Big banks need to be shown who's boss

Wall Street's continuing war against workers seems endless. Just when you think it can't get any worse, it does. And even when big players in the financial world get caught for wrongdoing, the penalties never seem to make a difference.

The latest example came last week when the Justice Department announced that five major banks -- Citicorp, JP Morgan Chase, Barclays, The Royal Bank of Scotland and UBS -- were pleading guilty to felony charges and agreeing to pay more than $5 billion to settle charges they had worked together to manipulate international interest and foreign currency exchange rates.

Yet despite the "brazen" activity by the banks, as Attorney General Loretta Lynch put it herself, no one ultimately will spend a day in jail for engaging in these illegal activities. That, said former Clinton Labor Secretary Robert Reich, is simply outrageous:

America used to have antitrust laws that permanently stopped corporations from monopolizing markets, and often broke up the biggest culprits.

No longer. Now, giant corporations are taking over the economy – and they’re busily weakening antitrust enforcement. 

The result has been higher prices for the many, and higher profits for the few. It’s a hidden upward redistribution from the majority of Americans to corporate executives and wealthy shareholders.

The bad behavior of banks is nothing new for hardworking Americans, who have taken the brunt of the financial world's malfeasance. They've seen Wall Street fritter away their pensions and retirement investments and jeopardize their future. Financial institutions teamed up with big business last December to push through a federal spending bill that attacked workers' pensions and put their retirements at risk.

The same Wall Street banks that rake in hundreds of millions of dollars managing pension funds lobbied to reduce pension benefits for the people whose sweat created those funds. Congress did the bankers' bidding and reduced benefits, but the banks get to keep making millions on the backs of the very pensioners whose benefits were cut. That is unfair, unjust and plain un-American.

It's well past time for the big banks to face the consequences of their actions with punishments that have real teeth. Penalties need to be higher than any bank would pay just as part of the cost of doing business.

It's also time that financial institutions pay their fair share of taxes instead of receiving breaks while workers pick up the tab. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) previously put forward a Wall Street speculation tax proposal that would charge a fee on large financial institutions for the sale of credit default swaps, derivatives, options, future and large amounts of stock. It's an idea with merit.

Banks have continually abused the benefits given to them. It's only fair that people get treated the same as the powerful. That's what's going to get America working again.

Today's Teamster News 02.09.15

Trade
Lies, damned lies, and the arguments for Fast-Tracking the TPP trade deal
  The Ecologist   …When US Trade Representative Michael Froman testified before Congress last week, he made impressive claims for the benefits of Fast-Tracking the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership, writes Ben Beachy. Just one problem - all those claims were either untrue, or profoundly misleading...
War on Workers
Steelworkers Union Expands Walk Outs to Two BP Refineries  Wall Street Journal   …The striking United Steelworkers expanded walkouts to two more refineries over the weekend as talks between the union and energy companies continued into a second week. The strike now encompasses more than 5,000 workers at 11 U.S. fuel-making plants…
Republicans roll out right-to-work bills  The Washington Examiner   …Both right-to-work bills would amend the National Labor Relations Act to prohibit contracts between labor unions and businesses that force all of a company's workers to join a union or at least pay it a fee as a condition of employment. The legislation is certain to meet fierce Democratic resistance…
Stock Buybacks Are Killing the American Economy  The Atlantic   …Profits once flowed to higher wages or increased investment. Now, they enrich a small number of shareholders...
HSBC files show how Swiss bank helped clients dodge taxes and hide millions  The Guardian   …HSBC’s Swiss banking arm helped wealthy customers dodge taxes and conceal millions of dollars of assets, doling out bundles of untraceable cash and advising clients on how to circumvent domestic tax authorities, according to a huge cache of leaked secret bank account files…
It’s cheaper and easier to rent an MBA than to hire one  Quartz   …The on-demand economy, where people work when they want and get paid by the task, has redefined the roles of taxi drivers and created new jobs such as professional grocery store shoppers who are paid by the hour to run other people’s errands. Less well known is how the 1099 economy (named for the US tax forms filed by independent contractors), is now bleeding into the upper echelon of the workforce: The nation’s top business school graduates...
Income Inequality Is Ravaging America’s Middle Class  Economy In Crisis   …The median wage in the U.S. is $28,031, or approximately $13.50 per hour. This means that half of working Americans make less than that. The cost of living for one person in the U.S. is $20,194. After taxes and living expenses, most Americans are just getting by...

Today's Teamster News 02.01.15

Teamsters
‘Right to work’ fight coming to Capitol  Charleston Gazette-Mail   …en Hall, president of Teamsters Local 175 based in South Charleston, said, “This doesn’t make any sense. It is a very divisive issue that is not going to create a single job. When companies are discussing whether to locate in West Virginia, the right to work issue is one of their lesser concerns. There are many, many issues they look at before that...”
Trade
Don't Trade Away Our Health (opinion)  Don't Trade Away Our Health   …A secretive group met behind closed doors in New York this week. What they decided may lead to higher drug prices for you and hundreds of millions around the world.,,
State Battles
Right-to-work clears first hurdle  Albuquerque Journal     ...A bill that would make New Mexico the nation’s 25th state with a right-to-work law cleared its first House hurdle Thursday, despite opposition from labor union leaders and members who vowed to keep fighting the high-profile measure...
Governor to find out if Illinois is ready for 'right to work'  Crain's Chicago Business   …Imagine the uproar if a governor proposed a law allowing local governments to tell their residents that paying monthly cable television bills now is purely optional.,,But that's pretty much what Gov. Bruce Rauner is proposing for labor unions...
Right-to-work: smokescreen for corporate interests (opinion)  People's World   …RTW is nothing more than a smoke screen for big business, anti-worker interests fixated on maximizing profits. They want to lower wages and cut benefits by weakening unions. It's as simple as that...
War on Workers
The Super Wealthy See Pitchforks and Guillotines in Their Future  naked capitalism   …The super wealthy know that the governance structures around them are breaking down, but rather than take measures to shore them up, they are be retreating into concrete bunkers…
Protect and Strengthen Medicare and Medicaid Programs for Another 50 Years  Moyers & Company   … access to health care is continually threatened by program cuts, and millions of beneficiaries have trouble accessing the care they are entitled to because the programs don’t always work as well as they could...
Two Judges Who Get It About Banks  New York Times   …On Monday, a judge in a state court in Missouri ordered Wells to pay over $3 million in punitive damages and other costs for abusing a borrower. Then, on Thursday, a judge in Federal Bankruptcy Court in suburban New York ruled on behalf of another borrower, concluding that there was substantial evidence Wells Fargo forged documents when it foreclosed on a property...
Miscellaneous
Union Benefits: $207 More Dollars a Week  AFSCME   …That’s $10,000 more each year, according to the latest report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. No wonder studies show union members are happier...

