Teamster News
Teamsters, Human Rights Groups Decry Inaction By Salvadoran Government On Gilberto Soto Murder teamster.org ...A full-page ad scheduled for publication in tomorrow’s edition of El Salvador’s largest daily newspaper denounces the government for its continued inaction on the 10th anniversary of the assassination of Gilberto Soto, a representative of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Soto was killed while visiting El Salvador to establish fraternal relations with transport workers there and throughout Central America...
Rep. Marcy Kaptur celebrates victory at Teamsters Hall NBC24.com ...Rep. Kaptur arrived at the Teamsters Hall around 10 p.m. to thunderous applause from the crowd of about 100 that were assembled...
Voting No On 1 To Repeal AO 37 Will Save Anchorage Millions (opinion) Alaska Dispatch News ...Each year, Anchorage receives millions of dollars in federal grants that finance much of our public transit system. Since 2007, Anchorage has been awarded over $31 million in federal transit grants. If AO 37 remains law, Anchorage will lose eligibility for that funding, but will not lose the expense of replacing buses and maintaining bus stops...
ArcBest Sees Increase In Third-Quarter Revenue, Production Levels Fort Smith Times Record ...McReynolds said the new labor deal between ABF Freight and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters ratified last October is “tracking as expected” and the savings of $55 million to $65 million would be realized...
Sysco Keeps Planning For US Foods Merger Amid Delay Houston Chronicle ...The Teamsters Union is worried that jobs will be cut in regions where Sysco and US Foods overlap. The group represents more 7,600 Sysco warehouse workers and drivers and 4,000 US Foods warehouse workers. It said in its October newsletter that 2,500 jobs are at stake...
Trade
Agribusiness: TPP Won’t Be Decided This Month WHO ...U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman says the final agreement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will not be made at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit this month in Beijing...
State Battles
Republican Scott Walker wins Wisconsin governor race Capital Gazette ...Wisconsin Republican Governor Scott Walker has won re-election, Reuters/Ipsos projected on Tuesday, prevailing in a tough fight against Democratic challenger Mary Burke...
Gov. Paul LePage wins a second term; Michaud concedes Bangor Daily News ...Paul LePage, the outspoken former businessman who rode a Republican wave into the governor’s mansion and late-night talk show jokes in 2010, has won re-election in Maine...
Kasich, GOP roll in Ohio election Newark Advocate ...Gov. John Kasich led a Republican statewide trouncing of Democrats Tuesday night, assuring Kasich's spot in the discussion about GOP presidential candidates...
Wolf Ousts Corbett in Pa. Governor's Race NBCDFW.com ...Democrat Tom Wolf, who gave $10 million of his own money to underwrite an early TV ad campaign that endeared the businessman and first-time candidate to voters, unseated Gov. Tom Corbett on Tuesday, sending the unpopular incumbent to a historic defeat...
Republican Gov. Rick Scott Defeats Democrat Charlie Crist in Florida Wall Street Journal ...Republican Gov. Rick Scott of Florida won re-election Tuesday, fending off a vigorous challenge from Democrat Charlie Crist and providing the GOP a boost in a key swing state ahead of the 2016 presidential election...
GOP Gov. Rick Snyder Defeats Democrat Mark Schauer in Michigan Wall Street Journal ...Michigan Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, who acknowledged voters’ discontent with the state’s economy recovery, locked up his re-election Tuesday on a promise to help place workers in better-paying jobs...
Brownback Wins in Kansas, Keeping Alive Tax-Cut Crusade Bloomberg ...Kansas Governor Sam Brownback won a second term, surviving a backlash to an anti-tax crusade that pitted him against fellow Republicans and tested voters’ patience for the Tea Party agenda...
California Voters Deal Blow To Prisons, Drug War Huffington Post ...Nonviolent felonies like shoplifting and drug possession will be downgraded to misdemeanors under the ballot measure, Proposition 47. As many as 10,000 people could be eligible for early release from state prisons, and it's expected that courts will annually dispense around 40,000 fewer felony convictions...
War on Workers
Riding Wave of Discontent, G.O.P. Takes Senate New York Times ...Propelled by economic dissatisfaction and anger toward the president, Republicans grabbed Democratic Senate seats in North Carolina, Colorado, Iowa, West Virginia, Arkansas, Montana and South Dakota to gain their first Senate majority since 2006...
To Angry Voters, Washington Comes Out the Biggest Loser New York Times ...Optimism about the future was in short supply in this a-pox-on-all-your-houses climate. And the sense of pessimism appears greater than in the last big election: Nearly two-thirds of voters say the nation is on the wrong track, up from a little over half in 2012...
Construction Worker Killed In Turnpike Crash WMTW ...A worker has been killed in an accident at a construction site on the Maine Turnpike in York, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration...
Uber And Its Shady Partners Are Pushing Drivers Into Subprime Loans ValleyWag ...Instead of mortgages, this time a bubble has formed around auto loans, and reliably ruthless Uber is in the thick of it. Two "partners" in Uber's vehicle financing program are under federal investigation, but Uber hasn't slowed its aggressive marketing campaign to get drivers with bad credit to sign up for loans...
Chipotle Faces Wage Theft Allegations From Workers Franchise Herald ...Chipotle employees from Colorado and Minnesota are alleging that the company often makes workers continue their services "off the clock" without pay. Several of these employees wrote official court statements explaining that they had to continue to clean up their restaurant locations despite the time keeping system clocking them out at 12:30 a.m...
Judge Orders Joseph Esposito To Sit For Deposition After Ebola, ISIS Excuses Were Deemed ‘Not Satisfactory’ New York Daily News ...City lawyers contended that Emergency Management Commissioner Joseph Esposito was too busy to be deposed for an Occupy Wall Street-related civil suit last week because of the Ebola crisis....Esposito, 64, was slated to answer questions under oath last week for a suit brought by a woman who says she was wrongly arrested during the Occupy Wall Street protests in 2011...
Miscellaneous
NSA Chief Bet Money On AT&T As It Spied On You Daily Beast ...At the same time Gen. Keith Alexander was running the National Security Agency, the United States’ biggest spying outfit, he was also trading stocks in an obscure technology company that had a sweetheart deal with one of the NSA’s most important sources of intelligence—the global phone and Internet giant AT&T...
Showing posts with label ME. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ME. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Today's Teamster News 10.02.14
Teamster News
City Sanitation Workers Get In The Pink For Breast Cancer Awareness Month New York Daily News ...The 6,300 members of the Sanitation Department will be wearing pink ribbons on their green uniforms for the next 31 days in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. “This has touched a lot of us throughout the department,” said sanitation worker Brian Tullo, whose mother battled breast cancer. ..
BLET Members Convene 3rd National Convention teamster.org ...BLET National President Dennis R. Pierce delivered his state of the union speech during the opening session of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen's Third National Convention...
New Legislation Aimed At Curbing Ridesharing Controversy In DC WUSA ...The Teamsters Local 922, which has formed an association with more than one thousand independent Washington taxi drivers, also issued a statement criticizing Cheh's bill. The legislation "does not do enough to provide for public safety, industry stability, or equity for taxi drivers," the Teamsters statement said...
Trade
The vulnerability of being ill informed: the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement and Global Public Health Journal of Public Health ...the TPPA poses serious risks to global public health, particularly chronic, non-communicable diseases. At greatest risk are national tobacco regulations, regulations governing the emergence of generic drugs and controls over food imports by transnational corporations...
State Battles
Kansas: Continued Budget Hemorrhaging Econbrowser ...Tax collections by Kansas state government in September fell a sobering $21 million below projections to mark the fourth time in the past six months revenue failed to match targets, officials said Tuesday...
Wisconsin Has 3rd-Lowest Business Start-Up Rate In Country, According To Census Data Wisconsin Public Radio ...According to the data, about 5,700 businesses with employees were created in Wisconsin in 2012, which constitutes less than 6 percent of all Wisconsin firms. Only Iowa and West Virginia had lower rates for the year...
In Wisconsin, A Push For Voter ID Law, But Not Voter IDs Center for Media and Democracy ...The Advancement Project and ACLU have noted that the state would need to issue 6,000 IDs per day to protect the right to vote. Yet two-thirds of the state's Department of Motor Vehicles offices are only open part-time, and just one is open on Saturday, making it exceptionally difficult for working people to get an ID or to drive a friend or family member who doesn't have one...
Report: Fla. voters had country’s longest waits to cast ballots Miami Herald ...Voters in Florida waited far longer than those in other states to cast their votes in the 2012 election, hampered by long ballots and cutbacks in early voting options, according to a new report by congressional auditors...
National union leader visits Maine to back Michaud, condemn LePage ‘right to work’ push Bangor Daily News ...The president of the nation’s largest unionized labor organization came to Maine on Wednesday to boost Democratic U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud’s campaign for governor, calling the congressman “a friend of the working people, whether they’re union or not.”...
NJ’s minimum wage rising in January by 13 cents Asbury Park Press ...The 1.59 percent increase, from $8.25 an hour to $8.38, is required under a constitutional amendment approved by 61 percent of voters last November that raised the mimimum wage by $1 and provided for automatic yearly increases to keep pace with inflation...
Minimum wage to rise to $8.10 for Ohio workers in 2015, up 15 cents cleveland.com ...The increase, announced Tuesday by the Ohio Department of Commerce, will benefit workers employed by companies with annual gross receipts greater than $297,000 a year...
Court Blocks Part of New North Carolina Voting Law Associated Press ...Parts of North Carolina's new voting law, considered one of the toughest in the nation, were set aside for next month's elections because they were likely to disenfranchise black voters, a federal appeals court panel ruled Wednesday...
War On Workers
Two years after college, too many grads are still 'adrift' The Hill ... Two years after graduation, 24 percent of graduates have been forced to move back home with their parents. No less shocking, 74 percent of college graduates "are receiving financial support from their families." Moreover, 23 percent of graduates who are "in the labor market are unemployed or underemployed," that is, they find themselves in jobs in which they work fewer than "20 hours per week" or where the majority of peer employees "have not completed even a year of college." Finally, a mere 47 percent of working graduates enjoy full-time jobs that "pay $30,000 or more annually," and this at a time when the average debt load for students who borrowed to attend college stands at $29,400...
Wal-Mart’s New Scheme To Prey On America’s Poor Salon.com ...to open an account, you have to buy a $2.95 “starter kit” from Walmart. There’s also a minimum deposit of $20 required. A visit to an out-of-network ATM will get you a $2.50 charge, and customers who do not keep a balance of $500 a month will get hit with a fee of $8.95. This last bit is especially worrying: if you suddenly lose your job, you can quickly rack up burdensome fees...
Worker Killed in Valley Forklift Accident WOWT ...Valley police say George Young was using a standing forklift Monday night while working at Midwest Manufacturing. At some point, the machine backed into a shelving unit and pinned him...
Miscellaneous
September U.S. Consumer Confidence Unexpectedly Drops Wall Street Journal ...U.S. consumers unexpectedly pulled back on their economic optimism in September, according to a report released Tuesday. The Conference Board, a private research group, said its index of consumer confidence fell to 86.0 in September from a revised 93.4 in August, first reported as 92.4...
City Sanitation Workers Get In The Pink For Breast Cancer Awareness Month New York Daily News ...The 6,300 members of the Sanitation Department will be wearing pink ribbons on their green uniforms for the next 31 days in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. “This has touched a lot of us throughout the department,” said sanitation worker Brian Tullo, whose mother battled breast cancer. ..
BLET Members Convene 3rd National Convention teamster.org ...BLET National President Dennis R. Pierce delivered his state of the union speech during the opening session of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen's Third National Convention...
New Legislation Aimed At Curbing Ridesharing Controversy In DC WUSA ...The Teamsters Local 922, which has formed an association with more than one thousand independent Washington taxi drivers, also issued a statement criticizing Cheh's bill. The legislation "does not do enough to provide for public safety, industry stability, or equity for taxi drivers," the Teamsters statement said...
Trade
The vulnerability of being ill informed: the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement and Global Public Health Journal of Public Health ...the TPPA poses serious risks to global public health, particularly chronic, non-communicable diseases. At greatest risk are national tobacco regulations, regulations governing the emergence of generic drugs and controls over food imports by transnational corporations...
State Battles
Kansas: Continued Budget Hemorrhaging Econbrowser ...Tax collections by Kansas state government in September fell a sobering $21 million below projections to mark the fourth time in the past six months revenue failed to match targets, officials said Tuesday...
Wisconsin Has 3rd-Lowest Business Start-Up Rate In Country, According To Census Data Wisconsin Public Radio ...According to the data, about 5,700 businesses with employees were created in Wisconsin in 2012, which constitutes less than 6 percent of all Wisconsin firms. Only Iowa and West Virginia had lower rates for the year...
