All you need to know about Fox News

A new book called "An Atheist in a FOXhole" tells the story of a liberal who worked at Fox News for eight years. Salon published excerpts from the book, but you don't even need to read all of those.

The muffin story is all you really need to know about Fox News:

In summer 2011, a story surfaced on the right-wing blogs that an auditor for the Justice Department had found out some DOJ employees attending a meeting at the Capital Hilton in Washington, DC, had been served refreshments, including muffins for which the hotel charged sixteen dollars apiece. 

It’s no surprise that the story spread like wildfire on the blogs and was soon picked up by cable news. It was a great story for the right, reinforcing preexisting notions of government excess and willingness to waste taxpayer money, the incompetence of the Obama Justice Department, etc. 

One problem: It wasn’t true. 

A few days after the story broke, a representative from Hilton Hotels came out and said that the auditor had misread the bill, that the sixteen dollars referred to a full breakfast—coffee, tea, fruit, muffins, plus tax and gratuity. Not a bargain by any means, but also not too bad for a hotel continental breakfast. 

A producer named Steiner Rudolf was line producing — assembling the stories in the rundown and making sure they all timed out correctly — on the day that Bill wanted to include the muffin anecdote in a Talking Points Memo. “Actually, Bill, the muffin thing got debunked,” Steiner started to tell him. “A guy from the hotel came out and said —” 

“I don’t give a shit what the guy said,” Bill interrupted, suddenly angry. “It’s the same old thing. They come out and deny it, but the story is there. We know it’s true. We have the proof.” 

Steiner tried gamely one more time to convince Bill to drop the story, explaining that he didn’t have the proof, but O’Reilly was adamant. He’d latched on to the story, and pesky things like “facts” weren’t going to convince him otherwise. The muffins went into the Talking Points. Over the next few weeks, he repeated the story several times on his own show, on Jon Stewart’s show, on David Letterman’s show, and on Good Morning America. 

Woo-hoo! Another Teamster organizing victory in WA!

Please give a warm welcome to our 30 new brothers and sisters who voted to join Local 690 in Spokane. They are dairy delivery drivers for Estension Logistics, which supplies Darigold products to area businesses, schools and big box stores such as Target.

Darigold had outsourced delivery to Estension, which immediately cut wages and benefits. Employees asked Local 690 for help.

Fred Makus, the son of a 35-year Teamster, said the officers of Local 690 jumped right in to help them:

I knew that we could have real benefits and a stable working environment.

Kaui Pilimia said the benefits they receive as Teamsters are the most important part of the contract:

Morale has improved here and the brotherhood at the company is stronger.

The drivers at Estenson join the approximately 400 other drivers from the grocery and food service industries across the region that are represented by Local 690.

Val Holstrom, secretary-treasurer, said the local has had dairy contracts since the 1920s.

We are proud to have the Estenson drivers in Local 690. They stood strong and supported each other and their bargaining committee for over a year to get a contract that guarantees security, dignity and respect in the workplace. I’d like to thank Joint Council 28 for their support and especially secretary-treasurer Tracy Thompson and the staff of Local 117 for their assistance in our efforts.

Welcome to our great union!

