Today's Teamster News 03.07.11

At TN Capitol, 3,000 rally for teachers' voices to be heard  (Local 519 counted 6,000) The Tennessean   ...More than 3,000 people packed downtown Saturday to protest legislative efforts to end collective bargaining by Tennessee teachers...
Recall efforts underway for 14 senators from both parties  The Daily Cardinal   ... six are Democrats and eight are Republicans...
Isthmus, Wisconsin Associated Press sue Gov. Scott Walker over access to emails  The Isthmus   ..."The governor said he had gotten more than 8,000 emails as of Feb. 17, with 'the majority' urging him to 'stay firm' on his budget repair bill," says Isthmus News Editor Bill Lueders...
Labor Organizing Jumps in the Wake of Wisconsin  firedoglake  
...Commentators from across the political spectrum have come to the conclusion that Walker is sunk...
OSU-Wisconsin game becomes SB5 rally point  Columbus Dispatch   ...A group of about 150 protesters rallied near the Schottenstein Center today, opposing the state's proposed collective-bargaining overhaul...
Harry Wilson Tapped By Teamsters To Rescue Ailing Trucking Company And Union Jobs  City Hall News   ...Teamsters recently invited Wilson to help restructure the ailing trucking and freight company, YRC Worldwide, in what they billed as an effort to help save thousands of unionized jobs and prevent the company from going under...
Strike shuts Aiken plant Aiken Standard   ...The Owens-Corning plant in Aiken has shut down, following a strike by workers with the Teamsters Local 509 that began Friday...

VIDEO: WI and OH, stopping the war on workers

Frustrated with the mainstream media's failure to pay attention to what's going on in Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana and throughout the country? Watch New Left Media's videos. They do a great job covering our cause. Here's what they say about themselves:

New Left Media is Chase Whiteside, Erick Stoll, and a camera. We are currently students at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. 

Today's Teamster News 03.04.11

Wis. governor warns of layoffs, talks to Democrats  Associated Press   ...Republican Gov. Scott Walker and absent Democrats remained in a standoff over a budget balancing bill that would also strip public workers of their collective bargaining rights...
Wisconsin Recall Efforts Off to Strong Start  firedoglake   ...they have signed up over 3,000 people from Wisconsin who want to get involved in a recall effort in the past 24 hours. 1,300 have pledged to canvas, and nearly 2,000 have pledged to contribute money...
Anti-Union Bills Introduced In At Least 12 States This Year  Wall Street Journal   ...Lawmakers in Florida, Idaho, Missouri, Tennessee and South Carolina also have introduced bills to reduce union power or make it more difficult for them to sign up workers. There is talk of similar measures even in labor-friendly California and New York...
Speaker Bosma ready to start fining missing state Democrats  Evansville Courier & Press   ...House Speaker Brian Bosma's decision, announced Thursday on the floor of the House, is his latest effort to make the Democrats' absence as uncomfortable as possible...
State workers protest as LePage pitches plan to lawmakers  Bangor Daily News   ...Saying they are not to blame for Maine’s budget woes, state employees and retirees called upon lawmakers to reject proposed changes to Maine’s pension and retirement system...
A retired Teamster watches labor unrest in Columbus and gears up for a fight The Cleveland Plain Dealer   ...Ohio's labor unions are gearing up to make Wisconsin look tame...
Va. transit workers, Veolia make deal  (Local 570) Washington Post   ...After months of tense negotiations, a contract agreement was reached late Wednesday between Loudoun County Transit workers and Veolia Transportation...

