Disney Teamsters make trip extra special for Local 891 Katrina survivor

The Mauffrays share a moment with a princess at Walt Disney World.

It’s been a week of surprises for Teamsters 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.

Business Agent Donna-Lynne Dalton worked behind the scenes, informing members of the more than 1,000-person unit at Local 385 to be on the lookout and give the family a warm Teamster welcome. Our union’s most animated unit, the Teamster character performers did not disappoint, says Bobby, thanking Local 385 members for taking the time to make his family’s surprise trip all the more magical:

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.

After Katrina: the power of 1.4 million helping hands

In the final installment of our week-long coverage of Hurricane Katrina on the 10th anniversary of the disaster, today's post looks at Teamsters around the country who donated their time, resources and even their holidays to help those affected by the storm. From New England to the New Mexico, Teamsters from numerous locals donated and drove supplies by the truckload to Gulf Coast communities.

It didn’t take Teamsters long to respond to Hurricane Katrina. Within ten days after the worst natural disaster in United States’ history, Teamsters from across the country had come from all over with semi tractor-trailers -- filled to the brim with bottled water, emergency medical supplies, canned goods and school supplies to distribute to thousands of members living in hurricane- and flood-stricken areas.

A trio of UPS drivers from Local 597 in South Barre, Vermont ferried supplies more than 1,500 miles to sites in Jackson and Purvis, Mississippi. The drivers, Douglas Cleveland, Gary Dustin and Mark Gagnon, volunteered to go as part of “Operation Special Delivery,” an effort launched by Vermont Governor Jim Douglas.

According to Cleveland:

We hung signs on our trucks that read, "From Vermont to Mississippi." People cheered us on by honking and waving at us all the way down.

The trucks contained more than 145,000 pounds of supplies amassed through donations, including essential goods such as water and even dog food. Once in Jackson, the supplies were quickly unloaded, repackaged on pallets and sent out to distribution sites in the worst-hit areas of the region.

Cleveland explains:

There were a lot of trucks coming in, but the organization of the unloading process was something to see. We were joined by volunteers from all walks of life -- church members, school children and businessmen. It was wonderful to be able to help. We would all gladly do it again.

UPS driver Walter Mott from Local 492 in Albuquerque, New Mexico also helped in the relief efforts, driving a load of supplies to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to distribute to displaced hurricane victims from the New Orleans area:

I had concerns about what was going on in the Gulf, and I really wanted to help. I was born in Louisiana, and my family has a house in Galveston, Texas. I knew what they are going through.

In Boston, members from Local 25 collected and delivered supplies to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, donating a cargo trailer and community service trailer from the union's fleet to transport supplies to an area that received up to 100-mile-per-hour winds during the hurricane and had yet to be reached by the American Red Cross. The Local 25 tractor trailer, driven by volunteers Paul Newman and Rick Anderson, was loaded with mattresses, bedding, sheets, towels, and toiletries.

By December, trucks from Local 63 had made four cross-country trips to the hurricane-ravaged Gulf of Mexico. With the holiday’s approaching, a special trip was planned for Gulfport, Mississippi. Long after most service organizations and humanitarian efforts had left the Gulf, Team­sters from Local 63 pulled into Gulfport, driving a truck packed with bicycles, wrapped Christmas presents, and the jolly "Ho, Ho, Ho!" of Local 63's own Santa Claus (business agent Dallas Wimer):

So many of them came up to me, sat on my knee and told me that all they really wanted for Christmas was for their families to be safe. They wanted their old houses back, or their lost dogs. Most of all they wished the hurricanes hadn't happened.

Wimer noted that Local 891 members' impromptu North Pole decorations helped him in his leading role as Old Saint Nick.

Members of Local 891 helped unload the Teamster truck filled with presents from Local 63 families and exchange gifts, including more than 140 bicycles for the children of Local 891 members who had been affected by the storm. In the end, the children and their parents celebrated the Christmas they thought they wouldn't get.

