Today's Teamster News 02.04.15

Teamsters
Clark County School District Workers Choose Teamsters Local 14  teamster.org   …The support staff workers at the Clark County School District (CCSD) in southern Nevada voted to join the Teamsters Union today. CCSD workers voted 71 percent in favor of joining Teamsters Local 14 in Las Vegas...
California Truckers Win $2 Million In Wage Theft Suit  Yahoo News   ...Seven Los Angeles-area truckers have won a $2 million claim against an international shipping company accused of stealing their wages by improperly classifying them as independent contractors and charging them to lease its trucks to drive...
Sysco At Standstill With FTC Over U.S. Foods Buyout  Wall Street Journal   ...The stalemate comes despite Sysco’s proposed agreement announced Monday with rival Performance Food Group Co. to sell the company 11 U.S. Foods distribution centers with a combined $4.6 billion in annual revenue. That is more than double the $2 billion in revenue that Sysco originally planned to divest to win regulators’ blessing...
CP Rail Encourages Office Workers To Learn How To Drive Trains  CBC News   ...The Teamsters union said the railway may be making preparations in case of a work stoppage. "I have received several reports recently that CP Rail is phoning up retired railroad workers and asking them if they will come in to be replacement workers in the event of a strike or a lockout," Finnson said...
Robert P. Sullivan  Sioux City Journal   …Robert P. Sullivan, 91, of Sioux City died Monday, Feb. 2, 2015, at Countryside Retirement Center in Sioux City…He was employed as a truck driver by Sioux City Transportation for 25 years and retired in 1982. Bob was a member of the Teamsters Union and the Teamsters Retirement Group...
Trade
Japan, U.S. Resume Working-Level TPP Talks  Japan Times   ...Japan and the United States on Monday resumed working-level talks on the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership, aiming to resolve bilateral disagreements on the scope of tariff reduction on farm products and autos, informed sources said...
TPP and Provisions to Stop Currency Management: Not That Hard  Economic Policy Institute   …currency management is a key cause of persistent U.S. trade deficits, and it is widespread. Given that our trade deficit drags on demand growth, and given that generating sufficient demand to reach full employment is likely to be a key economic problem in coming years, this is an important issue to address. Further, given that U.S. tariffs are extremely low, it’s hard to think of any other issue besides currency management that could possibly matter more for trade flows, so excluding it from the TPP seems odd. And yet many TPP proponents are extremely reluctant to include binding tools to stop currency management in the treaty...
TISA: Leaked document uncovers secret discussions that undermine access to health care  Third World Health Aid   …A secret discussion note for the Trade in Service Agreement (TISA) – leaked today by Associated Whistle-Blowing Press- uncovers that negotiators discuss reforms to the national health care systems in favour of international trade and the commercialisation of health care. This proposal, made by Turkey, has been discussed by the member states of the EU during the TISA negotiations that took place in Geneva in September 2014...
State Battles
Unions crowd Capitol for Right-to-Work hearings  Missouri Times   …The same day that conservative mouthpiece Ed Martin announced he would not be returning as Chairman of the Missouri Republican Party, Martin’s own legacy lived on as several of his supporters held hearings on their bills to make Missouri the 25th “Right-to-Work” state...
Experts discuss right-to-work legislation [VIDEO]  New Mexico Political Report   … the Taft-Hartley Act already makes it illegal to force employees to join a worker’s union. What’s not illegal in New Mexico is deducting money from an employee’s paycheck for pay negotiations and health care. That practice is known as Fair Share, and union supporters say it’s necessary to keep unions financially solvent and that unions provide a service to all workers...
"Right to Work" legislation stirs up debate among lawmakers, local businesses  WQOW.com   …Republican lawmakers and Wisconsin businesses are clocked in for discussion on proposed legislation. "To be honest, we're a little concerned about the unintended consequences that of ‘Right to Work'. Initially, there's going to be a distraction instead of our people taking care of our clients," President of Market & Johnson Jerry Shea said. "They could potentially be focusing on the effects of this."…
Rauner's 'right-to-work' proposal stirs debate  The Times   ...Last week, Rauner took aim at unions by stating one of his top priorities is passing legislation to create "right-to-work zones." Rauner envisions these "zones" to be set up in economically depressed areas sanctioned by the state where local officials could decide whether union participation and fees would be voluntary for local workers…
Minimum Wage Bills Rejected In House Committee  Albuquerque Journal   ...A Republican-controlled House committee on Monday spiked Democrats’ proposals to raise New Mexico’s minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. It was a strong signal that Republicans and their allies in the business community aren’t open to an increase of that size. But with the 60-day session barely two weeks old, the issue is far from settled...
Wisconsin Union Membership Drop Among Highest For States Without Right-To-Work Law  Cap Times   ...Of 26 states that don't have a right-to-work law in place, Wisconsin had the third-highest percentage drop in union membership between 2010 and 2014...
Arguments Before the Michigan Supreme Court on Right-to-Work Law Beside the Point (opinion)  Truthout   ...Let's not pretend that the Michigan Supreme Court is deciding whether or not the right-to-work law applies to public employees. The court is deciding on what it means to say that American workers are free...
War on Workers
Opponents of mandatory union fees hope Supreme Court will side with them  McClatchy   …Her case could pose a major threat to public-sector unions whose clout grew in the 1970s after the Supreme Court upheld laws requiring all employees who benefit from collective bargaining to contribute to unions...
The Big Lie: 5.6% Unemployment  Gallup   … If you, a family member or anyone is unemployed and has subsequently given up on finding a job -- if you are so hopelessly out of work that you've stopped looking over the past four weeks -- the Department of Labor doesn't count you as unemployed...
Ashley Furniture faces $1.76M in fines after OSHA finds more than 1,000 worker injuries at Wisconsin site in past 36 months  U.S. Department of Labor   … In a three-and-a-half year period, 4,500 employees at Ashley Furniture Industries Inc., in Arcadia, experienced more than 1,000 work-related injuries. One worker became another terrible statistic when he lost three fingers in July 2014 while operating a dangerous woodworking machine without required safety mechanisms in place. Of the injuries recorded, more than 100 were caused by similar machinery...
Labor charges filed at Taj Mahal casino; Revel in turmoil  Associated Press   …Fights over the fates of two bankrupt Atlantic City casinos heated up Tuesday as the main casino workers’ union filed 27 charges of unfair labor practice against the Trump Taj Mahal’s owner and Revel urged a judge not to delay its sale any further...
Worker Killed When Air Tank Explodes  Chicago Tribune   ...The accident happened around 9:30 p.m. Monday at the Maac Machinery company at 590 Tower Blvd. in the west suburb, according to the Carol Stream Fire Department...
Worker Crushed By Large Trailer At Local Facility Dies  KWTX.com   …A worker died Tuesday after he was crushed by a large trailer while performing maintenance on a vehicle at an energy services company facility outside of Hillsboro...
Miscellaneous
Inflation Well Short Of Fed’s 2% Target  Wall Street Journal   ...The price index for personal consumption expenditures was up 0.7% in December from a year earlier, the Commerce Department said Monday. That was the smallest 12-month gain for consumer prices since October 2009, and it marks the 32nd consecutive month below the Fed’s 2% inflation target...
U.S. Consumers In Rainy-Day Mode  Wall Street Journal   ...Personal spending, which measures outlays for everything from hardware to health care, decreased a seasonally adjusted 0.3% from the prior month, the Commerce Department said Monday, the first such fall since January and the biggest decline in more than five years. But Americans’ savings rate rose to 4.9% in December from 4.3% the prior month as Americans set aside an additional $75 billion for a rainy day...

