Today's Teamster News 08.10.13

Leaders From DHL Locals Approve Tentative Agreement  IBT   ...Leaders from Teamsters local unions that represent DHL members met in Washington, D.C. on August 7 and overwhelmingly approved the tentative master agreement and supplements. Ballot materials will be mailed out to members on or about Wednesday, August 21...
Gold Cross Ambulance Employees, Schaefer Ambulance Service Will Negotiate Again Soon Imperial Valley Press  ...More negotiations between Gold Cross Ambulance employees on strike and the company will take place Aug. 20 in Glendale. A federal mediator came Tuesday to assist in negotiations, but Teamsters Local 542 President Phil Farias said it did not go well...
Cal City seeks 'uniformity' in its union contracts, approves deal with Teamster clerical workers  NWI Times   ...The City Council gave its approval Thursday to a two-year deal with the union representing city clerical staff, with city Treasurer Gerald Tarka saying the deal is meant to be comparable with the union contracts given in recent years to other city employees...
Strike continues, transit restoration plans to be presented  Willits News   ...Teamsters and Lake and Paratransit personnel will make an appearance at the Lake Transit Board of Directors meeting Wednesday where Lake Transit Manager Mark Wall will present a plan to restore transit services to Lake County. Wall said he expects representatives of Teamsters Local 665 to present a plan of their own.
It’s wait, see for Globe’s unions  Boston Herald   ...Union leaders at The Boston Globe said they’ll keep an open mind about new owner John Henry even as they face the unpleasant task of immediate negotiations over new contracts, including for delivery drivers who are represented by Teamsters Local 259…
Sale of Post and Globe signals new era in media ownership  Minnesota Public Radio   ...The recent sale of the Boston Globe and the Washington Post, both to businessmen who are billionaires, signals a new era in media ownership. The two will take control of properties that are part of an industry in turmoil...
China Factories Turn to Undocumented Labor as Local Wages Jump  Bloomberg   ...China’s embrace of higher wages to help bolster consumer spending has sparked a jump in factories along the east-coast export corridor bringing in undocumented and lower-paid workers from Myanmar and Vietnam...
Job Market Faces New Problem, Hitting One Unlucky Group Really Hard  Yahoo Finance   ...recent graduates under 25 years-old are in a particularly bad spot right now...
Study: Wall Street Overpaid, Rent Seeking  firedoglake   ...Yet even more evidence to support the emerging consensus regarding our now dominant financial sector being bloated and useless...
The Problem with 401(k) Plans  Baseline Scenario   ...What Ayres and Curtis did was point out the losses that investors in 401(k) plans incur because of high fees charged at the plan level and high fees charged by individual mutual funds in those plans...
Coming Soon: An Epic Mini-Series ‘Strength In Union’  NH Labor News   ...A five-part documentary film mini-series about the history of the American Labor Movement. “Strength In Union” will most likely air on PBS. The films will also be shown at film festivals throughout the country. Be sure to visit "Strength In Union" website for more information and release information...
Moral Monday coming to Charlotte’s Marshall Park on Aug. 19 Charlotte Business Journal   ...The Moral Monday protests in Raleigh that have generated international attention to North Carolina politics — and led to hundreds of arrests of activists — will arrive in Charlotte on Aug. 19...
The Fast-Food Strikers Are Fighting for All of Us  Huffington Post   ...Fast food workers have been conducting one-day strikes for better wages and working conditions in several American cities. They've also been doing much more than that: They're shown the entire country real leadership. They're fighting for all of us, and their fight is our fight...
NSA Intends To Fire 90% Of Their System Administrators To Prevent Future Leaks  Fire Dog Lake   ...Despite the NSA demanding the public just trust them, the agency itself seems to have some trust issues...
Sallie Mae, Education Department Under Fire For Student Loans To Military Service Members  Huffington Post   ...The U.S. Department of Education and Sallie Mae face fresh questions over the student loan business after the largest educational debt company disclosed a raft of likely federal violations that raise concerns over the government’s oversight of its largest corporate contractor...
Seniors Aren't Very Happy With the Republican Party These Days  Mother Jones   ...Erica Seifert writes that polling evidence suggests that seniors are turning against the Republican Party in big numbers. Here are three of her bits of evidence...
Michigan's bargain fees for overweight trucks need review, Snyder says   ...Gov. Rick Snyder said that Michigan should review the nominal permit fees it charges overweight trucks that chew up the state’s roads...
Texas Launches New Legal Attack On Voting Rights Act  Talking Points Memo   ...Texas escalated a confrontation with the Obama administration this week over the Voting Rights Act, staking out an aggressive new challenge to the landmark 1965 law that could send it back to the Supreme Court for yet another review...
Why Don’t Corporations Give to Charity?   Slate Group   ...Go to virtually any museum—and many hospitals, universities, and civic centers—these days, and you will find a prominent example of corporate philanthropy. If you were to judge it simply by the weight of public branding, you would think that the corporate community in the U.S. has stepped up to support charities in a significant way. They haven’t. Their profits soar, yet they only get stingier...
Meet the Low-Key, Low-Cost Grocery Chain Being Called ‘Walmart’s Worst Nightmare’ Time   ...Retail analysts say that the world’s biggest retailer has reason to fear a small grocery chain that’s based in Idaho and boasts a business model that allows it to undercut Walmart on prices...
Prison guards seek millions of dollars from state  Wisconsin Radio Network   ...Prison guards at 10 Wisconsin correctional institutions file a lawsuit, seeking payment for perhaps a few minutes of unpaid time every work day. That extra time could add up to millions of dollars for the guards...