Ten years later, Local 891 President Willie Smith still recalls the smiles on the faces of Local 891's children -- kids who thought their Christmas had been washed away with the floods, rain, and wind: 

The looks of joy on those kids' faces were enough to lift the spirits of all our members. It meant so much to know that we can count on our fellow Teamsters in times of need. They could have celebrated the holidays with their own Christmas party, but instead they selflessly gave it up for the Teamster families of Local 891.

It should be noted that countless more Teamster locals and members also answered the call to help by donating to charities, collecting needed items and driving to the affected areas to assist their brothers and sisters in need.

As Teamsters, we are blessed and privileged to be part of a brotherhood that cares so deeply about its members.

Hope on wheels: Tennessee Teamsters band together for Katrina victim

UPS Teamster Alex "Kalo" Kalogeropoulos

In our ongoing look back at Hurricane Katrina on the 10th anniversary of the storm, today's story is about Teamsters in Tennessee who pulled together to help out a fellow member -- relocated from New Orleans -- whose life was turned upside down by the Katrina disaster.

In late 2005, a group of UPS workers in Tennessee began meeting privately to discuss what to do about their newest coworker Alex “Kalo” Kalogeropoulos. Following Hurricane Katrina, the displaced UPS driver and Local 270 member was putting on a brave front, but his fellow Teamsters could sense the stress and hopelessness on Kalo’s face. They also began to notice he was the first to arrive and last to leave every day – the result of having to share one car between the entire family for a more than two-hour commute to and from the UPS Center in Masman, TN.

As shop steward for the unit, Tracy Wallace learned of the situation and led the effort to get Kalo back on his feet by getting him a ride of his own:

He reminded me of a lost puppy – he didn’t have a home and had been through so much. Once I got to know him, I learned how difficult a time it was for the family. He never complained, but I knew it was taking a toll. He was dealing with so much. After he told me his truck was lost in the storm and the family was sharing one car, I realized why he was always in the parking lot by himself before and after work. So, we came together and raised enough money to buy a used van that I was able to fix up. We were happy to help.

The parking lot was crowded with Teamsters the morning the van was presented to Kalo, who says he was moved to tears by the generosity of his union brothers and sisters at Local 480. It made “a world of difference” for the family during a very difficult time, he adds:

Crazy thing is, I was just so happy to be working again that I refused to let the commute get me down – as long and frustrating as it was at the time. Being able to work again brought me sanity, then having such welcoming co-workers lifted me up. But when they surprised me with the car, it was beyond anything imaginable … It was overwhelming for a lot of reasons. First, because it was the greatest surprise I’d ever had. Second, because I knew right away the difference it was going to make for the family. And boy, what a world of difference it made for all of us.

Tracy Wallace

Tracy continued to look out for Kalo, taking him under his wing and inviting his family to join him and his wife at their home for dinners. When time came to meet with management to discuss union issues, Tracy asked Kalo to join him: 

We became close and I started taking him to some meetings with management. He was so interested in my role as steward and had so many questions. There was no doubt he was going to become more active when he got back to New Orleans.

Honored to play a role in union discussions with management, Kalo returned to New Orleans in 2006, inspired and determined to put Tracy’s teachings to practice by becoming a steward for Local 270 members at UPS. Today, he credits Tracy and members at Local 480 for making him “more Teamsters than ever”:

If you lived through Katrina, then you have a story to tell. My story wouldn’t be possible without the help of my union brothers and sisters at Local 480, especially Tracy. He looked out for me and picked me up when I was at my lowest. He was more than just my friend, he was also my mentor. He taught me the power of the union comes from being an active union member. There’s a lot of pride that comes from being a steward. I feel it every day.

Following the Katrina story in the latest issue of Teamster magazine, the two stewards spoke for the first time in years, Wallace said during a recent phone interview:

We talked for nearly two hours catching up with each other. We even made plans to visit one another in the next year…He’s just a good ole boy. I’m glad we could help him.

