Today's Teamster News 11.02.13

George Miranda Named to Board of the Global Gateway Alliance  teamster.org   ...George Miranda, International Vice President and Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 210, is joining the Board of Directors of the Global Gateway Alliance, an industry coalition dedicated to improving airports in the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area...
McDonald's Scam on America  Alternet   ...We're subsidizing the wages and benefits of employees of highly profitable fast food chains. It costs the American taxpayer nearly $7 billion per year...
As Cuts to Food Stamps Take Effect, More Trims to Benefits Are Expected  New York Times   ...millions of Americans receiving food stamps will be required to get by with less government assistance every month, a move that not only will cost them money they use to feed their families but is expected to slightly dampen economic growth as well...
Transatlantic Free Trade Agreement: Job Claims Are Pure Baloney  Economic Policy Institute   ...U.S. trade with Mexico after the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has cost the United States nearly 700,000 jobs through 2010. U.S. trade with China has certainly failed to deliver on the promised benefits of growing exports. Since that country entered the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, the U.S. has lost 2.7 million jobs through 2011 due to growing trade deficits with China. And the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS) has also resulted in growing trade deficits with that country and the loss of more than 40,000 U.S. jobs...
How the 1 percent always wins: Liberal washing is the right’s new favorite tactic  Salon   ...The famous examples of liberal washing come from the White House. A few decades ago, Democratic President Bill Clinton liberal-washed corporatist schemes like NAFTA and financial deregulation. Today, it is Democratic President Barack Obama liberal-washing the insurance industry’s healthcare initiatives and now joining with a handful of Democratic legislators to liberalwash – and legitimize – the right-wing crusade to slash Social Security benefits...
House Passes Deregulation Bill Written by Citigroup  The Real News   ...the one that was driven by Citibank that would allow a wide range of financial derivatives to be done directly by the bank, which is to say, the insured entity, which is to say, the government would be on the hook if there were losses. And Dodd-Frank was designed to prevent or at least dramatically minimize that. So this is a truly awful bill...
UK Energy Firms Guilty of Market Manipulation to Face Criminal Charges  Oil Price   ...Ed Davey, the Energy Minister, has now stated that the government may charge energy firms that are found guilty of manipulating the markets, with criminal sanctions...
Fannie Mae Sues Banks for $800 Million Over Libor Rigging  Bloomberg   ...Fannie Mae (FNMA) sued nine banks, alleging that their manipulation of the benchmark London interbank offered rate, which four of them have admitted, cost the mortgage-financing company about $800 million...
Wall Street’s favorite Democrat wants your pension  Salon   ...The financial services industry hopes to gain even more control over workers' retirement savings...
North Carolina, Come On and Rise Up  Portside   ...This past summer, "Moral Mondays" in North Carolina emerged as the locus of one of the country's most insistent state-level movements against extremist efforts to slash the social safety net and roll back civil rights...
Top court ruling upholds free speech, union lawyer says  Youngstown Vindicator   ...The Ohio Supreme Court delivered a major victory for labor unions when it ruled in a Mahoning County case. The court ruled that a state law requiring a union to give a public employer and the State Employment Relations Board 10 days’ advance notice of strike picketing does not apply to informational picketing...

Today's Teamster News 12.17.12

The Corporations versus the American People Battleground is the Fiscal Cliff  Economic Populist   ...Corporations are literally posing as grassroots activists with media appearances, twitter accounts, social media, major articles and dedicated websites, all in an effort to hoodwink the American people into signing onto having their social security cut along with their health benefits...
Commentary: Right-to-work legislation is a mistake for Michigan  Detroit News   ...With Michigan's economy finally stabilizing, thanks in no small measure to the unprecedented level of cooperation between the auto unions and management over the past five years, a rational person would think the business community and politicians would want to leave well enough alone...
Obama schedules private meeting with Ambassador Rice, readies signature for Russian trade bill  Associated Press   ...The bill establishes permanent normal trade relations with Russia and eliminates a long-obsolete 1974 provision, called the Jackson-Vanik Amendment, that tied trade relations with the former Soviet Union to the emigration of Jews and other Soviet minorities...
The Worst CEOs of 2012  Bloomberg   ...Brian Dunn, who resigned as chief executive of Best Buy (BBY) in April after allegations surfaced that he had an inappropriate relationship with a much younger subordinate. That’s not why he’s on the list, though. Declining stock price, cratering same-store sales, loss of market share to more nimble competitors, and an addiction to share buybacks that cost the company $6.4 billion with little to show for it—that’s why he’s on the list...
Judge hears arguments in right to work lawsuit  Post-Tribune   ...Attorneys for Indiana and a local union argued Friday afternoon whether a federal lawsuit aimed against the state’s right-to-work law should continue...
Payday lenders back in business with looser regulations  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel   ...Many of the lenders have shifted from payday loans that were good for as little as two weeks to what they call installment loans - high-interest loans that don't fall under payday lending regulations. Installment loans can have annual interest rates of 500% or more...
WI: Elected officials receive unlimited time off, and Walker sure takes his  Wisconsin Reporter   ...Gov. Scott Walker did almost no official work in the days leading up to the Nov. 6 election, according to new information released to Wisconsin Reporter — meaning the governor essentially has taken off at least two months this year, not including weekends...

