Today's Teamster News 03.30.15

Trade
Wikileaks papers reveal TPP's huge corporate giveaway  Ecologist   ...Leaked papers reveal that the Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal would represent a historic transfer of power and money from the US and other governments to corporations...
Wyden Shows Connection Between Rigged Trade & Rigged Government  The People's Voice   ...the US already has trade deals with most of the countries involved in the TPP so it will make little difference on Oregon’s exports. What is will do is give these foreign corporations the ability to move to locations with cheaper labor and resources as well as the power to sue if Oregon takes action in the public interest to protect people and planet...
Marriage Made in Corporatist Heaven Slams into Resistance  Wolf Street   ...Even the U.S.’s ever-faithful ally and fellow Five-Eye member, the United Kingdom, is beginning to express reservations about TTIP. Earlier this week an all-party committee of Members of Parliament released a scathing report on the trade agreement. The Business, Innovation and Skills committee said the government needed “stronger evidence” to back up its claim that TTIP would bring a boost of £100bn a year to the UK...
State Battles
Rauner’s ‘right-to-work’ proposal focus of larger debate on business climate  GateHouse Media Illinois   ... even the business groups that support right-to-work laws and empowerment zones say the governor can’t get that done...
After Months Of Scandalizing Clinton Foundation Donations, Press Silent On Walker's Reported Pay-For-Play  Media Matters   ...The press has almost entirely ignored the revelation that after the "richest man in Wisconsin" made secret donations benefitting Republican Governor Scott Walker, his company received special tax credits for that same donor's company...
Wisconsin Republicans abandoning Scott Walker  Wisconsin Citizens Media Cooperative   ...On March 25, 2015, former editor of the Waukesha Freeman and conservative Pete Kennedy published an opinion piece in the paper urging Wisconsin conservatives to not only reject Scott Walker, but to hold him accountable for the damage he has done to the state...
War on Workers
Walmart, Lowe's, Safeway, and Nordstrom Are Bankrolling a Nationwide Campaign to Gut Workers' Comp  Mother Jones   ...Nearly two dozen major corporations, including Walmart, Nordstrom, and Safeway, are bankrolling a quiet, multistate lobbying effort to make it harder for workers hurt on the job to access lost wages and medical care—the benefits collectively known as workers' compensation...
Fracking Town’s Desperate Laid-off Workers: ‘They Don’t Tell You It’s All a Lie’  Alternet   ...The boom and bust in North Dakota has trapped people there, with little hope of work or escape...
Scientist Pretends Monsanto Products Are Totally Safe to Drink  Gawker   ...Monsanto pesticides are safe enough to drink in a glass of water, says an honest-to-goodness scientist who immediately refuses an offer to drink a glass of Monsanto pesticides. Not because Monsanto pesticides aren't safe, no, but because he's "not stupid" and the interviewer is "a complete jerk."...
Class Struggle In The USA  Angry Bear   ... none of the important 2016 candidates has expressed any willingness to raise taxes on the rich. The Republicans want to cut them and Clinton (and a spokesperson) dodge the question...
Farm worker dies after being buried under pile of corn  CBS News ...Police say the collapse happened when 54-year-old Donald Merchant, of South Windham, was using equipment to move corn from a large mound at the Square A Farm on Monday. When he got off the equipment, some of it toppled onto him...
DOT worker hit by alleged impaired driver laid to rest in Kenly  ABC News   ...Family and friends remembered a DOT worker killed while on the job in Wayne County...
Friends, family rally in support of Delfino Velazquez, worker killed in Dana Ford Lincoln ceiling collapse (video)  Staten Island Live   ...Velazquez, a native of Mexico, was killed there on Nov. 28, 2014, when the building's mezzanine collapsed during an unpermitted demolition. The 43-year-old husband and father suffocated under heavy debris. He's the second Formica employee or subcontractor to die on the job in the past dozen years...

Call to Oregonians: Stopping Fast Track is now up to you!

Please be our Valentine, Sen. Wyden!

Ron Wyden holds the key to Fast Track legislation that would let Congress rubber stamp the job-killing TPP deal.

Wyden is a Democratic U.S. senator from Oregon. He hasn't said whether or not he will support a Republican Fast Track bill.

Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch from Utah hopes to introduce the Fast Track bill after next week's congressional recess. So, the time is now for Oregonians to call Ron Wyden and tell him NO on Fast Track.

Calling senators really works in a way that email doesn't. So if you live in Oregon call 888-979-9806 -- or tell someone you know who lives in Oregon to do it.

Anti-TPP activist Kevin Zeese explained at Alternet why Wyden is so important. 

Wyden is a key player as the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee. He has played both sides of the debate and the movement needs to monitor him closely and hold him accountable. If he cannot reach agreement with Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch, then Fast Track is unlikely to pass the Senate. This week Senator Grassley said that currently they don’t have 60 votes in support of Fast Track and therefore it could not pass a filibuster. If Wyden demands that Congress sees the text of the TPP and has true involvement in the negotiations before they are finalized, then he and Hatch will not reach agreement and the Republicans will have to go it alone.

Oregon Teamsters know how important Wyden is. They participated in a protest against Fast Track at a Town Hall held by Wyden in January.

If Wyden signs on to Hatch's Fast Track bill, it will give Senate Democrats cover to support Fast Track. Without Wyden the Republicans will be going it alone and in a much weaker position.

So, Oregonians, call 888-979-9806. You can also join the "Fair Trade or Bust Tour" on Tuesday, Feb. 17 and Wednesday, Feb. 18. There will be back-to-back rallies and other actions.

They’ll be tweeting from @WAFairTrade and @ORFTC with the hashtag #FairTradeorBust.