Teamsters
Retired Funeral Directors, Teamsters Local 727 Reps Stand Up For Workers at Shareholders Meeting Teamster.org ...Longtime employees and Teamsters Local 727 representatives on May 13 called out funeral industry giant Service Corporation International’s poor business practices and called on its Board of Directors to take action during the company’s annual shareholders meeting in Houston...
National Red Cross Negotiations Begin Teamster.org ...Last week, leaders from eight national unions met with representatives from American Red Cross in Washington, D.C., and reached an agreement to formally enter into national negotiations. This is a significant step in ensuring Red Cross’ mission and its employees are moving towards a brighter future...
Can the Taxi Union Get the Courts to Shut down Uber and Lyft in DC? DC Inno ...Uber, Lyft and Sidecar were given an unfair advantage by the regulations approved last year by the D.C. Council according to the Metro Area Taxi Operators Association. The taxi union, which is affiliated with the Teamsters, filed a class-action lawsuit with six D.C. taxi drivers in U.S. District Court against the city on Friday...
Global Labor & Trade
House GOP split jeopardizes trade deal Politico ...Democrats in Congress are in open warfare with President Barack Obama over his pitch for fast-track authority to negotiate trade deals, but conservative dissenters are conducting their fight quietly behind closed doors — even though they may be the key to approving the deal...
GOP turns to Tea Party to win trade powers for Obama The Hill ...House Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and GOP leaders have turned to some unlikely allies to rally support for a key trade bill: Tea-Party conservatives, including some prominent names from the raucous House Freedom Caucus. Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) recently tapped Rep. Tom McClintock to give the weekly GOP address, in which the conservative Californian declared: “Trade means prosperity”...
Forced Trade and the Damaging Effects of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (opinion) In These Times ...Senators who voted last week to Fast Track ratification of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) call it a free trade deal, but really, it’s forced trade imposed on protesting American workers who have endured its damaging effects for decades. Under the free trade regime, rich and powerful corporate interests have hauled in ever-higher profits as they shipped manufacturing overseas to low-wage, no-environmental-regulation countries...
WaPo Takes Another Shot at Senator Warren on Behalf of the TPP (opinion) CEPR ...The fast-track authority needed to get the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) through Congress must be in real trouble. Why else would the Washington Post devote so much space to pushing the deal and attacking its critics? The latest was a diatribe by editorial board member Jonathan Capehart which is directed largely at Senator Elizabeth Warren. The piece starts by basically calling Senator Warren a liar for describing the TPP as "secret"...
How One Country Is Poised To Hold McDonald’s Accountable Think Progress ...Brazil’s Senate will hold public hearings on worker allegations that McDonald’s has flouted the country’s strict labor protections for decades, union officials announced on Thursday. When politicians solicit worker testimony at the August hearing, they will create a second forum within the Brazilian government for a slate of allegations that echo accusations in the United States...
Why the Philippines’ Deadly Factory Fire Will Not Be the Last The Nation ...The deaths of 72 workers at a sandals factory in the Philippines earlier this month is sadly not shocking news; risk of mass death is practically considered a regular cost of doing business in the regional factories. But the blaze coincides with two grim anniversaries for Global South labor: the death of more than 1,100 workers in the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh in 2013, and the subsequent launch of a landmark safety program for Bangladesh factories...
Striking Mineworker Injured, 6 Arrested in Peru Solidarity Center ...Six mineworkers were arrested and one injured from police gunfire yesterday as some 100 workers protested at the Ministry of Labor and Employment Promotion in Lima, Peru. The miners, who have been on strike for 17 days at Buenaventura’s Uchucchacua silver mine in the coastal region north of Lima, are calling for immediate improvement in safety and health conditions in the mines...
State & Living Wage Battles
John Kasich on campaign trail: No need for right-to-work law Cincinnati ...Gov. John Kasich says he still believes Ohio doesn't need a right-to-work law, even though he last week rescinded union rights for roughly 15,000 health-care and child-care workers. The governor's increasingly moderate stance on unions had drawn criticism from fellow Republicans – whom he's courting as he explores a possible bid for president...
Prevailing wage supporters plan defense as repeal petitions are approved for circulation MLive ...Construction trade groups say they plan to publicly defend Michigan's prevailing wage law in the face of a petition drive seeking to repeal it. "Let me tell you one thing, we're not going to take this lying down by any means," said Patrick "Shorty" Gleason, legislative director of the Michigan Building and Construction Trades Council...
Bucking GOP leadership, Assembly panel to take up prevailing wage law Journal Sentinel ...Three weeks after an effort to repeal the state's prevailing wage law failed in a Senate committee, an Assembly panel will make its own attempt to get rid of the policy that sets a minimum wage for those building roads, schools and other public infrastructure. The move goes against GOP legislative leaders. They have said they want to rewrite the law, not repeal it...
Ted Cruz's Iowa Chairman Spent $250K to Stop People From Voting Mother Jones ...By tapping Schultz, Cruz also tied himself to Schultz's leading cause: trying to restrict voting under the guise of combating voter fraud. During his four years as secretary of state, Schultz spent hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to unearth evidence of fraud but ended up finding little and being cited for the mismanagement of public funds...
LA’s Min. Wage Will Be $15 by 2020. But This Bay Area City’s Minimum Will Be $14.44 By July. In These Times ...Most of the increases will be implemented gradually over several years. LA’s minimum wage, for example, will reach $15 by 2020. But earlier this month, one small California city decided that its low-wage workers shouldn’t have to wait that long for a living wage. This summer, Emeryville will set a new national precedent when its minimum wage surges to nearly double the federal rate...
Senate committee to vote on proposed minimum wage hike WPRI ...Rhode Island’s lowest paid workers could soon be getting another raise. The Senate Labor Committee is set to vote Wednesday on legislation that would increase the state’s minimum wage to $10.10 per hour. If approved, the $1.10 increase would go into effect January 1...
Better Pay Comes Only When We Demand It (opinion) CounterPunch ...The nation’s second-biggest city joins Seattle, San Francisco and little Emeryville, Calif., in forging the way to a decent minimum. These victories are a product of the demonstrations and protests of fast food and other low-wage workers. They risked their jobs to demand decency. They put a human face on workers who labor full time but can’t lift their families out of poverty. They exposed the lie that these were transitory jobs for the young while they went to college or high school..
U.S. Labor
Public-Sector Jobs Vanish, Hitting Blacks Hard New York Times ...The decline reverses a historical pattern, researchers say, with public sector employees typically holding onto their jobs even during most economic downturns. Because blacks hold a disproportionate share of the jobs, relative to their share of the population, the cutbacks naturally hit them harder...
NLRB dismisses union complaint against Boeing’s North Charleston site Post and Courier ...The National Labor Relations Board said it has dismissed a complaint filed by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers in the wake of the union’s canceled vote at Boeing Co.’s North Charleston operations. The IAM had accused Boeing of “deliberately encouraging and promoting harassment, assaults and threats of violence against union supporters”...
