Today's Teamster News 10.28.13

America’s Wealthy Are Even Wealthier And Have A New Name: Point-Seveners  Alternet   ...America has 45,000 citizens worth more than $50 million...
Dark money groups linked to Koch brothers pay $1 million in fines  Salon   ...They allegedly spent a combined $15 million on conservative ballot proposals without proper disclosure...
The Great Voucher Fraud  Alternet   ... decades of accumulated evidence paints a different story: Vouchers do not improve educational outcomes, they take money away from struggling public schools, they’re cash cows for institutions offering questionable education, they aid students already attending private institutions and they ignore the needs of special-education students...
Recall: 222,959 pounds of ready-to-eat chicken salad products  UPI   ...Boston Salads and Provisions Company is recalling about 222,959 pounds of chicken salad products due to possible contamination with Listeria, officials say...
The US Is Quietly Losing Its Innovation Edge to China  The Diplomat   ...Between 2003 and 2013, the number of applications increased from nearly 35,000 to more than 51,000, while NIH appropriations shrunk from $21 billion to $16 billion (in 1995 dollars). As a consequence, it has become increasingly difficult for our scientists to garner an NIH grant…The story is dramatically different on the China side. The government is determined to be the next technology innovation center in the world. By 2011, China had already become the world’s second highest investor in R&D. Government research funding has been growing at an annual rate of more than 20 percent...
Another Reason to Hate TPP: It Gives Big Content New Tools to Undermine Sane Digital Rights Policies  EFF   ...TPP would give multinational companies the power to sue countries over laws that that might diminish the value of their company or cut into their expected future profits...
Has the Great Recession created behavioral changes in the labor markets?  Sober Look   ...One of the persistent problems with the US labor markets is the current pool of unemployed people taking far longer to find work than in the past. This would suggest that the key for those without work is to enter the workforce as quickly as possible - even if it means part-time, temp, consulting, etc. The barriers to re-entry are much higher these days than any time in recent decades...
Mizuho Bank’s Yakuza Scandal: More than 30 Execs to be Punished  The Diplomat   ...More than 30 executives at Mizuho Financial Group, Japan’s third largest bank, will be held accountable for making loans to the country’s organized crime syndicates, known as the yakuza...
Could New York City Subways Survive Another Hurricane?  New York Times   ...you see what it will take to keep the system going: technological improvements, yes, but also the oldest technology of all — the knowledge of the people who run the subway, many of whom have been there for their entire working lives...
What Is Going On in Wisconsin -- And Why Is It So Secret?  Talking Points Memo   ... a former federal prosecutor had been appointed to lead a "John Doe investigation" into state-level issues in Wisconsin, including the 2011 and 2012 recall elections. And this John Doe investigation reportedly grew out of an earlier John Doe probe, which closed in March after snaring six former aides and associates of Gov. Scott Walker (R)...

Relief for Teamsters affected by Hurricane Sandy

Shortly after Hurricane Sandy hit U.S. shores in late October 2012, the outpouring of Teamster support for those affected was tremendous.

“Teamsters care. It’s in our DNA,” said Jim Hoffa, Teamsters General President, after reports of Teamsters loading trucks with relief supplies, delivering them to staging areas, working with the Red Cross and other groups, and doing a lot of the heavy lifting that comes with rescue and recovery efforts after a natural disaster of that magnitude.

After the storm, Teamsters in the stricken areas worked long hours in horrific conditions to get storm-struck areas back to normal—or at least a semblance of normal. But Teamsters who weren’t close enough to physically help still dug deep and donated to the Teamsters Disaster Relief Fundto help out those Teamsters who had to rebuild themselves.

A couple of months ago, relief checks from the Teamsters Union made their way into the hands of Teamsters whose property was severely damaged.

It was ugly outside on the day Mike Klein got his check from the Teamsters Disaster Relief Fund. “It was raining, I was upset, but getting that help from the Teamsters Union brought some light into my day,” said Klein, a Local 831 Teamster who works for New York City’s Department of Sanitation. Klein is one of many Teamsters who, despite being affected by the hurricane personally, worked through the deadly aftermath.

“We live in an evacuation zone and knew an evacuation order was coming. A year earlier, during Hurricane Irene, we were also ordered to evacuate,” said Klein, who lives on Long Island and works in the Bronx. “We rode out Irene at home. My wife didn’t want to leave the house. It wasn’t that bad. We had a little damage…lost some shingles but we didn’t lose power. We thought it would be the same this time.”

But it wasn’t. Hurricane Sandy turned out to be one of the deadliest and most destructive hurricanes in U.S. history. It was the second-costliest hurricane in American history after Hurricane Katrina. It cost tens of billions of dollars in damage, destroyed thousands of homes, left millions without power and caused dozens of deaths, including some Teamster members and their families.

“We’re on the water, on the bay side. We were completely destroyed. We were allowed to go back in and then directly out a week or so later to get our belongings. We couldn’t stay there, though. We had to go back and forth, back and forth to get our things. The place was in bad shape. Our foundation was destroyed. Engineers said we had to get it redone. A lot of things have to be redone—all the plumbing and electric, for example.” It took months before he and his family could get back into their home, incurring many expenses along the way.

“When we got back in, obviously we hadn’t had a chance to repair much yet. The insurance money hadn’t come through yet. We did what we could just to be in the house…to have a roof over our heads,” Klein said. “It’s hard to describe to people what it was like to watch the houses on either side of me get ripped apart.”

Normalcy has since returned to his life thanks, in part, to the Teamsters Disaster Relief Fund.

“When I came home from work with the check from the Teamsters, it brought my wife to tears,” Klein said.

“You don’t know what that relief fund has meant to our members. We have sanitation workers that live and work in New York City and our claims were really high,” said Harry Nespoli, President of Local 831 in New York City, which represents sanitation workers. “I went out to Rockaway, Coney Island, Staten Island—all the hardest-hit areas. It was devastating. Many of our men were there working in the neighborhoods with their own homes wiped out. They were living and sleeping in the garages. They worked 12-hour shifts. We had guys that took the trucks out on their own time and worked for nothing, just to help.”

Joey Manuel was one of those workers who went right into work directly after the storm despite the trauma of losing his own home.

