Today's Teamster News 12.08.15

TEAMSTERS
More Facebook Drivers Join Teamsters, Ratify Strong Agreement  Teamster.org  ...Shuttle drivers who transport Facebook employees to and from work have joined Teamsters Local 853 in San Leandro, Calif., and ratified a strong agreement providing for significant wages, benefit improvements and gains mirroring or exceeding the Facebook/Loop Transportation contract already in place. These drivers with WeDriveU, Inc., will supplement the drivers who work for Facebook contractor Loop Transportation...
More Facebook shuttle drivers join Teamsters, get new contract  USA Today  ...The seven drivers with WeDriveU, Inc., a corporate transportation provider based in Burlingame, Calif., shuttle Facebook employees to and from work. They will supplement the 90 or so drivers working for Loop Transportation, which has a contract with Facebook. Back in February, those drivers approved a contract negotiated between Loop and Teamsters Local 853 of San Leandro, Calif...
It's Time to Take a Stand for Workers on TPP  Huffington Post  ...We serve as representatives of American organized workers on the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations (ACTPN) and together have stated that the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a bum deal we cannot support. By registering our dissent to the ACTPN report that endorses the agreement, the Teamsters, the United Steelworkers and the United Auto Workers are letting Congress and the public know this deal fails everyday Americans...

GLOBAL LABOR & TRADE
Trans-Pacific Partnership: Industry Discord Threatens Quick Approval Of TPP Trade Agreement   IBTimes  ...Six years of negotiations on a massive free-trade agreement among Asia-Pacific nations have produced an accord that’s generating lukewarm support from corporate America. Skepticism from industries as diverse as pharmaceuticals and financial services is now dimming the prospects for approval of the Trans-Pacific Partnership before U.S. President Barack Obama leaves office...
WTO Orders Sanctions Unless US Cuts Consumer Labels, Disproving Obama TPP Claims  Huffington Post  ...Yesterday's World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling against the country-of-origin meat labels (COOL) that Americans rely on to make informed choices about their food provides a glaring example of how trade agreements can undermine U.S. public interest policies. The ruling is a nightmare for the Obama administration's uphill battle to build support for the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)...
The Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) is Part of Obama’s “Pivot to Asia”  Global Research  ...The TPPA aims to enforce a common regulatory framework structured around the norms of American trade policies that govern rules for tariffs and trade disputes, patents and intellectual property, foreign investment, and other areas. Despite a level of secrecy that barred even elected public representatives of participating countries from access to the deal’s draft, advisors from major multinational corporations played a consistent, key role in forming the deal’s proposed measures...
Scottish Cabinet to Be Handed Petition to Block TTIP Trade Deal With US  Sputnik News ...A petition calling on the SNP-controlled Scottish government to oppose a controversial EU-US trade deal is due to go before the Cabinet on Tuesday, according to the anti-TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership) grassroots movement. The TTIP trade deal has faced sharp criticism from activists and policymakers...
There is no EU solution to climate change as long as TTIP exists  (opinion) Independent  ...The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) now being negotiated between the EU and the USA exemplifies the contradiction between Europe’s rhetoric on free trade and climate change. The European Commission has admitted that TTIP represents a danger to biodiversity, natural resources and the environment...
IBEW and Ontario Northland reach deal  Canadian Press  ... A five-year agreement has been reached between the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Ontario Northland president Corina Moore says the company is pleased that an agreement has been reached with the union, which "has shown tremendous leadership and commitment to the company"...

STATE & LIVING WAGE BATTLES
3 minimum wages in Oregon? Lawmaker's proposal would do just that  Oregon Live  ...Hoping to avoid a ballot fight in 2016, a Democratic state senator is crafting a proposal for three minimum wages in Oregon. A draft bill by Sen. Michael Dembrow, D-Portland, would divide the state into three regions — Portland, the Willamette Valley and everywhere else — with different minimums for each. The Portland metro area, including Washington and Clackamas counties, would have the highest...
Lincolnshire considers going 'right to work' in village limits  Chicago Tribune  ...The Lincolnshire Village Board might soon give unionized employees who work at private companies inside village boundaries the choice of whether or not to pay union dues. And a variety of interests from outside their boundaries might gather in Village Hall, either to support or protest the move...
Right-to-Work vote could cause lingering tension in Missouri Senate in 2016  Missourinet  ...The 2016 legislative session could be tense at times in the Senate from the aftermath of Republicans forcing a vote on a right to work bill. The proposal would have prevented workers from having to pay union dues as a requirement for employment.  Democrat Leader Joe Keaveny said some Democrats are still upset with Republicans. "I’ve got some that are still pretty energized and I’ve got some that would like to move on. I would like to see us work our way through this,” said Keaveny...
Civil Rights Commission Committee To Hold Hearing On Kansas Voter ID Law  KCUR  ...The Kansas voter ID law will be the subject of  a U.S. Civil Rights Commission committee hearing next month. The Kansas voter ID law is one of most restrictive in the country. Pushed by Secretary of State Kris Kobach, it demands voters not only have photo ID but they prove they are American citizens...
Koch-Funded Special Interest Groups and Utilities Bankrolling ALEC Meeting  Truthout  ...Koch-funded groups and utilities are bankrolling ALEC's closed-door winter meeting and parties for state legislators that are underway in Scottsdale, Arizona, at a luxury resort and spa. The three-day gathering is bringing together lobbyists and legislators to plan their 2016 bill agenda for the upcoming legislative session....

U.S. LABOR
UAW workers picketing outside Nexteer Automotive as strike begins  MLive  ...Workers represented by the UAW at Nexteer Automotive walked off their jobs at midnight Tuesday, Dec. 8, after the union failed to reach a new contract agreement with the company. Some of those workers appeared minutes later outside the gates of the sprawling manufacturing complex...
Unions For Workers At Detroit Casinos Reach Tentative Deal  CBS  ...Unions representing workers at Detroit’s three casinos have reached a tentative contract agreement that would cover about 7,000 workers. The Detroit Free Press reports the Detroit Casino Council, a consortium of four unions, reached the deal Sunday with Greektown Casino, MGM Grand Detroit and MotorCity Casino...
Trump Las Vegas Workers Vote For UNITE HERE Union  NH Labor News  ...After two days of voting in a National Labor Relations Board election, a majority of workers at the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas have voted “YES” to be represented by the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and the Bartenders Union Local 165 of UNITE HERE. Over 500 employees of the hotel are in the union’s bargaining units and were eligible to vote. Trump Las Vegas workers voted in the NLRB election on December 4 and 5 at their hotel...
UFCW Local 7 Grocery Workers Overwhelmingly Approve New Contracts  UFCW  ...Following three months of intense and challenging negotiations, members of UFCW Local 7 who work at King Soopers, Safeway and Albertsons stores in Denver, Colo., voted overwhelmingly to approve their new collective bargaining agreements. The new 40 month contracts are some of the best in the country...
Teacher contract dispute deepens, tests state law before union strike vote  Chicago Tribune  ...The school board has rejected the Chicago Teachers Union's demand to move contract talks to a final stage, setting up a new fight as teachers prepare to vote later this week on whether to authorize their leaders to call a strike. The union filed an unfair labor practice on Monday with the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board, demanding talks proceed to a fact-finding phase...
Day-Care Costs Can Drive a Family Into Poverty Before a Child Reaches Kindergarten  The Nation  ...The cost of daycare can drive a family into poverty before a child reaches kindergarten, but it’s also likely to impoverish her teacher first. While preschool programs are expanding nationwide, somehow, they cost parents everything while paying teachers nothing simultaneously. And childcare providers are so underfunded overall that the system leaves both teachers and families impoverished...
New report finds Americans lack economic mobility, opportunity  PBS  ...A report on poverty published on Thursday found a striking lack of economic mobility in America, that 43 percent of Americans born into families in the bottom fifth of the economic ladder are stuck there as adults, while 40 percent born in the top fifth stay there. The data was part of Opportunity, Responsibility and Security: A Consensus Plan for Reducing Poverty and Restoring the American Dream...