A union's unsung heroes: New Orleans Teamsters who stayed behind to help

Matthew Shropshire, a Teamster hero at ABF

Observing the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, we continue our look back at the disaster and the heroism of Teamsters who helped those in need. Today's post tells the story of two Teamsters in New Orleans who risked their lives to help those less fortunate in the community. 

Matthew Shropshire, an ABF driver and 30-year member of Local 270 in New Orleans, was ready to leave town when he received a call from one of his church members asking to help evacuate elderly congregants. Without hesitation, Shropshire stayed to assist, boarding up windows and transporting members from their homes to seek refuge elsewhere. He returned home that evening with the intention of leaving the next morning. Little did he know the levees would break:

The next morning I got a call from my daughter telling me the levees broke. I couldn’t believe how much water there was when I looked out the window. My SUV was sitting in the drive way and all I could see was the windshield up. It was that much water. By the time I went downstairs and opened the door, the water had made it to the top step. It was moving that fast.

Stranded in his upstairs bedroom, Shropshire spent days waiting to be saved. After four days with no sign of rescue, he and his neighbors began communicating from their top floor windows to discuss escape plans. Shropshire got to work on a makeshift raft using a door from his closet:

We could see the interstate through our windows and knew if we could make it to the overpass that we’d get picked up by someone. Finally I said, ‘If nobody has come by Wednesday I’m going to swim out. Wednesday came and me and my neighbors made our way through the water using my closet door as a raft. On the way to the overpass, I saw at least three bodies float by…We were picked up and relocated to the airport. When I saw all the body bags on the tarmac, I knew the death toll was going to be high. All we could do was pray that the others still stuck inside the city would be as lucky as us.

Richard Pierre, a Teamster hero at UPS

Like Shropshire, Local 270 member and UPS feeder driver Richard Pierre was helping members of his church the day before the storm, too. A part-time pastor of a church in East New Orleans, he also stayed behind to help those in need: 

I remember there was one woman with six children who needed her windows boarded and a blind elderly lady who needed to be transported to the church. The names of people needing assistance were piling up. I did everything I could to help anyone who needed help.

As a child of Hurricane Betsy, Pierre had an idea of what was to come when he heard the levees had failed. He also knew East New Orleans would be hit the hardest. A wall of water rushed toward Pierre while he was searching the streets for people in need of refuge:

I didn’t see it at first, but I could hear it intensifying. It sounded like a machine gun. Then I saw a huge wave of water coming my way. We started running back to the church. I’ll never forget seeing the lady in her car, flipping over and being washed away by the wave of water coming down the street. I watched out the window for hours as a man clung to a pole. Everything from shrimp to bricks to cars and tree branches were flying past him and hitting him. To this day, I still don’t know how he withstood the force of it all. He was flapping on that pole for seven hours straight. There was just no way for us to get to him.

Tired of watching helplessly, Pierre and another man decided to take action, risking their lives to swim out and rescue the man. Despite sustaining multiple injuries bringing the man to safety, he continued to brave the dangerous waters in the pursuit of helping others in the days before the helicopters arrived to transport him and the others to the Superdome, where he received immediate medical attention.

The resilience, courage and compassion of brave members like Richard and Matthew serve as two examples of how the Teamster spirit triumphs in the face of tragedy. A grateful union thanks them for their service and leadership.

Teamsters standing united: Mississippi rebuilds after storm

Bricks recovered from Teamster member Terry Bang's home,
destroyed in the hurricane, at IBT headquaters

With this week marking the 10-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Teamster Nation continues its look back at the disaster and the aftermath, focusing on the unprecedented role played by Teamsters in the recovery. In today's story, we recount the experiences of two Teamsters who lost their homes to the storm. 

Often overshadowed by the flood in New Orleans, few remember that Hurricane Katrina veered east at the last minute and roared onshore at the Louisiana-Mississippi state line, making the Mississippi coastline ground zero.

When the waves and storm surge hit on August 29, the power of the water wiped out entire structures in the areas of Biloxi and Gulfport, demolishing buildings and homes for miles on end. Further inland, catastrophic flooding, spawn tornadoes and wind damage ravaged even more Mississippi residents.