Today's Teamster News 11.13.14

Teamster News
Trade Agreement Could Cost Michigan Jobs (opinion)  Detroit News   ...A lame-duck session of Congress convenes this week, and Capitol Hill lawmakers could consider fast-track trade promotion authority in the coming weeks that would jeopardize thousands of jobs in Michigan and nationwide...
Twinkie Maker’s Success Story Tempting Entenmann’s  New York Post   ...Members of Teamsters Local 802, which represents roughly 300 Entenmann’s drivers in New York and northern New Jersey, are preparing for the worst and have authorized union leaders to call a strike...
NetJets Threatens To Fire Middle Class Workers On Behalf Of The Global Super-Rich  teamster.org   ...Berkshire Hathaway’s [BRK/B] NetJets, Inc. is threatening to fire workers over the International Brotherhood of Teamsters decision to publicize the names of wealthy customers who stand to benefit from the company’s attack on the wages, benefits and working conditions of middle class employees...
Sysco Doesn’t Expect US Foods Deal to Close This Year  Wall Street Journal   ...Sysco Corp. , the nation’s biggest food distributor by sales, again pushed back the timeline for completing its acquisition of rival US Foods Inc., saying talks with antitrust regulators are taking longer than expected...
Sysco Expands; Buys Pacific Star Foodservice In Mexico  Zacks   ...this leading foodservice distributor of North America is rapidly expanding in Latin America. Apart from Latin America, Sysco has expanded in Canada, Ireland, Northern Ireland and the Bahamas....
Trade
House Dems say trade bills have no chance of passing  The Hill   ...A trio of House Democrats said Wednesday that neither fast-track nor an Asia-Pacific trade deal have any chance of passing in the lame-duck session or in the next Congress...
China Suspected Of Breaching U.S. Postal Service Computer Networks  Washington Post   ...Chinese government hackers are suspected of breaching the computer networks of the United States Postal Service, compromising the data of more than 800,000 employees — including the postmaster general’s...
State Battles
Appeals court upholds conviction of Kelly Rindfleisch, former aide to Scott Walker  Wisconsin State Journal   ...Rindfleisch, 46, was sentenced to six months in jail with work release privileges and three years of probation for doing campaign work on county time, but that sentence was stayed pending appeal...
State Street, Governor Elect Rauner Both Implicated in Pay-to-Play Scandals  naked capitalism   ... Illinois governor elect Bruce Rauner, who comes out of the private equity industry, took over $140,000 in campaign contributions from executives at funds that manage state money, which violates state and federal laws, since Rauner will be appointing pension system trustees...
Detroit Emerges From Bankruptcy, Yet Pension Risks Linger  New York Times   ...foundations, the state of Michigan, the Detroit Institute of Arts and even the city’s water and sewer system have pledged hundreds of millions of dollars to bolster the municipal pension system and give the art collection new, bankruptcy-proof ownership. In return, retired workers accepted reductions to their monthly checks and other cutbacks...
War on Workers
Jobs Growth Far from Strong: It Will Be 2018 Before the Economy Looks like 2007  Economic Policy Institute   ...if we extrapolate this rate of jobs growth into the future, it will be 2018 before we return to a labor market resembling the one we had before the recession began...
FedEx Pilots Picket for 'Respect'  WIBC   ...Dozens of pilots descended on Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis Wednesday.  They're among some 800 picketing pilots across the nation.  They're represented by the Air Line Pilots Association. They say they've been in contract talks for nearly four years with FedEx...
Apple’s iTunes earnings mostly untaxed  Australian Financial Review   ...More than two-thirds of the money Apple’s iTunes makes outside North America goes through the group’s Luxembourg holding company where it is not taxable, thanks to an intra-group fees agreement signed in 2008...
Banks Reach Settlement In Foreign-Exchange Probe  Wall Street Journal   ...Six banks agreed Wednesday to pay a total of about $4.2 billion to U.S., British and Swiss regulators to resolve allegations that for years they worked together to try to manipulate the vast foreign-exchange market to boost their profits...
Dad’s Disbelief Over Son’s Missing Shows Mexico Reeling  Bloomberg   ...“It’s impossible for me to believe that they just made 43 students disappear,” Gonzalez, 49, said on Nov. 3 as he looked out over fields at Cesar’s school in the town of Ayotzinapa, Guerrero. “The worst thing,” he said, tears filling his eyes, “is knowing it wasn’t organized crime that instigated this -- this was our own government...”
In Bolivia, A Child's Place Is In The Market And The Mines  NPR   ...In the Bolivian city of El Alto on a recent day, youngsters shout out the destinations of departing buses to lure passengers. One of these barkers is 15-year-old Luis Canaza. He earns about 12 cents for every bus he fills...
Uzbekistan: Forced To Labor In Cotton Fields, Students Rebel  EruAsiaNet   ...Third-year male journalism students were ordered to the cotton fields by the rector and faculty deacon, says the letter. It is addressed to Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev; the prosecutor’s office; the National Security Service (SNB); the Higher Education Ministry; and the university rector, Mirzo Mukhamedov...
Construction Worker Killed In Warwick’s Apponaug Section  WPRI   ...An unidentified man from Fall River died early Wednesday morning after a large piece of equipment fell on him at a construction site in Apponaug...
Private sanitation worker killed by falling dumpster at Staten Island golf course  Staten Island Advance   ...A private sanitation worker was killed when a dumpster fell and struck him outside the Richmond County Country Club in Dongan Hills Wednesday night, police said...
Miscellaneous
Dan Sullivan Beats Mark Begich In Alaska  Politico   ...Republican Dan Sullivan has won the Alaska Senate race, ousting Democratic incumbent Mark Begich, according to The Associated Press, which called the race for Sullivan late Tuesday night following the first day of counting early and absentee ballots...

