Showing posts with label grocers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grocers. Show all posts

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Today's Teamster News 10.26.13

Missouri First Student School Bus Workers Choose Teamsters  teamster.org   ...School bus drivers and monitors with First Student in Sedalia, Mo., have voted overwhelmingly to join Teamsters Local 833 in Jefferson City, Mo. There 45 school bus workers in the bargaining unit...
Teamsters Ratify Contract At Yogurt Plant  WNYF News   ...Unionized workers at the Upstate Niagara Cooperative yogurt plant in North Lawrence have ratified a new three-year contract extension by "an overwhelming majority." The 36 workers in the bargaining unit are represented by Teamsters Local 687...
Teamsters, Republic Airline Representatives Resume Negotiations  teamster.org   ...The International Brotherhood of Teamsters’ Airline Division and representatives of Republic Airways held talks Thursday in Washington, D.C...
Union lawyers build case against Detroit early in bankruptcy trial  Reuters   ...Attorneys for Detroit unions and retirees sought to build a case on Thursday that Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr did not negotiate in good faith before Detroit filed for bankruptcy so they could block the city from getting court protection...
Puget Sound grocery workers’ contract-ratification votes set for next week  Associated Press   ...Ratification votes are scheduled next week on a tentative contract agreement that averted a strike by 21,000 grocery workers at four major grocery chains in the Puget Sound region...
Enormous, Humongous Trade Deficit Up From Prior Month  Campaign for America's Future   ...$38.8 billion more, drained from the economy, in just one month...
The Trans-Pacific Partnership Legalizes Corporate Rights Prevailing Over Human Rights  Truthout   ...Ever since the current juggernaut of "free trade" agreements began to be negotiated under President George Herbert Walker Bush (which resulted in the signing of NAFTA under President Bill Clinton), jobs have been fleeing America as corporations have become engorged with greater profits...
Canadian grocery giant Loblaw to compensate victims' families of Bangladesh factory collapse Seattle Times   ...Canadian grocery giant Loblaw Companies Ltd. said Thursday that it will provide long-term financial assistance to the surviving victims and families affected by a deadly factory collapse in Bangladesh...
Students Demand College-Logo Brands Join Fire and Safety Agreement  The Nation   ...This week United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) is holding demonstrations at more than thirty colleges and universities across the country as part of an International Week of Action to End Deathtraps commemorating the six-month anniversary of the Rana Plaza building collapse in Bangladesh...
Ruling opens door to U.S. sales of China-processed chicken  Atlanta Journal-Constitution ...Coming soon maybe to a grocery store near you — chicken from China. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) ruled recently that poultry processed in China can be sold in the U.S...
Shutdown And Debt Ceiling Fights Cost 120,000 Jobs In Two Weeks  ThinkProgress   ...The fights over the government shutdown and raising the debt ceiling reduced economic output by 0.25 percent in the fourth quarter of this year and cost about 120,000 private sector jobs in the first two weeks of October...
Drop in teen driving tracks with teen unemployment, HLDI study finds  Insurance Institute for Highway Safety   ...the proportion of high school seniors with a driver's license fell from 85 percent in 1996 to 73 percent in 2010. The proportion of seniors who reported that they didn't drive during an average week rose from 15 percent to 22 percent over the same period...
The American Dream Might As Well Be Dead: Here's Proof  Huffington Post   ...only 43 percent of survey respondents said that achieving the American Dream is possible in this economy...
A Huge Billion Dollar Slumlord  Huffington Post   ...Here's What Happens When Wall St. Builds A Rental Empire...renovations they were assured were comprehensive amounted to little more than a fresh coat of paint and new carpeting. Tenants said they immediately discovered major mechanical and plumbing problems: broken water heaters and air conditioners, broken toilets and in some cases even vermin infestations, including fleas, silverfish and rodents. Attempts to get the issues fixed usually end in frustration...
"Cash for Kids": Firms Behind Juvenile Prison Bribes Reach $2.5 Million Settlement in Civil Suit   Democracy Now   ...Here's the latest news in the so-called "kids-for-cash" scandal in Pennsylvania, in which judges took money in exchange for sending juvenile offenders to for-profit youth jails...
