Today's Teamster News 08.23.13

Teamsters Ratify UPS Upstate New York Supplement   IBT   ...UPS Teamsters in New York state ratified the Upstate New York supplement to the UPS national agreement yesterday with 65% voting in favor...
Teamster Waste Workers On Cape Cod Ratify First Contract  IBT   ...Workers at Republic/Allied Waste, who serve all of Cape Cod, have ratified their first contract which contains many improvements. The workers joined Local 59 in New Bedford in 2012...
Teamsters gains a foothold in Ontario hospitals  Teamsters Canada   ...Teamsters Union Local 419 has gained approximately 2000 new members as the result of a merger with the Ontario Workers' Union (OWU). The OWU represents 14 bargaining units with two of the more notible sized units being Humber River Hospital with three hospital locations and William Osler Health System with two hospital locations...
Pleasant Hills, Teamsters reach four-year contract agreement  Pittsburgh Tribune-Review   ...Pleasant Hills Council has a tentative contract agreement with the Pleasant Hills police officers, who are represented by Teamsters Local 205 in White Oak, Pennsylvania. Wages would increase by 2.5 percent in the first and fourth years and 3 percent in the second and third years...
Congressman urges Teamsters, Lake Transit to continue talks  Lake County News   ...On Wednesday, Congressman Mike Thompson sent Teamsters Local 665 President Ralph Miranda and Paratransit Services a letter urging the two sides to return to negotiations as soon as possible, noting the service stoppage is having a “devastating effect” on riders...
Teamsters at Ikea Richmond, B.C. unanimously reject fourth contract offer  The Tyee   ...Members of Teamsters Local 213 locked out of the Richmond Ikea since May have unanimously rejected a fourth contract offer from the company, while other unions are calling for a boycott of the store. Ikea has been embroiled in a bitter labor fight with the union at the Richmond outlet in British Columbia since May 13, but reported $32 billion in revenues last year...
Higher Minimum Wage: Public Agrees But Republicans Remain Divided  ABC News   ...Republicans in Congress are divided over a measure that most Americans support: raising minimum wage...
Fired Walmart Workers Arrested at Rally Announcing Labor Day Deadline  The Nation   ...Nine fired workers and a current employee were arrested around 2:30 pm Thursday after locking arms and sitting in front of the entrance to a Washington, DC, Walmart office. The planned act of civil disobedience concluded a noon rally at which workers announced a Labor Day deadline for Walmart to raise wages and reinstate workers they allege were fired for their activism. Twenty workers who joined a June strike by the labor group OUR Walmart have since been terminated; another fifty-some have been otherwise disciplined by Walmart...
‘Alt Labor’ Provides Support For Fast-Food Strikes  Mint Press News   ...On the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, thousands of low wage fast food workers are expected to walk off the job in what could be the largest single-day protest in the history of U.S. fast food. In a $200 billion per year industry, workers across the U.S. have taken part in protests, calling for $15 per hour and the right to form a union without intimidation...
Japan-made parts to push up price of F-35 fighter jets for ASDF  Asahi Shimbun    ...Two Japanese contractors will supply 24 components for the next-generation F-35 stealth fighters for the Air Self-Defense Force, which will push up the price by 50 percent, sources said. The F-35 will be built mainly by Lockheed Martin Corp., with parts procured in the United States, Britain and other countries participating in the project. The aircraft will be assembled in the United States, Italy and Japan...
Working Families Need Fair Trade, Not Free Trade (opinion) Huffington Post   ...Working families haven't seen much of an economic recovery, and we definitely can't afford to lose more manufacturing and service jobs to yet another free trade agreement. But that is exactly where we're headed if the Trans-Pacific Partnership moves ahead unchallenged...
Sources: Koch Industries not buying LA Times, Chicago Tribune  The Daily Caller   ...The company determined that purchasing the newspapers was “not economically viable” and that both parties walked away from the negotiations, they said...
Amazon Ramps Up $13.9 Billion Warehouse Building Spree  Bloomberg   ...Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) is stepping up a warehouse building spree, signaling the urgency of getting products to customers more quickly amid rising competition from EBay Inc. (EBAY)and Wal-Mart Stores Inc...
NSA gathered thousands of Americans’ e-mails before court ordered it to revise its tactics Washington Post   ...For several years, the National Security Agency unlawfully gathered tens of thousands of e-mails and other electronic communications between Americans as part of a now-revised collection method, according to a 2011 secret court opinion...
ALEC declares itself exempt from public-disclosure laws, and is challenged   MinnPost   ...Sometime in the last year or so, the super-secretive American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the group that helps its corporate and think-tank members get their wish lists into the hands of state lawmakers, decided to unilaterally declare itself exempt from public disclosure laws throughout the country...
Speaking in Raleigh, Colin Powell blasts North Carolina voting law   News & Observer   ...With Gov. Pat McCrory in the audience, former Secretary of State Colin Powell took aim at North Carolina's new voting law Thursday, saying it hurts the Republican Party, punishes minority voters and makes it more difficult for everyone to vote...
Justice Department will challenge Texas Voter ID law   Washington Post   ...The U.S. Justice Department announced Thursday that it will challenge Texas’s Voter ID law, saying it violates the Voting Rights Act, as well as the Constitution’s 14th and 15th Amendments...
Pension systems to file longer Chapter 9 objection  Associated Press   ...A federal judge will let Detroit's two pensions systems file longer eligibility objections to emergency manager Kevyn Orr's bankruptcy petition...
CEO Comes Out Swinging in Favor of SB7, Prevailing Wages, and the Race to the Top   We Party Patriots   ...In a recent op-ed for the Modesto Bee, Mark Breslin, CEO of San Francisco-based United Contractors, explains why he favors California’s SB 7, a bill which would make charter cities eligible for public funds only if they follow prevailing wage guidelines...

