Anti-Fast Track protests enter 2nd week

Anti-TPP activists are continuing to rally across the country as members of Congress prepare to return to Washington. They may well arrive for an epic battle over Fast Track legislation.

Fast Track would let Congress rubber stamp the secretly negotiated TPP. Fast Track is also the only way the deal will ever get passed. If Congress had to actually debate the TPP, people would find out what's in it and start reaching for their pitchforks. ,br />

Protesters demand Rep. Sam Farr vote no on Fast Track in Santa Cruz, Calif.

The TPP, or Trans-Pacific Partnership, would send U.S. jobs overseas, lower wages, raise the cost of medicine and imperil food safety and the environment. TPP supporters want to pass Fast Track so Congress can send the secretly negotiated deal to the president before the public wakes up and realizes what happened.

A Fast Track bill has not been introduced yet. A Thursday Senate hearing about trade may provide an opportunity for TPP supporters to file a Fast Track bill. The committee chairman, Sen. Orrin Hatch, has said he wants to introduce a Fast Track bill by the end of the month.

Meanwhile, TPP protests took place last week in the Pacific Northwest, Massachusetts, Illinois, Maryland, New York, Colorado and California. 

Activists are ramping up pressure on Ron Wyden, the Democratic senator from Oregon who holds the key to Fast Track legislation. He hasn't said whether he supports Fast Track. If he does, he will provide cover for other Democrats to vote for it. 

This week activists are holding rallies, protests, meetings, Town Halls and news conferences in Bridgeport, Conn., Chicago, Rockville, Md., New York City, New Hope, N.C., and other cities where members of Congress haven't seen the light. Teamsters political representatives are also holding under-the-radar screen meetings in district offices.

Activists ask Rep. Mike Quigley, 'Don't betray our trust.'

Stay tuned. And call your representatives in Congress to tell them vote NO on Fast Track. It's fast, easy and free. Just dial  888-979-9806.

Dispatch From West Virginia: Feb. 21-Feb. 22

Our Teamster on the Ground reports on his weekend fighting right to work in West Virginia:

Saturday, Feb. 21 

West Virginians are possibly the nicest, hardest working people I've ever met. West Virginia workers are riled, passionate and dedicated to the cause. Each day this past week, they fought to prevent their Legislature from enacting a right-to-work bill. Each day, more workers joined the fight. Each day, we became more hopeful that we will prevail.

Workers at the West Virginia state capital.

Some people are saying politicians are not ready for a fight over right to work and it will die in committee. Others are saying they will continue to try to push it through. But no one is going to take a chance on optimism.

Inside a legislative committee room in West Virginia.
Johnny Sawyer and Luke Farley of Local 175 on the far right
 and Kenny Perdue, West Virginia AFL-CIO President, on the left wearing the red tie.

I spent an afternoon helping stuff envelopes with Local 175's Administrative Assistant Malisa Deweese. We sent out over 3,000-plus postcards to members. I even got to answer the phone a few times -- "Teamsters Local 175, how may I help you?" 

Sunday, Feb. 22 

Today the wet snow kept me from driving long distances to videotape workers talking about what their union means to them. 

West Virginia's wet snow.

So I took a short drive to the nearest Kroger's to try to speak with UFCW members. 

I went to the counter where three workers were gathered. They told me they were proud union members, but they graciously declined to be videotaped. I asked if they had co-workers willing to be interviewed, and if it would be OK to come back and tape them. They deferred to their manager, who stood nearby. I walked over, introduced myself as the "Teamster on the Ground" and asked. 

The store manager stood behind her employees and their union. She'd be happy to let us interview them. "Good luck finding someone who wants to be on camera." I told her I'd be back.