Today's Teamster News 01.19.15

Trade
TPP negotiations to resume in late January 2015  Vietnamnet   …The next round of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations will take place in New York in late January, taking up outstanding issues that were not solved at the previous talks in Washington in December 2014...
American Manufacturing Just Can’t Compete  Economy in Crisis   … “Free trade,” as it is practiced by China, Japan, Mexico and some others, translates to unrestricted access to buy, sell, undercut, or put out of business any company we own (which has been happening at an accelerated rate)...
War on Workers
Six Days on Fumes: A Trucker's Search for Starbucks and Sleep  Bloomberg   …[Tracy] Livingston is among the nation’s 2 million truckers, who endure back-to-back 14-hour days to deliver everything from aluminum cans to clothing to Christmas cookies. They practice an occupation that kills more of its practitioners than any other, with 525 dying on the road last year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Truckers pushed to their physical limits contribute to accidents in which almost 4,000 Americans die each year...
Paid Leave is Vital to Families’ Economic Security  Economic Policy Institute   …Mandatory paid sick time would mean that the many employers that already provide paid sick days would have a level playing field with their competitors, and all employers would be able to more easily maintain healthy workplaces. While any new labor standard generates concerns about the business climate and job creation, the evidence from jurisdictions that require paid sick days has all been positive...
The Key to $10 Billion in U.S. Human Smuggling: Big Banks  Bloomberg   ...Major banks, including Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo, have been used as financial conduits for the smuggling industry, according to evidence in a federal criminal case against a gang of 15 human smugglers and warrants from prosecutors in Arizona, Maryland and Texas...
Richest 1% to own more than rest of world, Oxfam says  BBC News   …The charity's research shows that the share of the world's wealth owned by the richest 1% increased from 44% in 2009 to 48% last year. On current trends, Oxfam says it expects the wealthiest 1% to own more than 50% of the world's wealth by 2016...
Five Causes of Wage Stagnation in the United States  AFL-CIO   … "Since the late 1970s, wages for the bottom 70 percent of earners have been essentially stagnant, and between 2009 and 2013, real wages fell for the entire bottom 90 percent of the wage distribution."...
The Van Hollen Plan Takes on Soaring CEO Pay: A Debate We Need to Have  Next New Deal   …The CEO-Employee Paycheck Fairness Act stops corporations from claiming tax deductions for “performance pay” for executives – e.g. stock options and stock grants – “unless their workers are getting paycheck increases that reflect increases in worker productivity and the cost of living.”...
Miscellaneous
Icezilla: Ice storm leads to hundreds of accidents from Philly to New York and Connecticut  CNN   ...After crashing into at least 20 cars piled up on Interstate 76, one person was killed after getting out of a car and being hit by an oncoming vehicle, authorities said...

Today's Teamster News 01.05.15

Teamsters
NYCLASS flyers aim to convince New Yorkers that horse-carriage ban supports Bill de Blasio’s ‘progressive agenda’  New York Daily News   ...“There’s nothing progressive about taking away jobs for 300 families,” said George Miranda, the head of Teamsters Joint Council 16...
Trade
A New Threat Looms on the Horizon: TISA  Economy in Crisis   ...The Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) covers 50 countries and 68.2 percent of world trade in services. The U.S. and the European Union (EU) are the main proponents of the agreement. If enacted, the agreement would severely limit the ability of the U.S. to regulate the financial sector...
War on Workers
Why New Credit Cards May Fall Short on Fraud Control  Wall Street Journal   ...Big U.S. banks are steering clear of an advanced security measure used in credit cards around the world, opting for a system that is more convenient for shoppers but may leave them vulnerable to fraud...
Tax Inversion Remains (Huge)  naked capitalism   ...The recent Treasury measures raised legal obstacles, but the heart of the problem remains unaddressed...
Coca-Cola’s anti-American outsourcing scheme: How Big Soda gets the public to shoulder its costs  Salon   ...“Citizen Coke: The Making of Coca-Cola capitalism,” traces the history of Coke’s empire through the company’s reliance on offloading its costs and risks in precisely this way, tapping into public goods like curbside recycling and municipal water systems while eschewing ownership of the resources and infrastructure needed to produce its iconic beverage...
Anti-terror plan to spy on toddlers 'is heavy-handed’  The Telegraph   ...Nursery school staff and registered childminders must report toddlers at risk of becoming terrorists, under counter-terrorism measures proposed by the [British] Government...
U.S. health worker arrives in Nebraska for Ebola evaluation  Reuters   ...An American health care worker possibly exposed to the Ebola virus in Sierra Leone arrived at a hospital in Omaha on Sunday for evaluation and any necessary treatment, an official said...
Miscellaneous
Jaguar Demos a Car That Keeps an Eye on Its Driver  Technology Review   ...An Australian company called Seeing Machines is turning sensing inward with technology that focuses on drivers themselves in hopes of reducing distracted and drowsy driving...
Auto Industry Galvanized After Record Recall Year  New York Times   ...More than 60 million vehicles have been recalled in the United States, double the previous annual record in 2004. In all, there have been about 700 recall announcements — an average of two a day — affecting the equivalent of one in five vehicles on the road...
The Future of Getting Arrested  The Atlantic   ...Several cities have recently put in place networks of microphone-based gunshot sensors, and others are likely to adopt similar systems. When a sensor picks up a suspicious noise, a computer program analyzes the sound and, if it resembles gunfire, determines its point of origin to within a few yards...
Princeton graduate, 30, 'who shot dead his $200m hedge fund founder father, 70, in NYC apartment' arrested after he 'went on the run and barricaded himself in his Manhattan home'  Daily Mail   ...A Princeton graduate has been arrested after he allegedly executed his multimillionaire hedge-funder father at the family's Manhattan apartment on Sunday...