GOP Official Resigns After Saying Purpose Of Voter ID Is To Suppress Votes Of Democrats, ‘Lazy Blacks’   ThinkProgress   ...Until Thursday, Don Yelton was a precinct chair in the Buncombe County, North Carolina Republican Party. That ended after an interview riddled with racism and candid admissions about the purpose of a voter suppression bill enacted by Republican lawmakers in his state...
California to levy massive fine against Koch brothers groups  Washington Post   ...Two groups that are part of a conservative political network maintained by billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch have agreed to a record $1 million civil settlement with the California Fair Political Practices Commission, the largest campaign fine in state history...
ALEC and TIAA-CREF Join the Assault on Public Pensions (opinion)  Truthout   ...The right-wing American Legislative Exchange Council has jumped into the conservative effort to dismantle public pension systems in a big way, making it one of its top 2014 legislative priorities, a public pension advocacy group has warned...
Strikes Shutdown Chile’s Public Sector Ahead of Presidential Election  PanAm Post   ...With less than a month before Chile’s presidential and parliamentary elections, its largest labor alliance, the Central Unitaria de Trabajadores (CUT), instigated a nationwide strike on Wednesday involving thousands of public sector workers...
Citi forecasts Greek devastation, unstoppable debt spirals in Italy and Portugal  The Telegraph   ...If Citigroup is broadly correct, Europe faces a lost decade that is far worse than anything suffered by Japan, which will render the region marginal in coming world affairs, and is likely to have non-linear political consequences...
Mexico clown convention condemns fancy-dress drug cartel killing  The Guardian   ...Delegates to a three-day Latin American clown convention in Mexico City have distanced themselves from the murder last week of a drug lord by a hitman in fancy dress, insisting no genuine member of their profession would have committed the crime...

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Today's Teamster News 10.24.13

Local 700 Member Saves 19-Month-Old, Receives Life Saving Award  Teamsters Local 700   ...East Hazel Crest Police Officer Mitchell Drake was responding to a gas leak when a dispatcher called and redirected him to help a family whose baby stopped breathing...
Voting on grocery deal expected to take 2 weeks  The Olympian   ...Puget Sound union grocery workers, including Teamsters, will decide over the next two weeks whether to accept a new contract proposal from four major grocers or head back to the bargaining table...
Lansing approves wage hikes, benefit cuts for 200 workers  Lansing State Journal   ...Lansing City Council has approved a new three-year contract with its public service employees that call for wage increases and reduced pension and healthcare benefits. The city is now is negotiating contracts with Lansing firefighters and with city workers represented by Teamsters Local 580...
Unions Back MGM Plan For Casino  WBAL News   ...The unions, including Teamsters Local 639, that represent construction and labor workers in Prince George's County, Maryland are throwing their support behind a plan by MGM to build a casino at the National Harbor...
Ohio unions remain steady as opposition postures ‘support’ for Right to Work  Beverly Hills Courier   ...As Right to Work supporters ramped up efforts to take the law into their own hands and force the controversial Right to Work agenda onto a statewide ballot in 2014, unions say they are not only ready to fight but believe they have common sense and the public on their side...
Lawsuit holding up sale dates to errant newspaper toss  Telegram and Gazette   ...The lawsuit stalling billionaire John W. Henry's $70 million purchase of two Massachusetts newspaper stems from whether newspaper carriers classified as independent contractors should really be considered employees...
Diebold Charged With Bribery, Falsifying Docs, 'Worldwide Pattern of Criminal Conduct'  BradBlog   ...One of the world's largest ATM manufacturers and, formerly, one of the largest manufacturers of electronic voting systems, has been indicted by federal prosecutors for bribery and falsification of documents ... a U.S. Attorney says the latest charges are in response to "a worldwide pattern of criminal conduct" by the company....
Video: McDonald’s tells workers to get food stamps  Salon   ...A new recording captures the fast food giant's worker 1-800 number touting public assistance...
The number of families with children living in deep poverty has gone up 130 percent since 1996  Salon   ... the number of families with children living on $2 a day or less has gone up nearly 130 percent...