T-Mobile US touts workforce gains, draws CWA ire RCR Wireless ...T-Mobile US continues to court controversy with its labor practices as the mobile operator announced the expansion of a call center in Alabama while at the same time the Communications Workers of America has asked T-Mobile US parent company Deutsche Telekom to “protect” worker rights at those locations...
Why turning the Postal Service into a bank isn’t nearly as ridiculous as it sounds Salon ...The American Postal Worker’s Union, which represents over 200,000 clerks and support service staff, is in the middle of contract negotiations, and has vowed to make postal banking part of their core demands. APWU President Mark Dimondstein praised the Inspector General’s report, saying it “confirms that the Postal Service can act now to provide consumers with affordable financial services while strengthening our trusted national treasure, the public Postal Service”...
Miscellaneous
Robert Reich: Corporate Collusion Is Rampant and We All Pay the Steep Price Alternet ...The banks had engaged in the biggest price-fixing conspiracy in modern history. Their self-described “cartel” used an exclusive electronic chat room and coded language to manipulate the $5.3 trillion-a-day currency exchange market. It was a “brazen display of collusion” that went on for years, said Attorney General Loretta Lynch. But there will be no trial, no executive will go to jail, the banks can continue to gamble in the same currency markets...
8 Ways Robots Are Taking Over Our Jobs and Our World Alternet ...One of the next great challenges American workers are starting to face is the increasing automation of jobs that previously could only be done by a living, breathing human being. Here are eight jobs that robots are taking over as they take over the world...
Showing posts with label funeral directors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label funeral directors. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Today's Teamster News 09.22.13
Local Teamsters No. 2, St. James Healthcare settle; Strike averted Montana Standard ...Local Teamsters No. 2 and St. James Healthcare have settled their long-ranging collective bargaining issues — thus averting a Sept. 23 strike...
Teamsters Continue To Lawfully Picket Funeral Home Giant SCI Teamsters Local 727 ...Since pickets began on July 2, SCI has continued its history of bargaining in bad faith with its employees, even after meeting for ongoing negotiations on Sept. 17...
Teamsters Women’s Conference Closes with Focus on Activism teamster.org ...The 2013 Teamsters Women’s Conference in New Orleans closed on Saturday with a call to action from the 1,000 Teamster women in attendance, as well as from their fellow Teamsters throughout North America...
Obama’s Corporate Export Council Ignores Dismal Export Data, Backs More-of-the-Same “Trade” Deals Public Citizen ...Somehow the room full of corporate representatives and government officials, “the principal national advisory committee on international trade,” which exists to “promote export expansion” and “discuss and resolve trade-related problems,” made it through two hours of prepared speeches without once acknowledging that we’re 18 years behind schedule to meet Obama’s goal to double exports...
5 Years After the Financial Crisis, The Big Banks Are Still Committing Massive Crimes zero hedge ...The executives of the big banks invariably pretend that the hanky-panky was only committed by a couple of low-level rogue employees. But studies show that most of the fraud is committed by management...
JPMorgan Found to Have Violated Both Banking and Securities Laws in $920 Million Settlement Wall Street on Parade ... This is where the high risk trading was done, in the insured bank, using insured deposits. It is this aspect that has stunned Congress and brought in the FBI and Justice Department...
Few Jobs Means Bad Jobs Center for Economic and Policy Research ...There are always employers offering bad jobs, but workers don't take them in a good economy. In a bad economy they have no choice...
Founder of Beanie Babies to Plead Guilty to Tax Evasion TaxProfBlog ...Ty Warner, CEO of Ty Inc., which makes Beanie Babies, has agreed to plead guilty to tax evasion and pay $53.6 million in penalties in one of the largest offshore tax evasion cases in history...
The Honey Launderers: Uncovering the Largest Food Fraud in U.S. History Bloomberg ...Andrew Boutros, assistant U.S. attorney in Chicago, had put together the case: Eight other ALW executives, including Alexander Wolff, the chief executive officer, and a Chinese honey broker, were indicted on charges alleging a global conspiracy to illegally import Chinese honey going back to 2002...
Loss of Economic Exceptionalism Made in America ...the U.S. does not provide more upward mobility than other nations do; if anything, young Americans’ economic fortunes are more tied to those of their parents than is true in other western nations...
Teamsters Continue To Lawfully Picket Funeral Home Giant SCI Teamsters Local 727 ...Since pickets began on July 2, SCI has continued its history of bargaining in bad faith with its employees, even after meeting for ongoing negotiations on Sept. 17...
Teamsters Women’s Conference Closes with Focus on Activism teamster.org ...The 2013 Teamsters Women’s Conference in New Orleans closed on Saturday with a call to action from the 1,000 Teamster women in attendance, as well as from their fellow Teamsters throughout North America...
Obama’s Corporate Export Council Ignores Dismal Export Data, Backs More-of-the-Same “Trade” Deals Public Citizen ...Somehow the room full of corporate representatives and government officials, “the principal national advisory committee on international trade,” which exists to “promote export expansion” and “discuss and resolve trade-related problems,” made it through two hours of prepared speeches without once acknowledging that we’re 18 years behind schedule to meet Obama’s goal to double exports...
5 Years After the Financial Crisis, The Big Banks Are Still Committing Massive Crimes zero hedge ...The executives of the big banks invariably pretend that the hanky-panky was only committed by a couple of low-level rogue employees. But studies show that most of the fraud is committed by management...
JPMorgan Found to Have Violated Both Banking and Securities Laws in $920 Million Settlement Wall Street on Parade ... This is where the high risk trading was done, in the insured bank, using insured deposits. It is this aspect that has stunned Congress and brought in the FBI and Justice Department...
Few Jobs Means Bad Jobs Center for Economic and Policy Research ...There are always employers offering bad jobs, but workers don't take them in a good economy. In a bad economy they have no choice...
Founder of Beanie Babies to Plead Guilty to Tax Evasion TaxProfBlog ...Ty Warner, CEO of Ty Inc., which makes Beanie Babies, has agreed to plead guilty to tax evasion and pay $53.6 million in penalties in one of the largest offshore tax evasion cases in history...
The Honey Launderers: Uncovering the Largest Food Fraud in U.S. History Bloomberg ...Andrew Boutros, assistant U.S. attorney in Chicago, had put together the case: Eight other ALW executives, including Alexander Wolff, the chief executive officer, and a Chinese honey broker, were indicted on charges alleging a global conspiracy to illegally import Chinese honey going back to 2002...
Loss of Economic Exceptionalism Made in America ...the U.S. does not provide more upward mobility than other nations do; if anything, young Americans’ economic fortunes are more tied to those of their parents than is true in other western nations...
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
SCI locks out Teamster funeral directors in Chicago
 |
| Chicago funeral directors offered to go back to work, but SCI locked them out. |
Despite good-faith efforts by the union to reach an agreement on retirement issues and its promise to return to work yesterday, SCI hasn’t budged. It still wants to scrap workers’ seniority rights and eliminate the authority of an arbitrator in arbitration decisions. The company hasn’t met to negotiate a deal since Aug. 8.
