Thursday, December 19, 2013

Today's Teamster News 12.19.13

Teamsters: Protesters Slam UNFI & Whole Foods For Destroying Environment At Taxpayers' & Workers' Expense  teamster.org   ... Dozens of educators, consumers, and labor and environmental activists gathered today to protest the unsustainable practices of organic food distributor United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI) and retail partner Whole Foods Market (WFM) at UNFI’s annual shareholder meeting...
Teamsters Donating Toys to Hershey Ronald McDonald House  teamster.org   ...Teamsters Local Union 776 in Harrisburg, Pa. will be donating more than $7,500 in toys to the Ronald McDonald House in Hershey...
Union to represent low-wage food workers at two Smithsonian museums  Washington Post   ...After a series of one-day strikes, marches and demonstrations, about 220 food-service workers at two Smithsonian Institution museums will be represented by a union in contract negotiations for the first time, organizers said Monday...
Amazon May Get Its First Labor Union in the U.S.  Bloomberg   ...For the first time, employees in a U.S. Amazon facility have successfully petitioned the National Labor Relations Board to hold union elections...
Temporary Work, Lasting Harm  ProPublica   ...in five states, representing more than a fifth of the U.S. population, temps face a significantly greater risk of getting injured on the job than permanent employees...
Jamie Dimon’s perp walk: Why it could be this year’s Christmas miracle  Salon   ...JPMorgan's CEO just violated a federal statute carrying a prison sentence. But will the punishment fit the crime?...
How America Created a Low-Wage Work Swamp  Salon   ...The U.S. now has the highest proportion of low-wage workers in the developed world...
W.H. to nominate Sen. Max Baucus as next ambassador to China  Politico ...Sen. Max Baucus, the veteran Montana Democrat who has served in the Senate since 1978, is expected to be nominated by the White House to serve as the next U.S. ambassador to China...
Rep. Jack Kingston Proposes That Poor Students Sweep Floors In Exchange For Lunch  Huffington Post   ...Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) wants kids to learn early in life that there's no such thing as a free lunch. To make sure they absorb that lesson, he's proposing that low-income children do some manual labor in exchange for their subsidized meals...
The Government Is Quietly Giving Way More Housing Aid To Rich People Than Poor People  Business Insider   ...In 2012, the federal government gave out $240 billion in housing aid. Income data is not available for all of it, but of what is available, more than half went to those with incomes greater than $100,000 ($81.6 billion). Only $40 billion went to those with incomes less than $50,000...
Delta Air Lines will not allow cellphone calls on flights  The Guardian   ...Right now, federal rules prohibit voice calls on planes. But the government is indicating that it might loosen those rules. If that happens, it could be up to airlines to set their own policies...
Koch brothers' foundation backed rosy May report on Wisconsin economy  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel   ..."Despite the effort to distance itself, it is quite clear that Koch-controlled funds help directly underwrite ALEC's 'Rich States, Poor States' report with its discredited rankings of state economic policies..."
Walker hopes John Doe investigation will conclude soon  Channel 3000   ...Gov. Scott Walker says he hopes an ongoing secret investigation that reportedly is looking into activities by his campaign and conservative groups ends soon...
Wisconsin National Guard unveils new unmanned aircraft facility  Wisconsin Department of Military Affairs   ...Leaders from the Wisconsin Army National Guard and Wisconsin Air National Guard, along with political representatives and community leaders, were on hand Dec. 6 for the official ribbon-cutting ceremony for a tactical unmanned aerial system (TUAS) facility...
OUTRAGEOUS: Texas Police Can Now Obtain Search Warrants Based On ‘Prediction Of A Future Crime’  Alternet   ...Last week, an appeals court in Texas ruled that police may obtain a search warrant based on the prediction of a future crime, heightening public fears that we may be heading toward a ‘predictive policing’ era in which we see police powers rapidly growing at the cost of our constitutional rights...