Today's Teamster News 03.19.15

Teamsters
Ryder Drivers At Three Locations In California Join Teamsters Union  insurancenewsnet.com   ... Drivers with Ryder Integrated Logistics at three California locations have voted to join the Teamsters Union, gaining representation for 105 workers in one week (see also International Brotherhood of Teamsters)...
SBPEA Losing 840 Members  San Bernardino Sun   ...“Many members, as well as all of us, are excited about the affiliation, and we will spend the next few weeks educating the members on all of the benefits of affiliating with the Teamsters Union,” Rodriguez said....
Middletown Supervisors Approve Contract With Teamsters Union Employees  Bucks County Courier Tribune   ...Middletown employees belonging to Teamsters Local 107 will get 3 percent pay increases in each of the next three years under a new contract unanimously approved by the township supervisors at Monday night’s meeting....
Eurest Workers Use Pressure Tactics At Halifax Airport  NewsWire   ...Eurest's 26 workers responsible for maintenance at Robert Stanfield Airport (YHZ) are resorting to pressure tactics 11 months after their collective agreement expired. The points at issue are both various and troubling: no benefits, low pay, unfair treatment by the employer, and others. "These workers clean toilets and don't even have group insurance. So if they get sick, they can't get reimbursed for any prescription drugs they may have to take," said Local Union 927 president Rob Beairsto....
Sysco Merger With US Foods A Step Too Far (opinion)  Houston Chronicle   ...Management's responsibility at a public company is to maximize shareholder value by grabbing as much market power and profit as possible....
Trade
Facing Dem anger, White House eases restrictions on classified trade files  The Hill   ...The loudest protests have come from liberal House Democrats who said the rules to view the text were too stringent. They have argued that the White House didn't want them to know the TPP details because they say any deal is likely to be bad for U.S. workers and their wages...
Pelosi Embraces Tough Questions About Obama's Trade Agenda  Associated Press   ...President Barack Obama's bid for a new trade deal didn't get easier Tuesday when the House's top Democrat said her caucus embraces a dozen demands that may be tough to meet...
Why the TPP will have a devastating impact on unions  The Ed Show   ...Closed door, classified meetings about the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership raises questions about transparency from the Obama Administration. Ed Schultz and Leo Gerard discuss...
Trumka Takes Opposition to a TPP Fast-Track to the Peterson Institute  Campaign for America's Future   ...One of the most troubling aspects of TPP is how few people have seen the entire treaty, Trumka said. So far only leaked portions have been released that clearly favor a race to the bottom, putting corporate interests over investment in human and environmental rights...
State Battles
Missouri Senate Panel Advances 1 Republican Labor Priority  Southeast Missourian   ...Right-to-work legislation, which would ban contracts that force all workers to pay union fees, was sent on Tuesday to the full Senate. But the Senate Small Business, Insurance and Industry Committee failed to move forward with what supporters call a "paycheck protection" measure that would require annual written authorization from public employee union members before paying union dues...
'Right To Work' Fight Over Public Employee Unions Heats Up In Oregon, May Go To 2016 Ballot  The Oregonian   ...Oregon may be one of the next big battlegrounds over "right to work" restrictions on unions that have now spread to 25 states. Washington County attorney Jill Gibson, who has been supported by some of the state's major conservative political donors, is moving toward putting a measure on the 2016 ballot that would allow public employees to opt out of financially supporting a union...
