Teamster News
Horse and carriage drivers rally at City Hall, drop off 40,000 signatures supporting the industry New York Daily News ...Three months after the Daily News kicked off its campaign to stop de Blasio's proposed ban on the horse-drawn carriages, over 100 supporters rallied on de Blasio's door step to drop off five bags of signed petitions supporting the industry...
Hoffa: Sufficient Rest Key To Truck Driver Safety IBT ...The Teamsters Union today called for a renewed commitment by Congress to protect the driving public by keeping current hours of service rules in place to help prevent tragedies that are the result of driver fatigue...
Teamsters Ratify New Pipeline Agreement IBT ...An overwhelming majority of Teamster local unions that represent pipeline construction workers in the United States voted in favor of a new three-year contract, the Teamsters Union announced today. The contract covers about 4,000 Teamsters...
Teamsters Submit Comments On FAA Requirements For Drug Testing At Foreign Repair Stations IBT ...The Teamsters Aviation Mechanics Coalition (TAMC) called for the implementation of a single standard of drug testing for airline mechanics in its comments submitted today to the FAA on its proposed rulemaking, (Docket No. FAA-2012-1058), for required drug testing at foreign repair stations...
Funeral Giant SCI Continues Mistreatment Of Chicago-Area Workers IBT ...Funeral giant Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) is once again mistreating its Chicago-area workers by proposing draconian, regressive changes while employing delay tactics and refusing to give Teamsters Local 727 a last, best and final offer for its membership to vote...
Oxford County Deputies Protest 'Low' Wages Oxford Hills Sun Journal ...Deputies from the Oxford County Sheriff's Office held a protest Tuesday morning to highlight their ongoing labor dispute with the county. Around 10 deputies and members of Teamsters Local 340 marched in front of the Oxford County Courthouse on Western Avenue to bring attention to the ongoing battle to raise their wages...
Trade
The TPP and Civil War Counterpunch ...While the poor, and what remains of the middle and the working classes, suffer defeat after defeat, the wealthy are hammering out yet another “free trade agreement.”...
To End Child Labor, Washington Must Press Companies to Act (opinion) New York Times ...Regulation and collective bargaining by independent unions free from political repression are the most important means to reduce child labor and other abuses in developing countries. Unfortunately the U.S. government has not put its enormous influence on the side of enforceable labor rights in the commercial agreements that it negotiates, fighting instead for the rights of patented drug companies and other corporations to exploit global monopolies. These priorities must be changed...
State Battles
Colorado Attorney General Files “Massive” Lawsuit Against Foreclosure Mills, Paving Way for Suits in Other States naked capitalism ...The Colorado case filed on Tuesday (embedded below) gives a detailed account of how the two largest foreclosure law firms in the state colluded to set prices on various services well above permissible levels, garnering as much as $97 million in ill-gotten gains since 2006...
Brownback Tax Cuts That Ravaged Surplus Hinder Re-Election Bid Bloomerg ...A policy that he promised would create an economic juggernaut produced a sinkhole. A projected $27 million surplus in fiscal 2015 is all that remains of $700 million two years ago, according to budget analysts. Job growth didn’t materialize, Moody’s Investors Service cut the state’s debt rating, former Republican Party chairwoman Rochelle Chronister called Brownback’s plan “ruinous” and “crazy” and 104 members of the party yesterday endorsed his Democratic opponent...
No outsourcing after taking WEDC money (opinion) Racine Journal Times ... at least two companies that received financial awards from the WEDC later outsourced jobs to foreign countries, with one of those companies receiving a second WEDC award after the fact...
War On Workers
US Port Strike Threat Highlights Supply Chain Risk naked capitalism ...Fears of a strike or lockout at the west coast ports that handle more than 40 per cent of all container imports to the US are disrupting businesses’ supply chains, as shippers anticipating a stoppage divert cargo to Canadian ports...
A Rare Win For The Unions? Staples Abandons Postal Service Trial Wall Street Journal ...The labor movement hasn’t had the best 2014 so far, with a bruising defeat for the UAW in its attempts to organize auto workers in the South, and an ominous Supreme Court ruling for public sector unions. But today, the American Postal Workers Union and its allies seem to be making progress in an important battle...
FBI warns driverless cars could be used as 'lethal weapons' The Guardian ...Google’s driverless car may remain a prototype, but the FBI believes the “game changing” vehicle could revolutionise high-speed car chases within a matter of years. The report also warned that autonomous cars may be used as "lethal weapons"...
Miscellaneous
Study Urges Pay Increase For Jersey's 'Tipped' Workers Philadelphia Inquirer ...New Jersey's servers, bellhops, and bartenders earn lower hourly wages than their counterparts in Pennsylvania and Delaware, pushing them into poverty, according to a report released Wednesday...
Showing posts with label stop the war on workers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stop the war on workers. Show all posts
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Friday, May 16, 2014
Today's Teamster News 05.16.14
Teamster News
Teamsters say Scott Brown lied to their face Manchester Union Leader ...The local Teamsters chapter is accusing Republican U.S. Senate candidate Scott Brown of lying to their face over his support of the Keystone XL pipeline...
Teamsters 'out & looking militant' support supersized global fast food strike TeamsterNation ...Teamsters took to the streets along with striking fast food workers today, escalating the global movement for fair wages for all workers and the right to join a union...
Teamster presence felt at 9/11 Memorial Museum TeamsterNation ...Teamster Local 282 member Manny Rodriguez donated his Teamsters jacket to the 9/11 Memorial Museum, the hard hat he wore at Ground Zero and a sculpture of the twin towers burned from World Trade Center steel...
Newburgh PBA, Teamsters, Slam Police Administration Mid Hudson News ...The City of Newburgh's PBA claims there is a turf war among crime factions in the city, with bullets flying day and night and the city administration, including Police Chief Michael Ferrera, is doing nothing about it...
Teamsters Reveal What's Really Happening at National Express teamster.org ...Evelina Moultrie, a Durham driver in Charleston, S.C., and a member of Teamsters Local 509 in West Columbia, S.C., told the Board about issues with overcrowding, as well as insects and mold on the buses...
Airgas Drivers Join Teamsters Local 25 teamster.org ...Local 25 in Boston recently organized a group of 17 tankhaul workers who deliver air cylinders to commercial entities in the area...
Trade
Elizabeth Warren Reveals Inside Details of Trade Talks The Nation ... “I actually have had supporters of the deal say to me ‘They have to be secret, because if the American people knew what was actually in them, they would be opposed.’”...
Second Anniversary of Colombia Pact Spotlights Administration's Failed Promise of Labor Rights Improvements, Now Recycled to Defend TPP Negotiations with Vietnam amid Worker Riots Public Citizen ...Undeterred by the ongoing repression of Colombian workers, U.S. trade negotiators are in Vietnam at this very moment in attempt to negotiate via the TPP an expansion of the FTA model to Vietnam, despite the country’s widespread labor abuses...
State Battles
Report indicates Wisconsin added 28,000 jobs last year Wisconsin Radio Network ...Figures submitted by the state to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show Wisconsin added just over 28,000 private sector jobs in 2013. It’s the lowest rate of growth for the state since Walker took office, bringing the total number of job created during the governor’s first three years in office to just under 92,000. That’s less than half of the 250,000 private sector jobs Walker promised to help create...
North Carolina Voters Want To End Partisan Gerrymandering Think Progress ...By a wide margin, North Carolina voters say they want to replace their state's current system of political gerrymandering with a non-partisan redistricting option, according to a new poll...
I Attended An ALEC Convention And Found An Alternate Universe Bill Moyers ...Last week I traveled to Missouri to attend my second American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) conference. As a state legislator from Wisconsin, I joined ALEC last year...
America's Most Gerrymandered Congressional Districts Washington Post ...This election year, we can expect to hear a lot about Congressional district gerrymandering, which is when political parties redraw district boundaries to give themselves an electoral advantage...
War On Workers
Biggest fast food strike ever attracts global support MSNBC ...A year and a half ago, it was 200 striking workers in a single city. As of this week, it’s a global movement. On Thursday, thousands of fast food workers across the United States initiated the latest in a series of day-long strikes against their employers...
Boeing conducted unfair practices against U.S. engineers: labor board Reuters ...The U.S. National Labor Relations Board said on Thursday that Boeing Co (BA.N) committed unfair labor practices against its unionized engineers near Seattle and in Portland, Oregon, when it photographed and videotaped workplace marches in 2012...
Median Net Worth Of Grads Under 40 With Student Debt Is Only $8,700 Los Angeles Times ...The financial travails of people under 40 with student loan debt extend far beyond the college loans themselves, according to a new study...
Miscellaneous
FCC Votes For Plan To Kill Net Neutrality Huffington Post ...On Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission voted in favor of a proposal that would rewrite the rules that govern how traffic flows on the internet, issuing a blow to the principle of net neutrality...
Teamsters say Scott Brown lied to their face Manchester Union Leader ...The local Teamsters chapter is accusing Republican U.S. Senate candidate Scott Brown of lying to their face over his support of the Keystone XL pipeline...
Teamsters 'out & looking militant' support supersized global fast food strike TeamsterNation ...Teamsters took to the streets along with striking fast food workers today, escalating the global movement for fair wages for all workers and the right to join a union...
Teamster presence felt at 9/11 Memorial Museum TeamsterNation ...Teamster Local 282 member Manny Rodriguez donated his Teamsters jacket to the 9/11 Memorial Museum, the hard hat he wore at Ground Zero and a sculpture of the twin towers burned from World Trade Center steel...
Newburgh PBA, Teamsters, Slam Police Administration Mid Hudson News ...The City of Newburgh's PBA claims there is a turf war among crime factions in the city, with bullets flying day and night and the city administration, including Police Chief Michael Ferrera, is doing nothing about it...
