Today's Teamster News 11.05.13

Cab Drivers Deliver Letter To Gray, Ask For Impoundment Halt  DCist   ...With the Teamsters behind them, a group of D.C. cab drivers gathered outside the Wilson Building to continue their fight against what they see as the problematic rollout of modernization efforts and to get Mayor Vince Gray's attention...
New grocery contract passes by ‘overwhelming majority’  Seattle Times   ...Grocery workers, who are represented by the Teamsters and UFCW in Western Washington, approved a new 3-year contract, ending a month-long series of negotiations that nearly led to a strike...
UPS driver wins praise for working 51 years without a crash  Detroit Free Press   ...UPS driver Tom Camp and his big, brown truck have done something no other UPS driver has accomplished: 51 years without an accident...
“We have the right to educate you”: Workplace indoctrination caught on tape  The Salon   ...In leaked recordings, bosses lecture workers not to unionize, and insist 'This truly is for your best interest'...
Despite Eight Ongoing Criminal/Civil Investigations of JPMorgan, the Bank’s a Law Enforcement Partner With the NYPD  Wall Street on Parade   ...The photo shows an employee of U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder’s number one target for financial fraud investigations, JPMorgan Chase, working inside a high security spy center in Lower Manhattan to — wait for it — help the New York City Police Department catch crooks...
If 'Stop and Frisk' Is Such an Effective Tactic, Why Not Use an Electronic Version on Potentially Corrupt Bank CEOs?  Huffington Post   ...It's estimated that the 2008 financial crisis cost over $6 trillion. In 2009 alone, it's believed that an additional 5,000 people committed suicide due to the financial crisis and resulting unemployment, as the result of malfeasant senior bank officers...
Reich: The American Economy Is Cannibalizing Itself, and We the People Are Going to Pay a Huge Price  AlterNet   ...The bottom 90 percent of Americans have disappeared from official Washington...
One Million K-12 Students Are Homeless  Truthout   ...For many students, when they go to school each morning, they may have no idea where they will be sleeping that night...
Blaming the Poor for Poverty  Truthout   ...Most of the poverty in the U.S. is created from the sort of policies that cut taxes on the wealthy, do away with fiscal and other business regulations, shred the social safety net, and erode middle-class stability – all while singing the praises of self-reliance and individual responsibility...
How We Have Ended Up Paying for 1 Percenters Beach Vacation Homes  The Salon   ...It's time for the wealthy with vacation homes and valuable shoreline land to pay their own way -- and not rely on us...5 Ways Super-Rich Are Betraying America  AlterNet   ...This small group of takers is giving up on the country that made it possible for them to build huge fortunes...
Mexico gun battles leave many dead  The Guardian   ...Thirteen killed in border city of Matamoros as gunmen clash with Mexican armed forces in region ravaged by drug gangs...
Immigration Reform Requires Dismantling NAFTA and Respecting Migrants' Rights  The Real News   ...“When the North American Free Trade Agreement allowed big U.S. grain companies, for instance, to dump cheap, cheap corn on the Mexican market, hundreds of thousands of Mexican farmers essentially were not able to sell their crops for the cost of growing it,” says Bacon.  “[They] had to leave home in order to survive, and wound up migrating to the north of Mexico, crossing the border, and coming here to the United States.”...
Colombian women on 'crossed legs' sex strike over crumbling highway  Global Post   ...Why, they asked, should they bring any more babies into the world when pregnant women were dying along the highway trying to get to the hospital?...
Bangladesh Garment Workers Get A Raise (But They Still Earn the Lowest Wages In The World) Associated Press ...A government-appointed panel in Bangladesh voted Monday to raise the minimum wage for millions of garment workers to about $66 a month — still the lowest in the world and well below what workers have been seeking...
Kochs’ Group Has Big Ambitions in Small Elections  New York Times   ...Backed by the billionaire Koch brothers, Americans for Prosperity has been involved in local political contests in Kansas, Ohio, Texas and Iowa, but some are skeptical of its motives...
Koch group, unions battle over Colorado schools race  Politico   ...This fall, Americans for Prosperity is also spending big in the wealthy suburbs south of Denver to influence voters in the Douglas County School District, which has gone further than any district in the nation to reshape public education into a competitive, free-market enterprise...
Fewer than 1/4th of Republicans Support Electing More Women to Congress  AlterNet   ...New poll reveals staggering partisan gender divide on women in politics...
Texas' Restrictive Voter ID Law Stops A Former U.S. House Speaker From Getting A Voter ID Card  Huffington Post   ...Former U.S. Speaker of the House Jim Wright (D-Texas) unsuccessfully tried to get a voter identification card at a Texas Department of Public Safety office on Saturday...
As Pennsylvania Prepares to Fail, Other States Are Not Far Behind (opinion)  Talking Points Memo   ...It's hard to imagine that Pennsylvania is preparing to become a failed state, but it is. Despite world-class universities, active industries, and a global economic footprint, the Commonwealth has decided to cut funding for students and place its bets on a growing prison population...
Auto Workers Try a New Angle at Volkswagen  Truthout   ...The United Auto Workers, so long frustrated in their attempts to organize foreign-owned auto plants in the U.S., may have found a different way in...
BART union members approve contract  Progressive Railroading   ...Members of Bay Area Rapid Transit's (BART) two largest unions have ratified four-year contracts that will increase wages, require employee pension contribution, improve safety and allow BART to adopt technology to streamline operations…

Marquez workers to continue fight for Teamsters

Anti-union bosses at the Marquez Brothers cheese facility in Hanford, Calif., have thrown everything at their Teamster workers in an effort to crack their resolve. But employees there are not backing down.

