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....

Woot! New Calif. law protects jobs

California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill yesterday that scraps the state's $750-million-a-year bad-business boondoggle known as the enterprise zone program. The program killed scores of good-paying union jobs to create minimum-wage jobs elsewhere in the state.

California Teamsters have long opposed enterprise zones. Earlier this year, Teamsters were laid off when two companies --  building products distributor Blue Linx and laboratory supply and distribution company VWR -- moved to enterprise zones in California. Our brothers and sisters were told the law forbade them from following their jobs.

In place of enterprise zones, the law establishes the Governor's Economic Development Initiative, meant to create good jobs. A statewide sales tax exemption will apply to manufacturing equipment or research and development equipment purchases for biotech and manufacturing companies.

Brother Doug Bloch from Joint Council 7 in San Francisco witnessed the signing and called it a "great moment for the state's workers."

Under the new program, money that was originally directed toward companies like Walmart and FedEx to create minimum-wage jobs will now go to manufacturers who create new jobs that pay at least $12 an hour. Hiring credits could go to Teamster employers in food processing, dairy, breweries, beverage and more. They'll also be eligible to get tax credits for equipment investments, including any retrofits they do to their plants to comply with AB 32, the Greenhouse Gas initiative.  And employers who want to transfer jobs now need to offer people the right to move with their job at their current rate of pay.  

In short, this is a big win for us.

Californians can now be more secure that corporations will not eliminate their jobs by moving their plants just to pad their bottom lines. Teamster strong!

Workers near victory in reform of faulty Calif. jobs program

California Gov. Jerry Brown is expected to sign legislation to change a corporate tax break that cost Teamsters their jobs.

The state Assembly yesterday approved the bill, AB 93, yesterday.

For years, companies across the Golden State used the $750 million-a-year enterprise zone program as a way to relocate good-paying jobs to other areas deemed economically challenged. Then the companies pay the workers less in the new location. In some cases, corporations used the tax breaks for hiring decisions made years earlier.

Brown called the program wasteful and pushed for reform. The bill approved by both chambers of the California Legislature this week strips the power of the state's 40 locally owned enterprise zones. It replaces the program with a broader slate of statewide business incentives. About $200 million would be used for updated enterprise zones that target the hiring of the poor and unemployed.

The California Labor Federation praised the legislation for replacing the existing program with one that will improve the state's job market:

By flipping the broken enterprise zone program into Gov. Brown's smart, strategic plan for job growth, the Legislature strengthened California's economic recovery. We applaud the Legislature for rooting out the waste and abuse in California's enterprise zone program and shifting those tax dollars to create good jobs that boost local economies.

The governor, unions and others had complained enterprise zones strayed from their original purpose. The program had turned into a big business giveaway for jobs that largely would have been available without the tax breaks. It often led a company to move from one place in the state to another. In several cases, employers left their unionized shops behind to set up non-union workplaces elsewhere.

Earlier this year, we noted Teamsters from building products distributor Blue Linx and laboratory supply and distribution company VWR lost their jobs when their employers moved elsewhere in California and they were told they could not follow the company to its new location. The enterprise zones program allowed businesses to receive tax breaks of $37,500 for each new employee they hired.