Kansas Panel Considers Limits On Public Workers' Collective Bargaining  Topeka Capital Journal   ...A legislative committee in Kansas is considering a proposal to restrict collective bargaining between public employees and state and local government agencies. Chairwoman Julia Lynn said the Senate Commerce Committee will debate the measure during its meeting Wednesday. Lynn is an Olathe Republican and has said she believes the GOP-dominated panel supports the bill...
Federal Judge Won’t Block Seattle’s $15 Minimum Wage  Seattle Post-Intelligencer   ...U.S. District Judge Richard Jones has refused to issue an injunction to halt Seattle’s nationally watched $15-an-hour minimum wage, slated to take effect in the Emerald City on April 1. “Great news! This ruling ensures that on April 1, the minimum wage will go up for all Seattle workers,” Mayor Ed Murray said in a statement...
War on Workers
Manufacturing Jobs Are Back, But Wages Are Not  Engineering.com   ...In 2007, the wage gap between the average manufacturing worker and all private-sector workers was barely noticeable ($19.40 and $19.57 respectively). However, by 2013 the average manufacturing wage had fallen by 85 cents, or 7.7 percent below the median average for all occupations. Today, approximately 1.5 million manufacturing workers – one in four – earn $11.91 or less per hour. Meanwhile, 600,000 workers make just $9.60 an hour...
Report: Energy companies, big banks reap big federal assistance  McClatchy   ...Big banks and Wall Street firms that took advantage of the bailout following the 2008 economic crash have reaped hundreds of billions, and even trillions, of dollars in assistance, according to Good Jobs First, a nonprofit organization that tracks government subsidies to corporations...
Target to Increase Wages to Minimum $9/Hour for All Workers in April  Wall Street Journal   ...Target Corp. plans to boost pay of all its workers to at least $9 an hour starting next month, following similar moves by rivals Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and TJX Cos. as competition for lower wage workers heats up...
Higher minimum wages are associated with greater financial well-being  London School of Economics   ... Even if some low-wage jobs disappear as minimum wages rise, the end result is greater economic security and prosperity overall for people who live and work in countries with higher minimums...
Senate Democrats Consider Raising Their Minimum Wage Proposal To $12  Huffington Post   ...Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), ranking member of the Senate's labor committee, has been reaching out to her Democratic colleagues to rally support for a more ambitious minimum wage proposal, according to a Senate source familiar with the conversations. Murray's idea: hike the federal minimum wage to $12 by 2020, rather than the current $10.10 proposal languishing in Congress. The wage floor would then be tied to an inflation index so that it rose with the cost of living...
Worker dies after 11-foot fall in Arkansas  Equipment World   ...29-year-old Erik Rivera Pontilla fell from a beam he was bolting into place. The Little Rock Police Department told the site that Pontilla lost his footing and fell directly onto a slab below. No one was nearby when he fell and no mention is made of harnesses or nets in the report...
Miscellaneous
IRS may broaden rule to police political nonprofits  Politico   ...IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said the agency may expand a yet-to-be-released rule governing 501(c)(4), “social welfare” groups, to include political groups known as 527s, which focus on elections. It could require them both — as well as other types of tax-exempt groups — to operate under the same definition of “political activity.”...
U.S. Sets New Record For Denying, Censoring Government Files  Huffington Post   ...The Obama administration set a new record again for more often than ever censoring government files or outright denying access to them last year under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, according to a new analysis of federal data by The Associated Press...

