Today's Teamster News 04.30.13

Texas Blast Recalls Chemical Safety Bill Sunk by Business Lobby  Bloomberg   ...Guess who fought against a 2009 bill aimed at tightening “security standards of chemical factors, fertilizer depots and water-treatment plants.” None other than “Mining companies, refiners, paint makers, explosive fabricators and fertilizer plants...the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and American Farm Bureau...”
How Austerity Is Literally Killing People (opinion)  Think Progress   ...Austerity in the United States and Europe isn’t just placing an unnecessary drag on economic growth that has harmed the global economic recovery from the Great Recession...
Banking group says new regulations could push consumers into risky payday loans  The Hill   ...A leading banking group says tighter guidelines on deposit advance loans could push consumers into higher-risk payday credit...
US electricity giant rejects privatization plan  Financial Times ...Push-back. President Obama recently floated the notion that it might be time to privatize the TVA. TVA’s Chief Executive says “the authority ‘isn’t broke’ and could fund the investment it needed while staying in the public sector.” TVA’s electricity prices are “significantly below the US average...”
Wealth Gap Among Races Has Widened Since Recession  New York Times   ... Millions of Americans suffered a loss of wealth during the recession and the sluggish recovery that followed. But the last half-decade has proved far worse for black and Hispanic families than for white families, starkly widening the already large gulf in wealth between non-Hispanic white Americans and most minority groups, according to a new study...
Bill to end sequester's air travel delays flies through Congress   Los Angeles Times ...Lawmakers, among the nation's most frequent fliers, OK a bill allowing the FAA to transfer $253 million to stop furloughs of air traffic controllers...
But the sequester could hurt federal tax collections, IRS says  Washington Post   ...The head of the Internal Revenue Service is warning that the government-wide spending cuts that took effect last month could hurt federal tax collections...
Push to Require Online Sales Tax Divides the G.O.P.  New York Times   ...Legislation that would force Internet retailers to collect sales taxes from their customers has put antitax and small-government activists like Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform and the Heritage Foundation in an unusual position: they’re losing...
Sanford, Colbert Busch Campaign Day After Debate  Associated Press   ...Republican Mark Sanford and Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch planned to hit the campaign trail a day after a spirited debate in their race for a vacant congressional seat along the South Carolina coast. "I rocked it," Colbert Busch said…
Citations drop for child work violations in Mass.  Boston Globe   ...Child-labor laws in Massachusetts were tightened then following on-the-job deaths of several teenagers, including a 16-year-old who was killed after losing control of a golf cart at a Salem country club. But enforcement citations appear to have dropped ...
Minimum wage hike goes to Minnesota House for vote   Associated Press   ....Many Minnesota workers would get a pay hike, extra time to spend with newborns and recently adopted children and more overtime pay in the minimum wage bill that is headed to the House floor.
Tax Shuffle Could Shake Up Missouri  St. Louis Post-Dispatch   ...Missouri’s Republican-led legislature is poised to send Gov. Jay Nixon a bill that would cut the state income tax, especially for small businesses, while raising the sales tax to benefit three legislative priorities…
Right-to-work will lower wages and weaken the economy (opinion) Southeast Missourian   ...Currently, Missouri Republicans are bent on passing so called "right-to work" legislation. Even though the president pro tem of the Senate said it isn't a priority of the Senate and it faces veto by the governor, they press on while they could be working to modernize our economy...
Feds approve New Jersey's plan to spend $1.8 billion in Sandy aid  New Jersey Star-Ledger   ...The federal government has approved New Jersey's plan to spend more than $1.8 billion in disaster aid, Gov. Chris Christie announced yesterday...
Sandy credited for rise in NY construction jobs  Crain’s New York   ...Thanks, in part, to a boost from post-Sandy work, employment in New York state's construction industry is inching its way back to its pre-recession peak...
Art Pope Groups Push Extreme ALEC Tax Agenda in North Carolina  PR Watch …An array of right-wing organizations in North Carolina are arguing loudly for Gov. Pat McCrory to radically alter how corporations and people pay taxes in the state -- and the not-so-hidden hand behind the effort is North Carolina millionaire Art Pope, a close ally of the Koch brothers, who funds the groups…
Airport Privatization Takes Off in Puerto Rico  Truth-Out   ...About 17 years ago, lawmakers slipped an obscure section of text into the annual federal aviation bill. In February, the intent of that law was enacted for only the second time when the FAA approved the privatization of Puerto Rico's Luis Munoz Marin International Airport. Numerous elected officials, lawyers and economists have denounced it as a bad bargain...
Virginia can block out of state use of FOIA, Supreme Court rules  Associated Press   ...The Supreme Court ruled Monday that it's legal for a state to limit use of its Freedom of Information Act to its own residents...
Marvel filming most of latest 'Captain America' movie in L.A.  Los Angeles Times   ...Disney-owned Marvel Studios is producing most of 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' in L.A., a region that has seen the steady exodus of big-budget features. Teamsters Local 399, represents the film’s casting directors, location managers and drivers...

Jon Stewart trashes House GOP for voting against Sandy relief (VIDEO)

Just watch.

Koch-linked group to punish members of Congress who voted for Sandy aid

A second group linked to the Benedict Arnold Koch brothers is trying to sabotage relief for victims of Superstorm Sandy. 

