Today's Teamster News 02.02.12

Indiana’s Last ‘Right-To-Work’ Law Failed So Badly It Was Repealed Eight Years Later  ThinkProgress   ...Indiana Republicans passed a similar right-to-work law in 1957 over the objections of Democrats, labor leaders, and workers, and the law proved so unpopular that it lasted only eight years...
Prison privatization plan may be crumbling in Florida Senate  Orlando Sentinel   ...The plan – scheduled to be debated on the Senate floor Wednesday – was abruptly yanked off the calendar by Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, amid reports that as many as 20 Republicans and Democrats were prepared to kill it...
Teamsters, safety advocates oppose higher truck weight limit bill  Detroit News   ...Teamsters President Jim Hoffa ... called it a "recipe for danger and disaster. This legislation is a reckless giveaway to the trucking industry, and corporate greed is at the wheel. The driving public absolutely does not support these radical changes that will endanger our highways. This overhaul will not create jobs. It will damage our roads and bridges, costing taxpayers. It will put lives at risk...."
Apple's Ethical Blindness Selects for Criminal Suppliers in Fraud-Friendly Nations  Huffington Post   ...Apple's suppliers' often seek managers willing to order their workers to exceed the lawful workweek, to refuse to pay them for significant portions of the wages they have earned, to unlawfully employ child labor, and even to coerce abortions. American managers are often unreliable in terms of their willingness to engage in these forms of illegality...
US unemployment “progress”  FT Alphaville   ...“if the same number of people were seeking work today as in 2007, the jobless rate would be 11 per cent”...
Teamsters, Nichols to resume talks Saturday as Iowa strike continues  Platts.com   ...Contract talks are scheduled to resume Saturday between Teamsters Local 371 and Nichols Aluminum in an attempt to end a strike that began January 20 at the company's casting and coil-coating plants in Davenport, Iowa. Local 371 President Howard Spoon said Wednesday it will be their first face-to-face meeting since more than 200 hourly workers launched the first strike at the Davenport plants since 1965...

Teamsters flood Indy for huge protest against RTW4less

Thousands of working people crowded the Indianapolis streets today to protest the passage of right-to-work-for-less legislation. Our Teamster brothers and sisters were there in force, along with members of other unions, their families, their friends and their neighbors.
As many as 20,000 were estimated to have spoken out against the legislation that will lower wages for all Hoosier working families.

Said labor activist Cathy Sherwin via Twitter:

Hoosier workers as far as I can see!

Another Twitter post read:

Union member Rose has been directing traffic for 25 minutes. Marchers keep coming.

The bill passed 28-22 earlier today, despite shouts of disapproval from ever-growing crowds inside the Statehouse. Later, a rally was held outside the Statehouse lawn, followed by a march to Lucas Oil Stadium, where the Super Bowl will be held.

Here's the AFP on what happened:

While Super Bowl players prepared for Sunday's NFL title showdown, protesting workers marched on the host stadium after a vote Wednesday by Indiana lawmakers to weaken union power in the state.

With thousands of protesters in and around the Statehouse in the shadow of the NFL host hotel, the Indiana Senate voted 28-22 for a bill that forbids companies from making deals with unions that force non-members to pay dues.

"It's a union-busting tactic all the way," said protesting carpenter Mike Coomes. "You just create more poverty. They want us to go back to slavery. We've worked 150 years to get here and they wiped it out in one vote."

Inspiration Wednesday: 'Which Side Are You On?'

In honor of our brothers and sisters in Indiana. They have a hell of a fight on their hands now.

VIDEO: 'The dream of the United States is at stake'

The War on Workers is the new civil war of our age, according to Patrick Bauer, the Democratic Minority Leader in the Indiana Assembly.

When extremists in the Indiana Legislature tried to pass right-to-work legislation to destroy unions -- along with a host of other anti-middle-class bills -- Assembly Democrats left the state for 34 days to prevent a vote. Bauer negotiated a compromise in which right-to-work was taken off the table.

Bauer spoke at the 28th International Brotherhood of Teamsters Convention, and he thanked our Hoosier brothers and sisters for organizing protests in Indianapolis during the stand-off.

This is our civil war. This is a war we have to fight. This is a war we have to win or the middle class is gone in this country. You know it and I know it.