Today's Teamster News 08.03.14

State Battles
Scott Walker: Wisconsin GOP Considering Expanding Anti-Union Restrictions To Police, Firefighters  Huffington Post   ...Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R ) said this week that state Republicans might expand the state's controversial restrictions on collective bargaining to the two sectors spared from the new law more than two years ago...
Bruce Rauner channeled part of fortune to Cayman Islands  Chicago Sun-Times   ...(Illinois gubernatorial candidate) ultimillionaire Republican Bruce Rauner has channeled at least part of his fortune into the Cayman Islands, a Caribbean paradise long criticized as a tax haven for American investors...
The War on Workers
GOP pushing Labor Department to go easy on wage theft  Peoples World   ...Right-wing Republicans who run the House Education and the Workforce Committee are apparently pushing the Labor Department to ease up on wage theft, in favor of "compliance assistance" - department counsel to businesses.  But DOL is resisting, an advocate for low-wage workers says...
Big Banks Still a Risk  New York Times   ...The threat of high-cost taxpayer bailouts remains very much with us...
America’s Most Hated Banks  truthout   ...In a list of major banks reviled by Americans in order of volume of complaints, Bank of America takes first place, followed by Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and Citibank...
Senate Bombshell Testimony Today: Citigroup and Bank of America Stock Worthless Without Implied Government Guarantees  Wall Street on Parade   ...“The warranted rate of return on the stock of deeply undercapitalized firms like Citi and B of A [Bank of America] would have been sky high and their stock would have been declared worthless long ago if market participants were not convinced that authorities are afraid to force them to resolve their weaknesses...”
Worker Killed Along Schuylkill County Road  WNEP   ...Crews at the scene said the victim was working as a flagger in a work area...
Miscellaneous
The Rare, Solid Manufacturing Jobs Report  manufacture this   ...The country added 28,000 factory jobs in July. That’s the best monthly total manufacturing employment has seen since … November 2013, and it’s roughly the kind of number we’ll need to see every month through January 2017 if President Obama is to reach his goal of 1 million new manufacturing jobs for the U.S. economy during his second term...

States spend more on corporate tax breaks than worker pensions

In 10 states,  the revenue lost to corporations through loopholes and tax breaks is bigger the current cost of pension benefits to state employees, according to a new report by Good Jobs First.

Philip Mattera, research director of  Good Jobs First, said politicians are balancing their budgets on the backs of public employees, though Wall Street caused their revenue shortfalls. And:

...our research shows that corporate interests are generally prioritized over teachers, firefighters, police officers, and thousands of other employees who dedicate their lives to public service. 

No shock there. What is shocking is the size of the corporate subsidies. In Pennsylvania, for example, corporate subsidies and loopholes cost $4 billion every year -- two-and-a-half times the cost of public pensions. 
Said Mattera: 

As a matter of honest accounting and fair budgeting, state leaders should examine all forms of spending before  they single out pensions or any other expense,” said Mattera. “Corporate tax breaks and loopholes are often poorly understood and little-noticed because they do not get debated as appropriations, nor do they often get sunsetted or audited. But over time they add up to hundreds of millions, or even billions, of dollars per year.

Good Jobs First studied 10 states where legislatures are trying to steal pensions underfunding pensions or elected officials are threatening to cut them. They are:

• Arizona
• California
• Colorado
• Florida
• Illinois
• Louisiana
• Michigan
• Missouri
• Oklahoma
• Pennsylvania. 

Read the whole thing here.