We've already told you how Americans for Prosperity, which is David Koch's baby, is lobbying against hurricane relief -- even as Americans shiver and starve in the Northeast.  

Now another Koch-linked group, the Club for Growth, says it will punish members of Congress who support aid for people suffering because of the superstorm. 

The Hill reports,

The Club will “key-vote” the measure, using it to compile an annual rating for each lawmaker. 

The House on Thursday morning approved the $9.7-billion increase in funding for the National Flood Insurance Program. The bill passed easily in a bipartisan 354-67 vote.

Remember how, two years ago,  Club for Growth was on the airwaves promoting Wisconsin Job-killer Gov. Scott Walker's anti-worker bill before lawmakers had even seen the legislation? We do.

What is wrong with these people?

Today's Teamster News 01.05.13

More jobs in December, but unemployment rate unchanged  McClatchy   ...With the additional December jobs, employers added 1.835 million jobs in 2012, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In normal times, that’d be a good showing, but recovery from the Great Recession continues to lumber along and the hiring numbers aren’t enough to bring down the high jobless rate...
Why We Need A Currency War With China (And Denmark And Singapore … )  TradeReform   ...Eliminating currency manipulation ...  would reduce the value of the dollar by 10 to 25 percent. Taking the low-end figure, a 10 percent depreciation would, in the short run, boost GDP by 1.5 percent and create 2 million jobs...
AAR: Rail Traffic "mixed" in December  Calculated Risk   ...“Coal and grain typically account for around half of U.S. rail carloads, so when they’re down, chances are good that overall rail carloads are down too, as we saw in 2012,” said AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray. “That said, a number of key rail carload categories showed solid improvement in 2012, including categories like autos and lumber that are most highly correlated with economic growth. Meanwhile, intermodal just missed setting a new volume record in 2012...”
Six States Outlaw Employer Snooping on Facebook  Chicago Defender   ...As of 2013, California and Illinois have joined the ranks of Michigan, New Jersey, Maryland, and Delaware in passing state laws against the practice...
N. J. and N.Y. lawmakers lukewarm over just-passed Sandy relief bill  Philadelphia Inquirer   ...The $9.7 billion approved for flood insurance is only a piece of the $60 billion sought by states hit hard by the October storm, and Northeastern lawmakers, still angry that the full package was sent back to the legislative starting line earlier in the week, are anticipating a much tougher fight over the remaining funds...
Protesters urge Sen. Mitch McConnell to change filibuster rule  Louisville Courier-Journal   ...“We have to stop this historic abuse of the democratic process,” said Bill Londrigan, president of the Kentucky AFL-CIO. The protesters accused McConnell of accepting contributions from groups that would benefit from filibusters at the same time the filibusters were being initiated...
Wisconsin Republicans expected to push private-school vouchers, charter-school expansion in 2013 session  Isthmus Daily Page   ...In the upcoming legislative session, which opens Jan. 7, many of the ideas that generated packed hearing rooms, hours of tearful testimony and, ultimately, a divided Republican caucus are coming back...
Teamsters union in Jackson files new unfair labor practice charges against Hendrickson Trucking Co.  Michigan Live   ...The Teamsters Local 164 union has filed new unfair labor-practice charges against Jackson’s Hendrickson Trucking Co. as some employees’ jobs appear to be in limbo...

Today's Teamster News 01.03.12

U.S. now on pace for European levels of austerity in 2013  Washington Post   ...after this week’s fiscal cliff deal, the United States is now on pace to engage in about as much fiscal consolidation in 2013 as many European nations have been doing in recent years — and more than countries like Britain and Spain...
Euros discarded as impoverished Greeks resort to bartering  The Guardian   ...in the heart of Greece's most fertile plain, locals have come up with a novel way of dealing with austerity – adopting their own alternative currency, known as the Tem. As the country struggles with its worst crisis in modern times, with Greeks losing up to 40% of their disposable income as a result of policies imposed in exchange for international aid, the system has been a huge success...
Portugal warns EU-IMF troika to back off on austerity demands  The Telegraph   ...Portugal's president has ordered a legal inquiry into the country’s austerity policies and threatened a showdown with creditors over the draconian terms of its EU-IMF bail-out...
Payroll Tax Hike Erases Paycheck Gains For Minimum Wage Workers  Huffington Post   ...Many of the nation's poorest workers were looking forward to a modest pay hike on New Year's Day, when 10 states implemented higher minimum wages. In the end, those workers' increased earnings may have lasted all of a few hours...
Congress Vacations While Sandy Victims Freeze  firedoglake   ...People in New York and New Jersey are huddled in the cold and dark and apparently the US Congress cannot manage to vote for Superstorm Sandy relief before they go on their vacations...
Reid will postpone filibuster reform  The Hill   ...Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will postpone filibuster reform until later this month, giving him time to negotiate a deal with Republicans...
As Swing Districts Dwindle, Can a Divided House Stand?  New York Times   ...Most members of the House now come from hyperpartisan districts where they face essentially no threat of losing their seat to the other party. Instead, primary challenges, especially for Republicans, may be the more serious risk...
Thanks To Gerrymandering, Democrats Would Need To Win The Popular Vote By Over 7 Percent To Take Back The House  ThinkProgress   ...Democratic House candidates earned 49.15 percent of the popular vote, while Republicans earned only 48.03 percent ... Nevertheless, thanks largely to partisan gerrymandering, Republicans have a solid House majority in the incoming 113th Congress...
Stalemate Over Teamsters Continues in Putnam Valley  The Putnam County News and Recorder   ...On December 27 the Putnam Valley Town Board ... held a hearing regarding the two-year-long contract renegotiation between the Town’s Local 456 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters bargaining unit, which includes 25 workers for the Putnam Valley Highway Department...