SOCIAL JUSTICE & OTHER NEWS
Railroads Beat Back New Safety Rules After Derailments  ABC  ...A pair of train derailments in 2012 that killed two people in Maryland and triggered a fiery explosion in Ohio exposed a little-known and unsettling truth about railroads in the U.S. and Canada: No rules govern when rail becomes too worn down to be used for hauling hazardous chemicals, thousands of tons of freight or myriad other products on almost 170,000 miles of track...
Climate Inaction Risks Warming Far Beyond 2°C Threshold: Exxon (Yes, Exxon)  Common Dreams  ..Blink and you'll miss it, but one line in a recent Washington Post interview on climate change with experts from fossil fuel giant ExxonMobil offhandedly suggests a nightmarish, desperate future if global leaders don't act fast—one that centers around a possible average temperature rise of up to 7 or more degrees Celsius. "With no government action, Exxon experts told us during a visit to The Post last week, average temperatures are likely to rise by a catastrophic 5 degrees Celsius...
Trump New Low: Ban All Muslim Immigration to U.S.  Daily Beast  ...After weeks of ramping up rhetoric against worshippers of Islam, the Republican presidential frontrunner says they have a ‘great hatred towards Americans.’ Donald Trump said Monday as president he would halt all Muslim immigration to the United States. His xenophobic rhetoric has intensified in the last week...
'No human being is illegal': linguists argue against mislabeling of immigrants  The Guardian  ...Santa Ana is among many linguists who argue that the phrase “illegal immigrants” is neither “accurate nor neutral”. Other law-breakers are not referred to as illegal, making immigrants an outlier in the naming system, he said...
Trump and the “Low-Skilled” Labor Myth  (opinion) New Republic  ...In an otherwise sensible column about the limitations and possible consequences of dubbing Donald Trump a fascist, New York Times columnist Ross Douthat suggests that one of “the legitimate reasons” Trump’s campaign has endured so long is that conservative voters share a “reasonable skepticism about the bipartisan consensus favoring ever more mass low-skilled immigration”...
Chicago on the Brink After Release of New Police Killing Video  Common Dreams  ...Outraged citizens of Chicago say they are taking to the streets Monday night after the Cook County State's Attorney on Monday announced there will be no charges filed against the police officer who fatally shot Ronald Johnson III, a black man, last year—a decision that was prompted by what Johnson's family attorney described as "a whitewash, a cover-up"...  

Today's Teamster News 08.24.15

Teamsters
Google Express Workers Choose Teamsters Representation  Teamster.org  ...Warehouse and shipping workers at Google Express Services voted today by a strong majority in favor of representation by Teamsters Local 853 in San Leandro, Calif. The 151 workers at Google Express in Palo Alto, employed through contractor Adecco, sought out the Teamsters for help with improving working conditions and treatment on the job...
Google Express workers vote to unionize  USA Today  ...Google Express workers in Palo Alto, Calif. voted to unionize Friday, although the news comes as the newly restructured Google closes two delivery hubs in the San Francisco area. The workers seeking representation are employed by human resources company Adecco to work for Google Express...
These Google workers have voted to join the Teamsters union  Fortune  ...Warehouse and shipping workers for Google Shopping Express, the tech giant’s same day shopping delivery service, voted Friday to join a local chapter of the Teamsters union. The 151 workers had sought to unionize because of what they described as poor working conditions, such as lack of ventilation, low wages, poor benefits, harassment to work faster and with damaged equipment, cracked floors, and failing electrical systems...
NLRB case asks who's really the boss of subcontractors' workers  LA Times  ...In the case brought by the Teamsters, the union maintains that Republic has sufficient control over the wages and work conditions of the Leadpoint workers to count as their joint employer with Leadpoint. The NLRB's general counsel, which says it's taking no position on the facts of the case, supports the Teamsters' interpretation of the law. "This issue is creeping into almost every industry where Teamsters work," including trucking, warehousing and food processing, says Doug Bloch...
Teamsters strike against Sun Tran may go on for a while   Tucson News Now  ...The Teamsters Local 104 Union's prediction that the Sun Tran bus strike may go on for weeks, not days, is coming closer to reality. The strike is now in its 16th day and there are still no talks scheduled. According to Teamsters Spokesman Andrew Marshall, "the federal mediator called me at 8:20 this morning and reiterated again there's no proposal from Sun Tran...
Teamsters break strike record, plan to rally  Arizona Daily Star  ... The strike has passed the record for the longest ever. In 2001, the workers were on strike for 12 days. Teamsters Local 104 is holding a rally at 4 p.m. today, at Ronstadt Transit Center, 215 E. Congress St. Sun Tran spokeswoman Kandi Young said the management continues to work with a federal mediator to try to schedule talks with the union. But Teamsters spokesman Andy Marshall called it lip service...

Global Labor & Trade
Critics of Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal warn about arbitration clause  LA Times  ...Few things have galvanized critics of the 12-nation Pacific Rim trade deal as much as an arbitration clause aimed at protecting foreign businesses from the hazards of investing in countries with weak rule of law and unstable governments. The provision allows multinational investors to sue foreign governments for expropriation and unfair or unequal treatment, giving them the ability to bring cases before a special, extrajudicial arbitration tribunal that is unavailable to domestic investors...
NAFTA countries reignite negotiations over TPP auto-parts dispute  Globe and Mail  ...Negotiators for Canada, the U.S. and Mexico are meeting in Washington to try to break a deadlock over autos – one of the biggest stumbling blocks to a massive Pacific Rim trade pact between 12 countries. They are facing pressure from firms in the Canadian and Mexican auto sectors for a better deal...
Protesters rally against the Trans-Pacific Partnership in Martin Place  Sydney Morning Herald  ...More than one hundred protesters gathered in Martin Place on Sunday to rally in opposition against the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The rally was organised by GetUp! and the Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network and called on Trade Minister Andrew Robb to scrap the United States-led deal, which will "set the rules" for business in the region...
Opponents of secret 'TTIP' trade deal with the US take to the streets  Chronicle Live  ...Campaigners took to the streets on Saturday to campaign against a new trade deal which is so secret that it has to be kept in a locked room in Brussels. Ministers say the planned Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), a treaty due to be signed by the US and EU, will boost exports from the North East by £1.05bn...
Rep. Rosa DeLauro: Now Is The Time to Stop the TPP  (opinion) BNR  ...The latest round of Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations has again failed to produce an agreement, despite intense pressure on the Obama administration to conclude negotiations before the start of the 2016 primary season. The TPP is in trouble because of serious problems with the agreement highlighted by Democrats in Congress and elsewhere. Now is the perfect moment for progressives to speak out about those weaknesses...
Kenya: Workers' Strikes Plunge Health Service in Crisis  AllAfrica  ...The crisis that has gripped health services has worsened as hospital workers in at least 10 counties threaten to strike over labour disputes with the devolved governments. The public health service in nearly all counties has been marred by claims of ethnic profiling, job stagnation, salary delays and withholding of allowances and poor working conditions...
Workers Win New Labor Law in Iraq  Solidarity Center  ...The Iraqi parliament passed a new labor law on Monday, marking a victory for workers and civil society who have long fought for a legal framework that would protect the interests of workers. The consensus version of the law was hammered out by representatives of workers and civil society with government officials earlier this month during a consultative conference...
China’s Stock Market Is Melting Down—and It’s Taking Markets Everywhere With It  Slate  ...Friday was a rout in the stock markets; Monday is already looking worse. The Shanghai Composite index tumbled 8.5 percent—erasing the last of its gains for the year in its biggest single-day loss since 2007. European stocks have plunged nearly 5 percent. U.S. stocks nosedived at the opening bell...

