Repatriated taxes will get America working

Banking titan Jamie Dimon shared his thoughts on how the rev up the American economy yesterday in an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, saying a bipartisan group of lawmakers need to come together and tackle such issues as infrastructure investment and education.

Dimon, despite his sordid history as CEO of J.P. Morgan Chase, makes a few good points. As the Teamsters have stressed in our new "Let's Get America Working" campaign, infrastructure is an ideal place to start. These jobs, unlike those in other sectors, can't be outsourced. They improve living standards for all Americans, including the men and women who help to repair and maintain roads, bridges, ports, airports and mass transit systems, along with those who earn a living transporting goods. And a vast majority of Americans use our transportation networks everyday.

As Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa wrote in The Hill newspaper earlier this month:

Improving the outlook for U.S. workers isn’t about creating millions of minimum-wage jobs. It is about creating sustainable, skilled union employment that allows Americans to earn a fair wage with benefits that pay for housing and food on the table, makes education affordable and sustains a comfortable existence. 

... By building roads, power plants and water treatment facilities, for instance, this nation can improve the fortunes of both working people and big business. And by focusing on such issues as worker rights, education and retirement security, policymakers can ensure the future is bright for all people.

The Teamsters also agree that partisanship needs to be checked at the door to accomplish these goals. These are issues that shouldn't be divided along party lines -- they are American values, something elected officials should all be able to support. Lawmakers must move beyond today's broken model of government to find solutions.

But Dimon gets it wrong on several fronts. Most significantly, his view that lousy trade deals like the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership are going to help workers is not backed by facts. Quite frankly, it's the exact opposite of the truth. Millions of Americans have lost their good-paying jobs thanks to deals like NAFTA. U.S. workers can't compete when nations like Vietnam allow their workers to be paid as little as $4 a day.

And despite Dimon's assertions, American tax policy isn't hurting corporate America. In fact, it's taxpayers who are getting fleeced by big business. Companies are running up huge profits and paying little in taxes while everyday workers are forced into low-wage jobs. That's the real problem with today's economy.

If this country wants to get its economy situation straight, it needs to crack down on U.S. businesses and get what's rightful ours. Taxes on repatriated profits earned overseas could fund infrastructure and education improvements pushed by the Teamsters and Dimon.

Now that's how we make America stronger!

Let's get America working!

The Teamsters want greater investment, better jobs.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is unveiling a new “Let’s Get America Working” campaign in advance of the 2016 election that will encourage both Democratic and Republican lawmakers to endorse a pro-worker platform.

At the center of the platform is the need for this country to invest in infrastructure, which in turn will create good jobs for everyday Americans. Working on transportation, energy and water projects will put thousands to work in construction jobs across the country. It will also improve roads, bridges, ports and other infrastructure, which in turn will help business and improve the U.S. economy.

The U.S. Labor Department’s own statistics support the Teamsters’ initiative. The median union worker earns more than $200 a week more than the median non-union worker. That’s an extra $10,000 a year that goes into the pockets of union workers. These jobs also offer health benefits and a pension.

Teamster President Jim Hoffa said:

While unemployment is down, the vast majority of jobs being created pay low wages. We can stop this trend and create good-paying union jobs if government invests in our nation’s workforce.

Infrastructure presents an opportunity to break the political gridlock. Congress in late July approved a three-month extension for spending on transportation projects that provides a temporary patch until the end of October for the continuing issue of road and rail funding. But it is not a real solution.

Since 2008, Congress has transferred more than $62 billion from the general fund to keep the Highway Trust Fund afloat, and it has been more than a decade since Congress has passed a highway bill more than two years in duration. Meanwhile, the transportation system continues to crumble and the safety of those who work and travel along the vast network of U.S. roads and rails is being jeopardized. Our nation’s failure to maintain and improve our infrastructure is costing Americans more and more.

There also is a significant need to move forward with a broader agenda that puts U.S. workers first. That means standing up against lousy trade deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership that send American jobs overseas; protecting workers’ rights to form unions and collectively bargain; increasing affordability of college and vocational schools; and ensuring retirement and pension security for working families.

Lawmakers need to remember that dollars invested in education, job training and supporting retirement for those who worked hard all their lives helps not only individuals, but our society as a whole. These are promises each generation in this country has made to the next and we can’t forget it.

But if this nation is going to improve the lives of its citizens, Congress needs to advance bipartisan policies that will encourage good job growth. And it must put the current and future generations of workers in a position to succeed in the workforce by giving them the skills they need.

There was a time when all these issues weren’t partisan issues – they were American values, something everyone could support. But government is broken. Partisan bickering has replaced finding solutions. That’s why it’s essential for the Teamsters and like-minded allies all over the country to join together and push this message with lawmakers, colleagues, friends and family.

If elected officials from both parties want to rebuild and repair the trust between government and workers, they need to reinvest in people that have and can continue to make this country great. Better pay will lead to more spending and improve workers’ quality of life. That way everyone wins.

Let’s Get America Working! Now is the time to Build, Repair and Maintain America!

Today's Teamster News 08.13.15

Teamsters
Tucson Bus Workers On Strike For Nearly A Week  Arizona Republic   ...Andrew Marshall with the Teamsters Local 104 says about 530 bus employees went on strike on Thursday last week. He says the union and Sun Tran are at an impasse over pay and safety issues like assaults on bus drivers and mold at a facility...

Global Labor & Trade
Robb: TPP Trade Deal Unlikely  MacroBusiness   ...Australia’s trade minister, Andrew Robb, has appeared at the National Press Club in Canberra today, where he admitted that concluding the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal is looking increasingly unlikely...
China’s Currency Falls For A Third Consecutive Day  The Atlantic   ...China’s currency devaluation continued for a third day Thursday, as the country’s central bank set the official exchange rate of the renminbi against the U.S. dollar 1.1 percent lower than the day before. Since Tuesday, when the People’s Bank of China stunned markets by announcing the devaluation, the yuan has fallen 4.4 percent, triggering fluctuations in equity markets around the world...