Teamsters Reveal What's Really Happening at National Express teamster.org ...Evelina Moultrie, a Durham driver in Charleston, S.C., and a member of Teamsters Local 509 in West Columbia, S.C., told the Board about issues with overcrowding, as well as insects and mold on the buses...
Airgas Drivers Join Teamsters Local 25 teamster.org ...Local 25 in Boston recently organized a group of 17 tankhaul workers who deliver air cylinders to commercial entities in the area...
Trade
Elizabeth Warren Reveals Inside Details of Trade Talks The Nation ... “I actually have had supporters of the deal say to me ‘They have to be secret, because if the American people knew what was actually in them, they would be opposed.’”...
Second Anniversary of Colombia Pact Spotlights Administration's Failed Promise of Labor Rights Improvements, Now Recycled to Defend TPP Negotiations with Vietnam amid Worker Riots Public Citizen ...Undeterred by the ongoing repression of Colombian workers, U.S. trade negotiators are in Vietnam at this very moment in attempt to negotiate via the TPP an expansion of the FTA model to Vietnam, despite the country’s widespread labor abuses...
State Battles
Report indicates Wisconsin added 28,000 jobs last year Wisconsin Radio Network ...Figures submitted by the state to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show Wisconsin added just over 28,000 private sector jobs in 2013. It’s the lowest rate of growth for the state since Walker took office, bringing the total number of job created during the governor’s first three years in office to just under 92,000. That’s less than half of the 250,000 private sector jobs Walker promised to help create...
North Carolina Voters Want To End Partisan Gerrymandering Think Progress ...By a wide margin, North Carolina voters say they want to replace their state's current system of political gerrymandering with a non-partisan redistricting option, according to a new poll...
I Attended An ALEC Convention And Found An Alternate Universe Bill Moyers ...Last week I traveled to Missouri to attend my second American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) conference. As a state legislator from Wisconsin, I joined ALEC last year...
America's Most Gerrymandered Congressional Districts Washington Post ...This election year, we can expect to hear a lot about Congressional district gerrymandering, which is when political parties redraw district boundaries to give themselves an electoral advantage...
War On Workers
Biggest fast food strike ever attracts global support MSNBC ...A year and a half ago, it was 200 striking workers in a single city. As of this week, it’s a global movement. On Thursday, thousands of fast food workers across the United States initiated the latest in a series of day-long strikes against their employers...
Boeing conducted unfair practices against U.S. engineers: labor board Reuters ...The U.S. National Labor Relations Board said on Thursday that Boeing Co (BA.N) committed unfair labor practices against its unionized engineers near Seattle and in Portland, Oregon, when it photographed and videotaped workplace marches in 2012...
Median Net Worth Of Grads Under 40 With Student Debt Is Only $8,700 Los Angeles Times ...The financial travails of people under 40 with student loan debt extend far beyond the college loans themselves, according to a new study...
Miscellaneous
FCC Votes For Plan To Kill Net Neutrality Huffington Post ...On Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission voted in favor of a proposal that would rewrite the rules that govern how traffic flows on the internet, issuing a blow to the principle of net neutrality...
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Today's Teamster News 05.01.14
Teamster News
Day 2 Of Truckers Strike At Port Of Long Beach Belmont Shores-Naples Patch ...A 48-hour strike went into its second day at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach today, with contract truckers picketing as part of a Teamsters union backed effort to get hired as full-fledged employees...
Trade
Beijing Pushing For Trans-Pacific Trade Pact To Rival TPP Taipai Times ...China is pressing for a vast Asia-Pacific free trade agreement, a senior official said yesterday, as a rival US-led deal that excludes the Asian giant has yet to reach an agreement...
State Battles
Striking Down Wisconsin Voted ID Law, Judge Finds 'No Rational Person Could Be Worried' About Voter Fraud Think Progress ...A federal judge invalidated Wisconsin's photo ID requirement Tuesday, in at least the third court ruling to strike down the law...
2 high-speed train sets built for Wisconsin set to leave Milwaukee Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ...In what appears to be the final chapter of an ill-fated venture in Milwaukee, Spanish train-maker Talgo is vacating its factory on the city's north side, and its two unused high-speed train sets may soon take to the tracks….Talgo was at the center of a roiling debate after Gov. Scott Walker made opposition to a high-speed rail line from Madison to Milwaukee a centerpiece of his 2010 campaign...
Hawaii lawmakers vote to increase hourly minimum wage to $10.10 Reuters ...Hawaii lawmakers voted late on Tuesday to raise the U.S. state's hourly minimum wage to $10.10 from the federal minimum $7.25 at a time of heated national debate over wages and rising income inequality.10.10...
New report exposes ALEC's influence in Kansas and Missouri Progress Missouri ...ALEC has lavished hundreds of thousands of dollars on Kansas and Missouri politicians and those trips have resulted in dozens of bills being introduced on behalf of ALEC’s corporate members...
More than 100 injured in Florida jail explosion USA Today ...An apparent gas explosion killed two and injured more than 100 people Wednesday night at the Escambia County Central Booking and Detention Facility in northwestern Florida...
War On Workers
Union: Don't Force Retroactive Retirement Payments From Federal Workers Washington Post ...A federal labor organization says the federal government should not force workers to make retroactive retirement contributions after the government failed to collect them at the time the payments were due...
Faith Leaders Join Call For A Higher Minimum Wage MSNBC ...One day before the Senate is scheduled to vote on a proposed minimum wage hike, a broad coalition of religious leaders urged Congress to approve the measure in an open letter...
Miscellaneous
White House opens door to tolls on interstate highways, removing long-standing prohibition Washington Post ...With pressure mounting to avert a transportation funding crisis this summer, the Obama administration Tuesday opened the door for states to collect tolls on interstate highways to raise revenue for roadway repairs...
There's One Thing Missing From The Plan To Prosecute Big Banks Huffington Post ...About five years too late, federal prosecutors are talking tough about cracking down on crimes by big banks. But their boasting so far leaves out one important thing: people...
Heath Care Spending Is On The Rise And That's A Good Thing Think Progress ...New federal health care data finds that health care spending increased by 9.9 percent in the first quarter of 2014, representing somewhat of a turnaround in the four-year slow down of health care spending...
Day 2 Of Truckers Strike At Port Of Long Beach Belmont Shores-Naples Patch ...A 48-hour strike went into its second day at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach today, with contract truckers picketing as part of a Teamsters union backed effort to get hired as full-fledged employees...
Trade
Beijing Pushing For Trans-Pacific Trade Pact To Rival TPP Taipai Times ...China is pressing for a vast Asia-Pacific free trade agreement, a senior official said yesterday, as a rival US-led deal that excludes the Asian giant has yet to reach an agreement...
State Battles
Striking Down Wisconsin Voted ID Law, Judge Finds 'No Rational Person Could Be Worried' About Voter Fraud Think Progress ...A federal judge invalidated Wisconsin's photo ID requirement Tuesday, in at least the third court ruling to strike down the law...
2 high-speed train sets built for Wisconsin set to leave Milwaukee Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ...In what appears to be the final chapter of an ill-fated venture in Milwaukee, Spanish train-maker Talgo is vacating its factory on the city's north side, and its two unused high-speed train sets may soon take to the tracks….Talgo was at the center of a roiling debate after Gov. Scott Walker made opposition to a high-speed rail line from Madison to Milwaukee a centerpiece of his 2010 campaign...
Hawaii lawmakers vote to increase hourly minimum wage to $10.10 Reuters ...Hawaii lawmakers voted late on Tuesday to raise the U.S. state's hourly minimum wage to $10.10 from the federal minimum $7.25 at a time of heated national debate over wages and rising income inequality.10.10...
New report exposes ALEC's influence in Kansas and Missouri Progress Missouri ...ALEC has lavished hundreds of thousands of dollars on Kansas and Missouri politicians and those trips have resulted in dozens of bills being introduced on behalf of ALEC’s corporate members...
More than 100 injured in Florida jail explosion USA Today ...An apparent gas explosion killed two and injured more than 100 people Wednesday night at the Escambia County Central Booking and Detention Facility in northwestern Florida...
War On Workers
Union: Don't Force Retroactive Retirement Payments From Federal Workers Washington Post ...A federal labor organization says the federal government should not force workers to make retroactive retirement contributions after the government failed to collect them at the time the payments were due...
Faith Leaders Join Call For A Higher Minimum Wage MSNBC ...One day before the Senate is scheduled to vote on a proposed minimum wage hike, a broad coalition of religious leaders urged Congress to approve the measure in an open letter...
Miscellaneous
White House opens door to tolls on interstate highways, removing long-standing prohibition Washington Post ...With pressure mounting to avert a transportation funding crisis this summer, the Obama administration Tuesday opened the door for states to collect tolls on interstate highways to raise revenue for roadway repairs...
There's One Thing Missing From The Plan To Prosecute Big Banks Huffington Post ...About five years too late, federal prosecutors are talking tough about cracking down on crimes by big banks. But their boasting so far leaves out one important thing: people...
Heath Care Spending Is On The Rise And That's A Good Thing Think Progress ...New federal health care data finds that health care spending increased by 9.9 percent in the first quarter of 2014, representing somewhat of a turnaround in the four-year slow down of health care spending...
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Today's Teamster News 04.22.14
Teamster News
Memo: Teamsters urge 'no' vote on YRC compensation package Kansas City Business Journal ...Leaders of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters are asking YRC shareholders to vote against a number of proposals concerning executive compensation at YRC Worldwide Inc...
