Teamster News
Teamsters Demand Crackdown On Cheap Korean Steel Imports Digital Journal ...Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa and top leaders with the union's railway conference are calling on the Department of Commerce to fully weigh the concerns of the U.S. steel industry as it continues its anti-dumping probe looking at cheap imports being brought into this country by South Korea and eight other nations...
Fourth Cumberland County Union On Way? Court Related Employees Seek Membership The Sentinel ...Non-professional, court-related Cumberland County employees could receive union representation for the first time thanks to a National Labor Relations Board petition filed by Teamsters Local 776 on May 14, Chief Clerk Larry Thomas confirmed...
Hoffa Calls On House Of Representatives To Protect Highway Safety teamster.org ...“The tragic accident that claimed the life of comedian James McNair and injured many others including actor Tracy Morgan, could have been prevented had Walmart’s driver been properly rested rather than reportedly going 24 hours without a break,” Hoffa said. “...We must ensure that hours of service rules provide enough rest for drivers so cumulative fatigue doesn’t put the driving public at risk.”...
Trade
Japan Holding Up Free Trade Talks 13WHOtv.com ...a major hold up in the talks are Japan’s proposal to maintain tariffs on sensitive products like beef, dairy, wheat, rice, and pork...
State Battles
Grocery workers in California see wages shrink SFGate.com ...A new look at California's $98 billion grocery industry shows it is a microcosm of the state's wealth inequality gap. While a private-equity firm is buying Safeway for $9 billion, 1 in 3 grocery workers is on some form of public assistance. While grocery chains are cash machines for investors, nearly 1 in 5 workers has cut back on meals because he or she couldn't afford to buy food...
War On Workers
Prosecutor: Trucker in Morgan crash lacked sleep Associated Press ...The Wal-Mart truck driver from Georgia accused of triggering a crash in New Jersey that critically injured Tracy Morgan and killed another comedian had not slept for more than 24 hours, a criminal complaint said...
Regular shoppers cite Walmart's low pay and poor treatment of workers as reasons to stay away Daily Kos ...Walmart's reputation is suffering among consumers, with 28 percent saying they have an unfavorable view of Walmart, compared to just 13 percent unfavorable for Target and just six percent unfavorable for Costco. Walmart's low wages and bad treatment of its workers are registering on shoppers...
Wal-Mart's Image Problem Under Scrutiny At Annual Shareholder Meeting Al Jazeera America ...Walmart workers speaking at the company’s annual shareholder meeting in Bentonville, Arkansas, on Friday said the megastore’s staffing problems and poor pay were hurting the company’s image and contributing to lagging sales. Their statement comes after a week of rallies across the country by labor activists, union representatives and workers in cities such as Chicago; Dayton, Ohio; and Baton Rouge, Louisiana...
What’s the Source of Soaring Corporate Profits? Stagnant Wages Washington's Blog ...once capital can no longer make profits selling goods and services and wage-earners can no longer afford to buy goods and services, the system disintegrates...
Court probes Wells’ foreclosure steps again New York Post ...How exactly do the note endorsement processes described in Wells Fargo’s controversial Home Mortgage Foreclosure Attorney Procedure Manual work? On March 12, The Post broke the news of this manual and allegations in court papers by attorney Linda Tirelli that the document provides detailed procedures to fabricate foreclosure papers on demand. Wells Fargo denied the allegations...
Tipped Into Poverty New York Times ...When Senate Republicans recently blocked a vote to raise the federal minimum wage, they snubbed the estimated 27.8 million people who would earn more if the measure became law. The hardest hit are the roughly 3.3 million Americans who work for tips...
The US Chamber Of Secrets Moyers & Company ...The US Chamber of Commerce’s stated mission is “representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors and regions,” but watchdog groups say the US Chamber represents the interests of a select few big industry groups that want to crush worker organizing...
The Job Market's Five-Year Recovery In 10 Charts FiveThirtyEight ...Six-and-a-half years after the Great Recession began — and five years after it officially ended the U.S. has finally surpassed its precrisis employment peak. But the job market is far from fully healed...
Miscellaneous
Student Debt Relief To Expand Wall Street Journal ...An expansion of a federal program designed to reduce payments for student-loan recipients is expected to be announced Monday by President Barack Obama, the latest push by Democrats to address concerns about rising student debt...