Today's Teamster News 12.04.13

2014 Teamsters Leadership Academy (TLA) Course Summary  teamster.org   ...Below is a list of the 2014 Teamsters Leadership Academy programs available from the IBT Training and Development Department for Teamster leaders. Download the schedule here...
Report: ALEC faces financial, possibly legal, problems  UPI   ...A conservative U.S. lobbying group critics say has undue influence on public policy faces a funding crisis and possible legal trouble, internal documents show...
Ill. Legislature OKs fix for $100B pension crisis  Associated Press   ...A coalition of unions known as We Are One Illinois, which lobbied heavily against the bill, issued a statement saying the legislation is unfair to workers and retirees who for years made faithful contributions to retirement systems but now will see benefits cut because of government mismanagement. "This is no victory for Illinois, but a dark day for its citizens and public servants," they said. "Teachers, caregivers, police and others stand to lose huge portions of their life savings because politicians chose to threaten their retirement security..."
Judge: Detroit eligible for Chapter 9 bankruptcy  Associated Press   ...Detroit is eligible to shed billions in debt in the largest public bankruptcy in U.S. history, a judge said Tuesday in a long-awaited decision that now shifts the case toward how the city will accomplish that task...
Missouri Extremists Get an Early Start on Attacking Working Families for 2014 Legislative Session  AFL-CIO Now   ...Extremist pro-corporate Republicans in Missouri are getting an early start on attacking the rights of working families by pre-filing a "right to work" for less bill for the 2014 legislative session. While there undoubtedly will be similar attacks in other states in 2014, Missouri is the first state to take formal steps to strip working families of their rights...
Scott Walker campaign aide fired after tweets demeaning Hispanics  Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel   ...For the second time in less than four months, Gov. Scott Walker has fired an aide for making demeaning comments about Hispanics on social media...
Fast Food Strikes Will Hit 100 Cities On Thursday  ThinkProgress   ...Fast food workers will stage a one-day strike against their employers in 100 cities on Thursday ... Strikes will take place for the first time in some cities, such as Charleston, SC; Providence, RI; and Pittsburgh, PA.
They’ll also stage protests in an additional 100 cities, activists say...
Fast food CEOs exploit despicable tax loophole  Salon   ...Outrageous: In two years, fast food corporations paid out $183 million in deductible "performance pay" to top brass...
Making One Do the Work of Three: My Years at Wal-Mart  CounterPunch   ...This is the text of a speech given on November 29, in Raleigh, North Carolina by former Wal-Mart worker Patrick Snipes...
Cisco Says NSA Costing Them Major Business Abroad  firedoglake   ...Cisco Systems, one of the largest networking equipment sellers in the world, has been losing major business in the wake of the NSA spying scandal. The company has publicly blamed the NSA for sowing distrust between American technology companies and the rest of the world – potentially costing them billions...
Race to the Bottom: Declining State Corporate Tax Rates  CounterPunch   ...Behind the decline in the corporate income tax as a share of total tax revenues lies the growing proliferation of corporate tax exemptions, credits, deferral of payments, and various other ‘loopholes.’...
Global Elites Getting Nervous About Skyrocketing Inequality (But Won't Spare a Nickel to Fix It)  AlterNet   ...There’s a lot of handwringing, but will elite anxiety bring any changes?...
Survey: Rich kids reap benefits of online courses  Bloomberg News ...An international poll casts doubt on the idea that the free online classes will benefit disenfranchised students...
As Hospital Prices Soar, a Single Stitch Tops $500  New York Times   ...Hospital pricing is often convoluted, and hospital charges represent about a third of the total United States health care bill...

How about restoring taxpayer control over public assets?

Bad things happen when government let corporations loot public assets, our friends at the Center for Media and Democracy remind us. (They're the wonderful folks who brought us AlecExposed.org.)

Brendan Fischer at CMD tells us two sordid tales of privatization gone awry.

• In Chicago, a Morgan Stanley-backed company took control of 36,000 public parking meters with a 75-year contract -- and as a result, parking fees have exploded, meters run until 10pm, and taxpayers must reimburse the company for lost meter profits when they want to hold a parade or street fair. The plan was quickly pushed through the City Council and passed with no public input or debate.
• In South Carolina, after the state outsourced its water system, the for-profit corporation failed to pay state employee payroll taxes, lost track of tens of thousands of dollars, and lost millions of gallons of water. But the private company refused to come clean about what happened and comply with the public records law's transparency requirements, despite being funded by public dollars.

But you all knew about disastrous highway privatization in Indiana, liquor privatization in Washington state and prison privatization in Texas (to name a few).

In The Public Interest -- an offshoot of AFSCME -- summarizes the pitfalls of privatization:

Outsourcing means taxpayers have very little say over how tax dollars are spent and no
say on actions taken by private companies that control our public services. Outsourcing
means taxpayers cannot vote out executives who make decisions that hurt public health
and safety. Outsourcing means taxpayers are contractually stuck with a monopoly run
by a single corporation – and those contracts often last decades. And outsourcing too

So often it's true.

often means a race to the bottom for the local economy, as wages and benefits fall while corporate profits rise.

Recently, In The Public Interest came up with a legislative agenda to empower taxpayers to take back the assets they own. The Taxpayer Empowerment Agenda includes some great ideas. Here are a few of our favorites:

• Regularly post online how much taxpayers are spending on private contracts and how many workers are employed by those contracts, just as government does. 
• Make sure every contract allows government to cancel the contract if the company doesn’t live up to its promises of quality and cost savings.
• Prohibit any company that has evaded taxes or broken the law from taking over public services. (YES!!!)
• Require companies that privatize public services to pay their employees a living wage and provide reasonable benefits.
• Ban contract language that guarantees company profits. 
• Ensure that public service workers have the opportunity to submit their own plan to save money and provide quality services.

Read more about it here.

How unions make you safer on the road

Unionized drivers in the curbside bus industry are laying down rules that make the trip safer for everyone -- and more profitable for the company.

After years of frustration with dangerous working conditions, low pay, and terrible healthcare, contract negotiations with Megabus workers in Chicago at Local 777 and Springfield, N.J., at Local 102 have made their buses safer.

Since organizing in 2011, Chicago Megabus drivers have better working conditions in a company that has a history of ignoring driver fatigue.