John T. Coli, Local 727’s secretary-treasurer, said the company only wants to move forward on its unlawful regressive proposals:
SCI has chosen to lock out its employees rather than see them return to serving grieving families in their communities. SCI has forced this lockout to get rid of its longtime employees and boost its bottom line. But the Teamsters will continue to fight on behalf of our members for justice, and for a fair and equitable contract.The labor dispute affects 16 Chicagoland funeral homes, which operate under the Dignity Memorial brand name. Corporate owner SCI is a $4 billion business that owns more than 1,400 funeral facilities and has seen its stock price increase 94 percent in the last two years.
The company has unfairly attacked its own workers for years. Several years ago, SCI hired armed goons to spy on Teamster funeral directors during contract negotiations. Earlier this month, the company attempted to smear the funeral directors with lies in the local news media, and for decades it has been embroiled in scandals and litigation.
Local leaders are siding with the directors and drivers against the Houston-based corporation. Among those supporting the funeral directors’ and drivers’ efforts are Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, 12 state lawmakers and three members of Congress: Jan Schakowsky, Michael Quigley and Tammy Duckworth.
Coli said SCI isn't interested in employing funeral directors and drivers who honorably serve their communities and deserve dignified working conditions.
SCI wants to give workers as little as possible to maximize profits — even if that means turning its back on men and women who have served the company for decades. SCI’s actions are shameful.The workers have been on an unfair labor practice strike since SCI walked away from the bargaining table July 2.
Friday, August 2, 2013
Striking funeral directors gain political support
 |
| Striking funeral directors in Chicago. |
The striking funeral directors are fighting SCI Corp. for parity with other Chicago funeral industry professionals. The $4 billion corporation walked away from negotiations, forcing the unfair labor practice strike after the Teamsters’ contract expired on July 1. SCI's stock rose 56 percent in the last year, but the company proposed eliminating the funeral directors' pension fund, increased costs to health care premiums and zero wage increases for new hires after years of wage freezes for current employees.
Pickets began a month ago at 16 Chicago-area funeral homes, which SCI operates under the Dignity Memorial brand name.
The company has attempted to smear the funeral directors with false statements in the local news media. (Which, by the way, is exactly what you'd expect from a company that hires armed goons to spy on its own employees during negotiations.) Teamsters Local 727 put out a statement:
Despite blatantly false claims by SCI, Teamsters are continuing to lawfully picket outside Dignity Memorial funeral homes throughout the Chicago area. Erroneous stories published by local and national media outlets have carried inaccurate reports made by SCI on the Teamsters’ uninterrupted pickets.The good news:
Just this week, SCI contacted the Teamsters to potentially resume negotiations, offering two meeting dates. Local 727 has accepted both days.Stay tuned.
Friday, July 26, 2013
Chicago families stand with Teamster funeral directors, drivers against SCI
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| Local 727 is taking a stand against their SCI bosses. |
A growing number of community residents are refusing to
cross picket lines at the 16 area SCI-owned homes, which operate under the
Dignity Memorial brand name. Instead, they are approaching the funeral
directors and drivers, members of Local 727, to pledge their support. They are
asking for more information on how they can move their funeral arrangements to
other non-affiliated homes and transfer pre-need contracts. Teamsters have
responded by assisting them in securing new services.
John T. Coli, Local 727’s secretary-treasurer, said SCI has
placed such families in a difficult position by forcing a strike. But union
members are stepping up to help them:The Teamsters cannot thank those families enough who’ve stood alongside workers and realized they don’t have to pay into SCI’s corporate greed and intimidation. Local 727 has been proactive about informing families of more than 60 community-friendly funeral homes that are ready to arrange their funeral services.
SCI uses the Dignity logo, but where is the dignity in the inexcusable treatment of their employees engaged in this labor dispute?
These funeral directors are so kind and so generous, always willing to help any member of our community. Until these men and women return to work, families need to go somewhere else. You won’t get the service right now that you got before.
 |
| Picketers express their unhappiness with SCI. |
SCI last week tried to get an injunction against the funeral
directors and drivers to end the strike, but a Cook County court shot them
down. Meanwhile, since negotiations began June 14, the Teamsters have filed
more than 10 unfair labor practice charges against the company.
Stay strong, brothers and sisters!
Friday, July 12, 2013
Today's Teamster News 07.12.13
Consumer groups fret as first round of European trade talks nears end McClatchy ...as negotiators prepare to end the first round of talks in Washington on Friday, many consumer groups in the United States and Europe fear their governments will be a little too flexible, rushing to help corporations cash in on billions of dollars in new business...
George Steinmetz, National Geographic Photographer, Arrested Taking Photos Of Kansas Feedlot Huffington Post ...Kansas' ag gag law, the Farm Animal and Field Crop and Research Facilities Protection Act ... bars individuals from entering and photographing an animal facility not open to the public...
The Rise Of Food Stamp Use In America Business Insider ...Earlier today, the House passed the Farm Bill without any funding provision for food stamps...
Low-wage workers strike at Smithsonian museums Washington Post ...Low-wage workers connected with the nation’s marquee museum network held a strike on Thursday, continuing a string of recent demonstrations to promote better pay for employees at federal buildings...
Walmart Living Wage Dispute In D.C. Undermines Company's Murky Pay Claims Huffington Post ...the company's balk at a $12.50 starting wage in D.C. suggests that the typical store worker actually earns a good deal less than $12.78...
Warren presses Wall Street regulators to take more bad actors to trial The Hill ...Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) scolded financial regulators on Thursday, questioning why they had sought settlements with many of Wall Street's bad actors instead of taking those firms to trial...
Warren Joins McCain to Push New Glass-Steagall Law for Banks Bloomberg ...U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren said she and a bipartisan group of lawmakers are introducing a bill aimed at re-creating the Glass-Steagall Act, the Depression-era measure that separated commercial and investment banking...
NTSB investigates whether Asiana pilot was blinded before crash Los Angeles Times ..."We really don't know what it could have been," Hersman said. "We need to look into it. We need to understand what he's talking about."...
Teamsters: Time for a raise for Hernando government workers Tampa Bay Times ...The union representing about 400 Hernando County government workers brought a message to the bargaining table this week: The time has come to make up for lost wages, and an across-the-board 6 percent increase should do it...
Teamsters pension plan returns 13.56% in 2012, topping benchmark Pensions & Investments ...Teamsters Central States, Southeast and Southwest Areas Pension Plan returned 13.56% in 2012, outpacing its Wilshire's Trust Universe Comparison Service benchmark return of 13.25%...
Chicago Undertakers In Teamsters Union Go On Strike aol ...The funeral workers are right, in a sense, to fight against SCI's proposal: For them, the new deal is a much, much worse deal...
George Steinmetz, National Geographic Photographer, Arrested Taking Photos Of Kansas Feedlot Huffington Post ...Kansas' ag gag law, the Farm Animal and Field Crop and Research Facilities Protection Act ... bars individuals from entering and photographing an animal facility not open to the public...