Today's Teamster News 03.02.11

AFL-CIO leader: Wisconsin fight energizing unions  Associated Press   ... In trying to take away nearly all collective bargaining rights from state workers, Wisconsin's governor may have unintentionally given the American labor movement the lift it needed ...
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker threatens lay offs if Democrats don't vote on state budget  Daily News   ...Wisconsin's union-busting Republican governor threatened Tuesday to lay off hundreds of public sector workers if the Democratic lawmakers who split the state don't return and vote on his proposed budget...
More Than 20,000 Rally in Ohio for Public Employees  aflcionowblog   ... as the state legislature began hearings on Gov. John Kasich’s onerous anti-worker bill known as Senate Bill 5 or S.B. 5...
Correctional officer stabbed at State Penitentiary  (Local 117)   ...an officer was found laying against the wall and bleeding profusely. He had been stabbed in the face with a ball point pen...
Rick Scott sued by Senators Joyner, Altman in Florida Supreme Court Miami Herald   ...The lawsuit would force Scott to accept about $2.4 billion in federal transit money for the high-speed rail plan... 
Unintended, but Sound Advice  (opinion) New York Times   ... all workers should be organized, whether they were actually in a union or not...
In Labor Clash, N.F.L.’s Union Calls Old Play  New York Times   ...the union is planning to effectively dissolve itself...
REPORT: How Koch Industries Makes Billions By Demanding Bailouts And Taxpayer Subsidies (Part 1)  ThinkProgress   ... Koch’s Tea Party libertarianism is actually a thin veneer for the company’s long running history of winning special deals from the government and manipulating the market to pad Koch profits...

Hoffa arrives in OH, Teamsters arrive in Madison, Walker has to open the bldg



Moments ago. Hoffa in Columbus.

Teamsters President Jim Hoffa just arrived at the Statehouse in Ohio, joined by 500 of our Teamster brothers and sisters. A Senate committee will vote on the hated SB 5 bill, which would strip government workers of their collective bargaining rights. The crowd was expected to reach 20,000 to protest the bill.

@dioxindi tweets:

RT @aflcio: RT @ohioaflcio: Thousands already at statehouse to rally to save ohio's middle class! #standupoh #statesos

According to an advisory:

Thousands of Ohio working families will converge on the Statehouse in Columbus on Tuesday, March 1 for a “Rally to Save Ohio’s Middle Class” starting 10:30 a.m. and continuing all day. The massive rally, organized by the middle class Ohioans from all across the state, comes in response to the recently-proposed Senate Bill 5, a blatant assault on middle-class working families—one in a series of attacks on the middle class across the country.

The event will open with the Pledge of Allegiance led by American veterans and the rendering of honors by a color guard unit during the national anthem. The event will also include testimony against Senate Bill 5 and Gov. John Kasich’s attacks on the middle class from workers and their families, members of the business community, public and private sector workers, current and former members of the military and more. Musicians, including the rock group the Street Dogs, which features members of the renowned punk band the Dropkick Murphys, a bag pipe ensemble of firefighters and other local musicians, will perform as well.

And in Wisconsin, our Teamster brothers and sisters will again be in Madison rallying as Koch whore Gov. Scott Walker prepares to give a speech this afternoon.

We understand Walker locked the Capitol, only letting one person in for every person who leaves. But we also understand AFSCME got a restraining order forcing him to open the building.

Stay tuned.

