Teamsters
Teamsters Launch: 'Let's Get America Working!' Teamster.org ...Today, the Teamsters Union launched the “Let’s Get America Working!” campaign to encourage both Democratic and Republican lawmakers to work together to focus on creating good jobs through investment in our infrastructure. Representatives from the Teamsters delivered packets to the offices of every member of Congress today that outlined the key areas the union believes lawmakers must focus on to help build, maintain and repair our infrastructure...
Teamster Skyway Toll Collectors Stand Together to Secure New Contract Teamster.org ...Chicago Skyway toll collectors stood together to secure a new three-year contract that gives them a living wage and critical new job protections. The workers ratified the agreement on Sept. 2. “Because our members stood together and made their voices heard, the union and our bargaining committee were able to stay strong throughout these difficult contract negotiations,” said John Coli Jr., President of Teamsters Local 727...
NLRB Determines Funeral Industry Giant SCI Violated Labor Laws Local 727 ...Region 13 of the National Labor Relations determined that funeral industry giant Service Corporation International (SCI) and SCI d/b/a Alderwoods violated labor laws by failing to provide relevant information on myriad issues to Teamsters Local 727. The NLRB ordered the company to post a notice at locations managed by SCI or SCI d/b/a Alderwoods locations...
Local 727 Fights Management’s Mistreatment of Coca-Cola Workers Local 727 ...Teamsters Local 727 is fighting Reyes management’s attempts to renege on its agreement to give “clean slates” to hundreds of workers after assuming operations at the Great Lakes Coca-Cola Chicago and Alsip locations. “The union vehemently opposes the company’s bad faith actions, and we are fighting this tooth-and-nail,” said John Coli Jr., President of Local 727...
More Than 80 Groups Call on UPS to Leave American Legislative Exchange Council Teamster.org ...A broad-based coalition of 84 organizations has written a letter urging the United Parcel Service (UPS) to cease its membership to the controversial American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). The religious, environmental, labor, investor, public interest, public health, and civil rights groups encouraged UPS join a mass exodus of companies that left ALEC over concerns about the organization’s extreme agenda and secretive practices...
Teamsters upset about Craigslist ads for Sun Tran drivers Tucson News ...Ads recently posted on Craigslist for temporary drivers during the Sun Tran strike are causing controversy. The Teamsters Local 104 Union held a press conference on Wednesday to express their concern that ads were posted in several cities across the country looking for bus drivers to fill their positions during the bus strike...
Global Labor & Trade
Canada scuttles Australia’s TPP bid Macro Business ...When final negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement failed in Hawaii in late-July, proponents of the deal were hopeful that negotiators could come together and strike-up a deal by the end of August. With that date now passed, it looks as if the TPP could finally be ‘dead and buried’ – a view confirmed today via The Australian Dairy Farmer, which claims that Canada’s refusal to give ground on dairy protection has helped scuttle the deal...
How Washington Put Economics Ahead of Human Rights Foreign Affairs ...Credible reports from Reuters citing whistleblowers from within the State Department suggest that, for Malaysia, the upgrade to the Tier 2 Watch List had everything to do with the Trans-Pacific Partnership. When the bill authorizing Trade Promotion Authority passed, it contained a section authored by New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez that ruled that any trade agreement that included a country on Tier 3 of the TIP Report would not be eligible for Fast-Track status...
Big business-funded committee must not influence TTIP talks, says campaigner RT.com ...Secretive EU-US trade negotiations that could enable corporations to sue governments were infiltrated by a British committee that peddles the interests of the City of London while bypassing parliament, it has emerged. Academic and campaigner Linda Kaucher, who has long criticized the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) treaty, said the negotiations are heavily influenced by Big Tobacco and British financiers...
Local councils are starting to tear strips off TTIP OpenDemocracy ...An exciting new front is emerging in the battle against TTIP, harnessing the energy of grassroots groups to push opposition to the corporate power grab up the political food chain via the power of local councils. In the UK and across Europe, TTIP Free Zones are popping up like people power mushrooms...
Millions of Indian workers strike against ‘anti-labor policies’ Aljazeera ...Millions of Indian workers launched a 24-hour strike on Wednesday against what they said were Prime Minister Narendra Modi's “anti-labor policies,” prompting billions of dollars in economic losses. The unions — which represent a wide range of industries, from banking to coal mining — are demanding the government dump plans to sell off stakes in state-run companies...
Bangladesh Garment Workers Win Factory Improvements Solidarity Center ...Garment workers at Sin Sin Poly factory in Bangladesh’s export processing zone (EPZ) won increased pay and leave benefits in August after forming a workers’ welfare association and successfully negotiating with management. Mehedi Hasan, 35, was among workers helping form the association. When Mehedi began work at the factory, where he was hired to make plastic and polyethlene bags, he says instead he was asked to perform janitorial duties...
State & Living Wage Battles
Future of Missouri 'right to work' bill uncertain St. Louis Post-Dispatch ...With less than two weeks until the September veto session, House Republican leaders still are not sure if they will try to override Gov. Jay Nixon’s veto of the controversial “right to work” bill. The measure, which prohibits union membership as a condition of employment, caused quite a ruckus at the end of the Legislative session in May...
Nearly 1.5 Million IL Workers Could Benefit From A $12 Federal Minimum Wage Progress Illinois ...Of the nearly 1.5 million workers in Illinois who could be impacted directly or indirectly by the Raise the Wage Act, more than half are women and over two-thirds are at least 25 years old. More than one-third of African-American and Hispanic Illinois workers would see a raise, as would 38 percent of single moms in the state...
Texas Two-Steps All Over Voting Rights Slate ...Now Texas has upped the ante, arguing that if Section 2 indeed makes its voter ID law illegal, then Section 2 violates the Constitution. That means the other great statutory protection of minority voting rights would suffer the same fate as the preclearance provision and leave minority voters with few protections from unwarranted new voting hurdles...
Nikki Haley defends voter ID laws as “not racist,” ignoring overwhelming evidence AmericaBlog ...At the National Press Club earlier today, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley reportedly asserted that voter ID laws are “not racist.” Because apparently she hasn’t ever Googled “disparate impact test.” South Carolina’s voter ID law, in particular, was racist enough to get it blocked by the Department of Justice. According to the agency, minority voters in the state were 20 percent less likely than white voters to have the types of ID required under the law...
U.S. Labor
Wages Have Been Stagnant For 40 Years But It’s Not The Fault Of American Workers Think Progress ...Americans keep working harder and producing more economic growth. But they’re not getting rewarded with any extra pay for it, according to a new report from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). As the report’s authors write, “For decades following the end of World War II, inflation-adjusted hourly compensation for the vast majority of American workers rose in line with increases in economy-wide productivity.” But that link was severed starting in 1973...
The Rebellion Against Standardized Tests Is Exploding The Nation ...Progressive educators and teachers unions have rallied around opt-out in their increasingly militant resistance to corporate-style education reforms: anti-testing civil disobedience is a symbolic challenge to the ideology of “accountability”-based school policies, from rigid curriculum mandates to expansion of charter schools...
UAW Pitches Health-Care Co-op to Car Makers Wall Street Journal ...The United Auto Workers union is pushing Detroit car makers to put all their employees under one health-care umbrella, creating a powerful purchasing group that could upend traditional health care markets. The union’s idea would create a joint purchasing group for the three largest U.S. auto makers that would cover factory and white-collar workers and union-affiliated retirees...
Al Jazeera America Digital Journalists Unionize Huffingtoin Post ...Digital journalists at Al Jazeera America have voted to unionize, joining a growing number of digital newsrooms that have organized in recent months. ince June, Gawker, Salon, Guardian US and writers at Vice Media have all organized. Al Jazeera America, like Guardian US, is represented by NewsGuild-CWA...
A Whole Lot Of California Farmworkers Are Landing In The Hospital. Why? Think Progress ...As the west coast grapples with a mixture of drought and heat waves, heat-related illnesses among farm workers has continued to persist. Particularly in Caifornia where 70 percent of the state is classified in a state of “exceptional” or “extreme” drought, heat waves are becoming more severe due to higher humidity and warmer nighttime temperatures...
Your Cheap Uber Rides May Be Going Away. And That's a Good Thing. Mother Jones ...On Tuesday, a federal judge in San Francisco awarded class-action status to a lawsuit in which three Uber drivers contend they are employees, not independent contractors. If they win the lawsuit, the drivers must be reimbursed by the company for gas, workers compensation, and other benefits. Uber has said losing the suit, which could involve 15,000 of its former drivers, might force it to fundamentally rethink its business model...
Social Justice & Other News
After Mass Hunger Strikes & Lawsuits, Prisoners Force California to Scale Back Solitary Confinement Democracy Now ...In a major victory for prisoners’ rights, California has agreed to greatly reduce the use of solitary confinement as a part of a legal settlement that may have major implications in prisons nationwide. The decision on Tuesday came following years of litigation by a group of prisoners held in isolation for a decade or more at Pelican Bay State Prison, as well as prisoner hunger strikes...
Chicago Hunger Strikers Bring The Fight To Keep Their School Open To Washington D.C. Think Progress ...Last month, 12 parents and community members decided to go on a hunger strike to protest the closure of Dyett High School in Chicago. Dyett High School is slated to shut its doors by the 2015-16 school year but the hunger strikers advocate converting the high school into the Global Leadership and Green Technology High School instead. Now, in their 17th day of going without solid foods, they’re bringing the protest to Washington D.C...
The Freddie Gray Pre-Trial Begins The Atlantic ...Baltimore has found itself the focus of media attention once again as the first hearing for six officers charged with the death of Freddie Gray—who was killed in police custody in April—began Wednesday morning. Baltimore City Court Judge Barry Glenn Williams denied two significant motions for the pre-trial hearings...
Showing posts with label SCI. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SCI. Show all posts
Thursday, September 3, 2015
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Today's Teamsters News 05.07.15
Teamsters
Michigan Sysco Workers to Cast Ballots Amid Employer's Vicious Anti-Union Campaign Teamster.org ...Grand Rapids, Mich., Sysco workers will vote on Teamsters Local 406 representation Thursday after a months-long anti-union campaign waged by their employer, accused of multiple federal law violations during union organizing campaigns around the U.S...
Hoffa Statement On Reid Delaying Fast Track Teamster.org ...Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa in response to Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid announcing he will not allow the chamber to quickly push fast track trade legislation through when it has a time-sensitive transportation funding bill on its plate: “Sen. Reid knows what America’s priorities should be. This Congress needs to figure out how to properly fund the nation’s transportation network"...
Teamsters’ Proposal At Funeral Services Company SCI Recommended By Leading Proxy Voting Advisor, ISS Teamster.org ...The country’s leading proxy voting advisor, ISS, recommends shareholders of Service Corporation of America vote for an equity retention proposal sponsored by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters at the company’s annual meeting on May 13...
Teamsters Join Community Leaders, Shareholders in Calling for Independent Monitoring Program at National Express AGM Teamster.org ...Today, the Teamsters Union and other institutional shareholders, along with community, faith and global labor representatives spoke at the National Express Group Annual General Meeting in London. They spoke in support of an independent monitoring program at the company’s U.S. school bus subsidiary, Durham School Services...
NAACP Leader, Member of Parliament Meet to Discuss Human Rights Concerns at National Express Group Teamster.org ...Doreen Lawrence, Baroness of Clarendon and a member of Britain’s House of Lords, met today with Dot Scott, president of the Charleston, S.C., chapter of the NAACP, on issues concerning civil rights, human rights and workplace conditions at Durham School Services in the United States. Durham is the school bus subsidiary of United Kingdom-based National Express Group PLC and the second-largest school bus transportation company in the U.S...
Victory for Dispatchers and Mechanics of Keolis Transit Teamsters Local 769 ...Today, May 6, 2015, the Dispatchers and Mechanics of Keolis Transit America Inc. in Fort Lauderdale, Florida unanimous voted “YES” to join our Brothers and Sisters at Teamsters Local 769. The election was conducted by the National Labor relation Board. There are 76 Bus Drivers in the bargaining unit...
Global Labor & Trade
Dem candidates slam Obama trade agenda The Hill ...Democratic Senate hopefuls are running hard against President Obama’s trade agenda. Swing-state Democrats are sounding the alarm that Obama’s free trade proposals, backed by their GOP opponents, would ship U.S. manufacturing jobs overseas and lead to greater unemployment at home...
Obama and Nike: Is company a model on trade - or a cautionary tale? Oregon Live ..."Nike is built on manufacturing shoes in countries with cheap labor costs," said Jason Stanford, spokesman for the Washington, D.C.-based Coalition to Stop Fast Track, an anti-free trade group backed by labor unions and many other groups. "They're a big reason the shoe industry all looks like Nike now," with almost all of its products made overseas, he added...
Wall Street Titans Who Crashed Global Economy in 2008 Go Big for TPP Common Dreams ...Even as millions and millions of Americans continue to stand firmly in opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, those backing the TPP, including President Obama and a large majority of the Republican caucus, still have two dedicated demographic groups pledging their allegiance to the cause and arguing the so-called "free trade agreement (FTA)" would be good for average workers and the economy overall: billionaires and Wall Street titans...
