Los Angeles shows a $15 minimum wage is possible

The $15 an hour minimum wage fight gained some serious momentum last week when the Los Angeles City Council approved such a pay rate for workers in the nation's second-largest city. And those pushing to bring a living wage nationwide are making it clear they aren't done yet.

Thousands protested for a $15 minimum wage last week.

Getting local elected leaders to sign off on such an increase, which will be phased in between now and 2020, was not easy. It took months of back-and-forth with members of the City Council and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti to get it done. But the 14-1 vote in favor of the raise shows the measure had broad support.

It also shows, as the New York Times wrote in an editorial, how badly needed it is:

Workers’ share of the economic pie has been shrinking for decades, as the gains from labor productivity have flowed increasingly to profits rather than pay. A result has been an economy that is less resilient and more unequal. Low-wage workers who have been demonstrating for higher pay are leading politicians where they need to go, and the real leaders among those politicians are following the workers.

More efforts like this are essential because income inequality is a growing problem is this country. A report released late last year by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that wealth inequality has soared in the last three decades, with the top 0.1 percent share of wealth growing from seven percent in 1978 to 22 percent in 2013.

A proven way to level the playing field is to join a union like the Teamsters. The labor movement takes a stand for increased wages, raising the standard of living for hardworking Americans, ensuring quality working conditions and better benefits for workers and their families. And the median union employee makes more than $200 a week more than a non-union one.

But that isn't possible for all workers. Which is why the efforts of workers, unions and community groups in cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle -- which all have approved plans to increase their minimum wages to $15 -- are so essential.

The campaigns may not ultimately be the same in other places. But they will still result in more pay for low-wage workers. As reported in the Washington Post:

Supporters in other cities and states know that a $15 minimum wage just won’t fly. Some have much lower wage levels already, like Kansas City, where activists are pushing a new $13 minimum wage. Some boosted their minimums recently and don’t have an appetite for more. Still, activists are exploring other options.

The push for a living wage is alive and well. It's time for more elected officials -- including those in Congress -- to join the party.

