Today's Teamster News 11.01.13

Teamsters Welcome Capital Trucking Drivers  teamster.org   ...Local 696 welcomes 20 short haul dump truck drivers from Capital Trucking to the ranks after a 13-2 organizing victory on October 30. Since Labor Day, Local 696 Teamsters have worked to organize these new workers...
National Master ABF Negotiating Committee Accepts ABF’s Final Offer for Central Region Local Cartage Supplement  teamster.org   ...In a conference call Wednesday, the ABF Master Negotiating Committee voted that in light of the overwhelming vote against authorizing a strike, the company’s last proposal for the Central Region Local Cartage Agreement would be accepted. As a result, the ABF-NMFA is now fully ratified...
Teamsters Request Immediate Meeting With Mayor to Discuss Drivers’ Issues  teamster.org   ...Teamsters Local 922 President Ferline Buie sent D.C. Mayor Gray a letter requesting a meeting to discuss a moratorium on fines and taxicab impoundment, a subsidy or reimbursement for the unfair costs associated with the new regulations and the appointment of a driver to the Taxicab Commission. (Read the letter.)...
More Independent Contractors Are Organizing. Meet Teamster Taxi Cabs  Bloomberg   ... Some freelance writers and physicians are also moving in the direction of unionization...
Teamsters vote in favor of new contract with city of South Bend  ABC 57 News   ...The 250 members of the Teamsters Local 364 were all set to vote on their contract last week until they learned about a disparity between their pay raise and the pay raises the mayor wants to give some of his department heads. In the end, the union decided to take the deal on the table that includes a 2 percent raise for each of the next three years...
Anheuser-Busch InBev, Teamsters to Start Talks  Associated Press   ...Anheuser-Busch InBev and the Teamsters union are about to begin contract talks for the first time since the Belgian brewer InBev purchased the maker of Budweiser, Bud Light and other beers five years ago...
Teamsters Call on Darigold to Return to the Bargaining Table  teamsterslocal117.org   ...Teamster production workers and lab technicians, employed by Darigold, met throughout the day Wednesday to discuss the company’s last contract proposal...
Teamsters endorse Senate farm bill on nutrition, dairy  Agri-Pulse   ...The Teamsters Union weighed in last week in favor of Senate provisions in the farm bill, urging conferees to “reject the severe cuts” to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in the House bill and dropping previous opposition to the “supply management” part of the Senate's dairy reform language...
Four months without a contract, 930 Penn State-Hershey workers will vote on offer  The Patriot-News   ...About 930 Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center support workers will vote on a proposed three-year contract to replace one that expired in June. The workers are represented by Teamsters Local 776...
Rich people think the economy is doing just fine. Here’s why that matters.  Washington Post   ...any sense of urgency around getting the economy on track has almost disappeared within Congress ... Members of Congress tend to be relatively wealthy themselves, and tend to associate with big donors and other prominent folks…
Show Your Invisible Hand: Why the SEC Should Make Corporations Disclose Political Contributions  Next New Deal   ...corporate executives frequently spend on politics for their own personal advantage rather than the company’s bottom line. These personal benefits include things like prestige, a future political career, star power, or assistance for political allies...
Families brace as billions in food stamp cuts set in  NBC News   ...Benefit cuts to food stamp recipients kick in Friday, a move by Congress that will siphon $5 billion off a program that helps one in seven Americans put breakfast, lunch and dinner on the table...
Elderly Family’s Eviction Fuels Growing San Francisco Housing Rights Movement  People Power Media   ...The Lee family’s fight to save their home appears to have become a flashpoint for a resurgent tenants’ and housing rights movement that has helped put evictions and displacement on the front pages—and, potentially, on the front burner of city policymakers who are under increasing pressure to stem a tidal wave of evictions...
Ractopamine: The Meat Additive on Your Plate That's Banned Almost Everywhere But America AlterNet   ...The asthma drug-like growth additive has enjoyed stealth use in the US food supply for a decade despite being widely banned overseas...
Chinese Imports are Poisoning Our Pets  TradeReform   ...Recently the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sounded the alarm with warnings not to purchase some jerky dog treats that are resulting in a mysterious outbreak of illnesses...

