Today's Teamster News 12.11.12

Live blog: Michigan right-to-work protesters converge on Capitol as legislators are poised for final debates  Michigan Live   ...Michigan's right-to-work debate is drawing not just national attention, but also thousands of protesters to the Capitol grounds today to protest what could be the legislature's final passage of the law...
Obama jumps headfirst into fight over Michigan 'right-to-work' law  The Hill   ...President Obama on Monday injected himself into an escalating fight over changing Michigan into a right-to-work state, saying the state Legislature’s move to ban the required paying of union dues was all about politics...
Taylor schools to close Tuesday as teachers head to Lansing  ClickOnDetroit   ...The Taylor School District will be closed down Tuesday because of the high number of staff that have either called in sick or are taking personal days to attend rallies in Lansing...
Editorial: Worker choice? Let Michigan voters decide on right-to-work  Detroit Free Press   ...If Gov. Rick Snyder expects Michiganders to believe his professed interest in “worker choice” is anything more than the most cynical doublespeak, he’ll embrace a reasonable compromise Michigan’s Democratic congressional delegation proposed at a meeting in the governor’s Cadillac Place office Monday morning. Those present at the meeting urged that instead of signing the right-to-work bill state legislators are expected to whisk to his desk Tuesday, Snyder should encourage the bill’s champions to place the question before voters in the next statewide election, currently scheduled for August 2014...
Sign Of The Times: Labor Strikes May Make Comeback  NPR   ..."If you look at the national data, you see a decline in job satisfaction and you see tremendous frustration, particularly among younger workers who recognize they can't get the kinds of jobs they've been educated for, that they can't support their families or earn the kinds of incomes that their parents earned at comparable stages in life," he says...
Hostess Maneuver Deprived Pension  Wall Street Journal   ...Teamster-represented employees at Hostess didn't contribute a portion of their wages toward pensions, a union spokesman said. But among workers in the bakers union, it was "standard practice," said Mr. Rayburn, Hostess's CEO...
McCarthyism Is Alive and Well at Wisconsin Capitol  Wisconsin Citizens Media Cooperative   ...This list-making appears to be part of Capitol Police Chief David Erwin’s latest strategy for crushing political dissent in the Capitol. Since assuming office in July, Erwin has tried a series of measures aimed at ridding the Capitol of dissenting citizens whose continued presence annoys Republican legislators and confuses the embedded press...
Teamsters help Children's Home Society  Charleston Gazette   ...Members of Teamsters Local 175 delivered more than $15,000 worth of food and toys to the Children's Home Society early Monday morning...

This is what we union thugs do for premature babies

We ride 60 miles on our bikes to raise money for them.

Teamsters Joint Council 13 President Marvin Kropp and a passel of Teamster Horsemen rode all the way to Grafton, Ill., from the St. Louis area on a Bikers for Babies ride.

Wrote Brother Kropp on his Facebook page:

Great ride today, started at Teds Harley Davidson then nice 60 mile ride , then to Hawg Pit in Grafton, IL. All for a good cause. Over 400 bikes in ride!

The cause is Bikers for Babies, which helps The March of Dimes continue its important work of  funding medical research, health education for mom-to-be and support for families in newborn intensive care. According to the March of Dimes,

Bikers for Babies® is the March of Dimes fastest-growing fundraising event and it plays an integral role in the advancement of our mission. When you raise money for Bikers for Babies®, you’re helping fund research and programs that find answers to the problem of premature birth and other threats to infant health.

This year, more than 35,000 people will participate in March of Dimes Bikers for Babies rides across the country. ... There is a registration fee to participate in Bikers for Babies and all riders must be legally licensed and follow all local laws. Do more to support babies’ health by collecting donations from family and friends before the ride.

Teamsters Horsemen raise quite a lot of money for charities throughout the United States and Canada. There are more than two dozen chapters of these THUGS -- Those Helpful Union Guys (and Gals).

This is what we union thugs do on our Saturday nights

We hold silent auctions to raise funds for autism research.

For the fifth year in a row, Teamsters Local 25 in Boston (soon to be the subject of Mark Wahlberg's new reality show) will host the Light Up the Night Gala to promote autism awareness and to raise money for local programs that help autistic children.

Local 25 raised more than a half million dollars for autism in the past five years. Members from Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire have held fund-raising walks, motorcycle rides, golf tournaments and the annual gala.

We'll let Local 25 extend the invitation:

Make sure to “save the date” and join us for our fifth annual Light up the Night Gala on Saturday, April 7, 2012, and enjoy a lively reception, exciting silent auctions, a live band and dancing and much more!

Teamsters Local 25 – and our membership of nearly 11,000 men and women – believe that the community as a whole is an integral piece of the puzzle in taking us one step further towards finding a cure for Autism. It is our job in the workplace, but also in the community, to bring attention to this disorder...

Oh, and btw, "thugs" stands for Those Helpful Union Guys.

Christopher Duffley, the amazing singer in the video above, is the son of Teamsters Local 25 member Steve Duffley.

This is what we union T.H.U.G.s do for homeless veterans

D.C. union THUGs

(Cross-posted from Teamster Magazine):

We move furniture for them into their new homes.

Local 639 recently teamed up with the D.C. Office of Veterans Affairs (OVA) to aid homeless veterans in Washington, D.C. OVA helped out homeless local veterans by housing them in government homes in D.C. The housing didn’t have any furniture, though, and that’s where Local 639 stepped in.

“President Tommy Ratliff and I went and met with the Office of Veterans Affairs in D.C. I basically said, ‘Look, why do we have homeless vets?’ That was my first question,” said John Gibson, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 639 in D.C. “Then we talked about how the Teamsters Union could help these guys.”

Gibson said the local was first contacted about the need for furniture for these vets by Helmets to Hardhats, a national program the Teamsters Union supports that offers job assistance and training opportunities for union jobs to veterans.

OVA told Gibson about warehouses full of old furniture from military bases that was going to be crushed and thrown away. The vets could have that furniture, but OVA didn’t have the time or money to move it. Furniture was also donated by area nonprofits and individuals.

“They asked if we could help and we said absolutely,” Gibson said. “We coordinated with YRC, who let us use a YRC truck every week, primarily on weekends.

“Every Saturday, we’ve been going up to the warehouse and loading the truck with bedding, dressers, tables, refrigerators—whatever they need,” Gibson said. “We take a crew of volunteers out and do three or four stops every Saturday.” The Teamster volunteers didn’t take a break over a holiday weekend, instead spending Veterans Day weekend continuing their efforts to honor veterans.

In addition to himself, Gibson said the volunteers are YRC and UPS Teamsters and business agents from Local 639. Gibson, who is still on the seniority list at YRC, drives the truck. Other Teamsters that participate include YRC Shop Steward Mickey Fonville, Ed Conroy, and Business Agents Rob Reddix and Randy Roberts.

“When we meet the vets we deliver this stuff to, they’re always so appreciative. Some get tears in their eyes and some even say, ‘Thank God for the Teamsters.’”
This partnership agreement between the local and OVA also includes help from the National Capitol Veterans Coalition (NCVC).

In a recent letter from the director of OVA to Gibson, the agency writes: “NCVC and OVA is extremely appreciative of the use of the truck from the YRC and the volunteer drivers and helpers of Local 639… The Office of Veterans Affairs, NCVC and Mayor Vincent C. Gray is very appreciative of your volunteerism and your support for D.C. veterans and their families. Please thank your local President Thomas “Tommy” Ratliff and the Teamster volunteers for their assistance.”

"T.H.U.G.s," by the way, stands for "Those Helpful Union Guys."