House vote set for Sandy relief after all

A message for Congress

House Speaker John Boehner scheduled a Friday vote on Superstorm Sandy relief after fellow Republicans lambasted him for calling off a vote yesterday. The Senate already passed a bill to aid victims of the superstorm and pay for cleanup costs.

Rep. Peter King, a New York Republican, was one of the Republicans who launched a blistering attack against Boehner. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was another. 

King told Reuters,

...Boehner has promised a vote on Friday on $9 billion in money for the federal flood insurance program to help victims. 

Another vote - on the remaining $51 billion in aid - would come on Jan. 15...

Stay tuned.

NJ guv livid that Congress failed to vote on Sandy relief

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie isn't usually our cup of tea, but today he excoriated House Republicans in a press conference that we can endorse.

House Speaker John Boehner refused to take up a bill to provide relief to Sandy victims -- and to cover the bill for overtime costs cleaning up after the superstorm.

Business Insider reports,

"There is only one group to blame," Christie said. "The House Majority and John Boehner." 

"Last night, the House Majority failed most the basic test of leadership and they did so with callous disregard to the people of my state," he said. "It was disappointing and disgusting to watch."  

"Shame on you, shame on Congress."  

Asked who he thought was responsible on the holdup over Sandy aid, Christie did not mince words in laying the blame entirely on House Speaker Boehner. 

"It was the Speaker's decision — his alone," Christie said, adding that he was given no explanation for the decision to pull the Sandy bill. He said that he tried to reach Boehner four times, but that the Speaker did not take his calls until this morning.

We hear House Republicans may reconsider as they are being blasted by members of their own party. Stay tuned.

These 32 senators voted against Sandy relief

Even worse, the House of Representatives refused to even vote on relief for Americans in the Northeast who are starving and freezing because of Superstorm Sandy.

Republican Rep. Peter King, a New Yorker, ranted against Speaker John Boehner's disgraceful behavior in the video above.

The Newark Star-Ledger reports that New Jersey's members of Congress are also furious. New Jersey Rep. Frank LoBiondo, also a Republican, explains why:

If the Congress starts a new session without voting on the bill, the process in both the House and Senate would have to start afresh ... causing delays that could seriously impact recovery efforts.

So how did your senators vote on Sandy? Here's the list of no voters:

Alexander (R-TN)
Ayotte (R-NH)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Blunt (R-MO)
Boozman (R-AR)
Burr (R-NC)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coats (R-IN)
Coburn (R-OK)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
Enzi (R-WY)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Hatch (R-UT)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johanns (R-NE)
Johnson (R-WI)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Lee (R-UT)
McCain (R-AZ)
McConnell (R-KY)
Moran (R-KS)
Paul (R-KY)
Portman (R-OH)
Roberts (R-KS)
Rubio (R-FL)
Sessions (R-AL)
Thune (R-SD)
Toomey (R-PA)

Wow. David Koch fighting Sandy relief

Benedict Arnold David Koch's political machine, Americans for Prosperity, is fighting government aid to Sandy victims.

AFP (which features a doctored video of fake union violence on its website) sent a letter to U.S. senators urging them to vote against relief for Americans hurt by Superstorm Sandy. You can read it here, if you have the stomach for it.

Lee Fang at The Nation tells us Koch thinks Sandy victims should just suck it up.

Koch’s top deputy in New Jersey, a surly gentleman named Steve Lonegan, who heads the local AFP state chapter, called the aid package a “disgrace.” “This is not a federal government responsibility,” Lonegan told reporters. “We need to suck it up and be responsible for taking care of ourselves.”

Charming.

 

Teamsters plugging away at Sandy relief; Red Cross needs more drivers

This photo just came in: Local 294 Teamsters bringing
relief supplies on Nov. 10.

Victims of Superstorm Sandy still need enormous help, and Teamsters are still stepping up.

Today Sister Bernadette Kelly from Joint Council 16 requested volunteer drivers to help the Red Cross over the next two weeks.

Bringing supplies from Albany to Yankee Stadium.

We have no doubt many will answer the call. Consider that hundreds of Teamsters have already loaded trucks, ferried passengers, worked at shelters, driven trucks, set up distribution sites, worked with the National Guard to bring fuel and clean out rubble and opened their homes to people who lost theirs. Members from the following locals all contributed: 202, 237, 282, 584, 854, 808, 805, 814, 707, 210, 553, 295, 817, 831, 812, 802, 917, 813, 560, 863, 445, 804, 177, 730, 294 and BLET Division 269. Local 776 sent a tractor trailer full of supplies from Harrisburg and Local 728 sent its tractor.

