TEAMSTERS
Teamsters Across the United States Join Worker Campaigns for Justice Teamster.org ...Teamsters across the United States participated in actions today to support workers who are waging courageous battles for fair wages, decent benefits and improved working conditions. Nationally, workers from different industries and occupations walked off the job in 270 cities and rallied outside city halls in support of the “Fight for $15” movement. Teamsters at scores of locations handed out leaflets near FedEx Freight terminals...
Hoffa: TPP a punch to the gut of U.S. workers The Detroit News ...The much-awaited text of the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) was finally released for public consumption last week. But sunshine and scrutiny of the pact isn’t making the deal look any brighter for workers in Michigan or around the country. As the Teamsters and others long suspected, the TPP text contains many of the most controversial items included in past lousy trade agreements...
Teamsters Applaud Senate Motion to Keep Double 33-Foot Trailers Off the Road Teamster.org ...The Senate today scored a victory for highway safety by passing a motion by a 56-31 margin which instructs Senate negotiators of a long-term highway bill to oppose any federal mandate that would force states to allow an increase in length of tractor trailers at this time. “On behalf of our more than 700,000 members who turn a key for a living I would like to thank the 56 senators that took a stand today for highway safety,” said Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa...
Allstate Power Vac Workers Join Teamsters Teamster.org ...On Monday, November 9, employees at Allstate Power Vac, Inc. in New York City voted by an overwhelming margin of nearly 98 percent to join Teamsters Local 813 in an election supervised by the National Labor Relations Board. The 61 environmental waste removal workers are looking forward to improving their working conditions, including gaining fairness and respect from their employer...
Teamsters claim victory in push to unionize city’s private carting industry Capital New York ...The Teamsters have notched their first official New York City win in an ongoing battle to unionize the city's private carting and waste management industry. Employees at Allstate Power Vac, a New Jersey-based company with a shop in Brooklyn, voted by a 98-percent margin to join Teamsters Local 813 after complaints of low wages, lack of benefits and poor treatment, union officials said...
Teamsters Shine Light On Veterans' Health Care, Protest High Costs To Workers Morning Star ...On Wed., Nov. 11, Teamsters will protest outside Florida VA hospitals in the afternoon on behalf of McKesson distribution workers in Lakeland, Fla., including Army veteran Claude Hickerson, who cannot afford health coverage for his family. McKesson has been the prime vendor for the VA since 2004, bringing in about $4 billion a year. "America's veterans should not have to struggle for health care," said Ken Wood, Teamsters International Vice President and President of Teamsters Local 79, and a veteran...
Voting Underway for EVSC Teamsters Contract Talks TriState Homepage ...Teamsters president Chuck Whobrey says four of five employee groups have voted on the contract. No word on how the votes are falling. There is still one more group to go -- that will take place Thursday. Nearly 680 EVSC employees -- represented by Teamsters-- have been without a contract since June 30th...
Kentucky EMS workers renew push for line of duty death benefits WDRB ...Emergency Medical Technician Arthur Cash, with members of Teamsters Local Union No. 783, are pushing to change that with a bill in Frankfort -- currently known as BR 91. “This will cover every EMT who works for a government or non-profit agency. Also, rescue squad members,” said Arthur Cash, Chief Steward for Teamsters Local Union No. 783...
Crow Wing County Board: Board withdraws from CMCC, approves probation integration Brainerd Dispatch ...A probation partnership spanning more than four decades will soon come to an end. The Crow Wing County Board Tuesday unanimously voted to withdraw from Central Minnesota Community Corrections. Erik Skoog, business agent with the Teamsters Local No. 320, interrupted and began addressing the board. The Local No. 320 represent CMCC probation officers along with all employees in community services except management...
GLOBAL LABOR & TRADE
Striking Greeks take to tension-filled streets in austerity protest Reuters ...Striking Greeks took to the streets on Thursday to protest austerity measures, setting Alexis Tsipras' government its biggest domestic challenge since he was re-elected in September promising to cushion the impact of economic hardship. Flights were grounded, hospitals ran on skeleton staff, ships were docked at port and public offices stayed shut across the country...
Quebec's Strike Wave Rolls Toward a Showdown Truthout ...Workers in the Canadian province of Quebec are mobilizing the largest struggle against austerity in North America. Public-sector workers across Quebec have hit the picket lines for a wave of strikes to defend jobs, wages, working conditions and public services. In the first round of rotating regional strikes from October 26-29, more than 400,000 unionists organized in the Common Front shut down schools, hospitals and government offices...
Pacific trade deal could limit affordable drugs Malaysian Insider ...A massive trade pact between 12 Pacific rim countries could limit the availability of affordable medicines, the head of the World Health Organisation said Thursday, joining a heated debate on the impact of the deal. Margaret Chan told a conference there were "some very serious concerns" about the Trans-Pacific Partnership...
Why Obama says TPP is historic for workers — and why US labor unions hate it Vox ...The Obama administration is crowing about the labor protections in the Trans-Pacific Partnership — the full text of which were finally released last week. But skeptics aren't convinced. First, they say, the labor protections are similar to those in previous trade agreements, rather than truly game changing. And second, they argue that though the commitments sound nice on paper, they may not make much of a difference in the real world...
Currency manipulation plan gets key endorsement The Hill ...A currency manipulation plan connected to a far-reaching Pacific Rim trade pact received a key endorsement from the architects of a widely cited proposal to crack down on the practice. Critics of the currency provisions argue that while the side agreement requires more data from countries such as Malaysia, the deal won't force violating nations to change policies they have already agreed to follow...
US farm lobby group campaigning against the Trans Pacific Partnership ABC ...One of the largest farm groups in the United States is stepping up its campaign against the Trans Pacific Partnership. The 12-country deal seeks to make it cheaper, and easier, to trade throughout the Pacific rim. But the National Farmers' Union fears currency manipulation threatens to wipe out all the gains the deal might make...
How the secret TTIP trade deal could enable companies to sue countries The Conversation ...One of the most controversial elements of TPP is the “investor-state dispute settlement” clause (or ISDS) – and the inclusion of intellectual property under its remit. Should a similar clause be included in the TTIP, companies could use it within the EU to usurp the will of both national and EU courts. And this could be very costly indeed...
Portugal Rejoices as Anti-Austerity Left Coalition Forms to Oust Right Wing Common Dreams ...In a surprising development for Europe's anti-austerity movement, Portugal's three reigning leftist parties on Tuesday formed an unexpected coalition to oust the country's center-right government from power and end years of punishing cuts and economic hardship. The moderate Socialist Party forged what is being called "an unprecedented alliance"...
STATE & LIVING WAGE BATTLES
Cuomo to Raise Minimum Wage to $15 for All New York State Employees New York Times ...Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced on Tuesday that he would unilaterally establish a $15 minimum wage for all state workers, making New York the first state to set such a high wage for its public employees. The increase will place the pay of New York’s state employees far ahead of the current minimum wage in other states, and positions Mr. Cuomo at the vanguard of a national movement to address stagnant pay...
Almost Half of All American Workers Make Less Than $15 an Hour The Nation ...We’ve come a long way since that crisp November day three years ago when a small group of New York City fast-food workers launched a strike with the slogan “Fast Food Forward.” Today, the movement continues its forward march with the viral hashtag #FightFor15. On November 10, workers in hundreds of cities again went on strike and rallied, this time with an especially militant overtone...
Virginia Is The First State In The Country To End Veteran Homelessness Think Progress ...On Veterans Day, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) and President Obama announced that the state is the first in the country to end veteran homelessness. That means that every veteran who wants housing has been offered a place after the state says it has helped more than 1,400 veterans get into permanent housing in the last year...
ALEC's Fingerprints on Harsh New North Carolina Immigration Law Truthout ...At the end of October, North Carolina joined the ranks of states with harsh immigration policies when Gov. Pat McCrory (R) signed into law HB 318. North Carolina's law was passed amidst a conservative backlash against community trust initiatives nationwide sparked by this summer's murder of Kathryn Steinle in San Francisco. But language in North Carolina's sanctuary city ban predates Steinle's death: It comes from a model bill, titled "No Sanctuary Cities for Illegal Immigrants," crafted in 2009 by the American Legislative Exchange Council...
City of Pittsburgh workers' minimum wage going up to $15 WTAE ...Mayor Bill Peduto issued an executive order Tuesday raising all city employees' minimum wage to $15 an hour by the year 2021, a move that comes as a handful of large U.S. cities have enacted or moved toward a $15 minimum wage. Peduto's order doesn't raise the minimum wage of non-city employees who work in Pittsburgh, though it does call for City Council to draft legislation next year...
Donald Trump thinks you make too much money Fusion ...Donald Trump kicked off the fourth GOP debate by boldly proclaiming that “wages [are] too high.” The comment went relatively unnoted by moderators as several other candidates proceeded to critique federal minimum wage policy. Yet, Trump’s position is far outside even Republican mainstream thinking on the topic...
Ben Carson Is As Wrong About Wage Hikes As He Was About the Pyramids The Nation ... Of course Dr. Ben Carson was wrong when he claimed in the fourth Republican presidential debate that “Every time we raise the minimum wage, the number of jobless people increases.” Minimum-wage hikes are not always associated with immediate spikes in employment; especially in recessionary moments. But PolitiFact notes that “[of the] five minimum wage hikes that occurred when a recovery was under way, joblessness declined four of those times”...
U.S. LABOR
Voting begins Thursday on UAW-Ford contract MLive ..The some 52,000 rank-and-file UAW workers at Ford Motor Co.'s U.S. facilities begin voting Thursday on a new, four-year contract agreement. Voting is expected to last through next week. Struck last Friday, the proposed agreement includes $9 billion in U.S. product commitments and 8,500 jobs created or retained...
