Have a Teamsters' Thanksgiving!

Be thankful for Teamster-affiliated products like these.

Thanksgiving is a day to spend with family and friends and to reflect on all the good things one has in life. Many people enjoy a feast and football. It's hard to imagine anything better.

Of course, there is a little way to make the holiday brighter for your fellow union members -- buy Teamster-made products! That way, you get quality goods and help keep your fellow brothers and sisters working!

Teamster members proudly manufacture butter and other dairy products with Land O'Lakes and Tillamook companies. Teamsters also craft jams, preserves and jellies at Smuckers. Use those ingredients to help prepare your Turkey Day staples.

But beverages also play an important role in any celebration. And here, the Teamsters really shine! On the beer front, the Teamsters make or cart all the Anheuser-Busch brands, as well as MillerCoors, all the Dundee brands and all the Genesee ales. The Teamsters also brew Blue Moon and have workers affiliated with Mendocino Brewing. And if you're craving an import, don't forget Becks or Molson.

For wine, the cellar operation workers at Woodbridge Winery are Teamsters. They produce some of the finest wines in California, including Ravens Wood, Toasted Head and Robert Mondavi wines.

So raise a glass to our great nation with great Teamster products. You'll be glad you did!

• Press Associates, Inc., contributed to this report.

Making public sector jobs RTW will gut wages

Public-sector employees have become a punching bag for anti-union forces who are trying to cripple the movement. But with the U.S. Supreme Court getting ready to consider a lawsuit that could allow workers to opt-out of paying union dues while still receiving representation, a new report shows just how much value union membership brings to workers' paychecks.

The Economic Policy Institute unveiled a document showing that if the court was to effectively institute so-called "right to work" for public sector jobs across the country, wages would likely fall far below what those in the private sector earn for the same work. Thus, if the court was to side with the plaintiffs in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, millions of workers would be hurt.

Jeffrey Keefe, a professor at Rutgers University who authored the report, says instituting a policy that would reduce wages makes no sense, taking a step that would worsen income inequality:

When states provide full collective-bargaining rights and permit the enforcement of provisions that allow unions to collect dues from all employees they represent, regardless of membership, unions can lessen and even eliminate this gap. This makes it possible for state and local governments to attract workers that might otherwise go to the private sector.

The Teamsters represent about 273,000 public sector workers, and other unions represent millions more. These government employees are everyday Americans just trying to earn a living and support their families. But that will be increasingly difficult if union rights are curtailed nationwide.

Sticking up for union jobs is essential because it paves the way to a middle-class lifestyle. The median union worker makes more than $200 more a week than non-union workers. That's why the Teamsters stressed the need for more union jobs in its "Let's Get America Working" campaign. Workers earning more doesn't just help their families, it helps the economy at large as well because they spend more.

Teamster Strong, America Stronger!

Some in Congress set sights on union movement

Anti-union lawmakers are at it again. Not satisfied with ever-growing income inequality in the U.S. and huge corporate profits, several members of Congress are looking to further squeeze hardworking Americans by making it harder to organize and easier to shut unions down.

The Hill describes the effort as a retread of previous attempts to curtail union activity, including the ability to make political donations:

The bill is the latest shot fired in the bitter battle between the Obama administration and Republicans over labor policy. Hatch introduced the legislation in 2012, but to little avail. With Republicans now in control of the Senate, he's hoping for more success this time around.

It boggles the mind what these lawmakers are trying to do with such efforts. They always start by saying they're not against unions, but such efforts would gut them by making them poor and powerless, thus rendering them obsolete. Of course, that is the real plan behind such legislation.

Need proof of what the job market looks like when union membership is driven down? Head south to America's Sunbelt, and you will find a virulent strain of anti-unionism led by state and local leaders even in the wake of falling wages. Companies may have relocated there, but there not driving up income, only their own profits.

