Today's Teamster News 04.14.15

Teamsters
Hoffa: Sharon Block Appointment A 'Victory For The Middle Class'  Teamster.org   ...James P. Hoffa, General President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters on the announcement of Sharon Block’s appointment: "With the announcement of Sharon Block’s installation as Senior Advisor for Labor and Working Families in the White House Office of Public Engagement, the administration has made a real commitment to focusing on the issues that concern middle class Americans"...

Global Labor & Trade
Japan, U.S. aim for Pacific trade pact progress before summit  Reuters   ...Japanese and U.S. officials will meet from Wednesday in a bid to strike a two-way deal giving momentum to a pan-Pacific free-trade pact, the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership. Success, however, depends on whether the U.S. Congress, which returns from recess this week, approves measures to ease passage of trade deals, or trade promotion authority (TPA)...
Obama’s trade pitch falling flat with Dems  The Hill   ...An aggressive effort by the administration to win support for President Obama’s trade agenda appears to be stuck. As few as 15 House Democrats might vote to give the president fast-track authority, according to dozens of Democratic lawmakers, business group representatives and activists on both sides of the trade fight interviewed by The Hill...
How We Can Hold American Companies that Use Sweatshop Labor Accountable  In These Times   ...Without granting workers of the world legal power in American or international courts, union jobs will continue leaving the United States and they will leave Guatemala or Vietnam if workers unionize there. That legal framework isn’t happening tomorrow and it isn’t happening in the next election cycle. But this is the long-term change to labor law we need if we are to give workers around the world a chance to live dignified lives...
U.S. Government Starts Investigation Of Alleged Subsidies To Gulf Airlines  Dallas Morning News   ...Three federal departments said they’ll review charges by the three biggest U.S. airlines, including American Airlines Group, that three Persian Gulf carriers receive $42 billion in unfair subsidies from their governments...
Fast Track a Bad Deal for Farmers and Our Food System, 110+ groups say  IATP   ...Over 110 farm, food and consumer groups urged members of Congress in a letter today to oppose trade promotion authority or “fast track” legislation that would pave the way for trade agreements detrimental to farmers, ranchers and food systems, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)...
Fast Track To Lost Jobs And Lower Wages  (opinion)  Huffington Post   ...Claims that trade and investment deals would support domestic job creation have proven to be empty promises. Expanding exports alone is not enough to ensure that trade adds jobs to the economy. Increases in U.S. exports tend to create jobs in the United States, but increases in imports lead to job loss--by destroying existing jobs and preventing new job creation...
The Public Deserves to Know Exactly What’s in the Trans-Pacific Partnership  (opinion) Slate  ...In the next few weeks, Congress may give special status to a massive “free trade” treaty that you are not allowed to read. Based on leaks of portions of the deal, however, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) appears to be at least partly a grab bag of special favors for corporate interests—among them the entertainment and pharmaceutical industries—and an end-run around domestic law...

State & Living Wage Battles
Unions, angry Republican voters rally in support of Indiana's wage law  News and Tribune   ...Frank Marshall calls himself a lifelong Republican, but on Monday he stood on the steps of the Statehouse and denounced GOP leaders for their efforts to kill Indiana’s 80-year-old common construction wage. He told about 8,000 protesters that he regretted donations to Republicans who want end the system that sets wages for workers on public projects...
Charleston OKs Support Of Right-To-Work Zones  Journal Gazette and Times-Courier   ...Charleston joined a list of several cities including Clinton and Makanda on Tuesday when it endorsed some governmental reforms proposed by Gov. Bruce Rauner, including right-to-work zones...
Oregon minimum wage hike debated  The State-Register   ...Proponents of a big increase in Oregon’s minimum wage — potentially raising it to as much as $15 an hour — got the chance to make their case to state lawmakers on Monday. During a packed evening hearing that followed a brief rally inside the Capitol’s rotunda, low-income workers from throughout the state shared stories of struggling to make ends meet...
Legislator Takes Aim At Automated Union Dues  Houston Chronicle   ...A Senate panel on Monday is expected to vote on a bill that would keep most state employees from paying union and other association dues through payroll deductions...
Rally Backs Fines For Employers Paying Less Than $15 An Hour  Hartford Courant   ...Mayors and legislators on Thursday rallied support for a bill that would fine large employers who pay their employees less than $15 an hour to reimburse the cost to the state for social services those employees are using...
Report: US Taxpayers Bear 'Hidden Cost' of Poverty Wages  Common Dreams   ...Stagnant wages and declining employer-provided benefits mean that low-wage workers in the United States are increasingly reliant on federal and state-run public assistance programs...
McMugging The Middle Class: How Corporate Welfare Conquered The American Economy  Salon.com   ...A telling fact: Of the more than 47 million Americans currently receiving food stamps, tens of millions work full time. This is because their jobs at fast food chains such as McDonalds, Dominos and Taco Bell — or at major retailers like Walmart, Target and Rite-Aid — simply don’t pay them enough to support themselves...

U.S. Labor
State AG Probing ‘On-Call’ Shifts’ Impact On Workers  Buffalo News   ...The state Attorney General’s Office is looking into retailers’ use of “on-call shifts,” in which employees are required to check in the night before or even just a few hours ahead of a shift to see if they are needed – and receive no pay if they are told not to show up...
Where The Presidential Candidates Stand On Equal Pay  Think Progress  ...Tuesday is Equal Pay Day, the symbolic day by which women’s earnings catch up to what men earned in a single year last year, given that the gender wage gap means that women who work full-time, year-round made 78 percent of what men make. It also comes as presidential hopefuls are announcing campaigns for 2016, so where do they all stand on this particular issue?...
Can Labor Bring Wall Street Back to Main Street?  The Nation  ...Seven years since Wall Street imploded, it seems the banking sector has rebounded far faster than the communities it has devastated, according to a report published by Center for Popular Democracy (CPD), which builds on a global campaign to advocate for fair labor and corporate accountability in Big Banks...
Bonanza for the Super-Rich: The Fund Managers' Tax Break  (opinion) Truthout.org   ...The reason most of us have seen little gain from economic growth over the last three decades is that the rich have rigged the rules to ensure that money flows upward. Through their control of trade policy, Federal Reserve Board policy, and other key levers of government, they have structured the market to weaken the bargaining power of ordinary workers and benefit the CEOs and Wall Street crew...
1199 Postpones Nursing Home Strike  Hartford Courant  ...One of the state's largest unions has postponed a nursing home strike at the request of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. District 1199 of the Service Employees International Union had voted for a strike against 27 nursing homes, but they have called off the walkout after discussions with Malloy's office...

Local UAW-GM Tiff May Herald Fractious Contract Talks  Wards Auto  ...General Motors and the United Auto Workers resolve a shop-floor dispute at the automaker’s Wentzville, MO, assembly plant, but the underlying tensions that erupted are symptomatic of a rising tide of discontent among workers at GM, Ford and FCA US that will play out during contract negotiations this year...
Kroger Ratifies Agreement with UFCW 227  MarketWatch   ...The Kroger Co. associates working at Kroger in the Louisville division have ratified a new labor agreement with UFCW Local 227. The contract covers nearly 14,000 associates working in 89 stores in the Louisville and Southern Indiana areas...

