Today's Teamster News 10.23.15

TEAMSTERS
Union Leader: Don’t Remove Metal Detectors From NYC Schools   WLNY   ...Gregory Floyd of Teamsters Local 237 said that metal detectors used in schools serve as an effective deterrent for children seeking to bring weapons into the classroom, 1010 WINS’ Juliet Papa reported...
Canada Council Of Teamsters Ratifies Five-Year Agreement With UPS   Stockhouse   ...UPS Canada (NYSE:UPS) is pleased to announce that a tentative agreement with the Canada Council of Teamsters has been ratified. This results in a new five-year agreement covering approximately 7,000 employees throughout Canada...
On Eve Of Strike Vote, UPS Pilots Get Teamsters Support   Logistics Management   ...What’s more, leadership at the International Brotherhood of Teamsters said today that General President James Hoffa and General Secretary-Treasurer Ken Hall told the IPA’s President Captain Robert Travis in a letter that “if a strike is necessary, we will not cross your lines, but will stand with you on them.”...
Maine AFL-CIO Talks Minimum Wage Hikes At Biennial Convention   WCSH   ..."When we bring the bottom up that benefits everyone," explained Traci Place, a delegate for the Teamsters Local 340. "They spend that money in the community, the municipalities have more money the businesses have more money and that brings everybody up and how can that be bad."...
Agreement Ratified At UPS   Teamsters Canada   ...Eighty-one percent of the UPS workers who voted were in favour of ratifying the tentative agreement negotiated between Teamsters Canada and company management on September 24...
Parking Members To Receive Additional Sick/Personal Day   Teamsters Local 727   ...Teamsters Local 727-represented parking members soon will receive an additional sick/personal day, per the collective bargaining agreement...

GLOBAL LABOR & TRADE
TPP Would Allow Milk From Cows Receiving Hormones Into Canada   CBC   ...As dairy imports from the United States appear set to increase under the terms of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, Canadian consumers concerned about drinking milk from cows receiving hormones will need to read their labels more carefully...
Meet CETA, TTIP’s Dangerous Cousin   Left Foot Forward   ...One year ago Canada and the EU finalized a trade deal known as CETA (the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement). If you haven’t heard of CETA, what you need to know is simple – it’s like TTIP but coming sooner...
TTIP: EU negotiators appear to break environmental pledge in leaked draft  The Guardian  ...The EU appears to have broken a promise to reinforce environmental protections in a leaked draft negotiating text submitted in the latest round of TTIP talks in Miami.. In January, the bloc promised to safeguard green laws, defend international standards and protect the EU’s right to set high levels of environmental protection...
'Mass Struggle Works': South African Student Uprising Wins Tuition Freeze   Common Dreams   ...Facing the largest student uprisings since South Africans toppled apartheid, President Jacob Zuma pledged Friday to freeze tuition fees in the year 2016—prompting declarations of victory, as well as calls to continue the mass mobilizations until full racial and economic equality is won...
Spaniards protest against austerity policies  World Bulletin   ...Students, health workers and members of trade unions took part in a demonstration dubbed as “Marches for Dignity” on Thursday, shouting for “bread, employment, roof and dignity.” according to a report in PressTV. Education Minister José Ignacio Wert Ortega resigned in July following massive student demonstrations held across the country. But his policy, known as the 3+2 Decree, is still in place...
Obama Administration Softens Criticism of China’s Currency Policy  Wall Street Journal   ...The U.S. Treasury Department, in its semiannual report on currencies Monday, said the yuan is “below its appropriate medium-term valuation.” In the previous report it said the currency was “significantly undervalued.”...