Today's Teamster News 04.02.15

Trade
Australia should fix trade deal investor protection  Financial review   ...Two weeks ago an international arbitration panel awarded a US company compensation for the way its quarry project in Canada was "unfairly" rejected on environmental and planning grounds...  
In Press Call, Progressives Announce Anti-Fast Track Activities Nationwide  Public Citizen   ...Hundreds of progressive organizations are engaged nationwide in two action-packed weeks of rallies, press events, briefings, bird-dogging events, phone banks,canvasses and more to build opposition against Fast Tracking the Trans-Pacific Partnership...
Blame Bad Trade For Hurting America's Steel Industry  Alternet   ...Sucker punched by massive, illegally subsidized imports, American steel producers laid off thousands of workers in bedrock communities from Ohio and Illinois to Texas and Alabama. That’s in just the past three months...
ISDS A Bigger Threat Than ISIS (opinion)  Wanganui Chronicle   ...The Investor-State Dispute Settlement. ISDS is a means whereby investors (read corporations) may sue a government for lost corporate profits due to regulatory barriers of the defendant country. Regulatory barriers like environmental protections, health and safety rules, generic pharmaceuticals. ISDS is part of the invasive TPPA (TransPacific Partnership Agreement), a trade agreement written to benefit multinational corporations....
Cambodian Child Labor Laws Flouted With Fake IDs  The Guardian   ...“For many children in Cambodia, the child protection situation is dire,” says Unicef’s chief of communication...
State Battles
Seattle Minimum Wage Up To $11 For Most Wednesday  KING   ...Seattle's minimum wage is increasing to $11 for most businesses on Wednesday. It's the start of a phased increase to $15 per hour over the next several years...
City Council Pushes To Raise Minimum Wage  WDAF   ...The Kansas City council will consider an ordinance to raise minimum wage within the city to $15 an hour. Mayor Sly James talked about the ordinance during his state of the city address. The ordinance would begin raising the minimum wage within the city to $10 by September and then up to $15 by 2021...
Perez And Garcetti Take Aim At Wage Theft, Minimum Wage  Los Angeles Times   ...On Tuesday, Los Angeles County supervisors voted 5 to 0 to study the possible effects of boosting wage floors at the county level. City leaders in Los Angeles are considering an increase in the minimum wage to $13.25 or $15.25 an hour from the state minimum of $9 an hour...
Oil Trains To Pay More In State Fees  Albany Times Union   ...The state will collect millions of dollars more from companies that ship oil from the Midwest in massive trains that pass through the Capital Region and other parts of the state under language contained in the state budget hammered out by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and lawmakers...
BNSF Implements New Safety Rules For Oil Trains  Flathead Beacon   ...In an effort to safely move massive oil trains from North Dakota’s Bakken oil fields, BNSF Railway has told shippers that it is implementing its own rules to try and prevent explosive derailments and accidental spills...
War on Workers
Student Debt Strikers Grow in Number and in Power  truthout   ...Just over a month ago, Waging Nonviolence reported that 15 former students of Corinthian Colleges — the beleaguered, notorious for-profit higher education system — were going on strike; not from their jobs, or from class, but from their debt. Today, there are over 100 debt strikers...
McDonald’s to Raise Pay at Outlets It Operates  New York Times   ...McDonald's announced on Wednesday that it would raise wages and offer new benefits to 90,000 employees in he 1,500 outlets in the United States that it owns and operates, responding to competitive pressure from a tighter job market and to labor campaigns drawing public attention to its pay policies...
Republicans Take Aim At Union ‘Official Time’ For Federal Employees  Washington Post   ...House and Senate Republicans have introduced bills to bar federal employees from performing union work on the government’s dime, a practice that has been allowed since 1978 under the Civil Service Reform Act...
Worker Killed In Fall At Site  New Braunfels Herald Zeitung   ...A San Antonio construction worker died as a result of an accident he had while working Tuesday in New Braunfels, a New Braunfels Police Department spokesman said. Authorities said Victor Echartea-Medina, 41, fell from about four stories up before being rushed in an ambulance to Resolute Health Hospital in town. The man died from his injuries...
Miscellaneous
DOJ Inspector General: ATF, FBI's Drones Worthless, Expensive And Completely Mismanaged  Techdirt   ...$3 million spent on drones, with only half currently considered "operational." In eight years (2006-2014), the drones have only been deployed to assist in 13 investigations, with nine of those occurring in the last four years. This may be good news for those concerned about extensive domestic surveillance, but it's not good news for those interested in how their tax dollars are being spent...