State & Living Wage Battles
Let’s Expose The Gender Pay Gap  New York Times   ...More than a half-century after President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act of 1963, the gap between what men and women earn has defied every effort to close it. And it can’t be explained away as a statistical glitch, a function of women preferring lower-paying industries or choosing to take time off for kids...
Redistricting Reform In Maryland And Virginia: Can The States Join Forces?  Washington Post   ...A logical starting point for such a compact is the fact that the two states’ political complexions are mirror images — one has a Republican governor stymied by Democratic legislators; the other has a Democratic governor foiled by Republicans. In both cases, elected lawmakers have arrogantly scoffed at reforming the process by which congressional maps are drawn, preferring to gerrymander districts for maximum partisan advantage...
White House To Hold Summit To Amplify Employees’ Voice In Workplace  Wall Street Journal   ...The White House will hold a summit in October to explore how American workers can amplify their voices on the job to get ahead, and it touted labor unions as a powerful way to enable that...
Study To Explore Raising The Minimum Wage In Long Beach Receives Unanimous Support  Long Beach Post   ...Long Beach officially launched itself into the center of the national minimum wage discussion last night, after the city council voted unanimously to approve a report that will explore the benefits and risks of raising wages across the city. The report, which is expected to take about 60 days to complete, could ultimately decide if the city joins others in the region in establishing a higher city-wide minimum wage...
Minding The Gap  Philadelphia Inquirer   ...With wages growing at the slowest rate in 33 years, the Securities and Exchange Commission's recent vote requiring publicly traded companies to report the ratio of chief executives' earnings to those of average workers should fuel discussion of income inequality and encourage companies to narrow the great divide...
Kansas Cancels Its Ultimate Plan To Punish The Poor  Washington Post   ...Kansas will not tell its welfare recipients how much cash they should be carrying, at least for now. The state announced last week it would not implement a controversial $25 daily limit on the benefits that enrollees can withdraw in cash from an ATM...
Worker Misclassification Bill Gets Initial NC House Approval  WECT   ...A second General Assembly chamber has backed an effort to prevent North Carolina businesses from avoiding paying taxes and other benefits by deliberately mislabeling workers as independent contractors...
SEC Admits It’s Not Monitoring Stock Buybacks To Prevent Market Manipulation  The Intercept   ...The Securities and Exchange Commission has admitted that it has no ability to enforce the main rule intended to prevent market manipulation when companies buy back their own stock, and has no intention to do so...

U.S. Labor
The Perils Of Ever-Changing Work Schedules Extend To Children’s Well-Being  New York Times   ...A growing body of research suggests that children’s language and problem-solving skills may suffer as a result of their parents’ problematic schedules, and that they may be more likely than other children to smoke and drink when they are older...
Is The Local Economy the Solution To A Post-Capitalist World?  AlterNet   ...According to community economics advocate Michael Shuman, mainstream economic development today is a scam. States and local government agencies spend big money to lure corporations to their region but do little to stimulate the local economy or support local businesses. And those small businesses, not the chain stores, are often what give a neighborhood its unique identity and make it desirable to live in...
Are Graduate Students ‘Workers’?  The Nation   ...So although they taught, researched and performed administrative tasks in exchange for the school’s financial support for their studies—even when working on a regular schedule with a designated hourly wage, under a supervisor—that labor wasn’t work, but rather, simply a privilege of their academic experience. This realm, supposedly, is one of scholarly discourse, not labor and capital...

Social Justice & Other News
As Tracy Morgan Heals, NTSB Says Driver In Fatal Crash Was Awake 28 Hours  Los Angeles Times   ...The investigation into the deadly crash has seemed to move as slowly as Morgan's recovery. But on Tuesday morning, National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Christopher Hart confirmed the driver of the truck that struck Morgan's limousine had been awake for more than 28 hours before the collision...
Why Financial Aid Might Make College More Expensive  Vox   ...A recent paper from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York finds that for every extra dollar a college gets in Pell Grants, the school charges 40 cents more in tuition. For every extra dollar in subsidized student loans, tuition goes up 65 cents. The effects were much more pronounced at private colleges...
Death Penalty In Connecticut Ruled Unconstitutional  Huffington Post   ...The Connecticut Supreme Court on Thursday ruled the state's death penalty is unconstitutional. The ruling will affect the 11 inmates currently on the state's death row. Lawmakers repealed the state's death penalty in 2012, but stipulated it only applied to future crimes. Plaintiffs in Thursday's case had argued the 2012 ban should also extend to prisoners already on death row...
Maine Implemented An Elaborate New Drug Test For Welfare. Just One Person Flunked.  Think Progress   ...Maine began screening applicants to its welfare program in April, requiring those with past drug felony convictions to take a drug test. But despite spending $624 on the program, just one person has tested positive so far, the Associated Press reports...
American Schools Are More Segregated Now Then They Were In 1968, And The Supreme Court Doesn’t Care  Think Progress   ...White residents had just learned that students from the mostly black district that includes Ferguson, Missouri would be joining their own children due to a law giving students in failing school systems the opportunity to attend classes elsewhere — and these white parents were pissed. One mother demanded metal detectors and drug sniffing dogs, because she falsely believed that the black district was struggling because of a record of “violent behavior.” “I shopped for a school district!” she proclaimed as the crowd of white parents erupted around her in cheers, “I deserve to not have to worry about my children getting stabbed, or taking a drug, or getting robbed.”...
The Persecution Of Chelsea Manning  The Atlantic   ...Chelsea Manning, the former Army intelligence analyst convicted of giving a trove of secrets to WikiLeaks, is serving a 35-year sentence inside a military prison. And now she may be thrown into solitary confinement indefinitely, her lawyer says...
Labor And Industries Makes No Decision In Child-Labor Investigation Of Western Hockey League  Seattle Times   ...An investigation of the Western Hockey League (WHL) for possible child-labor violations by the state Department of Labor and Industries ended without a decision...