Miscellaneous
The New Segregation (opinion)  Huffington Post   ...50 years ago, President Lyndon Johnson passed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) as part of his War on Poverty. The law recognized the power of an education to lift any student, regardless of background, out of poverty. But what I and the authors of the ESEA also recognized was that not every student is the same. Low-income, immigrant, or disabled students often require additional supports...
The NSA Wants Tech Companies To Give It 'Front Door' Access To Encrypted Data  The Verge   ...The National Security Agency is embroiled in a battle with tech companies over access to encrypted data that would allow it to spy (more easily) on millions of Americans and international citizens. Last month, companies like Google, Microsoft, and Apple urged the Obama administration to put an end to the NSA's bulk collection of metadata...

Today's Teamster News 03.31.15

Teamsters
Techs At St. Vincent Hospital Seek To Unionize  Worcester Telegram   ...Approximately 200 technicians have applied to the Boston bureau of the National Labor Relations Board for an election to join Teamsters Local 170 in Worcester...
As Dark Money Monsters Torment Investors, Shareholders Need SEC Chair To Be Superhero; They Ask: ‘Where Is Mary Jo White?’  Public Citizen   ...Jim Hoffa, general president, Teamsters. The Teamsters invest more than $100 billion in the capital markets through affiliated pension and benefit funds...
Trade
U.S.-Korea Trade Deal Resulted In Growing Trade Deficits And More Than 75,000 Lost U.S. Jobs  Economic Policy Institute   ...March 15th was the third anniversary of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS). President Obama said that the agreement would support 70,000 U.S. jobs...
Digital Rights Activists Use Jumbotron ‘Film Fest’ To Pressure Ron Wyden  Go Local PDX   ...The Digital Rights group Fight for the Future, a posse of internet activists currently campaigning against an international trade deal they say would give officials too much power to censor online content, brought its message to Capitol Hill Monday...
City Council Opposes Fast Track For Pacific Rim Trade Pact  Seattle Times   ...Seattle City Council on Monday unanimously passed a resolution opposing the so-called fast-track consideration of the Trans-Pacific Partnership...
UAW, Dems Rally Against TPP Trade Agreement  Detroit News   ...Lortz, who works at the Toledo Assembly Complex producing the Jeep Cherokee, was one of hundreds of union members and others to attend an anti-TPP forum featuring U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Toledo, and local UAW leaders...
State Battles
Indiana Lawmakers Try To Quiet Firestorm Surrounding New Law  Associated Press   ...Gov. Mike Pence called off public appearances Monday and sports officials planned an "Indy Welcomes All" campaign ahead of this weekend's Final Four as lawmakers scrambled to quiet the firestorm over a new law that has much of the country portraying Indiana as a state of intolerance...
Senate To Consider Bill Raising Washington's Minimum Wage  News Tribune   ...A bill to raise Washington's highest-in-the-nation state minimum wage to $12-an-hour with a series of annual 50-cent increases is set to get a hearing in the state Senate...
War on Workers
Movement To Increase McDonald’s Minimum Wage Broadens Its Tactics  New York Times   ...in the wave of actions on April 15, organizers say more than 60,000 people will join strikes and protests in 200 cities nationwide...
NLRB To Weigh In On High-Stakes McDonald’s Labor Dispute  The Hill   ...An NLRB administrative law judge on Monday will begin weighing whether McDonald’s should be responsible for what employees say are poor working conditions and low pay at many of its franchise restaurants. A finding in the affirmative would mark the first time that a major franchisor would be found culpable for labor violations at individual chains...
U.S. Signed Agreement With Mexico To Teach Immigrants To Unionize  Washington Examiner   ...The federal government has signed agreements with three foreign countries — Mexico, Ecuador and the Philippines — to establish outreach programs to teach immigrants their rights to engage in labor organizing in the U.S...
After A Story Is Published, A Minimum Wage Worker Loses Her Job   Washington Post   ...When I wrote about her in The Post last month, she said the minimum wage hike would bring her a bit of financial relief, but it wouldn’t lift her above the poverty line. She called me the other day to say she didn’t get to enjoy the 25-cent hike for long...
Legions Of Women Workers In U.S. Still Lack Minimum Wage And Labor Protections  American Prospect   ...Today, the National Labor Relations Act still excludes domestic workers and farm laborers, and the Fair Labor Standards Act does not require overtime for farmworkers or even the minimum wage or overtime for many domestic workers. The implications of these exclusions have been profound, denying a growing workforce the basic workplace protections most of us take for granted...
In Surprise Show Of Support, Filibuster-Proof Senate Majority Backs Paid Sick Leave  Washington Post   ...Just a few weeks ago, the Healthy Families Act — which would allow employees to earn up to seven days of paid sick leave — seemed like just another White House proposal doomed to die in the newly Republican Senate. But this afternoon, it gained a surprise vote of confidence: 61 senators voted for an amendment to the budget that would do essentially the same thing...
Lawmakers Aim To Toughen Laws On Oil Trains  Herald Net   ...A spate of oil train accidents the past two years has fueled state and federal lawmakers' concerns about the ability of railroads to safely transport the material and the capability of communities to respond to an incident...
Don't Undermine Open Skies (opinion)  USA Today   ...The big three U.S. carriers — United Airlines, American Airlines and Delta Air Lines — are rightly asking the Department of Transportation to initiate talks with the UAE and Qatar over their estimated $40 billion in subsidies over a decade...
Miami Beach Maintenance Worker Killed By Flying Tabletop  Miami Herald   ...A Miami Beach maintenance worker was killed Friday night in what police called an unfortunate accident caused by bad weather...
Worker Killed In Blast At Berks Plant  Allentown Morning Call   ...Authorities say a worker was killed in an explosion at an eastern Pennsylvania manufacturing plant...
Miscellaneous
Amazon Tests Delivery Drones At Secret Canada Site After US Frustration  The Guardian   ...The company wants to offer its customers the ability to have packages dropped on their doorstep by flying robots within 30 minutes of ordering goods online. With innovation in the drone sector reaching lightning speeds, Amazon said it was not prepared to curtail its ambitions because of what Misener said was a lack of “impetus” on the US side of the border...