Americans spend less now than in '73, report says  McClatchy   ...Even with the added cost of smartphones and other technology, American families spend less of their total income today than 40 years ago, according to new research. But people aren't saving that extra money...The roughly 14 percent of unaccounted-for income today may go toward expenses such as debt, but it's impossible to be sure...
Bangladesh workers could get 50% raise – but that’s just 9 cents more  The Salon   ...While strikes may garner improvements for garment workers, the real decision maker will be Western retailers...
New York Sets Work Rules for Young Models  New York Times   ...Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signed legislation on Monday night that will recognize fashion models under the age of 18 as child performers. The new law, which is expected to go into effect in 30 days, will have a significant impact on the casting of models for the next New York Fashion Week in February...
US Free Trade Agreements Are Bad Not Just For The Economy, But For The Environment, Too  Techdirt   ...Far from boosting US exports and creating more jobs as purported by the politicians, both the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and KORUS, the free trade agreement with South Korea, actually did the opposite. They increased the US trade deficit with those countries, and destroyed hundreds of thousands of American jobs...
BP Oil Refinery Waste Stored At Koch Brothers-Owned Site Polluting Nearby Chicago Neighborhoods  Huffington Post   ...Residents in several lower-income Chicago neighborhoods say a dirty oil byproduct from a nearby BP refinery is creating environmental and health hazards -- and no one is doing enough to stop it...
Food stamp benefits going down before the holidays  NBC News   ...Millions of American families could face a sparse holiday table when food stamps benefits get reduced in November, and that could be just the start of deeper cuts to the program to feed poor families...
Taxpayers To Help Pay JPMorgan’s Fine For Causing 2008 Financial Crisis  Fire Dog Lake   ...Feeling generous? You should because you are about to help pay for JPMorgan’s $13 billion fine for causing the 2008 financial crisis...
Justice Department Misrepresents JP Morgan Settlement  The Real News   ..."it's a $6 billion deal,” said Black. “That still, of course, is a large number, but compared to how much wealth was extracted by the senior officers and directors, it's actually not that big a deal, and compared to the losses they caused to the world through these frauds that drove the financial crisis, it's actually a pittance...”
Countrywide defrauded Fannie and Freddie, federal prosecutor says  Bloomberg News   ...Bank of America Corp.'s Countrywide unit defrauded Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by selling them thousands of loans known to be defective, an attorney for the U.S. said in closing arguments in a lawsuit against the lender…
IRS delays start of tax season due to government shutdown  Associated Press   ...Here's more fallout from the government's partial shutdown: Early tax filers will have to wait an extra week or two to get tax refunds next year...
This 1 Chart Makes Gordon Gekko Look Like An Average Joe  Huffington Post   ...In 1987 … our typical Wall Street character brought home some $69,550, which was easily more than double the $26,750 of the typical non-Wall Street employee in New York City… That is, until you consider 2012, by which time those two numbers had jumped to $360,700 and $69,200, respectively...
Social Security Pumps $2 Into US Economy for Every Benefit Dollar Spent  Truthout   ...Just as food stamps stimulate the economy by creating about $1.80 of economic activity for every dollar of food stamps spent, Social Security pumps up job-generating and business activity by about $2 for every dollar recipients spend...
Is Detroit really broke? Crucial bankruptcy trial to begin  Associated Press   ...A judge starts exploring that question in an unusual trial to determine whether Detroit indeed is eligible to scrub its books in the largest public bankruptcy in U.S. history. Unions and pension funds are claiming the city failed to negotiate in good faith before filing for Chapter 9 protection in July...
Zoos Get Pandas, China Gets Uranium: Is This a Fair Trade?  Truthout   ...China’s central government seems, more than ever, to be using its monopoly on pandas as a valuable bargaining chip to gain resources including uranium (to power nuclear plants) and access to renewable energy technology...
As many as 300,000 jobless affected by state software snags  Los Angeles Times   ...Problems are growing worse for the state's Employment Development Department after a new computer system backfired, leaving some Californians without much-needed benefit checks for weeks...
Alabama makes plan for issuing free voter IDs  Associated Press   ...The secretary of state's plan for implementing Alabama's photo ID requirement for voting includes making free ID cards available at many locations throughout the state...