And the Teamsters, we are so proud. We’re so proud of the Bartons, the Buhls, the Warnocks. Those are the people that organized and helped organize 30,000 people, 30,000 people in Indianapolis —

(Applause)

— 30,000 people in downtown Indianapolis to fight back against this tyranny. And with you, we’re going to win. They’re taking away women’s health care in Indiana; it’s made national news. The federal government has stopped it. They’re taking away workers’ rights; we helped stop it. You, me, we together helped stop that. And we will win this by sticking together, by every day reminding people that our standard of living is at stake, our families’ welfare is at stake; in fact, the dream of the United States is at stake.

Bauer was in the news recently, talking to Talking Points Memo about the debt negotiations.

Bauer said Obama should push the GOP the same way he and his Democratic House colleagues pushed Daniels and the Republicans who tried to turn Indiana into a right-to-work state after what he called the 2010 "tsunami" election.

"If they want to shut the government down, let 'em," Bauer said of the Republicans. "The GOP will be the biggest losers in the end."

Today's Teamster News 04.29.11

Benton Harbor protest against emergency manager  WZZM-13   ...Hundreds of people gathered in Benton Harbor Wednesday to protest Michigan's emergency financial manager law...
Black caucus plans federal case against Emergency Manager law  Michigan Messenger   ...The Michigan Legislative Black Caucus is working with the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, Rep. John Conyers (D-Detroit), and others on a lawsuit to challenge Michigan’s Emergency Manager law...
MU says video distorted labor professors’ meaning  Kansas City Star   ...Videos released on the Internet showing two University of Missouri instructors advocating union violence totally distorted their comments, a university official said this afternoon...
Afraid To Face Angry Voters, Rep. Paul Ryan Sneaks Out a Back Door  Crooks and Liars   ...Paul Ryan is flipping out that town hall attendees aren't going to follow his command to "play nice" in front of the media....
Shadow Right Wing Policy Group Holds Summit in Cincinnati  Progress Ohio   ...They meet in secret. They write our laws. And they want us silent...
Teachers union sues Otter, Luna over reform law  Idaho Statesman   ...Members of Idaho's statewide teachers union have filed a lawsuit against the state, the governor and Idaho's public schools chief over a new law that phases out teacher tenure and wipes out collective bargaining over salaries and benefits...
Oregon Unions Put Their Fists in the Air  Willamette Week   ...Raising their fists and chanting, “Good jobs for all, ” about 2,500 Oregon union members and their supporters packed Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse Square today to protest stagnant job growth and government budget cuts...
Philly schools may cut nearly 1,300 teachers jobs  Associated Press   ...The Philadelphia public schools will have to cut 3,800 jobs—including almost 1,300 teachers—if the governor's planned budget cuts are approved, the district's budget chief said Wednesday...

Hats off to IN Teamsters

Teamsters at the March 10 rally in Indianapolis

With the return of 39 Democratic representatives to Indiana, the Legislature can now get back to work with reordered priorities. Instead of attacking workers, lawmakers can now focus on creating jobs. The Democrats' walkout, and the hard work of Indiana unions and their allies, resulted in  following victories:

•Right-to-work legislation is off the table, preserving collective bargaining rights;

•The permanent ban on public employee bargaining is off the table in the House;

•Enabling legislation for private takeover of public schools is off the table in the House;

•Private school vouchers will be limited to 7,500 students in the first year and 15,000 in the second year, rather than the largest voucher program in the nation the Republicans had proposed;

•Rather than an outright ban of Project Labor Agreements as Republicans wanted, PLAs still can be included with projects passed by public referendum; and

•The threshold for applying the common construction wage to projects would be $250,000 for 2012 and $350,000 for 2013, rather than the job-killing $1 million threshold the Republicans wanted.

Teamsters International Vice President Brian Buhle says the War on Workers is far from over:

We dodged a bullet in this session but the attacks against the middle class will continue and we must be mobilized more than ever to ensure a fair deal for the working class. We must beat them at the ballot box.

Buhle, who is also secretary-treasurer of Local 135 in Indianapolis, thanked the thousands of Indiana Teamsters who protested at the Statehouse for six weeks.

Without their help giving the Democrats some cover, this victory over a radical anti-union agenda by the far right wing would not have been possible. Members from all Teamster locals across Indiana kept up the pressure and the Teamsters Union led the way, day in and day out. Hats off to Indiana Teamsters.