“If you are respected by your company, you have this sense that this is a profession,” said Courtney Bell, business agent for Teamsters Local 777. “Drivers have enforceable safety standards (and) Megabus is held accountable to (that) contract.”

Driver-related problems account for 60 percent of fatalities in the curbside bus industry, according to a report published by the Amalgamated Transit Union. Driver fatigue (38 percent) and driver medical condition (18 percent) head the list.

The Chicago contract set a living wage standard, provided a choice of different affordable healthcare plans and added co-drivers for most drives so tired drivers can switch places.

Legally, bus drivers aren’t required to receive overtime -- or, even minimum wage. Without union representation, many drivers are pressured to work up to 100 hours a week. ATU president Larry Hanley notes that:

The wages of most of these drivers are abysmally low. The website Glassdoor.com pegs the top wage of drivers at just $29,000 per year. The low wages often force workers to take a second job during their off hours—hours in which they should be resting before their next run. 

In order to save even more money, discount operators encourage or coerce their drivers to work overtime, thus avoiding the need to hire enough drivers to actually do the work.

The prevalence of unsafe, non-union companies is such a huge concern that the National Transportation Safety Board actually shut down a bunch of the unregulated death traps over the past year.

One of the non-union companies not only routinely falsified bus documents, but also racked up 39 safety violations in just two months:

The company repeatedly dispatched another driver whose medical certificate had expired and had been falsified. Drivers were not required by the company to turn in hours-of-service records or other required documentation such as driving itineraries and fuel receipts.

Without strong union support, drivers aren’t the only people left vulnerable. The public is safer with rested, healthy and professional drivers – and the reputation of the company has flourished because of it.

Since Megabus drivers in the Chicago and New Jersey hubs become Teamsters two years ago, Megabus has almost doubled its total amount of customer trips. Unlike other companies, the unionized Megabus hubs are doing more business than ever.

Woo-hoo! Another Teamster organizing victory in IL!

Please give a warm welcome to our 12 new brothers and sisters who voted unanimously on Wednesday to become members of Teamsters Local 727. They are dispatchers and call takers at paratransit company First Transit, Inc., in Glenview.

Earlier this year, nearly 30 dispatchers, schedulers and reservationists at MV Transportation in nearby Niles also voted to join Local 727.

John Coli, Jr., Local 727 president, vowed to fight for the new members at the bargaining table. Union representatives soon will begin negotiating with First Transit management on a first contract.

Teamsters Local 727 represents more than 6,800 hardworking men and women throughout the Chicago area.

Welcome to our great union!

Woo-hoo! Another Teamster organizing victory in IL!

Please welcome our 60-plus new brothers and sisters who voted overwhelmingly to join Teamsters Local 179 in Joliet last week.

They make high-pressure and commercial hoses at U.S. Hose in Romeoville. The vote to join the Teamsters was 55-3.

Bob Connors, organizer for Local 179, said the hardworking men and women of U.S. Hose scored a great victory:

These workers reached out to the Teamsters months ago in need of real protection on the job, and Local 179 is prepared to give them the representation they deserve.

Teamsters Joint Council 25 and local unions throughout northern Illinois attended a rally in Romeoville to support U.S. Hose workers just before their election on May 15. More than 50 manufacturing employees spent time with Teamster organizers, representatives and members during the afternoon cookout, playing games and listening to music.

U.S. Hose was previously a division of Senior Flexonics, an industrial manufacturing company in suburban Bartlett. Teamsters Local 330 brought Teamster power to more than 350 Senior Flexonics workers in February in another successful organizing campaign.

Tom Flynn, president of Local 179, thanked the organizing committee and all of the local affiliates and supporters across the state.

Teamsters stand shoulder-to-shoulder through every fight and every victory and Local 179 couldn’t be happier for the workers of U.S. Hose to have the support of our entire Teamster family.

Well said, Brother Flynn!

Today's Teamster News 05.21.13

Business groups step up push for fast-track authority The Hill   ...Business groups are stepping up their efforts in pushing for a renewal of fast-track authority to negotiate trade agreements. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Business Roundtable  ... teamed up on Monday to launch the Trade Benefits America Coalition...
Trans-Pacific Partnership deal unlikely this year  Stuff.co.nz   ...A heavyweight lineup of former United States trade representatives have delivered a gloomy prognosis on the likelihood of the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal being wrapped up this year...
Foreclosure Fraud Failures Come To A Head In Justice Department Protest   ThinkProgress   ...Frustration with the failed execution of various weakly-constructed legal settlements stemming from widespread foreclosure fraud bubbled over today into a protest at Justice Department headquarters that culminated in homeowners being arrested...
White-collar workers are turning to labor unions  Los Angeles Times   ...The next wave of union protesters isn't blue collar. It's lawyers, paralegals, secretaries, helicopter pilots, judges, insurance agents and podiatrists...
Employee Abuse Runs Rampant In America  Economic Populist   ...The Workplace Bullying Institute documents just how widespread employee abuse is in America. ... the WBI site describes who gets targeted for workplace abuse.... The people most targeted are the ones most capable....
Billionaires Now Own American Politics  TomDispatch   ...Billionaires with an axe to grind, now is your time. Not since the days before a bumbling crew of would-be break-in artists set into motion the fabled Watergate scandal, leading to the first far-reaching restrictions on money in American politics, have you been so free to meddle...
Former Sen. Judd Gregg Named CEO Of Top Wall Street Lobbying Group  Huffington Post   ...As the onetime ranking member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, Gregg was a staunch defender of Wall Street and the financial sector throughout the 2008 financial crisis, helping to author the bill that bailed out the nation's largest banks. The finance, insurance and real estate sector was a top contributor to his campaigns...