Mayor Tom Coyne Seeks Cut In Brook Park's Workforce Cleveland.com ...Mayor Tom Coyne is trying to cut his staff's size and pay. Council has given him mixed support, approving a pay freeze on April 15 for non-union workers but rejecting a pact demoting several supervisors represented by the Teamsters...
Trade
Free Trade On Steroids: The Threat Of The Trans-Pacific Partnership Los Angeles Times ...Many supporters of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, trade agreement are arguing that its fate rests on President Obama's bilateral talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Japan this week...
State Battles
Wisconsin Bargaining Law Doesn't Breach Unions' Constitutional Rights, Court Affirms Bloomberg BNA ...A controversial law enacted in 2011 that provides that most public employee unions can bargain with state and local government employers over base wages only and eliminates payroll deductions for union dues doesn't violate the unions' First Amendment or 14th Amendment rights, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled April 18...
How The Koch Brothers' Greenback Influences Green Jobs, Clean Energy Debate Bangor Daily News ...Just last month the Maine Heritage Policy Center and the Beacon Hill Institute, housed at Suffolk University in Boston, released a new study attacking Maine's efforts to promote public health and mitigate climate change...
ALEC And The Koch Brothers Fight Solar Energy With Surcharges Digital Journal ...Citizens across the United States are attempting to break free of the fossil fuel industry and do what state and federal governments are unwilling to do by installing solar panels...
UAW Withdraws Objections To Chattanooga VW Vote Nashville Business Journal ...The National Labor Relations Board was to hold its hearing today on February's unionization vote at Volkswagen's Chattanooga plant, but the UAW has instead withdrawn its objections...
War On Workers
Who Are the Koch Brothers and What Do They Want? Huffington Post ...For the Koch brothers, spending more than Obama and Romney combined would be a drop in their bucket. They would hardly miss the few billion dollars...
For Many Americans, 'Temp' Work Becomes Permanent Way Of Life NBC News ...For Americans who can't find jobs, the booming demand for temp workers has been a path out of unemployment, but now many fear it's a dead-end route...
Union Target: For-Profits Inside Higher Ed ...A relatively small group of New York City teachers' announcement that they'd received a collective bargaining agreement with their school might have gone unnoticed last week, but for one significant detail: their employer is Kaplan, Inc, a major player in for-profit higher education...
The Decline Of Labor Unions And The Rise Of The Minimum Wage Seattle Times ...In February, a bitterly divided local Machinists union at Boeing, narrowly voted to accept the company's contract extension to build the 777X airplanes...
NCAA Faces Change, Legal Challenges In Months Ahead CNN ...When training camps for big-time college football teams open in August, behemoth linemen and other players will get their first taste of how much food Division I schools can provide their athletes. In short, as much as they want...
Memo: Teamsters urge 'no' vote on YRC compensation package Kansas City Business Journal ...Leaders of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters are asking YRC shareholders to vote against a number of proposals concerning executive compensation at YRC Worldwide Inc...
Mayor Tom Coyne Seeks Cut In Brook Park's Workforce Cleveland.com ...Mayor Tom Coyne is trying to cut his staff's size and pay. Council has given him mixed support, approving a pay freeze on April 15 for non-union workers but rejecting a pact demoting several supervisors represented by the Teamsters...
Trade
Free Trade On Steroids: The Threat Of The Trans-Pacific Partnership Los Angeles Times ...Many supporters of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, trade agreement are arguing that its fate rests on President Obama's bilateral talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Japan this week...
State Battles
Wisconsin Bargaining Law Doesn't Breach Unions' Constitutional Rights, Court Affirms Bloomberg BNA ...A controversial law enacted in 2011 that provides that most public employee unions can bargain with state and local government employers over base wages only and eliminates payroll deductions for union dues doesn't violate the unions' First Amendment or 14th Amendment rights, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled April 18...
How The Koch Brothers' Greenback Influences Green Jobs, Clean Energy Debate Bangor Daily News ...Just last month the Maine Heritage Policy Center and the Beacon Hill Institute, housed at Suffolk University in Boston, released a new study attacking Maine's efforts to promote public health and mitigate climate change...
ALEC And The Koch Brothers Fight Solar Energy With Surcharges Digital Journal ...Citizens across the United States are attempting to break free of the fossil fuel industry and do what state and federal governments are unwilling to do by installing solar panels...
UAW Withdraws Objections To Chattanooga VW Vote Nashville Business Journal ...The National Labor Relations Board was to hold its hearing today on February's unionization vote at Volkswagen's Chattanooga plant, but the UAW has instead withdrawn its objections...
War On Workers
Who Are the Koch Brothers and What Do They Want? Huffington Post ...For the Koch brothers, spending more than Obama and Romney combined would be a drop in their bucket. They would hardly miss the few billion dollars...
For Many Americans, 'Temp' Work Becomes Permanent Way Of Life NBC News ...For Americans who can't find jobs, the booming demand for temp workers has been a path out of unemployment, but now many fear it's a dead-end route...
Union Target: For-Profits Inside Higher Ed ...A relatively small group of New York City teachers' announcement that they'd received a collective bargaining agreement with their school might have gone unnoticed last week, but for one significant detail: their employer is Kaplan, Inc, a major player in for-profit higher education...
The Decline Of Labor Unions And The Rise Of The Minimum Wage Seattle Times ...In February, a bitterly divided local Machinists union at Boeing, narrowly voted to accept the company's contract extension to build the 777X airplanes...
NCAA Faces Change, Legal Challenges In Months Ahead CNN ...When training camps for big-time college football teams open in August, behemoth linemen and other players will get their first taste of how much food Division I schools can provide their athletes. In short, as much as they want...
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Today's Teamster News 04.16.14
Teamster News
Teamsters have enough votes for some Hanover town employees to unionize The Buffalo News ...A representative of the Teamsters Local 264 confirmed today that they met with town of Hanover employees recently and had enough votes to indicate they would like union representation...
City Reaches Agreement With Caulkers' Union Buffalo News ...A 13-year agreement with about 30 unionized city employees is headed for approval today after members of Teamsters Local 264 told city lawmakers they are in favor of the deal...
Horses Asses (opinion) New York Daily News ...Animal rights extremists should leave the Central Park carriages drivers alone...
Chicago Art Handlers Bidding to Become Teamsters International Brotherhood of Teamsters ...Art handlers with Mana-Terry Dowd LLC may set an industry precedent this month by being the first employees of a major art transportation company in Chicago to unionize...
Union Attempts Lawsuit Against Darden UnderCurrent News ...A chapter of the Teamsters union, which invests in Darden stock, is attempting to sue the company over changes to its bylaws. The Connecticut fund, Teamsters Local 443 Heath Services & Insurance Plan alleges changes were made...
Tevlin: Craft beer sales on Sunday have new opponent: Teamsters Minneapolis Star-Tribune ...The powerful Teamsters union recently began contacting legislators, saying they were not in favor of the bill. A wholesaler that employs Teamsters apparently notified the union that passage of the bill would let them reopen labor contracts, potentially having an impact on wages and benefits of members...
Trade
Fresh TPP Talks To Start Tuesday The Japan Times ...Japan and the United States will hold working-level talks on the multilateral Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade initiative in Washington from Tuesday to Thursday, the office of the U.S. Trade Representative said Saturday...
State Battles
Union Vote Focuses On Absent Lawmakers Associated Press ...Eleven of the 108 (Missouri) House Republicans voted neither "yes" nor "no" when the so-called right-to-work legislation won initial approval 78-68. But they could get another chance to take a stand...
Gov. Mary Fallin Signs Minimum Wage Hike Ban In Oklahoma The Oklahoman ...Cities in Oklahoma are prohibited from establishing minimum wage or vacation and sick-day requirements under a bill that has been signed into law by Gov. Mary Fallin...
Maine Legislature Rejects Right-To-Work Zones Plan The Sacramento Bee ...The Democrat-controlled Legislature on Monday killed a bill proposed by Republican Gov. Paul LePage that would've offered tax breaks and workers the ability not to pay union fees in certain parts of the state...
War on Workers
C.E.O. Pay Goes Up, Up and Away! (opinion) New York Times ...nothing has stopped executive compensation from rising...
Losing Benefits Isn’t Prodding Unemployed Back to Work Five Thirty Eight ...The cutoff of federal unemployment benefits doesn’t seem to be helping the long-term unemployed get back to work...
“We are in great danger”: Ex-banker details how mega-banks destroyed America Salon ..."The power has only been more consolidated," warns Goldman Sachs veteran Nomi Prins...
How U.S. Taxpayers Subsidize the Nation’s Wealthiest Family Jobs With Justice ...A new report released by Americans for Tax Fairness reveals the true costs everyday consumers pay for Walmart’s low prices. The company, and specifically the several Walton family members who control it, receive an estimated $7.8 billion per year in tax breaks and taxpayer subsidies...
Teamsters have enough votes for some Hanover town employees to unionize The Buffalo News ...A representative of the Teamsters Local 264 confirmed today that they met with town of Hanover employees recently and had enough votes to indicate they would like union representation...
City Reaches Agreement With Caulkers' Union Buffalo News ...A 13-year agreement with about 30 unionized city employees is headed for approval today after members of Teamsters Local 264 told city lawmakers they are in favor of the deal...
Horses Asses (opinion) New York Daily News ...Animal rights extremists should leave the Central Park carriages drivers alone...
Chicago Art Handlers Bidding to Become Teamsters International Brotherhood of Teamsters ...Art handlers with Mana-Terry Dowd LLC may set an industry precedent this month by being the first employees of a major art transportation company in Chicago to unionize...
