Today's Teamster News 05.20.14

Teamster News
Park Ridge Police Department Chooses Teamsters Representation  teamster.org   ...Teamsters Local 700’s law enforcement membership continues to expand as 40 members with the Park Ridge Police Department join the Teamsters...
Seattle Transportation Network Drivers Vote To Form Association With Teamsters  teamster.org   ...Uber and UberX drivers met in Tukwila, Wash., to begin the process of forming an association which will work with Teamsters Local 117 yesterday...
Trade
Dog Illnesses and Deaths Linked to Imported Pet Treats From China  Alternet   ...the USDA will soon allow U.S. chickens to be sent to  China for processing before being shipped back to the states for human consumption...
Trans-Pacific Partnership: Another Trade Liberalization Scam  Truthout   ...The gathering pressure for Congress to "fast track" the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) demonstrates yet again that trade liberalization is one of the few aspects of economic policy about which there is agreement across the mainstream of the political spectrum...
Steelworkers to D.C.: Enforce our trade laws  Trade Reform   ...About 200 steel industry supporters and steel workers gathered at Civic Park Friday to protest the recent flood of imported steel from South Korea because it jeopardizes jobs within the city’s largest employer. The United Steelworkers Local 1899 in Granite City, which represents most of the 2,500 employees at U.S. Steel’s plant in Granite City, organized the rally because the South Korean steel imported into this country is sold below market value, making it difficult for U.S. steel mills to compete...
State Battles
More states, cities raising minimum wage  USA Today   ...The fast-food walkouts Thursday are part of a broader nationwide effort to raise the minimum wage for millions of low-income workers, a campaign that's notching growing success in states and cities across the USA...
Connecticut Public Retirement Plan Passes, More or Less  The Baseline Scenario   ...a proposal in Connecticut (would) create a new tax-preferred retirement plan that would, by default, include almost all workers who don’t currently have access to an employment-based plan (like a 401(k)). That proposal took some major steps forward when it was included in an end-of-session bill that was passed by the Connecticut legislature...the bill authorizes a feasibility study and implementation plan for the new retirement option...
War On Workers
Congratulations To The Class Of 2014, Most Indebted Ever  Wall Street Journal   ...As college graduates in the Class of 2014 prepare to shift their tassels and accept their diplomas, they leave school with one discouraging distinction: They're the most indebted class ever...
Credit Suisse pleads guilty to criminal charges in US tax evasion settlement  The Guardian   ...Credit Suisse Group has pleaded guilty to criminal charges that it helped Americans evade taxes, becoming the first bank in more than a decade to admit to a crime in the US. It will now pay a long-expected fine of $2.5bn (£1.5bn)...
It's Time to Break Up With Sallie Mae!  Jobs With Justice   ...Despite mounting evidence showing how Sallie Mae has been ripping off federal student loan borrowers for years, it's still possible the Department of Education will renew its multimillion-dollar contract with the shady company next month...
NSA Collects All Phone Calls from One of World’s Most Secretive Tax Havens, But Doesn’t Track That  empty wheel   ...NSA/DEA don’t appear to be using this facility to track money launderers...
Turkey Erupts Over Mining Tragedy; Many Blame Privatization   In These Times   ...Protesters, numbering in the thousands in some major cities, continued to spill into the streets throughout the week holding placards that read, "This is not an accident, it's a massacre.” In Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir, police intervened with tear gas and water cannons...
Occupy Wall Street Protester Cecily McMillan Sentenced To Three Months In Jail  Huffington Post   ...A New York City judge sentenced Occupy Wall Street protester Cecily McMillan on Monday to three months in jail and five years probation...
Miscellaneous
U.S. Charges Five Chinese Military Hackers for Cyber Espionage Against U.S. Corporations and a Labor Organization for Commercial Advantage  US Department of Justice   ...A grand jury in the Western District of Pennsylvania (WDPA) indicted five Chinese military hackers for computer hacking, economic espionage and other offenses directed at six American victims in the U.S. nuclear power, metals and solar products industries...

Pasco County, Fla., Teamsters ratify first contract

Pasco County Teamsters

Getting that first contract after an organizing victory is especially sweet, as employers often delay and obstruct negotiations. So 1,100 newly organized Pasco County Teamsters have reason to be especially pleased with a strong first contract that ushers in on-the-job representation.

Ken Wood, president of Teamsters Local 79 in Tampa, said they fought to win a strong first contract for hardworking public employees -- and they won.

