Today's Teamster News 05.06.13

The Rich Have Gained $5.6 Trillion in the 'Recovery,' While the Rest of Us Have Lost $669 Billion AlterNet   ...Oh, are we getting ripped off. And now we've got the data to prove it. From 2009 to 2011, the richest 8 million families (the top 7%) on average saw their wealth rise from $1.7 million to $2.5 million each. Meanwhile the rest of us--the bottom 93% --suffered an average decline of $6,000 each...
When Your Boss Steals Your Wages: The Invisible Epidemic That’s Sweeping America AlterNet   ...Wage theft is fast becoming a top trend of the 21st-century labor market...
Bangladesh building collapse: death toll over 650 News Limited    ...The death toll from Bangladesh's worst industrial disaster has surpassed 650 after dozens more bodies were pulled from the wreckage of a building housing garment factories...
The Walt Disney Company pulls out of Bangladesh: Will that make workers safer?  Christian Science Monitor   ...The Walt Disney Co. is pulling out of Bangladesh and other developing countries, in part because of fatal accidents in factories that produced branded merchandise for Western firms. Announcement of the move follows last week’s tragedy that may be the worst such accident in world history...
Court not ready to give right-to-work opinion  Traverse City Record-Eagle   ...The Michigan Supreme Court is in no hurry to give an opinion on the legality of the state’s right-to-work law. In fact, the court still hasn’t decided whether to even grant Gov. Rick Snyder’s request...
Ohio 'right to work' fight likely to resurface in state legislature  Plain Dealer   ...Ohio's latest "right to work" effort seems dead on arrival, but don't bet against the issue coming back to life...
Montana Democratic women consider running for U.S. Senate  Missoulian   ...Several Democratic women are among those looking at the 2014 U.S. Senate race in Montana, one of about two dozen states where a woman has never been elected to the Senate...
CDC reports rise in autism, California social security benefits may help   Digital Journal   ...The CDC estimates 1 in 88 children are diagnosed with autism before reaching the age of eight. The disorder can be financially devastating, but social security benefits may help cover the cost of treatment and intervention...
Union Launches Major Ad Campaign Against Liquor Privatization  CBS KDKA-TV   ...So far it’s been mostly Governor Corbett and his allies arguing for privatization of the liquor system. But another side is about to be heard...
Teamsters, ABF Reach Tentative Contract Agreement  IBT   ...The International Brotherhood of Teamsters and ABF reached a tentative contract agreement, Gordon Sweeton, Co-Chairman of the Teamsters National ABF Negotiating Committee, announced Friday...
IBT To Conduct Crane Operations Courses in St. Louis  IBT    ...The IBT Safety and Health Department will be conducting the following classes on Crane Operations at Teamsters Local 682 in St. Louis...
Alpha School Bus Workers Ratify Contract  IBT   ...School bus drivers and monitors with Alpha School Bus in Crestwood, Ill., have ratified their first three-year agreement by a nearly unanimous vote...
Illinois Governor Honors BLET Anniversary  BLET   ...California, Massachusetts, and Ohio and two cities (Detroit and Marshall, Mich.) recognize North America’s oldest railroad labor union...
Employees of Durham Bus Services Fight For Respect and Union Rights  RadioLabour   ...Employees of Durham Bus Services in the US have been trying to join the Teamsters union. But the company, owned by National Express in the UK, is actively resisting their right to join a union. A RadioLabour interview with Louis Malizia, the Assistant Director of the Capital Strategies Department of the Teamsters...
Teamsters persist in drive to unionize truckers at L.A. and Long Beach ports  Daily Breeze   ... For decades, the docks at the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have been organized labor strongholds, dominated by the powerful International Longshore and Warehouse Union. But other workers handling imports and exports have mostly been left out. But that may be changing...