Teamsters were especially helpful managing Red Cross logistics (it's what we do, after all!). And our brothers and sisters on the ground became the agency's eyes and ears to direct resources to people who hadn't been served.

Unloading supplies on Long Island.

Teamsters alerted the Red Cross that the St. Camillus neighborhood in the Rockaways was in desperate need. Residents needed underwear, cleaning supplies, personal care items items, blankets and towels. The Red Cross responded with supplies, heaters and portable showers -- and a big thank you to the Teamsters for supplying the information that got those people help.

We just received photos from Local 294 who brought a tractor-trailer full of supplies for Sandy victims to Yankee Stadium on Nov. 10. They returned to Long Beach, Long Island a week later with more. Donating their time and efforts to make both trips were Dave Garhartt, trustee; Gerry Menz, retiree; Ed Oleski, president, Retirees Club; and Tom Pitts.

Here's the message from Sister Kelly about volunteering to drive:

The Red Cross asked for drivers over the next two weeks to assist in driving volunteers and supplies to the impacted areas from hurricane. 

They need a steady stream of drivers over the next 14 days at two locations: 

Long Beach on Nov. 17

Red Cross Warehouse
100 Industrial Drive, Jersey City 

Red Cross Headquarters
520 West 49th Street, New York, NY
(parking will be handled) 

The contact person at the Red Cross is:
Marlys DeVries
(515) 975-5773 (she is in charge of dispatch)

The Red Cross salutes the Teamsters

This is what we union thugs do on Thanksgiving morning.

People are noticing the extraordinary work of Teamsters who helped the New York region recover from Sandy.

The Red Cross sent out a memo yesterday that'll make you proud to be a Teamster:

The American Red Cross has received extraordinary volunteer support for Sandy relief activities from Teamster Union members within the most devastated areas in New York and New Jersey and throughout the country. It’s almost impossible to capture all that they have given in time and resources, but following are few examples.

• Loading hundreds of trucks with relief supplies at staging areas.
• Driving trucks to deliver desperately needed supplies to battered communities.
• Working at Red Cross shelters in mass care and distributing relief items.
• Setting up distribution sites at churches and community centers to cook hot meals and to sort through donated blankets, clothes and food.
• Posting videos on Facebook and other social media sites to bring attention to the plight of people and communities.
• Partnering with Red Cross and the National Guard to bring in essential items such as petrol and clean out rubble from homes and businesses.
• Opening up their homes to those who have lost theirs and offering hope that by sticking together “we will overcome Sandy, rebuild and move on.”

These examples represent but a smattering of what the Teamsters estimate to be hundreds of volunteers, including a corps of retirees, who took part in the operation. And many of the members did so at personal sacrifice even while struggling with their own losses. The Red Cross, indeed our nation, salutes the Teamsters and all union members who responded immediately and will continue to do so throughout the long-expected recovery period.

And today the New York Daily News reported sanitation workers (members of Teamtsers Local 831) have been applauded for removing debris:

New York City’s Strongest — members of the Sanitation Department — are some of the most popular people in the storm-ravaged neighborhoods. 

It’s a welcome change from some of the anger directed their way (many would say unfairly) after the dismal December 2010 snowstorm clean-up. 

Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty received a standing ovation during a recent packed meeting at Queens Borough Hall. Sanitation workers, who also suffered losses during the storm, have cleared more than 300,000 tons of debris since the storm.

We at TeamsterNation would like to recognize the three Teamsters pictured above: John Rieder, Local 202 trustee; Kevin McCaffery, Local 707 president; and Jimmy Gill, Local 202 shop steward. McCaffery lives in Lindenhurst, which was devastated by Superstorm Sandy. He put out the call for help, and on Thanksgiving morning the three men loaded and delivered cleaning supplies from MacArthur Airport, one of the Red Cross staging locations.

You make us all proud!

Sandy relief: Teamsters deliver 30k lbs of food to stricken community

Local 202 Teamsters and retirees, yesterday

Here's something to be thankful for: Teamsters who delivered a truckload of fruits and vegetables for homeless and hungry victims of Superstorm Sandy.

Members of Local 202 yesterday distributed more than 30,000 lbs. of fruits and vegetables to St. Francis de Sales Parish in Belle Harbor, Queens.

Sandy inflicted enormous damage on the residents of that community, according to Reuters.

Belle Harbor sits on a narrow spit of land that thrusts into the Atlantic Ocean southwest of the John F. Kennedy International Airport. The area had been extensively flooded by Sandy's record storm surge, which marooned the beach community from firefighters who sped to the scene...

On Tuesday morning, the bridges to the Rockaways had been blocked off by the National Guard. Belle Harbor's downtown shopping district had also been ravaged by fire, and the boardwalk had been ripped from its pilings and strewn throughout the street. Many store fronts were crumpled and petroleum pooled in the gutters. 

Cars and boats were smacked about the sidewalks like toys. The power was out, and predicted to stay out for days. There wasn't a bagel, cup of coffee or bathroom to be found. 

The smell of smoke was still in the air.

Some residents have power back, but life is still a struggle. St. Francis de Sales is helping with basic needs. Reports WCBS,

Many stores are closed and people from Far Rockaway are walking 50 to 60 blocks to line up for food at St. Francis De Sales Parish in Belle Harbor. 