How Much Did Snowden Take? Not Even The NSA Really Knows Newsweek ...It was just over a year ago this week that former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden leaked a trove of secret National Security Agency documents detailing the agency’s massive online spy program. What and how much Snowden took remains a mystery...
Showing posts with label food workers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food workers. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Taylor Farms workers help push CA bill to protect temp workers
The Teamster organizing struggle at Taylor Farms in California moved to the state capitol yesterday where workers helped push forward a bill to make companies responsible for workers hired through temp agencies.
AB 1897 passed the Committee on Labor and Employment on a party-line vote in a defeat for the 25 corporate lobbyists who tried to paint the bill as a "job killer." Lawmakers, including Republicans on the committee, highlighted Taylor Farms as a "bad apple" whose abusive labor practices make laws like AB 1897 necessary. The California Labor Federation and Teamsters from Locals 439 and 601 stood with Taylor Farms food processing workers who traveled to Sacramento to lobby in support of the legislation.
AB 1897 would hold companies accountable to the temp agency workers they hire -- workers who they constantly deny responsibility for yet depend on for labor. The law will require companies to ensure that the temp workers they use are getting fair pay and a safe work environment, and that the agencies are paying their fair share in taxes.
Taylor Farms workers know firsthand how exploitative the labor contracting system is. At its plants in Tracy, Calif., the company hides behind two staffing agencies, SlingShot and Abel Mendoza. The agencies, which staff up to two-thirds of the facilities, allow the company to get away with serious labor violations. One young worker with SlingShot has worked at Taylor Farms for 10 years -- he started working there on the onion line when he was 9 years-old.
When workers are injured, the company and temp agencies deny being the "employer of record" so workers can't get compensation. Taylor Farms pays Abel Mendoza $14 per hour for each worker but Abel Mendoza pays the workers only $8 per hour, costing already impoverished workers over $10,000 a year.
The temp labor contracting scheme also allows companies like Taylor Farms to crack down mercilessly on workers who try to organize. When Taylor Farms workers tried to join Teamsters Local 601, the company retaliated with a non-stop fear campaign run by paid union-busters who threatened and harassed workers, especially immigrant workers. The company got rid of pro-union workers by making the agencies fire them.
All of this made it easier for the company to effectively steal the election when workers held their vote on union representation, forcing the NLRB to impound ballots while it investigates Taylor Farms' extreme misconduct.
By making companies like Taylor Farms responsible for all of their workers, including "temps," AB 1897 will make it harder to violate workers rights with impunity. Teamster friend Roger Hernandez, a California assemblymember for the 48th District, authored AB 1897 with Taylor Farms workers in mind -- similar to his anti-retaliation law signed by the governor which was inspired by Marquez Brothers workers' fight for Teamster representation.
While the NLRB investigates charges against the company, Teamsters and Taylor Farms workers are expanding the campaign for union representation in Tracy by reaching out to allies, the media and political leaders.
AB 1897 now moves to the Appropriations Committee. As the labor contractor system has moved from the fields of the Central Valley into the food processing facilities -- and as corporations throughout the economy increasingly adopt this employment scheme -- laws like AB 1897 are becoming more urgent than ever.
Taylor Farms workers and the Teamsters plan to continue holding up Taylor Farms as a poster child for temp labor abuses.
AB 1897 passed the Committee on Labor and Employment on a party-line vote in a defeat for the 25 corporate lobbyists who tried to paint the bill as a "job killer." Lawmakers, including Republicans on the committee, highlighted Taylor Farms as a "bad apple" whose abusive labor practices make laws like AB 1897 necessary. The California Labor Federation and Teamsters from Locals 439 and 601 stood with Taylor Farms food processing workers who traveled to Sacramento to lobby in support of the legislation.
 |
| Teamsters with Assemblymember Roger Hernandez, author of AB 1897 |
Taylor Farms workers know firsthand how exploitative the labor contracting system is. At its plants in Tracy, Calif., the company hides behind two staffing agencies, SlingShot and Abel Mendoza. The agencies, which staff up to two-thirds of the facilities, allow the company to get away with serious labor violations. One young worker with SlingShot has worked at Taylor Farms for 10 years -- he started working there on the onion line when he was 9 years-old.