Teamsters rally at IN food pantry

If Indiana's corporate-backed lawmakers succeed in passing anti-worker legislation, the state's food pantries will need a lot more help. That's why Teamsters and their families from Local 364 in South Bend today brought bags of groceries to Broadway Christian Parish, which runs a food pantry. Many of the church's clients work for a living but don't earn enough to keep food on the table.

The National Association of Letter Carriers organized a press conference at the church this morning -- and asked people to bring groceries. Local 364 President Bob Warnock III put out an urgent call for Teamster families to come to the press conference and rally.

The invitation to the press conference/rally said:

We are invited by Rev. Nancy Nichols of Broadway Christian to bring donations to the church's food pantry. We are doing this because we fear the agenda coming out of the Statehouse will only serve to fracture our community even more, diminish the middle class and make the life of the working poor even worse. Food banks at churches already serve people who work at low wages. The agenda we are fighting is designed to lower wages even further.

Notre Dame Professor Marty Wolfson was to speak at the press conference about his report on the impact of a proposed "right to work (for LESS)" law in Indiana. That's only one of a dozen bills that would take away rights and lower safety, wages, health insurance benefits, pensions and the standard of living for workers throughout Indiana.

Indiana has been almost a forgotten battlefield in the War on Workers. For nearly a month now, 39 Democratic representatives left the state and stayed a way to prevent a vote on those bills. Teamsters have been part of daily protests both large and small outside of the Statehouse.

Today's Teamster News 03.11.11

Unions frame bargaining as civil rights issue  Associated Press   ...unions are planning rallies across the country on April 4 — the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination...
Wis. defeat could help launch counterattack on GOP  Associated Press   ...With the labor movement suffering an epic defeat in Wisconsin, union leaders plan to use the setback to fire up their members nationwide...
After SB5, what group of Ohio workers will be next? (opinion)  cantonrep.com   ...How long before Ohio’s middle-class families relocate to other states who value their hard work, dedication and willingness to take pay freezes and concessions under collective bargaining contracts?...
Right to work hurts worker  newsleader.com   ...Missouri has switched to the ultra right wing agenda of attacking the unions just like Wisconsin...
Mark Brewer: Michigan emergency financial manager legislation 'kind of a backdoor approach to what's going on in Wisconsin'  MLive.com   ...what this bill does is it potentially disenfranchises very voter in this state...
State Budget Deficits Are Not an Employee Compensation Problem  Center for American Progress   ... state tax revenues declined sharply amid the Great Recession—shortfalls made worse in some states by ill-advised tax cuts for businesses and the wealthy, as happened most famously in Wisconsin...
Controversial Senate Bill 736 Passes, Bay Teachers Protest  wmbb.com  
...(Panama City, Fla.)...Senate Bill 736, which evaluates teachers based on student performance and gets rid of tenure for new teachers, passed with a 26-12 vote.

Indy rally fires up unions

We just got some great pictures back from the rally in Indianapolis, but we're having problems with the Internets. So we'll post them tomorrow or you can see them at http://www.stopthewaronworkers.org/.

Indiana, you'll recall, also has the misfortune of anti-worker (Republican) majorities in the Legislature. They want to pass a host of anti-worker, anti-middle class legislation. Democratic House members fled the state a few weeks ago to prevent votes on the bills.
Our sister and organizer Rebecca Hanscom describes the rally as energetic and uplifting:

There was a great rapper from Canada (Mike O'Brien) who led a rap with a chorus 'one day longer, the peoples' voice gets stronger.' It sounds a little cliched, too, but everyone was swaying with the rhythm, dancing, and gesturing for 1 day longer. You could see the whole crowd swaying, fields of wheat waving in the wind. It gave a visual and visceral sense of solidarity and unity.

Rebecca thought Indiana AFL-CIO President Nancy Guyott gave a good speech. The Associated Press reported Guyott told the crowd

...that craftsmen built the Statehouse more than 100 years ago, and had returned to reclaim it.

"The working men and women of Indiana have come back to take back the people's house for the people," she said.

Rebecca said a teacher (we're assuming it's the teacher AP identified as Marisa Graham from Anderson) spoke very movingly of what this legislation will do to public education. Rebecca said Graham told the crowd...