State & Living Wage Battles
Both sides prepare as right-to-work battle heats up  Joplin Globe ...Southwest Missouri Democrats plan a second town hall meeting to support Gov. Jay Nixon's veto of right-to-work legislation. Groups for and against the measure are gearing up in advance of the veto session that starts Sept. 16 in Jefferson City. The Missouri Chamber of Commerce is leading the charge for the veto override and suggests "an increasing likelihood of a successful vote"...
Minimum-wage debate heats up in Pennsylvania  Times Leader  ...Nineteen U.S. cities and counties experienced mandated wage increases this year; 29 states and Washington, D.C., already require employers to pay workers more than $7.25. Pennsylvania isn’t part of this group – yet. There are five bills pending in the state Legislature proposing to raise the minimum wage, with different methods and standards...
Under John Kasich, Ohio's Charter Schools Became a "National Joke"  Mother Jones  ...In the four years that Kasich has been in office, funding for traditional public schools has declined by almost half a billion dollars, while charter schools have seen a funding increase of more than 25 percent. Much of that funding appears to have been misspent. When State Auditor David Yost visited 30 charter schools unannounced this past fall, he found that in more than half of them, attendance was drastically lower...
NC voter ID case back in state court this morning  Progressive Pulse  ...The state court challenge to the 2013 voter ID provisions of the monster voting law is set for a hearing this morning at the Wake County Courthouse on the state’s request to dismiss the case. That request comes on the heels of the recent amendment to the law providing that voters lacking an acceptable photo ID can still cast a ballot after signing an affidavit...
Supporters of Puerto Rico statehood see opportunity as island's woes deepen  US News & World Report  ...With unemployment at 12 percent, and the public debt reaching $72 billion, advocates for making the Caribbean island the 51st state say the economic woes are strengthening their arguments. As a state, Puerto Rico's municipalities and public utilities would no longer be prohibited from restructuring their debts through bankruptcy. It would also receive more of certain kinds of federal funding that other states get...
Washington Supreme Court Rules All SeaTac Workers Be Paid $15 Minimum Wage  Truthout  ...SeaTac workers have a reason to celebrate after the Washington Supreme Court ruled 5-4 yesterday that the $15 minimum wage passed by a recent voter referendum should apply to thousands of airport employees. SeaTac surrounds Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, and many of its 28,000 residents are employed by companies near and in the airport...
Court Ruling Grants Home Care Workers Minimum Wage, Overtime Protections  Think Progress  ...A federal appeals court has reinstated a rule change that is meant to provide home care workers minimum wage and overtime protections. In 2013, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced that it would make changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act so that this workforce, who care for the elderly and disabled in their homes, would be guaranteed the same labor protections as all other workers...

U.S. Labor
NLRB Declines To Rule On Northwestern Football Players’ Union, Setting Back Player Organizing  In These Times  ...Faced with a decision about whether Northwestern University’s football team players could vote on whether they wanted a union, the five members of the National Labor Relations Board borrowed a tactic from the petitioning players’ game: they punted. They claimed that they could have decided, as the regional director did in March 2014, that the players were employees of the university. But the NLRB declined...
UAW activists pressure Detroit Three to end two-tier wages  Detroit Free Press  ...Auto workers need to continue to speak out to pressure UAW leaders as well as the Detroit Three to eliminate the two-tier wage structure in this year's contract negotiations, according to union members and retirees who spoke Sunday at an event in Detroit. “It’s now or never on ending two tier," said Jim Tyson, who drives trucks that deliver parts for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles...
California high court to hear Gerawan, UFW case  The Packer  ...California’s Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case involving the United Farm Workers and Gerawan Farming Inc., but it could be well into 2016 before the justices rule on whether the union and state officials can force the grower’s workers to join the union. The Fresno-based grower of stone fruit and grapes has been fighting the union and the California Agriculture Labor Relations Board...
Why One Company Is Experimenting With A Four-Day Workweek  Think Progress  ...Fast Retailing, which owns Uniqlo, Theory, and J Brand, will give about a fifth of its employees the option to work four days a week starting in October, Bloomberg News reports. In exchange for a three-day weekend, workers will have to put in 10-hour days when they are at work and some will have to work Saturdays and Sundays...
USW stages massive rally  NWI Times  ...At least 3,000 steelworkers marched through downtown Gary to the gates of U.S. Steel's Gary Works mill, demanding a fair contract that preserves benefits previous generations fought for. Steelworkers carried signs saying "Fair Contract Now" and "Mario Got His $15,000,000. Where's Ours?"...
Robert Reich: In the New Economy, Workers Take on All the Risk  Alternet  ...As Labor Day looms, more Americans than ever don’t know how much they’ll be earning next week or even tomorrow. This varied group includes independent contractors, temporary workers, the self-employed, part-timers, freelancers, and free agents. Most file 1099s rather than W2s, for tax purposes...
Oil Field Workers Keep Dying, and the Feds Want to Know Why  Mother Jones  ...The oil boom in North Dakota and elsewhere has helped the US become the world's leading energy provider and has captured the attention of Hollywood producers. It also has claimed the lives of dozens of oil field workers. Now, that fallout from the boom is drawing renewed attention from government scientists...

Social Justice & Other News
Donald Trump Changes His Tune On Taxing The Super Rich  Think Progress  ...On Sunday, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump struck a populist tone when talking about hedge funds and the taxes they pay. But Trump has not always stuck up for the less well off in his tax reform proposals. As recently as 2011, in his book Time to Get Tough, he actually called for lowering the tax rate on capital gains income as well as dividends... 
We Need to Fix Our Democracy: Lawrence Lessig Weighs Presidential Run to Rid Money from Politics  Democracy Now  ...The 2016 presidential race is shaping up to be the most expensive political race in history. Experts predict as much as $10 billion could be spent by candidates, parties and outside groups on the campaign. A recent analysis by The New York Times shows fewer than 400 families are responsible for almost half the money raised to date...

Today's Teamster News 08.06.15

Teamsters
Genentech Waste Workers Vote to Join Teamsters Local 853  Teamster.org  ...Workers who collect waste materials for Genentech Inc., are the latest Silicon Valley workers to vote in favor of representation by Teamsters Local 853 in San Leandro, Calif. The 15 workers include compliance technicians, chemists, in-site technicians and administrative assistants. They work at Genentech’s South San Francisco campus through contractor Clean Harbors, collecting and packaging waste and biodegradable materials needing special attention and care...
Teamsters Laud SEC Decision Making CEO, Employee Wage Gap Public  Teamster.org  ...In a victory for corporate disclosure, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) today completed the CEO pay ratio rule required under the five-year-old Dodd-Frank financial law.  The provision will require for the first time that companies reveal the pay gap between top executives and rank-and-file workers...
Second Group of Industrial Cleanup Workers Joins Teamsters Local 107  Teamster.org  ...For the second time in four months, workers at a Philadelphia industrial cleanup company have joined Teamsters Local 107. On August 3, 2015, technicians at PSC Industrial Outsourcing, LP voted 13-2 to join Local 107 in Philadelphia. The technicians work along-side drivers of vacuum/tanker trucks and clean up contaminated liquids under city streets. The victory follows another at PSC, on March 26, when the drivers voted 11-0 to join Local 107, for a combined vote of 24-2...
Tucson bus system: Union strikes after rejecting contract  Arizona Daily Star  ...Unionized drivers and mechanics at Tucson's bus system went on strike early Thursday after rejecting a labor contract, a company official said. The strike against Sun Tran began at 12:01 a.m. Thursday, a spokeswoman said. The strike came after a contract extension expired at midnight. That extension had been agreed to after Teamsters Local 104's members last week rejected an offer. Officials said earlier that with a strike, Sun Tran's normal 43 routes would decrease to five...
Teamsters Call for Director Resignations at Airgas  Teamster.org  ...A majority, 53 percent, of Airgas shareholders voting in yesterday’s director elections withheld support from three independent board members standing for re-election. Excluding the shares held by board members and executive officers, the “no” vote was 62 percent of shares cast or more than 51 percent of total outstanding shares...