Unfortunately, some in the Midwest have bought into the big business hype, as The American Prospect outlines:

In the last three years, the Republican governors and legislatures of such onetime union bastions as Michigan, Indiana, and Wisconsin have joined the South in enacting “right to work” laws intended to reduce union membership. Since these laws cover only private-sector unions, and thus have no effect on the labor costs of government employees, the Republicans’ initial motivation was almost entirely political: Diminishing unions weakened institutions that generally campaigned for Democrats. But in recent months, bills to lower wages for construction workers on public projects have been moving through the legislatures in those three states, and the Michigan legislature has passed a bill forbidding cities from setting their own minimum-wage standards—all measures designed to hit workers’ pocketbooks. Moreover, laws designed to depress minority, millennial, and Democratic voting by requiring voters to present particular kinds of photo identification have been enacted not only by eight of the eleven once-Confederate states, but by Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin as well. Like the pre-1861 slaveholding elites, today’s Republicans appear increasingly dedicated to Southernizing the North.

Workers and elected officials shouldn't be fooled by these efforts. RTW and this latest congressional effort are frauds. They drive down wages for everyday Americans. Union jobs pay $200 more a week on average. When unions are strong, America is stronger.

U.S. needs better jobs to curb childhood poverty

U.S. economic numbers have been looking better for workers. But statistics don't always tell the whole story. And that's certainly the case when it comes to childhood poverty in America.

A new report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation finds that despite the fact nearly 3 million jobs were created in the U.S. in 2014 and the unemployment rate dropped to 5.3 percent in June -- a seven-year low -- there are now more kids living in poverty than during the Great Recession.

Income inequality is putting our children at risk. As it stands, about 22 percent of American kids lived below the poverty line in 2013, compared with 18 percent in 2008, according to the 2015 Kids Count Data Book. The problem, quite frankly, is there aren't enough good-paying jobs being created, as the report details:

[T]here are some worrisome economic indicators for families in the bottom half of the income scale, particularly African Americans and Latinos. Although new job growth has occurred at all wage levels, it has been disproportionate in low-wage sectors, such as retail and food services, and in some of the lower-wage positions within health care and home care. And, a stagnating federal minimum wage has exacerbated low wages.

The federal poverty line for a family of four is $23,624. Frankly, it is preposterous to think any family can make it on a salary even closely resembling that level. But that is where America finds itself today -- 18.7 million kids living in poverty. And the problem is even worse for select minority groups. Thirty-nine percent of African American kids live in poverty, while 37 percent of Native American and 33 percent of Latino children do as well.

This country needs to attack this problem head on, and it begins with creating better-paying jobs for workers. A recent report by the Roosevelt Institute details how both government and the business community can work better together to create them. That, however, will require cooperation by those parties -- something that seems in short supply.

Lawmakers, however, could also choose to invest in this country and its workers by improving the nation's infrastructure network. This could create millions of jobs building roads, rail systems, energy plants and the like. Many of these jobs would be good union jobs that pay a middle-class wage. And when the U.S. is union strong, it makes America stronger.

This nation shouldn't accept the current level of poverty, especially for our children. They deserve better. It's time to do something about it.