Today's Teamster News 05.02.13

Tom Morello Offers Free 'Union Town' Tracks for May Day  Rolling Stone   ...Tom Morello has partnered with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to give away tracks from Union Town, the 2011 album from the guitarist's Nightwatchman project. Fans can simply head to the Teamsters website and submit their email addresses for the tracks...
Bangladesh building collapse: Death toll passes 400  BBC News   ...The number of people killed in the collapse of a building in Bangladesh which housed garment factories last week has passed 400, officials say...
Tell Walmart and Other Retailers: Ensure basic safety and human rights for workers in Bangladesh  CREDO Action Alert   ...Urge these companies to take immediate steps to deploy safety improvements in their supplier factories and pay the compensation owed to injured workers and the families of workers killed while sewing their clothing in Bangladesh…
CEO-To-Worker Pay Ratio Ballooned 1,000 Percent Since 1950: Report  Huffington Post   ...We’ve made progress on a lot of things since the 1950s and so have CEOs -- in their quest for more money that is. The ratio of CEO-to-worker pay has increased 1,000 percent since 1950, according to data from Bloomberg...
Bill Moyers documentary examines 'United States of ALEC'  Sacramento Bee   ...Ever wonder how it is that the same bill pops up simultaneously in statehouses across the country? One way is through the work of the American Legislative Exchange Council, a group that promotes business-friendly model legislation for state lawmakers to introduce in their respective Capitols.
Michigan bill would make stores online charge 6% sales tax  Detroit Free Press   ...Dan Marshall knows he can comfortably compete with the Internet on the prices of instruments he sells at seven Marshall Music stores across the state. But where the president of the Lansing-based, family-owned business can’t compete is the 6% sales tax he has to charge customers who make purchases in his store.
Poll: Plurality Wants One Party To Control White House, Congress  Talking Points Memo   ...A national poll from Quinnipiac University released Wednesday suggested that Americans have had their fill of divided government...
GOP puts 'right-to-work' on agenda  Cincinnati.com  ...Republicans waded back into choppy political waters Tuesday when two lawmakers – including one from Lebanon – vowed to make Ohio a “right-to-work” state...
Secret “Free Trade” Negotiations Will Gut Regulations, Further Enrich Multinationals and Big Financial Firms  Naked Capitalism   ...It’s a sign of the times that a reputable economist, Dean Baker, can use the word “corruption” in the headline of an article describing two major trade deals under negotiation and no one bats an eye...
American job prospects make for dim May Day celebration  MSNBC   ...For working America, the trend over the last few decades has been toward lower wages, fewer workplace rights, and diminished voice in the public sphere...
How to ease economic anxiety (opinion)  Washington Post   ...The American public knows it’s downwardly mobile. What it doesn’t know is what it can do to arrest, much less reverse, that trend...
Koch Brothers Plan More Political Involvement for Their Conservative Network  New York Times   ...As the country’s leading conservative donors finished off plates of roast lamb and spaetzle in a Palm Springs, Calif., hotel ballroom on Monday, Charles G. Koch delivered a pep talk...
Corbett's liquor privatization plan on life support  The Morning Call   ...First came the cops. Then came the drug-and-alcohol counselors. Next up was the moms. And finally, the kids. All of them told a state Senate committee they oppose a plan to privatize wine and spirits sales and make beer more readily available under a House-approved bill supported by Gov. Tom Corbett...
Florida State pension reform issue dies in the Senate  The Miami Herald   ...After months of calling pension reform a top priority in his inaugural year as Florida House speaker, Will Weatherford could do nothing Tuesday as his plan went down to defeat in the Senate...
Blistering audit faults Wis. job creation agency  The Republic   ...A blistering audit released Wednesday said Republican Gov. Scott Walker's premier job creation agency repeatedly broke state law in its first year of operation, failed to adequately track money it awarded for economic development projects and sometimes gave money to ineligible recipients...

Today's Teamster News 04.29.13

Report: Hidden overseas accounts quietly rising to surface  Washington Post   ...The IRS has recouped more than $5.5 billion under a series of programs that offered reduced penalties and no jail time to people who voluntarily disclosed assets they were hiding overseas. In all, more than 39,000 tax cheats have come clean. But there’s more...
Bangladesh factory collapse: police detain owners, as death toll exceeds 350  The Observer   ...Police in Bangladesh have detained two factory owners for criminal negligence over the deaths of at least 352 workers at an eight-storey building that collapsed on Wednesday – a day after warnings had been given that it was unsafe...
Who really pays for our cheap clothes? (opinion)  CNN   ...The sad fact behind the building collapse in Bangladesh is that it isn't an isolated problem. The story will leave the headlines at the end of this week but today, hundreds of thousands of workers will return to factories that are frankly further tragedies waiting to happen, and will keep producing clothes for high street brands...
Bill to boost California minimum wage approved by panel  Los Angeles Times   ...AB 10, which would give California its first minimum wage increase since 2008, was approved by the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee on a party-line vote...
Pa. beer laws add juice to liquor privatization debate  Associated Press   ...Where you can buy beer in Pennsylvania will be the subject of debate in the coming weeks in the state Senate, pitting profit-seeking businesses against one another and perhaps even against beer drinkers’ wishes...
Anti-Worker "Paycheck Protection" Bills Moving in Missouri  PR Watch   ...Missouri is the latest front in the attack on organized labor with so-called "paycheck protection" bills moving through the legislature, with backing from the usual array of corporate interests. But according to the Washington D.C.-based Economic Policy Institute, the bills primarily disadvantage workers while preserving privileges for corporations...
New York City Employee Pension Funds Sue BP Over Gulf Oil Spill  Bloomberg News   ...New York City pension funds sued BP for at least $39 million in investment losses, saying the oil company failed to disclose the risks and safety issues leading to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico...
Primacy of pensions in city bankruptcy may be issue for U.S. court in July  Reuters   ...A U.S. judge in July could take up the issue of whether a bankrupt city can shield workers' pensions while inflicting heavy losses on bond holders and other creditors, a lawyer for California's pension fund for public employees said on Friday...
Moody's, S&P settle lawsuits over debt ratings Associated Press ...King County, WA and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank sued Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and Morgan Stanley, accusing “them of hiding risky investments” (this goes back to the mortgage crisis). There has been a settlement; details were not disclosed...
Teamsters Urge "Special Pay Issue" Raises For Florida Correctional Officers  IBT   ...The following is a statement from Teamsters International Vice President Ken Wood recalling a Presidential Proclamation on Correctional Officers issued on May 5, 1984...
Teamsters Local Win $5M for Department of Aviation Members  IBT   ... Teamsters Local 700 has recouped approximately $5 million in lost wages for City of Chicago workers who were sent home early without pay while working snow removal shifts at area airports from 2009-2011...