“This whole experience has really changed my life,” said Manuel, a steward and clerk with the New York City Sanitation Department. “After an experience like this, you see how fragile life can be. It’s there at one point and it could be gone the next.”

Manuel was watching football on TV when he noticed water rising outside of his house. There wasn’t much at first…just a sidewalk underwater. It’s didn’t take long for it to get worse.

“Sure enough the whole corner of my block is soon underwater…within half an hour, me and my mother were paddling through it. We didn’t realize the whole basement had been filling up underneath us. It has an 8-foot ceiling and it filled up then started coming in the rest of the house,” he said. “I told my mom that we had to get out so we got in the car, which was ankle deep in water in the back yard by then. By then the whole neighborhood was full of water. The car got submerged while we were in there with all of our personal belongings that we were trying to take with us. We had to get out because water was coming into the car. I open the door, water rushes in. I get out, get my mom out and bring her back to the house. We go up to the top floor and stay there.”

Through it all, Manuel and his mom were dodging boats floating down their street, power lines coming down and other hazards. In the end, his home was almost completely destroyed, but he still went to work that day.

“I was a zombie,” he said, but he realized there were people—his neighbors, friends and family—that still needed help. So he got to work, like hundreds of other Teamsters. Manuel recently got his check from the Teamsters Disaster Relief Fund.

Teamster magazine wrote about the union’s reaction to the storm in the Winter 2013 edition and had this to say about the city’s sanitation workers:

New York sanitation workers, members of New York City’s Local 831, quickly became the most popular people in storm-ravaged neighborhoods. Even President Barack Obama referred to their hard work, mentioning the sanitation workers “who sometimes don’t get credit but have done heroic work.”

Those Teamster sanitation workers cleared more than 300,000 tons of debris from neighborhoods after the storm. The Staten Island Advance newspaper reported,“The Sanitation workers arrive like heroes in Staten Island’s devastation zone…New York City’s Strongest are showing up in force—with bulldozers, dumpsters, and hundreds of workers on duty at a time, clad in gloves and dust masks, doing the back-breaking work of cleaning up, neighborhood by neighborhood, in the hardest-hit zones.”

“We really appreciate everything from the Teamsters. It really helps,” Manuel said.

“Getting that check with the Teamster name on there made them feel good. The checks went to buying groceries, some are still making repairs on their homes,” Nespoli said. “It’s not so much the money, though. It’s that people care. New York had never been hit anything like this before and it was good to see other people, our Teamster brothers and sisters, reach out and help. I was really proud of the Teamsters on this particular front. It meant a lot.”

Today's Teamster News 05.08.13

Ex-South Carolina governor Sanford beats Colbert Busch in special House election  Washington Post   ...The conservative electorate of South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District voted Tuesday to resurrect the political career of disgraced former governor Mark Sanford (R) by returning him to his former House seat...

Texas tragedy may cost fertilizer plant only $1 million  RT Network   ...Fifteen people died and more than 200 others were injured following an explosion at a West, Texas fertilizer plant last month, and lawyers for the facility now admit that the plant’s owners aren’t prepared to pay for the damages totaling more than $100 million in destruction. But the attorneys say the factory had only $1 million in liability coverage...
Death toll of Bangladesh building collapse tops 700   Associated Press   ...Hundreds of survivors of last month’s collapse of a building housing garment factories in Bangladesh protested for compensation Tuesday, as the death toll from the country’s worst-ever industrial disaster passed 700...
Churn, baby, churn: The labor market won’t be healthy until people feel like they can quit their jobs Washington Post   ...America needs more quitters. Or the job market does, anyway. That’s the lesson to draw from the latest Labor Department report, which shows the soft underbelly of the U.S. jobs picture. The unemployment rate may be falling and the number of jobs rising. But there isn’t enough “churn” going on, a hallmark of a healthy job market, in which people freely move between positions...
Overtime pay vs. time off: GOP wants a choice, but Democrats say plan would hurt workers  Associated Press   ...It seems like a simple proposition: give employees who work more than 40 hours a week the option of taking paid time off instead of overtime pay...
Online Sales Tax Bill Passes Senate  Huffington Post   ...The Senate sided with traditional retailers and financially strapped state and local governments Monday by passing a bill that would widely subject online shopping – for many a largely tax-free frontier – to state sales taxes...
FAA reviewing lost pay for furloughed employees  The Washington Post   ...The Federal Aviation Administration says it is reviewing how and whether to make whole thousands of employees who were forced to take unpaid days off in April before Congress intervened, suspending the furloughs...
Exposing ALEC's Agenda to Defund and Dismantle Public Education (opinion)  Huffington Post   ...Iron Man 3 just opened this past weekend, followed soon by more would-be blockbusters. I'm sure a lot of these movies will be entertaining, but none will be more important or relevant than a half-hour documentary I recently watched: The United States of ALEC...
Hertz relocating corporate headquarters to Florida following Dollar Thrifty acquisition  Associated Press   ...Hertz will move its headquarters from New Jersey to Florida, putting the company in the heart of a key travel market and trimming corporate expenses after its $2.3 billion buyout of one-time rival, Dollar Thrifty...
South Jersey firms facing OSHA fines from Sandy repair jobs  Press of Atlantic City   ...Federal inspectors have assessed at least 26 companies with a total of $110,000 in fines for unsafe workplaces in New Jersey shore towns while cleaning up and repairing damage from Hurricane Sandy, an analysis of U.S. Department of Labor records shows...
Missouri lawmakers must finalize budget this week  News-Press   ...Missouri lawmakers have until Friday to finalize the state's roughly $25 billion operating budget...
Illinois Senate to vote on union-endorsed pension reform bill  Reuters ...A union-backed plan to reform the worst-funded state pension system in the United States will be introduced in the Illinois Senate this week, competing with a plan passed by the House last week...
More arrested as NC legislature protests continue  Associated Press   ...More than two dozen members of the NAACP and other activists were arrested Monday as part of continuing protests of Republican policies in the state capital, bringing to nearly 50 the number of nonviolent demonstrators facing charges...
Michigan launches $5 million veterans' homeowners assistance program  Michigan Live   ...Michigan veterans who have lost their homes or are struggling to keep them could benefit from a new $5 million housing assistance program...
Teamsters Urge Congress To Stop Dangerous Increases In Truck Weight And Size  IBT   ...Yesterday, the Teamsters, the Truck Safety Coalition, U.S. Rep. James McGovern (D-MA) and representatives of several families who have suffered death and injury as a result of truck crashes, held a news conference marking the re-introduction of legislation that would prevent an increase in size and weight allowances for trucks...
UPS Local Leaders Unanimously Endorse UPS Tentative Agreement  IBT   ...Leaders of Teamster Local Unions that represent UPS workers across the United States voted unanimously today to endorse the tentative UPS national agreement, paving the way for ballots to be prepared and sent to members...
UPS Freight Local Union Leaders Unanimously Recommend Tentative Agreement For Ratification  IBT   ...Teamster Local Union leaders representing UPS Freight workers across the country unanimously endorsed the tentative national agreement today, clearing the way for ballots to be prepared and sent to members...
US Air Mechanics File for Election to Become Teamsters  IBT   ...US Airways mechanics and related workers filed for an election today with the National Mediation Board (NMB) as part of their campaign to become Teamsters...
Osco Pharmacists Negotiations Enter Federal Mediation   IBT   ...After seven bargaining sessions over several weeks, contract negotiations for 500 Osco pharmacists have entered federal mediation...
Buy Union, Buy American: Support Teamsters Week  Labor 411   ...Consumer awareness and education are key to the success of the labor movement. We have no doubt that most Americans would choose union-made, American-made goods if only they knew which they were – and if they realized that buying those goods helps to support good middle class American jobs...
Bay City mid-management contract approval rescheduled to later this month  Michigan Live   ...The Bay City Commission has rescheduled the review of new deal with Teamsters Local 214, which represents mid-management positions including the chief accountant, information systems administrator and planning manager...