They’re serving thousands of meals everyday in a large white tent where people can also get mental health counseling, legal aide, help from the utilities, and even a free massage.... 

They still need donations: food, cleaning supplies, warm blankets, and coats, though they are asking for no other clothing.

We're sure they're grateful for the fresh Teamster-delivered produce!

Local 202 members and retirees also did a tremendous job loading trucks and moving them out of the Red Cross warehouse in New Jersey last weekend. Those who pitched in included John Gerondel, Ray Dagostino, Robert Rodes, Jerry Forst, Johnny Barr, Jack Hayes and John Henderson.

If you'd like to help victims of the Superstorm but can't be in the region, consider a donation to the Teamster Disaster Relief Fund. It's a good way to express your thanks for all you have.

Sandy relief: Teamsters keep on truckin' supplies

If you wonder why we keep telling you about all the Teamsters volunteering for Superstorm Sandy relief, it's because the need continues to be tremendous.

Brother Ralph Gagliano from Local 817 captured how tough things are in Coney Island while delivering supplies to the area. He posted a video on Joint Council 16's Facebook page, which shows hundreds of residents in food and clothing lines at MCU Park on Nov. 17.

Our brothers and sisters and their families are working with the Red Cross, National Guard, Occupy Sandy, their local union and their church. Or they're contributing money to the Teamsters Disaster Relief Fund.

Retiree George Corneliusson from Local 671 posted on Facebook a week ago:

Getting ready to leave for the union hall, today's mission: Take 18-wheeler to UPS Hartford collection donations for our N.J. Teamster brothers and sisters affected by Sandy, Tuesday UPS Windsor Locks for donations!

Our UPS brothers and sisters are volunteering with the Red Cross and with Occupy Sandy. The company is loaning trucks to the Occupy Sandy relief effort, and UPS employees are donating their time. Pictured above is Carl (we don't know his last name) volunteering during his vacation at St. Luke and St. Matthew Episcopal Church on Clinton Street in Brooklyn.

George Miranda, president of Joint Council 16 in New York, and Al Rispoli, president of Joint Council 73 in New Jersey, led hundreds of Teamster volunteers to help out in all corners of the region. Here, Teamsters working with the Red Cross meet up with the National Guard.

Last weekend, Teamsters loaded trucks in Red Cross warehouses and drove them to staging areas. Then they delivered desperately needed supplies to communities. Props to our brothers and sisters from locals 202, 560, 707, 812, 814, 817 and 917 for a magnificent effort.

Dan Kane, president of Local 202, and his daughter Morgan loaded up Dan's car with supplies and went door to door delivering them.

Local 202 is also sending a truck load of supplies to Bal Harbour today.

Below, Local 202 members Scott Coulter and Kevin Curry unload supplies at the Red Cross's Amityville Harbor staging area:

Here's one of the New Jersey warehouses, where Teamsters and their families loaded hundreds of trucks with relief supplies and drove them out to the staging areas. Here are Local 707 retiree Johnny Barr, B. Bellach, James Kane and Kevin Curry. 

And below: Local 707 retirees J. Barr, J. Henderson, Red Cross volunteer Laurie Hevesi, J. Hayes, Local 202 retirees John Gerondel, Robert Rodes, Ray Dagostino and Jerry Forst.

Sandy relief: Teamsters blanket NY region with volunteers

Helping with Sandy relief yesterday, Teamsters from locals 210, 812 and 282.

(UPDATES graf 10 to ADD detail about Ny and NJ Teamsters delivering supplies all over region.)

We hear so many Teamster volunteers are delivering relief supplies today from four staging areas throughout New York that no more are needed!

Teamsters aren't needed anymore at the Red Cross's Jersey City warehouse either. Sister Bernadette Kelly tells us:

Awesome job, brothers and sisters!

Teamsters did such a fantastic job yesterday that all of the trucks were loaded in the Jersey warehouse and pushed out last night. That means all the trucks should be picked up at the staging areas (Aqueduct, Floyd Bennett Field, Miller Field on Staten Island, and McArthur Airport). 

Every truck was packed last night and delivered to the staging areas. There were no drivers needed at the warehouse!!!! Huge.

We learn from Joint Council 16's Facebook page:

JC President George Miranda has spearheaded a massive volunteer operation that has included 21 of JC 16's local unions and has partnered with JC 73. Over 125 trucks were packed and staged last weekend. 

And this (also from JC 16):

Today, Matthew Bruccoleri, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 272 reported in from the Miller Field, Staten Island Red Cross staging area. Brother Matthew lives in the heart of the aftermath and is sharing his home with 2 other families while everyone rebuilds. He was really amazed that over 100 volunteers showed up to support the Red Cross and members from Locals 272, 560, 210 and 707 came and gave a hand. The Red Cross rep couldn't believe the Teamsters turn-out. We could. 

Our in-box was filled with photos of Teamsters pitching in yesterday to help the tens of thousands of people suffering from the region's worst natural disaster ever.

Ralph Salzano and daughter Rianna.

We have photos of Teamsters helping out in Lindenhurst and in Howard Beach.  Teamsters delivered supplies to Breezy Point, Coney Island, Red Hook, Long Beach, Rockaway, Broad Channel, Far Rockaway, Seagate, and Howard Beach. They brought blankets, clean up kits, baby supplies, rubber maid containers and food. Locals 817, 210, 805, 804, 854, 707, 202, 917 and 802 in New York were joined by the BLET and members from Joint Council 73 locals 863 and 177.

