Wage hikes are latest sign workers are winning

The movement to raise the minimum wage paid off for workers Jan. 1 in 14 states and numerous cities across the nation. And it is a testament to the thousands of everyday Americans who took to the streets and demanded a higher salary floor in living wage protests across the country.

Workers across the nation have rallied for higher wages.

As a result, workers from Alaska to West Virginia will see a little extra in their paychecks starting this month. The largest gains are in California and Massachusetts, which are bumping the minimum wage up $1, to $10 an hour. It will help families keep food on the table as well as the economic buying power of the entire nation.

As an article in The Atlantic stated:

Efforts to raise the minimum wage paid off in 2015, and as the movement has gained momentum—the current target for many activists and some economists is $15 an hour—the debate over whether raising minimum wage is a good idea will likely become even more heated in 2016. 

On the side for raising minimum wage, labor activists argue that the current minimum wage is not enough to live on. There’s also the argument that raising it might also be beneficial for closing the gender wage gap, as women are more likely to hold minimum-wage jobs.

One instance of government listening to the people and going further on the issue is in New York, where Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a plan to raise the minimum wage for state university workers to $15 an hour. The increase will effect some 28,000 workers and is designed to include students who use work-study jobs to cover their college costs.

But clearly, more needs to be done. It is beyond unlikely that Congress will take action to raise the federal minimum wage this year. But where action can be taken on the local, state and federal front, it must happen. Hard-working Americans deserve to earn a wage that lets them live a simple but sustainable life.

Firefighters in Webster, Mass. join Teamsters

A unit of firefighters in Webster, Mass. has joined Teamsters Local 170 in Worcester.

Ed Sterczala was the driving force behind the 41 part-time firefighers joining the union. He had previously been a member of Local 170 so he knew of the strong representation they could provide.

Sterczala told Teamster.org:

“We’re not looking to make a ton of money; we just want a fair wage and a fair contract,” said Sterczala, who has worked as a firefighter for 10 years.

Also from the Teamster.org story:

They put their own lives at risk to protect the citizens of Webster, Mass. Now, the 41 part-time firefighters with the Webster Fire Department have their own protection—Teamster representation.

The firefighters recently voted to join Local 170 in Worcester, Mass., after years of difficulty in gaining a contract and recognition from their employer. They previously had an association that they disbanded when they decided to join the Teamsters.

Webster, like other towns in Massachusetts, employs part-time, on-call firefighters.

“Most of the issues are around representation. They needed a strong union to secure their benefits, wages and a legally binding contract which we will enforce,” said Mike Hogan, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 170.

“These brave workers knew that when they needed someone to represent them, the right choice was Teamsters Local 170. I am very happy to welcome them into our Teamster family,” said Paul Stuart, an organizer with the Teamsters.

 

Solidarity license plates in MA

What an awesome idea! If you live in Massachusetts (and that, of course, presumes you drive like a maniac) you can order Collective Bargaining Solidarity tags like the one above. Click here for an application.

Props to the Pro-Labor Alliance for spreading the word. They have a cool Facebook page, so you may want to throw a "like" their way (and check out the Scott Walker "Wanted" poster).

Teamsters storm CertainTeed in solidarity with striking workers

We're following Local 25's rally in Norwood, Mass., where hundreds of Teamsters from New England converged this afternoon to rally for 90 striking brothers and sisters. Local 25's truck rolled in, and as we all know, nothing says "union" like a Teamster truck.

U.S. Rep. Steve Lynch, a former ironworker, joined the crowd and told the Teamsters to fight for what they believe in. The Massachusetts AFL-CIO pledged its support. And Local 25 President Sean O'Brien told the CertainTeed workers they will have health care until the end of the strike, no matter how long it lasts.

Rep. Lynch and President O'Brien

Solidarity. It's a beautiful thing.

Here's a recent story from Wicked Local Norwood about the dispute:

“No one wants to strike in this economy, especially during the holiday season, but CertainTeed gave us no choice,” Teamsters Local 25 President and Principal Officer Sean O’Brien said on.

“The company has become the epitome of greed, treating its workforce unfairly without regard for health and welfare and job security. Our members have been here day in and day out to send a message to CertainTeed, and we’ll continue into the new year if that is what it takes to get CertainTeed to return to the negotiating table.”

Ninety members of Teamsters Local 25 are employed at CertainTeed, and were in the process of negotiating a contract with the company, as their contract expired on Monday, Dec. 19 at 12:01 a.m.