Today's Teamster News 02.23.15

Teamsters
Facebook shuttle drivers ratify new Teamsters contract: WSJ  Reuters   … Loop Transportation, the contractor that employs the drivers and negotiated with Teamsters Local 853, cautioned that the agreement was not finalized and must be approved by Facebook...
Canadian Pacific and Teamsters Canada Rail Conference agree to binding arbitration   Transport Intelligence   …Canadian Pacific and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference have agreed to enter into binding arbitration to put an end to the work stoppage by CP's locomotive engineers and conductors...
Trade
Obama to make TPP free trade sales pitch to American people  Big News Network   …US President Barack Obama on Saturday began a major sales pitch to the US public to bring them round to the merits of free trade deals, an area in which he faces stiff resistance from many in his own Democratic party...
Europeans Want TTIP Trade-Deal, though Obama Blocks Making Its Terms Public  RINF Alternative News   …TTIP is a secretly negotiated trade deal between the U.S. and the EU, and all indications are that it will replace each nation’s drug-safety, product-safety, food-safety, environmental, and worker-protection, regulations and laws, placing them into the hands of panels composed of appointees of large international corporations, no longer in the hands of publicly elected officials, no longer in the hands of elected politicians, who need to face voters periodically in order to stay in power...
State Battles
Wisconsin Could Be Right-To-Work In A Matter Of Days  Huffington Post   …It's been more than two decades since Gov. Scott Walker (R) first pushed right-to-work legislation as a state lawmaker in Wisconsin. Now, all these years later, the famously anti-union governor may finally be getting his wish -- whether he likes it or not...
Second fight over union rights comes to Wisconsin as right-to-work debate looms  Associated Press   …The first step is a public hearing Tuesday before the state Senate's Labor Committee before the Senate takes it up for debate on Wednesday...
War on Workers
Trend in Temp Workers may not be Temporary  Economic Populist   …America's third largest job creator is a temp agency called Kelly Services, which provided employment to 555,000 employees in 2014...
Ex-Im critics pounce after bank yanks data  The Hill   …Critics of the Export-Import Bank are seething over the removal from a government Web site of previously public data earlier they say helps them detect cronyism…
Amid controversy, oil trains quietly rerouted through Virginia towns  Reuters   …CSX Corp is temporarily rerouting up to five oil trains through this small riverside town to bypass the site of an explosive oil train derailment that occurred 90 miles north in Mount Carbon, West Virginia, on Monday...
Rent walkouts point to strains in U.S. farm economy  Reuters   …Across the U.S. Midwest, the plunge in grain prices to near four-year lows is pitting landowners determined to sustain rental incomes against farmer tenants worried about making rent payments because their revenues are squeezed...
Will America's Shale Boomtowns Bust? A Report From the Heart of North Dakota's Fracking Country  Fortune   …After reaching a 12-month high of $108 last summer, U.S. benchmark petroleum prices have dramatically declined, to a price now hovering near $50 per barrel. That has shaken global markets and energy companies alike, causing oil producers to slash their capital expenditure budgets and announce layoffs...
Worker dies in Canton's second fatal snow-related fall in 5 days  WCVB   …A worker fell 40 feet to his death Sunday while checking the roof of a building for snow removal...

