Misclassification is another corporate trick

Too many corporations are taking advantage of hardworking Americans who are trying to earn a living to support their families. Instead of bringing them on as full-time workers, these companies go on the cheap by hiring temporary or contract workers who don't have the same job protections or benefits. Meanwhile, the employer avoids paying some taxes and unemployment insurance.

Some firms are using temp workers to sort recycling.

Misclassification is getting worse nationwide, as we noted in another blog last week. A Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GALA) report released this week details another such example, U.S. recycling workers, who are often temp workers who have fewer workplace protections and are less likely to be informed of their legal right to a safe and healthy workplace.

As detailed in the document:

Reliance on temporary staffing agencies has allowed companies to distance themselves from responsibility for worker health and safety. Among employers who use temporary labor, failure to properly train and orient workers who are new to the job, or have been brought on as temporary labor, is a common practice and a serious concern. Research about work-related injuries for low-wage workers shows that workers who have received health and safety training are more likely to seek medical attention and to notify employers of injuries than workers who have not received health and safety training.

Such practices are the latest example of corporate America trying to fleece the public. Following the same playbook it uses to jam lousy trade deals through Congress, big business insists it needs to change the rules so can remain in business. This at a time when companies are registering record profits.

Luckily, there are some instances where misclassification is not allowed to run rampant. Fed Ex Ground, for instance, recently agreed to pay $228 million to about 2,300 drivers in California that the company improperly classified as independent contractors from 2000 to 2007. The settlement came after a federal appeals court in San Francisco last August determined the workers were employees under California law.

That determination and others like it are causing some employers to act. Instacart, an on-demand delivery service, announced this week that it will transition some 300 workers in Boston and Chicago from independent contractors to employees with benefits.

But that in and of itself won't change the dynamic that seems to be increasingly gripping our government. Our elected officials too often are doing the bidding of big business and instituting policies that are hurting workers. It happened with the fast track trade bill and it's happening with misclassification. They say these moves create jobs, but there is no evidence that it does. Instead, there are just bigger profits for corporations.

This is part of the reason that a presidential candidate like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is resonating with so many people. He makes it clear he won't turn his back on people, like many on Capitol Hill already have. Too many believe government is of and by corporations now. It should be of and by the people like our founders intended.

Today's Teamster News 01.03.14

Teamsters Local 553 Fights to Protect NYC Horse-Drawn Carriages  CNN   ...Teamsters Local 553 leads the fight against a proposed ban of one of the city's most recognized and beloved attractions. See the video here...
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Court Beefs Up Protections for Workers Injured By Chemicals  Mother Jones   ...Last week, a federal court issued a ruling strengthening protections for Americans injured by chemicals on the job...
Senate Democrats plan to reinstate lost unemployment benefits  The Guardian   ...Democratic leaders in the Senate are planning to fast-track legislation to extend unemployment insurance, a move that would provide a lifeline to more than a million Americans who lost their benefits last week...
Public service unions brace for coming showdown over sick leave  Ottawa Citizen   ...A big issue in the Conservative government’s upcoming showdown with federal unions over a plan to eliminate accumulated sick leave is what to do with the $5.2 billion in unused leave that public servants have already banked and rolled over...
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The “middle class” myth: Here’s why wages are really so low today  The Salon   ...Want to understand the failures of the "free market" and the key to getting a decent wage? Here's the real story...
Home Depot Founder: Pope Francis’ Criticism Of Capitalism Will Scare Away Rich People  ThinkProgress   ...Ken Langone, the billionaire founder of Home Depot, is worried Pope Francis’ recent criticism of the wealthy and capitalism will be a “hurdle” for rich donors...
Retirement unlikely for some Americans  Associated Press   ...Whether they work on the farm or at a blue collar job, baby boomers worry that Social Security won't be enough to allow them to retire...
Loan Monitor Is Accused of Ruthless Tactics on Student Debt  New York Times   ...As the Educational Credit Management Corporation fights borrowers who file for bankruptcy on federal loans, there is growing concern over its collection practices...
Congress just let 55 tax breaks expire  The Washington Post   ...There are 55 tax breaks for individuals and businesses that expired at the end of 2013. Read up on the tax breaks so you don’t miss out when you file this year...
Walmart Recalls Donkey Meat In China Because It Contained Fox  Reuters   ...Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the world's largest retailer, has recalled donkey meat sold at some outlets in China after tests showed the product contained the DNA of other animals, the U.S. company said...
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In Cambodia, pressure from labor disputes mounts on a longtime leader  Reuters   ...Labor strikes in Cambodia have taken on a new significance and are presenting a rare challenge to one of the world's longest-serving leaders...
Bangladesh shipbuilder sets benchmark in health and safety standards  The Guardian   ...Chittagong shipyard partners with German firm to promote better workplace health and safety practices and reduce accidents...
Workers In A Third State Can Now Take Paid Family Leave  ThinkProgress   ...Rhode Island's new paid family leave law went into effect as the new year arrived, making it the third state (along with California and New Jersey) that has such a program...