The Rise Of Food Stamp Use In America Business Insider ...Earlier today, the House passed the Farm Bill without any funding provision for food stamps...
Low-wage workers strike at Smithsonian museums Washington Post ...Low-wage workers connected with the nation’s marquee museum network held a strike on Thursday, continuing a string of recent demonstrations to promote better pay for employees at federal buildings...
Walmart Living Wage Dispute In D.C. Undermines Company's Murky Pay Claims Huffington Post ...the company's balk at a $12.50 starting wage in D.C. suggests that the typical store worker actually earns a good deal less than $12.78...
Warren presses Wall Street regulators to take more bad actors to trial The Hill ...Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) scolded financial regulators on Thursday, questioning why they had sought settlements with many of Wall Street's bad actors instead of taking those firms to trial...
Warren Joins McCain to Push New Glass-Steagall Law for Banks Bloomberg ...U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren said she and a bipartisan group of lawmakers are introducing a bill aimed at re-creating the Glass-Steagall Act, the Depression-era measure that separated commercial and investment banking...
NTSB investigates whether Asiana pilot was blinded before crash Los Angeles Times ..."We really don't know what it could have been," Hersman said. "We need to look into it. We need to understand what he's talking about."...
Teamsters: Time for a raise for Hernando government workers Tampa Bay Times ...The union representing about 400 Hernando County government workers brought a message to the bargaining table this week: The time has come to make up for lost wages, and an across-the-board 6 percent increase should do it...
Teamsters pension plan returns 13.56% in 2012, topping benchmark Pensions & Investments ...Teamsters Central States, Southeast and Southwest Areas Pension Plan returned 13.56% in 2012, outpacing its Wilshire's Trust Universe Comparison Service benchmark return of 13.25%...
Chicago Undertakers In Teamsters Union Go On Strike aol ...The funeral workers are right, in a sense, to fight against SCI's proposal: For them, the new deal is a much, much worse deal...
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Chicago Tribune to Teamsters on strike: 'Pay up, or no ad'
The Chicago Tribune is refusing to run an ad from Teamster funeral directors unless they spend the same amount on advertising -- $5,700 -- as the giant corporation they're striking against.
Fifty-nine funeral directors from Local 727 were forced to walk off the job yesterday morning due to the unrelenting greed of SCI, the Dignity Memorial company.Seeking support from the community, the funeral directors tried to place ads in the two biggest area newspapers: the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune.
Unlike its rival, the Chicago Sun-Times, the Tribune did run an ad from Teamsters Local 727 last week. The ad linked to a website www.integrityinillinois.com that outlines their grievances -- wage freezes, higher health care costs, elimination of the pension. And it offers a list of alternative homes where grieving families can turn for help.
The Sun-Times refused to run a similar ad. And then yesterday, the Tribune notified Local 727 that it would not run another one of their ads unless it bought one as expensive as the one paid for by SCI.
To add insult to injury, the Tribune (which may, by the way, be purchased by theBenedict Arnold Koch brothers) published a hideously one-sided, pro-SCI story about the strike.
Chicagoland union households don't have much of a place to turn for print news anymore. (But at least there's WIN Labor Radio!)
If you live in Chicago, please consider supporting the funeral directors by dropping by their strike lines. If you do go, please be respectful. The funeral directors are taking down their signs and standing by quietly when funerals are in progress.
Here are the addresses of the funeral homes they're picketing:
Fifty-nine funeral directors from Local 727 were forced to walk off the job yesterday morning due to the unrelenting greed of SCI, the Dignity Memorial company.Seeking support from the community, the funeral directors tried to place ads in the two biggest area newspapers: the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune.
Unlike its rival, the Chicago Sun-Times, the Tribune did run an ad from Teamsters Local 727 last week. The ad linked to a website www.integrityinillinois.com that outlines their grievances -- wage freezes, higher health care costs, elimination of the pension. And it offers a list of alternative homes where grieving families can turn for help.
The Sun-Times refused to run a similar ad. And then yesterday, the Tribune notified Local 727 that it would not run another one of their ads unless it bought one as expensive as the one paid for by SCI.
To add insult to injury, the Tribune (which may, by the way, be purchased by the
If you live in Chicago, please consider supporting the funeral directors by dropping by their strike lines. If you do go, please be respectful. The funeral directors are taking down their signs and standing by quietly when funerals are in progress.
Here are the addresses of the funeral homes they're picketing:
Blake-Lamb Funeral Home
4727 W. 103rd St., Oak Lawn, IL
Blake-Lamb Funeral Home
5015 Lincoln St., Lisle, IL
Cypress Funeral Home
1698 N. Bloomingdale Rd., Glendale Heights, IL
Drake & Son Funeral Home
5303 N. Western Ave., Chicago, IL
Kenny Brothers Funeral Directors
3600 W. 95th St., Evergreen Park, IL
Lloyd Mandel Levayah Funerals
4750 W. Dempster St., Skokie, IL
Malec Funeral Home
6000 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, IL
Marsh Funeral Home
305 Cemetery Rd., Gurnee, IL
Montclair-Lucania Funeral Home
6901 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago, IL
Piser Funeral Services
9200 N. Skokie Blvd., Skokie, IL
Ridge Funeral Home
6620 W. Archer Ave., Chicago, IL
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Teamster funeral directors strike in Chicago
The relentless greed of Houston-based funeral giant SCI has forced Teamster funeral directors and drivers to strike today. The funeral directors, members of Local 727, set up strike lines this morning outside of area funeral homes.
SCI, despite a soaring stock price and healthy profit, is trying to take away their employees' pensions, raise health care costs and freeze wages for new hires. The funeral directors and drivers overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike last night.
According to Local 727's press statement,
SCI, despite a soaring stock price and healthy profit, is trying to take away their employees' pensions, raise health care costs and freeze wages for new hires. The funeral directors and drivers overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike last night.
According to Local 727's press statement,
SCI, which uses the Dignity Memorial brand name, operates 16 funeral homes with 59 employees in the Chicagoland area. The employees voted in a secret ballot election to reject SCI's June 30 "last, best and final offer". In a vote immediately following the rejection of the offer, employees voted to strike.
"In 40 years as a funeral director I've helped thousands of people through some of the most difficult times in their lives. Striking is not something I ever thought I would have to do," said John Liberatore, a director at Piser Funeral Services in Skokie...
In preparation for a strike, Teamster-represented funeral directors established a website (www.integrityinillinois.com) and hotline (312-206-4123) to direct families to community-friendly funeral homes not affected by the labor action. A complete list of affected homes is available at the site.
 |
| Preparing for today's strike. |
The Chicago Tribune covered the strike:
Funeral directors and drivers who work at Dignity Memorial funeral homes voted on Monday night to strike against their Houston-based employer, Service Corporation International, according to the workers’ union...
John Liberatore, a director at Piser Funeral Services in Skokie, said the union would not picket any funerals that had been arranged prior to the vote and would direct families to other funeral companies while the strike takes place.Several smaller papers in the Sun-Times chain covered the job action. The main paper refused to carry an advertisement from the union seeking support in its struggle against SCI. The smaller papers in the chain did carry the ad. Later the smaller papers' ad manager accused the Teamsters of "getting them in trouble" for failing to notify them of the Sun-Times' refusal -- even though the smaller papers had an earlier deadline and the ad hadn't been refused yet!
