Today's Teamster News 09.18.12

SECRET VIDEO: Romney Tells Millionaire Donors What He REALLY Thinks of Obama Voters  Mother Jones   ...He dismissed these Americans as freeloaders who pay no taxes, who don't assume responsibility for their lives, and who think government should take care of them...
Rapid plunge in oil futures leaves traders guessing  The Telegraph   ...Four minutes of hectic high volume trading sheared $4 off the price of oil late on Monday and left traders and US regulators hunting for the cause of one of the fastest and most furious energy market routs in recent years...
BARF! Protestors Puke at TransPacific Partnership Talks  La Figa   ...The Biotic Barf Brigade and petition delivery were part of a week long series of protests and activism opposing the TPP, who claim that the trade agreement would imperil access to generic drugs in Third World and developing nations, weaken food safety regulations, and destroy natural resources...
Judge Delays Chicago Strike Ruling  Wall Street Journal   ...A judge declined on Monday to immediately order Chicago public-school teachers back into their classrooms, rebuffing Mayor Rahm Emanuel's efforts to end the six-day strike on the grounds that it is illegal...
Labor limbo: Teamsters file grievances over SPA furloughs  thetimes-tribune.com   ...The union for 12 former employees of the beleaguered Scranton Parking Authority has filed three grievances over the workers' furloughs last week...
Teamsters apply to drop taxi drivers from union  Edmonton Journal   ...Teamsters local 987 representing Yellow, Barrel, Checker and Prestige cab drivers has filed a revocation application to have the drivers dropped from the union, the Alberta Labour Relations Board says...

Today's Teamster News 06.08.12

Mortgage Rates In U.S. Fall To Record Lows With 30-Year At 3.67%  Bloomberg   ...Mortgage rates in the U.S. dropped to record lows for a sixth straight week as concerns over slowing job growth pushed investors into the safety of government bonds that guide interest costs...
Oil Heads For Longest Weekly Losing Streak In 13 Years  Bloomberg   ...Oil fell a second day in New York, heading for the longest weekly losing streak in more than 13 years, on speculation the economies of the U.S. and China, the world’s biggest crude consumers, will slow and curb fuel demand...
The Fortunate 400  Reuters   ...Six American families paid no federal income taxes in 2009 while making something on the order of $200 million each. This is one of many stunning revelations in new IRS data that deserves a thorough airing in this year's election campaign...
House Democrats Propose Increasing Minimum Wage To $10  ThinkProgress   ...The minimum wage hit its peak buying power in 1968; to have the same buying power today, the minimum wage would have to be $9.92. If the minimum wage had been indexed to the Consumer Price Index since 1968, it would be approximately $10.40 today...
Nuns' group plans bus trip to protest the Ryan budget  CNN   ...NETWORK, a group founded by 47 Catholic sisters that speaks out on social justice issues in particular, will be hitting states like Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia in order to reveal “how federal budget cuts proposed by Rep. Paul Ryan, (R-WI), and passed by the House of Representatives will hurt struggling families in these states,” a release by the group reads...
LABOR: Clock to start early for Teamsters, UPS  The Press-Enterprise   ...More than a year before its current contract expires, the Teamsters are gearing up for its next round of discussions with UPS...
Labor battle brewing between Teamsters, Waste Management  KOMO News   ..."It's a basic equity concept. it's equal pay for equal work. and i think everybody can understand that if you're working side by side with somebody performing exactly the same job and they're getting paid so much more than you, that's not right," said Tracey Thompson of Teamsters Local 117...

Today's Teamster News 04.20.12

KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut's Owner Is the 12th Corporation To Drop ALEC  ThinkProgress   ...Yum! Brands, the owner of fast food brands KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut told Color of Change that they will no longer support the American Legislative Exchange Council, the right-wing front group that, until recently, was a driving force behind state voter suppression and “stand your ground” gun laws...
Foreclosure ripple effect: 8.3 million children in jeopardy  MSNBC   ...kids who switch schools have lower levels of math and reading achievement, even after controlling for other factors such as poverty...
A Study On Speculation in the OIl Market For Those Economists Who Have Apparently Not Seen It  Jesse's Cafe Americain   ...speculation contributed about fifteen percent to the increase in prices in the oil market during a recent price increase...
Text messages distracted pilot who botched landing, safety probe finds  The Star   ...An Australian Jetstar plane failed to make a proper landing at Singapore’s Changi International Airport after the captain was distracted by incoming text messages on his cellphone, while the first officer “probably” suffered from fatigue, a transportation safety body ruled Thursday...
Bankruptcy  judge gives Hostess more time  The Deal   ...Judge Robert D. Drain of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York in White Plains on Tuesday, April 17, approved a 90-day extension of the company's exclusive right to file a plan and solicit acceptances to it, to Aug. 8 and Oct. 7, respectively, a company spokesman said...
Teamsters Local 175 back at work following Coca-Cola strike  Bluefield Daily Telegraph   ...A union strike that started Thursday ended the same day after its leaders reached an agreement with a soft drink bottling company...