Today's Teamster News 04.28.13

Lawmakers Weigh How to Curb Mortgage Interest Tax Break Bloomberg News ...While pledging a “careful, thoughtful review,” House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp asked witnesses at a hearing yesterday for ideas on how to transition to a new, still- unspecified system...

Loans Borrowed Against Pensions Squeeze Retirees New York Times ...In lean economic times, people with public pensions — military veterans, teachers, firefighters, police officers and others — are being courted particularly aggressively by pension-advance companies, which operate largely outside of state and federal banking regulations, but are now drawing scrutiny from Congress and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau...
Another mediocre GDP report: is this the new normal? Econbrowser ...Strong growth in consumption spending was offset by declines from the public sector, with lower defense spending subtracting 0.6% from the growth rate by itself, and declines in other categories of federal, state, and local spending subtracting an additional 0.2%...
Senate Finance Committee Holding Hearing On Trans Pacific Partnership WNAX ...The United States Senate Finance Committee is holding a hearing ... looking at the ongoing negotiations over the Trans Pacific Partnership...
Paul Begala: Government to the Rescue in Boston (opinion)  Newsweek   ...don’t denigrate government workers. Along with some heroic civilians, it was government workers who ran toward the blast zone. And they were unionized government workers...
Big clothing brands, retailers reject union safety plan as Bangladesh factory deaths mount Associated Press ...As Bangladesh reels from the deaths of hundreds of garment workers in a building collapse, the refusal of global retailers to pay for strict nationwide factory inspections is bringing renewed scrutiny to an industry that has profited from a country notorious for its hazardous workplaces and subsistence level wages...
The Corrections Corporation of America's Latest Shady Business? Tax Evasion Alternet ...To save millions in money they would have to pay to taxes, the CCA is now claiming to be a "Real Estate Investment Trust."...
Rising Costs Have Sandy Victims Contemplating Walking Away Ocean City Patch ...Elevate, pay thousands more in flood insurance premiums or simply walk away from homes? That is the question on the minds of some Hurricane Sandy victims...
West Virginia Republican Proposes Making Kids Work For Food  Huffington Post   ...A West Virginia lawmaker floated the idea during floor debate in the state's House of Delegates of having school children work as janitors...

Teamsters Disaster Relief helps hundreds in wake of Sandy

Sanitationman Denis Healy, Sanitationman Danny McLaren, Uniformed Sanitationmen’s President Harry Nespoli, George Miranda, president of Joint Council 16 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and Sanitationman William Montero.

Hundreds of victims of Superstorm Sandy are benefiting from the generosity of their Teamster brothers and sisters. Contributions poured into the Teamsters Disaster Relief Fund after the hurricane devastated New York and New Jersey.

An estimated 100,000 homes were destroyed, and many Teamsters lost their homes. Among them were New York City Sanitation workers. As the New York Daily News reported,

Many New York City Sanitation workers ... were victims themselves, either losing their homes or facing mounting bills to repair and rebuild following Superstorm Sandy. 

Several who are members of Local 831, recently received some financial help from their parent union, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. 

Checks for $500 were issued to Dennis Healy, a seven-year department veteran from Rockaway, William Montero, an eight-year veteran from Rockaway and Danny McLaren, a 15-year veteran from Breezy Point. 

The fund is accepting applications until Jan. 31. In addition, Local 831 is also working on its own relief fund to help sanitation workers.

Many of "New York's Strongest" worked long hours to put New York back on its feet in the aftermath of the superstorm though they'd lost their homes.

Antonio Christian, director of the Teamsters Human Rights Commission, said more than 600 families have applied, and most have received benefits. Said Christian,

The locals have done a good job telling everyone about Disaster Relief

The fund reimburses victims for damage to their personal property, loss of personal property and loss of wages. Teamsters are still encouraging people to support disaster relief, Christian said.

NJ Teamsters pull together to restore liquor warehouse, save jobs

Inside Fed-Way after the superstorm

A 10-foot storm surge from Hurricane Sandy that smashed through a New Jersey liquor warehouse could have been a knockout blow to the facility.

But within 15 days, the distributor was back in operation, thanks to Teamster drivers who put aside their duties and got down and dirty with the clean-up.

The near-destruction of the warehouse was international news, as it threatened a liquor shortage in New Jersey during the holidays.

The New York Post reported,

There’s one group that Superstorm Sandy left dry — drinkers. 

Floodwaters from the massive hurricane smashed a New Jersey liquor distributor, causing tens of millions of dollars in damage to its supply of top-shelf alcohol, the company said. 

Yesterday, a sad mix of liquor and slush puddled on the ground outside Fedway Associates Inc.’s warehouse in Kearny — where the smell of red wine hung in the air as workers piled boxes and broken glass into an 8-foot-tall mountain.