Republic Waste strike spreads from Midwest to 5 Calif. cities

Nothing getting dumped here today at the
Ox Mountain Landfill in Half Moon Bay, Calif.

Teamster solidarity is bringing the Republic Waste/Allied Services strike to five California cities today as picketing continues at the Youngstown Carbon Limestone landfill. Teamsters are honoring picket lines in the Bay area cities of Daly City, Half Moon Bay, Fremont, Fairfield and Pacifica.

Today is the 45th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s, assassination. He was supporting a sanitation workers' strike in Memphis when he was gunned down. Republic sanitation workers are refusing to go back to the way things were then. Today, Republic sanitation workers carrying "I Am A Man on Strike" signs.

Cynthia Lewis's husband is a Memphis sanitation worker. She posted her heartfelt support on the Republic Teamsters Facebook page:

I'm glad you guys are standing up. It's time for you all to fight Republic back. My husband works in the Memphis,TN location and they treat them like the trash they pick up. They use them up and throw them out. I'm tired of how my husband as well as the other people who work for Republic are being treated. Hopefully they will go on strike as well. It is time to stand up and fight back and make Republic RESPECT you guys. They send my husband and his co-workers out in trucks that are not fit to even be on the road. In the summer they are sent out in the hot heat with no air conditioner in the trucks and on top of that, one of the trucks blow heat inside the truck from the engine. My heart aches at times when my husband comes home so tired and drained out that he dont even have the strength to even do anything with our kids. Just hearing how they are being treated hurts to the core. I know some people would say give up and just find another job then, but I want Republic and he wants them to just stand up and do whats right by their employees!!!! Maybe the Memphis workers will join you soon!!!!! At least I hope so....maybe some of the men will stand up again and stop worrying about Republic because they are not worried about them!!!!!!

This striking landfill worker from Youngstown, Ohio,
 raised a picket line at this Republic/Allied facility
 in Fremont, Calif. this morning. Thanks to all
 our Teamster brothers and sisters for honoring these lines!

Our Teamster brothers are exercising their legal right to strike because the company changed working conditions without bargaining and refuses to negotiate in good faith.

Trash tycoon Bill Gates owns about 26 percent of Republic. He is trying to burnish his greedy billionaire image by giving money to improve sanitation overseas. In a remarkable display of anti-Americanism, he is doing nothing to improve Republic's horrendous environmental record in the U.S. That includes a burning, exploding, radioactive landfill near St. Louis that threatens the health and safety of the people who live and work near the facility. 

Valerie Dearing adds this to the Republic Teamsters Facebook page:

...the toxic factor @ the Carbon Limestone Landfill is very dangerous. Emitting from the fracking well is toxic ground ozone visably blowing downwind towards Lowellville. and the flaring from the fracking well is emitting dangerous gasses too. The waste being brought in from Ohio and other states contains toxins and radiation.

Republic Teamsters have also struck in sympathy in Evansville, Ind., Urbana, Ill., Elyria, Ohio, and a Republic commercial recycling facility in Youngstown. Photos of trash piling up in these cities can be seen here. Republic hired scabs to do the Teamsters work, but that didn't go well. Tere Heller Eaglen posted this from Champaign/Urbana on the Republic Teamsters Facebook page: 

Trash is piling up everywhere and the scabs are tearing up the trucks and taking out street signs, etc. in their feeble attempt to do the job our guys do every day !!!

And check out this video of a scab's dangerous maneuvers here.

The first photo is in from today's strike in Fairfield, Calif.

Today's Teamster News 4.04.13

Missouri 'Right to Work' bill adopted by State House panel  Associated Press   ...Paying union fees could no longer be a condition of employment in Missouri under a bill endorsed by a House committee...
Japan reaches basic agreement with U.S., will join TPP talks in July  The Asahi Shimbun   ...Prime Minister Shinzo Abe confirmed with Obama during a summit in February that the elimination of all tariffs without exception will not be a prerequisite for Japan's participation in the talks...
Fast-Food Workers Plan Second Strike for More Pay  New York Times   ...Ms. Verges, 29, says she definitely plans to walk out on Thursday when the movement to raise wages for the city’s fast-food workers holds its second big job action. The movement’s leaders are predicting that twice as many workers — more than 400 — will engage in a one-day strike at 60 to 70 McDonald’s, Domino’s, Taco Bell and other fast-food restaurants...
As mad as hell! Fury as judges nix ‘no-fault’ Wall Street deals  New York Post   ...A growing number of federal judges have had about as much as they can take with Wall Street firms paying hefty fines to settle probes into serious wrongdoing — without admitting any guilt or any executive taking the fall...
Bank website attacks reach new high: 249 hours offline in past six weeks  NBC News   ...The heavier-than-usual outages are the result of a remarkable, sustained attack that began seven months ago and repeatedly knocks banks offline for hours at a time, frustrating consumers and bank security professionals alike...
Judge: Right-to-work challenge alleging OMA violation will move forward  Detroit Free Press   ...An Ingham County judge on Wednesday morning rejected Attorney General Bill Schuette’s request to dismiss a lawsuit by labor supporters who allege Michigan’s new right-to-work laws were passed in violation of the state’s Open Meetings Act...
Walker threatens to take austerity national  The Cap Times   ...Of course Scott Walker is running for president...
CAFTA Labor Standard Enforcement Moving At A Snail’s Pace  USLEAP   …According to USLEAP, the experience of CAFTA labor complaints to date is not encouraging. The worker protections under CAFTA are weaker than those that existed under U.S. trade policy prior to CAFTA, with lower standards and weaker sanctions…
Republic/Allied Strike Spreads to Cleveland-Area  Youngstown Vindicator   …Teamsters Local 377, which represents 103 workers at Republic/ Allied Waste in Youngstown, has taken its strike to the Cleveland area, where it set up picket lines Monday…
BLET To Celebrate 150 Years  BLET   …On May 8, 2013, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen — the oldest labor union in North America — is celebrating the 150th Anniversary of its founding in Detroit, Michigan…
Iowa Teamsters Endorse Braley For U.S. Senate IBT …Teamsters Local Unions in Iowa unanimously endorsed Rep. Bruce Braley (D-IA) for United States Senate. With more than 10,000 members across Iowa, the Teamsters Union is committed to helping Braley in his bid for Senate…