Outsourcing Food Inspection Is Too Hard to Swallow   Huffington Post   ...For generations, Americans have relied on public service workers to inspect the food we eat. Now, the Department of Agriculture has proposed removing USDA inspectors from poultry lines and letting companies police themselves. That's right. The fox is literally guarding the hen house...
Newt’s revenge: Child labor makes a comeback   The Salon   ...In just two years, right-wing legislators weakened four states' child labor laws -- and a raft of other protections...
Social Security benefits to go up by 1.5 percent in 2014  Associated Press   ...Social Security benefits will rise 1.5 percent in January, giving millions of retired and disabled workers an average raise of $19 a month to keep up with the cost of living—an increase that is among the smallest since automatic adjustments were adopted in 1975...
Arizona election law will be put to statewide vote   Washington Post   ...Arizona will vote next year on a controversial bill that made sweeping changes to the state’s election laws after Secretary of State Ken Bennett (R) certified Tuesday that opponents of the bill had collected enough signatures to force the measure onto the ballot...
Port of Oakland truckers promise to keep working through negotiations   Oakland North   ...After forcing a one-day closure of the Port of Oakland over regulatory and wait-time complaints last week, independent truckers say they are pursuing negotiations with the California Air Resources Board, and have promised no further work stoppages through at least Monday, Nov. 4...