Union Attempts Lawsuit Against Darden UnderCurrent News ...A chapter of the Teamsters union, which invests in Darden stock, is attempting to sue the company over changes to its bylaws. The Connecticut fund, Teamsters Local 443 Heath Services & Insurance Plan alleges changes were made...
Tevlin: Craft beer sales on Sunday have new opponent: Teamsters Minneapolis Star-Tribune ...The powerful Teamsters union recently began contacting legislators, saying they were not in favor of the bill. A wholesaler that employs Teamsters apparently notified the union that passage of the bill would let them reopen labor contracts, potentially having an impact on wages and benefits of members...
Trade
Fresh TPP Talks To Start Tuesday The Japan Times ...Japan and the United States will hold working-level talks on the multilateral Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade initiative in Washington from Tuesday to Thursday, the office of the U.S. Trade Representative said Saturday...
State Battles
Union Vote Focuses On Absent Lawmakers Associated Press ...Eleven of the 108 (Missouri) House Republicans voted neither "yes" nor "no" when the so-called right-to-work legislation won initial approval 78-68. But they could get another chance to take a stand...
Gov. Mary Fallin Signs Minimum Wage Hike Ban In Oklahoma The Oklahoman ...Cities in Oklahoma are prohibited from establishing minimum wage or vacation and sick-day requirements under a bill that has been signed into law by Gov. Mary Fallin...
Maine Legislature Rejects Right-To-Work Zones Plan The Sacramento Bee ...The Democrat-controlled Legislature on Monday killed a bill proposed by Republican Gov. Paul LePage that would've offered tax breaks and workers the ability not to pay union fees in certain parts of the state...
War on Workers
C.E.O. Pay Goes Up, Up and Away! (opinion) New York Times ...nothing has stopped executive compensation from rising...
Losing Benefits Isn’t Prodding Unemployed Back to Work Five Thirty Eight ...The cutoff of federal unemployment benefits doesn’t seem to be helping the long-term unemployed get back to work...
“We are in great danger”: Ex-banker details how mega-banks destroyed America Salon ..."The power has only been more consolidated," warns Goldman Sachs veteran Nomi Prins...
How U.S. Taxpayers Subsidize the Nation’s Wealthiest Family Jobs With Justice ...A new report released by Americans for Tax Fairness reveals the true costs everyday consumers pay for Walmart’s low prices. The company, and specifically the several Walton family members who control it, receive an estimated $7.8 billion per year in tax breaks and taxpayer subsidies...
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Today's Teamster News 04.03.14
Teamster News
Shumlin Calls For End To CCTA Strike Vermont Public Radio ...Gov. Pete Shumlin urged Teamster drivers and management of the Chittenden County Transportation Authority on Tuesday to agree to a contract deal as soon as possible...
Bus Drivers and CCTA Management To Negotiate Again Wednesday Burlington Free Press ...Teamster Drivers with the Chittenden County Transportation Authority will meet with management at 5 pm Wednesday to continue negotiations over a three-year contract, CCTA Board of Commissioners Chairman Tom Buckley told the Burlington Free Press Tuesday afternoon...
California Teamsters Call On US Foods To Recognize Union, Provide Security For Workers teamster.org ...On Tuesday, US Foods warehouse workers in Corona, Calif., called on the company to recognize Teamsters Local Union 63, Los Angeles, as their bargaining representative and to proceed immediately to negotiations for a first contract. The workers are concerned about job security as Sysco attempts to acquire their employer...
Rangel Snags Endorsement From Teamsters Union New York Observer ...Congressman Charlie Rangel, who is facing a tough re-election battle in a rematch against State Senator Adriano Espaillat, has notched another endorsement, this time from the Teamsters union...
Trade
Trans-Pacific Partnership Update KMA Land ...Japan said last week it would be difficult to achieve a breakthrough in talks with the United States on a pacific trade deal in time for President Barack Obama's trip to Asia next month...
Defense Science Board: Offshoring Of U.S. Manufacturing Has Created National Security Vulnerabilities Trade Reform ...For the first time perhaps ever, a U.S.-government report has stated that the shift of American manufacturing overseas is causing a decline in Americans’ standard of living...
State Battles
Right to Work future still uncertain after late meeting Springfield News-Leader ...The fate of Right to Work remains unclear following a late night meeting of House Republicans after a less controversial Paycheck Protection measure was given early approval Monday...
Emails Show Sen. Corker’s Chief of Staff Coordinated with Network of Anti-UAW Union Busters In These Times ...Leaked documents obtained by Nashville TV station NewsChannel 5 WVTF reveal communications between the employees of two Tennessee Republicans—Sen. Bob Corker and Gov. Bill Haslam—and a network of prominent anti-union professionals during the United Auto Workers' union drive at a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga earlier this year...
Union-busting efforts move forward in Mississippi, Michigan MSNBC ...One of the reasons anti-labor forces fought so hard to prevail in February’s fight in Chattanooga was that they wanted to send a message: conservatives are prepared to fight against unionization wherever and whenever they can...
Florida Gov. Rick Scott's 2012 voter purge violated federal law, court rules Tampa Bay Times ...A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Gov. Rick Scott’s administration violated federal law by trying to remove noncitizens from the voter rolls too close to the 2012 presidential election...
Drought in California may hinder job growth for years, economists say Los Angeles Times ...Lack of rain in 2013 could diminish the fishing and manufacturing sectors in California, the UCLA Anderson Forecast says. Even without the weather factor, L.A. is grappling with major problems with its job market...
War on Workers
Power Surge for Donors New York Times ...Big donors, leaders of political parties and candidates with access to wealthy supporters will be the biggest beneficiaries of the Supreme Court decision issued on Wednesday, a ruling that could fundamentally reshape the political terrain in the 2014 elections and beyond...
Supreme Court Strikes Aggregate Donations Caps in Federal Elections Reuters ...On a 5-4 vote, the court struck down the overall limits on how much individuals can give to candidates, parties and political action committees in total during the federal two-year election cycle...
NSA searched Americans’ communications without a warrant, intelligence director says Washington Post ...Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. acknowledged that the National Security Agency has searched for Americans’ communications without warrants in massive databases that gather e-mails and phone calls of foreign targets...
More Americans see middle class status slipping Associated Press ...Nearly five years after the Great Recession ended, more people are coming to the painful realization that they’re no longer part of it...
BLS Issues New Occupational Employment and Wage Report Fire Dog Lake ...According to a new report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, both retail clerks and cashiers are occupations highest in employment...
Koch brothers vs. a bus: Why two billionaires hate a transit project in Nashville Salon ...The idea of a public bus transport project in Nashville, Tenn. is under fire as the Koch brothers and their front organization are trying to stop it...
Baltimore's MICA Adjunct Professors Set to Vote on Unionization The Real News ...Maryland Institute College of Art part-time faculty member Hannah Brancato and organizer Maria Maisto discuss the growing nationwide trend of adjunct professors organizing in order to collective bargain for decent salaries and benefits...
U.S. Labor Department Calls NFL Cheerleaders 'Seasonal Amusement' -- Says They Don't Deserve Minimum Wage The Guardian ...With next to no labor rights and making nowhere near the minimum wage, they could use a cheer or two themselves...
Miscellaneous
Greed Kills Reuters ...General Motors Co in 2005 decided not to change an ignition switch eventually linked to the deaths of at least 13 people because it would have added about a dollar to the cost of each car, according to an internal GM document provided to U.S. congressional investigators...
Caterpillar avoided $2.4 billion in taxes, senator says Los Angeles Times ...Sen. Carl Levin, saying it was "long past time" to ensure that multinational U.S. corporations pay taxes on their overseas profits, took Caterpillar Inc. to task for an offshore strategy that helped the company avoid $2.4 billion in income taxes...
Straight From the NSA's Mouth: We Searched You Without a Warrant AlterNet ..NSA Director Clapper finally admitted to senators that the NSA performed warrantless searches...
Shumlin Calls For End To CCTA Strike Vermont Public Radio ...Gov. Pete Shumlin urged Teamster drivers and management of the Chittenden County Transportation Authority on Tuesday to agree to a contract deal as soon as possible...
Bus Drivers and CCTA Management To Negotiate Again Wednesday Burlington Free Press ...Teamster Drivers with the Chittenden County Transportation Authority will meet with management at 5 pm Wednesday to continue negotiations over a three-year contract, CCTA Board of Commissioners Chairman Tom Buckley told the Burlington Free Press Tuesday afternoon...
California Teamsters Call On US Foods To Recognize Union, Provide Security For Workers teamster.org ...On Tuesday, US Foods warehouse workers in Corona, Calif., called on the company to recognize Teamsters Local Union 63, Los Angeles, as their bargaining representative and to proceed immediately to negotiations for a first contract. The workers are concerned about job security as Sysco attempts to acquire their employer...
Rangel Snags Endorsement From Teamsters Union New York Observer ...Congressman Charlie Rangel, who is facing a tough re-election battle in a rematch against State Senator Adriano Espaillat, has notched another endorsement, this time from the Teamsters union...
Trade
Trans-Pacific Partnership Update KMA Land ...Japan said last week it would be difficult to achieve a breakthrough in talks with the United States on a pacific trade deal in time for President Barack Obama's trip to Asia next month...
Defense Science Board: Offshoring Of U.S. Manufacturing Has Created National Security Vulnerabilities Trade Reform ...For the first time perhaps ever, a U.S.-government report has stated that the shift of American manufacturing overseas is causing a decline in Americans’ standard of living...
State Battles
Right to Work future still uncertain after late meeting Springfield News-Leader ...The fate of Right to Work remains unclear following a late night meeting of House Republicans after a less controversial Paycheck Protection measure was given early approval Monday...
