TEAMSTERS
Senate Takes Another Step Towards Keeping Double 33-Foot Trailers Off the Road Teamster.org ...Lawmakers took another stand for highway safety yesterday when the Senate removed language from a spending bill that would force states to allow an increase in the length of tractor trailers. “The Teamsters are encouraged by this latest bipartisan action to prioritize highway safety over greater corporate profits,” Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa said...
Members At Albany's Time-Union Ratify Contract Teamster.org ...Members of Teamsters Local 126 working at the Albany Times-Union newspaper have ratified, by a majority vote, a new three-year contract. The 63 members all work in the mailing department of the newspaper and fought back against the company’s desire to cut costs and threats of wage reductions. “They played hardball with us,” said Stefan Krueger, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 126 and an employee in the mailing department unit for the past 27 years...
Drivers Rally at City Call, Call on Council to Pass O'Brien Legislation Local 117 ...Drivers in Seattle's for-hire industry joined with dozens of community supporters to call on the City Council to pass Mike O'Brien's a Voice for Drivers legislation, which would give drivers the right to collectively bargain over their pay and working conditions. One driver said she had been recently deactivated by Lyft after helping to organize the day's event. "Last week they sent me an email saying that I was a platinum driver," she said. "Monday I attended a meeting at the Teamsters, and Tuesday I got an email saying I was deactivated"...
Seattle Lyft Driver Wants to Know Why She Was Deactivated After Attending a Teamsters Organizing Meeting The Stranger ..."I was at the Teamsters office," Kim says. "That's the only reason that [Lyft] deactivated me. I'm not stupid." Kim attended an organizing meeting for drivers at the Teamsters Local 117 office on Monday. By Tuesday at 1:43 p.m., Kim had been deactivated. Kim isn't the only app-based driver to claim that an account had been deactivated because of organizing activity. Last year, Will Anderson, a former Uber driver in Seattle, reported that he had been deactivated the morning after attending a meeting with the Teamsters Local 117...
Picketing at U focuses on parental leave Workday Minnesota ...Lack of parental leave was one focus of informational picketing Tuesday by workers at the University of Minnesota. Members of AFSCME and the Teamsters have been in negotiations with the University since June. The unions are seeking: Six weeks of parental leave, comparable to that given to P&A staff and faculty...
Cummins Teamsters Ratify new 3 Year Contract Local 769 ...On Tuesday November 17, 2015 Teamsters Local 769 members at Cummins in Miami unanimously ratified a new 3 year agreement. The bargaining unit, which consists of diesel mechanics, the parts department and warehouse workers, have long been members of Teamsters Local 769 The diesel mechanics service engines for Miami-Dade Transit and public school buses and their marine division provides yacht service throughout the Caribbean...
Coca-Cola Stubbornly Sticks to Unreasonable Proposals, Stalls With One Day Left to Negotiate Local 727 ...For the seventh consecutive bargaining session, Coca-Cola has wasted the time of the Teamsters Local 727 Bargaining Committee by refusing to budge from its unreasonable contract proposals. During another marathon 13-hour meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 18, Local 727 watched as management sat on its hands and resubmitted contract offers that members have explicitly made clear are unpalatable...
GLOBAL LABOR & TRADE
India's central bank employees strike over pensions BBC ...Most of the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) 17,000 employees went on strike on Thursday in what the central bank described as "mass casual leave". The walk out resulted in "some interruptions" to clearing and settlement operations at the central bank, but it said that its systems were largely operational. Four unions had called for the strike to demand better pension benefits...
Tazreen Fire Survivors: ‘Our Suffering Has Just Started’ Solidarity Center ...Survivors of the November 24, 2012, Tazreen fire who recently talked with Solidarity Center staff in Bangladesh say they endure daily physical and emotional pain and in many cases, have little or no means of financial support because they cannot work. Some, like Anju, who is unable to work, have never received compensation for their injuries...
Demerara Timbers workers strike for wage increase Stabroek News ...Under the umbrella of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), seventy workers from Demerara Timbers Limited (DTL) went on strike on November 19 at the company’s Mabura Hill operations. According to a GAWU press release, the strike resulted from a failure of the company to arrive at a consensus with the union since June 22, 2015...
Trans-Pacific Partnership: Obama Offers Helping Hand, Companies Give Cash To Support Democrats Backing Trade Pact IBTimes ...House Democrats have enjoyed the warm, friendly embrace of the chief executive and a steady flow of cold, hard cash from the companies that are backing a massive agreement with Asia-Pacific nations. Obama, in a display of political acumen that often has eluded him in dealing with Congress, never stopped wooing members who supported him as he eyeballed the prize -- ratification of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)...
Obama defends TPP secrecy, says now is chance for debate Reuters ...U.S. President Barack Obama launched a defense on Friday of a signature Pacific trade pact kept largely under wraps and said the public would get its say before legislators in each country debate the full details. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a "mega-regional accord" covering four-tenths of global GDP...
