Teamster News
Possible Teamster strike could hit Fred Meyer Puget Sound Business Journal ...According to the union, contract talks between its 400 warehouse workers and Fred Meyer broke off last night, with no more talks scheduled. The contract expired on July 12...
Bargaining Between Teamsters And Fred Meyer Breaks Off In Seattle teamster.org ...Key issues in bargaining are health care and Fred Meyer’s insistence on language that would allow the company to outsource the workers’ jobs to a third-party subcontractor...
The Link Between Tracy Morgan's Tragic Accident And Trucker Pay Think Progress ...International Brotherhood of Teamsters Legislative Director Fred McLuckie explained in an interview. “In a lot of cases compensation isn’t that good, it’s fairly low, so they need their hours behind the wheel to make a living,” he said...
City Council Wavers On De Blasio's Horse-Carriage Ban Wall Street Journal ...Demos Demopoulos, secretary-treasurer for Teamsters Local 553, the union that represents the drivers, said the job losses would be severe. "It's 300 hundred people, 300 families will lose their livelihoods," he said...
The Teamsters of New York Are Speaking Out About Climate Change Huffington Post ... Drought, rising sea levels, and superstorms like Hurricane Sandy have shown us that climate change is here, and the people hit hardest are workers...
Trade
TISA, the newest bad trade deal, threatens US public and commercial services workers TeamsterNation ... TISA is a mega-deal involving many countries. It could lower wages and working conditions for workers who provide services, such as locomotive engineers, airline pilots, bus drivers, truck drivers and warehouse workers. Worse, the TISA could take away their jobs...
Millions (including 67 Teamster affiliates) tell Sen. Wyden to say 'no' to Fast Track TeamsterNation ... Congress should not rubber stamp trade deals negotiated in secret, a key U.S. senator was told today in a letter signed by 600 organizations (including 67 Teamsters affiliates and the IBT, of course) representing tens of millions of Americans...
Chances Of A TPP Agreement By Year’s End Fading The Diplomat ...As negotiations stand right now there is little chance of the TPP being finalized by the end of the year, and quite possibly for much longer...
US Military Bans 'Made In China' American Flags Business Insider ...California Rep. Mike Thompson, a Vietnam War veteran and Purple Heart recipient, wrote the legislation that requires any flag purchased by the Defense Department to be 100-percent made in America...
State Battles
Atlanta Taxi Drivers File Lawsuit Against Uber WXIA ...A group of Atlanta taxi drivers is lashing out in a lawsuit naming specific Uber drivers and the company as a whole...
Maine Hard Hit As Stagnant Wages Leave Average Workers Behind (opinion) Portland Press Herald ...The recovery, though, is not universal, not yet. Even if the overall signs trend positive, the average worker, particularly here in Maine, is being left behind...
N.J. Rating Cut by S&P as Christie Gets Record Downgrade Bloomberg ...New Jersey had its credit rating cut one step by Standard & Poor’s, handing Chris Christie his eighth downgrade, the most ever for a Garden State governor...
Michigan's 'Foreclosure King' Is Trying to Win a Seat in Congress New Republic ...The ad dubbed Trott the “foreclosure king,” and criticized him for evicting 101-year-old Texana Hollis, throwing her out into rainy streets at night and tossing her medication in a dumpster...
Executive behind voter fraud billboards sought Scott Walker advice Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ..."As we've seen throughout the criminal investigation of Scott Walker's administration and campaign, he is front and center and directing the operations," Ross said. "The email shows Scott Walker was involved from the start in the voter intimidation billboard effort financed by his campaign co-chair..."
War On Workers
Senate Republicans Quash Citizens United Amendment Progress Illinois ...Republicans in the Senate stopped a constitutional amendment on Thursday that would have effectively overturned the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United decision on political spending...
Conservatives want taxpayers to subsidize low-wage employers The Hill ...The EITC is a tax-payer financed subsidy that enables some employers to pay wages so low that workers are forced into poverty. In fact, the EITC helps employers who pay low wages in another way as well. The supplement to workers’ pay acts as an incentive for more workers to be willing to take low wage jobs. That increases the labor supply and drives down the wages of low-paid workers...
House collapse that killed 19-year-old worker involved underpinning Toronto Star ...The house was undergoing a type of basement renovation called “underpinning” that has caused other downtown houses to tumble down in recent years...
Switching Sides East Bay Express ...California Deputy Attorney General Benjamin Diehl's job was to prosecute banks for defrauding the public. Now he works for them...
Some Retail Workers Find Better Deals With Unions New York Times ...So what makes this Macy’s store so different? Its employees are represented by a union, which has insisted on stability in scheduling for its members. (Union workers enjoy similar scheduling arrangements at the Bloomingdale’s, H&M and Modell’s Sporting Goods stores in Manhattan.)...
Walmart Imposes New Employee Dress Code, Suggests Where To Shop For It Al Jazeera America ...Effective September 29, Walmart retail workers, or sales "associates," will have to put some of their meager hourly pay toward new clothes...
Chipotle Workers Shut Down Store Over 'Borderline Sweatshop Conditions' Huffington Post ...A Chipotle near Pennsylvania State University shut down on Wednesday after managers reportedly quit over brutal work hours and understaffing. A sign posted on the door to the eatery said that most employees resigned in protest of their "borderline sweatshop conditions." Below the message read: “People over profits.”...
U.S. threatened massive fine to force Yahoo to release data Washington Post ...The U.S. government threatened to fine Yahoo $250,000 a day in 2008 if it failed to comply with a broad demand to hand over user communications — a request the company believed was unconstitutional — according to court documents unsealed Thursday that illuminate how federal officials forced American tech companies to participate in the National Security Agency’s controversial PRISM program...
Showing posts with label sweatshop. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sweatshop. Show all posts
Friday, September 12, 2014
Monday, June 2, 2014
Today's Teamster News 06.02.14
Trade
US food safety association flags up potential negatives of TTIP Global Meat News ...Food safety in the meat industry could be negatively affected by the result of the current Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) talks between the US and the European Union, according to the Center for Food Safety (CFS) in the US...
EU-US clash over financial services in TTIP EurActiv ... The US Ambassador to the EU told the European Commissioner for Trade today (15 May) that there is hardly any chance that financial services will be included in a future Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)...
State Battles
How Local Governments Are Using Their Purchasing Power to End Sweatshop Labor The Nation ...Last month, to commemorate the anniversary of the deadly Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh, the city of Madison, Wisconsin, launched a contracting policy that commits the city’s vendors to promote fair labor standards...
A New Teacher Union Movement is Rising Portside ...A revitalized teacher union movement is bubbling up in the midst of relentless attacks on public schools and the teaching profession...
The War on Workers
QE, Bailouts, And Families Struggling To Buy Food Testosterone Pit ...In 2013, as the S&P 500 index, including dividends, shot up 32.4% – after an already blistering 16% in 2012 – and as the Fed’s trillions inflated just about every asset class, from modernist paintings to farmland, well just then, 23% of the families with kids and 19% of the families without kids in America reported difficulties buying food...