Global Labor & Trade
Trans-Pacific Partnership could pose risk to public healthcare, leaked draft shows  The Guardian  ...The most recently leaked draft of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement shows it may pose a risk to public health because of excessive intellectual property protections for medicines, according to an expert on the impact of international trade agreements on healthcare. The draft predates the most recent negotiation round held in Hawaii at the end of July...
The Trans-Pacific Partnership Could Lead to Less Trade  CEPR  ...As a practical matter it is entirely possible that the TPP will lead to less trade. The rules that the United States is trying to impose on patents and copyrights and other forms of intellectual property claims will lead to considerably higher prices for the protected items. For example, the hepatitis C drug Sovaldi would sell for less than $1,000 per treatment without protection, but sells in the United States for $84,000 per treatment with patent protection...
TPP ministerial talks unlikely to be held by end of August  The Japan Times  ...Trade ministers from the 12 countries involved in a Pacific Rim free trade deal are unlikely to meet again by the end of this month amid remaining differences that prevented them from finalizing negotiations last week, sources said Thursday. Japan, the United States and the 10 other countries negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership will look at possibly reconvening a ministerial meeting in September...
Conservatives were sure Trans-Pacific Partnership deal would be signed   Globe and Mail ...The Conservative government was so confident in recent weeks it would sign a Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal that it was asking business groups to loudly support the conclusion of an agreement, reasoning their voices would drown out those of unhappy milk producers – the one sector Ottawa expected would be sorely disappointed...
Ontario, auto parts suppliers raise alarm over TPP negotiations   Windsor Star  ...The Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association said Wednesday it was alarmed by reports that Japan and U.S. negotiators were striking secret deals on lowering vehicle content requirements that would be part of a Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade deal. “Anything lower than the 62.5 per cent NAFTA standard would threaten Canada’s auto supply chain,” said Flavio Volpe, APMA president...
Canadians spared blind vote on massive trade deal  (opinion)  The Star  ...To trade negotiators and legacy-seeking politicians, the failure to finalize the world’s biggest trade deal in Hawaii last weekend was a frustrating setback. To Canadian voters, it was welcome pause. Most electors know little to nothing about the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a 12-country trade and investment pact hatched behind closed doors over the past six years...
Anti-austerity protests held across Athens  CCTV  ...Hundreds of protestors march through the streets of central Athens, demanding an end to austerity measures. They voiced their anger at the government's plans to sign a new bailout deal that includes pension cuts, tax hikes, and privatizations demanded by the country's international creditors. "We are constantly on the streets. The measures are so barbaric and there is no other alternative for us other than to fight"...
Tube strike: London commuters deal with queues and delays  BBC  ...Commuters are dealing with long queues and delays as they try navigating London during a strike that has shut down the whole Tube network. About 250 extra buses have been laid on but there are reports of 200 miles of tailbacks as commuters switch to cars. The 24-hour strike by four unions began on Wednesday evening and there will be no Tube service until Friday...<

State & Living Wage Battles
In Return Towards Justice, Court Rules Texas Voter ID Law 'Discriminatory'  Common Dreams  ...A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that Texas's controversial voter ID law, the most severe in the country, has a "discriminatory effect" against minority voters, in what civil rights campaigners say is an important step towards justice for African-American, Latino, and low-income people suppressed under the rule...
Kansas Comes To Its Senses, Abandons Plans To Hit Welfare Recipients With Draconian Fees  Think Progress  ...Kansan politicians tried to force public administrators to make life harder for poor people on welfare, passing a controversial law earlier this year to limit the amount of money public assistance benefits cards can withdraw from ATM machines at any one time to $25. But the public servants are fighting back, announcing Tuesday that they would rescind the law...
Puerto Rico’s Economic "Death Spiral" Tied to Legacy of Colonialism  Democracy Now  ...The White House has rejected a bailout package for Puerto Rico days after the U.S. territory failed to pay a small portion of the massive $72 billion it owes to bondholders. It was the biggest municipal bond default in U.S. history. Unlike U.S. states and municipalities, Puerto Rico cannot declare bankruptcy...
Local 'right-to-work' decision now in judge's hands  Business First  ...A "right-to-work" law that could have state or national implications is in the hands of a judge in Louisville. Earlier this year, Hardin Fiscal Court passed an ordinance that would allow workers to go to work for unionized companies without having to join the union. Similar legislation has been passed by some states, including Indiana and Tennessee. The issue has come up for the Kentucky General Assembly before...
I work at the US Senate. I shouldn't have to dance at strip clubs to feed my son  (opinion) The Guardian  ...I’m a single mother and I struggle to support my son on the $10.33 an hour I make at one of the most exclusive clubs in America – the US Senate. I’m a cashier employed by the British-owned contractor that runs the cafeterias in the Senate office buildings. But even though I serve some of the wealthiest and most powerful people in the world, I can’t afford to buy my son school supplies or clothes...

U.S. Labor
Companies forced to disclose CEO-workforce pay gap  The Guardian  ...Publicly traded companies will have to disclose the pay ratios of their CEOs and the median pay of their workforce thanks to a split vote by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday. SEC chairwoman Mary Jo White said the regulator had no option other than to pass the rule, which passed in a 3-2 vote, with the two Republican commissioners voting against...
This new rule could reveal the huge gap between CEO pay and worker pay  Washington Post  ...Thousands of public U.S. companies are likely to soon be forced to share a number many would rather keep under wraps: how much more their chief executives make than their typical rank-and-file employees. The Securities and Exchange Commission  is expected to finalize on Wednesday a long-delayed rule forcing businesses to share their "pay ratio," a simple bit of arithmetic that would cast an unprecedented spotlight on one of corporate America's thorniest debates...
Rauner: ‘No lockout’ of State Workers, But Strike Possible  CBS  ...Gov. Bruce Rauner said Wednesday that he won’t lock out state workers if his administration and the largest public-employee union can’t agree on a new contract, but both sides acknowledged that they are nowhere near a deal.
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees’ contract expired June 30, though both sides have agreed to keep workers on the job through September...
Jobless Claims in U.S. Hover Near Lowest in Four Decades  Bloomberg  ...Filings for U.S. unemployment benefits are hovering near the lowest levels in four decades, a sign the strong labor market will bolster U.S. growth. Jobless claims rose by 3,000 to 270,000 in the week ended August 1, a report from the Labor Department showed on Thursday in Washington. The median forecast of 41 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for 272,000. The 255,000 reading two weeks earlier was the lowest since November 1973...
Obama Drafts Order on Paid Sick Leave for Federal Contractors  New York Times  ...Stymied by Republicans in Congress, President Obama has drafted an executive order to force any company that contracts with the federal government to issue paid leave to employees who are sick, are seeking medical attention or need to care for a sick relative. The draft order, obtained by The New York Times on Wednesday, could affect hundreds of thousands of workers...
Christian University Claims Unions Are Against Its Religious Mission  Gawker  ...Duquesne is a Catholic University in Pittsburgh with nearly 10,000 students. The school’s adjunct professors would like to unionize. Conveniently, Duquesne does not believe Jesus would be in favor of that. Adjunct professors across America tend to be poorly paid with little job security. Unionizing is one of the few things they can do to try to improve their tenuous positions...
Some Uber Drivers Say Company Misled Them  CNBC  ...Three weeks ago, Uber rallied 400 drivers to testify in an employee classification lawsuit that they wanted to stay contractors. Now, some of them have changed their minds. After speaking with Lichten & Liss-Riordan, the law firm representing the plaintiffs in the suit, six Uber drivers out of the 400 who originally testified on behalf of Uber have decided to speak against the ride-hailing company. They submitted new court declarations saying they were misled about the difference between contractors and employees...
#BlackLivesMatter and so should the high black unemployment rate — which is almost twice as high  Raw Story  ...The US unemployment rate is expected to hold steady at 5.3% on Friday – the lowest unemployment rate in seven years. Yet there is one group whose unemployment rate is still close to 10%: African Americans. The unemployment rate for black Americans has remained almost twice that of the general population for so long that experts believe it’s suffering from the “wallpaper effect” – no one notices anymore. That may be about to change...