Today's Teamster News 10.23.13

Teamsters Union optimistic for deal with CN Railway this week  Reuters   ...The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference union is optimistic that talks with Canadian National Railway Co, Canada's largest rail operator, will produce a deal this week…
Hershey Medical Center, Teamsters Continue Talks  Lebanon Daily News ...Negotiators for the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and Teamsters Local 776 were expected to sit down with a federal mediator to hammer out a new contract...
'Local Union Communications: The Social Art of Educating Members' TLA to be Held December 3-4  teamster.org   ...This two-day Teamsters Leadership Academy (TLA), hosted by Local 986 in Los Angeles, will explore effective ways Teamster affiliates can communicate with members through the use of social networking, flyers, newsletters, websites and media. Don’t forget to register for this program...
Grocery Workers Strike in Puget Sound Averted  Sky Valley Chronicle   ...The large grocery store workers strike that was headed to begin October 21, by some 21,000 union employees against four large grocery chains, was averted at the wire by a tentative agreement reached by the negotiating teams for both sides in the dispute...
Top Five Ways Lobbyists Will Win and We Will Lose If a Major Corporate Trade Deal Goes Through  Alternet   ...The next time you want to share a song or a recipe online, you’d have to ask yourself: Am I a criminal? Interested in writing some fan fiction based on your favourite detective series and sharing it online? Ask yourself that very same question. That’s how TPP provisions could characterize you based on what we know about its Intellectual Property chapter...
Billion Dollar Pay Check? 10 CEOs in America Break All Records for Executive Pay  Alternet   ... the top 10 CEOs in this year's poll took home over $4.7bn between them and for the first time ever none earned less than $100m. "I have never seen anything like that," said Greg Ruel, GMI's senior research consultant and author of the report. "Usually we have a few CEOs at the $100m-plus level but never the entire top 10..."
College campuses see rise in homeless students  USA Today   ...Though hard data are lacking, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid estimates that there are 58,000 homeless students on campuses nationwide...
Plutocrats at Work: How Big Philanthropy Undermines Democracy  Truthout   ...For a dozen years, big philanthropy has been funding a massive crusade to remake public education for low-income and minority children in the image of the private sector...
Tax breaks could ease pain of JPMorgan deal  Politico   ...JPMorgan Chase has struck a tentative deal with the Justice Department to pay a record $13 billion over dodgy mortgage products — but the biggest U.S. bank may be able to slash that bill by paying Uncle Sam less in taxes...
Following Nationwide Strikes, Bangladesh Garment Workers Win Minimum Wage Increase  The Real News   ...Garment workers in Bangladesh are poised to receive a 50 to 80 percent increase in the minimum wage following massive protests in September which closed more than 100 factories and caused a 20 percent decline in national production, according to a Reuters report citing the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association...
Limited service delays BART commuters as strike ends  Los Angeles Times   ...Despite having reached a deal Monday night to end a four-day Bay Area commuter-rail strike, staffing issues made for a rocky start for BART riders Tuesday morning...
Hatred of unions is misplaced, as they created the strong middle class (opinion) Canton Repository   ...I cannot understand why so many Americans have hatred for unions, which gave us a strong and vibrant middle class in the past...
Your prescription history is their business  Los Angeles Times   ...A secretive, for-profit service called ScriptCheck keeps track of all your prescriptions, even those you pay for with cash. Life insurers pay for the data...
More Americans pessimistic about economy after shutdown, poll shows  Los Angeles Times   ...Americans are more pessimistic about the state of the economy after the partial government shutdown and debt limit fight, according to poll results released Tuesday...
Feeding antibiotics to livestock is bad for humans, but Congress won’t stop it   Washington Post   ...The farm and pharmaceutical lobbies have blocked all meaningful efforts to reduce the use of antibiotics in raising livestock in America, a practice that contributes to a major public health risk, according to a study released Tuesday...
Ohio State University has invested millions with friend of Gov. John Kasich and Gordon Gee, but officials won't share details about the deal  Cleveland Plain Dealer   ... Ohio State University has invested tens of millions of dollars in a new, untested fund co-founded by a venture capitalist who enjoys close relationships with recently retired university president E. Gordon Gee and Gov. John Kasich. The deal was done behind closed doors, right around the time trustees changed OSU policy to allow top administrators more leeway over how to invest operating funds...
Court Holds Wisconsin Officials In Contempt For Enforcing Scott Walker’s Anti-Union Law  ThinkProgress   ...A Wisconsin judge who declared Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s (R) union-busting law unconstitutional more than a year ago held the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission in contempt of court on Monday for continuing to enforce that law against school and municipal workers...
Capitol Hill Needs to Save the Middle Class (opinion)  teamster.org   ...America’s ever-shrinking middle class is not only feeling pain in their wallet from lower take-home pay. Many are also witnessing a change in the places they live and the schools their children attend that could alter the fabric of our society for years to come...