Walmart Associates From All Over The World Arrive In Northwest Arkansas Sunday 5News ...The Walmart shareholders and associates stay at the University of Arkansas in the dorms. All of the events and meals take place on campus, with the biggest event being the 7 a.m. Friday shareholders meeting at Bud Walton Arena...
A New Rallying Cry for Retail Workers: $25,000 a Year Bloomberg ...Walmart Moms head to the headquarters of Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) for the retailer’s annual shareholder meeting on June 6. The union-supported group is asking for $25,000 a year for full-time work...
N.S.A. Collecting Millions of Faces From Web Images New York Times ...The National Security Agency is harvesting huge numbers of images of people from communications that it intercepts through its global surveillance operations for use in sophisticated facial recognition programs, according to top-secret documents...
Miscellaneous
U.S. to unveil sweeping rules to cut power plant pollution Reuters ...The U.S. power sector will need to emit 30 percent less carbon dioxide by 2030 than it did in 2005, according to new federal regulations - the centerpiece of the Obama administration's climate change strategy - to be unveiled on Monday...
Study Examines Efficacy of Taxes on Sugary Drinks New York Times ...A new study of how taxes might be used to curb consumption of sugary drinks suggests that applying a tax based on the amount of calories contained in a serving rather than its size would be more effective...
US food safety association flags up potential negatives of TTIP Global Meat News ...Food safety in the meat industry could be negatively affected by the result of the current Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) talks between the US and the European Union, according to the Center for Food Safety (CFS) in the US...
EU-US clash over financial services in TTIP EurActiv ... The US Ambassador to the EU told the European Commissioner for Trade today (15 May) that there is hardly any chance that financial services will be included in a future Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)...
State Battles
How Local Governments Are Using Their Purchasing Power to End Sweatshop Labor The Nation ...Last month, to commemorate the anniversary of the deadly Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh, the city of Madison, Wisconsin, launched a contracting policy that commits the city’s vendors to promote fair labor standards...
A New Teacher Union Movement is Rising Portside ...A revitalized teacher union movement is bubbling up in the midst of relentless attacks on public schools and the teaching profession...
The War on Workers
QE, Bailouts, And Families Struggling To Buy Food Testosterone Pit ...In 2013, as the S&P 500 index, including dividends, shot up 32.4% – after an already blistering 16% in 2012 – and as the Fed’s trillions inflated just about every asset class, from modernist paintings to farmland, well just then, 23% of the families with kids and 19% of the families without kids in America reported difficulties buying food...
Walmart Associates From All Over The World Arrive In Northwest Arkansas Sunday 5News ...The Walmart shareholders and associates stay at the University of Arkansas in the dorms. All of the events and meals take place on campus, with the biggest event being the 7 a.m. Friday shareholders meeting at Bud Walton Arena...
A New Rallying Cry for Retail Workers: $25,000 a Year Bloomberg ...Walmart Moms head to the headquarters of Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) for the retailer’s annual shareholder meeting on June 6. The union-supported group is asking for $25,000 a year for full-time work...
N.S.A. Collecting Millions of Faces From Web Images New York Times ...The National Security Agency is harvesting huge numbers of images of people from communications that it intercepts through its global surveillance operations for use in sophisticated facial recognition programs, according to top-secret documents...
Miscellaneous
U.S. to unveil sweeping rules to cut power plant pollution Reuters ...The U.S. power sector will need to emit 30 percent less carbon dioxide by 2030 than it did in 2005, according to new federal regulations - the centerpiece of the Obama administration's climate change strategy - to be unveiled on Monday...
Study Examines Efficacy of Taxes on Sugary Drinks New York Times ...A new study of how taxes might be used to curb consumption of sugary drinks suggests that applying a tax based on the amount of calories contained in a serving rather than its size would be more effective...
Friday, April 11, 2014
Today's Teamster News 04.11.14
Teamster News
After Protests, Teamsters Take Over An Art Fair Crain's New York Business ...After facing protests last year, the Randall's Island Art Fair has agreed to employ Teamsters and theater union members to set up tents and temporary galleries for the show that begins May 9...
Greece School District Teamsters Approve Contract International Brotherhood of Teamsters ...Teamsters Local 118 in Rochester, N.Y. is pleased to announce the ratification of a new four-year agreement with Greece Central School District...
North Las Vegas Teamsters, firefighters OK settlements with struggling city Las Vegas Review-Journal ...officials had settled with half of the city’s union heads for exactly $3.35 million — the settlement figure City Council members offered city Teamsters and firefighters early this month...
Starving Artists Fed Up; Seek To Establish Industry Standards With Teamsters Local 705 Digital Journal ...Teamsters and artists may seem like an unlikely combination, but professional artists at Chicago's Mana Terry Dowd fine art packers and movers are organizing in an effort to establish income and benefit standards in their profession...
Polk Township Road Crew Workers Ratify Teamster Contract Gnomes ...Road crew workers employed by Polk Township, PA have recently voted for their first Teamster contract and to be represented by Teamsters Local 773 in Allentown...
Trade
H&M calls for faster factory inspections in Bangladesh Reuters ...Hennes & Mauritz (H&M), the world's second-biggest fashion retailer, said on Thursday Bangladesh needed to speed up inspections of its garment industry, almost a year after the collapse of a factory that killed more than 1,100 people...
U.S. Claims Country Building Its Own Network to Protect Against NSA Spying Violates Trade Laws Washington's Blog ...The U.S. is trying to not only protect U.S. businesses, but also keep the NSA’s hand in the cookie jar by arguing (wait for it…) that closing borders to the NSA would violate trade law...
State Battles
Corker, Haslam Subpoenaed By UAW For Volkswagon Appeal Talking Points Memo ...The United Auto Workers on Wednesday subpoenaed Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) and Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam (R), along with 18 other officials, for the union's challenge of the Chattanooga, Tenn. Volkswagon plant workers' vote to reject unionization, the Associated Press reported...
New Rule Prohibits Voters In Miami-Dade County From Using The Restroom, No Matter How Long The Line ThinkProgress ...Earlier this year, the Miami-Dade County Elections Department quietly implemented a policy to close the bathrooms at all polling facilities...
War on Workers
Getting Walmart Workers Off Food Stamps Would Cost Customers Barely Anything Huffington Post ...Would you be willing to spend one penny more for a box of macaroni and cheese if it meant that Walmart workers would no longer need food stamps to survive? Because that's all it would cost, according to an analysis by American Public Media’s Marketplace...
Koch Brothers Received Millions In Obamacare Subsidies ThinkProgress ...Charles and David Koch may have spent millions of dollars opposing President Obama’s Affordable Care Act, but that didn’t stop them from benefiting from the law to the tune of $1.4 million in subsidies...
Billionaires Score Big Win With McCutcheon Decision Truthout ...The Supreme Court’s McCutcheon ruling dealt another 5-4 body blow to our democracy...
