorkForce West Virginia is working to develop the wage but just recently sent out surveys to 5,250 contractors. It’s going to take a while to gather feedback according to WorkForce’s research director Jeff Green...
Wage Board meets final time before deciding on fast food workers' wage WNYT ...There will be one final meeting before there could be a decision on whether or not fast food workers should get paid more. The Wage Board created by Gov. Andrew Cuomo has its final meeting Monday in Albany and fast food workers are planning a rally at the meeting. Supporters of the "Fight for 15" movement say they are expecting hundreds to turn up for a rally Monday morning before the Wage Board meeting...
U.S. Labor
Philadelphia Airport Workers Win Major Victory Against Abusive Subcontracting In These Times ...After over a year of worker strikes and solidarity from a labor and faith coalition, Philadelphia International Airport contracted workers received assurance that they can form a union without retaliation and will be paid a $12 minimum wage. This is a major victory for contracted workers across the country whose bosses and workplaces regularly take advantage of indirect employment arrangements to avoid responsibility for workers’ rights and conditions...
T-Mobile Ditches Policy That Could Punish Staff Requesting Too Much Sick Leave Buzzfeed ...T-Mobile has changed a disciplinary policy that could punish call center staff for requesting time off when sick or caring for family members, after pressure from workers and labor activists. The change comes after months of pressure from workers and union activists in America and Germany to improve conditions at T-Mobile. Their united front is the result of a rare partnership between the Communications Workers of America and ver.di, a powerful German union...
Closing wage gap will be key issue for UAW Journal Gazette ...The United Auto Workers, seeking to close the pay gap between veteran and newer workers, will begin formal negotiations with the biggest U.S. automakers next month, union Vice President Jimmy Settles said. The union will start talks with Ford on July 23 at Detroit’s Cass Tech High School, Settles said last week. Negotiations with General Motors and Fiat Chrysler will open July 13 and 14, he said...
Uneasy Peace Between Rauner Administration, AFSCME Council 31 with Contract Set to Expire July 1 Reboot Illinois ...With the contracts between the state and unionized employees about to expire July 1, both the governor’s office and organized labor say they intend to stay at the table, But that may not not last forever. So far, there’s been little visible progress in talks between negotiators for Gov. Bruce Rauner and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents the bulk of more than 40,000 unionized state employees...
A Pot Industry First: Cannabis Workers Join Food Workers Union KPLU ...The employees at Tacoma’s Cannabis Club Collective will soon be members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union. All eight staff members voted this week to join the 1.3 million-member international organization in what is the first-ever union contract in Washington’s marijuana industry...
Why It's Time for Interns to Unionize (opinion) Alternet ...Interns employed in D.C.’s web of progressive organizations often spend their days fighting for a living wage, but some don’t make even a dime, much less the current minimum wage. Some organizations offer “opportunities” for college credit or a small stipend, which is not sufficient for them to live and eat in one of America’s most expensive cities. Now, thanks to the organizing work of one savvy group of union interns, the tide may be about to turn...
Pay raises at stake in Clark County, SEIU clash Las Vegas Review-Journal ...Clark County and its largest union are locked in a contentious labor dispute over a new state law, a battle that might not end until September. In the meantime, workers affiliated with the Service Employees International Union Local 1107 with a June hiring anniversary will be the first to be denied the salary increases they anticipated before the law passed. A growing number will suffer the same fate each month until the dispute is resolved...
Miscellaneous
'Stand With Charleston': Communities Across Country Rise Up for Black Lives Common Dreams ...As Charleston’s historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal church reopens for services, people across the United States on Sunday are marching through the streets, mobilizing in their faith communities, and staging direct actions to demand an end to white supremacist terror nationwide. "What happened to our family is part of a larger attack on Black and Brown bodies," wrote Rev. Waltrina Middleton...
Why Is the Flag Still There? The Atlantic ...The flags of the United States and of South Carolina, atop the Capitol dome in Columbia, were lowered to half-staff last week in the wake of the Charleston shootings. The Confederate battle flag flying on the Capitol grounds was not. Roof understood the symbolism of the flag he waved only all too well. When South Carolina seceded in 1860, it issued a Declaration which glossed over states’ rights. It did not mention the tariff. South Carolina was seceding, it explained, due to the “increasing hostility to the institution of slavery”...
Robert Reich: Mass incarceration is ruining us — and shackling the economy Salon ...Unless we recognize the racism and abuse of our criminal justice system and tackle the dehumanizing stereotypes that underlie it, our nation – and our economy – will never be as strong as it could be. We’re spending a fortune locking people up who could fuel our economy and build strong communities, in some cases just to increase the profits of private prison corporations...
