Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Today's Teamster News 11.27.13

H&L Bloom Bus Drivers Join Teamsters  teamster.org   ...School bus drivers with H&L Bloom in Attleboro, Mass., have voted by a nearly 2-1 margin to join Teamsters Local 653 in South Easton, Mass., seeking job security and workplace protections...
Local 330 Arbitration Victory Preserves Area Construction Standards  teamstersjc25.com   ...Precedent was set when a Chicago arbitrator ruled subcontractors and owner operators performing union work in the construction trades must be paid area standard wages and benefits...
Winter School Bus Safety Tips  driveupstandards.org   ...With a severe winter predicted for much of the country, it’s critical to exercise caution while driving. Courtney Goodman-Bell, a business agent with Teamsters Local 777 in Lyons, Ill., representing school bus workers, offers the following safe driving tips...
Ratio of Job Seekers to Job Openings Holds Steady at 2.9-to-1, Equal to the Worst Month of Early 2000s Downturn  Economic Policy Institute   ...for nearly two out of every three job seekers, there simply were no jobs...
Walmart Workers Strike In Maryland, Making Nine Strikes In A Month  ThinkProgress   ...Walmart workers walked off the job at two stores in Maryland on Tuesday ... The strikes come a day after one in Miami and makes nine strikes total for the month of November...
Americans Really Hate Thanksgiving Shopping Creep, Poll Finds  Huffington Post   ...Although retailers have started creeping into Thanksgiving by pushing Black Friday openings earlier and earlier, a new HuffPost/YouGov poll finds that a big majority of Americans think retailers should stay closed on Thanksgiving so workers can have the day off...
How Walmart Shortchanges Employees Who Work Thanksgiving  ThinkProgress   ...With more stores than ever opening early this Thanksgiving, the larger chains are offering extra pay and perks to appease employees working holiday shifts. But the company calculates holiday pay differently from other retailers and manipulates staff schedules so they’re paid less on Thanksgiving than the retailer implies...
Pope Francis: Capitalism is “a new tyranny”  Salon   ...Pope Francis on Tuesday called capitalism “a new tyranny” and very explicitly called on global leaders to act on poverty and growing inequality...
A Fake Slum for Luxury Tourists Who Don't Want to See Real Poverty  Gizmodo   ...The Emoya Luxury Hotel and Spa near Bloemfontein, South Africa offers Shanty Town, a dozen shacks made from scrap wood and corrugated metal that it thinks is the perfect setting for your next corporate retreat or wedding anniversary. The resort has gone to great lengths to recreate the joys of slum living without the nuisances of crime, disease, or poor sanitation...
Breadlines Return  New York Times   ... one-sixth of ... (New York) city’s residents and one-fifth of its children live in homes without enough to eat...
Food Stamp Cuts, Holidays Stress Food Banks  Huffington Post   ...For those who help the hungry, 2013 is looking a lot like the years since the recession began—with the added challenge of a $5 billion cut in food stamp benefits, which took effect Nov. 1...
Salt Lake TPP Talks End with Growing Pressure to Announce “Deal” at December TPP Ministerial, but No Resolution of Major Controversies  Public Citizen   ... There was no discussion of disciplines to counter currency manipulation despite 230 House and 60 Senate GOP and Democrats demanding such terms...
Among American workers, poll finds unprecedented anxiety about jobs, economy  Washington Post   ...American workers are living with unprecedented economic anxiety, four years into a recovery that has left so many of them stuck in place...
Banks Threaten To Charge You For Saving Money  Huffington Post   ...In an effort to protect their record profits, banks might soon charge you for the privilege of having a savings account...
ALEC’s Proposal Threatens To Bypass Primaries, Weaken Voters In Electing Senators  MintPress News   ...The Equal State’s Enfranchisement Act seeks to give state legislatures the power to place Senate candidates directly on the ballot without party approval...
How Wall Street Turned America Into Incarceration Nation  AlterNet   ...Transforming poorer neighborhoods into desirable real estate for the new elites often requires getting rid of the poor: jail becomes the new home for many...
Revealed: How corporate spooks spy on activists  BillMoyers.com   ...A new report discusses some of the techniques. They can be devious...
Latest job numbers not good for Scott Walker — or those looking for work  The Cap Times   ...A new round of numbers show the pace of job creation in Wisconsin slowing by 37 percent for the one-year period ending in June — not good news politically for Gov. Scott Walker or for those looking for work...