Teamsters settle pay equity case with NYC. Woot!

Local 237 President Greg Floyd in 2013, demanding a settlement. 

Teamsters Local 237 reached a settlement of its lawsuit with the City of New York for underpaying women who work as school safety agents -- a terrific Teamster victory for Women's Equality Day!!

The settlement covers more than 5,000 Teamster school safety agents, who brought the largest pay discrimination suit in the United States against New York four years ago, when Michael Bloomberg was mayor.

The school safety agents, mostly women, receive $7,000 less pay a year than male-dominated peace officers in the city. The new mayor, Bill de Blasio, intervened in the class action suit (as he said he would) to fix the problem.

Sister Kangela Moore, who worked as a school safety agent for over 22 years, said:

I'm ecstatic—we've made history! I'm thankful for the Mayor's commitment to ensuring full pay equity for all employees, and for Local 237 and President Floyd's critical work to ensure we're getting the same pay as other special officers around the city. This means so much to me, my family, and the over 5,000 school safety agents employed by the City.

The agreement, which must be approved by a judge, would put school safety agents on an accelerated schedule to achieve equal pay by March 2018. According to a press statement from the mayor's office,

In addition to equalization of salary, today's agreement creates a new seven-year step pay plan for both new school safety agents and new special officers, to take effect on September 1, 2014, making permanent the equalization of school safety agent and special officer salaries. 

Incumbent school safety agents will be put on an accelerated schedule in order to achieve full pay equity by March 2018. The City will provide retroactive pay for wages in the amount of approximately $7,000 for each active school safety agent employed for at least three years as of September 1, 2014, and for school safety agents who retired between March 5, 2010 and August 31, 2014. The City will also provide retroactive pay for wages of up to $3,000, pro-rated for time served, for school safety agents who have left service and did not retire and were not discharged for cause. 

Members of the bargaining unit will vote on the contract.

Said Greg Floyd, president of Teamsters Local 237:

Today, we celebrate a fair contract for our school safety agents that provides them and their families with the security they need and deserve.