...it takes care of a small group at the expense of the majority of our children. She spoke very personally about how every decision a teacher makes in school is to benefit their pupils.

There was also a student, son of a union member from Wisconsin, who spoke about what was happening there, led chants, and was very sparky. Lots of diversity, young and old. Examples and facts of the disparity between the rich and the rest of us really resonated with people. Live music opening the event while people were assembling was important, too.

Associated Press got the message. Here's how AP newswoman Deanna Martin led the story:

Thousands of union workers who gathered outside Indiana's Statehouse for a Thursday rally railed against several different education and labor bills but their message reflected a united theme: Republicans here and across the country have gone too far in pushing an agenda opponents consider an attack on working families.

Finally, Rebecca offered an organizer's critique of the signs:

A mix of hand-made with manufactured signs was a good mix and provided provoking variety and expression.

To borrow Wisconsin's motto: Forward!

32,000 protest in Indy

The “We Are Indiana” rally is taking place right now at the Statehouse in Indianapolis and it is an amazing scene. About 25,000 people were expected to participate in the rally and it looks like we’re going above and beyond! Teamster sister and Indiana native Rebecca Hanscom is part of the crowd and is sending us these messages about the incredible showing of solidarity:

The state troopers say there are 32,000 here!

There is a large contingent of Teamsters here – from Locals 89, 135, 142, BMWED Rail Conference and more.

Just saw little little girl holding sign: Mitch Daniels Needs A Time Out. Too many speeches, tho. I've seen many teamster trucks.

And @mikerothstein tweets

The Teamsters have shown up en masse in Indianapolis.

 
The huge crowd is protesting Republican efforts to curb workers’ rights in the state. They’re united in solidarity with the folks in Wisconsin who are also still at their Statehouse, protesting last night’s (probably illegal) vote to end collective bargaining.
Everyone out in Indiana braving the cold and snow, keep up the good work!

Today's Teamster News 03.05.11

Are Wisconsin Republicans preparing to break with Walker?  Washington Post   ...we now have two news outlets, one local and one national, claiming GOP defections from Governor Scott Walker may be in the works...
Convictions 'Very Strong' for Wisconsin 14 as pressure grows   International Business Times   ...fourteen Wisconsin Democratic lawmakers said Friday they are not threatened by possible arrest and the chance that 1,500 people could lose their jobs if they don't return to work...
More Than 200 Union Protesters Rally Against SB 5  WLWT   ...Ohio Senate Bill 5 sent more than 200 union protesters to the streets of Clermont County in their vow to fight the bill all the way to the polls...
Indy protests run 'one day' longer, stronger  Evansville Courier & Press   ...For 12 days, union and nonunion workers have flocked to the Statehouse in protest of what they consider "anti-worker" legislation...
Randolph County Workers, Business Negotiate Contract (Local 175)   MetroNews   ...Union workers at a Randolph County Plant are still trying to work out a contract with company officials...
CAW members ratify contracts at Air Transat's Handlex; Teamsters still out  The Canadian Press   ...The labour contracts don't cover 400 Handlex employees in Toronto and Montreal who are represented by the Teamsters union and off the job...

Let's not forget Indiana

All eyes were on Wisconsin and Ohio yesterday, but protests are continuing in Indiana as Democratic lawmakers take sanctuary in Illiinois to prevent a vote on anti-union legislation. Brother Brian Buhle tells us a huge rally in Indianapolis is planned for March 10.  So all you Hoosiers (and Northern Kentuckians) should start making plans.

Teamsters on the front line in IN

No, it's not Madison. It's Indianapolis earlier this week.

It was a wild week in Indiana, with thousands of protesters at the Statehouse all week and House Democrats fleeing the state to avoid voting on an anti-worker bill. In the end, we won this battle, though our fight is far from over in other states.
Teamster sister Rebecca Hanscom, organizer extraordinare from Gary, went to Tuesday’s rally. Here's her report:

There were at least 3,000 people at the Statehouse on Monday, and more on Tuesday after the Democrats left the state. There was a big turnout by Steelworkers and, as the week went on, more Teamsters. There was a lot of solidarity. Thursday was family day, with guitars and bagpipes and kids. It was energetic, exciting, full of hope and power – something we haven’t seen in the Indiana Statehouse in a long time. The best thing was seeing the young people there with their drums.