Today's Teamster News 08.02.14

Teamster News
Workers: AGY Union Approves Contract  Aiken Standard   ...Employees of Aiken's AGY plant are expected to return to work on Monday, after the plant's labor union voted on Thursday to approve a new labor contract...
4 More LAUSD Bargaining Units Ratify Contracts, Secure Salary Raises  CBS News   ...Four Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) bargaining units have ratified their contracts, providing salary raises to employees for the first time in several years...
Rail Traffic Controllers And Canadian Pacific Reach Tentative Agreement  Wall Street Journal   ...Canadian Pacific and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference Rail Canada Traffic Controllers announced today that they have reached a tentative six-year labour agreement covering approximately 135 employees rail traffic controllers in Canada...
Teamsters contract extended, school buses will run as planned  Memphis Commercial Appeal   ...Durham School Services and the Teamsters school bus drivers agreed late Friday to a 30-day extension of its current contract while negotiations continue, said Teamsters business agent Edward Houston...
Teamsters 'outraged' about BlueCross BlueShield urgent care decision  insurancenewsnet.com   ..."The Local Union is constantly receiving calls from members on this chaotic BCBS decision and the members are outraged," wrote James Todd, a business agent for the Teamsters Local Union in West Columbia. "Particularly, our UPS members are mad as hell..."
Trade
Central America Crisis Belies CAFTA’s Empty Promises  Public Citizen   ...the 67 members of Congress’ Progressive Caucus ... included CAFTA in their recent summary of the root causes of the refugee crisis occurring along the U.S.-Mexico border: “free trade agreements, including the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) have led to the displacement of workers and subsequent migration from these countries...”
Changing Asia: China’s high-speed railway diplomacy  The Strategist   ...‘high-speed railway diplomacy’ … is used to describe the mechanisms by which China’s burgeoning capacities in high-speed railway (HSR) construction are being used in China’s international relations....
House Lawmakers Are Seeing The Light On ‘Buy American’  teamster.org   ...Lawmakers signed onto two different letters this week that called on the Obama administration to protect the more than 80-year-old program from being phased out as a condition included in the Pacific Rim trade agreement...
State Battles
Some ALEC Funders Flee, but Koch, Big Tobacco, and PhRMA Remain Loyalists  Center for Media and Democracy   ...the petrochemical giant Koch Industries gave ALEC $504,700 between 1995 and 1998. This is in addition to nearly a million dollars that foundations controlled by the billionaire Koch brothers gave ALEC outright between 1998 and 2012, and a nearly $500,000 loan that the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation gave ALEC in 1996...  
Fresno Cabbies Want Uber, Lyft Rideshare Services Off The Road  Fresno Bee   ...Fresno cabbies are asking City Hall to get on-demand ridesharing companies Uber and Lyft off the city's roads...
Only Case Of Voter Fraud Cited In Wisconsin Voter ID Ruling Involved A Scott Walker Fan  Huffington Post   ...The only example of voter fraud that the Wisconsin Supreme Court cited Thursday when it upheld a state voter ID law signed by Gov. Scott Walker (R) was allegedly committed by a Walker supporter....
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder To Gov. Rick Scott: We're Watching You  Tampa Bay Times   ...U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder sent a scathing letter to Gov. Rick Scott over voting changes in Florida and issued a warning that the Justice Department is "carefully monitoring" the state...
After Gov. Rick Scott’s Secret Trip To King Ranch, He Tapped A Ranch Executive For State Regulatory Board  Miami Herald   ...A month after Gov. Rick Scott took a secret hunting trip to the King Ranch in Texas last year ... Scott picked a corporate executive named Mitchel A. “Mitch” Hutchcraft...
War On Workers
Driverless Cars on UK Public Streets Starting January; Transforming Personal Mobility; Taxi and Truck-Drivers Targeted  Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis   ...Google's cars come equipped with elaborate sensors that can see 600 feet in every direction, are fully electric, and have a range of about 100 miles, perfect for city use, especially driverless taxi cabs. Google plans for 2017 operation...
The ‘meh’ economy: What it means for 2014  Politico Pro   ...Over the past two years, per-capita income adjusted for inflation has risen just 1.16 percent, down from 2.54 percent in the first two years of the recovery. Average hourly earnings rose just 1 cent to $24.45 in the latest jobs report...
Drunk Driver Kills Construction Worker, FHP Says  Sarasota Herald-Tribune   ...One construction worker was killed and another seriously injured Wednesday night when a drunk driver ran into them with his sedan, the Florida Highway Patrol reports...
Miscellaneous
The Other Aging of America: The Increasing Dominance of Older Firms  Brookings   ...The share of firms aged 16 years or more was 23 percent in 1992, but leaped to 34 percent by 2011—an increase of 50 percent in two decades. The share of private-sector workers employed in these mature firms increased from 60 percent to 72 percent during the same period...
BitTorrent Unveils NSA-Proof Online Calling And Messaging Software  Los Angeles Times   ...BitTorrent Inc., the San Francisco company behind the most popular technology for sharing files online, is branching out into a new arena: snoop-proof calling and texting...