Unions Push to Establish Bloc of Low-Wage Voters Wall Street Journal ...The Fight for $15 movement is seeking not just to influence Americans’ paychecks, but also the country’s upcoming elections. Fast-food workers and other supporters are protesting in many cities on Tuesday, demanding a $15 an hour minimum wage and the right to form a union without retaliation. The rallies are organized by the Service Employees International Union and other labor organizations...
Fast Food Strikes Hit Cities Throughout The Country Huffington Post ...Nearly three years after launching its first worker strike, the Fight for 15 was reaping the fruits of its labor on Tuesday. The union-backed campaign aimed at boosting the minimum wage held what organizers described as its largest mass demonstration yet, with fast-food and other service-sector workers taking part in strikes and protests in scores of cities around the country...
Fight For $15: Nationwide Protests Aim To Inject Minimum Wage Hikes Into Presidential Campaign IBTimes ...Protesters hit the streets Tuesday -- a full year before Election Day 2016 -- in a move designed to pressure presidential candidates to embrace the movement’s twin demands of $15 and union representation. The early-morning march in Brooklyn kicked off the latest round of nationwide demonstrations held by the so-called Fight for 15...
Bernie Sanders picks up his biggest union endorsement yet: U.S. postal workers are feeling the Bern Salon ...“Politics as usual has not worked. It’s time for a political revolution,” the president of the American Postal Workers’ Union declared when he announced the 200,000-member strong organization’s endorsement of Bernie Sanders. Sanders’ largest union endorsement yet is welcome news as a New York Times/CBS News released on Thursday shows rival Hillary Clinton maintaining her substantial national lead...
After Video of Calif. Police Breaking Up Teachers Union Meeting Goes Viral, School Apologizes In These Times ...In a video widely circulated on social media, Alameda County sheriff’s deputies can be seen interrupting a lunchtime union meeting held at San Lorenzo High on October 20 for local teachers in the midst of a contract bargaining dispute with their employer, the San Lorenzo Unified School District (SLUSD)...
County reaches tentative pact with AFSCME NC New Online ...A Lawrence County courthouse union has reached a tentative agreement with the county for a three-year contract. County administrator James Gagliano told the commissioners yesterday that the prospective contract is in the hands of the representative for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 2902. The bargaining unit includes 63 employees...
SOCIAL JUSTICE & OTHER NEWS
Wall Street is finally getting its comeuppance: Why new global regulations are a vital step in the right direction Salon ...Public outrage has gradually driven a more robust post-crisis response as we get further and further away from the event, an unusual and encouraging scenario. The latest action, from the global banking regulator known as the Financial Stability Board (FSB), would force the world’s 30 biggest banks to raise over $1 trillion in additional funds that can be used to absorb losses in a downturn...
Beyond Mizzou: Fight for Racial Justice Spreads to Campuses Nationwide Common Dreams ...Empowered by successful campus organizing at the University of Missouri, where protests over racial tensions culminated Monday in the resignation of University president Tim Wolfe, students and faculty at schools across the country are seizing their moment to amplify the call for racial justice...
Immigration advocates aren’t letting a court ruling on deportations get in their way Washington Post ...President Obama’s plan to shield millions of illegal immigrants from deportation may be in legal limbo, but that’s not stopping advocates for the undocumented, who are planning a new wave of events celebrating the initiative’s one-year anniversary. Even as a federal appeals court ruled this week against Obama’s program, advocates were stepping up their preparations and finalizing plans to hold vigils, news conferences and “naturalization workshops”...
Showing posts with label McKesson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label McKesson. Show all posts
Thursday, November 12, 2015
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Top CEOs' retirement equal to more than 40% of Americans
Retirement security is a top concern of everyday Americans. That's because they know all too well the consequences of it.
A new report details the wide gulf that exists in retirement savings. The document, released today by the Center for Effective Government and the Institute for Policy Studies, shows that 100 CEOs have as much in company retirement assets as the entire retirement savings of 41 percent of American families.
The average worth of the 100 largest CEO retirement accounts is about $49.3 million. David Novak of YUM Brands -- the parent company of Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC -- had the largest company-paid retirement package at $234 million.
Sarah Anderson, director of the Institute for Policy Studies' Global Economy Project, said the report details yet another symptom of the nation's growing income inequality problem:
That's unacceptable. That's why the Teamsters have been at the forefront of fighting excessive CEO compensation. The union pushed hard for the Securities Exchange Commission to institute the CEO pay ratio rule approved under Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation passed in 2010, and protested the pay and retirement package of McKesson CEO John Hammegren while the company provided substandard wages and health benefits to employees in Florida.
We also included retirement security as one of its planks in the Teamster's "Let's Get America Working" platform that sets out a path to improve the lives of workers across the country. Because if the U.S. is to succeed, all of those participating in the economy need to get a piece of the pie.
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| CEOs aren't facing retirement cuts like some workers. |
The average worth of the 100 largest CEO retirement accounts is about $49.3 million. David Novak of YUM Brands -- the parent company of Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC -- had the largest company-paid retirement package at $234 million.
Sarah Anderson, director of the Institute for Policy Studies' Global Economy Project, said the report details yet another symptom of the nation's growing income inequality problem:
The CEO-worker retirement divide has turned our country’s already extreme income divide into an even wider economic chasm. And what few realize is that the trends of expanding CEO pensions and increasing worker retirement insecurity are inextricably linked.The percentage of private sector workers covered by a defined benefit pension that guarantees monthly payments has dropped from 35 percent in the early 1990s to 18 percent last year. And nearly half of all U.S. workers had no access to any retirement plan at work.
That's unacceptable. That's why the Teamsters have been at the forefront of fighting excessive CEO compensation. The union pushed hard for the Securities Exchange Commission to institute the CEO pay ratio rule approved under Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation passed in 2010, and protested the pay and retirement package of McKesson CEO John Hammegren while the company provided substandard wages and health benefits to employees in Florida.
We also included retirement security as one of its planks in the Teamster's "Let's Get America Working" platform that sets out a path to improve the lives of workers across the country. Because if the U.S. is to succeed, all of those participating in the economy need to get a piece of the pie.
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
It's time for Congress to move on CEO pay reform
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| The Teamsters have taken a stand against excessive pay at McKesson. |
CEOs are paid more than 300 times the average worker. In good times or bad, CEOs are coming out on top. When companies struggle, workers bear the brunt – not so for all too many bosses who chase short-term unsustainable goals, inspired by exorbitant sums of cash, equity and perks. The direct effects are clear – lack of investment going back into companies for employees, research and development, destruction of morale and motivation for front-line workers and a dangerous always escalating expectation of compensation at the top. Long-term shareholders such as pension funds suffer as companies can't sustain growth, creating more risk and uncertainty for working families.
The Teamsters are taking corporations to task on these issues. In fact, the union is currently sponsoring a shareholder proposal at McKesson that would address the automatic accelerated vesting of equity awards for top executives in the event of a change of control. At the center of the controversy is the company's CEO John Hammergren, formerly listed as as the nation's highest paid chief executive.
Hammergren's compensation is especially egregious given that many employees earn wages so low they can't contribute in the company's health or retirement plans. As Teamsters General Secretary-Treasurer Ken Hall said:
McKesson should ensure that front-line employees can afford health care and a secure retirement before lavishing hundreds of millions in unearned compensation to a handful of highly paid executives. Guaranteeing windfall payouts to top executives on their way out the door does not benefit shareholders over the long term.The Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 recognized this problem and created a mandate for publicly traded companies to disclose the ratio of CEO pay to the median company employee’s pay. Such disclosure could provide shareholders crucial insight on risks related to their investment. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to date has not implemented a rule despite receiving wide-scale public feedback on their proposed rule.
It is now five years since the passing of Dodd-Frank. Despite various pronounced timelines from the SEC that always end up being pushed back, the U.S. still has no rule, no disclosure and no end in sight for the growing pay disparity at American companies. This rule and others regarding executive compensation remain the glaring loose end from the financial reforms that came about to address the issues which lead to Great Recession.
While this disclosure alone cannot resolve income inequality in our country, it can help identify a huge source of the problem and inform how we want to shape compensation in corporate America. We as a nation cannot afford to wait any longer and the SEC must play its part.
Today's Teamster News 07.14.15
Teamsters
McKesson Executive Compensation Under Fire, Again Teamster.org ...The country’s leading proxy voting advisor, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), recommends that McKesson shareholders vote for Item #7 on the company’s ballot -- a Teamster-sponsored shareholder proposal to address the automatic accelerated vesting of equity awards for top executives in the event of a change of control...
Teamsters Union Files Lawsuit Against Republic Airways Calling On Fair Contracts AvStop.com ...Teamsters Local 357 in Plainfield, Ind., filed a lawsuit against Republic Airways for unilaterally changing pilots’ working conditions regarding “open time” flying without first agreeing with the union about those changes. More than 2,200 Republic pilots are members of Local 357 and have been seeking a fair contract from the company since 2007...
Global Labor & Trade
Obama Urged To Toss Canada Out Of TPP Trade Talks Over Dairy Supply Management Huffington Post ...U.S. politicians are pressuring the Obama administration to leave Canada out of a major and controversial trade deal, if Canada doesn't agree to deregulate its dairy and poultry industries and open them up to foreign competition. Reuters news service cites “two sources” close to the issue as saying the U.S. may go forward with the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) without Canada...
New trade fight brews for Obama, Dems The Hill ...A new trade fight is brewing between the Obama administration and Democrats in Congress. Sen. Bob Menendez (N.J.) and other Democrats opposed to President Obama’s trade agenda are worried the State Department will upgrade Malaysia’s ranking in a human trafficking report to be released this week to ensure the country can be included in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal...
Canada Trade Minister Says Supply Management Won’t Kill TPP Deal Bloomberg ...“I am confident that at the end of the day Canada will be part of the TPP,” Fast said. “We have some market access issues left to resolve. They’re always the toughest ones that remain to the end. This is no different than any other negotiation.” Fast will join other negotiators and ministers in Hawaii later this month as TPP talks reach the final stage. The 12 countries involved are entering “the end-game in these negotiations”...