Today's Teamster News 03.12.13

This New Puerto Rican Law Makes Wealthy People Want To Move There To Avoid Taxes  Business Insider   ...Billionaire hedge funder John Paulson, who famously bet against the subprime housing market, is reportedly weighing a move to Puerto Rico to take advantage of a new tax law there...
Illinois settles SEC fraud charges over pension fund disclosures  Reuters   ...Illinois failed to inform investors about the impact of problems with its pension funding schedule as the state offered and sold more than $2.2 billion worth of municipal bonds from 2005 to early 2009...
Ex-Detroit mayor Kilpatrick convicted of range of corruption charges  NBC News   ...Prosecutors said that Kilpatrick, 42, steered $83 million in city work to a friend and contractor, Bobby Ferguson, in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks...
After Watering Down Financial Reform, Ex-Senator Scott Brown Joins Goldman Sachs’ Lobbying Firm  ThinkProgress   ...During his nearly three years in the U.S. Senate, Scott Brown (R-MA) frequently came to the aid of the financial sector — watering down the Dodd-Frank bill and working to weaken it after its passage — and accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign cash from the industry...
Congress wants role as Obama pushes trade agenda  Associated Press   ...A strong trade agenda, said Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah requires close cooperation and consultation with Congress. Members of Obama's Democratic Party tend to oppose "fast track," arguing that trade pacts negotiated by past administrations have resulted in job losses in America and given short shrift to environmental and labor and human rights issues...
Sequester scuttling Sandy shape-up?  Manufacture This  ...New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, are still repairing after Hurricane Sandy, five months later. But now there's a new complication: the sequester has taken a bite out of federal aid money...
Missouri Senate Backs Union Paycheck Bill  Associated Press   ...The Missouri Senate has given first-round approval to a measure that would require public employee unions to seek annual consent to automatically deduct dues from members' paychecks...
Judge Cans Soda Ban  Wall Street Journal   ...Mayor Michael Bloomberg was dealt a stinging blow on Monday when a state Supreme Court Judge quashed his plan to ban the sale of large sugary drinks in the city's restaurants and other venues...
Why liquor privatization still faces a long road  PennLive   ...While some legislators say a bill introduced this week to end the state's longtime monopoly is on the fast track, others say they aren't so sure such a swift timetable is in the cards...
Behind Closed Doors: Americans for Prosperity chapter leader is no stranger to Pence  Indianapolis Star   ...Americans for Prosperity is a national group launched by Charles and David Koch, billionaire brothers and influential conservative leaders who financially supported Pence’s campaign for governor...
Minnesota Poll: Majority supports raising state minumum wage  Minneapolis Star-Tribune   ...But Minnesotans are divided on how high to go, $7.50 an hour vs. $9.50...
Realtors asked for budget provision expanding foreign ownership of state land  The Cap Times   ...Wisconsin Realtors look to be next in line to benefit from Gov. Scott Walker’s “Wisconsin is open for business” vow...
Teamsters begin picket at Thorn Creek Basin facility  NWITimes.com  ... About a dozen Teamsters Local 705 members began pickets Monday at the Thorn Creek Basin Sanitary District facility in frustration with the current negotiations for a new contract...
Teamsters rally in Memphis behind Republic Services workers  Commercial Appeal   ...The nation’s second-most powerful Teamster came to Memphis Sunday with Teamsters from across the nation to express their support to sanitation workers employed by Republic Services. About 180 employees are working under an expired contract to serve about 200,000 Memphis-area residents...
Teamsters Educate City Leaders About Republic Services' Poor Record  IBT  ...More than 2,000 mayors, city councilmembers, and local administrators at the conference were greeted by Teamsters holding a banner that stated "Republic Services Trashes American Cities." The League of Cities attendees also received leaflets that read, "Tell Republic: Do It Right or Pay the Penalty."...

