TEAMSTERS
Shuttle Bus Drivers For Apple, Ebay, Yahoo, Silicon Valley Giants Approve Labor Contract, Winning Pay Raises And Benefits IBTimes ...Shuttle bus drivers for some of the biggest companies in Silicon Valley have scored a boost in working standards. Nearly 100 workers at Compass Transportation, a firm that provides bus service for companies like Apple, eBay and Yahoo, approved a labor agreement Sunday that includes significant pay raises and new benefits. It comes months after the drivers voted to join the Teamsters union...
Silicon Valley’s Bus Drivers Are Fighting Their Way Into The Region’s Uneven Economic Boom Think Progress ...Private bus routes that inspired rowdy protests around Silicon Valley in recent years will now deliver some shared prosperity in that booming but divided region. Drivers on the routes are seeing their wages and benefits increase dramatically thanks to unionization and contract negotiations. Drivers joined the Teamsters as protests and media scrutiny put pressure on tech firms and bus vendors alike over the past few years...
Coca-Cola Offers Insulting Economics Package, Ignores Vast Majority of Teamster Proposals Local 727 ...With only one more day of contract negotiations on the calendar, management for Coca-Cola returned to the bargaining table with Local 727 on Monday admitting they “didn’t know where to begin.” Cola-Cola management offered no explanation for what they’ve been doing with their time throughout the previous eight bargaining sessions. Instead, when negotiations came to a close on Nov. 23, the company ignored nearly all of the union’s outstanding proposals...
GLOBAL LABOR & TRADE
New police raids, more arrests in attacks on Korean trade union rights IUF.org ...The increasingly authoritarian government of Korean President Park Geun-hye is stepping up its attacks on trade unions and their rights. Two-hundred police raided the office of the KCTU Korean Public Service and Transport Workers' Union (KPTU) on November 6, seizing documents of the union's Cargo Truckers Solidarity Division (KPTU-TruckSol), whose members transporting products for the food company Pulmone are fighting for union recognition and safe working conditions...
Indonesian workers strike against new pay regulations Bangkok Post ...Thousands of Indonesian workers rallied in several cities on Tuesday to demand the government repeal a new rule that they say limits pay increases. Labour unions say the rule only allows a maximum 10% increase per year in monthly salaries and puts them in a weak position in negotiations with employers...
Obama Talks TPP Abroad While Concerns Persist for Voters At Home, New Polling Shows American Manufacturing ...President Obama is attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit this week where 19 world leaders gather annually to discuss growth and trade. The hot topic at this year’s meeting: The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The president will be selling its benefits to his counterparts, but Americans back home are far from convinced...
China and U.S. Say They’ve Made Strides in Trade Talks New York Times ...In their first top-level trade talks since President Obama hosted China’s leader in September, the United States and China said on Monday that they had made progress on sticking points, including preventing the theft of trade secrets and opening the Chinese market more broadly to American multinationals...
TPP allows Internet censorship to favour big corporations, say Pakatan MPs Malaysian Insider ...The Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) will protect the interests of big corporations more than the rights of Internet users, opening the door to wider censorship, Pakatan Harapan lawmakers said today. Internet service providers (ISP) would be given the role of "internet police" in the new trade pact when it comes to copyrighted content...
TPP: Massive giveaway to corporate interests (opinion) The Hill ...What does it take to bring Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump together? One terrible trade deal - the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The reasoning behind this diverse opposition is simple – the TPP is a massive giveaway to corporate special interests that will give hardworking Americans two things they can’t afford – lost jobs and lower wages...
Pacific Trade and Worker Rights (editorial) New York Times ...Obama administration officials say the T.P.P. goes further on labor standards than those earlier pacts. For example, the T.P.P.’s labor chapter requires all 12 countries to adopt minimum wage, working hour and occupational safety regulations. That is an improvement, but it could turn out to be mostly symbolic because the agreement does not specify how countries should set minimum wages. Nor does it establish any minimum standard for safety regulations...
Five years into austerity, Britain prepares for more cuts Reuters ...After laying off nearly half its staff over the last five years, scaling back street cleaning and relying on volunteers to work at some of its libraries, the London borough of Lewisham is getting ready for what could be much more painful spending cuts. Officials in Lewisham's town hall, like those across the country, know they will have to shoulder much of Chancellor George Osborne's renewed push to fix Britain's budget...
STATE & LIVING WAGE BATTLES
Constitutional amendment for higher minimum wage sought Review Journal ...Backers of raising Nevada's minimum wage filed a proposed constitutional amendment Monday that would abolish the state's existing two-tiered system and gradually increase the rate to $13 an hour. The initiative filed with the secretary of state's office by the Committee to Raise the Minimum Wage in Nevada would set a rate of $9.25 an hour beginning in late 2018...
Thanksgiving Is Almost Here, and Over a Million New Yorkers Might Go Hungry The Nation ...This Thanksgiving, New Yorkers will be asked to “Remember the Needy.” But for millions of households, that starts with thinking about themselves. The latest statistics on hunger in the city tells the proverbial Tale of Two Cities as a Tale of Two Pantries. New York’s abysmal wealth gap is evident in many indicators: unemployment rates, rent hikes, surveys showing heavy economic anxiety...
Right-to-Work Whack-a-Mole American Prospect ...Right-to-work legislation continues to bubble up in states that have been successful in staving off such laws. Call it a never-ending game of right-to-work whack-a-mole. Last week, West Virginia Senate President Bill Cole called for lawmakers to pass right-to-work legislation in what he—and conservatives invariably—characterize as an attempt to attract businesses to the economically downtrodden region...
Who Turned My Blue State Red? (opinion) New York Times ...In eastern Kentucky and other former Democratic bastions that have swung Republican in the past several decades, the people who most rely on the safety-net programs secured by Democrats are, by and large, not voting against their own interests by electing Republicans. Rather, they are not voting, period. They have, as voting data, surveys and my own reporting suggest, become profoundly disconnected from the political process...
Pittsburgh paid sick leave law effective date delayed Lexology ...While the City of Pittsburgh previously announced that its Paid Sick Days Act (“PSDA”) would become effective on January 11, 2016, a Court order, as part of a lawsuit against the City challenging the validity of the PSDA, has extended this date by 60 days, to March 11, 2016. The one-page order from the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas broadly covers “implementation, application and enforcement” of the PSDA...
U.S. LABOR
SEIU-UHW Revives Ballot Measure To Cap Hospital Executives' Pay California Healthline ...On Friday, Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West revived a ballot measure that would cap hospital executives' pay after dropping a similar initiative 18 months ago, the Sacramento Business Journal reports. In November 2013, SEIU-UHW filed two proposed ballot initiatives with the state Attorney General's Office...
A holiday boost for UAW workers The Detroit News ...An estimated 142,000 American autoworkers, including 60,000 in Michigan, will receive retroactive pay and $3,000-$10,000 signing bonuses before Christmas, following contract ratifications between Detroit’s Big Three and the United Auto Workers. Collectively, contract bonuses from General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV are estimated to put more than $400 million, before taxes, into the pockets of hourly union members...
Disney workers mount H-1B challenge Politico ...Disney caught some bad press in June after the New York Times and other outlets reported that the company planned to lay off about 250 workers and replace them with guest workers. Now those workers are filing complaints against Disney. At least 23 of them petitioned the EEOC to hear their case...
Wage Gap Between Men and Women Closing For Wrong Reason: Male Wages Are Falling Alternet ...The wage gap between men and women is finally starting to close—but only because male wages are falling, according to a new briefing paper released Tuesday by the Economic Policy Institute. “No one in this country should work full-time and live in poverty,” said Massachsetts Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren at a Capitol Hill press conference to release the report...
The faces of the new food revolution Al Jazeera ...The “food movement” is complex and often misunderstood. Read snarky Slate articles and you might be led to believe the movement is a white, elitist phenomenon whose poster child is a Lululemon-wearing, latte-sipping Whole Foods shopper and whose de facto guru is Michael Pollan. In other words: out of touch with working Americans. But the people on the frontlines of the struggle to make healthy, sustainable, local food accessible to all Americans defy this stereotype...
How Delusional Nostalgia Is Killing the White Working Class Alternet ...A new poll from the Public Religion Research Institute finds there are a few things you can count on about those who believe America’s best days are behind us. They are overwhelmingly white, and if you dig a bit deeper and examine the socioeconomics, often working class. Despite all evidence to the contrary, they stubbornly believe white people are subject to the same levels of racism as black and other people of color. They think the U.S. was a better place in the 1950s, when Jim Crow was law, immigrants were overwhelmingly European, women knew their place, and gay people were essentially invisible...
SOCIAL JUSTICE &OTHER NEWS
In Biggest Tax Evasion Scheme of Its Kind, Big Pharma Becomes Behemoth Common Dreams ...Big Pharma just became Huge Pharma. Creating the world's largest drugmaker—and paving the way for higher pharmaceutical prices—Viagra-maker Pfizer Inc. and Allergan PLC, which manufactures Botox, said Monday that they would merge in a so-called inversion deal worth up to about $155 billion...
Texas wants immigration case delay that could push Supreme Court decision beyond Obama's term US News & World Report ...Texas asked the Supreme Court Monday for more time to answer the Obama administration's immigration appeal, a delay that probably would prevent the plan to shield millions of immigrants from deportation from taking effect during Barack Obama's presidency. The plan that Obama unveiled a year ago mainly affects people who are living in the country illegally, but who have children who are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents...
'Now More Than Ever': In Paris and Beyond, Climate Movement Will Be Heard Common Dreams ...The march may be cancelled, security may be strengthened, but the global climate movement is vowing that its voice will still be heard as world leaders convene in Paris for international negotiations over the future of the planet. Citing security concerns in the wake of the attacks in Paris, the city's Prefecture of Police on Wednesday cancelled a massive climate justice march planned for November 29...
Black Lives Matter Protesters Shot in Minneapolis Slate ...Police in Minneapolis were looking for three white male suspects Tuesday morning after gunmen opened fire and injured five people at a Black Lives Matter protest around 10:45 p.m. on Monday night, reported the Star Tribune. The protests where the shooting took place have been going on for more than a week, with demonstrators calling for answers in the death of 24-year-old Jamar Clark, a black man who was shot in the head by a police officer. Witnesses said Clark was in handcuffs when he was shot...
Chicago officer who shot black teen 16 times to face murder charge, reports say The Guardian ...A charge of murder is expected to be filed against a white Chicago police officer accused of shooting a black teenager 16 times, just one day before a deadline by which a judge has ordered the city to release a squad-car video of the incident. Veteran officer Jason Van Dyke is expected to be indicted on Tuesday on a murder charge in the killing of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald...
Why Trump's Race-Baiting Works Slate ...Donald Trump has spent most of his campaign indulging and encouraging nativism and anti-immigrant sentiment. When it came to other racial and ethnic groups, however, Trump was silent, even telling crowds that he had a “great relationship with the blacks.” This past weekend, that changed. While Trump has been explicit with his nativist, and now racist, rhetoric, he’s not an innovator. If large numbers of Republicans are responsive to Trump’s vitriol, it’s because he echoes—in less coded terms—the discourse of much of right-wing media...
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Elected After Popular Uprising, Defends Local Control of Schools Democracy Now ...The education system of Newark, New Jersey has faced years of crisis, with high dropout rates, low-performing schools and a state takeover dating back two decades. In 2010, Republican Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey, former Democratic Mayor Cory Booker of Newark and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg joined forces to revamp Newark schools. But despite trumpeting their plan as a model for national school reform, millions of dollars flowed not to schools but to outside consultants...
Showing posts with label Disney. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Disney. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 24, 2015
Friday, October 30, 2015
Disney Teamsters make trip extra special for Local 891 Katrina survivor
 |
| The Mauffrays share a moment with a princess at Walt Disney World. |
On Sunday, Local 385 members were busy putting together a special welcome for Local 891 member Bobby Mauffray and his family after learning in Teamster Magazine that they were “Disney fanatics” and "counting down the weeks" to surprise their three kids with a trip to Disney World. The Mauffray family lost their home 10 years ago during Hurricane Katrina, and during the interview for the anniversary story Bobby’s wife Marla – who claims to be the most Disney-obsessed Mauffray – revealed plans of a surprise trip to the Magic Kingdom.
