Today's Teamster News 03.04.11

Wis. governor warns of layoffs, talks to Democrats  Associated Press   ...Republican Gov. Scott Walker and absent Democrats remained in a standoff over a budget balancing bill that would also strip public workers of their collective bargaining rights...
Wisconsin Recall Efforts Off to Strong Start  firedoglake   ...they have signed up over 3,000 people from Wisconsin who want to get involved in a recall effort in the past 24 hours. 1,300 have pledged to canvas, and nearly 2,000 have pledged to contribute money...
Anti-Union Bills Introduced In At Least 12 States This Year  Wall Street Journal   ...Lawmakers in Florida, Idaho, Missouri, Tennessee and South Carolina also have introduced bills to reduce union power or make it more difficult for them to sign up workers. There is talk of similar measures even in labor-friendly California and New York...
Speaker Bosma ready to start fining missing state Democrats  Evansville Courier & Press   ...House Speaker Brian Bosma's decision, announced Thursday on the floor of the House, is his latest effort to make the Democrats' absence as uncomfortable as possible...
State workers protest as LePage pitches plan to lawmakers  Bangor Daily News   ...Saying they are not to blame for Maine’s budget woes, state employees and retirees called upon lawmakers to reject proposed changes to Maine’s pension and retirement system...
A retired Teamster watches labor unrest in Columbus and gears up for a fight The Cleveland Plain Dealer   ...Ohio's labor unions are gearing up to make Wisconsin look tame...
Va. transit workers, Veolia make deal  (Local 570) Washington Post   ...After months of tense negotiations, a contract agreement was reached late Wednesday between Loudoun County Transit workers and Veolia Transportation...

Today's Teamster News 02.17.11

Thousands rally at Wisconsin Capitol to protest anti-union bill  Associated Press   ...The sweeping measure was moving swiftly through the GOP-led Legislature and would mark a dramatic shift for Wisconsin...
Labor packs Ohio Statehouse, protests union limits  CNBC   ...Hundreds of union protesters again packed the Statehouse in protest on Tuesday as government officials from around the state lined up in support of a bill that would wipe out Ohio's nearly 30-year-old collective bargaining law and make other union changes...
Labor unions work to raise profile in Statehouse  tribstar.com   ...Indiana’s labor unions...leadership is calling in the forces, mobilizing members en masse to protest what they’ve called an “anti-worker agenda” with far-reaching consequences...
UPS Executive Restates Earnings Guidance  Wall Street Journal   ...United Parcel Service Inc.'s chief financial officer described the weather last month as "brutal" but played down the overall impact of the winter storms and reiterated the company's 2011 earnings forecast...
Winter hammers FedEx profit and revenues  Fleet Owner   ...FedEx Corp. said earnings for the third quarter of its fiscal year took a severe beating due largely to severe winter weather In the U.S. and Europe that significantly disrupted its global shipping operations...
House committee passes FAA bill without provision opposed by FedEx  The Commercial Appeal   ...A similar measure is expected to pass the Senate later this week...
Legal troubles continue for YRC  The City Wire   ...YRC also faces a critical Feb. 28 deadline to qualify for debt restructuring or some other “qualifying transaction” as part of an agreement with the Teamsters...
Riot Police Face Striking Truckers in Colombia  Wall Street Journal   ...The truckers' strike, which began nearly two weeks ago over deregulation of the industry, involves the majority of some 200,000 Colombian truckers...
Baggage handlers hit picket lines in Toronto, Montreal (Local 419)  CTV   ...The union representing 400 striking baggage handlers at airports in Toronto and Montreal says its members plan to picket 24 hours a day until their labour dispute is resolved...
Harkin Opposes Anti-Worker Amendments to FAA Reauthorization  Sen. Tom Harkin   ...Harkin (D-IA) spoke on the floor of the Senate to oppose an amendment that would undermine flight crews’ job safety...
Loudoun County Transit/Veolia Workers March On Boss  IBT   ...Dozens of Loudoun County Transit drivers represented by Teamsters Local 570 in Baltimore, marched on their management today, presenting a petition demanding a fair union contract...

How Baltimore's beverage tax cost Baltimore jobs

 They can't say we didn't warn them. Back in April, the Teamsters said that a 2-cent tax on every beverage container would kill jobs. The city went ahead and imposed the tax. Now 77 good-paying Teamster jobs are gone. According to The Baltimore Sun,

The last cans and 2-liter bottles of Pepsi-Cola, Diet Pepsi, Mountain Dew and other sodas ran through the production line Monday morning. Executives at Pepsi Beverages Co. told workers in meetings later in the day that production would be halted for good. Pepsi officials said they would work out details regarding the layoffs, including potential severance, with the local Teamsters union.


The company will continue most other functions at the plant on Union Avenue in Hampden. An additional 318 workers with positions in sales and in the warehouse will keep their jobs. Pepsi will continue making soda in other parts of the state and the Baltimore plant will get beverages from those facilities as well as others in the Mid-Atlantic region to distribute.

This is exactly what the Teamsters said would happen last spring. Local 570 secretary-treasurer Sean Cedenio issued a statement saying the tax would hurt beverage workers and their families. He said,

We are very concerned for our members who work for beverage distributors. We’re already seeing a shortage of work for our members. During these challenging economic times, the last thing we should be doing is causing jobs to be cut.

This time, there's no satisfaction in saying "I told you so."