Report: Scott Walker decisions drove insurance rates much higher in Wisconsin than in Minnesota  The Cap Times   ...Gov. Scott Walker’s rejection of federal Medicaid money and the state’s hands-off approach to rate regulation has pushed health care exchange rates up to 99 percent higher than in neighboring Minnesota...

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Today's Teamster News 10.23.13

Teamsters Union optimistic for deal with CN Railway this week  Reuters   ...The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference union is optimistic that talks with Canadian National Railway Co, Canada's largest rail operator, will produce a deal this week…
Hershey Medical Center, Teamsters Continue Talks  Lebanon Daily News ...Negotiators for the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and Teamsters Local 776 were expected to sit down with a federal mediator to hammer out a new contract...
'Local Union Communications: The Social Art of Educating Members' TLA to be Held December 3-4  teamster.org   ...This two-day Teamsters Leadership Academy (TLA), hosted by Local 986 in Los Angeles, will explore effective ways Teamster affiliates can communicate with members through the use of social networking, flyers, newsletters, websites and media. Don’t forget to register for this program...
Grocery Workers Strike in Puget Sound Averted  Sky Valley Chronicle   ...The large grocery store workers strike that was headed to begin October 21, by some 21,000 union employees against four large grocery chains, was averted at the wire by a tentative agreement reached by the negotiating teams for both sides in the dispute...
Top Five Ways Lobbyists Will Win and We Will Lose If a Major Corporate Trade Deal Goes Through  Alternet   ...The next time you want to share a song or a recipe online, you’d have to ask yourself: Am I a criminal? Interested in writing some fan fiction based on your favourite detective series and sharing it online? Ask yourself that very same question. That’s how TPP provisions could characterize you based on what we know about its Intellectual Property chapter...
Billion Dollar Pay Check? 10 CEOs in America Break All Records for Executive Pay  Alternet   ... the top 10 CEOs in this year's poll took home over $4.7bn between them and for the first time ever none earned less than $100m. "I have never seen anything like that," said Greg Ruel, GMI's senior research consultant and author of the report. "Usually we have a few CEOs at the $100m-plus level but never the entire top 10..."
College campuses see rise in homeless students  USA Today   ...Though hard data are lacking, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid estimates that there are 58,000 homeless students on campuses nationwide...
Plutocrats at Work: How Big Philanthropy Undermines Democracy  Truthout   ...For a dozen years, big philanthropy has been funding a massive crusade to remake public education for low-income and minority children in the image of the private sector...
Tax breaks could ease pain of JPMorgan deal  Politico   ...JPMorgan Chase has struck a tentative deal with the Justice Department to pay a record $13 billion over dodgy mortgage products — but the biggest U.S. bank may be able to slash that bill by paying Uncle Sam less in taxes...
Following Nationwide Strikes, Bangladesh Garment Workers Win Minimum Wage Increase  The Real News   ...Garment workers in Bangladesh are poised to receive a 50 to 80 percent increase in the minimum wage following massive protests in September which closed more than 100 factories and caused a 20 percent decline in national production, according to a Reuters report citing the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association...
Limited service delays BART commuters as strike ends  Los Angeles Times   ...Despite having reached a deal Monday night to end a four-day Bay Area commuter-rail strike, staffing issues made for a rocky start for BART riders Tuesday morning...
Hatred of unions is misplaced, as they created the strong middle class (opinion) Canton Repository   ...I cannot understand why so many Americans have hatred for unions, which gave us a strong and vibrant middle class in the past...
Your prescription history is their business  Los Angeles Times   ...A secretive, for-profit service called ScriptCheck keeps track of all your prescriptions, even those you pay for with cash. Life insurers pay for the data...
More Americans pessimistic about economy after shutdown, poll shows  Los Angeles Times   ...Americans are more pessimistic about the state of the economy after the partial government shutdown and debt limit fight, according to poll results released Tuesday...
Feeding antibiotics to livestock is bad for humans, but Congress won’t stop it   Washington Post   ...The farm and pharmaceutical lobbies have blocked all meaningful efforts to reduce the use of antibiotics in raising livestock in America, a practice that contributes to a major public health risk, according to a study released Tuesday...
