Today's Teamster News 05.18.14

Trade
TPP ministers to seek progress in Singapore but deal unlikely  global post   ...Hopes have grown that talks for an ambitious Pacific trade deal will advance when ministers from 12 countries gather in Singapore on Monday and Tuesday after Japan and the United States moved closer on thorny issues, but observers say reaching a broad deal at the upcoming meeting is unlikely...
Brussels authorities help silence opposition to the ‘Great Transatlantic Market’ (TTIP)  The Economic Voice   ...over a thousand people were in the streets of Brussels, attempting to peacefully protest against austerity and the proposed great transatlantic market (TTIP) which were being discussed in the absence of citizens at the European Business Summit. In an unprovoked move 281 people were violently arrested said the Corporate Europe Observatory, including Belgian and European parliamentarians and candidates, senior trade union officials, farmers and many elderly citizens...
State Battles
In Georgia, Lawmakers Taking Pride in Policies That Hurt the Poor  Next New Deal   ...lawmakers in Georgia have been systematically dismantling the state’s social safety net. Of the 300,000 Georgian families living below the poverty line, only 19,000 receive TANF and more than three quarters of those cases involve children only. That means that fewer than seven percent of low-income Georgians are able to get the welfare assistance they badly need...
‘Right-to-work’ is actually just a right to freeload  The Athens News   ...But why should they bother with the transparent ruse of right-to-work laws when they can just offer legislation to ban unions? That's what they really want...
Come to North Dakota for the paycheck, lose your life  Los Angeles Times   ...The state had the highest rate of worker fatalities in the nation--17.7 per 100,000 workers, or more than five times the national average. The union calculated the toll as "one of the highest state job fatality rates ever reported for any state," and observed that it had more than doubled from the rate in 2007...
ALEC fires back, but proves its 'pro-business' state index is bogus  Los Angeles Times   ...Plainly stung by the chorus of ridicule that has greeted their latest attempt to paint anti-union policies and tax cuts for the rich as pathways to economic nirvana, the folks at the American Legislative Exchange Council have struck back with a "response to the critics..."
War on Workers
A guide to the VA health care controversy  Washington Post   ...Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki faced tough questions from a Senate panel Thursday about the state of his department after allegations that some VA health clinics have cooked their books to cover up treatment delays...
The Deep Roots of Skilled Labor Shortages: Anti-Union, Anti-Worker Corporations  Economic Policy Institute   ...Oil giants like Chevron can afford to have their construction contractors pay well for skilled work, but they resist. Organizations they fund, such as the Business Roundtable, have led a decades-long campaign to weaken or destroy the building trades unions that actually train the greatest number of skilled tradesmen. Chevron, Koch Industries, ExxonMobil and many other energy industry corporations fund the American Legislative Exchange Council and its legislative efforts to kill unions and eliminate labor standards...
G.M. Is Fined Over Safety and Called a Lawbreaker  New York Times   ...Saying that safety practices at General Motors were “broken,” federal regulators on Friday imposed the biggest punishment they could on the automaker and condemned it over its failure to promptly report a defect that G.M. has linked to 13 deaths...
GM suggested engineers avoid ‘judgment words’ like ‘death trap,’ ‘grenade-like’  Politico Pro   ...GM told engineers to avoid using dozens of words when communicating about vehicle problems that could potentially lead to recalls, including everything from “safety” to “Kevorkianesque...”
Shocker: Cable TV prices went up four times the rate of inflation  ars technica   ...US homes on average receive 189.1 cable TV channels and only watch 17.5 of them...
Wal-Mart Says It Won't Oppose Increase in Minimum Wage  Wall Street Journal   ...Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it wouldn't oppose an increase in the federal minimum wage, its most explicit comment yet on the controversial debate to move past the $7.25-an-hour minimum...
Miscellaneous
Over 3000 Chinese Evacuated (By Boat & Plane) As Vietnam's Anti-China Riots Escalate; Taiwan Also On "High Alert"  zero hedge   ...China began evacuating hundreds of its nationals from Vietnam (via at least 2 planes and 5 ships) as the anti-China protests have become increasingly deadly following Beijing's attempt to deploy an oil drill in Vietnamese dispuited waters...