Emails Show Sen. Corker’s Chief of Staff Coordinated with Network of Anti-UAW Union Busters In These Times ...Leaked documents obtained by Nashville TV station NewsChannel 5 WVTF reveal communications between the employees of two Tennessee Republicans—Sen. Bob Corker and Gov. Bill Haslam—and a network of prominent anti-union professionals during the United Auto Workers' union drive at a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga earlier this year...
Union-busting efforts move forward in Mississippi, Michigan MSNBC ...One of the reasons anti-labor forces fought so hard to prevail in February’s fight in Chattanooga was that they wanted to send a message: conservatives are prepared to fight against unionization wherever and whenever they can...
Florida Gov. Rick Scott's 2012 voter purge violated federal law, court rules Tampa Bay Times ...A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Gov. Rick Scott’s administration violated federal law by trying to remove noncitizens from the voter rolls too close to the 2012 presidential election...
Drought in California may hinder job growth for years, economists say Los Angeles Times ...Lack of rain in 2013 could diminish the fishing and manufacturing sectors in California, the UCLA Anderson Forecast says. Even without the weather factor, L.A. is grappling with major problems with its job market...
War on Workers
Power Surge for Donors New York Times ...Big donors, leaders of political parties and candidates with access to wealthy supporters will be the biggest beneficiaries of the Supreme Court decision issued on Wednesday, a ruling that could fundamentally reshape the political terrain in the 2014 elections and beyond...
Supreme Court Strikes Aggregate Donations Caps in Federal Elections Reuters ...On a 5-4 vote, the court struck down the overall limits on how much individuals can give to candidates, parties and political action committees in total during the federal two-year election cycle...
NSA searched Americans’ communications without a warrant, intelligence director says Washington Post ...Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. acknowledged that the National Security Agency has searched for Americans’ communications without warrants in massive databases that gather e-mails and phone calls of foreign targets...
More Americans see middle class status slipping Associated Press ...Nearly five years after the Great Recession ended, more people are coming to the painful realization that they’re no longer part of it...
BLS Issues New Occupational Employment and Wage Report Fire Dog Lake ...According to a new report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, both retail clerks and cashiers are occupations highest in employment...
Koch brothers vs. a bus: Why two billionaires hate a transit project in Nashville Salon ...The idea of a public bus transport project in Nashville, Tenn. is under fire as the Koch brothers and their front organization are trying to stop it...
Baltimore's MICA Adjunct Professors Set to Vote on Unionization The Real News ...Maryland Institute College of Art part-time faculty member Hannah Brancato and organizer Maria Maisto discuss the growing nationwide trend of adjunct professors organizing in order to collective bargain for decent salaries and benefits...
U.S. Labor Department Calls NFL Cheerleaders 'Seasonal Amusement' -- Says They Don't Deserve Minimum Wage The Guardian ...With next to no labor rights and making nowhere near the minimum wage, they could use a cheer or two themselves...
Miscellaneous
Greed Kills Reuters ...General Motors Co in 2005 decided not to change an ignition switch eventually linked to the deaths of at least 13 people because it would have added about a dollar to the cost of each car, according to an internal GM document provided to U.S. congressional investigators...
Caterpillar avoided $2.4 billion in taxes, senator says Los Angeles Times ...Sen. Carl Levin, saying it was "long past time" to ensure that multinational U.S. corporations pay taxes on their overseas profits, took Caterpillar Inc. to task for an offshore strategy that helped the company avoid $2.4 billion in income taxes...
Straight From the NSA's Mouth: We Searched You Without a Warrant AlterNet ..NSA Director Clapper finally admitted to senators that the NSA performed warrantless searches...
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Today's Teamster News 04.02.14
Teamster News
New York's Tom O'Donnell Named Teamsters Motion Picture Director Reuters ...International Brotherhood of Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa today announced the appointment of Tom O'Donnell, President of Teamsters Local 817 in Lake Success, New York as Director of the Teamsters Motion Picture and Theatrical Trades Division...
CCTA Strike Heads Into Third Week, Board To Explore Options WPTZ ...The Board of Commissioners at the Chittenden County Transportation Authority will meet Monday morning to address the agency's bus drivers' strike as the impasse marks the start of its third week...
Teamsters allege union-busting tactics Charleston Gazette ...local Teamsters leaders believe the company’s new owners, Proud Eagle Inc., are taking a very different approach, including using “union-busting tactics...”
Trade
Tobacco Lobby Targets Trans-Pacific, Trans-Atlantic Pacts Legal Times ...As the United States continues negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Trans Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, tobacco giant Phillip Morris International Management SA has turned to former Rep. Bill Paxon (R-New York) and other Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld lobbyists for help...
State Battles
Tight Vote On "Pay Check Protection" Leaves Future For "Right-To-Work" Uncertain PoliticMO ...With just one vote to spare, the Missouri House of Representatives gave first-round approval to legislation aiming to restrict a labor union's ability to automatically raise political funds from members...
Federal Judge Allows Part Of Right-To-Work Lawsuit Against State Of Michigan To Proceed Detroit Free Press ...A lawsuit challenging Michigan's controversial right-to-work law is still alive in U.S. District Court following a judge's ruling today...
Radio host files federal civil rights lawsuit for Capitol Police arrest LaCrosse Tribune ...A local radio host Monday filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against three (Wisconsin) Capitol Police officers who handcuffed and ticketed him during last summer’s mass arrests of singing protesters...
Revised and Updated Data Indicate Minnesota-Wisconsin Economic Activity Gap Increases Econbrowser ...the cumulative gap between Minnesota and Wisconsin for January is now over 2.2%...
Letter Shows Tennessee Governor Linked VW Incentives To Rejecting UAW Detroit News ...Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslem told Volkswagon AG the state would offer the automaker $300 million in economic incentives, but only if voters at Volkswagon's Chattanooga, Tennessee factory voted against joining the United Auto Workers in February...
Appeals Court Finds Florida's 2012 Voter Purge Broke The Law Talking Points Memo ...The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that the state's efforts to remove non-citizens from the rolls violated the act's so-called "90 Days Provision," which requires states to “complete, not later than 90 days prior to the date of a primary or general election for Federal office, any program the purpose of which is to systematically remove the names of ineligible voters from the official lists of eligible voters...”
The War on Workers
The Next Level Of The Anti-Koch Campaign: Treat David Koch Like A Candidate For Office Buzzfeed ... In 1980, David Koch ran in and funded a presidential campaign that called Social Security “The Ultimate Pyramid Scheme” and promised to abolish and replace it...
Wage War Brews at Johns Hopkins Hospital Insurancenews.net ...About 2,000 workers at Johns Hopkins Hospital have threatened to strike if the hospital does not agree to a wage increase of as much as forty percent for some employees...
Former McDonald’s Store Managers Say They Withheld Wages Bloomberg ...Two former McDonald’s Corp. (MCD) store managers, assisting with a campaign to raise pay for fast-food workers, said they helped withhold employees’ wages at the restaurant chain after facing pressure to keep labor costs down...
Nearly 90% Of Fast-Food Workers Allege Wage Theft, Survey Finds Los Angeles Times ...The vast majority of fast-food workers in the U.S. say they've been the victims of wage theft according to a survey released Tuesday...
At McDonald's, Wage Theft Is Just Another Managerial Task TakePart ...It's closing time at McDonald's and in addition to mopping the floors and closing out the registers, apparently one other important task helps keep this multi-billion dollar company running cheaply and efficiently...
Ormond Beach fighting a plague of zombie homes Bay News 9 ...There's a group of Ormond Beach homeowners battling a zombie home problem -- homes that are standing dead and sucking the life out of entire neighborhoods...
Euro-Zone Jobless Rate Stays High Wall Street Journal ...The euro zone's economic recovery has been too weak to significantly reduce the number of people without jobs, as figures released Tuesday showed the unemployment rate has been unchanged since October 2013...
Miscellaneous
Clarity Sought As Northwestern Football's Labor Effort Evolves USA Today ...Ever since the National Labor Relations Board announcement last Wednesday that Northwestern's football players had been deemed employees by the regional director of the board's Chicago office...
How Labor Unions Can Save The NCAA Slate ...Last week after the National Labor Relations Board announced its decision to allow Northwestern football players to unionize, some said it would mark the death knell for the current amateurism model of intercollegiate athletics...
PG&E indicted on 12 criminal charges in San Bruno blast case San Francisco Chronicle ...Pacific Gas and Electric Co. was indicted Tuesday on 12 federal criminal counts related to the 2010 gas pipeline explosion that leveled a San Bruno neighborhood and killed eight people, including allegations that it did not conduct required inspections that could have prevented the disaster...
Goldman And SocGen Accused Of Defrauding Libya Out Of Billions With Derivatives During Gaddafi's Reign Forbes ...major U.S. and European financial firms, including Goldman Sachs and Societe Generale, actively courted executives of the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA), which, flush with $60 billion of the nation’s oil profits, paid rich fees to invest with Western banks and funds, in some cases losing their whole investment. Now, the LIA is suing Goldman Sachs and Societe Generale in London, while the SEC and the U.S. Justice Department are also scrutinizing the practices of hedge fund Och-Ziff and private equity firm Blackstone...
New York's Tom O'Donnell Named Teamsters Motion Picture Director Reuters ...International Brotherhood of Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa today announced the appointment of Tom O'Donnell, President of Teamsters Local 817 in Lake Success, New York as Director of the Teamsters Motion Picture and Theatrical Trades Division...
CCTA Strike Heads Into Third Week, Board To Explore Options WPTZ ...The Board of Commissioners at the Chittenden County Transportation Authority will meet Monday morning to address the agency's bus drivers' strike as the impasse marks the start of its third week...