The main point of disagreement was over employee health insurance. O’Brien said CertainTeed offered union employees a $1,000 bonus to offset worker’s health insurance, an offer he compared to “getting coal in your stocking.”

@Teamsters25 is doing a great job live-tweeting the action. Here's how it's done: 

Hundreds of members already at CertainTeed for rally #norwood #teamster #mapoli #maunion

Cong Lynch tells #Teamsters to keep fighting for what they believe in #maunion

MA AFL-CIO pledges full support to #Teamsters Local 25 ag CertainTeed #maunion #mapoli

Today's Teamster News 12.08.11

Inmate labor returns  KTUL   ..."$60 a month is still very cheap labor," said Pam Polk, Collinsville's (Okla.) city manager, who is looking forward to the productivity. "The inmate work program really helps us get some of the bigger projects done," she said...
The House passes “Let’s make it even worse Act”  firedoglake   ...Not satisfied merely doing nothing to create jobs while violating many of their claimed morality laws ... the GOP-led House of Representatives passed the following yesterday:  A bill that would give the controlling party of either chamber of Congress veto power over any major new regulation...
Ind. Gov. Daniels says state found untouched $300M  Associated Press   ...Indiana Democrats called for investigations into how an administration sometimes held up by Republicans as a model for the rest of the U.S. could misplace so much money...
Poll: Elizabeth Warren soars 7 up over Scott Brown  Boston Herald   ...The new poll results are bound to send more shockwaves across the country, where Democrats and Republicans are closely watching to see whether the Harvard Law professor can knock off one of the GOP’s rising stars...
What Government Aid?  Baseline Scenario   ...the way our government currently distributes goodies makes it possible for people to think that they are paragons of individual self-reliance while still being enormous beneficiaries of other people’s tax dollars. That explains a lot about politics today...
Deutsche Bank CEO target of suspicious envelope: police  Reuters   ...a senior U.S. law enforcement official said it contained explosives...Ackermann is the face of capitalism in Germany and is one of the few senior managers in the country who is always surrounded by bodyguards...  

Today's Teamster News 10.01.11

'Occupy Wall Street' Protests Spread Across Country  ABC News   ...The Occupy Wall Street movement, growing to more than 1,500 people in its second week, called for a march in lower Manhattan today at 3 p.m. to “show that it is time that the 99% are heard..."
24 Arrested As Protesters Pack Financial District  WCVB   ...Take Back Boston lead hundreds of people marching from Boston Common to the Financial District...the protesters gathered at both entrances to the Bank of America building shouting "We got sold out." The crowd included dozens of families facing foreclosure ... Some 24 protesters were arrested taken from the building in plastic handcuffs as the crowd cheered them on...
Lawyers fought corruption, then lost their jobs  Orlando Sentinel   ...When last we checked on Attorney General Pam Bondi, she was being investigated for forcing out two of her top-producing investigators, and legislators had asked her to produce records to justify her actions...
Scores of Wis. school unions to try to recertify  Associated Press   ...More than 200 school unions in Wisconsin have met the deadline to seek recertification, but it's unclear how many let it pass and gave up the little bargaining powers they had left under a contentious new law...
Michigan Emergency Powers Challenge by Pension Boards Dismissed by Judge  Bloomberg News   ...A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit seeking to overturn a Michigan statute giving emergency powers to state-appointed financial managers, saying the law wasn’t ready for a legal challenge...
Fake Police Officer Endorses Issue 2  Plunderbund   ...If you watch WeAreOhio‘s ads or check out their YouTube channel or talk to any of their supporters you’ll see real fire fighters and real police officers and real teachers talking about the negative impacts of SB5/Issue 2. Better Ohio? Not so much...