The battle took almost four years, but our negotiators knew that they must bring the employees a contract that honored their job seniority, has just-cause provisions and included wage increases. And, that is just what they delivered.

The one-year contract was ratified by Pasco County employees late last week. It covers a variety of workers, including people who work on roads and bridges, in libraries and at water treatment plants.

Frank Pilgrim, a 10-year mechanic at a water treatment plant, praised the contract and the new strength it provides.

With the Teamster contract we now have someone to back us up on the job. It’s security that we did not have before.  

John Sholtes, business agent at Local 79, did an outstanding job helping to negotiate this contract. His work is much appreciated and I know that we can count on him to represent us going forward.

Pasco County employees are the newest county employees to be represented by Teamsters Local 79. The Local already represents public service employees in Hernando, Citrus and Collier counties.

Today's Teamster News 04.10.14

Teamster News
Teamsters Reach Settlement With UPS Over Fired Local 804 Members  teamster.org   ...The parties have come to a settlement regarding the termination of 250 Local 804 members that occurred after a job action that took place in February...
After protests, Teamsters take over an art fair  Crain's New York Business   ...After facing protests last year, the Randall's Island art fair has agreed to employ Teamsters and theater union members to set up tents and temporary galleries for the show that begins May 9...
Frieze New York, Unions Reach Agreement in Art Fair Labor Dispute  New York Observer   ... Frieze has agreed to incorporate partial union labor in the upcoming fair, running May 9 through 12 on Randall’s Island, and to only use union labor for the 2015 edition of the fair. “It was a great win,” said George Miranda, president of Teamsters Joint Council 16, who chaired the talks...
Milford Police Trade In Fraternal Order Of Police For Teamsters  The Milford Beacon   ...Officers in the Milford Police Department recently switched unions with just a few months before their three year labor contract with the city is set to expire...
Michigan Lawmakers Should Put Public First  Detroit News   ...Serving in the government is not always easy. There are myriad issues that the public wants solved and limited dollars to do so. There is partisan gridlock...
Trade
Japan, U.S. Fail To Move Closer Over TPP Before Obama Visit  The Japan Times   ...Japan and the United States failed Wednesday to move closer over outstanding issues in their bilateral talks related to a Pacific regional trade pact...
State Battles
Right-To-Work Fails To Get 82 Votes In House  The Missouri Times   ...Today the House failed to get the 82 required for the final passage of the controversial "right-to-work" legislation. The bill was perfected today by a vote of 78-68...
Outside Special Interests Lean on MO Legislators to Push ALEC’s Anti-Worker Agenda  Center for Media and Democracy   ...Last week, the Missouri House of Representatives passed a measure to put an anti-union "paycheck protection" measure...
War on Workers
Meet The 31 Corporations and Banks Who Dodged $128 Billion in US Taxes  PoliticusUSA   ...the 31 corporations and banks have dodged $128 billion in taxes by setting up offshore tax havens. They have received $6.5 billion in tax refunds, and $2.5 trillion in taxpayer bailout money...
University students will be repaying loans into their 50s, say researchers  Guardian   ...The majority of undergraduates now at university will be paying off their student loans well into their 40s and 50s, with three-quarters of them unable to clear the debt before it is written off after 30 years...
As Parents Struggle To Repay College Loans for Their Children, Taxpayers Also Stand To Lose  Truthout ...default rates, while still modest, have nearly tripled over the last four years. About five percent of loans originated in fiscal year 2010 were in default three years later. The default rate at for-profit colleges is much higher, at 13 percent....
Those Who Serve Tech Billionaires Lunch are Facing Eviction  Gawker   ...At Google, the people who spoon out gourmet lunches to the Mountain View struggle to feed themselves. At Tesla Motors, chariot-builders of the geek elite, working at the corporate cafeteria means you might not be able to afford your own home...
$772 Million Penalty for Bank of America Credit Card Practices  New York Times   ...Bank of America has been ordered to pay roughly $772 million in refunds to customers and fines to federal regulators to settle allegations that the bank used deceptive marketing and billing practices involving credit card products...
Bank of America to cut 3,000 overseas jobs  Associated Press   ...Bank of America says it's cutting about 3,000 jobs overseas as part of ongoing reviews of its global operations...
Miscellaneous
Report Finds a Los Angeles in Decline  New York Times   ...The Los Angeles 2020 Commission presented a catalog of failings that it said were a unique burden to the city: widespread poverty and job stagnation, huge municipal pension obligations, a struggling port and tourism industry and paralyzing traffic that would not be eased even with a continuing multibillion-dollar mass transit initiative...