STATE & LIVING WAGE BATTLES
Right To Work Proposal Introduced In Ohio   Bucyrus Telegraph Forum   ...A Cincinnati lawmaker introduced his plan to bring a right-to-work law to Ohio despite opposition from fellow Republicans...
Even The Most Elite Women Are Subject To The Gender Pay Gap   Huffington Post   ...A business degree, even from one from a top school in the country, won't be enough to protect women from the gender gap in compensation...
Massachusetts Coffee Chain Fined $47,000 For Breaking Child Labor Laws, Stealing Tips   Boston Globe   ...The Massachusetts coffee shop chain Dippin’ Donuts has been fined $47,000 for violating state child labor laws and stealing tips from hourly workers, Attorney General Maura Healey announced Thursday...
Kansas City Council Repeals Minimum Wage Hike But Urges Statewide Increase   Kansas City Star   ...Blocked by state lawmakers from raising the minimum wage within city limits, the Kansas City Council on Thursday repealed legislation it passed last summer that would have done just that...
Proposal Would Raise Minimum-Wage To $12 An Hour   Columbus Dispatch   ...Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine today certified the language for a proposed constitutional amendment to provide automatic annual increases in the state minimum wage through 2021...

U.S. LABOR
UAW files petition to organize VW's maintenance workers  Nooga  ...United Auto Workers Local 42 has filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board seeking an election in hopes of representing maintenance employees at Volkswagen Chattanooga, and ultimately gaining collective bargaining powers...
SEIU, IBEW Locals in New Hampshire Announce Bernie Sanders Endorsement  In These Times  ...A pair of union locals in New Hampshire, home to the first primary of the 2016 election cycle, endorsed Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders as their candidate for president this week. On Wednesday, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local Union 490 endorsed Sanders, with local executive Denis Beaudoin saying that members at meetings spoke overwhelmingly in favor of the endorsement...
Clinton Scores Key Endorsement From Public-Employee Union  NPR  ...The nation's largest public-employee union is backing Hillary Clinton for president. The board of the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees voted to endorse the former senator and secretary of State on Friday. Clinton said in a statement of her own that she was "honored" to get AFSCME's endorsement...
From Construction To Exotic Dancing, Worker Misclassification Is Everywhere  Washington City Paper   ...If a company hires a person to stand near a construction site and direct traffic, is the worker in business for himself? If a company can fire a consultant without warning, is the worker really an independent contractor? Is a strip club still a strip club without exotic dancers? D.C.-area workers are asking these questions—and many more—as they allege the companies they consider their employers have misclassified them as independent contractors...

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND OTHER NEWS
ACLU Accuses Biloxi Of Running Debtors' Prison In Lawsuit Seeking To 'Dismantle Two-Tiered System Of Justice'  Common Dreams   ...The American Civil Liberties Union has accused Biloxi, Miss. of operating "a modern day debtors' prison," filing a lawsuit on Wednesday charging that the city, in violation of the U.S. Constitution, jails impoverished people for unpaid fines and fees they are unable to pay...
Iceland Just Jailed Dozens Of Corrupt Bankers For 74 Years, The Opposite Of What America Does   AlterNet   ...In stark contrast to the record low number of prosecutions of CEO’s and high-level financial executives in the U.S., Iceland has just sentenced 26 bankers to a combined 74 years in prison...
Pharma Bro Gets Taught A Necessary Lesson By The Free Market   Think Progress   ...A drug company plans on introducing the first competitor to Daraprim, the parasitic-fighting drug that’s met national controversy for its skyrocketing price tag. The company, Imprimis Pharmaceuticals, says its new drug will be available for only $1 a tablet — a stark difference from Daraprim’s $750...
Texas Officials Raid Several Planned Parenthood Offices, Demand Addresses Of Employees   AlterNet   ...Texas sent agents to Planned Parenthood facilities on Thursday seeking documents, the group said, calling it a "politically motivated" move that comes on the heels of the state's Republican leaders barring it from receiving Medicaid money...
Revised Swaps Rule To Spare Big Banks Billions In Collateral   Bloomberg Business   ...Wall Street banks will escape billions of dollars in additional collateral costs after U.S. regulators softened a rule that would have made their derivatives activities much more expensive...
Tennessee County Overwhelmingly Votes Down Plan To Raise Confederate Flag   NBC News   ...A Tennessee county voted overwhelmingly Monday night against a plan by one commissioner to raise the Confederate flag above the county's courthouse...