Aubrey Cheatham, business agent with Local 89 in Louisville, tells Rally Girl:

We’re continuing to rally the troops. Thursday we had 5,000 people at the State House. Wednesday was our biggest day with 10,000 people who came to the State House in protest of these ridiculous bills. Local 89 has been bussing people up from Kentucky and we’re going to keep it coming.

Our old friend.

Aside from bussing people to these rallies, we’ve been asking voters throughout the state to fill out a postcard that says, “I’m a Hoosier who opposes right to work for less.” We address them to the proper legislator; so far, we’ve sent around 650. We’ll send off another 350 on Monday.

We’re getting a lot of momentum because we have a lot of new tea bagger legislators who are just plain nutty.

This is what democracy looks like.

Woo-hoo! Big victory for workers in IN!

We held the line in Indiana! A bill to severely weaken workers' rights has been tabled. The thousands of protesters who came to Indianapolis day after day made the difference.

Our fight is far from over, but momentum is building.

Teamsters President Hoffa said the labor movement has been rejuvenated. A national outpouring of support for working families helped defeat the bill in Indiana. Hoffa said

We’re not going to let them get away with these vicious assaults on working people. These are coordinated attacks funded by big corporations like Koch Industries, whose owners’ greed has no limits. Their goal is to drive down workers’ wages.

When working families stand together and say, ‘No, you are not going to take away our rights and our dignity and lower our standard of living,’ we can turn the tide of public opinion in our favor. That’s exactly what happened in Indiana.

I especially want to applaud the courage of the state representatives who left Indiana to prevent this anti-worker bill from passing. It wasn’t an easy decision to make and it wasn’t an easy thing to do, but it was the right thing to do.

We held the line in Indiana and we can hold the line in Wisconsin and in Ohio and in every other Statehouse where these anti-worker, anti-middle class bills are being considered.

That old Teamster feeling returns in 50 states

Teamsters are marching into the battle for American workers all over the country. They're showing solidarity for Wisconsin's embattled workers, opposing anti-worker legislation in their own state capitals, or both.

Solidarity rallies are planned this weekend in every U.S. state capital, and Teamsters will be there. In some cities, Teamsters are pounding the pavement in two, three, four and five days running. In Wisconsin, our Teamster brothers and sisters have been making the trek to Madison every day. Saturday's rally at the Wisconsin Statehouse is expected to be the biggest yet, and many Wisconsin Teamsters will be going to rallies in Milwaukee and in smaller cities and towns throughout the state.

Our brother Steven Nelson from Local 200 has driven to Madison all week.

Almost every day we march through the Rotunda. Every time we march in with our banner and our signs, and it's like thunder.  I'll be going by and hear people say, "The Teamsters are here." You get that old Teamster feeling. You feel the hair on the back of your neck stand up.

Nelson is thrilled that students, veterans, non-union workers and retirees are showing up as well. "Everybody's drawn back together," he said.

Yesterday in Madison, Jim Hoffa's appearance nearly sent the roof off the Rotunda. Hoffa stood on two milk cartons in the center of the hall and drew thunderous cheers. "You are turning the tide of public opinion," he said. "We have a saying in the labor movement, an injury to one is an injury to all.

Next year it's us. Next year it's everybody. We know what they're doing and we're not going to let them get away with it. ...You ain't seen nothing yet. You've hit a nerve. and what you've done you've also united all of labor. We know the battle you're fighting is all our battle.  All of labor, from California to New York, is united. We're going to make sure you have the support and we're going to be here for you.

Our brother Aubrey Cheatham from Local 89 in Louisville described a similar electricity in the crowds outside the Indianapolis Statehouse. There, thousands have protested all week against a right-to-work (for LESS) bill moving through the Legislature. Our Teamster brothers from UPS barns all around Indianapolis have been there every day. We're hearing that bill may be dead, but we're not declaring victory until we're sure it's 100 percent dead.

Teamsters stood in the rain for two hours to get in on Monday, Cheatham said. Outside, Chris Sanders, general counsel for UFCW, led the crowd in singing "We Shall Overcome."

Rally Girl here at Teamster headquarters has been keeping tabs on some of the other rallies throughout the country (though it isn't possible to keep track of them all. Here's what she reports.