Ralph Salzano, business agent with Local 210, made it a family affair. He and his daughter Rianna volunteered; they're pictured at right in Howard Beach.

Sister Mary Donch, a locomotive engineer with Metro North, was reading the Teamsters Facebook page in a diner when she saw the urgent call for help.

Sister Mary Donch was in a diner near Floyd Field this morning and saw our Facebook post asking for help distributing Red Cross supplies for Sandy victims. Mary posted a comment asking where it is. We posted a map and Mary's there now! She's a locomotive engineer for Metro-North, Division 269, and a 19-year BLET member. You go girl!

Peter Kotaj, Local 805, helping out yesterday.

Want to help, but don't live in the Northeast? Consider making a donation to the Teamsters Disaster Relief Fund. It's easy. Just click here to find out the details.

Sandy relief: Urgent need for drivers RIGHT NOW at Floyd Bennett Field

Brothers Ralph Gagliano and
John Kearney at Floyd
Bennett Field right now.

UPDATE 2: Adds details in graf 2 about more Teamsters showing up to help.

Teamsters are once again distributing supplies to communities hard hit by Superstorm Sandy, but more of our brothers and sisters are needed to help. You don't need a CDL. Just go to Floyd Bennett Field at 50 Aviation Rd. in Brooklyn.

Locals 817, 210, 707 and 854 are there right now loading, unloading and driving Red Cross supplies. Local 282 checked in at Miller Field on Staten Island and Aqueduct Race Track. Sister Bernadette Kelly tells us Teamsters from locals 812, 817, 917, 802, 210 and 707 are helping out everywhere. And locals 805 and 814 have arrived!

Lest you think aid has reached everyone who needs it, read this first-person account of a visit to senior housing in Far Rockaway from Truthout. Two weeks after the hurricane, elderly shut-ins are still without power and running water:

Without power, residents can't turn on the lights or the heat. Inside, residents burn candles and light the dark stairwells with tiny, precious battery-operated flashlights. 

Going up and down the almost pitch-black stairwell simply to get out of their apartments, many could easily fall and become seriously injured. Outside, it's starting to regularly hit freezing and below temperatures, compounded by icy sea breezes. Inside, residents either risk carbon monoxide poisoning by heating their homes with gas stoves and ovens, or bundle up with blankets, winter coats and - if they have access - hot water bottles simply to be able to fall asleep. 

Without running water, residents can't flush their toilets or bathe. Many haven't flushed their toilet in more than a week. Even if one can leave, it is no use because the only operational local convenience store ran out of bottled water days ago. Residents have begun to ration what they have, expecting that it could be days before they can access more water. A few floors down, I meet Elizabeth Gerritsen—she is 94 years old, and though able-bodied, is frail, her bones shrunken with age. Like many of her neighbors, she had stayed at 711 Seagirt Boulevard through the storm, and once it had passed realized that without functional elevators, she was trapped with only the supplies that were left in her apartment.

Please help if you can. If you can't, please consider a donation to the Teamsters Disaster Relief Fund.

Today's Teamster News 11.17.12

China weighs into Europe's austerity battle  Guardian   ...Top official at China's £300bn sovereign wealth fund said that the depth of public anger in the eurozone could lead to a 'complete discarding' of austerity programmes...
Why Cell Phones Went Dead After Hurricane Sandy  Bloomberg   ...Americans might assume that the U.S. government exercises enough authority over communications networks to ensure that they are responsibly run, reliable and available to all at reasonable rates. In reality, after a decade of steady deregulation, during which communications companies asserted that new wires required new rules, the companies are in charge of themselves...
Right-To-Work In Michigan?  WTVB   ... The fight over whether or not to make Michigan a "Right to Work" state is heating up once again. A pair of Republican heavyweights are pushing the state Senate to pass right to work legislation before the end of the year, but Democratic strategists warn that will result in recalls...
State weighs options with turnpike lease deal  Toledo Blade   ...Among the options under consideration by the $3.4 million study is a long-term lease of 50 years or more with a private entity, as neighboring Indiana did in 2006. The Ohio Public Interest Research Group questioned whether such a deal might include a clause, as Indiana’s did, that might prohibit improvements to nearby public roads seen as competition...
Study finds Indiana's poor are getting poorer  Evansville Courier & Press   ... over the last decade, Indiana saw the second largest decrease in the nation in median household income...
Hostess Blames Union For Bankruptcy After Tripling CEO’s Pay  ThinkProgress   ...While the company was filing for bankruptcy, for the second time, earlier this year, it actually tripled its CEO’s pay, and increased other executives’ compensation by as much as 80 percent...
Hostess Liquidation: Teamsters Seen As Collateral Damage In Bakers Union Strike  Huffington Post   ...Now, Hostess is winding down. Publicly, management has attributed its decision directly to the bakers union strike, even though the company had plenty of problems aside from labor issues, including a customer base that has been turning away from the likes of Twinkies and Ding-Dongs for healthier foods...
Teamsters Statement on Hostess Brands' Announcement To Cease Operations  IBT   ...Hostess’ problems go back almost a decade. The company has clearly been mismanaged for quite some time. However, the workers should not suffer because of poor management and therefore, the Teamsters Union tried everything in its power during the company’s most recent financial difficulties to shape an outcome that would put Hostess on strong footing to be viable and preserve jobs...