They were incredible. It truly made our surprise all the more special, especially for the kids to spend time with their favorite characters. I want to thank Local 385 from the bottom of my heart. Marla and I are beyond grateful.Meanwhile, 250 nonunion workers at Disney would be on the receiving end of a far more disturbing surprise when they learned they were being laid off, replaced by foreign labor.
The data workers who keep operating systems humming smoothly for Disney resorts and theme parks said they did not suspect trouble when they were recently summoned by management for an unexpected meeting to learn their jobs were being replaced with foreign labor. Even more troubling, they were told they would be spending the next three months training their replacements from India, who will be working under temporary visas and making significantly less each year:
I just couldn’t believe they could fly people in to sit at our desks and take over our jobs. It was so humiliating to train somebody else to take over your job. I still can’t grasp it.As Teamster character performers brightened the day of a fellow Teamster, the Orlando Sentinel ran the story of Disney’s decision to lay off the 250 data workers. The cruel irony is not lost on Bobby Mauffray:
It’s crazy to think that while we were being greeted by Teamster character performers, hundreds of workers were being laid off. Like I said in the magazine — I can’t imagine where I’d be without a good-paying, union-backed job. I feel for them. I really do.
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
Today's Teamster News 06.09.15
Teamsters
Local 200 Welcomes Super Aggregate Drivers Teamster.org ...On Saturday May 30, 2015 truck drivers from Super Aggregate voted to become members of Teamsters Local 200 in Milwaukee.
“In an environment of a right to work state there are still employers that see the benefit of a Unionized workforce and employees that know the benefits of being a Teamster,” said Teamsters Local 200 Secretary-Treasurer Tom Millonzi...
In Memoriam: Walter Shea Teamster.org ...The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is saddened to announce the passing of Walter Shea, a longtime Teamster leader and former International Vice President. Shea had a rich life within the union and kept busy with political appointments. He was not only an International Vice President from 1982 to 1992, he served as an Executive Assistant to four General Presidents of the Teamsters Union...
Teamsters, US car-haulers start national contract talks JOC ...The Teamsters union and U.S. car-hauling trucking companies are preparing to negotiate a new multi-year contract at a time when the automotive business, and car-hauling, is booming. The union and management group exchanged proposals last week and will start negotiations on the National Master Automobile Transporters Agreement June 10, the Teamsters said...
L.A.-Based Location Managers Reach 3-Year Deal With Producers Variety ...The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers and Teamsters Local 399 have reached a tentative agreement on a successor contract covering location managers. The tentative deal — which covers several hundred members in the Los Angeles area — was reached two weeks after Hollywood Teamsters and four other Basic Crafts Unions reached a tentative agreement with producers on a three-year successor deal...
Disney World characters complain after park warns not to reveal identities The Guardian ...The union representing actors who portray Mickey, Goofy and other characters at Walt Disney World filed a complaint on Friday with a national labor board, challenging a policy that it says prevents the performers from revealing which animated figures they portray. Teamsters Local 385 filed the charge with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging Disney was committing an unfair labor practice...
NLRB Says Federal Labor Law Doesn't Apply To Indian-Owned Casino Protected by Treaty Bloomberg ...The National Labor Relations Board ruled June 4 that the Chickasaw Nation's tribal sovereignty blocks the board from asserting jurisdiction over unfair labor practice charges against a tribe-controlled casino. International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 886 alleged that the WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Okla., violated the National Labor Relations Act by telling workers they weren't protected by the federal labor law...
Global Labor & Trade
Week ahead: House trade fight heats up The Hill ...The fight over fast-track trade authority is coming to a head, with a House vote possible as early as Thursday. President Obama and Republican leaders are edging closer to securing the votes needed to pass trade promotion authority. The legislation would help Obama close the deal on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a 12-nation economic pact...
Obama's Trade Quest In Congress Trails Him Across Atlantic Associated Press ...President Barack Obama's politically fraught trade quest in Washington trailed him across the Atlantic Sunday, as he met with world leaders anxiously watching a debate on Capitol Hill that could impact the status of economic pacts with the Asia-Pacific and Europe. The leaders spent more than an hour privately discussing trade issues as they opened a two-day meeting of the Group of Seven leading industrial nations...
Labor runs ads slamming Rep. Kathleen Rice for backing trade bill Politico ...Big Labor is taking aim at another Democrat for supporting a contentious trade bill. The AFL-CIO has made a six-figure ad buy in New York against Rep. Kathleen Rice, slamming the freshman lawmaker for pledging to vote for legislation giving President Barack Obama the power to “fast track” trade deals through Congress. Rice initially said she opposed the controversial measure, but over the weekend, she announced she would support the bill...
Will TPP Kill the Post Office? Huffington Post ...As if we needed yet another reason for the public to see the text of TPP before Congress pre approves it with fast track, here is a question: Does the TPP contain provisions that corporations can use to force us to privatize "public" things like our Post Office, public schools, public roads etc., so they can replace them with profit-making enterprises that provide a return only to the wealthy few?...
Peru’s story haunts the TPP The Hill ...From the tragic massacre on “Devil’s Curve” six years ago to the surge in illegal logging to growing violence and threats against environmental defenders to the recent rollback of environmental and labor protections to the ISDS attacks on our environmental policies, Peru’s story suggests that it is time to rethink how we approach trade agreements before “Fast Tracking” more of the same via the TPP...
10 Reasons the TPP Is Not a 'Progressive' Trade Agreement (opinion) Huffington Post ...One must seriously question what President Obama and his corporate allies believe to be the definition of "progressive." History shows the very opposite of progress when it comes to these democratic sovereignty-shredding and job-exporting corporate-driven trade treaties -- unless progress is referring to fulfilling the deepest wishes of runaway global corporations...
Local 200 Welcomes Super Aggregate Drivers Teamster.org ...On Saturday May 30, 2015 truck drivers from Super Aggregate voted to become members of Teamsters Local 200 in Milwaukee.
“In an environment of a right to work state there are still employers that see the benefit of a Unionized workforce and employees that know the benefits of being a Teamster,” said Teamsters Local 200 Secretary-Treasurer Tom Millonzi...
In Memoriam: Walter Shea Teamster.org ...The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is saddened to announce the passing of Walter Shea, a longtime Teamster leader and former International Vice President. Shea had a rich life within the union and kept busy with political appointments. He was not only an International Vice President from 1982 to 1992, he served as an Executive Assistant to four General Presidents of the Teamsters Union...
Teamsters, US car-haulers start national contract talks JOC ...The Teamsters union and U.S. car-hauling trucking companies are preparing to negotiate a new multi-year contract at a time when the automotive business, and car-hauling, is booming. The union and management group exchanged proposals last week and will start negotiations on the National Master Automobile Transporters Agreement June 10, the Teamsters said...
L.A.-Based Location Managers Reach 3-Year Deal With Producers Variety ...The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers and Teamsters Local 399 have reached a tentative agreement on a successor contract covering location managers. The tentative deal — which covers several hundred members in the Los Angeles area — was reached two weeks after Hollywood Teamsters and four other Basic Crafts Unions reached a tentative agreement with producers on a three-year successor deal...
Disney World characters complain after park warns not to reveal identities The Guardian ...The union representing actors who portray Mickey, Goofy and other characters at Walt Disney World filed a complaint on Friday with a national labor board, challenging a policy that it says prevents the performers from revealing which animated figures they portray. Teamsters Local 385 filed the charge with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging Disney was committing an unfair labor practice...
NLRB Says Federal Labor Law Doesn't Apply To Indian-Owned Casino Protected by Treaty Bloomberg ...The National Labor Relations Board ruled June 4 that the Chickasaw Nation's tribal sovereignty blocks the board from asserting jurisdiction over unfair labor practice charges against a tribe-controlled casino. International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 886 alleged that the WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Okla., violated the National Labor Relations Act by telling workers they weren't protected by the federal labor law...
Global Labor & Trade
Week ahead: House trade fight heats up The Hill ...The fight over fast-track trade authority is coming to a head, with a House vote possible as early as Thursday. President Obama and Republican leaders are edging closer to securing the votes needed to pass trade promotion authority. The legislation would help Obama close the deal on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a 12-nation economic pact...
Obama's Trade Quest In Congress Trails Him Across Atlantic Associated Press ...President Barack Obama's politically fraught trade quest in Washington trailed him across the Atlantic Sunday, as he met with world leaders anxiously watching a debate on Capitol Hill that could impact the status of economic pacts with the Asia-Pacific and Europe. The leaders spent more than an hour privately discussing trade issues as they opened a two-day meeting of the Group of Seven leading industrial nations...
Labor runs ads slamming Rep. Kathleen Rice for backing trade bill Politico ...Big Labor is taking aim at another Democrat for supporting a contentious trade bill. The AFL-CIO has made a six-figure ad buy in New York against Rep. Kathleen Rice, slamming the freshman lawmaker for pledging to vote for legislation giving President Barack Obama the power to “fast track” trade deals through Congress. Rice initially said she opposed the controversial measure, but over the weekend, she announced she would support the bill...
Will TPP Kill the Post Office? Huffington Post ...As if we needed yet another reason for the public to see the text of TPP before Congress pre approves it with fast track, here is a question: Does the TPP contain provisions that corporations can use to force us to privatize "public" things like our Post Office, public schools, public roads etc., so they can replace them with profit-making enterprises that provide a return only to the wealthy few?...
Peru’s story haunts the TPP The Hill ...From the tragic massacre on “Devil’s Curve” six years ago to the surge in illegal logging to growing violence and threats against environmental defenders to the recent rollback of environmental and labor protections to the ISDS attacks on our environmental policies, Peru’s story suggests that it is time to rethink how we approach trade agreements before “Fast Tracking” more of the same via the TPP...
10 Reasons the TPP Is Not a 'Progressive' Trade Agreement (opinion) Huffington Post ...One must seriously question what President Obama and his corporate allies believe to be the definition of "progressive." History shows the very opposite of progress when it comes to these democratic sovereignty-shredding and job-exporting corporate-driven trade treaties -- unless progress is referring to fulfilling the deepest wishes of runaway global corporations...
Sherritt Workers in Madagascar Mull Strike Action Over Job Cuts Bloomberg ...Workers at Sherritt International Corp.’s Ambatovy nickel project in Madagascar may go on strike after job cuts at the mine, a labor-union official said. The company, based in Toronto, said on June 4 the joint venture cut about 12 percent of its workforce, resulting in about 1,100 employees and contractors having their employment contracts suspended or being demobilized...
German Child Care Workers’ Strike Brings Debate on Priorities New York Times ...The strike by child care workers is the latest in a series of work actions that is putting Germany on track to have the most days lost to labor action in nearly a decade. By economists’ calculations, 350,000 work days have been lost in 2015 — a record that would seem more likely in France than in Germany. The number of days missed because of walkouts is already more than twice the number for all of 2014, according to the Cologne Institute for Economic Research...
State & Living Wage Battles
Lawmakers kill bill requiring predictable work hours Sacramento Business Journal ...Legislation that would have penalized large food and retail employers for making late changes to employee work schedules was held in the Assembly on Thursday and is finished for the year. Assemblyman David Chiu said in a statement that he would bring back Assembly Bill 357 next year...
Kentucky Governor Raises Minimum Wage With Executive Order New York Times ...Gov. Steven L. Beshear of Kentucky signed an executive order on Monday raising the hourly minimum wage for certain state employees to $10.10. The change, which angered state Republicans and drew praise from the governor’s fellow Democrats, affects almost 800 employees, including those making the current hourly minimum of $7.25...
