Thursday, March 27, 2014

Today's Teamster News 03.27.14

Teamster News
Special City Council Meeting to Address Teamsters Strike Against CCTA  Burlington Free Press   ...One of the two items on the agenda of a Burlington City Council meeting that starts 5 pm Wednesday will be an update on the Teamster drivers' strike from Chittenden County Transportation Authority representatives...
Teamster Drivers Strike  at CCTA Enters Week 2  WCAX   ...It's week two of the Teamsters bus drivers' strike, and riders are still struggling to get around. With no apparent end in sight, some families that rely on public transportation say they fear the worst...
Huge Teamster turnout at pro-worker, anti-RTW4Less rally in Missouri  TeamsterNation   ...A large contingent of Teamsters joined well over 3,000 workers in Jefferson City today to rally against right-to-work and paycheck deception bills before the Missouri Legislature...
The death of an employer scam  American Prospect   ...The decisions of the NLRB and the California Labor Commissioner signal that the days of industry-wide misclassification—at least, for port truckers—may be numbered...
Trade
China loses trade dispute over rare earth exports  Reuters   …China has lost a dispute at the World Trade Organization over limits on rare earth and metals exports, handing Europe and the United States a victory over what they see as Beijing's unfair trade practices...
U.S. Steelmakers Push for Duties on Korean Rivals  Wall Street Journal   ...Struggling U.S. steelmakers want Washington to punish their South Korean competitors for selling lucrative steel products to the U.S. oil and gas industry at prices the U.S. suppliers say are unfair...
State Battles
Union groups rally against ‘right to work’ legislation at Missouri Capitol  St. Louis Post Dispatch   ...Gov. Jay Nixon told the crowd he would not hesitate to veto anti-worker legislation as he has in the past. Currently, the Missouri House is considering a measure to put right to work on the August ballot, bypassing the governor...
Pa. still facing an uphill battle to privatize liquor sales  Express-Times   ...The road to liquor privatization in Pennsylvania is defined by detour, and this year is no exception. As an election season begins to heat up, the Legislature is entertaining multiple reform efforts...
Wisconsin's personal income rebounded more slowly than U.S. average  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel   ...After American wages plunged in the darkest days of the last recession, Wisconsin's personal net earnings have rebounded — but at an average annual rate that lags that of the nation and most of its Great Lakes peers, according to the latest government estimates released Tuesday...
Iowa lawmakers consider tax credit for student debt  Quad-City Times   ...Iowa residents could receive a state tax credit for student loans if they earned a degree from a regent institution, community college or nonprofit university in Iowa under legislation considered by a three-member House panel Tuesday...
War on Workers
Northwestern players get union vote  MSNBC   ...In a potentially game-changing moment for college athletics, the Chicago district of the National Labor Relations Board ruled on Wednesday that Northwestern football players qualify as employees of the university and can unionize...
Teachers stage one-day strike in England and Wales  The Guardian   ...Thousands of schools across England and Wales will face disruption and closures today as teachers stage a one-day national walkout over pay and conditions...
Fast Food Managers Prefer 'Stature' To Overtime Pay, Wealthy CEO Says  Huffington Post   ...Fast food CEO Andy Puzder took to the op-ed pages of the Wall Street Journal Tuesday to rip into a White House proposal to raise the wages of low-paid managers who work unpaid overtime hours...
Almagamated Transit Union says overtime exemptions create 'Sweatshops on Wheels'
  Examiner   ...Union says that bus drivers have become the scapegoats for accidents caused by workers who are forced to work more than 15 hour days just to make ends meet…
Koch Brothers Invade Tiny Iron County, Wisconsin  The Daily Beast   ...A mining town of 6,000 people isn’t too small for billionaires to mess with to get their way. Inside the race bringing in big money...
Global Horizons Found Liable For Thai Worker Abuse  Associated Press   ...A federal judge has found a California-based labor contractor liable for discrimination and abuse of hundreds of Thai workers at Hawaii farms...
Miscellaneous
Housing WatchdogSlams Massive Property Inspection Industry  Huffington Post   ...The inspectors who decide whether homes have been abandoned and are ready for foreclosure are doing such a terrible job that the whole system requires a major overhaul, and maybe should be scrapped altogether, a government watchdog warned on Tuesday...