Today's Teamster News 08.20.15

Teamsters
City Council Stands In Way Of Carriage Horse Ban, de Blasio Tells Activists  New York Times   ...Mayor Bill de Blasio made a promise as a candidate to animal-rights activists that he would end the Central Park horse-carriage industry on the first day of his administration. Nearly 600 days into his tenure, the horses are still clopping. And the mayor has a new message for activists: Talk to somebody else...
Strike Out  Tucson Weekly   ...Shortly after his return, he had an altercation with a bus rider who snuck in a beer. The man ended up throwing the beer in Kirk's face, after Kirk asked him to get rid of it. "Passengers realize that there is no accountability ... the disrespect ... they don't have to abide by any rules," he says. All-in-all, there have been 22 assaults on bus drivers in the past 13 months, according to the Teamsters Local Union 104, which is leading the strike. That includes beer-throwing, spitting and more violent incidents...
Bus Service Resumes To Normal In Loudoun County  Washington Post   ...Teamsters Local 570 and Transdev have been in talks over a collective bargaining agreement for the past six months, according to Loudoun County officials...

Global Labor & Trade
Chinese Shares Trade Lower Again After Days Of Volatility  BBC News   ...The mainland's benchmark Shanghai Composite was 1.5% down to 3,735.92 points. The negative open comes after the index had seen strong volatility since the beginning of the week...
Russia Used To Have A Powerful Weapon In Its Energy Sector. Not Anymore.  Washington Post   ...For years, Russia’s ability to choke off energy shipments any time tensions spiked with the West was a potent threat, one that could force much of Europe to shiver during the wintertime. But with energy prices swooning, the Kremlin’s pipeline politics are looking a lot less threatening...

State & Living Wage Battles
Unions Press Congress To Take Off On FAA Bill  The Hill   ...The AFL-CIO’s Transportation Trades Department is pushing Congress to approve a new round of funding for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) when lawmakers return to Washington next month. The FAA bill, which includes funding for air traffic controllers, is scheduled to expire on Sept. 30...
Missouri Orders New Measures To Prevent Spread Of Bridgeton Landfill Fire  St. Louis Post Dispatch   ...Missouri regulators are ordering the owner of the smoldering Bridgeton Landfill to add more safeguards and develop a backup plan to prevent the spread of an underground fire past existing defenses...
Landfill Fire Slowing, Closer To Radioactive Waste  KMOX   ...The Pattonville Fire Protection District is keeping a close eye on the Bridgeton Landfill, after new data shows the underground fire may be getting closer to nuclear material buried in the nearby Westlake Landfill...
Justice Dept. Presses Civil Rights Agenda In Local Courts  New York Times   ...Burlington, Wash., was a small city fighting what seemed like a local lawsuit. Three poor people said that their public lawyers were too overworked to adequately represent them in municipal court cases. The dispute went mostly unnoticed for two years, until the Obama administration became involved. Unannounced, the Justice Department filed documents in the case and told the judge that he had broad authority to demand changes in Burlington and nearby Mount Vernon. The judge quickly agreed and ordered the cities to hire a new public defense supervisor. He also said he would monitor their legal aid program for three years...
After Criticism, HUD Says It’s Trying To Give The Boot To Public Housing Families Who Earn Too Much Money  Washington Post   ...In response to an unsparing audit by its watchdog, the Department of Housing and Urban Development has flipped its stance and now says it is urging housing authorities nationwide to evict tenants who earn too much to qualify for government subsidies...
Court Documents: Legal Challenge To N.C. Voter ID Could Be Settled  Winston-Salem Journal   ...The recent federal trial on North Carolina’s Voter Information Verification Act that ended about two weeks ago did not deal with the state’s photo ID requirement that goes into effect in 2016. It only dealt with other provisions of the law, which reduced the early voting period, eliminated same-day voter registration, prohibited county election officials from counting ballots cast in the wrong precinct but correct county, and abolished preregistration for 16- and 17-year-olds...
KC City Council To Meet, Clarify Minimum Wage Issues  WDAF   ...Workers in Kansas City could get some clarity on the minimum wage issue Thursday afternoon after the City Council meets to discuss the ordinance. The council meets at 3 p.m...

