Teamsters
Los Angeles, Long Beach port truckers at Carson firm OK first labor contract Press-Telegram …After three days of bargaining, Shippers Transport Express drivers voted Sunday on a one-year contract that increased hourly wages from $18 per hour to $21 per hour retroactive to Jan. 9 when drivers voted to unionize. The deal also offers full medical insurance with 100 percent of premiums paid by the employer. The drivers, who are represented by International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 848, will also receive paid leave, overtime after 40 hours a week, a process for filing grievances and resolving work conflict issues under their new contract, which spans from Jan. 9 to Dec. 31…
NYC Bill Banning Horse-Drawn Carriages, Film Could Have Ripple Effect In Charleston Post and Courier ...This summer, the debate over New York City’s horse-drawn carriage industry will heat up again as a proposed law, introduced by Mayor Bill De Blasio in December 2014, is brought to city council for a vote...
Trade
Tea party, Dems join forces to put Obama’s Asia trade deal in jeopardy Washington Times ...The trade agreement that is the linchpin of President Obama’s Asia policy is in jeopardy of breaking apart because of a lack of trust on Capitol Hill on both sides of the partisan aisle, with opposition mounting from tea party Republicans and rank-and-file Democrats who don’t have faith in the president’s ability to negotiate a good deal...
Central Banks Move To Drive Down Currencies, Yielding Domino Effect Wall Street Journal ...The central-bank stimulus spree of 2015 has the look of a global currency war. In quick succession, countries representing about a third of the world’s economic output—from the eurozone to China, Australia and Canada—have taken steps that have driven down the value of their currencies...
Trade Deal Health Concerns MJA InSight ...“There must be a greater degree of transparency; we can’t simply accept assurances from the government that health won’t be compromised. The specifics really matter here”, Dr Parnis told MJA InSight...
French Senate Tells TTIP Negotiators To ‘Abolish’ ISDS EurActiv ... Critics say the clause would limit government's ability to regulate in the public interest while supporters claim it is necessary for companies to obtain redress, especially in countries with weak judicial systems, where TTIP would set a precedent...
State Battles
Rauner exec order takes aim at unions Associated Press …Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner struck a first official blow on Monday against the public sector labor unions he has frequently criticized by ordering an end to a requirement that workers pay dues even if they decide not to join a union...
Don’t Say He Didn’t Warn You: Ultra-Rich Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner Spells Out Anti-Union Agenda In These Times ...Now that Rauner has taken office, he is staying consistent in his attack on public workers but including more private sector workers as his target. His first “state of the state” address, delivered yesterday to a legislature with both houses controlled by Democrats, was strongly anti-union and catered to conservative business groups...
Missouri House Ready To Take On 'Right to Work' Measure St. Louis Public Radio ...With an even larger Republican majority, the Missouri House is expected this week to take up – and possibly approve – legislation aimed at making Missouri the 25th “right-to-work” state in the country by curbing union rights...
Paycheck bills heard in House committee Missouri Times ...“Paycheck deception bills are promoted by ALEC and the Koch brothers all over the country,” [Crystal] Parks said. “Some extreme and out-of-touch Missouri politicians are working with these billionaires and their front groups against Missouri families. These laws would unfairly single out folks like nurses and teachers and other public workers. We need our leaders to focus on creating jobs, not more attacks on workers.”...
John David: ‘Right to work’ unfair to workers, lead to lower pay The Charleston Gazette ...It does not mean that every worker has the right to a job and to receive work at fair wages, reasonable hours, and under decent labor standards...
WV Republican Lawmakers Push Labor Bills Forward WOWK ...“We are going to drive down the wages for people in this state. And the state that has the lowest per capita income in the country? Their solution is to drive the wages down further,” said Senator Jeff Kessler, D- Marshall, the Senate Minority Leader...
Labor Issues Divide Legislature Herald-Dispatch ...The new Republican majority in the West Virginia Legislature has a strategy for state labor laws, and the beginning of what will likely be some of the most heated debates in the 2015 session are about to unfold, many lawmakers believe...
Kansas Gov. Brownback's Budget Hits Cherished Highway System Huffington Post ...Gov. Sam Brownback and the GOP-dominated Legislature this past week worked out plans for closing a $344 million deficit and allowing the state to pay its bills on time into the summer. The plans included cuts to predictable targets, such as education spending and public pension contributions, but also diverted money from highway projects, which are especially prized by the governor's rural supporters...
Missouri Lawmaker Proposes Banning Local Minimum Wages KSPR ...A Missouri Republican wants to ban local laws that raise the minimum wage, require employers to offer paid sick leave or other benefits or prohibit employers from asking about criminal convictions early in the job application process...
VA Lawmakers Defeat Bill To End Use Of Child Labor On Tobacco Farms WVIR ...A growing coalition is getting very vocal about the use of child workers on tobacco farms across Virginia. However, late Tuesday afternoon, a House committee defeated a bill to put limits on the practice...
War on Workers
5 Facts That Show Half of America Is Seriously Struggling Alternet ...Half of our nation, by all reasonable estimates of human need, is in poverty...
For SoCal aerospace workers, the end of an era — and a job Los Angeles Times ...If Boeing sticks to its plans, the last C-17 will be finished by late summer, and in a region that was once an aerospace giant, an era will come to an end...
City Worker Killed After Trench Collapses In Manhattan KWCH ...When emergency crews arrived, the first unit found the victim was buried up to his waist in dirt and mud. Fire crews were able to free the victim approximately 20 minutes later. He was transported to Mercy Regional where he was pronounced dead after succumbing from his injuries...
Mega-Dairies Overshadow Families (opinion) Ag Week ...Rural legislators should be focusing on legislation that helps all family farmers, not just the biggest of the big...
Miscellaneous