In Wisconsin, A Push For Voter ID Law, But Not Voter IDs Center for Media and Democracy ...The Advancement Project and ACLU have noted that the state would need to issue 6,000 IDs per day to protect the right to vote. Yet two-thirds of the state's Department of Motor Vehicles offices are only open part-time, and just one is open on Saturday, making it exceptionally difficult for working people to get an ID or to drive a friend or family member who doesn't have one...
Report: Fla. voters had country’s longest waits to cast ballots Miami Herald ...Voters in Florida waited far longer than those in other states to cast their votes in the 2012 election, hampered by long ballots and cutbacks in early voting options, according to a new report by congressional auditors...
National union leader visits Maine to back Michaud, condemn LePage ‘right to work’ push Bangor Daily News ...The president of the nation’s largest unionized labor organization came to Maine on Wednesday to boost Democratic U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud’s campaign for governor, calling the congressman “a friend of the working people, whether they’re union or not.”...
NJ’s minimum wage rising in January by 13 cents Asbury Park Press ...The 1.59 percent increase, from $8.25 an hour to $8.38, is required under a constitutional amendment approved by 61 percent of voters last November that raised the mimimum wage by $1 and provided for automatic yearly increases to keep pace with inflation...
Minimum wage to rise to $8.10 for Ohio workers in 2015, up 15 cents cleveland.com ...The increase, announced Tuesday by the Ohio Department of Commerce, will benefit workers employed by companies with annual gross receipts greater than $297,000 a year...
Court Blocks Part of New North Carolina Voting Law Associated Press ...Parts of North Carolina's new voting law, considered one of the toughest in the nation, were set aside for next month's elections because they were likely to disenfranchise black voters, a federal appeals court panel ruled Wednesday...
War On Workers
Two years after college, too many grads are still 'adrift' The Hill ... Two years after graduation, 24 percent of graduates have been forced to move back home with their parents. No less shocking, 74 percent of college graduates "are receiving financial support from their families." Moreover, 23 percent of graduates who are "in the labor market are unemployed or underemployed," that is, they find themselves in jobs in which they work fewer than "20 hours per week" or where the majority of peer employees "have not completed even a year of college." Finally, a mere 47 percent of working graduates enjoy full-time jobs that "pay $30,000 or more annually," and this at a time when the average debt load for students who borrowed to attend college stands at $29,400...
Wal-Mart’s New Scheme To Prey On America’s Poor Salon.com ...to open an account, you have to buy a $2.95 “starter kit” from Walmart. There’s also a minimum deposit of $20 required. A visit to an out-of-network ATM will get you a $2.50 charge, and customers who do not keep a balance of $500 a month will get hit with a fee of $8.95. This last bit is especially worrying: if you suddenly lose your job, you can quickly rack up burdensome fees...
Worker Killed in Valley Forklift Accident WOWT ...Valley police say George Young was using a standing forklift Monday night while working at Midwest Manufacturing. At some point, the machine backed into a shelving unit and pinned him...
Miscellaneous
September U.S. Consumer Confidence Unexpectedly Drops Wall Street Journal ...U.S. consumers unexpectedly pulled back on their economic optimism in September, according to a report released Tuesday. The Conference Board, a private research group, said its index of consumer confidence fell to 86.0 in September from a revised 93.4 in August, first reported as 92.4...
Monday, September 15, 2014
Today's Teamster News 09.15.14
Teamster News
Con-Way Freight Workers in Texas Join Teamsters Local 657 teamster.org ...On September 12, 2014, drivers and dockworkers at Con-Way Freight in Laredo, Texas voted to join Teamsters Local 657...
Gov. Brown Signs Teamster-Supported Bill to Stop Workplace Abuse teamster.org ...Teamsters celebrated as California Gov. Jerry Brown signed AB2053, a Local 2010-sponsored bill addressing workplace abuse, into law on this week, following months of Local 2010 members testifying and meeting with legislators...
Hoffa: Pass Paycheck Fairness teamster.org ...Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa urges Congress to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act...
Trade
The TTIP deal hands British sovereignty to multinationals The Guardian ...The actual aim is to strip away obstacles to large corporations making profits – such as regulations that protect our privacy, the environment, food safety and the economy from a rapacious financial sector. And – crucially – TTIP further opens up public services to private companies motivated primarily by profit rather than people’s needs...
Transparency and the TPP (opinion) The Daily Camera ...Fast Track should be off the table, here, for one reason alone: The entire process has been shrouded in secrecy, making debate nearly impossible...
State Battles
Gov. Chris Christie Economic Numbers Don't Add Up International Business Times ...The discrepancy surfaces amid intensifying criticism of the Christie administration's decision to triple the amount of pension money invested in high-fee private equity, venture capital, hedge fund, real estate and other "alternative investment" firms -- many of whose employees have made financial contributions to Republican organizations backing Christie's election campaigns...
War on Workers
Chevron Shuts Gas Pipeline After Accident Wall Street Journal ...A contract worker performing routine maintenance on an offshore gas pipeline was killed Saturday and two other workers were injured, the company said. The accident occurred 6 miles south of Timbalier Bay off the southeast coast of Louisiana, according to the U.S. Coast Guard...
California Home Sales Dive, Prices Hit Wall, Millennials Blamed naked capitalism ...92% of millennials who don’t already own a home do not plan on buying one in the future. Ever...
Letting the Rich Take All The Money (opinion) firedoglake ..."The current world situation is not nearly so dire, but there are parallels, particularly to 1937. Now, as then, people have been disappointed for a long time, and many are despairing. They are becoming more fearful for their long-term economic future...
Workers in Maine Buy Out Their Jobs, Set an Example for the Nation truthout ...More than 60 employees of three retail businesses - Burnt Cove Market, V&S Variety and Pharmacy, and The Galley - banded together to buy the stores and create the largest worker cooperative in Maine and the second largest in New England...
Miscellaneous
Google Driverless Future Vision at Odds With Automakers Bloomberg ...Google is sweeping up top talent and research, powered by an almost $400 billion stock-market value that tops those of Toyota Motor Corp., Volkswagen AG and General Motors Co. combined. It’s also keeping a tight grip on its mapping data and potential marketing plans for cars while helping to create what many in the auto industry consider unrealistic expectations for how quickly cars can safely become wholly driverless...
Should Oil Barons Like David Koch Be Funding Our Museums? Vice ..."You have more of these donors from the 1 percent who are embedding themselves in our cultural institutions and yet turning around and lobbying for the sequester and budget cuts for those same institutions..."
Con-Way Freight Workers in Texas Join Teamsters Local 657 teamster.org ...On September 12, 2014, drivers and dockworkers at Con-Way Freight in Laredo, Texas voted to join Teamsters Local 657...
Gov. Brown Signs Teamster-Supported Bill to Stop Workplace Abuse teamster.org ...Teamsters celebrated as California Gov. Jerry Brown signed AB2053, a Local 2010-sponsored bill addressing workplace abuse, into law on this week, following months of Local 2010 members testifying and meeting with legislators...
Hoffa: Pass Paycheck Fairness teamster.org ...Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa urges Congress to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act...
Trade
The TTIP deal hands British sovereignty to multinationals The Guardian ...The actual aim is to strip away obstacles to large corporations making profits – such as regulations that protect our privacy, the environment, food safety and the economy from a rapacious financial sector. And – crucially – TTIP further opens up public services to private companies motivated primarily by profit rather than people’s needs...
Transparency and the TPP (opinion) The Daily Camera ...Fast Track should be off the table, here, for one reason alone: The entire process has been shrouded in secrecy, making debate nearly impossible...
State Battles
Gov. Chris Christie Economic Numbers Don't Add Up International Business Times ...The discrepancy surfaces amid intensifying criticism of the Christie administration's decision to triple the amount of pension money invested in high-fee private equity, venture capital, hedge fund, real estate and other "alternative investment" firms -- many of whose employees have made financial contributions to Republican organizations backing Christie's election campaigns...
War on Workers
Chevron Shuts Gas Pipeline After Accident Wall Street Journal ...A contract worker performing routine maintenance on an offshore gas pipeline was killed Saturday and two other workers were injured, the company said. The accident occurred 6 miles south of Timbalier Bay off the southeast coast of Louisiana, according to the U.S. Coast Guard...
California Home Sales Dive, Prices Hit Wall, Millennials Blamed naked capitalism ...92% of millennials who don’t already own a home do not plan on buying one in the future. Ever...
Letting the Rich Take All The Money (opinion) firedoglake ..."The current world situation is not nearly so dire, but there are parallels, particularly to 1937. Now, as then, people have been disappointed for a long time, and many are despairing. They are becoming more fearful for their long-term economic future...
Workers in Maine Buy Out Their Jobs, Set an Example for the Nation truthout ...More than 60 employees of three retail businesses - Burnt Cove Market, V&S Variety and Pharmacy, and The Galley - banded together to buy the stores and create the largest worker cooperative in Maine and the second largest in New England...
Miscellaneous
Google Driverless Future Vision at Odds With Automakers Bloomberg ...Google is sweeping up top talent and research, powered by an almost $400 billion stock-market value that tops those of Toyota Motor Corp., Volkswagen AG and General Motors Co. combined. It’s also keeping a tight grip on its mapping data and potential marketing plans for cars while helping to create what many in the auto industry consider unrealistic expectations for how quickly cars can safely become wholly driverless...
Should Oil Barons Like David Koch Be Funding Our Museums? Vice ..."You have more of these donors from the 1 percent who are embedding themselves in our cultural institutions and yet turning around and lobbying for the sequester and budget cuts for those same institutions..."
Friday, September 12, 2014
Today's Teamster News 09.12.14
Teamster News
Possible Teamster strike could hit Fred Meyer Puget Sound Business Journal ...According to the union, contract talks between its 400 warehouse workers and Fred Meyer broke off last night, with no more talks scheduled. The contract expired on July 12...
Bargaining Between Teamsters And Fred Meyer Breaks Off In Seattle teamster.org ...Key issues in bargaining are health care and Fred Meyer’s insistence on language that would allow the company to outsource the workers’ jobs to a third-party subcontractor...
The Link Between Tracy Morgan's Tragic Accident And Trucker Pay Think Progress ...International Brotherhood of Teamsters Legislative Director Fred McLuckie explained in an interview. “In a lot of cases compensation isn’t that good, it’s fairly low, so they need their hours behind the wheel to make a living,” he said...
City Council Wavers On De Blasio's Horse-Carriage Ban Wall Street Journal ...Demos Demopoulos, secretary-treasurer for Teamsters Local 553, the union that represents the drivers, said the job losses would be severe. "It's 300 hundred people, 300 families will lose their livelihoods," he said...
The Teamsters of New York Are Speaking Out About Climate Change Huffington Post ... Drought, rising sea levels, and superstorms like Hurricane Sandy have shown us that climate change is here, and the people hit hardest are workers...
Trade
TISA, the newest bad trade deal, threatens US public and commercial services workers TeamsterNation ... TISA is a mega-deal involving many countries. It could lower wages and working conditions for workers who provide services, such as locomotive engineers, airline pilots, bus drivers, truck drivers and warehouse workers. Worse, the TISA could take away their jobs...
Millions (including 67 Teamster affiliates) tell Sen. Wyden to say 'no' to Fast Track TeamsterNation ... Congress should not rubber stamp trade deals negotiated in secret, a key U.S. senator was told today in a letter signed by 600 organizations (including 67 Teamsters affiliates and the IBT, of course) representing tens of millions of Americans...
Chances Of A TPP Agreement By Year’s End Fading The Diplomat ...As negotiations stand right now there is little chance of the TPP being finalized by the end of the year, and quite possibly for much longer...
US Military Bans 'Made In China' American Flags Business Insider ...California Rep. Mike Thompson, a Vietnam War veteran and Purple Heart recipient, wrote the legislation that requires any flag purchased by the Defense Department to be 100-percent made in America...
State Battles
Atlanta Taxi Drivers File Lawsuit Against Uber WXIA ...A group of Atlanta taxi drivers is lashing out in a lawsuit naming specific Uber drivers and the company as a whole...
Maine Hard Hit As Stagnant Wages Leave Average Workers Behind (opinion) Portland Press Herald ...The recovery, though, is not universal, not yet. Even if the overall signs trend positive, the average worker, particularly here in Maine, is being left behind...
N.J. Rating Cut by S&P as Christie Gets Record Downgrade Bloomberg ...New Jersey had its credit rating cut one step by Standard & Poor’s, handing Chris Christie his eighth downgrade, the most ever for a Garden State governor...
Michigan's 'Foreclosure King' Is Trying to Win a Seat in Congress New Republic ...The ad dubbed Trott the “foreclosure king,” and criticized him for evicting 101-year-old Texana Hollis, throwing her out into rainy streets at night and tossing her medication in a dumpster...
Executive behind voter fraud billboards sought Scott Walker advice Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ..."As we've seen throughout the criminal investigation of Scott Walker's administration and campaign, he is front and center and directing the operations," Ross said. "The email shows Scott Walker was involved from the start in the voter intimidation billboard effort financed by his campaign co-chair..."