Today's Teamster News 08.16.13

Teamsters National Black Caucus Celebrates Its Fifth Annual Women’s Day  IBT   ...At the beginning of the TNBC’s fifth annual Women’s Day, a special tribute to the late Coretta Scott King, a Freedom Fighter and wife of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was the highlight of the morning. In Atlanta, Georgia, home of the Civil Rights movement, a sea of red shirts filled the hotel ballroom as TNBC delegates observed Women’s Day with inspiring speeches, recognitions and a special luncheon...
Teamsters Mourn the Deaths of UPS Flight Crew in Recent Crash  IBT   ...The Teamsters Union extends its deepest sympathies and condolences to the families of the pilots lost in the crash of UPS Flight 1354 on Aug. 14...
The Union Edge Reports on Teamsters Paratransit Organizing  Union Edge   ...Teamsters are driving up standards in the school bus and transit industry, with a notable win for workers at Keolis, a global transit company. The Union Edge radio program interviews Patrick Kelly, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 952 in Orange, Calif., and Kizza Doby, a paratransit driver with Keolis. Doby and his Keolis coworkers recently came together to join Local 952. Listen here...
Transit restoration plan presented, citizens vocal about impact of Teamsters strike  Lake County Record-Bee   ...Dana Spahn sat in her wheelchair across from the Lake Transit Board of Directors with the adjustable microphone as low as it went and talked about the difficulties of getting around the county without a bus running near her Lakeport home. Spahn, like many people, have been impacted by the labor dispute between Paratransit Services and Teamsters Local 665...
Whitaker expands police force while Teamster negotiations continue  Pittsburgh Tribune-Review ...The Whitaker council in Pennsylvania hired three new part-time police officers on Wednesday, but some residents remain skeptical that the move will make a difference in combatting crime. Meanwhile, the borough's police contract negotiations with Teamsters Local 205 are still underway…
No E-ZPass? You could pay more under new plan  Telegram & Gazette   ...A proposed $100 million electronic tolling system would charge a higher rate for drivers who don't use a transponder when traveling on the Massachusetts Turnpike. Teamsters Local 127 represents the turnpike's toll collectors...
The Free-Trade Job-Loss Express Is Coming Straight At Us  TradeReform   ...The giant multinationals are pushing a trade deal that will literally let them bypass our laws. ..
MBAs Without Borders  In These Times   ...Critics of the TPP, which is shaping up to be the most business-friendly trade agreement in American history, have taken to calling it “NAFTA on steroids...
NSA broke privacy rules thousands of times per year, audit finds  Washington Post   ...The National Security Agency has broken privacy rules or overstepped its legal authority thousands of times each year since Congress granted the agency broad new powers in 2008, according to an internal audit and other top-secret documents...
Congressman Doesn’t Believe White Collar Crime On Wall Street Exists  ThinkProgress   ...There’s no such thing as financial crime, according to Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA)...
Food Stamps Avoided By Millions Of Eligible Americans  Huffington Post   ...Republicans say too many Americans that receive food stamps fraudulently could just get jobs instead. But roughly a quarter of Americans eligible for federal nutrition assistance don't sign up for it. The Department of Agriculture says that in 2010, nearly 51 million Americans were poor enough to qualify but only 38 million received benefits. So why don't the rest enroll?...
To Preserve Social Security, Protect Voting Rights (opinion)  Huffington Post   ...It's no coincidence that the same folks out to restrict voting rights are busy trying to privatize Social Security. The Koch and corporate funded American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has been promoting politicians who practice voter suppression and Safety Net shredding for years now...
Study finds that student loan debt reduces lifetime wealth  Bay State Banner   ...A new research report on America’s still-growing student loan debt found that its financial effects can last a lifetime. According to the report, 39 million Americans have used student loans to fund college education. An education debt of $53,000 will lead to a $208,000 lifetime loss of wealth...
Corporate welfare, alive and well  Los Angeles Times   ...Big, wealthy mall developer Westfield Group is typical of businesses that get tax breaks by the boatload from L.A. County. That means millions in foregone revenue that could pay for schools and parks...
Wal-Mart Air Fleet Gets Taxpayer Support for Controllers  Bloomberg News   ...U.S. taxpayers are increasingly picking up the tab for the control tower at an airport that’s home to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT)’s corporate fleet, at a time lawmakers say they want to ban perks for hometown interests...
Court strikes down required Michigan worker pay contribution to pensions  Detroit News ... The Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled the Legislature’s attempt to require 17,800 state employees to contribute 4 percent of their earnings to the state’s pension plan is unconstitutional…
China cheats, Indiana loses (opinion)   NWI Times   ...We’re five years past the onset of the Great Recession. Right now, the stock market is booming, and unemployment has inched down to its lowest level since the crisis began. So why, despite gaudy Dow Jones data and assurances that an 8.4 percent jobless rate in Indiana isn’t a real concern, does this economic recovery feel like such a drag?...
Scott Walker Has 3 Grannies and a 14 Year Old Girl Arrested for Singing In Wisconsin  Politicususa   ...Gov. Scott Walker is now arresting the elderly and children for singing protest songs about him in Wisconsin...
North Carolina Hates the Legislature It's Stuck With  Atlantic Wire   ...When Republicans assumed control of the North Carolina legislature in 2010 and the governorship last year, few predicted the result: a sharply conservative turn on key policies and an attempt to entrench the party's advantage. A story in The New York Times and a recent poll show that voters are largely unhappy with the moves...
Two banks' payday-advance lending draws scrutiny  Sun Sentinel   ...A move by two of Florida's largest banks into the payday-advance-loan business is drawing fire from consumer groups worried about "predatory" lending by offering customers the kinds of short-term, high-cost loans historically associated with storefront payday-lending businesses...
Connecticut city council passes resolution opposing Koch buy of newspaper  Wichita Business Journal   ...The city council in Hartford, Conn., passed a resolution this week opposing the idea of a Koch brothers' takeover of their local newspaper, the Hartford Courant...