Today's Teamster News 03.07.15

Teamsters
Pasco HR Director Resigns Amid Criticism From Unions, Sheriff  The Tampa Tribune   ...Members of the Teamsters Local 79 routinely post videos of union bargaining session on YouTube with headlines describing DeSimone as the “snippy county lawyer.”...
Wisconsin Right-To-Work Law Heads To Scott Walker's Desk Despite Union Fight  The Guardian   ...Thomas Millonzi, the head of a 4,700-member Teamsters local in Milwaukee, said he was already taking steps to discourage Teamsters from seizing on the new legislation to quit the union and stop paying union dues...
Ryder Drivers At Three Locations In California Join Teamsters Union  teamster.org   …Drivers with Ryder Integrated Logistics at three California locations have voted to join the Teamsters Union, gaining representation for 105 workers in one week...
Trade
Thank You, Congressmember Loebsack  Blog for Iowa   …The second is for his membership in the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC)….The CPC issued an alternative to the TPP Thursday that takes the negotiations back from corporations and puts it back into the hands of elected representatives...
State Battles
Senate Deadlocks On Right-To-Work Bill  New Hampshire Union Leader   ...New Hampshire is not likely to join the ranks of right-to-work states any time soon. After a short debate Thursday, the Senate deadlocked 12-12 on Senate Bill 107, which would have prohibited collective bargaining agreements from requiring employees to either join or contribute to a union...
Illinois: Unions Sue To Reinstate Dues  New York Times   ...Labor unions filed a lawsuit Thursday seeking to invalidate Gov. Bruce Rauner’s executive order ending a requirement that state workers pay union dues even if they do not want to join a union. Twenty-seven unions sued the Republican governor, saying the order he issued last month violates collective bargaining agreements and state labor law and that Mr. Rauner exceeded his constitutional authority...
Push To Expand Paid-Leave Law In Connecticut  Wall Street Journal   ...On Thursday, the state Legislature’s labor and public-employees committee is holding a public hearing in Hartford on a new bill that would expand the law to include businesses with 10 or more workers. It would extend the number of paid days to seven a year. Manufacturing companies and certain nonprofit organizations, which are currently exempt, are included in this proposal...
War on Workers
Senate Votes To Kill NLRB Rule That Speeded Votes On Union Representation  Washington Post   ...The Republican-controlled Senate on Wednesday voted 53 to 46 to kill a National Labor Relations Board rule reducing the time between a union’s request for representation and a vote by workers on it. The legislation now goes to the House, where similar action is expected...
U.S. Airlines Reveal Evidence They Say Proves Gulf Carriers Get Unfair Subsidies  Skift   ...Delta Air Lines, American Airlines Group, and United Airlines released their much-anticipated report providing what they say is proof that the Gulf carriers have received $42 billion in “quantifiable subsidies” from their governments, enabling them to jumpstart their growth and distort the competitive marketplace...
Workplace Injuries Are Adding To Income Inequality: Labor Department  Huffington Post   ...According to the Labor Department, roughly 4 million serious injuries and illnesses are reported by employers each year, though the true tally is likely much higher. Workers who suffer a serious injury earn an estimated 15 percent less, or $31,000 on average, over the ensuing decade...
Strong Hiring Still Isn’t Bringing Pay Raises  FiveThirtyEight   ...wages are doing little more than keeping up with inflation. The average worker earned $24.78 an hour in February, just 2 percent more than a year earlier. That means most workers aren’t seeing much benefit from the rapidly improving job market...
Miscellaneous
On The Anniversary Of Selma, A Call To Action (opinion)  Huffington Post   ...It is time for us to continue in the footsteps of the great civil rights leaders that came before us. As a labor movement, we need to start pressuring Congress along with our allies to immediately pass a Voting Rights Act that will close all the loopholes that allow restrictive legislation to be possible...

Today's Teamster News 02.28.15

Teamsters
Drivers For Apple, Yahoo, EBay, Zynga, Genentech and Amtrak Join Teamsters  teamster.org   … Drivers who transport employees for six big Silicon Valley companies have voted overwhelmingly 104 to 38 in favor of representation by Teamsters Local 853 in San Leandro, Calif...
CDT Workers Ratify First Union Contract  teamster.org   ...Nine months after emphatically voting to join Teamsters Local 727, nearly 700 paratransit drivers, garage attendants, dispatchers and customer service representatives at Cook DuPage Transportation (CDT) in Chicago have ratified their first union contract...
Shaw’s fights Teamsters’ effort to unionize Maine pharmacists  Bangor Daily News   ...Shaw’s Supermarkets is fighting an effort by the Teamsters union to organize the chain’s pharmacists at 16 stores in Maine, arguing its pharmacy managers are supervisors and therefore are not able to join a labor union...
Trade
Trade critics take to Senate floor — Cutler: U.S., Japan close to deal — Anti-TPP group threatens Wyden with primary  Politico   ...A group of President Barack Obama’s fellow Democrats took to the Senate floor Thursday to oppose his flagship trade initiative, the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, which they said would lead to big job losses and give big corporations too much power over public health and safety laws...
Sen. Elizabeth Warren Kicks Off Assault Against Secret Trade Agreement  Crooks and Liars   ...Elizabeth Warren is going after the TPP (yay!) and the White House is saying, oh, you misunderstood. But we've already seen the kind of insane copyright protections this administration wants - the kind that makes it impossible for other countries to make generic copies of needed medication, for instance...
TTIP: Transatlantic Trade Deal Text Leaked To BBC  BBC News   ...The trade union Unite said "real risks" remained because of the dispute resolution mechanism TTIP is expected to include. The union's Scottish regional secretary, Pat Rafferty said: "Last week Lord Livingston tried to pull the wool over the eyes of the Scottish people...
Canada Won't Take 'No' For An Answer On Keystone XL  Forbes   ...Canada’s leadership, including its prime minister, Stephen Harper, has repeatedly made clear its annoyance with the Obama administration’s Hamlet-like deliberations over the pipeline, suggesting that American rejection of the proposed project — which requires a special permit from the White House to cross the border — was simply not an option...
State Battles
WV Senate Leader Says Right-To-Work Bill Dead This Session  Associated Press   …Senate Majority Leader Mitch Carmichael said a push to make West Virginia a right-to-work state is dead this session...
No One in Wisconsin Asked to Kill Unions Except Special Interests  The Daily Beast   ...This death warrant for unions wasn’t drafted in Wisconsin though. The fingerprints of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a right-wing special-interest group, were found all over the bill. Nevertheless, Governor Scott Walker is ready to sign it after dealing unions a mortal wound in 2011 by ending the right to collective bargaining for public employees...
Construction Workers Rally Against Eliminating Prevailing Wage  Las Vegas Sun   ...Union and nonunion workers overwhelmed hallways and committee rooms. They marched outside, waved banners and filled committee rooms to watch lawmakers vet SB119, one of the most controversial bills in this year's legislative session...
Maine Shows That Publicly Financed Elections Really Can Work  Moyers and Company   ...It worked well for several cycles. Hundreds of candidates were able to run and win office without prostrating themselves before big donors and lobbyists. Farmers, waitresses, and others who usually can’t make their voice heard in politics were able to go to Maine’s state capital Augusta and represent their constituents free from the influence of special interest cash...
War on Workers
How One Community Is Kicking The Koch Brothers' Harmful Black Dust Out Of Their Neighborhood  Huffington Post   ...It’s not easy to take on a wealthy, multi-national corporation and win. Especially for residents of Chicago’s struggling southeast side. But that’s exactly what's happening on the banks of the Calumet River, where the steel plants that used to give residents of a mostly Hispanic neighborhood access to a middle-class lifestyle were replaced, nearly two years ago, with black dust called petroleum coke (“petcoke”) piled five or six stories tall...
Oil Train Wrecks Increase Pressure For Tougher Safety Rules  Philadelphia Inquirer   ...Fiery wrecks of trains hauling crude oil have intensified pressure on the Obama administration to approve tougher standards for railroads and tank cars despite industry complaints that it could cost billions and slow freight deliveries...
Railroads Want One-Man Crews On Massive Freight Trains  NBC News   ...Railroads have proposed eliminating the job of on-board conductor on most trains, leaving just an engineer aboard. The workers argue that one-person crews will mean more out-of-control trains, like the runaway that caused the Lac-Mégantic disaster in 2013...
L&I Probing Death Of Mabton Dairy Worker  Yakima Herald Republic   ...State workplace safety officials are investigating the drowning in a manure lagoon Wednesday of a 27-year-old old dairy employee...
Miscellaneous
Gas’s Drop Drives U.S. Into Deflation Territory  Wall Street Journal   ...Driven by a tumble in oil prices since mid-2014, the consumer-price index fell 0.1% in January from a year earlier, the Labor Department said Thursday. It was the first year-over-year decrease since October 2009. Prices fell 0.7% from December...