When workers are injured, the company and temp agencies deny being the "employer of record" so workers can't get compensation. Taylor Farms pays Abel Mendoza $14 per hour for each worker but Abel Mendoza pays the workers only $8 per hour, costing already impoverished workers over $10,000 a year.
The temp labor contracting scheme also allows companies like Taylor Farms to crack down mercilessly on workers who try to organize. When Taylor Farms workers tried to join Teamsters Local 601, the company retaliated with a non-stop fear campaign run by paid union-busters who threatened and harassed workers, especially immigrant workers. The company got rid of pro-union workers by making the agencies fire them.
All of this made it easier for the company to effectively steal the election when workers held their vote on union representation, forcing the NLRB to impound ballots while it investigates Taylor Farms' extreme misconduct.
By making companies like Taylor Farms responsible for all of their workers, including "temps," AB 1897 will make it harder to violate workers rights with impunity. Teamster friend Roger Hernandez, a California assemblymember for the 48th District, authored AB 1897 with Taylor Farms workers in mind -- similar to his anti-retaliation law signed by the governor which was inspired by Marquez Brothers workers' fight for Teamster representation.
While the NLRB investigates charges against the company, Teamsters and Taylor Farms workers are expanding the campaign for union representation in Tracy by reaching out to allies, the media and political leaders.
 |
| Teamsters, Taylor Farms workers at the state capitol |
AB 1897 now moves to the Appropriations Committee. As the labor contractor system has moved from the fields of the Central Valley into the food processing facilities -- and as corporations throughout the economy increasingly adopt this employment scheme -- laws like AB 1897 are becoming more urgent than ever.
Taylor Farms workers and the Teamsters plan to continue holding up Taylor Farms as a poster child for temp labor abuses.
Friday, February 21, 2014
Today's Teamster News 02.21.14
Teamster News
Massachusetts Highway Workers Unanimously Ratify Contract teamster.org ...Workers with the Newbury Highway Department in Newbury, Mass., have voted unanimously to ratify a strong contract, securing wage increases and job protections. The highway workers, who are members of Teamsters Local 170 in Worcester, Mass., joined the union in December and quickly negotiated a solid agreement...
Baltimore City School Bus Workers Win $1.25 Million Wage Settlement teamster.org ...Baltimore school bus drivers and attendants have reached a $1.25 million wage settlement with their employer, Durham School Services, the transportation contractor for Baltimore City Public Schools...
Pleasanton-based Safeway in discussions to sell company San Jose Mercury News ...In a move poised to rattle the supermarket industry, one of the East Bay's largest employers, Safeway, announced Wednesday that it is in talks to sell the company...
Film tax credit bill goes live Sacramento Business Journal ...Democratic Assemblymembers Raul Bocanegra and Mike Gatto released a film tax credit bill Wednesday that supporters say will protect jobs by keeping film crews in California....
Why privatizing toll collection is a horrible idea teamsternation ...If the New Jersey Turnpike Commission privatizes toll collection, workers who have already taken enormous cuts to pay and benefits will suffer...
Eight lies ‘advocates’ told about carriage horses New York Post ...the carriage industry is well-regulated and safe. NYCLASS attacks us not with facts and well-reasoned arguments, but with emotional manipulation and outright lies...
Judge strikes down Nebraska law that allowed Keystone XL pipeline Dallas Morning News ...A Nebraska judge on Wednesday struck down a law that allowed the Keystone XL pipeline to proceed through the state, a victory for opponents who have tried to block the project that would carry oil from Canada to Texas refineries...
The War on Workers
GOP’s Social Security disaster: Conservatives just lost their chance to cut benefits Salon ...The president dropping Chained CPI from his budget is a reprieve for the left -- and a message to the right...
Federal Government Soon to Know Everywhere You've Driven American Prospect ...There are more license-plate cameras installed all the time. Now the government wants to put all the data together in one database...
Flu Deaths Rise Among Young and Middle-Aged U.S. Adults Bloomberg ...While influenza traditionally affects children and the elderly hardest, adults under age 65 accounted for 61 percent of hospitalizations so far this season, an increase from 35 percent last year, according to a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report...