Teamster Local 641 Secretary-Treasurer Anthony Artificio Jr., tells us what happened:

On the morning of Nov. 2, 2012, just three days after Hurricane Sandy came crashing through New Jersey leaving a trail of death and destruction, a meeting was held in a vacant warehouse in South Kearny, N.J., that changed the course of history for one of Local 641’s companies. 

Fed-Way Associates of South Kearny employs more than 150 members at its five buildings in and around the area affected by Hurricane Sandy. Every one of the company’s trucks was destroyed beyond repair due to the saltwater penetrating the vehicles’ electrical components as well as the fuel tanks and engines. 

The warehouse was in shambles due to the surge of the water that penetrated its doors and rose to levels up to 10 feet or more inside the packed warehouse that was fully stocked for the upcoming holiday period. 

At the meeting, the owner of Fed-Way, Richard Leventhal, climbed atop a stack of pallets with a handful of papers. Leventhal stated that he had a plan to save the company and ultimately the jobs of all who were present. Leventhal was flanked on both sides by two of his executive officers, Neil Barnett and Robb Sansone. Also in attendance were officers of Local 641 of Union, N.J.; President William Cunningham, Vice President Jan Katz and Secretary-Treasurer and Business Agent Anthony Artificio. 

Leventhal spoke at great length about the plan to remediate the warehouse and how he needed the Teamsters who are just drivers to put aside their duties and get down and dirty to help in the clean-up process that should take approximately six weeks to complete. 

After Leventhal finished his opening remarks, Local 641 Teamsters assembled in a section of the warehouse. Artificio told the workers that if anyone wants to collect unemployment, there would not be a problem should they choose. All others will be assigned eight-hour shifts according to company seniority. Every single Teamster stepped up to the plate and ultimately saved their own jobs. 

I am very proud of what the Teamsters did. The company had a plan that was to take 5-6 weeks. I am happy to tell you that within 15 days, Fed-Way had 60 trucks out for delivery. 

This is just another story of Teamsters helping Teamsters for a common cause. The company is running at about 95 percent at the time of this printing and is providing health, welfare and retirement benefits to all its employees throughout its operation in the Greater New Jersey area.

Great work, brothers and sisters!

Today's Teamster News 11.25.12

With Biggest Strike Against Biggest Employer, Walmart Workers Make History Again  The Nation   ...worker activists and staff organizers have long been talking about it as an escalation, not a climax. While on the picket line Thursday and Friday, workers were already talking about striking again, and hoping that their courage this time would embolden more workers to join in the next...
The Giant Lie Trotted Out by Fiscal Conservatives Trying to Shred Social Security  Alternet   ...Here are five clear reasons why the life expectancy argument is nonsensical, counterproductive and based on a pack of lies...
10,000 anti-austerity protesters march in Dublin against government plans for more cuts, taxes  Associated Press   ...The demonstrators were from a wide range of anti-tax campaigns, labor unions and community groups...
More on the Economic Effects of Superstorm Sandy  Economic Populist   ...Sandy set employment back on it's heels for some time to come...
Poor management, not union intransigence, killed Hostess (opinion)  Los Angeles Times   ...It failed because the people that ran it had no idea what they were doing...
Preventing Armageddon Would Cost Only $100 Million … But Congress Is Too Thick to Approve the Fix  zero hedge   ...well-known physicist Michio Kaku and other members of the American Physical Society asked Congress to appropriate $100 million to harden the country’s electrical grid against solar flares...

Today's Teamster News 11.24.12

Protests greet shoppers at Wal-Marts nationwide  Associated Press   ...Wal-Mart workers and supporters marched in protest at stores nationwide Thursday and Friday, blasting the wages, benefits and treatment of employees at the world's largest retailer...
Saxby Chambliss takes aim at Grover Norquist  Politico   ...Sen. Saxby Chambliss took aim at Americans for Tax Reform head Grover Norquist on Wednesday, telling a local television station he’s not worried about a potential primary challenge if he votes to raise taxes...
ATA Trucking Index declines sharply in October, Impacted by Hurricane Sandy  Calculated Risk   ...Clearly truck tonnage was impacted by Hurricane Sandy in October, and we will probably see a bounce back in November and December...
New push is on for right-to-work bill  Detroit News   ...Pressure is mounting for the Legislature to pass a right-to-work bill with one group circulating a video it claims proves Gov. Rick Snyder would sign such legislation...
Possible lease of Ohio Turnpike raises questions for taxpayers, consumer group says  Plain Dealer   ...The state must balance whether a big lease payment from a private toll road operator outweighs the benefits from a turnpike that remains under state control, says a report from the Ohio Public Interest Research Group...
Teamsters donate to Adopt a Family fund  The News-Herald   ...City employees represented by Teamsters Local 214 donated $1,000 to the city's "Adopt a Family" fund...

Sandy relief: This UPS Freight Teamster helping Occupy Sandy

Brother Kronemberg

Kurt Kronemberg, a Local 707 UPS Freight Teamster, didn't lose his house or his job when Superstorm Sandy hit New York.

But one of his union brothers did:

We have one of our guys his house was wiped out in Freeport, so we took up a donation. He was out of work for two weeks. In my heart, I gotta help.

So Kronemberg got involved with the Occupy Sandy relief effort, which has won considerable praise for its quick response to the catastrophe. The New York Times reported,

In the past two weeks, Occupy Sandy has set up distribution sites at a pair of Brooklyn churches where hundreds of New Yorkers muster daily to cook hot meals for the afflicted and to sort through a medieval marketplace of donated blankets, clothes and food. There is an Occupy motor pool of borrowed cars and pickup trucks that ferries volunteers to ravaged areas. An Occupy weatherman sits at his computer and issues regular forecasts. Occupy construction teams and medical committees have been formed.

Kronemberg went to one of those churches on Clinton Avenue in Brooklyn with his own minivan. The Occupy Sandy volunteers loaded it up with cleaning supplies and food for hungry storm victims in the Rockaways. Kronemberg drove out to the barrier island, where he was astonished by the devastation.

My jaw dropped to the ground. They said the houses are wiped out. Five feet of water came from the ocean all the way over to the bay side. With five foot waves. It's like a war zone. The Army is here, fire trucks, ambulances all over, FEMA.