The NCAA Makes Billions and Student Athletes Get None of It StudentNation ...Despite devoting forty to sixty hours per week to their sport most of the year, Division I football players lack basic economic rights under the NCAA’s cartel restrictions...
Do You Know Where Your Government Uniform Was Made? The Nation ...Despite some laudatory local and state efforts, taxpayer dollars are still being used to purchase clothes made in sweatshops...
The Worst Cash Rip-Off Since Bank Fees? Behold an Infuriating New Scheme to Sap Your Money AlterNet ...If prepaid debit cards sound too good to be true, it's because they're a scam. Here's the hidden truth behind them...
Family Dollar to cut jobs, shut 370 stores as sales fall Reuters ...The discount retailer, which caters to lower income shoppers--many of whom live from paycheck to paycheck, said it would it would cut jobs, shut hundreds of underperforming stores and slash prices...
Uninsured Greek patients with contagious diseases are being left untreated, voluntary health clinic warns EnetEnglish ...One health clinic in Greece warned that uninsured patients have contagious and serious diseases but are left untreated due to austerity...
Miscellaneous
Senator Durbin Asks For IG Investigation into Federal Agency's Oversight of Trucking Companies With a History of Violations eNews Park Forest ...U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) asked the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Inspector General (IG) to audit the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s investigative practices after a report that the FMCSA ordered, but never actually launched, an investigation into an Illinois motor carrier with a long history of violating safety rules...
After Protests, Teamsters Take Over An Art Fair Crain's New York Business ...After facing protests last year, the Randall's Island Art Fair has agreed to employ Teamsters and theater union members to set up tents and temporary galleries for the show that begins May 9...
Greece School District Teamsters Approve Contract International Brotherhood of Teamsters ...Teamsters Local 118 in Rochester, N.Y. is pleased to announce the ratification of a new four-year agreement with Greece Central School District...
North Las Vegas Teamsters, firefighters OK settlements with struggling city Las Vegas Review-Journal ...officials had settled with half of the city’s union heads for exactly $3.35 million — the settlement figure City Council members offered city Teamsters and firefighters early this month...
Starving Artists Fed Up; Seek To Establish Industry Standards With Teamsters Local 705 Digital Journal ...Teamsters and artists may seem like an unlikely combination, but professional artists at Chicago's Mana Terry Dowd fine art packers and movers are organizing in an effort to establish income and benefit standards in their profession...
Polk Township Road Crew Workers Ratify Teamster Contract Gnomes ...Road crew workers employed by Polk Township, PA have recently voted for their first Teamster contract and to be represented by Teamsters Local 773 in Allentown...
Trade
H&M calls for faster factory inspections in Bangladesh Reuters ...Hennes & Mauritz (H&M), the world's second-biggest fashion retailer, said on Thursday Bangladesh needed to speed up inspections of its garment industry, almost a year after the collapse of a factory that killed more than 1,100 people...
U.S. Claims Country Building Its Own Network to Protect Against NSA Spying Violates Trade Laws Washington's Blog ...The U.S. is trying to not only protect U.S. businesses, but also keep the NSA’s hand in the cookie jar by arguing (wait for it…) that closing borders to the NSA would violate trade law...
State Battles
Corker, Haslam Subpoenaed By UAW For Volkswagon Appeal Talking Points Memo ...The United Auto Workers on Wednesday subpoenaed Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) and Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam (R), along with 18 other officials, for the union's challenge of the Chattanooga, Tenn. Volkswagon plant workers' vote to reject unionization, the Associated Press reported...
New Rule Prohibits Voters In Miami-Dade County From Using The Restroom, No Matter How Long The Line ThinkProgress ...Earlier this year, the Miami-Dade County Elections Department quietly implemented a policy to close the bathrooms at all polling facilities...
War on Workers
Getting Walmart Workers Off Food Stamps Would Cost Customers Barely Anything Huffington Post ...Would you be willing to spend one penny more for a box of macaroni and cheese if it meant that Walmart workers would no longer need food stamps to survive? Because that's all it would cost, according to an analysis by American Public Media’s Marketplace...
Koch Brothers Received Millions In Obamacare Subsidies ThinkProgress ...Charles and David Koch may have spent millions of dollars opposing President Obama’s Affordable Care Act, but that didn’t stop them from benefiting from the law to the tune of $1.4 million in subsidies...
Billionaires Score Big Win With McCutcheon Decision Truthout ...The Supreme Court’s McCutcheon ruling dealt another 5-4 body blow to our democracy...
The NCAA Makes Billions and Student Athletes Get None of It StudentNation ...Despite devoting forty to sixty hours per week to their sport most of the year, Division I football players lack basic economic rights under the NCAA’s cartel restrictions...
Do You Know Where Your Government Uniform Was Made? The Nation ...Despite some laudatory local and state efforts, taxpayer dollars are still being used to purchase clothes made in sweatshops...
The Worst Cash Rip-Off Since Bank Fees? Behold an Infuriating New Scheme to Sap Your Money AlterNet ...If prepaid debit cards sound too good to be true, it's because they're a scam. Here's the hidden truth behind them...
Family Dollar to cut jobs, shut 370 stores as sales fall Reuters ...The discount retailer, which caters to lower income shoppers--many of whom live from paycheck to paycheck, said it would it would cut jobs, shut hundreds of underperforming stores and slash prices...
Uninsured Greek patients with contagious diseases are being left untreated, voluntary health clinic warns EnetEnglish ...One health clinic in Greece warned that uninsured patients have contagious and serious diseases but are left untreated due to austerity...
Miscellaneous
Senator Durbin Asks For IG Investigation into Federal Agency's Oversight of Trucking Companies With a History of Violations eNews Park Forest ...U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) asked the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Inspector General (IG) to audit the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s investigative practices after a report that the FMCSA ordered, but never actually launched, an investigation into an Illinois motor carrier with a long history of violating safety rules...
Friday, August 9, 2013
Today's Teamster News 08.09.13
Oxford deputies to vote on joining the Teamsters Union Oxford Hills Sun Journal ...Oxford County Sheriff's deputies in Maine are set to begin voting on whether to drop their current bargaining agent and become members of Teamsters Local 340...
Talks break down between Ikea and striking Teamster workers Vancouver Sun ...The union representing Ikea workers in Richmond, British Columbia has rejected the company’s latest offer, including an automatic wage increase, as talks ground to a halt in the four-month labor dispute...
Little Campbell train trestle talks on track Peace Arch News ...Meetings between BNSF and Semiahmoo First Nation are planned later this month to discuss replacing the Little Campbell River railway bridge that union leaders, including Bill Brehl, President of Teamsters Canada Rail Conference Maintenance of Way Employees Division, have voiced concerns about safety...
ALEC at 40: Turning Back the Clock on Prosperity and Progress PRWatch ...The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) released a new report: "ALEC at 40: Turning Back the Clock on Prosperity and Progress." The new report identifies and analyzes 466 American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) bills introduced in 2013 that reflect corporate agenda...