Today's Teamster News 10.01.13

Teamsters: House GOP's Political Games Endanger Economy, Jobs  teamster.org   ...The Teamsters Union blasted extremist House Republicans today for endangering the U.S. economy and threatening the livelihood of millions of public and private sector workers with a possible government shutdown...
Teamsters reject Wegmans contract offer  Rochester Democrat & Chronicle   ...The International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 118 has rejected Wegmans "last, best and final" contract offer. The grocery company says the move authorizes union members to go on strike...
Hospital, union deserve praise (opinion)  Montana Standard   ...Congratulations are in order for St. James Healthcare and Teamsters Local 2, who reached a last-minute deal late on Sept. 19 to avoid a strike...
U.S. Wealth Is Now the Most Concentrated at the Top Since 1916  AlterNet   ...The top ten-thousandth of the U.S. population have done very well under President Obama’s leadership, even if they had predominantly voted and contributed to Mitt Romney...
US Chamber of Commerce: TPP is one month away  CNBC   ..."I think we are getting close. The [U.S.] President will be able to announce, as will other world leaders, progress in the right direction [at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting], but my guess is that it's got another month in it," Donohue told CNBC Asia's Squawk Box on Tuesday...
FHA to get $1.7 billion in its first taxpayer-funded bailout  Los Angeles Times   ...The Federal Housing Administration dramatically expanded its role after the subprime market collapsed, but at the expense of its own finances. Now, the government agency will get a first-ever bailout of $1.7 billion...
Google Paid $55 Million In UK Taxes On $5.5 Billion Sales In 2012  Reuters   ...Google, which has been grilled twice in the past year by a UK parliamentary committee over its tax practices, had a UK tax bill of 35 million pounds ($55 million) in 2012, on sales of $5.5 billion to British customers, its accounts showed...
A Wave of U.S. Sewing Jobs as Orders Pile Up  New York Times   ...Factories are finding that years of doing business overseas has shrunk what once was a thriving textile and apparel work force...
Toyota says it will export U.S.-built Corollas to Latin America  Los Angeles Times ...The new Toyota Corolla has barely hit car dealers but Toyota is already saying it plans to export the U.S.-built version of the compact sedan to 18 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean starting next year...
NYC inmate almost as costly as Ivy League tuition  Associated Press   ...New York is indeed an expensive place, but experts say that alone doesn't explain a recent report that found the city's annual cost per inmate was $167,731 last year — nearly as much as it costs to pay for four years of tuition at an Ivy League university...
Huge Spike In Poverty Among Elderly Women Catches Analysts By Surprise  Think Progress   ...The number of women over the age of 65 living in extreme poverty jumped by 18 percent last year after having held steady for most of the previous decade the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) reported Thursday...
Wall Street Predators Wage Secret War on American Retirements  AlterNet   ...Financiers are lying their way to another giant theft of public money...
BP returns to court over Deepwater Horizon spill as $18 billion in fines loom  The Guardian   ...Penalties against BP for the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster could add up to $18 billion – five times the $3.5 billion originally set aside for fines...
Airlines shift focus from baggage fees to new services to make flying better, boosting revenue  Associated Press ...Airlines are introducing a new bevy of fees, but this time passengers might actually like them...
American Airlines plans to hire 1,500 pilots  Reuters   ...American Airlines plans to hire 1,500 pilots over the next five years as it expands international flying and takes delivery of new planes, the carrier said on Monday...
Indiana, Illinois governors endorse Illiana Expressway  Associated Press   ...The governors of Indiana and Illinois have given their endorsement to a planned 47-mile expressway aimed at relieving traffic congestion in the Chicago area and creating jobs in both states...
Consultants' contracts soar to more than $62 million for Detroit bankruptcy  Detroit Free Press   ...Contracts approved for consultants and lawyers advising emergency manager Kevyn Orr’s team as it restructures city government and prepares for a likely Chapter 9 bankruptcy have skyrocketed to at least $62 million, with some firms getting more than $10-million increases, according to records reviewed by the Free Press...

Rich, entitled jerks really ARE rich, entitled jerks

The ultra-wealthy really are self-centered entitled jerks and the U.S. Senate only pays attention to them, not the rest of us.

You probably suspected that already, but new studies prove it.

Also, BMW drivers are the worst.

The Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin reports five new studies show higher social class is associated with increased entitlement and narcissism.

Paul Piff of the University of California at Berkeley conducted five experiments that demonstrate the entitlement mentality of people who are wealthier, better educated and have high-status occupations.

Joshua Holland at Bill Moyers & Company described our favorite study:

In one telling experiment, the researchers observed a busy intersection, and found that drivers of luxury cars were more likely to cut off other drivers and less likely to stop for pedestrians crossing the street than those behind the wheels of more modest vehicles. “In our crosswalk study, none of the cars in the beater-car category drove through the crosswalk,” Piff told The New York Times. “But you see this huge boost in a driver’s likelihood to commit infractions in more expensive cars.” He added: “BMW drivers are the worst.”

Other studies showed the ultra-wealthy are more likely to look at themselves in the mirror and to say “I honestly feel I’m just more deserving than others."

Another series of experiments showed upper-class individuals are more unethical than lower-class individuals:

This included being more likely to “display unethical decision-making,” steal, lie during a negotiation and cheat in order to win a contest.