Making college affordable is key to America's future

The cost of higher education is out of control, and has been for many years. As tuition soared sky-high, more and more U.S. young adults went deep into debt trying to finance their future. And today, many are being crushed by the weight of their borrowing.

College costs are hitting students hard.

Until recently, there didn't seem to be enough lawmakers demanding change when it came to the high cost of college. Sure, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) would decry student loan interest rates, but too many elected officials were silent on the bigger question of reducing the price tag for post-secondary education.

Now, however, there seems to be momentum for a broader solution, one that could even play a role in the 2016 elections. Some 20 Democratic senators support a measure that would spur government to tap down on the spiraling costs of higher ed.

As outlined in The Hill newspaper:

The resolution deals in broad strokes rather than granular details. It calls upon the federal government to provide more support to states, which can then “make increased investments in higher education that will result in lower tuition and costs for students.” It also backs increased financial aid for students — in contrast to the House GOP’s recent budget plan that would freeze Pell grants at their current level — as well as efforts to bend the cost curve of college education downward.

The need for such legislation cannot be overstated. While rising tuition has hampered many students, it has hit those that hail from low-income families the most. Even the brightest of those coming from economically challenged families often can't finish college. Meanwhile, their less intelligent but better-off classmates muddle through.

As detailed in Slate:

What happens to these bright, low-income students? It's not so much that they don't attend college—only 12.4 percent skip higher ed entirely. The problem is that most don't finish, or settle for less than a bachelor's degree, which of course limits their earning power later in life. Sometimes they try to save money on tuition by attending community college, even though most two-year schools have a spotty track record when it comes to helping students graduate. Sometimes they get lost or overwhelmed in a college's bureaucracy, because they don't have educated parents who can help guide them along. Sometimes they try to work through school and simply can't balance the demands of a job with their academics. For one reason or another, they don't make it as far as their talent suggests they should.

America simply cannot allow this continue to happen. It tramples on this nation's history as "The Land of Opportunity" and raises questions about whether working hard is the classroom ultimately does pay off for all students. And it tamps down on innovation and U.S. economic gains.

Education is at the core of what makes this country great. If lawmakers wants to get more people working in good middle-class jobs, they need to prioritize it.

Today's Teamster News 09.19.14

Teamster News
Teamsters Call On FedEx To Stop Paying Personal Taxes For Executives  teamster.org   ...ISS, the country’s leading proxy voting advisor, has recommended that shareholders vote for a Teamsters-sponsored shareholder proposal at FedEx [NYSE: FDX] that calls on the board of directors to eliminate the practice of paying the personal taxes owed on restricted stock awards on behalf of CEO Fred Smith and other named executive officers...
Teamsters Call On Rush University Medical Center To Bargain In Good Faith  teamster.org   ...Teamsters Local Union 743 denounced management at Rush University Medical Center (RUMC) today, for continued refusal to bargain with the more than 230 patient care technicians (PCTs) that overwhelmingly voted to become Teamsters on Aug. 29...
Teamsters: 20 years is too long to wait for a safety rule  TeamsterNation   ...The Teamsters and other public safety advocates sued the U.S. Department of Transportation today for failing to issue long-overdue truck safety requirements...
Hoffa: Georgia Official Must Stop Ignoring Voter Registration Requests  IBT   ...James P. Hoffa, General President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, issued a statement today addressing reports that Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp is ignoring more than 50,000 voter registration requests as the deadline for new voters to sign up to participate in the upcoming Nov. 4 election looms near...
Trade
Corporate Courts — A Big Red Flag On “Trade” Agreements  Trade Reform   ...Corporations even sue governments for passing laws that might cause the investors in the corporations to make a bit less money — like raising the minimum wage. But wait, there’s more. The suits aren’t even heard in courts. They are settled by corporate-controlled tribunals set up by these trade agreements...  
State Battles
Oregon Minimum Wage Will Increase To $9.25 In 2015  The Oregonian   ...Oregon's minimum wage will increase 15 cents to $9.25 an hour in 2015, state labor officials announced Wednesday...
Missouri Governor releases additional funding for public education  ABC3   ...Missouri Governor Jay Nixon made a stop at Truman State University Wednesday afternoon to discuss new funding for public universities like Truman State...
More trouble from privatized food contracts  TeamsterNation   ...Aramark is once again proving in Michigan that outsourcing government services to for-profit corporations results in really, really bad service...
Wisconsin ranks 33rd in private-sector job growth, lagging behind the national average  Associated Press   ...the job-growth ranking and Walker's failure to meet his 2010 campaign promise to add 250,000 private-sector jobs are evidence that (Scott Walker's) policies have not worked...
Administration disputes projections of huge state deficit  WTAQ   ...Wisconsin’s non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau painted a bleak financial picture earlier this month, predicting a $1.8 billion dollar structural deficit in the 2015-2017 biennium...
Fox News Admits WI Voter ID Laws May Disenfranchise Voters  Media Matters   ...Fox News acknowledged that a voter ID law may prevent people from casting votes while discussing the upcoming gubernatorial elections in Wisconsin -- despite the network's sustained campaign to deny the negative repercussions these laws have on voting...
Six Years Later, La. Still Waiting For Keystone (opinion)  Shreveport Times   ...From a safety perspective, Keystone is a better option than the rail transport currently used in the American market. A recent study by the Manhattan Institute reaffirmed the longstanding fact that pipelines are a much safer way to transport oil...
War On Workers
Wal-Mart Truck Drivers Granted Class Action Status In California Minimum Wage Lawsuit  The Trucker   ...Truck drivers employed by Wal-Mart have been granted class action status in a lawsuit over the employer’s alleged failure to pay minimum wage in violation of the California Labor Code...
Even in Palin Country, Raising the Minimum Wage Is Wildly Popular  Mother Jones   ... Twenty-three states already have moved past the federal rate, and this November, voters in five more will have a chance to follow suit...
Which Industry's CEOs Are Ripping Off Workers Most?  Huffington Post   ...Today, CEOs at leading fast food companies pocket more than 1,200 times more than their average employees, according to a report by Demos, an economic policy think tank. In comparison, the average CEO at S&P 500 companies today makes about 200 times more than typical employees...
Poverty Unchanged By Wall Street Recovery  firedoglake   ...wealth inequality has actually gotten worse during the recovery. The overwhelming majority of assets are owned by the rich and super-rich so when government policy is used to push the Dow up, few Americans go with it...
School Bus Driver Sacrifices Life To Save 10-Year-Old Girl  Huffington Post   ...Zborowski worked for a private bus company, Cincinnati-based Petermann, a subsidiary of National Express Corp. Zborowski was pronounced dead at a hospital about two hours after the 8:10 a.m. accident...
Worker killed by wood press at Mill City lumber plant  Fox 12 Oregon   ...A lumber mill worker was killed when a wood press was activated as he was conducting repairs on the machine...
Worker killed on the job in Dalton  WRCB-TV   ..."An outside contractor, Spartan Industrial Contracting, was moving equipment and one of their employees was involved in an accident that resulted in a death of one of their employees," Marketing Alliance Group HR spokesperson Michael Arnold said in a statement...
Miscellaneous
Occupy Wall Street Buys, Then Cancels, Student Debt  Huffington Post   ...Strike Debt, a group of anti-debt activists born out of the Occupy Wall Street movement, said it purchased $3.9 million in delinquent private student debt and immediately canceled it...
Police Demilitarization Pits Police Union Against Top Labor Federation  BuzzFeed   ...The International Union of Police Associations, a member of the AFL-CIO, has been largely quiet on the issue of police militarization. But in a couple of open letters the union has shown support for the program that provides police with military-grade weaponry. The AFL-CIO meanwhile has been a vocal supporter of police demilitarization and better oversight...
Domestic Workers Advocate Wins MacArthur Genius Award  Moyers and Company   ...Ai-jen Poo, a labor organizer for America’s nannies, house cleaners and home care attendants, has been named a MacArthur “genius” for 2014...