Ohio State University has invested millions with friend of Gov. John Kasich and Gordon Gee, but officials won't share details about the deal  Cleveland Plain Dealer   ... Ohio State University has invested tens of millions of dollars in a new, untested fund co-founded by a venture capitalist who enjoys close relationships with recently retired university president E. Gordon Gee and Gov. John Kasich. The deal was done behind closed doors, right around the time trustees changed OSU policy to allow top administrators more leeway over how to invest operating funds...
Court Holds Wisconsin Officials In Contempt For Enforcing Scott Walker’s Anti-Union Law  ThinkProgress   ...A Wisconsin judge who declared Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s (R) union-busting law unconstitutional more than a year ago held the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission in contempt of court on Monday for continuing to enforce that law against school and municipal workers...
Capitol Hill Needs to Save the Middle Class (opinion)  teamster.org   ...America’s ever-shrinking middle class is not only feeling pain in their wallet from lower take-home pay. Many are also witnessing a change in the places they live and the schools their children attend that could alter the fabric of our society for years to come...



Friday, October 18, 2013

Today's Teamster News 10.18.13

Chicago Teamsters Secure Five-Year Agreement for Nearly 700 Workers  teamster.org   ...For approximately 700 Chicago area valet drivers, Teamsters Local 727 has secured a new contract that includes union health care coverage for full-time workers at dozens of companies...
Suburban Chicago Printers Choose Teamster Power  teamster.org   ...Web press operators and full service print production workers in suburban Chicago overwhelmingly joined the Teamsters Union and ratified their first union contract last month...
http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/std/normal.gifhttp://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/std/large.gifhttp://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/std/largest.gifFont ResizeAmerican Canyon, Teamsters reach employee contract deal  Vallejo Times-Herald   ...A long-awaited contract deal with the city's middle managers represented by Teamsters Local 315 has been approved that includes restoration of furlough days and a 1.5 percent raise over the next three years...
DeKalb County Opens Door to Teamsters Representing Sanitation Workers  WABE News   ...Starting next year, DeKalb County’s 450 sanitation workers will have a new route to air their grievances, and they will have a union with them...
Grocers, unions talk, prepare for possible strike  The Olympian   ...Talks resumed Wednesday between major Puget Sound area grocery chains and unions, including the Teamsters, that represent 21,000 of their workers...
Local Union Communications: The Social Art of Educating Members' TLA to be Held December 3-4 teamster.org   ...This two-day Teamsters Leadership Academy (TLA), hosted by Local 986 in Los Angeles, will explore effective ways Teamster affiliates can communicate with members through the use of social networking, fliers, newsletters, websites and media...
ILA Strike Continues at Baltimore  Journal of Commerce Online   ...A longshoremen’s strike that has idled the Port of Baltimore continued into its second day yesterday. The workers struck on Oct. 16 after rejecting a proposed contract with the Steamship Trade Association of Baltimore. The port’s other ILA locals refused to cross the picket lines...
Organized labor criticizes county for its union dealings  Chronicle-Telegram   ...Labor leaders criticized Ohio’s Lorain County leaders for how they deal with unions, including paying large sums to a law firm that specializes in union busting to handle the county's contract negotiations and human resource issues…
Corporations Now Using Foreign Tribunals to Attack Domestic Court Rulings  Public Citizen   ...This dangerous trend of private three-person tribunals assuming the authority to contravene domestic court decisions at the behest of multinational corporations should raise the ire of those who support the independence of courts, the sovereignty of nations, the rule of law, or even the core democratic notion that a system of legal decision-making should be accountable to those who will live with the decisions...
Reich: Their Real Goal: To Make Us All So Cynical About Government, We Give Up (opinion)  Huffington Post   ...Then they're free to take over everything...
Why Elizabeth Warren Is 'NOT Celebrating' The End Of The Government Shutdown  Huffington Post   ...Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) emailed supporters late Wednesday to say how glad she is that the government shutdown ended and the U.S. didn't default. But she made it clear she isn't celebrating...
Dying Middle-Class Neighborhoods Being Replaced By A Segregated Society  Huffington Post   ...The divide between rich and poor isn’t just growing in America’s bank accounts. It’s also splitting apart its neighborhoods, cutting the country in two, according to a new study...