ALEC Meeting In Chicago Draws Conservative Lawmakers, Protesters Associated Press ...As meeting participants handed out awards and dined at a meal sponsored by the Texas Oil and Gas Association, picketers denouncing "corporate greed" paced the sidewalks and clogged the street in front of the Chicago hotel hosting the conference...
Wisconsin Capitol Protesters Defiant Despite Growing Crackdown The Real News ... In the past two weeks alone, more than 100 demonstrators have been arrested during the weekly held Solidarity Sing-Along protests, with this most recent wave of arrests taking place on Tuesday, August 6...
JPMorgan Under Criminal and Civil Investigation Over Mortgages firedoglake ...JPMorgan Chase & Co. disclosed in a SEC filing that it was under criminal investigation and had already been notified by the Department of Justice’s civil division that it had violated federal securities laws in offerings of subprime and Alt-A residential mortgage securities during 2005 to 2007...
Bank of England governor calls for change in banks' culture The Telegraph ...There must be a change of culture in “socially useless” banks that disconnect themselves from the real economy, the Bank of England governor Mark Carney has suggested...
Walmart pays $190,000 fine and agrees to improve safety at 2,800 stores The Guardian ...Walmart has agreed to improve safety conditions at more than 2,800 stores in 28 US states after inspectors discovered "repeat and serious" health and safety violations at a store in Rochester, New York...
Fast-Food Fight (opinion) New York Times ...As measured by the federal minimum wage, currently $7.25 an hour, low-paid work in America is lower paid today than at any time in modern memory...
Enormous, Humongous Trade Deficit Shrank In June TradeReform ...The enormous, humongous, vast, staggering, unbelievable, job-sucking, economy-sucking US trade deficit shrank to “only” $34.2 billion from a revised $44.1 billion in May. Exports of US goods and petroleum were up, imports of petroleum and consumer goods were down....
Chasing costs, a ‘sweatshop locator’ New York Times ...Disasters at garment factory buildings in Bangladesh, such as the collapse of this building earlier this year, have the clothing industry looking for new locations to place factories. To find such places, it turns to Li & Fung, a company most American shoppers have never heard of...
BART, unions resume talks as senators add pressure Associated Press ...Bay Area Rapid Transit's management and employee unions resumed contract negotiations Thursday as California's two senators urged the parties resolve the labor dispute and head off a crippling transit strike...
Hearing reveals huge gap between BART management, unions KTVU News ...A fact-finding panel appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown heard firsthand Wednesday how far apart BART and its labor unions remain even though they've been bargaining since April 1...
Tennessee Takes a Bite out of Worker Misclassification Construction Citizen ...A new law in Tennessee gives the state’s Department of Labor (DOL) sharper teeth with which to take a bigger bite out of workers’ compensation fraud in the construction industry...
Ohio payday lenders keep loaning under other laws 5 years after effort to limit such business Associated Press ...Payday lenders targeted by Ohio legislation that banned short-term, high-cost loans five years ago are skirting that crackdown by offering high-interest loans under other laws...
In a state with high voter turnout, a GOP bill targets elderly, early voting MSNBC ...While voting rights advocates have zeroed in on North Carolina where the governor is getting ready to sign a controversial voting law, Republicans in Wisconsin are readying their own voting overhaul...
Talks break down between Ikea and striking Teamster workers Vancouver Sun ...The union representing Ikea workers in Richmond, British Columbia has rejected the company’s latest offer, including an automatic wage increase, as talks ground to a halt in the four-month labor dispute...
Little Campbell train trestle talks on track Peace Arch News ...Meetings between BNSF and Semiahmoo First Nation are planned later this month to discuss replacing the Little Campbell River railway bridge that union leaders, including Bill Brehl, President of Teamsters Canada Rail Conference Maintenance of Way Employees Division, have voiced concerns about safety...
ALEC at 40: Turning Back the Clock on Prosperity and Progress PRWatch ...The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) released a new report: "ALEC at 40: Turning Back the Clock on Prosperity and Progress." The new report identifies and analyzes 466 American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) bills introduced in 2013 that reflect corporate agenda...
ALEC Meeting In Chicago Draws Conservative Lawmakers, Protesters Associated Press ...As meeting participants handed out awards and dined at a meal sponsored by the Texas Oil and Gas Association, picketers denouncing "corporate greed" paced the sidewalks and clogged the street in front of the Chicago hotel hosting the conference...
Wisconsin Capitol Protesters Defiant Despite Growing Crackdown The Real News ... In the past two weeks alone, more than 100 demonstrators have been arrested during the weekly held Solidarity Sing-Along protests, with this most recent wave of arrests taking place on Tuesday, August 6...
JPMorgan Under Criminal and Civil Investigation Over Mortgages firedoglake ...JPMorgan Chase & Co. disclosed in a SEC filing that it was under criminal investigation and had already been notified by the Department of Justice’s civil division that it had violated federal securities laws in offerings of subprime and Alt-A residential mortgage securities during 2005 to 2007...
Bank of England governor calls for change in banks' culture The Telegraph ...There must be a change of culture in “socially useless” banks that disconnect themselves from the real economy, the Bank of England governor Mark Carney has suggested...
Walmart pays $190,000 fine and agrees to improve safety at 2,800 stores The Guardian ...Walmart has agreed to improve safety conditions at more than 2,800 stores in 28 US states after inspectors discovered "repeat and serious" health and safety violations at a store in Rochester, New York...
Fast-Food Fight (opinion) New York Times ...As measured by the federal minimum wage, currently $7.25 an hour, low-paid work in America is lower paid today than at any time in modern memory...
Enormous, Humongous Trade Deficit Shrank In June TradeReform ...The enormous, humongous, vast, staggering, unbelievable, job-sucking, economy-sucking US trade deficit shrank to “only” $34.2 billion from a revised $44.1 billion in May. Exports of US goods and petroleum were up, imports of petroleum and consumer goods were down....
Chasing costs, a ‘sweatshop locator’ New York Times ...Disasters at garment factory buildings in Bangladesh, such as the collapse of this building earlier this year, have the clothing industry looking for new locations to place factories. To find such places, it turns to Li & Fung, a company most American shoppers have never heard of...
BART, unions resume talks as senators add pressure Associated Press ...Bay Area Rapid Transit's management and employee unions resumed contract negotiations Thursday as California's two senators urged the parties resolve the labor dispute and head off a crippling transit strike...
Hearing reveals huge gap between BART management, unions KTVU News ...A fact-finding panel appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown heard firsthand Wednesday how far apart BART and its labor unions remain even though they've been bargaining since April 1...
Tennessee Takes a Bite out of Worker Misclassification Construction Citizen ...A new law in Tennessee gives the state’s Department of Labor (DOL) sharper teeth with which to take a bigger bite out of workers’ compensation fraud in the construction industry...
Ohio payday lenders keep loaning under other laws 5 years after effort to limit such business Associated Press ...Payday lenders targeted by Ohio legislation that banned short-term, high-cost loans five years ago are skirting that crackdown by offering high-interest loans under other laws...
