Today's Teamster News 07.26.13

In Industry Where Few Workers Are 'Employees,' Teamsters Mount Multi-Front Attack  The Nation   ...A rare union election victory in New Jersey and a battery of wage theft complaints in California represent the latest steps in the Teamsters union’s effort to transform port trucking, a growing industry in which most workers aren’t considered employees under the law...
After a Long Battle, Teamster Waste Workers in Evansville, Indiana Ratify Contract  IBT   ...On July 22, 80 workers at Republic Services/Allied Waste in Evansville, Ind., who are members of Teamsters Local 215, ratified a contract that provides significant wage increases and strong retirement security...
U.S., Vietnam to intensify talks despite protests  Reuters   ...The United States and Vietnam have agreed to intensify talks on a regional free-trade agreement in hopes of finishing by the end of the year, the U.S. Trade Representative's Office said on Wednesday, following a call by labor and human rights groups for negotiations with Hanoi to be suspended...
Journalist Covers Extreme Violence Against Workers and Union Activists in Colombia  AFL-CIO Now   ...“The dangers faced by union members and human rights activists mirror a long-lasting vortex of violence propelled by guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries, drug cartels, criminals and, according to human rights groups and others, military and government officials as well...”
Former UBS bankers get prison terms for muni bid-rigging  Reuters   ...Three former UBS AG (UBSN.VX) bankers were sentenced to prison on Wednesday for deceiving U.S. municipalities by rigging bids to invest municipal bond proceeds, with the longest sentence at 27 months, a fraction of what prosecutors had sought...
Detroit: latest battleground in the war on the Middle Class  NH Labor News   ...On Wednesday afternoon, the federal judge overseeing Detroit’s bankruptcy proceedings suspended all other legal actions by public workers who are trying to protect their constitutional rights. And it is very unlikely that workers’ rights will be considered during the bankruptcy proceedings...
Georgia cities unable to file for bankruptcy  WALB News   ...Detroit's bankruptcy filing has some asking if a Georgia city could be next, but one attorney said the answer is no. State law prohibits cities from filing bankruptcy to absolve themselves of debt and forces city leaders to make tough decisions on raising taxes and cutting benefits and jobs...
Union reps decry liquor privatization, expired beer in Erie stores  Erie Times-News   ...A union group opposing liquor privatization was at a local grocery store Wednesday claiming some stores in Erie, Pennsylvania, have been selling beer past its expiration date...
80 dead, 31 critical after Spain train crash blamed on high speed; 1 American among the dead  Washington Post   ...A Spanish train that hurtled off the rails and smashed into a security wall as it rounded a bend was going so fast that carriages tumbled off the tracks like dominos, killing 80 people and maiming dozens more, according to eyewitness accounts and video footage obtained Thursday...
Low-wage workers rally in New York  PressTV   ...Demonstrators gathered in Brooklyn on Wednesday calling for better wages and denouncing harsh working conditions without benefits. The rally was organized by Fast Food Forward. The participants said the rally is part of the national movement of low-wage workers fighting for a better future...
Justice Department to challenge states’ voting rights laws  Washington Post   ...The Justice Department is preparing to take fresh legal action in a string of voting rights cases across the nation, U.S. officials said, part of a new attempt to blunt the impact of a Supreme Court ruling that the Obama administration has warned will imperil minority representation...
North Carolina First to Toughen Voting Laws After Ruling  Bloomberg News   ...North Carolina is poised to become the first state to pass a more restrictive voting law after the U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down a core provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act...
Wisconsin’s union workers will have to wait for 1% raise   Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel ...Democratic Sen. Jon Erpenbach is upset that at least 2,000 union state workers won't immediately share in the 1% pay raise put forward by Scott Walker's administration for each of the next two fiscal years. "Passing a state employment compensation plan without including any represented state employees reeks of punishment," Erpenbach said...
Police clash with Capitol singers for second straight day  Wisconsin State Journal   ...For the second day in a row, police at the state Capitol arrested people gathered in the rotunda without a permit as part of the long-running noontime singalong in protest of Gov. Scott Walker...
Most big American tech groups slip European tax net  Reuters   ...Most big U.S. technology firms cut their tax bills by not declaring a tax residence in their main European markets, preventing tax authorities in those countries from even assessing their income, a Reuters analysis of hundreds of corporate filings shows...

Awesome solidarity for striking Teamsters at Republic

The thousands of Teamsters honoring picket lines and picket extensions in 25 cities aren't the only ones showing solidarity for striking Teamsters from Locals 377 in Youngstown, 984 in Memphis and Millington and 728 in McDonough, Ga.

Check out the video above. It shows ABF over-the-road driver and Teamster activist Gail Bristow supporting fellow Teamsters at Republic Services in McDonough..... by delivering her unpicked up trash to Republic's office.