Is free trade more important than ending forced labor? The Hill ...The proposed amendments are no-brainers. Why would the United States allow or improve commerce with a country that allows forced labor to be part of its economy? Why would the United States want to reward countries that fail so significantly to value human dignity? And why would the United States want to allow the importing of goods produced by children or those in bondage?...
German rail strike begins to slow Europe’s powerhouse Financial Times ...The strike has paralysed commuter services and disrupted commercial deliveries, raising fears about the power of small but influential unions to slam the brakes on industry in Europe’s biggest economy. The action by the train drivers’ union is due to last until Sunday morning...
China’s Manufacturing Hub Faces Labor Shortage and Higher Wages Bloomberg ...Salaries are rising, driven by improving productivity levels as manufacturers become more sophisticated and producers move up the value chain, the survey found. China’s policy makers are seeking to engineer a transition away from reliance on investment and cheap exports toward higher-end production, innovation, services and increased household consumption...
State & Living Wage Battles
New Jersey’s High Court Hears Christie’s Last Ditch Effort To Avoid Pension Payouts He Promised Think Progress ...When Christie failed to make the billions of dollars in payments he promised to 800,000 of the state’s working and retired public sector employees, more than a dozen of the state’s public worker unions filed suit. A lower court sided with the unions, ordering the state to pay an additional $1.6 billion into the pension funds this year. So the governor appealed the order to the state’s Supreme Court, which heard arguments this week...
These Are the American Workers Earning Less Than $15 per Hour In These Times ...According to the report, 42 percent of U.S. workers earn less than $15 an hour. More than half of African-Americans and 60 percent of Latinos make less than this figure. And 46.6 percent of those earning less than $15 are older than 35...
Labor Committee rejects Maine right-to-work bill Main Sun Journal ...he latest effort to make Maine a right-to-work state stumbled Wednesday, when lawmakers on the Legislature’s Labor Committee narrowly rejected a bill that would have allowed employees who benefit from collective bargaining to opt out of paying unions for those services...
Effort to repeal prevailing wage law likely to fail in committee today Journal Sentinel ...In March, Republican lawmakers passed right-to-work legislation to ban requirements that workers pay union fees, winning approval from Gov. Scott Walker even though he had said for years that it wasn't a priority for him. Now conservatives are targeting the prevailing wage, which sets pay for laborers on public works jobs such as bridges and highways...
New York governor proposes Wage Board to raise minimum wage Yahoo News ...New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Wednesday he would create a so-called Wage Board, a move apparently designed to allow him to raise the minimum wage without the approval of state lawmakers...
California city plans $16 minimum wage by 2019, highest in the U.S. Reuters ...Emmeryville, a small city in the San Francisco Bay Area, has given initial approval to the nation's highest minimum wage by setting baseline pay at $16 an hour in 2019, with gradual increases leading up to that level...
U.S. Labor
Chicago Therapists and Clients Protest Unexpected Closure of Major Mental Health Clinic In These Times ...Yesterday, around 100 people—including C4 staff and patients, activists with the Mental Health Movement, Arise Chicago and SEIU Local 73 members—rallied outside C4’s headquarters on Clark Street in the Uptown neighborhood. They called for a way to keep the clinics open—or at the very least, transparency in the crafting of a transition plan for over 300 staff who will lose their jobs...
Could Yale Graduate Students Be the Next to Unionize? The Nation ...Yale graduate students ramped up their organizing campaign on Tuesday as hundreds marched to deliver their union’s demands to the provost, calling for recognition and respect as part of the campus workforce. The action marks the latest push by the Graduate Employees and Students Organization (GESO-UNITE HERE) for official recognition...
AT&T workers in Dayton on grievance strike Dayton Daily News ...Around 300 AT&T workers in Dayton market walked out Wednesday from their jobs in a grievance strike, union officials with the Communications Workers of America Local 4322 said. The union, which represents call center, installation and repair technicians, has been in contract negotiations for several months with AT&T...
Miscellaneous
Transportation Emerges as Crucial to Escaping Poverty New York Times ...In a large, continuing study of upward mobility based at Harvard, commuting time has emerged as the single strongest factor in the odds of escaping poverty. The longer an average commute in a given county, the worse the chances of low-income families there moving up the ladder...
NSA phone data collection 'illegal', US court rules BBC ...A lower court judge erred in dismissing a lawsuit challenging the program's constitutionality, the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals said.
The ruling overturns a 2013 decision which said the programme was constitutional...
Michigan Sysco Workers to Cast Ballots Amid Employer's Vicious Anti-Union Campaign Teamster.org ...Grand Rapids, Mich., Sysco workers will vote on Teamsters Local 406 representation Thursday after a months-long anti-union campaign waged by their employer, accused of multiple federal law violations during union organizing campaigns around the U.S...
Hoffa Statement On Reid Delaying Fast Track Teamster.org ...Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa in response to Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid announcing he will not allow the chamber to quickly push fast track trade legislation through when it has a time-sensitive transportation funding bill on its plate: “Sen. Reid knows what America’s priorities should be. This Congress needs to figure out how to properly fund the nation’s transportation network"...
Teamsters’ Proposal At Funeral Services Company SCI Recommended By Leading Proxy Voting Advisor, ISS Teamster.org ...The country’s leading proxy voting advisor, ISS, recommends shareholders of Service Corporation of America vote for an equity retention proposal sponsored by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters at the company’s annual meeting on May 13...
Teamsters Join Community Leaders, Shareholders in Calling for Independent Monitoring Program at National Express AGM Teamster.org ...Today, the Teamsters Union and other institutional shareholders, along with community, faith and global labor representatives spoke at the National Express Group Annual General Meeting in London. They spoke in support of an independent monitoring program at the company’s U.S. school bus subsidiary, Durham School Services...
NAACP Leader, Member of Parliament Meet to Discuss Human Rights Concerns at National Express Group Teamster.org ...Doreen Lawrence, Baroness of Clarendon and a member of Britain’s House of Lords, met today with Dot Scott, president of the Charleston, S.C., chapter of the NAACP, on issues concerning civil rights, human rights and workplace conditions at Durham School Services in the United States. Durham is the school bus subsidiary of United Kingdom-based National Express Group PLC and the second-largest school bus transportation company in the U.S...
Victory for Dispatchers and Mechanics of Keolis Transit Teamsters Local 769 ...Today, May 6, 2015, the Dispatchers and Mechanics of Keolis Transit America Inc. in Fort Lauderdale, Florida unanimous voted “YES” to join our Brothers and Sisters at Teamsters Local 769. The election was conducted by the National Labor relation Board. There are 76 Bus Drivers in the bargaining unit...
Global Labor & Trade
Dem candidates slam Obama trade agenda The Hill ...Democratic Senate hopefuls are running hard against President Obama’s trade agenda. Swing-state Democrats are sounding the alarm that Obama’s free trade proposals, backed by their GOP opponents, would ship U.S. manufacturing jobs overseas and lead to greater unemployment at home...
Obama and Nike: Is company a model on trade - or a cautionary tale? Oregon Live ..."Nike is built on manufacturing shoes in countries with cheap labor costs," said Jason Stanford, spokesman for the Washington, D.C.-based Coalition to Stop Fast Track, an anti-free trade group backed by labor unions and many other groups. "They're a big reason the shoe industry all looks like Nike now," with almost all of its products made overseas, he added...
Wall Street Titans Who Crashed Global Economy in 2008 Go Big for TPP Common Dreams ...Even as millions and millions of Americans continue to stand firmly in opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, those backing the TPP, including President Obama and a large majority of the Republican caucus, still have two dedicated demographic groups pledging their allegiance to the cause and arguing the so-called "free trade agreement (FTA)" would be good for average workers and the economy overall: billionaires and Wall Street titans...
Is free trade more important than ending forced labor? The Hill ...The proposed amendments are no-brainers. Why would the United States allow or improve commerce with a country that allows forced labor to be part of its economy? Why would the United States want to reward countries that fail so significantly to value human dignity? And why would the United States want to allow the importing of goods produced by children or those in bondage?...
German rail strike begins to slow Europe’s powerhouse Financial Times ...The strike has paralysed commuter services and disrupted commercial deliveries, raising fears about the power of small but influential unions to slam the brakes on industry in Europe’s biggest economy. The action by the train drivers’ union is due to last until Sunday morning...
China’s Manufacturing Hub Faces Labor Shortage and Higher Wages Bloomberg ...Salaries are rising, driven by improving productivity levels as manufacturers become more sophisticated and producers move up the value chain, the survey found. China’s policy makers are seeking to engineer a transition away from reliance on investment and cheap exports toward higher-end production, innovation, services and increased household consumption...
State & Living Wage Battles
New Jersey’s High Court Hears Christie’s Last Ditch Effort To Avoid Pension Payouts He Promised Think Progress ...When Christie failed to make the billions of dollars in payments he promised to 800,000 of the state’s working and retired public sector employees, more than a dozen of the state’s public worker unions filed suit. A lower court sided with the unions, ordering the state to pay an additional $1.6 billion into the pension funds this year. So the governor appealed the order to the state’s Supreme Court, which heard arguments this week...
These Are the American Workers Earning Less Than $15 per Hour In These Times ...According to the report, 42 percent of U.S. workers earn less than $15 an hour. More than half of African-Americans and 60 percent of Latinos make less than this figure. And 46.6 percent of those earning less than $15 are older than 35...
Labor Committee rejects Maine right-to-work bill Main Sun Journal ...he latest effort to make Maine a right-to-work state stumbled Wednesday, when lawmakers on the Legislature’s Labor Committee narrowly rejected a bill that would have allowed employees who benefit from collective bargaining to opt out of paying unions for those services...
Effort to repeal prevailing wage law likely to fail in committee today Journal Sentinel ...In March, Republican lawmakers passed right-to-work legislation to ban requirements that workers pay union fees, winning approval from Gov. Scott Walker even though he had said for years that it wasn't a priority for him. Now conservatives are targeting the prevailing wage, which sets pay for laborers on public works jobs such as bridges and highways...
New York governor proposes Wage Board to raise minimum wage Yahoo News ...New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Wednesday he would create a so-called Wage Board, a move apparently designed to allow him to raise the minimum wage without the approval of state lawmakers...
California city plans $16 minimum wage by 2019, highest in the U.S. Reuters ...Emmeryville, a small city in the San Francisco Bay Area, has given initial approval to the nation's highest minimum wage by setting baseline pay at $16 an hour in 2019, with gradual increases leading up to that level...
U.S. Labor
Chicago Therapists and Clients Protest Unexpected Closure of Major Mental Health Clinic In These Times ...Yesterday, around 100 people—including C4 staff and patients, activists with the Mental Health Movement, Arise Chicago and SEIU Local 73 members—rallied outside C4’s headquarters on Clark Street in the Uptown neighborhood. They called for a way to keep the clinics open—or at the very least, transparency in the crafting of a transition plan for over 300 staff who will lose their jobs...
Could Yale Graduate Students Be the Next to Unionize? The Nation ...Yale graduate students ramped up their organizing campaign on Tuesday as hundreds marched to deliver their union’s demands to the provost, calling for recognition and respect as part of the campus workforce. The action marks the latest push by the Graduate Employees and Students Organization (GESO-UNITE HERE) for official recognition...
AT&T workers in Dayton on grievance strike Dayton Daily News ...Around 300 AT&T workers in Dayton market walked out Wednesday from their jobs in a grievance strike, union officials with the Communications Workers of America Local 4322 said. The union, which represents call center, installation and repair technicians, has been in contract negotiations for several months with AT&T...
Miscellaneous
Transportation Emerges as Crucial to Escaping Poverty New York Times ...In a large, continuing study of upward mobility based at Harvard, commuting time has emerged as the single strongest factor in the odds of escaping poverty. The longer an average commute in a given county, the worse the chances of low-income families there moving up the ladder...
NSA phone data collection 'illegal', US court rules BBC ...A lower court judge erred in dismissing a lawsuit challenging the program's constitutionality, the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals said.
The ruling overturns a 2013 decision which said the programme was constitutional...
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Today's Teamster News 05.22.14
Teamster News
Teamsters Strike Averted Pekin Daily Times ...After about five hours of mediation between the city of Pekin and Teamsters Local 627 officials the two sides reached a tentative agreement Tuesday to keep city services operational...
International Brotherhood Of Teamsters Reports Taylor Farms Workers' Rights Violations Insurance News Net ...Taylor Farms workers and Teamster members gathered with state and community leaders at a forum on May 15 evening to investigate workers' rights violations at the company's facilities in Tracy, California, according to a release from International Brotherhood of Teamsters...
ACTR Drivers To Vote On Union The Eagle ...Bus drivers of ACTR, Addison County Transit Resources, will vote to unionize June 11, according to driver Craig Bingham. Bingham says the drivers will decide to join the Teamsters Local 597...
Drivers Physicals Must Now Be Performed by Certified Medical Examiners Trucking Info ...The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is reminding the trucking industry Wednesday marks the start of new regulations requiring that all U.S. DOT physicals must be performed by a qualified health professional listed on the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners.
The new program sets baseline training and testing standards for medical professionals who perform commercial driver physicals and for tracking of driver medical certificates...
