Let's get America working!

The Teamsters want greater investment, better jobs.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is unveiling a new “Let’s Get America Working” campaign in advance of the 2016 election that will encourage both Democratic and Republican lawmakers to endorse a pro-worker platform.

At the center of the platform is the need for this country to invest in infrastructure, which in turn will create good jobs for everyday Americans. Working on transportation, energy and water projects will put thousands to work in construction jobs across the country. It will also improve roads, bridges, ports and other infrastructure, which in turn will help business and improve the U.S. economy.

The U.S. Labor Department’s own statistics support the Teamsters’ initiative. The median union worker earns more than $200 a week more than the median non-union worker. That’s an extra $10,000 a year that goes into the pockets of union workers. These jobs also offer health benefits and a pension.

Teamster President Jim Hoffa said:

While unemployment is down, the vast majority of jobs being created pay low wages. We can stop this trend and create good-paying union jobs if government invests in our nation’s workforce.

Infrastructure presents an opportunity to break the political gridlock. Congress in late July approved a three-month extension for spending on transportation projects that provides a temporary patch until the end of October for the continuing issue of road and rail funding. But it is not a real solution.

Since 2008, Congress has transferred more than $62 billion from the general fund to keep the Highway Trust Fund afloat, and it has been more than a decade since Congress has passed a highway bill more than two years in duration. Meanwhile, the transportation system continues to crumble and the safety of those who work and travel along the vast network of U.S. roads and rails is being jeopardized. Our nation’s failure to maintain and improve our infrastructure is costing Americans more and more.

There also is a significant need to move forward with a broader agenda that puts U.S. workers first. That means standing up against lousy trade deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership that send American jobs overseas; protecting workers’ rights to form unions and collectively bargain; increasing affordability of college and vocational schools; and ensuring retirement and pension security for working families.

Lawmakers need to remember that dollars invested in education, job training and supporting retirement for those who worked hard all their lives helps not only individuals, but our society as a whole. These are promises each generation in this country has made to the next and we can’t forget it.

But if this nation is going to improve the lives of its citizens, Congress needs to advance bipartisan policies that will encourage good job growth. And it must put the current and future generations of workers in a position to succeed in the workforce by giving them the skills they need.

There was a time when all these issues weren’t partisan issues – they were American values, something everyone could support. But government is broken. Partisan bickering has replaced finding solutions. That’s why it’s essential for the Teamsters and like-minded allies all over the country to join together and push this message with lawmakers, colleagues, friends and family.

If elected officials from both parties want to rebuild and repair the trust between government and workers, they need to reinvest in people that have and can continue to make this country great. Better pay will lead to more spending and improve workers’ quality of life. That way everyone wins.

Let’s Get America Working! Now is the time to Build, Repair and Maintain America!

Water, water isn't everywhere -- and that's a problem

America finds itself now in the midst of the dog-days of August, a time when the heat and humidity tends to hit home a little harder as the summer season winds down. But it is also a time when many states and localities realize a lack of water is having profound effects on the way government operates and residents live their lives. 

These concerns are best known and most acute in much of California, but worries over water are not a problem for the Golden State alone. Aging and inferior water infrastructure is a major concern nationwide, and one that must be addressed by policymakers on all levels of government if the problem is going to be conquered.

That's why you have unions and business coming together demanding solutions in many cases, like the San Francisco Buildings and Construction Trades Council and the Silicon Valley Leadership Group. Leaders from both wrote in the San Francisco Chronicle late last month there is a dramatic need to modernize water systems. Both groups have endorsed California Gov. Jerry Brown's plan to fix them:

We rely on our state’s outdated water distribution system to deliver water to 25 million Californians and 3 million acres of farmland. But this 60-year-old water delivery system of aging dirt levees, aqueducts and pumps is outdated and at risk of collapse in the event of a major earthquake or flood. Fundamental structural problems would be even more pronounced during the extreme weather patterns — drought followed by a series of severe storms — that experts say will become the new norm because of climate change. 

California Water Fix will replace this aging infrastructure, better protect against disruptions to water supply during earthquakes, floods and natural disasters, and will improve the ability to move and store water during wet years. This project needs to move forward because it represents the most viable approach to securing our state’s water future. We strongly encourage Californians to join us by supporting this plan and commenting on the environmental impact report.

Others are also getting behind the effort to improve water infrastructure elsewhere. Whether its editorial boards in Texas or local government officials in Kansas, there is a profound understanding that more needs to be done. Water is a commodity we all need. It's necessary for life. 