Monday, July 1, 2013
Today's Teamster News 07.01.13
New Study Shows 1/3 of Jobs Prone to Offshore Outsourcing Economic Populist ...The occupational groups identified as being vulnerable to offshoring include office support (e.g., data entry and payroll clerks), auditors and tax preparers, computer programmers and software engineers, medical transcriptionists and paralegals, and technical writers...
Without full-time jobs, workers flock to temp towns Salon ...Short-term work has become a mainstay of the American economy, intensifying the rise in income inequality...
An Unstoppable Climb in C.E.O. Pay New York Times ...the executive compensation analysis firm, found that the median 2012 pay package came in at $15.1 million — a leap of 16 percent from 2011. ..
No, manufacturing jobs won’t revive the economy Salon ...Stop claiming a factory boom will save the country and lift people up. Here's what these jobs really look like...
Key US-EU trade pact under threat after more NSA spying allegations The Guardian ...The prospects for a new trade pact between the US and the European Union worth hundreds of billions have suffered a severe setback following allegations that Washington bugged key EU offices and intercepted phonecalls and emails from top officials...
New Bank of America whistle-blower emerges: More customer abuse secrets Salon ...Bank of America whistle-blower details latest scheme to abuse homeowners, evade settlement rules and pocket cash...
MF Global and Wall Street: Whose Job Is It To Take the Keys Away (opinion) Wall Street On Parade ...Isn’t it the job of Congress to pass laws to ensure that checks and balances exist that prevent powerful men from gaming the system and dipping into customer funds to make casino bets...
War On the Unemployed (opinion) New York Times ...there’s a nationwide movement under way to punish the unemployed, based on the proposition that we can cure unemployment by making the jobless even more miserable...
Protests overshadow football final in Brazil al-Jazeera ...Protesters hurling petrol bombs have clashed with riot police in Brazil at the Confederations Cup football match, overshadowing the host nation's victory over world champions Spain in the final...
SCI Rejects Last and Best Offer from Teamsters Benzinga ...Houston-based funeral giant Service Corporation International ... rejected a last and best offer from Teamsters Local 727 and countered with its original proposal to eliminate the employees' pension, health and educational assistance benefits...
Without full-time jobs, workers flock to temp towns Salon ...Short-term work has become a mainstay of the American economy, intensifying the rise in income inequality...
An Unstoppable Climb in C.E.O. Pay New York Times ...the executive compensation analysis firm, found that the median 2012 pay package came in at $15.1 million — a leap of 16 percent from 2011. ..
No, manufacturing jobs won’t revive the economy Salon ...Stop claiming a factory boom will save the country and lift people up. Here's what these jobs really look like...
Key US-EU trade pact under threat after more NSA spying allegations The Guardian ...The prospects for a new trade pact between the US and the European Union worth hundreds of billions have suffered a severe setback following allegations that Washington bugged key EU offices and intercepted phonecalls and emails from top officials...
New Bank of America whistle-blower emerges: More customer abuse secrets Salon ...Bank of America whistle-blower details latest scheme to abuse homeowners, evade settlement rules and pocket cash...
MF Global and Wall Street: Whose Job Is It To Take the Keys Away (opinion) Wall Street On Parade ...Isn’t it the job of Congress to pass laws to ensure that checks and balances exist that prevent powerful men from gaming the system and dipping into customer funds to make casino bets...
War On the Unemployed (opinion) New York Times ...there’s a nationwide movement under way to punish the unemployed, based on the proposition that we can cure unemployment by making the jobless even more miserable...
Protests overshadow football final in Brazil al-Jazeera ...Protesters hurling petrol bombs have clashed with riot police in Brazil at the Confederations Cup football match, overshadowing the host nation's victory over world champions Spain in the final...
SCI Rejects Last and Best Offer from Teamsters Benzinga ...Houston-based funeral giant Service Corporation International ... rejected a last and best offer from Teamsters Local 727 and countered with its original proposal to eliminate the employees' pension, health and educational assistance benefits...
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Today's Teamster News 06.30.13
Mandatory Federal Cuts Hurt Private Sector, Too New York Times ...Many in the facilities support field, a business category that includes janitorial, maintenance, trash disposal, guard and security, mail routing, reception and laundry services, say they are frustrated by the lack of public awareness about how defense budget cuts affect workers who are not performing stereotypical military functions...
Time is running out before student loan rates double MSNBC ... even if a deal does pass, it’s still highly likely that future students will pay more in interest to the federal government as legislators continue to insist on budget austerity...
The Supreme Court: Corporate America's Employees of the Month Bloomberg ...the Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Roberts has narrowed the avenues available to employees and consumers seeking to take their grievances before a judge...
Supreme Court to hear case on Obama’s NLRB appointments Washington Post ...The Supreme Court will decide next term whether President Obama exceeded his constitutional authority by making three appointments to the National Labor Relations Board while the Senate was on break last year...
The Supervisor From Hell Gets a Pass From SCOTUS In These Times ...The decision could sharply limit employer liability for supervisor harassment in many cases...
The Social Security and Medicare Cutters are Very Unhappy Center for Economic and Policy Research ...No, things have not gone well for those wishing to ax Social Security and Medicare, but they are not about to give up. And with the money and access to the media they enjoy, why should they?...
Number of the Week: U.S. Oil Boom Affecting Global Prices Wall Street Journal ...The U.S. oil boom is finally affecting global energy prices — but don’t expect cheap prices at the pump as a result...
U.S. bugged EU offices, computer networks: German magazine Reuters ...The United States has bugged European Union offices and gained access to EU internal computer networks, according to secret documents cited in a German magazine on Saturday, the latest in a series of exposures of alleged U.S. spy programs...
Snowden fallout comes at bad time for private equity Reuters ...The industry is under growing pressure because of a series of apparent security problems that allowed Snowden to leak details of secret U.S. surveillance programs and, according to government officials, badly compromise U.S. national security...
Ed Fast and US trade rep commit to concluding TPP in 2013 iPolitics ...Trade Minister Ed Fast and his recently-confirmed American counterpart, Michael Froman, came out of their first tête-à -tête in Washington on Tuesday with an ambitious objective to conclude the Trans-Pacific Partnership before the end of the year...
Rousseff's popularity plummets in wake of Brazil protests Reuters ...President Dilma Rousseff's approval rating sank by 27 percentage points in the last three weeks, a poll showed on Saturday in the strongest evidence yet that the recent wave of street protests sweeping Brazil poses a serious threat to her likely re-election bid next year...
Not Just BART, But Pretty Much the Whole Damn City of Oakland Is Going on Strike SFWeekly ...Oakland city workers this morning announced the big news that they, along with BART employees, will walk off the job on Monday at 7 a.m., in protest of stalled labor negotiations...