Today's Teamster News 10.03.14

Teamster News
Allied Waste Workers Go Back To Work  Daily Journal   ...Terry Hancock, president of Teamsters Local 731, the union representing the 24 waste haulers and two mechanics that serve many communities within parts of Kankakee, Iroquois and Will counties, said a negotiating session has been set for Friday. Workers will continue to work under the four-year contract, which expired Jan. 31...
First Student School Bus Workers Choose Teamsters  teamster.org   ...First Student school bus drivers and monitors in Adrian, Mich., have voted to join Teamsters Local 1038 in Detroit. There are 29 drivers and monitors in the bargaining unit. “We want to be treated equally, and we would like to have some sick days. When we get sick, we don’t have any,” said Cindy Justice, an aide on a bus for children with special needs...
School safety agent struck by bosses: Teamsters  New York Post   ...A school safety agent was struck in the chest and her hand was crushed in a door while she was being grilled by her bosses, according to a labor grievance...
What It’s Like To Win A 19-Year Union Organizing Campaign In The South  Washington Post   ...A couple weeks ago, a group of 14,500 U.S. Airways and American Airlines customer service representatives, people who take reservations over the phone and work check-in counters and boarding gates voted to unionize with the Teamsters and the Communication Workers of America. The election was remarkable for a couple reasons: First, because of the margin of victory, with 86 percent voting yes on 77 percent turnout. And second, because it took place in the anti-union South, with most of the agents in Florida, Texas, North Carolina and Arizona...
Trade
Interview: TPP talks unlikely to conclude in 2014, says expert  Xinhua   ...The trade talks of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement are unlikely to conclude this year as the United States and Japan have differences on the market access of agricultural products, a U.S. expert said Thursday...
US NGOs Warn TTIP Could Weaken Chemical Oversight  Chemical Watch   ...In the US, critics of the negotiations say they are wary of how the TTIP agreement could hold back work to tighten regulation at the state level; which they say is important in the face of continuing weak federal legislation. In particular, they point to investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) measures they say would allow corporations to challenge, and potentially overturn, tighter state regulations...
State Battles
Corporate executives are purchasing our states — one governorship at a time  Salon   ...The Republican Governor’s Association has devised a layaway purchase plan allowing brand-name corporations to make secret donations of $100,000 or more a year to the RGA in support of the corporate-friendly agenda of various GOP governors. And a lot of execs have been buying...
Supreme Court to weigh Arizona redistricting challenge  Reuters   ...The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear a challenge by Arizona's legislature to a voter-approved plan that stripped state lawmakers of their role in drawing congressional districts in an bid to remove partisan politics from the process...
One in five Wisconsin voters don't know they'll need photo ID to vote in November  The Cap Times   ...With the election about a month away, roughly one-fifth of Wisconsin voters are unaware that they will be required to show a photo ID at the polls on Nov. 4...
ACLU Asks Supreme Court To Block Wisconsin Voter ID Law  Los Angeles Times   ...Civil rights lawyers filed an emergency appeal with the Supreme Court on Thursday seeking to block Wisconsin from enforcing a strict voter ID law they say could prevent as many as 300,000 of the state’s registered voters from casting a ballot next month...
6 Ohio lawmakers defend ALEC in letter to Google  cleveland.com   ...Six Ohio lawmakers signed onto a letter admonishing Google for cutting financial support of conservative policy group ALEC and for accusing the organization of denying climate change...
Businessman Nik Patel Held Rick Scott Fundraiser At Home  Orlando Sentinel   ...Orlando hotelier Nik Patel, who was arrested Wednesday on fraud allegations, held a fundraiser for Gov. Rick Scott at his home in Windermere in April...
War On Workers
US Issues Final Minimum Wage Rule For Contractors  ABC News   ...Labor Secretary Thomas Perez issued a final rule on Wednesday raising the minimum wage for employees of federal contractors to $10.10 an hour. The action puts in force a step announced by President Barack Obama in February. The Labor Department said nearly 200,000 American workers will benefit from the new minimum, which takes effect Jan 1...
US: Tobacco Group Adopts Child Labor Protections  Human Rights Watch   ...The Tobacco Growers Association of North Carolina, which represents more than 2,300 tobacco farmers in North Carolina and neighboring states, issued a policy on October 1, 2014 stating that it “does not condone the use of child labor.” The policy says that children under 16 should not be hired to work on tobacco farms, even with parental permission...
Job Woes Linger in 29 States as U.S. Recovers Unevenly  Economy in Crisis   ...Nevada, Arizona and Florida are among those furthest from their peak employment during the December 2007-June 2009 downturn. Those states, along with five others – Alabama, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey and Ohio — remain more than 50,000 positions short of that level...
Why is our Infant Mortality so Bad?  Economist's View   ...That difference was almost entirely due to excess inequality in the US...
Hackers’ Attack on JPMorgan Chase Affects Millions  New York Times   ...A cyberattack this summer on JPMorgan Chase compromised the accounts of 76 million households and seven million small businesses, a tally that dwarfs previous estimates by the bank and puts the intrusion among the largest ever...
The Middle Class Is Poorer Today Than It Was In 1989  Washington Post   ...the top 1 percent grabbed 95 percent of all the gains during the recovery's first three years. And that's not even the most depressing part. Even adjusted for household size, real median incomes haven't increased at all since 1999. That's right: the middle class hasn't gotten a raise in 15 years...
Rising Tides Lift All Yachts – Why the 1% Grabs all the Gains From Growth  naked capitalism   ...While our economy is often referred to as “market-driven”, it is actually driven by power. P. O. W. E. R...
Pro-Union Burger King Worker Disciplined For Poor Pickle Placement  Huffington Post   ...EYM King, which runs 22 Burger King restaurants in and around Detroit, broke labor law by threatening a worker for discussing protests while on the job; giving a disciplinary warning to a union sympathizer; and enforcing a "no solicitation" rule on its own employees. Most absurdly, the company was found to have illegally sent a pro-union worker home one day for allegedly failing to "put pickles on her sandwiches in perfect squares as she was supposed to do"...
Federal Appeals Court Rules Evidence from Warrantless GPS Tracking Does Not Have to Be Suppressed  firedoglake   ...In 2010, FBI agents attached a GPS tracking device to the car of Harry Katzin in order to track his movements because they suspected he was involved in the robberies of multiple Rite-Aid pharmacies. The agents did not seek a warrant from a judge...
Worker killed in south Ga. industrial accident  WRCBtv.com   ...a front-end loader crushed 61-year-old Isabel Gomez while he was working on a hydraulic system at an agricultural business Thursday morning...
Charter schools, civil rights and the theft of education funds  The Hill   ...the lax system of federal oversight of the rapidly expanding charter industry has led to the theft of more than $100 million due to fraud, mismanagement and outright theft...