Oregon Democrats to propose minimum wage increase this week Oregon Live ...emocrats will put forth a long-anticipated proposal this week to raise Oregon's minimum wage, House Speaker Tina Kotek said Monday. Kotek, D-Portland, told reporters she plans to introduce a bill that would incrementally raise the minimum wage over the next few years. She declined to provide specifics, including how high the new minimum wage would be under the proposal...
Prevailing wage calculation riles lawmakers Bluefield Daily Telegraph ...Prevailing wage once again raised lawmakers’ hackles, on Monday, as the method to calculate the wage developed by Workforce West Virginia was roundly criticized by Republicans on the Joint Committee on Government and Finance. Democrats on the committee said it was a matter of sour grapes since the method may not give Republicans the result they wanted - lower prevailing wages on public projects...
Barack Obama poised to hike wages for millions Politico ...The Obama administration is on the verge of possibly doubling the salary levels that would require employers to pay overtime in the most ambitious government intervention on wages in a decade. And it doesn’t need Congress’s permission. As early as this week, the Labor Department could propose a rule that would raise the current overtime threshold — $23,660 – to as much as $52,000...
Proposal for $15 minimum wage qualifies for Tacoma ballot Seattle Times ...An initiative to raise Tacoma’s minimum wage to $15 an hour has qualified for the November ballot. The Pierce County auditor’s staff has verified that petitions submitted by the 15 Now group contained 3,231 valid signatures of registered Tacoma voters, The News Tribune newspaper reported...
U.S. Labor
Federal contract workers strike outside U.S. courthouse in downtown Dallas Dallas Morning News ...A group of federal contract workers who handle security inside the Earle Cabell courthouse in downtown Dallas are on strike, complaining of unfair labor practices that have led to inflexible work schedules. The strike by the Local 293 branch of the United Government Security Officers of America (UGSOA) union began with a picket line outside the federal courthouse on May 26...
Verizon’s Biggest Union Claims Carrier Isn’t Fixing Broken Landlines Wall Street Journal ...Verizon Communications Inc.’s largest union says the company is refusing to fix broken landlines. The Communications Workers of America, which represents about 35,000 Verizon employees, says Verizon isn’t repairing copper lines in some areas in the Northeast. Instead, the union says, the carrier is steering customers to buy a wireless home phone service called Voice Link...
Black-White Unemployment Gap Widens In U.S. Chicago Defender ...he Black unemployment rate last month was nearly twice the national average and more than double the unemployment rate for Whites, according to jobs figures released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The statistics show the unemployment rate for Blacks at 10.2 percent in May, up from 9.6 percent in April. The unemployment rate for Whites has been at 4.7 percent since February...
Miscellaneous
Obama administration stops work on immigrant program Washington Post ...A series of legal setbacks have halted the government’s intensive preparations to move forward with President Obama’s executive actions shielding millions of illegal immigrants from deportation, even as community organizations continue a rapid push to get ready for the programs, according to U.S. officials and immigrant advocacy groups...
Community Condemns Pool Prejudice in McKinney, Texas Common Dreams ...More than a thousand outraged community members took to the streets of McKinney, Texas on Monday night, two days after a local police officer assaulted a number of black and brown teenagers attending a pool party. Unlike other recent acts of police violence in Baltimore and Ferguson, this occurred at a private pool, in a gated community within an affluent suburb of Dallas, Texas—raising particular questions about wealth and race...
GM Has Not Paid for Its Crimes Truthout ...Last year, GM officials reluctantly estimated that faulty ignition switches could be linked to some 13 deaths from crashes involving several of their smaller car models. A year later, that number has reached 104, according to an announcement by the company compensation fund on May 18 - leaving family members of those killed and injured in crashes involving GM cars to ask just how many more deaths were the result of corporate negligence...
Student Debt Strikers Call Fed's Loan Forgiveness Plan a Bureaucratic Sham Common Dreams ...Despite a new announcement by the U.S. Department of Education that it will begin a process of debt-forgiveness for students cheated into high-priced loans by predatory for-profit colleges, one of the groups most responsible for lobbying to have the debts erased is reacting bitterly, saying the plan is more complicated than it needs to be and that those already victimized by one government-backed scheme should not be put through the ringer for a second time...
German Child Care Workers’ Strike Brings Debate on Priorities New York Times ...The strike by child care workers is the latest in a series of work actions that is putting Germany on track to have the most days lost to labor action in nearly a decade. By economists’ calculations, 350,000 work days have been lost in 2015 — a record that would seem more likely in France than in Germany. The number of days missed because of walkouts is already more than twice the number for all of 2014, according to the Cologne Institute for Economic Research...
State & Living Wage Battles
Lawmakers kill bill requiring predictable work hours Sacramento Business Journal ...Legislation that would have penalized large food and retail employers for making late changes to employee work schedules was held in the Assembly on Thursday and is finished for the year. Assemblyman David Chiu said in a statement that he would bring back Assembly Bill 357 next year...
Kentucky Governor Raises Minimum Wage With Executive Order New York Times ...Gov. Steven L. Beshear of Kentucky signed an executive order on Monday raising the hourly minimum wage for certain state employees to $10.10. The change, which angered state Republicans and drew praise from the governor’s fellow Democrats, affects almost 800 employees, including those making the current hourly minimum of $7.25...
Oregon Democrats to propose minimum wage increase this week Oregon Live ...emocrats will put forth a long-anticipated proposal this week to raise Oregon's minimum wage, House Speaker Tina Kotek said Monday. Kotek, D-Portland, told reporters she plans to introduce a bill that would incrementally raise the minimum wage over the next few years. She declined to provide specifics, including how high the new minimum wage would be under the proposal...
Prevailing wage calculation riles lawmakers Bluefield Daily Telegraph ...Prevailing wage once again raised lawmakers’ hackles, on Monday, as the method to calculate the wage developed by Workforce West Virginia was roundly criticized by Republicans on the Joint Committee on Government and Finance. Democrats on the committee said it was a matter of sour grapes since the method may not give Republicans the result they wanted - lower prevailing wages on public projects...
Barack Obama poised to hike wages for millions Politico ...The Obama administration is on the verge of possibly doubling the salary levels that would require employers to pay overtime in the most ambitious government intervention on wages in a decade. And it doesn’t need Congress’s permission. As early as this week, the Labor Department could propose a rule that would raise the current overtime threshold — $23,660 – to as much as $52,000...
Proposal for $15 minimum wage qualifies for Tacoma ballot Seattle Times ...An initiative to raise Tacoma’s minimum wage to $15 an hour has qualified for the November ballot. The Pierce County auditor’s staff has verified that petitions submitted by the 15 Now group contained 3,231 valid signatures of registered Tacoma voters, The News Tribune newspaper reported...
States Confront Wide Budget Gaps Even After Years of Recovery New York Times ...Though the national economy is in its sixth year of recovery from the recession, many states are still facing major funding gaps that have locked legislatures in protracted battles with governors. In some states, lawmakers have gone into overtime with unresolved budgets...
Speakers cite burdens of new voter ID law Charlotte Observer ...The N.C. General Assembly in 2013 passed the law, requiring voters to present certain types of photo ID issued by the government or by a federally recognized tribe in order to vote. It takes effect in January 2016 and has been challenged in state and federal courts. One speaker, Mary Riordan, said her last name has changed three times since she’s been eligible to vote, and she didn’t always submit proof of the change to the Board of Elections in a timely manner...
Speakers cite burdens of new voter ID law Charlotte Observer ...The N.C. General Assembly in 2013 passed the law, requiring voters to present certain types of photo ID issued by the government or by a federally recognized tribe in order to vote. It takes effect in January 2016 and has been challenged in state and federal courts. One speaker, Mary Riordan, said her last name has changed three times since she’s been eligible to vote, and she didn’t always submit proof of the change to the Board of Elections in a timely manner...
U.S. Labor
Federal contract workers strike outside U.S. courthouse in downtown Dallas Dallas Morning News ...A group of federal contract workers who handle security inside the Earle Cabell courthouse in downtown Dallas are on strike, complaining of unfair labor practices that have led to inflexible work schedules. The strike by the Local 293 branch of the United Government Security Officers of America (UGSOA) union began with a picket line outside the federal courthouse on May 26...
Verizon’s Biggest Union Claims Carrier Isn’t Fixing Broken Landlines Wall Street Journal ...Verizon Communications Inc.’s largest union says the company is refusing to fix broken landlines. The Communications Workers of America, which represents about 35,000 Verizon employees, says Verizon isn’t repairing copper lines in some areas in the Northeast. Instead, the union says, the carrier is steering customers to buy a wireless home phone service called Voice Link...
Black-White Unemployment Gap Widens In U.S. Chicago Defender ...he Black unemployment rate last month was nearly twice the national average and more than double the unemployment rate for Whites, according to jobs figures released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The statistics show the unemployment rate for Blacks at 10.2 percent in May, up from 9.6 percent in April. The unemployment rate for Whites has been at 4.7 percent since February...
Miscellaneous
Obama administration stops work on immigrant program Washington Post ...A series of legal setbacks have halted the government’s intensive preparations to move forward with President Obama’s executive actions shielding millions of illegal immigrants from deportation, even as community organizations continue a rapid push to get ready for the programs, according to U.S. officials and immigrant advocacy groups...
Community Condemns Pool Prejudice in McKinney, Texas Common Dreams ...More than a thousand outraged community members took to the streets of McKinney, Texas on Monday night, two days after a local police officer assaulted a number of black and brown teenagers attending a pool party. Unlike other recent acts of police violence in Baltimore and Ferguson, this occurred at a private pool, in a gated community within an affluent suburb of Dallas, Texas—raising particular questions about wealth and race...
GM Has Not Paid for Its Crimes Truthout ...Last year, GM officials reluctantly estimated that faulty ignition switches could be linked to some 13 deaths from crashes involving several of their smaller car models. A year later, that number has reached 104, according to an announcement by the company compensation fund on May 18 - leaving family members of those killed and injured in crashes involving GM cars to ask just how many more deaths were the result of corporate negligence...
Student Debt Strikers Call Fed's Loan Forgiveness Plan a Bureaucratic Sham Common Dreams ...Despite a new announcement by the U.S. Department of Education that it will begin a process of debt-forgiveness for students cheated into high-priced loans by predatory for-profit colleges, one of the groups most responsible for lobbying to have the debts erased is reacting bitterly, saying the plan is more complicated than it needs to be and that those already victimized by one government-backed scheme should not be put through the ringer for a second time...
Monday, June 8, 2015
Today's Teamster News 06.08.15
Teamsters
Port truckers for Chinese company demand Teamsters recognition Daily Breeze ...Contract drivers for a Chinese-owned trucking company will deliver a letter today to their employer demanding that their right to be represented by the Teamsters be recognized. The drivers for Intermodal Bridge Transport, or IBT, are part of a pair of class action lawsuits and one 16-person lawsuit contending that they are misclassified as independent contractors, and actually do the work of full-time employees...
Disney World's confidentiality warning riles actors' union Associated Press ...Teamsters Local 385 said in the complaint that Disney was committing an unfair labor practice. A grievance was filed last week with the company. The two-week-old written policy prevents actors from publicly revealing in social media or traditional media which characters they play, according to the union...
Global Labor & Trade
Confidential USTR Emails Show Close Industry Involvement In TPP Negotiations IP Watch ...While a full range of stakeholders would be affected by the outcome of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement under secret negotiation by the United States and a dozen trading partners, corporate representatives have had a special seat at the negotiating table, as shown by hundreds of pages of confidential emails from the US Trade Representative’s office obtained by Intellectual Property Watch...
Trade Pacts Face Growing Pushback Wall Street Journal ...The decades-old argument that major trade agreements boost both exports and jobs at home is losing its political punch, even in some of the country’s most export-heavy congressional districts. In the 10 districts with the biggest export growth since 2006, only three of the representatives say they back legislation to help President Barack Obama wrap up a major Pacific trade deal...
Trade supporters bullish as vote nears The Hill ...House GOP leaders are expressing a bold new confidence heading into the final stretch of the divisive fight over granting President Obama broad trade powers. The vote, expected as soon as this week, is likely to be a nail-biter — scores of lawmakers in both parties remain publicly undecided, making the count on both sides difficult to pin down...