Teamsters Local 727 Defends Funeral Workers at SCI Shareholders Meeting Teamsters Local 727 ...Teamsters Local 727 President John Coli Jr. on May 14 publicly denounced funeral giant Service Corporation International at its annual shareholders meeting in Houston for the company’s mistreatment of Chicago-area workers...
Trade
Surprise, US media fails to cover talks on big 'trade' deal with Europe TeamsterNation ...The European media came out for a press conference today against TAFTA, the latest power grab by big corporations and the 1%. The American media wasn't interested in the so-called trade deal with Europe...
Trans-Pacific Partnership Talks To Intensify As Key Players Remain Divided Raw Story ...Asia-Pacific trade ministers said Tuesday they would intensify talks on a vast trans-Pacific free trade agreement, but offered no clue on when a final accord would be reached. At the end of a two-day meeting in Singapore, ministers and chief negotiators of the 12 putative member economies of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) remained divided on key issues...
State Battles
Christie's pension payment reduction plan sparks lawsuit from CWA NJ.com ...Another prominent labor union, the Communications Workers of America, says it will file a lawsuit in an effort to stop Gov. Chris Christie's plans to grab $2.43 billion meant for the pension system to balance the state budget...
Minnesota vs. Wisconsin, and More Econbrowser ... No turnaround for Wisconsin — it continues to lag Minnesota and the Nation...
War On Workers
U.S. Fast Food Protests Go Global The Hill ...Last Thursday, fast food workers in over 30 countries participated in protests over poverty wages, a lack of full-time positions, poor working conditions and management retaliation against union activism. U.S. workers protested in over 160 cities...
McDonald's Vacates Headquarters Ahead Of Massive Protest Business Insider ...McDonald's executives vacated the company headquarters in Oak Brook, Illinois, on Wednesday ahead of a massive protest involving thousands of workers and supporters...
Why Is Credit Suisse Still Allowed to Do Business in the United States? The Atlantic ...Credit Suisse, the gigantic Swiss bank, is clearly a criminal organization. In its guilty plea yesterday, Credit Suisse admitted that it has been actively helping Americans (and no doubt people from all around the world) evade taxes for years...
Is Credit Suisse Really in Jail? Baseline Scenario ...no one will go to jail because of the conviction...
Hubris at the Top: The Imperial and Tone Deaf CEO Wall Street on Parade ...Yesterday, at the JPMorgan shareholders’ meeting, which has been held in Tampa, Florida for the past three years, more than 1,000 miles from the JPMorgan headquarters in New York (ostensibly to avoid mass protests), CEO Jamie Dimon’s pay package was rubber stamped by shareholders at $20 million for 2013. Over the past 18 months, the bank has been charged with ever alarming amounts of crimes, including the unprecedented two-felony count charge for aiding and abetting the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme which devastated financial lives across America...
Miscellaneous
TransCanada Considers Keystone XL Pipeline Alternative, Oil By Rail Reuters ...TransCanada Corp is in talks with customers about shipping Canadian crude to the United States by rail as an alternative route as its Keystone XL pipeline project that has been mired in political delays, Chief Executive Russ Girling said on Wednesday...
Couple Fined $750, Threatened With Jail for Feeding Homeless People Alternet ...A Florida couple who fed more than 100 homeless people each week have been accused of breaking the law for their good deed...
Saudi Arabia: Filipino Maid Disfigured with Boiling Water for not Bringing Coffee on Time IBT ...The maid, who is from Pikit, North Cotabato, said she had been working for the Arab family in Riyadh for two months. She was not given her salary or provided with proper meals...
Teamsters Strike Averted Pekin Daily Times ...After about five hours of mediation between the city of Pekin and Teamsters Local 627 officials the two sides reached a tentative agreement Tuesday to keep city services operational...
International Brotherhood Of Teamsters Reports Taylor Farms Workers' Rights Violations Insurance News Net ...Taylor Farms workers and Teamster members gathered with state and community leaders at a forum on May 15 evening to investigate workers' rights violations at the company's facilities in Tracy, California, according to a release from International Brotherhood of Teamsters...
ACTR Drivers To Vote On Union The Eagle ...Bus drivers of ACTR, Addison County Transit Resources, will vote to unionize June 11, according to driver Craig Bingham. Bingham says the drivers will decide to join the Teamsters Local 597...
Drivers Physicals Must Now Be Performed by Certified Medical Examiners Trucking Info ...The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is reminding the trucking industry Wednesday marks the start of new regulations requiring that all U.S. DOT physicals must be performed by a qualified health professional listed on the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners.
The new program sets baseline training and testing standards for medical professionals who perform commercial driver physicals and for tracking of driver medical certificates...
Teamsters Local 727 Defends Funeral Workers at SCI Shareholders Meeting Teamsters Local 727 ...Teamsters Local 727 President John Coli Jr. on May 14 publicly denounced funeral giant Service Corporation International at its annual shareholders meeting in Houston for the company’s mistreatment of Chicago-area workers...
Trade
Surprise, US media fails to cover talks on big 'trade' deal with Europe TeamsterNation ...The European media came out for a press conference today against TAFTA, the latest power grab by big corporations and the 1%. The American media wasn't interested in the so-called trade deal with Europe...
Trans-Pacific Partnership Talks To Intensify As Key Players Remain Divided Raw Story ...Asia-Pacific trade ministers said Tuesday they would intensify talks on a vast trans-Pacific free trade agreement, but offered no clue on when a final accord would be reached. At the end of a two-day meeting in Singapore, ministers and chief negotiators of the 12 putative member economies of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) remained divided on key issues...
State Battles
Christie's pension payment reduction plan sparks lawsuit from CWA NJ.com ...Another prominent labor union, the Communications Workers of America, says it will file a lawsuit in an effort to stop Gov. Chris Christie's plans to grab $2.43 billion meant for the pension system to balance the state budget...
Minnesota vs. Wisconsin, and More Econbrowser ... No turnaround for Wisconsin — it continues to lag Minnesota and the Nation...
War On Workers
U.S. Fast Food Protests Go Global The Hill ...Last Thursday, fast food workers in over 30 countries participated in protests over poverty wages, a lack of full-time positions, poor working conditions and management retaliation against union activism. U.S. workers protested in over 160 cities...
McDonald's Vacates Headquarters Ahead Of Massive Protest Business Insider ...McDonald's executives vacated the company headquarters in Oak Brook, Illinois, on Wednesday ahead of a massive protest involving thousands of workers and supporters...
Why Is Credit Suisse Still Allowed to Do Business in the United States? The Atlantic ...Credit Suisse, the gigantic Swiss bank, is clearly a criminal organization. In its guilty plea yesterday, Credit Suisse admitted that it has been actively helping Americans (and no doubt people from all around the world) evade taxes for years...
Is Credit Suisse Really in Jail? Baseline Scenario ...no one will go to jail because of the conviction...
Hubris at the Top: The Imperial and Tone Deaf CEO Wall Street on Parade ...Yesterday, at the JPMorgan shareholders’ meeting, which has been held in Tampa, Florida for the past three years, more than 1,000 miles from the JPMorgan headquarters in New York (ostensibly to avoid mass protests), CEO Jamie Dimon’s pay package was rubber stamped by shareholders at $20 million for 2013. Over the past 18 months, the bank has been charged with ever alarming amounts of crimes, including the unprecedented two-felony count charge for aiding and abetting the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme which devastated financial lives across America...
Miscellaneous
TransCanada Considers Keystone XL Pipeline Alternative, Oil By Rail Reuters ...TransCanada Corp is in talks with customers about shipping Canadian crude to the United States by rail as an alternative route as its Keystone XL pipeline project that has been mired in political delays, Chief Executive Russ Girling said on Wednesday...
Couple Fined $750, Threatened With Jail for Feeding Homeless People Alternet ...A Florida couple who fed more than 100 homeless people each week have been accused of breaking the law for their good deed...
Saudi Arabia: Filipino Maid Disfigured with Boiling Water for not Bringing Coffee on Time IBT ...The maid, who is from Pikit, North Cotabato, said she had been working for the Arab family in Riyadh for two months. She was not given her salary or provided with proper meals...
Monday, December 30, 2013
Today's Teamsters News 12.30.13
Refinery news: Minnesota Northern Tier workers may strike Dec. 31 on wages, safety issues: Teamsters Platts ...Minnesota's Northern Tier refinery is facing a potential strike that could shut its refinery in Saint Paul Park, Minnesota, as soon as December 31, according to Teamsters Local 120, which represents about 200 workers at the plant...
Service Corporation International : Teamsters Local 727 Updates on Service Corp. International Refuses Interest Arbitration Teamsters Local 727 ...Teamsters Local 727 announced Service Corp. International refused an interest arbitration offer made by the Teamsters to end a five- month lockout of Chicago funeral directors and drivers...
Antiques to replace NYC horse carriages CNN ...If activists have their way, horse-drawn carriages in New York City may soon be replaced by antique electric cars...
Charts: The Worst Long-Term Unemployment Crisis Since the Depression Mother Jones ...the economic downturn remains in full effect for millions of Americans, particularly the nearly 40 percent of the unemployed who have been looking for work for six months or more...
Where the 1.3 million people losing unemployment aid this week live Washington Post ...every state but one — North Dakota — has added more people than jobs since the recession began...
Elizabeth Warren: It's the Right of Every American to Retire with Dignity -- Why We Must Expand Social Security Alternet ...If we do nothing, Social Security will be safe for the next 20 years and even after that will continue to pay most benefits through the end of the century. With some modest adjustments, we can keep the system solvent for many more years, and could even increase benefits...
Wis. teachers refuses award from Paul Ryan during MLK ceremony: 'Lackey for the 1%' The Blaze ... A Wisconsin teacher refused to accept an award from Rep. Paul Ryan during a ceremony last week, saying he couldn’t do so “in good conscience” because of the Republican congressman’s politics...
As critics gain, ALEC gives ground Politico ...The American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative group of state lawmakers and corporations that, among other things, drafts model legislation, saw an exodus of members and a sharp decline in fundraising after it was tied to controversial “stand your ground laws” like the one made infamous following the shooting death of Florida teen Trayvon Martin...
“Honey, I Shrunk Killed the Middle Class” naked capitalism ... even as the stock market roars ahead, more investors are coming to recognize the shoddy foundations of this so-called recovery and perhaps more important, that the legitimacy of the ruling classes erodes quickly when ordinary citizens recognize how badly the deck is stacked against them...
'Military-Style' Raid on California Power Station Spooks U.S. Foreign Policy ...Around 1:00 AM on April 16, at least one individual (possibly two) entered two different manholes at the PG&E Metcalf power substation, southeast of San Jose, and cut fiber cables in the area around the substation. That knocked out some local 911 services, landline service to the substation, and cell phone service in the area, a senior U.S. intelligence official told Foreign Policy. The intruder(s) then fired more than 100 rounds from what two officials described as a high-powered rifle at several transformers in the facility. Ten transformers were damaged in one area of the facility, and three transformer banks -- or groups of transformers -- were hit in another...
Home Prices Back at Peaks in Some Areas Wall Street Journal ...Home prices have zipped back into record territory in a handful of American cities, a milestone that comes seven years after the housing bust ravaged the market and the broader economy. Values are up more than 13% from their 2007 high in Oklahoma City and by more than 6% in the Denver metro area. Prices are back to all-time highs in 10 of the nation's 50 largest metropolitan areas...
This Trade Fight Is Against ‘Global Apartheid’ (opinion) Campaign for America's Future ...organizations ... (should) step up against is what she calls “this global apartheid phenomenon” in which “international elites, some of whom don’t have a allegiance to any country,” are creating conditions that are worsening economic inequality and racial inequities around the world, including the United States...
Why China is stepping up its presence in Detroit auto industry TradeReform ...Encouraged by the low price of real estate and the high level of advanced engineering talent, dozens of Chinese auto companies and suppliers are opening plants and offices in and around the Motor City, where they hope to one day sell cars to US buyers...
‘Safe Harbor’ in Bankruptcy Is Upended in Detroit Case New York Times ...“When you’re in a municipal bankruptcy, where the debtor is a municipality, there are very strong public-interest considerations that ought to be balanced,” Mr. Schwarcz said. He and other specialists said there had not been any such discussion in Detroit’s case...
France’s Hollande Gets Court Approval for 75% Millionaire Tax Bloomberg ...French President Francois Hollande received approval from the country’s constitutional court to proceed with his plan to tax salaries above 1 million euros at 75 percent for this year and next....
Setback for Scalia in Attempt to Curtail Labor Rights truthout ...the Supreme Court decided against ruling on a legal decision from a lower court which, if broadly applied, could have undermined some of the few remaining effective union organizing techniques: neutrality and card check agreements...
Service Corporation International : Teamsters Local 727 Updates on Service Corp. International Refuses Interest Arbitration Teamsters Local 727 ...Teamsters Local 727 announced Service Corp. International refused an interest arbitration offer made by the Teamsters to end a five- month lockout of Chicago funeral directors and drivers...
Antiques to replace NYC horse carriages CNN ...If activists have their way, horse-drawn carriages in New York City may soon be replaced by antique electric cars...
Charts: The Worst Long-Term Unemployment Crisis Since the Depression Mother Jones ...the economic downturn remains in full effect for millions of Americans, particularly the nearly 40 percent of the unemployed who have been looking for work for six months or more...