Proposal gives Scott Walker administration more power to sell state property  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel   ...Gov. Scott Walker's administration would gain broad authority to sell state property - including prisons, highways, heating plants and university dormitories - under a plan legislators will take up Tuesday...Senator’s plan would make Washington a right-to-work state  Olympia Report   ...Sen. Michael Baumgartner (R-Spokane) on Wednesday announced a strategy  ... to make Washington a right-to-work state if worker’s compensation insurance rates continue to increase...
Pension vote puts some House Republicans in awkward position  Tampa Bay Times ...Florida House Republicans tried to close the state's pension system to new employees this year, saying it's a ticking time bomb that could cripple the state's budget for years to come. But many of those same GOP lawmakers are members of the state pension system themselves...
In Florida, Incentives Only the Beginning for Favored Companies  Florida Center for Investigative Reporting   ...Enterprise Florida is picking winners, and most small businesses cannot imagine being successful in securing these awards,” said Dan Krassner, executive director of the Tallahassee-based watchdog group Integrity Florida. “The whole incentives strategy needs further review to see if it is truly in the public interest.”...
State workers anxious as Illinois lawmakers debate pensions  Associated Press   ...An Illinois agency manager might have to delay retirement. A former university secretary wonders where she’ll have to cancel vacations. A state office assistant fears he won’t be able to afford the medical care his wife needs...
GUEST COMMENTARY: The hidden agenda in Jefferson City  Columbia Missourian   ...the real goal of Missouri's legislative leaders is to continue the shift of wealth and power upward to their friends at the American Legislative Exchange Council. Using ALEC's principles of free markets, limited government and federalism, Missouri's legislative leaders scored at the top of the list of states working to dismantle all public programs and services...
My Voice: No tax dollars for ALEC dues  Argus Leader   ...Do you want your tax dollars to support higher perks, out-of-state travel and membership dues for state legislators to a conservative organization funded by corporate special interests? That’s what is happening now in South Dakota under the leadership of Republican legislators...
ABF Local Leaders Unanimously Approve Tentative Agreement  IBT   ...Leaders from about 160 Teamster local unions that represent ABF members unanimously endorsed a tentative master agreement and supplements today that covers 7,500 workers. The vote to support the tentative agreement and supplements paves the way for a vote by the members...
Teamsters Help 'Stamp Out Hunger'  The Morning Call   ...On May 11, members of National Association of Letter Carriers Locals 389, 254 and 274; the National Rural Letter Carriers' Association; the AFL-CIO and Teamsters Local 778; AARP; the U.S. Postal Service ... collected, sorted and delivered food donated along postal routes, writes Ann B. McManus, director of the Second Harvest Food Bank, in her letter to the editor...

Bold Growth Plans at Hollywood Studios  New York Times   ...Film counts are down. Production is going elsewhere. And yet big Hollywood studios are planning to expand...

Today's Teamster News 05.17.13

Oil Companies Raided In Price-Fixing Probe  firedoglake   ...BP and Shell have been raided by agents of the European Commission on suspicion of rigging oil prices for over a decade...
Flood of 10,000 Critical Public Comments Spotlights TAFTA Controversy  Public Citizen   ...Submission of more than 10,000 public comments on the Trans-Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (TAFTA) to the U.S. Trade Representative’s (USTR) docket last week punctured the notion that the pact will avoid the controversies that have dogged past trade deals...
Apple on offense over $100B offshore stash  Politico   ...CEO Tim Cook is coming to Washington to testify in front of a panel of senators about stashing more than $100 billion overseas...
Meet the group the IRS actually denied: Democrats!  Salon   ...Although Tea Party applicants got unfair IRS scrutiny, only one known group had status revoked. They’re Democrats...
Jobless Claims in U.S. Jump to Highest Level in Six Weeks  Bloomberg   ...The number of applications for unemployment insurance payments jumped by 32,000 to 360,000 in the week ended May 11, the most since the end of March, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington...
Second appeals court invalidates Obama's NLRB recess appointments  Politico   ...The issue has far-reaching implications for both the NLRB and other boards, including Obama’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which has been a frequent target of conservatives and whose director was a recess appointment...
The New Pay-As-You-Go Landscape of American “Democracy”  Huffington Post   ...For now at least, Sheldon Adelson is an extreme example, but he portends a future in which 1-percenters can flood the system with money in ways beyond the dreams of ordinary Americans...
Goodwill Minimum Wage Loophole Will Shock You  Huffington Post   ...Goodwill Industries is the worst charity in America. Yes, the same Goodwill that you just gave all of your old clothing to. Yes, the same Goodwill where you bargain-hunt on the weekends. Yes, the same Goodwill that Beyoncé is encouraging her fans to support with donation drives at her North American concerts...
Collapse at Cambodia shoe factory  BBC News   ...Part of a shoe factory has collapsed in Cambodia, leaving at least two people dead, officials say...Regulatory Oversight Can Save Lives  TriStates Public Radio   ...The West, Texas, fertilizer plant explosion that killed 14 people, injured about 200 others and destroyed dozens of homes was so powerful it could be felt 50 miles away, registering as a 2.1-magnitude earthquake. The blast should continue to rumble throughout the country since its owner apparently didn’t disclose the dangers there, and the government agencies responsible for protecting the area also failed...
Walmart refuses to join worker safety deal  The Guardian   ...Walmart has confirmed it will not sign up to a legally binding agreement on worker safety and building regulations in Bangladesh supported by retailers including H&M, Zara, Primark, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Marks and Spencer, Next, C&A and several others...
Gender pay gap still leaves a divide among earnings  WFMJ-NBC   ...It's been 50 years since President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act in an attempt to end wage disparity based on gender. Congressman Tim Ryan recently called for the passage of bills he originally co-sponsored to address this issue...
NSSA pension benefits to go up in August  NewsDay   …National Social Security Authority (NSSA) minimum pensions go up from August 1, following government’s gazetting of increases in pension contribution rates from June 1 and its raising of the maximum insurable earnings from $200 to $700...
Despite GOP claims that right to work bill is going nowhere, Democrats continue fundraising pleas  Cleveland Plain Dealer   ...Ohio Senate President Keith Faber thought his pledge to kill a package of right to work bills might end "breathless fundraising appeals" from Democrats. How wrong he was...
Senate passes worker rights bill for child care, home health workers Workday Minnesota   ...After Republicans filibustered through the night and past dawn, the Senate passed landmark legislation Wednesday extending collective bargaining rights to 9,000 family child-care providers and 12,000 home health-care workers...