Today's Teamster News 07.18.13

Bangladesh Government Allows Workers To Form Unions  ThinkProgress   ...Bangladesh’s government approved a labor law on Monday that would make it easier for workers to form unions. The legislation also included provisions that create a fund to improve workers’ living standards and require companies to deposit 5 percent of profits into employee welfare funds...
License plate cameras track millions of Americans  Washington Post   ...The spread of cheap, powerful cameras capable of reading license plates has allowed police to build databases on the movements of millions of Americans over months or even years, according to an American Civil Liberties Union report released Wednesday...
The 1 Move That Could Suddenly Pull 300,000 Workers Out Of Poverty  Huffington Post   ...Legislation introduced in both the Senate and the House of Representatives could pull hundreds of thousands of the country's working poor out of poverty, according to a new study by the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities...
Barclays fights US electricity price manipulation fine through the courts  Guardian   ...Barclays has pledged to fight a $470m (£300m) penalty for allegedly manipulating electricity prices in California by taking the case through the US judicial system...
Jack Lew: Delaying Dodd-Frank Rules Raises Threat Of More Bank Bailouts  Associated Press   ...U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew says delays in writing rules to put the financial overhaul law into effect have raised the prospect that taxpayers might again have to bail out big banks that fail...
U.S. seeks new tactic in financial crisis prosecutions  Reuters   ... U.S. federal prosecutors are considering a new strategy for criminally charging Wall Street bankers who packaged and sold bad mortgage loans at the height of the housing bubble, according to a federal official familiar with the investigation...
IRS cancels one furlough day, cuts costs elsewhere  Reuters   ...The Internal Revenue Service said it was cancelling an agency shutdown that had been scheduled for Monday and required by federal budget cuts...
Big Money Makes State and Federal Politics Powerful (opinion)  New York Times   ...Art Pope invested heavily in local North Carolina elections, which ultimately resulted in the redistricting of 13 Congressional and 170 legislative districts...
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Unions wage legal fight against Michigan’s right-to-work law  Washington Times   ...The legal battle over Michigan’s new right-to-work law shows no signs of flagging. Right-to-work proponents suffered a small setback when Michigan’s Supreme Court declined to weigh in on the legality of the law...
GOP Lawmaker In Utah Wants To End Compulsory Education In The State  Talking Points Memo   ...State Sen. Aaron Osmond (R) argued that certain "parents act as if the responsibility to educate, and even care for their child, is primarily the responsibility of the public school system..."
State Dept. approves ND-to-Alberta gas pipeline  Associated Press   ...The U.S. State Department has approved construction of the North Dakota portion of a gas pipeline from Tioga into the Canadian province of Alberta, Sen. John Hoeven said Tuesday...
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Teamsters Call For Quick Approval Of Administration Nominees  IBT ...Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa today congratulated Senate Leader Harry Reid for forging a compromise that allows consideration of nominees for key administration posts...
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City, Teamsters Find Common Ground With Approval of Long-Awaited Collective Bargaining Agreement  Shoreline-Lake Forest Park Patch   ...Lake Forest Park City Council unanimously approved a long-awaited collective bargaining agreement with the Teamsters Local 117 representing maintenance workers at its recent meeting...
PolyOne plans to close Donora plant  Pittsburgh-Tribune Review   ...On Tuesday, the PolyOne’s plant supervisors announced that the company will close its facility in Donora, Pennsylvania by fall 2014. Teamsters Local 205 represents the roughly 100 employees at the plant...

Bangladesh to allow labor unions

With the death toll from the Bangladesh building collapse now over 1,100 people, the calls for greater safety have become deafening. The government of Bangladesh, in order to create safer work environments, has turned to the most proven method of making workplaces safe: labor unions.

Today, the Bangladesh government agreed to allow the more than 4 million garment workers to form trade unions without previous restrictions.

The Guardian reports:

The cabinet decision came a day after the government announced a plan to raise the minimum wage for garment workers, who are paid some of the lowest wages in the world to sew clothing bound for global retailers.

Those working at the eight-storey Rana Plaza, which housed five garment factories when it collapsed on 24 April, were paid as little as £25 ($38) per month.

Also from the Guardian story, a government spokesperson talks about the changes:

Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, a government spokesman, said ministers had agreed to amend the law to lift legal restrictions on forming trade unions in most industries. The old law required workers to obtain permission before they could unionise.

"No such permission from owners is now needed," Bhuiyan told reporters after the meeting presided over by the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina. "The government is doing it for the welfare of the workers."

Local and international trade unions have long argued for such changes.

Sanitation work just got deadlier

Sanitation workers put their lives on the line every day. Rarely is that recognized.

But Waste & Recycling News reported recently that collecting trash and recyclables is not only dangerous, it's getting more dangerous:

One of America's most dangerous jobs, being a trash and recyclable collector, just got deadlier. 

On-the-job fatalities among trash and recycling collectors dramatically increased last year, making the job the fourth most dangerous in the land, according to statistics released minutes ago by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

The much-anticipated numbers show that 34 waste and recycling collectors died on the job in 2011. 

That compares with 26 such fatalities in 2010, according to the BLS.

When Local 117 claimed that four Puget Sound waste workers were killed on the job since 2005, the local newspaper felt the need to check that fact. (Local 117 was supporting striking workers.)  The Seattle Times then reported that five sanitation workers had been killed during that period.

(By the way, Waste Management just agreed to rebate Seattle residents $1.24 million because of the 8-day strike.)

And let's not forget that Martin Luther King, Jr., was killed in Memphis while supporting a sanitation workers' strike. And the strike was inspired by the deaths of two sanitation workers.