New Report Exposes America's Highest Paid Government Workers truthout ...America’s highest paid "government" workers are not your local teachers, nurses, or sanitation workers. Rather, they are corporate executives who sign lucrative contracts to take over public services and then pay themselves and other executives eye-popping salaries...
Victoria's anti-protest laws pass lower house by one vote The Guardian ...Controversial new laws giving police unprecedented powers to disperse protests have passed Victoria’s lower house...
New Report: Port Trucking Companies Steal More Than $1 Billion in Wages From Drivers In These Times ...The port brings in close to $16 billion per year, but the drivers only see a tiny bit of that money. This is in large part because they're “misclassified” as independent contractors...
State Battles
Concerned Missourians Deliver More than 6,850 Letters Calling on Speaker To Drop ALEC's 'Right-To-Work' Legislation Attacks Progress Missouri ...“We need to be building an economy that works for everyone, not political attacks and favors to special interest donors...”
Employers could pay less in lawsuits over unpaid wages Indianapolis Star ...Long-sought changes limiting employers’ liability when being sued by workers for unpaid wages may come to pass under a House bill backed by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce. The bill also would set up a framework to allow employers to take money out of wages of employees — if they agree — to repay loans for work-related equipment and job training...
The Top Five Things You Need to Know about the John Doe Emails Center for Media and Democracy ... in 2010 while Walker was running for governor, he corresponded consistently with key campaign and county staff from a private account in the middle of the work day and apparently on the secret Wi-Fi system set up by top aide Tim Russell...
Scott Walker Ordered Doctor Fired Because She Was Once A Thong Model Huffington Post ... In April 2010, Scott Walker and his staff realized they had a potential problem on their hands that would require them to quietly fire a woman who appeared to be completely competent at her job. The issue was that she had what they perceived to be a "checkered" past: She used to be a thong model...
Chris Christie's Mansion Fund Collected Millions From Political Favor Seekers Huffington Post ...A review of IRS records and Drumthwacket donor lists, however, suggest that prospective donors saw the mansion as something more than just an altruistic investment. Contributions to Drumthwacket often coincided with the donors' attempts to win tax breaks, political appointments or other support from Christie and his appointees. In many cases, the donors, like the Strangfelds, got what they wanted...
SC guv says she wears heels to kick unions teamsternation ...South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley would rather let the people of her state go without jobs than let them get union jobs...
Trade
“Free Trade” Pacts Were Always About Weakening Nation-States to Promote Rule by Multinationals naked capitalism ...the idea behind getting rid of these barriers wasn’t about free trade, it was about reorganizing the world so that corporations could manage resources for “the benefit of mankind”...
Miscellaneous
Madoff said JPMorgan executives knew of his fraud: lawsuit Reuters ..."JPMorgan was uniquely positioned for 20 years to see Madoff's crimes and put a stop to them," the lawsuit said. "But faced with the prospect of shutting down Madoff's account and losing lucrative profits," it added, "JPMorgan - at its highest level - chose to turn a blind eye."...
Massachusetts Highway Workers Unanimously Ratify Contract teamster.org ...Workers with the Newbury Highway Department in Newbury, Mass., have voted unanimously to ratify a strong contract, securing wage increases and job protections. The highway workers, who are members of Teamsters Local 170 in Worcester, Mass., joined the union in December and quickly negotiated a solid agreement...
Baltimore City School Bus Workers Win $1.25 Million Wage Settlement teamster.org ...Baltimore school bus drivers and attendants have reached a $1.25 million wage settlement with their employer, Durham School Services, the transportation contractor for Baltimore City Public Schools...
Pleasanton-based Safeway in discussions to sell company San Jose Mercury News ...In a move poised to rattle the supermarket industry, one of the East Bay's largest employers, Safeway, announced Wednesday that it is in talks to sell the company...
Film tax credit bill goes live Sacramento Business Journal ...Democratic Assemblymembers Raul Bocanegra and Mike Gatto released a film tax credit bill Wednesday that supporters say will protect jobs by keeping film crews in California....
Why privatizing toll collection is a horrible idea teamsternation ...If the New Jersey Turnpike Commission privatizes toll collection, workers who have already taken enormous cuts to pay and benefits will suffer...