These AFSCME trucks won't cross the line.

Teamster retirees are showing up to walk the line in San Jose. At the Shelby landfill in Memphis, a long line of trucks were parked by AFSCME drivers who refused to cross the Teamster picket line. Brother Robert Gibson posted on Facebook:

Hell yea, big shout out to the local AFSCME drivers for respecting our picket line at the south Shelby landfill in Memphis.

There were plenty of other expressions of solidarity and support on both the Teamsters Facebook page and the Republic Services Teamsters Facebook page:

Tony Gee: Keep it up and stay strong everyone

Pagan Liberal: I went by these guys this morning, and tooted our support. Damn proud of you guys!

Angela M Laub: You have our Support in Erie, Michigan 

Yesterday, students from the University of Memphis came out today to the line to support striking Teamster Local 984 members.

A lesson in solidarity.

How about this messages written in support?

And this one:

Finally, we want to share this email from Dan Haren:

As an IBEW 540 member and Republic waste customer you guys have the support of our family and neighbors in my community. I have made a few of the neighbors aware of the situation. Hope all goes well. 

Just curious... what kind of scab outfit is running current residential routes while you guys strike?

That would be a Bill Gates scab outfit...

This is how friends, family and neighbors are supporting hardworking American workers standing up to one of the richest men in the world. We hope we've given you some ideas.

Solidarity.

Mayors warned of Republic's disruptions to trash services

Today at the National League of Cities Conference.

Count on Republic Services for more trash service disruptions, Teamsters today told 2,000 city officials attending the National League of Cities Conference. Republic's attacks on its workers triggered picket lines in more than a dozen cities last year alone.

Teamsters held a giant banner that said, "Republic Services Trashes American Cities" at the entrance to the conference hotel. It couldn't be missed by the thousands of mayors, administrators and city council members attending the conference.

The mayor of Duarte, Calif., learns of
Republic Services record.

They also received leaflets that read, “Tell Republic: Do It Right or Pay the Penalty.” The press release tells us more:

Teamsters alerted municipal elected officials about how they can protect their city from Republic-initiated lockouts and trash service disruptions. Municipalities can find more information about Republic’s trash service disruptions at: www.PickUpTheGarbage.com. 

In the current economy, most municipalities’ finances are hard-pressed, with a difficult local fiscal situation now exposed to the uncertainty and fallout generated by the Federal sequester and overall budget impasse. Effective procurement and stable services are even more important in these difficult times. 

Republic workers protest their treatment in Atlanta
on MLK Day 2013

“When large waste and recycling contracts are at stake, it is important that municipalities understand what they’re getting with Republic Services/Allied Waste,” said Robert Morales, Director of the Teamsters Solid Waste, Recycling and Related Industries Division. 

“Sanitation workers perform the fourth-most dangerous job in the country, yet Republic Services has been locking out and attacking its workers,” Morales said. “This has led to trash service disruptions in numerous U.S. cities during the past year. I’d recommend cities follow Seattle’s lead, where they have strong contract language. Seattle’s waste vendors pay steep fines for trash service disruptions.”

The press statement recounts Republic's attacks on workers over the past year:

• In Evansville, Ind., Republic locked out its workers and left the city without reliable trash service for six weeks. After being locked out without pay for a month, the Indiana workers took their picket lines to other cities across the United States. Fellow Republic/Allied Waste workers refused to cross picket lines in Wayne, Mich.; Urbana, Ill.; and Richmond, Milpitas and Long Beach, Calif.
• In Mobile, Ala., Republic/Allied Waste refused to honor a binding contract with its sanitation workers. The workers were forced to strike to protest the company’s illegal behavior, and took their picket lines to other cities across the country. Fellow Republic/Allied Waste workers refused to cross picket lines in Buffalo, N.Y.; Columbus, Ohio; and Seattle, Bellevue, Kent and Lynnwood, Wash.
• In Memphis, Tenn., Republic is discriminating against its workers—soiling the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. in the city where he died fighting a righteous battle for fair treatment for hard work regardless of race or union status. Workers in Memphis and cities across America are at a boiling point over the chronic attacks on their dignity.

One of the many Republic Services picket lines this year. 

Republic/Allied Waste’s total revenues were more than $8.2 billion in 2011, with profits of more than $589 million. In May 2012, the same month it locked out its workers in Evansville, the company approved a death and disability benefit for its CEO valued at more than $23 million.

Links 7/1/10

The Undeserving Unemployed New York Times
S.E.C. Tightens Rules on Public Pension Funds New York Times
Why Trash Deal Became a Gem Wall Street Journal
Jobless aid stalls in Senate; home buyers get more time Washington Post
South Korean Trade Deal Pits Obama Against Labor Base The Hill