Sandy relief: Next wave of Teamsters set to roll

Teamsters gettin' 'er done.

Sister Bernadette Kelly at Joint Council 16 is rounding up dozens more Teamsters for the next big push to distribute Red Cross supplies to victims of Superstorm Sandy.

We've been trying to keep track of what all the Teamsters have been doing to restore the lives and neighborhoods damaged by the worst natural disaster in the region's history. We've found that hundreds, and more probably thousands, of our brothers and sisters are key to the New York area's recovery.

As the storm pounded the region, hospital workers from Local 237 and emergency personnel from Local 707 evacuated patients from New York hospitals.

Kenny Adams from local 863

New York’s Strongest -- sanitation workers from Local 831 -- prepared the city for the storm. Then they moved mountains of garbage, essential to keeping communities free of disease.

Local 817 members were everywhere, volunteering hundreds of hours after 12-hour work days. Their 18-wheeler traveled through the region with supplies helping New York Cares and the Red Cross. Local 776 brought supplies from Philadelphia and Local 728 loaned its tractor from Atlanta.

Local 237 Teamsters tackled the massive challenge of cleaning and repairing public housing, while protecting the properties from looting.

Local 584 delivered milk to Long Beach where children hadn’t had milk for a week.

Local 812 brought the first supplies – water and clothing – to a Long Beach emergency shelter.  With Local 237, they delivered pallets of desperately needed water to public housing in Far Rockaway.

Teamsters from Local 553 gave out clean-up supplies to residents of Lindenhurst, N.Y. Teams of UPS Teamsters spent entire weekends delivering supplies to devastated areas of Staten Island, Manhattan and Rockaway.

Shop steward Tom Fallon in the warehouse.

When the Red Cross asked for Teamster drivers on a few hours’ notice, dozens answered the call. Soon, wave after wave of Teamsters and their families came to Red Cross warehouses in New Jersey, working side by side with Joint Council 16 President George Miranda and Joint Council 73 President Al Rispoli. Locals 210, 812, and 817 took charge of the logistics in the  Red Cross warehouse, making sure more than 100 trucks went out over the weekend.

Last night, when a cargo plane arrived at JFK filled with 16,000 blankets from Russia, UPS Teamsters were there  to pick them up and deliver them.

That’s how we Teamsters roll.

Bernadette Kelly and Al Rispoli. He delivered to Red Hook.

Now more help is needed. Here are the details:

The warehouses need forklift and warehouse workers 24/7 throughout the weekend. We need drivers starting at 8 am Friday, Saturday and Sunday. 

Tonight 11/15, forklift and warehouse workers are needed at 100 Industrial Drive, Jersey City, NJ 

Tomorrow 11/16, forklift drivers and warehouse workers are needed at 100 Industrial Drive, Jersey City, NJ. AT LEAST 20 drivers are needed starting at 8 am from 100 Industrial Drive 

Saturday and Sunday 11/17 and 18, forklift drivers and warehouse workers are needed at 100 Industrial Drive. 

75 drivers are needed to be dispatched from four staging areas starting at 8 am this weekend. 

Floyd Bennet Field
50 Aviation Rd 

Aqueduct Race Track
110-00 Rockaway Blvd 

Miller Field
National Park Service
New Drop Ln  Staten Island, NY 

MacArthur Airport
City of Islet, Parking Lot 10
100 Arrival Ave
Ronkonkoma, NY

If you can volunteer, call Sister Bernadette Kelly at (202) 437-1705.

If you can't volunteer, please consider making a donation to the Teamsters Disaster Relief Fund. Just click here.

The truth: Non-union workers WELCOMED to help with Sandy recovery

Those charming union-busters are at it again, smearing IBEW members with lies about Superstorm Sandy recovery to please their corporate paymasters.

The lies got halfway around the world before the truth had time to put its shoes on. What's most despicable is that an IBEW member from Canada died helping restore power after the storm. Another, from New Jersey, was injured. We doubt the union-busters and their propagandists were ever in harm's way during or after Superstorm Sandy.

Here's the truth, straight from the IBEW:

IBEW members and hundreds of other workers, union and nonunion, are pulling together to help the Northeast recover from the devastating effects of Superstorm Sandy...The recovery has been a massive effort that deserves praise, but instead, there have been erroneous reports that have cast the heroic efforts of IBEW members in a bad light. 

The lie? IBEW allegedly turned away nonunion workers from helping in the restoration work and allegedly tried to force them to join a union.

Sean Hannity actually played an audio clip on his radio show of union workers shouting at scabs during a 2011 Verizon strike. He claimed it as evidence that union workers were turning away non-union workers who came to restore power after Superstorm Sandy. The IBEW tells us:

The reports are absolutely false... 

No assistance was ever turned away by the IBEW or any of its employers. Reports that help was denied in New Jersey proved to be totally false, even being denied by those who allegedly were turned away.