War On Workers
Senate Republicans Quash Citizens United Amendment Progress Illinois ...Republicans in the Senate stopped a constitutional amendment on Thursday that would have effectively overturned the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United decision on political spending...
Conservatives want taxpayers to subsidize low-wage employers The Hill ...The EITC is a tax-payer financed subsidy that enables some employers to pay wages so low that workers are forced into poverty. In fact, the EITC helps employers who pay low wages in another way as well. The supplement to workers’ pay acts as an incentive for more workers to be willing to take low wage jobs. That increases the labor supply and drives down the wages of low-paid workers...
House collapse that killed 19-year-old worker involved underpinning Toronto Star ...The house was undergoing a type of basement renovation called “underpinning” that has caused other downtown houses to tumble down in recent years...
Switching Sides East Bay Express ...California Deputy Attorney General Benjamin Diehl's job was to prosecute banks for defrauding the public. Now he works for them...
Some Retail Workers Find Better Deals With Unions New York Times ...So what makes this Macy’s store so different? Its employees are represented by a union, which has insisted on stability in scheduling for its members. (Union workers enjoy similar scheduling arrangements at the Bloomingdale’s, H&M and Modell’s Sporting Goods stores in Manhattan.)...
Walmart Imposes New Employee Dress Code, Suggests Where To Shop For It Al Jazeera America ...Effective September 29, Walmart retail workers, or sales "associates," will have to put some of their meager hourly pay toward new clothes...
Chipotle Workers Shut Down Store Over 'Borderline Sweatshop Conditions' Huffington Post ...A Chipotle near Pennsylvania State University shut down on Wednesday after managers reportedly quit over brutal work hours and understaffing. A sign posted on the door to the eatery said that most employees resigned in protest of their "borderline sweatshop conditions." Below the message read: “People over profits.”...
U.S. threatened massive fine to force Yahoo to release data Washington Post ...The U.S. government threatened to fine Yahoo $250,000 a day in 2008 if it failed to comply with a broad demand to hand over user communications — a request the company believed was unconstitutional — according to court documents unsealed Thursday that illuminate how federal officials forced American tech companies to participate in the National Security Agency’s controversial PRISM program...
Possible Teamster strike could hit Fred Meyer Puget Sound Business Journal ...According to the union, contract talks between its 400 warehouse workers and Fred Meyer broke off last night, with no more talks scheduled. The contract expired on July 12...
Bargaining Between Teamsters And Fred Meyer Breaks Off In Seattle teamster.org ...Key issues in bargaining are health care and Fred Meyer’s insistence on language that would allow the company to outsource the workers’ jobs to a third-party subcontractor...
The Link Between Tracy Morgan's Tragic Accident And Trucker Pay Think Progress ...International Brotherhood of Teamsters Legislative Director Fred McLuckie explained in an interview. “In a lot of cases compensation isn’t that good, it’s fairly low, so they need their hours behind the wheel to make a living,” he said...
City Council Wavers On De Blasio's Horse-Carriage Ban Wall Street Journal ...Demos Demopoulos, secretary-treasurer for Teamsters Local 553, the union that represents the drivers, said the job losses would be severe. "It's 300 hundred people, 300 families will lose their livelihoods," he said...
The Teamsters of New York Are Speaking Out About Climate Change Huffington Post ... Drought, rising sea levels, and superstorms like Hurricane Sandy have shown us that climate change is here, and the people hit hardest are workers...
Trade
TISA, the newest bad trade deal, threatens US public and commercial services workers TeamsterNation ... TISA is a mega-deal involving many countries. It could lower wages and working conditions for workers who provide services, such as locomotive engineers, airline pilots, bus drivers, truck drivers and warehouse workers. Worse, the TISA could take away their jobs...
Millions (including 67 Teamster affiliates) tell Sen. Wyden to say 'no' to Fast Track TeamsterNation ... Congress should not rubber stamp trade deals negotiated in secret, a key U.S. senator was told today in a letter signed by 600 organizations (including 67 Teamsters affiliates and the IBT, of course) representing tens of millions of Americans...
Chances Of A TPP Agreement By Year’s End Fading The Diplomat ...As negotiations stand right now there is little chance of the TPP being finalized by the end of the year, and quite possibly for much longer...
US Military Bans 'Made In China' American Flags Business Insider ...California Rep. Mike Thompson, a Vietnam War veteran and Purple Heart recipient, wrote the legislation that requires any flag purchased by the Defense Department to be 100-percent made in America...
State Battles
Atlanta Taxi Drivers File Lawsuit Against Uber WXIA ...A group of Atlanta taxi drivers is lashing out in a lawsuit naming specific Uber drivers and the company as a whole...
Maine Hard Hit As Stagnant Wages Leave Average Workers Behind (opinion) Portland Press Herald ...The recovery, though, is not universal, not yet. Even if the overall signs trend positive, the average worker, particularly here in Maine, is being left behind...
N.J. Rating Cut by S&P as Christie Gets Record Downgrade Bloomberg ...New Jersey had its credit rating cut one step by Standard & Poor’s, handing Chris Christie his eighth downgrade, the most ever for a Garden State governor...
Michigan's 'Foreclosure King' Is Trying to Win a Seat in Congress New Republic ...The ad dubbed Trott the “foreclosure king,” and criticized him for evicting 101-year-old Texana Hollis, throwing her out into rainy streets at night and tossing her medication in a dumpster...
Executive behind voter fraud billboards sought Scott Walker advice Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ..."As we've seen throughout the criminal investigation of Scott Walker's administration and campaign, he is front and center and directing the operations," Ross said. "The email shows Scott Walker was involved from the start in the voter intimidation billboard effort financed by his campaign co-chair..."
War On Workers
Senate Republicans Quash Citizens United Amendment Progress Illinois ...Republicans in the Senate stopped a constitutional amendment on Thursday that would have effectively overturned the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United decision on political spending...
Conservatives want taxpayers to subsidize low-wage employers The Hill ...The EITC is a tax-payer financed subsidy that enables some employers to pay wages so low that workers are forced into poverty. In fact, the EITC helps employers who pay low wages in another way as well. The supplement to workers’ pay acts as an incentive for more workers to be willing to take low wage jobs. That increases the labor supply and drives down the wages of low-paid workers...
House collapse that killed 19-year-old worker involved underpinning Toronto Star ...The house was undergoing a type of basement renovation called “underpinning” that has caused other downtown houses to tumble down in recent years...
Switching Sides East Bay Express ...California Deputy Attorney General Benjamin Diehl's job was to prosecute banks for defrauding the public. Now he works for them...
Some Retail Workers Find Better Deals With Unions New York Times ...So what makes this Macy’s store so different? Its employees are represented by a union, which has insisted on stability in scheduling for its members. (Union workers enjoy similar scheduling arrangements at the Bloomingdale’s, H&M and Modell’s Sporting Goods stores in Manhattan.)...
Walmart Imposes New Employee Dress Code, Suggests Where To Shop For It Al Jazeera America ...Effective September 29, Walmart retail workers, or sales "associates," will have to put some of their meager hourly pay toward new clothes...
Chipotle Workers Shut Down Store Over 'Borderline Sweatshop Conditions' Huffington Post ...A Chipotle near Pennsylvania State University shut down on Wednesday after managers reportedly quit over brutal work hours and understaffing. A sign posted on the door to the eatery said that most employees resigned in protest of their "borderline sweatshop conditions." Below the message read: “People over profits.”...
U.S. threatened massive fine to force Yahoo to release data Washington Post ...The U.S. government threatened to fine Yahoo $250,000 a day in 2008 if it failed to comply with a broad demand to hand over user communications — a request the company believed was unconstitutional — according to court documents unsealed Thursday that illuminate how federal officials forced American tech companies to participate in the National Security Agency’s controversial PRISM program...
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Today's Teamster News 08.14.14
Teamster News
BLET organizes Illinois Railway short line workers teamster.org ...The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) scored a short line organizing victory last week as a majority of workers at Illinois Railway voted to make the BLET their designated collective bargaining representative...
Teamster at US Foods Seeks Information About Merger teamster.org ...Frank Rinetti, a Teamster member and employee of US Foods, recently sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) seeking information about the proposed Sysco-US Foods merger and he also outlines his concerns about the merger's impact on jobs...
Union teamsters met Wednesday, will vote Thursday KERO Bakersfield ...GET union employees met Wednesday to discuss the proposal from GET...
Trade
Five Tests Walmart Must Pass to Show its 'Made In America' Street Cred manufacture this ...If Walmart is truly serious about its pledge to help American manufacturers, the corporation will slash its imports into the U.S...
Country-Of-Origin-Labeling Dispute Threatens U.S. Exports, Jobs The Hill ...A long list of U.S.-manufactured goods and agricultural products are being threatened by a trade dispute about whether U.S. Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) requirements discriminate against our bordering countries’ meat products. Absent quick action to settle the dispute, the governments of Canada and Mexico—currently the two largest markets for U.S. exports—could impose $2 billion in retaliatory tariffs that would endanger thousands of American jobs...
State Battles
Corporate front groups pushing laughable “National Employee Freedom Week” and other anti-union effort eclectablog ... “National Employee Freedom Week”... encourages union members to become freeloaders by leaving their unions while the unions continue to bargain for on their behalf for better wages, better working conditions, and better benefits...
Floridians tried to stop gerrymandering, and Republicans gerrymandered anyways. We’re about to see who wins. Washington Post ...If it passes muster with the courts in anything like its present form, it will have been a pretty major victory for the GOP in overcoming the so-called Fair Districts amendments -- and an equally large setback for redistricting reformers seeking to rein in partisan gerrymandering...
Christie: GOP governors to spend millions in Maine Associated Press ...New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie returned to Maine on Tuesday to help raise money for Gov. Paul LePage and predicted that the Republican Governors Association would spend millions of dollars in the state this fall to help LePage win a second term...
Record number of labor candidates prep to run for public office at New Jersey State AFL-CIO Labor Candidates School Politicker NJ ...A record-sized class of rank-and-file union members representing 23 local unions from across all sectors of the labor movement took part in the New Jersey State AFL-CIO Labor Candidates School August 9-10, 2014, at the Rutgers University Inn and Conference Center in New Brunswick...
The Big Money Behind Walker’s Campaign Express Milwaukee ...Walker returned to the deep pockets of his recall mega-contributors, including Las Vegas gambling billionaire Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Miriam. Adelson donated $250,000 to Walker in 2012...
Labor and small businesses team up on California franchising law MSNBC ...the theory appears to be that protecting franchisors against the threat of closure will make it easier for them to do things like raise workers’ wages...
War On Workers
Electric Worker Hit By Train, Killed In Edmond KWTV ...The train was traveling southbound when it hit and killed Edmond Electric Worker, Bob Waterson Tuesday evening. Edmond city officials say Waterson was with the company for more than 34 years...
Rail CEOs to Investors: "Bomb Trains" Safe At Almost Any Speed DeSmog Blog ...Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) recently said it would proceed with plans to increase speeds for oil-by-rail unit trains in Devil’s Lake, N.D. to 60 MPH from 30 MPH, despite opposition from local officials...
What’s Lost in the Market Basket Stories Economic Policy Institute ...they have succeeded by taking a distinctly high-road approach: the company takes care of its workers, paying decent wages, offering benefits to full- and part-time staff, and providing employees with a profit-sharing plan. At the same time, Market Basket still offers prices lower than its competitors, Walmart included...
Union Workers In Maine Join Protest Of FairPoint Outsourcing Plans Portland Press Herald ...Hundreds of unionized FairPoint Communications Inc. workers in Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire staged “informational protests” Tuesday to educate customers about the negative impact of company plans to boost outsourcing, union representatives said...
For Largest U.S. Companies, Jobs Growth Has Lagged Profits, Revenues Reuters ...From 2001 to 2013, inflation-adjusted revenue at 100 of the largest publicly traded companies grew 71 percent and inflation-adjusted operating profit rose 150 percent. Global headcount reported in company financial filings rose 31 percent...
Los Angeles To Vote On Killing Major Wall Street Deal As City Drowns In Financial Fees International Business Times ...Los Angeles lawmakers were expected to vote Wednesday on a proposal to renegotiate or terminate an interest rate swap deal from the mid-2000s that critics say now costs the city millions of dollars a year in fees. If successful, the initiative could make the city the nation's largest to challenge ballooning Wall Street levies that accompany similar interest rate swap deals throughout the nation...
Front and center: Amendment 3 pushes teacher tenure into the spotlight Southeast Missourian ...if teachers have been teaching in the same district for five years, they're granted due process rights by statute. "Before that, they're at-will," Meyer said. Five years, she said, is probably the longest probationary period used around the country...
Miscellaneous
Does Your Boss Know You’re Reading This? Surveillance Technology Boosts Efficiency But Creates Workplace Issues Atlanta Journal-Constitution ...There are few laws and court cases to help companies or workers understand the limits, leaving some gray areas for protection of employees’ privacy...