Today's Teamster News 06.01.13

US Lawmakers Press Obama to Include Currency in Pacific Trade Deal  Reuters   ...Nearly 200 U.S. lawmakers have signed a letter urging President Barack Obama to insist on new rules against currency manipulation in a proposed trade agreement with Japan and 10 other countries in the Asia-Pacific region...
Walmart’s Shocking Threats And Employee Bullying Detailed In 27-Page Report  Opposing Views   ...Walmart continually asks Americans to consider what’s more important: justice for its workers or low prices for its customers?...
Catalonia firefighters were starting fires rather than putting them out this week during a demonstration held in Barcelona  Metro   ...emergency workers clashed with riot police while protesting over austerity cuts in the recession hit Catalonian capital...
Judge: Coal company can drop retirement benefits for 13,000 workers, Underwood says  MSNBC   ...Bankrupt coal mining company Patriot Coal will be able to void its agreement with the United Mine Workers union (UMWA) and stop funding pensions for retired miners, thanks to a ruling from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Eastern District of Missouri...
Pension bill stuns counties, could force tax increases  Tampa Bay Times   ..."Is that money going to FRS to actually shore it up? Or is it a long-term strategy to pressure those of us at the local level to say we can't sustain these increases?"...
New Jersey Passes Misclassification Bill; Gov. Christie Could Veto  Truckinginfo   ...Though the Teamsters-backed employee misclassification bill was passed Thursday by the New Jersey State Senate, opponents say they will continue to work to make sure the measure does not actually become law...
Kasich frustrating safety unions  Toledo Blade   ...Gov. John Kasich and Republican lawmakers are pursuing tax cuts and banking huge surpluses, according to police and professional firefighters, at the expense of public safety...
UW education dean warns school boards that ALEC seeks to wipe them out  The Cap Times   ...The model legislation disseminated by the pro-free market American Legislative Exchange Council’s national network of corporate members and conservative legislators seeks to privatize education and erode the local control...
Appeals court upholds voter ID law  WISN   ...A Wisconsin law requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls is constitutional, a state appeals court ruled Thursday...
How Enterprise Zones Are Killing the California Dream  Truth-Out   ...(Teamsters) John Thomas and Hans Burkhardt  ... are now collecting unemployment, having lost their $22-an-hour jobs after their employers moved to take advantage of California’s enterprise zone plan…
Connecticut State House boosts minimum wage  CT Post   ...More than 106,000 of Connecticut's lowest-earning workers will see the current $8.25-per-hour minimum wage rise to $9 by January 2015...
Perry Vetoes "Buy American" Bill Approved 145-0 By Texas House  Opposing Views   ...Texas Gov. Rick Perry vetoed the “Buy American” bill, despite a unanimous bipartisan vote in the Texas House. The bill, which would have given preference to American-made goods...
Port Truck Drivers Take a Stand  WTOC-TV   ...WTOC-TV in Savannah, Ga., reports on port truck driver misclassification and how it impacts drivers and their families. Visit the Stand Up for Savannah! website for more information...
Teamsters Protect Nine-Hour Workday for CVS Pharmacists  Teamsters Joint Council 25   ...CVS pharmacists ratified a new three-year contract yielding raises and improved working conditions after Teamsters Local 727 representatives fought to protect the nine-hour workday from the management that wanted 12-14 hour workdays...
The Union Edge Reports On Durham School Bus Campaign  Union Edge   ...Teamsters Local 570 and Durham School Services drivers in the Baltimore area are standing up for safe school buses, respect and an end to wage theft. Hear what they have to say on The Union Edge radio program...
Dairy Workers in Washington Win With Teamsters  IBT   ...A unit of 30 drivers at Estenson Logistics, who voted to be represented by the Teamsters Local 690 in Spokane in late 2011, recently ratified their first contract...

Low-wage strikes starting to improve jobs

A number of fast-food and retail workers say their jobs improved after they walked out on their employer in a wave of one-day strikes over the past few months.

Fast-food workers in Seattle walked out of dozens of restaurants on Wednesday night and Thursday, marking the seventh one-day strike in the past eight weeks. Low-wage workers have gone on strike in New York, Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, Washington, D.C., and Milwaukee.

Now the workers say they are seeing some improvement in their jobs after returning. The Huffington Post reports:

Conditions, hours, positions and pay have improved for a number of workers who participated in strikes in the last two months, organizers say. They point to Krystal Collins in Chicago, who got a 0.25 cent hourly raise and was switched from part-time to full-time after walking off her job at Macy's in April, and to Claudette Wilson, Romell Frazier and Khalil Dorris in Detroit, who forced their Burger King to close for the day in early May and subsequently saw their hours increase.

Here are a few more examples, brought to you by CNN Money.

Before the strike:

Eddie Guzman needed to work at least 20 hours a week to be eligible for welfare programs, such as food stamps and affordable housing. But his requests for more hours at the Brooklyn Burger King were met with deaf ears. Guzman's managers kept his working hours between 12 and 15 a week. 

After the strike he was fired, but then:

...community organizers and New York city council member Brad Lander went to the Burger King (BKW) to ask for his job back... 

Within days, Guzman had his job back and was scheduled to work at least 20 hours per week.

Robert Wilson a Chicago McDonald's employee, before the strike:

(He) spent eight years showing new employees the ropes and training others to get better positions at McDonald's. But he was never able to move up the ranks himself. 

That was until he and other workers rallied on Black Friday outside of the location where he worked in Chicago's Navy Pier. 

His managers saw Wilson protesting. The very next day, they told him that the position he had been gunning for was finally open.

One day longer, one day stronger!

Ga. port drivers to speak out about low wages, misclassification tomorrow

Savannah port drivers are fighting back against the trucking companies that exploit them at a community forum tomorrow morning.

The Port of Savannah is the fourth largest and fastest growing container port in the U.S. That means steady work for port drivers. But it doesn't mean work that can support a middle-class family.