ALEC’s Latest Scam Is Sending Public School Dollars to Corporate Owned Private Schools PoliticusUSA ...According to the data, contrary to what Republicans, ALEC, and corporate-education advocates contend, America’s public education system has made consistent and equitable progress over the past four decades...
Teamsters, funeral directors at odds Southtown Star ...Teamsters Local 727, which represents 59 funeral directors and drivers at 16 Chicago-area funeral homes owned by Service Corporation International, has lodged unfair labor practice charges against the company...
Indefinite extension reached on National Master Agreement between Teamsters, UPS WHAS11 ...The contract was set to expire at the end of July. It will now be extended through July of 2018...
Time is running out before student loan rates double MSNBC ... even if a deal does pass, it’s still highly likely that future students will pay more in interest to the federal government as legislators continue to insist on budget austerity...
The Supreme Court: Corporate America's Employees of the Month Bloomberg ...the Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Roberts has narrowed the avenues available to employees and consumers seeking to take their grievances before a judge...
Supreme Court to hear case on Obama’s NLRB appointments Washington Post ...The Supreme Court will decide next term whether President Obama exceeded his constitutional authority by making three appointments to the National Labor Relations Board while the Senate was on break last year...
The Supervisor From Hell Gets a Pass From SCOTUS In These Times ...The decision could sharply limit employer liability for supervisor harassment in many cases...
The Social Security and Medicare Cutters are Very Unhappy Center for Economic and Policy Research ...No, things have not gone well for those wishing to ax Social Security and Medicare, but they are not about to give up. And with the money and access to the media they enjoy, why should they?...
Number of the Week: U.S. Oil Boom Affecting Global Prices Wall Street Journal ...The U.S. oil boom is finally affecting global energy prices — but don’t expect cheap prices at the pump as a result...
U.S. bugged EU offices, computer networks: German magazine Reuters ...The United States has bugged European Union offices and gained access to EU internal computer networks, according to secret documents cited in a German magazine on Saturday, the latest in a series of exposures of alleged U.S. spy programs...
Snowden fallout comes at bad time for private equity Reuters ...The industry is under growing pressure because of a series of apparent security problems that allowed Snowden to leak details of secret U.S. surveillance programs and, according to government officials, badly compromise U.S. national security...
Ed Fast and US trade rep commit to concluding TPP in 2013 iPolitics ...Trade Minister Ed Fast and his recently-confirmed American counterpart, Michael Froman, came out of their first tête-à -tête in Washington on Tuesday with an ambitious objective to conclude the Trans-Pacific Partnership before the end of the year...
Rousseff's popularity plummets in wake of Brazil protests Reuters ...President Dilma Rousseff's approval rating sank by 27 percentage points in the last three weeks, a poll showed on Saturday in the strongest evidence yet that the recent wave of street protests sweeping Brazil poses a serious threat to her likely re-election bid next year...
Not Just BART, But Pretty Much the Whole Damn City of Oakland Is Going on Strike SFWeekly ...Oakland city workers this morning announced the big news that they, along with BART employees, will walk off the job on Monday at 7 a.m., in protest of stalled labor negotiations...
ALEC’s Latest Scam Is Sending Public School Dollars to Corporate Owned Private Schools PoliticusUSA ...According to the data, contrary to what Republicans, ALEC, and corporate-education advocates contend, America’s public education system has made consistent and equitable progress over the past four decades...
Teamsters, funeral directors at odds Southtown Star ...Teamsters Local 727, which represents 59 funeral directors and drivers at 16 Chicago-area funeral homes owned by Service Corporation International, has lodged unfair labor practice charges against the company...
Indefinite extension reached on National Master Agreement between Teamsters, UPS WHAS11 ...The contract was set to expire at the end of July. It will now be extended through July of 2018...
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Today's Teamster News 06.29.13
China Factory Resolution Reached, US Businessman Released NTD Television ...A U.S. executive and his Chinese workers who held him captive for six days reached a resolution to a row about pay on Thursday...
U.S. Trade Deficit with China Underestimated According to New Study of "Value-Added Trade." manufacture this ...A new study by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) finds that, after accounting for net trade flows, the U.S. trade deficit with China is greater than has been suggested by both the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the World Trade Organization’s (WTO)...
Chinese wind-turbine firm charged with stealing US trade secrets The Guardian ...Sinovel Wind Group and two of its executives were indicted in a federal court in Madison, Wisconsin, on Thursday. A former employee of the Massachusetts-based American Superconductor (AMSC) pleaded guilty in Klagenfurt, Austria, to stealing a source code for turbine controllers...
The 18-year-old voice of Chile's nationwide student uprising The Guardian ...On Wednesday, Moisés Paredes helped organise a march of 100,000 protesters through the streets of Chile's capital, Santiago, calling for free university education...
Poor, middle class unite in Brazil protests CNN ... What started as a student mobilization transformed day by day to incorporate professionals, the middle class, and residents of the favelas, or slums...
Troops allegedly misled by car loan program to get refunds McClatchy ...U.S. Bank and a Kentucky-based financial services provider agreed to refund $6.5 million to 50,000 military service members after federal regulators accused both companies of misleading borrowers about fees and costs associated with an auto loans program that targeted active-duty troops...
Bank of America Said to Send Property Reviews to India Bloomberg ...Bank of America Corp. opened a unit in India to review home-valuation reports as it seeks to rebuild share in U.S. mortgages at a lower cost ... The firm also eliminated jobs of licensed U.S. workers in its LandSafe business...
Senators accuse government of using 'secret law' to collect Americans' data The Guardian ...Bipartisan group seeks answers from intelligence chief James Clapper over scale of and justification for NSA surveillance...
Forced to Work Sick? That's Fine With Disney, Red Lobster, and Their Friends at ALEC Mother Jones ...The Florida law is the most recent in a series of victories by low-wage industries that, with the aid of Republican-led state legislatures, have succeeded in derailing or overriding measures providing this benefit to workers...
North Carolina Dropped From Federal Unemployment Program Associated Press ...With changes to its unemployment law taking effect this weekend, North Carolina not only is cutting benefits for those who file new claims, it will become the first state disqualified from a federal compensation program for the long-term jobless...
Here's the truth about Oregon's 'right-to-work' initiative: Guest opinion The Oregonian ...So-called right-to-work laws have nothing to do with anyone being forced to be a member of a union or to support political causes he or she disagrees with...
Teamsters praise passage of enterprise zone reform Teamsters Joint Council 7 ...Teamsters Joint Council 7 hailed passage Thursday of Assembly Bill 93 by the California Assembly and Senate. The bill restructures a $750 million job creation program towards manufacturing employers that create jobs with demonstrable economic benefits for workers and California’s most impoverished communities...
Sun-Times refuses union advertising Teamsters Joint Council 25 ...On June 26, the Chicago Sun-Times refused to run an advertisement from unionized funeral directors employed by Service Corporation International (NYSE: SCI) which appealed to the public for help in their contract negotiations with the $3 billion corporation...