STA School Bus Drivers Choose Teamsters Local 445 Teamster.org ...The men and women who transport schoolchildren for Student Transportation of America (STA) in Middletown, N.Y., have voted 56-47 to join Teamsters Local 445 in Rock Tavern, N.Y., after a hard-fought campaign for respect, fair pay and better working conditions at the company. There are 110 drivers in the bargaining unit...
Uno Foods Workers in Brockton Join Teamsters Local 653 Teamster.org ...The workers who produce frozen pizzas for Uno Foods in Brockton, Mass., have voted by a more than 2-1 margin in favor of Teamsters Local 653 representation. The 90 workers joined the union seeking respect and better working conditions at the company...
Allegiant's Woes Continue, Exec's Pay Resolution Wins Shareholders' Support Teamster.org ...Shareholders of Allegiant Travel Company registered strong support for more robust executive pay policies and independent board oversight at the company’s annual meeting yesterday. A shareholder proposal sponsored by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters seeking to prevent unearned windfall awards being paid to executives in the event of a change of control won majority support, 56.8 percent, by public shareholders...
EVSC and Teamsters still clash on two points during collective bargaining, meetings have stopped Courier & Press ...Teamsters Local 215 President Chuck Whobrey plans to be at Monday night’s Evansville Vanderburgh School Board meeting with one request: to ask members to resume collective bargaining negotiations. Since April, three collective bargaining meetings for the five EVSC employee groups represented by Teamsters have occurred...
Global Labor & Trade
Fast-track back before Senate The Hill ...The Senate is poised to vote a second time on granting President Obama fast-track trade authority. The House revived the president’s trade agenda on Thursday, passing trade promotion authority (TPA), also known as fast-track, and sending the bill to the upper chamber. Obama has said he wants both TAA and fast-track to reach his desk, but pro-trade Senate Dems are wary of the new plan...
Hillary Clinton Says No to Granting ‘Fast Track’ Authority on Trade Deal New York Times ...Hillary Rodham Clinton said she would “probably not” vote for fast-track authority for the trade deal that President Obama is seeking, but she acknowledged that she once said positive things about “the potential” for the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement. Mrs. Clinton is in a bind over an agreement she once praised as a potential “gold standard” for trade deals when she was secretary of state...
Neoliberals’ pity party: Why an emboldened liberalism has corporate Dems running scared Salon ...While the ultimate fate of the TPP is still unclear, there’s one element of this ongoing fight within the Democratic Party that you should expect to see more of in the years to come. It’s not the rise of a more combative labor movement, though that’s certainly part of it. And it’s not the decline of the party’s neoliberal wing, though that’s happening, too. It's the wails of outrage and self-pity from moderate Democrats who resent the party’s once docile, but now ascendant, liberal base...
In House Trade Vote, Party Affiliation Mattered Wall Street Journal ...There’s no doubt international trade exact winners and losers across a vast economy. U.S. districts heavy on manufacturing get hit, while more highly educated areas, often big on service and tech jobs, hold their own or prosper. The GOP for decades has been the more pro-trade party, while the Democrats have channeled the apprehensions of unionized and working-class workers. In the trade vote, what mattered, above all, was party affiliation...
Why ‘Fast Track’ Was Defeated Once — and Why That Was the Right Decision (opinion) Roll Call ...With the effective defeat of the initial vote on the trade bill package, advocates of the trade agreement are making a herculean last gasp effort to get the bill passed on a re-vote. They are castigating opponents as Luddites who favor a new isolationism, diminishing the influence of the U.S. in the world. They claim the bill is a job creator. None of this is true...
The President's Trade Deal Struggles Because It's Bad Policy (opinion) Huffington Post ...Proponents of NAFTA-style trade deals promise we will share the gains from trade, raise labor standards and protect the environment. Our lived experience tells us otherwise. Our US Trade Representative has never enforced environmental standards. Peru violated its commitments for environmental standards, and relaxed labor protections it needed to qualify for the US-Peru trade deal...
Several thousand rally in Athens against austerity Reuters ...Thousands of people rallied in front of parliament in Athens on Sunday, urging Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to resist pressure from international creditors to accept more austerity in exchange for unlocking billions of euros in bailout funds. The demonstration by supporters of Tsipras's ruling Syriza party and others opposed to the euro, was the second anti-euro rally in a week in central Athens...
Thousands join anti-austerity march in London Aljazeera ...Thousands of demonstrators staged an anti-austerity march in London on Saturday, in the first major public protest since Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron won a general election. Opposition politicians, trade union bosses and celebrities were among the crowds marching through the capital's financial district...