Today's Teamster News 02.23.11

Hoffa: Walker Has Gone Too Far  IBT   ..."Destroying workers' collective bargaining rights won't balance the budget and it won't create a single job..."
Poll: Americans favor union bargaining rights  USA Today   ...The poll found 61% would oppose a law in their state similar to such a proposal in Wisconsin, compared with 33% who would favor such a law...
Battle for workers' rights hits Lansing; more protests today over taxes, budget  Detroit Free Press   ..."They've been thinking about this for a long time, the tea party and the far right. This is their dream," Hoffa told the Free Press...
Wis. governor warns of layoff notices  ABC12   ...Neither Republicans nor Democrats are budging: Walker says he won't negotiate, and the 14 missing Senate Democrats say they won't return until he does...
Koch brothers quietly open lobbying office in downtown Madison  The Cap Times   ...The billionaire brothers whose political action committee gave Gov. Scott Walker $43,000 and helped fund a multi-million dollar attack ad campaign against his opponent during the 2010 gubernatorial election have quietly opened a lobbying office in Madison just off the Capitol Square...
State budget clashes spread to Indiana, Ohio  Washington Post   ...The offensive by Republican governors to tackle the power of public employee unions sparked new clashes Tuesday as protesters descended on Ohio's capitol and Democratic lawmakers in Indiana fled the state to avoid a vote on anti-union legislation...
At Grave Risk (opinion) New York Times   ...The great promise of the United States, its primary offering to its citizens and the world, is at grave risk...
UPS takes ocean freight service to 10 Asian ports  Associated Press   ...United Parcel Service Inc. said Tuesday it plans to expand one of its ocean freight services to 10 additional Asian ports after its rollout in Japan...
Emanuel Triumphs in Chicago Mayoral Race  New York Times   ...Mr. Emanuel, who will take office in May, won 55 percent of the vote against five other candidates...

Teamsters give Kasich unpleasant welcome in Canton

Worth noting that in Canton, Ohio, a thousand protesters greeted corporate stooge Gov. John Kasich upon his arrival at the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce Annual Banquet today.

According to cantonrep.com, Kasich got a less-than-cordial greeting who aren't pleased with his attacks on working families. At 5 pm,

Protesters chanting “Kill the bill!” packed the plaza at Memorial Civic Center in advance of Governor John Kasich’s arrival. Police barricades separated protesters against the (Senate) bill from those holding signs supporting Kasich and his effort to cut the state budget deficit. Canton police were noticeable at the scene to make sure order was maintained.

The crowd went wild when city snowplow trucks drove by with their horns blaring.

cantonrep.com quotes our brother Robert Jackson, president of Teamsters Local 92 in Canton at 5:45 p.m. He said.

We’re here to say ‘No’ to Senate Bill 5. We got every reason to be here. This is an attack against organized labor. You can balance the budget without putting it on the backs of working people.

Kasich has apparently arrived and held a news conference.

Teamsters in the thick of things in OH, WI, IN, VT (and we're just getting started!)

Indiana Teamsters sit in at the state capitol.

Indiana Teamsters staged a sit-in at the Indiana Statehouse today as their brothers and sisters in Wisconsin and Ohio marched in massive rallies around their state capitols. More than a dozen rallies were held elsewhere throughout the country.

In Indiana, thousands of union members and students sat down in front of the Senate chamber to protest a scheduled vote on two anti-union bills. Democratic senators House members walked out, denying the quorum required for a vote. Reports the Louisville Courier-Journal,

...angered over a GOP agenda they say is anti-worker, hundreds of union workers and students staged a sit-in Tuesday morning outside the Indiana Senate chamber, chanting, “Ain’t no power like the power of the people.”

Meanwhile, House Democrats continued a boycott that is denying Republicans a quorum needed to move a controversial right-to-work bill, conjuring images of Wisconsin, where Senate Democrats have left the state to avoid voting on controversial anti-labor bills.

And this just in from the Indianapolis Star:

Democrats are headed to Illinois, though it was possible some also might go to Kentucky. They need to go to a state with a Democratic governor to avoid being taken into police custody and returned to Indiana.

In Wisconsin, thousands of protesters an estimated 30,000 were joined by at least a hundred Teamsters from Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, Racine and elsewhere.  They marched around the capitol this morning as two  Teamsters semis -- one from Local 120 in Miinnesota -- served as a gathering point. Brother Steven Nelson from Local 200 reports that the Teamsters have entered the Rotunda, where brother Rick Smith from Harrisburg, Pa., is broadcasting his radio program. Earlier, Nelson said:

We got a good group of union people walking around the capitol. AFSCME, correctional officers, teachers, the International Bricklayers and Allied Crafts. They're shouting "Kill the Bill" and "What's Disgusting? Union-busting!"