US lawmakers, activists alarmed at upgrade in Malaysia’s human trafficking rating Malaysia Insider ...The New York Times (NYT) newspaper and Huffington Post website reported that US Senator Robert Menendez will call for an investigation if the US government upgrades Malaysia’s rating. A Reuters report on July 8 quoted sources as saying that the US government was upgrading Malaysia’s status, thus paving the way for it to sign on to the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA)...
Has US desire for Asia trade deal trumped slavery with Malaysia's ranking? Christian Science Monitor ...President Obama says he wants the United States at the forefront of efforts to end the global scourge of slavery and human trafficking. But at the same time, Mr. Obama is keen to advance international trade and America’s leadership role in the global trading system – particularly by concluding as early as this year a vast free-trade agreement with Asian-Pacific countries known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)...
Premier of Greece, Alexis Tsipras, Accepts Creditors’ Austerity Deal New York Times ...Forced by his nation’s creditors into broad new concessions to avert financial collapse, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of Greece returned home on Monday with just days to sell the deal to fractured lawmakers and a dazed electorate. The agreement he struck with other European leaders early Monday after a contentious all-night bargaining session would give Greece the chance to receive its third international bailout...
Greek Debt Crisis: European Ministers Want Greece To Limit Ability Of Workers To Strike International Business Times ...For Greek workers, it’s a painful cornerstone of the first two bailouts: Labor market reform. Now it’s part of a third rescue package, according to the most recent last-ditch agreement to keep Greece in the eurozone. The text released by European leaders on Monday is vague, but it suggests the following: Greece will keep in place existing restrictions on workers’ bargaining rights that creditors have successfully demanded in the past...
#ThisIsACoup: Greeks Denounce Bailout Deal That Calls for New Round of Austerity Democracy Now ...Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is facing protests from members of his own Syriza party after accepting harsh austerity measures in exchange for a new international bailout. In order for the deal to move forward, the Greek Parliament must accept pension cuts and other reforms by Wednesday, 10 days after voters rejected similar reforms in a referendum...
Osun Workers End Strike as Govt Commences Payment of Salaries This Day Live ...Osun State workers monday ended their six weeks strike after a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed with the state government to put an end to the industrial crisis in the state. Also, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joint Public Service Negotiating Councils (JPSNC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) in the state have dissociated the unions from the protests embarked upon by a ‘group of people’ in the state which the group claimed was over unpaid salaries...
State & Living Wage Battles
The Austerity Candidate? Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker Launches Presidential Bid on Anti-Union Record Democracy Now ...Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has become the 15th Republican candidate to formally announce he’s running for president. On Monday, Walker launched his campaign by touting his successful efforts to eviscerate public employee unions in his home state and later defeat a recall effort against him. He also extolled his record reducing taxes, cutting the size of the federal government and passing voter restrictions...
Wisconsin’s Construction Industry Is In For A Rough Ride — And So Are Its Taxpayers Think Progress ...About 24 hours before announcing his official White House candidacy, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) made life a lot harder for people who sweat for a living. “We may end up having to lay some people off,” Chris Martinez, owner of Dairyland Energy Solutions in Butler, WI, told ThinkProgress. Martinez was referring to Walker’s repeal of the state’s 80-year-old prevailing wage law...
Scott Walker Campaigns Against Unions, Wages, and Weekends The Nation ...Scott Walker has gone Bush one better. The governor of Wisconsin and Bush rival for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination just codified the concept. The state budget that Walker signed on Sunday as Wisconsin’s governor includes a provision that eliminates a historic guarantee that factory and retail employees “must get at least 24 consecutive hours of rest for every seven-day stretch” of work...
Missouri 'Right to Work' legislation hopes to gain supporters Heartland Connection ...Missouri lawmakers may be on summer break, but that hasn't stopped one grassroots organization from traveling around the state and educating citizens on 'Right to Work' legislation. That legislation would have allowed workers who choose not to join a labor union to avoid paying the equivalent of dues...
Paid sick days would be mandatory under ballot initiative MLive ...Michiganders soon may be asked to sign for sick days as a new group pushes for all workers to have access to that benefit. The Time to Care Coalition will lead a legislative ballot initiative and plans to collect more than 300,000 signatures. The group's proposal would allow workers to earn one hour of paid sick time for every 40 hours worked...
Oklahoma GOP Makes Case Against Food Stamps: ‘Don’t Feed The Animals’ Think Progress ...The Oklahoma Republican Party is making the case against food stamps by comparing poor people to animals, reviving a stereotype that’s often deployed against Americans who rely on government benefits to feed their families. In a Facebook post published Monday night, the Oklahoma GOP suggested that the millions of Americans receiving food stamps this year should not be enrolled in the program because “the animals will grow dependent"...
States Battle Cities Over Minimum Wage Huffington Post ...Kansas City is caught in the middle of a national fight that pits labor against business and increasingly, cities against states. As city after city has voted to give low-wage workers a raise in recent years, state after state has passed laws limiting local governments’ power to do so...
Scott Walker calls minimum wage one of many ‘lame idea’ from Democrats Washington Post ...Scott Walker appeared to take aim at the national minimum wage on Monday evening, referring to it as one of many "lame ideas" pushed by Democrats. Walker's comment came in a lengthy interview with Fox News's Sean Hannity immediately following a speech formally announcing his entrance into the 2016 presidential race...
Protests greet start of voter ID trial in Winston-Salem WNCN ...The outcome of a trial that began Monday could have a major impact on voting rights in North Carolina, and the start of the trial drew a large protest in Winston-Salem. The issue is whether voting law changes approved by the Republican-led General Assembly weakens the ability of minor voters to influence elections. That question is now being debated before a federal judge...
If This Amendment Passes, Several States Would Lose Millions in Federal Education Funding Think Progress ...Today the U.S. Senate will convene to debate amendments to the bipartisan No Child Left Behind rewrite. The House passed its rewrite to No Child Left Behind, or the Student Success Act, last week in a 218 to 213 vote. Democrats and civil rights groups opposed it, arguing that the bill would hurt low-income students, disabled students and students of color. The president has threatened to veto it...
U.S. Labor
Congress Is Debating Whether or Not To Make It Easier for Bosses to Cheat Guestworkers In These Times ...In June, In These Times reported that industry groups have filed a lawsuit against new government-issued worker protections for H-2B guestworkers. That’s not their only strategy, however: new proposed riders on a Senate appropriations bill could block some of the new protections—and some old ones—no matter the outcome of the lawsuit. Many employers were outraged when the Obama administration passed new rules regulating the H-2B visa program...
Facing 'Retirement Crisis,' Sanders Leads Charge for Social Security Expansion Common Dreams ...On the eve of a once-in-a-decade White House Conference on Aging (WHCOA)—and in the face of what they describe as the "impending retirement savings crisis facing this nation"—a group of 70 Democratic lawmakers led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) on Sunday called on President Barack Obama to expand Social Security benefits...
Richard Trumka on Gov. Scott Walker’s Presidential Run: “Walker is a national disgrace” In These Times ...“Scott Walker is a national disgrace,” says Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, the United States’ largest union alliance, in response to Governor Scott Walker’s announcement of his presidential ambitions. His statement, composed of only six words, was released shortly before Walker’s announcement. Trumka’s expression of disgust should come as no surprise to those familiar with Walker’s union-busting policies...
UAW president: Contract talks with GM will not be easy USA Today ...Top officials from the UAW and General Motors were all smiles Monday as they kicked off contract talks and promised to work together even as sharp differences percolate just beneath the surface. This year, the union wants to win wage increases for autoworkers after years of rising sales and profits among U.S. automakers while the manufacturers will want to hold down labor costs...
KapStone millworkers to vote on 'unfair labor practice strike' TDN.com ...KapStone’s millworkers will be back to the polls this week to decide whether to go on an unfair labor practice strike, even as company and union officials continue federal mediation. Union members overwhelming approved of a measure in December that lends their bargaining board the power to call a strike if necessary. It’s been a month since Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers Local 153 provided the company with a 10-day strike notice...
Council approves 3-year pact with AFSCME Coshocton Tribune ...City Council has unanimously approved a new three-year contract with non-uniformed workers that matches the 2.5 percent annual raises granted firefighters last month. Mayor Steve Mercer said the new pact with Local 2551 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees will take effect Aug. 1. The current contract expires July 31...
Food Cart Vendors Are Getting Kicked to the Curb The Nation ...One of the strongest pillars of Los Angeles’s retail landscape isn’t a mom-and-pop storefront or a strip mall; in fact, it doesn’t even have a fixed address. The city is peppered with about 50,000 mobile food vendors, Old World startups on wheels, catering to high- and low-brow tastes ranging from grandma’s tamales to fresh tropical fruits to rolling shaved ice pops. But this vital layer of the urban foodie firmament has long operated essentially outside the law. And now controversy is swirling over a proposal to provide a formal permitting scheme to legalize their “microbusinesses”...
Miscellaneous
Wall Street’s sinister disappearing act: How it still endangers America — while Washington looks the other way Salon ...A common denominator bridges this gaping partisan chasm: Both sides ignore the role of Wall Street as a driver of inequality. In one sense, this is curious. If there is one group that is consistently among the least trusted and most disliked, it is the banks. Linking the core economic issue, inequality, to Wall Street makes for obvious populist appeal...
Hillary Clinton Lays Out Unexpectedly Tough Agenda On Wall Street Think Progress ...In the first major economic policy speech of her campaign, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton outlined her plan to crack down on major financial institutions and other players on Wall Street that have benefited from rising corporate profits while the middle class lags behind. “Over the course of this campaign, I will offer plans to reign in excessive risks on Wall Street and ensure that stock markets work for everyday investors, not just high-frequency traders or those with the best or fastest connections"...