Today's Teamster News 03.09.14

Teamster News
Pasco, Teamsters close to deal Special magistrate sides with union on OT  Tampa Tribune   ...After more than three years, Pasco County and the Teamsters Local 79 may be close to approving their first contract following the second pro-union ruling by a special magistrate...
Bus drivers, company seek to stave off strike  WPTZ News5   ...The Teamsters Union representing almost 70 Vermont bus drivers is still sequestered in one final negotiating session with the Chittenden County Transportation Authority in hopes of avoiding a strike...
MUA OKs Teamsters Pact  Cape May County Herald   ...Commissioners voted to ratify a new contract with its employees of Teamsters Local 331. The contract provides salary increases of 1.5 percent for 2013 and 2014, and 2 percent for 2015 and 2016...
Pa. Turnpike Must Use Teamsters For Mowing, Court Says  Law 360   ...The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court on Friday affirmed an arbitrator’s ruling that the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission had violated a collective bargaining agreement with the Teamsters by hiring a subcontractor to cut grass, but it overturned a punitive damages award...
Teamsters file grievance over road work by Mahoning County inmates  Youngstown Vindicator   ...their use of day-reporting sheriff’s inmates to help fill the potholes should have been discussed in advance with Teamsters Local 377, which has filed a grievance concerning the use of free labor by the inmates...
Trade
In the Real World the Trade Deficit Is More Important Than the Budget Deficit  Center for Economic and Policy Research   ...The trade deficit matters hugely to the economy and to ordinary workers, there is no excuse for not giving it a substantial amount of coverage...
The War on Workers
'They're Not Dead Yet': Planning The Demise Of Labor Unions At CPAC  Huffington Post   ...Norquist didn't dwell on his Tennessee victory, instead steering the discussion toward a larger picture: how the right can fundamentally weaken unions through state legislation. That includes collective bargaining rollbacks like the monumental one carried out by Gov. Scott Walker (R) in Wisconsin in 2011, as well as right-to-work laws like those recently passed in Michigan and Indiana...
Which Side Is Your Pension On?  Jacobin   ... The corporate control of finance is not simply due to the weakness of regulations on the system. Instead, active state intervention since World War II has pushed labor’s finance into the hands of corporate fiduciaries...
Auto Regulators Dismissed Defect Tied to 13 Deaths  New York Times   ...Federal safety regulators received more than 260 complaints over the last 11 years about General Motors vehicles that suddenly turned off while being driven, but they declined to investigate the problem, which G.M. now says is linked to 13 deaths and requires the recall of more than 1.6 million cars worldwide....
Miscellaneous
London’s Laundry Business  New York Times   ...Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin, gets it: you pay them, you own them. Mr. Putin was absolutely certain that Britain’s managers — shuttling through the revolving door between cabinet posts and financial boards — would never give up their fees and commissions from the oligarchs’ billions. He was right...
The Fat Drug  New York Times   ...decades of agricultural research has shown that antibiotics seem to flip a switch in young animals’ bodies, helping them pack on pounds...But what if that meat is us? Recently, a group of medical investigators have begun to wonder whether antibiotics might cause the same growth promotion in humans...
Facebook to Buy Drone Company Titan Aerospace for $60 Million  NBC News   ...Facebook is supposedly interested in Titan because its solar-powered drones — which can reportedly stay airborne for five years — can help Facebook achieve its goal of providing Internet access around the world...

Another Teamster organizing victory in California!

Please welcome our 500 new Teamster brothers and sisters at Mount Diablo Unified School District who voted 67 percent in favor of joining Teamsters Local 856 in San Bruno, Calif. Final votes were tallied today in an election that included school bus drivers, custodians, food service workers, technicians, and other workers in the maintenance department.

According to a press release from Local 856, the workers voted to join the Teamsters after months of stalled negotiations over issues such as soaring health care costs and overdue pay increases.

Noven Feria, a lead custodian, explained why he and his coworkers chose the Teamsters:

We drive children to school, prepare their meals, and make sure they have a clean, safe environment in which to learn. We deserve to be able to take care of our families too and not have to choose between food and healthcare. 

 Peter Finn, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 856, added,

The District’s decision to freeze healthcare costs at 2010 levels has had an alarming impact on these workers – many have had to choose between buying groceries and having healthcare. 