Religious leaders pledge support in face of possible funeral labor dispute Teamsters Joint Council 25 ... Religious leaders throughout the Chicago area have pledged their support for funeral directors and drivers whose employer, Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI), is forcing to the brink of a labor dispute...
Teamsters, UPS agree to extend current UPS national contract IBT ...The Teamsters Union and UPS have agreed to an extension of the current UPS National Master Agreement and all Supplements, Riders and Addenda. The extension does not have a specific end date, but can be terminated by either side with a 30-day notice...
Teamsters Union issues statement on Senate passage of immigration bill IBT ... The International Brotherhood of Teamsters supports a path to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented men and women already living and working in this country. Keeping these workers in the shadows would continue their exploitation and the downward pressure on wages and labor standards. Bringing them out of the shadows is good policy...
U.S. Trade Deficit with China Underestimated According to New Study of "Value-Added Trade." manufacture this ...A new study by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) finds that, after accounting for net trade flows, the U.S. trade deficit with China is greater than has been suggested by both the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the World Trade Organization’s (WTO)...
Chinese wind-turbine firm charged with stealing US trade secrets The Guardian ...Sinovel Wind Group and two of its executives were indicted in a federal court in Madison, Wisconsin, on Thursday. A former employee of the Massachusetts-based American Superconductor (AMSC) pleaded guilty in Klagenfurt, Austria, to stealing a source code for turbine controllers...
The 18-year-old voice of Chile's nationwide student uprising The Guardian ...On Wednesday, Moisés Paredes helped organise a march of 100,000 protesters through the streets of Chile's capital, Santiago, calling for free university education...
Poor, middle class unite in Brazil protests CNN ... What started as a student mobilization transformed day by day to incorporate professionals, the middle class, and residents of the favelas, or slums...
Troops allegedly misled by car loan program to get refunds McClatchy ...U.S. Bank and a Kentucky-based financial services provider agreed to refund $6.5 million to 50,000 military service members after federal regulators accused both companies of misleading borrowers about fees and costs associated with an auto loans program that targeted active-duty troops...
Bank of America Said to Send Property Reviews to India Bloomberg ...Bank of America Corp. opened a unit in India to review home-valuation reports as it seeks to rebuild share in U.S. mortgages at a lower cost ... The firm also eliminated jobs of licensed U.S. workers in its LandSafe business...
Senators accuse government of using 'secret law' to collect Americans' data The Guardian ...Bipartisan group seeks answers from intelligence chief James Clapper over scale of and justification for NSA surveillance...
Forced to Work Sick? That's Fine With Disney, Red Lobster, and Their Friends at ALEC Mother Jones ...The Florida law is the most recent in a series of victories by low-wage industries that, with the aid of Republican-led state legislatures, have succeeded in derailing or overriding measures providing this benefit to workers...
North Carolina Dropped From Federal Unemployment Program Associated Press ...With changes to its unemployment law taking effect this weekend, North Carolina not only is cutting benefits for those who file new claims, it will become the first state disqualified from a federal compensation program for the long-term jobless...
Here's the truth about Oregon's 'right-to-work' initiative: Guest opinion The Oregonian ...So-called right-to-work laws have nothing to do with anyone being forced to be a member of a union or to support political causes he or she disagrees with...
Teamsters praise passage of enterprise zone reform Teamsters Joint Council 7 ...Teamsters Joint Council 7 hailed passage Thursday of Assembly Bill 93 by the California Assembly and Senate. The bill restructures a $750 million job creation program towards manufacturing employers that create jobs with demonstrable economic benefits for workers and California’s most impoverished communities...
Sun-Times refuses union advertising Teamsters Joint Council 25 ...On June 26, the Chicago Sun-Times refused to run an advertisement from unionized funeral directors employed by Service Corporation International (NYSE: SCI) which appealed to the public for help in their contract negotiations with the $3 billion corporation...
Religious leaders pledge support in face of possible funeral labor dispute Teamsters Joint Council 25 ... Religious leaders throughout the Chicago area have pledged their support for funeral directors and drivers whose employer, Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI), is forcing to the brink of a labor dispute...
Teamsters, UPS agree to extend current UPS national contract IBT ...The Teamsters Union and UPS have agreed to an extension of the current UPS National Master Agreement and all Supplements, Riders and Addenda. The extension does not have a specific end date, but can be terminated by either side with a 30-day notice...
Teamsters Union issues statement on Senate passage of immigration bill IBT ... The International Brotherhood of Teamsters supports a path to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented men and women already living and working in this country. Keeping these workers in the shadows would continue their exploitation and the downward pressure on wages and labor standards. Bringing them out of the shadows is good policy...
Friday, June 28, 2013
Why the Teamsters charged a funeral giant with lawbreaking
No one should be surprised that funeral giant SCI would lie and break federal laws during contract talks. SCI has in the past hired gun-toting goons to spy on its workers during negotiations.
The $3.8 billion company buys neighborhood funeral homes, siphons money from the community and tries to impoverish its workers.
SCI is currently in contract negotiations with Chicago-area funeral directors and drivers who are members of Local 727. The Houston-based corporation is demanding the workers agree to elimination of their pension, increased health care costs and a wage freeze for new hires. And it's not as if the company is hurting. Its stock went up 56 percent in the last year.
SCI is also lying to the employees and negotiators. That's against the law. The press release from Local 727 explains:
Local 727 placed an ad in the Chicago Tribune and tried to place the same one in the Chicago Sun-Times. But the Sun-Times refused to carry it. John T. Coli, secretary-treasurer of the Local, said.
For more information, go to www.integrityinillinois.com.
The $3.8 billion company buys neighborhood funeral homes, siphons money from the community and tries to impoverish its workers.
SCI is currently in contract negotiations with Chicago-area funeral directors and drivers who are members of Local 727. The Houston-based corporation is demanding the workers agree to elimination of their pension, increased health care costs and a wage freeze for new hires. And it's not as if the company is hurting. Its stock went up 56 percent in the last year.
SCI is also lying to the employees and negotiators. That's against the law. The press release from Local 727 explains:
On or about June 24 and 25, in violation of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), SCI engaged in bad faith bargaining with the union by making unlawful omissions and misrepresentations in memos issued to its employees and negotiators. Additionally, SCI issued memos that contained implied threats to interfere with employees’ current benefits in violation of section 8(a)(1) of the NLRA.The funeral directors are asking the public for support. (You can help by signing this online petition here.)
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| Teamster funeral directors rally for fairness |
The Sun-Times obviously does not want to offend a consistent revenue source. It’s ironic that a newspaper that makes its money off the First Amendment would do this.Here's the ad, which warns of a labor dispute:
We, the undersigned funeral directors and drivers, are proud to be able to assist grieving families in their greatest time of need, and we have dedicated our lives and careers to this important service.
Over the last seven years, we have made sacrifices — including wage cuts and freezes — in order to help SCI. Now, the company wants to eliminate our pensions and slash our benefits. Their shameful actions could force us out on strike and cause further harm to the Chicago community...