Today's Teamster News 02.01.13

Unemployment claims rise as fragile US jobs market takes hit  The Guardian  ...Initial jobless claims increased by 38,000...the largest since early November, when claims spiked in the wake of Hurricane Sandy...
Greek doctors, public transport workers on strike  Associated Press  ...Greek doctors, port workers and public transport staff in the country's capital walked off the job Thursday in strikes against deeply unpopular austerity measures that have seen incomes slashed as the country struggles to emerge from a deep financial crisis...
Student-Loan Delinquency Skyrocketing, Reportedly Hitting 'Danger Zone'  Alternet   ...the overall delinquency rate is now more than 15 percent...
Senate passes debt ceiling, no-budget no-pay bill  Politico  ...the Senate agreed to suspend the nation’s $16.4 trillion debt ceiling until May 19, postponing the specter of default that threatened the nation as early as February...
UPS reports record fourth quarter 2012 earnings performance  Logistics Management   ...UPS said that while quarterly performance was paced by its U.S. Domestic segment, it estimated that EPS was reduced by about five cents due to Hurricane Sandy...
Democratic lawmakers challenge Burlison on 'Paycheck Protection'  Springfield News-Leader   ...Lawmakers during a contentious hearing this morning attempted to goad Rep. Eric Burlison into saying his so-called paycheck protection bill is meant to harm unions...
Scott’s Budget: Education, health care and prisons  Orlando Sentinel  ...After a two-year prison privatization fight, Scott has backed down from the idea of privatizing more than two dozen South Florida correctional facilities. He does, however, recommend privatizing 14 publicly operated work release centers...
Ohio treasurer says he supports right-to-work law  Associated Press  ...A group called Ohioans for Workplace Freedom has been circulating petitions for a ballot measure that would keep workers covered by labor contracts from having to join a union or pay dues...
Unions, ACLU sue to block right-to-work law  Associated Press  ...Labor unions and the ACLU of Michigan say the state's right-to-work law should be struck down because people were locked out of the Capitol when the bills were initially passed. An amended lawsuit filed Thursday asks an Ingham County judge to invalidate the law...
ALEC-Inspired "Right to Work" Bill Back Again in Pennsylvania  Center for Media and Democracy   ...Will the Keystone State follow Michigan and attempt to bust the state's unions with help from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and its allies?...
Chris Christie Vetoes Help For Homeowners In State Plagued By Foreclosures  Think Progress  ...New Jersey is facing a twin crisis of foreclosures and lack of affordable housing, but Gov. Chris Christie (R) recently vetoed two bills that would have brightened the outlook for New Jersey residents struggling to afford homes...
Corbett proposes selling liquor stores to raise education funds  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette  ...Gov. Tom Corbett announced plans today to privatize alcohol sales in the state -- allowing supermarkets and other outlets to sell beer and wine -- which he said would generate $1 billion to fund public education...
Wal-Mart Warehouse Cheated Its Workers Out of $1.1 Million  In These Times ...the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement issued a citation to Quetico for cheating 865 workers of $1.1 million over a period of three years by violating state laws governing overtime pay and lunch breaks...
Miranda Statement on President Obama's Immigration Reform Proposal  IBT  ...The President's plan would bring undocumented immigrants out of the shadows, crack down on companies that hire undocumented workers, overhaul the legal immigration system and strengthen our borders...
School Bus Drivers Return to Bargaining Table Monday  North Charleston Patch  ...A strike seems like less of a possibility as negotiations wrap up Thursday...
Republic Services Teamsters End Strike Over Company's Unfair Labor Practices  Local 984  ...This short strike was a wake-up call to Republic that it must stop breaking the law and start treating its workers and our communities fairly....
Teamsters Warn Nuveen Clients: Don't Get Left Holding the Bag  IBT  ...Nuveen Investments is asking to refinance nearly $2.6 billion of its massive debt with bond investors, marking the third time in just over three years that the firm seeks relief..."We remain concerned that Nuveen is trapped in a debt service cycle that the company cannot escape," said Ken Hall, General Secretary-Treasurer of the Teamsters...
Teamsters Canada MOW division members ratify Canadian Pacific contract  Progressive Railroading  ...Teamsters Canada Rail Conference-Maintenance of Way Division members recently ratified a five-year agreement with Canadian Pacific...The contract calls for 3 percent wage increases in each of the next five years...

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/01/31/5155228/republic-services-teamsters-end.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/01/31/5155228/republic-services-teamsters-end.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/01/31/5155672/miranda-statement-on-president.html#storylink=cpy