U.S. Labor
Uber Missed Criminal Records Of Drivers, Prosecutors Assert  New York Times   ...For more than a year, regulators in various cities have questioned whether Uber, the ride-hailing service, vets its drivers for criminal backgrounds as carefully as traditional taxi companies. Now the district attorneys of San Francisco and Los Angeles have offered perhaps the most concrete evidence to date that people convicted of murder, sex offenses and various property crimes have driven for Uber, despite assurances from the company that it employs “industry-leading” screening...
Private Prison Firms Buy Access To Public Officials At Lavish Industry Conferences  Truthout   ...The prison industry in the United States has grown so large that there are no less than seven professional associations for people who work at prisons and jails. The industry conferences held by these associations provide a perfect venue for private corrections companies to influence government officials with little public oversight, according to a recent report by the watchdog group In The Public Interest (ITPA)...

Social Justice & Other News
U.S. Consumer Prices Rise For Sixth Straight Month  Wall Street Journal   ...The consumer-price index, which reflects what Americans pay for everything from razors to radishes, rose a seasonally adjusted 0.1% in July from a month earlier, the Labor Department said Wednesday. From a year earlier, prices are up a very mild 0.2%, but when excluding volatile food and energy categories, the gain in the so-called core index was a more solid 1.8%...
The Military’s Outdated Gender Standards Are Finally Breaking Down  Think Progress   ...While women still face numerous obstacles when it comes to serving in the military, one barrier is soon to be broken. In an interview with the Navy Times Tuesday Adm. Jon Greenert said women would soon be welcome to participate in one of the military’s most elite units: – the Navy SEALs...
Goldman Sachs' New Loan Program Enters Underregulated, Potentially Abusive Loan Marketplace  Truthout   ...Though the bank itself hadn't directly seeded high-interest mortgages into communities of color around the country, like Countrywide or other banks that offered mortgages directly had done, Goldman Sachs had profited from selling subprime mortgage-backed securities - and from betting on the failure of these same products. "That was one of the reasons the [financial] crisis really took off," Murray said...
Ohio Planned To Import Death Penalty Drug Illegally  Mother Jones   ...The state of Ohio planned to illegally import sodium thiopental, a drug used for executions, according to a Food and Drug Administration letter obtained by BuzzFeed through a Freedom of Information Act request...
A Regulator’s Deal With Promontory Skirts A Big Problem  New York Times  ...Since by necessity it focuses on specific allegations, it leaves untouched a larger problem that goes beyond breaches of consultants’ supposed independence: the increasing extent to which regulators and prosecutors have come to rely on consultants to investigate suspected bank wrongdoing, rather than devoting the time and resources to do investigations themselves...
Black Lives Matter Isn't Stopping  Politico   ...Memo to 2016 candidates from Black Lives Matter: We will continue to disrupt your events no matter what you do or say, and we won’t stop anytime soon...
Obama Administration Plans To Overhaul Rules On Student Debt Forgiveness  Washington Post   ...The Obama administration said Wednesday it will overhaul the loan forgiveness process for students who believe they have been defrauded by their colleges, in light of the collapse of controversial for-profit Corinthian Colleges...

Hoffa: China's currency manipulation should serve as a warning about TPP

Editor's Note: The following column by Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa is also appearing on the Huffington Post website.

Currency manipulation has long been a drag on the U.S. economy and our jobs. But China’s decision last week to devalue the Yuan shows the kind of damage such tinkering can bring to America. And it’s why Congress cannot approve the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) until something is done about it.

The Teamsters for years have talked about how the issue is a cancer for trade deals like the 12-nation Pacific Rim pact. It makes imports cheaper to buy in the U.S. but drives up the cost of goods workers make here and export to the world. That, in turn, increases our trade deficits and forces U.S. manufacturers to either move overseas or close up shop.

