Today's Teamster News 03.06.13

Dow Hits New High While Most of America Suffers  Economic Populist   ...Work in America has become so exploitive, many are working for free...
Sequester Cuts 'Will Impact Food Inspection,' Reducing Meat Supply, Agriculture Secretary Says Huffington Post   ...the budget cuts mandated by the sequester would force the USDA to furlough meat inspectors for up to 15 days. Federal law prohibits meat plants from operating without a federal inspector, so this suggested the entire industry would have to shut for more than two weeks, leading to higher prices and shortages...
U.S. “Stalling” Could Force Acceptance of Onerous TPP  Inter Press Service   ...That broad geographical sweep, together with the simultaneous negotiation of a lengthy but highly secretive list of contentious issues not necessarily related to trade, is leading critics to warn that the scope of any pending agreement could negatively impact on nearly half the globe....
Striking Iberia workers protest against job cuts  Reuters   ...Thousands of workers facing pay and job cuts at loss-making Spanish airline Iberia on Monday staged a second wave of protests that could ground nearly 1,300 flights this week. Iberia, part of International Airlines Group , is battling competition from low-cost airlines and high-speed trains as well as a deep recession in Spain, where one in four workers is without a job...
Mo AFL-CIO urges action to stop ‘RTW,’ paycheck deception measures  Labor Tribune   ...Hugh McVey, president of the Missouri AFL-CIO, say extremists are “set to strike in the General Assembly” and is urging union members to call their senators now to voice their opposition to “right-to-work” (for less) and paycheck deception measures...
'Right to Work' and Other Betrayals Are Killing Snyder, Republican Brand in Michigan  Huffington Post   ...The party that keeps promising lower taxes is raising taxes on retirees, slapping a new health care tax on ordinary citizens and jacking up the overall tax burden of families who are already struggling to make ends meet...
House Sides With Business On Labor Laws  Associated Press   ...(Georgia) House Bill 361 would allow workers to opt out at any time from automatic payroll deductions for union dues. Current law says workers must have only an annual option to opt out. House Bill 362 would prohibit any state or local government entity in Georgia from requiring that bidders for public works contracts use unionized labor for a project...
Grand Rapids teachers say paycheck cuts qualify them for food stamps  Michigan Live   ...Since Feb. 15 when the district began deducting back health insurance premiums over what it’s allowed to pay under the state’s Publicly Funded Health Insurance Contribution Act of 2011 ... morale among teachers has suffered dramatically and a sort of depression has set in. Some are losing $300 per pay check...
Corbett, wife accepted thousands in gifts from biz execs, lobbyists  philly.com   ...Corbett and his wife, Susan, accepted $11,343 in gifts from business executives, lobbyists or lobbying firms in 2010 … and in 2011, his first year in office. (They) were feted by business interests with Steelers playoffs tickets, private jet travel, seats at a swank gala for the Philadelphia Orchestra, a Rhode Island summer vacation aboard a businessman's yacht - even money to help pay for the first lady's inauguration gown...
Teamsters Applaud Council Decision To Keep Borough Law Enforcement Local  IBT   ...West York Council members voted last night to reverse a decision made earlier this year to accept bids from neighboring police departments to outsource the borough's law enforcement to the lowest bidder and close the West York Police Department. The council also announced its intention to move forward with negotiations with Teamsters Local Union 776 in Harrisburg, Pa...
3 approved labor union pacts await signatures  Toledo Blade   ...Signatures are the only thing needed after a collective bargaining deal between the three Waterville city labor unions was ratified and approved...“The Teamster contract will provide for insurance coverage for their union members, the four public works technicians,” said Dale Knepper, the city’s chief of finance and administration...
Progress on ABF-Teamsters talks may lead to extension Kansas City Business Journal ...ABF Freight System Inc. is anticipating that negotiations with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters could last past the March 31 expiration date of the current labor agreement between the two parties... 
Flight Attendants Union Coalition Blasts TSA Decision To Allow Dangerous Items Onto Aircraft AFA   ...The Flight Attendants Union Coalition issued the following statement blasting today's announcement..."Today's announcement to permit knives back into the aircraft cabin is a poor and shortsighted decision by the TSA. Continued prohibition of these items is an integral layer in making our aviation system secure and must remain in place...