Today's Teamster News 02.07.15

Teamsters
JCPS School Bus Driver Taken To Hospital, Assaulted By Student, Official Says  WHAS   ...A representative from the Teamsters Local 783, the union that represents school bus drivers, tells WHAS the driver was transporting students from the Binet School which serves special needs children. That teamsters representative says a student tried to open the bus' rear door, when a bus monitor intervened. When the bus driver walked back to help, the student allegedly pulled her by the hair, dragging her to the floor. The bus driver was taken to the hospital for arm and shoulder injuries...
CP Rail, Teamsters union tensions near boiling point  CBC News   ...Now, the union alleges the railway is violating a recent ruling regarding the use of union workers to teach CP Rail managers and office workers to operate trains. The union claims managers are telling locomotive engineers to vacate the train seat or be disciplined. The workers are then told to remain on the train engine...
Credentialing The Military  Military.com   ...One program to help military truck drivers get civilian credentials was developed by the Teamsters Union; it provides additional training, through the Teamsters Military Assistance Program, that helps service members earn commercial drivers' licenses. James P. Hoffa, the union's general president, is a featured speaker at the summit...
Air Canada And International Brotherhood Of Teamsters Reach Tentative Agreement On New Contract  AviTrader   ...Air Canada has reached a tentative collective agreement with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) for the airline’s U.S.-based workforce. The agreement is subject to ratification by the union membership...
Fashion Week Will Kick Off With City Horse Carriages Trotting Models Down Central Park South  New York Daily News   ...Fashion Week will kick off next week with a parade of horse-drawn carriages trotting models down Central Park South for the second year in a row, a four-legged tradition that organizers say will be a permanent part of the festivities...
Trade
The Need to Address Currency Manipulation in TPP, and Why U.S. Monetary Policy Is Not at Risk  Huffington Post   ...Over the past decade, currency manipulation by foreign governments has resulted in an increase in unfairly traded imports into the United States and has made it more difficult for U.S. exporters to compete in foreign markets. The practice has cost U.S. workers between one million and five million jobs -- and is responsible for as much as half of excess unemployment in the United States...
The Trans-Pacific Partnership Is a Huge Deal. So Why Is It Being Kept Secret?  In These Times   ...The trade rules of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership between the United States and 11 Asian nations would cover nearly 40 percent of the world economy—but don't ask what they are. Access to the text of the proposed deal is highly restricted...
‘Secret’ Trade Pact Stirs Up Suspicion  truthdig   ... “The public has a legitimate interest in knowing what has already been decided on its behalf, and what is now at stake with our various countries’ positions on these controversial regulatory issues.”...
Stop fast-track authority from removing the voice of the 100 percent (opinion)  The Hill   ...The morally responsible approach is to learn from damage caused by earlier trade deals and modify our approach. Just consider one example: last month, the Government Accountability Office reported that labor provisions, including the very terms sought by the Obama administration for TPP, have failed to improve working conditions internationally...
State Battles
Reality Check: Right To Work Hurts Working Families (opinion)  Ruidoso News   ... On average, workers who belong to a union and who have the power to bargain collectively with their employer take home nearly 20 percent more in earnings each week compared to workers who are not union members. The decline of union density over the past decades corresponds to the decline in income share for the vast majority, 60 percent, of middle class America....
Legislators Hear From Union Workers At Forum  Huntington Herald Leader   ...A major portion of attendees were union workers who spoke out against the prevailing wage and right to work bills, the first of which would eliminate the requirement of prevailing hourly rate wages for public improvement projects and the second of which would prohibit the requirement for workers to be in a union...
Gov. Rauner, Union Leaders Tangle During Mount Vernon Stop  The Southern   ...“He can call it as many ways as he can, but it’s right-to-work and it’s taking away from working class families in Southern Illinois, especially,” said Will Attig, a laborer from DeSoto. “We’re just out here to let him know, he’s not welcome here.” Bret Seferian, who works with the Illinois Education Association, based in Carterville, on behalf of SIU and John A. Logan employees’ unions, said it’s clear to him Rauner isn’t interested in “supporting employees.”...
Senate Democrats Pass $11-An-Hour State Minimum Wage In Rebuff To Rauner  Chicago Tribune   ...Senate Democrats on Thursday pushed through what could end up being a symbolic measure to raise the state's minimum wage to $11 an hour by 2019, bucking Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner's call a day earlier for a smaller increase that would be phased in over a longer period of time...
Kentucky Minimum Wage Bill Passed In House Labor And Industry Committee  WLKY   ...Kentucky House Speaker Greg Stumbo presented his minimum wage bill to the state Legislature Thursday. After discussion and voting, the bill passed in the House Labor and Industry Committee on a 13-to-3 vote...
Oh Sweet Irony: Walker Caught Lying About Removing "Search For Truth" from UW Mission Statement  Daily Kos   …He introduced a budget that removed several lines from the University of Wisconsin System's mission statement (aka a little thing known as "The Wisconsin Idea"), including the phrase, "basic to every purpose of the system is the search for truth."...
War on Workers
Only 20% are Middle-Class, Most Don't Come Close  Economic Populist   …The number of 18-29 year olds who consider themselves  lower-middle-class has doubled since 2008 reaching 49%...
How Nebraska Took Its Energy Out of Corporate Hands and Made It Affordable for Everyone  Alternet   ...In Nebraska, 121 publicly owned utilities, ten cooperatives, and 30 public power districts provide electricity to a population of around 1.8 million people. Public and cooperative ownership keeps costs low for the state’s consumers. Nebraskans pay one of the lowest rates for electricity in the nation and revenues are reinvested in infrastructure to ensure reliable and cheap service for years to come...
Gallup CEO Fears He Might “Suddenly Disappear” for Questioning U.S. Jobs Data  Wall Street on Parade   ... the percent of full time jobs in this country as a percent of the adult population “is the worst it’s been in 30 years.”...
Coke Settles Labor Dispute With Dismissed Employee  Atlanta Journal Constitution   ...Coca-Cola has settled a National Labor Relations Board complaint with a former employee who claimed the beverage giant fired him in retaliation for his role in trying to organize a union at a metro Atlanta bottling plant...
Comcast Employee Killed While Working On Utility Pole In Glen Ridge  NJ.com   ...A Comcast worker was killed while apparently working on a utility pole in Glen Ridge this morning...
Miscellaneous
What will passengers stand for?  The Economist   ...YET again a story has surfaced of an airline trying to get approval for a standing section on a plane. Previously the idea was mooted by Michael O’Leary, the boss of Ryanair—although that was probably more attention-seeking than serious proposal. Now reports suggest that Spring Airlines, a Chinese budget carrier, is trying to get approval for standing posts, to which passengers could be strapped, presumably in a similar fashion to a Wall of Death fairground ride, although the airline might want to think of a better name than that...

Today's Teamster News 01.03.15

Teamsters
Dunkin' Donuts Delivery Drivers in Chicago Join the Teamsters  Teamsters Joint Council 25   ...By a 2-to-1 margin, approximately 30 drivers who make deliveries to Chicago-area Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants recently voted to join Teamsters Local 734...