Big Pharma seeks special trade deal Politico ...A revolutionary class of drugs with the potential to treat intractable diseases like cancer and other killers — as well as to explode health spending globally — is at the center of the toughest negotiations of the biggest trade deal in history. The pharmaceutical industry has been pressing the Obama administration to insist that the Trans-Pacific Partnership include 12 years of monopoly pricing power for the makers of these complex and costly drugs...
Black Caucus Is Wooed for Trade Pact Votes New York Times ...Until the vote is called, a lot of black Democrats will find themselves in a painful, public squeeze between the president they admire and do not want to see fail and the unions that have sustained them for years. “I’m hoping he doesn’t call,” fretted one veteran black House Democrat, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he counts Mr. Obama as a friend who has stood by him on political matters...
Obama and his GOP allies launch big effort to win trade fight in the House Washington Post ...President Obama opened an intense final round of lobbying to win support for his sweeping Pacific Rim trade accord ahead of a crucial vote in the House as soon as next week, expressing confidence that he will overcome deepening skepticism among fellow Democrats. The push from the president included direct calls to lawmakers, interviews with television stations in key states and plans to bring several Democrats aboard Air Force One with him to a summit in Germany...
Fast-track vote still up in the air Politico ...Supporters of a controversial trade bill are increasingly confident they can secure the votes needed to pass so-called fast-track legislation when it hits the House floor, which could come as early as this week. Only about a dozen members remain undecided, most of them Democrats, and President Barack Obama is expected to make another lobbying push this week to try and win over wavering members of his party...
20,000+ Police March In Force Against G7 Protests in Germany Common Dreams ...Though outnumbered by police by approximately two-to-one, thousands of people took to the streets of the Alpine resort town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Germany on Saturday to express their opposition to the hegemonic and neoliberal policies of the G7 nations. Speaking out against the destructive policies of the world's leading industrialized nations organized groups and individuals who participated in the protest carried signs and banners decrying inaction on climate change, the pending TransAtlantic Trade in Partnership (TTIP) agreement...
Ukraine Labor Dares Operation Vulture Truthout ...Many workers are simply not getting paid, and what they actually are being paid is often illegally low. Employers are taking whatever money is in their business accounts and squirreling it away – preferably abroad, or at least in foreign currency. For labor leaders, the problem is not only to collect back wages, but to survive with a future living wage. If they refrain from protesting, they simply won’t get paid...
Brinkmanship on Display as Greece Rejects 'Irrational' IMF Proposals Common Dreams ...Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Friday rejected the financial aid proposal of introduced by foreign creditors overseeing the country's bailout, saying the Syriza government cannot accept "irrational" proposals that call for additional austerity measures while offering nothing in the way of debt relief. In a rarely used move, Tsipras announced Greece would defer a series of payments to the end of the month as negotiations with the troika—the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Central Bank, and the European Commission—continued...
State & Living Wage Battles
Sen. Richard, governor disagree on impact of right-to-work The Joplin Globe ...In vetoing the bill Thursday, Nixon said the measure is designed to undermine labor organizations that produce highly skilled workers for Missouri employers. He called the measure an "attack on working Missourians" which he said would stunt economic growth by reducing work force training opportunities and driving down wages...
Prevailing wage fight blooms on Kane County Board Daily Herald ...Now, having grudgingly supported a watered-down Kane County resolution calling for reform in Springfield in May, Frasz is urging his colleagues to cast at least a symbolic vote rejecting the entire state prevailing wage law. On Friday, he gained at least three supporters during a meeting of the Kane County Forest Preserve Commission's executive committee...
$15 minimum wage proposal faces business backlash STL Today ...The minimum-wage bill would apply to any businesses with more than 15 employees and $500,000 in annual sales. It would raise the wage floor to $10 an hour this summer and $15 on Jan. 1, 2020. Seattle and San Francisco have already passed $15 minimum-wage ordinances, and Los Angeles is considering one. St. Louis, however, isn’t like those West Coast places. It has a lower cost of living and a slow-growing economy, and the city is small relative to its suburbs...
Public comment hearing on proposed voter ID rules set for Tuesday Winston-Salem Journal ...People have an opportunity locally this week to voice their thoughts on the State Board of Elections’ proposed rules for implementing the state’s voter ID law. Winston-Salem was one of nine locations selected by the State Board of Elections to host public comment hearings on the proposed rules, which outline procedures such as how precinct officials are supposed to determine whether the person pictured in the ID matches the individual checking in to vote...
Here Are All the Reasons Walmart’s Business Is Not Sustainable The Nation ...Walmart’s “savings” from cheap labor gets passed through its US supply chain, too: The federal government recently cracked down on a Walmart egg supplier for “discriminatory practices” in intrusive screening of immigrant workers. One major lettuce supplier, Taylor Farms, has been hit by a wage-theft class-action lawsuit along with scandals over alleged union-busting and abuse of migrant workers in California...
U.S. Labor
Pittsburgh Labor Board finds in favor of Duquesne Adjuncts Pittsburgh Courier ...The Pittsburgh regional office of the National Labor Relations Board issued a decision June 5 ordering that Duquesne University recognize the Adjunct Faculty Association of the United Steelworkers as the collective bargaining representative of part-time faculty at Duquesne’s McAnulty College of Liberal Arts. Part-time faculty at the College voted overwhelmingly to organize with the AFA-USW in 2012...
May Saw The Highest Number Of Jobs Created All Year Think Progress ...The economy added 280,000 jobs in May while the unemployment rate was little changed at 5.5 percent, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Analysts had expected 225,000 jobs to be added. May was the best month for jobs added since December...
Greenbrier, IBEW finish contract NP Telegraph ...Employees of Greenbrier Rail Services at Hershey joined with their new union brothers Friday afternoon to celebrate the ratification of Greenbrier’s contract with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1920. The contract was ratified on May 27...
Pot Legalization Could Bring A Million Jobs to California Alternet ...An estimated 100,000 people are currently employed in California's marijuana industry, but that number could grow 10-fold within a few years, according to the California Cannabis Industry Association. There is one big "if," though. That's if California actually gets around to legalizing it next year...
Miscellaneous
The link between police tactics and economic conditions cannot be ignored The Guardian ...The failed war on drugs tripled the number of people in prison, even as crime rates in the US fell to the lowest levels in a generation. Nearly 1.5m African American men are in prison and missing from society due, in large part, to a criminal justice system that locks them up and limits their options upon release. Cities, starved of funding by austerity-obsessed leaders, write tickets and charge fees for residents already struggling to avoid hunger and eviction...
Traumatized by 3 Years at Rikers Without Charge, Ex-Teen Prisoner Kalief Browder Commits Suicide Democracy Now ...A young man imprisoned for three years at Rikers Island jail in New York without charge has committed suicide. Kalief Browder was a 16-year-old high school sophomore when he was detained on suspicion of stealing a backpack. Browder never pleaded guilty and was never convicted. After enduring nearly 800 days in solitary confinement and abuses from guards, Browder was only released when the case was dismissed...
Port truckers for Chinese company demand Teamsters recognition Daily Breeze ...Contract drivers for a Chinese-owned trucking company will deliver a letter today to their employer demanding that their right to be represented by the Teamsters be recognized. The drivers for Intermodal Bridge Transport, or IBT, are part of a pair of class action lawsuits and one 16-person lawsuit contending that they are misclassified as independent contractors, and actually do the work of full-time employees...
Disney World's confidentiality warning riles actors' union Associated Press ...Teamsters Local 385 said in the complaint that Disney was committing an unfair labor practice. A grievance was filed last week with the company. The two-week-old written policy prevents actors from publicly revealing in social media or traditional media which characters they play, according to the union...
Global Labor & Trade
Confidential USTR Emails Show Close Industry Involvement In TPP Negotiations IP Watch ...While a full range of stakeholders would be affected by the outcome of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement under secret negotiation by the United States and a dozen trading partners, corporate representatives have had a special seat at the negotiating table, as shown by hundreds of pages of confidential emails from the US Trade Representative’s office obtained by Intellectual Property Watch...
Trade Pacts Face Growing Pushback Wall Street Journal ...The decades-old argument that major trade agreements boost both exports and jobs at home is losing its political punch, even in some of the country’s most export-heavy congressional districts. In the 10 districts with the biggest export growth since 2006, only three of the representatives say they back legislation to help President Barack Obama wrap up a major Pacific trade deal...
Trade supporters bullish as vote nears The Hill ...House GOP leaders are expressing a bold new confidence heading into the final stretch of the divisive fight over granting President Obama broad trade powers. The vote, expected as soon as this week, is likely to be a nail-biter — scores of lawmakers in both parties remain publicly undecided, making the count on both sides difficult to pin down...
Big Pharma seeks special trade deal Politico ...A revolutionary class of drugs with the potential to treat intractable diseases like cancer and other killers — as well as to explode health spending globally — is at the center of the toughest negotiations of the biggest trade deal in history. The pharmaceutical industry has been pressing the Obama administration to insist that the Trans-Pacific Partnership include 12 years of monopoly pricing power for the makers of these complex and costly drugs...
Black Caucus Is Wooed for Trade Pact Votes New York Times ...Until the vote is called, a lot of black Democrats will find themselves in a painful, public squeeze between the president they admire and do not want to see fail and the unions that have sustained them for years. “I’m hoping he doesn’t call,” fretted one veteran black House Democrat, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he counts Mr. Obama as a friend who has stood by him on political matters...
Obama and his GOP allies launch big effort to win trade fight in the House Washington Post ...President Obama opened an intense final round of lobbying to win support for his sweeping Pacific Rim trade accord ahead of a crucial vote in the House as soon as next week, expressing confidence that he will overcome deepening skepticism among fellow Democrats. The push from the president included direct calls to lawmakers, interviews with television stations in key states and plans to bring several Democrats aboard Air Force One with him to a summit in Germany...
Fast-track vote still up in the air Politico ...Supporters of a controversial trade bill are increasingly confident they can secure the votes needed to pass so-called fast-track legislation when it hits the House floor, which could come as early as this week. Only about a dozen members remain undecided, most of them Democrats, and President Barack Obama is expected to make another lobbying push this week to try and win over wavering members of his party...
20,000+ Police March In Force Against G7 Protests in Germany Common Dreams ...Though outnumbered by police by approximately two-to-one, thousands of people took to the streets of the Alpine resort town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Germany on Saturday to express their opposition to the hegemonic and neoliberal policies of the G7 nations. Speaking out against the destructive policies of the world's leading industrialized nations organized groups and individuals who participated in the protest carried signs and banners decrying inaction on climate change, the pending TransAtlantic Trade in Partnership (TTIP) agreement...
Ukraine Labor Dares Operation Vulture Truthout ...Many workers are simply not getting paid, and what they actually are being paid is often illegally low. Employers are taking whatever money is in their business accounts and squirreling it away – preferably abroad, or at least in foreign currency. For labor leaders, the problem is not only to collect back wages, but to survive with a future living wage. If they refrain from protesting, they simply won’t get paid...
Brinkmanship on Display as Greece Rejects 'Irrational' IMF Proposals Common Dreams ...Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Friday rejected the financial aid proposal of introduced by foreign creditors overseeing the country's bailout, saying the Syriza government cannot accept "irrational" proposals that call for additional austerity measures while offering nothing in the way of debt relief. In a rarely used move, Tsipras announced Greece would defer a series of payments to the end of the month as negotiations with the troika—the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Central Bank, and the European Commission—continued...
Sen. Richard, governor disagree on impact of right-to-work The Joplin Globe ...In vetoing the bill Thursday, Nixon said the measure is designed to undermine labor organizations that produce highly skilled workers for Missouri employers. He called the measure an "attack on working Missourians" which he said would stunt economic growth by reducing work force training opportunities and driving down wages...