Today's Teamster News 02.22.15

Teamsters
Union and company reach contract for Facebook shuttle drivers  USA Today   …Facebook shuttle bus drivers can expect higher wages and better working conditions as part of a new contract agreement reached today. More than two-thirds of about 90 drivers voted unanimously Saturday to accept a contract negotiated by the Teamsters and South San Francisco-based Loop Transportation…
Trade
TPP accord no longer expected before April  Japan Times   …Japan and the United States had hoped the 12-member TPP talks would conclude as early as March, assuming the two countries could clinch an accord at a bilateral meeting in late February or early March. The delay reflects slow progress in U.S. congressional procedures to grant President Barack Obama trade promotion authority...
State Battles
Right-to-work effort winds around Great Lakes into Wisconsin  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel   …This week, the right-to-work debate moves front and center in Wisconsin...
NEW INFORMATION: Wisconsin Senate leader lays out timeline for right-to-work  Associated Press   …Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald said Friday that a public hearing will be held Tuesday on the measure by the Senate Labor Committee. Debate will begin Wednesday in the Senate and continue until there's a vote...
Can Labor Survive Nevada's Republican Party?  The Atlantic   …For the first time in decades, the GOP controls the state's assembly, the senate, and the governor's mansion—and they're targeting unions...
Udall speaks against right-to-work, urges more funds for early ed  Santa Fe New Mexican   …U.S. Sen. Tom Udall used his pulpit during a joint session of the New Mexico Legislature on Friday to weigh in on two of the most divisive issues facing state lawmakers this session...
War on Workers
America, Land of Low Pay -- The Numbers Will Surprise You  Alternet   …Each American produced an average of $140,000 in goods in 2013, but median wages were less than $28,000. Who's getting that money?...
U.S. Oil Workers' Union Expands Biggest Plant Strike Since 1980  Bloomberg News   …The United Steelworkers, which represents 30,000 U.S. oil workers, called on four more plants to join the biggest strike since 1980 as talks dragged on with Royal Dutch Shell Plc, negotiating a labor contract for oil companies...
This is the scariest chart in the American economy today  Vox   …The unemployment rate has come down a lot, but the share of unemployed workers who've been unemployed a long time is still at historic levels...
Inmates riot at Willacy County prison  Valley Star   …Complaints over medical service led about 2,000 prisoners to riot Friday at the so-called tent-city prison here, setting fire to a tent-like dome while guards fired tear gas to try to control what Willacy County Sheriff Larry Spence called the prison’s worst disturbance since it opened nearly 10 years ago.Two officers and a prisoner suffered minor injuries before officials tried to settle the uprising late Friday afternoon at the Willacy County Correctional Center, said Issa Arnita, spokesman for Management & Training Corp., the Utah company that operates the low security-level prison for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons…
The Rich Benefit the Most From Tax Breaks Designed to Help People Build Wealth  Bloomberg   …The federal government spent $384 billion in 2013 on tax incentives that encourage savings, linked mainly to home ownership and retirement plans. Most of that money went to the rich...
Investment Charges When Mexico Privatized Social Security  Conversable Economist   …"Fund managers charged an average load (a fee taken as a share of account contributions at the time of contribution) of 23 percent and an annual fee on assets under management of 0.63 percent, implying that a 100-peso deposit earning a 5 percent annual real return would only be worth 95.4 pesos after five years."...
Big tech companies cause income inequality — but not in the ways you think  Pando Daily   … these companies invest huge portions of their annual revenues into buying back stock to line the pockets of shareholders, not to mention keep the bulk of global profits safely offshore and out of the reach of US tax collectors. And because stock performance is often used as a key factor in determining executive compensation, buyback schemes may also boost a CEO’s take-home pay...
Coroner: Worker dies when rock falls in Pennsylvania mine  WPXI   …ndiana County Coroner Jerry L. Overman Jr. says in a news release that the man — 29-year-old Todd Trimble of Gallitzin — was installing roof bolts at Rosebud Heilwood mine on Friday afternoon when the rock fell and he was trapped underneath...