Social Justice & Other News
In Midst of Shutoffs, Protesters 'Liberate' Water from Detroit Mayor's Mansion  Common Dreams  ...Over a dozen protesters on Tuesday converged at the Detroit mayor's publicly-funded mansion and "liberated" his water supply, in a creative direct action highlighting the inequities that underlie the city's mass water shutoffs and resultant humanitarian crisis. Campaigners from the Detroit and Michigan Coalitions Against Tar Sands went to Mike Duggan's "Manoogian Mansion" and filled jugs of water from a hose attached to an external spigot. They carried banners that read "Water is Life"...
A Failure of Capitalism: Trump, Trucks and Voter Rage  (opinion) Huffington Post  ...Senator Casey's opposition to larger trucks confronts a classic example of industry misbehavior. Rather than raising wages and hiring more drivers, trucking companies are attempting to use the Federal Government to force truck drivers to haul even more freight for the same wage. Workers are being crushed from both sides -- more work for the same pay, while taxes creep steadily up. The government empowers corporations to impose demands on small businesses and workers that enable a race to the economic bottom. Trump's success is getting these small business people and workers to blame those below them...
Give Us the Ballot: The Struggle Continues 50 Years After Signing of the 1965 Voting Rights Act  Democracy Now  ...It was August 6, 1965, when President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the Voting Rights Act, as Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks and now 14-term Congressman John Lewis looked on. The law has been under constant attack ever since. Just two years ago, the Supreme Court struck down parts of the measure in a case called Shelby County, Alabama v. Holder when it ruled states with histories of voting-related racial discrimination no longer had to "pre-clear" changes to their voting laws with the federal government...
Trump Mocked For Having No Real Immigration Plan, But Are His GOP Rivals Any Better?  Think Progress  ...Thursday’s premier GOP debate will feature real estate mogul Donald Trump comfortably in the number-one slot after his controversial remarks about undocumented Mexicans. Trump, when pressed by reporters for a concrete immigration plan, has said he would build a nearly 2,000 mile wall on the U.S.’ southern border and force Mexico to pay for it, deport all 11 million undocumented people currently living in the U.S., and then let whoever he determined to be the “good ones” back in. The statements were widely mocked as costly, unrealistic, and illegal...
Jonathan Ferrell Asked for Help—and Cops Killed Him  Daily Beast  ...The Ferrell case began before the deaths of Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Freddie Gray, and many others sparked a media firestorm and national debate over the use of excessive police force on black men and teens. Shortly after Ferrell was killed, Kerrick was charged and suspended without pay. But it took a second grand jury to finally indict him...
Why Schools Need More Teachers of Color—for White Students  The Atlantic  ...In public schools, where roughly 90 percent of the country’s children are enrolled, the lessons students learn are often skewed because of who is delivering the instruction and what kind of curricula and learning materials that instruction entails. Not only is the vast majority of the country’s teaching force white, but Eurocentric attitudes also tend to filter into classrooms...

Today's Teamster News 08.04.15

Teamsters
Hoffa Statement on Failure of Trade Authorities to Reach an Agreement on Trans-Pacific Partnership  Teamster.org  ...Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa in response to trade officials failing to finalize the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) during negotiations in Maui that ended late Friday. "Despite years of discussions about the TPP, there continues to be many fatal flaws that are rightfully giving many nations pause on whether to sign off on this faulty trade deal"...
Teamsters take on Silicon Valley  CNBC  ...In Silicon Valley, residents are used to seeing big buses rolling through the city transporting workers for tech companies. Now, those drivers want more money. On Saturday, bus drivers for Apple, Yahoo and eBay, among others, voted to ask for a new wage and benefits package. The 160 drivers are employed by a company called Compass Transportation. Back in February, the drivers voted for representation by Teamsters Local 853...
Bus drivers for Apple, Yahoo demand $27.50 an hour  CNN  ...Five months after unionizing, 75 bus drivers voted Saturday for a proposal that would increase their wages to $27.50 and provide them with new benefits. According to Rome Aloise, international vice president at Teamsters, the pay increase is significant bump from the $17 to $21 an hour they're currently making. "We agreed to be flexible on their client needs but inflexible on changing anything that was economic," said Aloise. "I think the negotiations went great ... It seems to be a very affordable contract [for] some of the richest companies in the world"...
Local 727 Members Helped Create ‘Wild Encounters’  Local 727  ...Teamsters Local 727 members played an important role in preparing for the July 1 grand opening of the new Hamill Family Wild Encounters exhibit at Brookfield Zoo. The $11 million, 2.3-acre exhibit, which occupies the space of the former Children’s Zoo, is aimed at fostering learning through up-close and hands-on interactions with animals. "Our members really do some incredible work," said John Coli Jr., President of Local 727...

Global Labor & Trade
Election Cycles Cloud Future of Trade Talks  Wall Street Journal  ...The U.S. and 11 other Pacific nations trying to hammer out a sweeping trade agreement notched progress in high-level talks in Hawaii but now face a renewed mix of thorny issues complicated by election seasons in the U.S. and Canada. A snowballing dairy fight threatened to derail the deal last week as top ministers also grappled with an economically larger issue on how automobiles can be produced and traded...
Trans-Pacific Partnership Session Ends With Heels Dug In  New York Times  ...Tokyo was ready to extend major concessions on American truck tariffs but was blocked by Mexico, which wanted less competition for its own trucks in the United States market. Canada held firm on protecting its politically sensitive dairy market ahead of elections in October, but for New Zealand, a tiny country with huge dairy exports, that was unacceptable...
Pro-trade lawmakers push for continued effort after setback in talks  The Hill  ...Pro-trade lawmakers and the business community are urging the Obama administration to keep pushing, after negotiators failed to finalize a massive 12-nation trade pact Friday. A group meeting for negotiations for the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) came to a standstill Friday, as the partner nations were unable to finalize the terms of the deal. U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said “significant progress” had been made, but all parties left the Hawaii meeting empty-handed...