Though the unscrupulous employer recently decided against recognizing the union, workers on Oct. 4 will vote to continue their fight for fair wages and safe working conditions. The company has not bargained in good faith since workers decided to join the union in August 2012, and talks have stalled. Marquez went so far as to spread lies that Teamsters were going to call a strike, even though such an action is up to the workers themselves.

Most workers make $9 an hour at the plant. The union’s bargaining unit initial sought $12 hour, but later lowered it to $11.50. The company, however, never budged beyond $9.10.

If sabotaging negotiations wasn’t bad enough, Marquez went further. They hired an expensive union-busting law firm to tail a worker who testified at a legislative hearing in Sacramento back in March. Although lawmakers called out the company and attorneys for their actions, the worker – a mother of four – was later fired.

Partly because of that case, state legislation was enacted earlier this month that bars employers from intimidating immigrant workers for reporting illegal pay or working conditions by threatening to call immigration officials.

Marquez workers said they are ready to continue their fight. Cheese weigher Juan Cruz said:

If we win, we’ll be sending a very strong message to the owners.

Teamster strong!

No ICE for Calif. employers

The Teamsters are hailing the passage of a trio of California bills this week that protect immigrant workers from abusive employers. The measures crack down on retaliation when workers attempt to organize or speak out against unfair treatment or wage theft. They now head to Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk for his consideration.

The governor has until Oct. 13 to act on all three bills.

AB 263, offered by Assemblyman Roger Hernandez, and SB 666, sponsored by Sen. Darrell Steinberg, are identical versions of the same bill. They help enforce basic labor laws by barring bosses from calling Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials after working condition complaints are filed against the business. AB 524, offered by Assemblyman Kevin Mullin, prohibits similar threats against workers who file complaints about not being paid fairly.

Art Pulaski, the California Labor Federation’s executive secretary-treasurer, said the legislation plays an essential role:

Employers should be on notice that with these bills, retaliating against workers who stand up for their basic rights will have serious consequences. These new protections are vital to protecting all workers who are afraid to report these abuses.

The lengths companies will go to in an effort to keep their workers quiet was on full display earlier this year during a committee hearing. Owners of the Marquez Brothers cheese facility in Hanford intimidated one worker who testified before the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee in March. The company hired notorious labor-hating law firm Littler Mendelson to follow her and other employees who attended the hearing in Sacramento. The testifying employee, a mother of four, was later fired by Marquez.

Workers at the Marquez plant have been trying to negotiate a first contract as Teamsters for about a year, to no avail. But at least the company’s workers will be allowed to speak out, said Gerardo Aguirre, a former Marquez worker who was fired while standing up for his rights:

The workers at Marquez Brothers are united in standing up to intimidation, at work and in the state legislature. We need laws that allow all workers to speak up and protect immigrant workers from these kinds of abuses.

Gov. Brown has until Oct. 13 to sign them into law.

Marquez Bros. could face stiffer fine for harassing immigrant workers

Our favorite anti-union attorney
followed a Teamster to the
state Capitol.

California companies like the Marquez Brothers have a nasty way of challenging immigrant workers' legal status if they complain about being exploited. Those companies would pay stiff fines for doing so under two pieces of state legislation that have a chance of becoming law.

Penalties would be increased for companies that retaliate against employees who question their pay or working conditions under AB 263, offered by Assemblyman Roger Hernandez (D-West Covina), and SB 666, sponsored by Senate Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento).  Hernandez's bill would hike fines against employers who retaliate against workers to $10,000 per worker and make retaliation a misdemeanor punishable by jail time. Steinberg's measure would subject attorneys to discipline or disbarment for retaliation.

Both bills passed through committee and are headed for votes on the full floor of the Assembly and the Senate.
Teamsters Local 517 organized Hanford-based Marquez Brothers last year and are still fighting for a first contract. The cheese factory owners are waging a vicious anti-union campaign. It went so far as to brazenly harass its workers in a government hearing in March. Two high-priced union-buster attorneys followed a Marquez Brothers employee -- a Teamster -- into an Assembly hearing room in Sacramento when she was set to testify about the company's actions.

Sister Candida Vanegas, who worked at the plant for three and a half years, was fired for attending Hernandez’s hearing and supporting unionization.

She told radio station KQED:

Everybody’s scared now. They’re saying, if it happened to her who was trying to help out people, what’s going to happen to us.

Chester Suniga, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 517, said the union is asking for a minimum wage at the Hanford plant of $12 an hour. According to Suniga, the two sides have not reached an agreement on a contract after months of negotiations because of the company’s stalling tactics.