These walls hide real nasty behavior
As funeral directors and drivers, we are not nameless, faceless workers; we are licensed professionals who have spent years fostering strong relationships with the families we serve. SCI needs to know they cannot treat us this way.
In the event of a labor dispute, please visit IntegrityInIllinois.com or call (312) 206-4123 to be directed to alternative funeral facilities.About the guns: Six years ago, the Teamster funeral directors were caucusing in a South Side hotel room between negotiating sessions with SCI. A female Teamster negotiator left the room and returned to find a large man who was clearly carrying a gun listening at the door. He tried to intimidate her, but she brushed past him. Funeral directors fanned out across the hotel grounds and identified several more armed goons. The Teamsters immediately filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board.
For more information, go to www.integrityinillinois.com.
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Chicago Teamster funeral directors hope they won't have to strike
As Teamster funeral directors in Chicago head into talks with corporate giant SCI tomorrow, they're hoping they don't have to sanction a possible strike or job actions at local funeral homes and cemeteries.
But the company's unchecked greed and indignation may force strikes and labor disputes.
The Teamster funeral directors' new website, integrityinillinois.com, explains SCI is a $3.8 billion company with about 13 percent of the market share in the funeral industry.
You'd think a company would reward its employees after its stock rose 56 percent in the last year. You'd be wrong. SCI is demanding 40 concessions from the funeral directors who have made it so successful. The funeral home giant wants to eliminate the pension plan, raise the cost of health insurance, freeze wages for new hires and remove protections for disabled employees.
You can help your brothers and sisters at Chicago funeral homes by signing the petition here. It says, in part,
But the company's unchecked greed and indignation may force strikes and labor disputes.
The Teamster funeral directors' new website, integrityinillinois.com, explains SCI is a $3.8 billion company with about 13 percent of the market share in the funeral industry.
Founded in 1962, SCI has grown into a company with 1,423 funeral service locations and 374 cemeteries (including 214 funeral service/cemetery combination locations) in North America. The company’s business model is based on buying successful funeral homes that are well known in any given community. The company then retains the home’s original name and often the home’s original owners as managers. Many times the affected community doesn’t even know a multi-billion dollar corporation now owns the funeral home.
You can help your brothers and sisters at Chicago funeral homes by signing the petition here. It says, in part,
These workers are professionals who provide an invaluable service to grieving families, and they deserve the same respect they give to our communities.We'll keep you posted on the negotiations.
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
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...
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...
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Whoa! Chicago Teamsters attacked by Texas corporation
Teamster funeral directors in Chicago are in tough contract talks with SCI, a Houston-based company that’s trying to force steep concessions. They may need your support in the very near future.
Teamsters Local 727 has been negotiating a contract for its 59 funeral directors and drivers at 17 area SCI funeral homes since June 14. The current contract expires at 12 a.m., Monday, July 1, and talks will continue through June 30.
Over the course of negotiations, SCI has approximately 50 regressive changes to the current contract including:
“Our 59 local funeral directors are being bullied by a $3 2 billion company that is intent on eking out every last penny out of the community.”
Teamsters Local 727 has represented Chicago’s funeral directors and embalmers since 1946. It represents more than 6,800 hardworking men and women in the greater Chicagoland area.
Please stay tuned.
Teamsters Local 727 has been negotiating a contract for its 59 funeral directors and drivers at 17 area SCI funeral homes since June 14. The current contract expires at 12 a.m., Monday, July 1, and talks will continue through June 30.
Over the course of negotiations, SCI has approximately 50 regressive changes to the current contract including:
- Eliminating the funeral directors’ pension plan
- Increasing the cost of health insurance premiums for employees
- Wage freezes for new hires
- Paltry wage increases after years of wage freezes
- Removal of contractual protections for disabled employees
- Elimination of authority of arbitration decisions
“Our 59 local funeral directors are being bullied by a $3 2 billion company that is intent on eking out every last penny out of the community.”
Teamsters Local 727 has represented Chicago’s funeral directors and embalmers since 1946. It represents more than 6,800 hardworking men and women in the greater Chicagoland area.
Please stay tuned.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Today's Teamster News 04.27.12
Federal Reserve's FOMC Says Less Economic Growth for 2013-2014 Economic Populist ... there just appears to be no more quantitative easing and beyond concerns about European sovereign debt, it appears the #1 problem America has is the piss poor jobs market in the United States...
10 Big Businesses That Barely Pay Taxes Tax Justice Network ...While the average American may be shelling out thousands of dollars each year in taxes to the federal government, many businesses are paying incredibly low tax rates, or none at all, despite raking in hundreds of millions in profits...
The Jobs Recovery By Industry The Big Picture ...The Leisure & Hospitality and Mining industry have recovered all the jobs losses, and then some. The recovery has produced 1.25 million Professional Service jobs, almost 83 percent of those lost during the recession. Manufacturing has recovered only 21 percent of jobs losses, financial services 11 percent, retail and wholesale trade around 25 percent, with construction faring the worst in the private sector, recovering only 1.1 percent of the 1.95 million job lost during the housing bust led recession...
Wisconsin bleeding jobs, as Gov. Scott Walker fights for his Christian Science Monitor ...While Wisconsin Gov, Scott Walker (R) fights to keep his job in a recall election scheduled for June, he is being forced to confront a harsh reality in his state: It lost more jobs during the past 12 months than any other state in the United States...
Teamster Funeral Directors Help Give Morgue Bodies Proper Burials Local 727 ... Teamsters Local 727 funeral directors are volunteering their time -- and hearses -- to give proper burials to 300 bodies that have been held at the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office..,
Canadian Pacific Railway workers OK strike action to back contract demands Canadian Press ...The Teamsters union says workers voted 95 per cent in favour of strike action if necessary...
10 Big Businesses That Barely Pay Taxes Tax Justice Network ...While the average American may be shelling out thousands of dollars each year in taxes to the federal government, many businesses are paying incredibly low tax rates, or none at all, despite raking in hundreds of millions in profits...
The Jobs Recovery By Industry The Big Picture ...The Leisure & Hospitality and Mining industry have recovered all the jobs losses, and then some. The recovery has produced 1.25 million Professional Service jobs, almost 83 percent of those lost during the recession. Manufacturing has recovered only 21 percent of jobs losses, financial services 11 percent, retail and wholesale trade around 25 percent, with construction faring the worst in the private sector, recovering only 1.1 percent of the 1.95 million job lost during the housing bust led recession...
Wisconsin bleeding jobs, as Gov. Scott Walker fights for his Christian Science Monitor ...While Wisconsin Gov, Scott Walker (R) fights to keep his job in a recall election scheduled for June, he is being forced to confront a harsh reality in his state: It lost more jobs during the past 12 months than any other state in the United States...
Teamster Funeral Directors Help Give Morgue Bodies Proper Burials Local 727 ... Teamsters Local 727 funeral directors are volunteering their time -- and hearses -- to give proper burials to 300 bodies that have been held at the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office..,
Canadian Pacific Railway workers OK strike action to back contract demands Canadian Press ...The Teamsters union says workers voted 95 per cent in favour of strike action if necessary...
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