Today's Teamster News 01.23.15

Teamsters
Teamsters' Hoffa urges Congress to back Keystone bill  Fox News   …Teamsters boss James Hoffa, in an interview with Fox News, urged Congress to pass a bill approving the Keystone XL pipeline and claimed the push is "gaining momentum."...
Michigan Steelworkers Vote to Join Teamsters  teamster.org   …Workers at TCT Stainless Steel in Sterling Heights, Mich. recently voted to join Teamsters Local 283 in Wyandotte, Mich. There are 17 workers in the new bargaining unit and the vote count was 12-5 for Teamster representation…
Key West, Workers Union To Ratify Contract  Keynoter   ...The Key West City Commission will consider a new collective bargaining agreement with Teamsters Local 769 at the commission's meeting at Old City Hall Wednesday evening. The union, which represents about 200 city employees, includes administrative assistants, bus drivers and maintenance workers...
Trade
U.S. senator says wants to introduce fast-track trade bill by end January  Reuters   ...He said the aim was to move the bill out of the committee stage by the end of February, which could suggest a vote in March...
Trans Pacific Partnership: Obama Ready To Defy Democrats To Push Secretive Trade Deal  The Guardian   ...The TPP is one of the largest international trade agreements the US will sign, yet most of it is mired in secrecy. Congress won’t have access to the TPP before it is signed, and the terms won’t be publicly disclosed – ironic since the negotiations include 600 corporate advisers, including representatives of Halliburton and Caterpillar...
Will Democrats Spoil Obama's Trade Initiatives?  The Atlantic   …"We will do what we can in the Senate to defeat this unfortunate proposal," declared Bernie Sanders, the Vermont liberal who is considering a long-shot bid for the presidency. American workers, he said, should not "have to compete against people in Vietnam who have a minimum wage of 56 cents an hour."…
State Battles
Right To Work Pro, Con Marshal Forces  Albuquerque Journal   ...Union leaders Jon Hendry of the New Mexico Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, and Carter Bundy of the AFSCME say passing right-to-work legislation would bring low-wage jobs. They say it’s a political argument and that supporters are trying to undermine the ability of unions to represent workers at all levels...
Minimum wage hike for NM now has bipartisan support  Albuquerque Business First   …Nate Gentry (R-Albuquerque), who is the Majority Floor Leader of the New Mexico House of Representatives, said Republicans support raising the statewide minimum wage — just not to the same level as Democrats...
Bill Would Raise Montana's Minimum Wage To $10.10  Helena Independent Record   ...Minimum wage workers in Montana would receive about a 25 percent increase in hourly pay under legislation proposed in the Senate. Democratic Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy of Box Elder called Senate Bill 2 an economic development measure as he introduced it in the Business, Labor, and Economic Affairs Committee on Wednesday...
Newly-inaugurated Governor Tom Wolf pushes for increased minimum wage in PA  The Daily Pennsylvanian   …Wolf advocated for Pennsylvania’s minimum wage to increase from $7.25 an hour to $10 an hour. In addition, the minimum wage would be indexed to inflation...
Roads, Pensions, Oh My: Sam Brownback’s Kansas Endures Another Day Of Woeful Budget News (opinion)  Kansas City Star   ...Gov. Sam Brownback’s budget plan is just a few days old, but Kansas legislators on Tuesday already were hearing just how bad things could get in the next few years. In other words, it was just another normal day of money woes in the financially strapped Sunflower State...
Some N.D. Dairy Farmers Want To Follow S.D.'s Lead And Allow Corporate Operators Into State  Grand Forks Herald   ...Some producers say they would like to follow South Dakota’s lead to allow corporate farming in an effort to lure more dairy operators into the state...
S.C. Gov. Haley Lambastes Unions, Organizing Efforts At Boeing In State Address  Seattle Times   ...Gov. Nikki Haley used part of her State of the State address Wednesday to promote South Carolina’s anti-union reputation and try to kill efforts to unionize Boeing’s North Charleston plant...
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder: Repealing prevailing wage could hurt skilled trades  Michigan Live   …As for Republican legislative proposals to repeal prevailing wage, Snyder said repealing prevailing wage could have an adverse impact on the skilled trades...
War on Workers
Tracking Inequality in America  Wall Street Journal   …People in every age group under 65 have a net worth that’s significantly lower now than it was in 1989…. Households led by people age 35-44 saw the biggest drop, down 54%, with rising mortgage debt largely to blame. In 1989, these families had a median mortgage of $72,000 against a median home value of $145,000. By 2013, the home value for this age group was somewhat higher at $170,000, but the size of mortgages had nearly doubled to $140,000...
Unions Warn About One Man Per Train  North Platte Bulletin   ...Thanks to the joint opposition of the United Transportation Union and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, the National Carriers’ Conference Committee (a labor negotiating committee) has dropped its insistence on single person crews in current bargaining...
Senate Democrats Stand Up For Speedier Union Elections  Huffington Post   …Democratic support in the upper chamber could be critical in avoiding a future budget bill rider that would block the reforms, should Republicans try to go that route...
Worker killed in accident at White Meadows Farms  Niagara This Week   …Niagara Regional Police media officer Const. Rich Gadreau said the investigation revealed a 36-year-old man was fatally injured when he was struck by a moving concrete block...
Mine worker killed in Missouri accident  KTVI   …The worker was reportedly removing loose rock when some loose material fell and struck the cab of his equipment...
Power Worker Killed By Tree On GA 400  WSB   ...Authorities tell Channel 2 Action News the tree fell on a Sawnee EMC employee along Georgia 400 on the south side of the county...
Miscellaneous
Keystone XL Pipeline Files For Eminent Domain In Nebraska  KNOP   ...This action was required within two years of TransCanada receiving its January 2013 approval in Nebraska. That time period expires on January 22, 2015. An agreement without Eminent Domain can still be reached if TransCanada and land owners can negotiate voluntary easement agreements...
The Only Problem With the Greatest Hoodie Ever Made  Slate   …American Giant designs and manufactures its clothes in the United States, yet the firm has found a way to keep its quality high and its prices comparable to those of other high-end retailers...