In a state with high voter turnout, a GOP bill targets elderly, early voting MSNBC ...While voting rights advocates have zeroed in on North Carolina where the governor is getting ready to sign a controversial voting law, Republicans in Wisconsin are readying their own voting overhaul...
Friday, June 21, 2013
Today's Teamster News 06.21.13
One million march across Brazil in biggest protests yet Reuters ...An estimated 1 million people took to the streets in cities across Brazil on Thursday as the country's biggest protests in two decades intensified despite government concessions meant to quell the demonstrations...
Warren on Trans-Pacific Partnership: If people knew what was going on, they would stop it Raw Story ..."If transparency would lead to widespread public opposition to a trade agreement, then that trade agreement should not be the policy of the United States...”
Emails show Detroit emergency manager enjoys perks while taxpayers foot bill Click On Detroit ...Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr is promised a 24-hour, seven-days-a-week security team staffed by Michigan State Police officers...
Illinois state workers to see pay raises, but no backpay Associated Press ...Gov. Pat Quinn's administration on July 1 will start paying the wage rate that was promised to thousands of unionized government workers in 2011 and 2012, although Illinois lawmakers didn't approve extra funding for back wages owed, officials said Wednesday...
Scaled-back 'Equal Pay for Women Act' to cover Louisiana state workers Times-Picayune ...Gov. Bobby Jindal has signed into law a version of the Equal Pay for Women Act that applies only to state workers. While provisions in Louisiana's Constitution already prohibit discrimination based on gender for government employees, state workers are nonetheless welcoming the effort to reiterate the need to ensure equal pay for equal work...
Who's Getting All Those Tax Breaks? Courthouse News Services ...Gov. Jerry Brown urged lawmakers to overhaul California's 27-year-old business incentive program, which he says has cost taxpayers $4.8 billion and is shrouded in secrecy...
Nevada attorney general says report shows more work required by mortgage servicers Las Vegas Review-Journal ...Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto said a recent report shows that more work needs to be done by the largest U.S. mortgage servicers, who are failing to comply with several key aspects designed to regulate how struggling homeowners are treated.
Warren on Trans-Pacific Partnership: If people knew what was going on, they would stop it Raw Story ..."If transparency would lead to widespread public opposition to a trade agreement, then that trade agreement should not be the policy of the United States...”
Emails show Detroit emergency manager enjoys perks while taxpayers foot bill Click On Detroit ...Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr is promised a 24-hour, seven-days-a-week security team staffed by Michigan State Police officers...
Illinois state workers to see pay raises, but no backpay Associated Press ...Gov. Pat Quinn's administration on July 1 will start paying the wage rate that was promised to thousands of unionized government workers in 2011 and 2012, although Illinois lawmakers didn't approve extra funding for back wages owed, officials said Wednesday...
Scaled-back 'Equal Pay for Women Act' to cover Louisiana state workers Times-Picayune ...Gov. Bobby Jindal has signed into law a version of the Equal Pay for Women Act that applies only to state workers. While provisions in Louisiana's Constitution already prohibit discrimination based on gender for government employees, state workers are nonetheless welcoming the effort to reiterate the need to ensure equal pay for equal work...
Who's Getting All Those Tax Breaks? Courthouse News Services ...Gov. Jerry Brown urged lawmakers to overhaul California's 27-year-old business incentive program, which he says has cost taxpayers $4.8 billion and is shrouded in secrecy...
Nevada attorney general says report shows more work required by mortgage servicers Las Vegas Review-Journal ...Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto said a recent report shows that more work needs to be done by the largest U.S. mortgage servicers, who are failing to comply with several key aspects designed to regulate how struggling homeowners are treated.
Rhode Island: Disabled students forced to work in sweatshop conditions World Socialist Web Site ...The US Department of Justice, the State of Rhode Island, and the city of Providence reached an interim settlement regarding a school for developmentally disabled students who had been forced to work for as little as 14 cents per hour...
Wisconsin justice's spouse head of union-busting law firm Center for Public Integrity ...A Wisconsin Supreme Court justice is preparing to hear the appeal of a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Gov. Scott Walker’s union-busting law, despite the fact that her husband is the president of a law firm that helps employers keep their workplaces “union-free.”...
Arizona Gov. Brewer signs election overhaul bill Associated Press ...Gov. Jan Brewer signed a sweeping election bill Wednesday that will overhaul the early voting process in Arizona and make it more difficult for third-party candidates to get on the ballot...
Teamsters Local 237 Endorses Bill Thompson Capital New York ...After endorsing Mayor Michael Bloomberg four years earlier, Teamsters Local 237, which represents public housing and other municipal workers, endorsed Democratic mayoral candidate Bill Thompson Thursday…
Mobilize, Energize and WIN! Program Scheduled August 13-15 IBT ...Teamsters Local 667 in Memphis, Tennessee, is hosting a Mobilize, Energize and WIN! Program on August 13-15, 2013. This three-day intensive training will go beyond the basic internal organizing model and focus on developing an action plan that will engage members in activities, such as organizing, preparing for contract negotiations, fighting anti-worker legislation, and building support for grievances...
Vote Count For UPS, UPS Freight Contracts Set To Begin IBT ...Ballots for the UPS and UPS Freight contracts were picked up from the post office yesterday and are currently being sorted...
Saluting the “Solid Six” IBT ...They call themselves the “Solid Six.” These six Teamster school bus drivers at Durham School Services’ Milton yard in Santa Rosa County, Fla., wear their pride on their backs. Their shirts say, “Solid Six,” because they are six organizing committee members who stood strong during a very difficult anti-union campaign...
Australian Transport Giant Toll Group Re-Launches Anti-Union Crusade On Its American Workforce On The East Coast IBT ...U.S. workers responsible for safely hauling loads out of Toll Group’s New Jersey facilities filed charges with the U.S. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), alleging that their Australian-based employer Toll Group is interfering with their right to form their union...
Wisconsin justice's spouse head of union-busting law firm Center for Public Integrity ...A Wisconsin Supreme Court justice is preparing to hear the appeal of a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Gov. Scott Walker’s union-busting law, despite the fact that her husband is the president of a law firm that helps employers keep their workplaces “union-free.”...
Arizona Gov. Brewer signs election overhaul bill Associated Press ...Gov. Jan Brewer signed a sweeping election bill Wednesday that will overhaul the early voting process in Arizona and make it more difficult for third-party candidates to get on the ballot...
Teamsters Local 237 Endorses Bill Thompson Capital New York ...After endorsing Mayor Michael Bloomberg four years earlier, Teamsters Local 237, which represents public housing and other municipal workers, endorsed Democratic mayoral candidate Bill Thompson Thursday…
Mobilize, Energize and WIN! Program Scheduled August 13-15 IBT ...Teamsters Local 667 in Memphis, Tennessee, is hosting a Mobilize, Energize and WIN! Program on August 13-15, 2013. This three-day intensive training will go beyond the basic internal organizing model and focus on developing an action plan that will engage members in activities, such as organizing, preparing for contract negotiations, fighting anti-worker legislation, and building support for grievances...