The practice creates an unfair trade advantage that has already cost millions of jobs in this country and shuttered thousands of U.S. factories. And it will only get worse if America proceeds with the TPP. Japan, Singapore and Malaysia, for example, are part of the trade agreement and have a long history of engaging in currency manipulation. China’s decision to lower the value of the Yuan after four years of relative stability will likely cause others nations to do so as well.

The failure to address currency manipulation and undervaluation has been a major cause of the U.S. trade deficit and manufacturing decline. Yet there is no provision in the TPP to do so, even though policymakers understand how devastating it can be to America’s economic health.

It is even more startling when the U.S. already has proof that the lack of currency manipulation language is a major failing in modern trade deals. The three-year-old U.S.-Korea trade agreement, known as KORUS, is the model that the TPP is built upon.  While supporters said it would create upwards of 70,000 jobs, it instead has led to tens of thousands of lost American jobs and an 84-percent increase in this country's trade deficit with Korea. In fact, the U.S. rung up its highest monthly trade deficit ever with Korea in January, reaching $3 billion.

Those job losses are not low-wage jobs, either. As the Economic Policy Institute surmised earlier this year, increased trade deficits push jobs out of better-paying industries. And at a time when income inequality is running rampant in the U.S., workers don't need even more "free" trade agreements that will further strip this nation's economy of middle-income jobs.

Currency manipulation is serious enough that a bipartisan collection of lawmakers have aired their concerns about the issue. That’s a rarity in today’s bogged down Capitol Hill environment. But they know what the Teamsters are other advocates are saying is true – our existing currency policy has failed.

China’s latest actions highlight the importance of addressing this issue. Currency provisions must be placed in the TPP that could be enforced through trade sanctions. But just as importantly, any additional nations that wish to sign onto the pact in the future must also be approved by Congress.  That way, China won’t be able to continue its current practices that leave American workers behind with no way to compete going forward.

Today's Teamster News 09.08.13

First Coast Gears: Pontiac muscle comes on strong at Teamsters show  Florida Times Union ...Harris and Boito brought their Pontiacs to the annual Labor Day weekend car show at Teamsters Local 512 on Lane Avenue last Saturday...
Privacy Scandal: NSA Can Spy on Smart Phone Data  Der Spiegel   ...The United States' National Security Agency intelligence-gathering operation is capable of accessing user data from smart phones from all leading manufacturers...
Naked tax protest in front of German Chancellor's office  Tax Justice Network   ...a naked tax protest by Attac-Germany, with calls for unitary taxation and country by country reporting...
Low-Wage Employers Have Fought Hard to Keep Their Workers Poor — Now Workers are Fighting Back  Moyers & Co.   ...After decades of seeing their incomes shrink, those at the bottom of the economic ladder are starting to band together and fight back — and it’s one of the most important economic stories of our time...
Free Markets are Fraudulent Markets (opinion)  Economic Populist   ...Historically, competitive market economies are a relatively new economic system, and while very productive, they are not self-sustaining, are unstable and require significant state support and regulation to function properly...
The Political Calculations behind Growing Inequality  truthout   ...In the 1980s, campaign contributions from the top 0.01 percent roughly equaled the campaign contributions from all of organized labor. In 2012, America’s top 0.01 percent all by themselves outspent labor by more than four-to-one...
Want to Move Kids Out of Poverty? Then Protect the Middle Class  The Atlantic   ...in parts of the country that are more heavily middle class, there also tends to be more upward mobility for the poor...
An American Bridge Made of Chinese Steel Demonstrates the Need for a Rational Trade Policy  Economy In Crisis   ...The prices for Chinese-made steel are about 25% lower than for domestic steel, but this does not represent a victory won on an open and level playing field...
Detroit, Labor Day and a Hard Day’s Night (opinion)  The Hill   ...A competitive nation needs a strong safety net for its citizens, one that neither depends on fickle global employers nor burdens workers’ democratic institutions with a redistributive role best played by the government.    In addition, the U.S. should take a cue from the European Union and allocate more funds to help hard hit areas transition their economies...
Burlesque performers, occupiers protest possible sale of Portland park  Bangor Daily News   ...Tension over whether a large section of Portland’s Congress Square Park should be sold to private developers escalated late Friday night, as burlesque performers and members of the occupy movement demonstrated at the site, attracting police warnings...
Occupy Sandy builds worker power in Far Rockaway  Co-operative News   ...One of those bigger projects is a worker-run cooperative initiative, organized by Occupy Sandy and supported by the Working World, an organization that specializes in incubating collectively owned businesses...