Indiana is a zero in study of states' campaign finance disclosure law for outside groups  Desert Sun   ...Indiana didn’t just get an F in a state-by-state comparison of laws requiring outside groups to report their campaign spending. The state got a zero...
Pennsylvania Senate Narrows Privatization Focus  Shanken News Daily   ...Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett’s push for total privatization of the state’s wine and spirits retail monopoly appears to be on ice, with state senators suggesting they could support some loosening of alcohol retail restrictions but not a mandatory sell-off of the state’s retail and wholesale infrastructure...
The shadowy conservative group ALEC has members in Nevada’s Legislature  Las Vegas City Life   ...ProgressNow says ALEC is secretive and reports that the Nevada Legislature, which pays for trips by legislators to ALEC’s conferences and annual membership dues, would not release correspondence between ALEC and its legislative members in Nevada because “disclosure of the correspondence would inevitably reveal the Senators’ deliberations...
Show Me Koch Brothers St. Louis American ...According to a new report by Progress Missouri, (state Sen. Jamilah) Nasheed (D-St. Louis) can trace her new right-wing friendships back from Jones and Sinquefield all the way to the Koch brothers...
Mo. House Passes Paycheck Deception, but Veto Expected AFL-CIO Now ...The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), its corporate backers and extremist Missouri lawmakers may have won the first round in their drive to silence working people with a paycheck deception bill, when the House gave it final approval (86-69) earlier this week...
Illinois poised to let 17-year-olds vote in primaries  Chicago Tribune   ...Gov. Pat Quinn and other prospective governor candidates might be targeting a new voting group during the primary elections next year: 17-year-olds...
New Mexico’s State Supreme Court hears arguments in dispute over back pay, raises for state workers  Albuquerque Journal   ...The state Supreme Court heard arguments today in a five-year-old dispute over whether some 10,000 state workers were shortchanged and are owed back pay and ongoing raises...
First Student, union reach tentative deal  Daily News-Miner   ...Fairbanks-area school bus personnel represented by Teamsters Local 959 and the First Student transportation company have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract...
County Ratifies Tentative Agreement for Guards; Abolishes Office of Jury Commissioner  Gant Daily   ...The Clearfield County (Pennsylvania) Commissioners voted to ratify its global tentative agreement with Teamsters Local 205 for the guards at the Clearfield County Jail at Tuesday’s regular board meeting...

Today's Teamster News 04.19.13

One Boston Bombing Suspect Reportedly in Custody, One Remains at Large  The Atlantic   ...a series of violent events culminated in Watertown, Massachusetts late Thursday night after two unidentified suspects engaged with police from a Mercedes SUV. ..
Proposed Bill Would End 40-Hour Work Week  iMail   ...House Republicans have introduced a bill that would end the 40-hour work week, dismantling an important component of the Federal Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938 and hurting middle-class families across the country...
Behold the power of the neutered regulatory state  firedoglake   ...The Occupational Safety and Health Administration most recently inspected the Texas fertilizer plant that exploded Wednesday night in 1985...
In win for Shell, U.S. top court curbs human rights claims  Reuters   ...In a major victory for multinational companies, the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday limited the ability of human rights plaintiffs to invoke a 224-year-old federal law when suing companies over alleged collusion with violent foreign governments...
Group says major companies involved in tax scheme  Associated Press   ...A Chicago-area transportation agency on Wednesday alleged that some of the nation's largest and best known companies including AT&T, Sears Holdings Corp., Verizon and Target are running "sham" offices as part of a scheme with two small northern Illinois communities to avoid paying millions of dollars in taxes in Chicago and Cook County...
Majority in U.S. Want Wealth More Evenly Distributed  Gallup   ...And 52% support heavy taxes on the rich to redistribute wealth...
Walmart Pays Workers Poorly And Sinks While Costco Pays Workers Well And Sails-Proof That You Get What You Pay For   Forbes   ...Costco’s most recent quarterly earnings report reveals a fairly healthy eight percent rate of growth in year-on-year sales, while, Costco’s primary competitor, Walmart, saw an anemic 1.2 percent rise in sales...
France Threatens to Block Start of EU/U.S. Free Trade Talks  Reuters   ...France said on Thursday it would block proposed negotiations on a free trade agreement between the European Union and the United States unless cultural sectors, such as television and radio, were excluded from the talks...
Congress Returns to Public Pension Battle With New Bill  Reuters   ...Congress is again joining the fight over public pensions, as a Republican Representative on Thursday pushed a bill to require state and local funds to give more accurate information on their assets and to bar the federal government from bailing them out during a financial crisis...
Wage-theft bill heads to floor  Orlando Sentinel   ...A bill pre-empting to the state the regulation of "wage theft," an effort to block some local efforts in Orlando and South Florida, is headed to the House floor...
Missouri House endorses 'right-to-work' for police  ConnectMidMissouri.com   ...The Missouri House has voted to bar the payment of union dues as a condition of employment for law enforcement officers...
Mont. House approves GOP election referendums  Associated Press   ...The Montana House on Wednesday approved a pair of election referendums that sparked uproar in the Senate two weeks ago when Democrats failed in an attempt to block the bills...
Series of ballot initiatives would impact public employee union dues  Statesman Journal   ...The 2014 election could be rough on (Oregon's) public employee unions. Three ballot initiatives have been filed that would undercut the unions’ ability to collect dues from members, and they all have more than a year to collect signatures...
Unions Will Rally in Chambersburg Against Right to Work Proposal   The Record Herald   ...A rally against House Bill 50, which would make Pennsylvania a right to work state, will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 20, in Chambersburg...
Illinois Teamsters Benefit From Robust Film Industry   IBT ...The record spending on movies, TV shows and commercials resulted in more than 2,200 jobs, including steady work for hundreds of Local 727 members...
National Express Faces AGM Revolt Over Staff Rights  The Independent   ...The umbrella group representing local authority pension funds has urged its members to vote down National Express' annual report over US labour practices at the transport company's lucrative school bus business...
Striking Teamsters At Republc Services Extend Picket Lines To California  IBT   ...Striking sanitation workers from Republic Service’s hauling yards in Memphis and Millington, Tennessee extended picket lines to California early this morning...
Durham School Bus Drivers Speak Out About Safety, Human Rights Concerns  IBT   ...School bus drivers from Milton, Pace and Navarre, Fla., shared serious concerns today over safety, service and working conditions at Durham School Services with a panel of international union representatives, trade unionists from the U.S. and prominent community leaders...
Garbage Strike Interrupts Service In Toledo  WTVG-TV   ...Teamsters Union members that collect the trash in Toledo honored extended picket lines from striking Teamsters at Local 377 in Youngstown yesterday...
Ohio Labor Dispute Leads To Disruptions In Puget Sound Trash Pick-Ups  KIRO-TV   ...A garbage strike 2,500 miles away is keeping thousands of Puget Sound residents from getting their trash picked up...
Waste Workers On Strike For 2nd Time In 4 Months  WMC-TV   ...For the second time in four months, Teamsters Local Union 984 workers are on strike...
Teamsters, King's Material Agree on New Contract  Quad-City Business Journal   ...Members of Teamsters Local 371 and management at King's Material Inc., Eldridge, have reached an agreement on a new contract...