Today's Teamster News 08.24.14

Trade
John Birch Society CEO Exposes Trade Schemes on Alex Jones Show  The New American   ...the TPP and TTIP negotiations are still proceeding apace. However, they are flying under the radar in stealth mode, with the compliant assistance of the mainstream media, which dutifully keeps the American public distracted from the profoundly destructive effect these agreements would have on our constitutional Republic and our entire way of life...
WTO Panel Decides Against U.S. in Meat-Labeling Dispute  Wall Street Journal   ...The U.S. has lost a key round at the World Trade Organization in a trade dispute with Canada and Mexico over meat labeling, according to people familiar with the WTO's findings...
State Battles
Measure 3 support kicks off with labor union rally in Fairbanks  News Miner   ...The chants of the crowd filled the air at Myrtle Thomas Park in Fairbanks on Thursday afternoon during the rally officially launching the Measure 3 campaign to raise and inflation-proof Alaska’s minimum wage...
Charter schools making big profits for private companies  WTSP   ...10 Investigates found a much bigger pot of money CUSA has been able to tap into: rent. When the company helps open a new school, its development arm, Red Apple Development, acquires land and constructs a school. Then, CUSA charges the school high rent...
Labor Day Parade organizers tell Gov. Corbett he's not welcome  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette   ...“I told them he wasn't invited,’’ said Jack Shea, the veteran Labor Council president. “You can’t be trying to do away with us for 364 days a year and then want to march with us.’’...
North Carolina judge rules private school voucher program unconstitutional  Jurist   ...The plaintiffs—public schools grades K through 12 and the taxpayers of North Carolina—will suffer irreparable harm if the state is not permanently enjoined from making unconstitutional disbursement of taxpayer funds to parents for the enrollment of their children in private schools...
New Quarterly Gross State Product Series: Wisconsin and Minnesota  Econbrowser   ...Minnesota per capita income has been statistically significantly higher than Wisconsin since end 2011 (equivalently, Wisconsin’s per capita income lower than Minnesota’s)...
War on Workers
It's Hard To Get Good Help: Trucking Industry Edition  Center for Economic Policy and Research   ...If we had more skilled people running trucking companies they would realize that they could bid away drivers from their competitors and get more people to learn to drive trucks if they offered higher pay...
The Housing Being Built in New York Doesn’t Meet the Needs of New Yorkers  New York Observer   ...The city demands cheaper, smaller housing units, with 57 percent of all adults in the city identifying as “single,” according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and 54.5 percent of the city’s population classified as rent-burdened—or paying more than 30 percent of their income on rent—in 2011, up from 40.7 percent in 2000...
Highway worker killed in St. Michaels work-zone crash  Baltimore Sun   ...A contracted highway worker for the State Highway Administration died Thursday evening after being struck by a vehicle in a work zone in St. Michaels, according to the SHA and Maryland State Police...
Worker killed in fall from I-40 bridge  Commercial Appeal   ...A 52-year-old worker was killed in a fall from the Interstate 40 bridge Friday near West Memphis...
Worker killed after explosion in Northwest Houston  ABC 13 News   ...Police say an explosion caused a large piece of metal to fall on top of employees. One person died, and there are no reports of anyone else injured...
Those Koch Attacks Are Working  Wall Street Journal   ...Democratic Super PACs and party campaign committees are outraising the Republicans...