Prevailing wage fight blooms on Kane County Board Daily Herald ...Now, having grudgingly supported a watered-down Kane County resolution calling for reform in Springfield in May, Frasz is urging his colleagues to cast at least a symbolic vote rejecting the entire state prevailing wage law. On Friday, he gained at least three supporters during a meeting of the Kane County Forest Preserve Commission's executive committee...
$15 minimum wage proposal faces business backlash STL Today ...The minimum-wage bill would apply to any businesses with more than 15 employees and $500,000 in annual sales. It would raise the wage floor to $10 an hour this summer and $15 on Jan. 1, 2020. Seattle and San Francisco have already passed $15 minimum-wage ordinances, and Los Angeles is considering one. St. Louis, however, isn’t like those West Coast places. It has a lower cost of living and a slow-growing economy, and the city is small relative to its suburbs...
Public comment hearing on proposed voter ID rules set for Tuesday Winston-Salem Journal ...People have an opportunity locally this week to voice their thoughts on the State Board of Elections’ proposed rules for implementing the state’s voter ID law. Winston-Salem was one of nine locations selected by the State Board of Elections to host public comment hearings on the proposed rules, which outline procedures such as how precinct officials are supposed to determine whether the person pictured in the ID matches the individual checking in to vote...
Here Are All the Reasons Walmart’s Business Is Not Sustainable The Nation ...Walmart’s “savings” from cheap labor gets passed through its US supply chain, too: The federal government recently cracked down on a Walmart egg supplier for “discriminatory practices” in intrusive screening of immigrant workers. One major lettuce supplier, Taylor Farms, has been hit by a wage-theft class-action lawsuit along with scandals over alleged union-busting and abuse of migrant workers in California...
U.S. Labor
Pittsburgh Labor Board finds in favor of Duquesne Adjuncts Pittsburgh Courier ...The Pittsburgh regional office of the National Labor Relations Board issued a decision June 5 ordering that Duquesne University recognize the Adjunct Faculty Association of the United Steelworkers as the collective bargaining representative of part-time faculty at Duquesne’s McAnulty College of Liberal Arts. Part-time faculty at the College voted overwhelmingly to organize with the AFA-USW in 2012...
May Saw The Highest Number Of Jobs Created All Year Think Progress ...The economy added 280,000 jobs in May while the unemployment rate was little changed at 5.5 percent, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Analysts had expected 225,000 jobs to be added. May was the best month for jobs added since December...
Greenbrier, IBEW finish contract NP Telegraph ...Employees of Greenbrier Rail Services at Hershey joined with their new union brothers Friday afternoon to celebrate the ratification of Greenbrier’s contract with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1920. The contract was ratified on May 27...
Pot Legalization Could Bring A Million Jobs to California Alternet ...An estimated 100,000 people are currently employed in California's marijuana industry, but that number could grow 10-fold within a few years, according to the California Cannabis Industry Association. There is one big "if," though. That's if California actually gets around to legalizing it next year...
Miscellaneous
The link between police tactics and economic conditions cannot be ignored The Guardian ...The failed war on drugs tripled the number of people in prison, even as crime rates in the US fell to the lowest levels in a generation. Nearly 1.5m African American men are in prison and missing from society due, in large part, to a criminal justice system that locks them up and limits their options upon release. Cities, starved of funding by austerity-obsessed leaders, write tickets and charge fees for residents already struggling to avoid hunger and eviction...
Traumatized by 3 Years at Rikers Without Charge, Ex-Teen Prisoner Kalief Browder Commits Suicide Democracy Now ...A young man imprisoned for three years at Rikers Island jail in New York without charge has committed suicide. Kalief Browder was a 16-year-old high school sophomore when he was detained on suspicion of stealing a backpack. Browder never pleaded guilty and was never convicted. After enduring nearly 800 days in solitary confinement and abuses from guards, Browder was only released when the case was dismissed...
Thursday, April 30, 2015
Today's Teamster News 04.30.15
Teamsters
Disney Teamsters Win Wrongful Termination Case Teamster.org ...A federal arbitrator has ruled in favor of three character performers who were fired from Disney's Animal Kingdom for refusing to wear unsanitary costumes, the Teamsters Union announced Monday. The ruling, issued April 26, orders Walt Disney World to reinstate full-time employees Drew Pearson, Matthew Warfield and Raymond “Doug” Biederman...
Group of Shaw’s staff pharmacists in Maine vote to join Teamsters union Bangor Daily News ...A group of 21 staff pharmacists at 16 Shaw’s Supermarket stores throughout Maine will join the Teamsters Union Local 340 after approving the move in a vote Tuesday. The union announced the vote in a news release Wednesday. Aligning with the national labor organization will give the staff pharmacists collective bargaining representation...
Unionized: Tiger Transit drivers vote to join International Teamsters Union The Plainsman ...The Tiger Transit drivers of Auburn University have voted to unionize in attempt to get more affordable health care, higher wages and respect in the workplace. The workers will be joining the International Brotherhood of Teamsters at the 612 location in Birmingham...
Proxy Voting Advisors Recommend NEX Shareholder Resolution On Internal Review Of Labor Practices Teamster.org ...The proposal, which was submitted by the Teamsters General Fund, members of the Local Authorities Pension Fund (LAPFF) and 100 individual NEX shareholders, is the first to be recommended by ISS in at least 10 years that specifically addresses labor issues at a publically-traded company in the U.K...
Global Labor & Trade
Obama trade bill in trouble Politico ...At this point, upward of 75 House Republicans could vote against trade promotion authority if it comes up for a vote in the coming weeks, according to aides and lawmakers involved in the process. Some of the lawmakers fear job losses in their districts from free trade; others distrust Obama and oppose giving him more power...
Obama Is Selling the TPP Trade Deal Just Like Al Gore Sold NAFTA New Republic ...Gore made a distinction between previous trade deals with Japan and China, and NAFTA, with its side agreements on labor and the environment. Critics of NAFTA “confuse the bad trade deals in the past with this one,” Gore said. This mirrors Obama’s claim about inferior prior deals—including NAFTA. “Not every trade deal has lived up to the hype,” Obama acknowledged...
Rust-belt Republicans face tough sell on global trade deals before 2016 Washington Post ...Midwest Republicans are keenly aware that their region has been hit hard by disappearing factory jobs, placing these GOP senators in a tough spot heading into the 2016 elections as they tout a message that might not resonate...
White House Trade Pitch Goes Into Overdrive National Journal ...The Obama administration is ramping up a massive sales pitch on trade policy, bringing key Democrats to the White House—and using one of its most effective lobbyists in the hallways of the Capitol. Biden seizing the chance to talk trade is just one part of a much wider White House PR and lobbying blitz for the TPP and, equally important, the "fast-track" bill that would strip Congress of its ability to amend sweeping trade deals...
House Dems attack trade deal on eve of Japan PM’s address The Hill ...Five Democrats pushed back against the Obama administration’s arguments that adding currency provisions to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) would derail the deal and potentially interfere with U.S. monetary policy decisions...
Travel Chaos As Bus Strike To Go Ahead Tomorrow Dublin's 98FM ...Commuters face travel chaos tomorrow as strike action at Bus Eireann and Dublin Bus looks set to go ahead. Drivers are downing tools for two days over the privatisation of bus routes...
State & Living Wage Battles
Legislation Allowing Delaware 'Right-to-Work' Zones Stalls WBOC 16 ...Republican legislation allowing "right-to-work" zones in Delaware stalled in a Democratic-led Senate committee Wednesday amid complaints from organized labor that it is a union-busting measure. Under the legislation sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Greg Lavelle, a person would not be required to join a labor union or pay union dues as a condition of employment in a right-to-work zone...
Republicans push for photo ID voting requirements again The Columbus Dispatch ...Rep. Andrew Brenner, R-Powell, backed by some of the more conservative members of the House, is introducing legislation that would require voters show a driver’s license, state photo ID card, passport or military ID...
How This State Plans To Close Its Gender Wage Gap Think Progress ...The changes New York lawmakers approved look very similar to changes that would be made nationally if Congress were to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act. That bill would ban salary secrecy as well as strengthen the permissible reasons for having gender-based pay differentials...
Changes to prevailing wage likely but repeal won't happen, Robin Vos says Milwaulkee Journal Sentinel ...he 84-year-old law prescribes wages for workers on public works jobs such as bridges and highways according to a complex formula. Conservatives are targeting the law as their next big push after passing right-to-work legislation in March, which prohibits labor groups and employers from agreeing to require workers to pay fees to a union...
Los Angeles Latinas Fast to Raise Minimum Wage NBC News ...The 19-year-old daughter of Guatemalan immigrants is among a group of women who are close to completing a 15-day fast in Los Angeles. They hoped to persuade city council members there to raise the minimum wage of $9 an hour to $15 an hour. They planned to break the fast Thursday...
Palo Alto: Committee favors raising minimum wage Mercury News ...A City Council committee is backing a proposal to hike the minimum wage -- potentially as high as $15 per hour by 2018. On Tuesday, the four-member Policy and Services Committee voted unanimously to recommend that the full council adopt an ordinance that would see most workers earn $11 per hour starting on Jan. 1, 2016...
La Center school board backs right-to-work The Columbian ...The La Center School District made a contentious move Tuesday night, asking union reps to allow district employees to drop their representation. The issue surfaced in the form of a "right-to-choose" resolution that gained unanimous approval from the district's five-member school board...
U.S. Labor
University of Chicago Nurses Narrowly Avert Strike, Claim Victory Against Hospital In These Times ...Early Tuesday, National Nurses United (NNU) announced that its 1,500 members at the University of Chicago Medical Center (UCMC) would not go on strike as planned. The union called for a one-day strike set for April 30, following nearly eight months of negotiations and a strike authorization vote...
NLRB Issues Complaint Against El Super Chain EGP News ...The National Labor Relations Board issued a complaint against a Paramount-based supermarket chain for allegedly restraining employees from advocating for union representation, it was announced today. The complaint against the El Super chain alleges that the company has refused to bargain with unions for more than a year after failing to agree on a contract with the local United Food and Commercial Workers...
BP, union reach tentative deal to end Whiting refinery strike Reuters ...BP Plc and the United Steelworkers union (USW) chapter representing striking workers at the company's Whiting, Indiana, refinery reached a tentative agreement on Wednesday to end an 11-week work stoppage. The two sides have to negotiate an agreement on returning the striking workers to the Chicago-area plant, but a ratification vote is expected next week...
Capitol Vistory Center Workers Allege Retaliation After Strike Roll Call ...On April 24, the advocacy group Good Jobs Nation filed the complaint to the National Labor Relations Board on behalf of Duckett and fellow CVC cafeteria worker Tracy Allen. The complaint is filed against Restaurant Associates, which employes the food service contract workers in the Capitol complex...
Here Are All the Ways People Are Dying at Work The Nation ...This week, Workers’ Memorial Day reminded us that the leading cause of death at work isn’t factory fires, mine collapses, or machinery accidents—though it is all those things. The main reason workers die is because those in power look the other way. Global Worker Watch’s labor death map presents a chilling snapshot of an everyday calamity...
Miscellaneous
Man Who Blew the Whistle on Big Bank's Practices Is Now About to Lose His Home to that Same Bank Alternet ...He went to the federal government as a whistleblower, hoping to bring an end to these practices. Yet in the process of doing so, the bank – today owned by Wells Fargo, which bought it in 2008 – fired him. Kraus is now on the verge of losing his home...
Disney Teamsters Win Wrongful Termination Case Teamster.org ...A federal arbitrator has ruled in favor of three character performers who were fired from Disney's Animal Kingdom for refusing to wear unsanitary costumes, the Teamsters Union announced Monday. The ruling, issued April 26, orders Walt Disney World to reinstate full-time employees Drew Pearson, Matthew Warfield and Raymond “Doug” Biederman...
Group of Shaw’s staff pharmacists in Maine vote to join Teamsters union Bangor Daily News ...A group of 21 staff pharmacists at 16 Shaw’s Supermarket stores throughout Maine will join the Teamsters Union Local 340 after approving the move in a vote Tuesday. The union announced the vote in a news release Wednesday. Aligning with the national labor organization will give the staff pharmacists collective bargaining representation...