Mexican Immigration Declining; More Are Returning Than Arriving NPR ...A new study of immigration to the United States shows that more Mexicans have returned home than have arrived here since 2009. The report from the Washington, DC-based Pew Research Center also finds that the overall flow of Mexicans between the two countries is the smallest since the 1990s. The conclusions are based on government data here and in Mexico...
Police tear-gas farmers at anti-cuts rally in Greek capital RT ...Clashes erupted between riot police and protesting farmers in front of the Hellenic Parliament in Athens, on Wednesday after some 4,000 agricultural workers rallied from across the country to condemn planned tax reforms and austerity measures. Police used tear gas to disperse the protesters as they moved closer to the parliament building and threw oranges and other objects at officers...
Québec Fights Back Against Austerity Counterpunch ...We are supposed to accept austerity as being as natural as ocean tides. Or be demoralized by the power of the forces that continually press down on working people around the world. But there is an ongoing, organized fightback going on — in Québec. A series of rolling strikes by public-sector employees and students throughout 2015 appear to be headed toward a provincial general strike in December...
STATE & LIVING WAGE BATTLES
Why Missouri might be the next big battleground in the right-to-work debate Washington Post ...Missouri Republican gubernatorial candidates are using their anti-union stance to set up a fight with likely Democratic nominee Attorney General Chris Koster, who is funded in large part by labor groups and has vowed to block the policy, insisting it hurts wages. An August primary will decide who faces off in the race. Two days after Republicans failed to override the governor’s most recent veto on right to work, Koster’s campaign received a $20,00 campaign donation from a group representing carpenters...
Labor secretary: Wisconsin needs to raise its minimum wage Journal Sentinel ...The U.S. secretary of labor is calling on Wisconsin to raise its minimum wage. Thomas Perez, head of the Department of Labor, visited Milwaukee on Thursday to meet with workers and advocates for raising the minimum wage. The event, organized by Wisconsin Jobs Now, was focused on the "Fight for 15" movement, which aims to boost the pay for low-wage workers to $15 an hour...
Absentee ballots are expected to increase with new voter ID requirements Shelby Star ...In anticipation of next year’s requirement that voters have a photo ID, election workers across North Carolina asked voters this year if they had proper identification. Out of the more than 9,200 people who voted in Cleveland County's November municipal elections, fewer than 10 did not have an ID...
Lexington to boost minimum wage to $10.10 CNN ...Minimum wage workers in Lexington, Kentucky are about to get a raise. The Lexington Urban County Council voted Thursday to boost the city's minimum wage from the federal minimum of $7.25 per hour to $10.10 per hour over the next three years. The county will see a preliminary increase to $8.20 per hour on July 1, 2016...
Los Angeles Allegedly Forces The Mentally Ill Through Bureaucratic Nightmare For Welfare Think Progress ...A new lawsuit accuses Los Angeles County of making it too difficult for people with mental health issues to apply for a program called General Relief (GR), which is supposed to provide a $221 monthly stipend to all eligible Californians. In practice, the suit says, even that meager subsistence benefit is far out of reach for tens of thousands of people who need it most...
U.S. LABOR
U.S. airport workers stage one-day strike USA Today ...Baggage handlers, cabin cleaners, ramp workers, wheelchair attendants, janitors and other workers struck airports in Boston, Chicago O’Hare, New York’s John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia, New Jersey’s Newark, Philadelphia and Fort Lauderdale, Fla. American, Delta, United and JetBlue airlines told Reuters the strike didn't disrupt flights. But workers and labor experts said the protests drew attention in the industry and among travelers a week before Thanksgiving...
United Auto Workers' new contract with Ford at risk of rejection USA Today ...Union workers at Ford's Chicago Assembly Plant are the latest to soundly vote against a national contract with the automaker, casting further doubt about the United Auto Workers' ability to convince a majority of workers nationwide to ratify the agreement. About 53% of the more than 31,000 workers who have voted so far have voted against the contract...
Nursing home must bargain with union that lost election - NLRB judge Reuters ...A New York nursing home that called the police on labor organizers, fired a vocal union supporter and offered workers free jeans if they wore anti-union shirts on the job must bargain with a unit of the Service Employees International Union that lost an election, a National Labor Relations Board judge has ruled...
Solano County, SEIU reach tentative pact in labor dispute Daily Republic ...A late-night tentative agreement with the Service Employees International Union was reached Thursday after a 10-hour session with a state mediator, Solano County officials said – and a union spokeswoman said its bargaining team will recommend members approve the agreement...
Germany's largest trade union opens shop in Tennessee Politico ...The largest trade union in Germany is opening shop in the Nashville suburbs to help out the UAW in its bid to organize the South. IG Metall will announce this afternoon that it’s launching a joint office with UAW in Spring Hill, Tenn. as part of a “Transnational Partnership Initiative.” "IG Metall believes some German manufacturers are exploiting low-wage environments in the U.S. South...
Not all employers hate unions. These ones are trying to save them. Washington Post ...Unions are supposed to be a pain for employers. Especially strong, well-funded ones that are able to thwart their plans for change. not according to a host of government entities that have come to the defense of public sector unions at a moment when they could be wounded by a Supreme Court ruling on whether they're allowed to collect dues from nonmembers...