These type of infrastructure issues must be moved to the front burner. Government at all levels needs to invest in people, and that in turn will help business. Let's get America working by improving systems we all need.

Today's Teamster News 02.13.14

Teamsters
Washington Twp. cops might go union  Pittsburgh Tribune-Review   ...The Washington Township Police Department soon might become members of Teamsters Local 205, based in White Oak, Pennsylvania. The state's Labor Relations Board will schedule an election within the next month for township officers...
Union Negotiations Continue at Beverly's Armstrong Plant  12 WBOY News   ...Negotiations are still underway between Armstrong and the Teamsters to reach a new agreement at its plant in Randolph County, WV. The current contract expires Saturday...
Collective Bargaining: How to Negotiate Strong Teamster Contracts  teamster.org   ...The IBT Training and Development Department is conducting a Teamsters Leadership Academy (TLA) on collective bargaining, March 11-14. Get the details here...
Trade
Pelosi comes out against fast track bill  The Hill   ...Pelosi made clear on Wednesday night that she isn’t opposed to the concept of TPA, also known as fast-track authority, but she can’t support a bill introduced by Baucus, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) and Senate Finance Committee ranking member Orrin Hatch (R-Utah)...
Hoffa: Voices Against Fast Track Are Growing Louder  teamster.org   ...Thousands of Teamsters have contacted Congress in recent weeks to let them know “fast track” trade authority is the wrong track for America. And the message is getting through...
Crowley Opposes Fast Track  New York Daily News   ...Rep. Joe Crowley’s far from shocking statement opposing the authority, which lets the president force trade bills, like a pending Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal, to receive up or down votes in both congressional chambers...
State Battles
Tennessee Paper Pushes Koch-Connected Anti-Union Message Ahead Of UAW Vote  Media Matters   ...A misleading op-ed in Chattanooga's Times Free Press, co-written by a Koch and ALEC ally, falsely claimed creating a union in a local Volkswagen plant would negatively impact the state economy and plant relations, despite evidence to the contrary...
U.S. senator drops bombshell during VW plant union vote  Reuters   ...U.S. Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee said on Wednesday he has been "assured" that if workers at the Volkswagen AG plant in his hometown of Chattanooga reject United Auto Worker representation, the company will reward the plant with a new product to build. Corker's bombshell … runs counter to public statements by Volkswagen...
Tennessee Republicans Don't Believe in a Free Market  Center for Economic and Policy Research   ...these politicians believe they are better able to run a car company than the Volkswagen's managers. This is an interesting view coming from people who usually claim to be supporters of a free market and to believe that the government should not interfere in the running of a business...
Austerity in Maine has forced state troopers to go without heating and feed their families roadkill  Salon   ...Back in 2013, the lawmakers of the state of Maine decided to freeze state merit and longevity pay for its state troopers. According to a report in the Bangor Daily News, for at least some state troopers — and their families — the consequences have been dire...
Harsh words for CDOT at public meeting on 50-year U.S. 36 contract  Daily Camera   ...Colorado Department of Transportation officials took a verbal beating Wednesday night from a crowd of hundreds who blasted the agency for partnering with a private firm to maintain and operate U.S. 36 between Boulder and Denver for the next 50 years.
Assembly committee takes up bill tossing some "living wage" ordinances  WHBL   ...Wisconsin lawmakers were hearing testimony Wednesday on a bill to throw out local "living wage" ordinances...
Kentucky sinkhole opens up at Corvette museum, swallows vintage Corvettes dailykos   ...The museum issued a statement that said six of the damaged cars were owned by the museum and two — a 1993 ZR-1 Spyder and a 2009 ZR1 Blue Devil — were on loan from General Motors...
States, U.S. Forfeit Billions in Corporate Tax Revenue Annually  teamster.org   ...States could save more than $1 billion a year in tax revenue if they would make simple reforms that would crack down on shady corporate practices that funnel dollars away from their coffers. But only two states have put the brakes on such practices thus far...
How California’s Worsening Drought Could Make Your Grocery Bill Spike  ThinkProgress   ...If what the tree rings say is true, California hasn’t been this dry in more than 500 years. If what the leading climate scientists say is true, that dryness will only get worse in the coming years, which will adversely impact the agricultural industry...
This Is What It Looks Like When 100,000 Gallons Of Coal Waste Spill Into A West Virginia Stream  ThinkProgress   ...A pipe break at a Patriot Coal preparation site spewed more than 100,000 gallons of coal slurry into a waterway near Charleston, WV on Tuesday...
Pence wants state to replace some proposed local business tax cuts  Indianapolis Star   ...In the face of a growing outcry from mayors across the state, Gov. Mike Pence announced Tuesday that he supports replacing some of the revenue local governments would lose under proposals to cut Indiana's tax on business equipment...
The War on Workers
Lawsuit Calls Government’s Sweetheart Deal With JP Morgan ‘Unlawful’   ThinkProgress ...The Justice Department (DOJ) broke the law when it settled mortgage finance market fraud allegations against JP Morgan in a headline-grabbing legal settlement last year, according to a lawsuit filed Monday...
Former Enron Trader Funding PBS Series On Pensions  firedoglake   ... billionaire and Enron alum John Arnold has financed a new two-year news series entitled “Pension Peril.” A program that, not surprisingly, pushes an agenda that companies like Enron would love. The series, promoting cuts to public employee pensions, is airing on hundreds of PBS outlets all over the nation...
RealtyTrac: Monthly foreclosure filings reverse course, rise 8%  Housing Wire   ...Monthly foreclosure filings — including default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — reversed course and increased 8% to 124,419 in January from December...
AT&T Mobility, CWA reach tentative agreement  Atlanta Journal-Constitution ...AT&T Mobility has reached a tentative agreement with the Communications Workers of America on a contract covering more than 11,500 employees in Georgia and other parts of the Southeast...
What the jobless do when the benefits end  Washington Post   ...Many facing the end of benefits will turn to Social Security. Others will cobble together what they can...
Bob Costas is right: Going to work sick is a terrible idea  Washington Post   ..."Presenteeism" is actually a vexing problem for employers that could, by some estimates cost them as much as $150 billion per year...