Today's Teamster News 01.31.13

Libor Lies Revealed in Rigging of $300 Trillion Benchmark   Bloomberg  ...the manipulation of Libor stands out for its breadth and audacity. Details are only now revealing just how far-reaching the scam was...
Activists shine a light on secretive Trans-Pacific Partnership talks  The Straight  ...“We are talking about allowing, basically, a parallel system that would undermine national sovereignty...It would allow conglomerates to sue citizens, threaten citizens, and remove [Internet] content that they disagree with or that they think is infringing on their intellectual property.”...
GOP's Electoral Vote Scheme Already on Life Support  Talking Points Memo  ...Key Republican officials in Virginia, Ohio, Florida, and Michigan are coming out against a RNC-backed scheme to rig the electoral vote in Democratic-leaning states in order to boost Republican presidential candidates. That leaves just Pennsylvania and Wisconsin ...
States Tax The Richest 1 Percent At Half The Rate Of The Poor  Think Progress  ...The poorest Americans are subject to a tax rate at the state and local level that is twice as high as the tax rate paid by the wealthiest earners... Middle-class taxpayers also pay higher effective rates than the wealthy....
Right-to-work bill back before N.H. Legislators  Associated Press  ...Legislation that would excuse nonunion employees from contract-negotiation fees is up for discussion once again before lawmakers, after two recent failed attempts...
UAW, salaried Chrysler workers receiving bonuses or profit sharing checks  Michigan Live  ...All eligible Chrysler Group LLC’s salaried and hourly workers will receive either a performance bonus or a profit-sharing check ... the Auburn Hills-based automaker’s turnaround ... included a $1.7 billion profit, up from $183 million in 2011...
Hoffa Statement On The Decline In U.S. Gross Domestic Product  IBT   ...the U.S. economy is shrinking due to a fall in government spending. That should tell us that government austerity is not just wrong, it's bad economic policy...
Hoffa Statement On President Obama's Immigration Reform Proposal  IBT ...We're especially concerned that the final result truly protects all workers and isn't reminiscent of guest worker programs of the past...
Nowak Sworn In As New President of Michigan Teamsters Joint Council 43  IBT ...Determined to chart a new course for Michigan Teamsters during the challenging months and years ahead, Teamsters Local 1038 President Greg Nowak was sworn in today...
Durham, Teamsters Negotiate on School Bus Driver Salaries  Mount Pleasant Patch   ...A Durham School Services spokesman said Wednesday the company is offering school bus drivers a 3 percent raise in response to their request for a 12 percent raise, ABC News 4 reported...In response to Durham's press conference Wednesday, Teamsters 509 released this statement: Durham School Services initially told us they did not want to negotiate this contract through the media. We have honored their request despite the fact that they have not done the same...
Sanitation workers end strike against Republic Services  The Commercial Appeal  ...The 180 members of Teamsters Local 984 still don't have a contract with Republic Services; it expired last fall. But they decided to end a three-day strike after learning the company is handing over bonus checks that were two weeks late...
Workers at Avis Budget Group in Florida Join Teamsters Local 385  IBT  ...by a 15-7 vote, workers at the Avis Budget Group chose to join Local 385 in Orlando, Florida. There are 27 workers in the bargaining unit, located at Orlando International Airport...
Arkansas Best Corp. Reports Loss, Seeks End to Teamsters Talk  Arkansas Business Online  ...ABF Freight System Inc. expects contract negotiations with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to be resolved by a March 31 deadline, but the CEO of its parent company said Wednesday that the firm is exploring options in case a new agreement can't be reached...
Union: We offered to suspend NYC school bus strike, but Bloomberg said 'no'  Staten Island Advance ...The striking workers of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1181 say they've offered a two-to-three-month "cooling off" period where they would return to their school bus routes...

Today's Teamster News 01.30.13

Wall Street Banks Seize Opportunity to Profit from Nation's Unemployed  Common Dreams  ...'Too Big to Fail' banks including JP Morgan Chase, U.S. Bancorp and Bank of America have seized on an opportunity to profit off the nation's jobless by siphoning millions of dollars in fees from state unemployment programs...
Case-Shiller Index Shows Home Prices Increased 5.5% From a Year Ago in November 2012  Economic Populist   ...home prices are now comparable to September 2003...
Ray LaHood to step down as U.S. transportation secretary  Washington Post  ...Ray LaHood, the Illinois Republican who turned distracted driving into a national crusade while serving a Democratic president, will step down after four years as transportation secretary in the Obama administration... 
Obama Urges Speed on Immigration Plan, but Exposes Conflicts  New York Times ...President Obama challenged Congress on Tuesday to act swiftly to put 11 million illegal immigrants living in the United States on a clear path to citizenship... 
31 Senate Republicans Opposed Sandy Relief After Supporting Disaster Aid For Home States  Think Progress  ...When the Senate passed the long-delayed $50.5 billion Hurricane Sandy relief package Monday, 36 Republicans voted against the bill. But of the 32 no-votes from Senators who are not brand-new members, at least 31 came from Republicans who had previously supported emergency aid efforts following disasters in their own states... 
Viewpoint: The Decline of Unions Is Your Problem Too  TIME  ...If we want a better economy, then, we need a better story about how the economy works, in which a union worker is not a cost but a customer... 
Right-to-work legislation returns to Augusta  Bangor Daily News  ...Two controversial proposals that would make Maine a “right-to-work” state are back on the table in Augusta... 
Michigan asks for state high court ruling on 'right-to-work' law  Reuters ...Michigan Governor Rick Snyder has asked the state Supreme Court to rule whether a law passed last month making payment of union dues voluntary is constitutional, a move critics said was designed to circumvent legal challenges by labor unions... 
Gov. Rick Snyder Backs Off ‘Unfair’ Electoral Rigging Plan  Think Progress  ...Gov. Rick Snyder (R) came out against the plan this year... 
Republicans say Electoral College changes not in store for Ohio  Plain Dealer ...Ohio's Republican leaders...told The Plain Dealer this week that they are not pursuing plans to award electoral votes proportionally by congressional district...
Bill Gates: nice charity work, shame about the business practices  The Guardian  ...Perhaps the Republic Services dispute indicates that relying upon the generosity of billionaires is not a model upon which we can build a just and equal society – especially since the road to billionaire-dom oft seems paved with exploitation of workers, tax avoidance (hello Microsoft), and ever-decreasing wages...
Republic Services replacement worker fires shot in air at picket line  MENAFN.com  ...a replacement worker fired shots into the air at a picket line at the company's North Shelby Landfill in Millington...About 180 Teamsters went on strike early Monday morning over what they charge is the company's unfair labor practices...
‘Conciliators’ will decide on raise for sheriff’s staff  Columbus Dispatch ...Pickaway County is pleading poverty, but unionized sheriff’s-office employees contend that the county can afford to award them their first pay raises since 2009...Teamsters Local 285, which represents 30 corrections and communications employees, sought a 4 percent raise each of the next three years...