Kronemberg was amazed by the number of volunteers and the donations. "It's good. It brings everyone together."

He'll be volunteering again this weekend. And he'll be making a donation to the Teamster Disaster Relief Fund.

"I gotta help," he said. "These people have nothing and I just want to help."

Sandy relief: Teamster help at every level, in every way

Local 862 brothers working the Jersey City warehouse last weekend.

Teamsters from locals 817, 202, 707, 814 and 445 are back at work today in the Red Cross's Jersey City warehouse as their brothers and sisters throughout the U.S. and Canada help put the region back on its feet.

With their logistics experience, the Teamsters in Jersey City are showing Red Cross volunteers how it's done. Last weekend they sent more than 100 trucks filled with clean-up kits to stricken communities throughout the area.

Teamsters everywhere are passing the hat, running food drives and making personal donations to the Teamsters Disaster Relief Fund. They're volunteering at churches, warehouses and emergency shelters. They're driving 18-wheelers and box trucks, buses and minivans and forklifts, all part of the effort to get relief supplies to communities still in desperate need. Some Teamsters are working twice as hard at their jobs, repairing damage to everything from public housing to railroad tracks.

Sanitation workers from Teamsters Local 831 are still moving debris, having already hauled 220,000 tons since Superstorm Sandy hit. The Army Corps of Engineers has been called in to help. Last night, President Obama visited Staten Island and praised the sanitation workers for their hard work, calling them "heroic." Here's what he said:

The Fresh Kills land fill on Staten Island.

...what we’ve seen is cooperation and a spirit of service.  And for the first responders who are here, the police officers, the firefighters, the EMS folks, the sanitation workers who sometimes don’t get credit but have done heroic work, we are so grateful to you because you exemplify what America is all about.

The president also visited with our Teamster Brother Damian Moore and his wife Glenda. They lost their two small boys in the hurricane.

Our brothers and sisters at the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen in New Jersey are coordinating a food drive this weekend to help Joint Council 73's food bank and Sandy relief effort.

A list of Teamster parents who suffered serious losses is being put together by Brother Matt Kronyak, chairman of the BLET New Jersey State Legislative Board, and Joint Council 73 President Al Rispoli. They'll use the list to make sure the children on it have a happy holiday. (Find out how to donate here.)

Canadian Teamsters contributed $51,000 to the Teamsters Disaster Relief Fund. Participating in the effort were Joint Councils 36, 52, 90 and 91, the Rail Conferences and Teamsters Canada.

One of our members from Local 707 UPS Freight, Brother Kurt Kronemberg, has been helping with the Occupy Sandy relief effort. He drove his own minivan to St. Luke's Church in Brooklyn, packed it full of food and drove it to the Rockaways. On Sunday, he'll be back delivering supplies to that devastated community. Kronemberg told us,

I gotta help. It could be me.

Brother Roy Gillespie, Teamster human rights commissioner and member of Joint Council 13, is working long hours in Washington, D.C. at the Red Cross/FEMA Disaster Center. He's coordinating the relief effort alongside the Army, the Red Cross and other  government agencies.

General Timothy McKeithen, Roy Gillespie, and Andy Titsworth

Sandy: Teamsters mourn death of Local 272 member who drowned on the job

Local 272 and Joint Council 16 Teamsters are mourning the death of Brother Anthony Narh, a parking attendant at Empire Parking in Manhattan.

The Nation published the heartbreaking story of his tragic death in Superstorm Sandy:

Sometime during the mid-afternoon hours of October 29, as Superstorm Sandy was heaving up the East Coast, Anthony Narh, a Ghanaian immigrant, limped toward his job at Empire Parking, an underground garage serving one of the toniest strips of one of Manhattan’s toniest neighborhoods. Nestled near the watery edge of TriBeCa, Empire Parking was smack in the center of an evacuation zone—and Sandy was heading straight for it. 

As the winds picked up and debris was flying up and down TriBeCa’s narrow streets, Anastasia Ratia, an architect and designer who lives with her aunt at 92 Laight Street, a high-end building adjoining the garage, ran into Narh and a co-worker. Ratia and her aunt had already evacuated but were making a last-minute run to the building; Narh, who was in his late fifties and walked with a severe limp, was just arriving for work. (At the garage, he was known as Jackson.) 

“I said, what on earth are you doing here?” recalled Ratia, 34, who grew emotional as she recalled the story. “And he said, I was called in to come.” When Ratia asked whether the garage’s manager had asked Narh to come in, Narh placed the responsibility higher up. “He said, ‘No, the big boss.’ And I just said, that’s craziness. They’re just cars!”

When the Hudson River burst its banks several hours later, the water raced toward the garage and trapped Narh inside. He never made it out. 

When Hurricane Sandy smacked into New York City, it struck one of the most economically divided cities in the country, and the story of the storm is as much a story of inequality as it is of weather. But few stories are shaping up to be as stomach-churning as Narh’s. Meryl Streep lives in the apartment building adjoining the garage. So does Gwyneth Paltrow and the model Karolina Kurkova. 

Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends. Memories and condolences may be shared online here.

Brother Narh is the second Teamster to perish in the superstorm. Brother Bobby McDuffie from Local 863 died in a New Jersey warehouse. The two young sons of Brother Damian Moore, a sanitation worker with Local 831, were also victims of Sandy.

You can help victims by contributing to the Teamster Disaster Relief Fund here.

Teamsters urgently needed for Sandy relief in Jersey CIty

Props to these Teamsters who showed up at a Red Cross warehouse on a few hours'
notice for the Hurricane Sandy relief effort.

UPDATE: The Red Cross tells us Teamsters are needed tomorrow, Sunday, at 7 a.m. at the Somerset, N.J., warehouse at  #1 Heller Park Lane, to deliver goods to victims of Superstorm Sandy.

Today, union members from all over New Jersey and New York are delivering goods to storm victims. Members of the New York and New Jersey Teamster Joint Councils and their family are out driving trucks, driving forklifts, loading boxes and driving truckloads to help victims. Sister Bernadette Kelly from Joint Council 16 tells us there have been sightings of members of Locals 553, 707, 817, 210, 813 and 804. Awesome work!

