Today's Teamster News 10.25.14

Teamster News
Oakland School Bus Drivers Choose Teamsters Representation  teamster.org   ...First Student school bus drivers in Oakland, Calif., have voted by an overwhelming 15-1 margin in favor of representation by Teamsters Local 853 in San Leandro, Calif. The 150 drivers transport children in the Oakland Unified School District...
Meeting Celebrates Million Worker March Movement  Workers World   ...Founding members of the Million Worker March Movement held a 10th commemorative anniversary meeting Oct. 16 at Teamsters Local 808 in Long Island City, Queens, N.Y...
DiNapoli, Schneiderman hold “get out the vote’ rally in Orange County  MidHudson News   ...Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli brought their “get out the vote” tour to the Teamsters Local 445 hall in Rock Tavern on Friday...
Trade
Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement: Secret Deal Means Bad News For Consumers, Choice Warns  News.com   ...The TPP is being negotiated in secret by 12 countries, including Australia, with governments having full access to the draft agreement while the public have nothing, a WikiLeaks press release said. WikiLeaks Editor-in-Chief Julian Assange said it had a duty to reveal what is in the TPP. “The selective secrecy surrounding the TPP negotiations, which has let in a few cashed-up megacorps but excluded everyone else, reveals a fear of public scrutiny,” he said. “By publishing this text we allow the public to engage in issues that will have such a fundamental impact on their lives...
State Battles
Minimum Wage: Scott Walker Based 'Living Wage' Ruling On Restaurant Industry Study  Business Insider   ...Under pressure to raise the state's minimum wage, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker confidently declared that there was no need....That official government finding ... was largely based on information provided by the state's restaurant industry -- which represents major low-wage employers including fast-food companies...
Sacramento Crude Oil Transfers Halted; Air Quality Official Says Permit Was Granted In Error  Sacramento Bee   ...A Sacramento fuel distributor has agreed to stop unloading train shipments of crude oil at McClellan Business Park after the county’s top air quality official said his agency mistakenly skirted the state’s environmental rules by issuing a permit for the operation...
A GOP Governor Tried A Radical Tax 'Experiment' — And Now He's Hanging On For His Political Life  Business Insider   ...Kansas' budget, which has to be balanced each year by law, has serious revenue shortfalls. The state's credit rating has been downgraded by two major ratings agencies — Moody's and Standard and Poor's. School funding is being stretched thin, and there are whispers of concerns in rural parts of the state that some will close entirely. And now, a governor is in trouble...
War on Workers
The 1% are more likely to vote than the poor or the middle class, and it matters — a lot  Vox   ...After 1972, voters and non-voters differ significantly on most issues relating to the role of government in redistributive policies. In addition to these differences being evident in nearly every election since 1972, we also note that the nature of the electoral bias is clear as well: voters are substantially more conservative than non-voters on class-based issues...
Billionaire Investor Says Atlantic City's Taj 'Will Almost Certainly Close'  NBC News   ...Billionaire investor Carl Icahn says the struggling Trump Taj Mahal casino "will almost certainly close." The would-be purchaser of the casino told The Associated Press on Thursday night that the casino's finances are dire...
Picket Lines Due At Atlantic City's Taj Mahal Casino Friday  NBC News   ...Picket lines were to go up outside Atlantic City's Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort as union members planned to protest the court-ordered termination of their health insurance and pension plans. The picketing was scheduled to run from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday...
The Real Bailout Victims (opinion)  New York Times   ...It’s certainly true that the government deserves criticism for how it spent the A.I.G. bailout money: It funneled the money to the banks to make them whole on deals they had done with A.I.G., instead of requiring them to absorb some of the losses. But again, the real victim of the overly generous treatment of the banks is the American public...
Plutocrats Against Democracy (opinion)  New York Times   ...now you understand why there’s so much furor on the right over the alleged but actually almost nonexistent problem of voter fraud, and so much support for voter ID laws that make it hard for the poor and even the working class to cast ballots. American politicians don’t dare say outright that only the wealthy should have political rights ...a lot of what’s going on in American politics is, at root, a fight between democracy and plutocracy. And it’s by no means clear which side will win...
Construction worker dies in hit and run  Associated Press   ... 53-year-old Barry Asbury of Vance was struck and killed shortly after 2 a.m. Thursday on state Highway 170. Asbury was working with a paving crew on the road in Okatie when he was struck by a car...
Miscellaneous
Where Is The Investigation Into Financial Corruption At The NSA?  The Atlantic   ...Earlier this year, when Keith Alexander resigned as head of the National Security Agency, he began trying to cash in on expertise he'd gained while in government, pitching himself as a security consultant who could protect Wall Street banks and other large corporations from cyber-attacks by hackers or foreign governments. Early reports focused on the eye-popping price tag for his services: He reportedly asked for $1 million a month, later decreasing his rate to $600,000...

Teamsters keep up the pressure in OK, HI, NY, NM

Teamsters from Local 808 joined this White Plains rally.

Rally Girl brings us more stories pouring in about hundreds of rallies held across the country on 4.4.11.

In Oklahoma, members of Local 886 braved freezing temperatures and high winds to join nearly 600 outside of the Statehouse. With signs, stickers and the Teamster promise, they made their presence known. Enough Teamsters attended the event that the local actually shut down for a portion of the afternoon, but reopened after the rally had ended.

Local 996 in Honolulu didn't have to contend with nasty weather. Prior to attending the 4.4.11 rally, Hawaii Teamsters rented a trolley and drove around the island banging drums and blowing whistles before meeting with other union members at the Statehouse.

Brother William Ward, a member of Local 808 in New York, attended a rally in White Plains, N.Y., where he was reminded of words his father once said to him.

My father, now deceased, said to me the day he retired after 35 years as a mechanic, that “I feel sorry for you guys today, when I got out of the service in the mid 50's I knew I could get a union job and raise a family and buy a home. Today with you guys, your only a number to Corporate America. God knows where you guys will be in 20 years.” I have never forgotten those words from a long-time, strong supporter of unions and a very involved man with his unions and employee rights. Well, 20 years later here we are fighting a great power with unlimited wealth and a plan that has been in effect now for sometime. We must keep the pressure on politicians and corporate greed!

Sister Cynthia von Hendricks, a member of Local 492 in Albuquerque, sends this account:

My friends and I attended a rally in Albuquerque. There were between 350-400 people on a major intersection in the middle of town. I saw different unions represented, along with people from MoveOn.org and the Gray Panthers. There were also just working folk, like us there. We saw lots of signs, like, "We Are One" and "I Am Working America" and "Unions = Jobs." One person had a bullhorn so there were some union cheers and chants. The most telling thing to me was the attitude of the drivers going by—lots of honking, waving and general support.

I wrote all three news organizations in town and asked why they didn't cover the event. I'm sure (I said) that you cover Tea Party rallies.