SOCIAL JUSTICE & OTHER NEWS
France Cancels Major Climate March, But Groups Say They Won't Be Silenced Common Dreams ...The Prefecture of Police of Paris has reportedly cancelled a march planned for November 29 that organizers expected to draw at least 200,000 people, citing security concerns. Activists noted that other actions planned worldwide will still move forward. Nicolas Haeringer, French campaigner for climate advocacy group 350.org, said in response, "The government can prohibit these demonstrations, but our voices will not be silenced"...
Kochs' Freedom Partners Spent $129M in 2014, Invested Massively in Voter Data Lists PR Watch ...The Koch network's secret bank, "Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce," spent big during the 2014 midterm elections, including doubling its investment in voter data collection efforts and secretly backing U.S. Senate candidates associated with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Freedom Partners is also vastly expanding surveillance and intelligence gathering on the Kochs' perceived opponents, Politico reports today...
Anti-Transparency Bill Implies Pennsylvania Police Have 'Something to Hide' Common Dreams ...The Pennsylvania State House on Tuesday passed a controversial bill that would hide the identities of police officers who use force or fire their guns while on duty, at least until an investigation is completed—a move the state ACLU chapter said would only serve to harm community relations...
Trump: ‘Absolutely’ Register All Muslims In A Database Think Progress ...On Thursday night, the billionaire Republican presidential candidate told an NBC reporter that all American Muslims “have to be” required to registered in a database in the wake of deadly terror attacks in Paris and Beirut. The attacks were carried out by ISIS, a group that proclaims itself to be Islamic — though many Muslims and religious scholars disagree that the group can be credibly considered part of the religion...
America Needs George W. Bush to Speak to His Party Slate ...What Bush did, successfully, was keep anti-Islam and anti-Muslim rhetoric out of national politics. He made clear that the United States was fighting a war against terrorists—not Muslims—and reminded Americans that “the majority of the victims of the terrorists have been innocent Muslims”...
Glenn Greenwald on "Submissive" Media's Drumbeat for War and "Despicable" Anti-Muslim Scapegoating Democracy Now ...In the aftermath of the Paris attacks, media coverage has seen familiar patterns: uncritically repeat government claims, defend expansive state power, and blame the Muslim community for the acts of a few. "Every time there’s a terrorist attack, Western leaders exploit that attack to do more wars," Greenwald says. "Which in turn means they transfer huge amounts of taxpayer money to these corporations that sell arms"...
Showing posts with label Local 769. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Local 769. Show all posts
Friday, November 20, 2015
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Today's Teamster News 11.18.15
TEAMSTERS
Teamsters Support House Introduction of Pension Accountability Act Teamster.org ...The Teamsters Union expressed its support today of the introduction of the House companion bill for Sen. Rob Portman’s (R-Ohio) Pension Accountability Act. The bill (HR 4029), which was introduced in the House by Reps. David Joyce (R-Ohio) and Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), would guarantee that the votes of thousands of retirees and participants would not be nullified as part of the process included in the Multi-employer Pension Reform Act (MPRA)...
Teamsters Applaud SFMTA Vote Ensuring Labor Harmony for Commuter Shuttles Teamster.org ...Today, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) voted to make the city’s commuter shuttle pilot program permanent, while also ensuring labor harmony for workers employed by commuter shuttle operators. The commuter shuttle program pertains to buses primarily serving Silicon Valley’s high tech industry, including Apple, Google, Facebook, and others. Consistent efforts by commuter shuttle drivers, Teamsters and community members to keep public attention on the critical labor harmony resolution resulted in final passage...
Miami Transfer Ratifies New 3 Year Contract Local 769 ...On Monday November 16, 2015, Teamsters Local 769 members from Miami Transfer ratified a new 3 year contract. Miami Transfer has been in business since 1896 and along with Florida Rigging they do a lot of work for Florida Power and Light. They also do a lot of rigging work for Pike and other utility pole companies throughout the Miami, Broward, and Palm Beach county areas...
Teamsters, Carhaul Employer Group to Reconvene Teamster.org ...The Teamsters National Automobile Transporters Negotiating Committee (TNATINC) will reconvene with the carhaul employer group this week to negotiate on the members’ behalf after carhaulers overwhelmingly voted to reject the national agreement and two supplemental agreements. The negotiations come after local unions held meetings over the past few weeks with the carhaul members to discuss the recently rejected tentative agreement...
Workers protest poverty wages at the U of MN Fight Back News ...More than 350 workers on the Twin Cities and Duluth campuses of the University of Minnesota braved the rain, Nov. 17, to rally and picket for raises and respect for unionized staff at the U of MN. Members of U of MN AFSCME and Teamsters Local 320, which collectively represent over 4000 university workers, are currently in contract negotiations...
GLOBAL LABOR & TRADE
Obama presses Canada for quick TPP approval Globe and Mail ...U.S. President Barack Obama is pressuring Canada and the other members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership to approve the trade deal as quickly as possible. The 12 leaders of TPP nations met Wednesday for the first time since they announced the deal in October and released the text on Nov. 5. The closed-door meeting was also the first opportunity for Canada’s new Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to meet with TPP leaders...
