Teamsters
Teamsters Urge Tech Giants To Support Workers, Hold Contractor Accountable teamster.org ...In a letter to the CEOs of six East Bay-area companies, Rome Aloise, International Vice President and President of Teamsters Local 853 in San Leandro, Calif., urged the executives to call on their transportation contractor, Compass Transportation, to cease its anti-worker, anti-union tactics and proceed with a representation election...
Unions urge president not to veto Keystone Washington Examiner ...Galen Munroe, spokesman for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, said the union was still backing the project though it hasn't issued a statement on the Senate vote...
Strike possible at Dutchess LOOP MidHudson News …The [Teamsters] union representing Dutchess County LOOP bus drivers, mechanics, office employees and bus washers said they could be walking the picket line within the next few days...
Rhode Island Hospital Workers Demonstrate Amid Negotiations On New Contract Providence Journal ...Workers seeking a new contract demonstrated outside Rhode Island Hospital on Thursday afternoon to demand job protection and improved pay and benefits. The union leading the demonstration — the Teamsters, Local 251 — represents about 2,300 employees at the hospital, which is part of the Lifespan health system. They include certified nursing assistants, maintenance staff and clerical help...
Trade
Trans-Pacific Partnership: Fast Track To Job Losses (opinion) Huffington Post ...Much like NAFTA, the TPP has more to do with big-business protectionism than with genuine free trade. Of TPP's 29 sections, only five relate to traditional trade issues like lowering tariffs. The rest of the chapters seek to limit the powers of governments to protect the safety of food, medicines, and the environment, as well as to forestall governments from implementing financial regulations of the sort that are needed to safeguard taxpayer money from bank bailouts. Most damaging of all, the TPP would create new incentives for corporations to ship jobs overseas and would forbid governments from using strategies like "Buy American" provisions that keep jobs in our country...
Big Business “Regulators” And The Transatlantic Trade And Investment Partnership (TTIP): Opening The Floodgates To Corporate Plunder Center for Research on Globalization ...there would be compulsory impact assessments for proposed regulation, which will be checked for their potential impact on trade. This would be ideal for big business lobbies: creating a firm brake on any new progressive regulation in the very first stage of decision-making...
The Obama Administration’s Illusionary Job Gains From The Trans-Pacific Partnership Washington Post ...imports would increase by virtually the same amount as exports, meaning the net number of new jobs is zero....
State Battles
Meet the next Scott Walker: Illinois’ new GOP governor declares war on labor Salon …Meet the next Scott Walker: Illinois’ new GOP governor declares war on labor...
Rauner Presents "Right-to-Work" Zone Preferences and Hopes for Improvement in Illinois' Business Competition Reboot Illinois ...In a speech in Champaign Jan. 29, Gov. Bruce Rauner talked business and state competition. He reiterated his position on unions–he’s not against them, but wants to encourage parts of Illinois to become “right-to-work zones.”
Rauner Wants Gov't Unions Banned From Political Campaign Contributions WNIJ ...Gov. Bruce Rauner lit a fire under labor unions this week when he suggested local governments should be able to implement their own right-to-work laws. Yesterday, Rauner went one step further, saying government unions should be banned from contributing to political campaigns...
Logan may soon join others in state to step up for ‘Right-to-Work’ newsdemocratleader.com ...The Logan County fiscal court unanimously voted on a first reading of an ordinance that will declare Logan a “Right-to-Work” county. Logan will become one of the handfull of counties in the state to historically set out into uncharted territory to send a loud and clear message to the legislators in Frankfort...
$12 Minimum-Wage Bill Advances After Fiery Debate Seattle Times ...A bill to boost the state minimum wage to $12-an-hour over four years passed out of a House committee Thursday, but not before an opposed GOP lawmaker ripped minimum-wage activists as entitled in a “kids-these-days” diatribe...
Right-to-work advocate visits Ruidoso Ruidoso News ...Paul Gessing, president of the [Koch-funded] Rio Grande Foundation, was in Ruidoso Monday raising awareness and support for passage of right-to-work legislation in New Mexico...
GOP in full sail at the Capitol West Virginia Metro News ... there are hints of possible storm clouds ahead. Senate Majority Leader Mitch Carmichael (R-Jackson) is adamant about pushing legislation making West Virginia a right-to-work state. Carmichael has long lobbied for limiting the power of unions in the workplace and he wants to take advantage of the new majority to see it through this year. Labor leaders will fight right-to-work to the last man...
Senate leader says he will have votes to pass right to work The Chippewa Herald ...Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald said Friday there will be enough votes to pass a right-to-work bill in Wisconsin this session after the GOP majority grows to 19 following the April election to fill a vacant seat...
War on Workers
McConnell, Alexander Introduce Bill To Reform National Labor Relations Board The Chattanoogan ...Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senator Lamar Alexander, chairman of the Senate labor committee, on Wednesday introduced the NLRB Reform Act to turn the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) from an advocate to an umpire and keep the general counsel from operating as an activist for one side or the other...
Construction worker killed in Gold Coast crane accident WLS …the 45-year-old man was 60 feet up when part of the crane's equipment came crashing down on his chest around 3 p.m. Friday near State and Elm. He was pinned by part of the crane until workers were able free him...
Miscellaneous
U.S. Economy Slows To 2.6 Percent Growth In Fourth Quarter Politico ...The U.S. economy slowed in the final three months of 2014 as a big burst in consumer spending was offset by weakness in other areas. The Commerce Department said Thursday the overall economy grew at a 2.6 percent rate in the October-December period, down from sizzling gains of 4.6 percent in the second quarter and 5 percent in the third quarter...
Senate Approves Keystone XL Pipeline Bill, Testing Obama New York Times ...The Senate voted 62 to 36 in favor of building the pipeline. Nine Democrats joined 53 Republicans in passing the bill. The passage sends the measure back to the House, which passed a largely similar bill this month. House leaders are deciding whether to pass the Senate bill as is or to hold a conference merging the House and Senate versions into a new bill to be voted on by each chamber...
Drones Spotted, But Not Halted, Raise Concerns New York Times ...While drones have not been used in a terrorist attack on American soil, thwarting them is increasingly becoming a challenge for law enforcement and security officials who are charged with protecting large-scale events like the Super Bowl and high-profile public buildings like the White House. The officials have warned that the low-flying devices could be modified to carry explosives, chemicals, biological agents, guns or cameras...