Workers may be losers in Mexico’s car boom Washington Post ...It wasn’t a planned strike, more an impromptu protest: A group of assembly-line workers at the Mazda car factory one spring morning just stepped away from their posts. In addition to long, strenuous hours, they said, they endured constant taunts from one assistant manager, who also had allegedly sexually harassed an employee. They refused to work until they could air their grievances with his superiors...
University Union Leader Murdered in Honduras Solidarity Center ...Héctor Martínez Motiño, president of a local sectional union of Workers of the National Autonomous University of Honduras (SITRAUNAH), was murdered Tuesday, shot by gunmen as he drove home from work. Martínez Motiño, a lecturer at the Choluteca campus of the National Autonomous University of Honduras, in the south of the country, had faced three other attempts on his life and numerous anonymous threats, the result of his reporting of violations of human and worker rights within the university... Sumifru banana workers regain jobs after 9-day strike Bulatlat ...The 147 workers in packing plant 90 of Japanese giant Sumitomo Fruit Corp. (Sumifru) in Compostela Valley are back at work beginning today June 19, after the conclusion of their strike which lasted nine days. Sumifru reportedly agreed to reinstate all the workers it fired last week in what the unions in the banana packing plants described as a foul, retaliatory action by Sumifru for their previous success in opposing wage cuts...
State & Living Wage Battles
With Lawsuit Looming, North Carolina Scrambles To Loosen Voter ID Rules Think Progress ...Just weeks ahead of a major court case from civil rights groups challenging North Carolina’s voting restrictions, state legislators passed a bill Thursday easing the controversial voter ID provision. If Governor Pat McCrory signs the new bill, voters who lack the an ID will still be able to cast a ballot, but only if they sign an affidavit swearing they fall into one of the acceptable categories...
US unemployment rates rose in half of states in May Press TV ...The Unemployment rate rose in half of US states last month, largely due to more people beginning to search for work but unable to find jobs, according to the latest government data. The growth in unemployment rates came as 37 states added jobs last month, while 12 states cut jobs, the report said. Montana’s unemployment rate was unchanged...
Paid sick leave for all N.J. workers? Bill set to advance Monday NJ.com ...Slowly but surely, Democrats who control the Legislature are advancing a bill that would require all New Jersey employers to provide paid sick leave to their workers. The state Senate Labor Committee is scheduled to consider the legislation (S785) Monday afternoon...
Democrats plan event to support 'right-to-work' veto Jopline Globe ...State Rep. Charlie Norr, of Springfield, will be the keynote speaker on Wednesday when Southwest Missouri Democrats sponsor a town hall meeting in support of Gov. Jay Nixon's decision to veto the "right-to-work" measure passed by lawmakers in the recent session of the General Assembly. Republican members of the Missouri House and Senate have indicated they will attempt to override Nixon's veto in September...
New prevailing wage to miss July 1 deadline Metro News ...No decision has been made by Gov. Tomblin’s administration on what to do if there’s no new prevailing wage in West Virginia by July 1. WorkForce West Virginia is working to develop the wage but just recently sent out surveys to 5,250 contractors. It’s going to take a while to gather feedback according to WorkForce’s research director Jeff Green...
Wage Board meets final time before deciding on fast food workers' wage WNYT ...There will be one final meeting before there could be a decision on whether or not fast food workers should get paid more. The Wage Board created by Gov. Andrew Cuomo has its final meeting Monday in Albany and fast food workers are planning a rally at the meeting. Supporters of the "Fight for 15" movement say they are expecting hundreds to turn up for a rally Monday morning before the Wage Board meeting...
U.S. Labor
Philadelphia Airport Workers Win Major Victory Against Abusive Subcontracting In These Times ...After over a year of worker strikes and solidarity from a labor and faith coalition, Philadelphia International Airport contracted workers received assurance that they can form a union without retaliation and will be paid a $12 minimum wage. This is a major victory for contracted workers across the country whose bosses and workplaces regularly take advantage of indirect employment arrangements to avoid responsibility for workers’ rights and conditions...
T-Mobile Ditches Policy That Could Punish Staff Requesting Too Much Sick Leave Buzzfeed ...T-Mobile has changed a disciplinary policy that could punish call center staff for requesting time off when sick or caring for family members, after pressure from workers and labor activists. The change comes after months of pressure from workers and union activists in America and Germany to improve conditions at T-Mobile. Their united front is the result of a rare partnership between the Communications Workers of America and ver.di, a powerful German union...