BLET reaches tentative agreement with Norfolk Southern  BLET   ...The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) has reached a tentative contract agreement with Norfolk Southern (NS) governing rates of pay and work rules for more than 4,500 locomotive engineers...
Inaugural Toledo Walleye Winter Brewfest is a hit  The Blade   ...Toledo firefighter Jenny Hill fist-bumps Mark Sobczak, vice president of Teamsters Local 20, as she dispenses beer during the inaugural Toledo Walleye Winter Brewfest...
McGrain to head Ingham Board of Commissioners  Lansing State Journal   ...In other business, the board … Approved a 2015 wage reopener that calls for a 2.5 percent boost to the current salary schedule of members of Teamsters Local 580, the Potter Park Zoo supervisory unit...
Trade
Obama’s Trade Chief, Undaunted by Odds, Pushes for Trans-Pacific Partnership  New York Times   ...the deal’s completion is certainly not guaranteed. Republicans inclined to give the president trade-negotiating authority are still seething at his executive action deferring deportation of millions of undocumented immigrants. Many conservatives are in no mood to give Mr. Obama anything, said Senator Rob Portman, Republican of Ohio, and a former United States trade representative in the George W. Bush administration...
The President Set a Goal of Doubling Exports by 2014—Why Haven’t We?  Economic Policy Institute   ...Total U.S. goods and services exports increased by less than 50 percent ($766 billion, or 48.4 percent) between 2009 and 2014 (estimated), as shown in the figure below. Meanwhile, imports increased by an even larger $883.8 billion, and as a result, the U.S. trade deficit increased by $117.0 billion...
Trade's big breakout  Politico   ...Republicans and President Barack Obama are both eager to act on a massive Asia-Pacific deal, an even bigger agreement with the European Union and legislation that would fast-track their approval by Congress — all of which have a shot of moving next year...
TTIP: Chemical corporations against safety protections  Ecologist   ...Under the TTIP US-EU trade agreement, the world's largest chemical corporations would be able to attack US states' attempts to regulate for chemical safety, writes Patrick Gleeson. In both the US and the EU, corporate rights - asserted in secret courts - would trump democracy and attempts to raise health, safety and welfare standards...
State Battles
EBay parts ways with controversial political group ALEC  Reuters   ...Critics fault ALEC, a coalition of state lawmakers and companies, for promoting measures to deny the existence of climate change, defund public services, oppose Internet neutrality and limit workers' protections...
Sweatshops in California Guilty of Wage Theft  Law Firm Newswire   ...lothing made in California for outlets such as Macy’s, JC Penney and Kohl’s, actually comes from local sweatshops where some employers routinely unplug the clock intended to keep track of worker’s hours...
War on Workers
Koch-Funded News Outlet Defends Dark-Money Organizations  Media Matters for America   ...Conservative news outlet Watchdog.org released a six-part series defending dark-money organizations -- politically focused groups that conceal the identities of their donors -- but failed to disclose its own funding from the Koch brothers and other conservative dark-money players...
Pay-disclosure advocates chafe at SEC rule delays  MarketWatch   ...Supporters of a rule that would require public companies to disclose the ratio between executive and median employee pay say the Securities and Exchange Commission should move soon to enact the regulation....
Worker dies after falling into well  WESH.com   ...Thomas Wood, 41, was working at a gas station under construction on U.S. 1 and Beville Road when he fell into the 6-foot fuel tank well...
Refinery worker dies in accident in Gibbstown  Associated Press   ...An air compressor line broke and struck 63-year-old Gary Grimming, who was sandblasting a tank at the time. Grimming was employed by a Bethlehem, Pennsylvania-based company...
Miscellaneous
U.S. slaps new sanctions on North Korea after Sony hack  CNN   ...The United States is hitting North Korea with a new set of economic sanctions after determining the country was behind last month's computer hack at Sony...
Why Airlines Want to Make You Suffer  The New Yorker   ...In 2013, the major airlines combined made about $31.5 billion in income from fees, as well as other ancillaries, such as redeeming credit-card points...
Falling oil prices both good and bad for manufacturers  Fortune   ...On one hand, a steep decline in the cost of oil leads to lower expenses. But on the other, business may suffer because of lower spending by oil and chemical companies on big-ticket items like computers and new machinery...

Woot! Teamsters, CWA organize 14.5K customer service employees at American Airlines

The Teamsters are welcoming 1,300 new members today, customer service professionals for American Airlines. The campaign was a joint effort with CWA to form the Teamsters-CWA Customer Service Employee Association for all 15,000 passenger service agents at the new combined American-US Airways.

Workers voted for the new association by a 6-to-1 margin during a month-long election administered by the National Mediation Board.

The new Teamsters join the union's nearly 2,000 passenger service members at US Airways, which is merging with American.

According to a Teamsters statement,

American Airlines agents who have won representation for the first time are concerned about outsourcing, job security, fair work rules and having a strong contract. The agents know from experience how vulnerable they are without representation. American’s 2011 bankruptcy led to layoffs, outsourced job titles, and sharp cuts in pay and benefits for those who kept their jobs.  

“I can’t tell you how great this victory is for us,” said Debra Ewing, a 15-year US Airways agent in Phoenix, Ariz. “American Airlines customer service agents have tried for over 20 years to gain representation and the merger with US Airways allowed the Teamsters to step in and bring home a win. This means an end to so much outsourcing for American agents who will regain profit-sharing, shift differentials, a three-tiered medical plan, paid vacation and more. That’s what union representation is – and now we all have it.”

Before the merger, CWA represented 4,700 US Airways’ passenger service agents in the east, and the Teamsters represented 1,800 members in the west. The shared representation was the result of US Airways’ merger in 2005 with America West Airlines whose customer service agents were Teamsters.

US Airways’ latest merger with American Airlines, whose agents were nonunion, led to an election to determine representation for all agents at the newly-merged carrier.

Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa said,

With our partners in CWA, the Teamsters are leading the way in protecting airline professionals involved in the biggest airline merger in history. Our union is dedicated to fighting on behalf of workers in this volatile industry. Our new members at the combined American-US Airways now have two of the strongest airline unions in their corner.

Teamster Victory! 'Walmart of the Skies' denied application to operate in the US

Here's good new: The U.S. Department of Transportation denied a race-to-the-bottom airline from Norway the right to operate in the United States.

Many Teamsters and other union members wrote to Transportation department officials opposing Norwegian Air's application to drive down wages operate in the United States.

The following message was sent to those who help keep 'Walmart of the Skies' out of the country:

Thanks in part to your support and the outcry of hundreds who signed the Teamster petition last week, the Department of Transportation has denied Norwegian Air International’s procedural application to operate in the United States. We called on the DOT to deny a temporary waiver allowing NAI to begin transatlantic service in the U.S. and our voices were heard. 

According to the DOT: “Because of the extensive record, which reflects the novel and complex nature of this case…the Department does not find that a temporary exemption is appropriate or in the public interest.” 

This is a partial victory, however. Industry insiders say a full application for NAI to operate in the U.S. is still pending and is not likely to be ruled on until after the November elections. So we have to stay vigilant. 

For now though, NAI – dubbed the “Walmart of the Skies” – won’t be operating in the U.S. The airline’s race to the bottom in search of cheap labor would undermine good middle class jobs in our airline industry. 

Let’s keep up the fight!

Click here to read the statement from the Teamsters Airline Division. 