Today's Teamster News 05.24.13

Average CEO Salary Reached A New Record High Of $9.7 Million In 2012  Alternet   ...The average CEO salary broke records in 2011 at $9.6 million — and now, that record high has been topped by 2012 salaries, which averaged out to $9.7 million...
Passenger Trains Bump Along With Fixes Outrunning Funding  Bloomberg   ...U.S. investigators looking into the May 17 Connecticut commuter-rail crash haven’t yet found a clear cause. The fact a broken rail became the most immediate suspect speaks to years of deferred maintenance that have left trouble spots throughout a Washington-Boston network that carries more than 700,000 people a day and dates to the 1800s...

Bridge Collapses in Washington State, Dumping at Least 2 Cars In River  Gawker   ...The Interstate 5 bridge spanning the Skagit River in Washington state collapsed Thursday evening. Several cars fell into the water, though authorities aren't sure how many or if there were any casualties...
Tighter U.S. Rule on Imported Meat May Cost $192 Million  Bloomberg   ...Canada vowed to escalate a dispute with the U.S. over plans to impose stricter country-of-origin labeling rules for meat that are opposed by industry groups on both sides of the border...
The Powerful People Arguing for U.S.-China Free Trade  Bloomberg News   ...Recommending that the U.S. and China work toward a free-trade deal is a bit like stepping into a prize fight and asking the boxers to settle their differences peacefully...
Marcus Hedger, Wrongfully Fired Worker, Loses His Home With NLRB In Limbo  Huffington Post   ...In the past three years, Marcus Hedger has lost a good-paying manufacturing job and a nice home in Antioch, Ill. Thanks to the dysfunction on Capitol Hill, there's no telling when he'll get either of them back...
Wal-Mart Hires Former Bush Aide as Chief Image Maker  New York Times   ...To continue burnishing its image, Wal-Mart has replaced a former Clinton White House aide with a former Bush White House staff member...
Petition urges Tribune not to sell Sun to 'union-bashing' Koch brothers   Baltimore Business-Journal   ...It remains unclear who might emerge as a buyer for the Baltimore Sun, but about 6,500 Maryland residents know whose hands they don't want the Sun to end up in...
Scott Walker's Austerity Plan: Turning Wisconsin Into the New Greece  (opinion)  Huffington Post   ...It's now become clear that austerity -- and the attack on unions that always comes with it -- was not only bad medicine, it was close to toxic...
Washington state joins 9 other states in passing password protection law  Examiner   ...Washington state became the latest one to join these ranks when Governor Jay Inslee signed a bill that would make it illegal for employers or potential employer to ask for the password to your Facebook or any other social media account...
Louisiana Senate passes amended Equal Pay for Women Act  Times-Picayune...Female state workers should be paid as much as their male colleagues, Louisiana lawmakers declared...
Oregon House votes to extend foreclosure mediation  Associated Press   ...The Oregon House has voted to extend a requirement that some mortgage lenders meet with struggling borrowers and a professional mediator before initiating foreclosure proceedings...
Missouri Unemployment Bill Prompted by Federal Rules  CBS News-KMOX   ...Awaiting action from Gov. Jay Nixon are proposed changes for the unemployment compensation program. The changes are designed to avoid a several hundred million dollar price tag and make it harder for workers to receive jobless benefits...
Teamsters Roll Up Their Sleeves in Wake of Oklahoma Tragedy  IBT   ...Teamsters are inundating Oklahoma locals with offers to help them recover from one of the most violent tornadoes in history. The twister that ripped through the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore killed at least 24 people and damaged as many as 13,000 homes in a 17-mile swath...
Durham School Bus Workers Speak Out About Safety, Wage Theft Concerns  IBT   ...School bus drivers and attendants with Durham School Services who transport students attending Baltimore City Public Schools joined with Teamsters, political and other community leaders at a rally today to demand respect and safe working conditions...
Apply Now for Chicago Teamsters Hispanic Caucus Scholarships  Teamsters Local 727   ...Applications are now available for the 2013-2014 Chicago Teamsters Hispanic Caucus Scholarship. Active adult Teamster members and the children, grandchildren and spouses of active Teamsters are eligible for the academic awards...