Today's Teamster News 06.26.13

(UPDATES to ADD Missouri paycheck deception veto)
Supreme Court stops use of key part of Voting Rights Act  Washington Post   ...The Supreme Court on Tuesday freed states from special federal oversight under the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965, saying the data Congress used to identify the states covered by it was outdated and unfair...
Supreme Court Ruled In Favor Of America’s Top Corporate Lobbying Group In 13 of 16 Cases This Term   ThinkProgress   ...after today, the Chamber’s record before the Roberts Court is 13 wins and just 3 loses this term...
Study finds business subsidies lead to few jobs  Evansville Courier & Press   ...Giant subsidy packages awarded by states and local governments to attract businesses or keep them from leaving have been growing steadily in size and occurring more frequently since 2008, according to a Washington, D.C.-based policy think tank...
Fired Walmart Workers Arrested in Protest at Yahoo Headquarters  The Nation   ...Five activists were arrested at Yahoo! headquarters Monday afternoon in a protest over the firing of eleven Walmart employees who this month went on strike...
Dilma Rousseff proposes referendum on political reform  The Guardian   ...Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff has proposed a referendum on political reform and a new £17bn public transport programme in her latest attempt to mollify the protest movement that brought more than a million people on to the streets last week...
Grayson Announces Bill to Let Workers Personally Sue Bosses Who Retaliate  The Nation   ...In a Tuesday interview, Congressman Alan Grayson (D-FL) announced the introduction of a bill to dramatically expand the legal remedies available to non-union workers who are punished for workplace activism...
Nixon strikes down ‘paycheck protection’ measure  Missourinet   ...Gov. Jay Nixon today signed into law several bills, and vetoed Senate Bill 29, which supporters call “paycheck protection” and opponents call “paycheck deception.” The bill would have prevented labor unions from using member dues for political contributions...
Labor-backed bill tests supermajority control of California Legislature  Sacramento Bee   ...With Democrats set to lose their Assembly supermajority this week, moderates are in the hot seat as the house decides the fate of one of organized labor's top priorities. A measure, which seeks to bar Wal-Mart and other large employers from providing wages and hours low enough to qualify for Medi-Cal rolls, requires a two-thirds supermajority to pass...
NJ officials reconsider privatizing toll collection  Asbury Park Press   ...Privatizing cash toll collection on the state’s two major toll roads is back on the table, but a goal of cashless tolls is years away from happening...
Bill to revamp enterprise zone program advances to Senate floor   Los Angeles Times   ...Gov. Jerry Brown's push to overhaul California's controversial enterprise zone program is headed for floor debate in the state Senate after winning a crucial committee endorsement Monday. The measure would get rid of most of the $750-million-a-year incentive program and shift the money to three initiatives...
UPS Freight Agreement Not Accepted By Members  IBT   ...Members at UPS Freight have voted to reject their Tentative Agreement. To see the results of the UPS Freight vote, click here...
Teamster-Represented Funeral Directors Rally for New Contract  IBT   ...Funeral directors, drivers and their supporters from around Chicago rallied in front of SCI-owned Blake-Lamb Funeral Home in Oak Lawn today. The rally was held to support the funeral directors’ bargaining team...
Republic Airways announces contract with Teamsters  Associated Press   ...Republic Airways Holdings Inc. says it has a deal with the Teamsters on a five-year contract covering more than 2,000 flight attendants…
Nev. police union votes 'no confidence' in city manager  Las Vegas Sun   ...North Las Vegas police union voted unanimously on Friday on a vote of "no confidence" in City Manager Tim Hacker. The vote came two days after the North Las Vegas City Council declared a state of emergency for the second year in a row to close an $18 million budget deficit after stalled negotiations with unions, including the Teamsters...
Truro Farmers plant will lose about 10 union jobs  Chronicle Herald   ...A Quebec dairy giant’s plan to stop making cheese at its Truro plant will result in about 10 unionized jobs being lost, a Teamsters Canada official said Monday...
Union Representing Rural Metro EMTs & Paramedics Approves Strike Notice  NBC WGRZ-2   ...Paramedics and EMTs at Rural Metro Medical Services in Buffalo, NY have authorized a possible strike. Teamsters Local 375, which represents the workers, informed the company Monday that the strike authorization vote was passed by their membership...
Riverside 7-Up distributors go on strike  Press-Enterprise  ...Distribution workers in Riverside, CA that ship beverages, mostly 7-Up, to area retailers went on strike this morning. About 100 workers walked off their jobs as part of a contract stalemate...
Building and Construction Teamsters: Bringing Light to Southern California Homes  IBT   ...Teamster members of Bloomington, Calif.-based Local 166 work at this vast facility as drivers, inventory control staff, parts managers, and shipping and receiving staff...
Teamsters Local 542 Awards Scholarships to Member's Children  Teamsters Local 542   ...Teamsters Local 542 awarded the “Rick Aceves Memorial Scholarship” to four of its member’s children graduating from high school...