Protests Continue as Obama Praises TPP at APEC Summit TeleSUR ...Activists protesting against the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit (APEC) in Manila, Philippines, clashed with police on Wednesday in attempts to take their demonstration to the site of the the APEC meetings, where world leaders also met to discuss the controversial Trans Pacific Partnership. Social movements including labor unions, women’s groups, students, Indigenous people, farmer organizations, and international activists have protested the negative impacts of APEC’s free trade model...
TPP activists storm Morgan Stanley office in Washington RT ...Activists united against the Trans Pacific Partnership deal disrupted the Washington, DC offices of investment firm Morgan Stanley. Protesters pushed by the company’s security as they charged their way into the building. Morgan Stanley is one of many US companies supporting the TPP and has spent almost $10m on lobbying over the past three years...
The Trans-Pacific Partnership could end US-made clothing New York Post ...The deal would eliminate tariffs between the US, Canada, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. A key NYC industry, clothing and apparel, is more divided in its take on TPP. “They’re not encouraging the consumer to buy more American-made products,” says Ramdat Harihar, CEO of R&C Apparel. “If they’re cutting tariffs, they will manufacture more overseas”...
Greece, Lenders Reach Deal over Austerity Reforms; Aid Unlocked TeleSUR ...The Greek Finance Ministry said a payment of 2 billion euros will be made by creditors on Friday after reforms are ratified by parliament. Greece has reached an agreement with its European creditors Tuesday over financial reforms and austerity measures, allowing the country to receive bailout loans that were blocked because of disagreements over the reforms...
Honduran Union Leader, Family Leave Home after Threats Solidarity Center ...Honduran union leader Nelson Geovanni Nuñez Chavez was forced to leave his home with his family last week after repeatedly being followed and harassed, according to the Honduras-based nonprofit ACI-Participa. Nuñez Chavez is technical adviser to the Honduran agricultural workers’ union, Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Agroindustria y Similares (STAS), and host of the radio program, “The Unionist, Live”...
India cbank workers' strike on Thursday likely to disrupt settlements Reuters ...Nov 18 About 17,000 employees of the Reserve Bank of India are set to go on strike on Thursday for better retirement benefits and to oppose reforms to the central bank, raising the prospect of disruptions to banks and markets. The four unions that have called the strike say the reforms will reduce the RBI's regulatory powers and take away debt management operations away from the central bank...
STATE & LIVING WAGE BATTLES
Right To Work Is Debated in West Virginia The Intelligencer ...West Virginia Senate President Bill Cole said it is time to join the 25 other states that have passed right-to-work laws, but labor leaders Mike Caputo and Kenny Perdue said this is merely a Republican attempt to reduce wages for workers in an already poor state. State law currently allows companies to require membership in a union as a condition of employment. That practice is forbidden in right-to-work states...
Is "Right to Work" Right for W.Va.? WV Public ...Dozens of union members attended a joint committee meeting Sunday making their opposition for Right to Work legislation clear. For two hours, the Joint Committee on the Judiciary met to discuss possible Right to Work legislation and how it might affect West Virginia. Right to Work laws prohibit certain types of agreements between labor unions and employers...
Bills introduced by Simon address sexual orientation, campaign funds, paid sick leave WTVR ...HB07 wants full time employees to get a reasonable number of sick days. “Hard working Virginians shouldn’t have to choose between getting paid and going to work with a fever, the flu or worse,” Simon said. “It is essential to the health of Virginia’s workplaces that we provide a reasonable number of paid sick days for full time employees"...
L.A. County sets up wage enforcement program to police new minimum wage rules LA Times ...In the wake of this summer's decision to hike the minimum wage in unincorporated areas to $15 by 2020, Los Angeles County supervisors voted Tuesday to set up a new division to go after employers who violate the wage law. Details of how the enforcement program will work and what penalties will apply to offending employers remain to be worked out...
U.S. LABOR
Sonoma County SEIU workers strike amid contract talks Press Democrat ...About 1,500 Sonoma County government employees joined picket lines Tuesday for the first day of a planned three-day strike by the county’s largest group of unionized workers. The demonstrations, clustered mainly outside county offices in Santa Rosa, escalated a standoff between local government officials and rank-and-file employees about the rising cost of health care and other living expenses...
Ford-UAW contract passage in doubt as voting nears end Reuters ...Workers at two large Ford Motor Co (F.N) plants in Louisville, Kentucky, rejected a proposed four-year labor contract by 2-to-1 margin, putting its passage in doubt as voting at Ford plants factories nears an end. Of 7,408 votes cast at Louisville Assembly and Kentucky Truck plants, 65.5 percent voted against the contract, according to a UAW official...
Papa John's Franchisee Gets Jail Time For Failing To Pay Full Wages Huffington Post ...The owner of several Papa John's franchises in New York City will serve 60 days in jail for failing to pay his workers the minimum wage and overtime, New York's attorney general announced Monday. Two months isn't a particularly long time in the hoosegow, but any jail time at all is notable in a wage theft case...