Closing wage gap will be key issue for UAW Journal Gazette ...The United Auto Workers, seeking to close the pay gap between veteran and newer workers, will begin formal negotiations with the biggest U.S. automakers next month, union Vice President Jimmy Settles said. The union will start talks with Ford on July 23 at Detroit’s Cass Tech High School, Settles said last week. Negotiations with General Motors and Fiat Chrysler will open July 13 and 14, he said...
Uneasy Peace Between Rauner Administration, AFSCME Council 31 with Contract Set to Expire July 1 Reboot Illinois ...With the contracts between the state and unionized employees about to expire July 1, both the governor’s office and organized labor say they intend to stay at the table, But that may not not last forever. So far, there’s been little visible progress in talks between negotiators for Gov. Bruce Rauner and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents the bulk of more than 40,000 unionized state employees...
A Pot Industry First: Cannabis Workers Join Food Workers Union KPLU ...The employees at Tacoma’s Cannabis Club Collective will soon be members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union. All eight staff members voted this week to join the 1.3 million-member international organization in what is the first-ever union contract in Washington’s marijuana industry...
Why It's Time for Interns to Unionize (opinion) Alternet ...Interns employed in D.C.’s web of progressive organizations often spend their days fighting for a living wage, but some don’t make even a dime, much less the current minimum wage. Some organizations offer “opportunities” for college credit or a small stipend, which is not sufficient for them to live and eat in one of America’s most expensive cities. Now, thanks to the organizing work of one savvy group of union interns, the tide may be about to turn...
Pay raises at stake in Clark County, SEIU clash Las Vegas Review-Journal ...Clark County and its largest union are locked in a contentious labor dispute over a new state law, a battle that might not end until September. In the meantime, workers affiliated with the Service Employees International Union Local 1107 with a June hiring anniversary will be the first to be denied the salary increases they anticipated before the law passed. A growing number will suffer the same fate each month until the dispute is resolved...
Miscellaneous
'Stand With Charleston': Communities Across Country Rise Up for Black Lives Common Dreams ...As Charleston’s historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal church reopens for services, people across the United States on Sunday are marching through the streets, mobilizing in their faith communities, and staging direct actions to demand an end to white supremacist terror nationwide. "What happened to our family is part of a larger attack on Black and Brown bodies," wrote Rev. Waltrina Middleton...
Why Is the Flag Still There? The Atlantic ...The flags of the United States and of South Carolina, atop the Capitol dome in Columbia, were lowered to half-staff last week in the wake of the Charleston shootings. The Confederate battle flag flying on the Capitol grounds was not. Roof understood the symbolism of the flag he waved only all too well. When South Carolina seceded in 1860, it issued a Declaration which glossed over states’ rights. It did not mention the tariff. South Carolina was seceding, it explained, due to the “increasing hostility to the institution of slavery”...
Robert Reich: Mass incarceration is ruining us — and shackling the economy Salon ...Unless we recognize the racism and abuse of our criminal justice system and tackle the dehumanizing stereotypes that underlie it, our nation – and our economy – will never be as strong as it could be. We’re spending a fortune locking people up who could fuel our economy and build strong communities, in some cases just to increase the profits of private prison corporations...
Thursday, June 4, 2015
Today's Teamster News 06.04.15
Teamsters
Leaders of Carhaul Local Unions Approve Contract Proposals Teamster.org ...Leaders of local unions that represent Carhaul Teamsters overwhelmingly approved contract proposals today in Detroit that will be presented to the employer group on Thursday, June 4 as both sides prepare to negotiate a new National Master Automobile Transporters Agreement (NMATA). “Thanks to our members who filled out surveys and our local unions that sent in proposals, we were able to come up with a package of contract proposals that local unions approved today,” said Kevin Moore, Director of the Teamsters Carhaul Division...
EVSC and Teamsters clash on two points during collective bargaining Courier & Press ...Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp. officials called an impromptu news conference late Wednesday afternoon to disclose two key concerns they have in current collective bargaining negotiations with Teamsters Local 215 representatives. EVSC School Board Negotiator Susan Traynor Chastain spoke on behalf of the board to discuss contract negotiations with the five EVSC employee groups represented by the Teamsters — bus drivers, secretaries, custodians, special education assistants and bus aides...
Global Labor & Trade
Progressives Mount Final Push Against Bill That 'Threatens Everything You Care About' Common Dreams ...With President Barack Obama "in overdrive" pushing his trade agenda and the House expected to take up so-called Fast Track authority "any day now," progressives are flooding Capitol Hill on Wednesday with phone calls and petitions expressing their opposition to corporate-friendly trade deals...