Today's Teamster News 06.21.13

One million march across Brazil in biggest protests yet  Reuters   ...An estimated 1 million people took to the streets in cities across Brazil on Thursday as the country's biggest protests in two decades intensified despite government concessions meant to quell the demonstrations...
Warren on Trans-Pacific Partnership: If people knew what was going on, they would stop it  Raw Story   ..."If transparency would lead to widespread public opposition to a trade agreement, then that trade agreement should not be the policy of the United States...”
Emails show Detroit emergency manager enjoys perks while taxpayers foot bill   Click On Detroit   ...Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr is promised a 24-hour, seven-days-a-week security team staffed by Michigan State Police officers...
Illinois state workers to see pay raises, but no backpay  Associated Press   ...Gov. Pat Quinn's administration on July 1 will start paying the wage rate that was promised to thousands of unionized government workers in 2011 and 2012, although Illinois lawmakers didn't approve extra funding for back wages owed, officials said Wednesday...
Scaled-back 'Equal Pay for Women Act' to cover Louisiana state workers  Times-Picayune   ...Gov. Bobby Jindal has signed into law a version of the Equal Pay for Women Act that applies only to state workers. While provisions in Louisiana's Constitution already prohibit discrimination based on gender for government employees, state workers are nonetheless welcoming the effort to reiterate the need to ensure equal pay for equal work...
Who's Getting All Those Tax Breaks?  Courthouse News Services   ...Gov. Jerry Brown urged lawmakers to overhaul California's 27-year-old business incentive program, which he says has cost taxpayers $4.8 billion and is shrouded in secrecy...
Nevada attorney general says report shows more work required by mortgage servicers   Las Vegas Review-Journal   ...Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto said a recent report shows that more work needs to be done by the largest U.S. mortgage servicers, who are failing to comply with several key aspects designed to regulate how struggling homeowners are treated.

Rhode Island: Disabled students forced to work in sweatshop conditions   World Socialist Web Site   ...The US Department of Justice, the State of Rhode Island, and the city of Providence reached an interim settlement regarding a school for developmentally disabled students who had been forced to work for as little as 14 cents per hour...
Wisconsin justice's spouse head of union-busting law firm  Center for Public Integrity ...A Wisconsin Supreme Court justice is preparing to hear the appeal of a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Gov. Scott Walker’s union-busting law, despite the fact that her husband is the president of a law firm that helps employers keep their workplaces “union-free.”...
Arizona Gov. Brewer signs election overhaul bill  Associated Press   ...Gov. Jan Brewer signed a sweeping election bill Wednesday that will overhaul the early voting process in Arizona and make it more difficult for third-party candidates to get on the ballot...
Teamsters Local 237 Endorses Bill Thompson  Capital New York   ...After endorsing Mayor Michael Bloomberg four years earlier, Teamsters Local 237, which represents public housing and other municipal workers, endorsed Democratic mayoral candidate Bill Thompson Thursday…
Mobilize, Energize and WIN! Program Scheduled August 13-15   IBT ...Teamsters Local 667 in Memphis, Tennessee, is hosting a Mobilize, Energize and WIN! Program on August 13-15, 2013. This three-day intensive training will go beyond the basic internal organizing model and focus on developing an action plan that will engage members in activities, such as organizing, preparing for contract negotiations, fighting anti-worker legislation, and building support for grievances...
Vote Count For UPS, UPS Freight Contracts Set To Begin  IBT   ...Ballots for the UPS and UPS Freight contracts were picked up from the post office yesterday and are currently being sorted...
Saluting the “Solid Six”  IBT   ...They call themselves the “Solid Six.” These six Teamster school bus drivers at Durham School Services’ Milton yard in Santa Rosa County, Fla., wear their pride on their backs. Their shirts say, “Solid Six,” because they are six organizing committee members who stood strong during a very difficult anti-union campaign...
Australian Transport Giant Toll Group Re-Launches Anti-Union Crusade On Its American Workforce On The East Coast   IBT   ...U.S. workers responsible for safely hauling loads out of Toll Group’s New Jersey facilities filed charges with the U.S. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), alleging that their Australian-based employer Toll Group is interfering with their right to form their union...