Next week is National Police Week

On average, one law enforcement officer is killed in the line of duty somewhere in the United States every 57 hours. In all, more than 19,000 law enforcement officers have made the ultimate sacrifice since the first known line-of-duty death in 1791.

Next week, National Police Week, will be a time to reflect on the heroes that ensure our communities are safe. This includes honoring the growing Teamster contingent of correctional officers, correctional probation officers and those in related fields.

“Our members who work in correctional institutions, as well as those who monitor offenders when released, are steadfast in their role of keeping our communities safe,” said Jim Hoffa, Teamsters General President. “Each of us has an obligation to be an advocate for those who serve and protect us, and the Teamsters will continue fighting for the passage of laws that provide for superior pay and benefits.”

The justice system would be incomplete were it not for the valiant efforts exhibited on a daily basis by these brave men and women who perform this vital function at the local, county, state and federal levels.

“We must also realize that one of the best ways to guarantee we maintain a professional and courageous corrections workforce is to demand that public safety be the first priority,” said Michael Filler, Director of the Teamsters Public Services Division.

According to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund:

In 1962, President Kennedy proclaimed May 15 as National Peace Officers Memorial Day and the calendar week in which May 15 falls as National Police Week. Established by a joint resolution of Congress in 1962, National Police Week pays special recognition to those law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty for the safety and protection of others.

There are many events and activities planned in D.C. and around the country for National Police Week, which you can find here.

NY Teamsters, NOW fight for equal pay for school safety agents

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Tuesday heard demands for equal pay for equal work from Teamsters and NOW officials. More than 5,000 Teamster school safety agents are bringing the largest pay discrimination suit in the United States against the City of New York.

The school safety agents, mostly women, receive $7,000 less pay a year than male-dominated peace officers in the city. Members of Teamsters Local 237 want Bloomberg to intervene in the class action suit and fix the problem.

The agents are put in harm's way every day.  They had to confiscate five firearms in the last five weeks. Their duties include patroling New York City's schools and making arrests. They are authorized to use deadly force while protecting children, teachers and staff.

According to the press statement,

Teamsters Local 237 President Gregory Floyd and Sonia Ossorio, President of the New York City Chapter of NOW, took to the steps of City Hall today on the occasion of National Equal Pay Day, to pressure Mayor Mike Bloomberg to intervene in the ongoing school safety agent federal class action lawsuit against the city demanding pay parity. 

...Teamsters Local 237 represents the school safety agents and has repeatedly tried to address this 20 percent pay inequity through contract negotiations with the city’s Office of Labor Relations, but it has refused to engage. The retroactive settlement the parties seek is about $35 million.

Floyd urged the mayor to engage:

We don’t understand why the city has chosen to drag this suit out against the brave women who are putting themselves on the line each and every day to ensure the safety and well-being of our public school children. Mr. Mayor, equal pay for equal work is one of our fundamental rights.  Let's act now to end gender-based wage discrimination among city employees. 

Sonia Ossorio, president of NOW NYC, said too many New York women suffer from pay discrimination.

When we tackle pay inequity and women earn the same as what men earn, it is our families and our economy that will benefit. Equal pay for equal work needs to be the highest priority. Mayor Bloomberg needs to stop turning a blind eye to these women school safely agents and this egregious example of gender pay discrimination.

Last month, Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa joined Floyd at a press conference at the local’s offices demanding the city stop stalling on a three-year old lawsuit.

Labor Press reported the Teamsters will be back in court next month:

The next court date is May 22 before U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein of the Southern District of New York. Floyd said, despite no response from the city regarding the three-year old lawsuit, he’s hopeful about the upcoming hearing. 

“I’m never more optimistic but we’re going to continue to talk about this issue until it reaches the attention of the Mayor and he does something about it.”