Teamsters allege union-busting tactics Charleston Gazette ...local Teamsters leaders believe the company’s new owners, Proud Eagle Inc., are taking a very different approach, including using “union-busting tactics...”
Trade
Tobacco Lobby Targets Trans-Pacific, Trans-Atlantic Pacts Legal Times ...As the United States continues negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Trans Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, tobacco giant Phillip Morris International Management SA has turned to former Rep. Bill Paxon (R-New York) and other Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld lobbyists for help...
State Battles
Tight Vote On "Pay Check Protection" Leaves Future For "Right-To-Work" Uncertain PoliticMO ...With just one vote to spare, the Missouri House of Representatives gave first-round approval to legislation aiming to restrict a labor union's ability to automatically raise political funds from members...
Federal Judge Allows Part Of Right-To-Work Lawsuit Against State Of Michigan To Proceed Detroit Free Press ...A lawsuit challenging Michigan's controversial right-to-work law is still alive in U.S. District Court following a judge's ruling today...
Radio host files federal civil rights lawsuit for Capitol Police arrest LaCrosse Tribune ...A local radio host Monday filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against three (Wisconsin) Capitol Police officers who handcuffed and ticketed him during last summer’s mass arrests of singing protesters...
Revised and Updated Data Indicate Minnesota-Wisconsin Economic Activity Gap Increases Econbrowser ...the cumulative gap between Minnesota and Wisconsin for January is now over 2.2%...
Letter Shows Tennessee Governor Linked VW Incentives To Rejecting UAW Detroit News ...Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslem told Volkswagon AG the state would offer the automaker $300 million in economic incentives, but only if voters at Volkswagon's Chattanooga, Tennessee factory voted against joining the United Auto Workers in February...
Appeals Court Finds Florida's 2012 Voter Purge Broke The Law Talking Points Memo ...The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that the state's efforts to remove non-citizens from the rolls violated the act's so-called "90 Days Provision," which requires states to “complete, not later than 90 days prior to the date of a primary or general election for Federal office, any program the purpose of which is to systematically remove the names of ineligible voters from the official lists of eligible voters...”
The War on Workers
The Next Level Of The Anti-Koch Campaign: Treat David Koch Like A Candidate For Office Buzzfeed ... In 1980, David Koch ran in and funded a presidential campaign that called Social Security “The Ultimate Pyramid Scheme” and promised to abolish and replace it...
Wage War Brews at Johns Hopkins Hospital Insurancenews.net ...About 2,000 workers at Johns Hopkins Hospital have threatened to strike if the hospital does not agree to a wage increase of as much as forty percent for some employees...
Former McDonald’s Store Managers Say They Withheld Wages Bloomberg ...Two former McDonald’s Corp. (MCD) store managers, assisting with a campaign to raise pay for fast-food workers, said they helped withhold employees’ wages at the restaurant chain after facing pressure to keep labor costs down...
Nearly 90% Of Fast-Food Workers Allege Wage Theft, Survey Finds Los Angeles Times ...The vast majority of fast-food workers in the U.S. say they've been the victims of wage theft according to a survey released Tuesday...
At McDonald's, Wage Theft Is Just Another Managerial Task TakePart ...It's closing time at McDonald's and in addition to mopping the floors and closing out the registers, apparently one other important task helps keep this multi-billion dollar company running cheaply and efficiently...
Ormond Beach fighting a plague of zombie homes Bay News 9 ...There's a group of Ormond Beach homeowners battling a zombie home problem -- homes that are standing dead and sucking the life out of entire neighborhoods...
Euro-Zone Jobless Rate Stays High Wall Street Journal ...The euro zone's economic recovery has been too weak to significantly reduce the number of people without jobs, as figures released Tuesday showed the unemployment rate has been unchanged since October 2013...
Miscellaneous
Clarity Sought As Northwestern Football's Labor Effort Evolves USA Today ...Ever since the National Labor Relations Board announcement last Wednesday that Northwestern's football players had been deemed employees by the regional director of the board's Chicago office...
How Labor Unions Can Save The NCAA Slate ...Last week after the National Labor Relations Board announced its decision to allow Northwestern football players to unionize, some said it would mark the death knell for the current amateurism model of intercollegiate athletics...
PG&E indicted on 12 criminal charges in San Bruno blast case San Francisco Chronicle ...Pacific Gas and Electric Co. was indicted Tuesday on 12 federal criminal counts related to the 2010 gas pipeline explosion that leveled a San Bruno neighborhood and killed eight people, including allegations that it did not conduct required inspections that could have prevented the disaster...
Goldman And SocGen Accused Of Defrauding Libya Out Of Billions With Derivatives During Gaddafi's Reign Forbes ...major U.S. and European financial firms, including Goldman Sachs and Societe Generale, actively courted executives of the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA), which, flush with $60 billion of the nation’s oil profits, paid rich fees to invest with Western banks and funds, in some cases losing their whole investment. Now, the LIA is suing Goldman Sachs and Societe Generale in London, while the SEC and the U.S. Justice Department are also scrutinizing the practices of hedge fund Och-Ziff and private equity firm Blackstone...
Friday, March 28, 2014
Today's Teamster News 03.28.14
Teamster News
Council Votes To Encourage End To CCTA Strike WPTZ ...The Burlington City Council has voted to encourage management with the Chittenden County Transportation Authority and the bus drivers' union, represented by the Teamsters, to end the nearly two-week strike as soon as possible...
Victory at Pasco County, Florida for Teamsters Local 79 teamster.org ...More than 1,100 Pasco County, Florida public employees will soon be voting on a first Teamster contract now that Local 79, Tampa and the county have agreed on a tentative contract. According to the local union, such issues as seniority, break time, overtime pay, holidays, uniforms and more are addressed in the contract...
Teamsters: The Deadline To Apply For A James R. Hoffa Scholarship Is March 31 teamster.org ...The Fund will award $800,000 in scholarships this year to children and financially dependent grandchildren of Teamster members...
A Brief Glimpse of Human Rights Advances In The Teamsters teamster.org ...Women and minorities have always been active in the labor movement. Much of the critical legislation that has been passed over the years started as grassroots movements from within one or more of these groups, even though they frequently did not receive credit or recognition for their efforts. View the full post, here...
March Madness: Brought to You by the Teamsters Counterpunch ...This (NLRB) ruling (which applies only to private colleges and universities, and not public institutions) ... gives college basketball players the right to unionize as well. Just think about that. March Madness, brought to you by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters! Is this a great country, or what?...
Trade
U.S. Steelmakers Accuse South Korea Of Dumping Independent Business Journal ...U.S. Steel Corp., the largest U.S. producer of the metal by volume, said South Korea is dumping steel pipes and tubes in the U.S...
NAFTA at 20 AFL-CIO ...NAFTA pushed small Mexican farmers off their lands, increasing the flow of desperate undocumented migrants...
State Battles
Still No Wage Agreement In Annapolis Baltimore Sun ...The standoff in Annapolis over raising the minimum wage intensified Tuesday...
Missouri Union Members Rally Against Right To Work Associated Press ...About a thousand Missouri union members rallied at the state Capitol to combat legislation that would prohibit labor contracts from requiring that all employees pay union fees...
Minnesota Unions Come To Dakotas' Aid Twin Cities Daily Planet ...With more than 20,000 job openings and the nation's lowest unemployment rate, North Dakota is desperately seeking skilled workers to build infrastructure that keeps pace with its oil boom. Despite the conservative state's laws unfriendly to organized labor, six Minnesota-based trade unions are stepping up to help...
Mississippi Senate Gives Final Approval To 3 Anti-Union Bills Associated Press ...Bills that aim to restrict union organizing and picketing practices in Mississippi, as well as limit governments' abilities to pressure employers to use unionized workers, are on their way to Gov. Phil Bryant...
Hidden Cameras Catch Lobbyists, AZ Lawmakers Wining And Dining CBS 5 News ...CBS 5 Investigates rolled hidden cameras during a membership drive for one of the country's most secretive and controversial organizations. Lobbyists and state lawmakers mingled over steaks and drinks in a private room at the Valley's exclusive Donovan's Steakhouse, an event put on by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)...
Wisconsin GOP Heads Off Criminal Probe Into Corporate Election Spending By Trying To Make It Legal ThinkProgress ...Wisconsin’s State Senate Majority Leader, who is reportedly under investigation for his role in a possibly illegal campaign finance scheme, has come up with a novel way to shut down the criminal probe: changing the state law to legalize the activity in question...
War on Workers
The 67 People As Wealthy As The World's Poorest 3.5 Billion Forbes ...Each of the 67 is on average worth the same as 52 million people from the bottom of the world’s wealth pyramid...
Northwestern Football Players Win First Round In Union Battle Huffington Post ...Football players at Northwestern University have cleared the first major hurdle in their closely watched unionization effort, with an official of the National Labor Relations Board determining that the players are employees and thus eligible to vote in a union election...
GOP States Are The Most Dependent On Government Huffington Post ...If we learned nothing else during the 2012 election, it is that some of us are makers, hard-working folk solely responsible for America's prosperity, and others are takers, who want the federal government to pay for luxuries like food and health care...
Feds Tally Rollovers Of Payday Loans The Columbus Dispatch ...About half of all payday loans are made to people who extend the loans so many times that they end up paying more in fees than the original amount they borrowed, a report by a federal watchdog has found...
Walmart Admits Profits Depend Heavily On Corporate Welfare ZeroHedge ...It appears that Walmart has admitted the potentially severe adverse impact a reduction in food stamp payments could have on its bottom line...
Hundreds of Students & Faculty Occupy College Campus to Fight Cuts to Public Higher Ed Real News ...hundreds of students, faculty, and supporters rallied at University of Southern Maine against the announced layoffs of 20 full-time faculty members...