Where the 1.3 million people losing unemployment aid this week live Washington Post ...every state but one — North Dakota — has added more people than jobs since the recession began...
Elizabeth Warren: It's the Right of Every American to Retire with Dignity -- Why We Must Expand Social Security Alternet ...If we do nothing, Social Security will be safe for the next 20 years and even after that will continue to pay most benefits through the end of the century. With some modest adjustments, we can keep the system solvent for many more years, and could even increase benefits...
Wis. teachers refuses award from Paul Ryan during MLK ceremony: 'Lackey for the 1%' The Blaze ... A Wisconsin teacher refused to accept an award from Rep. Paul Ryan during a ceremony last week, saying he couldn’t do so “in good conscience” because of the Republican congressman’s politics...
As critics gain, ALEC gives ground Politico ...The American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative group of state lawmakers and corporations that, among other things, drafts model legislation, saw an exodus of members and a sharp decline in fundraising after it was tied to controversial “stand your ground laws” like the one made infamous following the shooting death of Florida teen Trayvon Martin...
“Honey, I Shrunk Killed the Middle Class” naked capitalism ... even as the stock market roars ahead, more investors are coming to recognize the shoddy foundations of this so-called recovery and perhaps more important, that the legitimacy of the ruling classes erodes quickly when ordinary citizens recognize how badly the deck is stacked against them...
'Military-Style' Raid on California Power Station Spooks U.S. Foreign Policy ...Around 1:00 AM on April 16, at least one individual (possibly two) entered two different manholes at the PG&E Metcalf power substation, southeast of San Jose, and cut fiber cables in the area around the substation. That knocked out some local 911 services, landline service to the substation, and cell phone service in the area, a senior U.S. intelligence official told Foreign Policy. The intruder(s) then fired more than 100 rounds from what two officials described as a high-powered rifle at several transformers in the facility. Ten transformers were damaged in one area of the facility, and three transformer banks -- or groups of transformers -- were hit in another...
Home Prices Back at Peaks in Some Areas Wall Street Journal ...Home prices have zipped back into record territory in a handful of American cities, a milestone that comes seven years after the housing bust ravaged the market and the broader economy. Values are up more than 13% from their 2007 high in Oklahoma City and by more than 6% in the Denver metro area. Prices are back to all-time highs in 10 of the nation's 50 largest metropolitan areas...
This Trade Fight Is Against ‘Global Apartheid’ (opinion) Campaign for America's Future ...organizations ... (should) step up against is what she calls “this global apartheid phenomenon” in which “international elites, some of whom don’t have a allegiance to any country,” are creating conditions that are worsening economic inequality and racial inequities around the world, including the United States...
Why China is stepping up its presence in Detroit auto industry TradeReform ...Encouraged by the low price of real estate and the high level of advanced engineering talent, dozens of Chinese auto companies and suppliers are opening plants and offices in and around the Motor City, where they hope to one day sell cars to US buyers...
‘Safe Harbor’ in Bankruptcy Is Upended in Detroit Case New York Times ...“When you’re in a municipal bankruptcy, where the debtor is a municipality, there are very strong public-interest considerations that ought to be balanced,” Mr. Schwarcz said. He and other specialists said there had not been any such discussion in Detroit’s case...
France’s Hollande Gets Court Approval for 75% Millionaire Tax Bloomberg ...French President Francois Hollande received approval from the country’s constitutional court to proceed with his plan to tax salaries above 1 million euros at 75 percent for this year and next....
Setback for Scalia in Attempt to Curtail Labor Rights truthout ...the Supreme Court decided against ruling on a legal decision from a lower court which, if broadly applied, could have undermined some of the few remaining effective union organizing techniques: neutrality and card check agreements...
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Today's Teamster News 12.18.13
Teamsters Stand in Solidarity with Korean Railway Workers on Strike teamster.org ...The Teamsters and the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division of the Teamsters are standing in solidarity with striking Korean railway workers...
Port Workers In IKEA Supply Chain Hold Solidarity Actions Over Lockout teamster.org ...hundreds of dock workers at 10 ports around the globe held rallies to show their support for the 350 Teamsters who have been locked out from their jobs without pay for seven months at IKEA’s store in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada...
Teamsters Donating Toys to Hershey Ronald McDonald House teamster.org ...Teamsters Local Union 776 in Harrisburg will be donating more than $7,500 in toys to the Ronald McDonald House in Hershey...
SCI Deceives Grieving Family For $15,000 Funeral, Relatives Outraged teamster.org ...“We had no clue there was a change of ownership,” Johnson said. “We went there on the memory of a good family business only to find out it is owned by this huge conglomerate that is mistreating workers and basically spitting on the memory of my mom...”
Northern Tier Refinery Workers Vote To Strike teamster.org ...workers from the Northern Tier refinery in St. Paul Park, Minn. voted overwhelmingly to strike if necessary, rejecting cuts proposed by management that could dramatically undermine the safety of operations. The refinery workers are represented by Teamsters Local 120...
GES Exposition Services Threatens Chicago's Convention Business teamster.org ...The company is demanding a laundry list of concessions from the Teamsters, including more work-rule restrictions, further crew-size reductions and changes in seniority...
It’s Time to Halt Middle-Class Housing Crisis teamster.org ...10 million homeowners still owe more than their homes are worth...
Accidental Tax Break Saves Wealthiest Americans $100 Billion Bloomberg ...By shuffling his company stock in and out of more than 30 trusts, he’s given at least $7.9 billion to his heirs while legally avoiding about $2.8 billion in U.S. gift taxes since 2010, according to calculations based on data in Adelson’s U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings...
U.S. preparing civil charges against Citigroup, Merrill Lynch: sources Reuters ...Civil investigators have compiled evidence that allegedly shows that investors lost tens of billions of dollars after purchasing securities Citigroup had marketed as safe even though the bank had reason to believe otherwise...
Elizabeth Warren’s New Bill Aims to Stop Employers Discriminating Against the Poor truthdig ...Employers often use credit scores to weed out poorer applicants despite the fact that studies show these numbers have nothing to do with productivity or dedication, but the Equal Employment for All Act introduced Tuesday would prohibit this form of discrimination from taking place...
Why are we letting China buy American companies? New York Post ...The Smithfield buyout is a great loss because the company has become a huge exporter, to Japan and elsewhere, and has developed, with taxpayer assistance, systems and technologies that are best in class. Of course, that was why it became a target and why China Inc. overpaid to get it. But the only American beneficiaries will be a handful of investors. The rest of Smithfield’s stakeholders, and the American economy, will be bruised...
Another Apple Supplier in China Admits Gross Violations of Worker Rights Economic Policy Institute ...In a swift reaction to ugly publicity about suicides, injuries, and mistreatment of workers, Biel Crystal, one of Apple’s most important suppliers of touchscreen cover glass for its iPhones, reached an agreement with the Chinese labor rights group, SACOM, to take three steps toward better conditions by January 2014...
Mexico's rights body warns of growth of vigilantes Associated Press ...Raul Plascencia, president of the National Human Rights Commission, said the growth of these groups are already undermining the rule of law but could also lead to more violence. He blamed the emergence of such groups on an official failure to provide security...
Merkel compared NSA to Stasi in heated encounter with Obama The Guardian ...German chancellor furious after revelations US intelligence agency listened in on her personal mobile phone...
Court: Occupy Columbia can sue Haley over arrests Associated Press ...Gov. Nikki Haley isn't immune from being sued by Occupy Columbia protesters who were kicked off the Statehouse grounds in 2011, a federal appeals court ruled Monday...
Port Workers In IKEA Supply Chain Hold Solidarity Actions Over Lockout teamster.org ...hundreds of dock workers at 10 ports around the globe held rallies to show their support for the 350 Teamsters who have been locked out from their jobs without pay for seven months at IKEA’s store in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada...
Teamsters Donating Toys to Hershey Ronald McDonald House teamster.org ...Teamsters Local Union 776 in Harrisburg will be donating more than $7,500 in toys to the Ronald McDonald House in Hershey...
SCI Deceives Grieving Family For $15,000 Funeral, Relatives Outraged teamster.org ...“We had no clue there was a change of ownership,” Johnson said. “We went there on the memory of a good family business only to find out it is owned by this huge conglomerate that is mistreating workers and basically spitting on the memory of my mom...”
Northern Tier Refinery Workers Vote To Strike teamster.org ...workers from the Northern Tier refinery in St. Paul Park, Minn. voted overwhelmingly to strike if necessary, rejecting cuts proposed by management that could dramatically undermine the safety of operations. The refinery workers are represented by Teamsters Local 120...
GES Exposition Services Threatens Chicago's Convention Business teamster.org ...The company is demanding a laundry list of concessions from the Teamsters, including more work-rule restrictions, further crew-size reductions and changes in seniority...
It’s Time to Halt Middle-Class Housing Crisis teamster.org ...10 million homeowners still owe more than their homes are worth...
Accidental Tax Break Saves Wealthiest Americans $100 Billion Bloomberg ...By shuffling his company stock in and out of more than 30 trusts, he’s given at least $7.9 billion to his heirs while legally avoiding about $2.8 billion in U.S. gift taxes since 2010, according to calculations based on data in Adelson’s U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings...
U.S. preparing civil charges against Citigroup, Merrill Lynch: sources Reuters ...Civil investigators have compiled evidence that allegedly shows that investors lost tens of billions of dollars after purchasing securities Citigroup had marketed as safe even though the bank had reason to believe otherwise...
Elizabeth Warren’s New Bill Aims to Stop Employers Discriminating Against the Poor truthdig ...Employers often use credit scores to weed out poorer applicants despite the fact that studies show these numbers have nothing to do with productivity or dedication, but the Equal Employment for All Act introduced Tuesday would prohibit this form of discrimination from taking place...
Why are we letting China buy American companies? New York Post ...The Smithfield buyout is a great loss because the company has become a huge exporter, to Japan and elsewhere, and has developed, with taxpayer assistance, systems and technologies that are best in class. Of course, that was why it became a target and why China Inc. overpaid to get it. But the only American beneficiaries will be a handful of investors. The rest of Smithfield’s stakeholders, and the American economy, will be bruised...
Another Apple Supplier in China Admits Gross Violations of Worker Rights Economic Policy Institute ...In a swift reaction to ugly publicity about suicides, injuries, and mistreatment of workers, Biel Crystal, one of Apple’s most important suppliers of touchscreen cover glass for its iPhones, reached an agreement with the Chinese labor rights group, SACOM, to take three steps toward better conditions by January 2014...
Mexico's rights body warns of growth of vigilantes Associated Press ...Raul Plascencia, president of the National Human Rights Commission, said the growth of these groups are already undermining the rule of law but could also lead to more violence. He blamed the emergence of such groups on an official failure to provide security...
Merkel compared NSA to Stasi in heated encounter with Obama The Guardian ...German chancellor furious after revelations US intelligence agency listened in on her personal mobile phone...
Court: Occupy Columbia can sue Haley over arrests Associated Press ...Gov. Nikki Haley isn't immune from being sued by Occupy Columbia protesters who were kicked off the Statehouse grounds in 2011, a federal appeals court ruled Monday...
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Today's Teamster News 12.14.13
Teamsters look to organize local law enforcement and correctional officers philly.com ...The International Brotherhood of Teamsters hopes to consolidate resources and expand its base in Pennsylvania by forming a statewide association of law enforcement and correctional officers, union leaders announced Thursday...
Teamsters: SCI Admits to Labor Law Violations in Lockout of Funeral Workers teamster.org ...Funeral industry giant Service Corporation International (NYSE: SCI) has acknowledged its violation of several federal labor laws in its treatment of 59 locked out Chicago-area funeral employees...
Budget Deal Misses Big on Unemployment teamster.org ...A proposed congressional budget compromise approved by the House late Thursday, while generally a good first step for America, whiffed when it came to the long-term unemployed in this country...
Cameras Are Not the Answer Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen ...Cameras are essentially an accident investigation tool; they are not an accident prevention tool...
Corporate Extortion: States Are Giving Billions to Corporations That Don’t Create Jobs Alternet ...a dozen blue and red state governors are in a bidding war recklessly offering to spend billions for tax breaks and other public-paid subsidies to lure the corporate giant Boeing to build its next-generation aircraft factory...
US judge approves $5.7bn Visa and Mastercard settlement BBC News ...The two firms were accused of fixing the credit card fees charged to merchants each time a credit or debit card was used...
What Dodd-Frank Didn’t Fix: The Most Dangerous Aspects of Wall Street Wall Street on Parade ...Nothing has stopped the high frequency traders from fleecing the little guy who is trying to sell his 100 shares at a fair price. Nothing has stopped Wall Street from fleecing as much as two-thirds of your 401(k) over your working career through hidden fees and commissions...
$2.75 an Hour?! The Shocking Secret of Goodwill Alternet ...Goodwill CEOs make over $400,000 a year. But some of its disabled employees are paid less than $3 an hour...
This Deal Could Make You Sick: A Backdoor for Food Contamination Public Citizen ...U.S. and EU TAFTA negotiators, advised by the world’s largest agribusinesses, have used coded language in pushing for TAFTA rules that could roll back food safety standards...
Peripheral Europe's New Normal: 50 Applicants For One Minimum Wage Job zero hedge ...what is emerging as Europe's magic number, namely, 1 in 50, or what an unemployed person's chances are of getting a minimum wage job...