Today's Teamster News 06.18.13

7-Eleven Stores Operated 'Modern Day Plantation System,' Feds Claim  ABC News   ...The owners of 7-Eleven franchises in New York and Virginia created a "modern day plantation system" in which undocumented workers were furnished with stolen identities and forced to work 100 hours a week for a fraction of their wages, according to a federal authorities...
McD's worker sues: Don't pay by debit card  The Times Leader   ...When she received her first paycheck, enclosed was a Chase Bank debit card with instructions on how to use it and the fees attached...
U.S. chief records officer details federal e-mail record-keeping programs  Washington Post   ...Cabinet officials have used (secret) alternative e-mail accounts in addition to government addresses to conduct federal business...
Apple releases information on data requests from NSA, other agencies  Los Angeles Times   ...Apple Inc., said it received 4,000 to 5,000 requests for customer data from U.S. officials during the six months ending in May, as it became the latest high-tech company to provide some details on its involvement in the National Security Agency's Internet surveillance program...
Trade Agreements, Privacy, and the Cloud  MacLean’s ...What does privacy have to do with trade agreements? As Canada, the U.S., and nine other countries negotiate a multilateral trade agreement called the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the TPP, U.S. negotiators are pushing to include a provision that would commit members to allowing free-flow of data over their borders...
More Bangladesh Factories Dangerous  Associated Press   ...A separate inspection, by the garment industry, of 200 risky factories found that 10 percent of them were so dangerous that they were ordered to shut. The textiles minister said a third inspection, conducted by the government, could show that as many as 300 factories were unsafe...
Turkey unrest: Unions call strike over crackdown  BBC News   ...Turkish unions have called a strike to protest against the police crackdown on demonstrators...
Biggest protests in 20 years sweep Brazil  Reuters   ...As many as 200,000 demonstrators marched through the streets of Brazil's biggest cities on Monday in a swelling wave of protest tapping into widespread anger at poor public services, police violence and government corruption...
Bank Of America Paid Foreclosure Bonuses While Lying To Homeowners  Think Progress   ...One of the nation’s largest mortgage servicers intentionally, knowingly, and routinely falsifies paperwork and lies to homeowners in order to boot them from their homes, according to bank insiders...
Why Let a Bank Write U.S. Financial Reform Legislation? (opinion)  Huffington Post   ...Reasonable people would agree that a bank having a history of involvement with fraud and mismanagement (and a recipient of one of the largest bank bailouts) shouldn't be writing bank legislation. Unless, of course, you are the U.S. Congress doing business as usual...
Justices: Arizona voter registration rules go too far  USA Today   ...The Supreme Court ruled handily Monday that Arizona cannot add to federal voter registration requirements by demanding proof of citizenship...
California Gov. Brown targets enterprise zone tax credits   Appeal Democrat   ...A battle is raging over a California program that grants businesses tax breaks for creating jobs but prevents the public from knowing who got them and why…
Michigan foreclosure bills would give banks the upper hand (opinion)  Detroit Free Press   ...On Wednesday, the House Financial Services Committee passed a package of foreclosure bills that will set Michigan back decades in its efforts to prevent foreclosures and the damage they cause to families, neighborhoods, communities and our still fragile economy...
RI could be 3rd US state to OK paid leave for workers caring for children, spouses or parents Associated Press   ...People ... who care for a new child or sick loved one could continue receiving pay for up to eight weeks under a proposal pending in Rhode Island's General Assembly...
Scott blocks paid sick-time vote in Orange, statewide  Sun Sentinel   ...Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed a bill Friday that would block local governments from enacting mandatory paid-sick-time measures. Scott sided with Walt Disney World, Darden Restaurants, the Florida Chamber of Commerce and a broad array of powerful business interests that argued the ban was needed to avoid a patchwork of local employment rules for companies...
Iowa cities bypass state to halt payday lenders  Associated Press   ...Efforts to limit payday lenders in Iowa have repeatedly failed in the Legislature, but more cities are approving zoning changes that make it harder to open the businesses...
Christine Quinn Snags Teamsters Unions’ Endorsement  Politicker   ...City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has snagged the endorsement of the 120,000-member strong Teamsters Joint Council 16 in New York for mayor...
Seattle Teamsters Support Even Playing Field for Taxis  Teamsters Local 117   ...Ride sharing and other flat rate taxis in Seattle are undercutting unionized taxi drivers...