Unionized: Tiger Transit drivers vote to join International Teamsters Union The Plainsman ...The Tiger Transit drivers of Auburn University have voted to unionize in attempt to get more affordable health care, higher wages and respect in the workplace. The workers will be joining the International Brotherhood of Teamsters at the 612 location in Birmingham...
Proxy Voting Advisors Recommend NEX Shareholder Resolution On Internal Review Of Labor Practices Teamster.org ...The proposal, which was submitted by the Teamsters General Fund, members of the Local Authorities Pension Fund (LAPFF) and 100 individual NEX shareholders, is the first to be recommended by ISS in at least 10 years that specifically addresses labor issues at a publically-traded company in the U.K...
Global Labor & Trade
Obama trade bill in trouble Politico ...At this point, upward of 75 House Republicans could vote against trade promotion authority if it comes up for a vote in the coming weeks, according to aides and lawmakers involved in the process. Some of the lawmakers fear job losses in their districts from free trade; others distrust Obama and oppose giving him more power...
Obama Is Selling the TPP Trade Deal Just Like Al Gore Sold NAFTA New Republic ...Gore made a distinction between previous trade deals with Japan and China, and NAFTA, with its side agreements on labor and the environment. Critics of NAFTA “confuse the bad trade deals in the past with this one,” Gore said. This mirrors Obama’s claim about inferior prior deals—including NAFTA. “Not every trade deal has lived up to the hype,” Obama acknowledged...
Rust-belt Republicans face tough sell on global trade deals before 2016 Washington Post ...Midwest Republicans are keenly aware that their region has been hit hard by disappearing factory jobs, placing these GOP senators in a tough spot heading into the 2016 elections as they tout a message that might not resonate...
White House Trade Pitch Goes Into Overdrive National Journal ...The Obama administration is ramping up a massive sales pitch on trade policy, bringing key Democrats to the White House—and using one of its most effective lobbyists in the hallways of the Capitol. Biden seizing the chance to talk trade is just one part of a much wider White House PR and lobbying blitz for the TPP and, equally important, the "fast-track" bill that would strip Congress of its ability to amend sweeping trade deals...
House Dems attack trade deal on eve of Japan PM’s address The Hill ...Five Democrats pushed back against the Obama administration’s arguments that adding currency provisions to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) would derail the deal and potentially interfere with U.S. monetary policy decisions...
Travel Chaos As Bus Strike To Go Ahead Tomorrow Dublin's 98FM ...Commuters face travel chaos tomorrow as strike action at Bus Eireann and Dublin Bus looks set to go ahead. Drivers are downing tools for two days over the privatisation of bus routes...
Legislation Allowing Delaware 'Right-to-Work' Zones Stalls WBOC 16 ...Republican legislation allowing "right-to-work" zones in Delaware stalled in a Democratic-led Senate committee Wednesday amid complaints from organized labor that it is a union-busting measure. Under the legislation sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Greg Lavelle, a person would not be required to join a labor union or pay union dues as a condition of employment in a right-to-work zone...
Republicans push for photo ID voting requirements again The Columbus Dispatch ...Rep. Andrew Brenner, R-Powell, backed by some of the more conservative members of the House, is introducing legislation that would require voters show a driver’s license, state photo ID card, passport or military ID...
How This State Plans To Close Its Gender Wage Gap Think Progress ...The changes New York lawmakers approved look very similar to changes that would be made nationally if Congress were to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act. That bill would ban salary secrecy as well as strengthen the permissible reasons for having gender-based pay differentials...
Changes to prevailing wage likely but repeal won't happen, Robin Vos says Milwaulkee Journal Sentinel ...he 84-year-old law prescribes wages for workers on public works jobs such as bridges and highways according to a complex formula. Conservatives are targeting the law as their next big push after passing right-to-work legislation in March, which prohibits labor groups and employers from agreeing to require workers to pay fees to a union...
Los Angeles Latinas Fast to Raise Minimum Wage NBC News ...The 19-year-old daughter of Guatemalan immigrants is among a group of women who are close to completing a 15-day fast in Los Angeles. They hoped to persuade city council members there to raise the minimum wage of $9 an hour to $15 an hour. They planned to break the fast Thursday...
Palo Alto: Committee favors raising minimum wage Mercury News ...A City Council committee is backing a proposal to hike the minimum wage -- potentially as high as $15 per hour by 2018. On Tuesday, the four-member Policy and Services Committee voted unanimously to recommend that the full council adopt an ordinance that would see most workers earn $11 per hour starting on Jan. 1, 2016...
La Center school board backs right-to-work The Columbian ...The La Center School District made a contentious move Tuesday night, asking union reps to allow district employees to drop their representation. The issue surfaced in the form of a "right-to-choose" resolution that gained unanimous approval from the district's five-member school board...
U.S. Labor
University of Chicago Nurses Narrowly Avert Strike, Claim Victory Against Hospital In These Times ...Early Tuesday, National Nurses United (NNU) announced that its 1,500 members at the University of Chicago Medical Center (UCMC) would not go on strike as planned. The union called for a one-day strike set for April 30, following nearly eight months of negotiations and a strike authorization vote...
NLRB Issues Complaint Against El Super Chain EGP News ...The National Labor Relations Board issued a complaint against a Paramount-based supermarket chain for allegedly restraining employees from advocating for union representation, it was announced today. The complaint against the El Super chain alleges that the company has refused to bargain with unions for more than a year after failing to agree on a contract with the local United Food and Commercial Workers...
BP, union reach tentative deal to end Whiting refinery strike Reuters ...BP Plc and the United Steelworkers union (USW) chapter representing striking workers at the company's Whiting, Indiana, refinery reached a tentative agreement on Wednesday to end an 11-week work stoppage. The two sides have to negotiate an agreement on returning the striking workers to the Chicago-area plant, but a ratification vote is expected next week...
Capitol Vistory Center Workers Allege Retaliation After Strike Roll Call ...On April 24, the advocacy group Good Jobs Nation filed the complaint to the National Labor Relations Board on behalf of Duckett and fellow CVC cafeteria worker Tracy Allen. The complaint is filed against Restaurant Associates, which employes the food service contract workers in the Capitol complex...
Here Are All the Ways People Are Dying at Work The Nation ...This week, Workers’ Memorial Day reminded us that the leading cause of death at work isn’t factory fires, mine collapses, or machinery accidents—though it is all those things. The main reason workers die is because those in power look the other way. Global Worker Watch’s labor death map presents a chilling snapshot of an everyday calamity...
Miscellaneous
Man Who Blew the Whistle on Big Bank's Practices Is Now About to Lose His Home to that Same Bank Alternet ...He went to the federal government as a whistleblower, hoping to bring an end to these practices. Yet in the process of doing so, the bank – today owned by Wells Fargo, which bought it in 2008 – fired him. Kraus is now on the verge of losing his home...
Monday, October 27, 2014
Today's Teamster News 10.27.14
Teamsters
Disney workers appeal firing over sweaty costumes Orlando Sentinel ...The Teamsters union that represents them is bringing the issue in front of a federal arbitrator later this year. The union argues Disney violated its contract by providing unsanitary clothing...
Philadelphia Labor Law Attorney Bruce M. Ludwig Presents at International Conference of Teamsters Lawyers North Fork View ...Bruce M. Ludwig, of the labor, employment and workers’ compensation law firm Willig, Williams & Davidson, recently presented a paper at the 29th meeting of the International Conference of Teamsters Lawyers in Providence, R.I., entitled “Growing the Union at Penn State University: Issues in Organizing a Residual Unit in the Public Sector.”...
Trade
TPP talks in Sydney end with no breakthrough Japan Times ...Japan and the United States failed to reach a much-awaited breakthrough, seen as vital to advancing the 12-country Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, at a three-day meeting on the proposed trade accord that wrapped in Sydney on Monday...
The row over TTIP rumbles on Left Foot Forward ...The row over TTIP (the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership deal between the EU and the USA) and the inclusion of an ISDS (Investor State Dispute Settlement) mechanism is growing almost daily...
UK poultry industry worried about TTIP impact on food safety Global Meat News ...Members of the UK poultry industry are concerned that trade negotiations under the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the EU and US could undermine food safety...
State Battles
Wisconsin Voters Know Walker -- and That’s His Problem Bloomberg ...Yet if Walker is to advance his momentum into the 2016 presidential race, he needs to win re-election next week in a state where roughly half of the voters say they’ve had enough of him...
Fox News Host Calls Out Chris Christie For Putting Millionaires Over State’s Economy ThinkProgress ...You decided to cut payments to pension funds and instead of raising taxes on millionaires and businesses. The credit rating for New Jersey has actually been downgraded eight times your watch, and the polls in New Jersey show you with your lowest favorability rating since you became governor...
War on Workers
States With The Widest Gap Between Rich And Poor: 24/7 Wall St. Huffington Post ...New York was one of only two states, along with Connecticut, where more than 25% of all income was earned by just the top 5% of households...
Inflation Deceptive, CPI 0.1% Yet Some Items Off the Charts Economic Populist ...The average hourly real wage feel -0.2% [in September] and is now $10.32. and has increased just 0.3% for the year. This means wages are not keeping up with inflation. Weekly real earnings increased by only because people were working 0.3% more hours per week...
Police Pay Gap: Many of America's Finest Struggle on Poverty Wages NBC News ...Data obtained by NBC News from 24 municipal police departments in St. Louis County reveal a gulf between police officer pay in poor, majority African-American northern cities and wealthier, whiter cities further south. Average annual patrol officer pay ranges from $23,000 in Hillsdale to nearly $70,000 in Town and County and Des Peres...
Chris Christie Stuck Her In 'Prison.' So Ebola Nurse Says She'll Sue. Forbes ...She worked for Doctors Without Borders — the aid group fighting West Africa’s Ebola epidemic — before flying home on Friday and being rushed into a surprise isolation that she’s described as scary, disorganized, and even cruel...
Disney workers appeal firing over sweaty costumes Orlando Sentinel ...The Teamsters union that represents them is bringing the issue in front of a federal arbitrator later this year. The union argues Disney violated its contract by providing unsanitary clothing...
Philadelphia Labor Law Attorney Bruce M. Ludwig Presents at International Conference of Teamsters Lawyers North Fork View ...Bruce M. Ludwig, of the labor, employment and workers’ compensation law firm Willig, Williams & Davidson, recently presented a paper at the 29th meeting of the International Conference of Teamsters Lawyers in Providence, R.I., entitled “Growing the Union at Penn State University: Issues in Organizing a Residual Unit in the Public Sector.”...
Trade
TPP talks in Sydney end with no breakthrough Japan Times ...Japan and the United States failed to reach a much-awaited breakthrough, seen as vital to advancing the 12-country Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, at a three-day meeting on the proposed trade accord that wrapped in Sydney on Monday...
The row over TTIP rumbles on Left Foot Forward ...The row over TTIP (the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership deal between the EU and the USA) and the inclusion of an ISDS (Investor State Dispute Settlement) mechanism is growing almost daily...
UK poultry industry worried about TTIP impact on food safety Global Meat News ...Members of the UK poultry industry are concerned that trade negotiations under the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the EU and US could undermine food safety...
State Battles
Wisconsin Voters Know Walker -- and That’s His Problem Bloomberg ...Yet if Walker is to advance his momentum into the 2016 presidential race, he needs to win re-election next week in a state where roughly half of the voters say they’ve had enough of him...
Fox News Host Calls Out Chris Christie For Putting Millionaires Over State’s Economy ThinkProgress ...You decided to cut payments to pension funds and instead of raising taxes on millionaires and businesses. The credit rating for New Jersey has actually been downgraded eight times your watch, and the polls in New Jersey show you with your lowest favorability rating since you became governor...
War on Workers
States With The Widest Gap Between Rich And Poor: 24/7 Wall St. Huffington Post ...New York was one of only two states, along with Connecticut, where more than 25% of all income was earned by just the top 5% of households...