For Local 891 member and former shop steward Terry Bang, the tenth anniversary of Katrina marks a decade since losing his home to one of those spawn tornados. As the majority of Bang’s home was blown away by a fierce funnel of wind accompanying Katrina, he, his wife, Michele, and their two college-age children huddled in the downstairs bathroom praying for their lives.

After the storm, Bang and his wife spent more than 18 months living in a 29 x 8-foot trailer parked in the driveway that FEMA provided.

Bang and his family

Bang is deeply grateful to all the help from Local 891 in the wake of the hurricane. He said members of the union found a way to contact him after the storm and bring supplies soon afterwards, which he claims made all the difference between moving forward and just surviving:

They were right there for us, making sure we had everything we needed. We have become an even tighter knit group since the storm. As a steward, it was also great to see new drivers being hired and trained to help with the workload. We all came together, as a union -- brother helping brother against the ills of life.

Mauffray with two crosses

For Bang’s coworker and fellow union member Bobby Mauffray -- along with his wife, Marla -- the storm took almost everything when their home was washed away by the 25-foot wall of storm surge. The only possessions the Mauffray’s have are the items they threw in the back of the truck on the way to Georgia -- that and 11 of the 12 pieces of their wedding china, plus two crystal crosses marking the birth of their children found in their lawn, sitting perfectly intact near where the door had been as if they were “waiting to be put away”:

All the way home I had a knot in my stomach. But once you see it the fear recedes. You start thinking about what you need to do first. You never know what to take when you rush out, what you might miss later. I’m not one to be attached to material things, but I was glad we thought to take some pictures with us. When I was going through the wreckage I found the tape of my four year-old daughter’s ultra sound. It was filled with muddy water. That really upset me.

Following the storm, Mauffray and Bang returned to work at UPS, driving routes that were unrecognizable due to the massive devastation. Both men say they were lucky to still have a job and grateful for the quick response from their fellow Teamster members.

As a show of his appreciation, Bang recovered bricks from his old home and signed “thank you” notes to those who helped, including Local 891 President W.C. Smith and Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa, which Hoffa still keeps in his office at IBT headquarters in Washington D.C.

Today's Teamster News 08.25.15

Teamsters
Airgas Workers Join Teamsters  Teamster.org   ...Drivers, plant operators and fillers at the Airgas facility in Islandia, N.Y., have voted to join Teamsters Local 282. The successful effort was the culmination of hard work by the organizing committee and business agent Mike Bourgal. “Nationwide, this company has recently changed their attitude toward their hardworking, loyal workforce and this vote is an example of what happens when employers disrespect their employees,” said Keith Gleason, Director of the Teamsters Tankhaul Division...
1,200 Teamsters show SBCo. BOS they mean business  Examiner   ...San Bernardino County leaders scoffed at the idea that the county’s general employees have had enough of pay and benefit cuts so much so that they would take a few hours out of a weekend morning to attend a union rally. They were expecting a low turnout. They were wrong. More than 1,200 Teamsters showed for the event...
Google delivery workers vote to join Teamsters union  Silicon Valley Business Journal  ...The push to unionize Silicon Valley workers went one step further on Friday when 151 Google Express warehouse and shipping workers voted in favor of joining a union. The employees work for Adecco, a temp agency subcontracted by Google. The employees aim to join Teamsters Local 853, the same organization which unionized shuttle drivers for Apple, Yahoo and eBay last month...
10 years after Katrina: Teamsters recall unprecedented disaster, undaunted response  Teamster Nation  ...Responding to emergencies of all kinds over the last century has created a strong, unique sense of pride and solidarity among all Teamster members. On the tenth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s landfall, the Teamsters Union is looking back on how the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast recovered and rebuilt their homes, businesses and lives...