Today's Teamster News 06.05.13

Low-wage workers seek Obama’s help  Washington Post   ...This week the Obama administration plans to ask Congress to amend the law so the government will not have to reimburse companies almost $1 million for the salaries of individual executives who work on government projects...
The Latest Report On Medicare Shows The Program Is Getting Stronger  ThinkProgress   ...The Medicare Trustees had great news for American seniors on Friday: the program’s solvency has been extended for two full years past what the trustees predicted in 2012...
IMF says US cutting spending too much too fast  Associated Press   ...The International Monetary Fund chief criticized the U.S. on Tuesday for cutting back government spending too much too fast, saying it was taking a toll on growth in one of the world's main economic engines...
US proposes labeling some banks threats  Associated Press   ...Federal regulators have proposed that a group of firms that aren't banks be deemed potential threats to the financial system that need stricter government oversight. Big insurers American International Group Inc. and Prudential Financial Inc., and General Electric Co.'s finance arm GE Capital...
Protesters Hit Bentonville Ahead of Wal-Mart's Annual Meeting  Arkansas Business   ...The national organization "Our Walmart" staged its rally today in Bentonville. Reps tell us one of their goals is to encourage the world's largest retailer to raise minimum salaries for associates...
Locked doors a sign of China work-safety failings  Associated Press   ...A fire breaks out in a Chinese factory, and panicked workers discover one exit after another is locked. That describes not only the poultry plant fire that killed 119 people Monday, but a toy-factory blaze that left 87 workers dead 20 years earlier...
'Chained CPI' hurts senior citizens (opinion)  Journal News   ...Here we go again! We’re going to balance the budget on the backs of senior citizens who had little to do with the present national debt, while corporate America enjoys massive subsidies and tax loopholes...
Elizabeth Warren Calls for Grassroots Movement on Student Loan Debt  Mother Jones   ...Over the past decade, student loan debt has nearly quadrupled, and now stands close to $1 trillion. On July 1, rates for federal need-based student loans are set to double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent. The deadline has lawmakers scrambling for a fix...
Union backers protest Ohio right-to-work bill  NewsNet5   ...Hundreds showed up Tuesday at the Ohio Statehouse, where the first -- and probably the last -- hearing was being held on right-to-work legislation proposed by Republican state Reps. Kristina Roegner and Ron Maag...
Protesters Crowd Legislature For Fifth 'Moral Monday'  WUNC 91.5 ...151 people were arrested at the General Assembly Monday night. It was the fifth “Moral Monday” demonstration at the legislature, and it was the largest yet...
Foreclosed NH homeowners to get settlement checks  Associated Press   ...More than 4,000 New Hampshire residents who lost their homes to foreclosure will receive checks this month as part of the $26 billion national mortgage settlement involving five of the nation’s largest lenders...
Enterprise zones under fire in Sacramento  KGO-TV   ...The financial perk designed to attract businesses to troubled neighborhoods is under fire in Sacramento. Under this program, even strip clubs qualify for tax breaks for hiring in economically depressed areas. As much as $37,400 per employee can be claimed even though many jobs are barely above minimum wage...
Cd'A board supports anti-union resolution  Coeur d'Alene Press ...School trustees in Coeur d'Alene on Monday voted unanimously to, as a board, support the Idaho School Boards Association's efforts to lobby state lawmakers for legislation that would tighten Idaho's right to work statute in the state's schools...
Connecticut Truck Safety Crackdown Underway  WTIC News Talk 1080   ...Once again, Connecticut’s Department of Motor Vehicles is conducting a three-day truck safety enforcement campaign...
This Is What Killing Democracy Looks Like: Ryan Wherley on WI AB225  Monologues of Dissent   ...The bill introduced by Jeff Stone is straight out of the ALEC playbook and an all-out, full-frontal assault on democracy...
Unionized liquor store clerks cheer Ferlo opposition to Corbett privatization plan  Pittsburgh Tribune-Review   ...To cheers of union workers in the crowd, Democratic Sen. Jim Ferlo on Tuesday delivered a tongue-lashing to the Corbett administration for pushing liquor privatization...