Today's Teamster News 08.31.12

Low-wage jobs replace middle-wage positions  Tampa Bay Business Journal   ...Jobs created in the years following the economic downturn pay less on average than jobs lost in the midst of the recession...
U.S. flower growers fight to survive amid flood of imports  McClatchy   ...With Colombian imports now accounting for three of every four cut flowers sold in the United States, domestic growers say they can’t compete with the planeloads of Colombian flowers that are flown in through Miami each day...
Federal courts rejects Texas voter ID law, but state vows to win Supreme Court appeal  Associated Press   ...A Texas law requiring voters to show picture ID at the polls was struck down by a three-judge federal panel, who said the state failed to prove the legislation wouldn’t harm low-income and minority voters...
Paul Ryan’s speech in 3 words  Foxnews.com   ...Ryan may have helped solve some of the likeability problems facing Romney, but ultimately by trying to deceive voters about basic facts and trying to distract voters from his own record, Ryan’s speech caused a much larger problem for himself and his running mate...
Teamsters reach deal with SuperMom's, end lock-out  Pioneer Press   ...The settlement between Teamsters Local 120 and Northern Tier Energy LP was reached late Wednesday afternoon, said Christine Carnicelli, Northern Tier Energy spokeswoman...
Republic Airways employees stage protest in Indianapolis  Indianapolis Star   ...Pilots, flight attendants and mechanics for Republic Airways protested this morning against what they call low wages and intimidation tactics by the airline's management...

S. Korea trade gap triples after job-killing trade deal takes effect

The U.S. trade deficit with S. Korea widened in the first month after the corporate giveaway masquerading as a trade deal took effect.

The first month of data -- for April -- is out, reports Public Citizen. It isn't pretty.

According to Inside US Trade,

The U.S. trade deficit in goods with South Korea tripled during the first full month the U.S.-Korea free trade agreement was in force... 

The U.S. goods trade deficit with South Korea grew to $1.8 billion in April, with imports totaling roughly $5.5 billion compared to exports of $3.7 billion. That was a larger bilateral deficit than the $0.6 billion recorded in March, where imports totaled $4.8 billion and exports were $4.2 billion. In April 2011, the U.S. goods deficit with Korea was $1 billion.

And, just as we predicted, auto imports from S. Korea increased while U.S. exports stayed the same. Again, from Inside US Trade,

...While U.S. exports of autos and auto parts stayed the same over both months at roughly $100 million, imports from Korea rose to $1.76 billion in April from $1.56 billion the previous month.

And now we're negotiating another job-killing trade deal, the TPP?

As Albert Einstein said,

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Today's Teamster News 04.17.12

Teamsters: Colombia Has Not Complied With Action Plan on Labor Rights  IBT   ...The Teamsters Union expressed its opposition to the announcement that Colombia has met key requirements of the Action Plan on Labor Rights that allow the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement to be implemented beginning May 15...
Taxpayers would Pay $426 to Make Up for Tax Haven Abuse, Small Businesses $2,116  USPIRG   ...the average tax filer in 2011 would have to pay $426 to make up for revenue lost from corporations and wealthy individuals shifting income to offshore tax havens...
Teamsters Local 507 Continues to Fight, Red Cross Showing Its True Colors  Examiner   ...The workers that once had pride in working for the Red Cross are now wondering how such a humanitarian organization can care so little about its employees and donors. In Cleveland, there have been no negotiations scheduled since the strike began...
Protesters Arrested in Sleep-Out and Demonstration Near Stock Exchange  New York Stock Exchange   ...The police arrested four people near the New York Stock Exchange on Monday morning after telling Occupy Wall Street protesters, who have been gathering there for a week, that they were not permitted to sit or lie down on sidewalks...
Two Federal Judges Suggest All Labor, Business and Wall Street Regulation Is Unconstitutional  ThinkProgress   ...“tentherism,”  (is) a radical misreading of the Constitution which claims that pretty much everything the federal government does is unconstitutional. Tenther lawmakers — who include members of Congress, senators, governors and at least one sitting Supreme Court justice — have claimed that child labor laws, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, clean air laws and the federal highway system all violate the Constitution...
LA area Port Traffic increases in March, Exports hit new record  Calculated Risk  ...For the month of March, loaded outbound traffic was up 2.6% compared to March 2011, and loaded inbound traffic was up 12.8% compared to March 2011...