Today's Teamster News 02.02.12

Indiana’s Last ‘Right-To-Work’ Law Failed So Badly It Was Repealed Eight Years Later  ThinkProgress   ...Indiana Republicans passed a similar right-to-work law in 1957 over the objections of Democrats, labor leaders, and workers, and the law proved so unpopular that it lasted only eight years...
Prison privatization plan may be crumbling in Florida Senate  Orlando Sentinel   ...The plan – scheduled to be debated on the Senate floor Wednesday – was abruptly yanked off the calendar by Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, amid reports that as many as 20 Republicans and Democrats were prepared to kill it...
Teamsters, safety advocates oppose higher truck weight limit bill  Detroit News   ...Teamsters President Jim Hoffa ... called it a "recipe for danger and disaster. This legislation is a reckless giveaway to the trucking industry, and corporate greed is at the wheel. The driving public absolutely does not support these radical changes that will endanger our highways. This overhaul will not create jobs. It will damage our roads and bridges, costing taxpayers. It will put lives at risk...."
Apple's Ethical Blindness Selects for Criminal Suppliers in Fraud-Friendly Nations  Huffington Post   ...Apple's suppliers' often seek managers willing to order their workers to exceed the lawful workweek, to refuse to pay them for significant portions of the wages they have earned, to unlawfully employ child labor, and even to coerce abortions. American managers are often unreliable in terms of their willingness to engage in these forms of illegality...
US unemployment “progress”  FT Alphaville   ...“if the same number of people were seeking work today as in 2007, the jobless rate would be 11 per cent”...
Teamsters, Nichols to resume talks Saturday as Iowa strike continues  Platts.com   ...Contract talks are scheduled to resume Saturday between Teamsters Local 371 and Nichols Aluminum in an attempt to end a strike that began January 20 at the company's casting and coil-coating plants in Davenport, Iowa. Local 371 President Howard Spoon said Wednesday it will be their first face-to-face meeting since more than 200 hourly workers launched the first strike at the Davenport plants since 1965...

Here's the skinny on overweight trucks

Cross-posted from The Trucker's Voice:

First of all, a huge thank you to the state of Mississippi, Teamsters, and OOIDA, among others, for standing with the majority of truckers as we fight the battle that is ensuing.
It amazes me when I mentioned I'd be doing a piece on this that many were clueless that the heavier weight proposal was still being battled out. It's scary how many things can slip under the rug when everyone is only worried about final rulings on hours of service and cell phones.

The heavier weight limit proposal is a key issue in the economy of many, it is a key issue in highway safety for everyone on the road. We, today, together, will explain it all. Then, hopefully, you can walk away with an understanding of why it's so important to pick up your phone, especially with this year being an election year, call your congress person, and say DO NOT PASS THIS!!