Vote Count For UPS, UPS Freight Contracts Set To Begin IBT ...Ballots for the UPS and UPS Freight contracts were picked up from the post office yesterday and are currently being sorted...
Saluting the “Solid Six” IBT ...They call themselves the “Solid Six.” These six Teamster school bus drivers at Durham School Services’ Milton yard in Santa Rosa County, Fla., wear their pride on their backs. Their shirts say, “Solid Six,” because they are six organizing committee members who stood strong during a very difficult anti-union campaign...
Australian Transport Giant Toll Group Re-Launches Anti-Union Crusade On Its American Workforce On The East Coast IBT ...U.S. workers responsible for safely hauling loads out of Toll Group’s New Jersey facilities filed charges with the U.S. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), alleging that their Australian-based employer Toll Group is interfering with their right to form their union...
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Today's Teamster News 06.09.13
The Most Dishonest Words in American Politics: 'Right to Work' AlterNet ...Right-to-work measures appeal to freedom and choice, but they're all about busting unions...
Striking Worker and Bangladesh Activist Address Thousands at Walmart Shareholder Meeting The Nation... A striking retail worker and a Bangladesh labor activist made their case from the floor of Walmart’s shareholder meeting, addressing thousands of workers and stock-owners and countering what was otherwise a highly scripted celebration of the largest private company in the world...
Taxpayers' loss on GM bailout looks to be about $10 billion Chicago Tribune ...The U.S. Treasury’s deal to sell 30 million shares of General Motors Co. will recoup taxpayers another $1 billion of the bailout money the government put into the automaker back in 2009...
Oklahoma Sweatshop Tells One Story of Labor's Challenge Huffington Post ...Temperatures would hit levels higher than 120 degrees. Because there was no air conditioning, bosses placed high-powered fans throughout the concrete facility. Management chain smoking cigars in the shop while reminding workers of the non-smoking policy. Promised pay increases never materialized, even with business on the upswing. This only begins to describe the horrendous working conditions at this workplace...
'No' votes take lead on measure to privatize trash service in Fresno, California Reuters ...Votes against a measure that would privatize garbage service in Fresno to raise revenue for the cash-strapped California city took a slim lead on Friday as election officials continued counting ballots...
Transamerica Among 11 Insurers in $763 Million Settlement Bloomberg News ...Aegon NV’s Transamerica and New York Life Insurance Co. are among 11 insurers that will pay a combined total of as much as $763 million to resolve a multistate probe into whether the firms held funds that should have gone to beneficiaries...
Scott signs foreclosure bill Sun Sentinel ...Gov. Rick Scott signed a bill Friday designed to speed up foreclosures in Florida, but critics say the measure is unfair to homeowners...
Union files unfair labor practice complaints against 6 Logan contractors Boston Globe ...The union trying to organize airport contract employees has charged six aviation services companies at Logan International Airport with unfair labor practices, including restricting free speech, spying on a union meeting, and firing an employee for speaking out about working conditions...
UAW's King: Progressive groups must stand together Lansing State Journal ...Now more than ever, organized labor must stand shoulder-to-shoulder with other progressive groups as it fights for collective bargaining rights and other civil rights causes, United Auto Workers President Bob King said...
ALEC says its communications with Wisconsin lawmakers are private Wisconsin State Journal ...The American Legislative Exchange Council, better known as ALEC, is being challenged for using Internet drop boxes and broad new assertions of privacy to shield from public view the discussions of elected officials and corporate leaders it brings together to write model legislation for state governments...
LA Labor Remains Strong, United After Mayoral Race (opinion) Huffington Post ...those who attach too sweeping an analysis to the outcomes -- or suggest that labor's role in this city has declined -- are sadly off the mark...
Academy Award Maker Denies Earned Benefits to Workers IBT ...R.S. Owens, the Chicago company that’s produced Hollywood’s coveted Oscar statues for decades, is refusing to compensate its former workforce for nearly a year of earned vacation benefits...
Striking Worker and Bangladesh Activist Address Thousands at Walmart Shareholder Meeting The Nation... A striking retail worker and a Bangladesh labor activist made their case from the floor of Walmart’s shareholder meeting, addressing thousands of workers and stock-owners and countering what was otherwise a highly scripted celebration of the largest private company in the world...
Taxpayers' loss on GM bailout looks to be about $10 billion Chicago Tribune ...The U.S. Treasury’s deal to sell 30 million shares of General Motors Co. will recoup taxpayers another $1 billion of the bailout money the government put into the automaker back in 2009...
Oklahoma Sweatshop Tells One Story of Labor's Challenge Huffington Post ...Temperatures would hit levels higher than 120 degrees. Because there was no air conditioning, bosses placed high-powered fans throughout the concrete facility. Management chain smoking cigars in the shop while reminding workers of the non-smoking policy. Promised pay increases never materialized, even with business on the upswing. This only begins to describe the horrendous working conditions at this workplace...
'No' votes take lead on measure to privatize trash service in Fresno, California Reuters ...Votes against a measure that would privatize garbage service in Fresno to raise revenue for the cash-strapped California city took a slim lead on Friday as election officials continued counting ballots...
Transamerica Among 11 Insurers in $763 Million Settlement Bloomberg News ...Aegon NV’s Transamerica and New York Life Insurance Co. are among 11 insurers that will pay a combined total of as much as $763 million to resolve a multistate probe into whether the firms held funds that should have gone to beneficiaries...
Scott signs foreclosure bill Sun Sentinel ...Gov. Rick Scott signed a bill Friday designed to speed up foreclosures in Florida, but critics say the measure is unfair to homeowners...
Union files unfair labor practice complaints against 6 Logan contractors Boston Globe ...The union trying to organize airport contract employees has charged six aviation services companies at Logan International Airport with unfair labor practices, including restricting free speech, spying on a union meeting, and firing an employee for speaking out about working conditions...
UAW's King: Progressive groups must stand together Lansing State Journal ...Now more than ever, organized labor must stand shoulder-to-shoulder with other progressive groups as it fights for collective bargaining rights and other civil rights causes, United Auto Workers President Bob King said...
ALEC says its communications with Wisconsin lawmakers are private Wisconsin State Journal ...The American Legislative Exchange Council, better known as ALEC, is being challenged for using Internet drop boxes and broad new assertions of privacy to shield from public view the discussions of elected officials and corporate leaders it brings together to write model legislation for state governments...
LA Labor Remains Strong, United After Mayoral Race (opinion) Huffington Post ...those who attach too sweeping an analysis to the outcomes -- or suggest that labor's role in this city has declined -- are sadly off the mark...
Academy Award Maker Denies Earned Benefits to Workers IBT ...R.S. Owens, the Chicago company that’s produced Hollywood’s coveted Oscar statues for decades, is refusing to compensate its former workforce for nearly a year of earned vacation benefits...