Today's Teamster News 05.27.11

State Senate limits collective bargaining rights; approves $30.5b budget  Boston Globe   ...The Massachusetts Senate voted tonight to curb the collective bargaining rights of police officers, teachers, and other municipal employees, making it likely the overwhelming Democratic state will limit union power in an effort to ease budget woes...
Judge Voids Wisconsin Law Curbing Unions  New York Times  ...Some Democrats could flee the state again, and some Republican senators are facing recall elections...
Ohio schools cut jobs anticipating funding cuts  Associated Press   ...Ohio school districts already are cutting thousands of jobs in anticipation of losing funding in the upcoming state budget, as unions and other education groups lobby hard at the Statehouse to get some of it restored...
Collective bargaining bill revived for June 2 hearing  Portland Daily Sun  ...A Thursday, June 2 public hearing on a controversial "right-to-work" bill in Augusta could be a prelude to quick passage of a piece of Maine legislation that critics say is similar to what happened with collective bargaining rights in Wisconsin...
Bully House speaker shows his true colors  Seacoast Online   ... O'Brien retreated to wait for a time when the numbers in the House chamber are stacked in his favor. He and his leadership team are literally going to wait until enough Democrats or anti-Right to Work Republicans are away and then, when they think they have the numbers, they'll call the vote...
Massive corporate tax cut becomes law in Michigan  The American Independent   ...Gov. Rick Snyder has signed legislation which eliminates the state’s Michigan Business Tax and Surcharge, replacing it with a six percent tax on businesses...

Today's Teamster News 05.03.11

Return of Union-Busting: Wisconsin Republicans May Vote Again  firedoglake   ...Scott Walker’s team must be getting worried about their legal strategy in the case of the anti-union bill. Because now, there’s open talk about going back to the drawing board...
Budget changes add new union language  Associated Press   ...House Republican lawmakers in Ohio have inserted changes to their state budget proposal that nearly match provisions affecting teachers' pay already a part of a contentious new collective bargaining law...
Budget negotiators tuck union dues issue into budget deal   St. Petersburg Times   ...budget negotiators tonight have agreed to include a provision in the budget that paves the way for a ban on union dues for several state worker unions...
Scott's unpopularity worries some in GOP, but not him  Tampabay Online   ...A March 29 Public Policy Polling survey showed a 55 percent majority disapproval, and Scott was booed when he threw first pitches at ball games in Tampa and St. Petersburg...
Divided panel advances amended DeCoster bill eliminating workers' right to unionize  Sun Journal   ...the Legislature's Labor Committee backed an amended bill Friday that would eliminate workers' right to unionize at the DeCoster-owned Quality Egg farm in Turner...
Rock star joins labor movement  Politico   ...What we saw in Madison, what we’re seeing across the Midwest, I hope is a resurgence of a vital and vibrant working class movement that is not going to be beholden to either corporate or governmental interests...
Patrick pledges Massachusetts will not follow Wisconsin's lead on collective bargaining  WisPolitics.com   ...“It’s not happening on my watch,”...

Today's Teamster News 05.02.11

Remembering the Struggles of Labor on May Day  Buzzflash   ...The first May Day demonstrations, in 1886, won the most important of the rights ever won by working people ­ the right demanded above all others by the labor activists of a century ago...
Unions reel as budget crisis, ebbing clout collide  Boston Globe   ...Though still considered among the strongest in the country, union clout in Massachusetts has been waning for years, sapped by declining membership, a well-financed group of business-backed think tanks, weaker government finances, and Beacon Hill Democrats trying to cast themselves as reformers by showing they are not beholden to traditional interests...
Snyder recall bid clears a hurdle, but next one 'tough'  The Detroit News   ..."It's going to be pretty tough," Michigan Citizens United spokesman Tim Kramer (a Teamster) said of his group's bid to collect 1.1 million signatures of registered voters to have about 807,000 that withstand scrutiny...
Hundreds Protest Snyder's Visit to Ann Arbor  Dexter Patch   ...Chants of “Recall Rick!” and “It’s not fair!” filled the air Saturday as a broad coalition of students, parents, families and unions gathered at Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor...
Scott’s corporate tax cut dead, state Senate leader declares  Miami Herald   ...
Cutting spending is the state’s first priority, not cutting the corporate tax rate, the Senate’s Republican president said as the Legislature grapples with closing a $4 billion budget gap...
Dems rally public workers to push Brown's agenda  San Francisco Chronicle   ...While Democrats dominate California's political landscape and hold all its major offices, both political leaders and the labor unions that put them in power are sounding the alarm about anti-union initiatives that are creeping into the state and efforts to "demonize" union workers as the source of the California's knee-buckling economic problems...