Barack Obama: China might join trade deal — eventually Politico ...China could eventually join the trade pact currently under negotiation with 12 Pacific Rim nations, President Barack Obama said Wednesday. A central part of Obama’s pitch for the trade deal known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership has been that it would prevent China from making the rules in the region...
In ‘Fast-Track’ Pitch, Obama Ready to Fight Unions in Democratic Primaries Roll Call ...President Barack Obama will protect pro-trade Democrats in party primaries against unions and others opposed to his “fast-track” trade agenda, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Wednesday. Earnest said the president is vowing to work hard to get Democrats on board, and that includes a vow to have their back politically...
Mayors leading Obama's charge on trade Politico ...President Barack Obama will have to hope America’s mayors are a little more convincing than he’s been. Faced with House Democrats who aren’t buying the administration’s efforts to draw a connection between global trade and local job growth, big-city mayors — most of them Democrats — are stepping up...
Trade deficit drops sharply to $40.9B in April USA Today ...The U.S. trade deficit declined sharply in April as exports posted a modest gain and imports fell, raising hopes that trade will not be as big a drag on economic growth in the current quarter. The April deficit dropped 19.2 percent to $40.9 billion...
WikiLeaks Strikes Again: Leaked TISA Docs Expose Corporate Plan For Reshaping Global Economy Common Dreams ...An enormous corporate-friendly treaty that many people haven't heard of was thrust into the public limelight Wednesday when famed publisher of government and corporate secrets, WikiLeaks, released 17 documents from closed-door negotiations between countries that together comprise two-thirds of the word's economy. Analysts warn that preliminary review shows that the pact, known as the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA), is aimed at further privatizing and deregulating vital services...
The TPP Gang That Can’t Shoot Straight (opinion) Other Words ...As Congress gets ready to vote on whether to “fast-track” the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), its proponents are making weaker and more far-fetched arguments for the deal. And they keep getting their facts wrong and their logic twisted. This hit parade of failed arguments should convince any fence sitters that this is a bad deal...
Zimbabwe Economy in Crisis, Few Jobs, Workers Unpaid Solidarity Center ...Zimbabwe’s economy is in deep decline, making it harder for average Zimbabweans to work and live, and leaving them less and less confident in their future, according to Solidarity Center Regional Program Director for Africa Imani Countess, in testimony yesterday on Capitol Hill. “Most workers earn salaries far below the poverty level, and many workers—even in the formal sector—go for months without receiving their wages,” Countess said...
Greek unemployment rate stable at 25.6% MarketWatch ...About 1.2 million Greeks remain without a job, with the inactive population--those who aren't in employment or searching for a job, often because they have become discouraged--amounting to 3.4 million. Austerity measures imposed by creditors have allowed Greece to achieve a surplus in the primary budget, which excludes interest payments, but Athens underscores how much of a toll it has taken on economic growth and employment...
State & Living Wage Battles
Nixon expected to veto Missouri right-to-work measure KSPR ...Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon on Thursday is set to take action on the bill alongside United AutoWorkers members near Ford's Kansas City Assembly Plant. The measure would prohibit workplace contracts that require union fees to be collected from nonmembers. Nixon has criticized the bill, which he says could lead to lower wages. Other opponents have said it could undermine unions...
Proposed initiative petition would up state’s minimum wage Rolla Daily News ...Three initiative petitions to increase Missouri's minimum wage have been approved for circulation. Secretary of State Jason Kander on Tuesday announced supporters of all three now can begin collecting signatures. The petitions need to be signed by at least 5 percent of legal voters in six of the state's eight congressional districts to make it onto a ballot...
Public sounds off to election board over voter ID law WNCN ...The State Board of Elections is giving the public a chance to raise concerns about North Carolina's voter ID law. Officials held the first of nine public hearings Wednesday night to get input from residents. The public hearings are being used to see how residents would like to see this law implemented...
Illinois House to vote on changes to workers’ compensation KTRS ...Democratic Speaker Michael Madigan says the Illinois House will consider changes to the state’s workers’ compensation insurance system when it reconvenes Thursday. Madigan put out a release Wednesday noting overhauling workers’ compensation is one of Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner’s top priorities...
In Houston, Clinton to Target Texas' Voter ID Law Texas Tribune ...Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will use a speech Thursday in Houston to call for expanded early voting across the country and criticize states like Texas for tightening election laws, according to her presidential campaign. Speaking at historically black Texas Southern University, the Democratic front-runner will propose a national requirement of at least 20 days of in-person early voting...