President Eisenhower developed the grid for the highway system in 1956. Before then, the goat trails many oversized haulers love and hate currently are the ones that were traveled by all semis and cars. A goat trail for those of you not understanding the terminology, are rough, two lane roads, that can barely fit a semi, much less an oversized load. During this time frame, 35' and 45' trailers were used. The 45' trailers were used seldomly. The weight was equal to that of the trailer. Therefore, the interstate system was not built for even 80,000 pounds. Yet, now we have 53' trailers now (some have opted to stick to the 48' trailers, but these are becoming a dying breed, as corporate greed of shippers and receivers picks up). Now, we have 80,000 pounds, and the interstate system is starting to scream back. ...



Hoan Bridge in Milwaukee collapsed due to the weight of regular traffic.

If we continue to up the ante weight wise, without ensuring the infrastructure of the highway system is rebuilt to able to retain and maintain all the weight that this proposal will put them under, there will assuredly be more collapses and fatalities to follow. For me, this is a completely unneeded risk to ensure corporate greed rules supreme.Infrastructure Report Card, CNN, U.S. PIRG, Popular Mechanics, and many more, have been reporting a bad report card. No offense, but before asking everyone for higher weights, maybe our dilapidated system should get an A+ first.

Even with all the facts crystal, the lawmakers are listening to corporate greed again. They want to increase the weight limit to 97,000 pounds. Many people may think, "80,000, 97,000, tomato, tomotto." Now, to those people, read the failing infrastructure, read the bridges that have fallen already, and look at it from a different perspective. That extra 17,000 pounds is equal to 8.5 tons, or about 5 cars. That's five extra cars trying to stop at once with you right in front of them.

Basically, it comes down to basic lies and greed. Many containers come off of ships into ports. These containers are then unloaded and reloaded to be able to maintain the correct weight to be on the federal highway system. These port workers are paid well for their work, and they get the load where it can legally move. The shippers and receivers who utilize the port, and in many other places, want to cut the middle man out, and save money. This would increase our already sky high unemployment numbers, and help further cripple our economy by once again finding a way to outsource workers.

Supporters claim this would save fuel, make the shipping costs go down, etc. It costs more money to run more freight due to the fact that a driver's fuel mileage goes down as the weight comes up. Also, who is going to haul heavier again (they've upped the weight before), without being paid more money to haul it? The drivers that are company drivers average between 19 cents per mile for team split to 40 cents a mile, or more. The median average of a truck driver's pay is 34-36 cents per mile. They should not be asked to haul more for free.

Many bridges and roads aren't set up to handle this weight increase. There are posted signs on many of these stating "No trucks over _______ tons or ______ pounds." The regular drivers do not normally touch this. On a rare occasion, they will actually send an oversized load over these bridges while permitted. The oversized drivers, upon noticing the bridge can not hold their weight, are to call and have their route re-routed. If this is not followed, a repeat of the Washington picture will occur. That is correct, general motoring public. We are permitted by the state and can't go on a lot of routes if over weight. Currently, there are stress fractures on the I-10 bridge in Lake Charles. These stress fractures are caused for many reasons. Some are due to age (read when the infrastructure was first made by Ike again), and the increased weights crossing these bridges throughout that amount of time. Also consider that these permitted routes will not be the only ones that others, depending on "reliable" truck GPS, will bring their heavier trucks will be traveling down. To make the easiest point, think of Minneapolis again.

The best and scariest argument in all of this is as follows; new drivers. Many take a little while to get comfortable with braking distance. You see, eighteen wheels do not actually mean eighteen brakes. There are ten brakes. This means 1,700 pounds on every brake would be added. The training practices by trucking schools and driver mills do not properly equip new drivers on what to expect at 80,000 pounds. These drivers would be less likely to be able to handle 97,000 pounds, which would create disastrous effects.
The basics are simple. Say no. Say no because the interstate can't handle it, the economy can't survive that, and all our lives are too precious to risk. Pick up your phone, call, and get them to understand NO!