State Department watered down human trafficking report  Reuters  ...Human rights experts at the State Department concluded that trafficking conditions hadn’t improved in Malaysia and Cuba. And in China, they found, things had grown worse. The State Department’s senior political staff saw it differently — and they prevailed. A Reuters examination, based on interviews with more than a dozen sources in Washington and foreign capitals, shows that the government office set up to independently grade global efforts to fight human trafficking was repeatedly overruled by senior American diplomats...
Corporate Tribunals Pose Biggest Hurdle to Europe's Vote on Transatlantic Trade Pact  Truthout  ...July marked the second anniversary of negotiations between the US and European Union over the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), but for the millions of European citizens opposed to the trade deal it was not a month to celebrate. One of the main points of contention remains the debate about whether to include investor-state dispute settlements (ISDS) in the trade pact...
Did Obama’s Trade Agenda Just Quietly Run Out of Time?  Foreign Policy  ...It was just weeks ago that the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) passed after a perilous journey through the U.S. Congress. The episode prompted numerous reminders of just what was at stake: the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and U.S. standing in the Asia-Pacific. When TPA passed, that agenda remained alive. But did it escape the jaws of Congress only to quietly miss its window?...
UK asks austerity-weary workers to suggest new budget cuts  CNN  ...Imagine your pay has been frozen for years and thousands of colleagues have been let go. Then your boss asks you for ideas on how to save even more money. That's exactly what the British government is doing to millions of workers in healthcare, education and administration. Finance minister George Osborne tweeted that he has emailed every public sector employee to "ask for their views on how we can continue to do more with less"...
First Great Western rail workers to strike over August bank holiday weekend  The Guardian  ...Rail workers with First Great Western have announced they are to stage a series of strikes – including over the August bank holiday weekend – as a long-running row rumbles on over the introduction of new trains. Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union, including drivers and guards, will walk out for 24 hours on 23 August and for 72 hours from 29 August, with other members who work on maintenance striking on 29 and 31 August...
Japan's "Sacred" Rice Farmers Brace for Pacific Trade Deal's Death Sentence  Truthout  ...In small wet rice fields, or suiden, across Japan, farmers don rubber boots to slosh through the fields and check their plantings. Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in tropical Hawaii, negotiators are in the final stages of talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a trade agreement that farmers fear will disrupt the rhythm of their even-metered life. Rice is one of the five sacred areas of Japanese agriculture...
New Greek Bailout Increases the Possibility of Grexit  Counterpunch  ...It is now clear that the European authorities do not intend to let the Greek economy recover any time in the foreseeable future. The primary surpluses that the government has been forced to agree to—2, 3, and 3.5 percent of GDP for the three years of the deal, 2016 through 2018—will not allow Greece to escape its depression, which is now in its sixth year.  Even if they miss these targets, which is likely, just trying to do what they have committed to will keep the economy from recovering...

State & Living Wage Battles
California minimum wage initiative cleared for signatures  KPCC  ...A union-backed proposal to raise California's minimum wage to $15 an hour was cleared Monday to begin collecting signatures for a ballot initiative next year as local efforts continue nationwide to boost the minimum wage to better reflect the cost of living. The proposal by the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West would increase California's minimum wage by $1 an hour annually until it reaches $15...
NC House proposes spending $4.1B to improve infrastructure  WRAL  ...House leaders have raised the ante on both their Senate counterparts and Gov. Pat McCrory, proposing a $4.155 billion program aimed at rebuilding roads and rehabbing and expanding aging infrastructure. "We believe this proposal puts forward a great plan that both the Senate and the governor can pivot to and come together around," said Dean Arp, R-Union, who was put forward by House Republicans as lead author of the plan...
A Rare Red-State Accord for More Voter Access  The Atlantic  ...Last week, the coalition and Oklahoma’s election board announced an agreement in which the state committed to asking any person who interacts with welfare agencies whether they want to register to vote and then to helping them through the process. That includes assistance with helping them vote online. The state also agreed to establish a new website with information about the National Voter Registration Act...
Unions, policy analysts decry prevailing wage repeal  Pekin Daily Times  ...Now more than one month past the July 1 deadline for a comprehensive state budget, Illinois Senate President John Cullerton said he’d be willing to compromise on, among other things, prevailing wage laws to deliver a long-awaited agreement. Speaking to the Chicago Tribune last week, Cullerton listed prevailing wage laws, which require that construction workers on state-funded construction projects be paid a wage comparable to a set county average, as one of the first budget items he’d concede to Gov. Bruce Rauner...
Labor Organizes Against Right-To-Work In Governor’s Race  WKU  ...Supporters of right-to-work laws have had a hard time passing legislation in Kentucky through the Democrat-controlled House and governor’s office. But if Republican candidate for governor Matt Bevin is elected, the House’s slim eight-person majority would be the only thing standing in the way of the legislation, which would forbid unions from demanding dues from its members as a condition of employment...
Puerto Rico triggers historic default as austerity spiral deepens  Telegraph   ...Puerto Rico has triggered the biggest municipal default in US history, risking years of bitter legal warfare with creditors and an austerity "death spiral" with echoes of Greece. The island Commonwealth finally ran out of money on Monday after a desperate effort to stay afloat, and missed a final deadline for a $58m payment - handing over just $628,000...
Long Beach Council to consider minimum wage study  Press-Telegram  ...It looks like Long Beach will be the next city to consider a proposal to raise the minimum wage. Long Beach Councilwoman Suja Lowenthal’s office released a statement Monday in which she and three other City Council members call for a study to examine the possible effects of a city law mandating wage increases. Lowenthal and other council members supporting the idea also want to look at how fee reductions or business incentives could be matched to a wage increase...
New Affordable Housing Rule Would Make Developers In New York Give Back To Communities They Build In  Think Progress  ...Real estate developers won’t be able to continue ignoring the needs of New York City’s working class tenants for much longer, if a new proposal unveiled Friday by Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) is approved. The policy goes further than other affordable housing rules in the city, setting requirements developers must follow rather than creating options they can choose to pursue. “This affordable housing will be mandatory and it will be permanent,” de Blasio told ThinkProgress in a statement...
Washington has failed to enforce labor rights. Can cities step in?  (opinion) Aljazeera   ...In the past year Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland and Seattle have all scheduled minimum wage increases. At least 18 cities and four states now have passed paid sick leave laws. San Francisco also passed the Retail Workers’ Bill of Rights, which will guarantee employees fair notice of their schedules for shifts. All these measures create important improvements for working families. But how can these newly won rights be protected? The federal government is unlikely to help...

U.S. Labor
Verizon Workers Prepare for a Strike Over Job and Benefit Cuts  In These Times  ...Verizon wants to drive down costs, shrink its union workforce even further, and get out of the landline business. But in negotiations this summer it’s coming head-to-head with its unions, who want to protect gains won through decades of struggle. The Communications Workers of America (CWA) and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) began bargaining a new contract in June for 38,000 telecom workers in the Northeast from Maine to Virginia...
Iron workers strike for higher wages, health benefits  The Tennessean  ...A group of iron workers has left work sites of the Westin Hotel and other construction projects to protest for higher wages, health benefits and better work conditions. The eight Manchester, Tenn.-based rodbusters began the strike almost six weeks ago, asking for wages to be increased to the national average...
No decision yet but UAW not ruling out new election to organize Chattanooga VW plant employees  Times Free Press  ...The United Auto Workers local in Chattanooga isn't ruling out another election to organize Volkswagen plant employees, but it hasn't decided on a new vote as a Facebook post claims. "There are multiple paths toward collective bargaining," said Mike Cantrell, president of Local 42, in a statement on Monday. "All options have been and remain on the table"...
U.S. wage and benefit growth at slowest pace in 33 years  MLive  ...Wages and benefits for American workers grew in the spring at the slowest pace in 33 years, stark evidence that stronger hiring is not lifting paychecks much for most Americans. The slowdown also likely reflects a sharp drop-off in bonus and incentive pay for some workers. The employment cost index rose just 0.2 percent in the April-June quarter after a 0.7 increase in the first quarter, the Labor Department said Friday...
After Years Of Cuts, Cities And States Are Hiring Again  Huffington Post  ...Public employment, long seen as a secure job with good benefits, took a series of hits during the recession, with state and local governments implementing hiring freezes and layoffs. But job-seekers can take solace: Many states and localities are now hiring, buoyed by an improving economy and better-than-expected revenue...
Duquesne’s NLRB Filing Reads as a Brazen Threat To Adjunct Union Organizers  In These Times  ...In Pittsburgh, in a case that some have suspected is destined for the Supreme Court, Duquesne University has pushed the boundaries of employer intimidation. On April 29, adjunct professors Clint Benjamin and Adam Davis testified under oath at a hearing at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The topic was Duquesne University’s unwillingness to recognize the union that their colleagues overwhelmingly voted for three years ago. After the hearing, the regional director of the NLRB held that Duquesne had to negotiate with the union...
Verizon wants to bust the union  (opinion) Socialist Worker  ...Despite $18 billion in profits over the last 18 months, despite the top five Verizon executives pulling in a combined total of $44.4 million last year, with CEO Lowell McAdam alone making $18.3 million, and despite Verizon being the 15th largest corporation in America in 2014, management still wants major concessions. CWA's website details Verizon's most retrogressive, egregious and insulting demands: "deep cuts to pension benefits, skyrocketing increases in medical costs and the complete elimination of job security"...