Today's Teamster News 09.25.13

Teamsters, Horizon Air Reach Tentative Agreement  Wall Street Journal   ...Horizon Air and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters today jointly announced a tentative agreement on a proposed five-year contract extension covering the airline's 280 aircraft technicians, fleet service agents and other fleet support positions...
CN Rail contract talks with Teamsters snagged on health, safety  Reuters   ...Contract negotiations between Canadian National Railway and the Teamsters Union appear to have stalled as CN demands changes that union officials say could jeopardize the health and safety of workers...
U.S. Income Inequality Higher Than Roman Empire's Levels: Study  Huffington Post   ...the top one percent of earners in Ancient Rome controlled 16 percent of the society's wealth. By comparison, the top one percent of American earners control 40 percent of the country's wealth...
Banks find appalling new way to cheat homeowners  Salon   ...servicers like Nationstar often failed to inform homeowners about the change in servicing rights when they are transferred, meaning that the homeowner kept paying the wrong servicer. This is a clever way to facilitate late fees; just don’t tell the customer where to send their money...
Workers Set Factories Ablaze in Call for Decent Wage for Producing Globe's 'Cheap' Clothing  Common Dreams   ...Bangladesh swept by a third day of protests that leaves nearly 150 injured...
Bangladesh Garment Protests Enter Fourth Day  Bloomberg   ...Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan met last night with factory owners and labor leaders in an effort to end demonstrations that forced about 400 of the country’s 5,000 garment factories to close yesterday...
Greeks public sector workers strike as lenders check reform progress  Reuters   ...Greek public sector workers went on strike for the second time in a week on Tuesday, shutting schools and leaving hospitals with skeleton staff, as inspectors from Greece's foreign lenders checked if the country was meeting its bailout targets...
U.S. Trade Body Urges India to Play Fair   Time   ...An American manufacturing representative body is protesting against perceived discriminatory trade practices initiated by New Delhi ahead of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to the U.S on Friday...
Unifor Talking Right To Work  Blackburn News   ...The president of Unifor Local 444 in Ontario, Canada says his union is ready to fight Right To Work legislation. Dino Chiodo calls it “work for less” legislation, because that’s what he believes it will leave his members doing if it’s ever imposed on a provincial or federal level...
Walmart Cut Employee Hours So Drastically They Can't Keep Shelves Stocked, Losing Customers Think Progress   ...Amid plunging sales and massive strikes, even Walmart has conceded it can’t run a business on a skeleton crew...
Government Shutdown Deadline In One Week  Associated Press   ...With a week left to hammer out a deal to avoid a government shutdown, some lawmakers seem resigned – if not rushing – to that end...
Robert Reich: We Can Save the Economy If We Get Serious About Taxing the Rich  AlterNet   ...New documentary "Inequality for All," starring Reich explains how to fix America's income inequality...
Nowhere to Hide: The Government's Massive Intrusion Into Our Lives  Tom Dispatch   ...The NSA isn’t the only government agency exploiting technology to make privacy obsolete...
Smithfield shareholders approve Shuanghui deal  Associated Press   ...Shareholders of Smithfield Foods Inc. on Tuesday approved a plan to sell the world’s largest pork producer and processor to a Chinese company...
Bank Of America To Pay $2.18 Million In Racial Discrimination Case  Reuters   ...Bank of America Corp was ordered to pay $2.18 million to 1,147 black job applicants over racial discrimination in hiring that kept qualified candidates from getting jobs, said the U.S. Department of Labor...
How America’s 401(k) Revolution Rewarded the Rich and Turned the Rest of Us Into Big Losers AlterNet   ...It was a bad idea from the get-go, but new research shows that America’s 401(k) revolution has left us even worse off than we thought. Here’s a look at how we got into this mess, and where it will take us if we don’t wise up...
N.J. bank fined $8.2 million over federal money-laundering violations  Star-Ledger   ...Saddle River Valley Bank, a former community bank in Bergen County that once was controlled by private equity magnate J. Christopher Flowers, has agreed to pay $8.2 million to settle federal claims that it broke U.S. anti-money laundering laws...
Union Push for I.P.O. Forces Filing at Chrysler  New York Times   ...Chrysler filed for a public stock offering on Monday, acting only under pressure from its second-largest shareholder, a trust set up to provide medical coverage for 115,000 retired autoworkers and their relatives...