Canton, Ohio: ...protestors, union members and labor activists demonstrated in front of the Canton Civic Center, where Ohio Gov. John Kasich spoke at the 97th Regional Chamber of Commerce Dinner Tuesday evening. Teamsters, teachers, firefighters and community groups are speaking out against Senate Bill 5 which, much like the Wisconsin budget proposal, would end collective bargaining for state employees.

Robert Jackson, president of Local 92, said:

Our governor is doing about the same thing to unionized workers here in Ohio. They’re using the economy as an excuse to break unions. I was thrilled to see so much support for our cause. It’s the first time I’ve seen anything like this and it’s very encouraging.

DesMoines, Iowa: Nearly 2,300 labor activists and union workers converged in Iowa Wednesday to stand in solidarity with Wisconsin public workers and fight for collective bargaining rights. Protestors spoke out against Iowa’s governor, Republican Terry Branstad, who doesn’t support unions. Among them was Dick Bacon, a retired member of Local 90 in Des Moines. Said Bacon

The state we’re in doesn’t make a difference; collective bargaining is under attack and a threat to one of us is a threat to all of us. What’s ironic about this whole thing is those who are against collective bargaining are forgetting that many of the rights and privileges they have today are because of unions.

Boston, Mass.: Showing solidarity with Wisconsin state workers, hundreds of union members and labor activists in Boston, including Teamsters, rallied Wednesday in front of the Statehouse on Beacon Street.
As Telegram.com reports, Boston-area Tea Partiers thought they could hold a counter protest, but they thought wrong. Pro-union protestors completely surrounded Tea Partiers, drowning out anti-union voices in an act of defiant solidarity.

Much more to come from Rally Girl. And here's a photo from Brother Nelson in Madison today:

Today's Teamster News 02.24.11

Indiana Right-To-Work Bill Now Moved to Study Committee  IndianaNewsCenter.com  ...President Pro Tem of the Indiana State Senate David Long says the Right to Work Bill is dead this legislative session...
Indiana Official: "Use Live Ammunition" Against Wisconsin Protesters  Mother Jones   ...The Indiana attorney general's office has confirmed to Mother Jones that Jeff Cox was terminated Wednesday...
Teamsters President Arrives in Madison  WISN  ...Hoffa arrived in Madison on Wednesday today, shaking hands with protesters...
Ohio public worker collective bargaining fight wins support of Rev. Jesse Jackson   kypost.com   ...In a Columbus Teamsters Hall gathering that was part revival and part rally, Rev. Jackson urged 200 union members to continue their fight against Senate Bill 5...
Union Protests Continue in Lansing  Interlochen Public Radio   ...Hundreds of unionized firefighters and police officers marched on the Capitol, calling on the Legislature to reject a bill that would repeal the requirement that puts local government labor disputes into binding arbitration...
VP defends unions against conservative 'social agenda'  The Hill   ...Unions are not the cause of the country's economic woes, Vice President Biden said Wednesday...
The Most Dangerous Union in the World  unsettling economics   ...we can call the Chamber of Commerce a union. This union is so powerful that the present United States must come before as a humble supplicant. This union was at the forefront of the deconstruction of the New Deal...
Top Six Revelations in the Call Between Fake David Koch and Governor Scott Walker  Huffington Post   ...1. Walker and the Senate Republicans are conspiring to withhold Democratic lawmakers' paychecks.
Colorado School Bus Drivers Choose Teamsters Union  IBT   ...School bus drivers with First Student in Pueblo West, Rye, Mesa and Beulah, Colo., have voted to become members of Teamsters Local 455 in Denver...