Koch whore Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker remains unwilling to compromise on his union-busting budget bill and the Assembly will once again attempt to pass the legislation today. The 14 Democratic senators (including our former Teamster brother Sen. Dave Hansen) are still in Illinois, preventing a quorum and a vote on the bill. The good news: new polls show Wisconsinites strongly support the efforts of working men and women, and strongly disapprove of Walker’s assault on the middle class.

Walker has also borrowed a page from Egyptian dicatator Hosni Mubarek and blocked pro-union websites. Reports CNN:

A left-leaning website that union supporters used to rally protesters in Wisconsin was partially blocked as demonstrators gathered in the state Capitol over a controversial budget bill.

Events were moving rapidly in Ohio as well, where thousands of protesters were denied access to the Statehouse. Our brothers and sisters flocked to Columbus from all over the state, where thousands of workers rallied for the second week to protests SB 5. (We're expecting photos later this afternoon.) The bill would eliminate collective bargaining rights for all state workers.

Testimony before a Senate committee was limited to those who met a deadline that was never publicized. While thousands are standing outside, peacefully protesting in the cold, only 1,200 have been allowed inside the Statehouse. Our sources tell us the Senate Democrats have filed for a court order to get the Republicans to open the Statehouse and a judge is hearing the case now.

Our Teamster brother Daniel Brush led a rally in Montpelier, Vt., where 300 people stood in the frigid cold to show their support for protesters in Wisconsin. Brush is the guy with the flag in the photo below:

Stay tuned, as there's lots more to come.

Teamsters Take Protests to 38 States

Teamster gathering place in Madison.

Teamsters throughout the country are mobilizing today to protest the assault on workers' rights even as an Egyptian union leader sent a message of solidarity from Cairo. There are more than 100 rallies planned this week in 38 states this week.

The protest continues in Wisconsin today. Wisconsin, though, isn't the only state where new governors and legislatures are considering right-to-work (for LESS) laws, eliminating project-labor agreements, killing prevailing wage laws and repealing minimum wage and child labor laws. In Congress, Republicans are pushing legislation to make it harder for workers to unionize.

Kamal Abbas, general coordinator of the independent Egyptian Centre for Trade Unions and Workers Services (CTUWS), posted a video message from Cairo for American workers. It's on Michael Moore's website. Speaking from Liberation Square, where many Egyptian youths were killed, he said,

From this place, I want you to know that we stand with you as you stood with us.

I want you to know that no power can challenge the will of the people when they believe in their rights. When they raise their voices loud and clear and struggle against exploitation.

No one believed that our revolution could succeed against the strongest dictatorship in the region. But in 18 days the revolution achieved the victory of the people. When the working class of Egypt joined the revolution on 9 and 10 February, the dictatorship was doomed and the victory of the people became inevitable.

We want you to know that we stand on your side. Stand firm and don't waiver. Don't give up on your rights. Victory always belongs to the people who stand firm and demand their just rights.

Ohio is catching on fire as "No on SB 5" events are planned today in Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton, Youngstown and Toledo. A good summary, with details, can be found here.

In Indianapolis, Teamsters are among the crowd of workers lined up outside the Statehouse to protest a bill that would severely weaken unions, stripping many of the ability to negotiate wages and work rules. Our brothers and sisters from Indiana and Northern Kentucky locals will join the thousands expected to be there.

The protests are gaining support from all quarters (including Egypt). The president of the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce said he's siding with the protesters. He sent an email to his members saying

Given this state's long history of collective bargaining, policy changes of this magnitude should be thoroughly debated for an adequate period of time, in good faith by both sides, with all potential consequences considered. Currently, that is not happening.

We also learned from Twitter (don't know if it's true, but sure hope so) that Koch whore Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker got turned away from lunch at Merchant, a restaurant in Madison.