BLET organizes Illinois Railway short line workers teamster.org ...The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) scored a short line organizing victory last week as a majority of workers at Illinois Railway voted to make the BLET their designated collective bargaining representative...
Teamster at US Foods Seeks Information About Merger teamster.org ...Frank Rinetti, a Teamster member and employee of US Foods, recently sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) seeking information about the proposed Sysco-US Foods merger and he also outlines his concerns about the merger's impact on jobs...
Union teamsters met Wednesday, will vote Thursday KERO Bakersfield ...GET union employees met Wednesday to discuss the proposal from GET...
Trade
Five Tests Walmart Must Pass to Show its 'Made In America' Street Cred manufacture this ...If Walmart is truly serious about its pledge to help American manufacturers, the corporation will slash its imports into the U.S...
Country-Of-Origin-Labeling Dispute Threatens U.S. Exports, Jobs The Hill ...A long list of U.S.-manufactured goods and agricultural products are being threatened by a trade dispute about whether U.S. Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) requirements discriminate against our bordering countries’ meat products. Absent quick action to settle the dispute, the governments of Canada and Mexico—currently the two largest markets for U.S. exports—could impose $2 billion in retaliatory tariffs that would endanger thousands of American jobs...
State Battles
Corporate front groups pushing laughable “National Employee Freedom Week” and other anti-union effort eclectablog ... “National Employee Freedom Week”... encourages union members to become freeloaders by leaving their unions while the unions continue to bargain for on their behalf for better wages, better working conditions, and better benefits...
Floridians tried to stop gerrymandering, and Republicans gerrymandered anyways. We’re about to see who wins. Washington Post ...If it passes muster with the courts in anything like its present form, it will have been a pretty major victory for the GOP in overcoming the so-called Fair Districts amendments -- and an equally large setback for redistricting reformers seeking to rein in partisan gerrymandering...
Christie: GOP governors to spend millions in Maine Associated Press ...New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie returned to Maine on Tuesday to help raise money for Gov. Paul LePage and predicted that the Republican Governors Association would spend millions of dollars in the state this fall to help LePage win a second term...
Record number of labor candidates prep to run for public office at New Jersey State AFL-CIO Labor Candidates School Politicker NJ ...A record-sized class of rank-and-file union members representing 23 local unions from across all sectors of the labor movement took part in the New Jersey State AFL-CIO Labor Candidates School August 9-10, 2014, at the Rutgers University Inn and Conference Center in New Brunswick...
The Big Money Behind Walker’s Campaign Express Milwaukee ...Walker returned to the deep pockets of his recall mega-contributors, including Las Vegas gambling billionaire Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Miriam. Adelson donated $250,000 to Walker in 2012...
Labor and small businesses team up on California franchising law MSNBC ...the theory appears to be that protecting franchisors against the threat of closure will make it easier for them to do things like raise workers’ wages...
War On Workers
Electric Worker Hit By Train, Killed In Edmond KWTV ...The train was traveling southbound when it hit and killed Edmond Electric Worker, Bob Waterson Tuesday evening. Edmond city officials say Waterson was with the company for more than 34 years...
Rail CEOs to Investors: "Bomb Trains" Safe At Almost Any Speed DeSmog Blog ...Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) recently said it would proceed with plans to increase speeds for oil-by-rail unit trains in Devil’s Lake, N.D. to 60 MPH from 30 MPH, despite opposition from local officials...
What’s Lost in the Market Basket Stories Economic Policy Institute ...they have succeeded by taking a distinctly high-road approach: the company takes care of its workers, paying decent wages, offering benefits to full- and part-time staff, and providing employees with a profit-sharing plan. At the same time, Market Basket still offers prices lower than its competitors, Walmart included...
Union Workers In Maine Join Protest Of FairPoint Outsourcing Plans Portland Press Herald ...Hundreds of unionized FairPoint Communications Inc. workers in Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire staged “informational protests” Tuesday to educate customers about the negative impact of company plans to boost outsourcing, union representatives said...
For Largest U.S. Companies, Jobs Growth Has Lagged Profits, Revenues Reuters ...From 2001 to 2013, inflation-adjusted revenue at 100 of the largest publicly traded companies grew 71 percent and inflation-adjusted operating profit rose 150 percent. Global headcount reported in company financial filings rose 31 percent...
Los Angeles To Vote On Killing Major Wall Street Deal As City Drowns In Financial Fees International Business Times ...Los Angeles lawmakers were expected to vote Wednesday on a proposal to renegotiate or terminate an interest rate swap deal from the mid-2000s that critics say now costs the city millions of dollars a year in fees. If successful, the initiative could make the city the nation's largest to challenge ballooning Wall Street levies that accompany similar interest rate swap deals throughout the nation...
Front and center: Amendment 3 pushes teacher tenure into the spotlight Southeast Missourian ...if teachers have been teaching in the same district for five years, they're granted due process rights by statute. "Before that, they're at-will," Meyer said. Five years, she said, is probably the longest probationary period used around the country...
Miscellaneous
Does Your Boss Know You’re Reading This? Surveillance Technology Boosts Efficiency But Creates Workplace Issues Atlanta Journal-Constitution ...There are few laws and court cases to help companies or workers understand the limits, leaving some gray areas for protection of employees’ privacy...
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Today's Teamster News 03.23.14
Teamster News
Teamsters score a win against “sharecropping on wheels.” But will the trucking industry really change? Washington Post ...Along with auto technicians, fast food workers, and baggage handlers, another profession has been hit by the separation of labor from employer: Port truckers, who haul containers from cargo ships on short trips around the terminal...
Port trucking company agrees to labor settlement with drivers Orange County Register ...Carson-based Pacific 9 Transportation Inc. has agreed to a settlement with 50 independent truck drivers that could force the company to treat them as employees, not independent contractors, according to an agreement filed with a federal labor relations agency in Los Angeles...
Anheuser-Busch, Teamsters reach tentative deal Associated Press ...Anheuser-Busch and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters say they have reached a tentative deal on a five-year contract for workers at the beverage-maker's 12 U.S. breweries...
Canadian National Railway Company and Teamsters Canada Rail Conference resume negotiations PR Newswire ...Today, the Honourable Dr. K. Kellie Leitch, Minister of Labour and Minister of Status of Women, congratulated the Canadian National Railway (CN) and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) for returning to the bargaining table and working to reach a new agreement...
Trade
Debate in US over trade deficit with China heats up South China Morning Post ...A chorus of voices in the United States has been calling for tougher trade action against China, alleging imports from the country are slashing jobs in the US...
State Battles
Right to work bill on the Missouri House schedule Associated Press ...Missouri House Republican leaders are vowing to consider legislation known to supporters as "right to work" when lawmakers return from their weeklong break...
Republican pitches alternative to liquor privatization The Sentinel ...A Bucks County Republican lawmaker opposed to selling off state-run liquor stores on Thursday unveiled an alternative to privatization of Pennsylvania’s market share of the industry...
State DOJ files first appeals in Capitol singalong cases Wisconsin State Journal ..The Wisconsin Department of Justice for the first time Friday appealed a Dane County judge’s decision to throw out tickets related to the Capitol singalong...
More than 100 USM students, faculty protest proposed budget cuts, layoffs Bangor Daily News ...University of Southern Maine students and faculty chanted, yelled and — in one case — stretched out on the floor of the hallway outside the office of Provost Michael R. Stevenson to protest during meetings Friday at which 15 full-time faculty members in nine departments were expected to be laid off...
The War on Workers
Spain austerity: Huge Madrid protest turns violent BBC News ...Violence has broken out at the end of an anti-austerity protest attended by tens of thousands of people in the Spanish capital Madrid...
When Minimum Wage Rises, Many Are Left Looking Up at It New York Times ...so many immigrants are willing to do this work that it is not hard for unscrupulous businesses to find people desperate enough to do it for less than what the law requires...
U.S. IRS audited fewer wealthy Americans in 2013 Reuters ... The U.S. Internal Revenue Service said on Friday that it audited fewer high-income Americans in 2013 than it did in 2012 or 2011, while it conducted more audits of people with no income...
Pixel & Dimed: On Not Getting By in the Gig Economy Fast Company ...For one month, I became the “micro-entrepreneur” touted by companies like TaskRabbit, Postmates, and Airbnb. Instead of the labor revolution I had been promised, all I found was hard work, low pay, and a system that puts workers at a disadvantage...
Industries Across the U.S. Are Stealing Wages From Their Lowest Paid Workers The Real News ...about a quarter of workers had not been paid minimum wage in the week of the survey. Three-quarters of them had not been paid overtime pay even though they had worked overtime hours...
Out of Work, Out of Luck Five Thirty Eight Economics ...Many if not most of the 3.8 million Americans who have been out of work for more than six months will never again hold steady jobs...
The Stone Unturned: Credit Ratings New York Times ...It’s the one question about the 2008 financial crisis that people still ask me more than any other: Why have regulators done so little to rein in the credit rating agencies? Other institutions that contributed to the mortgage debacle have submitted to new rules and compliance requirements, but Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s and their peers remained relatively untouched...
S&P Judge Tentatively Rules It Must Face Deception Claims Bloomberg ...McGraw Hill Financial Inc. (MHFI)’s Standard & Poor’s unit must face California’s claims it deceived the state’s pension funds in its ratings of mortgage-back securities, a judge said in a provisional ruling...
Teamsters score a win against “sharecropping on wheels.” But will the trucking industry really change? Washington Post ...Along with auto technicians, fast food workers, and baggage handlers, another profession has been hit by the separation of labor from employer: Port truckers, who haul containers from cargo ships on short trips around the terminal...
Port trucking company agrees to labor settlement with drivers Orange County Register ...Carson-based Pacific 9 Transportation Inc. has agreed to a settlement with 50 independent truck drivers that could force the company to treat them as employees, not independent contractors, according to an agreement filed with a federal labor relations agency in Los Angeles...
Anheuser-Busch, Teamsters reach tentative deal Associated Press ...Anheuser-Busch and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters say they have reached a tentative deal on a five-year contract for workers at the beverage-maker's 12 U.S. breweries...
Canadian National Railway Company and Teamsters Canada Rail Conference resume negotiations PR Newswire ...Today, the Honourable Dr. K. Kellie Leitch, Minister of Labour and Minister of Status of Women, congratulated the Canadian National Railway (CN) and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) for returning to the bargaining table and working to reach a new agreement...
Trade
Debate in US over trade deficit with China heats up South China Morning Post ...A chorus of voices in the United States has been calling for tougher trade action against China, alleging imports from the country are slashing jobs in the US...
State Battles
Right to work bill on the Missouri House schedule Associated Press ...Missouri House Republican leaders are vowing to consider legislation known to supporters as "right to work" when lawmakers return from their weeklong break...
Republican pitches alternative to liquor privatization The Sentinel ...A Bucks County Republican lawmaker opposed to selling off state-run liquor stores on Thursday unveiled an alternative to privatization of Pennsylvania’s market share of the industry...
State DOJ files first appeals in Capitol singalong cases Wisconsin State Journal ..The Wisconsin Department of Justice for the first time Friday appealed a Dane County judge’s decision to throw out tickets related to the Capitol singalong...
More than 100 USM students, faculty protest proposed budget cuts, layoffs Bangor Daily News ...University of Southern Maine students and faculty chanted, yelled and — in one case — stretched out on the floor of the hallway outside the office of Provost Michael R. Stevenson to protest during meetings Friday at which 15 full-time faculty members in nine departments were expected to be laid off...
The War on Workers
Spain austerity: Huge Madrid protest turns violent BBC News ...Violence has broken out at the end of an anti-austerity protest attended by tens of thousands of people in the Spanish capital Madrid...
When Minimum Wage Rises, Many Are Left Looking Up at It New York Times ...so many immigrants are willing to do this work that it is not hard for unscrupulous businesses to find people desperate enough to do it for less than what the law requires...
U.S. IRS audited fewer wealthy Americans in 2013 Reuters ... The U.S. Internal Revenue Service said on Friday that it audited fewer high-income Americans in 2013 than it did in 2012 or 2011, while it conducted more audits of people with no income...
Pixel & Dimed: On Not Getting By in the Gig Economy Fast Company ...For one month, I became the “micro-entrepreneur” touted by companies like TaskRabbit, Postmates, and Airbnb. Instead of the labor revolution I had been promised, all I found was hard work, low pay, and a system that puts workers at a disadvantage...
Industries Across the U.S. Are Stealing Wages From Their Lowest Paid Workers The Real News ...about a quarter of workers had not been paid minimum wage in the week of the survey. Three-quarters of them had not been paid overtime pay even though they had worked overtime hours...
Out of Work, Out of Luck Five Thirty Eight Economics ...Many if not most of the 3.8 million Americans who have been out of work for more than six months will never again hold steady jobs...
The Stone Unturned: Credit Ratings New York Times ...It’s the one question about the 2008 financial crisis that people still ask me more than any other: Why have regulators done so little to rein in the credit rating agencies? Other institutions that contributed to the mortgage debacle have submitted to new rules and compliance requirements, but Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s and their peers remained relatively untouched...