Today's Teamster News 04.10.14

Teamster News
Teamsters Reach Settlement With UPS Over Fired Local 804 Members  teamster.org   ...The parties have come to a settlement regarding the termination of 250 Local 804 members that occurred after a job action that took place in February...
After protests, Teamsters take over an art fair  Crain's New York Business   ...After facing protests last year, the Randall's Island art fair has agreed to employ Teamsters and theater union members to set up tents and temporary galleries for the show that begins May 9...
Frieze New York, Unions Reach Agreement in Art Fair Labor Dispute  New York Observer   ... Frieze has agreed to incorporate partial union labor in the upcoming fair, running May 9 through 12 on Randall’s Island, and to only use union labor for the 2015 edition of the fair. “It was a great win,” said George Miranda, president of Teamsters Joint Council 16, who chaired the talks...
Milford Police Trade In Fraternal Order Of Police For Teamsters  The Milford Beacon   ...Officers in the Milford Police Department recently switched unions with just a few months before their three year labor contract with the city is set to expire...
Michigan Lawmakers Should Put Public First  Detroit News   ...Serving in the government is not always easy. There are myriad issues that the public wants solved and limited dollars to do so. There is partisan gridlock...
Trade
Japan, U.S. Fail To Move Closer Over TPP Before Obama Visit  The Japan Times   ...Japan and the United States failed Wednesday to move closer over outstanding issues in their bilateral talks related to a Pacific regional trade pact...
State Battles
Right-To-Work Fails To Get 82 Votes In House  The Missouri Times   ...Today the House failed to get the 82 required for the final passage of the controversial "right-to-work" legislation. The bill was perfected today by a vote of 78-68...
Outside Special Interests Lean on MO Legislators to Push ALEC’s Anti-Worker Agenda  Center for Media and Democracy   ...Last week, the Missouri House of Representatives passed a measure to put an anti-union "paycheck protection" measure...
War on Workers
Meet The 31 Corporations and Banks Who Dodged $128 Billion in US Taxes  PoliticusUSA   ...the 31 corporations and banks have dodged $128 billion in taxes by setting up offshore tax havens. They have received $6.5 billion in tax refunds, and $2.5 trillion in taxpayer bailout money...
University students will be repaying loans into their 50s, say researchers  Guardian   ...The majority of undergraduates now at university will be paying off their student loans well into their 40s and 50s, with three-quarters of them unable to clear the debt before it is written off after 30 years...
As Parents Struggle To Repay College Loans for Their Children, Taxpayers Also Stand To Lose  Truthout ...default rates, while still modest, have nearly tripled over the last four years. About five percent of loans originated in fiscal year 2010 were in default three years later. The default rate at for-profit colleges is much higher, at 13 percent....
Those Who Serve Tech Billionaires Lunch are Facing Eviction  Gawker   ...At Google, the people who spoon out gourmet lunches to the Mountain View struggle to feed themselves. At Tesla Motors, chariot-builders of the geek elite, working at the corporate cafeteria means you might not be able to afford your own home...
$772 Million Penalty for Bank of America Credit Card Practices  New York Times   ...Bank of America has been ordered to pay roughly $772 million in refunds to customers and fines to federal regulators to settle allegations that the bank used deceptive marketing and billing practices involving credit card products...
Bank of America to cut 3,000 overseas jobs  Associated Press   ...Bank of America says it's cutting about 3,000 jobs overseas as part of ongoing reviews of its global operations...
Miscellaneous
Report Finds a Los Angeles in Decline  New York Times   ...The Los Angeles 2020 Commission presented a catalog of failings that it said were a unique burden to the city: widespread poverty and job stagnation, huge municipal pension obligations, a struggling port and tourism industry and paralyzing traffic that would not be eased even with a continuing multibillion-dollar mass transit initiative...

Today's Teamster News 03.27.11

Thousands march in downtown LA to support union workers  Los Angeles Daily News   ...and rallied in a show of support for union workers in Wisconsin and to rail against corporations, Republicans and the loss of city jobs...
March for the Alternative sends a noisy message to the government  Guardian   ...Central London was brought to a standstill on Saturday as more than a quarter of a million people took to the streets in a protest against government spending cuts that was marred when a breakaway group of activists clashed with police...
Wisconsin union-gutting law took effect Saturday – or did it?  Christian Science Monitor   ...thousands of union supporters gathered in Madison...to protest – this time against Republicans publishing an anti-union law despite a restraining order. So, have unions officially lost collective bargaining power or not?
Kasich explores new tax break  Columbus Dispatch   ...Gov. John Kasich is considering a tax break for venture capitalists who invest their dollars in the state...
Michigan House, Senate should challenge Snyder on EITC (opinion)  Detroit Free Press   ...The poor will pay more, while higher-wage earners get a break...
Don't elect a criminal to be governor  The Washington Monthly   ...(Gov.) Rick Scott's push to privatize Medicaid in Florida is highly controversial...because...(his) health care business ... could reap a major profit if the legislation becomes law...

WI thanks LA

As the half-mile march converged on Pershing Square in Los Angeles, Teamsters kept order among the crowd. Just then we received this message from @Spudlovr in Wisconsin:

thanks LA for support! The power of the people is stronger than the people in power.