Today's Teamster News 06.27.14

Teamster News
Supreme Court Ruling Forces NLRB to Scramble to Revisit Cases  Wall Street Journal   ...The Supreme Court ruling that President Barack Obama exceeded his authority in 2012 by appointing three people to the National Labor Relations Board kicks off a scramble by the current board to revisit hundreds of labor decisions made while the now-departed appointees were seated...The company, a division of Noel Corp. of Yakima, Wash., argued the recess appointments were invalid, leaving the NLRB without a quorum when it made the bottler comply with a Teamsters collective-bargaining agreement...
Supreme Court Rebukes Obama on Right of Appointment  New York Times   ...At the same time, the court largely reinstated an uneasy, centuries-long accommodation between the executive branch and the Senate, in which recess appointments were allowed during more substantial breaks...
EVSC employee groups represented by Teamsters Local 215 have until noon Friday to accept 'final offer'  Evansville Courier & Press   ...Teamsters Local 215 have until noon Friday to accept the EVSC School Board's final offer...
Ulster RRA Approves New Contract With Teamster Employees  Mid Hudson News   ...The Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency Board has approved a four-year contract with Teamsters Local 445. The last agreement between the workers and the RRA expired at the end of 2012...
Twinsburg Teamster's Union To See 3% Raises Under New Contract  Twinsburg Bulletin   ...The union employees of the city's wastewater treatment department will see three percent raises to their hourly wages under a new contract approved between the city and Teamsters Local No. 436....
Fed-Up Uber Drivers Give Company Policies A One-Star Rating  LAist   ...A large group of Uber drivers, their family members and teamsters gathered in front of the company's office in Santa Monica on Tuesday to protest what they called a "general lack of communication, arbitrary treatment and unfair business practices." They're also lobbying for state legislation that they say would protect their livelihoods...
Trade
Trans-Pacific Partnership (NAFTA On Steroids) Threatens Sovereignty  The New American   ...Of all the weapons aimed at our freedom and founding documents, though, there is perhaps none more potent than the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)...
State Battles
New York’s Ban on Big Sodas Is Rejected by Final Court  New York Times   ...The Bloomberg big-soda ban is officially dead...
With Minimum Wage Increase Accomplished, Massachusetts Labor Activists Turn To Campaign For Earned Sick Time  MassLive   ...The Legislature passed, and Gov. Deval Patrick is expected to sign, a bill raising the state's minimum wage to $11 an hour by 2017....
Wisconsin second only to Alabama in cuts to education funding, study shows  The Cap Times   ...Spending per pupil in Wisconsin was down $1,038 from 2008 for the school year just ended. Alabama cut per-pupil spending by $1,242...
Lawyer clarifies Walker not target  Politico   ...“At the time the investigation was halted, Governor Walker was not a target of the investigation,” Schmitz lawyer Randall Crocker wrote in a one-page statement...
LePage includes Social Security among ‘welfare’ programs  Portland Press Herald   ...He also puts Medicare and jobless aid in that category while arguing that Maine’s personal-income ranking would be better if such federal payments were excluded...
Secrecy in Pensions Triggers Legislative Brawl in North Carolina  Bloomberg   ...(North Carolina Treasurer Janet) Cowell, a 45-year-old Democrat, opposed a bill by the State Employees Association of North Carolina to require more disclosure about deals with Wall Street firms hired to manage alternatives to stocks and bonds for the $87 billion pension she controls...
War On Workers
What’s at Stake in Harris v. Quinn  Economic Policy Institute   ...The Supreme Court is about to issue a decision on a case that could hit working people—especially working women—right in the paycheck. Harris v. Quinn is about isolating individual workers so they are weak and unable to protect themselves in a labor market that fails to reward their hard work...
Oakland emails give another glimpse into the Google-Military-Surveillance Complex  Pando Daily   ...The “Domain Awareness Center” (DAC) — a federally funded project that, if built as planned, would link up real time audio and video feeds from thousands of sensors across the city — including CCTV cameras in public schools and public housing projects, as well as Oakland Police Department mobile license plate scanners ... city officials were more interested in using DAC’s surveillance capabilities to monitor political protests rather than fighting crime. The evidence was abundant and overwhelming: in email after email, Oakland officials had discussed the DAC usefulness for keeping tabs on activists, monitoring non-violent political protests and minimize port disruption due to union/labor strikes...
'We Need Respect: Meet The New 'Rosie The Riveters'  Washington Post   ...From the cashier at the Pentagon Dunkin’ Donuts to the custodian at Union Station, working women, mothers and grandmothers from about 50 companies that do business with the federal government marched to call for higher wages and the right to unionize...
Ikea Will Raise The Minimum Wage For Its American Workers  Think Progress   ...Ikea will announce Thursday a plan to raise its average minimum wage at U.S. stores to $10.76 an hour, a 17 percent increase over the current wage...
Consumer Inflation Hits Highest Level Since 2012, Near Fed’s 2% Target  Wall Street Journal   ...The price index for personal consumption expenditures — the Fed’s preferred gauge — advanced 1.8% in May from a year earlier, the Commerce Department said Thursday. That was the highest level since October 2012 and a stark pickup from February when annual inflation stood at just 0.8%...
Miscellaneous
Pilots To Begin Contract Negotiations With American in July  SkyTalk   ...American Airlines and its pilots union have agreed to begin contract talks on July 8, the union said on Tuesday. The Allied Pilots Association, which represents American's pilots, said it plans to tackle challenging issues in the contract talks with management...
Union Group Hits $10B Goal, Has Money To Lend On U.S. Infrastructure  Denver Post   ...One of the nation's largest trade union federations announced Tuesday at The Clinton Global Initiative in Denver it has raised $10 billion for investment in America's built infrastructure that it pledged in 2011...

Which side are you on? Helping the next generation or crushing them with debt?

Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa in today's  Detroit News says Congress must do something soon to prevent subsidized student loan rates from doubling to 6.8 percent.

Hoffa points out that big banks borrow money from the government at 0.75 percent. College students pay 3.4 percent on their loans, but they'll pay 6.8 percent on July 1 unless Congress acts.

Writes Hoffa:

As many as 30 percent of borrowers may be delinquent on their student loan debt. More students are borrowing than ever before, and they’re borrowing more — the average loan has increased by 49 percent, to $24,803, since 2005. Today, the average student in this country graduates with $26,600 in loan debt. 