S&P Judge Tentatively Rules It Must Face Deception Claims Bloomberg ...McGraw Hill Financial Inc. (MHFI)’s Standard & Poor’s unit must face California’s claims it deceived the state’s pension funds in its ratings of mortgage-back securities, a judge said in a provisional ruling...
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Today's Teamster News 03.13.14
Teamster News
Teamsters: Just 19 Days Until the Deadline to Apply for a James R. Hoffa Scholarship teamster.org ...The Fund will award $800,000 in scholarships this year to children and financially dependent grandchildren of Teamster members...
Teamsters Support the Fight for Justice for Port Drivers teamster.org ...At the Port of Savannah, Teamster Local 728 Organizing Director Ben Speight and Savannah port truck driver John Jackson were hosted by radio show host Rick Smith...
Teamsters Local 830 endorses Davidson in 164th district Delaware County Daily Times ...The International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 830 endorsed state Rep. Margo Davidson last week in the Democratic primary for the 164th Legislative District...
Teamsters: Latest Transit Numbers Show More Investment is Warranted teamster.org ...Since 1995, ridership for rail and buses is up 37.2 percent, out pacing not only population growth but vehicle miles traveled as well...
Trade
U.S. biz lobby says Japan’s TPP proposal not enough The Japan Times ...apan has so far insisted on maintaining tariffs in five key farm product categories, including rice and beef. It is holding two days of working-level talks with the U.S. in Washington...
2 years later, Korea trade deal a disaster TeamsterNation ...Two years after the so-called 'trade' deal with Korea took effect, U.S. exports plummeted, the trade deficit ballooned and 40,000 Americans lost their jobs...
How dependent on China is the U.S. military? manufacture this ...America's national security is threatened by a growing military reliance on foreign sourcing for raw materials, parts, and finished products...
State News
UAW: NLRB ruling in favor of anti-union VW workers 'an outrage' Detroit News ...“(It) claims to be an organic group of Volkswagen workers who came together of their own accord to participate in the election campaign,” the UAW said, alleging that the group is actually funded by conservative business groups...
Was LePage’s jobs proposal sincere or a union-busting ‘election stunt’? Bangor Daily News ...Gov. Paul LePage’s proposal to create Open for Business zones to attract economic development and jobs to Maine likely would breeze through the Legislature if it weren’t for the fact that it includes a “right-to-work” provision that there is little appetite for in the State House...
Teamsters: Just 19 Days Until the Deadline to Apply for a James R. Hoffa Scholarship teamster.org ...The Fund will award $800,000 in scholarships this year to children and financially dependent grandchildren of Teamster members...
Teamsters Support the Fight for Justice for Port Drivers teamster.org ...At the Port of Savannah, Teamster Local 728 Organizing Director Ben Speight and Savannah port truck driver John Jackson were hosted by radio show host Rick Smith...
Teamsters Local 830 endorses Davidson in 164th district Delaware County Daily Times ...The International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 830 endorsed state Rep. Margo Davidson last week in the Democratic primary for the 164th Legislative District...
Teamsters: Latest Transit Numbers Show More Investment is Warranted teamster.org ...Since 1995, ridership for rail and buses is up 37.2 percent, out pacing not only population growth but vehicle miles traveled as well...
Trade
U.S. biz lobby says Japan’s TPP proposal not enough The Japan Times ...apan has so far insisted on maintaining tariffs in five key farm product categories, including rice and beef. It is holding two days of working-level talks with the U.S. in Washington...
2 years later, Korea trade deal a disaster TeamsterNation ...Two years after the so-called 'trade' deal with Korea took effect, U.S. exports plummeted, the trade deficit ballooned and 40,000 Americans lost their jobs...
How dependent on China is the U.S. military? manufacture this ...America's national security is threatened by a growing military reliance on foreign sourcing for raw materials, parts, and finished products...
State News
UAW: NLRB ruling in favor of anti-union VW workers 'an outrage' Detroit News ...“(It) claims to be an organic group of Volkswagen workers who came together of their own accord to participate in the election campaign,” the UAW said, alleging that the group is actually funded by conservative business groups...
Was LePage’s jobs proposal sincere or a union-busting ‘election stunt’? Bangor Daily News ...Gov. Paul LePage’s proposal to create Open for Business zones to attract economic development and jobs to Maine likely would breeze through the Legislature if it weren’t for the fact that it includes a “right-to-work” provision that there is little appetite for in the State House...
Ohio’s Kasich Says He’s ‘Not Interested’ In Run For President 10TV ...Kasich's denial comes after his Democratic opponent Ed FitzGerald last month challenged him to sign a pledge vowing to serve a full term if reelected this November...
Public Union Dust Still Settling in Wisconsin, Three Years After Act 10 WUWM ...Even if they got recertified the only thing that they could collectively bargain about would be pay raises up to the level of inflation. That was tantamount to abolishing public employee unions in Wisconsin, which I think was the intent...
Rasmussen Poll: Scott Walker Tied With Democratic Challenger Talking Points Memo ...The poll found Walker tied with Democrat Mary Burke with each candidate getting 45 percent of support of those surveyed. Five percent said they preferred some other candidate in the race and the last five percent said they were not sure who they supported...
War on Workers
It's Official: One Koch Brother Equals 515,000 Union Members New Republic ...conservative nonprofit organizations that received large grants from Koch-backed intermediaries spent $170 million during the 2012 election cycle. Unions spent just $24 million...
Still No Jobs for More Than 60 Percent of Job Seekers Economic Policy Institute ... there were 10.2 million job seekers and only 4.0 million job openings, meaning that more than 60 percent of job seekers were not going to find a job in January no matter what they did. In a labor market with strong job opportunities, there would be roughly as many job openings as job seekers. We are not in a strong labor market...
My Life as a Retail Worker: Nasty, Brutish, and Poor The Atlantic ...Mop the floors in the bathroom, replace the toilet paper and scrub the toilets if necessary. Vacuum. Empty the garbage. Wipe down the glass front doors, every night, even if they don’t really need it. It was all part of the job, done after your shift has ended but without overtime pay...
The Looting Of Ukraine Has Begun Paul Craig Roberts ...the finance ministry of Washington’s stooges in Kiev who are pretending to be a government has prepared an economic austerity plan that will cut Ukrainian pensions from $160 to $80 so that Western bankers who lent money to Ukraine can be repaid at the expense of Ukraine’s poor. http://www.kommersant.ua/doc/2424454 It is Greece all over again.
Rasmussen Poll: Scott Walker Tied With Democratic Challenger Talking Points Memo ...The poll found Walker tied with Democrat Mary Burke with each candidate getting 45 percent of support of those surveyed. Five percent said they preferred some other candidate in the race and the last five percent said they were not sure who they supported...
War on Workers
It's Official: One Koch Brother Equals 515,000 Union Members New Republic ...conservative nonprofit organizations that received large grants from Koch-backed intermediaries spent $170 million during the 2012 election cycle. Unions spent just $24 million...
Still No Jobs for More Than 60 Percent of Job Seekers Economic Policy Institute ... there were 10.2 million job seekers and only 4.0 million job openings, meaning that more than 60 percent of job seekers were not going to find a job in January no matter what they did. In a labor market with strong job opportunities, there would be roughly as many job openings as job seekers. We are not in a strong labor market...
My Life as a Retail Worker: Nasty, Brutish, and Poor The Atlantic ...Mop the floors in the bathroom, replace the toilet paper and scrub the toilets if necessary. Vacuum. Empty the garbage. Wipe down the glass front doors, every night, even if they don’t really need it. It was all part of the job, done after your shift has ended but without overtime pay...
The Looting Of Ukraine Has Begun Paul Craig Roberts ...the finance ministry of Washington’s stooges in Kiev who are pretending to be a government has prepared an economic austerity plan that will cut Ukrainian pensions from $160 to $80 so that Western bankers who lent money to Ukraine can be repaid at the expense of Ukraine’s poor. http://www.kommersant.ua/doc/2424454 It is Greece all over again.
Sunday, February 9, 2014
Today's Teamster News 02.09.14
Horse Hockey New York Post ...If Mayor de Blasio insists on destroying a world-renowned tourist attraction that provides livelihoods for a few hundred workers, the least he can do is act openly and through the law...
Privately employed seasonal workers fight to keep unemployment benefits CBS Atlanta ...A Georgia House committee, however, approved a bill that would eliminate benefits for Brooks and about 60,000 other seasonal workers...
The Prosecution That Isn’t Happening Baseline Scenario ...So why isn’t anyone going after Lloyd Blankfein, Angelo Mozilo (for something other than dumping his own Countrywide stock), Jamie Dimon, or any of the other CEOs who, at best, were unaware that their lieutenants and foot soldiers were ripping off their clients?...
Another Drag on the Post-Recession Economy: Public-Sector Wages Economic Policy Institute ...public-sector wages have fallen by about 1.3 percent in inflation-adjusted terms since 2007, where private-sector wages have been essentially flat (an increase of 0.3 percent)...state and local government austerity has been a major drag on job growth and the broader economy...
FLUSH THE TPP! Or, How I Came To Hate The Trans Pacific Partnership Deal IndyBay ...Want to eat poisoned food or triple your medication costs? TPP will do that...
STUDY: Media Leave Viewers In The Dark About Trans-Pacific Partnership Media Matters ...Over The Past Six Months, Network Evening News Shows Have Completely Ignored The TPP...
The lawless 'end of the land' (opinion) CNN ...There are many reasons Alaska's rates of violence against women are thought to be so high -- from the long, dark winters to the culture of silence and the history of colonization. But the most tangible reason is this: Much of Alaska is basically lawless...
Malloy Wants Highest-In-Land Minimum Wage For CT Hartford Courant ...now the Democratic governor is leading the charge to raise the hourly rate...
Scott unveils $74.2 billion budget Tallahassee.com ...He also proposed privatizing custodial services in state buildings, overhauling health-insurance benefits for state workers, and paying bonuses to high-performing employees in state government...
Indiana Legislative Update 2.7.14 AFL-CIO ...Of major concern is House Bill 1126, which will be heard by the Senate Pensions and Labor Committee on Wednesday morning. If this legislation becomes law it will bring back company stores by allowing employers to charge employees up to $2,500 a year for “purchase” or “use” of uniforms or equipment necessary to do their jobs...
Maine Unions Pan Gov's "Open for Business Zones" Plan Maine Public Radio ...Gov. Paul LePage surprised Democrats and Republicans alike in his State of the State address Tuesday night with a plan to attract large employers to Maine. … Successful firms would be entitled to discounted electricity rates, tax breaks and a union-free work force...
Working Families United for New Jersey, Inc. Launches Statewide Campaign in Support of Earned Sick Time Working Families United for New Jersey ...The campaign will seek to educate the public and elected officials about the importance of establishing an earned sick time policy for workers - a policy that brings social and economic justice to the workplace...
Push to increase minimum wage gains momentum West Virginia Gazette ...As more and more states vote to increase the minimum wage, some say the time is right for West Virginia to do so, as well...
W. Va. House Passes Bill to Prevent Discrimination Against Pregnant Women In The Workforce West Virginia Public Broadcasting ...On Wednesday the House passed bill 4284, also known as the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. The bill’s purpose would be to prevent discrimination against pregnant women in the workplace…
Snowden Used Low-Cost Tool to Best N.S.A. New York Times ... Intelligence officials investigating how Edward J. Snowden gained access to a huge trove of the country’s most highly classified documents say they have determined that he used inexpensive and widely available software to “scrape” the National Security Agency’s networks, and kept at it even after he was briefly challenged by agency officials...
More than 4,000 groups sign up to protest the NSA PC World ...More than 4,000 groups and websites have signed on to support a day of protest against U.S. National Security Agency surveillance programs, scheduled for Tuesday...
Fake-food scandal revealed as tests show third of products mislabelled The Guardian ...(British) Consumers are being sold food including mozzarella that is less than half real cheese, ham on pizzas that is either poultry or "meat emulsion", and frozen prawns that are 50% water, according to tests by a public laboratory.
Privately employed seasonal workers fight to keep unemployment benefits CBS Atlanta ...A Georgia House committee, however, approved a bill that would eliminate benefits for Brooks and about 60,000 other seasonal workers...
The Prosecution That Isn’t Happening Baseline Scenario ...So why isn’t anyone going after Lloyd Blankfein, Angelo Mozilo (for something other than dumping his own Countrywide stock), Jamie Dimon, or any of the other CEOs who, at best, were unaware that their lieutenants and foot soldiers were ripping off their clients?...
Another Drag on the Post-Recession Economy: Public-Sector Wages Economic Policy Institute ...public-sector wages have fallen by about 1.3 percent in inflation-adjusted terms since 2007, where private-sector wages have been essentially flat (an increase of 0.3 percent)...state and local government austerity has been a major drag on job growth and the broader economy...