Jim Hoffa has taken the stage, and led thousands in the chant, "Hell no, we won't go."

They've introduced right to work in 13 states but we are energized. This is a wake-up call because it might be a teacher in Wisconsin, they might think we are next, but hell no we won't go. We saw Ohio and Wisconsin, but today they saw the great face of America.

Joe Fernandez, a steward for Local 63 at UPS Freight in Commerce, Calif., said he was at the rally to send the millionaires a message.

I'm here to support all working-class people and all the unions that represent them. My message to the rich is: "If we are making you wealthy, you need to share the wealth with the workers who are making you wealthy. I don't want to see more of a part-time America where people work two or three jobs with no benefits."

@DoubleQue tweets:

LAUSD teachers out here fighting for their jobs!! LIUNA..Teamsters..Firefighters..SEIU..UFCW..CWA..STUDENTS!! #iloveUNIONS 

Meanwhile, across the continent, protesters rallied against Bank of America. USUncut, a grassroots organization modeled after UKUncut (which rallied in London today), explains:

Bank of America received $45 billion in government bailout funds while funneling its books into 115 offshore tax havens....By transferring profits out of the country, Bank of America has shown negative income tax rates since 2008, meaning they do not pay any taxes at all. Not only have they not paid any tax, they’ve gotten tax REFUNDS 3 years in a row.

Washington’s proposed budget for the coming year sends a clear message: The wrath of budget cuts will fall upon the shoulders of hard-working Americans. But there IS an alternative: Make corporate tax avoiders pay.

Teamsters take over Pershing Square

@l_mentary tweets: ! Teamsters have taken over Pershing Square!

There are still plenty of marchers at JP Morgan/Chase. SEIU is leading the action against the too-big-to-fail bank, which laid off janitors who apparently weren't too big too fail.

@edpadgett tweets:

At 9th and Hope. Everyone chanting Hoffa and Teamsters.

Tens of thousands of union brothers and sisters had stopped at armored car company Loomis, where Teamsters are fighting to join other Teamsters.

The marchers came from Ralphs, a grocery chain. UFCW led chants for the company to agree to a contract with employees.

Teamsters march down Figueroa.

We're seeing tweets from supportive Angelenos watching from their buildings, such as this one from @iAMCripe:

Teamsters rally outside our window. Supportive but oh so #hungover.

At the end of the march, @LALabor tells us Tom Morello: the Nightwatchman to play "Union Song." (You may remember Morello, whose mother was a school teacher, played in Madison, Wisc., for the protesters there.) The hip hop group Ozomatli will also perform.

Port of Seattle Clean Truck rules take effect...

...but in L.A., trucking companies are making an end-run around stricter clean air rules.

First, about Seattle: Local authorities are trying to reduce pollution from all kinds of maritime operations. Portworld reports that as of Jan. 1, trucks

...must have model-year 1994 or newer engines, and that all trucks must be registered in the Port's Drayage Truck Registry and display the Green Gateway sticker on the driver's side door.

More than 4,000 trucks and nearly 800 trucking companies are registered at the Port of Seattle, Portworld reports.

Los Angeles has had a Clean Trucks program in place since 2008, and things haven't exactly gone smoothly. L.A. recognized that the independent contractors who drive dirty old trucks ("sweatshops on wheels") can't afford to buy new ones. So the Port of L.A. required trucking companies to employ the drivers and take financial responsibility for the trucks. The trucking industry challenged the regulation and now it's tied up in the courts. Drivers are still independent contractors, but they're supposed to buy and maintain the pricey new trucks.

Neon Tommy, a digital newspaper, reported

...truck companies skirt Clean Truck Program rules by sending new trucks to pick up cargo at the port, while their older trucks haul the loads through nearby neighborhoods and along L.A. freeways...

Last month, the California Air Resources Board voted to ban the clean-to-dirty swaps. The new regulation could take effect this summer.