Migrant Mothers and Children Being Freed From Detention Truthout ...Federal officials have begun releasing hundreds of detained mothers and children from the nation's family detention centers as part of plans to end long-term detention of migrant families. Nearly two hundred detained parents and children were released over the weekend, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials...
Opening Historic 'Possibility of Peace,' World Powers Clinch Iran Deal Common Dreams ...Following years of arduous negotiations, and decades of hostile relations, Iran and world powers on Tuesday announced a nuclear agreement that proponents say provides a historic opening for military deescalation, relief from devastating sanctions, and ultimately, peace. "This deal is a huge victory for diplomacy over war," Phyllis Bennis, senior fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies...
McKesson Executive Compensation Under Fire, Again Teamster.org ...The country’s leading proxy voting advisor, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), recommends that McKesson shareholders vote for Item #7 on the company’s ballot -- a Teamster-sponsored shareholder proposal to address the automatic accelerated vesting of equity awards for top executives in the event of a change of control...
Teamsters Union Files Lawsuit Against Republic Airways Calling On Fair Contracts AvStop.com ...Teamsters Local 357 in Plainfield, Ind., filed a lawsuit against Republic Airways for unilaterally changing pilots’ working conditions regarding “open time” flying without first agreeing with the union about those changes. More than 2,200 Republic pilots are members of Local 357 and have been seeking a fair contract from the company since 2007...
Global Labor & Trade
Obama Urged To Toss Canada Out Of TPP Trade Talks Over Dairy Supply Management Huffington Post ...U.S. politicians are pressuring the Obama administration to leave Canada out of a major and controversial trade deal, if Canada doesn't agree to deregulate its dairy and poultry industries and open them up to foreign competition. Reuters news service cites “two sources” close to the issue as saying the U.S. may go forward with the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) without Canada...
New trade fight brews for Obama, Dems The Hill ...A new trade fight is brewing between the Obama administration and Democrats in Congress. Sen. Bob Menendez (N.J.) and other Democrats opposed to President Obama’s trade agenda are worried the State Department will upgrade Malaysia’s ranking in a human trafficking report to be released this week to ensure the country can be included in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal...
Canada Trade Minister Says Supply Management Won’t Kill TPP Deal Bloomberg ...“I am confident that at the end of the day Canada will be part of the TPP,” Fast said. “We have some market access issues left to resolve. They’re always the toughest ones that remain to the end. This is no different than any other negotiation.” Fast will join other negotiators and ministers in Hawaii later this month as TPP talks reach the final stage. The 12 countries involved are entering “the end-game in these negotiations”...
US lawmakers, activists alarmed at upgrade in Malaysia’s human trafficking rating Malaysia Insider ...The New York Times (NYT) newspaper and Huffington Post website reported that US Senator Robert Menendez will call for an investigation if the US government upgrades Malaysia’s rating. A Reuters report on July 8 quoted sources as saying that the US government was upgrading Malaysia’s status, thus paving the way for it to sign on to the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA)...
Has US desire for Asia trade deal trumped slavery with Malaysia's ranking? Christian Science Monitor ...President Obama says he wants the United States at the forefront of efforts to end the global scourge of slavery and human trafficking. But at the same time, Mr. Obama is keen to advance international trade and America’s leadership role in the global trading system – particularly by concluding as early as this year a vast free-trade agreement with Asian-Pacific countries known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)...
Premier of Greece, Alexis Tsipras, Accepts Creditors’ Austerity Deal New York Times ...Forced by his nation’s creditors into broad new concessions to avert financial collapse, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of Greece returned home on Monday with just days to sell the deal to fractured lawmakers and a dazed electorate. The agreement he struck with other European leaders early Monday after a contentious all-night bargaining session would give Greece the chance to receive its third international bailout...
Greek Debt Crisis: European Ministers Want Greece To Limit Ability Of Workers To Strike International Business Times ...For Greek workers, it’s a painful cornerstone of the first two bailouts: Labor market reform. Now it’s part of a third rescue package, according to the most recent last-ditch agreement to keep Greece in the eurozone. The text released by European leaders on Monday is vague, but it suggests the following: Greece will keep in place existing restrictions on workers’ bargaining rights that creditors have successfully demanded in the past...
#ThisIsACoup: Greeks Denounce Bailout Deal That Calls for New Round of Austerity Democracy Now ...Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is facing protests from members of his own Syriza party after accepting harsh austerity measures in exchange for a new international bailout. In order for the deal to move forward, the Greek Parliament must accept pension cuts and other reforms by Wednesday, 10 days after voters rejected similar reforms in a referendum...
Osun Workers End Strike as Govt Commences Payment of Salaries This Day Live ...Osun State workers monday ended their six weeks strike after a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed with the state government to put an end to the industrial crisis in the state. Also, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joint Public Service Negotiating Councils (JPSNC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) in the state have dissociated the unions from the protests embarked upon by a ‘group of people’ in the state which the group claimed was over unpaid salaries...
State & Living Wage Battles
The Austerity Candidate? Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker Launches Presidential Bid on Anti-Union Record Democracy Now ...Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has become the 15th Republican candidate to formally announce he’s running for president. On Monday, Walker launched his campaign by touting his successful efforts to eviscerate public employee unions in his home state and later defeat a recall effort against him. He also extolled his record reducing taxes, cutting the size of the federal government and passing voter restrictions...
Wisconsin’s Construction Industry Is In For A Rough Ride — And So Are Its Taxpayers Think Progress ...About 24 hours before announcing his official White House candidacy, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) made life a lot harder for people who sweat for a living. “We may end up having to lay some people off,” Chris Martinez, owner of Dairyland Energy Solutions in Butler, WI, told ThinkProgress. Martinez was referring to Walker’s repeal of the state’s 80-year-old prevailing wage law...
Scott Walker Campaigns Against Unions, Wages, and Weekends The Nation ...Scott Walker has gone Bush one better. The governor of Wisconsin and Bush rival for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination just codified the concept. The state budget that Walker signed on Sunday as Wisconsin’s governor includes a provision that eliminates a historic guarantee that factory and retail employees “must get at least 24 consecutive hours of rest for every seven-day stretch” of work...
Missouri 'Right to Work' legislation hopes to gain supporters Heartland Connection ...Missouri lawmakers may be on summer break, but that hasn't stopped one grassroots organization from traveling around the state and educating citizens on 'Right to Work' legislation. That legislation would have allowed workers who choose not to join a labor union to avoid paying the equivalent of dues...
Paid sick days would be mandatory under ballot initiative MLive ...Michiganders soon may be asked to sign for sick days as a new group pushes for all workers to have access to that benefit. The Time to Care Coalition will lead a legislative ballot initiative and plans to collect more than 300,000 signatures. The group's proposal would allow workers to earn one hour of paid sick time for every 40 hours worked...
Oklahoma GOP Makes Case Against Food Stamps: ‘Don’t Feed The Animals’ Think Progress ...The Oklahoma Republican Party is making the case against food stamps by comparing poor people to animals, reviving a stereotype that’s often deployed against Americans who rely on government benefits to feed their families. In a Facebook post published Monday night, the Oklahoma GOP suggested that the millions of Americans receiving food stamps this year should not be enrolled in the program because “the animals will grow dependent"...
States Battle Cities Over Minimum Wage Huffington Post ...Kansas City is caught in the middle of a national fight that pits labor against business and increasingly, cities against states. As city after city has voted to give low-wage workers a raise in recent years, state after state has passed laws limiting local governments’ power to do so...
Scott Walker calls minimum wage one of many ‘lame idea’ from Democrats Washington Post ...Scott Walker appeared to take aim at the national minimum wage on Monday evening, referring to it as one of many "lame ideas" pushed by Democrats. Walker's comment came in a lengthy interview with Fox News's Sean Hannity immediately following a speech formally announcing his entrance into the 2016 presidential race...
Protests greet start of voter ID trial in Winston-Salem WNCN ...The outcome of a trial that began Monday could have a major impact on voting rights in North Carolina, and the start of the trial drew a large protest in Winston-Salem. The issue is whether voting law changes approved by the Republican-led General Assembly weakens the ability of minor voters to influence elections. That question is now being debated before a federal judge...
If This Amendment Passes, Several States Would Lose Millions in Federal Education Funding Think Progress ...Today the U.S. Senate will convene to debate amendments to the bipartisan No Child Left Behind rewrite. The House passed its rewrite to No Child Left Behind, or the Student Success Act, last week in a 218 to 213 vote. Democrats and civil rights groups opposed it, arguing that the bill would hurt low-income students, disabled students and students of color. The president has threatened to veto it...
U.S. Labor
Congress Is Debating Whether or Not To Make It Easier for Bosses to Cheat Guestworkers In These Times ...In June, In These Times reported that industry groups have filed a lawsuit against new government-issued worker protections for H-2B guestworkers. That’s not their only strategy, however: new proposed riders on a Senate appropriations bill could block some of the new protections—and some old ones—no matter the outcome of the lawsuit. Many employers were outraged when the Obama administration passed new rules regulating the H-2B visa program...
Facing 'Retirement Crisis,' Sanders Leads Charge for Social Security Expansion Common Dreams ...On the eve of a once-in-a-decade White House Conference on Aging (WHCOA)—and in the face of what they describe as the "impending retirement savings crisis facing this nation"—a group of 70 Democratic lawmakers led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) on Sunday called on President Barack Obama to expand Social Security benefits...
Richard Trumka on Gov. Scott Walker’s Presidential Run: “Walker is a national disgrace” In These Times ...“Scott Walker is a national disgrace,” says Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, the United States’ largest union alliance, in response to Governor Scott Walker’s announcement of his presidential ambitions. His statement, composed of only six words, was released shortly before Walker’s announcement. Trumka’s expression of disgust should come as no surprise to those familiar with Walker’s union-busting policies...