Today's Teamster News 05.10.14

Teamster News
Workplace peril: Irresponsible companies put workers at risk (opinion)  San Jose Mercury News   ..."I told my manager that a work assignment was really hurting my foot. The next day he called me to the office and told me that he didn't care about my foot, and if I couldn't work where I was placed, there's the door. He told me, 'To me, you are nothing. You don't even exist to the company.' "  To curb these abuses, the California Labor Federation and the Teamsters are working with Assemblyman Roger Hernández on legislation, AB 1897, to hold companies accountable for abuses by the labor contractors they hire...
Convention Center remains closed to Teamsters, Carpenters  Philly.com   ...neither the Carpenters Local 8, viewed by management as the center's most difficult and disruptive union, nor the Teamsters Local 107 will be permitted to work at the center after their contracts expire at 11:59 p.m. Saturday...
Teamsters, beverage distributors reach contract agreements  Saturday Gazette-Mail   ...All three contracts include significant wage increases and protect members’ health and pension benefits, said Ken Hall, president of Teamsters Local 175, based in South Charleston, and general secretary-treasurer of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters...
Council Amends All-Star Game 'Clean Zone'  Minneapolis Star-Tribune   ...The City Council voted Friday to modify and clarify the intent of a previous resolution that created a "clean zone" during the Major League Baseball All-Star Game...
Trade
Trans-Pacific Trade Pact On The Slow Track  Financial Post   ...The Trans Pacific Partnership negotiations continue to move along, with Japan now intensively involved and the government of South Korea close to jumping in. With the collapse of the broader multilateral efforts in the World Trade Organization...
State Battles
State Supreme Court To Hear Right To Work Case In September  Indiana Public Media   ...State Attorney General Greg Zoeller last year appealed Lake County Judge John Sedia’s ruling that the law violates a provision of the Indiana Constitution that says no person’s services shall be demanded without just compensation...
John Doe investigation halted again after finding that appeal was 'frivolous'  Wisconsin State Journal   ...The John Doe investigation into possible illegal coordination between Gov. Scott Walker’s campaign and several conservative groups has once again been halted after a federal judge on Thursday dismissed as “frivolous” an interim appeal by the prosecutors in the case...
North Dakota Is The Deadliest State To Work In  Mother Jones   ...Fracking has done some incredible things for North Dakota. It has the fastest growing economy and lowest unemployment in the nation, and is second only to Texas in churning out oil. But with any gold rush, the boom comes with a human cost involved...
ALEC Struggles In Kansas City  Center for Media and Democracy   ...Amidst increasing public scrutiny of ALEC, the group has tried to sneak back into the shadows. ALEC's efforts to evade open records laws and to boot reporters from meetings have been well-documented, but at this meeting ALEC even tried to hide the name of its corporate meeting sponsors...
EXCLUSIVE: Christie officials gave millions in public funds to VC firm, despite “pay to play” rules  Pando Daily   ...Gov. Chris Christie’s administration awarded a public pension contract to a technology venture capital firm shortly after a partner at that same firm made a $10,000 contribution to the New Jersey Republican State Committee...
War On Workers
London black taxis plan congestion chaos to block Uber  BBC News   ...The Licensed Taxi Drivers Association complains that Uber's drivers are using a smartphone app to calculate fares despite it being illegal for private vehicles to be fitted with taximeters...
No Sign of Labor Shortages in Construction: There are Seven Unemployed Construction Workers for Every Job Opening   Economic Policy Institute   ...the real hourly wages of residential building workers are still 4.2% below 2009, a loss significantly deeper than that of the overall private sector workforce, whose wages are 0.9 percent below 2009...
Koch Brothers' Americans For Prosperity Plans $125 Million Spending Spree  Politico   ...The Koch brothers' main political arm plans to spend more than $125 million on an aggressive ground, air and data operation benefiting conservatives, according to a memo distributed to major donors and sources familiar with the group...
Death on the Job Report  AFL-CIO   ...Workplaces are much safer today than when the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act was passed in 1970, which promised workers in this country the right to a safe job. The job fatality rate has been cut by 81 percent; more than 492,000 workers lives have been saved...
Miscellaneous
Amazon expands Sunday delivery to 15 more cities  USA Today   ...Amazon.com's Sunday delivery program is now available in 15 additional cities, beyond the New York and Los Angeles metro areas where the program originally launched last November, the online retailer announced Thursday. Amazon Prime members who order an eligible item as late as Friday can receive the package — delivered by the U.S. Postal Service — as soon as Sunday, under the free two-day shipping benefit that comes with the $99 annual Prime membership...
FAA: U.S. Airliner Nearly Collided With Drone in March  Wall Street Journal   ...A U.S. airliner nearly collided with a drone over Florida earlier this year, a federal official said, a near miss that highlights risks posed by the proliferation of unmanned aircraft in U.S. skies...

Today's Teamster News 04.01.13

As OSHA emphasizes safety, long-term health risks fester  Herald Tribune   ...OSHA devotes most of its budget and attention to responding to here-and-now dangers rather than preventing the silent, slow killers that, in the end, take far more lives...
Pay for Boards at Banks Soars Amid Cutbacks  New York Times   ...Since the financial crisis, compensation for the directors of the nation’s biggest banks has continued to rise even as the banks themselves, facing difficult markets and regulatory pressures, are reining in bonuses and pay...
Bank of Cyprus depositors to face up to 60 percent losses  McClatchy   ...Depositors in Cyprus with savings of more than 100,000 euros ($128,000) could face losses of up to 60 percent, under tough conditions attached to an international bailout, Finance Minister Michalis Sarris said Saturday...
Foreclosed 'Zombie' Homes Exceed 300,000 Properties: Study  Reuters   ...A national survey found 301,874 "zombie" properties dotting the U.S. landscape in which homeowners in foreclosure have moved out, leaving vacant property susceptible to vandalism and degradation. Florida tops the list of zombie properties with 90,556 vacant homes in foreclosure...
North Dakota, socialist haven?  Salon   ...North Dakota ... fully supports its state-owned Bank of North Dakota (BND), a socialist relic that exists nowhere else in America. ... it works...
Minnesota Brown: Asia expands influence over Iron Range economy  MinnPost   ...Whether it's iron, grain or now airplanes, it's interesting to see how China, India and other emerging nations are shaping the future of northern Minnesota's economy...
Detroit Public Schools Emergency Manager Roy Roberts boldly lies on national television about his “success”  eclectablog   ...The first Emergency Financial Manager, Robert Bobb, actually left the school district in a bigger financial hole than when he arrived...
Odor Problems Elsewhere for Owners of Bridgeton Landfill  CBS News   ...Republic Services Inc., owners of the Bridgeton Sanitary Landfill, ranked near the bottom of a 2009 Newsweek list of 500 major corportions for their track record on enviornmental issues — and 46th of 50 in their industry...
Teamsters shine in autism fund-raiser  Boston Globe   ...Teamsters Local 25 held its annual Light Up the Night Gala on Saturday to raise money for autism research. Angela Peri’s Boston Casting helped with the night by donating items from local films for auction...