Washington budget fight hurts auto sales  Muscatine Journal   ...Auto sales tailed off last week, and some dealers and experts are pointing the finger at bickering politicians in Washington. Collected data shows that sales fell in the second week of October as the partial shutdown of the government and the debate over the nation's borrowing dragged on...
Illinois Supreme Court to hear lawsuit on lawmaker pay  Associated Press   ...The Illinois Supreme Court has agreed to hear Gov. Pat Quinn's appeal of a ruling that his veto of money for lawmaker pay was unconstitutional. Quinn said the lawmakers didn't deserve to get paid until they address Illinois' nearly $100 billion pension crisis...
Michigan to withhold payment to Xerox over Bridge Card outage  Associated Press   ...Michigan will withhold money from Xerox Corp. because a technical problem crashed the state’s debit card-style food stamps program. People in 17 states from Alabama to California were unable to use their food stamp cards on Saturday morning…
Mortgage settlements helped few  New York Times   ...The $25 billion national mortgage settlement has fallen far short of the original predictions, and more people gave up their homes in short sales than received debt reduction that would have allowed them to stay in their homes...
Walmart-contracted warehouse fined for unsafe working conditions  San Bernardino County Sun   ...A warehouse contracted by Walmart to move suitcases has been fined by California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health for a number of unsafe and illegal working conditions...
U.K. joins currency manipulation probe  CNNMoney   ...A global crackdown into foreign exchange trading is gathering pace as U.K. regulators investigate possible misconduct by a number of firms in the $5.3 trillion foreign currency market...

Friday, September 6, 2013

Today's Teamster News 09.06.13

Teamster Mailers Union Respond to Star-Ledger Publisher Threats  teamster.org ...This is the official statement from Steve Grant, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 1100 in Fairfield, N.J. which represents 195 mailer employees at the Star-Ledger newspaper...
Teamsters among grocery workers picket to raise regional awareness  Auburn Reporter   ...Members of three unions representing grocery store workers in the Puget Sound region, including members of Teamsters Local 38, took to the streets on Aug. 28, picketing to raise awareness about ongoing contract negotiations with several local grocery stores, including the Auburn Safeway and Fred Meyer stores...
BMWED’s Western Region Association Holds Annual Meeting  teamster.org   ...Representatives from the Unified System Division;  Atchison, Topeka, Santa Fe, Frisco System Federation; Allied Federation; and Burlington System Division, all part of the Western Region Association, met to conduct an educational conference this week...
Allied Waste drops lawsuit filed against Youngstown Teamsters Union  WFMJ 21 News   ...Allied Waste has dropped a federal lawsuit that was filed against the Teamsters Union during this past spring's walkout against the trash hauler...
Union contract talks continue  Dyersville Commercial  ...The Delaware County (Iowa) board met again with representatives of the sheriff’s department deputies and jailers to further iron out details of a proposed switch over from American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) union membership to the Teamsters Union...
JPMorgan Will Stop Making Student Loans  firedoglake   ...Competition from the government may be a factor, another might also be that student loans are in a massive trillion dollar bubble...
Failed Policy — The 401(k) Shrinks In A Growing Economy  The National Memo   ...even though the economy is improving, the number of workers saving out of their paychecks for old age is shrinking. So is the amount they save, down 6 percent in real terms from 2008 to 2010...
Nearly Half Of U.S. Births Are Covered By Medicaid, Study Finds  Kaiser Health News   ...About half the births in the United States are paid for by Medicaid — a figure higher than previous estimates – and the numbers could increase as the state-federal health insurance program expands under the Affordable Care Act, according to a study released Tuesday...
Demonstrators protest against low wages at Walmart store in Lakewood  Denver Post   ...The protest outside the store at West Colfax Avenue and Wadsworth Boulevard was one of about 15 demonstrations held nationwide Thursday against the retailer...
24 Walmart Protesters Arrested At Demonstrations In New York And Los Angeles (UPDATED)  Huffington Post   ...The New York Police Department arrested three Walmart protesters in New York City on Thursday during demonstrations against the company's wages and worker conditions...Also on Thursday, 21 protesters were arrested in Los Angeles during a similar demonstration downtown...