UAW president: Contract talks with GM will not be easy USA Today ...Top officials from the UAW and General Motors were all smiles Monday as they kicked off contract talks and promised to work together even as sharp differences percolate just beneath the surface. This year, the union wants to win wage increases for autoworkers after years of rising sales and profits among U.S. automakers while the manufacturers will want to hold down labor costs...
KapStone millworkers to vote on 'unfair labor practice strike' TDN.com ...KapStone’s millworkers will be back to the polls this week to decide whether to go on an unfair labor practice strike, even as company and union officials continue federal mediation. Union members overwhelming approved of a measure in December that lends their bargaining board the power to call a strike if necessary. It’s been a month since Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers Local 153 provided the company with a 10-day strike notice...
Council approves 3-year pact with AFSCME Coshocton Tribune ...City Council has unanimously approved a new three-year contract with non-uniformed workers that matches the 2.5 percent annual raises granted firefighters last month. Mayor Steve Mercer said the new pact with Local 2551 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees will take effect Aug. 1. The current contract expires July 31...
Food Cart Vendors Are Getting Kicked to the Curb The Nation ...One of the strongest pillars of Los Angeles’s retail landscape isn’t a mom-and-pop storefront or a strip mall; in fact, it doesn’t even have a fixed address. The city is peppered with about 50,000 mobile food vendors, Old World startups on wheels, catering to high- and low-brow tastes ranging from grandma’s tamales to fresh tropical fruits to rolling shaved ice pops. But this vital layer of the urban foodie firmament has long operated essentially outside the law. And now controversy is swirling over a proposal to provide a formal permitting scheme to legalize their “microbusinesses”...
Miscellaneous
Wall Street’s sinister disappearing act: How it still endangers America — while Washington looks the other way Salon ...A common denominator bridges this gaping partisan chasm: Both sides ignore the role of Wall Street as a driver of inequality. In one sense, this is curious. If there is one group that is consistently among the least trusted and most disliked, it is the banks. Linking the core economic issue, inequality, to Wall Street makes for obvious populist appeal...
Hillary Clinton Lays Out Unexpectedly Tough Agenda On Wall Street Think Progress ...In the first major economic policy speech of her campaign, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton outlined her plan to crack down on major financial institutions and other players on Wall Street that have benefited from rising corporate profits while the middle class lags behind. “Over the course of this campaign, I will offer plans to reign in excessive risks on Wall Street and ensure that stock markets work for everyday investors, not just high-frequency traders or those with the best or fastest connections"...
Migrant Mothers and Children Being Freed From Detention Truthout ...Federal officials have begun releasing hundreds of detained mothers and children from the nation's family detention centers as part of plans to end long-term detention of migrant families. Nearly two hundred detained parents and children were released over the weekend, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials...
Opening Historic 'Possibility of Peace,' World Powers Clinch Iran Deal Common Dreams ...Following years of arduous negotiations, and decades of hostile relations, Iran and world powers on Tuesday announced a nuclear agreement that proponents say provides a historic opening for military deescalation, relief from devastating sanctions, and ultimately, peace. "This deal is a huge victory for diplomacy over war," Phyllis Bennis, senior fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies...
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Today's Teamster News 11.12.14
Teamsters
Drug Distributor Punishes Vets While Receiving Billions From VA Huffington Post ...McKesson is locked in a three-year battle with workers at its Lakeland, Fla. distribution center that voted in 2011 to join the Teamsters but still don't have a first contract...
Trade
Defending Foreign Corporations' Privileges Is Hard, Especially When Looking At The Facts Public Citizen ...it is no easy task to defend a system that empowers foreign corporations to bypass domestic courts and laws to demand taxpayer compensation for domestic policies that apply equally to their local competitors, but that they claim frustrate special privileges granted to them as foreign investors...
State Battles
Kansas revenues will fall $1 billion short of 2015 and 2016 expenses, fiscal experts say Kansas City Star ...The new figure raises the prospect of deep cuts in the state budget following controversial income tax cuts that Brownback vigorously defended during his re-election campaign against Democrat Paul Davis. Critics worry that schools, roads and social services will be among the areas cut in coming months...
Voter suppression laws are already deciding elections Washington Post ... it looks like the margin of victory in some of the most competitive races around the country was as big as the likely “margin of disenfranchisement,” as Weiser puts it. That is, more people were newly denied the right to vote than actually cast deciding ballots...
War on Workers
214,000 More Jobs Are Great. But Where Are the Raises? Bloomberg ...The U.S. economy added 214,000 jobs in October and the unemployment rate fell to a six-year low of 5.8 percent, but average earnings rose just 3 cents an hour...
Finding, and Battling, Hidden Costs of 401(k) Plans New York Times ...In many retirement plans, a significant amount of future retirees’ funds are devoured by fees. According to a 2012 study published by the progressive think tank Demos, high 401(k) fees can drain $155,000 from an average household over a lifetime...
Work Slowdown at Busiest U.S. Port Prompts Plea to Obama Bloomberg ...U.S. retailers appealed to President Barack Obama to intervene in contract negotiations between West Coast dockworkers and maritime companies after a work slowdown spread to the nation’s largest container hub ahead of the holiday shopping season...
Taj Mahal asks union to drop cost-savings appeal Philadelphia Inquirer ...Carl Icahn has jacked the interest rate up on the Trump loans from 6.2 percent to 12 percent, ripped $350 million out of this company in four years, and now he says workers can't have health care, pensions, paid breaks and many other things that other Atlantic City casino workers enjoy," union president Bob McDevitt said...
Missing Mexico students: Who is responsible? AlJazeera ...It's a case that has shocked a nation already hardened by gang violence and drug related crime - the disappearance of 43 students in Mexico, suspected of being abducted and murdered. The government, a mayor, police officers and gang members have all been implicated...
Construction worker dies 8 days after 30-foot fall Associated Press ...Officials say Moran took a 30-foot fall Nov. 3 at the former site of Del Castle-Legate Place. The once-palatial residence also was known as the Al Capone home...
Worker cleaning Ohio pond pulled from water, dies Associated Press ...a Michigan man in his 20s was using scuba equipment Tuesday to clean a 15-foot-deep pond at an office complex in New Albany, northeast of Columbus. When he didn't resurface when he was supposed to, a fellow worker called for help and said the man's tank had likely run out of oxygen...
Drug Distributor Punishes Vets While Receiving Billions From VA Huffington Post ...McKesson is locked in a three-year battle with workers at its Lakeland, Fla. distribution center that voted in 2011 to join the Teamsters but still don't have a first contract...
Trade
Defending Foreign Corporations' Privileges Is Hard, Especially When Looking At The Facts Public Citizen ...it is no easy task to defend a system that empowers foreign corporations to bypass domestic courts and laws to demand taxpayer compensation for domestic policies that apply equally to their local competitors, but that they claim frustrate special privileges granted to them as foreign investors...
State Battles
Kansas revenues will fall $1 billion short of 2015 and 2016 expenses, fiscal experts say Kansas City Star ...The new figure raises the prospect of deep cuts in the state budget following controversial income tax cuts that Brownback vigorously defended during his re-election campaign against Democrat Paul Davis. Critics worry that schools, roads and social services will be among the areas cut in coming months...
Voter suppression laws are already deciding elections Washington Post ... it looks like the margin of victory in some of the most competitive races around the country was as big as the likely “margin of disenfranchisement,” as Weiser puts it. That is, more people were newly denied the right to vote than actually cast deciding ballots...
War on Workers
214,000 More Jobs Are Great. But Where Are the Raises? Bloomberg ...The U.S. economy added 214,000 jobs in October and the unemployment rate fell to a six-year low of 5.8 percent, but average earnings rose just 3 cents an hour...
Finding, and Battling, Hidden Costs of 401(k) Plans New York Times ...In many retirement plans, a significant amount of future retirees’ funds are devoured by fees. According to a 2012 study published by the progressive think tank Demos, high 401(k) fees can drain $155,000 from an average household over a lifetime...
Work Slowdown at Busiest U.S. Port Prompts Plea to Obama Bloomberg ...U.S. retailers appealed to President Barack Obama to intervene in contract negotiations between West Coast dockworkers and maritime companies after a work slowdown spread to the nation’s largest container hub ahead of the holiday shopping season...
Taj Mahal asks union to drop cost-savings appeal Philadelphia Inquirer ...Carl Icahn has jacked the interest rate up on the Trump loans from 6.2 percent to 12 percent, ripped $350 million out of this company in four years, and now he says workers can't have health care, pensions, paid breaks and many other things that other Atlantic City casino workers enjoy," union president Bob McDevitt said...
Missing Mexico students: Who is responsible? AlJazeera ...It's a case that has shocked a nation already hardened by gang violence and drug related crime - the disappearance of 43 students in Mexico, suspected of being abducted and murdered. The government, a mayor, police officers and gang members have all been implicated...
Construction worker dies 8 days after 30-foot fall Associated Press ...Officials say Moran took a 30-foot fall Nov. 3 at the former site of Del Castle-Legate Place. The once-palatial residence also was known as the Al Capone home...
Worker cleaning Ohio pond pulled from water, dies Associated Press ...a Michigan man in his 20s was using scuba equipment Tuesday to clean a 15-foot-deep pond at an office complex in New Albany, northeast of Columbus. When he didn't resurface when he was supposed to, a fellow worker called for help and said the man's tank had likely run out of oxygen...
Monday, November 10, 2014
McKesson employee, fired for speaking out about low pay, reinstated
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| Glenn Gray speaking out at McKesson's annual meeting last year |
Here's what Brother Gray said:
A majority of my co-workers cannot even afford to participate in the company’s health care plan or to contribute anything out of their paychecks to the company’s 401(k) plan.NLRB judge Judge Keltner W. Locke ordered McKesson to immediately reinstate him and other fired workers and to stop soliciting employees to decertify their union.