Today's Teamster News 01.23.13

U.N. Agency Warns of Rising Unemployment  New York Times  ...More than 197 million people worldwide are jobless, and an additional 39 million have simply given up looking for work, a United Nations agency said on Monday, warning that government budget-balancing was hurting employment and would probably lead to more job losses soon...
11 European Countries Adapted A Financial Transactions Tax, And the U.S. Should Too (opinion)  Think Progress  ... 11 members of the Eurozone today received the go-ahead to apply a financial transactions tax to trades of stocks and derivatives that occur within their countries…As former Labor Secretary Robert Reich tweeted, “Most of Europe will now tax financial transactions, generating billions for hard-pressed budgets. U.S. should do same.”...

Hyundai plant one of 100 factories shutting down in wake of Beijing pollution scare  autoblog   ...the area's children's hospitals are receiving up to 10,000 patients per day with respiratory ailments...
Greece charges statisticians over size of deficit  FT   ...Greece has brought criminal charges against the official responsible for measuring the country’s debt, thereby calling into question the validity of its €172bn second bailout by the EU and International Monetary Fund...
Goldman, Other Welfare Queens Tell Us Forget Social Security-Medicare Until 70  Agonist.org  ...A long standing Money Party front, the Business Roundtable, wants you to wait until you’re 70 years old before you get Social Security and Medicare benefits. This is just a reprise of the November 2012 dictate from the king of corporate cronyism, Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein...

House Republicans unveil measure to suspend debt ceiling until May 19  The Hill …House Republicans on Monday unveiled legislation that will suspend the debt ceiling until mid-May, setting the stage for a floor vote as soon as Wednesday... 

Reid warns of ‘nuclear option’ on filibuster  Politico  ...Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says Democrats will take the unprecedented step of changing filibuster rules on a party-line vote if Republicans don’t agree to a bipartisan deal this week...

'Right to Work' in Michigan: Depleting Unions, Dashing Dreams  Jurist  ...RTW regimes set in motion a relentless downward spiral: RTW laws lead to weaker unions, and weaker unions lead to worsening economic conditions for those who can least afford it. Michigan, regardless of its pro-union traditions and culture, is now headed into that vortex...

Kansas Unions Bill Seeks To Undercut Labor's Political Power  Huffington Post  ...The battle over labor unions has reached a new state, with Kansas legislators due to start discussing a proposal that would curtail unions' political power on Wednesday. The Kansas legislation would specifically prohibit public-employee unions from establishing automatic deductions from employee paychecks to pay for political activities... 
Another Walker Aide Sentenced to Prison in Secret "John Doe" Investigation  PR Watch  ...Another top official to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker during his tenure as Milwaukee County Executive has been sentenced to two years in prison for embezzling funds intended for families of veterans...
PPP: Maine Gov. LePage Extremely Unpopular  Talking Points Memo   ...Fifty-five percent of voters in the state said they disapprove of LePage's performance as governor, compared with 39 percent who approve...

Summerville School Bus Workers Vote To Authorize Strike At Durham  IBT  ...School bus drivers and monitors who transport students for Durham School Services in Summerville's Dorchester School District 2 have voted 77-0 to authorize a strike. The drivers and monitors, members of Teamsters Local 509, join Charleston County Durham drivers who also voted unanimously, 186-0, on Jan. 15 to authorize a strike...

Teamsters March In Atlanta To Demand Justice For Sanitation Workers  IBT  ...At the annual Martin Luther King Day march yesterday, more than 400 sanitation workers and Teamster allies joined workers from the 1968 Memphis sanitation strike to demand that Republic Services/Allied Waste [NYSE: RSG] treat its workers equally and with respect. They were joined by sanitation workers in Dekalb County who are fighting to form a union...

Memphis strike vets march to support Teamster sanitation workers in honor of MLK

Alvin Turner and Baxter Leach marched with hundreds of Teamster solid waste workers yesterday in Atlanta, 45 years after they participated in the Memphis sanitation workers strike that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., died supporting.

Teamsters Local 728 represents sanitation workers for Republic/Allied Services. The local is also organizing DeKalb County sanitation workers.

Here's the statement from the IBT:

At the annual Martin Luther King Day march yesterday, more than 400 sanitation workers and Teamster allies joined workers from the 1968 Memphis sanitation strike to demand that Republic Services/Allied Waste [NYSE: RSG] treat its workers equally and with respect. They were joined by sanitation workers in Dekalb County who are fighting to form a union. 

The sanitation workers marched together to honor King’s legacy of defending workers’ livelihoods and to remind us that the dream of economic and social justice must be fought every day. Their banners and signs read “Justice for Sanitation Workers” and “Sanitation Workers United.” 

Republic Services/Allied Waste is attacking its workers all across America. In some cities, workers are cheated out of a day’s pay or more when they work overtime. In others, Republic is trying to destroy workers’ retirement security, and to force workers to give up their right to a trial under the Civil Rights Act if the company discriminates against them. 

Republic sanitation workers from Atlanta and McDonough, Ga., represented by Teamsters Local Union 728, as well as Republic workers from Brewton, Ala. and Pensacola, Fla., represented by Teamsters Local Union 991, marched together yesterday. They were joined by Republic workers from Memphis – represented by Teamsters Local Union 984 - who traveled by bus yesterday for the march. 