Today's Teamster News 04.30.11

Plan to Protect 25,000 YRCW Freight Jobs Clears Important Financial Hurdle
IBT   ...The Teamsters National Freight Industry Negotiating Committee (TNFINC), along with lenders and the Teamster multi-employer pension funds, has entered into definitive agreements to move forward with the planned restructuring of YRCW...
Walker plan brings warning from USDA  Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel   ...Gov. Scott Walker's proposal to privatize work determining who is eligible for food assistance in the state would violate federal law and could expose the state to a loss of more than $20 million in federal money, federal officials say...
Republican Budget Booed, Jeered by Angry Voters   ShortNews.com   ...Republican Congressman Paul Ryan was jeered and booed by angry voters as he tried to explain the GOP budget of which he is the architect...
Petitions out to repeal SB 5  Record Herald   ...The grassroots coalition, "We Are Ohio," is in the midst of gathering thousands of signatures across the state, including here locally, in an attempt to repeal Senate Bill 5...
boeing
Defending Boeing, Pam Bondi Stands Up for Right to Work  Sunshine State News   ...State Attorney General Pam Bondi joined eight Republican attorneys general from other states Thursday to oppose a National Labor Relations Board complaint launched last week against the Boeing Co...
Union dues bill rears its head as amendment  Miami Herald   ...A bill to ban public employee unions from using payroll deduction to collect their dues was considered all but dead on Wednesday when Senate leaders couldn’t get the votes to pass it...
Benton Harbor is the new Selma  Michigan Messenger   ...Hundreds of people gathered in Benton Harbor yesterday to protest the Emergency Manager law that has stripped power from the local government...
Michigan House passes business tax cut, levy on pensions  Detroit News   ...A massive tax reform package granting nearly $1.8 billion in business tax breaks ... passed Thursday in the state House, but ...it faces tough scrutiny in the upper chamber...
Brewer vetoes privatization bill for city services  Arizona Capital Times   ...Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed a bill that would have forced Arizona’s two largest cities to bid out expensive municipal services...
Brewer vetoes bill to cap state spending  Arizona Capital Times   ...By vetoing a bill that would have placed strict limits on how quickly government spending could increase, Gov. Jan Brewer has drawn the ire of conservative tax policy advocates...
Is Massachusetts the next Wisconsin  Washington Post   ...Unions are outraged; conservatives are cheering, but they agree: like Wisconsin, this blue state has launched an assault on unionized public employees. Democrats in the state say they’re both wrong...

Today's Teamster News 04.27.11

NLRB will sue Ariz., SD over union laws  Associated Press   ...it will move ahead with lawsuits against Arizona and South Dakota over state constitutional amendments that require secret ballot elections to form unions...
With Lockout Lifted for Now, Questions on How to Proceed  New York Times  ...the N.F.L. was stuck in a state of confusion Tuesday, one day after an injunction to stop the six-week-long lockout was issued...
At least 9 Wisconsin state senators face recall  Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel   ...In all, three Democrats, and possibly four, have now escaped having signatures filed, and at least three campaigns are still active - against two Republicans and a Democrat...
House votes to restrict unions  Boston Globe   ...the push in Massachusetts was led by Democrats who have traditionally stood with labor to oppose any reduction in workers’ rights...
EFM Harris may use authority to terminate Benton Harbor union contracts  WNDU.com   ...EMF Joe Harris said Monday that it is "conceivable" that he will end contracts with union workers...
Ohio GOP lawmakers plan changes to Gov. John Kasich's education budget  Plain Dealer   ...Battered by angry crowds at suburban school district meetings in recent days, House Republican lawmakers will offer up changes Thursday limiting the budgetary pain inflicted on schools by Gov. John Kasich's budget proposal...
Rick Scott's Major Failure: Legislature Won't Eliminate Corporate Income Tax  New Times   ...Florida is undergoing a radical conservative transformation under Gov. Rick Scott, but one of his top proposals seems to be a bridge too far and too soon even for the Republican supermajorities in the state House and Senate...

MA job fair cancelled due to lack of jobs

Corporate profits up. Jobs down.

A jobs task force in Taunton, Mass., has held an annual job fair since 1984.

Not this year. There aren't enough jobs.

According to the Associated Press,

Richard Shafer, chairman of the Taunton Employment Task Force, says 20 to 25 employers are needed for the fair scheduled for April 6, but just 10 tables had been reserved. One table was reserved by a nonprofit that offers human services to job seekers, and three by temporary employment agencies.

Shafer tells the Taunton Daily Gazette the lack of employers means the task force won't have enough money to properly advertise the fair.

We have a message for these pinhead governors (for example, Scott in Wisconsin, LePage in Maine, Kasich in Ohio) whose goal is to raise profits for their corporate supporters. It's simple: More profitable corporations don't create more jobs.

Well, maybe they do. But they don't create them in Taunton, Mass., or anywhere else in America.