Today's Teamster News 10.01.14

Teamster News
New Orleans Union Membership Set to Double After Hotel and Casino Workers Win  In These Times   ...The hospitality and gaming union Unite Here and Teamsters Local 270 are in contract negotiations with Harrah’s Hotel and Casino after winning a card check election among 900 hotel and food workers...
NY Pol Legislates Against Carriage Horse Ban  Yonkers Hamlet Hub   ...The battle to save New York City’s city’s carriage horse industry has reached the state Capitol. NYS State Assemblyman, J. Gary Pretlow has introduced legislation that would countermand New York Mayor, Bill de Blasio's vow to ban the iconic horse drawn carriages in New York City...
Ports Of Los Angeles, Long Beach Truck Drivers Fast, Pray To Raise Awareness  Long Beach Press Telegram   ...A handful of truck drivers, who carry goods from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach took part Monday in a day of prayer and fasting to raise awareness of three area trucking firms they say misclassify drivers as independent contractors to skirt labor laws...
Trade
TTIP Threatens EU's Transparency On Clinical Trials (opinion)  The Parliament Magazine   ...positive progress on transparency is already being threatened by the transatlantic trade and investment partnership (TTIP) negotiations. Huge economic interests are at stake and medical companies on both sides of the Atlantic ocean are doing their best to limit data disclosure, a fact brought to daylight in the leaked BigPharma wish list...
State Battles
Governor Scott Weighs In On Troubles Surrounding Florida Prisons  WUSF News   ...“The Secretary of the Department of Corrections is taking it seriously. He’s traveled the state, he’s made sure there’s new training programs, he’s made sure now there’s more transparency, and if there’s going to be investigations, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement—which has a great reputation—will be involved in those investigations..."
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder defends education funding, right-to-work law in first town hall  MLive   ...An audience member contrasted the governor's 2010 pledge for government transparency with his use of the tax-exempt NERD Fund. He also noted Snyder's decision to sign a right-to-work law after originally saying the issue was not on his agenda. "Why would any voter believe you?" he asked...
Koch group faces investigation in N.C. over bogus voting info  MSNBC   ...Last week, the public learned that the Koch brothers’ Americans for Prosperity created quite a mess sending out incorrect voting materials to many North Carolina voters. This week, the group finds itself under investigation...
Emanuel Prods Sister Agencies To Mandate $13-An-Hour Minimum Wage  Chicago Sun Times   ...Emanuel is pressuring all local government agencies under his control — CTA, CHA, Chicago Public Schools, Chicago Park District, City Colleges and Public Building Commission — to follow his lead. That would mean a pay raise for roughly 2,400 contract employees working as custodians, landscapers and bus drivers...
De Blasio’s Executive Order Will Expand Living Wage Law To Thousands More  New York Times   ...Mayor Bill de Blasio plans to sign an executive order on Tuesday significantly expanding New York City’s living wage law, covering thousands of previously exempt workers and raising the hourly wage itself, to $13.13 from $11.90, for workers who do not receive benefits...
This Is What's The Matter With Kansas  New Republic   ...By June of 2014, the results of Brownback’s economic reforms began to come in, and they weren’t pretty. During the first fiscal year that his plan was in operation, which ended in June, the tax cuts had produced a staggering loss in revenue $687.9 million, or 10.84 percent...
A Fiscal Tale of Two States: Minnesota vs. Wisconsin  Econbrowser   ...The two neighboring states of Wisconsin and Minnesota share a similar economic structure and size; and yet their fortunes have diverged over the past three years. One correlate of Wisconsin’s growth deficit is state and local government spending...
War On Workers
Iceland: Bankers convicted, unemployment down  Angry Bear   ...While Iceland suffered a great deal from the crisis and is by no means out of the woods, it looks like the country made the right call by not bailing out the banks. The economy is growing and unemployment is down to less than half of its peak crisis level...
Your medical record is worth more to hackers than your credit card  Reuters   ...Last month, the FBI warned healthcare providers to guard against cyber attacks after one of the largest U.S. hospital operators, Community Health Systems Inc, said Chinese hackers had broken into its computer network and stolen the personal information of 4.5 million patients...
Prison bankers cash in on captive customers  Center for Public Integrity   ...JPay and other prison bankers collect tens of millions of dollars every year from inmates’ families in fees for basic financial services. To make payments, some forego medical care, skip utility bills and limit contact with their imprisoned relatives...
The Ugly Face of Shareholder Value Exposed By Inversions  Economic Populist   ...Burger King has become Canadian, Pfizer seems to be trying to be British, and Walgreens has backed away from becoming Swiss only because of the outcry over their plan for a new nationality.  Seeing what our companies are willing to do to escape paying income tax, people are beginning to wonder about how American our American companies are...
Worker killed at plant in north Charlotte  Charlotte Observer   ...state officials were told by Charlotte firefighters that the death took place at Source Recycling. She said state officials were told an employee was struck by a forklift...
Port worker dies after metal collapses on him  The Monitor   ...A San Benito man has died after he was pinned Monday under metal at a recycling center in the Port of Brownsville, authorities confirmed...
Worker dies after East Idaho spud harvest accident  Capital Press   ...Madrid-Rivera was working on a tarp covering his load at the side of his truck when another truck backed up and crushed him...
For A Worker With Little Time Between 3 Jobs, A Nap Has Fatal Consequences  New York Times   ...Emergency responders found the gas can open and overturned in the cargo hold and the S.U.V. filled with fumes, in what police said appeared to have been an accident. As commuters streamed by her counter in Newark, Ms. Fernandes was pronounced dead at 5:56 p.m. She was still in her uniform...
Miscellaneous
Driver in Fatal Oklahoma Crash Tells Police He Was Distracted  Bloomberg   ...The driver of a tractor-trailer that crashed into a bus and killed four college students on Interstate 35 in southern Oklahoma told investigators he was distracted...
Trucker in Massive Rig Destroys Two Families in His Sleep  Bloomberg   ...Safety advocates say the rate is far higher and claim trucker fatigue kills hundreds each year. In a 2006 federal survey of truckers cited in congressional testimony this July, 47.6 percent said they had fallen asleep while driving in the previous year. Yet unlike drugs or alcohol, there’s no test for fatigue after a crash...
Tracy Morgan hits back at Walmart  USA Today   ..."After I heard what Walmart said in court I felt I had to speak out. I can't believe Walmart is blaming me for an accident that they caused...
Senators Ask For More Oil Train Notifications  Bismark Tribune   ...The letter, sent Monday to U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, says railroads should supply states with advanced notification of all high-hazard flammable liquid transports — including crude from outside the Bakken region of North Dakota and Montana, as well as ethanol and 71 other liquids...
Police Want to Get Rid of Their Pentagon-Issued Combat Gear. Here's Why They Can't.  Mother Jones   ...Even before police militarization made the news, hundreds of police departments were finding that grenade launchers, military firearms, and armored vehicles aren't very useful to community policing...

Today's Teamster News 09.03.14

Teamster News
Republic Services Struggles To Gain Trust As It Deals With Landfill Headache  St. Louis Post Dispatch   ...the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which represents about 9,000 of Republic’s workers and has had a contentious relationship with the company over the years, joined the chorus calling for buyouts and removal of the waste...
Printing And Production Workers At Seattle Times Join Teamsters  teamster.org   ...Printing and production workers at the Seattle Times newspaper as well as some specialty printers in the Seattle area have voted to merge with Teamsters Local 117...
UAW President Dennis Williams, U.S. VP Joe Biden And Teamsters President James Hoffa Kick Off Labor Day Parade In Detroit  UAW   ...Thousands of union members and supporters gathered in Detroit for the historic Labor Day Parade down Michigan Avenue today, pledging to activate voters with the November election approaching with the theme "Together We WILL WIN!"...
Hawaii Teamsters union endorses Hannemann for governor  khon2   ...Hawaii Independent Party gubernatorial candidate Mufi Hannemann received a big boost Tuesday when he was endorsed by the Hawaii Teamsters and Allied Workers Union, Local 996...
Trade
Time To Get Children Out Of Factories And Into Schools (opinion)  CNN   ...In a small village in central Afghanistan, 13-year-old Basma is about to start her first day of school –- ever.... Only weeks before, Basma was found working on a carpet loom. Her weaving fingers already showed signs of arthritis from holding tools since the age of nine, tying knots for 14 hours a day...
"Fast Track" Foes Sound Off in Oregon  Politico   ...Foes of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement will visit the Oregon offices of Sen. Ron Wyden (D) today to deliver petitions signed by nearly 5,000 people, urging him to ensure his new “smart track” version of trade promotion authority is “not outdated ‘fast track’ legislation in disguise...
Free trade promises, but it’s failed to deliver (opinion)  The Bellingham Herald   ... We’ve heard these promises before: Trade agreements will level the playing field, create jobs and even promote world peace. So far, their track record has been the opposite...
State Battles
Federal Court Upholds Right to Work, Local Labor Leaders Focused on State Cases  tristatehomepage.com   ...In a split decision, a federal appeals court has ruled Indiana's Right to Work law does not violate federal labor laws or the United States Constitution. The appellate court's ruling comes as the Indiana Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments on the same topic later this week. While the federal decision didn't come as a surprise, the focus now shifts to the state Supreme Court's decision, said Chuck Whobrey, the president of Teamsters Local 215...
Local Teamsters president speaks out on right-to-work ruling  WFIE   ...A federal appeals court has upheld Indiana's right-to-work law banning mandatory union fees in a split decision. The local Teamsters represent thousands of union workers. President Chuck Whobrey says this ruling will certainly effect the way the union operates...
GOP Tries Yet Again to Disenfranchise Ohio Voters with Photo ID Bill  Moving Ohio Forward   ...Today, a group of Republican legislators again pushed for passage of legislation requiring photo IDs to be shown at polling places in order to vote, despite evidence that demonstrates over 1.2 million Ohio voters would be directly disenfranchised from exercising their voting rights...
Texas Voter ID Law Heads To Trial In U.S. Court  Huffington Post   ...A U.S. court in Texas will hear arguments on Tuesday in a case over a law requiring voters to present photo identification, a move the state's Republican leaders say will prevent fraud while plaintiffs call it a veiled attempt at suppressing minority turnout...
Garcetti Calls For $13.25 Minimum Wage By 2017  Los Angeles Times   ...Mayor Eric Garcetti on Monday launched an ambitious campaign to impose a $13.25-an-hour minimum wage requirement for all workers in Los Angeles by 2017, calling it the "largest anti-poverty program in the city's history."...
North Carolina Union Files SEC Pay-to-Play Complaint Against Erskine Bowles  International Business Times   ...A union representing 55,000 North Carolina current and retired state workers Tuesday filed a complaint with the Securities and Exchange Commission alleging that former White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles and his wife, a JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) director, may have violated federal pay-to-play rules in a major North Carolina pension contract...
War On Workers
The "40-Hour" Workweek Is Actually Longer -- by Seven Hours  Gallup   ...half of all full-time workers indicate they typically work more than 40 hours, and nearly four in 10 say they work at least 50 hours...
Fast food workers plan nationwide strike on Thursday  MSNBC   ...Thousands of fast food workers across the United States will once again go on strike this Thursday, representatives of the Fight for 15 movement announced Monday night...
America’s Exploding Oil Train Problem  Moyers and Company   ...If you reside in the US, there’s around an eight percent chance that you live in an oil train’s blast zone. And there’s a fight going on at the state and federal levels, between monied interests and regulatory agencies, over efforts to ensure that these trains — which have shown a tendency to burst into flames — will be relatively safe...
Police: Arrest made in case of Popeye's worker killed in Anne Arundel  Baltimore Sun   ...Anne Arundel police said they have made an arrest in the case of a Popeye's employee who was found dead at the restaurant early Sunday morning...
CPUC Fines PG&E $1.4 Billion in Connection with San Bruno Pipeline Explosion  Associated Press   ...California regulatory judges have issued a $1.4 billion penalty against the state's largest utility for a 2010 gas pipeline explosion that engulfed a suburban San Francisco neighborhood in fire, killing eight people and prompting national alerts about aging pipelines...
Russian bank hires two former U.S. senators  The Center for Public Integrity   ...Gazprombank GPB (OJSC), a Russian bank targeted with sanctions by President Obama over the Ukraine crisis, has hired two former U.S. senators to lobby against those sanctions, according to a new disclosure filed with the Senate…. former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., and former Senator John Breaux, D-La., are listed as the main lobbyists...
Car sharing service Uber banned in Germany  Guardian   ... The online car-sharing service Uber has vowed to continue operating across Germany after its mobile app was banned by a Frankfurt regional court...
Miscellaneous
We Need A Serious, Federal Digital Privacy Law (opinion) Huffington Post   ...If anything good is to come from this weekend's celebrity phone hack, let's hope it's federal action that finally takes seriously the problem of non-consensual online sexual exploitation -- along with all other forms of digital privacy invasion...
Ruling On Keystone XL Pipeline Could Come Down To Two Key Points  Omaha World-Herald   ...The Nebraska Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Friday morning on a constitutional challenge involving one of the most bitterly fought environmental battles in a generation. President Barack Obama is awaiting a ruling from Nebraska before moving closer to deciding the fate of the massive oil pipeline...
Home Depot Investigating Possible Payment Card Data Breach  Wall Street Journal   ...Home Depot Inc. is working with banks and law enforcement agencies to investigate a potential breach of customer credit- or debit-card data.The home-improvement retailer said on Tuesday it is looking into what it called unusual activity and said that if it confirms a breach occurred, it will immediately notify customers...