That’s hardly a way to get started in life when good jobs are scarcer than ever for recent college graduates. 

American labor unions believe strongly in supporting education for our next generation. That’s why the Teamsters started the James R. Hoffa Memorial Scholarship Fund, which has given more than $4.7 million to 1,500 children and grandchildren of its members since 2001.
But that won’t be nearly enough to alleviate the burden on our young people — a burden that will get worse on July 1 if Congress doesn’t act. 

Hoffa notes that Democrats in Congress want to freeze the interest rate at 3.4 percent. House Republicans passed a bill that would raise the interest rate on student loans.

There's a similar divide in Michigan, where Gov. Rick Snyder and Republicans in the Legislature cut higher education by 15 percent in the 2012 budget. Michigan Democrats, on the other hand, want to give high school students $10,000 toward their education if they attend a state university or community college.

Hoffa concludes:

In Washington and in Michigan, the choice is clear: Do our elected officials want to help the next generation by making sure they can have a quality, affordable education, or do they want to crush them under the weight of immense debt loads?

Good question. 

Today's Teamster News 06.02.13

Frightened Okla. residents opt to flee tornadoes  Associated Press   ...At least nine people were killed in Friday's storms, including a mother and her baby sucked out of their car as a deadly EF3 twister tore its way along a packed Interstate 40 near the town of El Reno, about 30 miles from Oklahoma City...
NOAA kills agency-wide furlough proposal  Washington Post   ...Following the recent tornado outbreaks in the Plains, NOAA faced strong Congressional pressure not to furlough National Weather Service employees (as a cost savings measure in response to the budget sequester). The agency gave in late Friday...
Canadian relief for Moore tornado victims denied at border  CBC News   ...American officials will not allow the 20,000 kilograms of food, blankets and diapers into the country until every item on board is itemized in alphabetical order and has the country of origin of every product noted...
Inequality Rising — All Thanks To Government Policies  The National Memo   ...A revealing new examination of the top 1 percent in a variety of countries brings into focus how the American government’s tax, union bargaining, inheritance and other rules widen the growing divide between those at the top and everyone else...
One Walmart's Low Wages Could Cost Taxpayers $900,000 Per Year, House Dems Find  Huffington Post   ...Walmart wages are so low that many of its workers rely on food stamps and other government aid programs to fulfill their basic needs, a reality that could cost taxpayers as much as $900,000 at just one Walmart Supercenter in Wisconsin, according to a study released by Congressional Democrats on Thursday...
Anti-austerity protests: Spain, Germany, Portugal  Associated Press   ...Anti-austerity protesters on Saturday took to the streets of dozens of European cities, including Madrid, Frankfurt and Lisbon, to express their anger at government cuts they say are making the financial crisis worse by stifling growth and increasing unemployment....
US retailers to forge new safety plan for Bangladeshi apparel factories  New York Times   ...some labor advocates called the effort divisive and a sham...
Don't reward companies that send profits offshore (LTE) Baltimore Sun ...Rep. John Delaney's new bill offering corporations that repatriate their offshore profits deeply discounted taxes if they invest in a new infrastructure bank, praised in your editorial ("Road work ahead?" May 28), would only serve to reward the very firms that have successfully gamed the tax system in ways that cost the U.S. Treasury $100 billion a year...
Surpluses Help, but Fiscal Woes for States Go On  New York Times   ...While the fiscal picture is brightening around the country, with many states expecting surpluses this year after years of deficits and wrenching budget crises, mounting Medicaid costs and underfunded retirement promises are continuing to cloud their long-term outlook...
Detroit Citizens Protect Themselves After Police Force Decimated  Bloomberg   ...As crime hobbles Detroit (9845MF)’s attempts to revive itself, the city is bolstering its police department by having unarmed citizens patrol the streets in a program that costs less than annual salaries and benefits for three officers...
University of Wisconsin students today pay a much higher share of the cost than 40 years ago  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel   ...Working one's way through a public university in four years with a minimum-wage summer job and part-time campus work study — with little to no family assistance or need-based financial aid — is an outdated ideal of previous generations...
Teamsters Local No. 377 and St. Elizabeth Health Center have a new three-year contract  Youngstown Vindicator   ...Teamsters Local No. 377 and St. Elizabeth Health Center have agreed to a new three-year contract that will provide union members with raises each year of the contract...

Teamsters take action to preserve Social Security, Medicare and education

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters right now is sending out a Call to Action to our Teamster family. It says:

Extremist lawmakers on Capitol Hill are calling for cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and education as ways to reduce the national deficit. We need reasonable fiscal policy – not harmful cuts to the vital programs that we all pay into and rely on.  Reducing the deficit on the backs of the middle class is just plain wrong. What’s worse is that these cuts would be used to continue the tax breaks for the top 2% and big corporations. 

On January 30th, events will be held across the country to send Congress a clear message: No cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and education! Make the wealthy and corporations pay their fair share! To find an event in your area, please go to www.americawantstowork.org. We hope to see you out there!

Join the Thunderclap

Even if you can't join a direct action, you can send a loud message to Congress by joining our Thunderclap.

You’re probably wondering: What is a Thunderclap? It’s a new website that allows people to pledge to Tweet or Facebook a message all at the same time on the same day in order to achieve the maximum effect. Think of this action as an online flash mob in support of a reasonable fiscal policy for the nation. 

Click on this link and choose either “Support with Twitter” or “Support with Facebook”—or both! Then, add your name to the Thunderclap, and that’s it! On January 30th, everyone that has signed up will automatically have the same message posted on their Facebook and Twitter accounts. The message includes a link to a petition demanding Congress make the right decisions during the ongoing fiscal debate in Washington. 

With your help, on January 30th, thousands of people across the country will demand that big corporations and the richest 2% pay their fair share, and vital programs like Social Security, Medicare, and education will not be cut. 

