Today's Teamster News 08.05.14

Teamster News
Bus Drivers May Go On Strike Thursday  KVOA   ...Sun Tran and Teamsters Local 104 are still working to avoid a bus strike. Saturday night, the union overwhelmingly voted down Sun Tran's contract offer. The current agreement expires at 11:59 p.m. Wednesday...
Charter School Teachers Turn To Union For Help  Worcester Telegram & Gazette   ...Eighty teachers and guidance counselors at the Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter School in Marlboro recently made history when they joined a union — but not the one you might think. ...they joined Teamsters Local 170 in Worcester, a 4,000-member union of mostly truck and bus drivers and warehouse workers...
Motorcycle Run Raises Funds For Family Of Slain Gary Police Officer  Chicago Post-Tribune   ...Teamsters Local 142 showed Sunday that union solidarity knows no boundaries when it comes to helping family. At least 75 motorcycle enthusiasts brought out their bikes for the second annual Solidarity Run from its Clark Street hall. Last year, the ride, which brought out about 35 riders, brought in money for the union’s philanthropic works, such as Christmas baskets for needy families...
Trade
Walmart Is Giving Priority To U.S. Manufacturers Who Hire American Workers; CEO Bill Simon Says Reviving Industry Is Essential For Walmart’s Success  Trade Reform   ...Walmart is accelerating its program to purchase billions of dollars of more products from U.S.-based manufacturers. On July 8. Walmart held its first-ever Made in USA ‘Open Call’ Event” at its Arkansas headquarters. Five-hundred manufacturers pitched their products to Walmart buyers. The only requirement was that their products be manufactured or assembled in the United States...
State Battles
Kansas, Arizona Require Proof Of Citizenship For Voting  Wall Street Journal   ...Election rules in Kansas and Arizona are set to bar thousands of people in coming weeks from casting ballots in state primaries even as the federal government allows some of them to vote in congressional races...
War On Workers
The United States Needs Corporate 'Loyalty Oaths'  Daily Beast   ...2014 will be remembered for the plague of “corporate inversion,” which the news media should start routinely calling “corporate desertion.” So far, 47 American-based companies have renounced U.S. citizenship and bought foreign subsidiaries in order to dodge American taxes. Many more are preparing to flee...
Another Settlement – JP Morgan Receives Slap On The Wrist Despite Years Of Fraudulent CFTC Data  zero hedge   ...the CFTC will impose a meager $650,000 fine on JP Morgan, despite years of warnings about fraudulent data reports...
A Paper Mill Goes Quiet, and the Community It Built Gropes for a Way Forward  New York Times   ...It is something to do here, witnessing the disintegration of the Great Northern Paper mill, which conjured this town out of the backwoods and sustained it for a century. Once among the biggest mills of its kind, it pulled power from the river and made pulp from spruce, filling wallets and pantries for thousands of families and supporting a bustling main street...
1 Highway Worker Killed In Dallas-Area Wreck  KSAT   ...One highway worker has been killed and another hurt after a car plowed into a highway maintenance vehicle and trailer on a Dallas-area toll road...
S&P: Wealth gap is slowing US economic growth  Associated Press   ...The widening gap between the wealthiest Americans and everyone else has made the economy more prone to boom-bust cycles and slowed the 5-year-old recovery from the recession...
Pregnant Walmart Worker Ends Up Fired After Walmart Said It Would Help Pregnant Workers  Think Progress   ...Candis Riggins has a new baby. But, since she got fired from Walmart, she no longer has her job or her house...
Will Labor Solidarity Save the Post Office?  Huffington Post   ...A successful boycott to stop the further privatization of the post office could then move demand that the post office be restored to its former glory and effectiveness by reopening processing centers, extending local post office hours and rehiring experienced staff...
Miscellaneous
NLRB Gets The Case Of The Northwestern Football Player Union And The Wait Begins  Chicago Business Journal   ...The matter of whether Northwestern University scholarship football players can unionize is now in the hands of the full National Labor Relations Board in Washington, D.C...

This Teamster will be riding in the Rolling Thunder Run this weekend

No one was surprised one little bit when a Minnesota Teamster who's also a military veteran dropped by IBT headquarters today. He was in town for the XXVI annual Rolling Thunder Run, held in Washington every Memorial Day.

The annual motorcycle rally is a natural fit for Teamsters, who love their motorcycles and are proud to honor the men and women who serve their country. Nearly half a million cyclists attend the rally every year.

Riders gather in the massive Pentagon parking lots and then run through the streets of Washington, D.C. Afterward,they meet old and new friends and participate in the Memorial Day events. Friday evening they'll hold a candlelight vigil at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. There'll be a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and at Arlington National Cemetery and a national moment of silence for those who've given their lives for their country.

We're guessing that Bob Leslie isn't the only Teamster to bring his bike to Washington this weekend, but he was the first to visit Teamster headquarters. He's a veteran of Desert Storm and a member of Teamsters Local 120 for more than 20 years.

Leslie is a concrete driver in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Ride safe, brother!

Thunda Around the Rotunda (VIDEO)

We're 99 44/100 sure our Teamster brothers and sisters were at this motorcycle rally in Madison on Saturday to protest Koch whore Gov. Scott Walker and to support Wisconsin workers.

The Isthmus offers photos of the Thunda Around the Rotunda event for your enjoyment.

The Badger Herald reports:

The decibel level inside Capitol Square was heightened Saturday afternoon by the clamor of more than 300 motorcyclists revving their engines in opposition to Gov. Scott Walker’s controversial plan to limit public union collective bargaining rights...