Social Justice & Other News 
Alabama officer kept job after proposal to murder black man and hide evidence  The Guardian  ...A police officer in Alabama proposed murdering a black resident and creating bogus evidence to suggest the killing was in self-defence, the Guardian has learned. Officer Troy Middlebrooks kept his job and continues to patrol Alexander City after authorities there paid the man $35,000 to avoid being publicly sued over the incident...
Finally, One Banker Gets Sizable Jail Term. But Will Others Follow?  Common Dreams  ..."A message needs to be sent to the world of banking," said UK Judge Jeremy Cooke on Monday as he handed down a 14-year sentence to former Citibank and UBS trader Tom Hayes, convicted in a London court on eight counts of conspiring to manipulate a global benchmark interest rate known as LIBOR. While many of the world's leading banks have paid heavy financial penalties for tampering with the key benchmark, 35-year-old Hayes is the first individual to face a jury trial...
GOP debate preview targets immigration  Aljazeera  ...There was no Donald Trump but his top issue, illegal immigration, was a dominant theme for 14 Republican presidential candidates who faced off in New Hampshire on Monday night during a crowded and pointed preview of the 2016 primary season's first full-fledged debate. All but three of the 17 major Republican candidates for president participated in the Voters First Forum in what was essentially a rehearsal debate...
Global Glaciers Melting up to Three Times Rate of 20th Century  Common Dreams  ...The 21st century has already seen a record-smashing decline in the world's glaciers, which are melting at up to three times the rate of the 20th century and will continue to disappear even without further climate change, an alarming new study concludes. Entitled Historically Unprecedented Global Glacier Decline in the Early 21st Century, the research was published Monday in the Journal of Glaciology...
Robert Reich: America is revolting against its ruling class  Salon  ...“He can’t possibly win the nomination,” is the phrase heard most often when Washington insiders mention either Donald Trump or Bernie Sanders. Yet as enthusiasm for the bombastic billionaire and the socialist senior continues to build within each party, the political establishment is mystified. Political insiders don’t see that the biggest political phenomenon in America today is a revolt against the “ruling class” of insiders that have dominated Washington for more than three decades...

Today's Teamster News 08.03.15

Teamsters
Silicon Valley Drivers Vote Unanimously in Favor of Contract Proposal  Teamster.org  ...Shuttle drivers for seven big Silicon Valley companies voted overwhelmingly today to approve a union proposal for a first contract that includes industry-leading wages and benefits. The drivers employed by contractor Compass Transportation/Transdev voted 75-0 in favor. The drivers are members of Teamsters Local 853 in San Leandro, Calif. The proposal is the result of nearly five months of negotiations with the company...
Fort Riley Veterans Graduate From Military Job Training Program  Teamster.org  ...Today, Teamster representatives were joined by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach in a ceremony recognizing the graduates of a program that helps active military personnel transition to a career in transportation. The ceremony was held at the Army’s installation in Fort Riley, Kan. The innovative six-week program is the result of a partnership between the Teamsters Military Assistance Program, the U.S. Army, Fort Sill, ABF Freight, Soldier For Life, the Department of Defense and the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command...
Strike threat looms in anticipation of Sun Tran, Labor Union contract renewal  Tucson News Now  ...The threat of a bus strike looms again in Tucson, as talks continue between Sun Tran bus drivers and management over a new contract. The dangers bus drivers face, the risk on the road and their paycheck are all items that are up for negotiation. Sun Tran officials have provided the Teamsters Local Union with a final offer, and union members will vote on it during three meetings scheduled to take place on Saturday, Aug 1...
Apple, Yahoo shuttle drivers unanimously approve union wage package  USA Today  ...Shuttle drivers for Apple, Yahoo, eBay and several other Silicon Valley companies voted Saturday to approve a union wage and benefits package. The drivers who transport workers to and from those tech firms, as well as to Zynga, Amtrak, Evernote and Genentech, are employed by Compass Transportation. Back in February, the 160 drivers voted for representation by Teamsters Local 853 in San Leandro, Calif...
ABF Freight, Teamsters Graduate New Class Of Military Drivers  Times Record  ...A truck driver training program class jointly operated by ABF Freight, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the U.S. Army will graduate this week. ABF Freight is a subsidiary of Fort Smith-based ArcBest Corp. Known as the Teamsters Military Assistance Program, the program was created to help soldiers transition to civilian careers...

Global Labor & Trade
Talks for Pacific trade deal stall at a critical step  New York Times  ...Trade negotiators from the United States and 11 other Pacific nations were headed toward failure Friday, with difficult talks on the largest regional trade agreement ever breaking down over protections for pharmaceutical companies and access to agriculture markets on both sides of the Pacific. Negotiators will return to their home countries to obtain high-level sign-offs for a small number of final sticking points on the agreement...
Ministers fail to cinch major trade pact  Politico  ...Top trade officials from the United States, Canada and 10 other Pacific rim nations fell short of concluding the biggest trade pact in history on Friday because of differences over agricultural, autos and pharmaceuticals, but said significant progress had been made. “We’re confident that TPP [Trans-Pacific Partnership] is within reach,” U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said Friday...
U.S. Bends on Patent Data as Dairy Vexes Pacific Trade Talks  Bloomberg   ...The U.S. on Thursday abandoned its longstanding position on the confidentiality of some patent data as officials immersed themselves in the minutiae of Asia-Pacific dairy markets in a bid to clinch a landmark trade deal. A day marked by widespread frustration with the slow pace at which Canada took up talks on opening its dairy sector gave way to grinding, all-night talks on the quotas and tariffs that would be applied to products such as whey protein, cheese and milk powder...
Trans-Pacific Partnership delegates fail to reach final deal; pharmaceuticals, cars, dairy key sticking points  ABC  ...Delegates negotiating a Pacific free trade agreement have failed to reach a final deal after several days of intense talks in Hawaii. The talks were halted after a dispute flared between Japan and North America over autos, New Zealand dug in over dairy trade and no agreement was reached on monopoly periods for next-generation drugs...
McConnell warns Obama against tobacco carve-out in trade deal  The Hill  ...Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is warning U.S. officials negotiating a massive trans-Pacific trade agreement for President Obama not to target tobacco growers in a final deal. McConnell said singling out the tobacco industry would set a dangerous precedent for future trade deals, in a letter to Obama’s top trade representative...