Today's Teamster News 03.19.13

"Everyone But China" Agreement Prevents Regulation of Hot Money and Speculation  The Real News   ...The Trans-Pacific Partnership ... will weaken the sovereignty of many of the countries that sign on to that agreement...
Commentary: Little knives and cellphones on planes? This won't end well  McClatchy   ...At the same time the FCC is requesting that airlines ease up on restricting the use of cell phones, the TSA is fixing to relax rules so we can carry knives onto planes...
Rush to ATMs in Cyprus on EU bailout tax  CNN Money   ...A planned tax on Cyprus bank depositors as part of a European Union bailout is sending people rushing to ATMs to withdraw cash...
There are winners in Detroit’s financial crisis: the banks – and they are shielded from any risk by the new Emergency Manager law  eclectablog   ...not only have the big banks reaped hundreds of millions of dollars in fees and avoided taxes by walking away from foreclosed properties, they are first in line to get paid when Detroit’s debt problem is resolved...
Bill to limit referendum process could pass this week  Plunderbund   ...(Ohio) Republicans, safely in the majority in both chambers of the legislature, are fast-tracking legislation that would dramatically weaken efforts to overturn the laws that they pass...
House set to debate privatizing Pennsylvania stores  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette   ...A liquor privatization plan that would allow wine in groceries and make liquor licenses first available to beer distributors -- while closing state stores by county -- is headed to the House floor after a Republican-driven committee vote Monday...
Legislation moving ahead to revamp Florida worker retirement system  Naples Daily News   ...The proposal — House Bill 7011 — would close the traditional pension plan to future employees and require them to join an investment plan similar to a 401(k)...
Getting rich off of schoolchildren  Salon   ...Stop pretending wealthy CEOs pushing for charter schools are altruistic "reformers." They're raking in billions...
Teamsters, ABF labor talks continue  Kansas City Business Journal   ...Negotiations between the union and ABF Freight System Inc. and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters continue as the two parties creep closer to the March 31 expiration date of their current labor agreement...
Hoffa Lauds Nomination Of Thomas Perez As Labor Secretary  IBT   ..."Thomas Perez is the right choice for Labor Secretary because he has shown throughout his career that he is a strong advocate for working families," Hoffa said...
Hoffa denounces TSA decision to allow knives in aircraft cabin  IBT  ..."This proposal is pure lunacy and flies in the face of common sense."