Today's Teamster News 11.30.12

Poll: Americans Overwhelmingly Oppose Raising the Medicare Retirement Age  firedoglake   ...Raising the Medicare retirement age is not only a deeply unpopular way to reduce the deficit, it is also terrible and ineffective policy...
70% of jobs "created" don't require a college education  naked capitalism   ...the US is the only advanced economy to show falling educational attainment levels, which results in its falling in world rankings. In 2007, the US was 12 of 24 OECD nations tallied; it had fallen from number 10 in a mere two years...
Harkin Unveils Comprehensive Report on For-Profit College Industry  U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin   ...Close to one in four students who attends a for-profit school defaults on his or her federal student loans within 3 years of leaving school ... combined with the fact that nearly all students at for-profit schools must borrow money to pay the cost of tuition, has resulted in a sector that enrolls approximately 10 percent of American higher education students but accounts for nearly 50 percent of all student loan defaults...
U.S. Birth Rate Falls to a Record Low; Decline Is Greatest Among Immigrants  Pew Research Center   ...The birth rate for U.S.-born women decreased 6% during these years, but the birth rate for foreign-born women plunged 14%—more than it had declined over the entire 1990-2007 period.1 The birth rate for Mexican immigrant women fell even more, by 23%...
Citigroup sentences to Europe to faster economic death  The Telegraph   ...Citigroup's end of year forecast – Prospects for Economies and Financial Markets in 2013 and Beyond – is in essence a celebration of American revival and ascendancy. It sentences Europe to slow economic death...
Hostess management milked the company (opinion)  St. Louis Post-Dispatch   ...Twice, the new Hostess management used bankruptcy to pay themselves more fees, avoid payments to vendors and demand concessions from the work force. They were clearly milking the company by reducing their labor costs and coasting...
Ex-Walker aide Russell pleads guilty to stealing from veterans' fund  Wisconsin State Journal   ...A former Walker campaign worker and former deputy chief of staff for Walker in Milwaukee County, Russell had been scheduled to go on trial Monday. He is one of four former aides and associates of the governor who have been convicted of crimes while working for Walker in Milwaukee County or on his 2010 campaign for governor...
Puerto Rico Teamster Retirees to Release Report on the Importance of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid  The Paramus Post   ... These reports highlight the fact that behind every number is a real person with a real story who utilizes these modest benefits...
Teamsters confront Bill Gates over sanitation firm’s actions  People's World   ...Declaring Bill Gates should be responsible for the anti-worker conduct of Republic Services, a sanitation firm he owns one-quarter of, a group of Teamsters in Atlanta confronted the Microsoft mogul at Gates' speech there...

Today's Teamster News 08.26.12

CBO: Ending High-Income Tax Cuts Would Save Almost $1 Trillion  Off the Charts   ...The Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) new report shows that allowing President Bush’s 2001 and 2003 income tax cuts on income over $250,000 to expire on schedule at the end of 2012 would save $823 billion in revenue and $127 billion on interest on the nation’s debt, compared to permanently extending all of the Bush tax cuts...
How Voter Suppression Endangers our Democratic Process  policymic   ...Despite virtually no evidence of voter fraud, states all across America continue to enact voter “reform” legislation. Since 2011, 17 states have passed voter reform measures. Not surprisingly, 15 of these states are either solid red/Republican or toss-ups...
Cal State thaws admission freeze for nonresidents  Los Angeles Times   ...Some campus leaders criticize plans to admit higher-paying out-of-state and international students while barring California residents...
So, Mitt, what do you really believe?  The Economist   ...Too much about the Republican candidate for the presidency is far too mysterious...
Ryan's Medicare Cuts Would Hurt Wisconsin and America's Seniors  Huffington Post   ...As Ryan attempts to dismantle Medicare as we know it, he is trying to distract attention from his plan by falsely claiming that Obama is the one who is cutting Medicare...
Pendleton, Teamsters at odds on pact  Buffalo News   ...The Town Board rejected recommendations made by the New York State Public Employment Relations Board, insisting that extreme changes must be made to the old agreement to remain on budget...

Today's Teamster News 08.21.12

Judge throws out Palmer suit against Infosys  Computerworld   ...In his lawsuit, Palmer claimed he was harassed at work, sidelined and even received death threats for refusing to participate in an alleged Infosys scheme to use workers on business visitor, or B-1 visas, for tasks that required an H-1B work visa...
U.S. troops' kids early victims of Congress budget inaction  Reuters   ...The stressed school systems are one more instance of a country struggling to keep up with the needs of military families, worn down by a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan...
Romney Gains Huge Cash Advantage Over Obama  New York Times   ...Mr. Obama and the Democrats raised a combined $75 million during July, according to Federal Election Commission reports filed Monday, compared with $101 million for Mr. Romney and the Republicans. The Democrats had about $124 million in cash on hand, most of it in Mr. Obama’s campaign account, while the Republicans had $186 million...
Megadonors taint Florida politics, appointments  Orlando Sentinel   ...just Friday, we heard from a longtime GOP donor who said he was denied a seat on Orlando's airport board — simply because he wouldn't cough up $10,000. Florida is so flush with special-interest cash that our state is drowning in it...
Why Are Our Public Schools Up For Sale?  Alternet   ...While charter proponents claim that their schools are less bureaucratic, more efficient, and more effective, the evidence fails to back those claims...
Hammond begins contract negotiations  NWI Times   ...Contracts with the Hammond Police and Fire departments' unions and the Teamsters, who represent most of the city's public works employees, expire at the end of the year...