Today's Teamster News 02.23.13

Court Scoffs at Light Sentence for CEO's Fraud  Courthouse News Service   ...The seven-day sentence given to a former CEO whose money-laundering scheme cost investors more $18 million was as "unreasonably low," the 6th Circuit ruled...
New Jersey sues Sandy relief fund  USA Today   ...Operators of a Sandy relief group diverted more than $17,000 in donated money to eat out, pay credit card bills and shop online while storm victims received just $1,650 in aid, an ongoing state investigation has found...
Detroit Anti-Eviction Campaign Keeping Families in Their Homes  The Real News   ...In Detroit, Michigan, the city many consider the epicenter of the nation's subprime and foreclosure crisis, banks continue to evict residents from their homes at an alarming pace. But over the past year, a growing grassroots movement has blocked evictions and kept families in their homes...
The American Trucking Industry Had Its Best January Ever  Business Insider   ...The American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 2.9% in January after jumping 2.4% in December. ... Tonnage has surged at least 2.4% every month since November, gaining a total of 9.1% over that period...
Ford announces re-shoring of engine manufacturing jobs  manufacture this   ...Ford announced this week that it would begin manufacturing EcoBoost engines for the North American market in Ohio. Previously workers in Spain built these engines. This move means 450 new manufacturing jobs for Cleveland...
UK loses top AAA credit rating for first time since 1978   BBC News   ...The ratings agency Moody's became the first to cut the UK from its highest rating, to Aa1. Moody's said the government's debt reduction programme faced significant "challenges" ahead. Chancellor George Osborne said the decision was "a stark reminder of the debt problems facing our country"... 
Right to work, prevailing wage debate for nought  The Daily Independent   ...The House Committee on Labor and Industry Thursday heard discussion on bills sponsored by Rep. Jim DeCesare, R-Bowling Green, which would make Kentucky a right-to-work state and repeal the prevailing wage law for public projects ...But at DeCesare’s request, there was no vote on either of the bills...
State Lawmakers Move to Restrict Living Wages, Sick Leave Ordinances  Florida Center for Investigative Reporting   ...This week, a bill that would remove local ordinances requiring companies to pay living wages passed through a committee in the Florida Legislature. The bill is aimed at cracking down on local laws in Orlando, Miami Beach and Gainesville that ask certain employers to pay employees slightly more than the minimum wage...
Bullock jobs bill tabled in legislative committee  Associated Press   ...A Republican-led committee is rejecting Gov. Steve Bullock's plan to increase the mandatory hiring percentage of Montana workers on public-works projects in the state...
Corbett: Challenge on lottery rejection is coming  The Morning Call   ... Corbett likely will file his challenge directly with the state Supreme Court...
Lawmakers make step toward privatization at MARTA  The Atlanta Journal-Constitution   ...Legislation was passed by state representatives that required the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority to privatize major functions — from payroll and cleaning to paratransit services. The reform also requires moving new employees from a pension to a 401(k) retirement plan and capping the heavily indebted agency’s bond debt at 35 percent of sales tax collections...
Aberdeen Man Among UPS Drivers Honored for 25 Accident-Free Years  Matawan-Aberdeen Patch   ...An Aberdeen man is one of 50 United Parcel Service drivers from New Jersey being honored for 25 years or more of accident-free driving...
Some Teamsters get pay raises during state contract negotiations  Gatehouse News Service   ...About 1,500 unionized workers at the Illinois Department of Transportation and other agencies received raises last month, even though their union is still negotiating a new contract with the state...