Today's Teamster News 03.23.12

More than 1 million manufacturing jobs could be created in U.S. if Americans bought more U.S.-made goods, economist says  Cleveland Plain Dealer   ...if Americans spent just $100 billion on U.S. goods instead of foreign goods - a gap that has widened the last few years - then that would create more than 1 million jobs in manufacturing in the United States...
'The American Economic Model Is Broken'  Financial Armageddon   ...A staggering 63% of respondents across the political spectrum feel that the American economic model is broken. Individuals surveyed do not agree that the prevailing paradigm facilitates equal opportunity, or that hard work and skill are rewarded...
The Wall Street Surcharge On Your Gas Tank  Economic Populist   ...A new, very timely St. Louis Federal Reserve research paper, Speculation in the Oil Market finds 15% of oil price increases are due to speculation and is the second most powerful mover of prices beyond actual physical demand...
Senate Passes JOBS Act, STOCK Act  firedoglake   ...the JOBS Act, a bill that promises an impossible solution to an unrelated problem, which is a mask for its true agenda, to weaken investor protection rules to the benefit of Wall Street firms and corporations...
The GOP’s assault on labor rights: What is happening in the states?  The Hill   ...not one new job has been created by this tsunami of anti-union legislation...
Marietta, Teamsters contract ratified  News and Sentinel   ...A three-year contract with Teamsters Local 637 was ratified ... Terms of the agreement include a 15 percent per pay period contribution by employees toward their health insurance premiums and annual pay increases...

Today's Teamster News 03.14.12

Trucking Sector Gains Momentum -- YRC Worldwide and Arkansas Best Looking Strong  Marketwatch   ..."Our emphasis on core LTL services has resulted in significant increases in on-time service and our customers are responding very favorably," said James Welch, chief executive officer of YRC Worldwide...
Feds Promise Action On Wall Street Speculation Blamed For High Gasoline Prices  nasdaq.com   ...Bart Chilton, commissioner of the U.S. Commodity Futures and Trading Commission, wrote independent Sen. Bernard Sanders of Vermont that he has drafted regulations to curtail "excessive speculative trading," which would go into effect within 60 days of announcement...
Snyder signs bill to bar U-M union  Detroit Free Press   ...Gov. Rick Snyder signed legislation Tuesday that bars the unionization of graduate assistants at Michigan's public universities, a move prompted by an attempt to form a union by grad assistants at the University of Michigan...
Scott Walker: Economic Failure for Wisconsin  United Wisconsin   ...Data released from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reveals that Wisconsin lost 12,500 jobs in 2011. This statistic puts Wisconsin dead last in job creation in the country...
'Right to work' battle pitched in Minnesota  Minneapolis Star-Tribune   ...More than 1,000 sign-wielding union workers and supporters poured into the Capitol on Monday, urging legislators to reject a proposed "right to work" constitutional amendment that is turning Minnesota into the latest Midwestern flashpoint in what has become a grinding clash between powerful unions and groups trying to break their grip on workplaces...
Revamped right-to-work bill returns to NH House among host of collective bargaining bills  Associated Press   ...The sponsor, Republican Rep. Will Smith, believes new additions repealing public unions' exclusive bargaining rights will bolster support...
Erie, Teamsters trade counterproposals in contract talks  Erie Times-News   ...Union members voted to grant strike authorization in January... 

Today's Teamster News 02.26.12

Locked-out workers on 6-state trip Journal Gazette ...Eight locked-out union members have embarked on a six-day, six-state trip designed to increase public awareness of their situation. The travelers represent workers at American Crystal Sugar Co. in North Dakota and Cooper Tire and Rubber Co. in Findlay, Ohio, in what they’re calling a “1,000-mile journey for justice.”...
Get a real job! The note with 1 per cent tip left by wealthy banker after $133 lunch as an insult to the 99 per cent Daily Mail ...After dining on a meal at a boutique Newport Beach, California restaurant, the banker left only $1.33 on a $133.54 tab. Adding insult to injury, he gave the server, Breanna, another tip: ‘Get a real job.’...
Workers attack factory Phnom Penh Post ...A fourth day of protests by garment workers in Kampong Cham turned unruly yesterday, as nearly 2,000 workers shattered the windows of their factory with stones...
Have Labour Will Travel Macrobusiness ...governments in developed economies are caught in a vice. To keep the work force in employment, the workers have to be able to compete with much cheaper labour forces in the emerging world. If they try to compete on price, it leads to a Catch 22 — to keep the nation’s standard of living up you have to cut workers’ standard of living...
Length of Unemployment is Worst Since World War II Middle Class Political Economist ...The current average of over 40 weeks is completely unprecedented historically...
Why are Gas Prices Skyrocketing? Economic Populist ...soaring oil prices literally can cripple the entire economy. When will the people override Wall Street and stop this insanity?...