Walmart's latest raises show just how low its pay is Daily Kos ...You know you're a low-wage employer when you're bragging about raising base pay levels to $15 an hour ... for your managers. And not even all of them: Wal-Mart told The Associated Press late Monday that department managers of complex and service-oriented jobs in areas like produce, electronics and auto care, will start at $13 per hour...
Attempts To Limit Voting Rights Stunted As Efforts To Enhance Voting Access Prevail Huff Post ...A number of state legislatures are adjourning, and supporters of expanded access to the ballot box may be sighing in relief as they see some of the major efforts to restrict voting access were stymied during this legislative session. As the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University highlighted Wednesday, "For the third year in a row, bills to expand voters’ access to the ballot box outpace those to restrict voting, both in terms of introduction and enactment"...
Los Angeles City Council approves landmark minimum wage increase LA Times ...andmark ordinance boosting the minimum wage in Los Angeles won approval Wednesday from the City Council despite a variety of unresolved issues about how the law would work. The law, which would raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2020, affects hundreds of thousands of workers and makes Los Angeles the largest city in the country to mandate higher pay for workers at the bottom of the income ladder...
U.S. Labor
SEIU, County close the gap in latest labor deal Sun Gazette ...Tulare County Services Employees International Union (SEIU) are looking forward to a padded pocketbook in their new deal with the County pending ratification and acceptance. In previous years SEIU has attempted to gain back some of its pay held by the County as they struggled through the Great Recession. As recent as last year SEIU Chapter 251 fought for a 9% raise that they were not able to garner. However, now there appears to be a deal that satisfies both parties...
Northwestern University still awaiting ruling from National Labor Relations Board Chicago Business Journal ...A full 10 months after legal teams from Northwestern University and the College Athletes Players Association (CAPA) submitted their final filings to the full National Labor Relations Board in Washington, D.C., there's still no indication when the NLRB will issue a final ruling on whether Northwestern University's football team can unionize under the CAPA banner...
Talk of Philly newspaper strike, unionizing move at Gawker, big window onto media labor relations Poynter ...Union members in Philadelphia will vote Wednesday evening on whether to give leaders the right to call a walkout and potentially trigger an American labor relations rarity: a big city newspaper strike. And, by total coincidence, what could prove a notable if unrelated labor relations happening is playing out in New York: an attempt to unionize workers at Gawker Media...
Streetcar pact signed by SORTA, transit union Business Courier ...The union that represents Cincinnati transit workers has signed a deal with the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority, clearing the way for its members to operate Cincinnati’s streetcar – if the City Council chooses to go that route...
US Unemployment Aid Applications Drop to 276,000 AP ...Fewer Americans sought unemployment benefits last week, a sign that job cuts remain low as employers are confident enough in the business outlook to hold onto their staffs. The Labor Department says applications for unemployment aid dropped 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 276,000. The four-week average, a less volatile figure, ticked up 2,750 to 274,750...
Miscellaneous
All This Economic Inequality Sucks, Say Most Americans Common Dreams ...The new poll, conducted jointly by the New York Times and CBS News, found that a "strong majority"—more than six out of 10 people across party lines—think the nation's "wealth should be more evenly divided" among its people and only slightly less (with Republican support falling off) think government policies should drive the effort to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor...
New US trucking technology mandate to contribute to higher rates JOC ...The U.S. federal government on Wednesday mandated that heavy trucks be equipped with electronic stability controls by Aug. 1, 2017, the latest in a series of actions taken by the federal government to improve safety that will ultimately contribute to higher truck rates. Once implemented, the National Highway Transit Safety Association said the controls could prevent 1,700 crashes annually...
After Ruling That McDonald’s Can’t Pay Workers In Bank Cards, The Bank Pays Up Think Progress ...Paying employees through prepaid debit cards that incur fees when workers try to withdraw their cash is illegal in Pennsylvania, a judge ruled Tuesday. The lawsuit targeting a McDonald’s franchisee in the eastern-central part of the state has already prompted a powerful Wall Street bank to voluntarily give money back...
Leaders of Carhaul Local Unions Approve Contract Proposals Teamster.org ...Leaders of local unions that represent Carhaul Teamsters overwhelmingly approved contract proposals today in Detroit that will be presented to the employer group on Thursday, June 4 as both sides prepare to negotiate a new National Master Automobile Transporters Agreement (NMATA). “Thanks to our members who filled out surveys and our local unions that sent in proposals, we were able to come up with a package of contract proposals that local unions approved today,” said Kevin Moore, Director of the Teamsters Carhaul Division...