Today's Teamster News 12.27.12

Ten Reasons Why the Chained CPI Is Terrible Policy  firedoglake   ...Social Security benefits are already declining due to increases in the retirement age and Medicare premiums...
Ruth Marcus Is Outraged by Overly Generous Social Security Checks  CEPR   ...we have tens of millions of seniors living high on Social Security checks averaging a bit over $1,200 a month at a time when folks like the CEOs in the Campaign to Fix the Debt are supposed to subsist on paychecks that typically come to $10 million to $20 million a year...
Massive New Surveillance Program Uncovered by Wall Street Journal  Slate   ...The guidelines allow the NCTC, for the first time, to keep data about innocent U.S. citizens for up to five years, using “predictive pattern-matching,” to analyze it for suspicious patterns of behavior. The data the counterterrorism center has access to, according to the Journal, includes “entire government databases—flight records, casino-employee lists, the names of Americans hosting foreign-exchange students and many others....”
Ford to invest $773 million in the U.S. to create 2,350 new jobs and save 3,240 existing jobs  AFP   ...The Dearborn-based manufacturer posted its best November since 2005, as sales rose six percent to 177,673 vehicles. The results were driven by strong demand for its small cars, which posted their best November in 12 years...
Fox Parent Company Being Sued For Using Mafia Like Business Tactics   Addicting Info   ...The Dial Corp, makers of soap, personal-care and household cleaning products, have filed suit against News Corp along with subsidies News America, News America Marketing FSI, and News America Marketing In-Store Services, alleging that the company engaged in anti-competitive and illegal practices in order to monopolize the market, even forcing competition out of business through its illegal and immoral tactics...
Michigan Right to Work Law Was the Brainchild of ALEC, The Most Dangerous Group in Politics  PolicyMic   ...ALEC wasted no time in sending many of their most onerous "model legislation" bills to Michigan. These included the Emergency Manager law, privatization of public schools, expansion of charter schools, HB 5221 (Voter ID Act), which required voters to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote, and HB 4305 with language similar to ALEC’s model “Immigration Law Enforcement Act...”
Bakken boom making big impact on regional businesses  Farm and Ranch Guide   ...To visualize the economic impact to Billings of the Bakken oil boom, you can watch the oil field trucks rumble by or you can track subtler clues. Private jets lined up on the tarmac. Rolex watches and diamonds flying out of jewelry stores...
Teamsters Rep: NSB mayor owes cop apology for obscenity after trying to cut through closed street for Christmas parade  Headline Surfer   ...Bob Walker, business agent for Teamsters Local 385, who represents 38 New Smyrna Beach officers  (said) "I think he owes the officer an apology at the very least..."

Victory in Mont. for Steve Bullock!!

We finally have a result in the race for Montana governor, with Teamster friend (and foe of misclassification) Steve Bullock the winner.

Bullock is the former attorney for Local 190 in Billings. USA Today published a nice profile:

One-term Democratic Attorney General Steve Bullock, who was raised in Helena, often recalled on the campaign trail how he used to ride by the state capitol on his paper route. 

Now, Bullock has found his way to the corner office on the second floor of the venerable building, having defeated former Republican Congressman Rick Hill to take the Montana governorship. 

Bullock, 46, made a name for himself nationally by taking on the U.S. Supreme Court's controversial Citizen's United campaign finance decision by defending Montana's century-old Corrupt Practices Act, which banned corporate expenditures on political campaigns in the state. Bullock triumphed in the Montana Supreme Court, but the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the state law by a 5-4 decision. 

Bullock is popular with the state's significant percentage of sportsmen, having written the state's opinion guaranteeing access to rivers, streams and public lands. Bullock worked with the legislature and popular Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer to put the access opinion into state law.

He'll have his hands full with a Legislature full of extremists. But he said he won't hesitate to veto right-to-work-for-less legislation.

Congratulations, Steve!