It’s time for Mount Diablo to take care of the workers who take care of our children. We are committed and prepared to do whatever it takes to demand fairness at the bargaining table.

Mount Diablo workers organizing committee

Mount Diablo workers join Concord city workers within the school district who are also represented by Local 856.

Welcome to the Teamsters!

Today's Teamster News 01.19.14

Who Speaks for the Carriage Horses?  New York Times   ...“Ban them?” the mother, Lesley Fabri, 60, exclaimed after her ride. “That’s the whole reason we’re here!”...
Carriage rides have a certain magic (opinion)  Livingtson County News   ...I will decline to go down the rabbit hole of debating the issue more than to say that the carriage business in New York and other major cities is perfectly legal and well-regulated...
Industry powers with access to TPP plans lavish money on Congress  RT.com   ... current members of Congress received around US$24 million in the last ten years from organizations represented on an exclusive industry board, created and staffed by Congress. This board has inside access - such as not even granted to members of Congress, much less the public - to the highly-secretive negotiations of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, which promises to give powerful industry players more clout over global trade rights...
Insight: Battle over police pensions in U.S. cities takes ugly turn  Reuters   ...A drive by some American cities to cut costly police retirement benefits has led to an extraordinary face-off between local politicians and the law enforcement officers who work for them...
Freedom Industries, Company Behind West Virginia Chemical Spill, Files For Bankruptcy  Huffington Post   ...The company behind the massive chemical spill that made tap water unsafe for more than 300,000 West Virginians has filed for bankruptcy...
South Korea pulled strings as Cambodia’s military cracked down on protesters  Global Post   ...As workers who stitch for Western brands demand a livable wage, South Korea urged Cambodian forces to protect corporate interests...
Hershey's to make 3-D chocolate printer  CNN Money   ...Because apparently Americans don't have easy enough access to junk food, soon getting a candy bar could be as easy as hitting "print."...
A nearly 17-year-old is reportedly author of malware that led to Target’s data breach  Wall Street Journal   ...The  Target Corp. data breach that has hurt its sales and has made many consumers skittish about using their cards has been traced to a Russian teenager who authored the malware used in the security breach, according to a cyber-intelligence firm...
@Work Advice: Homeless, not hopeless  Washington Post   ...A competent junior co-worker recently confided to me that he has been living out of his car since his lease ended a month ago. He has acquired credit card debt while being underpaid and working long hours for two years at our 50-person organization. His finances are reaching a breaking point...
Missouri at center of new GM, Ford pickup rollouts  St. Louis Post Dispatch   ...When production of these new pickups starts this year, Missouri will become an epicenter of pickup production in the U.S., with thousands of the vehicles rolling off assembly lines every week...

Boston police: Today's heroes are the Wal-mart workers of yore

Boston police aren't always treated with the kind of adulation they received at yesterday's pre-game ceremonies at Fenway Park. Writes Jimmy Golen at the Associated Press:

Some of the biggest cheers were for the police who tracked down the suspects.

More often the Boston police are vilified by corporate stooge local columnist Howie Carr for making too much money. Carr, if you haven't been offended by his radio show yet, is a Republican operative with a cruel streak who masquerades as a journalist.

There are plenty of people who agree with Carr, notes David B. on the Unions 4 Workers Facebook page:

Congratulations to law enforcement on an amazing job in Boston. Remember, virtually every officer - local, state and federal (except FBI) - is a union member. And nearly all of them have suffered through budget cuts, layoffs, furloughs etc. because a lot of people who are standing in the street cheering don't want to pay taxes to support police officers, fire fighters and teachers. Maybe people will start to adjust their priorities.

At the risk of politicizing the tragedy in Boston, we thought we'd offer this little reminder of how the Boston police had to fight for decent wages and benefits. As iBoston.com notes,

New officer pay had not risen in sixty years, since 1857 when new recruits received two dollars daily. Officers worked seven days per week, with a day off every other week during which they couldn't leave town without special permission. Depending on duty, officers worked between 73 and 98 hours weekly, and were required to sleep in infested station houses kept in deplorable condition. 

Early in the last century, the Boston police were as underpaid and overworked as any Wal-mart worker today. From 1913 to 1919, the cost of living rose by 76 percent, but police wages increased just 18 percent.