McDonald's franchises must comply with NLRB subpoenas, judge says Reuters ...A U.S. judge has ordered 10 McDonald's franchisees in New York City to comply with subpoenas from the National Labor Relations Board seeking information on their relationship with McDonald's Corp, as the agency tries to prove that the fast food giant is a joint employer of franchise workers...
Airlines Do Fixes on the Cheap by Sending Planes Abroad to Unlicensed Mechanics Alternet ...Like outsourcing in every other industry, aviation outsourcing comes down to money. After 9/11, when America’s airline industry found itself in financial dire straits, commercial fliers introduced a number of cost-cutting measures. We’re now far too familiar with these practices, most of which remain with us. Less widely known is the fact that airlines also looked for ways to slash repair costs, a solution that required looking abroad...
The Lowest End Of The Income Spectrum Is A Dangerous Place For Mothers To Be Think Progress ...In a new research paper from Kristin S. Seefeldt and Heather Sandstrom published by the Russell Sage Foundation, the authors note that about 12 percent of all low-income mothers had neither a job nor welfare benefits in 2004, which jumped to about 20 percent by 2008. “The number of families with children who are without work and without cash welfare benefits has been growing over time since the implementation of welfare reform in 1996,” said Seefeldt...
U.S. Economy Increasingly Dominated by Monopolies as 2015 Corporate Mergers Continue Alternet ...There’s more evidence that corporate America is becoming ever more monopolistic and that’s not good for small businesses or consumers. This year is on track to see the most corporate mergers and takeovers since the Great Recession of 2008, according to many business page reports that said October was the fifth biggest month ever for mergers...
SEIU endorses Clinton Politico ...The powerful union behind the fast food workers' wage movement endorsed Hillary Clinton for president Tuesday. The 2-million-member Service Employees International Union approved the endorsement through a vote by its executive board. “Hillary Clinton has proven she will fight, deliver and win for working families,” said SEIU President Mary Kay Henry in a statement...
SOCIAL JUSTICE & OTHER NEWS
Poll shows support for reversing highway bill safety changes The Hill ...Safety advocates are touting a poll showing public support for reversing a host of regulatory changes that are included in a highway funding bill that is being negotiated by lawmakers. 77 percent of U.S. residents oppose a controversial proposal to increase a current limit on the length of double-trailer truck rigs from 28 feet to 33 feet. Only 22 percent of the poll's respondents said they support the longer truck proposal...
Koch brothers hijack historic criminal justice reform to make it tougher to go after corporate criminals Salon ...Not one Wall Street executive was criminally charged following the 2008 global financial collapse, and if the Koch brothers and House Republicans have their way, it’ll be harder to hold white collar criminals accountable for their future malfeasance. In an age when even acts of terror fail to lessen the tense political divisions in Washington, D.C. a rare beacon of bipartisanship comprise has taken root among elected federal officials working on criminal justice reform...
Paris attacks reshape U.S. debate on immigration, security Reuters ...U.S. lawmakers called on Tuesday for even tighter scrutiny of Syrian refugees fleeing to the United States as last week's deadly Paris attacks recast America's debate over immigration and national security, prompting a sharp rebuke from President Barack Obama, who said attempts to block entry were "offensive and contrary to American values"...
France Rejects Fear, Renews Commitment To Take In 30,000 Syrian Refugees Think Progress ...French President Francois Hollande promised to honor his commitment to take in tens of thousands of refugees on Wednesday. He said France would do so despite concerns raised by ultra-right nationalist leaders that refugees might pose a security threat to the country. Many immigration experts and political leaders noted that such humanitarian measures undermine ISIS’ argument that the West is at odds with Muslims...
"A Disturbing Increase in Islamophobia": U.S. Mosques Threatened, Canadian Mosque Set on Fire Democracy Now ...There are growing reports of Islamophobic attacks since Friday’s massacre in Paris. Just hours after the Paris assault, a caller left a voicemail laced with racial slurs for the Islamic Society of Pinellas County in St. Petersburg, Florida. The caller left his full name and threatened to "firebomb you, shoot whoever’s there on sight in the head." Meanwhile in Pflugerville, Texas, residents found a torn Qur’an covered in feces...
Latest Incidents Show Police Brutality Persists Despite Elevated Awareness Common Dreams ...Separate incidents in two U.S. cities over recent days reveal that tensions remain elevated over police brutality and use of excessive force in the United States. Captured last week on tape, the beating of a man in San Francisco has been likened to the infamous assault on Rodney King by the Los Angeles Police Department in 1991...
Teamsters Support House Introduction of Pension Accountability Act Teamster.org ...The Teamsters Union expressed its support today of the introduction of the House companion bill for Sen. Rob Portman’s (R-Ohio) Pension Accountability Act. The bill (HR 4029), which was introduced in the House by Reps. David Joyce (R-Ohio) and Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), would guarantee that the votes of thousands of retirees and participants would not be nullified as part of the process included in the Multi-employer Pension Reform Act (MPRA)...
