Saturday, June 29, 2013

Today's Teamster News 06.29.13

China Factory Resolution Reached, US Businessman Released  NTD Television   ...A U.S. executive and his Chinese workers who held him captive for six days reached a resolution to a row about pay on Thursday...
U.S. Trade Deficit with China Underestimated According to New Study of "Value-Added Trade." manufacture this   ...A new study by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) finds that, after accounting for net trade flows, the U.S. trade deficit with China is greater than has been suggested by both the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the World Trade Organization’s (WTO)...
Chinese wind-turbine firm charged with stealing US trade secrets  The Guardian   ...Sinovel Wind Group and two of its executives were indicted in a federal court in Madison, Wisconsin, on Thursday. A former employee of the Massachusetts-based American Superconductor (AMSC) pleaded guilty in Klagenfurt, Austria, to stealing a source code for turbine controllers...
The 18-year-old voice of Chile's nationwide student uprising  The Guardian   ...On Wednesday, Moisés Paredes helped organise a march of 100,000 protesters through the streets of Chile's capital, Santiago, calling for free university education...
Poor, middle class unite in Brazil protests  CNN   ... What started as a student mobilization transformed day by day to incorporate professionals, the middle class, and residents of the favelas, or slums...
Troops allegedly misled by car loan program to get refunds  McClatchy   ...U.S. Bank and a Kentucky-based financial services provider agreed to refund $6.5 million to 50,000 military service members after federal regulators accused both companies of misleading borrowers about fees and costs associated with an auto loans program that targeted active-duty troops...
Bank of America Said to Send Property Reviews to India  Bloomberg   ...Bank of America Corp. opened a unit in India to review home-valuation reports as it seeks to rebuild share in U.S. mortgages at a lower cost ... The firm also eliminated jobs of licensed U.S. workers in its LandSafe business...
Senators accuse government of using 'secret law' to collect Americans' data  The Guardian   ...Bipartisan group seeks answers from intelligence chief James Clapper over scale of and justification for NSA surveillance...
Forced to Work Sick? That's Fine With Disney, Red Lobster, and Their Friends at ALEC  Mother Jones   ...The Florida law is the most recent in a series of victories by low-wage industries that, with the aid of Republican-led state legislatures, have succeeded in derailing or overriding measures providing this benefit to workers...
North Carolina Dropped From Federal Unemployment Program  Associated Press   ...With changes to its unemployment law taking effect this weekend, North Carolina not only is cutting benefits for those who file new claims, it will become the first state disqualified from a federal compensation program for the long-term jobless...
Here's the truth about Oregon's 'right-to-work' initiative: Guest opinion  The Oregonian   ...So-called right-to-work laws have nothing to do with anyone being forced to be a member of a union or to support political causes he or she disagrees with...
Teamsters praise passage of enterprise zone reform  Teamsters Joint Council 7  ...Teamsters Joint Council 7 hailed passage Thursday of Assembly Bill 93 by the California Assembly and Senate.  The bill restructures a $750 million job creation program towards manufacturing employers that create jobs with demonstrable economic benefits for workers and California’s most impoverished communities...
Sun-Times refuses union advertising  Teamsters Joint Council 25   ...On June 26, the Chicago Sun-Times refused to run an advertisement from unionized funeral directors employed by Service Corporation International (NYSE:  SCI) which appealed to the public for help in their contract negotiations with the $3 billion corporation...
Religious leaders pledge support in face of possible funeral labor dispute   Teamsters Joint Council 25   ... Religious leaders throughout the Chicago area have pledged their support for funeral directors and drivers whose employer, Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI), is forcing to the brink of a labor dispute...
Teamsters, UPS agree to extend current UPS national contract  IBT   ...The Teamsters Union and UPS have agreed to an extension of the current UPS National Master Agreement and all Supplements, Riders and Addenda. The extension does not have a specific end date, but can be terminated by either side with a 30-day notice...
Teamsters Union issues statement on Senate passage of immigration bill  IBT   ... The International Brotherhood of Teamsters supports a path to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented men and women already living and working in this country. Keeping these workers in the shadows would continue their exploitation and the downward pressure on wages and labor standards. Bringing them out of the shadows is good policy...