The Massachusetts AFL-CIO reminds us that the Boston police earned much less than unskilled factory workers. Police union sympathizers were smeared as Communists:

The political climate after World War I was characterized by immense fear, instilled by “government and business propaganda”  about a Communist takeover of the United States. One of the main targets of this propaganda was the Labor Movement, which organized workers in order to collectively bargain for fair wages and hours. The Red Scare was increased as police forces across the nation began to organize in unions. Propaganda made it seem as if the Communists were attempting a take over from within. 

Nothing fueled the anti-union, Red Scare propagandists more than the Boston Police Strike of 1919. Police in Boston had a number of reasons why they wanted to join a union. Like any other worker in any other sector, they felt that their wages were too low and their hours were too long. “Their wages were even significantly lower than the earnings of most unskilled factory workers. For this meager pay they were asked to work as many as seventy-two to ninety-eight hours a week.”  The Boston Police force, discouraged by lack of attention paid to their numerous grievances, joined the “Boston Social Club, affiliated with the AFL”  in August of 1919. Police Commissioner Edwin Curtis believed that a police officer could not belong to a union and serve his proper duty at the same time. As a result of his misguided beliefs, Curtis promptly suspended nineteen police officers who were working as union organizers. 

In retaliation to the suspension of the nineteen union officers and the Police Commissioner’s refusal to allow the them to join the AFL, the Boston Police went on strike. A few people took advantage of the situation, looting stores and breaking windows. As a result, the State Guard was called in to stop the criminals. Public opinion began to turn against the Police, and national AFL President Samuel Gompers suggested that the officers return to work and to the bargaining table. Commissioner Curtis opted to not allow the striking officers their jobs and to completely replace the force. The Commissioner had the full support of President Woodrow Wilson and then Governor Calvin Coolidge, who had made himself a national hero by quelling the strike.

Today's Teamster News 03.25.13

UNFIT FOR WORK: The startling rise of disability in America  NPR   ...There used to be a lot of jobs that you could do with just a high school degree, and that paid enough to be considered middle class. ... people who lost those jobs ... (have) been going on disability...
Corporate-Backed Trans-Pacific Partnership Shrouded in Secrecy  truthout   ...legislators around the world are being kept in the dark about what they're voting on until the deal is hammered out; it's expected to be completed this year. When it's finished, if the experience of Congress here is any indication, legislators will be feeling extraordinary pressure from corporate lobbyists and their heads of state to accept the deal without a fuss...
Cyprus reaches last-minute deal on 10 billion euro bailout  Reuters   ...Cyprus clinched a last-ditch deal with international lenders to shut down its second-largest bank and inflict heavy losses on uninsured depositors, including wealthy Russians, in return for a 10 billion euro ($13 billion) bailout...
Pro-Democracy Movement Rises Against 'Disaster Capitalism' in Detroit  Common Dreams   ...Community and pro-democracy activists in Detroit have no intention of rolling over and playing dead for Kevyn Orr, the city's new 'emergency manager' appointed by Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, who will begin his contract to run the city as a one-person government on Monday...
Right-to-work goes into effect March 28  Associated Press   ...When Michigan's right-to-work law takes effect Thursday it will signal the latest sign of turmoil in the union movement that has seen nationwide membership shrink to its lowest levels since at least the 1930s...
Real mess: Public works employees forced to bring toilet paper to work  KCTV   ...It's a real stink in one central Missouri town after male public works employees were forced to bring their own toilet paper to work...
Wisconsin: Hundreds of pardon apps sitting on gov's desk  Associated Press   ... Gov. Scott Walker has refused to consider any of at least 1,400 pardon applications since he's taken office...
Ohio lawmakers take up wind, solar energy rule  Fuel Fix   ...The American Legislative Exchange Council, a policy advisory group dominated by Republicans and targeted by liberals, is a leading force behind the push against the renewable energy targets...

NYC Teamster SanMen ready for blizzard

Mayor Bloomberg and Sanitation Commissioner Doherty brief media on snow preparations.

Whoa! A ginormous blizzard is headed toward New York City along the same path Superstorm Sandy followed. Our Teamster brothers and sisters, New York's Strongest, are ready for it, according to the Department of Sanitation New York City:

...In preparation for a snow event, DSNY personnel begin initial equipment readiness, including loading of our 365 salt spreaders, attaching plows when necessary, preparing tire chains and notifying supplementary personnel as needed.

You can actually track their progress here.

You can bet our brothers and sisters who work for public works departments in Greater New York and New Jersey are busy. The same goes for Teamsters who work at the region's airports and along the rail lines.

Be safe, everybody.