Saturday, March 7, 2015

Today's Teamster News 03.07.15

Teamsters
Pasco HR Director Resigns Amid Criticism From Unions, Sheriff  The Tampa Tribune   ...Members of the Teamsters Local 79 routinely post videos of union bargaining session on YouTube with headlines describing DeSimone as the “snippy county lawyer.”...
Wisconsin Right-To-Work Law Heads To Scott Walker's Desk Despite Union Fight  The Guardian   ...Thomas Millonzi, the head of a 4,700-member Teamsters local in Milwaukee, said he was already taking steps to discourage Teamsters from seizing on the new legislation to quit the union and stop paying union dues...
Ryder Drivers At Three Locations In California Join Teamsters Union  teamster.org   …Drivers with Ryder Integrated Logistics at three California locations have voted to join the Teamsters Union, gaining representation for 105 workers in one week...
Trade
Thank You, Congressmember Loebsack  Blog for Iowa   …The second is for his membership in the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC)….The CPC issued an alternative to the TPP Thursday that takes the negotiations back from corporations and puts it back into the hands of elected representatives...
State Battles
Senate Deadlocks On Right-To-Work Bill  New Hampshire Union Leader   ...New Hampshire is not likely to join the ranks of right-to-work states any time soon. After a short debate Thursday, the Senate deadlocked 12-12 on Senate Bill 107, which would have prohibited collective bargaining agreements from requiring employees to either join or contribute to a union...
Illinois: Unions Sue To Reinstate Dues  New York Times   ...Labor unions filed a lawsuit Thursday seeking to invalidate Gov. Bruce Rauner’s executive order ending a requirement that state workers pay union dues even if they do not want to join a union. Twenty-seven unions sued the Republican governor, saying the order he issued last month violates collective bargaining agreements and state labor law and that Mr. Rauner exceeded his constitutional authority...
Push To Expand Paid-Leave Law In Connecticut  Wall Street Journal   ...On Thursday, the state Legislature’s labor and public-employees committee is holding a public hearing in Hartford on a new bill that would expand the law to include businesses with 10 or more workers. It would extend the number of paid days to seven a year. Manufacturing companies and certain nonprofit organizations, which are currently exempt, are included in this proposal...
War on Workers
Senate Votes To Kill NLRB Rule That Speeded Votes On Union Representation  Washington Post   ...The Republican-controlled Senate on Wednesday voted 53 to 46 to kill a National Labor Relations Board rule reducing the time between a union’s request for representation and a vote by workers on it. The legislation now goes to the House, where similar action is expected...
U.S. Airlines Reveal Evidence They Say Proves Gulf Carriers Get Unfair Subsidies  Skift   ...Delta Air Lines, American Airlines Group, and United Airlines released their much-anticipated report providing what they say is proof that the Gulf carriers have received $42 billion in “quantifiable subsidies” from their governments, enabling them to jumpstart their growth and distort the competitive marketplace...
Workplace Injuries Are Adding To Income Inequality: Labor Department  Huffington Post   ...According to the Labor Department, roughly 4 million serious injuries and illnesses are reported by employers each year, though the true tally is likely much higher. Workers who suffer a serious injury earn an estimated 15 percent less, or $31,000 on average, over the ensuing decade...
Strong Hiring Still Isn’t Bringing Pay Raises  FiveThirtyEight   ...wages are doing little more than keeping up with inflation. The average worker earned $24.78 an hour in February, just 2 percent more than a year earlier. That means most workers aren’t seeing much benefit from the rapidly improving job market...
Miscellaneous
On The Anniversary Of Selma, A Call To Action (opinion)  Huffington Post   ...It is time for us to continue in the footsteps of the great civil rights leaders that came before us. As a labor movement, we need to start pressuring Congress along with our allies to immediately pass a Voting Rights Act that will close all the loopholes that allow restrictive legislation to be possible...