Today's Teamster News 08.03.14

State Battles
Scott Walker: Wisconsin GOP Considering Expanding Anti-Union Restrictions To Police, Firefighters  Huffington Post   ...Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R ) said this week that state Republicans might expand the state's controversial restrictions on collective bargaining to the two sectors spared from the new law more than two years ago...
Bruce Rauner channeled part of fortune to Cayman Islands  Chicago Sun-Times   ...(Illinois gubernatorial candidate) ultimillionaire Republican Bruce Rauner has channeled at least part of his fortune into the Cayman Islands, a Caribbean paradise long criticized as a tax haven for American investors...
The War on Workers
GOP pushing Labor Department to go easy on wage theft  Peoples World   ...Right-wing Republicans who run the House Education and the Workforce Committee are apparently pushing the Labor Department to ease up on wage theft, in favor of "compliance assistance" - department counsel to businesses.  But DOL is resisting, an advocate for low-wage workers says...
Big Banks Still a Risk  New York Times   ...The threat of high-cost taxpayer bailouts remains very much with us...
America’s Most Hated Banks  truthout   ...In a list of major banks reviled by Americans in order of volume of complaints, Bank of America takes first place, followed by Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and Citibank...
Senate Bombshell Testimony Today: Citigroup and Bank of America Stock Worthless Without Implied Government Guarantees  Wall Street on Parade   ...“The warranted rate of return on the stock of deeply undercapitalized firms like Citi and B of A [Bank of America] would have been sky high and their stock would have been declared worthless long ago if market participants were not convinced that authorities are afraid to force them to resolve their weaknesses...”
Worker Killed Along Schuylkill County Road  WNEP   ...Crews at the scene said the victim was working as a flagger in a work area...
Miscellaneous
The Rare, Solid Manufacturing Jobs Report  manufacture this   ...The country added 28,000 factory jobs in July. That’s the best monthly total manufacturing employment has seen since … November 2013, and it’s roughly the kind of number we’ll need to see every month through January 2017 if President Obama is to reach his goal of 1 million new manufacturing jobs for the U.S. economy during his second term...

Today's Teamster News 07.03.14

Teamster News
Labor Decision Finds In Favor Of Bus Drivers  Washington Times   ...A challenged lone vote questioning whether employees of the Green Mountain Express bus company in Vermont will join the Teamsters Union has been resolved in favor of the union...
U.S. Supreme Court Rules In Favor Of Teamsters At Daycon  Teamsters Local 639   ...NLRB Administrative Law Judge Eric Fine awarded more than $1.1 million in back pay plus interest to the Teamsters at Daycon...
Trade
As American as Apple Pie — But Made Overseas  manufacture this   ...New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority recently outsourced the $235 million renovation of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge to a company in China, despite objections from steel producers and workers...
State Battles
Democracy For Some: Ohio’s Struggle For Voting Rights  Plunderbund   ...In February, the Ohio legislature passed Senate Bill 238, eliminating the first week of in-person absentee voting. Known as Golden Week, it was the only time when people could register and vote on the same day...
Plaintiffs gear up for voter ID hearing  News & Record   ...Organizers of lawsuits filed in response to the Voter Identification Act passed in North Carolina last year hope a federal judge will delay implementation of the law until after the November midterm elections...
How North Carolina Turned So Red So Fast  Governing   ...Finally in total control in 2013, Republicans passed a long list of contentious laws, from strict voter identification requirements to a system of private school payment vouchers. These moves have generated endless media coverage and drawn tens of thousands of people to “Moral Monday” protests...
John Doe documents reveal ugly picture for public  PostCrescent   ...The most revealing piece of information is an excerpt from an email that Walker wrote to national Republican political consultant Karl Rove in May 2011, telling Rove that R.J. Johnson, a Walker campaign strategist who also operated the special-interest organization Wisconsin Club for Growth, was operating the recall campaigns...
Super-Rich Guy To 'Zillionaires': Back $15 Minimum Wage Or Prepare For Revolution  Huffington Post   ...A Seattle millionaire is urging his super-rich peers to support a $15 minimum wage or face the possibility of a devastating populist revolt...
L.A. Unified Agrees To Pay Low-Wage Workers $15 An Hour  Los Angeles Times   ...Low-wage workers in the nation’s second-largest school system have won a minimum-wage pay increase to $15 an hour...
War On Workers
U.S. offshore tax evaders facing new scrutiny starting July 1  Agence France Presse   ...US tax evaders will find it harder to hide money abroad from Tuesday, when a law comes into effect requiring foreign banks to report their offshore accounts...
Employees' Pay Cut By Denied Overtime, Deductions For Equipment  NPR   ... All told about 15 percent, we estimate, of a worker's salary is lost to wage theft. And these are the lowest wage workers that we interviewed. So workers who make about $17,000 a year...
A 'Lost Generation Of Workers': The Cost Of Youth Unemployment  NPR   ...It's a development that experts warn could have ripple effects for decades to come — not only for young people's lifelong earning potential but also for their contributions to the tax base and the strength of the U.S. economy overall...
Hundreds Of City Workers Protest Bank Deals At L.A. City Hall  Los Angeles Times   ...Hundreds of city workers and their allies packed the streets and sidewalks outside Los Angeles City Hall on Tuesday morning, protesting "predatory fees" the city pays to Wall Street banks...
Chase’s fraudulent foreclosure: Court finds for plaintiffs  Housing Wire   ...JPMorgan Chase (JPM) created and recorded false documentation that showed the bank owned the mortgage of two California residents in order to foreclose on their home, the California Court of Appeals stated...
Miscellaneous
Goodbye, Malls of America  Bloomberg   ...Since 1990, when 16 million-square-feet of mall space opened, building has tailed off, and 2007 was the first year in more than four decades when no large malls opened in the U.S. Only one has opened since then, in 2012...