Today's Teamster News 06.01.13

US Lawmakers Press Obama to Include Currency in Pacific Trade Deal  Reuters   ...Nearly 200 U.S. lawmakers have signed a letter urging President Barack Obama to insist on new rules against currency manipulation in a proposed trade agreement with Japan and 10 other countries in the Asia-Pacific region...
Walmart’s Shocking Threats And Employee Bullying Detailed In 27-Page Report  Opposing Views   ...Walmart continually asks Americans to consider what’s more important: justice for its workers or low prices for its customers?...
Catalonia firefighters were starting fires rather than putting them out this week during a demonstration held in Barcelona  Metro   ...emergency workers clashed with riot police while protesting over austerity cuts in the recession hit Catalonian capital...
Judge: Coal company can drop retirement benefits for 13,000 workers, Underwood says  MSNBC   ...Bankrupt coal mining company Patriot Coal will be able to void its agreement with the United Mine Workers union (UMWA) and stop funding pensions for retired miners, thanks to a ruling from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Eastern District of Missouri...
Pension bill stuns counties, could force tax increases  Tampa Bay Times   ..."Is that money going to FRS to actually shore it up? Or is it a long-term strategy to pressure those of us at the local level to say we can't sustain these increases?"...
New Jersey Passes Misclassification Bill; Gov. Christie Could Veto  Truckinginfo   ...Though the Teamsters-backed employee misclassification bill was passed Thursday by the New Jersey State Senate, opponents say they will continue to work to make sure the measure does not actually become law...
Kasich frustrating safety unions  Toledo Blade   ...Gov. John Kasich and Republican lawmakers are pursuing tax cuts and banking huge surpluses, according to police and professional firefighters, at the expense of public safety...
UW education dean warns school boards that ALEC seeks to wipe them out  The Cap Times   ...The model legislation disseminated by the pro-free market American Legislative Exchange Council’s national network of corporate members and conservative legislators seeks to privatize education and erode the local control...
Appeals court upholds voter ID law  WISN   ...A Wisconsin law requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls is constitutional, a state appeals court ruled Thursday...
How Enterprise Zones Are Killing the California Dream  Truth-Out   ...(Teamsters) John Thomas and Hans Burkhardt  ... are now collecting unemployment, having lost their $22-an-hour jobs after their employers moved to take advantage of California’s enterprise zone plan…
Connecticut State House boosts minimum wage  CT Post   ...More than 106,000 of Connecticut's lowest-earning workers will see the current $8.25-per-hour minimum wage rise to $9 by January 2015...
Perry Vetoes "Buy American" Bill Approved 145-0 By Texas House  Opposing Views   ...Texas Gov. Rick Perry vetoed the “Buy American” bill, despite a unanimous bipartisan vote in the Texas House. The bill, which would have given preference to American-made goods...
Port Truck Drivers Take a Stand  WTOC-TV   ...WTOC-TV in Savannah, Ga., reports on port truck driver misclassification and how it impacts drivers and their families. Visit the Stand Up for Savannah! website for more information...
Teamsters Protect Nine-Hour Workday for CVS Pharmacists  Teamsters Joint Council 25   ...CVS pharmacists ratified a new three-year contract yielding raises and improved working conditions after Teamsters Local 727 representatives fought to protect the nine-hour workday from the management that wanted 12-14 hour workdays...
The Union Edge Reports On Durham School Bus Campaign  Union Edge   ...Teamsters Local 570 and Durham School Services drivers in the Baltimore area are standing up for safe school buses, respect and an end to wage theft. Hear what they have to say on The Union Edge radio program...
Dairy Workers in Washington Win With Teamsters  IBT   ...A unit of 30 drivers at Estenson Logistics, who voted to be represented by the Teamsters Local 690 in Spokane in late 2011, recently ratified their first contract...

Calif. enterprise zones kill good jobs

A California program that's supposed to create jobs is killing good Teamster jobs and making corporate bosses richer.

While the Golden State's enterprise zone program does shift jobs to 40 areas it deems economically depressed, employers are the big winners. In many cases, jobs are moving from one California locality to another, sending existing workers to the unemployment line. Meanwhile companies are piling up more profits due to the tens of thousands in tax breaks they get for each employee they hire at the new job site.