New York Unions Might Find a Friend in City Hall  Wall Street Journal   ...Private-sector labor unions could have a strong ally in the next mayor as they embark on new efforts to organize workers in New York City...
Fast-food condemnation  The Economist   ...What do you say to a teenager with a job? Answer: “A Big Mac, fries and a Coke, please.” At least, that was the joke in happier times. Today’s question might be: “What do you say to a single parent with two jobs and no health insurance?...”
Gov. Brown plan exempts thousands of transportation workers from pension limits  Los Angeles Times   ...Brown's proposal comes in response to a federal threat to withhold transit money from California...
Organized labor readies for Kentucky right-to-work battle  Louisville Morning Call   ...Kentucky legislators seeking to curb the power of unions could face major hurdles if a Labor Day event was any indication. About a dozen unions participated in a Louisville picnic for organized labor members, and thousands of people showed up...
Hart Schaffner Marx, Apparel Union Workers Stand In Solidarity Against Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement   Progress Illinois   ...The Chicago-based apparel firm Hart Schaffner Marx, its factory workers and their union say they will collectively fight against the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement that is currently under negotiations...
U.S. likely to approve Chinese purchase of Smithfield  Reuters   ...The U.S. government is unlikely to block Chinese meat company Shuanghui International's $4.7 billion deal to buy Smithfield Foods, Inc. on national security grounds, according to one person familiar with the matter...
Female doctors make $56,000 less than male MDs  MSN Money   ...The Journal of the American Medical Association points out the wage gap, which has been getting wider over the years...
Detroit Billionaires Get Arena Help as Bankrupt City Suffers  Bloomberg News   ...In the wake of Detroit becoming the biggest U.S. municipality to declare bankruptcy and raid pensions, Republican Gov. Rick Snyder approved a plan to put public money toward a $450 million downtown arena on behalf of the NHL’s Red Wings and their billionaire owners...
Alabama's job creation struggle: Growth is not only slow, but also low-quality   The Huntsville Times   ...A comparison of job growth in Alabama and Utah published last week looked at changes in unemployment rates and job growth overall. This story goes a level deeper, and looks at the quality of jobs being created in each state...
Signatures collected for Alaska wage initiative  The State   ...Sponsors of an initiative to raise the minimum wage in Alaska said they have collected more than a third of the signatures required to qualify the measure for the ballot...

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Today's Teamster News 7.27.13

Chicagoland Families Stand With Striking Teamster Funeral Directors, Transfer Services to Alternative Funeral Homes  IBT ...Families throughout Chicagoland are supporting striking funeral directors and drivers by refusing to cross picket lines and transferring their funeral services to worker-friendly funeral homes...
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen Encouraged By Actions of Canadian Rail Safety Regulator  BLET   ...The following is the official statement from Dennis R. Pierce, National President of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen in response to media inquiries regarding the BLET’s reaction to the July 23 Emergency Directive issued by Transport Canada...
DD2 renews contract with Durham School Services  WCSC-5 News   ...Dorchester District 2 has renewed its contract with Durham School Services, the company which provides transportation for its students. The workers are represented by Teamsters Local 509...
Teamsters Picket In WV To Support Tenn. Members  WCHS-8 News   ...Members of the Teamsters union are picketing in West Virginia in support of their union brothers in Tennessee. Picketers set up shop outside the Cummins Crosspoint plant in Cross Lanes Friday morning. See the video here...
UFCW Locals 21, 367 and the Teamsters Stand Together for Fair Grocery Contract  UFCW   ...30,000  members of UFCW Locals 21 and 367 and Teamsters Local 38 in Washington state are covered by contracts at grocers Albertsons, Safeway, Fred Meyer and Quality Food Centers and other local independent stores that are up for bargaining this year. As the companies propose the elimination of healthcare, cuts to pay, and denied paid sick days, the union members have responded with more solidarity than ever...
Banks shiver as UBS swallows $885 million U.S. fine  Reuters   ...UBS will pay $885 million (574.8 million pounds) in a settlement with a U.S. regulator over allegations the Swiss bank misrepresented mortgage-backed bonds during the housing bubble, paving the way for billions more to be paid by other banks...