Today's Teamster News 03.04.14

Teamster News
Government report: Too few pilots or too little pay?  Associated Press   ...The nation's regional airlines are having trouble hiring enough pilots, the government says, suggesting one reason may be that they simply don't pay enough. A pool of qualified pilots is available, but it's unclear whether they are willing to work for low entry-level wages, the Government Accountability Office said in a report released Friday...
Trade
Lies Our Political Elites Tell Us As They Rip Us Off  Down With Tyranny!   ...the last mega-trade deal corporate elites and their political handmaidens ... sold the American people, NAFTA, was a beautifully-packaged barrel of lies. Froman is uncomfortable and highly defensive when confronted with the analogy...
Obama’s trade chief undeterred by opposition  Politico   ...The Obama administration is confident it will win support in Congress for a big Asia-Pacific trade deal despite opposition from many Democrats that has stalled legislation needed for approval of the agreement, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said...
State Battles
Report: Privatizing government work reaps lavish profits for some  Tallahassee.com   ...there’s George Zoley of the GEO Group, which runs prisons all over the world. GEO has four of Florida’s six privately run prisons and is a mainstay of the state Republican Party and Gov. Rick Scott’s re-election campaign fund. CMD said Zoley took in $22 million in compensation between 2008 and 2012...
E-mails show Wisconsin Gov. Walker as hands-on tactician fixated on public image  Washington Post   ...An analysis by the Democratic super PAC American Bridge found that Walker was copied on 960 e-mails sent to the private e-mail addresses of public employees during work hours...
WI ALEC Leader in Hot Water over Allegations of Sexual Harassment  Center for Media and Democracy   ...Assembly Majority Leader Bill Kramer, a stalwart of the American Legislative Exchange Council, has been accused of sexually harassing two women while in Washington, D.C. last week for a Wisconsin GOP fundraiser...
Wisconsin income gap widening faster than nation as a whole  The Cap Times   ...Inflation-adjusted income for the bottom 99 percent of Wisconsin residents has actually fallen by 0.4 percent since 1979 while incomes for the upper 1 percent more than doubled over the period...
How ALEC helped Duke Energy block stricter coal ash rules  Facing South   ...ALEC has been involved in efforts to block stricter regulation of coal ash, which is in the spotlight again following Duke Energy's massive spill into the Dan River from a coal ash pit at one of its North Carolina plants. It has carried out this work with the financial backing of Duke, which belonged to ALEC during the height of the group's work to block federal coal ash oversight...
Kasich’s policies hurt local governments  The Columbus Dispatch   ...Beginning in 2011, we have experienced a 50 percent reduction — more than $11 million annually — in local-government funding from the state, primarily due to Kasich’s aggressive income-tax cuts...
The War on Workers
Citi Affiliate’s Troubles Multiply as Money-Laundering Subpoenas Follow Fraud  New York Times   ...A headache is growing for Citigroup as a banking affiliate involved in money transfers across the Mexican border has become ensnared in a criminal investigation...
Amazon workers look for justice from a business-friendly Supreme Court  Salon   ...Temporary workers at Amazon warehouses can spend as long as 30 minutes waiting to get through security checks. Since the security checks are designed as a theft-prevention measure, reasonable people might consider them a part of the regular Amazon warehouse workday. Integrity Solutions Staffing, an Amazon contractor, disagrees...
Miscellaneous
Why Russia No Longer Fears the West  Politico Magazine   ...Putin’s inner circle no longer fear the European establishment. They once imagined them all in MI6. Now they know better. They have seen firsthand how obsequious Western aristocrats and corporate tycoons suddenly turn when their billions come into play. They now view them as hypocrites—the same European elites who help them hide their fortunes...
The Pattern of Job Creation and Destruction by Firm Age and Size  Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta   ...he rate of job creation and destruction tends to decline with firm age. Younger firms of all sizes tend to have higher job-creation (and job-destruction) rates than their older counterparts...

Today's Teamster News 12.21.13

Teamsters Seek Court Order to Restore Status Quo at Allegiant Air  teamster.org   ...Today the Teamsters filed a motion in federal court seeking an order enjoining Allegiant Air from violating the status quo provisions as embodied in the 2010 Pilot Work Rules Agreement and in binding past practices that were in effect at the time Allegiant Air and the Teamsters began negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement...
Supervisor Interrogates, Denies the Right of a Witness and Suspends Employee  teamster.org   ...A five-year employee at the McKesson (NYSE: MCK) distribution center in Duluth, Ga., was interrogated by a supervisor for more than an hour without a witness and suspended, after he dressed up as McKesson CEO John Hammergren at a company costume party. A recording of the interrogation can be found here (http://bit.ly/1kpFhQi)....
Man dresses up as boss for Halloween — and suffers the consequences  Salon   ...A man who dressed up as his boss at a company Halloween party tells Salon the stunt got him interrogated and suspended for four days – and he has a tape recording to back him up...
Retaliation Against Korean Railway Strikers Intensifies  teamster.org   ...Arrests of union leaders have begun and police have raided the Korean Railway Workers’ Union headquarters, seizing computer files and other equipment. The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) reports that the military is mobilizing as strikebreakers...
Banks Mess With Own Workers  teamster.org   ...almost a third of the country’s bank tellers are receiving some form of public assistance...
Portugal scrambles to find new pension cuts  Associated Press   ...Portugal's prime minister says his government is looking for new savings to meet its budget targets next year after a court disallowed planned cuts in state pensions...
How U.S. spying cost Boeing multibillion-dollar jet contract  Reuters   ...The decision was one of the biggest and most expensive consequences yet of the NSA revelations, which have strained Washington's relations with countries around the world...
Meet Nicholas Moore, America's Highest Paid Road Worker.  Alternet   ...The managing director and CEO of Macquarie made $8.8 million in fiscal year 2013...
Congress cuts Food Stamps, maintains Estate Tax Loophole worth $100 bn to the Rich  informed comment   ...A 1990 law passed by Congress seeking to close a loophole in the Estate Tax ended up having an even bigger loophole that has cost the government $100 bn in taxes...
Want to Eat at Restaurants That Treat Their Workers Well? There's an App for That  AFL-CIO Now   ...To support employers in the restaurant industry that do treat their workers well, check out the ROC Diners Guide so we can vote with our dollars on the kinds of establishments we want to see more of...
Minnesota’s chemical problem  MPR News   ...Temporary workers in Minnesota are much more likely to get injured on the job when compared to temporary workers in other states according to reporting by ProPublica...
North Carolina’s Failed Experiment in Cutting Unemployment Benefits  Economic Policy Institute   ...tens of thousands of North Carolinians stopped looking for jobs that weren’t there once they were cut off from weekly benefits (which are only paid to people who are actively seeking paid employment). The labor force participation rate fell nearly a full percentage point, as 42,656 workers gave up looking and dropped out of the labor force...
Ohio Newspapers Fail The ALEC Disclosure Test  Media Matters   ...Of the 44 articles to cite the Buckeye Institute between June 13 and December 12, not a single paper mentioned Buckeye's ties to the conservative legislation manufacturer ALEC, the organizations funded by billionaire conservative Koch brothers, or big tobacco...