Today's Teamster News 02.26.13

Eric Cantor will propose Federal Law that Ends Overtime Pay for hourly workers  Democratic Underground   ...Eric Cantor wants to end the Federal law that mandates certain workers get paid overtime for the extra hours they labor. ..
Italian Voters Stage 'Rebellion', Markets Plunge  Business Insider   ...The markets were hoping for the liberal leader Pier Luigi Bersani to win easily, allowing him to form a coalition government with technocrat leader Mario Monti. This would have paved the way for more unpopular austerity and reforms...But the voters had a different idea...
Nary a positive word heard on liquor privatization during PA budget talks  PhillyBurbs.com    ...The Senate Appropriations Committee met with Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board officials to talk about its 2013-14 line item, but they only talked about keeping the PLCB around...The sight of some two dozen members of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1776 dressed in bright yellow T-shirts may have kept Republicans from publicly pushing Corbett’s plan...
How Much Support Does "Smart Justice" Bill Really Have?  WFSU   ...A Republican-backed proposal to reduce the number of former inmates going back into Florida’s prisons is now taking shape in the form of a bill. But, some unions and even some Republicans may not be on board with the “Smart Justice” idea...
Snyder defends right-to-work, urges GOP to stay unified in surprise appearance  Detroit Free Press   ...In 2014, all state and legislative offices will be on the ballot. Snyder hasn’t publicly declared his intention to seek a second term as governor, but political observers say it’s all but certain he will, especially given public remarks like his 7-minute address before the GOP faithful on Saturday...
Unions shouldn't have to protect 'squatters' who don't want to pay for services (Letter)  Michigan Live   ...A person shouldn’t have to join a union to be employed, but they also shouldn’t be allowed to enjoy benefits they’re not willing to pay for them, from a union they don’t believe in...
Republicans in Missouri Legislature are out to destroy unions (Letter)  St. Louis Post-Dispatch   ...the Republicans are not interested in jobs or workers rights. Their initiative is a scam. They are interested in destroying unions in order to cut off funding to the Democratic Party so Republicans can gain complete control with little opposition...
Montana Bill Would Give Corporations The Right To Vote  ThinkProgress   ...Provision for vote by corporate property owner.... if a firm, partnership, company, or corporation owns real property within the municipality, the president, vice president, secretary, or other designee of the entity is eligible to vote in a municipal election...
Christie Fails to Pull Off New Jersey 'Comeback'  Newsmax   ...New Jersey, the 11th most populous state, is still in need of a comeback. It has the fourth highest unemployment rate of any U.S. state, at 9.6 percent, nearly 2 percentage points above the national rate. It was one of three states to report late in 2012 that revenues were lagging expectations...
Scott Walker’s job-free austerity  The Cap Times   ...When Walker assumed the governorship two years ago, Wisconsin was holding its own economically. Job growth was competitive with neighboring states and the nation. No more. Since Walker began implementing his austerity agenda, growth has stalled...
American, US Airways unions still have lots to settle  Fort Worth Star-Telegram   ..."American Airlines mechanics came to us and said, 'We want new representation,' and they have been working very hard since June of last year to make that a reality," Teamsters spokesman Chris Moore said...   
Drivers and Monitors Unite for Better Safety, Working Conditions  IBT   ...School bus drivers and monitors with Durham School Services in Jay, Pace, Navarre and Milton, Fla., have voted overwhelmingly to join Teamsters Local 991 in Mobile, Ala. The 204 workers are seeking improved safety and working conditions...

PA guv wants to repeat WA liquor privatization disaster

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett today proposed following Washington state's disastrous example and selling the state's liquor stores.

After Washington state privatized its liquor stores, prices rose 17 percent. Bar, restaurant and retail sales volume fell 9 percent.

So why do it? Corbett said the profit will fund education. But Pennsylvania schools wouldn't need the money  if Corbett hadn't slashed education two years ago.

The Sentinel reports,

Corbett’s proposal would sell the wholesale and retail arms of Pennsylvania’s liquor business over the next three to four years. The $1 billion that process generates, he said, would create the Passport for Learning block grant to help schools throughout the state improve safety, enhance early education, focus on individualized learning, and improve science, technology, engineering and math instruction and emphasis. 

Ironically, when Republican Gov. Gifford Pinchot created the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board in 1933, he said it was to “discourage the purchase of alcoholic beverages by making it as inconvenient and expensive as possible.” 

Besides providing a one-time infusion of $1 billion for education if his privatization plan goes through, Corbett has said selling the state stores would offer consumers increased convenience and choice “because they will be able to buy the products they desire in a simpler, more accessible and more rational way.”

We think it's a bad idea. So do Democratic state lawmakers:

“I don’t think the safety and security ... is worth the risk,” said Sen. Tim Solobay, D-46. 

“This raises a serious concern for the safety and security of Pennsylvania citizens,” Sen. Vince Hughes, D-7, said in a news release after Corbett announced his plan.

Todd Farrally at DailyKos argued against it:

Under privatization, Pennsylvania will surely have to create another bureaucracy just to collect tax revenue from all the many private retailers that will exist. Under the streamlined system we currently have, we don't have to chase our money, it's automatically there because PA handles the distribution and sale of our hard liquor and wine. 

The pricing is kept low because the Commonwealth has sheer buying power on its side and is not looking to up profits every quarter...

We must also consider the 5,000 trained union employees that make a good living with benefits. They will be replaced with cheap labor that will contribute less to our tax base. 

Those union jobs include Teamster jobs.

Looks like we have another fight on our hands...