Global Labor & Trade
Handful of issues remaining in TPP: Froman  New Straits Times  ...There are only a handful of issues to be resolved in the ongoing Trans Pacific Partnership negotiations, said US Trade Representative Michael Froman. "The Hawaii ministerial meeting was productive and we closed a dozen difficult issues, and at the end of the day there are now a handful of issues which needed further work"...
Asian countries shift focus to regional trade after TPP delay  AFR.com  ...Asian countries have agreed to speed-up the conclusion of a more localised trade agreement after the delays finishing a competing US-led pact, in a bid to maintain regional economic integration just as a growth slowdown is hitting financial markets. Economic ministers, including trade minister Andrew Robb, agreed that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) should be substantively finished...
No Trans-Pacific trade deal if auto parts sector threatened: trade minister  The Record  ...Canada will not sign a Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal that would allow Japanese vehicles into North America with fewer parts manufactured here, says Ed Fast, the federal minister of international trade. "We have made it very clear as a Canadian government that we will only sign a TPP agreement if it is in Canada's national interest"...
How TiSA strolls off with our services  TNI.org   ...While TTIP is currently the center of attention, more trade agreements are looming over our heads. In July, our world leaders hauled up in their backrooms to discuss TiSA, an extensive service agreement meant to put (public) services, like the water supply, in the hands of the international market...
Floored: The True Cost of Unenforced Trade Deals  Huffington Post  ...Using rules in the U.S.-Peru free trade pact, EIA and the Center for International Environmental Law petitioned the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to take action under the trade pact and verify the legal origin of shipments from two companies, including Maderera Bozovich SAC, because of their history of exporting significant volumes of timber to the U.S. from logging concessions with illegal activity. But USTR never did so...
Peru Construction Workers Win New Pact, Rights  Solidarity Center  ...Construction workers in Peru are celebrating a new contract that significantly improves wages and benefits, and are hailing a new legislative order, which in part addresses ongoing violence against union members in the building and construction trades. The new one-year contract gives workers up to a 5 percent wage increase and includes education benefits for workers’ children up to age 22...
Greek lawmakers approve third bailout after all-night debate  Dispatch Times  ...Tsipras told lawmakers that the bailout package is a “necessary choice” for the nation, despite unwelcome tax hikes and spending cuts. However, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is facing rebellion within his left-wing Syriza party, with more than 40 Syriza MPs voting against the bailout in parliament on Friday...
McDonald’s Workers Take Fight for $15 to Brazil, Accuse Company of “Cannibal Capitalism”  In These Times  ...In addition to the U.S. and Brazilian delegations, politicians and labor union officials from Europe, including France and Germany, and Korea presented wide-ranging critiques of McDonald’s practices.  “The verdict of today’s hearing is clear: no company is more responsible than McDonald’s for driving a global race to the bottom,” said Scott Courtney, assistant to the president of the Service Employees International Union...

State & Living Wage Battles
Dems push right-to-work repeal  Lansing State Journal  ...Michigan House Democrats are pushing what is likely a doomed effort to repeal the state’s controversial right-to-work laws. Legislative language introduced last week by state Rep. John Chirkun, D-Roseville, would “reaffirm the continuing public policy of this state” that union payments are necessary for “the stability and effectiveness of labor relations in the public sector”...
Thousands protest Koch Brothers convention in Ohio  People's World  ...In a powerful rebuff to extremist efforts to push "Right-To-Work" and other anti-working class programs, some 4000 union members and supporters poured into Columbus Friday, Aug. 21 to protest the "Summit on the American Dream" held by Americans for Prosperity" (AFP), a political action group funded by the right-wing billionaire brothers, Charles and David Koch...
Future of voter ID lawsuit heard in N.C. state court  Journal Now  ...A lawsuit challenging North Carolina’s voter identification requirement should be allowed to continue even after the legislature added exceptions this summer easing the mandate that goes into effect next year, lawyers fighting the law told a state judge Monday. But a state attorney said the changes made to the 2013 law have addressed the accusations made in the litigation, giving registered voters who lack a qualifying photo ID a way to cast ballots in person anyway...
Labor Secretary Tom Perez is 'proud to stand with the Fight for 15'  Daily Kos  ...Labor Secretary Tom Perez is heading to Detroit this week to meet with fast food workers. Ahead of that trip, he's making clear his support for the workers' organizing efforts. The movement has been instrumental in raising the minimum wage in cities like Seattle and Los Angeles; a wage board in New York has recommended a $15 wage for the fast food industry, which is expected to be approved soon...
Home Healthcare Workers Haven’t Qualified for Minimum Wage for 80 Years. Now They Do.  The Nation  ...t took about 40 years after the passage of federal wage standards for the government to decide that domestic workers deserved a minimum wage. And it’s taking nearly another 40 years for home healthcare workers—the subset of the industry specializing in elder and disability care—to gain the same protections. The Obama administration has amended federal wage and hour regulations to close a longstanding exemption...
St. Louis aldermen will debate minimum wage hike today  STL Today  ...The St. Louis Board of Aldermen will again take up the contentious issue of a citywide minimum wage hike Tuesday. Various proposals to institute a citywide minimum wage have been kicked around. Last month, the aldermen left for vacation without taking action on a bill that would institute an increased minimum wage by 2020...