These are the people U.S. senators pay closest attention to. According to a study to be published in the Political Research Quarterly, they respond almost exclusively to their wealthiest constituents.

It's starting to look a lot like oligarchy.

Today's Teamster News 05.06.13

The Rich Have Gained $5.6 Trillion in the 'Recovery,' While the Rest of Us Have Lost $669 Billion AlterNet   ...Oh, are we getting ripped off. And now we've got the data to prove it. From 2009 to 2011, the richest 8 million families (the top 7%) on average saw their wealth rise from $1.7 million to $2.5 million each. Meanwhile the rest of us--the bottom 93% --suffered an average decline of $6,000 each...
When Your Boss Steals Your Wages: The Invisible Epidemic That’s Sweeping America AlterNet   ...Wage theft is fast becoming a top trend of the 21st-century labor market...
Bangladesh building collapse: death toll over 650 News Limited    ...The death toll from Bangladesh's worst industrial disaster has surpassed 650 after dozens more bodies were pulled from the wreckage of a building housing garment factories...
The Walt Disney Company pulls out of Bangladesh: Will that make workers safer?  Christian Science Monitor   ...The Walt Disney Co. is pulling out of Bangladesh and other developing countries, in part because of fatal accidents in factories that produced branded merchandise for Western firms. Announcement of the move follows last week’s tragedy that may be the worst such accident in world history...
Court not ready to give right-to-work opinion  Traverse City Record-Eagle   ...The Michigan Supreme Court is in no hurry to give an opinion on the legality of the state’s right-to-work law. In fact, the court still hasn’t decided whether to even grant Gov. Rick Snyder’s request...
Ohio 'right to work' fight likely to resurface in state legislature  Plain Dealer   ...Ohio's latest "right to work" effort seems dead on arrival, but don't bet against the issue coming back to life...
Montana Democratic women consider running for U.S. Senate  Missoulian   ...Several Democratic women are among those looking at the 2014 U.S. Senate race in Montana, one of about two dozen states where a woman has never been elected to the Senate...
CDC reports rise in autism, California social security benefits may help   Digital Journal   ...The CDC estimates 1 in 88 children are diagnosed with autism before reaching the age of eight. The disorder can be financially devastating, but social security benefits may help cover the cost of treatment and intervention...
Union Launches Major Ad Campaign Against Liquor Privatization  CBS KDKA-TV   ...So far it’s been mostly Governor Corbett and his allies arguing for privatization of the liquor system. But another side is about to be heard...
Teamsters, ABF Reach Tentative Contract Agreement  IBT   ...The International Brotherhood of Teamsters and ABF reached a tentative contract agreement, Gordon Sweeton, Co-Chairman of the Teamsters National ABF Negotiating Committee, announced Friday...
IBT To Conduct Crane Operations Courses in St. Louis  IBT    ...The IBT Safety and Health Department will be conducting the following classes on Crane Operations at Teamsters Local 682 in St. Louis...
Alpha School Bus Workers Ratify Contract  IBT   ...School bus drivers and monitors with Alpha School Bus in Crestwood, Ill., have ratified their first three-year agreement by a nearly unanimous vote...
Illinois Governor Honors BLET Anniversary  BLET   ...California, Massachusetts, and Ohio and two cities (Detroit and Marshall, Mich.) recognize North America’s oldest railroad labor union...
Employees of Durham Bus Services Fight For Respect and Union Rights  RadioLabour   ...Employees of Durham Bus Services in the US have been trying to join the Teamsters union. But the company, owned by National Express in the UK, is actively resisting their right to join a union. A RadioLabour interview with Louis Malizia, the Assistant Director of the Capital Strategies Department of the Teamsters...
Teamsters persist in drive to unionize truckers at L.A. and Long Beach ports  Daily Breeze   ... For decades, the docks at the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have been organized labor strongholds, dominated by the powerful International Longshore and Warehouse Union. But other workers handling imports and exports have mostly been left out. But that may be changing...