FLUSH THE TPP! Or, How I Came To Hate The Trans Pacific Partnership Deal IndyBay ...Want to eat poisoned food or triple your medication costs? TPP will do that...
STUDY: Media Leave Viewers In The Dark About Trans-Pacific Partnership Media Matters ...Over The Past Six Months, Network Evening News Shows Have Completely Ignored The TPP...
The lawless 'end of the land' (opinion) CNN ...There are many reasons Alaska's rates of violence against women are thought to be so high -- from the long, dark winters to the culture of silence and the history of colonization. But the most tangible reason is this: Much of Alaska is basically lawless...
Malloy Wants Highest-In-Land Minimum Wage For CT Hartford Courant ...now the Democratic governor is leading the charge to raise the hourly rate...
Scott unveils $74.2 billion budget Tallahassee.com ...He also proposed privatizing custodial services in state buildings, overhauling health-insurance benefits for state workers, and paying bonuses to high-performing employees in state government...
Indiana Legislative Update 2.7.14 AFL-CIO ...Of major concern is House Bill 1126, which will be heard by the Senate Pensions and Labor Committee on Wednesday morning. If this legislation becomes law it will bring back company stores by allowing employers to charge employees up to $2,500 a year for “purchase” or “use” of uniforms or equipment necessary to do their jobs...
Maine Unions Pan Gov's "Open for Business Zones" Plan Maine Public Radio ...Gov. Paul LePage surprised Democrats and Republicans alike in his State of the State address Tuesday night with a plan to attract large employers to Maine. … Successful firms would be entitled to discounted electricity rates, tax breaks and a union-free work force...
Working Families United for New Jersey, Inc. Launches Statewide Campaign in Support of Earned Sick Time Working Families United for New Jersey ...The campaign will seek to educate the public and elected officials about the importance of establishing an earned sick time policy for workers - a policy that brings social and economic justice to the workplace...
Push to increase minimum wage gains momentum West Virginia Gazette ...As more and more states vote to increase the minimum wage, some say the time is right for West Virginia to do so, as well...
W. Va. House Passes Bill to Prevent Discrimination Against Pregnant Women In The Workforce West Virginia Public Broadcasting ...On Wednesday the House passed bill 4284, also known as the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. The bill’s purpose would be to prevent discrimination against pregnant women in the workplace…
Snowden Used Low-Cost Tool to Best N.S.A. New York Times ... Intelligence officials investigating how Edward J. Snowden gained access to a huge trove of the country’s most highly classified documents say they have determined that he used inexpensive and widely available software to “scrape” the National Security Agency’s networks, and kept at it even after he was briefly challenged by agency officials...
More than 4,000 groups sign up to protest the NSA PC World ...More than 4,000 groups and websites have signed on to support a day of protest against U.S. National Security Agency surveillance programs, scheduled for Tuesday...
Fake-food scandal revealed as tests show third of products mislabelled The Guardian ...(British) Consumers are being sold food including mozzarella that is less than half real cheese, ham on pizzas that is either poultry or "meat emulsion", and frozen prawns that are 50% water, according to tests by a public laboratory.
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Today's Teamster News 01.04.14
Mayor De Blasio’s Horse Policy Is a Pile of Manure (opinion) Daily Beast ...Bill de Blasio’s first priority as New York City’s leader is to ban horse-drawn carriages in Central Park. Are you kidding?...
US economy losing 'up to a $1bn a week' after jobless benefits cut The Guardian ...The US economy is losing up to a billion dollars a week because of the “fiscally irresponsible” decision to end long-term unemployment benefits, a Harvard economist said on Friday...
Worrisome Spike in Student Loan Write-Offs American Banker ...Between January and August of last year, lenders wrote off $13.6 billion in student loan debt, a 46 percent increase from the same period of 2012 and the highest amount for this period in any of the last eight years, according to the data from Equifax (See chart 2)...
Beanie Baby Billionaire Seeks to Avoid Jail for Tax Crime Bloomberg ...H. Ty Warner, the billionaire creator of Beanie Baby plush toys, asked a judge to give him probation, not prison, for evading taxes on secret Swiss accounts that held as much as $107 million...
Is the NSA Spying on Congress? Sen. Bernie Sanders ...U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today asked the National Security Agency director whether the agency has monitored the phone calls, emails and Internet traffic of members of Congress and other elected officials...
Secretive Trans-Pacific Partnership Revealed Eugene Weekly ...The TPP talks about a trade deal will govern 40 percent of U.S. imports and exports as well as affect copyrights, pharmaceuticals and more. They are being conducted in secret, and only a few portions of the agreement and memos about it have been leaked...
The secret trade deal that threatens Maine’s frail economy Portland Phoenix ...Dozens of shoe factories once employed 30,000 workers in Maine, making it the top shoe-producing state. What’s left of that workforce — several hundred New Balance employees — could soon be gone too, thanks to a massive free trade agreement that’s expected to eliminate a series of tariffs on imported footwear. And jobs may not be all the state has to lose...
Idaho to take over privately-run state prison Associated Press ...Idaho's governor says the corrections department will take over operation of the largest privately-run prison in the state after more than a decade of mismanagement and other problems at the facility. Nashville, Tenn.-based Corrections Corporation of America has contracted with the state to run the prison since it was built in 1997...
Glenn Grothman, Wisconsin GOP Senator, Fights For A Seven-Day Workweek Huffington Post ...Wisconsin state Sen. Glenn Grothman (R) is attempting to roll back one of the state's progressive labor laws, arguing that workers should be allowed to work without a day off if they so choose...
Video shows businesses lobbying Rebecca Kleefisch for more tax breaks in closed-door meeting Wisconsin State Journal ...A recently released video of the Dec. 9 session at Beloit College shows Kleefisch and state Revenue Department Secretary Rick Chandler extolling state efforts to reduce taxes since Republicans took over state government in 2011, and saying they wanted private-sector ideas for another round of cuts...
Pot sales exceed $1 million on first day 9News.com ...Pot shops did record sales compared to the "medical marijuana days" on Wednesday when recreational marijuana opened. Pot shop owners across Colorado believe they collectively made more than $1 million statewide...
Fun with Numbers Sheila Kennedy ...the folks who opposed Right to Work were right when they characterized the measure as “Right to Work for Less.”...
US economy losing 'up to a $1bn a week' after jobless benefits cut The Guardian ...The US economy is losing up to a billion dollars a week because of the “fiscally irresponsible” decision to end long-term unemployment benefits, a Harvard economist said on Friday...
Worrisome Spike in Student Loan Write-Offs American Banker ...Between January and August of last year, lenders wrote off $13.6 billion in student loan debt, a 46 percent increase from the same period of 2012 and the highest amount for this period in any of the last eight years, according to the data from Equifax (See chart 2)...
Beanie Baby Billionaire Seeks to Avoid Jail for Tax Crime Bloomberg ...H. Ty Warner, the billionaire creator of Beanie Baby plush toys, asked a judge to give him probation, not prison, for evading taxes on secret Swiss accounts that held as much as $107 million...
Is the NSA Spying on Congress? Sen. Bernie Sanders ...U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today asked the National Security Agency director whether the agency has monitored the phone calls, emails and Internet traffic of members of Congress and other elected officials...
Secretive Trans-Pacific Partnership Revealed Eugene Weekly ...The TPP talks about a trade deal will govern 40 percent of U.S. imports and exports as well as affect copyrights, pharmaceuticals and more. They are being conducted in secret, and only a few portions of the agreement and memos about it have been leaked...
The secret trade deal that threatens Maine’s frail economy Portland Phoenix ...Dozens of shoe factories once employed 30,000 workers in Maine, making it the top shoe-producing state. What’s left of that workforce — several hundred New Balance employees — could soon be gone too, thanks to a massive free trade agreement that’s expected to eliminate a series of tariffs on imported footwear. And jobs may not be all the state has to lose...
Idaho to take over privately-run state prison Associated Press ...Idaho's governor says the corrections department will take over operation of the largest privately-run prison in the state after more than a decade of mismanagement and other problems at the facility. Nashville, Tenn.-based Corrections Corporation of America has contracted with the state to run the prison since it was built in 1997...
Glenn Grothman, Wisconsin GOP Senator, Fights For A Seven-Day Workweek Huffington Post ...Wisconsin state Sen. Glenn Grothman (R) is attempting to roll back one of the state's progressive labor laws, arguing that workers should be allowed to work without a day off if they so choose...
Video shows businesses lobbying Rebecca Kleefisch for more tax breaks in closed-door meeting Wisconsin State Journal ...A recently released video of the Dec. 9 session at Beloit College shows Kleefisch and state Revenue Department Secretary Rick Chandler extolling state efforts to reduce taxes since Republicans took over state government in 2011, and saying they wanted private-sector ideas for another round of cuts...
Pot sales exceed $1 million on first day 9News.com ...Pot shops did record sales compared to the "medical marijuana days" on Wednesday when recreational marijuana opened. Pot shop owners across Colorado believe they collectively made more than $1 million statewide...
Fun with Numbers Sheila Kennedy ...the folks who opposed Right to Work were right when they characterized the measure as “Right to Work for Less.”...
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Today's Teamster News 04.25.13
Business groups back push for fast-track legislation by June The Hill ...The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is among a broad array of business groups that back the efforts of Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) to move forward with legislation that would give President Obama the authority to negotiate trade agreements amid an expanding global agenda...
Japan’s rice lobby visits Capitol Hill to fight free trade pact Washington Post ...(The) deep-seated attitude about rice is perhaps the sharpest edge of a Japanese backlash against the proposed free-trade pact. Activists mustered a delegation to bring their case to Capitol Hill, warning that Japan’s decision to take part in the negotiations could sink the whole endeavor...
Just Four Lawmakers Show Up To Congressional Hearing On Long-Term Unemployment ThinkProgress ...when Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D) scheduled a Joint Economic Committee hearing on one of the biggest jobs-related crises facing the United States, just four of the committee’s 20 members bothered to show up...
Steve Kush, New Mexico GOP Official, Calls 19-Year-Old Labor Advocate 'A Radical B*tch' Huffington Post ...Steve Kush, the executive director of the Bernalillo County Republican Party in New Mexico, called a 19-year-old Working America volunteer a "radical bitch" on Twitter Tuesday night after she testified before the county commission in favor of raising the minimum wage...
Roughly 250 Maine lobstermen join new union WCSH ...Since December about 250 lobstermen in Maine have joined the Maine Lobstering Union, which is a new branch of the International Associations of Machinists and Aerospace workers...
Privatizing Europe The Real News ... it's not just about making cuts that we most famously hear about; almost in every agreement there is a demand for privatization of key national assets and key public services...
Italy needs Churchillian leader to fight 'war damage' of EU austerity (opinion) The Telegraph ...Italy’s business lobby Confindustria said this week that austerity policies had caused “devastating damage, comparable with a war”...
Building Collapse in Bangladesh Leaves Scores Dead New York Times ...A building housing several factories making clothing for European and American consumers collapsed into a deadly heap on Wednesday, only five months after a horrific fire at a similar facility prompted leading multinational brands to pledge to work to improve safety in the country’s booming but poorly regulated garment industry...
Multiple explosions in fuel barge fire Fox10TV ...Officials said three people are in critical condition at USA Medical Center after a barge exploded and caught fire. Officials said units were on the scene on the east side of Mobile River...
USDA Ruffles Feathers With New Poultry Inspection Policy Mother Jones ...The Obama administration is on the verge of dramatically scaling back the US Department of Agriculture's oversight of the nation's largest chicken and turkey slaughterhouses—while also allowing companies to speed up their kill lines...
Steelworkers Disgusted by Caterpillar CEO’s Shameful 2012 Cash Grab NH Labor News ...USW District 2 Director Michael Bolton said that rewarding Oberholman’s job performance by boosting his already lavish compensation by nearly one-third in 2012, despite lower than expected earnings, sends a dangerous message to other CEOs that lining their pockets at the expense of their workers is somehow acceptable...
Retail, fast-food workers rally for higher pay in Chicago Chicago Tribune ...fast-food and retail workers flocked to downtown Chicago on Wednesday to make a public pitch for higher wages. Their "Fight for $15 campaign" seeks $15 an hour for employees...
Right to Work Could Cost Him His Job as Democrats Are Tied With Rick Snyder PoliticusUSA ...Snyder has seen his approval rating plummet, and two unknown Democrats are tied with him in the poll...
Reeling elsewhere, labor poised for Minn. gains PostBulletin ...Minnesota has emerged as one of the few places where unions are faring well...
Kasich cuts spur levy, layoffs and sales tax increase in Fairfield County Plunderbund ...local governments lost nearly $800 Million in Kasich’s first budget. And his 2014/2015 budget deepens those cuts, with locals seeing a loss of an additional $1.4 Billion compared to 2010/2011...
Unions protest awards for GOP lawmakers who passed right-to-work Lansing State Journal ...A building trades group’s effort to recognize two Republican lawmakers for helping to enact right-to-work legsislation sparked a protest Wednesday outside a hotel...