A winning campaign slogan: 'Jail the bankers'

A very powerful Republican Congressman lost an election last night after his unknown opponent accused him of pampering bankers rather than jailing them.

Eric Cantor is the first House Majority Leader to lose an election since 1899. He spent $5 million on his campaign for the Republican nomination. His opponent, economics professor Dave Brat, spent $122,000.

Cantor's campaign spent more money at steakhouses over the past year ($168,000) than Brat spent on his ($122,000). 

But more important is where Cantor got his money (certainly not from unions). Politico reports Cantor's donors were...

...a who’s who of Beltway power players. Once seen as a top contender for House speaker, he had the support of 377 political action committees representing almost every major corporate and special interest from all sectors of the economy, including airlines, telecom, energy, food, and manufacturing groups. 

Here's what Brat had: A dislike of criminal bankers. The New Republic reported,

Speaking last month before the Mechanicsville Tea Party, Brat tied Cantor to Wall Street and big business, whom he blamed partly for the financial crisis. “All the investment banks in the New York and D.C.—those guys should have gone to jail. Instead of going to jail, they went on Eric’s Rolodex, and they are sending him big checks,” he said. Brat echoed these charges in a radio interview. “The crooks up on Wall Street and some of the big banks—I’m pro business, I’m just talking about the crooks—they didn’t go to jail they are on Eric’s Rolodex,” he said.

Looks like there may be more incumbents out of work in November.

Today's Teamster News 04.19.14

Trade
One-Fifth of China’s Farmland Is Polluted, State Study Finds  New York Times   ...The Chinese government released a report on Thursday that said nearly one-fifth of its arable land was polluted, a finding certain to raise questions about the toxic results of China’s rapid industrialization, its lack of regulations over commercial interests and the consequences for the national food chain...
Progress but no deal in US-Japan TPP trade talks  Agence France-Press   ...The United States said Friday there had been progress but no final deal in talks with Japan that are crucial to advancing the ambitious 12-country Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal...
State Battles
Nebraska Joins States Banning Employers from Asking Job Applicants About Criminal History  Alternet   ...Gov. Dave Heineman  signed a bill Wednesday making Nebraska the 11th state that bars employers from asking prospective employees if they have a criminal record. The prohibition is a provision in a law designed to reduce prison overcrowding...
War on Workers
The tea party radio network  Politico   ...conservative groups spent nearly $22 million to broker and pay for involved advertising relationships known as sponsorships with a handful of influential talkers including Beck, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Mark Levin and Rush Limbaugh between the first talk radio deals in 2008 and the end of 2012...
Inmates to strike in Alabama, declare prison is “running a slave empire”  Salon   ...Inmates at an Alabama prison plan to stage a work stoppage this weekend and hope to spur an escalating strike wave...
Judge says American can't end retiree benefits yet  Associated Press   ...A federal judge has rejected an attempt by American Airlines to quickly cut off benefits for many of its retirees...
Job Loss Would Quickly Lead to Hardship for Many in U.S.  Gallup   ...A substantial minority of U.S. workers say they could go just one week (14%) or one month (29%) before experiencing significant financial hardship if they lost their job...
Princeton Study: U.S. No Longer An Actual Democracy  Talking Points Memo   ...Asking "[w]ho really rules?" researchers Martin Gilens and Benjamin I. Page argue that over the past few decades America's political system has slowly transformed from a democracy into an oligarchy, where wealthy elites wield most power...
Big banks lend to corporations over consumers  CNN Money   ...Lending was up in the first quarter, but that jump has hidden the fact that individuals are still having a tough time getting loans...
As we sweat government surveillance, companies like Google collect our data  Guardian   ...Google confirmed this week what many people had assumed: even if you're not a Gmail user, your email to someone who does use their services will be scanned by the all-seeing search and the advertising company's increasingly smart machines...
Miscellaneous
Keystone decision delayed yet again  Politico Pro   ...The State Department declined to specify how long the delay will last, saying only that it needs to extend its review because of an ongoing dispute in front of the Nebraska Supreme Court that could affect the project’s route inside the state...