U.S. Labor
The Stock Market Drop Exposes The Dangers Of Privatizing Social Security  Think Progress  ...The stock market continued a period of volatility on Monday. Media reports sounded the alarm as the DOW opened 1,000 points down and other indexes took huge hits, only to climb back up a bit later in the day. While that performance, which had some people calling it black Monday, may have knocked a good deal of money out of people’s 401(k) retirement accounts, Social Security benefits remain by and large untouched by such fluctuations...
UAW wants local and national contracts at Fiat Chrysler  Detroit Free Press   ...The UAW isn't just trying to reach a new national agreement with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to replace the one set to retire Sept. 14 -- the union is simultaneously working to hammer out local contracts covering each plant across the nation. The approach is a change in strategy from 2011 and aims to prevent a scenario where the ratification of local contracts can languish for years...
Union lawsuit claims bus system violated constitutional rights amid contract talks  MLive  ...The union that represents The Rapid workers is suing the Grand Rapids transit authority in federal court in the middle of ongoing contract negotiations. The lawsuit filed Monday, Aug. 24, in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids alleges The Interurban Transit Partnership, or The Rapid, violated the First and Fourteenth Amendment rights of members of the Amalgamated Transit Union...
Deere, UAW to kick off contract talks amid roiling economy  Crain's  ...Deere and its unionized workforce are kicking off contract talks as the slowing global economy weakens the equipment manufacturer. Moline-based Deere and the United Auto Workers are set to start bargaining today, according to a spokeswoman for the Detroit-based union. The contract covering approximately 11,000 UAW members expires Oct. 1...

Social Justice & Other News
Thirty Miles From Selma, a Different Kind of Civil Rights Struggle  Truthout  ...In the last decade, little has roused this town in the heart of Alabama's "black belt," 30 miles west of Selma, like the Arrowhead Landfill, a sprawling dump. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, while touting the importance of tackling environmental racism, has done little to address the residents' concerns - until now. Spurred by a citizens' complaint alleging the Arrowhead Landfill violates the civil rights of surrounding black property owners...
Ferguson Judge Orders Major Reforms in Victory for Protesters  Slate  ...In the year-plus since Michael Brown’s death in Ferguson, Missouri, protesters, reporters, and the Department of Justice have all been critical of the city’s hyperaggressive municipal court system. On Monday, the city’s new municipal judge announced a major overhaul of the system; per judge Donald McClellin’s statement, all warrants issued before 2015 will be recalled...
400+ Miles Into Journey for Justice, Marchers Call for Police Reform  Common Dreams  ...Social justice and human rights activists are rallying Monday on the steps of the South Carolina State Capitol Building, calling for full-scale criminal justice reform including national, uniform standards for use of force among all local, state, and federal law enforcement agents. The demonstration is part of the NAACP's Journey for Justice March...