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Today's Teamster News 03.28.13
Iraqi oil: Once seen as U.S. boon, now it’s mostly China’s McClatchy ...Ten years after the United States invaded and occupied Iraq, the country’s oil industry is poised to boom and make the troubled nation the No.2 oil exporter in the world. But the nation that’s moving to take advantage of Iraq’s riches isn’t the United States. It’s China...
Post analysis of Dow 30 firms shows declining tax burden as a share of profits Washington Post ...Most of the 30 companies listed on the country’s most famous stock index, the Dow Jones industrial average, have seen a dramatically smaller percentage of their profits go to U.S. coffers over time, even as their share prices have driven the Dow to an all-time high...
Cyprus crisis: capital controls loom as banks race to re-open The Guardian ...Protests are mounting in Cyprus as the full extent of Monday's EU-IMF bailout sinks in...
As Supreme Court Hears Challenge to ALEC Voting Bill, Two More States Introduce It Center for Media and Democracy ...Within days of the U.S. Supreme Court hearing a challenge to an Arizona voting registration law that had been adopted as a "model" by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), two more states advanced bills that appear to track the ALEC/Arizona template...
Michelle Rhee takes on teachers' unions Los Angeles Times ...StudentsFirst, the advocacy group Rhee founded … is positioning itself as the political counterweight to teachers' unions….Among StudentsFirst's major donors is the Walton Family Foundation, funded by heirs to the fortune generated by Wal-Mart, which has vigorously opposed unions...
When workers die: “And nobody called 911″ Salon ...A man is scalded by nearly boiling water and citric acid. His fate points to a dark reality for temp workers...
Sweatshops still make your clothes Salon ...It’s been 16 years since Charles Kernaghan made Kathie Lee Gifford cry on national television, revealing that her Wal-Mart-sold clothing line was produced by Honduran children working 20-hour shifts. ... not that much has changed...
Howard Dean Launches Campaign To Flip State Legislatures Huffington Post ...Dean said that Democracy for America's "Purple to Blue Project" would work to swing state legislatures from Republican to Democrat, starting in Virginia, then adding three states in 2014...
Assembly passes rewrite of city labor laws by slim 6-5 margin Anchorage Daily News ...The Anchorage Assembly Tuesday night narrowly passed a rewrite of city labor laws that tips the balance of power in negotiations with city unions more toward management...
Union research shows pension overhaul will cost workers, taxpayers Palm Beach Post ...Public employee unions fighting the House pension overhaul rolled out research Tuesday that says the move will cost taxpayers more — challenging the view of House Speaker Will Weatherford and other proponents that closing the traditional plan to new workers will reduce state costs...
Jim Greer, Florida ex-GOP chairman, gets 18 months in prison Orlando Sentinel ...An Orlando judge on Wednesday sentenced Jim Greer, former high-flying chairman of the Florida GOP, to 18 months in prison for stealing $125,000 from the party...
Governor calls unions the voice of American workers People's World ..."We live in a time in which more and more capital is concentrated in fewer and fewer hands," Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon told about 250 union delegates and activists here at the annual AFL-CIO Labor Legislative Conference on March 25 and 26...
Wisconsin gets an "F" for disclosing its spending Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ...Wisconsin is one of five states Tuesday that received an "F" for how it makes government spending available online...
Genesys Convalescent Center, Teamsters Local 332 reach first contract agreement Michigan Live ...After joining a union in the fall, Genesys Convalescent Center employees recently approved their first contract...
Teamsters-UNFI hearing in Moreno Valley The Press-Enterprise ...A hearing on whether United Natural Foods violated labor laws during a contentious union organizing campaign last year has been moved to Moreno Valley to accommodate Inland-area workers, a federal spokesperson said on Wednesday, March 27...
Teamsters leader says efforts to overturn right-to-work laws are 'swelling' Michigan Live ...The lame duck legislative push for so-called right-to-work laws in Michigan was driven by corporate special interests, chief among them being Grand Rapids’ own Dick DeVos...
Teamsters Take Demands For U.S. Workers' Rights To National Express Group Headquarters IBT ...Teamster school bus drivers who work at National Express Group PLC (NEX: LN) rallied with British members of Unite the Union outside the company's headquarters today, demanding the multinational transport company honor the human rights of its North American workers...
Post analysis of Dow 30 firms shows declining tax burden as a share of profits Washington Post ...Most of the 30 companies listed on the country’s most famous stock index, the Dow Jones industrial average, have seen a dramatically smaller percentage of their profits go to U.S. coffers over time, even as their share prices have driven the Dow to an all-time high...
Cyprus crisis: capital controls loom as banks race to re-open The Guardian ...Protests are mounting in Cyprus as the full extent of Monday's EU-IMF bailout sinks in...
As Supreme Court Hears Challenge to ALEC Voting Bill, Two More States Introduce It Center for Media and Democracy ...Within days of the U.S. Supreme Court hearing a challenge to an Arizona voting registration law that had been adopted as a "model" by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), two more states advanced bills that appear to track the ALEC/Arizona template...
Michelle Rhee takes on teachers' unions Los Angeles Times ...StudentsFirst, the advocacy group Rhee founded … is positioning itself as the political counterweight to teachers' unions….Among StudentsFirst's major donors is the Walton Family Foundation, funded by heirs to the fortune generated by Wal-Mart, which has vigorously opposed unions...
When workers die: “And nobody called 911″ Salon ...A man is scalded by nearly boiling water and citric acid. His fate points to a dark reality for temp workers...
Sweatshops still make your clothes Salon ...It’s been 16 years since Charles Kernaghan made Kathie Lee Gifford cry on national television, revealing that her Wal-Mart-sold clothing line was produced by Honduran children working 20-hour shifts. ... not that much has changed...
Howard Dean Launches Campaign To Flip State Legislatures Huffington Post ...Dean said that Democracy for America's "Purple to Blue Project" would work to swing state legislatures from Republican to Democrat, starting in Virginia, then adding three states in 2014...
Assembly passes rewrite of city labor laws by slim 6-5 margin Anchorage Daily News ...The Anchorage Assembly Tuesday night narrowly passed a rewrite of city labor laws that tips the balance of power in negotiations with city unions more toward management...
Union research shows pension overhaul will cost workers, taxpayers Palm Beach Post ...Public employee unions fighting the House pension overhaul rolled out research Tuesday that says the move will cost taxpayers more — challenging the view of House Speaker Will Weatherford and other proponents that closing the traditional plan to new workers will reduce state costs...
Jim Greer, Florida ex-GOP chairman, gets 18 months in prison Orlando Sentinel ...An Orlando judge on Wednesday sentenced Jim Greer, former high-flying chairman of the Florida GOP, to 18 months in prison for stealing $125,000 from the party...
Governor calls unions the voice of American workers People's World ..."We live in a time in which more and more capital is concentrated in fewer and fewer hands," Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon told about 250 union delegates and activists here at the annual AFL-CIO Labor Legislative Conference on March 25 and 26...
Wisconsin gets an "F" for disclosing its spending Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ...Wisconsin is one of five states Tuesday that received an "F" for how it makes government spending available online...