We reported earlier that Teamsters are urgently needed at the Red Cross's Jersey City warehouse today -- as soon as possible -- to pack and load trucks with supplies for Sandy victims. Hi Lo drivers are especially requested. Drivers are needed to drive the trucks out to five staging areas in New York. CDLs are NOT needed.

The warehouse is at 100 Industrial Drive in Jersey City. Call Donna at 573-690-0745 for information.

Teamsters are also needed at the five staging areas in Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, Staten Island and Ronkonkoma, N.Y.  If members show up to the staging areas, they will work there or be transported to New Jersey and back. Addresses are below.

Teamsters showed up last night on very short notice to pack and load supplies for victims of Hurricane Sandy.

We understand from Sister Bernadette Kelly that many more are helping out this morning. We'll keep you posted.

Floyd Field
50 Aviation Rd.
NY, NY 

Aqueduct Race Track
110-00 Rockaway Blvd.
Jamaica, NY 

Miller Field
National Park Service
New Dorp Lane
Staten Island, NY  

MacArthur Airport
City of Islet, Parking Lot 10
100 Arrival Ave. 

Ronkonkoma, NY
Nassau Community College
Nassau Coliseum
1 Education Dr.
Garden City, NY

Today's Teamster News 11.09.12

Let’s Not Make a Deal (opinion)  New York Times   ...Mr. Obama should hang tough, declaring himself willing, if necessary, to hold his ground even at the cost of letting his opponents inflict damage on a still-shaky economy. And this is definitely no time to negotiate a “grand bargain” on the budget that snatches defeat from the jaws of victory...
Simpson-Bowles 'Grand Bargain' Candidates Lose on Tuesday  AFL-CIO   ...losing candidates were outspoken in their support of the Bowles-Simpson plan and their endorsement by the plan's authors. Voters made it clear that they don't want to cut benefits for Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid. An election-night poll conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates also showed strong opposition to elements of the Bowles-Simpson plan...
Made in America markets create communities of like-minded consumers  CNN   ...NorthernGRADE (is) a pop-up menswear market of American-made goods making its Chicago debut two years after launching in Minnesota. Meeting the crafters, designers and small-business owners behind the brands added to the appeal…It's a phenomenon that draws comparisons to the slow food movement, farmers' markets and food and wine festivals as venues for showcasing artisanal approaches to crafting goods. By allowing consumers to touch the materials and talk to vendors about where the products came from, brands can educate them on why they're worth the markup...
The Importance Of Elizabeth Warren  The Baseline Scenario   ...Her victory matters not only because it helps the Democrats keep control of the Senate but because Ms. Warren has a proven track record of speaking truth to authority on financial issues – both to officials in Washington and to powerful people on Wall Street...
New York rations gasoline as electric outages mount  AFP   ...New York announced gasoline rationing Thursday to address a fuel crisis sparked by superstorm Sandy, as tens of thousands more people lost electricity and officials prepared to deploy emergency mobile homes...
Raley's-Nob Hill Rally at Alameda Nob Hill Draws Hundreds  Union City Patch   ...From teamsters to teachers, unions from across the Bay Area rallied at Alameda's Nob Hill supermarket Wednesday evening in support of employees who have been on strike since Sunday over wages and medical benefits...

This is what we union thugs do for forgotten storm victims

Local 812 Teamsters bringing supplies to an emergency shelter on Long Island.

(UPDATE: Corrects 4th graf, Phoenix Beverage is in Brooklyn, sted Long Island City; corrects
We bring warm clothes and water to their emergency shelter. Corrects 5th graf, Jim Surdi, sted Joe.)

Hurricane Sandy left tens of thousands of people along with East Coast without homes. Many still have no power, and places of business have been destroyed. Some members of Local 812 on Great Neck suffered devastating property damage.

Damage from Sandy

Local 812 Teamsters report on their website that the greatest damage came to the coast, including members' worksites:

In Queens, Flushing Bay at one point became one with the College Point Pepsi yard. Tens of thousands of  beverage cases were lost. The Fleet shop had two feet of water; truck docks were completely covered by the bay. 

Phoenix Beverage in Brooklyn suffered massive damage.  Coke on Staten Island was hit hard as well.

That didn't stop them from helping others in need. We'll let Jim Surdi, business agent for Local 812 in Great Neck, tell the story. From an email sent yesterday:

Today the executive board did something that exemplifies what it means to be a Teamster. We delivered a truck of water and clothing donated by our members to storm-damaged Long Beach. 

Joe Vitta, sec-treas., at the shelter.

We delivered to, what seems, is the forgotten part of Long Beach. We went to the Martin Luther King center that, in normal times, serves as a community center and day care facility. The director of the center told us that no agency at all had been there to see them or help them yet. 

This center is now serving as an emergency shelter for the community and they were in dire need of assistance. With a nor'easter coming in, they have no heat and the building had drafts and leaks that needed attention. (President) Ed (Weber) immediately had John O'Neill make calls to local politicians to get these people some help. We saw the genuine gratitude from these folks, who truly needed help. It was a proud day to be a Teamster. We have pictures that I'll send when I can.

 Below, some Teamster brothers we can be proud of!

(And remember, "thug" stands for "those helpful union guys and gals."

Sandy aftermath an extreme challenge for these Teamsters

Teamster SanMan operating forklift at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn. Moving food bound for hard-hit Coney Island.

Teamsters sanitation and DPW members are working long, exhausting hours to get the New York region back on its feet. Many lost their homes, some lost children and a few are in the hospital with injuries. And yet they're clearing away debris, handing out food and removing downed trees.

Teamster railroad workers have lost their jobs because of Sandy. (Click here to find out how they can apply for unemployment benefits.) Casino dealers and hospitality workers in Atlantic City aren't sure when they'll work again, though the storm caused severe damages to their property.

Please consider making a donation to the Teamsters Disaster Relief Fund to help victims of the superstorm.

Those victims include Teamster sanitation workers who live in devastated parts of New York City. Today we learned much more about Sandy recovery efforts through the Chasing Sanitation Facebook page.

From the page, we found a  NY1 report on the destruction, devastation and debris that make clean up an extreme challenge. The SanMen are working round the clock in 12-hour shifts -- though their own homes have been destroyed.

The city's Department of Sanitation is on the front lines of the cleanup in the Rockaways and many of the workers actually call the peninsula home...