EVSC and Teamsters clash on two points during collective bargaining Courier & Press ...Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp. officials called an impromptu news conference late Wednesday afternoon to disclose two key concerns they have in current collective bargaining negotiations with Teamsters Local 215 representatives. EVSC School Board Negotiator Susan Traynor Chastain spoke on behalf of the board to discuss contract negotiations with the five EVSC employee groups represented by the Teamsters — bus drivers, secretaries, custodians, special education assistants and bus aides...
Global Labor & Trade
Progressives Mount Final Push Against Bill That 'Threatens Everything You Care About' Common Dreams ...With President Barack Obama "in overdrive" pushing his trade agenda and the House expected to take up so-called Fast Track authority "any day now," progressives are flooding Capitol Hill on Wednesday with phone calls and petitions expressing their opposition to corporate-friendly trade deals...
Barack Obama: China might join trade deal — eventually Politico ...China could eventually join the trade pact currently under negotiation with 12 Pacific Rim nations, President Barack Obama said Wednesday. A central part of Obama’s pitch for the trade deal known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership has been that it would prevent China from making the rules in the region...
In ‘Fast-Track’ Pitch, Obama Ready to Fight Unions in Democratic Primaries Roll Call ...President Barack Obama will protect pro-trade Democrats in party primaries against unions and others opposed to his “fast-track” trade agenda, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Wednesday. Earnest said the president is vowing to work hard to get Democrats on board, and that includes a vow to have their back politically...
Mayors leading Obama's charge on trade Politico ...President Barack Obama will have to hope America’s mayors are a little more convincing than he’s been. Faced with House Democrats who aren’t buying the administration’s efforts to draw a connection between global trade and local job growth, big-city mayors — most of them Democrats — are stepping up...
Trade deficit drops sharply to $40.9B in April USA Today ...The U.S. trade deficit declined sharply in April as exports posted a modest gain and imports fell, raising hopes that trade will not be as big a drag on economic growth in the current quarter. The April deficit dropped 19.2 percent to $40.9 billion...
WikiLeaks Strikes Again: Leaked TISA Docs Expose Corporate Plan For Reshaping Global Economy Common Dreams ...An enormous corporate-friendly treaty that many people haven't heard of was thrust into the public limelight Wednesday when famed publisher of government and corporate secrets, WikiLeaks, released 17 documents from closed-door negotiations between countries that together comprise two-thirds of the word's economy. Analysts warn that preliminary review shows that the pact, known as the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA), is aimed at further privatizing and deregulating vital services...
The TPP Gang That Can’t Shoot Straight (opinion) Other Words ...As Congress gets ready to vote on whether to “fast-track” the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), its proponents are making weaker and more far-fetched arguments for the deal. And they keep getting their facts wrong and their logic twisted. This hit parade of failed arguments should convince any fence sitters that this is a bad deal...
Zimbabwe Economy in Crisis, Few Jobs, Workers Unpaid Solidarity Center ...Zimbabwe’s economy is in deep decline, making it harder for average Zimbabweans to work and live, and leaving them less and less confident in their future, according to Solidarity Center Regional Program Director for Africa Imani Countess, in testimony yesterday on Capitol Hill. “Most workers earn salaries far below the poverty level, and many workers—even in the formal sector—go for months without receiving their wages,” Countess said...
Greek unemployment rate stable at 25.6% MarketWatch ...About 1.2 million Greeks remain without a job, with the inactive population--those who aren't in employment or searching for a job, often because they have become discouraged--amounting to 3.4 million. Austerity measures imposed by creditors have allowed Greece to achieve a surplus in the primary budget, which excludes interest payments, but Athens underscores how much of a toll it has taken on economic growth and employment...
State & Living Wage Battles
Nixon expected to veto Missouri right-to-work measure KSPR ...Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon on Thursday is set to take action on the bill alongside United AutoWorkers members near Ford's Kansas City Assembly Plant. The measure would prohibit workplace contracts that require union fees to be collected from nonmembers. Nixon has criticized the bill, which he says could lead to lower wages. Other opponents have said it could undermine unions...
Proposed initiative petition would up state’s minimum wage Rolla Daily News ...Three initiative petitions to increase Missouri's minimum wage have been approved for circulation. Secretary of State Jason Kander on Tuesday announced supporters of all three now can begin collecting signatures. The petitions need to be signed by at least 5 percent of legal voters in six of the state's eight congressional districts to make it onto a ballot...
Public sounds off to election board over voter ID law WNCN ...The State Board of Elections is giving the public a chance to raise concerns about North Carolina's voter ID law. Officials held the first of nine public hearings Wednesday night to get input from residents. The public hearings are being used to see how residents would like to see this law implemented...