Miscellaneous
Labor unions saved Ford in our 'darkest' hour: Bill Ford CNBC ...the UAW helped the entire industry "get back on its feet..."
US Seniors Shafted By Inflation That Is 170 Percent In Excess Of Savings' Interest Truthout ...Lost in the coverage of America's tale of two economies (the 1% who have received 95 percent of the financial gains since they busted the economy in 2008 -- and the rest of us), is that seniors are especially hard hit by the disparity between so-called savings account interest and inflation...
A Government Computer Glitch Forced Thousands Of Families To Go Hungry Huffington Post ...Thousands in North Carolina had enough to worry about before a computer glitch began to fray the basic part of the social safety net..
Caterpillar To Cooperate With Tax Investigation GateHouse Media Illinois ...Caterpillar Inc. plans to cooperate with a U.S. Senate investigative panel looking into whether the company may have improperly avoided U.S. taxes by moving profits outside the country...
A Massive Chemical Plant Is Poised To Wipe This Louisiana Town Off The Map Mother Jones ...SASOL's proposed facility may spell the end for a 224-year-old community founded by freed slaves...
Council Votes To Encourage End To CCTA Strike WPTZ ...The Burlington City Council has voted to encourage management with the Chittenden County Transportation Authority and the bus drivers' union, represented by the Teamsters, to end the nearly two-week strike as soon as possible...
Victory at Pasco County, Florida for Teamsters Local 79 teamster.org ...More than 1,100 Pasco County, Florida public employees will soon be voting on a first Teamster contract now that Local 79, Tampa and the county have agreed on a tentative contract. According to the local union, such issues as seniority, break time, overtime pay, holidays, uniforms and more are addressed in the contract...
Teamsters: The Deadline To Apply For A James R. Hoffa Scholarship Is March 31 teamster.org ...The Fund will award $800,000 in scholarships this year to children and financially dependent grandchildren of Teamster members...
A Brief Glimpse of Human Rights Advances In The Teamsters teamster.org ...Women and minorities have always been active in the labor movement. Much of the critical legislation that has been passed over the years started as grassroots movements from within one or more of these groups, even though they frequently did not receive credit or recognition for their efforts. View the full post, here...
March Madness: Brought to You by the Teamsters Counterpunch ...This (NLRB) ruling (which applies only to private colleges and universities, and not public institutions) ... gives college basketball players the right to unionize as well. Just think about that. March Madness, brought to you by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters! Is this a great country, or what?...
Trade
U.S. Steelmakers Accuse South Korea Of Dumping Independent Business Journal ...U.S. Steel Corp., the largest U.S. producer of the metal by volume, said South Korea is dumping steel pipes and tubes in the U.S...
NAFTA at 20 AFL-CIO ...NAFTA pushed small Mexican farmers off their lands, increasing the flow of desperate undocumented migrants...
State Battles
Still No Wage Agreement In Annapolis Baltimore Sun ...The standoff in Annapolis over raising the minimum wage intensified Tuesday...
Missouri Union Members Rally Against Right To Work Associated Press ...About a thousand Missouri union members rallied at the state Capitol to combat legislation that would prohibit labor contracts from requiring that all employees pay union fees...
Minnesota Unions Come To Dakotas' Aid Twin Cities Daily Planet ...With more than 20,000 job openings and the nation's lowest unemployment rate, North Dakota is desperately seeking skilled workers to build infrastructure that keeps pace with its oil boom. Despite the conservative state's laws unfriendly to organized labor, six Minnesota-based trade unions are stepping up to help...
Mississippi Senate Gives Final Approval To 3 Anti-Union Bills Associated Press ...Bills that aim to restrict union organizing and picketing practices in Mississippi, as well as limit governments' abilities to pressure employers to use unionized workers, are on their way to Gov. Phil Bryant...
Hidden Cameras Catch Lobbyists, AZ Lawmakers Wining And Dining CBS 5 News ...CBS 5 Investigates rolled hidden cameras during a membership drive for one of the country's most secretive and controversial organizations. Lobbyists and state lawmakers mingled over steaks and drinks in a private room at the Valley's exclusive Donovan's Steakhouse, an event put on by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)...
Wisconsin GOP Heads Off Criminal Probe Into Corporate Election Spending By Trying To Make It Legal ThinkProgress ...Wisconsin’s State Senate Majority Leader, who is reportedly under investigation for his role in a possibly illegal campaign finance scheme, has come up with a novel way to shut down the criminal probe: changing the state law to legalize the activity in question...
War on Workers
The 67 People As Wealthy As The World's Poorest 3.5 Billion Forbes ...Each of the 67 is on average worth the same as 52 million people from the bottom of the world’s wealth pyramid...
Northwestern Football Players Win First Round In Union Battle Huffington Post ...Football players at Northwestern University have cleared the first major hurdle in their closely watched unionization effort, with an official of the National Labor Relations Board determining that the players are employees and thus eligible to vote in a union election...
GOP States Are The Most Dependent On Government Huffington Post ...If we learned nothing else during the 2012 election, it is that some of us are makers, hard-working folk solely responsible for America's prosperity, and others are takers, who want the federal government to pay for luxuries like food and health care...
Feds Tally Rollovers Of Payday Loans The Columbus Dispatch ...About half of all payday loans are made to people who extend the loans so many times that they end up paying more in fees than the original amount they borrowed, a report by a federal watchdog has found...
Walmart Admits Profits Depend Heavily On Corporate Welfare ZeroHedge ...It appears that Walmart has admitted the potentially severe adverse impact a reduction in food stamp payments could have on its bottom line...
Hundreds of Students & Faculty Occupy College Campus to Fight Cuts to Public Higher Ed Real News ...hundreds of students, faculty, and supporters rallied at University of Southern Maine against the announced layoffs of 20 full-time faculty members...
Miscellaneous
Labor unions saved Ford in our 'darkest' hour: Bill Ford CNBC ...the UAW helped the entire industry "get back on its feet..."
US Seniors Shafted By Inflation That Is 170 Percent In Excess Of Savings' Interest Truthout ...Lost in the coverage of America's tale of two economies (the 1% who have received 95 percent of the financial gains since they busted the economy in 2008 -- and the rest of us), is that seniors are especially hard hit by the disparity between so-called savings account interest and inflation...
A Government Computer Glitch Forced Thousands Of Families To Go Hungry Huffington Post ...Thousands in North Carolina had enough to worry about before a computer glitch began to fray the basic part of the social safety net..
Caterpillar To Cooperate With Tax Investigation GateHouse Media Illinois ...Caterpillar Inc. plans to cooperate with a U.S. Senate investigative panel looking into whether the company may have improperly avoided U.S. taxes by moving profits outside the country...
A Massive Chemical Plant Is Poised To Wipe This Louisiana Town Off The Map Mother Jones ...SASOL's proposed facility may spell the end for a 224-year-old community founded by freed slaves...
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Unemployed workers, Teamsters, lawmakers rally to restore unemployment benefits
 |
| Teamsters crammed into this Capitol Hill room today to support unemployment benefits extensions. |
The rally was held one day after a successful Senate vote to move forward a bill that would continue Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) for the long-term unemployed.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi led the rally calling on House Republicans to follow the Senate’s lead:
We know that these benefits for unemployed workers are put back into the economy and boost growth by creating demand. The numbers speak for themselves. But today we have families and unemployed workers here to tell the human side of this story.Unemployed workers affected by Congress’s inaction on unemployment insurance stood behind members of Congress and other leaders, including Sens. Jack Reed of Rhode Island and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania.
Dozens of jobless workers from Casey's home state of Pennsylvania took part in the rally, holding up signs that said “1.4 million reasons to extend EUC” and “These checks feed my family.”
Said Sen. Casey,
In Pennsylvania alone, more than 73,000 people have been affected by the cuts to unemployment benefits. The number of people lifted out of poverty thanks to EUC just in Pennsylvania is over 196,000.Sen. Reed added,
These people are our neighbors. And yet when they are most vulnerable, we cut them off from the support they desperately need while they look for work. We have to remain relentless, persistent and dissatisfied until these benefits are restored.Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa sent letters to every member of Congress yesterday urging them to vote the right way:
The EUC program already helped millions of Americans avoid the grip of poverty during the great recession. With an estimated one job currently available for every three job seekers, the labor market is structurally unable to employ all of those who have been removed from the EUC program. The long-term unemployed face an especially uphill battle, with approximately 37% of the unemployed having been out of work for over 26 weeks.Teamsters and other union members joined faith leaders like Rev. Michael Livingston from the National Council of Churches who spoke to the moral outrage of leaving jobless workers to fend for themselves.
Since Congress failed to renew emergency unemployment insurance in December, anti-worker lawmakers in Washington have barely been able to concealed their disdain for the unemployed, using their tired – and utterly false – talking points about unemployment benefits breeding laziness among workers.
AFL-CIO President Rich Trumka said right-wing leaders in the House opposing unemployment benefits are trying to spin their position as if they are trying to help workers:
There’s nothing compassionate about denying unemployment insurance to people who are out of work. This will continue to be a PR disaster for right-wing leaders in Congress because cutting unemployment benefits is a human disaster. More than two-thirds of Americans want to extend jobless benefits – with no strings attached.As if workers haven’t suffered enough at the hands of corporate puppets in Congress, House Republicans insist that any extension of unemployment benefits be accompanied by cuts to other parts of the social safety net. And with three workers for every available job in this economy, the right-wing’s only “jobs program” is more tax cuts for the rich.