Inflation Deceptive, CPI 0.1% Yet Some Items Off the Charts Economic Populist ...The average hourly real wage feel -0.2% [in September] and is now $10.32. and has increased just 0.3% for the year. This means wages are not keeping up with inflation. Weekly real earnings increased by only because people were working 0.3% more hours per week...
Police Pay Gap: Many of America's Finest Struggle on Poverty Wages NBC News ...Data obtained by NBC News from 24 municipal police departments in St. Louis County reveal a gulf between police officer pay in poor, majority African-American northern cities and wealthier, whiter cities further south. Average annual patrol officer pay ranges from $23,000 in Hillsdale to nearly $70,000 in Town and County and Des Peres...
Chris Christie Stuck Her In 'Prison.' So Ebola Nurse Says She'll Sue. Forbes ...She worked for Doctors Without Borders — the aid group fighting West Africa’s Ebola epidemic — before flying home on Friday and being rushed into a surprise isolation that she’s described as scary, disorganized, and even cruel...
Friday, August 8, 2014
Today's Teamster News 08.08.14
Teamster News
Teamsters Fully Ratify AEI Contract teamster.org ...The contract, which runs through Dec. 31, 2016, covers about 800 Teamsters across the U.S. employed by AEI, the domestic air freight forwarding arm of DHL Global Forwarding...
Wegmans: Teamsters fund dispute going to court Rochester Democrat & Chronicle ...Wegmans Food Markets has gone to federal court to resolve a dispute over workers' compensation payments to Teamsters-represented employees that the company says could cost it millions of dollars...
Trade
Pressure on Canada to Open Poultry Markets for Trade Talks with US The Poultry Site ...A powerful group of US members of Congress says the White House should cut Canada out of a major global trade deal unless it opens up its protected dairy and poultry markets...
U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman Announces U.S. Victory in Challenge to China’s Rare Earth Export Restraints Office of the USTR ...U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman today announced that the World Trade Organization (WTO) Appellate Body found China’s export restraints on rare earths, tungsten, and molybdenum, which are used as key components in a multitude of U.S-made products for critical American manufacturing sectors, including hybrid car batteries, wind turbines, and energy-efficient lighting, to be inconsistent with China’s WTO obligations...
TTIP: Have We Lost Our Democratic Privileges? The London Economic ...As the European Commission and the US are busy negotiating a free trade agreement, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), campaigners say they are increasingly worried citizens are losing their democratic privileges. While corporations are looking forward to an improved trade and regulatory cooperation between the US and EU, the opposition -which includes Pan-European civil society groups – is concerned that regulatory convergence will grind down hard-won social and environmental standards...
State Battles
Daniel Golden: Media go too easy on Scott Walker (opinion) The Cap Times ..."Wrong Way Walker" has achieved the impossible and launched Wisconsin on an economic death spiral...
Disney World, Union Strike Deal To Raise Minimum Wage The Ledger ...The world's most popular vacation resort recently struck an agreement with its largest union group. Last week, Walt Disney World and the Service Trades Council signed off on a 5½-year pact that will raise the minimum hourly pay for the union group's full-time workers to $10 by 2016...
Anchorage Assembly Repeals, Replaces City Labor Law KTUU ...The Anchorage Assembly voted 7-4 Tuesday night to repeal controversial ordinance AO37, Mayor Dan Sullivan's overhaul of how the city interacts with municipal workers....
Latest Blow To Gov. Brownback: Kansas Debt Downgrade Wall Street Journal ...Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback is more stumbling than storming into the general election. On Tuesday night, results from the GOP primary showed 37% of those voting cast their ballots for a Republican political newcomer over Mr. Brownback. Then Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services on Wednesday morning dropped Kansas’s credit rating by one notch, blaming the downgrade on a sharp slide in state revenues that followed deep tax cuts Mr. Brownback championed...
War On Workers
Part-Time Market Basket Workers Have Hours Cut Boston Globe ...Thousands of part-time workers at Market Basket stores have had their hours cut by half or more this week, as the cost of the unusual protest movement hits home for the employees seeking the reinstatement of ousted boss Arthur T. Demoulas...
Plot Thickens as 900 Writers Battle Amazon New York Times ...This latest uproar in Amazon’s three-month public battle with Hachette comes at a vulnerable moment for the Internet giant, which is rapidly transforming itself into an empire...
U.S. Labor Force: Where Have All the Workers Gone? IMF Direct ...The equivalent of 7.5 million workers have been lost from the U.S. labor force...
Fed Study Finds 2 million in "Forced Retirement", 52% Cannot Afford an Unexpected $400 Expense Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis ...Almost half of respondents had not planned financially for retirement, with 24 percent saying they had given only a little thought to financial planning for their retirement and another 25 percent saying they had done no planning at all...
The Federal Reserve Is Telling Us The Economy Is Pitiful Huffington Post ...Just 30 percent of survey respondents described themselves as better off than they were in 2008, with 34 percent saying they were doing about the same and 34 percent saying they were worse off...
Worker Killed When Crate Falls From Truck In The Bronx CBS News ...A construction worker was killed Tuesday when a heavy crate fell on him as he unloaded a truck near the Throgs Neck Bridge in in the Bronx...
Cornering the Zero-Day Market Cryptome ...“The CIA and the big corporations were, in my experience, in step with each other. Later I realized that they may argue about details of strategy - a small war here or there. However, both are vigorously committed to supporting the system.”...
What If Walmart's CEO Took A Pay Cut For His Workers? Vox ...The compensation packages of all 500 of the biggest corporations' CEOs are worth enough to boost all full-time minimum wage workers' annual pay by nearly $5,000...
Miscellaneous
Really Big Number Spent on High Speed Rail Center for Economic and Policy Research ... the federal government has spent roughly $550 billion on transportation over the last six years, so spending on high speed rail would be roughly 2.0 percent of total transportation spending...
Teamsters Fully Ratify AEI Contract teamster.org ...The contract, which runs through Dec. 31, 2016, covers about 800 Teamsters across the U.S. employed by AEI, the domestic air freight forwarding arm of DHL Global Forwarding...
Wegmans: Teamsters fund dispute going to court Rochester Democrat & Chronicle ...Wegmans Food Markets has gone to federal court to resolve a dispute over workers' compensation payments to Teamsters-represented employees that the company says could cost it millions of dollars...
Trade
Pressure on Canada to Open Poultry Markets for Trade Talks with US The Poultry Site ...A powerful group of US members of Congress says the White House should cut Canada out of a major global trade deal unless it opens up its protected dairy and poultry markets...
U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman Announces U.S. Victory in Challenge to China’s Rare Earth Export Restraints Office of the USTR ...U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman today announced that the World Trade Organization (WTO) Appellate Body found China’s export restraints on rare earths, tungsten, and molybdenum, which are used as key components in a multitude of U.S-made products for critical American manufacturing sectors, including hybrid car batteries, wind turbines, and energy-efficient lighting, to be inconsistent with China’s WTO obligations...
TTIP: Have We Lost Our Democratic Privileges? The London Economic ...As the European Commission and the US are busy negotiating a free trade agreement, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), campaigners say they are increasingly worried citizens are losing their democratic privileges. While corporations are looking forward to an improved trade and regulatory cooperation between the US and EU, the opposition -which includes Pan-European civil society groups – is concerned that regulatory convergence will grind down hard-won social and environmental standards...
State Battles
Daniel Golden: Media go too easy on Scott Walker (opinion) The Cap Times ..."Wrong Way Walker" has achieved the impossible and launched Wisconsin on an economic death spiral...
Disney World, Union Strike Deal To Raise Minimum Wage The Ledger ...The world's most popular vacation resort recently struck an agreement with its largest union group. Last week, Walt Disney World and the Service Trades Council signed off on a 5½-year pact that will raise the minimum hourly pay for the union group's full-time workers to $10 by 2016...
Anchorage Assembly Repeals, Replaces City Labor Law KTUU ...The Anchorage Assembly voted 7-4 Tuesday night to repeal controversial ordinance AO37, Mayor Dan Sullivan's overhaul of how the city interacts with municipal workers....
Latest Blow To Gov. Brownback: Kansas Debt Downgrade Wall Street Journal ...Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback is more stumbling than storming into the general election. On Tuesday night, results from the GOP primary showed 37% of those voting cast their ballots for a Republican political newcomer over Mr. Brownback. Then Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services on Wednesday morning dropped Kansas’s credit rating by one notch, blaming the downgrade on a sharp slide in state revenues that followed deep tax cuts Mr. Brownback championed...
War On Workers
Part-Time Market Basket Workers Have Hours Cut Boston Globe ...Thousands of part-time workers at Market Basket stores have had their hours cut by half or more this week, as the cost of the unusual protest movement hits home for the employees seeking the reinstatement of ousted boss Arthur T. Demoulas...
Plot Thickens as 900 Writers Battle Amazon New York Times ...This latest uproar in Amazon’s three-month public battle with Hachette comes at a vulnerable moment for the Internet giant, which is rapidly transforming itself into an empire...
U.S. Labor Force: Where Have All the Workers Gone? IMF Direct ...The equivalent of 7.5 million workers have been lost from the U.S. labor force...
Fed Study Finds 2 million in "Forced Retirement", 52% Cannot Afford an Unexpected $400 Expense Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis ...Almost half of respondents had not planned financially for retirement, with 24 percent saying they had given only a little thought to financial planning for their retirement and another 25 percent saying they had done no planning at all...
The Federal Reserve Is Telling Us The Economy Is Pitiful Huffington Post ...Just 30 percent of survey respondents described themselves as better off than they were in 2008, with 34 percent saying they were doing about the same and 34 percent saying they were worse off...
Worker Killed When Crate Falls From Truck In The Bronx CBS News ...A construction worker was killed Tuesday when a heavy crate fell on him as he unloaded a truck near the Throgs Neck Bridge in in the Bronx...
Cornering the Zero-Day Market Cryptome ...“The CIA and the big corporations were, in my experience, in step with each other. Later I realized that they may argue about details of strategy - a small war here or there. However, both are vigorously committed to supporting the system.”...
What If Walmart's CEO Took A Pay Cut For His Workers? Vox ...The compensation packages of all 500 of the biggest corporations' CEOs are worth enough to boost all full-time minimum wage workers' annual pay by nearly $5,000...
Miscellaneous
Really Big Number Spent on High Speed Rail Center for Economic and Policy Research ... the federal government has spent roughly $550 billion on transportation over the last six years, so spending on high speed rail would be roughly 2.0 percent of total transportation spending...
Saturday, March 8, 2014
Today's Teamster News 03.08.14
Teamster News
Teamsters Local 856 Welcomes Mt. Diablo School District Workers teamster.org ...Five hundred Mount Diablo Unified School District workers in the maintenance and operations unit have chosen to join Teamsters Local 856, San Bruno, Calif., in an overwhelming vote today...
Teamsters Helping Teamsters driveupstandards.org ...Nance Prendota, a Teamsters Local 777 school bus driver for Illinois Central School Bus in Aurora, Ill., woke up to a house fire in mid-January that destroyed everything in its path...
Teamster bus drivers at CCTA could strike Monday WPTZ News 5 ...Teamsters Local 597, based in South Barre, Vermont, has threatened taking action on Monday if settlement is not reached...
De Blasio Whipped by Horse Lobby Daily Beast ...NYC’s new mayor is determined to get rid of Central Park’s horse-drawn carriages this year. The fact that the animal rights lobby savaged his campaign opponent is pure coincidence, his supporters say...
Members of the Teamsters and NJSAP Coalition teamsterair.org ...Minimal progress and unjustifiable demands have motivated the NetJets Association of Shared Aircraft Pilots (NJASAP) and International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) Local 284 Executive Boards to formally launch the NetJets Unions Coalition (NUC)...
Teamsters Local 700 Endorses Best Candidates for Working Families Teamsters Local 700 ...Teamsters Local 700, based in Park Ridge, Illinois, announced endorsements in the March 18 primary elections...