Today's Teamster News 07.13.13

Iowa Supreme Court: It’s OK To Fire A Woman For Being Too Attractive  ThinkProgress   ...Standing by a December decision, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled Friday that a male dentist who fired a female assistant because she was too attractive and threatened his marriage did not commit sex discrimination...
Brazil protests: Tens of thousands in union-led strikes  BBC News   ...Ports and motorways were blocked, banks and schools stayed closed, and crowds marched through Rio de Janeiro, where riot police deployed tear gas. The unions want improved working conditions and better public services...
US Treasury delays offshore tax-dodging law by six months  Economic Times   ...The US Treasury Department said on Friday it will postpone enforcement of a new law that cracks down on offshore tax avoidance by Americans by six months to give foreign banks more time to figure out how to comply...
Sen. Brown urges Obama administration to press China on trade, currency issues  BankCreditNews   ...Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) urged the Obama administration on Monday to press China on a number of issues that affect American jobs and businesses, including currency manipulation, illegal trade practices, cyber-attacks, human rights abuses and intellectual property theft...
Changing Wal-Mart? Respect our rights, workers say  Sacramento Press   ...As of July 8, nine Wal-Mart workers in California have been fired for standing up and speaking out publicly to improve labor conditions at the large retailer. The company is saying the employees were let go due to violating attendance policy or for other reasons, and not because of any “specific protest.”...
Smithfield workers conflicted over Chinese buyout  Virginian-Pilot   ...What’ll happen to workers at Smithfield Foods Inc. if the pork company is taken over by Shuanghui International Holdings Ltd.? The workers feel mixed about the buyout...
Union head threatens 'bloodiest' BART strike in years  KTVU News   ...Rhetoric remained fiery as BART negotiators and union heads returned to the bargaining table Thursday, with one union head threatening the "bloodiest, longest strike" in decades if a permanent deal isn't reached in less than a month...
Silicon Valley’s Anti-Unionism, Now With a Side of Class Warfare  Daily Intelligencer   ...Since BART workers went on strike last week, shutting down the Bay Area's primary mass transit system and interrupting millions of commutes, the relationship between the Silicon Valley tech community and labor unions has come under the microscope...
NH's Hassan signs jobless benefits bill  Associated Press   ...Gov. Maggie Hassan signed a bill Thursday creating a new program that will allow a small percentage of jobless workers to continue to get unemployment benefits while they start their own businesses. Under the new law, which took effect immediately, only 2.5 percent of unemployed workers can participate in the program at any given time...
Christie Vetoes Bill That Would Check His Power to Privatize  Teaneck Patch   ...The Christie administration made privatizing dozens of state programs and services a priority shortly after taking office, announcing it was a way to save millions of dollars during economically tough times. But recently, Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a bill whose purpose was to ensure that government privatization actually saved money...
New Jersey approves incentives for firm that oversaw 1,100 New Jersey layoffs  Star-Ledger   ...The state Economic Development Authority yesterday approved nearly $530,000 in two incentive packages to a New Hampshire-based distributor for supermarket chains whose New Jersey subsidiary laid off its entire work force and shuttered all six New Jersey locations in 2011...
Challenge to union contract that goes around 'right-to-work' dismissed  Michigan Radio   ...A judge in Wayne County has dismissed a lawsuit challenging a school union contract designed to skirt the Michigan’s new right-to-work law...
California Governor Eliminates Enterprise Tax Zones  KPBS Radio News   ...A swipe of the governor's pen wiped away California's enterprise tax zones and created a new job strategy focused on sales tax exemptions for companies that buy manufacturing as well as research and development equipment...
Minnesota sues online lender, alleging illegally high payback rates  Pioneer Press   ...Minnesota is suing Internet lender CashCall Inc., which offers personal loans with annual interest rates as high as 342 percent. The lender claims the loans are OK because the company is governed by tribal law, not state law...
Chicago Funeral Director Speaks Out Against SCI  The Bill Press Show   ...Funeral director and Teamsters Local 727 member Angela Anello joined Bill Press yesterday to discuss the ongoing strike against Service Corporation International (SCI). Fifty-nine funeral directors have been on strike since July 2 to fight for a fair contract. Visit www.integrityinillinois.com for more information...
Midwest Teamsters Detail Good Works of Union  Rick Smith Show   ...Rick and the gang spoke with several Teamsters during stops in St. Louis and Detroit about how the union is working to help workers and the local community. Listen here. Visit the People's Tour of America section to get the highlights....