Two sanitation workers from the 1968 strike, Baxter Leach and Alvin Turner, also traveled from Memphis for the march. 

“This is the first time I have been to Atlanta since 1968 when I attended Rev. King’s funeral. I traveled here today to stand up for the rights of waste workers whose livelihoods are threatened,” Turner said. 

“The Rev. King came to our hometown 45 years ago to support us, and I am honoring his memory by fighting for today’s workers who are facing some of the same issues we faced,” Leach said. 

Frontline sanitation workers perform the fourth-most dangerous job in the country. Teamsters employed by the Republic/Allied Waste are standing up to demand that the company stop these abuses now. 

“I rode a bus all the way from Memphis because I wanted to honor the Rev. King and his message of fighting for justice and dignity for all workers,” said Ilya Hamilton, a residential driver at Republic Services in Memphis. “This hugely profitable company should treat its workers with respect, and pay us for all the work that we do. As Rev. King said 45 years ago, ‘What good is having the right to sit at a lunch counter if you can’t afford to buy a hamburger?’” 

Dekalb County sanitation workers who are organizing to become Teamsters joined Turner and Leach and the Republic workers at a news conference prior to the march. 

Republic’s attacks on its workers have increased in the last year. In May, 2012, the company locked out 80 members of Teamsters Local 215 in Evansville, Ind. for six weeks when the workers refused to accept the destruction of their pension. Out-of-town replacement drivers damaged people’s homes, vehicles and even power lines during the lockout. 

Last March, the company walked away from a ratified contract with Teamsters Local 991 in Mobile, Ala. Local 991 members were forced to strike to protest the company’s illegal behavior and finally secure a contract. Workers in four other cities across the country honored their picket lines before the company came to its senses a little over a week later. During the lockout in Evansville, workers in five cities honored picket lines before the lockout was ended.

Also yesterday in Seattle, Republic Services workers also took part in the annual Martin Luther King Day march. Republic workers called on Bill Gates to stop discriminating against waste workers. As the primary shareholder of Republic stock, Gates owns approximately $2.4 billion worth of stock, or 25 percent of the total worth of the company. 

Republic/Allied Waste’s total revenues were more than $8.2 billion in 2011, with profits of more than $589 million. In May 2012, the same month it locked out its workers in Evansville, Ind., the company approved a death and disability benefit for its CEO valued at more than $23 million. 

Teamsters, veterans of '68 sanitation strike to march on MLK Day in Atlanta

Alvin Turner and Baxter Leach will return to Atlanta Monday for the first time since 1968, when they attended Dr. Martin Luther King's funeral.

The two men will ride from Memphis, where they worked as sanitation workers and participated in the 1968 strike that led to King's death.

Turner and Leach will take part in the annual Martin Luther King Day March in to demand that Republic Services/Allied Waste treat its workers with equality and justice as King did decades earlier. Sanitation workers in Dekalb County who are forming their union will also participate.

According to a Teamsters Union advisory:

The waste workers and their allies are honoring King’s legacy of defending workers’ livelihoods. They are also reminding people that the dream of economic and social justice must be fought every day.  

Republic/Allied Waste is attacking its workers’ livelihoods across the country, forcing them into poverty and to work in unsafe conditions. Teamsters employed by the company are standing up to demand that the company stop its attacks now. 

Waste workers and their allies, including two workers from the 1968 strike, Baxter Leach and Alvin Turner, will meet at 1 p.m. at the intersection of Peachtree and Baker streets, followed by a 1:30 p.m. news conference.

Be there if you can.

Hey Bill Gates, MLK has a message for you

Bill Gates could use a history lesson from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Gates, who co-founded Microsoft, is now the majority shareholder of Republic/Allied Waste.

Gates says he wants to enhance healthcare and reduce extreme poverty through his charitable organization, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. And yet he's endangering communities and pushing his employees toward poverty through his stewardship of Republic/Allied Waste.

Perhaps Gates' confusion stems from his ignorance of history. He did, after all, drop out of Harvard. So he may not be aware that Dr. King was assassinated during the Memphis sanitation workers' strike. He may not know that Dr. King died fighting the same kind of injustice that's being perpetrated on Republic/Allied Waste workers and their communities.

Republic is trying to destroy Teamsters pensions across the country. In Bridgeton, Mo., Republic is endangering the community by refusing to clean up a burning landfill that's close to two illegal nuclear waste dump sites.

Republic Services Teamsters are fighting back against the company's abuse of its workers and their communities. They'll attend an EPA hearing about the burning landfill in Missouri tomorrow night. On Monday, they'll march in MLK Day parades in Seattle and Atlanta.

Six months before he was assassinated, Dr. King told the Illinois AFL-CIO convention that the labor movement (not the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation) was the primary force that lifted people from poverty:

The labor movement was the principal force that transformed misery and despair into hope and progress. Out of its bold struggles, economic and social reform gave birth to unemployment insurance, old-age pensions, government relief for the destitute and, above all, new wage levels that meant not mere survival but a tolerable life. The captains of industry did not lead this transformation; they resisted it until they were overcome. When in the thirties the wave of union organization crested over the nation, it carried to secure shores not only itself but the whole society.

We suggest Bill Gates watch the excellent one-hour documentary above. It's about the Memphis sanitation workers' strike.

And then we suggest he examine his conscience.

Missouri Teamsters to face off against Bill Gates on Republic's nuclear waste dump

Yup, that Bill Gates.