The Frying Pan News explains the state-sponsored sham. Established in 1984, the program gives companies tax credits of up to $37,440 per person hired in one of the zones. Yet there is evidence that many areas eligible for the programs shouldn't be, noting that well-heeled neighborhoods in Los Angeles and San Francisco qualify as enterprise zones.

While some workers might be willing to move to continue their employment, they don't get the choice. Under the rules of the program, employers cannot take current workers if they want to receive tax credits. That leaves a lot of people who once earned middle-class wages out of luck. Bay Area warehouse workers John Thomas and Hans Burkhardt, both Teamsters, are just two examples.

The union jobs that Burkhardt and Thomas and their fellow workers had at the BlueLinx and VWR locations paid, on average, about $20 an hour, plus benefits. They were replaced with non-union positions that paid about one-half of that, with non-existent or substantially reduced benefits.

We detailed the plight of many of their fellow workers earlier this year. The loss of union wage jobs by members of Teamsters Local 853 resulted in the companies paying their new non-union employees about $10 an hour with no benefits in their new locations.

Doug Bloch, Teamsters political director for the Central Valley and Northern California, told Frying Pan News the VWR and BlueLinx situation encapsulates all that is wrong with the enterprise zone program.

Our union is all for programs that create jobs in economically distressed areas. This program doesn’t create jobs.

Some elected officials are beginning to see the light. State Sen. Jerry Hill has unveiled legislation soon to be considered on the Senate floor that would revamp the program by saying it must create net new jobs that pay at least $16 an hour. And Gov. Jerry Brown earlier this month proposed that the zones be replaced by a sales tax credit for firms that buy manufacturing or biotech equipment.

Californians need to make sure the rest of the state's lawmakers get on board as well. Tell your elected members to support Sen. Hill's SB 434  and help create new jobs, not just move old ones.

Today's Teamster News 02.16.11

NH House passes right-to-work law  Nashua Telegraph   ...The 221-131 vote sends the controversial bill (HB 474) to the state Senate without the two-thirds super majority that would be needed to overcome a potential veto from Gov. John Lynch, who strongly opposes it...
Hearing on Wis. union plan finally ends  Associated Press   ...Republican House member Robin Vos finally ended the hearing at 3 a.m. Wednesday morning. Democrats said they would continue to listen to workers who still wanted to speak...
Mo. Senate Panel Advances 'Right To Work' Bill  Associated Press   ...A Missouri Senate panel has advanced legislation that would prevent people from having to pay union fees as a condition of employment...
Crowd Overflows At Ohio Statehouse In Opposition To Senate Bill 5  nbc4i.com   ...State employees, public college and university workers could lose their right to collectively bargain under SB 5...
Union protests at Ind. Statehouse on GOP proposals  Associated Press   ...The future of the bill drawing the strongest ire of the union members remained uncertain as a Republican committee chairman said a decision had not been made on whether so-called right-to-work legislation would be considered this session...
Dayton proposes raising taxes on top 5% of Minnesotans to help fix budget  Pioneer Press   ...Gov. Mark Dayton wants to solve nearly half of Minnesota's budget problem by taxing the rich, a strategy that he said keeps a campaign promise but Republican legislative leaders called a job killer...
Job Went Overseas? Tough Luck, Says Congress  ABC News  ...Congress Fails to Extend Aid for Workers Displaced by Foreign Competition Over Sleeping Bag Deal...
Workers to State Legislators: Stop ‘Sweetheart’ Enterprise Zone Deals (Joint Council 7)  BeyondChron.com   ...members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, visited every state legislator with a small box of chocolates that said “Stop the Sweetheart Enterprise Zones...”
Teamsters Endorse Perdue for West Virginia Governor  IBT   ...Local 175 Teamsters have voted unanimously to endorse State Treasurer John Perdue for West Virginia governor, the first major endorsement in the upcoming special election...
Southwest Airlines And Teamster-Represented Stock Clerks Announce New Tentative Agreement  IBT   ...Southwest Airlines and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Airlines Division, representing the carrier's stock clerks, announced today that the two parties have reached a tentative agreement for a new, five-year contract...