Obama Administration Ignores Malaysia’s Trafficking Record   (opinion) New York Times  ...After one year on the State Department’s list of countries that are failing to combat modern-day slavery, Malaysia has been upgraded to a higher category. That judgment, part of an annual evaluation of how 188 countries deal with human trafficking, strains credulity, given how little Malaysia has done to address the problem. The decision has raised suspicions that Malaysia’s status was changed to advance the Trans-Pacific Partnership...
Getting the TPP right: What needs to happen in Hawaii  (opinion) The Hill  ...When done right, on a level playing field, trade can be a powerful tool for global growth and rising living standards. But too often, past trade deals have not lived up to this standard. Instead, they’ve created a massively tilted playing field that has incentivized a global race to the bottom on labor practices, environmental protections and human rights...
Stocks Plunge in Greece as Athens Exchange Reopens  New York Times  ...Investors issued a vote of no confidence in Greece’s economy on Monday, dumping Greek stocks as trading on the Athens stock exchange resumed for the first time in five weeks. Shares on the exchange initially dropped by 22.8 percent as trading began, with bank stocks falling 30 percent. Banks have been among the hardest-hit sectors of the Greek economy, and they are dependent on emergency cash from the European Central Bank to stay afloat...
Black Unionists Try to Save South Africa From Becoming a Failed State  Truthout  ...Irvin Jim, the general secretary of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA), the largest union in South Africa, and Zwelinzima Vavi, the former general secretary of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) visited Washington, DC, this month to discuss the crisis within South African trade unions. They spoke of the betrayal by the ruling African National Congress (ANC) in failing to implement the 1955 Freedom Charter and the deleterious impact of neoliberal economic policies...
Plane passengers face delays as Melbourne Airport workers strike  Herald Sun  ...The Community and Public Sector Union has warned of significant disruptions and delays at all Australian international air and shipping ports ahead of its latest round of industrial action. The union has detailed four-hour rolling stoppages in protest of the Federal Government’s approach to working rights, conditions and pay. Union members from the Depart of Immigration and Border Protection, Department of Agriculture, including quarantine, and Australian Border Force Marine Union will observe stoppages...
Oaxaca, Mexico, Faces Police Militarization as Governor Acts to Preempt Education Protests  Truthout  ...Thousands of federal and state police troops were dispatched in mid-July to the state of Oaxaca in southern Mexico to guard strategic buildings, patrol the skies and ensure that protesters cannot take over local radio stations. The aim of this heightened police militarization? To prevent protesting teachers from exerting pressure on the administration of Gabino Cué Monteagudo, the current governor of Oaxaca, in their efforts to resist nationally imposed education reforms...

State & Living Wage Battles
A $15 Minimum Wage Would Increase The Price Of A Big Mac By Less Than 20 Cents  Think Progress  ...If the minimum wage were increased to $15 an hour, prices at fast food restaurants would rise by an estimated 4.3 percent, according to a new study. That would mean a McDonald’s Big Mac, which currently goes for $3.99, would cost about 17 cents more, or $4.16. The price increases would be a good deal larger if the minimum wage were raised to $22 an hour, or average private sector pay: the authors found they would increase by 25 percent, raising the price of a Big Mac by about a dollar...
Scott Walker Stresses Importance Of Education Days After Cutting Education Funding By $250 Million  Think Progress  ...Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) went on Fox & Friends Thursday to discuss his entry into the 2016 presidential race. But the governor who recently earned negative headlines for cutting hundreds of millions from the state’s top-tier university system made a curious claim: that the key to boosting wages wasn’t the minimum wage, but education...
How Childcare Actually Causes Poverty in America  The Nation  ....Activists are pushing for a $15 hourly base wage for preschool teachers and childcare workers. Many are currently college grads earning poverty wages, which have basically stagnated for nearly twenty years. The raise would be a major step toward providing livable wages for the service working families can’t live without. As the Fight for 15 movement gains momentum for fast food and retail workers, advocates are asking, if the people who prepare your lunch deserve a living wage, surely so do the people preparing our toddlers for school?...
Chris Christie’s violent fantasies: National teachers union deserves a “punch in the face”  Salon  ...Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie said during a television interview Sunday that the national teachers union deserves a “punch in the face.” While campaigning for re-election in 2013, the New Jersey Governor scolded a local teacher after she challenged him on his claims that the state’s schools were failing. “I am tired of you people,” Christie yelled at the teacher, “What do you want?”...
Report: About 40% of workers in Ariz., U.S. have no paid sick leave  Yuma Sun  ...Close to half of Arizona’s private-sector workers, more than 934,000 people, do not have access to paid sick leave, according to a report Wednesday by a group pushing for such laws. But the National Partnership for Women and Families said Arizona is not alone: More than 43 million people, accounting for about 39 percent of private-sector workers in the country, currently don’t have the ability to earn paid sick leave, it said...
Without prevailing wage, pay will plummet, leader says  The Times  ...Without the state's prevailing wage law, construction workers would see their wages drop dramatically, a local labor leader says. "You'll see minimum wage within a couple of years," said Kevin Dale, business manager for Laborers International Union Local 393 in Marseilles. "You'll be making the same amount as the person flipping hamburgers at McDonald's when there's no prevailing wage." Earlier this year, Gov. Bruce Rauner proposed repealing the prevailing wage law...
Hedge Funds Helped Wreck Puerto Rico’s Economy, And The Poor Are Paying The Price  Think Progress  ...Depending who you ask in Puerto Rico, the debt crisis was caused by neo-colonial and imperialist policies from the U.S., the Puerto Rican government’s wasteful overspending and corruption, or the cadre of hedge funds that are currently profiting from the island’s woes. Add to that toxic mix a series of free-trade agreements that triggered mass outsourcing, and a population in rapid decline due to out-migration...

U.S. Labor
Verizon Workers to Stay on Job Without New Contract  New York Times  ...Verizon and unions representing workers in nine states said employees will work without a contract as more negotiations are scheduled. The wireless carrier and leaders of the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers announced the decision early Sunday, shortly after a contract covering 39,000 workers expired...
Bankruptcy Judge Gives Go-Ahead for Mass Firings of Unionized A&P Grocery Workers  In These Times  ...The mass firings of workers at the A&P supermarket chain is set to begin in mid-September, following action this week by a federal bankruptcy court approving a plan to quickly shed some 2,500 jobs at the ailing grocery retailer. The job cuts are a first step in a broader plan to dismember the entire 300-store chain, with expected job losses of 15,000 or more...
Negotiations begin for AT&T, Communications Workers of America  Local 10  ...AT&T has begun negotiations on contracts with 27,000 of its employees in the Southeast territory. Southeast region employees, who are represented by the Communications Workers of America, include employees in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. The CWA issued a news release Sunday saying that representatives from both sides met Saturday. However, AT&T regional spokeswoman Kelly Starling said negotiations have been ongoing since June...
Why Unions Aren't Uniting Behind Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders  Bloomberg  ...In the failed fight to stop fast track, organized labor spoke—largely—with one voice. The main U.S. union federation, the AFL-CIO, announced a temporary freeze on PAC contributions, and its affiliate unions mostly complied. Unions across the industry spectrum warned Democrats against siding with Obama on trade. Some big unions were quieter than others, but none defected to shield the president. The same can’t be said for labor’s presidential endorsement process...

Social Justice & Other News
Border Jails Facing Bond Defaults as Immigration Boom Goes Bust  Bloomberg  ...ails built to profit from an illegal immigration boom are weighing down the finances of rural counties in the U.S. Sunbelt as border apprehensions slow and the federal government orders the release of more migrants. In Texas, the heart of a jail-building boom over the past decade, nine of 21 counties that created agencies to issue about $1.3 billion in municipal bonds to build privately run correctional facilities largely for migrants have defaulted on their debt...
In St. Louis, Black Youths Bear Brunt of Dysfunctional Justice System  Common Dreams  ...Black kids in St. Louis, Missouri are being disproportionately impacted by unconstitutional and discriminatory miscarriages of justice within the Family Court system, according to a two-year investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. "In short, Black children are subjected to harsher treatment because of their race," the findings report reads...