Saturday, July 13, 2013

Today's Teamster News 07.13.13

Iowa Supreme Court: It’s OK To Fire A Woman For Being Too Attractive  ThinkProgress   ...Standing by a December decision, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled Friday that a male dentist who fired a female assistant because she was too attractive and threatened his marriage did not commit sex discrimination...
Brazil protests: Tens of thousands in union-led strikes  BBC News   ...Ports and motorways were blocked, banks and schools stayed closed, and crowds marched through Rio de Janeiro, where riot police deployed tear gas. The unions want improved working conditions and better public services...
US Treasury delays offshore tax-dodging law by six months  Economic Times   ...The US Treasury Department said on Friday it will postpone enforcement of a new law that cracks down on offshore tax avoidance by Americans by six months to give foreign banks more time to figure out how to comply...
Sen. Brown urges Obama administration to press China on trade, currency issues  BankCreditNews   ...Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) urged the Obama administration on Monday to press China on a number of issues that affect American jobs and businesses, including currency manipulation, illegal trade practices, cyber-attacks, human rights abuses and intellectual property theft...
Changing Wal-Mart? Respect our rights, workers say  Sacramento Press   ...As of July 8, nine Wal-Mart workers in California have been fired for standing up and speaking out publicly to improve labor conditions at the large retailer. The company is saying the employees were let go due to violating attendance policy or for other reasons, and not because of any “specific protest.”...
Smithfield workers conflicted over Chinese buyout  Virginian-Pilot   ...What’ll happen to workers at Smithfield Foods Inc. if the pork company is taken over by Shuanghui International Holdings Ltd.? The workers feel mixed about the buyout...
Union head threatens 'bloodiest' BART strike in years  KTVU News   ...Rhetoric remained fiery as BART negotiators and union heads returned to the bargaining table Thursday, with one union head threatening the "bloodiest, longest strike" in decades if a permanent deal isn't reached in less than a month...
Silicon Valley’s Anti-Unionism, Now With a Side of Class Warfare  Daily Intelligencer   ...Since BART workers went on strike last week, shutting down the Bay Area's primary mass transit system and interrupting millions of commutes, the relationship between the Silicon Valley tech community and labor unions has come under the microscope...
NH's Hassan signs jobless benefits bill  Associated Press   ...Gov. Maggie Hassan signed a bill Thursday creating a new program that will allow a small percentage of jobless workers to continue to get unemployment benefits while they start their own businesses. Under the new law, which took effect immediately, only 2.5 percent of unemployed workers can participate in the program at any given time...
Christie Vetoes Bill That Would Check His Power to Privatize  Teaneck Patch   ...The Christie administration made privatizing dozens of state programs and services a priority shortly after taking office, announcing it was a way to save millions of dollars during economically tough times. But recently, Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a bill whose purpose was to ensure that government privatization actually saved money...
New Jersey approves incentives for firm that oversaw 1,100 New Jersey layoffs  Star-Ledger   ...The state Economic Development Authority yesterday approved nearly $530,000 in two incentive packages to a New Hampshire-based distributor for supermarket chains whose New Jersey subsidiary laid off its entire work force and shuttered all six New Jersey locations in 2011...
Challenge to union contract that goes around 'right-to-work' dismissed  Michigan Radio   ...A judge in Wayne County has dismissed a lawsuit challenging a school union contract designed to skirt the Michigan’s new right-to-work law...
California Governor Eliminates Enterprise Tax Zones  KPBS Radio News   ...A swipe of the governor's pen wiped away California's enterprise tax zones and created a new job strategy focused on sales tax exemptions for companies that buy manufacturing as well as research and development equipment...
Minnesota sues online lender, alleging illegally high payback rates  Pioneer Press   ...Minnesota is suing Internet lender CashCall Inc., which offers personal loans with annual interest rates as high as 342 percent. The lender claims the loans are OK because the company is governed by tribal law, not state law...
Chicago Funeral Director Speaks Out Against SCI  The Bill Press Show   ...Funeral director and Teamsters Local 727 member Angela Anello joined Bill Press yesterday to discuss the ongoing strike against Service Corporation International (SCI). Fifty-nine funeral directors have been on strike since July 2 to fight for a fair contract. Visit www.integrityinillinois.com for more information...
Midwest Teamsters Detail Good Works of Union  Rick Smith Show   ...Rick and the gang spoke with several Teamsters during stops in St. Louis and Detroit about how the union is working to help workers and the local community. Listen here. Visit the People's Tour of America section to get the highlights....