Today's Teamster News 02.23.11

Hoffa: Walker Has Gone Too Far  IBT   ..."Destroying workers' collective bargaining rights won't balance the budget and it won't create a single job..."
Poll: Americans favor union bargaining rights  USA Today   ...The poll found 61% would oppose a law in their state similar to such a proposal in Wisconsin, compared with 33% who would favor such a law...
Battle for workers' rights hits Lansing; more protests today over taxes, budget  Detroit Free Press   ..."They've been thinking about this for a long time, the tea party and the far right. This is their dream," Hoffa told the Free Press...
Wis. governor warns of layoff notices  ABC12   ...Neither Republicans nor Democrats are budging: Walker says he won't negotiate, and the 14 missing Senate Democrats say they won't return until he does...
Koch brothers quietly open lobbying office in downtown Madison  The Cap Times   ...The billionaire brothers whose political action committee gave Gov. Scott Walker $43,000 and helped fund a multi-million dollar attack ad campaign against his opponent during the 2010 gubernatorial election have quietly opened a lobbying office in Madison just off the Capitol Square...
State budget clashes spread to Indiana, Ohio  Washington Post   ...The offensive by Republican governors to tackle the power of public employee unions sparked new clashes Tuesday as protesters descended on Ohio's capitol and Democratic lawmakers in Indiana fled the state to avoid a vote on anti-union legislation...
At Grave Risk (opinion) New York Times   ...The great promise of the United States, its primary offering to its citizens and the world, is at grave risk...
UPS takes ocean freight service to 10 Asian ports  Associated Press   ...United Parcel Service Inc. said Tuesday it plans to expand one of its ocean freight services to 10 additional Asian ports after its rollout in Japan...
Emanuel Triumphs in Chicago Mayoral Race  New York Times   ...Mr. Emanuel, who will take office in May, won 55 percent of the vote against five other candidates...

Teamsters in the thick of things in OH, WI, IN, VT (and we're just getting started!)

Indiana Teamsters sit in at the state capitol.

Indiana Teamsters staged a sit-in at the Indiana Statehouse today as their brothers and sisters in Wisconsin and Ohio marched in massive rallies around their state capitols. More than a dozen rallies were held elsewhere throughout the country.

In Indiana, thousands of union members and students sat down in front of the Senate chamber to protest a scheduled vote on two anti-union bills. Democratic senators House members walked out, denying the quorum required for a vote. Reports the Louisville Courier-Journal,

...angered over a GOP agenda they say is anti-worker, hundreds of union workers and students staged a sit-in Tuesday morning outside the Indiana Senate chamber, chanting, “Ain’t no power like the power of the people.”

Meanwhile, House Democrats continued a boycott that is denying Republicans a quorum needed to move a controversial right-to-work bill, conjuring images of Wisconsin, where Senate Democrats have left the state to avoid voting on controversial anti-labor bills.

And this just in from the Indianapolis Star:

Democrats are headed to Illinois, though it was possible some also might go to Kentucky. They need to go to a state with a Democratic governor to avoid being taken into police custody and returned to Indiana.

In Wisconsin, thousands of protesters an estimated 30,000 were joined by at least a hundred Teamsters from Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, Racine and elsewhere.  They marched around the capitol this morning as two  Teamsters semis -- one from Local 120 in Miinnesota -- served as a gathering point. Brother Steven Nelson from Local 200 reports that the Teamsters have entered the Rotunda, where brother Rick Smith from Harrisburg, Pa., is broadcasting his radio program. Earlier, Nelson said:

We got a good group of union people walking around the capitol. AFSCME, correctional officers, teachers, the International Bricklayers and Allied Crafts. They're shouting "Kill the Bill" and "What's Disgusting? Union-busting!"

Koch whore Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker remains unwilling to compromise on his union-busting budget bill and the Assembly will once again attempt to pass the legislation today. The 14 Democratic senators (including our former Teamster brother Sen. Dave Hansen) are still in Illinois, preventing a quorum and a vote on the bill. The good news: new polls show Wisconsinites strongly support the efforts of working men and women, and strongly disapprove of Walker’s assault on the middle class.

Walker has also borrowed a page from Egyptian dicatator Hosni Mubarek and blocked pro-union websites. Reports CNN:

A left-leaning website that union supporters used to rally protesters in Wisconsin was partially blocked as demonstrators gathered in the state Capitol over a controversial budget bill.

Events were moving rapidly in Ohio as well, where thousands of protesters were denied access to the Statehouse. Our brothers and sisters flocked to Columbus from all over the state, where thousands of workers rallied for the second week to protests SB 5. (We're expecting photos later this afternoon.) The bill would eliminate collective bargaining rights for all state workers.

Testimony before a Senate committee was limited to those who met a deadline that was never publicized. While thousands are standing outside, peacefully protesting in the cold, only 1,200 have been allowed inside the Statehouse. Our sources tell us the Senate Democrats have filed for a court order to get the Republicans to open the Statehouse and a judge is hearing the case now.