Today's Teamster News 02.28.11

About 600 stalwart protesters allowed to stay in Capitol overnight  Wisconsin State Journal   ...Hundreds of protesters remained at the state Capitol overnight without incident and were not arrested, after police spent most of Sunday meeting with union leaders...
Police stop short of evicting demonstrators from Wisconsin capitol  Washington Post   ...the impassioned standoff over Gov. Scott Walker's effort to reduce the pay and curb the collective-bargaining rights of public workers continued with no end in sight...
Rallies in 50 states support Wis. protesters  CBS   ...Protests kicked off around the country today as the group moveon.org organized noontime rallies in all 50 state capitals as a sign of solidarity for union workers in Wisconsin...
Rally Held Outside City Hall in Solidarity With Wis. Workers  NBC   ...Keith Henderson, a New Yorker and member of the Teamsters, said he was there to support his brothers and sisters in any way he can...(Great video of interview with Brother Henderson)
Local Teachers Rally In Support Of Wis. Unions  KOCO.com   ...From teamsters to military vets to teachers, Oklahoma locals are worried what's happening across the country could happen here...
Thousands rally in St. Paul to support Wisconsin workers  Fight Back News   ...The noon rally brought out a broad spectrum of trade unions, including the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees and Teamsters...
Attack on the middle class?  The Herald-News   ...Rich Gierut, president and business manager of Joliet-based Teamsters Local 179, fears the movement will affect all unions eventually...
Legislators speak at Public Square rally supporting collective bargaining rights
(Local  507, 436)  The Plain Dealer   ...Union members and politicians marched in Public Square in downtown Cleveland on Thursday to protest Senate Bill 5 which is before the Ohio legislature...
If we don't fight Senate Bill 5, we all will feel its effects (Opinion)  Lancaster Eagle-Gazette   ...If we stand by and don't fight against SB 5 as Mr. Ben Bryant, of the Teamsters union 285, said, we will all see and feel the effect of unemployment across this country done by the Republican Party...
SB 5: Political power play?  FOX Toledo   ..."This is big, real big," said Mark Sobczak, vice president of Teamsters Local #20. "That’s really what this is, a fight for political power.”
Giant food workers worry about job losses at Jessup facility  Baltimore Sun   ...The company, C&S Wholesale Grocers, laid off 1,100 workers at a subsidiary in New Jersey earlier this month when it shut down six food distribution centers...

Today's Teamster News 01.28.11

St. Louis County Strike Averted. Here's What Really Happened.  Local 320  ...A lot has been said in the press about the alleged walk out of workers in Virginia.  It is unfortunate that County Administration jumped to this conclusion and spread this falsehood without checking the facts...
Goldman Sachs Got Billions From AIG For Its Own Account, Crisis Panel Finds  Huffington Post   ...The fact that a significant slice of the proceeds secured by Goldman through the AIG bailout landed in its own account--as opposed to those of its clients or business partners-- has not been previously disclosed...
YRC to cut 80 jobs in Akron  Journal of Commerce  ...The jobs affected are at the former Roadway headquarters on Gorge Boulevard. The work will be shifted to Buffalo, N.Y., and YRC's headquarters in Overland Park, Kan...
Weather Shield Contract (Local 662)  WJFW  ...The agreement keeps existing benefits with no across the board wage increase until the summer of 2012...
5 percent pay raise suggested for Polk officials Des Moines Register  ...labor agreements ... are expected to result in roughly 1.5 percent pay increases for employees...
Some Sullivan workers to get layoff notices next week  (Local 445)  Times Herald-Record   ...Legislators huddled for five hours Thursday to decide what positions to cut after labor unions refused to defer raises and longevity payments...
Study finds L.A.'s trash disposal system is wasteful and polluting  Los Angeles Times   ...A labor-backed advocacy group issued a study Wednesday that ... called for the adoption of a franchise process that could bolster recycling rates, provide green jobs and increase city revenue...
Teamsters Toledo Local votes to rejoin AFL-CIO  (Local 20)  Toledo Blade   ...the first time the local union has been under the AFL-CIO’s broader labor umbrella since 1957...
Santa Barbara MTD, Teamsters Union to Enter Into Mediation Over Retirement Benefits  (Local 186)  Noozhawk   ...The agency proposes, as a cost-saving measure, increasing the retirement age for employees to be eligible for full health benefits...
Crowell bill would make Missouri right-to-work state  Southeast Missourian   ...This legislative session, and for the past several years, Crowell has filed legislation that would prohibit union-only workplaces...
How The U.S. Chamber Of Commerce’s Egyptian Affiliate Went To Bat For The Egyptian Dictatorship  ThinkProgress   ...the U.S. Chamber of Commerce maintains a network of foreign affiliates known as Amchams, “which are foreign chambers of the Chamber composed of American and foreign companies...”
Brooksley Born of the FCIC: “We may well still be in a financial crisis”  firedoglake   "...We don’t know how solvent a number of institutions are...”