Today's Teamster News 03.06.13

Dow Hits New High While Most of America Suffers  Economic Populist   ...Work in America has become so exploitive, many are working for free...
Sequester Cuts 'Will Impact Food Inspection,' Reducing Meat Supply, Agriculture Secretary Says Huffington Post   ...the budget cuts mandated by the sequester would force the USDA to furlough meat inspectors for up to 15 days. Federal law prohibits meat plants from operating without a federal inspector, so this suggested the entire industry would have to shut for more than two weeks, leading to higher prices and shortages...
U.S. “Stalling” Could Force Acceptance of Onerous TPP  Inter Press Service   ...That broad geographical sweep, together with the simultaneous negotiation of a lengthy but highly secretive list of contentious issues not necessarily related to trade, is leading critics to warn that the scope of any pending agreement could negatively impact on nearly half the globe....
Striking Iberia workers protest against job cuts  Reuters   ...Thousands of workers facing pay and job cuts at loss-making Spanish airline Iberia on Monday staged a second wave of protests that could ground nearly 1,300 flights this week. Iberia, part of International Airlines Group , is battling competition from low-cost airlines and high-speed trains as well as a deep recession in Spain, where one in four workers is without a job...
Mo AFL-CIO urges action to stop ‘RTW,’ paycheck deception measures  Labor Tribune   ...Hugh McVey, president of the Missouri AFL-CIO, say extremists are “set to strike in the General Assembly” and is urging union members to call their senators now to voice their opposition to “right-to-work” (for less) and paycheck deception measures...
'Right to Work' and Other Betrayals Are Killing Snyder, Republican Brand in Michigan  Huffington Post   ...The party that keeps promising lower taxes is raising taxes on retirees, slapping a new health care tax on ordinary citizens and jacking up the overall tax burden of families who are already struggling to make ends meet...
House Sides With Business On Labor Laws  Associated Press   ...(Georgia) House Bill 361 would allow workers to opt out at any time from automatic payroll deductions for union dues. Current law says workers must have only an annual option to opt out. House Bill 362 would prohibit any state or local government entity in Georgia from requiring that bidders for public works contracts use unionized labor for a project...
Grand Rapids teachers say paycheck cuts qualify them for food stamps  Michigan Live   ...Since Feb. 15 when the district began deducting back health insurance premiums over what it’s allowed to pay under the state’s Publicly Funded Health Insurance Contribution Act of 2011 ... morale among teachers has suffered dramatically and a sort of depression has set in. Some are losing $300 per pay check...
Corbett, wife accepted thousands in gifts from biz execs, lobbyists  philly.com   ...Corbett and his wife, Susan, accepted $11,343 in gifts from business executives, lobbyists or lobbying firms in 2010 … and in 2011, his first year in office. (They) were feted by business interests with Steelers playoffs tickets, private jet travel, seats at a swank gala for the Philadelphia Orchestra, a Rhode Island summer vacation aboard a businessman's yacht - even money to help pay for the first lady's inauguration gown...
Teamsters Applaud Council Decision To Keep Borough Law Enforcement Local  IBT   ...West York Council members voted last night to reverse a decision made earlier this year to accept bids from neighboring police departments to outsource the borough's law enforcement to the lowest bidder and close the West York Police Department. The council also announced its intention to move forward with negotiations with Teamsters Local Union 776 in Harrisburg, Pa...
3 approved labor union pacts await signatures  Toledo Blade   ...Signatures are the only thing needed after a collective bargaining deal between the three Waterville city labor unions was ratified and approved...“The Teamster contract will provide for insurance coverage for their union members, the four public works technicians,” said Dale Knepper, the city’s chief of finance and administration...
Progress on ABF-Teamsters talks may lead to extension Kansas City Business Journal ...ABF Freight System Inc. is anticipating that negotiations with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters could last past the March 31 expiration date of the current labor agreement between the two parties... 
Flight Attendants Union Coalition Blasts TSA Decision To Allow Dangerous Items Onto Aircraft AFA   ...The Flight Attendants Union Coalition issued the following statement blasting today's announcement..."Today's announcement to permit knives back into the aircraft cabin is a poor and shortsighted decision by the TSA. Continued prohibition of these items is an integral layer in making our aviation system secure and must remain in place...