Teamsters: SCI Admits to Labor Law Violations in Lockout of Funeral Workers teamster.org ...Funeral industry giant Service Corporation International (NYSE: SCI) has acknowledged its violation of several federal labor laws in its treatment of 59 locked out Chicago-area funeral employees...
Budget Deal Misses Big on Unemployment teamster.org ...A proposed congressional budget compromise approved by the House late Thursday, while generally a good first step for America, whiffed when it came to the long-term unemployed in this country...
Cameras Are Not the Answer Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen ...Cameras are essentially an accident investigation tool; they are not an accident prevention tool...
Corporate Extortion: States Are Giving Billions to Corporations That Don’t Create Jobs Alternet ...a dozen blue and red state governors are in a bidding war recklessly offering to spend billions for tax breaks and other public-paid subsidies to lure the corporate giant Boeing to build its next-generation aircraft factory...
US judge approves $5.7bn Visa and Mastercard settlement BBC News ...The two firms were accused of fixing the credit card fees charged to merchants each time a credit or debit card was used...
What Dodd-Frank Didn’t Fix: The Most Dangerous Aspects of Wall Street Wall Street on Parade ...Nothing has stopped the high frequency traders from fleecing the little guy who is trying to sell his 100 shares at a fair price. Nothing has stopped Wall Street from fleecing as much as two-thirds of your 401(k) over your working career through hidden fees and commissions...
$2.75 an Hour?! The Shocking Secret of Goodwill Alternet ...Goodwill CEOs make over $400,000 a year. But some of its disabled employees are paid less than $3 an hour...
This Deal Could Make You Sick: A Backdoor for Food Contamination Public Citizen ...U.S. and EU TAFTA negotiators, advised by the world’s largest agribusinesses, have used coded language in pushing for TAFTA rules that could roll back food safety standards...
Peripheral Europe's New Normal: 50 Applicants For One Minimum Wage Job zero hedge ...what is emerging as Europe's magic number, namely, 1 in 50, or what an unemployed person's chances are of getting a minimum wage job...
Friday, December 13, 2013
Today's Teamster News 12.13.13
Funeral Giant SCI Refuses Interest Arbitration teamster.org ...SCI, which operates under the Dignity Memorial brand name, rejected the arbitration deal after turning down an unconditional offer to return to work made by Teamsters Local 727 in September. The lockout affects 59 funeral directors and livery drivers at 16 Dignity Memorial funeral homes...
Teamsters Announce Formation Of Pennsylvania Law Enforcement Association Teamsters Pennsylvania Conference ...The association will represent the more than 2,000 law enforcement officers working in over 100 Pennsylvania borough and county departments who already belong to the Teamsters Union...
Teamsters Rally for Justice, Fair Election at Ohio Bottle Manufacturer teamster.org ...Teamsters Local 377 Secretary-Treasurer Sam Cook talks about the fight for a fair and free election for workers who manufacture aluminum bottles at EXAL Corp. in Youngstown, Ohio--a fight that the Teamsters recently took all the way to Canada...
Canadian IKEA Employees in Sweden to Appeal to Kamprad Sveriges Television ...300 workers at an IKEA store in Canada have been without a job for seven months during a protracted conflict between the union and the employer. The company has lost its Swedish values, they say, and now they visit Sweden to meet IKEA's founder Ingvar Kamprad...
House Passes Budget Bill to Increase Spending, Reverse Some Automatic Cuts Time ...Although Democrats are upset that unemployment benefits will not be extended in the deal, the agreement drafted by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Washington) drew bipartisan support in a fiercely divided Congress...
The Top 10 Threats of the Trans-Atlantic “Trade” Deal To U.S. Consumers Public Citizen ...A “trade” deal only in name, TAFTA, which corporate proponents have tried to rebrand as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), would require the United States and EU to conform domestic food and product safety standards, financial regulations, climate policies, data privacy protections and other non-trade policies to TAFTA rules – rules being negotiated in secret...
Iceland Sends Four Bank Bosses to the Slammer truthdig ...The onetime CEO of Iceland’s Kaupthing bank, one Hreidar Mar Sigurdsson, is going to jail for five and a half years for his part in his firm’s downfall—which also helped his country’s economy bottom out in 2008. He’ll be in good company. Three other former high-level Kaupthing execs, including ousted board Chairman Sigurdur Einarsson, will join Sigurdsson for shorter stints in prison for aiding in the cover-up of a sham deal with a Qatari financier that sank the firm late that year...
Ford to hire 11,000 workers in US and Asia in 2014 BBC News ...About 5,000 workers will be hired in the US and 6,000 in Asia, where Ford is opening two plants in China next year...
Feds To Examine NY commuter rail line for 2 months Associated Press ...Federal experts will spend the next two months examining safety compliance and safety culture at a commuter railroad that operated a train that derailed and killed four people this month...
Grass-roots economic protests spread across Italy Associated Press ...Students are marching through cities and towns, small business owners are blocking highway entrances and demonstrators have even tried to close the border with France. Their singular aim: To send all the politicians home in hopes of ending the country's malaise...
Orr: Detroit pensions still at risk in bankruptcy Associated Press ...Orr, appointed by the governor last spring to run Detroit, said he "absolutely" supports a campaign to tap foundations and wealthy people to prevent the possible sale of city-owned art and preserve pensions. But he warned that the "expectations of the retiree community should be sober..."
Group’s conservative funding questioned Nashua Telegraph ...A left-leaning interest group charged that the Concord-based, Josiah Bartlett Center was secretly bankrolled by national conservatives and promoting a national corporate agenda...
Teamsters Announce Formation Of Pennsylvania Law Enforcement Association Teamsters Pennsylvania Conference ...The association will represent the more than 2,000 law enforcement officers working in over 100 Pennsylvania borough and county departments who already belong to the Teamsters Union...
Teamsters Rally for Justice, Fair Election at Ohio Bottle Manufacturer teamster.org ...Teamsters Local 377 Secretary-Treasurer Sam Cook talks about the fight for a fair and free election for workers who manufacture aluminum bottles at EXAL Corp. in Youngstown, Ohio--a fight that the Teamsters recently took all the way to Canada...
Canadian IKEA Employees in Sweden to Appeal to Kamprad Sveriges Television ...300 workers at an IKEA store in Canada have been without a job for seven months during a protracted conflict between the union and the employer. The company has lost its Swedish values, they say, and now they visit Sweden to meet IKEA's founder Ingvar Kamprad...
House Passes Budget Bill to Increase Spending, Reverse Some Automatic Cuts Time ...Although Democrats are upset that unemployment benefits will not be extended in the deal, the agreement drafted by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Washington) drew bipartisan support in a fiercely divided Congress...
The Top 10 Threats of the Trans-Atlantic “Trade” Deal To U.S. Consumers Public Citizen ...A “trade” deal only in name, TAFTA, which corporate proponents have tried to rebrand as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), would require the United States and EU to conform domestic food and product safety standards, financial regulations, climate policies, data privacy protections and other non-trade policies to TAFTA rules – rules being negotiated in secret...
Iceland Sends Four Bank Bosses to the Slammer truthdig ...The onetime CEO of Iceland’s Kaupthing bank, one Hreidar Mar Sigurdsson, is going to jail for five and a half years for his part in his firm’s downfall—which also helped his country’s economy bottom out in 2008. He’ll be in good company. Three other former high-level Kaupthing execs, including ousted board Chairman Sigurdur Einarsson, will join Sigurdsson for shorter stints in prison for aiding in the cover-up of a sham deal with a Qatari financier that sank the firm late that year...
Ford to hire 11,000 workers in US and Asia in 2014 BBC News ...About 5,000 workers will be hired in the US and 6,000 in Asia, where Ford is opening two plants in China next year...
Feds To Examine NY commuter rail line for 2 months Associated Press ...Federal experts will spend the next two months examining safety compliance and safety culture at a commuter railroad that operated a train that derailed and killed four people this month...
Grass-roots economic protests spread across Italy Associated Press ...Students are marching through cities and towns, small business owners are blocking highway entrances and demonstrators have even tried to close the border with France. Their singular aim: To send all the politicians home in hopes of ending the country's malaise...
Orr: Detroit pensions still at risk in bankruptcy Associated Press ...Orr, appointed by the governor last spring to run Detroit, said he "absolutely" supports a campaign to tap foundations and wealthy people to prevent the possible sale of city-owned art and preserve pensions. But he warned that the "expectations of the retiree community should be sober..."
Group’s conservative funding questioned Nashua Telegraph ...A left-leaning interest group charged that the Concord-based, Josiah Bartlett Center was secretly bankrolled by national conservatives and promoting a national corporate agenda...
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Locked-out Teamster funeral directors rally against SCI
 |
| Funeral home workers rally on 100th day of lockout. |
SCI locked out 59 funeral directors and drivers from 16 of the 59 funeral homes it owns in the Chicago area. As Teamster Angela Anello explained to Inside Booster:
All we are asking for are salaries and benefits that are commensurate with those at the other funeral homes in the Chicago areas....
(We) agreed to a pay cut. The next deal, we took a pay freeze for three years. Now, they want to tout a generous pay increase but also decrease our benefits.
 |
| John T. Coli. |
Teamsters Local 727, which represents the workers, explains:
With more than 1,400 funeral facilities, SCI is valued at approximately $4 billion and has seen its stock price rise 94 percent in just two years.
Local 727 urges all Chicago-area residents to support community-owned funeral homes. Recommended funeral home alternatives can be found at www.IntegrityInIllinois.com.Anello said SCI's business model relies on the local funeral directors, who are part of the community:
 |
| Becky Strzechowski |
We know the families. We pride ourselves on following up on all the details for the families we serve. We also have strong relationships with all the area churches and clergy...
The replacements are not from here. They don't even know the simple things such as how to get from point A to point B....
While our work is physically demanding and we work very long hours, it's very rewarding work. We all do it because we want to. Our job is to ease the transition from life to death and to make it easier to bear. There are hundreds of details to get it right. Hiring scabs is like turning this into a factory.
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Today's Teamster News 10.09.13
SCI’s Actions Have Broken Bonds With Chicago, Funeral Directors Say teamster.org ...The lockout of 59 funeral directors and drivers by Service Corporation International (SCI) at 16 Chicago-area funeral homes has not only cost workers their livelihoods, it has removed them from doing what they do best -- serving the needs of their communities as many have done for decades...
Shutdown delays FSI union vote News-Messenger ...The government shutdown has delayed a local trash-hauling company’s latest efforts to unionize. Workers at FSI Disposal were scheduled to vote on Thursday whether to join the Teamsters Local 507 in Cleveland...
Marquez union vote delayed The Sentinel ...Teamsters is pressing on with its campaign during the government shutdown, meeting with workers and former workers before and after shifts to build support. The union is accusing Marquez of firing pro-union employers and harassing others until they quit...
In Honor of National Truck Drive Appreciation Week teamster.org ...We posted hundreds of Teamster photos on Facebook. Now we made a video...
'Local Union Communications: The Social Art of Educating Members' TLA to be Held December 3-4 teamster.org ...This two-day Teamsters Leadership Academy (TLA), hosted by Local 986 in Los Angeles, will explore effective ways Teamster affiliates can communicate with members through the use of social networking, fliers, newsletters, websites and media...
Exclusive Gyms For Members Of Congress Deemed ‘Essential,’ Remain Open During Shutdown ThinkProgress ...Head Start programs have been shuttered, small businesses can’t get loans and hundreds of thousands of federal government employees are furloughed. But the exclusive gyms available only to members of Congress have remained open throughout the shutdown...
12 Warning Signs You'll Get Overworked and Underpaid by an Employer Alternet ...Beware of companies that call their employees “associates” or “team members.” This is a cheap way of making them feel valued without paying them...
Carter: Middle Class Today Resembles Past's Poor Associated Press ...Former President Jimmy Carter said Monday that the income gap in the United States has increased to the point where members of the middle class resemble the Americans who lived in poverty when he occupied the White House...
No Matter What Happens, Unions Get Blamed Counterpunch ...in response to Japan’s spectacular (albeit illegal) entry into the U.S. market, too many people drew the erroneous conclusion that American workers weren’t capable of producing a top-quality car, and, more specifically, that labor union members were inferior workers. You still hear people today parrot that ridiculous factoid...
China tells US to avoid debt crisis for sake of global economy BBC News ...A senior Chinese official has warned that the "clock is ticking" to avoid a US default that could hurt China's interests and the global economy...
5 Depressing Ways That 1%'s Huge Profits Have Broken the Back of America AlterNet ...The middle class, once the backbone of a strong American society, has been broken, beaten down, pushed further and further toward poverty levels. Here are five well-documented ways that this has happened...
Factory fire in Bangladesh kills garment workers The Guardian ...At least 10 die as fire services work to bring four-storey blaze under control in clothing industry zone of Gazipur, near Dhaka...
Class in the Classroom: Why Middle-Income Students Are Being Left in the Dust AlterNet ...It's well known that wealthy kids outperform poor kids in school, but now the rich are also pulling away from their middle-class peers. Why is that so?...
