Today's Teamster News 07.29.14

Teamster News
AEI Teamsters Overwhelmingly Approve National Agreement  teamster.org   ...Teamsters working at AEI/Danzas across the country overwhelmingly approved the new tentative National Master Agreement. Likewise, all but two of the supplements were approved by the affected membership...
Avis Shuttle Drivers Join Teamsters Local 839  teamster.org   ...The unit of 12 drivers came together to win the same benefits enjoyed by their Teamster coworkers who are Avis customer service staff and car washers...
Trade
With TTIP Consumer Protection Will Be A Privilege Of The Rich  RT   ...For some time now civil society and environmental organizations have been raising concerns over whether genetically-modified food will be labeled appropriately; whether antibiotics will be allowed in our food; or, whether chlorine-rinsed chicken will find its way onto Europe’s domestic market. Surprise! Surprise! Nowhere does the document address these...
State Battles
U.S. Labor Dept: Wisconsin Again Ranked #1 in Workers Lost Due To Outsourcing  Uppity Wisconsin   ...For the third year in a row, Wisconsin takes home the dubious crown of the nation's biggest per-capita outsourcer...
A Look At Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback's Economic Claims  McClatchy DC   ...A casual listener - or voter - might conclude that Brownback faced a $500 million budget shortfall in June 2011, six months after he took office. He did not...
ALEC Agenda in Dallas: Evisceration of Medicaid, School Privatization and Expansion of Gas Exports  Center for Media and Democracy   ...Also at this year's meeting, ALEC's task forces will consider bills to make it virtually impossible to enroll in Medicaid, expand charter schools to further bankrupt traditional public schools, expand exports of "natural gas" from fracking, and undermine the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Clean Air and Clean Water Act regulations...
Another Ohio City To Layoff Fire Fighters. Thanks John Kasich!  Plunderbund   ...Butler County has lost $31.6 million in local government funding thanks to Governor John Kasich’s budgets.  Warren County lost $15.2 million.   In Middletown, these cuts left the city struggling to find enough funding to pay for proper police and fire protection...
Thousands of disabled workers in Pa. paid far below minimum wage  Daily Times   ...About 13,000 disabled Pennsylvanians are earning an average of $2.40 an hour in a legal use of subminimum wages...
Unions gaining power in Mass.  Boston Globe   ...Among the victories unions are savoring: the highest minimum wage in the nation, new workplace protections for state employees, a bill of rights for housekeepers and other domestic workers, limits on nurse-to-patient ratios in intensive care units, and, nearing passage, a $1 billion expansion of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center...
Unions ready to fight Christie pension system plan  ABC 27   ...the Democrats who control the Legislature and their union allies say they aren't interested in hearing proposals from Christie after he unilaterally cut the state's contributions to pension funds for the last two fiscal years...
Monsanto Ordered To Pay $93 Million For Poisoning People  Axis Of Logic   ...The West Virginia State Supreme Court finalized a big blow to the biotech giant Monsanto this month, finishing a settlement causing Monsanto to pay $93 million to the tiny town of Nitro, West Virginia for poisoning citizens with Agent Orange chemicals...
Right to work makes city look cheap, ruthless (opinion)   Fort Wayne Journal Gazette   ...I would rather that my city employees are well paid, that they can come to address issues and concerns as required and that they’re professionals we pay to do a job for us...
Right To Work Not Decreasing Union Membership  Indiana Public Radio   ...Two years after Indiana became a right-to-work state, the membership decline unions feared hasn‘t happened. Unionization slipped from one in nine Hoosier workers in 2011 to one out of 11 in 2012, when right-to-work took effect. But union membership had been sliding for years before that, and in the first full year of right-to-work, membership actually rebounded by two-tenths of a percent...
Seattle City Council Appeals To Bezos Over Subcontracted Amazon Security  Bloomberg Businessweek   ...Seattle’s nine city council members declared themselves “deeply concerned” over alleged mistreatment of subcontracted security workers who patrol the company’s headquarters there...
War On Workers
This Congressman Wants To Give You The Right To Sue Union Busters  Huffington Post   ...If your boss tramples on your right to organize in the workplace, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) believes you should be able to sue for damages in federal court...
Fast-Food Workers Intensify Fight For $15 An Hour  New York Times   ...In its most recent strike in mid-May, workers walked out at restaurants in 150 cities nationwide, with solidarity protests held in 30 countries. The focus increasingly includes unionizing; the movement’s motto has become “$15 and a union.”...
Market Basket Workers Violated Some Workers' Rights Lawsuit Says  Boston Globe   ...The management team of the much-loved supermarket president, whose recent firing has inspired a massive uprising of employees demanding his return, violated the law by locking in workers overnight and requiring them to take unpaid breaks, according to two former employees who are suing the company...
Obama Could Curb Corporate 'Inversions' On His Own: Ex-U.S. Official  Reuters   ...By invoking a 1969 tax law, Obama could bypass congressional gridlock and restrict foreign tax-domiciled U.S companies from using inter-company loans and interest deductions to cut their U.S. tax bills, said Stephen Shay, former deputy assistant Treasury secretary for international tax affairs in the Obama administration...
Miscellaneous
FAA Proposes to Fine Southwest Airlines $12M  Associated Press   ...The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday it is proposing a $12 million civil fine against Southwest Airlines for failing to comply with safety regulations related to repairs on Boeing 737 jetliners...