The spreading of ‘right to work’ ... where will it show up next? One News Now ...Matt Patterson, senior fellow for the Competitive Enterprise Institute, sees Pennsylvania as one possibility...
Japan’s rice lobby visits Capitol Hill to fight free trade pact Washington Post ...(The) deep-seated attitude about rice is perhaps the sharpest edge of a Japanese backlash against the proposed free-trade pact. Activists mustered a delegation to bring their case to Capitol Hill, warning that Japan’s decision to take part in the negotiations could sink the whole endeavor...
Just Four Lawmakers Show Up To Congressional Hearing On Long-Term Unemployment ThinkProgress ...when Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D) scheduled a Joint Economic Committee hearing on one of the biggest jobs-related crises facing the United States, just four of the committee’s 20 members bothered to show up...
Steve Kush, New Mexico GOP Official, Calls 19-Year-Old Labor Advocate 'A Radical B*tch' Huffington Post ...Steve Kush, the executive director of the Bernalillo County Republican Party in New Mexico, called a 19-year-old Working America volunteer a "radical bitch" on Twitter Tuesday night after she testified before the county commission in favor of raising the minimum wage...
Roughly 250 Maine lobstermen join new union WCSH ...Since December about 250 lobstermen in Maine have joined the Maine Lobstering Union, which is a new branch of the International Associations of Machinists and Aerospace workers...
Privatizing Europe The Real News ... it's not just about making cuts that we most famously hear about; almost in every agreement there is a demand for privatization of key national assets and key public services...
Italy needs Churchillian leader to fight 'war damage' of EU austerity (opinion) The Telegraph ...Italy’s business lobby Confindustria said this week that austerity policies had caused “devastating damage, comparable with a war”...
Building Collapse in Bangladesh Leaves Scores Dead New York Times ...A building housing several factories making clothing for European and American consumers collapsed into a deadly heap on Wednesday, only five months after a horrific fire at a similar facility prompted leading multinational brands to pledge to work to improve safety in the country’s booming but poorly regulated garment industry...
Multiple explosions in fuel barge fire Fox10TV ...Officials said three people are in critical condition at USA Medical Center after a barge exploded and caught fire. Officials said units were on the scene on the east side of Mobile River...
USDA Ruffles Feathers With New Poultry Inspection Policy Mother Jones ...The Obama administration is on the verge of dramatically scaling back the US Department of Agriculture's oversight of the nation's largest chicken and turkey slaughterhouses—while also allowing companies to speed up their kill lines...
Steelworkers Disgusted by Caterpillar CEO’s Shameful 2012 Cash Grab NH Labor News ...USW District 2 Director Michael Bolton said that rewarding Oberholman’s job performance by boosting his already lavish compensation by nearly one-third in 2012, despite lower than expected earnings, sends a dangerous message to other CEOs that lining their pockets at the expense of their workers is somehow acceptable...
Retail, fast-food workers rally for higher pay in Chicago Chicago Tribune ...fast-food and retail workers flocked to downtown Chicago on Wednesday to make a public pitch for higher wages. Their "Fight for $15 campaign" seeks $15 an hour for employees...
Right to Work Could Cost Him His Job as Democrats Are Tied With Rick Snyder PoliticusUSA ...Snyder has seen his approval rating plummet, and two unknown Democrats are tied with him in the poll...
Reeling elsewhere, labor poised for Minn. gains PostBulletin ...Minnesota has emerged as one of the few places where unions are faring well...
Kasich cuts spur levy, layoffs and sales tax increase in Fairfield County Plunderbund ...local governments lost nearly $800 Million in Kasich’s first budget. And his 2014/2015 budget deepens those cuts, with locals seeing a loss of an additional $1.4 Billion compared to 2010/2011...
Unions protest awards for GOP lawmakers who passed right-to-work Lansing State Journal ...A building trades group’s effort to recognize two Republican lawmakers for helping to enact right-to-work legsislation sparked a protest Wednesday outside a hotel...
The spreading of ‘right to work’ ... where will it show up next? One News Now ...Matt Patterson, senior fellow for the Competitive Enterprise Institute, sees Pennsylvania as one possibility...
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Today's Teamster News 04.23.13
The U.S. Corporate Tax Code Is a Giveaway Economic Populist ...The GAO issued a new report which shows use of corporate tax breaks cost the U.S. government $181.4 billion in 2011 alone...
Westboro Baptist Church No-Shows At Krystle Campbell Funeral As Teamsters Form Human Shield The Inquistr ...Westboro Baptist Church protesters apparently did not show up at yesterday's funeral for Krystle Campbell. But the local Teamsters Union wasn’t taking any chances...
Canada foils 'al-Qaeda linked' terror attack on train BBC News ...Two foreign men living in Canada have been charged with plotting a terrorist attack on a passenger train with support from al-Qaeda elements in Iran...
EU near austerity limit, says Barroso The Guardian ...The European Union's focus on austerity has hit the limits of public acceptance, according to the head of the EU's executive arm, as Brussels joined the International Monetary Fund in raising concerns over the impact of public spending cuts...
The Real Faces of the Minimum Wage Common Dreams ...Most minimum-wage workers are adults, the majority of them are women, and many are parents who are trying to raise their children on poverty wages...
White House: Federal agencies evaluating fertilizer plant inspections The Hill Blog ...That fertilizer plant in West, TX that exploded last week, killing at least 14 and injuring 100s more, had not been inspected by the Occupation Health and Safety Administration since 1985, though other federal and state officials were aware of the plant and its hazardous materials. Federal agencies are assessing “their inspection practices” now. That’s it?...
Restyled as Real Estate Trusts, Varied Businesses Avoid Taxes The New York Times ...“A small but growing number of American corporations . . . are declaring that they are not ordinary corporations at all.” They’re “special trusts that are typically exempt from paying taxes.” Congress will no doubt spring into action and fix this...
Former Nestle CEO: 'Water should be privatized, it's not a right' Examiner.com ...On April 20, Americans Against the Tea Party shared a video of the former CEO of Nestle, coincidentally also the largest seller of bottled water in the world, where he says that he feels that water is not a right and it should be privatized and sold. Really?...
Karl Rove, Koch brothers lead charge to control Republican data Politico ...The GOP didn’t have an answer for Big Democratic Data in 2012, costing them in close races from Congress to the White House. Now, they’ve got lots of answers — possibly too many...
Costs, number of deleted files pile up in redistricting case Wisconsin State Journal ...Names of two Republican legislative aides who deleted those “hundreds of thousands” of redistricting data files have now been revealed...
Michigan road funding: Americans For Prosperity launching 'Don't raise MI taxes' statewide tour Michigan Live ...Americans For Prosperity-Michigan, the state chapter of the national conservative advocacy group, is fighting proposals by Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and Republican lawmakers to boost road funding through increased taxes or fees...
Detroit emergency manager eyes end to union bargaining Reuters ...Detroit's emergency manager indicated for the first time that he may end collective bargaining with city employees as part of his effort to shore up the city's sagging finances...
Prevailing wage challenged News-Tribune ...Both the federal and state governments require contractors to pay the “prevailing wage” on public construction projects, such as schools, municipal buildings and sewer systems. But some in the (Missouri) Legislature want to change that — to cancel the state law, which has been on the books since 1957...
Indiana suffers from bad tax system, bad tax cuts (opinion) The Indianapolis Star ...Do Hoosiers even want Gov. Mike Pence’s income tax cut? And should they, considering that Indiana has one of the most regressive, elitist, tax systems in the nation, and what’s on the table will only make matters worse?...
Courtney Johnson commentary: Should Ohio voters support a right-to-work ballot issue? No The Columbus Dispatch ...The last time our state was confronted with an unsafe, unfair attack on workers — Senate Bill 5 — voters in Ohio emphatically rejected the flawed law...
Liquor privatization will change Pennsylvania (opinion) The Quad ...In March, the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed House Bill 790. If the bill is voted into law, the liquor industry will be privatized. When introduced, the bill quickly gained support from many Republicans including Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett. Supporters claim privatization will bring prosperity to the Commonwealth by instilling competition. Unfortunately, many people will be hurt by this bill...
Petition seeks repeal of Anchorage labor law Associated Press ...The Anchorage Assembly last month eliminated the right to strike by eight city unions and took away performance bonuses and incentives in future city contracts. The measure also limits annual pay hikes and creates a system for outsourcing certain city work...
Public employees deserve pensions (opinion) Sun-Sentinel ...it is not responsible or fair to cut further into the financial security of working Americans because they happen to be public employees...
LePage: “I am going to be the next Scott Walker” Bangor Daily News ...“I will guarantee you that you will see the most vicious education campaign ads that you’ve ever seen in your life next year, because I am going to be the next Scott Walker in this country, because I am challenging the status quo,” declared LePage...
Ohio Teamsters Suspend Strike Over Republic Services' Unfair Labor Practices IBT ...Today, 23 workers at Republic Services’ landfill in Youngstown, Ohio returned to work after an unfair labor practice strike that began on March 27, 2013...
Teamsters will decide soon on YRC network changes Kansas City Business Journal ...The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is expected to decide whether to adopt YRC Worldwide Inc.’s sweeping change of operations request by the end of the week after meeting with union leadership in Dallas on Friday...
ABF, Teamsters agree to another 30-day contract extension after union leaders spurn offer DC Velocity ...The Teamsters union and less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier ABF Freight System Inc. agreed late Friday to another 30-day extension of their current contract...
Westboro Baptist Church No-Shows At Krystle Campbell Funeral As Teamsters Form Human Shield The Inquistr ...Westboro Baptist Church protesters apparently did not show up at yesterday's funeral for Krystle Campbell. But the local Teamsters Union wasn’t taking any chances...
Canada foils 'al-Qaeda linked' terror attack on train BBC News ...Two foreign men living in Canada have been charged with plotting a terrorist attack on a passenger train with support from al-Qaeda elements in Iran...
EU near austerity limit, says Barroso The Guardian ...The European Union's focus on austerity has hit the limits of public acceptance, according to the head of the EU's executive arm, as Brussels joined the International Monetary Fund in raising concerns over the impact of public spending cuts...
The Real Faces of the Minimum Wage Common Dreams ...Most minimum-wage workers are adults, the majority of them are women, and many are parents who are trying to raise their children on poverty wages...
White House: Federal agencies evaluating fertilizer plant inspections The Hill Blog ...That fertilizer plant in West, TX that exploded last week, killing at least 14 and injuring 100s more, had not been inspected by the Occupation Health and Safety Administration since 1985, though other federal and state officials were aware of the plant and its hazardous materials. Federal agencies are assessing “their inspection practices” now. That’s it?...
Restyled as Real Estate Trusts, Varied Businesses Avoid Taxes The New York Times ...“A small but growing number of American corporations . . . are declaring that they are not ordinary corporations at all.” They’re “special trusts that are typically exempt from paying taxes.” Congress will no doubt spring into action and fix this...
Former Nestle CEO: 'Water should be privatized, it's not a right' Examiner.com ...On April 20, Americans Against the Tea Party shared a video of the former CEO of Nestle, coincidentally also the largest seller of bottled water in the world, where he says that he feels that water is not a right and it should be privatized and sold. Really?...
Karl Rove, Koch brothers lead charge to control Republican data Politico ...The GOP didn’t have an answer for Big Democratic Data in 2012, costing them in close races from Congress to the White House. Now, they’ve got lots of answers — possibly too many...
Costs, number of deleted files pile up in redistricting case Wisconsin State Journal ...Names of two Republican legislative aides who deleted those “hundreds of thousands” of redistricting data files have now been revealed...
Michigan road funding: Americans For Prosperity launching 'Don't raise MI taxes' statewide tour Michigan Live ...Americans For Prosperity-Michigan, the state chapter of the national conservative advocacy group, is fighting proposals by Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and Republican lawmakers to boost road funding through increased taxes or fees...
Detroit emergency manager eyes end to union bargaining Reuters ...Detroit's emergency manager indicated for the first time that he may end collective bargaining with city employees as part of his effort to shore up the city's sagging finances...
Prevailing wage challenged News-Tribune ...Both the federal and state governments require contractors to pay the “prevailing wage” on public construction projects, such as schools, municipal buildings and sewer systems. But some in the (Missouri) Legislature want to change that — to cancel the state law, which has been on the books since 1957...
Indiana suffers from bad tax system, bad tax cuts (opinion) The Indianapolis Star ...Do Hoosiers even want Gov. Mike Pence’s income tax cut? And should they, considering that Indiana has one of the most regressive, elitist, tax systems in the nation, and what’s on the table will only make matters worse?...
Courtney Johnson commentary: Should Ohio voters support a right-to-work ballot issue? No The Columbus Dispatch ...The last time our state was confronted with an unsafe, unfair attack on workers — Senate Bill 5 — voters in Ohio emphatically rejected the flawed law...