Today's Teamster News 02.21.15

Teamsters
Swissport Canada And Teamsters Reach Collective Agreement  AviationPros   ...Today, the Honourable Dr. K. Kellie Leitch, Minister of Labour and Minister of Status of Women, congratulated Swissport Canada Handling Inc. and the Canada Council of Teamsters on the renewal of their collective agreement. The agreement covers the Swissport Canada Handling Inc. unit, who work at Dorval and Mirabel airports in Montreal...
Rail Strike Ends With Binding Arbitration  Free Press   ...The rails were only empty for a day at Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) as the company and its union put a halt to the 24-hour strike after agreeing to binding arbitration, mere hours before back-to-work legislation could be put into place...
Legislature Ratifies Agreement In Unanimous Vote  Daily Mail   ...After months of deliberation, an agreement was reached between Greene County and Greene County Public Employees, Teamsters Local 294 affiliated with International Brotherhood of Teamsters...
FTC Files Lawsuit Challenging Sysco-US Foods Merger  Wall Street Journal   ...A divided Federal Trade Commission sued Thursday to block Sysco Corp. ’s acquisition of rival US Foods Inc., a long-awaited move that sets the stage for a major court battle over a plan to combine the nation’s two largest food distributors...
Trade
Obama begins sales pitch on trade to wary United States public   Reuters   ...President Barack Obama on Saturday began a broad sales pitch to the US public about the merits of free trade deals, an area in which he faces stiff resistance from many in his own Democratic party...
Sally Hempy: Stop this TPP deal (LTE)  Daily Camera   …The Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) is similar to NAFTA and a dozen other so called free-trade deals that have turned out poorly for America but very well for transnational corporations...
State Battles
Wisconsin Senate To Vote Next Week On Right-To-Work Bill  La Crosse Tribune   ...The Wisconsin Legislature will take up a right-to-work bill next week in a surprise move that runs contrary to the wishes of likely 2016 presidential candidate Gov. Scott Walker who had urged lawmakers to delay any debate until later in the year...
Scott Walker says he'll sign fast-tracked right-to-work bill  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel   …After saying in his re-election bid that he wouldn't push so-called right-to-work legislation, Gov. Scott Walker committed Friday to signing it, acting after GOP leaders fast-tracked the proposal for a Senate vote next week...
Cole Says He Won’t Push Right To Work If House Doesn’t Have Time  West Virginia Metro News   ...It’s possible the issue won’t make it through this legislative session. State Senate President Bill Cole (R-Mercer) said Thursday on MetroNews Talkline he wants the Senate to take up Right To Work, but they’re not going to do it if the House doesn’t have time to address it before the end of the regular session...
U. Of I., Other Universities Brace For Rauner Funding Cuts  Chicago Tribune   ...Gov. Bruce Rauner drew big applause three weeks ago when he rolled out his vision of making the University of Illinois the best college in the country, but those cheers turned to jeers the other day when he proposed cutting public university spending by nearly $400 million...
War on Workers
Trucks Bound For Mexico Choke Traffic Flow  Brownsville Herald   ...One trucker, standing on a fellow trucker’s ride stopped in the middle of International Boulevard, said most of the Mexico-bound semis were coming from the Port of Brownsville...
Shipping lines and dockworkers reach deal; port shutdown averted  Los Angeles Times   …Shipping companies and dockworkers reached a tentative deal late Friday on a new labor contract, avoiding a shutdown of 29 ports that would have choked off trade through the West Coast...
Awarded Stolen Wages, Workers Struggle to Collect  New York Times   …Mr. Lino, like Ms. Jimenez, Mr. Cao and their several dozen co-workers, has not collected anything close to the money that various agencies, boards and courts have found was due him. State and federal laws intended to protect people from being cheated out of their earnings often yield only pieces of paper declaring what they are owed, not actual cash...
The Death of American Unions Is Killing American Marriage  New Republic   … Poverty itself, it seems, is the chief agent of marital decline among the poor. This is especially true of falling wages among working class men, who have borne the brunt of the right-wing war on labor unions…] [M]en in the bottom quartile of earnings have had a wage cut of 60 percent, and a contemporaneous drop in marriage rates to about 50 percent, from 86 percent…
Cranking Up For 2016 (opinion)  New York Times   ...Scott Walker, the governor of Wisconsin, is said to be a rising contender for the Republican presidential nomination. So, on Wednesday, he did what, these days, any ambitious Republican must, and pledged allegiance to charlatans and cranks...Obama begins sales pitch on trade to wary United States public...
Worker killed in Madison construction site accident  Associated Press   …Officials say the worker was injured when the masonry at the site collapsed just after 7:30 a.m. Friday. Fire Department spokeswoman Lori Wirth said the man had been working near a stairwell at the rear of the building...

Dispatch from West Virginia: Feb. 15-Feb. 20

There's a fight going on against right to work in West Virginia, and an IBT staffer -- we'll call him Our Teamster on the Ground -- is in the thick of it. This is the first in a series of daily dispatches about what it's like to be there.