Got water? A handful of rich Calif. families do, and they're looking to sell

California's Central Valley is known as America's breadbasket for the sheer volume of food it produces. But the region has a darker reputation for those who live and work there due to a handful of ultra-rich families who run the place. How those elites make their money -- on water --  is a disturbing tale.

Although they don't reside there, some of the country's most well-known families have interests in the Central Valley. The former owners of the Union Pacific Railroad, Standard Oil and the Los Angeles Times are among them. And now their decedents lord over the area like the oligarchs their families once were, writes Yasha Levine at nsfwcorp:

Their offspring still run the place like their very own banana republic. They fly in to inspect their businesses on private jets, buy politicians, own entire towns, import migrant slave labor, pollute and plunder with impunity and bend everything and everyone to their will. They wield enormous political power, and the vast tracts of land under their control boggles the mind. You can drive for an hour at 80 mph and only trace one side of a single oligarch-family farm. And yet, they are nearly invisible to the general public.

In a show of power, one of these corporate interests disguised as a farmer made a huge profit in 2009 when it sold water to local water agency in drought-stricken California. The price? $73 million!:

... the farmer was a private Silicon Valley company called Sandridge Partners owned by the Vidovich family. The Vidoviches own cotton fields and almond orchards in the Central Valley. They also control a small real estate empire in the Bay Area, complete with office complexes, condominiums, mobile home parks, hotels and shopping centers. John Vidovich, the current family patriarch, lives in a $11.4 million home in the Los Altos Hills, a ritzy wooded area overlooking the bay just south of San Francisco sitting in the 8th most expensive zip code in America. To top it all off, the Vidovich clan is among the biggest welfare queen-farmers in the country, taking in $11 million in subsidies since 1995.

But as the article states, the Vidoviches are far from the only family getting rich off of water. There are many others, led by the Resnick family of Beverly Hills, who own about 300 square miles in the Central Valley:

The Resnicks helped engineer a covert scheme that subverted the state's constitution by partially privatizing California's water supply, creating the concept of "paper water" and opening up an unregulated water market for the first time in California.

The Resnick's “paper water” market was a speculator’s wet dream. Even Enron tried to get in on Oligarch Valley's paper water bonanza in the early 2000s, opening up an Internet-based operation next door to the Resnicks in the hopes of creating the etrade.com of H20, where future traders from would around the world would log in from home and buy and sell water in between sessions on YouPorn.com. Called Azurix, it would function as an “exchange on the Internet for buying, selling, storing and transporting water in the West, hoping to make water a traded commodity much like natural gas or electricity,” the Wall Street Journal wrote in 2000.

Enron's water speculation utopia crashed and burned, but the Resnicks emerged as the biggest water traders in America. Among other things, the Resnicks made hundreds of millions of dollars selling water back to California for a 100% markup.  

All this happens while many Central Valley residents are mired in poverty. The article notes the Fresno, Modesto and Bakersfield metropolitan areas are among the poorest in the country.

The whole thing is worth a read. You can find it here.