Liquor privatization will change Pennsylvania (opinion) The Quad ...In March, the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed House Bill 790. If the bill is voted into law, the liquor industry will be privatized. When introduced, the bill quickly gained support from many Republicans including Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett. Supporters claim privatization will bring prosperity to the Commonwealth by instilling competition. Unfortunately, many people will be hurt by this bill...
Petition seeks repeal of Anchorage labor law Associated Press ...The Anchorage Assembly last month eliminated the right to strike by eight city unions and took away performance bonuses and incentives in future city contracts. The measure also limits annual pay hikes and creates a system for outsourcing certain city work...
Public employees deserve pensions (opinion) Sun-Sentinel ...it is not responsible or fair to cut further into the financial security of working Americans because they happen to be public employees...
LePage: “I am going to be the next Scott Walker” Bangor Daily News ...“I will guarantee you that you will see the most vicious education campaign ads that you’ve ever seen in your life next year, because I am going to be the next Scott Walker in this country, because I am challenging the status quo,” declared LePage...
Ohio Teamsters Suspend Strike Over Republic Services' Unfair Labor Practices IBT ...Today, 23 workers at Republic Services’ landfill in Youngstown, Ohio returned to work after an unfair labor practice strike that began on March 27, 2013...
Teamsters will decide soon on YRC network changes Kansas City Business Journal ...The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is expected to decide whether to adopt YRC Worldwide Inc.’s sweeping change of operations request by the end of the week after meeting with union leadership in Dallas on Friday...
ABF, Teamsters agree to another 30-day contract extension after union leaders spurn offer DC Velocity ...The Teamsters union and less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier ABF Freight System Inc. agreed late Friday to another 30-day extension of their current contract...
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Today's Teamster News 04.20.13
Bombing Suspect in Custody Boston Globe ...After a two-hour standoff in Watertown, nineteen-year-old Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, the suspect in Monday’s fatal Marathon bombings, was taken into custody...
Chemical in Texas Blast Has a Well-Known Deadly Potential Los Angeles Times ...Massive explosion may have involved large amounts of ammonium nitrate stored at the site. It has caused some of the worst industrial accidents in U.S. history...
Republicans Accuse Labor Nominee Of Fighting For Civil Rights (opinion) Campaign for America’s Future ...Where does the Republican Party put its energy? On anything that furthers the interests of the wealthiest. Tax cuts and kicking government are right at the top of that list...
Anti-Sick Time Bill Has Little Public Support, But Lawmaker Says It’s ‘Right Thing’ To Do Florida Center for INvestigative Reporting ...HB 655 would prohibit local governments in the state from implementing laws that extend paid sick leave benefits to workers and would prevent local governments from requiring companies to pay workers a living wage. The bill is similar to others backed by the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council...
Pension reforms moving through Florida Legislature HR.BLR.com ...The Florida House of Representatives recently passed legislation that would move new employees in the Florida Retirement System (FRS) from a defined benefit pension plan to a 401(k)-type defined contribution plan. The bill moves to the Senate for consideration...
Federal official confirms Maine Labor Department probe; state workers union seeks independent review of LePage Bangor Daily News ...Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Seth Harris told Gov. Paul LePage during a telephone call late Wednesday that an audit of the Maine Department of Labor’s handling of unemployment claims came in response to complaints of inconsistencies, not due to comments the governor allegedly made last month during a Blaine House lunch...
Protesters rip efforts touted by governor Livingston Daily ...About 70 people Thursday protested Michigan’s right-to-work laws, school funding cuts and business tax breaks— all of which Gov. Rick Snyder later touted as signs of progress nearby inside Crystal Gardens banquet center in Genoa Township...
Senate committee approves bill exempting some schools from paying prevailing wage MyNWMo.com ...Some school districts would no longer be required to pay the state prevailing wage on construction projects under a bill approved by the Senate Small Business Committee Wednesday...
CWA protests N.J. lottery privatization plan that could lead to dozens of job losses NJ.com ...The New Jersey Treasury Department said today that 63 of the state lottery's 136 public employees could lose their jobs if the Christie administration signs a contract with a private company to take over parts of the lottery, which it said last week it intends to do...
Campaign Pushing "Right to Work" Legislation for Pennsylvania Your Erie ...Pennsylvanians for a "right to work" state are launching an aggressive summer campaign...
Judge Rejects Stay in Wis. Police Union Lawsuit Associated Press ...A police union's lawsuit challenging Gov. Scott Walker's polarizing collective bargaining law will go forward, following a ruling Friday by a Madison judge who refused the state's request to delay proceedings until appeals in another case were settled…
East Chicago Mayor Cancels Furlough Days for Teamsters Local 142 Municipal Employees NWI Times ...City employees represented by Teamsters Local 142 will no longer have to take furlough days, Mayor Anthony Copeland announced Thursday. Employees not represented by a union are still required to take furloughs…
Drivers Express Bus Safety Concerns WEAR-TV ABC Pensacola ...School bus drivers say they've raised safety issues with the buses and their concerns have gone unheard at Durham School Services in Santa Rosa County, Florida...
BLET Urges Investment In Amtrak At Senate Hearing BLET ...At a Senate subcommittee hearing on April 17, John Tolman, Vice President and National Legislative Representative of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, made a strong case for the U.S. to make a major investment in Amtrak...
Bon Appetit To Recognize Request for Unionization The Daily Pennsylvania ...Workers at Penn Hillel’s Falk Dining Commons might obtain official union recognition with Teamsters Local 929 by the end of the semester...
Dedicated Port Orchard UPS Driver Delivers 30 Years of Safety on the Road Seattle Times ...Peggy Larson is too polite to tell us how to drive. But if more of us drove like she does, the roads would be a lot safer...
Teamsters Vow To Continue Fight Against Dangerous Mexican Trucks in Wake of Court Decision IBT ...The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is disappointed in the court’s decision upholding the legality of the pilot program to open our borders to unsafe Mexican trucks. The union is reviewing its options with our attorneys...
Teamsters Demand Global Aviation Board Stop Costly Executive Search, Appoint CEO IBT ...The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which represents approximately 340 pilots and flight attendants for Global Aviation’s two airlines World Airways and North American Airlines, are calling on the company’s board of directors to take swift and decisive action in selecting a chief executive officer with a proven track record of turning an airline around...
Chemical in Texas Blast Has a Well-Known Deadly Potential Los Angeles Times ...Massive explosion may have involved large amounts of ammonium nitrate stored at the site. It has caused some of the worst industrial accidents in U.S. history...
Republicans Accuse Labor Nominee Of Fighting For Civil Rights (opinion) Campaign for America’s Future ...Where does the Republican Party put its energy? On anything that furthers the interests of the wealthiest. Tax cuts and kicking government are right at the top of that list...
Anti-Sick Time Bill Has Little Public Support, But Lawmaker Says It’s ‘Right Thing’ To Do Florida Center for INvestigative Reporting ...HB 655 would prohibit local governments in the state from implementing laws that extend paid sick leave benefits to workers and would prevent local governments from requiring companies to pay workers a living wage. The bill is similar to others backed by the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council...
Pension reforms moving through Florida Legislature HR.BLR.com ...The Florida House of Representatives recently passed legislation that would move new employees in the Florida Retirement System (FRS) from a defined benefit pension plan to a 401(k)-type defined contribution plan. The bill moves to the Senate for consideration...
Federal official confirms Maine Labor Department probe; state workers union seeks independent review of LePage Bangor Daily News ...Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Seth Harris told Gov. Paul LePage during a telephone call late Wednesday that an audit of the Maine Department of Labor’s handling of unemployment claims came in response to complaints of inconsistencies, not due to comments the governor allegedly made last month during a Blaine House lunch...
Protesters rip efforts touted by governor Livingston Daily ...About 70 people Thursday protested Michigan’s right-to-work laws, school funding cuts and business tax breaks— all of which Gov. Rick Snyder later touted as signs of progress nearby inside Crystal Gardens banquet center in Genoa Township...
Senate committee approves bill exempting some schools from paying prevailing wage MyNWMo.com ...Some school districts would no longer be required to pay the state prevailing wage on construction projects under a bill approved by the Senate Small Business Committee Wednesday...
CWA protests N.J. lottery privatization plan that could lead to dozens of job losses NJ.com ...The New Jersey Treasury Department said today that 63 of the state lottery's 136 public employees could lose their jobs if the Christie administration signs a contract with a private company to take over parts of the lottery, which it said last week it intends to do...
Campaign Pushing "Right to Work" Legislation for Pennsylvania Your Erie ...Pennsylvanians for a "right to work" state are launching an aggressive summer campaign...
Judge Rejects Stay in Wis. Police Union Lawsuit Associated Press ...A police union's lawsuit challenging Gov. Scott Walker's polarizing collective bargaining law will go forward, following a ruling Friday by a Madison judge who refused the state's request to delay proceedings until appeals in another case were settled…
East Chicago Mayor Cancels Furlough Days for Teamsters Local 142 Municipal Employees NWI Times ...City employees represented by Teamsters Local 142 will no longer have to take furlough days, Mayor Anthony Copeland announced Thursday. Employees not represented by a union are still required to take furloughs…
Drivers Express Bus Safety Concerns WEAR-TV ABC Pensacola ...School bus drivers say they've raised safety issues with the buses and their concerns have gone unheard at Durham School Services in Santa Rosa County, Florida...
BLET Urges Investment In Amtrak At Senate Hearing BLET ...At a Senate subcommittee hearing on April 17, John Tolman, Vice President and National Legislative Representative of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, made a strong case for the U.S. to make a major investment in Amtrak...
Bon Appetit To Recognize Request for Unionization The Daily Pennsylvania ...Workers at Penn Hillel’s Falk Dining Commons might obtain official union recognition with Teamsters Local 929 by the end of the semester...
Dedicated Port Orchard UPS Driver Delivers 30 Years of Safety on the Road Seattle Times ...Peggy Larson is too polite to tell us how to drive. But if more of us drove like she does, the roads would be a lot safer...
Teamsters Vow To Continue Fight Against Dangerous Mexican Trucks in Wake of Court Decision IBT ...The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is disappointed in the court’s decision upholding the legality of the pilot program to open our borders to unsafe Mexican trucks. The union is reviewing its options with our attorneys...
Teamsters Demand Global Aviation Board Stop Costly Executive Search, Appoint CEO IBT ...The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which represents approximately 340 pilots and flight attendants for Global Aviation’s two airlines World Airways and North American Airlines, are calling on the company’s board of directors to take swift and decisive action in selecting a chief executive officer with a proven track record of turning an airline around...
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
4 anti-worker guvs in political trouble, polls say
Four of the worst governors who've given working people grief since 2011 are in political trouble, a top pollster tells us.These are all corporate stooges who mask their devotion to predatory billionaires with Tea Party rhetoric. It hasn't gone so well for them.
In Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker caused an uprising when he tried to destroy collective bargaining rights for public service workers (much of the law has been stayed by the courts).
In Florida, Gov. Rick Scott tried (and failed) to kill 5,000 Teamster jobs by privatizing prisons. Now he wants to take away pension benefits for state workers.
In Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Corbett is trying to kill good Teamster jobs by privatizing liquor distribution.
And in Maine, Gov. Paul LePage kicked off his anti-worker jihad by removing a mural depicting labor history from the Maine Labor Department -- "because it sent the wrong message."
The peerless Nate Silver of the Five Thirty Eight blog today reports some good news:
Mr. Scott, Mr. Corbett, Mr. LePage and Mr. Snyder ... lead states that were carried by President Obama in both 2008 and 2012. All were helped by favorable political winds in 2010 that no longer blow so hard.
Mr. Scott appears to be in the most trouble. A recent Quinnipiac survey showed former Gov. Charlie Crist, a Republican-turned-Democrat and a possible candidate in 2014, beating Mr. Scott, 50 percent to 34 percent.
Mr. Scott has been stocking up campaign contributions, but currently only 32 percent of voters say he deserves a second term.
Mr. Corbett is in a similar position. Sensing weakness, Pennsylvania Democrats are lining up to challenge him...
In Maine, Mr. LePage’s best chance of winning re-election may be to repeat his 2010 route to victory: winning a three-way race where the left-leaning and moderate votes are split. A recent survey by the Pan Atlantic SMS Group showed Mr. LePage leading all three-way matchups but losing by eight percentage points to an independent, Eliot Cutler, in a two-way race.And here's some more good news: Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, who rammed through a No Rights at Work law in December, isn't a shoo-in for re-election. Reports Silver:
Mr. Snyder is in a slightly less precarious position in Michigan. His net job approval rating is negative, but in the single digits. The Rothenberg report rates the race as a tossup, but Michigan is rated as leaning Republican by Sabato’s Crystal Ball and as likely Republican by the Cook report. Part of the reason for Mr. Snyder’s relative strength is the lack of significant opposition. No prominent Democrat has announced an intention to run, but if one did, Mr. Snyder’s chances could certainly diminish.Other anti-worker governors are also in trouble -- for example, Nikki Haley in South Carolina -- but Silver explains why they're likely to be re-elected.
Read the whole thing here.
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