SAC Capital Is Arraigned on a Raft of Criminal Charges  New York Times   ...the firm was arraigned on a raft of criminal insider trading charges, making it the first large American company to face an indictment in more than a decade. Prosecutors on Thursday announced the case against SAC, run by the billionaire Steven A. Cohen, calling it a “veritable magnet of market cheaters...”
Fast-food workers’ pay protests pick up steam  Washington Post   ...Supporters of a fledgling movement for better pay for fast-food and other poorly paid employees are hoping for a major boost next week when thousands of low-wage workers are expected to walk off their jobs in seven U.S. cities. On Monday, workers are planning to stage one-day strikes at some of the nation’s best known and most profitable fast-food restaurants, including KFC, Wendy’s, Burger King and McDonald’s...
Seattle fast-food workers file wage-theft complaints  Seattle Times   ...Fast-food workers announced the filing of wage-theft complaints against some local restaurants Thursday, as part of an effort to spotlight what some say is an epidemic problem for low-wage workers...
Solidarity Sing Along crowd grows as arrests continue at Wisconsin Capitol  The Cap Times   ...Arrests of protesters continued for the third straight day Friday at the state Capitol, suggesting a renewed effort by Gov. Scott Walker’s administration to silence the ad-hoc “Solidarity Sing Along” group is doing little to stop the daily event...
In Scott Walker era, unions are essential (opinion)  Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel   ...Contrary to the notion in the Journal Sentinel July 23 editorial that Act 10 means public employee unions "lost many of their reasons for being," Wisconsin's lagging economy since Act 10 underscores exactly why these unions are needed more than ever...
Labor Leaders Seek Government Aid for Detroit   New York Times ...Top leaders of the A.F.L.-C.I.O. on Thursday called on President Obama and the Congress to offer an immediate financial infusion to Detroit, which last week became the largest American city ever to file for bankruptcy...
Creditors to fight Detroit insolvency claim  Detroit News   ...“pension funds, unions and unsecured bondholders would receive, in some cases, as little as 10 cents on the dollar” while Bank of American and UBS will get 75 cents...
North Carolina approves nation’s most restrictive voter suppression law  Salon   ...the North Carolina state legislature approved a radical voter suppression bill on a party line vote. The measure, easily the most extreme anti-voter bill passed by any state since the Jim Crow era, now heads to Republican Governor Pat McCrory for his signature. Court challenges — many of them — will most assuredly follow...
Florida can continue purging voters  MSNBC   ...More fallout from the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Voting Rights Act came this week as a Federal Appeals court dismissed a lawsuit brought last year that tried to block a Florida voter purge...
Obama and Vietnam’s Leader Pledge Deeper Ties  New York Times   ...Bearing a copy of a letter from Ho Chi Minh to Harry S. Truman, the president of Vietnam met President Obama on Thursday and pledged to deepen trade and military ties with the United States even as they tangled over human rights...
Why a Train Crash like Spain’s is Unlikely To Happen in the U.S.  Time   ...The train that derailed and killed at least 80 people and injured 178 Wednesday night is a harrowing reminder of what can go wrong at high speeds. But experts say that U.S. riders have little to fear from the rails...
Gubernatorial candidate seeks to overhaul public-sector unions  St. Cloud Times   ...Minnesota State Sen. Dave Thompson roused conservative support and drew unions’ ire last year with his sponsorship of a so-called “right-to-work” constitutional amendment...
Illinois Unions Call for Investigation  WTAX News Radio   ...Unions are calling for an investigation into whether business leaders tried to persuade credit agencies to lower Illinois’ bond rating...
Rhode Island Bars Criminal History Questions on Job Applications  JCK Online   ...A new Rhode Island law will prevent employers in the state from asking prospective employees about their criminal history on job applications...
David Simon urges Tribune Co. not to sell the Sun to Koch brothers  City Paper   ...David Simon, who spent 13 years as a reporter for the Baltimore Sun before creating The Wire and Treme, has lent his voice to a campaign urging the Sun‘s owners, the Chicago-based Tribune Company, not to sell the paper to the oil-company heirs and right-wing activists Charles and David Koch...