Illinois House to vote on changes to workers’ compensation KTRS ...Democratic Speaker Michael Madigan says the Illinois House will consider changes to the state’s workers’ compensation insurance system when it reconvenes Thursday. Madigan put out a release Wednesday noting overhauling workers’ compensation is one of Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner’s top priorities...
In Houston, Clinton to Target Texas' Voter ID Law Texas Tribune ...Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will use a speech Thursday in Houston to call for expanded early voting across the country and criticize states like Texas for tightening election laws, according to her presidential campaign. Speaking at historically black Texas Southern University, the Democratic front-runner will propose a national requirement of at least 20 days of in-person early voting...
Walmart's latest raises show just how low its pay is Daily Kos ...You know you're a low-wage employer when you're bragging about raising base pay levels to $15 an hour ... for your managers. And not even all of them: Wal-Mart told The Associated Press late Monday that department managers of complex and service-oriented jobs in areas like produce, electronics and auto care, will start at $13 per hour...
Attempts To Limit Voting Rights Stunted As Efforts To Enhance Voting Access Prevail Huff Post ...A number of state legislatures are adjourning, and supporters of expanded access to the ballot box may be sighing in relief as they see some of the major efforts to restrict voting access were stymied during this legislative session. As the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University highlighted Wednesday, "For the third year in a row, bills to expand voters’ access to the ballot box outpace those to restrict voting, both in terms of introduction and enactment"...
Los Angeles City Council approves landmark minimum wage increase LA Times ...andmark ordinance boosting the minimum wage in Los Angeles won approval Wednesday from the City Council despite a variety of unresolved issues about how the law would work. The law, which would raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2020, affects hundreds of thousands of workers and makes Los Angeles the largest city in the country to mandate higher pay for workers at the bottom of the income ladder...
U.S. Labor
SEIU, County close the gap in latest labor deal Sun Gazette ...Tulare County Services Employees International Union (SEIU) are looking forward to a padded pocketbook in their new deal with the County pending ratification and acceptance. In previous years SEIU has attempted to gain back some of its pay held by the County as they struggled through the Great Recession. As recent as last year SEIU Chapter 251 fought for a 9% raise that they were not able to garner. However, now there appears to be a deal that satisfies both parties...
Northwestern University still awaiting ruling from National Labor Relations Board Chicago Business Journal ...A full 10 months after legal teams from Northwestern University and the College Athletes Players Association (CAPA) submitted their final filings to the full National Labor Relations Board in Washington, D.C., there's still no indication when the NLRB will issue a final ruling on whether Northwestern University's football team can unionize under the CAPA banner...
Talk of Philly newspaper strike, unionizing move at Gawker, big window onto media labor relations Poynter ...Union members in Philadelphia will vote Wednesday evening on whether to give leaders the right to call a walkout and potentially trigger an American labor relations rarity: a big city newspaper strike. And, by total coincidence, what could prove a notable if unrelated labor relations happening is playing out in New York: an attempt to unionize workers at Gawker Media...
Streetcar pact signed by SORTA, transit union Business Courier ...The union that represents Cincinnati transit workers has signed a deal with the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority, clearing the way for its members to operate Cincinnati’s streetcar – if the City Council chooses to go that route...
US Unemployment Aid Applications Drop to 276,000 AP ...Fewer Americans sought unemployment benefits last week, a sign that job cuts remain low as employers are confident enough in the business outlook to hold onto their staffs. The Labor Department says applications for unemployment aid dropped 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 276,000. The four-week average, a less volatile figure, ticked up 2,750 to 274,750...
Miscellaneous
All This Economic Inequality Sucks, Say Most Americans Common Dreams ...The new poll, conducted jointly by the New York Times and CBS News, found that a "strong majority"—more than six out of 10 people across party lines—think the nation's "wealth should be more evenly divided" among its people and only slightly less (with Republican support falling off) think government policies should drive the effort to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor...
New US trucking technology mandate to contribute to higher rates JOC ...The U.S. federal government on Wednesday mandated that heavy trucks be equipped with electronic stability controls by Aug. 1, 2017, the latest in a series of actions taken by the federal government to improve safety that will ultimately contribute to higher truck rates. Once implemented, the National Highway Transit Safety Association said the controls could prevent 1,700 crashes annually...
After Ruling That McDonald’s Can’t Pay Workers In Bank Cards, The Bank Pays Up Think Progress ...Paying employees through prepaid debit cards that incur fees when workers try to withdraw their cash is illegal in Pennsylvania, a judge ruled Tuesday. The lawsuit targeting a McDonald’s franchisee in the eastern-central part of the state has already prompted a powerful Wall Street bank to voluntarily give money back...
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