Today's Teamster News 08.29.12

China's currency suddenly gains value as U.S. presidential candidates talk tough on trade policy.  manufacture this   ...China's currency has recently gained value, despite Beijing's long-term policy of deliberate undervaluation.  By keeping the Chinese currency, the Yuan, undervalued, Chinese exporters have continually enjoyed an artificial price advantage over their U.S. competitors...
Portugal at flashpoint as austerity lights fires in mild-mannered populace  Guardian   ...On Saturday, demonstrators will gather again to march against the spending cuts they believe have pushed their country deeper into recession. Meanwhile, workers have downed tools in protest over changes to working regulations...
Washington liquor privatization increases consumer cost  The Oregonian   ...The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Washington shoppers are paying 17 percent more for distilled spirits since the Costco initiative was passed. Store, bar and restaurant volume was down 9 percent in June...
Suspicious voter registration forms found in 10 Florida counties  Los Angeles Times   ...Florida elections officials said Friday that at least 10 counties have identified suspicious and possibly fraudulent voter registration forms turned in by a firm working for the Republican Party of Florida, which has filed an election fraud complaint with the state Division of Elections against its one-time consultant...
Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra cancels Oct. 5 and 6 performances  Indianapolis Star   ...The ISO locked out the musicians and terminated their health benefits Sept. 8. Since then, the musicians have been performing from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday outside Hilbert Circle Theatre in Downtown Indianapolis and will continue to do so during the lockout...
School bus drivers roll with Teamsters  Southtown Star   ...Drivers and bus aides at Alpha School Bus Co. in Crestwood have voted to be represented by Local 777 of the Teamsters, the union said Friday...

Today's Teamster News 08.23.12

Sorry for the late posting folks ... we're on the West Coast today.

The Lost Decade of the Middle Class  Pew Research Center   ...for the first time since the end of World War II, mean family incomes declined for Americans in all income tiers. But the middle-income tier—defined in this Pew Research analysis as all adults whose annual household income is two-thirds to double the national median —is the only one that also shrunk in size, a trend that has continued over the past four decades...
Paul Ryan's 'Path to Prosperity' Is Really a Bad Trip on the Road to Economic Ruin  Alternet   ...Your guide to Ryan’s irresponsible budget fantasies and the lessons of economic history he missed...
China brazenly devalues its currency again  manufacture this   ...The yuan’s recent decline, the first in seven years, is raising eyebrows among U.S. politicians and sparking concerns that the weakening currency could trigger another round of nasty bickering between Beijing and Washington...
Colombian Hunger Strikers Sew Mouths Shut To Protest Firing By General Motors  International Business Times   ...Outside of the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia, 13 former General Motors Company (NYSE: GM) employees are staging a hunger strike protest charging worker mistreatment by the company, and seven of those men have sewn their mouths shut...
Democratic senators highlight bill to stop outsourcing of call center jobs  The Hill   ...The United States Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act would make businesses that move call center jobs overseas ineligible for federal grants or loans in order to protect call center jobs in their home states...
Teamsters President Hoffa: "We Have To Fight" To Stop Right-To-Work  Real Clear Politics   ...James Hoffa, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, tells Jennifer Granholm that the first thing Romney would do is push for a national "right-to-work" law to restrict the rights of unions...