Today's Teamster News 04.11.14

Teamster News
After Protests, Teamsters Take Over An Art Fair  Crain's New York Business   ...After facing protests last year, the Randall's Island Art Fair has agreed to employ Teamsters and theater union members to set up tents and temporary galleries for the show that begins May 9...
Greece School District Teamsters Approve Contract   International Brotherhood of Teamsters   ...Teamsters Local 118 in Rochester, N.Y. is pleased to announce the ratification of a new four-year agreement with Greece Central School District...
North Las Vegas Teamsters, firefighters OK settlements with struggling city  Las Vegas Review-Journal   ...officials had settled with half of the city’s union heads for exactly $3.35 million — the settlement figure City Council members offered city Teamsters and firefighters early this month...
Starving Artists Fed Up; Seek To Establish Industry Standards With Teamsters Local 705  Digital Journal   ...Teamsters and artists may seem like an unlikely combination, but professional artists at Chicago's Mana Terry Dowd fine art packers and movers are organizing in an effort to establish income and benefit standards in their profession...
Polk Township Road Crew Workers Ratify Teamster Contract  Gnomes   ...Road crew workers employed by Polk Township, PA have recently voted for their first Teamster contract and to be represented by Teamsters Local 773 in Allentown...
Trade
H&M calls for faster factory inspections in Bangladesh  Reuters   ...Hennes & Mauritz (H&M), the world's second-biggest fashion retailer, said on Thursday Bangladesh needed to speed up inspections of its garment industry, almost a year after the collapse of a factory that killed more than 1,100 people...
U.S. Claims Country Building Its Own Network to Protect Against NSA Spying Violates Trade Laws  Washington's Blog   ...The U.S. is trying to not only protect U.S. businesses, but also keep the NSA’s hand in the cookie jar by arguing (wait for it…) that closing borders to the NSA would violate trade law...
State Battles
Corker, Haslam Subpoenaed By UAW For Volkswagon Appeal  Talking Points Memo   ...The United Auto Workers on Wednesday subpoenaed Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) and Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam (R), along with 18 other officials, for the union's challenge of the Chattanooga, Tenn. Volkswagon plant workers' vote to reject unionization, the Associated Press reported...
New Rule Prohibits Voters In Miami-Dade County From Using The Restroom, No Matter How Long The Line  ThinkProgress   ...Earlier this year, the Miami-Dade County Elections Department quietly implemented a policy to close the bathrooms at all polling facilities...
War on Workers
Getting Walmart Workers Off Food Stamps Would Cost Customers Barely Anything  Huffington Post   ...Would you be willing to spend one penny more for a box of macaroni and cheese if it meant that Walmart workers would no longer need food stamps to survive? Because that's all it would cost, according to an analysis by American Public Media’s Marketplace...
Koch Brothers Received Millions In Obamacare Subsidies  ThinkProgress   ...Charles and David Koch may have spent millions of dollars opposing President Obama’s Affordable Care Act, but that didn’t stop them from benefiting from the law to the tune of $1.4 million in subsidies...
Billionaires Score Big Win With McCutcheon Decision  Truthout   ...The Supreme Court’s McCutcheon ruling dealt another 5-4 body blow to our democracy...
The NCAA Makes Billions and Student Athletes Get None of It  StudentNation   ...Despite devoting forty to sixty hours per week to their sport most of the year, Division I football players lack basic economic rights under the NCAA’s cartel restrictions...
Do You Know Where Your Government Uniform Was Made?  The Nation   ...Despite some laudatory local and state efforts, taxpayer dollars are still being used to purchase clothes made in sweatshops...
The Worst Cash Rip-Off Since Bank Fees? Behold an Infuriating New Scheme to Sap Your Money  AlterNet   ...If prepaid debit cards sound too good to be true, it's because they're a scam. Here's the hidden truth behind them...
Family Dollar to cut jobs, shut 370 stores as sales fall  Reuters   ...The discount retailer, which caters to lower income shoppers--many of whom live from paycheck to paycheck, said it would it would cut jobs, shut hundreds of underperforming stores and slash prices...
Uninsured Greek patients with contagious diseases are being left untreated, voluntary health clinic warns EnetEnglish ...One health clinic in Greece warned that uninsured patients have contagious and serious diseases but are left untreated due to austerity...
Miscellaneous
Senator Durbin Asks For IG Investigation into Federal Agency's Oversight of Trucking Companies With a History of Violations  eNews Park Forest   ...U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) asked the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Inspector General (IG) to audit the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s investigative practices after a report that the FMCSA ordered, but never actually launched, an investigation into an Illinois motor carrier with a long history of violating safety rules...

Today's Teamster News 03.24.14

Teamster News
CCTA, Teamster negotiations fail; strike extends into second week  VT Digger   ...The bus drivers’ union, Teamsters Local 597, and the Chittenden County Transit Authority failed to come to an agreement after seven hours of negotiations on Saturday...
At least two issues divide CCTA and striking bus drivers  Burlington Free Press   ...Watterson said the talks centered on four issues highlighted by the union: compensation, cameras on the bus, including the use of anonymous complaints to discipline drivers, the use of part-time drivers and the length of the work day because of the split shifts expected for drivers...
The End of Jobs  In These Times   ...In a major victory for a long-running campaign,  port truck drivers at Pacific 9 Transportation in California have won the right to be considered employees under the National Labor Relations Act, and to form a union...
Trade
The Disastrous Trans-Pacific Partnership and Unconstitutional Fast Track Authority  Economy in Crisis   ...Thomas Hartmann explains why this is dangerous...
State Battles
GOP to push 'right to work'  Associated Press   ...Missouri House Republican leaders are vowing to consider one of their top priorities, legislation known to supporters as "right to work," when lawmakers return from their weeklong break...
War on Workers
Google, Apple, and Other Tech Titans’ Wage-Suppression Conspiracy Estimated to Cover One Million Workers  naked capitalism   ...Between approximately 2005 and 2009, Defendants Adobe, Apple, Google, Intel, Intuit, Lucasfilm, and Pixar allegedly engaged in an “overarching conspiracy” to eliminate competition among Defendants for skilled labor. The conspiracy consisted of an interconnected web of express bilateral agreements...
Why Electricity Costs Are Major Cause of Poverty in the South  Alternet   ...families in the Southeast pay a higher percentage of their income on electricity...
Miscellaneous
Banker Deaths Leave Industry Concerned As Coroners Probe  Bloomberg   ...Coroners in London are preparing to investigate two apparent suicides as unexpected deaths by finance workers around the world have raised concerns about mental health and stress levels in the industry...
Carter fears NSA is spying on his emails  The Hill   ...Former President Jimmy Carter (D) says he thinks the National Security Agency might be monitoring his emails....Carter said he sends messages to foreign leaders via snail mail instead...