According to a Teamsters' press statement,
...McKesson unlawfully fired 13-year employee Glenn Gray after he confronted McKesson CEO John Hammergren at the company’s shareholder meeting in July 2013. At the meeting, Gray challenged Hammergren, who receives about $50 million a year in total compensation and has one of the highest reported pensions of any executive, to address the dire situation in Lakeland...
The judge ordered McKesson to fully reinstate and provide back pay to both Gray and another employee who was illegally terminated for union activity.More than three years ago, McKesson workers in Lakeland, Fla. voted to join the Teamsters despite an aggressive anti-union campaign.These workers still do not have a first contract. They're continuing to fight for fair compensation and affordable health care. Last week, Judge Locke ruled McKesson illegally plotted to solicit employees to sign a petition to decertify the union.
Teamsters International Vice President Ken Wood said:
The workers at McKesson have stayed strong despite being harassed, coerced, and denied their federally-protected rights. Now that the NLRB has ruled against the decertification, hopefully the workers will get the protections of a fair first contract that they deserve.Wood is also president of Teamsters Local Union 79 in Tampa.
Friday, August 1, 2014
Today's Teamster News 08.01.14
Teamster News
Fired McKesson Worker Loses Fight On CEO's Exit Package Bloomberg News ...Hammergren stands to receive $292 million under a so-called change in control at the San Francisco-based company, which distributes pharmaceuticals and medical products. The Teamsters union put a measure before shareholders at McKesson’s annual meeting today that would have urged the board to reduce that amount...
Teamsters Endorse Tom Wolf For Governor teamster.org ...Democratic candidate for governor, Tom Wolf joined representatives from the Pennsylvania Conference of Teamsters and the Carpenters Union today to accept their endorsements in his gubernatorial race against incumbent Gov. Tom Corbett...
Teamsters Praise Obama Crackdown On Companies That Abuse Workers teamster.org ...The International Brotherhood of Teamsters strongly supports President Obama’s executive order to crack down on corporations that break laws but still win government contracts...
Trade
EU Ombudsman Demands More TTIP Transparency EurActiv ...The European Ombudsman today (31 July) opened two investigations into the EU Council and Commission over a lack of transparency around the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)...
Russia might ban US chickens, Greek fruit The Hill ...The agency’s head, Sergey Dankvert, told ITAR-TASS that his team discovered listeria, salmonella, lead and anaerobic microorganisms in U.S. poultry. Dankvert said he will discuss the issue with U.S. officials early next week and possibly impose a ban...
WTO Fails to Ratify Trade Agreement Wall Street Journal ...The WTO reached an agreement in December on the Indonesian resort island of Bali to streamline customs procedures. The deadline to ratify that agreement was Thursday, but India declined to do so without a parallel agreement allowing developing countries more freedom to subsidize and stockpile food...
State Battles
Eric Holder Takes Voting Rights Battle To Ohio, Wisconsin Wall Street Journal ...In Wisconsin, the Justice Department filed a brief supporting a previous federal court ruling against the state's photo identification requirement, which was deemed unfair to minority voters. In Ohio, the Justice Department weighed in against a law limiting early voting and same day registration...
The Next Big Fight in Income Inequality Is About to Go Down in California The New Republic ...Over time they want to create a regional living wage across eight counties, lifting the fortunes of the working poor...
Outsourcing Jobs...To Low-Wage Wisconsin Cap Times ...What the announcement shows, of course, is how corporations are constantly looking to increase profits by lowering labor costs as much as possible. That can mean outsourcing manufacturing jobs to Asia or, in the case of Alta, providing outsourcing services in Wisconsin...
In 5-2 ruling, Supreme Court issues final word on Act 10 Wall Street Journal ...More than three years after its passage sparked massive protests that jammed the Capitol Square, the state Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of a divisive state law that sharply curtailed the collective bargaining rights of most public workers...
Asheville To Host 2nd Mountain Moral Monday On Aug. 4 Citizen-Times ...For the past 64 weeks, Barber has led the civil disobedience campaign called Moral Mondays, criticizing policies enacted by the Republican-led legislature on everything from education funding to fracking to voter ID laws...
War On Workers
Protesters 'Rally Against the Banks' in Punta Gorda WINK News ..."There's a lot of folks in foreclosure that need some relief," said Bradley Burdette, who organized the "Rally Against the Banks" protest...
Road Crew Worker Hit And Killed On Interstate 89 WCAX ...A man working on Interstate 89 as part of a road crew has been hit and killed by a car...
Let's Call 'Corporate Inversion' For What It Is: A Gaping, Unpatriotic Tax Loophole (opinion) Huffington Post ...In 2004, Congress enacted a law to prevent "corporate inversions" in which corporations reincorporate in a foreign country to avoid paying U.S. taxes, but a gaping loophole allows corporations to get around this law by merging with a foreign company. Simply put, it allows corporations to avoid paying taxes when they "renounce their U.S. citizenship" and change their corporate address to a foreign country...
Miscellaneous
Cabbies Show Up At Houston City Hall In Opposition Of Uber And Lyft KTRK ...The taxi cab drivers told Eyewitness News their demand is simple. They want everyone to play by the same rules...
Senate sends highway bill to Obama The Hill ...After the House rejected Senate changes, senators held their noses Thursday and voted 81-13 for a $10.9 billion bill to fund highway projects through May 2015...
CIA director John Brennan apologizes for search of Senate committee’s computers Washington Post ...CIA employees improperly searched computers used by Senate investigators involved in a multi-year probe of the agency’s use of harsh interrogation measures on terrorism suspects, according to the findings of an internal agency inquiry that prompted CIA Director John Brennan to apologize to lawmakers this week...
Fired McKesson Worker Loses Fight On CEO's Exit Package Bloomberg News ...Hammergren stands to receive $292 million under a so-called change in control at the San Francisco-based company, which distributes pharmaceuticals and medical products. The Teamsters union put a measure before shareholders at McKesson’s annual meeting today that would have urged the board to reduce that amount...
Teamsters Endorse Tom Wolf For Governor teamster.org ...Democratic candidate for governor, Tom Wolf joined representatives from the Pennsylvania Conference of Teamsters and the Carpenters Union today to accept their endorsements in his gubernatorial race against incumbent Gov. Tom Corbett...
Teamsters Praise Obama Crackdown On Companies That Abuse Workers teamster.org ...The International Brotherhood of Teamsters strongly supports President Obama’s executive order to crack down on corporations that break laws but still win government contracts...
Trade
EU Ombudsman Demands More TTIP Transparency EurActiv ...The European Ombudsman today (31 July) opened two investigations into the EU Council and Commission over a lack of transparency around the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)...
Russia might ban US chickens, Greek fruit The Hill ...The agency’s head, Sergey Dankvert, told ITAR-TASS that his team discovered listeria, salmonella, lead and anaerobic microorganisms in U.S. poultry. Dankvert said he will discuss the issue with U.S. officials early next week and possibly impose a ban...
WTO Fails to Ratify Trade Agreement Wall Street Journal ...The WTO reached an agreement in December on the Indonesian resort island of Bali to streamline customs procedures. The deadline to ratify that agreement was Thursday, but India declined to do so without a parallel agreement allowing developing countries more freedom to subsidize and stockpile food...
State Battles
Eric Holder Takes Voting Rights Battle To Ohio, Wisconsin Wall Street Journal ...In Wisconsin, the Justice Department filed a brief supporting a previous federal court ruling against the state's photo identification requirement, which was deemed unfair to minority voters. In Ohio, the Justice Department weighed in against a law limiting early voting and same day registration...
The Next Big Fight in Income Inequality Is About to Go Down in California The New Republic ...Over time they want to create a regional living wage across eight counties, lifting the fortunes of the working poor...
Outsourcing Jobs...To Low-Wage Wisconsin Cap Times ...What the announcement shows, of course, is how corporations are constantly looking to increase profits by lowering labor costs as much as possible. That can mean outsourcing manufacturing jobs to Asia or, in the case of Alta, providing outsourcing services in Wisconsin...
In 5-2 ruling, Supreme Court issues final word on Act 10 Wall Street Journal ...More than three years after its passage sparked massive protests that jammed the Capitol Square, the state Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of a divisive state law that sharply curtailed the collective bargaining rights of most public workers...
Asheville To Host 2nd Mountain Moral Monday On Aug. 4 Citizen-Times ...For the past 64 weeks, Barber has led the civil disobedience campaign called Moral Mondays, criticizing policies enacted by the Republican-led legislature on everything from education funding to fracking to voter ID laws...
War On Workers
Protesters 'Rally Against the Banks' in Punta Gorda WINK News ..."There's a lot of folks in foreclosure that need some relief," said Bradley Burdette, who organized the "Rally Against the Banks" protest...
Road Crew Worker Hit And Killed On Interstate 89 WCAX ...A man working on Interstate 89 as part of a road crew has been hit and killed by a car...
Let's Call 'Corporate Inversion' For What It Is: A Gaping, Unpatriotic Tax Loophole (opinion) Huffington Post ...In 2004, Congress enacted a law to prevent "corporate inversions" in which corporations reincorporate in a foreign country to avoid paying U.S. taxes, but a gaping loophole allows corporations to get around this law by merging with a foreign company. Simply put, it allows corporations to avoid paying taxes when they "renounce their U.S. citizenship" and change their corporate address to a foreign country...
Miscellaneous
Cabbies Show Up At Houston City Hall In Opposition Of Uber And Lyft KTRK ...The taxi cab drivers told Eyewitness News their demand is simple. They want everyone to play by the same rules...
Senate sends highway bill to Obama The Hill ...After the House rejected Senate changes, senators held their noses Thursday and voted 81-13 for a $10.9 billion bill to fund highway projects through May 2015...