Here's what happened this week:

On Monday, many Teamsters joined  their fellow union members in a crowd of more than 1,000 workers to protest legislation to establish right to work and to prohibit prevailing wages. Despite severe winter weather, below-freezing temperatures and heavy snowfall, the workers came from all over the state in an incredible display of solidarity. 

On Tuesday I finally had a chance to visit Teamsters Local 175, where I met with Recording Secretary Johnny Sawyer and his wonderful staff. They sure know how to make a guy feel welcome. 

Later during the week the Teamsters invited me to their local hangout, a restaurant owned by a former Teamster, where we sat at the Teamster table with members of the Carpenters Union and discussed our agendas and strategies.

Hundreds of union leaders and members came out to the Statehouse again Thursday morning, flooding a public hearing in the House chamber on a  the prevailing wage bill. 

Social media bustled with activity, too, with over 1,000 Facebook supporters added in under three days. We have also launched a channel on YouTube and an Instagram profile. Press coverage on the local news has been tremendous, too.   

In the labor movement, there's nothing like a good fight. As frustrating as our politicians may be today, they’ve galvanized a restless giant here in Charleston -- the West Virginia workforce. These guys work harder and tougher than any group of workers I've ever seen. And in just four days, I’ve seen it firsthand over and over again -- from dedicated hotel staff and store owners to the Teamsters at the Hertz car rental and the miners and building trade union members at the capital each day. Not to mention all the city workers shoveling and plowing snow at 4:00 every morning.

Right to work on the move in Wisconsin, stalled in West Virginia, Missouri (maybe)

Bad news from Wisconsin: Right to work will advance in the Legislature next week. According to the Associated Press,

The Wisconsin Legislature will take up a right-to-work bill next week in a surprise move that runs contrary to the wishes of likely 2016 presidential candidate Gov. Scott Walker who had urged lawmakers to delay any debate until later in the year. 

Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald announced the plan Friday on WTMJ radio, saying he expects Walker will sign the bill even though he doesn’t have any assurances. Walker was in Washington on Friday for a National Governors Association meeting and his spokeswoman didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment. 

Walker rose to prominence in 2011, when he pushed through a law known as Act 10 that effectively ended collective bargaining for most public workers. That led to protests involving as many as 100,000 people at the state Capitol and a 2012 recall election that Walker won.

And -- no shock here -- job-killer Gov. Scott Walker will sign the bill if and when it passes. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports:

Republican leaders are fast-tracking so-called right-to-work legislation and Gov. Scott Walker's spokeswoman said Friday he would sign the measure, despite refusing to say whether he would do so in his re-election campaign last year.

The news is a little better in West Virginia, where Senate President Bill Cole seems to be backing off efforts to pass it. West Virginia MetroNews reports:

It’s possible the issue won’t make it through this legislative session. State Senate President Bill Cole (R-Mercer) said Thursday on MetroNews Talkline he wants the Senate to take up Right To Work, but they’re not going to do it if the House doesn’t have time to address it before the end of the regular session. 

“There’s no sense in starting down that road if both houses aren’t ready to take it on,” Cole said.

And in Missouri, Republican state lawmakers are coming out in opposition to right to work. Rep. Nick King, for example, said:

I have knocked on thousands of doors in the 17th district over the last year. Behind hundreds of those doors I have found hard-working family men and women who belong to a union of one sort or another.  

Ford is the most obvious group of union workers in our district. But there are also electrical workers, carpenters, pipe-fitters and many others. And so far, without exception, each of these hard-working family men and women have asked me, face-to-face, to oppose Right to Work. Not most of them, all of them. The only constituents who have asked me to support Right to Work are people who are not union members. Go figure. I suppose I will eventually talk to a union member who does not like being in a union or paying union dues, or feels they have been threatened in some way, but so far I have not found one.

The fight against inequality continues.