The Latest Voter Suppression Fad: Two Tiers Talking Points Memo ...Officials in Arizona and Kansas are making preparations for elections with two categories of voters. There will be those who provided proof of citizenship when they registered to vote, and will therefore be able to vote in all local, state, and federal elections. And then there will be those who did not provide proof of citizenship when they registered. Those people will only be able to vote in federal contests -- if at all...
Kansas Sec. of State Kris Kobach Has New Plan to Keep 17,500+ Legal Voters From Voting The BRAD BLOG ...That new proof-of-citizenship law took affect at the beginning of this year and has resulted in thousands of previously legal voters becoming "suspended" until such time as they present documentation to prove they are citizens...
U.S. ban on some Samsung products to go into effect Reuters ...The U.S. Trade Representative's office said on Tuesday that it would allow a U.S. ban to go into effect on products made by Samsung Electronics Co Ltd that infringe on Apple Inc. patents...
Profiting from the Poor: Outsourcing Social Services Puts Most Vulnerable at Risk Center for Media and Democracy ...Privatized foster care? What could possibly go wrong?...
Get Ready for Extra Helpings of Feces, Pus and Chlorine on Your Plate — America is Deregulating Its Meat Industry AlterNet ...Risks to food consumers will only increase as the government "washes its hands" of meat and poultry inspection...
How Do You Know Someone Is Doing Something Awful? If They Call You A Terrorist For Photographing It. Upworthy ...I don’t know what to find more horrifying — the idea that people still habitually abuse helpless animals, or that this is how parts of our country want to treat the people who try to stop it...
Boston School bus drivers stage wildcat strike, disrupting service to thousands of students Boston Globe ...A wildcat strike by the union representing Boston Public Schools bus drivers has halted service for tens of thousands of students, officials said...
Gov. Brown signs package of 18 business-friendly bills Los Angeles Times ...Gov. Jerry Brown has signed into law legislation that was heavily lobbied by Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and aimed at boosting sales of high-tech goods and services...
Ohio man remains legally dead despite his recent court plea RT ...Miller was ruled legally dead by a court in 1994, eight years after he disappeared from his home in Arcadia. His appeal Monday in Hancock County Probate Court to rescind his “death” didn’t earn a change of status in the view of the law...
Shutdown delays FSI union vote News-Messenger ...The government shutdown has delayed a local trash-hauling company’s latest efforts to unionize. Workers at FSI Disposal were scheduled to vote on Thursday whether to join the Teamsters Local 507 in Cleveland...
Marquez union vote delayed The Sentinel ...Teamsters is pressing on with its campaign during the government shutdown, meeting with workers and former workers before and after shifts to build support. The union is accusing Marquez of firing pro-union employers and harassing others until they quit...
In Honor of National Truck Drive Appreciation Week teamster.org ...We posted hundreds of Teamster photos on Facebook. Now we made a video...
'Local Union Communications: The Social Art of Educating Members' TLA to be Held December 3-4 teamster.org ...This two-day Teamsters Leadership Academy (TLA), hosted by Local 986 in Los Angeles, will explore effective ways Teamster affiliates can communicate with members through the use of social networking, fliers, newsletters, websites and media...
Exclusive Gyms For Members Of Congress Deemed ‘Essential,’ Remain Open During Shutdown ThinkProgress ...Head Start programs have been shuttered, small businesses can’t get loans and hundreds of thousands of federal government employees are furloughed. But the exclusive gyms available only to members of Congress have remained open throughout the shutdown...
12 Warning Signs You'll Get Overworked and Underpaid by an Employer Alternet ...Beware of companies that call their employees “associates” or “team members.” This is a cheap way of making them feel valued without paying them...
Carter: Middle Class Today Resembles Past's Poor Associated Press ...Former President Jimmy Carter said Monday that the income gap in the United States has increased to the point where members of the middle class resemble the Americans who lived in poverty when he occupied the White House...
No Matter What Happens, Unions Get Blamed Counterpunch ...in response to Japan’s spectacular (albeit illegal) entry into the U.S. market, too many people drew the erroneous conclusion that American workers weren’t capable of producing a top-quality car, and, more specifically, that labor union members were inferior workers. You still hear people today parrot that ridiculous factoid...
China tells US to avoid debt crisis for sake of global economy BBC News ...A senior Chinese official has warned that the "clock is ticking" to avoid a US default that could hurt China's interests and the global economy...
5 Depressing Ways That 1%'s Huge Profits Have Broken the Back of America AlterNet ...The middle class, once the backbone of a strong American society, has been broken, beaten down, pushed further and further toward poverty levels. Here are five well-documented ways that this has happened...
Factory fire in Bangladesh kills garment workers The Guardian ...At least 10 die as fire services work to bring four-storey blaze under control in clothing industry zone of Gazipur, near Dhaka...
Class in the Classroom: Why Middle-Income Students Are Being Left in the Dust AlterNet ...It's well known that wealthy kids outperform poor kids in school, but now the rich are also pulling away from their middle-class peers. Why is that so?...
The Latest Voter Suppression Fad: Two Tiers Talking Points Memo ...Officials in Arizona and Kansas are making preparations for elections with two categories of voters. There will be those who provided proof of citizenship when they registered to vote, and will therefore be able to vote in all local, state, and federal elections. And then there will be those who did not provide proof of citizenship when they registered. Those people will only be able to vote in federal contests -- if at all...
Kansas Sec. of State Kris Kobach Has New Plan to Keep 17,500+ Legal Voters From Voting The BRAD BLOG ...That new proof-of-citizenship law took affect at the beginning of this year and has resulted in thousands of previously legal voters becoming "suspended" until such time as they present documentation to prove they are citizens...
U.S. ban on some Samsung products to go into effect Reuters ...The U.S. Trade Representative's office said on Tuesday that it would allow a U.S. ban to go into effect on products made by Samsung Electronics Co Ltd that infringe on Apple Inc. patents...
Profiting from the Poor: Outsourcing Social Services Puts Most Vulnerable at Risk Center for Media and Democracy ...Privatized foster care? What could possibly go wrong?...
Get Ready for Extra Helpings of Feces, Pus and Chlorine on Your Plate — America is Deregulating Its Meat Industry AlterNet ...Risks to food consumers will only increase as the government "washes its hands" of meat and poultry inspection...
How Do You Know Someone Is Doing Something Awful? If They Call You A Terrorist For Photographing It. Upworthy ...I don’t know what to find more horrifying — the idea that people still habitually abuse helpless animals, or that this is how parts of our country want to treat the people who try to stop it...
Boston School bus drivers stage wildcat strike, disrupting service to thousands of students Boston Globe ...A wildcat strike by the union representing Boston Public Schools bus drivers has halted service for tens of thousands of students, officials said...
Gov. Brown signs package of 18 business-friendly bills Los Angeles Times ...Gov. Jerry Brown has signed into law legislation that was heavily lobbied by Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and aimed at boosting sales of high-tech goods and services...
Ohio man remains legally dead despite his recent court plea RT ...Miller was ruled legally dead by a court in 1994, eight years after he disappeared from his home in Arcadia. His appeal Monday in Hancock County Probate Court to rescind his “death” didn’t earn a change of status in the view of the law...
Friday, September 27, 2013
Labor board: Funeral giant SCI broke the law in dispute with Teamsters
Unscrupulous funeral giant SCI broke the law by bad faith bargaining with Teamster employees, threatening them, spying on them and trying to trick members into leaving the union, according to the Chicago region of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
The NLRB has also dismissed frivolous and potentially defamatory accusations made by the company against the union.
Service Corporation International (SCI) locked out 59 funeral directors and drivers at 16 Chicago-area funeral homes last month.
John T. Coli, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 727, said:
The NLRB has also dismissed frivolous and potentially defamatory accusations made by the company against the union.
Service Corporation International (SCI) locked out 59 funeral directors and drivers at 16 Chicago-area funeral homes last month.
John T. Coli, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 727, said:
... the company has been merely grasping at straws, trying to shift the blame on the union with their false accusations. In reality, they are the ones violating the law and mistreating their dedicated employees.According to Teamsters Local 727's press statement,
SCI’s numerous unfair labor practices forced the union-represented funeral workers to strike on July 2. Despite an unconditional offer by the union to return to work, the company locked out workers on Aug. 19. Pickets have continued to protest SCI’s bad faith bargaining and other unfair labor practices.
The Region of the NLRB now will attempt to reach a settlement with SCI on the charges. Absent settlement, the Region typically issues a complaint, and a hearing in front of an administrative law judge then takes place.
“Our fight is not over, but this is a victory for working men and women,” Coli said.
Local 727 urges all Chicago-area residents to support community-owned funeral homes as labor actions continue. More than 60 recommended funeral home alternatives can be found online at www.IntegrityInIllinois.com to aid families in affected communities.We know you still have a ways to go, but congratulations on a hard-fought victory!
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Today's Teamster News 08.07.13
Keolis Paratransit Workers Choose Teamsters Union IBT ...Paratransit drivers and mechanics with Keolis, a global transportation group in Long Beach, Calif., have voted overwhelmingly, 74-2, in favor of Teamster representation...
SCI Regressively Bargains With Striking Funeral Directors As Negotiations Continue IBT ...More than a month after Chicagoland funeral directors and drivers were forced to strike over unfair labor practices, Service Corporation International (NYSE: SCI) resumed negotiations with Teamsters Local 727 only to regressively bargain...
Teamster Nurses Voting on New Contract WKBN News ...Nurses at Northside Hospital, who are members of Teamsters Local 377 in Youngstown, Ohio, began voting on a new contract Tuesday...
Hernando commissioners, Teamsters set to meet on CBA Bay News 9 ...A collective bargaining session will be held later this month between Hernando Commissioners (Florida) and Teamsters Local 79...
L.A. Story The American Prospect ...The Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy: a new model for American liberalism?..
FBI Pressuring Internet Providers To Allow Government Surveillance Software Fire Dog Lake ...The FBI is pressuring Internet service providers to install software inside their networks to allow real-time government spying on users. The FBI claims real-time collection of information is suddenly necessary for the agency to do its job...
TEN THOUSAND turn out to protest GOP in Asheville, NC DailyKos ...There are plans for future protests in other cities (Charlotte is tentatively August 19) and it appears some smaller satellite protests are happening around the country...
Walmart retaliates against striking workers (opinion) Digital Journal ...In June, Walmart workers around the country walked off the job in a coordinated strike to protest working conditions at the nation's number one private employer. In a fit of revenge wreaking of a Hollywood sequel, Walmart has begun terminating employees...
SEIU backs $15 an hour minimum wage MSNBC ...“We support the workers demand for $15 an hour and want to hear from the most profitable multinational companies in the world, why not?” said SEIU President Mary Kay Henry...
The Magical World Where McDonald's Pays $15 an Hour? It's Australia The Atlantic ...Even in countries with a high minimum wage, the golden arches manage to turn a profit. Here's how...
What it costs to replace a twenty-something Washington Post ...Oh, those pesky millennials. They’re been called entitled, lazy and over-confident. They seem to put social media right up there with food, water and shelter. They have–gasp–tattoos and piercings and sleep with their cell phones. Oh my! And now, it turns out, they’re also quite costly to replace on the job...
How cheap 'Made in China' products hurt the US economy in multiple ways New York Times ...Here is a symbol of China's assault on the US economy: the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, which connects Brooklyn and Staten Island. This landmark, which opened in 1964, is North America's longest suspension bridge. It's also in urgent need of renovation. Unfortunately, $34 million in steel production and fabrication work has been outsourced to China...
How predatory payday lenders pop back up even after states crack down Pro Publica ...In 2008, payday lenders suffered a major defeat when the Ohio legislature banned high-cost loans. That same year, they lost again when they dumped more than $20 million into an effort to roll back the law: But five years later, hundreds of payday loan stores still operate in Ohio, charging annual rates that can approach 700 percent...
US gov’t accuses Bank of America of civil fraud in sale of $850M of mortgage bonds in 2008 Associated Press ...The U.S. government has accused Bank of America Corp. of civil fraud, saying the company failed to disclose risks and misled investors in its sale of $850 million of mortgage bonds during 2008...
Stat of the Day: US Has Enough Empty Houses to Hold All of Britain treehugger ...According to the latest data, the number of vacant U.S. homes touched 18.7-million in the second quarter...
Chevron to pay $2 million for refinery violations Contra Costa Times ...Chevron Corp. will pay $2 million in fines and restitution after pleading no contest Monday to six misdemeanor criminal charges stemming from a fire at its Richmond refinery last year...
Groups Charge ALEC with Tax Fraud over Secretive "Scholarship" Fund PRWatch ...The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is running a secretive, multi-million dollar slush fund that finances lavish trips for state legislators and has misled the Internal Revenue Service about the fund’s activity, two government watchdog groups charged...
State employees get some protections in bill, but grievance procedures shortened News & Observer ...North Carolina’s Gov. Pat McCrory is expected to sign a bill that speeds up the employee grievance process for state workers but backs away from earlier efforts to sharply curtail their civil service protections...
Judge Strikes Down City Council's Prevailing Wage Bill NY1 ...The mayor had vetoed the legislation that requires businesses which receive at least $1 million from the city to pay workers at a rate higher than the state's minimum wage...