Today's Teamster News 03.22.14

Teamster News
Truckers for Costco and Forever 21 land victory that may allow joining the Teamsters  Salon ...The Port of Los Angeles workers who alleged stolen wages and false "independent contractor" scam now one step closer to organizing with the Teamsters Union...
Truck Drivers Handed Labor Victory That Could Reshape The Industry  ThinkProgress   ...Truck drivers at a Los Angeles-area freight hauling company cannot be treated as “independent contractors” or harassed for discussing the possibility of unionizing, according to a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruling issued Thursday...
Port truck drivers vying to join union get state, federal boost  Los Angeles Times   ...A string of actions by state officials and the National Labor Relations Board has strengthened the hand of truck drivers who say they need union representation to improve pay and working conditions for the thousands who transport cargo out of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach...
Port Truck Drivers Labeled 'Independent Contractors' Told They Have Right To Unionize  Huffington Post   ...As part of a settlement with the Teamsters that was finalized on Thursday, Pacific 9 Transportation in Carson, Calif., has agreed to hang a posting in the workplace saying workers have the right to form a labor union...
Teamsters Local 722 Highway Maintainers Ratify New Contract  Joint Council 25   ...Carroll County, Illinois, public employees represented by Teamsters Local 722 unanimously approved a new three-year contract with the county’s highway department...
APAC/Old Castle Inc. Drivers Choose Teamsters  Teamsters Local 523   ...Drivers at APAC/Old Castle Inc. in Vinita, Okla. voted to join Teamsters Local 523 in Tulsa, securing a strong voice on the job, despite the company's blatant union-busting tactics...
Teamsters at CCTA find support from fellow workers  Burlington Free Press   ...Drivers with Chittenden County Transportation Authority (CCTA), who are represented by Teamsters Local 597, were joined by numbers of organizations at a rally in support of their strike against the company since Monday....
Teamsters, Pasco reach tentative contract deal  Tampa Bay Times  ...Teamsters Local 79, which represents more than half of Pasco County, Florida's workers, says it has reached a tentative contract deal after a final round of talks...
Georgia Senate votes to bar some workers from unemployment benefits  Atlanta Journal-Constitution   ...The Georgia Senate approved a measure Thursday that would ban bus drivers, cafeteria workers and other people who work for private firms in public schools from claiming unemployment benefits when school is out...
Teamsters reject CN deal, company proposes binding arbitration   The Northern View ...The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference has rejected a second proposed settlement with CN with a vote of 891 against and 852 voting in favor of the agreement...
Teamsters Step Up Fight for D.C. Taxi Drivers   teamster.org ...The Teamsters Local 922-affiliated Washington, D.C. Taxi Operators Association filed a petition on Wednesday demanding that ride-sharing companies adhere to similar regulations that the taxi drivers follow...
Trade
Roberto Azevedo urges U.S. to push for Doha finish  Politico   ...World Trade Organization Director-General Roberto Azevedo urged the United States on Monday to reprise its traditional leadership role in the multilateral trading system by pushing to bring the 13-year-old Doha Round of world trade talks to a swift conclusion...
State Battles
W.Va. governor signs budget that taps reserves  Associated Press ...West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin signed a budget into law Wednesday that dips into millions of dollars in state reserves but gives public employees raises...
Louisiana committee OK's bill to bar teachers unions from public pension system  Times-Picayune   ...The House Retirement Committee on Thursday approved a bill that would bar any future employees of four organizations, two of them teachers unions, from also being members in the state public pension system for teachers...
War on Workers
Real wage stagnation, year 41  Angry Bear   ...The good news is that… real wages advanced somewhat in 2013, from $294.31 per week (in 1982-84 dollars) to $295.51, an increase of 0.4%. Woo hoo! The bad news, of course, is that this is still 13.5% off the peak real weekly wage of $341.73, achieved in 1972... 
Social Security already hit by the austerity squeeze  DailyKos   ... that annual statement you used to get that provided your earnings to date and estimated your monthly benefits is gone now. It was an important educational tool for Social Security, and a reminder that you are paying into a secure retirement fund. The statements are still available, but you have to be able to go online or visit an SSA office...
Microsoft Software Leak Inquiry Raises Privacy Issues  New York Times   ...The company conducted an inquiry by reading through email and instant messages, which may violate its promise of privacy, highlighting the power technology companies have to snoop on their customers...
Fox Has Consistently Minimized Koch Campaign Funding, But The Truth Is Out  Media Matters   ...As the group emerges as a dominant force in the 2014 midterm elections, spending up to 10 times as much as any major outside Democratic group so far, officials of the organization say their effort is not confined to hammering away at President Obama's Affordable Care Act...
Miscellaneous
Discovery of body clock reset mechanism could help shift workers and jetsetters  gizmag   ..."As this work progresses in clinical terms, we may be able to enhance the clock's ability to deal with shift work, and importantly understand how maladaptation of the clock contributes to diseases such as diabetes and chronic inflammation"...
Bernie Madoff: 'JPMorgan knew'  PoliticoPro   ...JPMorgan Chase served as Madoff’s bank for more than two decades and its role in his infamous Ponzi scheme has been the subject of intense interest to both federal authorities and investors who were victims of his fraud...
Hog Wild: Factory Farms are Poisoning Iowa's Drinking Water  Mother Jones   ...Millions of pigs are crammed into overcrowded barns all across the state, being fattened for slaughter while breeding superbugs—all to feed China's growing appetite for Spam...
Revelations of NSA Spying Cost U.S. Tech Companies  New York Times   ...Tech companies in the United States have lost customers and billions of dollars while companies overseas are gaining customers because of the revelations made by Edward J. Snowden,tied these providers to the National Security Agency’s vast surveillance program.

Today's Teamster News 03.13.14

Teamster News
Teamsters: Just 19 Days Until the Deadline to Apply for a James R. Hoffa Scholarship  teamster.org   ...The Fund will award $800,000 in scholarships this year to children and financially dependent grandchildren of Teamster members...
Teamsters Support the Fight for Justice for Port Drivers  teamster.org   ...At the Port of Savannah, Teamster Local 728 Organizing Director Ben Speight and Savannah port truck driver John Jackson were hosted by radio show host Rick Smith...
Teamsters Local 830 endorses Davidson in 164th district  Delaware County Daily Times   ...The International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 830 endorsed state Rep. Margo Davidson last week in the Democratic primary for the 164th Legislative District...
Teamsters: Latest Transit Numbers Show More Investment is Warranted  teamster.org   ...Since 1995, ridership for rail and buses is up 37.2 percent, out pacing not only population growth but vehicle miles traveled as well...
Trade 
U.S. biz lobby says Japan’s TPP proposal not enough  The Japan Times   ...apan has so far insisted on maintaining tariffs in five key farm product categories, including rice and beef. It is holding two days of working-level talks with the U.S. in Washington...
2 years later, Korea trade deal a disaster  TeamsterNation   ...Two years after the so-called 'trade' deal with Korea took effect, U.S. exports plummeted, the trade deficit ballooned and 40,000 Americans lost their jobs...
How dependent on China is the U.S. military?  manufacture this   ...America's national security is threatened by a growing military reliance on foreign sourcing for raw materials, parts, and finished products...
State News
UAW: NLRB ruling in favor of anti-union VW workers 'an outrage'  Detroit News   ...“(It) claims to be an organic group of Volkswagen workers who came together of their own accord to participate in the election campaign,” the UAW said, alleging that the group is actually funded by conservative business groups...
Was LePage’s jobs proposal sincere or a union-busting ‘election stunt’?  Bangor Daily News   ...Gov. Paul LePage’s proposal to create Open for Business zones to attract economic development and jobs to Maine likely would breeze through the Legislature if it weren’t for the fact that it includes a “right-to-work” provision that there is little appetite for in the State House...

Ohio’s Kasich Says He’s ‘Not Interested’ In Run For President  10TV   ...Kasich's denial comes after his Democratic opponent Ed FitzGerald last month challenged him to sign a pledge vowing to serve a full term if reelected this November...

Public Union Dust Still Settling in Wisconsin, Three Years After Act 10  WUWM   ...Even if they got recertified the only thing that they could collectively bargain about would be pay raises up to the level of inflation. That was tantamount to abolishing public employee unions in Wisconsin, which I think was the intent...
Rasmussen Poll: Scott Walker Tied With Democratic Challenger  Talking Points Memo   ...The poll found Walker tied with Democrat Mary Burke with each candidate getting 45 percent of support of those surveyed. Five percent said they preferred some other candidate in the race and the last five percent said they were not sure who they supported...
War on Workers
It's Official: One Koch Brother Equals 515,000 Union Members  New Republic   ...conservative nonprofit organizations that received large grants from Koch-backed intermediaries spent $170 million during the 2012 election cycle. Unions spent just $24 million...
Still No Jobs for More Than 60 Percent of Job Seekers  Economic Policy Institute   ... there were 10.2 million job seekers and only 4.0 million job openings, meaning that more than 60 percent of job seekers were not going to find a job in January no matter what they did. In a labor market with strong job opportunities, there would be roughly as many job openings as job seekers. We are not in a strong labor market...
My Life as a Retail Worker: Nasty, Brutish, and Poor  The Atlantic  ...Mop the floors in the bathroom, replace the toilet paper and scrub the toilets if necessary. Vacuum. Empty the garbage. Wipe down the glass front doors, every night, even if they don’t really need it. It was all part of the job, done after your shift has ended but without overtime pay...
The Looting Of Ukraine Has Begun  Paul Craig Roberts   ...the finance ministry of Washington’s stooges in Kiev who are pretending to be a government has prepared an economic austerity plan that will cut Ukrainian pensions from $160 to $80 so that Western bankers who lent money to Ukraine can be repaid at the expense of Ukraine’s poor. http://www.kommersant.ua/doc/2424454 It is Greece all over again.