Today's Teamster News 03.12.13

This New Puerto Rican Law Makes Wealthy People Want To Move There To Avoid Taxes  Business Insider   ...Billionaire hedge funder John Paulson, who famously bet against the subprime housing market, is reportedly weighing a move to Puerto Rico to take advantage of a new tax law there...
Illinois settles SEC fraud charges over pension fund disclosures  Reuters   ...Illinois failed to inform investors about the impact of problems with its pension funding schedule as the state offered and sold more than $2.2 billion worth of municipal bonds from 2005 to early 2009...
Ex-Detroit mayor Kilpatrick convicted of range of corruption charges  NBC News   ...Prosecutors said that Kilpatrick, 42, steered $83 million in city work to a friend and contractor, Bobby Ferguson, in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks...
After Watering Down Financial Reform, Ex-Senator Scott Brown Joins Goldman Sachs’ Lobbying Firm  ThinkProgress   ...During his nearly three years in the U.S. Senate, Scott Brown (R-MA) frequently came to the aid of the financial sector — watering down the Dodd-Frank bill and working to weaken it after its passage — and accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign cash from the industry...
Congress wants role as Obama pushes trade agenda  Associated Press   ...A strong trade agenda, said Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah requires close cooperation and consultation with Congress. Members of Obama's Democratic Party tend to oppose "fast track," arguing that trade pacts negotiated by past administrations have resulted in job losses in America and given short shrift to environmental and labor and human rights issues...
Sequester scuttling Sandy shape-up?  Manufacture This  ...New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, are still repairing after Hurricane Sandy, five months later. But now there's a new complication: the sequester has taken a bite out of federal aid money...
Missouri Senate Backs Union Paycheck Bill  Associated Press   ...The Missouri Senate has given first-round approval to a measure that would require public employee unions to seek annual consent to automatically deduct dues from members' paychecks...
Judge Cans Soda Ban  Wall Street Journal   ...Mayor Michael Bloomberg was dealt a stinging blow on Monday when a state Supreme Court Judge quashed his plan to ban the sale of large sugary drinks in the city's restaurants and other venues...
Why liquor privatization still faces a long road  PennLive   ...While some legislators say a bill introduced this week to end the state's longtime monopoly is on the fast track, others say they aren't so sure such a swift timetable is in the cards...
Behind Closed Doors: Americans for Prosperity chapter leader is no stranger to Pence  Indianapolis Star   ...Americans for Prosperity is a national group launched by Charles and David Koch, billionaire brothers and influential conservative leaders who financially supported Pence’s campaign for governor...
Minnesota Poll: Majority supports raising state minumum wage  Minneapolis Star-Tribune   ...But Minnesotans are divided on how high to go, $7.50 an hour vs. $9.50...
Realtors asked for budget provision expanding foreign ownership of state land  The Cap Times   ...Wisconsin Realtors look to be next in line to benefit from Gov. Scott Walker’s “Wisconsin is open for business” vow...
Teamsters begin picket at Thorn Creek Basin facility  NWITimes.com  ... About a dozen Teamsters Local 705 members began pickets Monday at the Thorn Creek Basin Sanitary District facility in frustration with the current negotiations for a new contract...
Teamsters rally in Memphis behind Republic Services workers  Commercial Appeal   ...The nation’s second-most powerful Teamster came to Memphis Sunday with Teamsters from across the nation to express their support to sanitation workers employed by Republic Services. About 180 employees are working under an expired contract to serve about 200,000 Memphis-area residents...
Teamsters Educate City Leaders About Republic Services' Poor Record  IBT  ...More than 2,000 mayors, city councilmembers, and local administrators at the conference were greeted by Teamsters holding a banner that stated "Republic Services Trashes American Cities." The League of Cities attendees also received leaflets that read, "Tell Republic: Do It Right or Pay the Penalty."...