Our Teamster brother Daniel Brush led a rally in Montpelier, Vt., where 300 people stood in the frigid cold to show their support for protesters in Wisconsin. Brush is the guy with the flag in the photo below:

Stay tuned, as there's lots more to come.

Today's Teamster News 02.22.11

Thousands take Wisconsin labor protest into its eighth day  Detroit Free Press   ...Thousands of people descended on the Wisconsin state Capitol in Madison today to chant and sing, hoist signs and denounce Gov. Scott Walker for what they view as a direct assault on organized labor...
Unions See Political Financial Motive in Governor's Bill  WBAY   ...Leaders at the local Teamsters 662 chapter accuse the governor of trying to bust unions for political reasons.
Billionaire Brothers’ Money Plays Role in Wisconsin Budget Dispute  New York Times   ...Even before the new governor was sworn in last month, executives from the Koch-backed group had worked behind the scenes to try to encourage a union showdown...
New York's Teamsters Local 237 to bus in support to union protesters in Wisconsin  Daily News   ...Local 237, which represents various city workers, intends to "bus a couple hundred" members to Madison - possibly this week...
'Right to work' bill sparks clash at the Statehouse   Journal and Courier   ...Over the protests of thousands of union workers, Indiana Republicans are pushing ahead with a bill that could incite the same kind of legislative stalemate that has frozen Wisconsin's state government...
Ohio, Indiana See Protests Against Anti-Union Bills  firedoglake   ... In Ohio, Gov. John Kasich is pushing pretty much the exact same bill as Scott Walker in Wisconsin...
ABF seeks appeal in Teamsters, YRC suit  The City Wire   ...Fort Smith-based ABF filed Friday (Feb. 18) an appeal as part of its effort to sue YRC and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters for violations of a wage agreement...
Teamsters, UAW on opposite sides of trade pact  The Oakland Press   ...The Teamsters have attacked the South Korean Free Trade Agreement supported by the United Auto Workers... 

Teamsters take the fight to IN, OH, OR, WA, NV



Indiana Statehouse


Thousands continued to protest for the eighth day in Madison but some of the action moved to Indianapolis today, where 7,000 workers showed up to protest a right-to-work (for LESS) bill that was voted out of committee.

Teamsters were there in force, their red-and-blue "Stop the War on Workers" signs extremely visible.

The IndyStar included an awesome photo gallery with several great photos of our members. One photo (can't use because it's copyrighted) shows our brother James Taylor, a truck driver with Local 135, sitting outside the committee room with the sign. Here are a couple more photos from Indiana:

In Washington state, Teamsters Local 117 sang the Wisconsin fight song at a noon rally in the capitol. They'd carpooled from Tukwila to Olympia. KIRO-TV reported 

Hundreds attended a rally in Olympia on Monday for the dual purposes of supporting state workers in Wisconsin and trying to save public services from the chopping block here in Washington.

Local 117 Secretary-Treasurer Tracey Thompson reminded her members:

It is important that the rights we possess in Washington State are not taken for granted. If the political landscape in our State were to alter slightly, the kinds of radical legislative changes now being imposed on working families in Wisconsin will almost certainly happen here.

Teamsters from Local 324 in Salem, Ore., brought "Collective Bargaining Is a Right" signs to a Capitol rally where hundreds of workers showed up.

Two thousand workers, including Teamsters from Local 631, came to a rally in Las Vegas today to show solidarity with Wisconsin workers. Teamsters joined another 300 in Carson City. (Photos to come.)

Many of our Ohio brothers and sisters will join a massive Wisconsin-like rally at Ohio’s statehouse in Columbus Tuesday to protest Senate Bill 5, which would abolish collective bargaining rights of state employees. According to the Dayton Business Journal

The mobilization is expected to be much larger than last Thursday’s turnout, where an estimated 4,000 people filled the statehouse atrium, rotunda and West Lawn to oppose the measure, according to a news release from the AFL-CIO. Among its other provisions, Senate Bill 5 requires workers to pay more toward health insurance premiums and switch to a merit-based pay system.

And finally, our favorite tweet of the day (about Wisconsin Koch whore Gov. Scott Walker:

@BrianKeljore   So Egyptians, the Packers, NFL Player's union, teamsters, firefighters, police, and Obama are against him and he still is being a child.