Eight lies ‘advocates’ told about carriage horses New York Post ...the carriage industry is well-regulated and safe. NYCLASS attacks us not with facts and well-reasoned arguments, but with emotional manipulation and outright lies...
Judge strikes down Nebraska law that allowed Keystone XL pipeline Dallas Morning News ...A Nebraska judge on Wednesday struck down a law that allowed the Keystone XL pipeline to proceed through the state, a victory for opponents who have tried to block the project that would carry oil from Canada to Texas refineries...
The War on Workers
GOP’s Social Security disaster: Conservatives just lost their chance to cut benefits Salon ...The president dropping Chained CPI from his budget is a reprieve for the left -- and a message to the right...
Federal Government Soon to Know Everywhere You've Driven American Prospect ...There are more license-plate cameras installed all the time. Now the government wants to put all the data together in one database...
Flu Deaths Rise Among Young and Middle-Aged U.S. Adults Bloomberg ...While influenza traditionally affects children and the elderly hardest, adults under age 65 accounted for 61 percent of hospitalizations so far this season, an increase from 35 percent last year, according to a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report...
New Report Exposes America's Highest Paid Government Workers truthout ...America’s highest paid "government" workers are not your local teachers, nurses, or sanitation workers. Rather, they are corporate executives who sign lucrative contracts to take over public services and then pay themselves and other executives eye-popping salaries...
Victoria's anti-protest laws pass lower house by one vote The Guardian ...Controversial new laws giving police unprecedented powers to disperse protests have passed Victoria’s lower house...
New Report: Port Trucking Companies Steal More Than $1 Billion in Wages From Drivers In These Times ...The port brings in close to $16 billion per year, but the drivers only see a tiny bit of that money. This is in large part because they're “misclassified” as independent contractors...
State Battles
Concerned Missourians Deliver More than 6,850 Letters Calling on Speaker To Drop ALEC's 'Right-To-Work' Legislation Attacks Progress Missouri ...“We need to be building an economy that works for everyone, not political attacks and favors to special interest donors...”
Employers could pay less in lawsuits over unpaid wages Indianapolis Star ...Long-sought changes limiting employers’ liability when being sued by workers for unpaid wages may come to pass under a House bill backed by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce. The bill also would set up a framework to allow employers to take money out of wages of employees — if they agree — to repay loans for work-related equipment and job training...
The Top Five Things You Need to Know about the John Doe Emails Center for Media and Democracy ... in 2010 while Walker was running for governor, he corresponded consistently with key campaign and county staff from a private account in the middle of the work day and apparently on the secret Wi-Fi system set up by top aide Tim Russell...
Scott Walker Ordered Doctor Fired Because She Was Once A Thong Model Huffington Post ... In April 2010, Scott Walker and his staff realized they had a potential problem on their hands that would require them to quietly fire a woman who appeared to be completely competent at her job. The issue was that she had what they perceived to be a "checkered" past: She used to be a thong model...
Chris Christie's Mansion Fund Collected Millions From Political Favor Seekers Huffington Post ...A review of IRS records and Drumthwacket donor lists, however, suggest that prospective donors saw the mansion as something more than just an altruistic investment. Contributions to Drumthwacket often coincided with the donors' attempts to win tax breaks, political appointments or other support from Christie and his appointees. In many cases, the donors, like the Strangfelds, got what they wanted...
SC guv says she wears heels to kick unions teamsternation ...South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley would rather let the people of her state go without jobs than let them get union jobs...
Trade
“Free Trade” Pacts Were Always About Weakening Nation-States to Promote Rule by Multinationals naked capitalism ...the idea behind getting rid of these barriers wasn’t about free trade, it was about reorganizing the world so that corporations could manage resources for “the benefit of mankind”...
Miscellaneous
Madoff said JPMorgan executives knew of his fraud: lawsuit Reuters ..."JPMorgan was uniquely positioned for 20 years to see Madoff's crimes and put a stop to them," the lawsuit said. "But faced with the prospect of shutting down Madoff's account and losing lucrative profits," it added, "JPMorgan - at its highest level - chose to turn a blind eye."...
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