We urge all supporters of workers' rights in California to contact their state lawmakers and tell them to vote for AB 263 and SB 666. Whistleblowers shouldn't be punished for turning in cheating corporations.

You can find your legislator here.

Calif. committee gives employees, unions a double win

A California legislative panel pushed back against big business supporters yesterday when it approved two pro-labor bills, a victory for the Teamsters and other unions advocating for the measures.

The Assembly Labor and Employment Committee passed one bill that would give workers additional tools to seek pay they are owed, and another that would protect them from retaliation when they attempt to organize or speak out against unfair treatment. In addition to union support, the bills also have the strong backing of public interest groups representing low-wage and immigrant workers who are seen as the main beneficiaries of the legislation.

 

Rome Aloise, president of Joint Council 7, hailed the victory: 

“The Teamsters are in strong support of comprehensive immigration reform. But this bill is crucial because it provides protections for immigrants workers that are not part of the federal proposal. Taken together, these bills will help workers come out of the shadows and gain dignity and respect.”

AB 1164, sponsored by Assemblymember Bonnie Lowenthal (D-Long Beach), would allow workers to place liens on corporate and private property if a company head engages in wage theft. This happens when companies abruptly shut down their offices and don’t pay workers money they are owed. Company owners with a lien on their property would have a hard time selling it. This measure would be a big incentive for bosses to settle their debts with workers instead of running out on their bills and opening up somewhere else under a different name.

Caitlin Vega of the California Labor Federation said the state needs to give its most vulnerable employees more certainty when it comes to receiving their paychecks.

“Our concern is that workers believe in the underground economy, that this is how it works. When they come forward … to talk about wage theft and go through the entire process, at the end of the day the wage lien is an important tool.”

Committee Chairman Roger Hernández (D-West Covina) issued his support for the bill, saying it grants justice to workers who often are exploited. While the California Chamber of Commerce and other pro-business hacks complained the penalties are too severe, it is the legislature’s job to make sure there is protection for all.

“Undoubtedly, you are working … to right a wrong. There is tremendous severity for those who are wronged. What about the ability to pay rent, to feed your children?” Hernández questioned, adding, “The fact that you are bringing something strong is necessary. … We need to reward the good actors and stamp out the bad actors.”

The committee also gave its approval to AB 263, offered by Chairman Hernández, that would bar employers from intimidating employees who attempt to unionize or report unfair wages or unsafe working conditions. In many cases, bosses target immigrant workers by asking them for additional paperwork or threatening to call federal immigration authorities.

Several workplaces, including the Marquez Brothers cheese facility in Hanford where Teamsters are currently negotiating their first contract, have engaged in such activity. During a March hearing in front of the same committee, the company hired attorneys to trail workers who came to Sacramento, and later fired one who testified in front of the panel.

Labor and workers’ rights representatives, including Shane Gusman of the California Teamsters Public Affairs Council, told lawmakers that the bill would be a substantial step in the right direction. Vega stated:

“When workers try to assert their rights … what they are met with are not only threats, but immigration related threats. … What we are trying to go after with this bill is the widespread retaliation against workers. We want to go after the use of immigration threats.”

Dennis Garcia of the California Domestic Workers Association added:

“All workers, no matter what their immigration status, should not be afraid.”

These bills will continue to move through the Assembly. Our brothers and sisters in California should continue to tell their elected representatives to support these important measures.

Threatening immigrants will be harder for employers under bill moving through Calif. Legislature

The Temple of Free Speech

A California legislative panel today approved a bill that would bar employers from threatening workers about their legal status when they file complaints with the state or try to organize. It's a big win for immigrant workers who speak out against wage theft and dangerous work conditions.

The Assembly Judiciary Committee approved AB 263, sponsored by Rep. Roger Hernández(D-West Covina). The bill would prohibit employers from asking for more paperwork from workers after they have been hired. Union-busting companies have been using this egregious practice—requesting additional paperwork—to intimidate employees and frighten them out of organizing or filing complaints. 

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is one of several unions wholeheartedly supporting this legislation.

Hernandez told committee members:

Immigrants are subject … to reprisal that results in removal from family and country. For these workers, the stakes are high and the need for protections are great.

Barry Broad, representing the Teamsters at the hearing, noted that the owners of Marquez Brothers cheese facility in Hanford intimidated one worker who testified before the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee last month. The company hired notorious labor-hating law firm Littler Mendelson to follow her and other employees who attended the hearing in Sacramento. The testifying employee, a mother of four, was later fired by Marquez.

Workers at the Marquez plant are in the midst of trying to get their first contract as Teamsters.

Brother Broad said the state capitol is "the temple of free speech."

Yet they sent company representatives to stare them down. ...That is what the workers face.  They shouldn’t be able to do that.

Rep. Luis Alejo (D-Watsonville) agreed.

It was callous, with no regard for what members of this body requested. These scofflaws treated these people this way. It shows it is a true reality.

Today’s vote indicates that legislators are ready to push back against rogue companies that exploit workers and bust their unions. The Assembly Labor and Employment Committee will consider AB 263 on May 1.