Today's Teamster News 09.20.13

Strike, lockout possibilities for Darigold workers  KIRO TV   ...Workers at Darigold, who have worked without a contract since June 1, staged an informational picket line a couple of weeks ago with signs that read "just practicing." Now the members of Teamster Local 117 believe their company has set the stage for a lockout or strike...
Middle-Class Decline Mirrors The Fall Of Unions In One Chart  Huffington Post   ...This week the Census Bureau reported the latest depressing decline in middle-class incomes during the so-called economic recovery. But it may have missed an important factor in this story. As union membership declines, middle-class incomes shrink...
Income, Poverty, and Healthcare 2012: The Patient Did Not Get Worse But Remains Seriously Ill  Corrente   ...A comparison of real household income over the past five years showed an 8.3 percent decline since 2007, the year before the nation entered an economic recession, and a 9.0 percent decrease from the 1999 peak of $56,080...
The Era of Cheap Gasoline is Over  OilPrice   ...The last time the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in the United States was below $3.00, however, was the day before Christmas Eve 2010. AAA said that, on average, prices may never be that low again...
As President’s Export Council Meets, No Chance to Meet Obama’s Export Doubling Goal; Exports Fall Under Free Trade Agreements  Public Citizen   ...recent government data show it will be virtually impossible to meet Obama’s stated goal of doubling exports by the end of 2014. The same data shows that in 16 out of 16 months since the Korea “free trade” agreement (FTA) took effect last year, U.S. goods exports to Korea have fallen below the average export level in the year before the deal...
Pope Says Church Is ‘Obsessed’ With Gays, Abortion and Birth Control  New York Times   ...Six months into his papacy, Pope Francis sent shock waves through the Roman Catholic church on Thursday with the publication of his remarks that the church had grown “obsessed” with abortion, gay marriage and contraception, and that he had chosen not to talk about those issues despite recriminations from critics...
Search for L.A. film czar drags on at City Hall  Los Angeles Times   ....L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti is still searching for a film czar to serve as an industry advocate in City Hall and to help stop runaway production...
AAR: Rail Traffic increased in August  Calculated Risk   ...The Association of American Railroads (AAR) ... reported increased total U.S. rail traffic for the month of August 2013, with intermodal setting a new record and carload volume increasing overall compared with August 2012...
Union rep: Cutbacks cost lives in Navy Yard shooting  USA TODAY   ...A top union official for Washington Navy Yard police says he believes fewer lives would have been lost had the department not been understaffed during the attack that left the shooter and 12 of his victims dead...
Tensions Between BART and Unions Escalate, Transit Strike Looming  SF Weekly   ...After another full day of negotiations Wednesday, it's fair to say things between BART and its unions are getting worse, not better...
Labor to “play heavily” in state elections next year  People’s World   ...Organized labor, with its community allies, will "play heavily" in state gubernatorial and legislative races next year, its top two political operatives say...
Watch the growth of U.S. income inequality with this animated map  Washington Post   ...Here's a fascinating visualization of how inequality in the United States has evolved over the years...
Postmaster says USPS may need emergency rate hike  Associated Press   ...The Postal Service may need an emergency rate increase to stay afloat, according to Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe who says the agency’s cash balance next month likely will cover only five days of its average daily expenses...
The Monsanto Protection Act Is Back!  Huffington Post   ...The agrichemical companies may have the best lobbyists in town. Last May, the agrichemical giants -- Monsanto, Dow, Syngenta, Bayer, DuPont, BASF -- pulled off a stunning maneuver to protect their massive profits. These companies could have legal protection to continue selling their products even if the courts pulled the products from the market...
In JPMorgan case, a rare admission: bank broke the law  Los Angeles Times   ...The $920-million settlement JPMorgan Chase and Co. struck with regulators in the "London Whale" fiasco contains something rare: an admission the bank broke the law...
More Amazon Warehouse Workers Sue Retailer Over Unpaid Security Waits  Huffington Post   ...A growing number of Amazon.com warehouse workers are suing the online retail giant and its contractors for requiring them to undergo time-consuming and unpaid security screenings in order to do their jobs...
Misplaced Idea to Private the Tennessee Valley Authority Brings Unions, GOP Together  The We Party   ...The budget proposed by President Barack Obama in April floated an idea to privatize the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), a crown jewel of the New Deal. Labor unions expressing deep opposition to the idea are being joined by unlikely allies in the fight...
Ohio unions keep watchful eye on Right to Work legal challenge in Indiana  PR News Channel   ...Ohio union supporters are anxiously watching the developments in Indiana on the heels of the state’s controversial Right to Work law being ruled unconstitutional by a Lake County judge last week…
Wisconsin's Anti-Voting Law Heads to Federal Court  Huffington Post   ...With deceptively little fanfare or attention, a federal judge in Wisconsin is poised to preside over the first trial challenging a photo ID law under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act...
Florida Gov. Rick Scott seeks Supreme Court review of worker drug test  Associated Press   ...Florida Gov. Rick Scott plans to seek U.S. Supreme Court review of his executive order requiring random drug tests for thousands of state employees...
Senator: 'Flawed' bidding process led to privatization of prison food service  Lansing State Journal   ...A Republican senator told the Civil Service Commission on Wednesday that a flawed bidding process led to the state’s decision to privatize food service for 45,000 Michigan prisoners and eliminate about 370 state jobs...