Teamsters Applaud SFMTA Vote Ensuring Labor Harmony for Commuter Shuttles Teamster.org ...Today, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) voted to make the city’s commuter shuttle pilot program permanent, while also ensuring labor harmony for workers employed by commuter shuttle operators. The commuter shuttle program pertains to buses primarily serving Silicon Valley’s high tech industry, including Apple, Google, Facebook, and others. Consistent efforts by commuter shuttle drivers, Teamsters and community members to keep public attention on the critical labor harmony resolution resulted in final passage...
Miami Transfer Ratifies New 3 Year Contract Local 769 ...On Monday November 16, 2015, Teamsters Local 769 members from Miami Transfer ratified a new 3 year contract. Miami Transfer has been in business since 1896 and along with Florida Rigging they do a lot of work for Florida Power and Light. They also do a lot of rigging work for Pike and other utility pole companies throughout the Miami, Broward, and Palm Beach county areas...
Teamsters, Carhaul Employer Group to Reconvene Teamster.org ...The Teamsters National Automobile Transporters Negotiating Committee (TNATINC) will reconvene with the carhaul employer group this week to negotiate on the members’ behalf after carhaulers overwhelmingly voted to reject the national agreement and two supplemental agreements. The negotiations come after local unions held meetings over the past few weeks with the carhaul members to discuss the recently rejected tentative agreement...
Workers protest poverty wages at the U of MN Fight Back News ...More than 350 workers on the Twin Cities and Duluth campuses of the University of Minnesota braved the rain, Nov. 17, to rally and picket for raises and respect for unionized staff at the U of MN. Members of U of MN AFSCME and Teamsters Local 320, which collectively represent over 4000 university workers, are currently in contract negotiations...
GLOBAL LABOR & TRADE
Obama presses Canada for quick TPP approval Globe and Mail ...U.S. President Barack Obama is pressuring Canada and the other members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership to approve the trade deal as quickly as possible. The 12 leaders of TPP nations met Wednesday for the first time since they announced the deal in October and released the text on Nov. 5. The closed-door meeting was also the first opportunity for Canada’s new Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to meet with TPP leaders...
Protests Continue as Obama Praises TPP at APEC Summit TeleSUR ...Activists protesting against the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit (APEC) in Manila, Philippines, clashed with police on Wednesday in attempts to take their demonstration to the site of the the APEC meetings, where world leaders also met to discuss the controversial Trans Pacific Partnership. Social movements including labor unions, women’s groups, students, Indigenous people, farmer organizations, and international activists have protested the negative impacts of APEC’s free trade model...
TPP activists storm Morgan Stanley office in Washington RT ...Activists united against the Trans Pacific Partnership deal disrupted the Washington, DC offices of investment firm Morgan Stanley. Protesters pushed by the company’s security as they charged their way into the building. Morgan Stanley is one of many US companies supporting the TPP and has spent almost $10m on lobbying over the past three years...
The Trans-Pacific Partnership could end US-made clothing New York Post ...The deal would eliminate tariffs between the US, Canada, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. A key NYC industry, clothing and apparel, is more divided in its take on TPP. “They’re not encouraging the consumer to buy more American-made products,” says Ramdat Harihar, CEO of R&C Apparel. “If they’re cutting tariffs, they will manufacture more overseas”...
Greece, Lenders Reach Deal over Austerity Reforms; Aid Unlocked TeleSUR ...The Greek Finance Ministry said a payment of 2 billion euros will be made by creditors on Friday after reforms are ratified by parliament. Greece has reached an agreement with its European creditors Tuesday over financial reforms and austerity measures, allowing the country to receive bailout loans that were blocked because of disagreements over the reforms...
Honduran Union Leader, Family Leave Home after Threats Solidarity Center ...Honduran union leader Nelson Geovanni Nuñez Chavez was forced to leave his home with his family last week after repeatedly being followed and harassed, according to the Honduras-based nonprofit ACI-Participa. Nuñez Chavez is technical adviser to the Honduran agricultural workers’ union, Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Agroindustria y Similares (STAS), and host of the radio program, “The Unionist, Live”...
India cbank workers' strike on Thursday likely to disrupt settlements Reuters ...Nov 18 About 17,000 employees of the Reserve Bank of India are set to go on strike on Thursday for better retirement benefits and to oppose reforms to the central bank, raising the prospect of disruptions to banks and markets. The four unions that have called the strike say the reforms will reduce the RBI's regulatory powers and take away debt management operations away from the central bank...
STATE & LIVING WAGE BATTLES
Right To Work Is Debated in West Virginia The Intelligencer ...West Virginia Senate President Bill Cole said it is time to join the 25 other states that have passed right-to-work laws, but labor leaders Mike Caputo and Kenny Perdue said this is merely a Republican attempt to reduce wages for workers in an already poor state. State law currently allows companies to require membership in a union as a condition of employment. That practice is forbidden in right-to-work states...