Genesys Convalescent Center, Teamsters Local 332 reach first contract agreement Michigan Live ...After joining a union in the fall, Genesys Convalescent Center employees recently approved their first contract...
Teamsters-UNFI hearing in Moreno Valley The Press-Enterprise ...A hearing on whether United Natural Foods violated labor laws during a contentious union organizing campaign last year has been moved to Moreno Valley to accommodate Inland-area workers, a federal spokesperson said on Wednesday, March 27...
Teamsters leader says efforts to overturn right-to-work laws are 'swelling' Michigan Live ...The lame duck legislative push for so-called right-to-work laws in Michigan was driven by corporate special interests, chief among them being Grand Rapids’ own Dick DeVos...
Teamsters Take Demands For U.S. Workers' Rights To National Express Group Headquarters IBT ...Teamster school bus drivers who work at National Express Group PLC (NEX: LN) rallied with British members of Unite the Union outside the company's headquarters today, demanding the multinational transport company honor the human rights of its North American workers...
Friday, June 29, 2012
Foxconn isn't the only sweatshop making iPhones
According to the Economic Policy Institute:
China Labor Watch ... found working conditions at the Foxconn factory to be severe, with workers employed long hours at low pay under harsh living conditions. The CLW report also breaks new ground in three areas. The report finds ... for instance, that employees in most of the factories typically work 11 hours a day and can only take one day off a month (low wage levels and management pressure compel them to work such hours); that employee dorms are frequently overcrowded, dirty and lacking in facilities; and that there is little ability for workers at Apple suppliers to push for reasonable working conditions on their own.
As bad as working conditions at Foxconn are, they are even worse at some of the other factories in China that supply Apple. The report flags the three Riteng factories investigated as particularly difficult places to work. ... Riteng workers typically work 12 hours per day nearly every day of the year (including weekends and holidays), compared to 10 hours per day at the Foxconn factories, with some days off. The average wage for the Riteng workers amounts to $1.28 per hour, or well below the already quite low average hourly wage of $1.65 for Foxconn workers. Health and safety conditions are much worse at the Riteng factories than at the Foxconn factory, and living conditions are worse for the Riteng workers as well.
Certain serious labor problems have so far been neglected in the discussion of work practices at Apple suppliers in China. In particular, the new report documents the troubling yet common practice by Apple suppliers of using dispatched labor. This practice enables factories to reduce the compensation and benefits they provide to their workers, makes it even easier to compel workers to work exceptionally long overtime hours, and creates damaging uncertainty over who is responsible for any worker injuries.ComputerWorld magazine points out that sweatshop conditions exist in many overseas computer factories, not just Apple's suppliers:
In a report last year, China Labor Watch warned: "Foxconn should not bear the only responsibility for worker suicides: Apple, HP, Dell and other international OEMs should also be held responsible, as their goal of profit maximization comes at the cost of workers' wages and sub-optimal working conditions."
That's the rub: Apple this year seems to have become the company everybody wants to hate. That's inevitable, of course, because everybody hates you when you become successful (in the words of Morrisey), but that focus on Cupertino shouldn't blind critics to the grim reality that every large or small-scale worker abuse within the Apple value chain is almost inevitably being repeated across the supply chain of every other consumer electronics firm: Dell, HP, you name them.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Today's Teamster News 03.07.12
Judge halts enforcement of voter ID law Wisconsin Rapids Tribune ...A Dane County judge on Tuesday barred the enforcement of the state photo ID law at polling places during the general election on April 3, calling it an "extremely broad and largely needless" impairment of the right to vote...
Scrutiny of Political Nonprofits Sets Off Claim of Harassment New York Times ...In recent weeks, the I.R.S. has sent dozens of detailed questionnaires to Tea Party organizations applying for nonprofit tax status, demanding to know their political leanings and activities. The agency plans this year to press existing nonprofits like American Crossroads, on the Republican side, and Priorities USA, on the Democratic side, to justify their tax-protected status as “social welfare” organizations, a status that many tax professionals believe is being badly abused...
Young Adults See Their Pay Decline Wall Street Journal ....the Economic Policy Institute, a center-left think tank in Washington, found that the average inflation-adjusted hourly wage for male college graduates aged 23 to 29 dropped 11% over the past decade to $21.68 in 2011. For female college graduates of the same age, the average wage is down 7.6% to $18.80...
Push for Amendment Protecting Collective Bargaining Launches in Michigan WILX ...Union workers and others opposed to "Right to Work" laws have now begun gathering signatures to force a change to the state constitution. They want collective bargaining to be guaranteed in Michigan. Supporters of a constitutional amendment will need to gather more than 300,000 signatures by July to get the amendment on the November ballot..
Under-fire designer Alexander Wang denies claims of 'sweatshop-like conditions' at Chinatown factory Daily Mail ...Better known for winning the admiration of the sartorially inclined than serious labour law infringements, Alexander Wang was today forced to defend itself against explosive claims that it ran a 'sweatshop' in Manhattan's Chinatown...
White House to Host Group of 8 Meeting at Camp David New York Times ...the White House without explanation announced a shift (of the G8 Summit from Chicago) to the secluded setting of the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland...Administration officials and others denied that the prospect of the anti-globalization protests common to such gatherings was a factor in the decision to change locations...
Scrutiny of Political Nonprofits Sets Off Claim of Harassment New York Times ...In recent weeks, the I.R.S. has sent dozens of detailed questionnaires to Tea Party organizations applying for nonprofit tax status, demanding to know their political leanings and activities. The agency plans this year to press existing nonprofits like American Crossroads, on the Republican side, and Priorities USA, on the Democratic side, to justify their tax-protected status as “social welfare” organizations, a status that many tax professionals believe is being badly abused...
Young Adults See Their Pay Decline Wall Street Journal ....the Economic Policy Institute, a center-left think tank in Washington, found that the average inflation-adjusted hourly wage for male college graduates aged 23 to 29 dropped 11% over the past decade to $21.68 in 2011. For female college graduates of the same age, the average wage is down 7.6% to $18.80...
Push for Amendment Protecting Collective Bargaining Launches in Michigan WILX ...Union workers and others opposed to "Right to Work" laws have now begun gathering signatures to force a change to the state constitution. They want collective bargaining to be guaranteed in Michigan. Supporters of a constitutional amendment will need to gather more than 300,000 signatures by July to get the amendment on the November ballot..
Under-fire designer Alexander Wang denies claims of 'sweatshop-like conditions' at Chinatown factory Daily Mail ...Better known for winning the admiration of the sartorially inclined than serious labour law infringements, Alexander Wang was today forced to defend itself against explosive claims that it ran a 'sweatshop' in Manhattan's Chinatown...
White House to Host Group of 8 Meeting at Camp David New York Times ...the White House without explanation announced a shift (of the G8 Summit from Chicago) to the secluded setting of the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland...Administration officials and others denied that the prospect of the anti-globalization protests common to such gatherings was a factor in the decision to change locations...
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