CIA director John Brennan apologizes for search of Senate committee’s computers Washington Post ...CIA employees improperly searched computers used by Senate investigators involved in a multi-year probe of the agency’s use of harsh interrogation measures on terrorism suspects, according to the findings of an internal agency inquiry that prompted CIA Director John Brennan to apologize to lawmakers this week...
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Today's Teamster News 07.30.14
Teamster News
Fired McKesson Worker Fights CEO Hammergren's Potential Exit Pay Bloomberg ...McKesson, which distributes pharmaceuticals and medical products, has agreed to pay Hammergren $292 million in severance if the San Francisco-based company were sold and he lost his job in the process. About $114 million of that is pension pay while $140.6 million is unvested restricted stock and options that would become immediately payable in the event of a change in control and Hammergren’s termination...
Port Of Poulsbo Employees Unionize, Begin Contract Negotiation North Kitsap Herald ...Port of Poulsbo employees have unionized and are in labor-contract negotiations with the port district. Port employees voted to unionize and join Teamsters Local 589 on June 2...
Massachusetts Charter School Teachers Join Teamsters Local 170 teamster.org ...Teachers in Massachusetts made history recently when they became the first group of charter school teachers to join the Teamsters Union...
Wheels On Sun Tran To Keep Going Around, At Least For Another Week Tucson Sentinel ...Tucson's municipal bus system will continue normal operations until at least Aug. 6, as officials with Sun Tran and Teamsters Local 104 agreed to extend the current labor contract for a week. The agreement was set to expire on Thursday, but drivers will avoid a strike — at least for the moment...
Trade
The TTIP Threat To Locally-Sourced Food The London Economic ...when deliberations are completed, the controversial TTIP is expected to bypass national judiciaries, encourage deregulation, liberalise almost every public service and get rid of supposed ‘barriers to investment’, which the World Development Movement (WDM) describes as “environmental protection, workers’ rights legislation and food safety standards”...
USTR Tells Press that TPP Negotiators Are Down to “A Dozen Issues,” While House Republicans Threaten to Withhold Support infojustice.org ...Inside US Trade reports that U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman told reporters Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiators are “down to a dozen issues” in the intellectual property chapter. However, these are among the most difficult issues remaining...
State Battles
Florida Republicans Are Taking Secret Trips On Big Sugar And No One Will Talk About It Huffington Post ...(Florida Gov. Rick) Scott, along with several other prominent Florida Republicans over the past three years, have traveled to a hunting lodge in Texas owned by industry giant U.S. Sugar. The lodge is located at King Ranch, one of the largest ranches in Texas and itself a stakeholder in several sugar-related businesses...
Pence stands by right-to-work law NWI Times ...Gov. Mike Pence is not giving up on the state's right-to-work law, even though two Lake County judges have ruled it incompatible with the Indiana Constitution...
August Primary Will Be First Wisconsin Election With Limited Early Voting Wisconsin Public Radio ...Early in-person absentee voting begins on Monday for Wisconsin's Aug. 12 partisan primary, but for the first time it won't be available on the weekend. This will be the state's first election since Gov. Scott Walker signed a law that ended weekend voting and restricted early voting to weekdays between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m...
Judge: Mercedes-Benz violated organizing rights in Alabama Detroit News ...An administrative judge said Mercedes-Benz USA violated the rights of workers at its Vance, Ala., plant who were seeking to convince other employees to form a union during off-time, but ruled in the company’s favor in other points of contention and imposed no fines...
NC Budget Hole Grows Based On New Tax Cut Analysis WPTF ...North Carolina income tax collections for 2014 are expected to fall $205 million short of earlier projections following Republican-backed tax cuts approved last year...
S.F. Supervisor Wants 'Bill Of Rights' For Chain Store Retail Workers San Francisco Business Times ...San Francisco Supervisor Eric Mar will introduce legislation tomorrow to mandate more predictable work schedules for retail workers and require chain stores to offer additional work hours to part-time employees before hiring new or temporary workers...
San Diego Approves $11.50 Minimum Wage Huffington Post ...The San Diego City Council gave formal approval on Monday to an ordinance that would incrementally raise the minimum wage in California's second-largest city to $11.50 an hour by January 2017, mostly for workers in the restaurant and retail sectors...
War On Workers
McDonald's Could Be Liable for Labor Practices Associated Press ...The National Labor Relations Board said Tuesday that the world's biggest hamburger chain could be named as a joint employer in several complaints regarding worker rights at franchise-owned restaurants. The decision is pivotal because it could expose McDonald's Corp. to liability for management practices in those locations...
Delinquent Debt in America Urban Institute ...Roughly 77 million Americans, or 35 percent of adults with a credit file, have a report of debt in collections. These adults owe an average of $5,178 (median $1,349)...
Miscellaneous
Reshad Chakari, Uber Driver, Arrested For D.C. Sexual Assault Charge WJLA ...District of Columbia police say detectives have arrested a man after a woman reported an Uber car service driver had sexually assaulted her...
Fired McKesson Worker Fights CEO Hammergren's Potential Exit Pay Bloomberg ...McKesson, which distributes pharmaceuticals and medical products, has agreed to pay Hammergren $292 million in severance if the San Francisco-based company were sold and he lost his job in the process. About $114 million of that is pension pay while $140.6 million is unvested restricted stock and options that would become immediately payable in the event of a change in control and Hammergren’s termination...
Port Of Poulsbo Employees Unionize, Begin Contract Negotiation North Kitsap Herald ...Port of Poulsbo employees have unionized and are in labor-contract negotiations with the port district. Port employees voted to unionize and join Teamsters Local 589 on June 2...
Massachusetts Charter School Teachers Join Teamsters Local 170 teamster.org ...Teachers in Massachusetts made history recently when they became the first group of charter school teachers to join the Teamsters Union...
Wheels On Sun Tran To Keep Going Around, At Least For Another Week Tucson Sentinel ...Tucson's municipal bus system will continue normal operations until at least Aug. 6, as officials with Sun Tran and Teamsters Local 104 agreed to extend the current labor contract for a week. The agreement was set to expire on Thursday, but drivers will avoid a strike — at least for the moment...
Trade
The TTIP Threat To Locally-Sourced Food The London Economic ...when deliberations are completed, the controversial TTIP is expected to bypass national judiciaries, encourage deregulation, liberalise almost every public service and get rid of supposed ‘barriers to investment’, which the World Development Movement (WDM) describes as “environmental protection, workers’ rights legislation and food safety standards”...
USTR Tells Press that TPP Negotiators Are Down to “A Dozen Issues,” While House Republicans Threaten to Withhold Support infojustice.org ...Inside US Trade reports that U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman told reporters Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiators are “down to a dozen issues” in the intellectual property chapter. However, these are among the most difficult issues remaining...
State Battles
Florida Republicans Are Taking Secret Trips On Big Sugar And No One Will Talk About It Huffington Post ...(Florida Gov. Rick) Scott, along with several other prominent Florida Republicans over the past three years, have traveled to a hunting lodge in Texas owned by industry giant U.S. Sugar. The lodge is located at King Ranch, one of the largest ranches in Texas and itself a stakeholder in several sugar-related businesses...
Pence stands by right-to-work law NWI Times ...Gov. Mike Pence is not giving up on the state's right-to-work law, even though two Lake County judges have ruled it incompatible with the Indiana Constitution...
August Primary Will Be First Wisconsin Election With Limited Early Voting Wisconsin Public Radio ...Early in-person absentee voting begins on Monday for Wisconsin's Aug. 12 partisan primary, but for the first time it won't be available on the weekend. This will be the state's first election since Gov. Scott Walker signed a law that ended weekend voting and restricted early voting to weekdays between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m...
Judge: Mercedes-Benz violated organizing rights in Alabama Detroit News ...An administrative judge said Mercedes-Benz USA violated the rights of workers at its Vance, Ala., plant who were seeking to convince other employees to form a union during off-time, but ruled in the company’s favor in other points of contention and imposed no fines...
NC Budget Hole Grows Based On New Tax Cut Analysis WPTF ...North Carolina income tax collections for 2014 are expected to fall $205 million short of earlier projections following Republican-backed tax cuts approved last year...
S.F. Supervisor Wants 'Bill Of Rights' For Chain Store Retail Workers San Francisco Business Times ...San Francisco Supervisor Eric Mar will introduce legislation tomorrow to mandate more predictable work schedules for retail workers and require chain stores to offer additional work hours to part-time employees before hiring new or temporary workers...
San Diego Approves $11.50 Minimum Wage Huffington Post ...The San Diego City Council gave formal approval on Monday to an ordinance that would incrementally raise the minimum wage in California's second-largest city to $11.50 an hour by January 2017, mostly for workers in the restaurant and retail sectors...
War On Workers
McDonald's Could Be Liable for Labor Practices Associated Press ...The National Labor Relations Board said Tuesday that the world's biggest hamburger chain could be named as a joint employer in several complaints regarding worker rights at franchise-owned restaurants. The decision is pivotal because it could expose McDonald's Corp. to liability for management practices in those locations...
Delinquent Debt in America Urban Institute ...Roughly 77 million Americans, or 35 percent of adults with a credit file, have a report of debt in collections. These adults owe an average of $5,178 (median $1,349)...
Miscellaneous
Reshad Chakari, Uber Driver, Arrested For D.C. Sexual Assault Charge WJLA ...District of Columbia police say detectives have arrested a man after a woman reported an Uber car service driver had sexually assaulted her...
Monday, July 21, 2014
Teamsters move to restrict obscene payout to McKesson CEO
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| John Hammergren |
Call Hammergren the poster child for inequality. Employees at McKesson's Lakeland, Fla., facility voted to become Teamsters because some of them don't earn enough to afford health care. McKesson's idea of fairness is to try to bust the union while giving its CEO more than a half-billion dollars.
The Teamsters have charged McKesson with illegally busting unions, coercing employees, discriminating against union members and firing a worker for exercising her First Amendment rights.