Is "Right to Work" Right for W.Va.? WV Public ...Dozens of union members attended a joint committee meeting Sunday making their opposition for Right to Work legislation clear. For two hours, the Joint Committee on the Judiciary met to discuss possible Right to Work legislation and how it might affect West Virginia. Right to Work laws prohibit certain types of agreements between labor unions and employers...
Bills introduced by Simon address sexual orientation, campaign funds, paid sick leave WTVR ...HB07 wants full time employees to get a reasonable number of sick days. “Hard working Virginians shouldn’t have to choose between getting paid and going to work with a fever, the flu or worse,” Simon said. “It is essential to the health of Virginia’s workplaces that we provide a reasonable number of paid sick days for full time employees"...
L.A. County sets up wage enforcement program to police new minimum wage rules LA Times ...In the wake of this summer's decision to hike the minimum wage in unincorporated areas to $15 by 2020, Los Angeles County supervisors voted Tuesday to set up a new division to go after employers who violate the wage law. Details of how the enforcement program will work and what penalties will apply to offending employers remain to be worked out...
U.S. LABOR
Sonoma County SEIU workers strike amid contract talks Press Democrat ...About 1,500 Sonoma County government employees joined picket lines Tuesday for the first day of a planned three-day strike by the county’s largest group of unionized workers. The demonstrations, clustered mainly outside county offices in Santa Rosa, escalated a standoff between local government officials and rank-and-file employees about the rising cost of health care and other living expenses...
Ford-UAW contract passage in doubt as voting nears end Reuters ...Workers at two large Ford Motor Co (F.N) plants in Louisville, Kentucky, rejected a proposed four-year labor contract by 2-to-1 margin, putting its passage in doubt as voting at Ford plants factories nears an end. Of 7,408 votes cast at Louisville Assembly and Kentucky Truck plants, 65.5 percent voted against the contract, according to a UAW official...
Papa John's Franchisee Gets Jail Time For Failing To Pay Full Wages Huffington Post ...The owner of several Papa John's franchises in New York City will serve 60 days in jail for failing to pay his workers the minimum wage and overtime, New York's attorney general announced Monday. Two months isn't a particularly long time in the hoosegow, but any jail time at all is notable in a wage theft case...
McDonald's franchises must comply with NLRB subpoenas, judge says Reuters ...A U.S. judge has ordered 10 McDonald's franchisees in New York City to comply with subpoenas from the National Labor Relations Board seeking information on their relationship with McDonald's Corp, as the agency tries to prove that the fast food giant is a joint employer of franchise workers...
Airlines Do Fixes on the Cheap by Sending Planes Abroad to Unlicensed Mechanics Alternet ...Like outsourcing in every other industry, aviation outsourcing comes down to money. After 9/11, when America’s airline industry found itself in financial dire straits, commercial fliers introduced a number of cost-cutting measures. We’re now far too familiar with these practices, most of which remain with us. Less widely known is the fact that airlines also looked for ways to slash repair costs, a solution that required looking abroad...
The Lowest End Of The Income Spectrum Is A Dangerous Place For Mothers To Be Think Progress ...In a new research paper from Kristin S. Seefeldt and Heather Sandstrom published by the Russell Sage Foundation, the authors note that about 12 percent of all low-income mothers had neither a job nor welfare benefits in 2004, which jumped to about 20 percent by 2008. “The number of families with children who are without work and without cash welfare benefits has been growing over time since the implementation of welfare reform in 1996,” said Seefeldt...
U.S. Economy Increasingly Dominated by Monopolies as 2015 Corporate Mergers Continue Alternet ...There’s more evidence that corporate America is becoming ever more monopolistic and that’s not good for small businesses or consumers. This year is on track to see the most corporate mergers and takeovers since the Great Recession of 2008, according to many business page reports that said October was the fifth biggest month ever for mergers...
SEIU endorses Clinton Politico ...The powerful union behind the fast food workers' wage movement endorsed Hillary Clinton for president Tuesday. The 2-million-member Service Employees International Union approved the endorsement through a vote by its executive board. “Hillary Clinton has proven she will fight, deliver and win for working families,” said SEIU President Mary Kay Henry in a statement...
SOCIAL JUSTICE & OTHER NEWS
Poll shows support for reversing highway bill safety changes The Hill ...Safety advocates are touting a poll showing public support for reversing a host of regulatory changes that are included in a highway funding bill that is being negotiated by lawmakers. 77 percent of U.S. residents oppose a controversial proposal to increase a current limit on the length of double-trailer truck rigs from 28 feet to 33 feet. Only 22 percent of the poll's respondents said they support the longer truck proposal...
Koch brothers hijack historic criminal justice reform to make it tougher to go after corporate criminals Salon ...Not one Wall Street executive was criminally charged following the 2008 global financial collapse, and if the Koch brothers and House Republicans have their way, it’ll be harder to hold white collar criminals accountable for their future malfeasance. In an age when even acts of terror fail to lessen the tense political divisions in Washington, D.C. a rare beacon of bipartisanship comprise has taken root among elected federal officials working on criminal justice reform...