Today's Teamster News 10.01.13

Teamsters: House GOP's Political Games Endanger Economy, Jobs  teamster.org   ...The Teamsters Union blasted extremist House Republicans today for endangering the U.S. economy and threatening the livelihood of millions of public and private sector workers with a possible government shutdown...
Teamsters reject Wegmans contract offer  Rochester Democrat & Chronicle   ...The International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 118 has rejected Wegmans "last, best and final" contract offer. The grocery company says the move authorizes union members to go on strike...
Hospital, union deserve praise (opinion)  Montana Standard   ...Congratulations are in order for St. James Healthcare and Teamsters Local 2, who reached a last-minute deal late on Sept. 19 to avoid a strike...
U.S. Wealth Is Now the Most Concentrated at the Top Since 1916  AlterNet   ...The top ten-thousandth of the U.S. population have done very well under President Obama’s leadership, even if they had predominantly voted and contributed to Mitt Romney...
US Chamber of Commerce: TPP is one month away  CNBC   ..."I think we are getting close. The [U.S.] President will be able to announce, as will other world leaders, progress in the right direction [at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting], but my guess is that it's got another month in it," Donohue told CNBC Asia's Squawk Box on Tuesday...
FHA to get $1.7 billion in its first taxpayer-funded bailout  Los Angeles Times   ...The Federal Housing Administration dramatically expanded its role after the subprime market collapsed, but at the expense of its own finances. Now, the government agency will get a first-ever bailout of $1.7 billion...
Google Paid $55 Million In UK Taxes On $5.5 Billion Sales In 2012  Reuters   ...Google, which has been grilled twice in the past year by a UK parliamentary committee over its tax practices, had a UK tax bill of 35 million pounds ($55 million) in 2012, on sales of $5.5 billion to British customers, its accounts showed...
A Wave of U.S. Sewing Jobs as Orders Pile Up  New York Times   ...Factories are finding that years of doing business overseas has shrunk what once was a thriving textile and apparel work force...
Toyota says it will export U.S.-built Corollas to Latin America  Los Angeles Times ...The new Toyota Corolla has barely hit car dealers but Toyota is already saying it plans to export the U.S.-built version of the compact sedan to 18 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean starting next year...
NYC inmate almost as costly as Ivy League tuition  Associated Press   ...New York is indeed an expensive place, but experts say that alone doesn't explain a recent report that found the city's annual cost per inmate was $167,731 last year — nearly as much as it costs to pay for four years of tuition at an Ivy League university...
Huge Spike In Poverty Among Elderly Women Catches Analysts By Surprise  Think Progress   ...The number of women over the age of 65 living in extreme poverty jumped by 18 percent last year after having held steady for most of the previous decade the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) reported Thursday...
Wall Street Predators Wage Secret War on American Retirements  AlterNet   ...Financiers are lying their way to another giant theft of public money...
BP returns to court over Deepwater Horizon spill as $18 billion in fines loom  The Guardian   ...Penalties against BP for the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster could add up to $18 billion – five times the $3.5 billion originally set aside for fines...
Airlines shift focus from baggage fees to new services to make flying better, boosting revenue  Associated Press ...Airlines are introducing a new bevy of fees, but this time passengers might actually like them...
American Airlines plans to hire 1,500 pilots  Reuters   ...American Airlines plans to hire 1,500 pilots over the next five years as it expands international flying and takes delivery of new planes, the carrier said on Monday...
Indiana, Illinois governors endorse Illiana Expressway  Associated Press   ...The governors of Indiana and Illinois have given their endorsement to a planned 47-mile expressway aimed at relieving traffic congestion in the Chicago area and creating jobs in both states...
Consultants' contracts soar to more than $62 million for Detroit bankruptcy  Detroit Free Press   ...Contracts approved for consultants and lawyers advising emergency manager Kevyn Orr’s team as it restructures city government and prepares for a likely Chapter 9 bankruptcy have skyrocketed to at least $62 million, with some firms getting more than $10-million increases, according to records reviewed by the Free Press...

Today's Teamster News 02.19.13

Job-Killing Trade Deficits Soar under "Free Trade" Agreements  Public Citizen   ... the newly-released government trade data for 2012 shows that job-eroding U.S. trade deficits have ballooned with "free trade" agreement (FTA) partners while declining with the rest of the world...
Mississippi Officially Ratifies the 13th Amendment and Outlaws Slavery  Deep South Progressive   ...Mississippi had in fact voted to ratify the amendment in a more timely fashion – only 130 years late in 1995 – but because of an "oversight" in which the state never officially notified the US Archivist, it wasn't official. That glaring "oversight" has been corrected...
Incoming SEC head faces early test  Financial Times   ...A proposal to force public companies for the first time to disclose all their political activity to investors is emerging as an early litmus test for Mary Jo White...
Now A Vast Political Espionage Scandal To Top Off The Sordid Corruption Scandal In Spain  Testosterone Pit   ...Spain just can’t catch a break—a horrid economy with dizzying unemployment, collapsing banks, a prime minister and ruling party tarred by corruption.... Now a political espionage scandal blew up, scattering debris and money laundering allegations far and wide...
Rally held in Joplin against right-to-work push  Joplin Globe   ...Jim Kabell, a representative of Teamsters Local 245 in Springfield, was one of the morning’s featured speakers. “This is long-term bad for Missouri workers,” Kabell said...
National conservative group's 'model legislation' ends up becoming law in Oklahoma  The Oklahoman   ...“Model legislation” developed by the American Legislative Exchange Council or shared through conferences the council has hosted, played a part in a 2006 “Stand Your Ground” law that allows Oklahomans to use deadly force when threatened in public places, a 2010 resolution that prohibits any law from compelling a person to purchase health care and a state question that same year that requires voters to show an identification card before receiving a ballot...
GOP Electoral Vote Scheme Still Alive And Kicking In Pennsylvania  Talking Points Memo   ...State Senate president Dominic Pileggi (R) is pushing a plan to change Pennsylvania’s current winner-take-all allocation of the state’s 20 electoral votes to a system that apportions them proportionally by each candidate’s share of the statewide vote...
NH Voter ID Law Under Attack  Lawrence Eagle-Tribune   ...A year after New Hampshire asked voters to present photo identifications at the polls, state lawmakers are considering repeal of the new Voter ID Law...
Winds of protest still blow around Wisconsin Capitol  USA Today   ...Anger over Gov. Scott Walker's union measures hasn't subsided two years later...
DeCesare pushes right-to-work bill  The Daily News   ...Proposed right-to-work and prevailing wage legislation was filed as a rallying point, not necessarily with the expectation it would immediately pass, a local (Kentucky) lawmaker says...
Right-to-work roils Dem leadership  Crain's Detroit Business   ...A rift among Michigan Democrats over the future leadership of the party has pitted longtime state party chairman Mark Brewer against challenger Lon Johnson, who has deep ties to Washington...
GOP wary of measures attacking unions  Arizona Daily Sun   ...House Speaker Andy Tobin is sidelining two anti-union measures rather than bringing them to the floor for a divisive -- and potentially losing -- vote...
American Airlines, US Airways Merger: Teamsters Look To Acquire AA Mechanic Representation At Tulsa Maintenance Base  International Business Times   ...The Teamsters Airline Division and the Teamsters Aviation Mechanics Coalition is looking to capitalize on the recently announced merger of American Airlines and U.S. Airways (NYSE: LCC)...

Today's Teamster News 02.14.13

Today is the 100th anniversary of the birth of James R. Hoffa. Happy Birthday, Jimmy!
Jimmy Hoffa's son, Teamsters work to burnish tarnished image  Detroit News   ...Teamsters President Jim Hoffa is working to polish the legacy of his father, James R. Hoffa, the legendary Detroit labor leader who would have turned 100 today...

