Today's Teamster News 12.15.10

Judge Rules for FedEx in Dispute With Drivers  Associated Press   ...A federal judge in Indiana ruled Tuesday in favor of FedEx in the company’s dispute with drivers over whether they were independent contractors...
To Conquer Wind Power, China Writes the Rules  New York Times   ...competing for China’s lucrative business means playing by strict house rules that are often stacked in Beijing’s favor...
Holiday season boosts shipping companies in more than one way  The Arizona Republic    ...For FedEx and UPS, Monday and Tuesday are projected to be the shippers' busiest days of the holiday season...
Save the Children Breaks With Soda Tax Effort  New York Times   ...Carolyn Miles, chief operating officer of Save the Children, said there was no connection between the group’s about-face on soda taxes and the discussions with Coke...
Geithner Blocking Legal Help for Foreclosure Victims  Huffington Post   ...Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has authorized big payouts to banks in an effort to encourage mortgage modifications...
Democrats' budget bill: $1.1 trillion; 1,900 pages  Politico   ...Senate Democrats rolled out a year-end, governmentwide spending bill Tuesday that cuts more than $26 billion from President Barack Obama’s 2011 requests...
Senate nears passage of $858 billion tax-cut deal  McClatchy Newspaper
U.S. Appeals Court overturns ruling on Frontier Airlines mechanics   Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel   ...The panel ruled ...(the) ...order should be changed to require the Teamsters to seek a ruling on the situation from the National Mediation Board...
Veolia Transportation Finally Reaches Contract Agreement with Teamsters  Phoenix New Times   ...Veolia is paying employees for each of the 11 work days they missed when the company locked them off the job site. ...
No tax hike in Mahoning County next year  Youngstown Vindicator   ...supervisors accepted a new two-year contract with the road workers' Teamsters bargaining unit...
Adams County board approves tax levy  connecttristates.com   ...The board also approved a tentative agreement with five units of county employees in the police and teamsters unions for a three-year contract...

Today's Teamster Links 10/05/10

Veolia Locks Out Teamsters Local 104 Members IBT ...More than 60 Phoenix-based Teamsters Local 104 Veolia fuelers, cleaners, parts clerks and tire service workers were escorted off Veolia property early Monday morning by security...

Cities in Debt Turn to States, Adding Strain New York Times ...a growing number of towns, cities and other local governments are seeking refuge in similar (state distressed cities programs) .... as alternatives to federal bankruptcy court...

U.S. Chamber of Commerce turns on past allies Associated Press ...The chamber is now spending millions of dollars on ads trying to elect candidates whose campaigns are based on opposing the very bank rescue and stimulus law it once supported...

California Supreme Court upholds unpaid furloughs for more than 200,000 state workers Los Angeles Times ...Unions hail part of the ruling that said the governor lacks unilateral authority to cut work weeks and pay. The governor says it upholds 'the state's actions to protect taxpayers.'...

Tidal wave of outside money floods congressional campaign coffers McClatchy ... From Aug. 1 to Sept. 20, the study found, Republican-leaning interests outspent Democrats by about 5 to 1 on ads...

Today's Teamster News 10/04/10

Thousands gather in D.C. for 'One Nation' rally USA Today ...Thousands of people from across the country converged on the National Mall on Saturday ... to rally for jobs, education, immigration overhaul and other liberal causes...

Teamsters March on Washington for Jobs IBT ...Hundreds of Teamsters came from around the country to march for jobs and justice at the One Nation Working Together rally...

Teamsters Local 104 Members Prepare for Veolia Lockout IBT ...fuelers, cleaners, parts clerks and tire service workers on Saturday prepared to be locked out as 11th-hour negotiations with their French multi-national employer continue...

Fiscal, not social issues, draw ballot attention McClatchy ...The hot social questions of 2008 are taking a back seat to fiscal matters in November's ...

Genesys technical workers to vote on tentative contract agreement mlive.com ...Genesys Regional Medical Center and the union that represents its 283 technical workers have come to a tentative agreement...

Today's Teamster News 09/22/10

Obama's Economics Chief Is Set To Leave New York Times ...Lawrence H. Summers, the chief architect of President Obama’s economic policy, would leave at the end of the year.

China's Currency and the Trade Deficit CEPR ...If the value of the yuan rises relative to the dollar, then ... imports would be more expensive in the United States, making people here more likely to buy domestically produced goods...

Watching Wal-Mart at Midnight Wall Street Journal ...on behavior at a Walmart store around midnight at the end of a month: "about 11 p.m., customers start to come in and ... fill their grocery basket with basic items, baby formula, milk, bread ... until midnight, when electronic — government electronic benefits cards get activated and then the checkout starts...

Stores Scramble To Accommodate Budget Shoppers ...New York Times ...Dollar stores have shown the biggest gain in shopper visits over the last year...

Strike Continues as Prince George's Bus Company Refuses to Bargain Fairly Teamsters Local 639 ...Members of Teamsters Local 639 working for Veolia/TheBus voted down the company's contract proposal yesterday by an overwhelming majority....