Today's Teamster News 01.10.12

China’s Slowest Import Growth in Two Years Deepens Global Risks: Economy  Bloomberg   ...Imports ... rose 11.8 percent from a year before, less than all 21 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey of economists, a government report showed today in Beijing...
Afghanistan: 'Slave-like' conditions at Swedish army base revealed  Morning Star   ...Kitchen staff at Sweden's military base in Afghanistan have been working in "slave-like conditions," a Swedish newspaper has revealed...
There Are 5,000 Janitors in the U.S. with PhDs  Gizmodo   ...some 17 million college-educated Americans have jobs that don't require their level of education...
Indiana House Dems end chamber boycott, GOP plans initial vote on divisive labor bill  Associated Press   ...Republican House Speaker Brian Bosma said the right-to-work bill will get a committee vote Tuesday morning and could make it out of his chamber by the end of the week if Democrats continue to attend House sessions...
Group to push ‘Right to work’ ballot initiative  PoliticM   ...While many state legislators shy from the issue, an outside group plans to file an initiative petition this month to place a so-called “right to work” constitutional amendment on the 2012 ballot (in Missouri)...
Conservative Maine News Site Fires White Nationalist Writer  Hatewatch   ...one of the center’s newly hired writers, Leif Parsell, has a long history of espousing white superiority and may even have ties to neo-Nazi organizations...
Area Teamsters join national pipeline strike   Citizens Voice   ...A national strike of Teamsters pipeline construction workers has spread to Wyoming and Bradford counties, where about 25 workers walked off the job on Friday over a breakdown in retirement negotiations with an association that administers pipeline labor contracts...

Today's Teamster News 12.29.11

Lure of Chinese Tuition Squeezes Out Asian-American Students  Bloomberg   ...The University of California system, rocked by budget cuts, is enrolling record numbers of out-of-state and international students, who pay almost twice that of in-state residents... JPMorgan’s Swaps Occupying Cassino Prove Curse Like World War II
Bloomberg    ...Soaring costs forced Cassino, 80 miles southeast of Rome, to settle an interest-rate swap with JPMorgan Chase & Co. in 2009, leaving the town unable to pay for daycare for 60 infants and services for the poor...
Next up for sale in Florida: the naming rights to public school cafeterias?  Tampa Bay Times   ...Rep. Irv Slosberg, D-Boca Raton, the same lawmaker who proposed naming rights for state trails and advertising on the sides of school buses, has another money-making idea up his sleeve.  Naming rights for public school cafeterias...
Corporate interests fuel group’s desire to shape Va. legislation, critics say  Washington Post   ...“The American Legislative Exchange Council, a secretive organization funded by big corporations, has been writing bills that Virginia legislators are passing off as their own work on everything from education to health care to voting rights,” said Anna Scholl, executive director of ProgressVA...
Morton Marcus: Slow and slower income growth for Hoosiers  Howey Politics Indiana   ...What Indiana needs is not just jobs. If we are to see our general welfare improve, we require higher paying jobs to generate more income...
Merced County Jail violence prompts call for action  Merced County Sun-Star   ...After a violent outbreak Monday at the Merced County Jail left one inmate with several stab wounds, the Teamsters Law Enforcement League called on the Board of Supervisors to hold a hearing on jail staffing...

Today's Teamster News 05.07.11

Milwaukee County prosecutors to work full-time despite 20% pay cuts  Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel   ..."I believe the Assistant District Attorneys are being treated dishonorably, but I also know that they consider it a great privilege, as do I, to serve you..."
Ohio House Budget Would Let Kasich Sell Assets Such as Prisons  Bloomberg  ...Ohio Governor John Kasich could sell or lease six prisons and the state turnpike under the $55.6 billion, two-year budget that passed the Republican-led House of Representatives 59-40 ...
'We Are Ohio' Movement Takes Aim At Senate Bill 5 That Became Law  The State Journal  ...They say collective bargaining was won with the sweat and blood of their grandfathers...
Florida budget has plenty of pain to go around  Associated Press   ...Special education teacher Hal Krantz hasn't had a raise in two years, but he'll be among 650,000 public employees whose pay checks will be cut to help balance an annual state budget that also slashes spending by nearly $4 billion...
Demonstrators to greet Snyder at Benton Harbor's annual parade  Detroit News   ...Gov. Rick Snyder will put himself at ground zero of a controversy over local control Saturday when he serves as grand marshal in a parade through Benton Harbor...
Collective bargaining should remain in N.H. (opinion)  Portsmouth Herald   ...Our legislators are intent on destroying unions and the collective bargaining process for partisan reasons that have nothing to do with creating jobs or helping to grow the economy...
State Representatives Attend Town Hall on Education  WestChester Patch   ...many parents who spoke out at the meeting said that Corbett’s plan would “dismantle the public education system in the state...”

Today's Teamster News 04.12.11

Teamsters rally to fight Pa. right-to-work bill  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette   ...A Teamsters rally today drew almost 400 laborers to the Capitol, where union leaders promised to bring thousands next time if lawmakers push through anti-worker legislation...
Inquiry needed  (opinion)  Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel   ...A full explanation into what happened with the vote tally in Waukesha County is required...
Unions gear up for Ohio fight  Akron Beacon Journal   ...Senate Bill 5 foes prepare to collect a half-million signatures for November referendum that would strike down new law...
Battle brews over who speaks for Florida firefighters, police officers and teachers  Naplesnews.com  ...Florida Chamber of Commerce recently released a 30-second television ad supporting legislation that would end automatic payroll deductions of union dues for government workers, and would require written authorization by union members for their dues to be used for any political activities...
Rick Snyder recap: Latest developments on the pension tax, job growth, and film incentives  mlive.com   ...Debate flares up on whether Snyder’s tax and budget plans will create jobs...
The Drought Is Over (At Least for CEOs)  New York Times   ...C.E.O.’s in finance, technology, energy and beyond are pulling down multimillion-dollar paychecks. What many of these executives aren’t doing, however, is hiring...
Why the United States Is Destroying Its Education System  (opinion)  truthdig.com   ...A nation that destroys its systems of education, degrades its public information, guts its public libraries and turns its airwaves into vehicles for cheap, mindless amusement becomes deaf, dumb and blind...