Savannah's professional port drivers are treated like sharecroppers on wheels. They are shackled by classification as independent contractors and stripped of all the rights of an employee.

Wages are low, operating costs are high, and the hours are dangerously long.

The drivers aren't paid enough to safely maintain the trucks or to upgrade them to the clean-burning rigs that environmentalists and public health advocates are demanding at the Port of Los Angeles Long Beach, Seattle and Newark.

Our Teamster brothers and sisters at Local 728 in Atlanta are hosting a forum tomorrow for the drivers to tell the community about their dangerous, low-wage jobs.

WTOC-TV reporter Bob Logana will moderate the panel, which includes an impressive line-up of elected officials, labor leaders and clergy. Attending the forum will be:

• The Honorable Carolyn Bell, alderman, Savannah City Council
• Larry Benjamin, assistant district director, U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division
• The Honorable Bob Bryant, state representative, Georgia House of Representatives
• Chester Dunham, Savannah Chapter president, A. Phillip Randolph Institute
• John H. Finney, CEO, Chief Executive Officer, Economic Opportunity Authority for Savannah-Chatham County
• Brett Hulme, president, Savannah Regional Central Labor Council
• The Honorable Lester G. Jackson, senator, Georgia State Senate
• Pastor Ricardo Manuel, Second Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church, Inc.
• The Honorable Albert J. Scott, chairman, Chatham County Commission
• Willie J. Seymore, president, International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) ~ Local 1414.

You can see a great television news story about conditions at the Port of Savannah here. Find out more here.

Woo-hoo! Another Teamster organizing victory in IL!

Please give a warm welcome to our 12 new brothers and sisters who voted unanimously on Wednesday to become members of Teamsters Local 727. They are dispatchers and call takers at paratransit company First Transit, Inc., in Glenview.

Earlier this year, nearly 30 dispatchers, schedulers and reservationists at MV Transportation in nearby Niles also voted to join Local 727.

John Coli, Jr., Local 727 president, vowed to fight for the new members at the bargaining table. Union representatives soon will begin negotiating with First Transit management on a first contract.

Teamsters Local 727 represents more than 6,800 hardworking men and women throughout the Chicago area.

Welcome to our great union!

Calif. enterprise zones kill good jobs

A California program that's supposed to create jobs is killing good Teamster jobs and making corporate bosses richer.

While the Golden State's enterprise zone program does shift jobs to 40 areas it deems economically depressed, employers are the big winners. In many cases, jobs are moving from one California locality to another, sending existing workers to the unemployment line. Meanwhile companies are piling up more profits due to the tens of thousands in tax breaks they get for each employee they hire at the new job site.

The Frying Pan News explains the state-sponsored sham. Established in 1984, the program gives companies tax credits of up to $37,440 per person hired in one of the zones. Yet there is evidence that many areas eligible for the programs shouldn't be, noting that well-heeled neighborhoods in Los Angeles and San Francisco qualify as enterprise zones.

While some workers might be willing to move to continue their employment, they don't get the choice. Under the rules of the program, employers cannot take current workers if they want to receive tax credits. That leaves a lot of people who once earned middle-class wages out of luck. Bay Area warehouse workers John Thomas and Hans Burkhardt, both Teamsters, are just two examples.

The union jobs that Burkhardt and Thomas and their fellow workers had at the BlueLinx and VWR locations paid, on average, about $20 an hour, plus benefits. They were replaced with non-union positions that paid about one-half of that, with non-existent or substantially reduced benefits.

We detailed the plight of many of their fellow workers earlier this year. The loss of union wage jobs by members of Teamsters Local 853 resulted in the companies paying their new non-union employees about $10 an hour with no benefits in their new locations.

Doug Bloch, Teamsters political director for the Central Valley and Northern California, told Frying Pan News the VWR and BlueLinx situation encapsulates all that is wrong with the enterprise zone program.

Our union is all for programs that create jobs in economically distressed areas. This program doesn’t create jobs.

Some elected officials are beginning to see the light. State Sen. Jerry Hill has unveiled legislation soon to be considered on the Senate floor that would revamp the program by saying it must create net new jobs that pay at least $16 an hour. And Gov. Jerry Brown earlier this month proposed that the zones be replaced by a sales tax credit for firms that buy manufacturing or biotech equipment.

Californians need to make sure the rest of the state's lawmakers get on board as well. Tell your elected members to support Sen. Hill's SB 434  and help create new jobs, not just move old ones.