Today's Teamster News 09.07.13

Hoffa Signs Agreement With Brazil Union Leader  teamster.org   ...Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa and a top Brazilian labor leader inked an agreement today in Washington that will allow unions in the U.S. and Brazil to better work together and advocate for one another...
Teamsters Hold “Just Practicing” Picket at Darigold  Teamsters Local 117  ...Teamster production workers and lab technicians who work at Darigold participated in “just practicing” picketing actions on Thursday at the company’s facilities in Issaquah and Seattle in protest to the company’s refusal to bargain in good faith...
Teamsters settle on contract with Lake Transit operator  Lake County News   ...On Thursday, the nonprofit that operates Lake Transit Authority reached an agreement for a new three-year contract with union-represented workers who had gone out on two separate strikes this summer...
Teamster Locals Support Aggressive Measures to Protect Contract   teamster.org   ...Yesterday, Teamster Local Unions that represent more than 1,000 Allied Systems Holding workers unanimously supported informing its members on the need to take aggressive action – up to and including a lawful strike – if the current Black Diamond/Spectrum bid to buy Allied proceeds and is approved by the bankruptcy court on Tuesday, Sept. 10...

Wal-Mart and Washington D.C. in minimum wage showdown   Reuters   ...District of Columbia Mayor Vincent Gray could decide soon whether to sign a minimum wage bill that could discourage Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's biggest retailer, from opening stores in the U.S. capital...
Walmart workers tell us why they're protesting  KIRO Radio   ...Walmart workers were protesting in the Puget Sound region and around the country Thursday, prompting KIRO Radio's Dori Monson to invite a few on the show to find out why...
Exports Fall Short under Korea FTA for 16 out of 16 months  Public Citizen   ...government trade data released this week douses Obama's export promise with another bucket of cold reality. Under the Korea "free trade" agreement (FTA), a model for the TPP, U.S. exports have been steadily falling, imports have been rising, and job-displacing trade deficits have surged...
Enormous, Humongous Trade Deficit Grows  Trade Reform   ...So our vast, humongous, enormous, out-of-control trade deficit continues its upward trajectory, sucking more jobs and money from our economy. Our deficit with China, of course, is the biggest factor...
Monsanto and Walmart Influence Secret TPP Negotiations  New American   ...The 12 countries involved in the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade group reportedly plan to hammer out an agreement on tariffs during meetings late September. Although the American people (and the people of all nations involved in the pact) are prevented from participating or even watching the various rounds of meetings, global multi-nationals Monsanto and Walmart will help draft the agreement...
US employers add 169K jobs, rate falls to 7.3 pct  Associated Press   ...U.S. employers added 169,000 jobs in August and much fewer in July than previously thought. Hiring has slowed from the start of the year and could complicate the Federal Reserve's decision later this month on whether to reduce its bond purchases...
Ignore the headlines. This was a very bad jobs report.  Washington Post   ...in almost all the particulars, you can find signs that this job market is weaker than it appeared just a few months ago, and maybe getting worse...
The STEM Crisis Is a Myth  IEEE Spectrum   ...wages for U.S. workers in computer and math fields have largely stagnated since 2000. Even as the Great Recession slowly recedes, STEM workers at every stage of the career pipeline, from freshly minted grads to mid- and late-career Ph.D.s, still struggle to find employment as many companies, including Boeing, IBM, and Symantec, continue to lay off thousands of STEM workers...
Both parties wary of Obama's proposal to cut Social Security  Reuters   ...Republicans, Democrats and even the White House distanced themselves Thursday from President Barack Obama's proposal to trim Social Security and other safety-net benefits, illustrating yet again the difficulty of reaching a bargain to reduce spending and tame the deficit...
New OSHA Form Will Fan The Flames In Whistle-Blower Filings  Forbes   ...OSHA’s newly approved procedure for whistle-blower retaliation complaints—which allows individuals to file a claim just by completing a simple online form, available 24 hours a day—is sure to spike the already mushrooming claim rate...
FTC asks court to shut down phony payday loan broker Seattle Post-Intelligencer   ...At the request of the Federal Trade Commission, a U.S. district court has halted a Tampa, Fla.-based operation that promised to help consumers get payday loans. Instead of loans, the defendants used consumers’ personal financial information to debit their bank accounts in increments of $30 without their authorization, the FTC alleges...
Chicago mayor may still seek airport deal after talks called off  Reuters   ...Emanuel late Thursday halted the city's efforts to privatize operations of Chicago's second-largest airport after one bidding consortium pulled out, leaving the city with only one prospective bidder...