Lawmakers at today’s rally vowed to continue fighting to renew EUC. Nevada Rep. Steve Horsford said,
We need to ask members of Congress if they know what it’s like to be unemployed. Because when you talk to these unemployed Americans, we know this is personal.You can help. Call your representatives in Congress and tell them to vote to extend unemployment benefits. Just click here.
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Teamsters take a stand at Randall’s Island
Despite the
rain, today’s rally
in New York City was a success.
More than 80
union members showed up at Randall’s Island to protest the Frieze New York Art
Show’s discrimination against union workers.
Members of
the following unions showed up to take a stand for working families: Teamsters
Locals 817, 807, 210, 917, 553, 814 and 202; District Council of
Carpenters; Painters DC 9; Operating Engineers Local 30; and IATSE Locals 1 and
829. Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito, chair of the NYC Parks Committee
(pictured) has been one of the most prominent voices on this issue.
Unions weren’t
the only ones to call out the sponsors of the big-money event. At least one
artist whose work is being exhibited at the art show got involved. Art in
America magazine has the story:
In the midst of setting up her booth
at the Frieze Art Fair, Los Angeles dealer Susanne Vielmetter was presented
with a last-minute problem. One of the artists she's showing, Andrea Bowers,
disagreed with the fair's decision to hire non-union workers (an issue that
plagued the fair last year as well). Two days before Frieze's preview, which is
this Thursday, May 9, Bowers had decided to display a pamphlet and a written
statement calling out Frieze's anti-union labor practices.
"By
refusing to pay living wages to the workers who built the Frieze fairgrounds,
Frieze Art Fair and sponsor Deutsche Bank are blemishes on the New York
community. Frieze and Deutsche are driving down standards for working people in
the art and exhibition industry while taking advantage of the New York City
taxpayers who subsidize our parks. The Teamsters will always fight for good
jobs in New York, now and for the long term. We are so honored that artists
like Andrea Bowers are standing up for workers and speaking truth to the
powerful corporations in the art and banking worlds."
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Calling all New York Teamsters
Labor leaders have repeatedly
reached out to the organizers of Frieze New York and their local events
coordinator, Project Glue, LLC without response. The unions have demanded that
the New York City Parks Department look into altering the permitting process
for major private events in order to better evaluate labor standards. Last
week, a hearing was held to shed light on the festival’s use of public park
space at Randall’s Island and its consequences for New York City residents and
workers.
The rally will coincide with the fair’s invitation-only VIP
preview. Here are the rally details you need to know:
When: 10 a.m.,
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Where: Randall’s
Island, near Icahn Stadium, 20 Randall’s Island, New York, NY 10035
Who:
Councilmember Melissa Mark-Viverito, Councilmember Elizabeth Crowley, various
labor unions
ALEC’s influence in North Carolina
One bill protects a Fortune 500 company from costly
asbestos lawsuits. Another shields food companies from obesity-related
liability claims.
North Carolina lawmakers advocating the measures during a
recent committee meeting touted how many other states had approved or
considered similar measures. It’s good public policy, they argued, and now it’s
North Carolina’s turn.
What didn’t get mentioned is the organization that helped
coordinate the effort and draft the bills: the American Legislative Exchange
Council, a largely private conservative group backed by major corporations that
proposes model legislation for like-minded lawmakers to introduce across the
country.
The story does a good job showing not only
how ALEC can shape a state legislatively, but how many lawmakers just don’t
want the public to know what ALEC is or what it does.
The asbestos measure is one example where a single
company, Philadelphia-based Crown Holdings, pushed a model bill to exempt
itself from liability lawsuits related to a former subsidiary.
The bill’s sponsor in the House, Rep. Jacqueline
Schaffer, a Charlotte Republican, didn’t return numerous messages. Sen. Andrew
Brock, a Mocksville Republican who sponsored the Senate version, said a company
lobbyist brought him the bill, not ALEC.
Many other Republican lawmakers called about
ALEC-affiliated bills did not return calls for comment, and a few denied ALEC
involvement.
An ALEC official who recently visited North Carolina
declined to answer questions.
Does it sound like ALEC’s members are
particularly proud of doing the bidding of corporations at the expense of
residents? Nope. They seem rightly ashamed. But that isn’t stopping them from
introducing the legislation and working to pass it. One state legislator
actually went on the record for the story. Here’s what he had to say about ALEC:
“It’s a lightning rod organization because it has a
decidedly conservative bent – there’s no doubt about it,” said Rep. Craig Horn,
a Weddington Republican and ALEC member.
It’s
not a “lightning rod organization” because it’s conservative. There are
conservative lawmakers who support working families. In every election cycle,
the Teamsters Union supports many Republicans who stand with us on the issues.
No, Rep. Horn, ALEC is a lightning rod organization because they seek to take
power from the people and hand it over to corporate interests.
The role of monied business interests in the organization
and the concept of a one-size-fits-all model for policy is what concerns critics,
particularly advocacy groups that support workers, public education and the
poor.
“ALEC really stands for allowing limitless excess for
corporations,” said MaryBe McMillan, the secretary-treasurer at the state
AFL-CIO labor union. “I think we are definitely seeing more (ALEC influence). I
think it could be because they know there is no governor to stop this type of
legislation.”
Friday, May 3, 2013
Right to work off the table in Missouri…for now
Great news out of Missouri. The spokesperson for Senate
President Pro Tem Tom Dempsey (R-St. Charles) said right-to-work-for-less
legislation is dead for the year. Well, he didn’t use those words, exactly. He
sounded kinda glum, probably because he’s one of the Missouri politicians who
has pushed the corporate-backed measure.
Gov. Jay Nixon has said
he’d veto any right-to-work legislation that came across his desk, so the
Republican-dominated legislature decided to shelve it…for now. Here’s
more from a CBS affiliate in St. Louis:
While a
pro-business agenda has been fast-tracked by Missouri’s Republican-controlled
General Assembly this session, one issue has been pushed to the sidelines.
An effort
to let workers refuse to join or pay dues to a union appears to have stalled
once again. The chance of what supporters often call “right to work” getting to
the floor in either chamber appears slim.
The article also spotlights something that doesn’t get nearly
enough attention in stories about this subject: that many businesses oppose
right to work.
Emily
Martin, president of Aschinger Electric, said she’d declined to join the
Missouri Chamber of Commerce because of its support for right to work.
Aschinger Electric is an electrical contracting firm based in St. Louis. She
said her company has been unionized since it started.
“It’s a
business decision as to whether I want to contract with organized labor,”
Martin said. “In our work with our skilled trades, there are benefits to
contracting with unions.”
She said
the unions invest in training and provide a pool of skilled labor to draw on
when the company needs to expand.
The
Associated General Contractors of St. Louis also opposes the legislation.
President Len Toenjes said the passage of such legislation would put members’
current union contracts at risk and could cost them millions and even force
them to shut down.
“Many of
our contractors have existing multi-year labor agreements,” Toenjes said. “In
the short term there will be potential for a lot of out-of-state competition
coming in. The potential would be to harm businesses that have been in St.
Louis for decades.”
New York City Council hearing slams terms of art permit
Teamsters and other union members gave testimony on Thursday, May 2, at a hearing called by the chair of the New York City Council Parks Committee. Councilmember Melissa Mark-Viverito (D-East Harlem), chair of the committee, convened the hearing to shed light on the use of public park space at Randall’s Island for private interests and its consequences for New York City residents and its workers.
Joint Council 16 Teamsters,
including members from Locals 807 and 817, testified alongside workers
from the New York City Central Labor Council, NY District Council of
Carpenters, Operating Engineers and IATSE Local 829.
One
of the main issues was the upcoming London-based Frieze Art Fair, which made
its debut in New York City last year using workers who were paid below the
local union rate and many of whom were from outside New York state. The New
York City Parks Department testified that Frieze NY was paying $200,000 for use
of Randall’s Island over eight weeks. At over 250,000 square feet, that is less
than $1 per square foot noted Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley.
"New
Yorkers should not be on the hook for corporate art welfare." said George Miranda,
President of Teamsters Joint Council 16, “Our employers pay much higher fees
for the use of the Armory and this clearly is a way to undercut them.”
Labor
leaders are calling for transparency in the permitting process and for the city
to create minimum work standards for productions similar to Frieze NY.
“Residents
from my district cannot afford to attend this event, families are displaced
from the park, workers are clearly being paid substandard wages, and I question
whether or not the safest working conditions are being adhered to,”
Councilmember Mark-Viverito said. “There is a lack of transparency that we are
going to investigate.”
Oklahomans against ALEC
Oklahoma may be America’s reddest state, but that doesn’t
mean its residents want to hand the keys of the legislature over to ALEC. That’s why
yesterday, Teamsters, other labor unions and concerned working families turned
out to rally and march against the far-right group that seeks to slash public services and
has waged war
against low-wage workers and unions.
The weather may have been cold and windy, but spirits
were high as our Teamster brothers and sisters in the Sooner State, most of
them from Local 886 in Oklahoma
City, showed up to tell ALEC they weren’t welcome in Oklahoma.
In a post
about ALEC in Oklahoma, the AFL-CIO writes, “Lawmakers push ALEC-designed and written
legislation that would, among other things, dilute collective bargaining
rights, make it harder for some people to vote, limit corporate liability for
harm caused to consumers, privatize and profitize government services.”
Teamster trucks also made an appearance, showing that the
Teamsters mean business when it comes to ALEC. Joint Council 56 from Kansas
City and Local 120 from Blaine, Minn., sent trucks, manpower and supplies to
the rally and march, which continues today.
Today, there will be a screening of of the Bill Moyers documentary, “United States
of ALEC” followed by a panel discussion and community forum on the
effects of ALEC in Oklahoma. Here’s the event information:
Where: Cox Convention Center, Great Hall A (Second Floor)
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