Today's Teamster News 05.10.14

Teamster News
Workplace peril: Irresponsible companies put workers at risk (opinion)  San Jose Mercury News   ..."I told my manager that a work assignment was really hurting my foot. The next day he called me to the office and told me that he didn't care about my foot, and if I couldn't work where I was placed, there's the door. He told me, 'To me, you are nothing. You don't even exist to the company.' "  To curb these abuses, the California Labor Federation and the Teamsters are working with Assemblyman Roger Hernández on legislation, AB 1897, to hold companies accountable for abuses by the labor contractors they hire...
Convention Center remains closed to Teamsters, Carpenters  Philly.com   ...neither the Carpenters Local 8, viewed by management as the center's most difficult and disruptive union, nor the Teamsters Local 107 will be permitted to work at the center after their contracts expire at 11:59 p.m. Saturday...
Teamsters, beverage distributors reach contract agreements  Saturday Gazette-Mail   ...All three contracts include significant wage increases and protect members’ health and pension benefits, said Ken Hall, president of Teamsters Local 175, based in South Charleston, and general secretary-treasurer of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters...
Council Amends All-Star Game 'Clean Zone'  Minneapolis Star-Tribune   ...The City Council voted Friday to modify and clarify the intent of a previous resolution that created a "clean zone" during the Major League Baseball All-Star Game...
Trade
Trans-Pacific Trade Pact On The Slow Track  Financial Post   ...The Trans Pacific Partnership negotiations continue to move along, with Japan now intensively involved and the government of South Korea close to jumping in. With the collapse of the broader multilateral efforts in the World Trade Organization...
State Battles
State Supreme Court To Hear Right To Work Case In September  Indiana Public Media   ...State Attorney General Greg Zoeller last year appealed Lake County Judge John Sedia’s ruling that the law violates a provision of the Indiana Constitution that says no person’s services shall be demanded without just compensation...
John Doe investigation halted again after finding that appeal was 'frivolous'  Wisconsin State Journal   ...The John Doe investigation into possible illegal coordination between Gov. Scott Walker’s campaign and several conservative groups has once again been halted after a federal judge on Thursday dismissed as “frivolous” an interim appeal by the prosecutors in the case...
North Dakota Is The Deadliest State To Work In  Mother Jones   ...Fracking has done some incredible things for North Dakota. It has the fastest growing economy and lowest unemployment in the nation, and is second only to Texas in churning out oil. But with any gold rush, the boom comes with a human cost involved...
ALEC Struggles In Kansas City  Center for Media and Democracy   ...Amidst increasing public scrutiny of ALEC, the group has tried to sneak back into the shadows. ALEC's efforts to evade open records laws and to boot reporters from meetings have been well-documented, but at this meeting ALEC even tried to hide the name of its corporate meeting sponsors...
EXCLUSIVE: Christie officials gave millions in public funds to VC firm, despite “pay to play” rules  Pando Daily   ...Gov. Chris Christie’s administration awarded a public pension contract to a technology venture capital firm shortly after a partner at that same firm made a $10,000 contribution to the New Jersey Republican State Committee...
War On Workers
London black taxis plan congestion chaos to block Uber  BBC News   ...The Licensed Taxi Drivers Association complains that Uber's drivers are using a smartphone app to calculate fares despite it being illegal for private vehicles to be fitted with taximeters...
No Sign of Labor Shortages in Construction: There are Seven Unemployed Construction Workers for Every Job Opening   Economic Policy Institute   ...the real hourly wages of residential building workers are still 4.2% below 2009, a loss significantly deeper than that of the overall private sector workforce, whose wages are 0.9 percent below 2009...
Koch Brothers' Americans For Prosperity Plans $125 Million Spending Spree  Politico   ...The Koch brothers' main political arm plans to spend more than $125 million on an aggressive ground, air and data operation benefiting conservatives, according to a memo distributed to major donors and sources familiar with the group...
Death on the Job Report  AFL-CIO   ...Workplaces are much safer today than when the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act was passed in 1970, which promised workers in this country the right to a safe job. The job fatality rate has been cut by 81 percent; more than 492,000 workers lives have been saved...
Miscellaneous
Amazon expands Sunday delivery to 15 more cities  USA Today   ...Amazon.com's Sunday delivery program is now available in 15 additional cities, beyond the New York and Los Angeles metro areas where the program originally launched last November, the online retailer announced Thursday. Amazon Prime members who order an eligible item as late as Friday can receive the package — delivered by the U.S. Postal Service — as soon as Sunday, under the free two-day shipping benefit that comes with the $99 annual Prime membership...
FAA: U.S. Airliner Nearly Collided With Drone in March  Wall Street Journal   ...A U.S. airliner nearly collided with a drone over Florida earlier this year, a federal official said, a near miss that highlights risks posed by the proliferation of unmanned aircraft in U.S. skies...

VIDEO: Danny DeVito wows the Teamsters

Who knew? Danny DeVito brought the Teamsters out of their seats last week at the 28th Convention. The director of the 1992 film "Hoffa" gave a passionate speech about sticking together in the union, and the crowd ate it up.

Of course when you stand in front of 6,000 Teamsters and call Scott Walker a "jamoke" and a "bum," you're bound to get some enthusiastic applause.

Or when you say things like,

They should know better than to tangle with the Teamsters!

And,

How about outsourcing the CEOs and bringing the jobs back to the USA?

DeVito was just one of several terrific speakers at the Convention. Vice President Joe Biden, Ohio Rep. Steve LaTourette and Cory Booker -- to name just a few -- gave great speeches. Tom Morello and Christopher Duffley gave tremendous singing performances. You can see it all -- the resolutions, the newsletters, the transcripts of actual remarks, videos, photos. Just click on www.teamster.org/convention.