Department of Sanitation New York supervisor texted that sanitation workers are sleeping in the garages.

Everyone seems better than one would expect. Some have lost everything. The job has been generous, knowing that some are sleeping here. We have received disaster type of supplies and rations. Jo Paul Uniforms of Jamaica Ave has generously donated Sanitation Worker uniforms 

Hot food has been scarce, and the workers are being fed military MREs. One sanitation worker was given oxygen after smelling bad toxic gas on his truck.

Brother Michael Lewery's home on Staten Island was damaged, but he went to work anyway. He ended up in the hospital after he was electrocuted. The New York Post reports,

A city sanitation worker was zapped by electricity this morning while removing debris in Staten Island, authorities said. 

Michael Lewery, 46, was clearing an area in New Dorp Beach along Milton Avenue at 10:25 a.m. when he felt a jolt, officials said. 

“He was working on debris removal and was loading a ruined refrigerator into a truck when he apparently felt an electrical shock and screamed,” said Sanit Department spokesman Vito Turso. 

Lewery, a 13-year sanitation veteran, was rushed to Staten Island University North Hospital where he is in stable condition.

A fuel shortage is creating long lines at gas stations, and some first responders are allowed to go to front of the line. Not sanitation workers. Click here to support this cause, "Let Sanitation workers get gas like other emergency responders for hurricane Sandy clean up."

One supporter, Kelly McNeill Snyder, posted this on the cause's Facebook page:

My husband is a DSNY employee and he has been working 13hour shifts with no day off in sight. He and others that work with him have been carpooling in order to be able to get to work. They deserve a break. This time around they are the heroes.

And a heartfelt thank you from sanitation worker Ronnie V. Crawford:

Thank you all for your kind words. I do my job with pride and I've never felt more important than in the last week! I wasn't on the job for 911 but I have co-workers that were and here all the stories of togetherness and healing. Now I can be a part of something well worth being a part of!! Thanx again and I hope we make things better for all who have been affected.

Stay strong, brothers and sisters!

Today's Teamster News 11.05.12

New York region struggles to move on a week after Sandy  Reuters   ...Hundreds of thousands of commuters faced a frustrating journey into the city as public transportation remained spotty. Service on many rail lines was reduced and the subway was running at about 80 percent of its normal service. The challenges were more severe for tens of thousands of people unable to return to their homes and many more than that living without power or heat...
China's economic destiny in doubt after leadership shock  The Telegraph   ...If reports from the Hong Kong press and China's blogosphere are correct, a remarkable upset has occurred on the eve of the ten-year power shift next week -- the greatest turn-over of top cadres since Mao's revolution...
Too Big To Fail Remains Very Real  Baseline Scenario   ...the government is providing a form of insurance that encourages financial institutions to become even bigger – and thus even more likely to be protected by some combination of the Federal Reserve, the Treasury, and other agencies. This is an unfair, nontransparent government subsidy that encourages excessive risk taking and creates a very large potential downside for the nonfinancial side of our economy...
Pete Peterson and the Deficit Hawks Teach Lawmakers Deep Fiscal Irresponsibility  New Economic Perspectives   ...Utilizing strategies reminiscent of the mid-20th Century American Communist Party, Peterson’s overall tactic has been to found and/or fund a number of front organizations to create the illusion of a broad consensus arrayed in favor of his personal views, which are shared for the most part by a wealthy few within the financial and political elites.  These views in turn are extremely unpopular with the electorate, particularly as regards cutting or partially privatizing universal social programs like Social Security and Medicare...
A voting debacle in Doral causes chaos and confusion  Miami Herald   ...Elections officials, overwhelmed with voters, locked the doors to their Doral headquarters and temporarily shut down the operation, angering nearly 200 voters standing in line outside — only to resume the proceedings an hour later... (and this: Judge orders early voting extended in Florida's Orange, Pinellas and Palm Beach counties)
Eleventh-Hour GOP Voter Suppression Could Swing Ohio  The Nation   ...Any provisional ballot with incorrect information will not be counted, Husted maintains. This seemingly innocuous change has the potential to impact the counting of thousands of votes in Ohio and could swing the election in this closely contested battleground...

Pleas for help from Sandy victims: 'Bring shovels, gloves and give us a hand'

Homes destroyed in New Jersey.

Teamster locals in New York and New Jersey are trying to reopen their offices and organize relief efforts for Hurricane Sandy victims, including Teamsters who lost their homes and all their possessions. Teamster sanitation, DPW and Red Cross workers are putting in long hours as others pitch in on their own.

Tom Petillo, president of Teamsters Local 125 in Trenton, N.J., writes,

... members of our Local have lost everything. Our hearts and prayers go out to them in their time of need.  So how can you help, you can make a donation to the Red Cross by texting "redcross" to 90999 and you will make a $10 donation. 

Petillo is working with the IBT, Joint Council 73 and other New Jersey unions to coordinate rescue and relief efforts. He asks members to donate food, water and clothing. And, he writes:

Our Sanitation Companies have already begun the monumental  task of the massive clean up efforts.  Our DPW's and first responders have worked diligently from the onset of the storm.   Our hats are off to them.

The Los Angeles Times gives us an idea what it's like for a sanitation worker in New York City (represented by Teamsters Local 831):

City workers like Nick Lombardo have been pulling 16-hour shifts since the storm to bring basic services back to the hardest-hit parts of New York’s five boroughs. It’s slow going. Down the block from the fire hydrant, Lombardo was working to drain a 30-foot-deep pool of sewage and sea water out of the tower block's main sewage station. 

Electricians were in the pit below, hot wiring the sewage pumps to a diesel generator. 

“They'll have working sewage tonight,” Lombardo, a New York City sanitation worker, said Saturday. Below a grate was waste water. The smell doesn't bother him any more. “I could stand over this grate and eat a sandwich,” he said.

Brother Kevin Murph, a member of Teamsters Local 812, grew up in hard-hit Rockaway, Queens. He posted this request on the Teamsters Facebook page:

Hello Brothers and Sisters my name is Kevin I am a local 812 member. I live in long beach grew up in Rockaway. We need help not money we need able hard working bodies. Just come to breezy Rockaway. Bring shovels gloves and gives us a hand. Dont matter which block just walk up and help I am on 131 street. I seen every other union down there lets show that Teamsters care to. An for my union brothers and sister there Thank you. One thing every body is looking for Heavy machinery please send me contacts for any companies that have and can help 

Many Teamsters locals in the Northeast closed due to damage from Sandy. Teamsters Local 237 in Lower Manhattan will open Monday. Phone lines and power have been restored. An emergency food and supplies drive is being held today for members and people on the South Shore of Long Island, which was devastated by the storm.
Teamsters Local 177 in Hillside, N.J., is making available applications for disaster in the union hall.