Trade
U.S. readies for more 'extremely tough' trade talks with Japan Reuters ...The United States is finding talks with Japan on opening its agricultural market "extremely tough", a senior U.S. trade official said on Friday, as the two countries prepared for another round of bilateral negotiations...
It wasn't all weather: What's behind the weak manufacturing jobs report. manufacture this ...the Department of Labor announced that America's manufacturing sector added a mere 6,000 jobs in February, with significant downward revisions for January. Additionally, the U.S. Commerce Department reported that America's trade deficit with China rose substantially in January...
A Trade Pact No One Should Want Counterpunch ...We’ve heard a lot on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, but what will the Trans-Atlantic Partnership do? (Nothing good, that’s for sure.)...
Counterpoint: Don't repeat NAFTA mistakes (Opinion) Star-Tribune ...Amid secrecy and the model of broken promises, don’t ram through the TPP deal...
State Battles
Focusing on Win-Wins for Iowa Workers and Employers Iowa Senate Democrats ...This week the Senate passed a compromise version of wage theft legislation (Senate File 2295). It targets shady Iowa businesses which compete unfairly and cheat workers by shorting paychecks, confiscating tips, misclassifying workers, unauthorized paycheck deductions; and refusing to pay overtime...
Assembly passes child care, family leave bills WGRZ.com ...The (New York) state Assembly on Wednesday passed a package of bills that aim to increase access to childcare and establish paid family leave...
West Virginia Senate passes legislation to help accommodate pregnant workers Associated Press ...The West Virginia Senate has passed legislation to help accommodate pregnant women in the workplace....
Tennessee Republicans single out unions with anti-picketing bill DailyKos ..Spurred by the fact that Tennessee added 31,000 union members last year, state Rep. Jeremy Durham has introduced a bill that would create a new "mass picketing" misdemeanor specifically aimed at labor activists...
Trampling on our First Amendment Rights Michigan AFL-CIO ...The State House is contemplating the passage of HB 4643, a bill sponsored by Representative Tom McMillin (R). HB 4643 will result in civil fines of up to $10,000 per day for picketing that is deemed illegal; creating a huge chilling effect on your First Amendment rights...
War on Workers
A vast hidden surveillance network runs across America, powered by the repo industry Beta Boston ... the most significant impact of Sousa’s business is far bigger than locating cars whose owners have defaulted on loans: It is the growing database of snapshots showing where Americans were at specific times, information that everyone from private detectives to insurers are willing to pay for...
Shocking Stat: 70% of Americans Not in the Labor Force Are Under 55 Years Old AlterNet ...Infograph shows majority of 5.8 million 'missing' workers have given up the search because there simply aren’t any jobs...
Chicago May Be The Next City To Demand Paid Sick Days For ALL Workers Huffington Post ...Chicago employers would be required to offer paid sick leave to all workers under a proposal introduced by City Councilmen Wednesday...
Container truck drivers reach tentative deal at Vancouver port arineLink ...Container truck drivers at Canada's largest port reached a new deal on Thursday, narrowly avoiding an expanded job action that would have seen some 400 unionized drivers join about 1,200 non-unionized drivers who walked off the job last week...
America's New Servant Class AlterNet ...Income inequality is creating a boom in the servant industry. Welcome to the world of Downton Abbey...
BP chief executive's pay triples in 2013 The Guardian ...The pay of Bob Dudley, BP's chief executive, tripled last year despite the legal threats still hanging over the company from the Deepwater Horizon disaster...
Boeing freezing nonunion workers' pensions in 2016 Associated Press ...Boeing Co. said Thursday it is freezing the traditional defined-benefit pensions for 68,000 nonunion employees - including managers and executives - starting in 2016...
United Airlines dumps Newark Airport union jobs for janitorial contractor that will pay lower wages Daily News ...The airline has tossed out a janitorial contractor that pays its workers $9 an hour and will replace it with a company that's expected to pay $8.25 an hour. The cold-hearted move will affect nearly 270 workers...
Miscellaneous
Who Has The Right to Track You? In These Times ...As states begin to rein in mass surveillance, corporations argue that they have a right to collect data...
Staples to close 225 North American stores BBC News ...US office supplier Staples said it will close 225 stores in North America, more than 10% of its presence, as shoppers move online and its sales slump...
Disney cuts 700 employees from its video game division Raw Story ...Walt Disney Company on Thursday confirmed that it is cutting about a quarter of the workers at its money-losing video game division...
US economy hampered by severe winter weather, Fed says The Guardian ...Federal Reserve's 'beige book' report notes that consumer spending lessened because of cold, snow and storms in winter...
How corporate America is losing the debate on taxes Washington Post ...If there is one clear loser in President Obama's budget this year, it's U.S. multinationals. Designed to plug some major leaks in the tax code, the 2015 budget proposes a total of more than $276 billion in higher taxes on overseas earnings for U.S. multinationals over the next decade, about $120 billion more than last year's budget...
New Post-ABC News poll: Keystone XL project overwhelmingly favored by Americans Washington Post ...Americans support the idea of constructing the Keystone XL oil pipeline between Canada and the United States by a nearly 3 to 1 margin, with 65 percent saying it should be approved and 22 percent opposed, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll...
Education Advocates Launch Campaign to Combat Student Debt US News ...The America that invested in and created opportunity is disappearing, Sen. Elizabeth Warren said...
Teamsters Local 856 Welcomes Mt. Diablo School District Workers teamster.org ...Five hundred Mount Diablo Unified School District workers in the maintenance and operations unit have chosen to join Teamsters Local 856, San Bruno, Calif., in an overwhelming vote today...
Teamsters Helping Teamsters driveupstandards.org ...Nance Prendota, a Teamsters Local 777 school bus driver for Illinois Central School Bus in Aurora, Ill., woke up to a house fire in mid-January that destroyed everything in its path...
Teamster bus drivers at CCTA could strike Monday WPTZ News 5 ...Teamsters Local 597, based in South Barre, Vermont, has threatened taking action on Monday if settlement is not reached...
De Blasio Whipped by Horse Lobby Daily Beast ...NYC’s new mayor is determined to get rid of Central Park’s horse-drawn carriages this year. The fact that the animal rights lobby savaged his campaign opponent is pure coincidence, his supporters say...
Members of the Teamsters and NJSAP Coalition teamsterair.org ...Minimal progress and unjustifiable demands have motivated the NetJets Association of Shared Aircraft Pilots (NJASAP) and International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) Local 284 Executive Boards to formally launch the NetJets Unions Coalition (NUC)...
Teamsters Local 700 Endorses Best Candidates for Working Families Teamsters Local 700 ...Teamsters Local 700, based in Park Ridge, Illinois, announced endorsements in the March 18 primary elections...
Trade
U.S. readies for more 'extremely tough' trade talks with Japan Reuters ...The United States is finding talks with Japan on opening its agricultural market "extremely tough", a senior U.S. trade official said on Friday, as the two countries prepared for another round of bilateral negotiations...
It wasn't all weather: What's behind the weak manufacturing jobs report. manufacture this ...the Department of Labor announced that America's manufacturing sector added a mere 6,000 jobs in February, with significant downward revisions for January. Additionally, the U.S. Commerce Department reported that America's trade deficit with China rose substantially in January...
A Trade Pact No One Should Want Counterpunch ...We’ve heard a lot on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, but what will the Trans-Atlantic Partnership do? (Nothing good, that’s for sure.)...
Counterpoint: Don't repeat NAFTA mistakes (Opinion) Star-Tribune ...Amid secrecy and the model of broken promises, don’t ram through the TPP deal...
State Battles
Focusing on Win-Wins for Iowa Workers and Employers Iowa Senate Democrats ...This week the Senate passed a compromise version of wage theft legislation (Senate File 2295). It targets shady Iowa businesses which compete unfairly and cheat workers by shorting paychecks, confiscating tips, misclassifying workers, unauthorized paycheck deductions; and refusing to pay overtime...
Assembly passes child care, family leave bills WGRZ.com ...The (New York) state Assembly on Wednesday passed a package of bills that aim to increase access to childcare and establish paid family leave...
West Virginia Senate passes legislation to help accommodate pregnant workers Associated Press ...The West Virginia Senate has passed legislation to help accommodate pregnant women in the workplace....
Tennessee Republicans single out unions with anti-picketing bill DailyKos ..Spurred by the fact that Tennessee added 31,000 union members last year, state Rep. Jeremy Durham has introduced a bill that would create a new "mass picketing" misdemeanor specifically aimed at labor activists...
Trampling on our First Amendment Rights Michigan AFL-CIO ...The State House is contemplating the passage of HB 4643, a bill sponsored by Representative Tom McMillin (R). HB 4643 will result in civil fines of up to $10,000 per day for picketing that is deemed illegal; creating a huge chilling effect on your First Amendment rights...
War on Workers
A vast hidden surveillance network runs across America, powered by the repo industry Beta Boston ... the most significant impact of Sousa’s business is far bigger than locating cars whose owners have defaulted on loans: It is the growing database of snapshots showing where Americans were at specific times, information that everyone from private detectives to insurers are willing to pay for...
Shocking Stat: 70% of Americans Not in the Labor Force Are Under 55 Years Old AlterNet ...Infograph shows majority of 5.8 million 'missing' workers have given up the search because there simply aren’t any jobs...
Chicago May Be The Next City To Demand Paid Sick Days For ALL Workers Huffington Post ...Chicago employers would be required to offer paid sick leave to all workers under a proposal introduced by City Councilmen Wednesday...
Container truck drivers reach tentative deal at Vancouver port arineLink ...Container truck drivers at Canada's largest port reached a new deal on Thursday, narrowly avoiding an expanded job action that would have seen some 400 unionized drivers join about 1,200 non-unionized drivers who walked off the job last week...
America's New Servant Class AlterNet ...Income inequality is creating a boom in the servant industry. Welcome to the world of Downton Abbey...
BP chief executive's pay triples in 2013 The Guardian ...The pay of Bob Dudley, BP's chief executive, tripled last year despite the legal threats still hanging over the company from the Deepwater Horizon disaster...
Boeing freezing nonunion workers' pensions in 2016 Associated Press ...Boeing Co. said Thursday it is freezing the traditional defined-benefit pensions for 68,000 nonunion employees - including managers and executives - starting in 2016...
United Airlines dumps Newark Airport union jobs for janitorial contractor that will pay lower wages Daily News ...The airline has tossed out a janitorial contractor that pays its workers $9 an hour and will replace it with a company that's expected to pay $8.25 an hour. The cold-hearted move will affect nearly 270 workers...
Miscellaneous
Who Has The Right to Track You? In These Times ...As states begin to rein in mass surveillance, corporations argue that they have a right to collect data...
Staples to close 225 North American stores BBC News ...US office supplier Staples said it will close 225 stores in North America, more than 10% of its presence, as shoppers move online and its sales slump...
Disney cuts 700 employees from its video game division Raw Story ...Walt Disney Company on Thursday confirmed that it is cutting about a quarter of the workers at its money-losing video game division...
US economy hampered by severe winter weather, Fed says The Guardian ...Federal Reserve's 'beige book' report notes that consumer spending lessened because of cold, snow and storms in winter...
How corporate America is losing the debate on taxes Washington Post ...If there is one clear loser in President Obama's budget this year, it's U.S. multinationals. Designed to plug some major leaks in the tax code, the 2015 budget proposes a total of more than $276 billion in higher taxes on overseas earnings for U.S. multinationals over the next decade, about $120 billion more than last year's budget...
New Post-ABC News poll: Keystone XL project overwhelmingly favored by Americans Washington Post ...Americans support the idea of constructing the Keystone XL oil pipeline between Canada and the United States by a nearly 3 to 1 margin, with 65 percent saying it should be approved and 22 percent opposed, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll...
Education Advocates Launch Campaign to Combat Student Debt US News ...The America that invested in and created opportunity is disappearing, Sen. Elizabeth Warren said...
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