WAAY-TV reported "Officials say local utility crews NOT ‘turned away’ in NY/NJ.” And Ray Hardin, general manager of Decatur Utilities, explained what really happened (It was Decatur Utilities' crews that ere allegedly turned away):

Hardin said his office received a 31-page document which implied a requirement of his employees to agree to union affiliation while working in New York and New Jersey.  Earlier, it was thought that document came from IBEW.  IBEW denied that, and Friday afternoon, Hardin clarified the paperwork came from Electric Cities of Alabama. 

ECA is a coalition of Alabama’s municipally owned electric utilities ... Hardin said the ECA sent the document to his offices for planning purposes.  The ECA said Decatur Utilities might encounter this, because New Jersey is a heavy union state. 

Decatur Utilities looked at the document, and Hardin said it indicated his workers would have to sign to become union members and pay union dues.  But again, that was not the case.

Our sympathies are with the family and friends of the IBEW member who lost his life in the Superstorm Sandy recovery effort.

Sandy relief: Huge props for our Local 831 sanitation brothers

Teamster Local 831 sanitation workers are finally getting recognized for their hard work putting New York back on its feet after Hurricane Sandy hit.

"New York's Strongest" are the subject of news reports, Facebook posts and "thank you" tweets as they haul away mountains of soggy debris.

The New York Times, for example, profiled Ed Shevlin, a New York City sanitation worker is cleaning up the hard-hit Rockaways:

“If these piles could talk, they’d be screaming,” said Mr. Shevlin, whose own apartment on Beach 103rd Street stayed dry, if without power as of Thursday. His parents’ apartment, and his brother’s house, were both flooded and severely damaged. 

“I like to think I’m a strong guy, but this devastation has really gotten to me,” said Mr. Shevlin, who wears his green Department of Sanitation uniform proudly. 

“I’ll be wearing this uniform every day for months,” he said. “We were the first boots on the ground and we’ll be the last to leave.”

We told you yesterday about the Staten Island Advance's story, "Sanitation workers arrive like heroes in Staten Island's devastation zone." But we didn't share with you a comment signed by "rockinmom":

 I have been out there on the streets and witnessed the hard work that these guys have been doing. I was out delivering food the other day, and not one of these guys even wanted a bottle of water. I heard over and over, "give it to someone who needs it". I say thank you to the sanitation workers who have been working so hard. Instead of knocking each other down, why can't we just say thanks for a job well done!

Here are some tweets giving them their just due:

NYC Aviation @NYC Aviation: Hats off to the DSNY, a rarely credited team that has been cleaning up Sandy and now fighting a snowstorm as well. Thank you NY's Strongest! 

Rich Muniz ‏@richrico21: Just looked out my window! Wow!! I did NOT take this seriously. God Bless the DSNY! Guna be another long week for those guys. 

FiDi New Yorker ‏@FiDiNYer: Awesome job @NYCSanitation! Hard storm clean-up in the Rockaways & SI and now snow?!?!? Keep up the good work & drink @redbull #DSNY

The Chasing Sanitation Facebook page may be the best place to follow the cleanup. We especially like this post from SanMan Joseph Mosca:

I honestly believe that the clean up efforts of this hurricane have given many men and women on this job a new found sense of pride. Where many had seen themselves only as trash collectors and snow removers. With this disaster it really put into perspective that we are not just garbage men and women but the we are Sanitation Workers. We do everything we can to help keep our communities clean and disease free. We will work tireless hours, go with little to no sleep, not see our families, and push our minds and bodies past what normal people have to, just so we can get the job done. Seeing so many coworkers step up and just want to help has given myself as well as many others a breathe of fresh air. It shows that we still have people who care more for others than they do for themselves. I applaud my brother and sister Sanitation Workers. STAY STRONG!!!!!!!!

Couldn't have said it better ourselves.

Today's Teamster News 11.13.12

Eurozone crisis live: Greece gets more time as IMF and EU clash  Guardian   ...Athens given until 2016 to hit its fiscal targets...
Cold, Dark and Damp, Pockets of Misery Persist 2 Weeks Later  New York Times   ...Two weeks. Monday was the 14th day since Hurricane Sandy upended lives on the Eastern Seaboard, the longest two weeks of many people’s lives. Plastic bottles. Warming buses. Charging stations. These are just a few of the signposts in a changed world. Help is coming, the people are told...
Mayor Bloomberg Owes OWS an Apology  firedoglake   ...Continuing to think outside the box, OWS has two new initiatives: Occupy Sandy and Rolling Debt Jubilee...
Gas prices: FSA examines whistleblower's claims of 'Libor-like' manipulation  Guardian   ...The City watchdog, the Financial Services Authority, is investigating claims by a whistleblower that Britain's £300bn wholesale gas market has been "regularly" manipulated by some of the big power companies, exploiting weaknesses that echo the recent Libor scandal...
Ring the Register: Another $15.4 Million for Disgraced ex-Citi CEO Vikram Pandit  firedoglake   ...If anyone deserves a $6.7 million bonus, it’s the CEO who squandered 88% of his company’s stock value...(um, that's sarcasm)
Two million jobless Americans face their own fiscal cliff if unemployment benefits expire  Daily Kos   ... If nothing changes between now and Dec. 29, the Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee estimate that some two million Americans will be up jobless creek without the paddle provided by these emergency extensions...