Today's Teamster News 01.14.11

Severance details for Rite Aid workers (Local 182)  RomeSentinel.com  ...Teamsters Union Local 182 negotiated a severance package for the employees laid off in Rome...
Toledo City Council elects 12th member  Toledo Blade   ...Teamsters Local 20 has objected to the elimination of the solid-waste work force while it has a collective bargaining agreement in force...
Franklin County probation officers in line for raises  (Local 992)    ...publicopiniononline.com   ...Franklin County probation officers will see annual raises of about 3 percent in an arbitrated contract with the county...
Teamsters union files grievance with Scranton Parking Authority (Local 229) The Times-Tribune
The Foreclosure Dump  Realty Check  ...The foreclosure glut is coming...
UPS expands green shipping option  Orlando Business Journal   ...its carbon neutral shipping is now available to customers in Europe, Asia and the Americas...
Two YRC Worldwide Drivers Named to America's Road Team  PRNewswire  ... Alphonso Lewis and Randy Briggs have been selected to serve as America's Road Team Captains...
State denies requestfor info on TransCanada connection  Mother Jones   ...Clinton raised ire among environmental groups and some senators when she indicated last October that the pipeline would likely be approved...
S.E.C. Looking Into Deals With Sovereign Funds  New York Times  ...The Securities and Exchange Commission has begun examining whether American financial firms may have violated bribery laws in their dealings with sovereign wealth funds...

Today's Teamster News 1.7.11

Hoffa 'Deeply Disappointed' In Mexican Trucks Proposal  IBT   ...Hoffa today questioned why the Department of Transportation (DOT) proposed a new cross-border trucking program at a time of persistent high U.S. unemployment, budget deficits and unrelenting drug violence in Mexico...
December Retail Sales Are Weaker Than Expected  New York Times   ...Sales at stores open at least a year rose 3.1 percent in December compared with the same month a year ago...
U.N. Data Notes Sharp Rise in World Food Prices  New York Times   ...Prices are expected to remain high this year, prompting concern that the world may be approaching another crisis...
Teamsters stand up for Timmins over Ring of Fire discovery  The Timmins Times   ...Union wants railway workers to benefit from a new rail line to Timmins...
UPS has the highest level of cash in the air freight and logistics industry  Zacks.com
Lawmakers feel heat of Keystone XL opponents  Lincoln Journal Star   ...Opposition along the proposed route farther west through the Nebraska Sandhills and over the Ogallala Aquifer has been more vocal and more organized...
Could ESPN Deal Prevent an NFL Lockout?  Forbes   ...ESPN and the NFL are on the verge of a massive contract extension for Monday Night Football...
Town ratifies Teamsters contract  seacoastonline.com  ...Hampton selectmen ratified a one-year deal with the Teamsters, which ... have been working without a contract for the last six years...
Teamsters Local Union Votes on First Collective Bargaining Agreement  WJHG-TV  ...The police officers ...voting Thursday on their first collective bargaining agreement with the Panama City...
Toledo violated law by forcing sanitation pact, state declares  (Local 20) Toledo Blade  ...The State Employment Relations Board Thursday found probable cause that the city of Toledo violated Ohio's collective bargaining laws by ... by imposing a new contract upon unionized city refuse and sewer plant workers...