Our brothers and sisters in Missouri are trying to force Bill Gates to stop endangering the lives of Bridgeton, Mo., residents -- even as Teamsters all over the country try to prevent Gates from destroying their retirement.

Gates is the majority shareholder of Republic. Joint Council 13 tells us an underground fire at Republic's landfill in Bridgeton is threatening to ignite two nuclear waste dump sites.

Republic Waste across the country is trying to destroy Teamsters pensions for our members. They are now also attacking our members futures with there attack on our members Central States Pension. NOW an underground fire at the Republic Bridgeton, Missouri, landfill is threatening to ignite two illegal nuclear waste dump sites at the landfill. The working class community of Bridgeton is at risk, our water supply is at risk and the landfill workers have no union protection.

KMOV tells us,

...residents living near the Republic Services, Inc. landfill in Bridgeton, Missouri have been complaining about a terrible odor in their neighborhoods that is burning their eyes and causing headaches. The Pattonville Fire Department has been investigating and is concerned about the 3-fold temperature increase over the past three months. The landfill took in household waste, but years ago jet fuel had been dumped there. What is even more concerning, is that while the heat and vapors are growing and moving southwest, there is radioactive waste on the north end of the landfill, and there is nothing to act as a barrier. According to The Post Dispatch, the problems with the landfill began in January, 2011.

Joint Council 13 President Marvin Cropp is urging Teamsters and all right-thinking people to attend an EPA public hearing on Thursday, Jan. 17, at 6:30 pm.  Writes Brother Kropp:

Labor’s voice must be heard . Help us tell Republic to stop abusing St. Louis workers and our communities and hands off our Teamster Pensions. Let’s tell the EPA to force Republic Services to clean up the Bridgeton landfill and stop the fire.

It's at Machinists Hall Dist. 9, 12365 St. Charles Rk. Road, Bridgeton, Mo. For information contact Marvin Kropp, President Teamsters Joint Council 13 (314) 426-4618. And for more information on the attack on Teamsters sanitation workers, go to www.pickupthegarbage.com.

Bill Gates, it's time to start being ethical

Protesting unethical behavior.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has 15 'Guiding Principles.' Here's No. 12:

We demand ethical behavior of ourselves.

We have a news flash for Bill, who's the primary owner of Republic Services, the second largest waste company in North America: It isn't ethical to take back the retirement benefits from employees who earned them over a lifetime of hard work.

Here's another news flash: It isn't ethical to throw your employees out of work because they fight to keep their retirement funds out of your hands.

Republic Services last year locked out 80 of its workers who are members of Teamsters Local 215 in Evansville, Ind., in an attempt to force the workers to give up their pensions.

That is all.

Hey, billionaires: We want respect, not charity

Last year was a very good one for billionaires, who made so much money they could afford to give a lot of it away.

It wasn't so good for the people who helped produce their wealth.

Bill Gates was $7 billion richer at the end 2012, despite making charitable gifts of $28 billion. Sadly, he couldn't find it in his heart to be respectful of the workers who contributed to his good fortune. Gates is the largest owner of Republic/Allied, a company that abuses its workers and the environment.

Gates wasn't the only billionaire who attacked working people but helped the poor. (Note: How do these billionaires think people end up poor anyway?)

Bloomberg reported 84 of the 100 richest people on the planet got richer in 2012. Many of them run companies that treat workers like serfs. They burnish their reputations (or is it "salve their consciences"?) through philanthropy. Bloomberg tells us:

Warren Buffett ... the Berkshire Hathaway chairman gained $5.1 billion during the year, even after donating 22.3 million Berkshire Class B shares in July to charity.

Message in Memphis for Bill Gates

Buffett's former employees may need charity. He bought the Manassas News and Messenger newspaper company last year, then fired all 150 of its employees six months later.

Bloomberg also tells us,

Koch Industries’ two other shareholders, the brothers Charles and David Koch, are each worth $40.9 billion, up 20.9 percent -- $7.1 billion -- for the year.

The Benedict Arnold Koch brothers give money to cancer research and the arts, but that's nothing compared to their funding of political machines to destroy workplace democracy, eradicate public education and impoverish the middle class.

But it's Bill Gates who's arousing Teamster ire this year.Business Insider reports,

...the Microsoft cofounder is getting wealthier (but)...Microsoft stock now accounts for less than 20 percent of his fortune. 

So if his wealth isn't just from Microsoft, where does Bill Gates invest? He's got a somewhat secretive investment company called Cascade Investment, according to documents filed with the SEC. From those filings we know that Gates owns stakes in companies like tractor maker Deere & Co; garbage collector Republic Services...

Here's what else we know: Gates is the largest owner of Republic/Allied stock, and his investment manager is on Republic's Board of Directors.

According to Wikipedia, his foundation:

...is giving the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development US$1.2 million over three years to find new, sustainable ways to make water, sanitation and hygiene services safer and more affordable.

Republic/Allied Waste earns exorbitant profits through operating greenhouse gas-emitting landfills. It profits from fracking operations on its landfill property in Ohio. It operates a Missouri landfill that is currently on fire next to a nuclear waste site.

The Gates Foundation also runs a "Global Development Program" that combats extreme poverty through grants.

Gates must be okay with ordinary poverty. That's apparently what he wants for Republic/Allied workers.

In May, the company approved a $23 million death/disability benefit for its CEO Don Slager while 80 of its employees in Evansville, Ind. were locked out because they refused to let the company destroy their retirement.

Learn more about the Teamsters campaign to improve the lives of workers at Republic/Allied here.