EU and US free-trade talks launched  BBC ...The US said that "everything is on the table" in the talks. A deal would bring down trading barriers between the two biggest economies in the world...
Federal workers’ unions rally near Capitol to protest sequestration  Washington Post   ...Public servants were out in force Tuesday, protesting potential federal budget cuts that would severely hinder their ability to serve the public...
Retail Sales in U.S. Increase for Third Straight Month  Bloomberg   ...Department stores and online merchants were among those showing growing demand as improving job prospects and a strengthening housing market helped companies...
American Airlines and US Airways agree to merge and create world’s biggest airline  Associated Press   ...The deal caps a turbulent period of bankruptcies and consolidation that leaves the U.S. airline industry dominated by four big carriers. The boards of American parent AMR Corp. and US Airways approved the deal late Wednesday...
Mexico unveils new strategy in war on drugs  The Guardian   ...Mexico's new administration has offered the first details of its new strategy in the country's war on drugs, saying the government will spend $9.2bn (£5.9bn) this year on social programmes...the announcement was a forceful rejection of his predecessor...
House Kills Latest Effort To Make Right-To-Work Law In N.H.  New Hampshire Public Radio   ...Union workers broke into raucous applause after Speaker of the House Terrie Norelli announced the tally of votes on the right to work bill brought before the full House on Wednesday...
Right-to-work building interest in Missouri  St. Louis Post-Dispatch   ...Legislation that could deal a blow to labor unions in Missouri is drawing increased interest at the Capitol, though the measure may still face a tough road to passage this year...
Mo. Sen. Committee Considers Bill That Would Eliminate Prevailing Wage Rule  KBIA   ...Randy Long is a non-union mechanical contractor from southwestern Missouri who sided with labor unions in opposing the bill. “Everybody deserves a good quality wage in this day and time," Long said...
MO House Speaker, Congressman candidate bury ALEC connections in campaign finance documents  DailyKos   ...you won't see the wining and dining of Missouri GOP leaders by ALEC special interests spelled out in lobbying documents filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission....The expenses, and there are plenty, are buried in finance documents filed with the Commission...
Americans for Prosperity tabulate at least 229 fiscal proposals, including Arch tax, on April ballot  St. Louis Beacon   ...In a sign that fiscally conservative groups are gearing up again in Missouri, the state’s chapter of Americans for Prosperity will be raising alarm bells Wednesday about the number of local tax proposals to be on ballots across the state on April 2...
Unions pack Assembly to protest labor-law rewrite  Anchorage Daily News   ...More than 750 people, many representing eight labor groups, clogged the Tuesday night Anchorage Assembly meeting in a sign of the fight to come over Mayor Dan Sullivan's proposal to weaken city unions...
Tax chief, legislators spar over Kasich’s budget  Columbus Dispatch   ... They questioned the state tax commissioner for hours about details of the sales-tax expansion, the impact of the income-tax cut and the facts behind a new severance tax on shale drilling...
Gov. Corbett Insists on Full Privatization of Pa. Liquor Store System  CBS Philly   ...even before he made his privatization proposal late last month, legislative leaders –- including the state House speaker — signalled that modernizing liquor sales, such as allowing beer and wine sales in grocery stores, seems more likely than full privatization...
Anti-union bill makes way through Kansas Legislature  Kansas City Business Journal   ...In addition to preventing the payment of union dues, House Bill 2023 would eliminate collective bargaining laws, change the process for workers' compensation appeals and delay unemployment benefits, the report says. The bill is a replica of model legislation by the American Legislative Exchange Council...
Canonsburg approves contract for 20 employees  Observer-Reporter   ...the contract, between Canonsburg Borough and Teamsters Local 205...calls for a 70-cent per hour raise in 2013; 75-cent raise in 2014 and an 80-cent per hour raise in 2015...
Rhinebeck, Spackenkill school bus strike averted for now  Poughkeepsie Journal   ..."We have agreed to hold off on any kind of job action until they come back to the table and we will reevaluate at that point,” Teamsters Local 445 business agent Lori Polesel said...

Today's Teamster News 02.11.13

Trains Restart as U.S. Northeast Fights Back From Storm  Bloomberg   ...Transit officials across Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island were forecasting a return to almost full service after crews dug out tracks and bus routes blanketed by as much as three feet of snow that began falling Feb. 8...
China Eclipses U.S. as Biggest Trading Nation Measured in Goods  Bloomberg   ...U.S. exports and imports of goods last year totaled $3.82 trillion, the U.S. Commerce Department said last week. China’s customs administration reported last month that the country’s trade in goods in 2012 amounted to $3.87 trillion...
US Air, AMR near $11 billion merger, deal seen within week : sources  Reuters   ...US Airways Group Inc (LCC.N) and AMR Corp (AAMRQ.PK) are nearing an $11 billion merger that would create the world's largest airline and could announce a deal within a week, after resolving key differences on valuation and management structure, people familiar with the matter said...
Have coal companies been ripping Americans off even more than we already knew?  Grist   ...companies pay 25 cents a ton for coal from public lands and then can turn around and sell it for $35 a ton....
Complex Investments Prove Risky as Savers Chase Bigger Payoff  New York Times   ...Regulators across the country are confronting a wave of investor fraud that is saddling retirement savers with steep losses on complex products that until a few years ago were pitched only to the most sophisticated investors...
Ethanol Plants Idled Since Drought Began  Associated Press   ...Many U.S. ethanol plants have halted production over the past year, mostly because the drought has made it difficult to get locally produced corn...
Dude, where's my cheap gas?  Econbrowser   ...a 5.3% increase in petroleum production over the last two years would have been necessary to keep the price of oil from rising. Ongoing conservation, for example, in the form of continued improvement in fuel economy, has been a key factor keeping the oil price from rising more in the face of world income growing much faster than world oil production...

Today's Teamster News 12.22.12

Alan Grayson Explains Why He Opposes A Conservative Plan To Unravel Social Security That Starts With A Chained CPI  Down With Tyranny   ...I'm against the proposed "chained CPI" cut in Social Security because it substantially undermines the protection against inflation that Social Security recipients enjoy under current law...
American Dream Fades for Generation Y Professionals  Bloomberg   ...Generation Y professionals entering the workforce are finding careers that once were gateways to high pay and upwardly mobile lives turning into detours and dead ends. Average incomes for individuals ages 25 to 34 have fallen 8 percent, double the adult population’s total drop, since the recession began in December 2007...
Delta Air Gets 22,000 Applications for 300 Attendant Jobs   Bloomberg   ...The applications arrived at a rate of two per minute, Chief Executive Officer Richard Anderson told workers in a weekly recorded message. Applicants will be interviewed in January and those hired will begin flying in June, for the peak travel season...
The Great Walmart Walkout  The Nation   ...On the heels of a series of failed organizing campaigns, unions and their allies are mounting the strongest-ever North American challenge to Walmart...
Lawmakers press for trade response to Bangladesh factory fire  Reuters   ...A dozen U.S. lawmakers pressed President Barack Obama's administration on Thursday to complete a long-running review that could lead to suspension of trade benefits for Bangladesh after a deadly factory blaze there last month..
With Farm Bill Stalled, Consumers May Face Soaring Milk Prices  New York Times   ....Forget the fiscal crisis and the automatic budget cuts. Come Jan. 1, there is a threat that milk prices could rise to $6 to $8 a gallon if Congress does not pass a new farm bill that amends farm policy dating back to the Truman presidency...
Northeast senators confident Sandy relief bill will pass  The Hill   ...Next week, the bill will face a simple majority vote for final passage, but it could be gutted by amendments first...
Michigan labor vote was political payback (opinion)  Politico   ...no amount of spin can hide the real purpose of these laws: It is to weaken the infrastructure of organized labor and, with that, the backbone of the Democratic Party and progressive movement...
Iowa Court: Bosses Can Fire 'Irresistible' Workers  Associated Press   ...A dentist acted legally when he fired an assistant that he found attractive simply because he and his wife viewed the woman as a threat to their marriage, the all-male Iowa Supreme Court ruled Friday...