10 years after Katrina: Teamsters recall unprecedented disaster, undaunted response

As we approach the 10-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Teamster Nation looks back at the disaster and its aftermath, focusing on the unprecedented role played by Teamsters in relief efforts. We will be featuring stories throughout the week on the storm's impact on Teamster members and how the union has helped rebuild Gulf Coast communities.

Responding to emergencies of all kinds over the last century has created a strong, unique sense of pride and solidarity among all Teamster members. On the tenth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s landfall, the Teamsters Union is looking back on how the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast recovered and rebuilt their homes, businesses and lives.

Teamsters raised nearly $1.4 million in disaster relief funds during 2005, distributing aid to more than 2,200 affected members through caseloads of food, water and other supplies. The Teamsters also worked with retailers, employers and others to send truckloads of food and goods to the affected areas as Teamster tractor trailers came from Los Angeles, Oregon, Chicago, Montreal, Boston, New York and everywhere in between.

Going where no other organizations would, Teamster drivers delivered food, water and ice into devastated areas of the city. In New Orleans, where an estimated 80 percent of the city was under water (up to 20 feet deep in some places), Teamsters were moving heavy equipment into 9th Ward to repair breached levees while others were evacuating.

The Teamsters took a leading role in providing national logistical support, assisting the American Red Cross as it moved tons of supplies and equipment into the area. The union joined more than 200 members of labor organizations assisting in the Baton Rouge area alone.

As the labor liaison to the Red Cross, Teamster human rights commissioner and Joint Council 13 member Roy Gillespie assisted more than 600 shelters to reclaim generators, cots and beds, refrigerators, televisions and more. He believes Teamster oversight helped save the Red Cross more than $2 million in costs, not including the more than $4 million worth of aid equipment. Furthermore, Gillespie aided the Red Cross and FEMA in establishing a regional disaster preparedness strategy - which remains in place today - to avoid repeating errors and speed rescue and recovery:

By reviewing transportation invoices, Teamsters were able to stop price gouging of unscrupulous trucking companies. The Teamsters demonstrated how the Red Cross could trim volunteer time and expenses through smarter pick-up and delivery patterns.

Thousands of labor members participated in relief efforts throughout the region. Nationally, nearly $3.6 billion in cash and in-kind services have been donated to aid Gulf Coast hurricane victims, including more than $1 billion from labor unions to build affordable housing, spur economic development and create union jobs.

“Labor’s role cannot be overstated,” Gillespie adds, noting that the Teamsters Union led the way.

Time and time again, the resilience of the Teamster spirit appears in the face of tragedy. As we look back this week on the events of Hurricane Katrina, let us remember the courage and compassion of affected members and the strength of our union.