Today's Teamster News 02.23.12

The “Can’t Find Workers” Meme  Columbia Journalism Review   ...These young folks don’t want to spend a lot of money and time training to do a specific job they might not get only to get laid off when some private-equity slicks (where the real money’s at) buy out the company and ship the jobs to China...
WikiLeaks: Saudis often warned U.S. about oil speculators  McClatchy   ...Saudi Arabia suspected that "speculation represented approximately $40 of the overall oil price when it was at its height."...
Chinese Open First Car Plant in Europe  Der Spiegel   ...Just as the Japanese and Koreans did decades ago, Chinese automakers are hoping to gain strong positions in the longer term in the Western European and United States markets...
Do-Over Season  New York Times   ...Is there really a chance that the Supreme Court might reconsider Citizens United? A week ago, I wouldn’t have thought so, and I still think it’s an extreme long shot. But a provocative statement last Friday by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen G. Breyer makes this crazy idea worth pondering – which is undoubtedly what the two justices intended...
Wisconsin GOP Attempts to Ram Through Special Interest Mining Bill  PR Watch   ...Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald are pushing for radical changes in Wisconsin’s current mining law to benefit a single out-of-state company...
Clients Continue Exodus as Nuveen Investments Seeks Another Billion Dollar Refinancing, Teamsters Say  IBT   ...As Nuveen Investments seeks to refinance $1.1 billion in debt – just barely a year after the firm's last billion dollar refinancing – the International Brotherhood of Teamsters is urging clients carefully to consider the firms suitability as an asset manager in light of its highly leveraged financial condition, as well as its oversight and control by private equity owners Madison Dearborn Partners...

VT sen. tries to bring down gas prices

Sometimes it seems the middle class doesn't have any friends at all in Washington. Then Sen. Bernie Sanders does something to remind us we're not completely alone.

Sanders  is the Vermont senator who convinced the Smithsonian to sell products made in America after he was appalled to find Chinese-made figurines of our Founding Fathers in one of their gift shops. Sanders also famously said on the Senate floor that America is turning into a banana republic. Here's a snippet:

Many of the nation's billionaires are on the warpath. They want more, more, more. Their greed has no end and apparently there is very little concern for our country or the people of this country if it gets in the way of the accumulation of more and more wealth and more and more power.

Now Sanders wants to bring down the price of gasoline, which is forced up by speculators like the Koch brothers. He's sponsoring a bill to limit excessive speculation. In a letter to his Senate colleagues asking them to co-sponsor the bill, he writes,

Today, the national average for a gallon of gasoline is $3.75 a gallon, even though the supply is higher than two years ago and demand is lower than two years ago when prices averaged about $2.44.

Energy experts from Exxon Mobil, Delta Airlines, and Goldman Sachs have recently said that excessive speculation is responsible for between 20 to 40 percent of the price of a barrel of crude oil....

We have a responsibility to do everything we can to lower gas prices so that they reflect the fundamentals of supply and demand and bring needed relief to the American people.

Sanders' bill would limit oil speculation, set 12 percent margin requirements and classify banks and hedge funds as speculators. Wall Street's lobbyists will try to kill it, no doubt, but it's nice to know someone cares.

The middle class has a few friends in the House of Representatives as well. Last year, Congress passed a financial reform bill (the Teamsters supported it) that required commodities regulators to rein in oil speculation. House Republicans are now trying to delay that from happening. Some Democrats, led by Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, sent a letter to Republicans asking them to let the commodities regulators do their job.

At least we have a small circle of friends inside the beltway...

$4 gas: Blame the Kochs

The Tea Party isn't the only thing the Koch brothers manipulate.

No, the union-busting billionaires are also in the business of oil speculation. You know, the unsavory practice that drives the price of gas up to $4 a gallon.

Our good friends at ThinkProgress reported today that the Koch-funded Tea Party (Americans for Prosperity) is organizing a national tour to blame President Obama for high oil prices. The tour will include rallies, a website and radio and TV ads.

Writes ThinkProgress:

Koch’s relaunch of Drill Baby Drill appears to be a crass attempt to distract Americans from a true driver of high prices: oil speculation, coming from companies like Koch.

The report concludes that the Koch brothers' crusade to deregulate oil pricing (allowing them to speculate) contributed to the high price of oil, rolling blackouts and monopolies within financial markets. It shows how a Koch employee traded the first oil derivative, how the Kochs lobbied to deregulate oil speculation and how they drove up the price of oil by speculation.

Read the whole thing here.