SCI Regressively Bargains With Striking Funeral Directors As Negotiations Continue IBT ...More than a month after Chicagoland funeral directors and drivers were forced to strike over unfair labor practices, Service Corporation International (NYSE: SCI) resumed negotiations with Teamsters Local 727 only to regressively bargain...
Teamster Nurses Voting on New Contract WKBN News ...Nurses at Northside Hospital, who are members of Teamsters Local 377 in Youngstown, Ohio, began voting on a new contract Tuesday...
Hernando commissioners, Teamsters set to meet on CBA Bay News 9 ...A collective bargaining session will be held later this month between Hernando Commissioners (Florida) and Teamsters Local 79...
L.A. Story The American Prospect ...The Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy: a new model for American liberalism?..
FBI Pressuring Internet Providers To Allow Government Surveillance Software Fire Dog Lake ...The FBI is pressuring Internet service providers to install software inside their networks to allow real-time government spying on users. The FBI claims real-time collection of information is suddenly necessary for the agency to do its job...
TEN THOUSAND turn out to protest GOP in Asheville, NC DailyKos ...There are plans for future protests in other cities (Charlotte is tentatively August 19) and it appears some smaller satellite protests are happening around the country...
Walmart retaliates against striking workers (opinion) Digital Journal ...In June, Walmart workers around the country walked off the job in a coordinated strike to protest working conditions at the nation's number one private employer. In a fit of revenge wreaking of a Hollywood sequel, Walmart has begun terminating employees...
SEIU backs $15 an hour minimum wage MSNBC ...“We support the workers demand for $15 an hour and want to hear from the most profitable multinational companies in the world, why not?” said SEIU President Mary Kay Henry...
The Magical World Where McDonald's Pays $15 an Hour? It's Australia The Atlantic ...Even in countries with a high minimum wage, the golden arches manage to turn a profit. Here's how...
What it costs to replace a twenty-something Washington Post ...Oh, those pesky millennials. They’re been called entitled, lazy and over-confident. They seem to put social media right up there with food, water and shelter. They have–gasp–tattoos and piercings and sleep with their cell phones. Oh my! And now, it turns out, they’re also quite costly to replace on the job...
How cheap 'Made in China' products hurt the US economy in multiple ways New York Times ...Here is a symbol of China's assault on the US economy: the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, which connects Brooklyn and Staten Island. This landmark, which opened in 1964, is North America's longest suspension bridge. It's also in urgent need of renovation. Unfortunately, $34 million in steel production and fabrication work has been outsourced to China...
How predatory payday lenders pop back up even after states crack down Pro Publica ...In 2008, payday lenders suffered a major defeat when the Ohio legislature banned high-cost loans. That same year, they lost again when they dumped more than $20 million into an effort to roll back the law: But five years later, hundreds of payday loan stores still operate in Ohio, charging annual rates that can approach 700 percent...
US gov’t accuses Bank of America of civil fraud in sale of $850M of mortgage bonds in 2008 Associated Press ...The U.S. government has accused Bank of America Corp. of civil fraud, saying the company failed to disclose risks and misled investors in its sale of $850 million of mortgage bonds during 2008...
Stat of the Day: US Has Enough Empty Houses to Hold All of Britain treehugger ...According to the latest data, the number of vacant U.S. homes touched 18.7-million in the second quarter...
Chevron to pay $2 million for refinery violations Contra Costa Times ...Chevron Corp. will pay $2 million in fines and restitution after pleading no contest Monday to six misdemeanor criminal charges stemming from a fire at its Richmond refinery last year...
Groups Charge ALEC with Tax Fraud over Secretive "Scholarship" Fund PRWatch ...The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is running a secretive, multi-million dollar slush fund that finances lavish trips for state legislators and has misled the Internal Revenue Service about the fund’s activity, two government watchdog groups charged...
State employees get some protections in bill, but grievance procedures shortened News & Observer ...North Carolina’s Gov. Pat McCrory is expected to sign a bill that speeds up the employee grievance process for state workers but backs away from earlier efforts to sharply curtail their civil service protections...
Judge Strikes Down City Council's Prevailing Wage Bill NY1 ...The mayor had vetoed the legislation that requires businesses which receive at least $1 million from the city to pay workers at a rate higher than the state's minimum wage...
Saturday, August 3, 2013
Today's Teamster News 08.03.13
Teamsters, other unions strike deal with Pennsylvania Convention Center Daily News ...Trade union members who went on strike early yesterday morning at the Pennsylvania Convention Center over proposed changes to work rules reached an agreement with the center's officials last night that put them back on the job...
Support for Teamsters Local 542 Strikers Grows as Families Joint Picket Line CBS/El Centro, CA ... Despite the 106 degree heat, 60 paramedics and EMTs in Imperial County continue to walk the picket line 24/7 as they fight for a pay raise and better health benefits...
Members of Congress Join Mayor Emanuel, Gov. Quinn to Support Striking Teamster Funeral Directors IBT ...Three members of Congress have joined Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and more than a dozen state legislators in support of striking Teamster-represented funeral directors...
BLET, SMART Advance Rail Crew Size Legislation BLET ...The Transportation Division of the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation International Association (SMART) and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET/IBT) have jointly announced that legislation requiring at least two crew members on all freight trains in the U.S. has been filed in Congress...
Paratransit to hire new personnel to replace striking Teamsters Lake County Record-Bee ...Paratransit Services personnel confirmed that they are hiring new permanent employees to replace workers who are currently on strike. About 25 Paratransit Services employees and Teamsters began the strike on Monday and has forced Lake Transit to reduce its services...
Study: Record Number 21 Million Young Adults Living With Parents CBSDC ...A new study from Pew Research finds that 36 percent of Millennials – young adults ages 18 to 31 – are living at their parents’ homes, the highest number in four decades. A record 21.6 million young adults were still living at home last year...
Flawed FBI Records Threaten Work Opportunities For Hundreds of Thousands of Job Seekers National Employment Law Project ...—A record 16.9 million FBI criminal background checks were run for employment or licensing purposes in 2012, a six-fold increase since 9/11. But serious flaws in the FBI records are jeopardizing work opportunities for hundreds of thousands of job seekers every year...
Swaps Probe Finds Banks Rigged Rate at Expense of Retirees Bloomberg ...U.S. investigators uncovered evidence that banks reaped millions of dollars in trading profits at the expense of companies and pension funds by manipulating a benchmark for interest-rate derivatives...
Banks Replacing Enron in Energy Incite Congress as Abuses Abound Bloomberg ...The U.S. government permitted Wall Street firms to expand in the energy industry a decade ago, when the collapse of Enron Corp. and its army of traders left a void in the market. The results aren’t pretty...
The Rule of Law in the Financial System (opinion) Credit Slips ...we cannot and will not see sufficient and durable financial regulatory reform without political reform...
Michigan Leads Nation in Massive Corporate Tax Breaks (The Untold Story of Detroit's Decline) The Real News ...Michigan leads the country with 29 mega corporate tax breaks, costing the state more than $7 billion and accounting for 12 percent of the megadeals nationwide...
Detroit automakers have right to object to Japan's currency manipulation (opinion) Detroit Free Press ...Last week, on the same day Japan finally jostled its way into the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade talks with the U.S. and 10 other nations, petitions signed by more than 80,000 autoworkers were sent to U.S. Congress members, urging that Japan be forced to stop rigging its currency to subsidize exports and keep out imports...
New labor movement emerges in Scott Walker’s Wisconsin Salon ...The legal protections that Walker took away were the fruits of decades of rank-and-file organizing, community partnership and direct action. What started in Wisconsin — which became the first state to recognize public sector unions in 1959 — is, after 2011, starting again...
What We Don’t Know about Foreclosure Practices May Still Hurt Us The Gilmer Mirror ...We already know that federal regulators have undermined accountability for the abuses by mortgage servicing companies. In another disturbing development, the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) are refusing to turn over information to members of Congress that could help them prevent such abuses from happening again...
IMF pressures Spain to weaken labor laws CBS News ...Currently, 26.3 percent of the nation's workforce is unemployed, down from an all-time high of 27.2 in the first quarter of 2013.The IMF called on Madrid to give more flexibility to employers when it comes to hiring and firing by reducing the legal requirements for temporary and permanent workers...
Greece: Anti-austerity protesters take campaign to Acropolis site in Athens Associated Press ...Greek civil servants protesting mass staff cuts took their campaign to the gates of the ancient Acropolis on Friday, after the government announced that 500 workers at the culture ministry would be suspended next month...
DOT Proposes to Cut ‘Burdensome’ Trucking Paperwork Journal of Commerce ...U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx has announced a proposal to eliminate a “burdensome” daily paperwork requirement for professional truck drivers, in order to reduce costs to the industry by an estimated $1.7 billion...
Is Oregon's mileage tax the future for the rest of us? San Gabriel Valley Tribune ...Two years from now, thousands of Oregon drivers could get a taste of what the future may hold for the rest of us: They will pay taxes not on the amount of gasoline their cars burn, but on the number of miles they drive...
Study: Wal-Mart Could Cost Taxpayers Millions Per Year in Employee Subsidies CBS D.C. ...While the fate of six Wal-Mart stores planned for D.C. remains unclear, a 2013 study says the company could cost taxpayers millions of dollars per year because of publicly funded benefit programs many of its 1.3 million U.S. employees are eligible for...
Michigan tells South Dakota Internet lender of cease-and-desist move over high interest rates Associated Press ...Michigan regulators say that Western Sky Financial charges interest rates of more than 340 percent. Michigan’s Department of Insurance and Financial Services said that it has given notice of its intention to issue a cease-and-desist order to the company that also charges loan fees of as much as 70 percent of the loan amount, 14 times the legal limit...
North Carolina’s Moral Mondays Keep Up Morale for the Long Haul In These Times ...On July 29, North Carolinians kicked off Raleigh’s last "Moral Monday" protest of 2013 before going on tour to organize other regions of the state. Despite reports that the movement had ended, organizers stressed the fight was far from over...
7-Eleven Sued for Representing Itself as Franchisor Blue MauMau ...Amid the other negative press, including litigation against franchisee and human trafficking, a lawsuit filed in the New Jersey federal court on Wednesday against 7-Eleven, Inc. and its Japanese entities accuses the franchisor of fraudulent business practices and abuses, related to misclassifying employees as independent contractors...
Motorola's New Smartphone: Made in the U.S.A., but Not for Much Pay The Atlantic ...Factory workers assembling the Moto X will make as little as $9-an-hour, if the help wanted ads are to be believed...
California to get America's fastest high-speed rail line Gizmag ...When people grumble about how they think the US isn’t as technologically advanced as it should be, they like to bring up bullet trains – Europe and Asia have them, so why doesn’t America? Well, it’s getting one...
Pennsylvania Will Extend Voter-ID Ban Through Next Election Bloomberg News ...Pennsylvania agreed to let a court order barring enforcement of the state’s voter-identification law continue through the November elections...
Illinois legislative leaders sue governor over pay veto Reuters ...The leaders of the Illinois House of Representatives and Senate filed a lawsuit challenging Governor Pat Quinn's veto of lawmakers' pay during a legislative impasse over pension reform...
Support for Teamsters Local 542 Strikers Grows as Families Joint Picket Line CBS/El Centro, CA ... Despite the 106 degree heat, 60 paramedics and EMTs in Imperial County continue to walk the picket line 24/7 as they fight for a pay raise and better health benefits...
Members of Congress Join Mayor Emanuel, Gov. Quinn to Support Striking Teamster Funeral Directors IBT ...Three members of Congress have joined Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and more than a dozen state legislators in support of striking Teamster-represented funeral directors...
BLET, SMART Advance Rail Crew Size Legislation BLET ...The Transportation Division of the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation International Association (SMART) and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET/IBT) have jointly announced that legislation requiring at least two crew members on all freight trains in the U.S. has been filed in Congress...
Paratransit to hire new personnel to replace striking Teamsters Lake County Record-Bee ...Paratransit Services personnel confirmed that they are hiring new permanent employees to replace workers who are currently on strike. About 25 Paratransit Services employees and Teamsters began the strike on Monday and has forced Lake Transit to reduce its services...
Study: Record Number 21 Million Young Adults Living With Parents CBSDC ...A new study from Pew Research finds that 36 percent of Millennials – young adults ages 18 to 31 – are living at their parents’ homes, the highest number in four decades. A record 21.6 million young adults were still living at home last year...
Flawed FBI Records Threaten Work Opportunities For Hundreds of Thousands of Job Seekers National Employment Law Project ...—A record 16.9 million FBI criminal background checks were run for employment or licensing purposes in 2012, a six-fold increase since 9/11. But serious flaws in the FBI records are jeopardizing work opportunities for hundreds of thousands of job seekers every year...
Swaps Probe Finds Banks Rigged Rate at Expense of Retirees Bloomberg ...U.S. investigators uncovered evidence that banks reaped millions of dollars in trading profits at the expense of companies and pension funds by manipulating a benchmark for interest-rate derivatives...
Banks Replacing Enron in Energy Incite Congress as Abuses Abound Bloomberg ...The U.S. government permitted Wall Street firms to expand in the energy industry a decade ago, when the collapse of Enron Corp. and its army of traders left a void in the market. The results aren’t pretty...
The Rule of Law in the Financial System (opinion) Credit Slips ...we cannot and will not see sufficient and durable financial regulatory reform without political reform...