Brother Kevin Duval, a sanitation worker with Teamsters Local 831, asks for any kind of donation:

DSNY has been out there around the clock. People who have experienced flooding are putting out all their destroyed furniture, walls, carpet, clothes, appliances, etc for us to collect. It's bad, really bad. People have lost everything, living without power and hot water. Any type of donations to help the NY/NJ region would go a long way to help

A good way to help is to make a monetary contribution to the Teamsters Disaster Relief Fund. Find out how to donate (you can even donate online) here.

Today's Teamster News 11.03.12

U.S. job growth quickens, giving Obama some relief  Reuters   ...U.S. employers stepped up hiring in October and a small increase in the jobless rate was due to more workers restarting their job hunts, a hopeful sign for a lackluster economy that has been a drag on President Barack Obama's re-election bid...
Gas Shortage Lingers, Crippling Aid Organizations And Recovery Effort  Huffington Post   ...Thursday, a deadly cocktail of mass power outages, port closures and skyrocketing demand for fuel shut down gas stations across New York and New Jersey, spurring mile-long lines and fights at the few pumps that remained open. Now, the shortage is crippling aid organizations spearheading relief in devastated areas...
Dems see chance as Gregg narrows gap to single digits in gov’s race  Associated Press   ...Democrat John Gregg has begun tying Pence to Republican Senate candidate Richard Mourdock, whose candidacy is in jeopardy following remarks he made last week that a pregnancy resulting from rape is something “God intended...”
Department of Justice Investigating Alleged Ballot Fraud At Clackamas County Elections  Willamette Week   ...the woman filled in a straight Republican ticket on the ballots where preferences had been left blank by voters...
Early voting in Florida not extended despite long lines  Raw Story   ...Florida Gov. Rick. Scott denied a request from the League of Women Voters and Florida Democrats on Friday to extend early voting, according to the News-Press. Long lines and record turnout prompted the call, but Scott reiterated that “Early voting will end Saturday night,” although he said he wants “everyone to get out to vote...”
Vultures Descend On Bainport: Sensata Plant Set to Close November 5.  Wisconsin Citizens Media Cooperative   ... Overpass Light Brigade  illuminated  the procession of masked vultures and large puppets with “VULTURE IN CHIEF” over to the Sensata plant in defiance of management’s orders that workers not be on the property outside of their assigned shifts...
Waukegan school bus drivers join Teamsters  Lake County News-Sun   ...The Waukegan workers had voted in a National Labor Relations Board election in May 2012 ... The Waukegan drivers lost their election by a vote of 86-90... The Teamsters local ... filed more than 20 unfair labor practice charges and seven objections to the election. The NLRB found merit in the charges...
County sanitation workers want union  The Champion Newspaper   ...DeKalb County sanitation workers say they need their voices to be heard. That’s why they want to be represented by the Teamsters union...
Some Rivers Casino employees might form union  Daily Herald   ...A movement to organize workers at Rivers Casino in Des Plaines is gaining support from the town’s Mayor Marty Moylan, himself a former union representative. Moylan, who retired earlier this year from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Union Local 134, said he was asked by the casino’s parking and valet attendants to support their efforts to unionize under the Teamsters Local 727...

Call goes out to help Teamster families suffering from Sandy damage

The call went out today for Teamsters and Teamster locals to help the thousands of brothers and sisters who have suffered damage and loss from Hurricane Sandy.

Our deepest sympathy goes to Damian Moore, a member of Teamsters Local 831 in New York City. He and his wife Glenda lost their two boys, Brandon, 2, and Connor, 4. They were swept away by the storm Monday night.

The death toll nearly reached 100 on Friday. In New Jersey, entire neighborhoods are covered by seawater. Power is still out for millions, supplies are slow to reach some areas and a gasoline shortage makes it hard to get around -- let alone keep emergency generators working.

Teamster families across the mid-Atlantic and Northeast have been harmed by the superstorm. A number of members lost their homes and local unions remain closed or have been severely damaged.

"They need our help," was the message from Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa and General Secretary-Treasurer Ken Hall. They asked all locals to consider donating money to the Teamsters Disaster Relief Fund, a charitable 501(c)3 for helping victims of natural disasters.

Individuals may send donation checks to: Disaster Relief Fund, c/o International Brotherhood of Teamsters, 25 Louisiana Ave., NW, Washington, DC  20001.

Today's Teamster News 11.02.12

Shock Doctrine, American-Style: Hurricane Sandy Devastation Used to Push for Sale of Public Infrastructure to Investors  Naked Capitalism   ...The wreckage from Hurricane Sandy hasn’t even been cleared, yet financial entrepreneurs are looking to profit from it...
Nonpartisan Tax Report Withdrawn After G.O.P. Protest  New York Times   ...The Congressional Research Service has withdrawn an economic report that found no correlation between top tax rates and economic growth, a central tenet of conservative economic theory, after Senate Republicans raised concerns about the paper’s findings and wording...
With paychecks, size matters (opinion)  Los Angeles Times   ...Unemployment is still too high, but we also need to focus on the problem of declining pay and the shrinking middle class...
Mexico is now a top producer of engineers, but where are jobs?  Washington Post   ...while the number of graduates in engineering has soared during the Calderon presidency, the number of Mexicans employed as engineers has grown only slightly, from 1.1 million in 2006 to 1.3 million in 2012...
Romney's Delphi scandal involves his undisclosed 2009 taxes & Bain Capital  DailyKos   ...Mitt Romney made a fortune off of the auto-bailout by investing in Delphi and screwing those workers. And instead of using its extra capital to do right by the American worker, Delphi just finished buying factories in Asia that make car parts, for the same amount of money Delphi cost those workers' pensions...
Gritty New York faces grimy mess: Rotten meat, failing toilets  NBC News   ... The sanitation department was also handling hurricane debris cleanup citywide...