Paris attacks reshape U.S. debate on immigration, security Reuters ...U.S. lawmakers called on Tuesday for even tighter scrutiny of Syrian refugees fleeing to the United States as last week's deadly Paris attacks recast America's debate over immigration and national security, prompting a sharp rebuke from President Barack Obama, who said attempts to block entry were "offensive and contrary to American values"...
France Rejects Fear, Renews Commitment To Take In 30,000 Syrian Refugees Think Progress ...French President Francois Hollande promised to honor his commitment to take in tens of thousands of refugees on Wednesday. He said France would do so despite concerns raised by ultra-right nationalist leaders that refugees might pose a security threat to the country. Many immigration experts and political leaders noted that such humanitarian measures undermine ISIS’ argument that the West is at odds with Muslims...
"A Disturbing Increase in Islamophobia": U.S. Mosques Threatened, Canadian Mosque Set on Fire Democracy Now ...There are growing reports of Islamophobic attacks since Friday’s massacre in Paris. Just hours after the Paris assault, a caller left a voicemail laced with racial slurs for the Islamic Society of Pinellas County in St. Petersburg, Florida. The caller left his full name and threatened to "firebomb you, shoot whoever’s there on sight in the head." Meanwhile in Pflugerville, Texas, residents found a torn Qur’an covered in feces...
Latest Incidents Show Police Brutality Persists Despite Elevated Awareness Common Dreams ...Separate incidents in two U.S. cities over recent days reveal that tensions remain elevated over police brutality and use of excessive force in the United States. Captured last week on tape, the beating of a man in San Francisco has been likened to the infamous assault on Rodney King by the Los Angeles Police Department in 1991...
Friday, July 8, 2011
Woo-hoo! Another Teamster organizing victory in FL!
The new Teamsters work in technical, clerical and administrative jobs for the City of Vero Beach. Local 769 already represents 213 city employees.
According to TC Palm,
Some of the new employees covered work for the city's electric and water and sewer departments. The City Council is currently investigating a possible sale of the electric system to Florida Power & Light Co. and the water and sewer department to Indian River County.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
VIDEO: FL Rick Scott = WI Scott Walker
Today Florida's legislative session starts and it won't be pretty. Florida Gov. Rick Scott shares
Teamsters Local 769 is well-aware of Gov. Scott's threat to workers. The local sponsored a rally on Feb. 26., shown here in this video. That's Mike Scott, president of Local 769, in the video, not Rick Scott.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Today's Teamster News 11.24.10
Teamsters leader loses layoff arbitration case against Martin County TCPalm ...Curley led the revolt against the Public Employees United union in 2007 that resulted in the county's clerical and blue collar workers being represented by Teamsters Local 769. She was later named chief shop steward...
Corporate Profits Hit Record Wall Street Journal ...U.S. companies' profits rose in the third quarter to an annual rate of $1.66 trillion, the highest on record, reflecting the divergence between the recovery for the corporate sector and American households...
Record Corporate Profits Are Coming Out of Workers' Hides Daily Finance ...between the third quarter of 2009 and the same period on 2010, productivity was up 2.5% as output rose 4.1%, hours worked increased 1.6%, and unit labor costs fell 1.9%...
Barack Obama: Kokomo proves auto bailout worked Politico ...The GM stock sale and the revival of the plant, he added, proves that his decision to rescue the industry — decried by Republicans — saved jobs that otherwise would have vanished and triggered Kokomo’s economic rebound...
"Effects of the Financial Crisis and Great Recession on American Households" Economist's View ... almost 40% of households have been affected either by unemployment, negative home equity, arrears on their mortgage payments, or foreclosure...
Bush Excessive Tax Cuts for Wealthy Go to Help Create Jobs Overseas, Not in America Buzzflash
Wallets Out, Wall Street Dares to Indulge New York Times ...Two years after the onset of the financial crisis, the stock market is recovering and Wall Street’s elite are splurging...
Corporate Profits Hit Record Wall Street Journal ...U.S. companies' profits rose in the third quarter to an annual rate of $1.66 trillion, the highest on record, reflecting the divergence between the recovery for the corporate sector and American households...
Record Corporate Profits Are Coming Out of Workers' Hides Daily Finance ...between the third quarter of 2009 and the same period on 2010, productivity was up 2.5% as output rose 4.1%, hours worked increased 1.6%, and unit labor costs fell 1.9%...
Barack Obama: Kokomo proves auto bailout worked Politico ...The GM stock sale and the revival of the plant, he added, proves that his decision to rescue the industry — decried by Republicans — saved jobs that otherwise would have vanished and triggered Kokomo’s economic rebound...
"Effects of the Financial Crisis and Great Recession on American Households" Economist's View ... almost 40% of households have been affected either by unemployment, negative home equity, arrears on their mortgage payments, or foreclosure...
Bush Excessive Tax Cuts for Wealthy Go to Help Create Jobs Overseas, Not in America Buzzflash
Wallets Out, Wall Street Dares to Indulge New York Times ...Two years after the onset of the financial crisis, the stock market is recovering and Wall Street’s elite are splurging...
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