Today's Teamster News 09.15.13

Point, counterpoint: Teamsters, St. James debate labor contract snags  The Montana Standard   ...Some unionized employees have taken a strike vote against St. James Healthcare, but hope a Sept. 19 mediation session will deter such action...
Income Inequality  Economic Populist   ...The top 1% income earners have captured 95% of the income growth from 2009 to 2012.  Folks, that's pretty much all of it...
The Stupid Trade Talk Process  Trade Reform   ...Yum Brands, the owner of KFC, wants cheaper chicken wings, rumps and other assorted poultry parts. Ocean Spray wants an easing of pesticide regulations. DuPont wants greater protection of trade secrets. Negotiations have barely begun for a potentially sweeping trade pact between the United States and Europe. But the lobbying is already well under way by corporations on both sides of the Atlantic...
Wynne Godley's Crucial Warnings About the Trade Deficit Still Ignored  American Economic Alert   ...Godley was one of the few mainstream economists who warned that huge, ballooning trade deficits like those amassed by the United States since the mid-1990s would lead to major trouble.  Further, Godley’s model notably that reducing domestic budget deficits without addressing trade deficits would bring on a thoroughly unnecessary disaster on the home front – and in the rest of a world so heavily dependent on supplying American demand...
McViolation: How American Fast Food Operators Break the Law  Huffington Post   ...Among the most common violations is wage theft, a term used to describe practices that deprive employees of wages to which they are legally entitled. Across all industries, American workers lose an estimated $30 billion a year to wage theft...
Where's the Beef?: The First Thing Obama Can Do By Himself to Create Good Jobs  Next New Deal   ...A presidential executive order could directly help Lucila and the millions like her who manufacture uniforms for our military, care for our elders under Medicare, work as security guards at federally leased buildings, or are laborers on federally funded construction projects. The order would require that jobs financed by federal funds require living wages (not just minimum wage or prevailing wage in a low-wage sector), paid sick days, and prohibitions against employers fighting unionization...
Factory Rebirth Fizzles in U.S. as Work Shipped Overseas  Bloomberg   ...That left the factory workforce through August about 13 percent smaller than the 13.7 million when the U.S. fell into recession in December 2007. In 2000, the tally was 17 million...
Clifford Chance trainee lawyer faces sack after describing his work as 'f***ing people over for money' The Independent   ...Clifford Chance, an international firm based in London and part of the ‘Magic Circle’ group of the UK’s five leading law firms, is also one of the 10 largest in the world in terms of number of lawyers and revenues...
Wall St. Exploits Ethanol Credits, and Prices Spike  New York Times   ...Wall Street ... set out to exploit this young market ... that is what happened this year when the price of the ethanol credits skyrocketed 20-fold in just six months...
How High 401(k) Fees Can Doom Your Retirement Plans  Slate   ...One of several big problems with 401(k) plans—tax subsidies for retirement savings—is that while some of the subsidy accrues to savers, some of it accrues to fee collectors who you end of paying for managing the plan...
Mississippi sitting on $872 million of Katrina funds  Daily Kos   ...More than half of the unspent money is tied up in a hotly debated plan to expand the state-owned Port of Gulfport, and millions more are allocated for projects that have yet to materialize. Critics also complain that some projects are far from the Katrina strike zone and don't seem to have a direct connection to recovery from the hurricane, while others have failed to take root or are not meeting promises of creating jobs...
Wisconsin Attorney General Seeks to Vitiate Open Records Law to Protect ALEC’s National Treasurer  Center for Media and Democracy   ...Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen has taken the unprecedented step of asserting that a state legislator cannot be held accountable for refusing to disclose public records in response to a lawful open records request by the Center for Media and Democracy...

Today's Teamster News 03.04.12

West Virginia House of Delegates Passes Buy America Bill  manufacture this   ...By a vote of 82-16, the West Virginia House of Delegates passed a "Buy American" bill today that would require contractors to use American-made components for public buildings and other tax-payer funded projects...
Election hacked, drunken robot elected to school board  The Register   ...Security experts have warned that electronic voting systems are decades away from being secure, and to prove it a team from the University of Michigan successfully got the foul-mouthed, drunken Futurama robot Bender elected to head of a school board...
Georgia Law Would Outlaw Picketing Homes of Corporate Executives  allgov.com   ...Coming only days after a protest outside a major telecommunications company, Republican lawmakers in Georgia have introduced a bill that would subject non-violent demonstrators involved in a labor dispute to heavy fines and felony convictions...
NH House to vote on collective bargaining bills  Associated Press   ...A reincarnation of last year’s right-to-work bill is at the head of a deluge of legislation hitting the House next week to restrict public union bargaining powers...
Spain's "Debt Crisis" Was Created by the ECB  CEPR   ...Spain's debt crisis is almost entirely a result of the European Central Bank's policy...Spain had been running budget surpluses before the crisis and its debt to GDP ratio remains below that of the UK, the United States and many other countries that have no difficulty borrowing in financial markets...
Hurricane Katrina flood ruling upheld by federal appeals court  nola.com   ...The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday upheld a lower court ruling finding the Army Corps of Engineers responsible for flooding portion of the Lower 9th Ward and St. Bernard Parish during Hurricane Katrina because of its failure to maintain the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet. If upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, the ruling could eventually result in residents, businesses and local governments being reimbursed for damages of as much as $20 billion...