Today's Teamster News 12.27.12

Ten Reasons Why the Chained CPI Is Terrible Policy  firedoglake   ...Social Security benefits are already declining due to increases in the retirement age and Medicare premiums...
Ruth Marcus Is Outraged by Overly Generous Social Security Checks  CEPR   ...we have tens of millions of seniors living high on Social Security checks averaging a bit over $1,200 a month at a time when folks like the CEOs in the Campaign to Fix the Debt are supposed to subsist on paychecks that typically come to $10 million to $20 million a year...
Massive New Surveillance Program Uncovered by Wall Street Journal  Slate   ...The guidelines allow the NCTC, for the first time, to keep data about innocent U.S. citizens for up to five years, using “predictive pattern-matching,” to analyze it for suspicious patterns of behavior. The data the counterterrorism center has access to, according to the Journal, includes “entire government databases—flight records, casino-employee lists, the names of Americans hosting foreign-exchange students and many others....”
Ford to invest $773 million in the U.S. to create 2,350 new jobs and save 3,240 existing jobs  AFP   ...The Dearborn-based manufacturer posted its best November since 2005, as sales rose six percent to 177,673 vehicles. The results were driven by strong demand for its small cars, which posted their best November in 12 years...
Fox Parent Company Being Sued For Using Mafia Like Business Tactics   Addicting Info   ...The Dial Corp, makers of soap, personal-care and household cleaning products, have filed suit against News Corp along with subsidies News America, News America Marketing FSI, and News America Marketing In-Store Services, alleging that the company engaged in anti-competitive and illegal practices in order to monopolize the market, even forcing competition out of business through its illegal and immoral tactics...
Michigan Right to Work Law Was the Brainchild of ALEC, The Most Dangerous Group in Politics  PolicyMic   ...ALEC wasted no time in sending many of their most onerous "model legislation" bills to Michigan. These included the Emergency Manager law, privatization of public schools, expansion of charter schools, HB 5221 (Voter ID Act), which required voters to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote, and HB 4305 with language similar to ALEC’s model “Immigration Law Enforcement Act...”
Bakken boom making big impact on regional businesses  Farm and Ranch Guide   ...To visualize the economic impact to Billings of the Bakken oil boom, you can watch the oil field trucks rumble by or you can track subtler clues. Private jets lined up on the tarmac. Rolex watches and diamonds flying out of jewelry stores...
Teamsters Rep: NSB mayor owes cop apology for obscenity after trying to cut through closed street for Christmas parade  Headline Surfer   ...Bob Walker, business agent for Teamsters Local 385, who represents 38 New Smyrna Beach officers  (said) "I think he owes the officer an apology at the very least..."

Today's Teamster News 12.19.11

Growth of large private water companies brings higher water rates, little recourse for consumers  Austin American-Statesman   ...a growing number of suburban Texans are getting their water from large, private corporations owned by investors seeking to profit off the sale of an essential resource. State figures show private companies are seeking more price increases every year, and many are substantial...
This slump won’t end until 2031 (opinion)  MarketWatch   ...the Long Depression of 1873 to 1896 ...  a far more instructive episode than the Great Depression of the 1930s...
Will China Break? (opinion)  New York Times   ...China ... is emerging as another danger spot in a world economy that really, really doesn’t need this right now...
Study: Nearly 1 in 3 will be arrested by age 23  USA Today   ...The high rate of arrest among youth is troubling because the records will follow them as adults and make it harder for them to get student loans, jobs and housing...
Keelan: The anti-ethanol uprising (opinion)  VTDigger.org   ...why do we use ethanol in the first place? According to some experts its use and production are costly and detrimental to the environment. And wouldn’t you know, the federal government provides farmers with billions of dollars in subsides to grow the corn...
Work in Progress  The Journal-Gazette   ...Republican lawmakers have made no secret of their intention to make Indiana the 23rd right-to-work state. And on the other side, labor representatives have made it clear they will fight to prevent it...