Michigan Leads Nation in Massive Corporate Tax Breaks (The Untold Story of Detroit's Decline) The Real News ...Michigan leads the country with 29 mega corporate tax breaks, costing the state more than $7 billion and accounting for 12 percent of the megadeals nationwide...
Detroit automakers have right to object to Japan's currency manipulation (opinion) Detroit Free Press ...Last week, on the same day Japan finally jostled its way into the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade talks with the U.S. and 10 other nations, petitions signed by more than 80,000 autoworkers were sent to U.S. Congress members, urging that Japan be forced to stop rigging its currency to subsidize exports and keep out imports...
New labor movement emerges in Scott Walker’s Wisconsin Salon ...The legal protections that Walker took away were the fruits of decades of rank-and-file organizing, community partnership and direct action. What started in Wisconsin — which became the first state to recognize public sector unions in 1959 — is, after 2011, starting again...
What We Don’t Know about Foreclosure Practices May Still Hurt Us The Gilmer Mirror ...We already know that federal regulators have undermined accountability for the abuses by mortgage servicing companies. In another disturbing development, the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) are refusing to turn over information to members of Congress that could help them prevent such abuses from happening again...
IMF pressures Spain to weaken labor laws CBS News ...Currently, 26.3 percent of the nation's workforce is unemployed, down from an all-time high of 27.2 in the first quarter of 2013.The IMF called on Madrid to give more flexibility to employers when it comes to hiring and firing by reducing the legal requirements for temporary and permanent workers...
Greece: Anti-austerity protesters take campaign to Acropolis site in Athens Associated Press ...Greek civil servants protesting mass staff cuts took their campaign to the gates of the ancient Acropolis on Friday, after the government announced that 500 workers at the culture ministry would be suspended next month...
DOT Proposes to Cut ‘Burdensome’ Trucking Paperwork Journal of Commerce ...U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx has announced a proposal to eliminate a “burdensome” daily paperwork requirement for professional truck drivers, in order to reduce costs to the industry by an estimated $1.7 billion...
Is Oregon's mileage tax the future for the rest of us? San Gabriel Valley Tribune ...Two years from now, thousands of Oregon drivers could get a taste of what the future may hold for the rest of us: They will pay taxes not on the amount of gasoline their cars burn, but on the number of miles they drive...
Study: Wal-Mart Could Cost Taxpayers Millions Per Year in Employee Subsidies CBS D.C. ...While the fate of six Wal-Mart stores planned for D.C. remains unclear, a 2013 study says the company could cost taxpayers millions of dollars per year because of publicly funded benefit programs many of its 1.3 million U.S. employees are eligible for...
Michigan tells South Dakota Internet lender of cease-and-desist move over high interest rates Associated Press ...Michigan regulators say that Western Sky Financial charges interest rates of more than 340 percent. Michigan’s Department of Insurance and Financial Services said that it has given notice of its intention to issue a cease-and-desist order to the company that also charges loan fees of as much as 70 percent of the loan amount, 14 times the legal limit...
North Carolina’s Moral Mondays Keep Up Morale for the Long Haul In These Times ...On July 29, North Carolinians kicked off Raleigh’s last "Moral Monday" protest of 2013 before going on tour to organize other regions of the state. Despite reports that the movement had ended, organizers stressed the fight was far from over...
7-Eleven Sued for Representing Itself as Franchisor Blue MauMau ...Amid the other negative press, including litigation against franchisee and human trafficking, a lawsuit filed in the New Jersey federal court on Wednesday against 7-Eleven, Inc. and its Japanese entities accuses the franchisor of fraudulent business practices and abuses, related to misclassifying employees as independent contractors...
Motorola's New Smartphone: Made in the U.S.A., but Not for Much Pay The Atlantic ...Factory workers assembling the Moto X will make as little as $9-an-hour, if the help wanted ads are to be believed...
California to get America's fastest high-speed rail line Gizmag ...When people grumble about how they think the US isn’t as technologically advanced as it should be, they like to bring up bullet trains – Europe and Asia have them, so why doesn’t America? Well, it’s getting one...
Pennsylvania Will Extend Voter-ID Ban Through Next Election Bloomberg News ...Pennsylvania agreed to let a court order barring enforcement of the state’s voter-identification law continue through the November elections...
Illinois legislative leaders sue governor over pay veto Reuters ...The leaders of the Illinois House of Representatives and Senate filed a lawsuit challenging Governor Pat Quinn's veto of lawmakers' pay during a legislative impasse over pension reform...
Friday, August 2, 2013
Today's Teamster News 08.02.13
Teamsters Strike at Pennsylvania Convention Center Philadelphia Inquirer ...Trade union members went on strike Thursday at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in a dispute over proposed changes in work rules...
Additional Meetings for MTD Emergency Transit Service Reduction Plan Santa Barbara Independent ...MTD drivers, mechanics, and utility workers are represented by Teamsters Local 186, which has concerns about the impact of California’s Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013 (PEPRA) on bargaining rights...
Teamster Funeral home workers near one month on strike at Montclair-Lucania Funeral Home Pioneer Local ...Since July 2, funeral home workers have been on the picket line outside the Montclair-Lucania Funeral Home, one of 16 in the Chicago area owned by SCI and managed under the name Dignity Memorial. That’s when he and other members of Teamsters Local 727, made up of funeral directors, embalmers and hearse drivers, voted to go on strike...
Pay Freezes on Tap for Some CUSD Employees, Not Teachers San Juan Capistrano Patch ...Nonteaching employees won't get their automatic pay raises at all next year, while management and Teamsters will have to wait six months...
McKesson Directors Re-Elected Amid CEO Pay Controversy Reuters ...Shareholders re-elected all of McKesson Corp's board members on Wednesday, defying the recommendations of influential proxy advisers and investors who object to the inflated compensation and dual roles of Chairman and CEO John Hammergren...
Maine’s DOT plans for possibility of rail shutdown Hilton Head Island Packet ...Contingency planning is underway in case Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway stops service following a runaway train explosion and fire that claimed 47 lives just north of the Maine border, state transportation officials said...
THUD Amendment Targets New Driver Hours of Service Rules Journal of Commerce ...The latest changes to the truck driver hours of service rules are being challenged by Rep. Richard Hanna (NY-R), who is expected to introduce an amendment to the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development bill that would block changes to the HOS rules that took effect July 1 from being “implemented, administered or enforced...”
Backyard Shock Doctrine: Wall Street's Destruction Comes Home Common Dreams ...Since 2007, the foreclosure crisis has displaced at least 10 million people from more than four million homes across the country...The displaced are young and old, rich and poor, and of every race, ethnicity, and religion. They add up to approximately the entire population of Michigan...
Former Trader Is Found Liable In Fraud Case New York Times ...Five years after Wall Street risk-taking nearly toppled the economy, the S.E.C. has taken only a handful of employees to court in connection with the crisis; most cases have been settled. The agency has not leveled fraud charges against one top executive at a big bank...
Congress Votes to End Fixed Interest for Student Loans Bloomberg ...The U.S. Congress gave final approval yesterday to a bill that pegs interest on government-sponsored student borrowing to a market-based rate, ensuring that almost 9 million undergraduates will pay 3.86 percent on their next loan...
Judge to serve 28 years after making $2 million for sending black children to jail Rolling Out ...Ciavarella worked alongside owners of private juvenile facilities to ensure that the prison remained occupied. The more prisoners equated to more profits for the owners of the prison. As a result, Ciavarella would sentence offenders with small offenses to months and, at times, years behind bars. He once sentenced a teen to three months in jail for creating a MySpace page that mocked her school’s assistant principal...
A Day’s Strike Seeks to Raise Fast-Food Pay New York Times ...From New York to several Midwestern cities, thousands of fast-food workers have been holding one-day strikes during peak mealtimes, quickly drawing national attention to their demands for much higher wages...
Despite fast food protests, Congress in no rush on minimum wage CNN ...Fast food workers striking for higher wages in seven cities Monday are bound to be disappointed. On their last week before vacation, Congress isn't likely to raise the minimum wage. They're not even close to critical mass on that issue...
Tax reform would fuel U.S. economy (opinion) Politico …The current tax rules were fine when U.S. exports dominated a global economy, but they are ill-suited for a digital age of intense competition. While other countries have modernized their international tax systems, the U.S. remains mired in the past. The U.S. tax system isn’t working for American businesses, workers or the economy as a whole...
D.C. Baptist Convention Weighs into Battle Against Large Retailers AFRO ...Religious leaders have gotten into the fight against large retailers in the District of Columbia in support of ensuring residents of the city are making living wages...
Phoenix Bus Drivers Reject Contract Associated Press ...Hundreds of bus drivers overwhelming rejected a proposed labor contract offer from First Transit on Wednesday, setting the stage for a midnight strike that would shut down service in the Phoenix-area...
Kansas Democrats want to re-examine voting laws Associated Press ...Some Wichita Democrats want Kansas legislators to use the special session in September to fix a problem they say exists in the state's new voting laws...
Additional Meetings for MTD Emergency Transit Service Reduction Plan Santa Barbara Independent ...MTD drivers, mechanics, and utility workers are represented by Teamsters Local 186, which has concerns about the impact of California’s Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013 (PEPRA) on bargaining rights...
Teamster Funeral home workers near one month on strike at Montclair-Lucania Funeral Home Pioneer Local ...Since July 2, funeral home workers have been on the picket line outside the Montclair-Lucania Funeral Home, one of 16 in the Chicago area owned by SCI and managed under the name Dignity Memorial. That’s when he and other members of Teamsters Local 727, made up of funeral directors, embalmers and hearse drivers, voted to go on strike...
Pay Freezes on Tap for Some CUSD Employees, Not Teachers San Juan Capistrano Patch ...Nonteaching employees won't get their automatic pay raises at all next year, while management and Teamsters will have to wait six months...
McKesson Directors Re-Elected Amid CEO Pay Controversy Reuters ...Shareholders re-elected all of McKesson Corp's board members on Wednesday, defying the recommendations of influential proxy advisers and investors who object to the inflated compensation and dual roles of Chairman and CEO John Hammergren...
Maine’s DOT plans for possibility of rail shutdown Hilton Head Island Packet ...Contingency planning is underway in case Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway stops service following a runaway train explosion and fire that claimed 47 lives just north of the Maine border, state transportation officials said...
THUD Amendment Targets New Driver Hours of Service Rules Journal of Commerce ...The latest changes to the truck driver hours of service rules are being challenged by Rep. Richard Hanna (NY-R), who is expected to introduce an amendment to the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development bill that would block changes to the HOS rules that took effect July 1 from being “implemented, administered or enforced...”
Backyard Shock Doctrine: Wall Street's Destruction Comes Home Common Dreams ...Since 2007, the foreclosure crisis has displaced at least 10 million people from more than four million homes across the country...The displaced are young and old, rich and poor, and of every race, ethnicity, and religion. They add up to approximately the entire population of Michigan...
Former Trader Is Found Liable In Fraud Case New York Times ...Five years after Wall Street risk-taking nearly toppled the economy, the S.E.C. has taken only a handful of employees to court in connection with the crisis; most cases have been settled. The agency has not leveled fraud charges against one top executive at a big bank...
Congress Votes to End Fixed Interest for Student Loans Bloomberg ...The U.S. Congress gave final approval yesterday to a bill that pegs interest on government-sponsored student borrowing to a market-based rate, ensuring that almost 9 million undergraduates will pay 3.86 percent on their next loan...
Judge to serve 28 years after making $2 million for sending black children to jail Rolling Out ...Ciavarella worked alongside owners of private juvenile facilities to ensure that the prison remained occupied. The more prisoners equated to more profits for the owners of the prison. As a result, Ciavarella would sentence offenders with small offenses to months and, at times, years behind bars. He once sentenced a teen to three months in jail for creating a MySpace page that mocked her school’s assistant principal...
A Day’s Strike Seeks to Raise Fast-Food Pay New York Times ...From New York to several Midwestern cities, thousands of fast-food workers have been holding one-day strikes during peak mealtimes, quickly drawing national attention to their demands for much higher wages...
Despite fast food protests, Congress in no rush on minimum wage CNN ...Fast food workers striking for higher wages in seven cities Monday are bound to be disappointed. On their last week before vacation, Congress isn't likely to raise the minimum wage. They're not even close to critical mass on that issue...
Tax reform would fuel U.S. economy (opinion) Politico …The current tax rules were fine when U.S. exports dominated a global economy, but they are ill-suited for a digital age of intense competition. While other countries have modernized their international tax systems, the U.S. remains mired in the past. The U.S. tax system isn’t working for American businesses, workers or the economy as a whole...
D.C. Baptist Convention Weighs into Battle Against Large Retailers AFRO ...Religious leaders have gotten into the fight against large retailers in the District of Columbia in support of ensuring residents of the city are making living wages...
Phoenix Bus Drivers Reject Contract Associated Press ...Hundreds of bus drivers overwhelming rejected a proposed labor contract offer from First Transit on Wednesday, setting the stage for a midnight strike that would shut down service in the Phoenix-area...
Kansas Democrats want to re-examine voting laws Associated Press ...Some Wichita Democrats want Kansas legislators to use the special session in September to fix a problem they say exists in the state's new voting laws...
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