(On another note: Gary McDowell, a 33-year UPS Teamster, apparently lost his Congressional race by a few dozen votes. It may not be over yet, as he's waiting for a board of canvassers to count all votes.)

Today's Teamster News 10.13.12

Lenovo moves production of some laptops and tablets to North Carolina  manufacture this   ...While the decision is laudable because it will create roughly 115 manufacturing job in the U.S., it's worth noting that many of the components within the computers and tablets will have been made in places outside the United States...
What do Henry Kissinger, Le Duc Tho, Yasser Arafat, President Obama, And The EU Have In Common?  zero hedge   ...the euro is doing massive damage to the European fabric. It is creating tensions and even rage where there were none in the years leading up to the crisis—in Greece for example...
Governor Brown solves California's gas price problem  Econbrowser   ... Governor Jerry Brown (D-CA) directed the California Air Resources Board to allow use right now of the winter blend instead of waiting as usual until the first of November, a move that the Board has implemented. This allows existing stocks of the winter fuel to be sold to add to the supply of the summer blend...
WI governor spurs emotions during campaign stop for Rick Hill  KPAX.com   ..."I was talking to some old labor leaders, and they told me that they have not seen a political action by organized labor in the city of Kalispell in the last 30 years that is comparable to this," Al Ekblad, Executive Secretary of the Montana State AFL-CIO said...
Ex-Walker appointee convicted of stealing $51,000 from veterans  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel   ...Prosecutors said the 62-year-old Kavanaugh had skimmed the money from bank deposits and phony withdrawals from accounts for the local chapter of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, a veterans service organization...
Los Angeles Port Truckers Test Out Their Picket Signs  In These Times   ...Six months after Los Angeles-area port truckers won a rare union election in a nearly union-free industry, contract negotiations have hit the rocks...

Anti-union laws: A clear and present danger in ME and MO

The vast, corporate-funded campaign to weaken unions and lower wages reached statehouses in Maine, Minnesota, Montana and Missouri this week.

In Maine, Rep. Tom Winsor of Norway requested that right-to-work (for LESS) bills be drafted (LR 491 and 492).  So did Sen. Lois Snowe-Mello of Poland (LR 608). Right-to-work (for LESS) bills were also proposed in Minnesota, Montana and Missouri.

According to The Associated Press,

A Missouri senator is proposing a statewide vote in August 2012 on whether to make Missouri a "right-to-work" state...Legislation filed Thursday by Republican Sen. Jason Crowell, of Cape Girardeau, would refer the union issue to voters next year...Earlier this session, Sen. Luann Ridgeway, of Smithville, filed a right-to-work proposal that would require the governor's signature to become law. It would not go on the ballot.

Mainers and Missourians especially need to be very, very afraid, according to the IBT's political intelligence.

Research shows that most people don't know what right-to-work (for LESS) laws really do. That's intentional. You can be absolutely sure that a great deal of time and corporate money was spent coming up with the misleading "right to work" name. It sounds like it prevents workers from being denied a job. That isn't what it does at all.

"Right to work (for LESS)" laws let employees opt out of paying union dues. Freeloaders get union representation and are covered by the union contract. But they don't pay a dime toward the considerable cost a union incurs for providing those benefits. Right-to-work (for LESS) laws are intended to weaken workers' unions, their bargaining power -- and thus their wages and benefits. When union wages go down, workers' wages fall throughout the state.

Billionaire booed at ballet.

A co-ordinated network of think tanks, business groups and phony grass-roots organizations has been working energetically toward passing right-to-work (for LESS) laws for years. They don't like to be exposed for what they are. One of the biggest financial supporters of right-to-work (for LESS) campaigns is David Koch, the 49th richest man in the world. His efforts to destroy the middle class were recently exposed in The New Yorker magazine. As a result he was booed at the ballet in New York.

These right-to-work (for LESS) bills are political payback for campaign contributions by corporations and billionaires. They are supported by false claims that they create jobs. What they have done in the 22 states where they've been enacted is lower wages. In right-to-work (for LESS) states,

•Fewer people have health care and the taxpayers pay substantially more to support the state's Medicaid program.


•The rate of workplace deaths is 53 percent higher.

•The poverty rate rises; it's 19 percent in right-to-work (for LESS) states, compared with 16.6 percent in other states.


There's an old saying, "As Maine goes, so goes the nation." Let's hope Mainers  lead the way in fighting like hell against these attempts to turn America into a low-wage nation.