All the Teamsters want is a fair share of the profit they help produce. To that end, the Teamsters are fighting to curb Hammergren's immoral take-home pay at the company's annual shareholders' meeting. Bloomberg today reported on the Teamsters proposal:
Hammergren’s potential payout under a change in control would include equity awards worth $140.6 million that were set up to vest only over time. They’d be his right away, though, if he were terminated after a sale. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which calls that kind of pay “unearned compensation for top executives on their way out the door,” has proposed a ballot measure urging McKesson’s board to reduce the accelerated vesting.
While it’s not unusual for unions to challenge CEO pay provisions, the Teamsters’ proposal is endorsed by proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services. It has also drawn support from CtW Investment Group, which represents investors with $250 billion in retirement assets under management, and the New York State Common Retirement Fund, which oversees $160.7 billion in retirement money, according to officials at both organizations.According to Bloomberg's assessment, Hammergren is doing 'reasonably well':
His $292 million change-in-control severance package, combined with $289 million more in company stock and options he already owns, would bring his total kitty in the event of a termination to $581 million on paper—a figure based on valuations as of March 31. Factor in an 8.8 percent increase in share price since then, and it would come to roughly $616.6 million, according to calculations by Equilar.
Thursday, June 19, 2014
The higher the CEO pay, the worse the CEO performance
Corporations that pay CEOs more than $20 million a year lose an average $1.4 billion annually, according to Michael Cooper, professor of finance at the University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business.
Vocativ reports the reason is that high CEO pay emboldens them in bad ways. "It can breed cocky executives who make poor business decisions, like over-investing in dodgy enterprises or agreeing to “value-destroying” mergers and acquisitions."
A good example is McKesson CEO John Hammergren. He received $51.7 million in 2013 after spending nearly $1 billion of the company's money on settling charges of cheating customers. McKesson is a Teamster employer accused of union-busting at its Lakeland, Fla., warehouse.
According to Vocativ,
A separate study found that as the clock begins to tick down on all those juicy incentives, CEO interest in the long-term performance of the company drops away. In the one-year period before stock options vest, CEOs tended to spend less on long-term investments and focus more on short-term gains, according to a report by professors at the University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth College and the London Business School.
The same study found that R&D spending declined by $1 million a year in 2,000 companies where CEOs were one year away from their vesting dates.The problem, of course, is only getting worse as CEO pay continues to rise. The Economic Policy Institute recently reported average CEO compensation was $15.2 million in 2013, up 2.8 percent since 2012 and 21.7 percent since 2010. EPI also found:
From 1978 to 2013, CEO compensation, inflation-adjusted, increased 937 percent, a rise more than double stock market growth and substantially greater than the painfully slow 10.2 percent growth in a typical worker’s compensation over the same period.
The CEO-to-worker compensation ratio was 20-to-1 in 1965 and 29.9-to-1 in 1978, grew to 122.6-to-1 in 1995, peaked at 383.4-to-1 in 2000, and was 295.9-to-1 in 2013, far higher than it was in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, or 1990s.
If Facebook, which we exclude from our data due to its outlier high compensation numbers, were included in the sample, average CEO pay was $24.8 million in 2013, and the CEO-to-worker compensation ratio was 510.7-to-1.
Friday, May 23, 2014
US Chamber (aka multinational front group) opposes disclosure of corporate wage gap
The Chamber has no business calling itself 'U.S.' because it's a front group for multinationals and a money laundering operation for foreigners who want to influence our elections.
Generally, if the
The Chamber opposes the SEC's proposed rule to require companies to reveal the gap between CEO pay and workers' pay. The Chamber says it will cost too much money. That just isn't true.
The fact is that exposing the pay gap can warn investors that a CEO is looting the corporation he's supposed to protect.
The Teamsters strongly support the SEC's proposed rule on CEO pay. Teamsters General Secretary-Treasurer Ken Hall says the rule will help solve the problem of excessive CEO pay, which harms our funds’ investments, the sustainability of U.S. corporations and the employment and retirement security of Teamster members.
Teamsters know firsthand what happens when the disparity between worker pay and CEO pay is too great. At McKesson, CEO John Hammergren took home more than $50 million last year and has a pension of $114 million. All that for steering the company into nearly $1 billion in legal settlements for price-fixing and Medicaid fraud.
Meanwhile, the company is paying its workers so little in its Lakeland, Fla., warehouse that they can't afford health care benefits.
That's a gap that needs to be exposed.
Monday, April 21, 2014
Teamsters fight taxpayer subsidies for outrageous CEO pay
Take, for example, McKesson CEO John Hammergren, a union buster who took home $51.7 million last year after the company paid nearly $1 billion fines to settle charges it cheated its customers.
The Next New Deal blog explains how these CEOs are also looting taxpayers.
It started when President Bill Clinton signed a law eliminating corporate tax deductions for executive pay higher than $1 million. But the tax change had a loophole: so-called 'performance pay' was still tax exempt.
No surprise as to what happened next:
...companies started dispensing more compensation that qualified as performance pay, particularly stock options. Median executive compensation levels for S&P 500 Industrial companies almost tripled in the 1990s, mainly driven by a dramatic growth in stock options, which doubled in frequency...Performance pay made executives very wealthy, very fast. It motivated them to make shortsighted, risky and sometimes fraudulent decision to boost stock prices. Performance pay led to the mortgage crisis and global financial meltdown in 2008. It encourages CEOs to spend cash on buying back stock to boost the price, rather than research and development, capital investment, workforce training, higher wages and more hiring.
What's worse, taxpayers subsidize that behavior. The Economic Policy Institute estimates taxpayers paid $30 billion for that loophole between 2007-10. According to the Institute for Policy Studies, the CEOs of the top six public food chains “pocketed more than $183 million in performance pay, lowering their companies’ IRS bills by an estimated $64 million.”
Democratic Sens. Ralph Blumenthal of Connecticut and Jack Reed of Rhode Island introduced the Stop Subsidizing Multi-Million Dollar Corporate Bonuses Act, which would end taxpayers’ subsidies to CEOs by closing the performance pay loophole. Teamsters are actively lobbying for more co-sponsors to a companion bill in the House, sponsored by Democratic Texas Rep. Lloyd Doggettl.
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Teamsters charge McKesson with union-busting; McKesson gives CEO $51.7 million
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| Unbridled greed |
If you've followed this space, you can guess it was McKesson CEO John Hammergren who received $51.7 million for his performance in 2013, according to the AFL-CIO's Executive Paywatch report released today.
Did we mention that McKesson paid nearly $1 billion in fines for cheating its customers while Hammergren was in charge?
Hammergren made 1493 times what the average worker made, according to the AFL-CIO. Maybe Hammergren wants to make it a nice round 1500 by making sure the Teamsters can't fight for a fair share of McKesson's profit.
Monday, April 7, 2014
Shed no tears for McKesson CEO Hammergren and his $61.1M salary
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| John Hammergren, the $114M man |
Hammergren was given a jaw-dropping pay package last year, despite racking up nearly $1 billion in fines for price fixing and ripping off customers. At the time it was reported to be $51.7 million, with a pension of $159 million. Indignant shareholders objected, and Hammergren agreed to take a cut to $114 million.
Hammergren is still making so much money the company pays him an extra $17,000 for someone to count it all.
Meanwhile, workers at McKesson's Lakeland, Fla., warehouse don't earn enough to afford health care. They voted to join the Teamsters, but the company is threatening and harassing them in a by-the-book union-busting campaign.
USA Today rightly skewered CEOs who loot the companies they claw their way to the top of. Median pay for CEOs rose 13 percent to $10.5 million last year. Fifteen top executives took home more than $100 million.
No one should shed tears for Hammergren giving up $45 million in pension benefits. McKesson, a pharmaceutical products distributor, valued his 2013 compensation at $27.5 million and said he gained another $34.2 million from vested shares and exercising stock options.That's $61.1 million. And no, we're not crying for John Hammergren.
Friday, February 28, 2014
CEO's lavish pay trimmed at McKesson, a Teamster employer
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| John Hammergren |
His pension is now 'only' about $114 million. Last year, he took home $51.7 million in pay. Meanwhile, McKesson pays some of its workers so little they can’t afford health care.
The Wall Street Journal reported today:
Medical-products distributor McKesson Corp. said it made more changes to its executive compensation programs and its chief executive voluntarily reduced his pension benefit, after activist investors complained about the company's pay structure.
CEO John H. Hammergren will reduce his pension benefit by $45 million, which McKesson said Friday will eliminate the volatility of pension benefit calculations, which result from changes in interest rates or other issues.
Companies such as McKesson are increasingly using unconventional earnings measures when determining bonuses, which makes it easier for them to appear more profitable when they reward executives with big pay days, according to a Wall Street Journal report this week.Shareholders in August voted by more than 3-to-1 to reject Hammergren's compensation package. They also approved a shareholder proposal to strengthen the executive pay clawback policy. The proposed clawback policy would allow the company to recoup some of the boss’s pay if it is discovered the pay was based on inaccurate financial reporting or misconduct.
McKesson has had to pay out nearly a billion dollars to settle allegations of price fixing and Medicaid fraud. The scandal happened during John Hammergren’s tenure as chief executive. Still, the board richly rewarded him with roughly $50 million a year in total compensation. Before his pension was trimmed from $159 million, it was likely the highest for any executive in history according to compensation consultants interviewed by the Wall St. Journal.
Perhaps even more shameful than the CEO’s pay is the workers’ pay. Workers at the Lakeland, Fla., distribution center have said their pay is so low that many can't afford to pay for their healthcare.
Workers at the Lakeland facility voted for Teamster representation nearly two years ago and still don’t have a first contract. The company has hired union busters and retaliated against workers who support the union. At a rally outside the San Francisco shareholder meeting, Teamster leaders pledged the solidarity of Teamster members throughout North America to support the fight of McKesson’s workers in Florida.
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