Today's Teamster News 02.21.11

Wisconsin Power Play (opinion)  New York Times   ...will the attack on unions succeed? I don’t know. But anyone who cares about retaining government of the people by the people should hope that it doesn’t...
Wisconsin governor rejects negotiations on controversial budget bill  CNN   ...Wisconsin's growing demonstration over a budget bill continues Monday with guitarist Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine fame planning to play for the protesters... 
Senate bill 5 sparks uproar  The News Record   ...A proposed Ohio Senate bill eliminating collective bargaining rights for state employees is drawing the ire of thousands of workers throughout the state...
Indiana Union Workers Protest Right To Work Bill  theindychannel.com   ...Nearly 100 people, mostly union workers, packed the Anderson library Sunday to discuss the hot-button topic...
Teamsters Believe 'Son of Nafta' Will Cost U.S. Jobs  aol.com   ...The Teamsters are urging Congress to reject the current version of the South Korea trade agreement that is currently on the table...
Fifty-three dead in 3 days in Ciudad Juarez, official says  CNN   ...Fifty-three people were killed in a 72-hour span in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, making it one of the deadliest three-day periods in recent memory...
Delta Jet Lands Safely After Engine Fails on Takeoff  Bloomberg   ...An engine on a Delta Air Lines Inc. jet failed shortly after takeoff today, spewing out small parts, and was forced to return to Florida’s Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport...

Don't let this light fade. How you can help.



These Teamsters creatively protest in Hudson, Wisc.



All across the country people are asking what they can do to help their brothers and sisters in Wisconsin.

 

The first thing they can do is go to (or stage their own) Wisconsin Solidarity rallies. There's one in nearly every state capital on Monday and Tuesday. Go to the Teamster.org "Stop the War on Workers" web page to find out where and when they are. The page is being updated constantly, so you may know of a rally that hasn't appeared on the list yet. If you live in or near a state capital, you might want to call your local for information.

 

Just to give you an idea of the state of play, there are rallies scheduled for Juneau, Alaska, at noon on Tuesday, but we're not sure where yet; a rally at the State Capitol in Little Rock, Ark., on Wednesday, but we're not sure of the time yet; a rally in Phoenix, Ariz., on Tuesday, but we're not sure where or when.

 

And that's just the "A" states.

 

We do know, too, that the rallies in Indianapolis and Columbus, Ohio, will be big this week. Both legislatures are very quickly moving drastic anti-worker bills similar to the one Koch whore Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is trying to ram through the legislature.

 

In Ohio, there are a whole bunch of rallies throughout the state. There's a Town Hall forum in Toledo on Monday, a forum in Youngstown on Monday, a mobilization in Dayton on Monday, a mobilization in Columbus at the Statehouse on Tuesday, a mobilization in Canton on Tuesday and a rally in Columbus with Jesse Jackson on Wednesday. Here's a recent list of the Ohio events from the AFL-CIO.

 

You can also urge people you know to visit the Teamsters' "Stop the War on Workers" Facebook page, the teamster.org "Stop the War on Workers" page, and the AFL-CIO's "States of Denial" web page, which will update you on anti-worker legislation around the country and allow you to sign petitions.

 

Some other things you can do:

• You can sign an open letter to the Wisconsin Legislature opposing Walker's bill.
• You can order a pizza for the Wisconsin protesters. Or breakfast. Seriously.  Find out how here
• You can contribute $14 to the Wisconsin state senate committee to support the Democratic senators (including Dave Hansen, a former truck driver and member of Teamster Local 662). Here's the link.
• You can put a sign in the window of your house, your business or your car. Doesn't matter that it's handwritten. It could say "Stop the War on Workers," or "Solidarity with Wisconsin" or "I Support the Cheddar Revolution."
• You can tweet a positive comment about your union and add the hash tag #NotMyWI. Some examples: "Union protected my from sexual harassing boss," "without insurance bargained by my union, i'd be wearing dentures."

Today's Teamster News 02.20.11

Scott Walker has already created jobs...too bad they’re in India  Blogging Blue   ...The Department of Health Services last month signed a new contract with Deloitte Consulting...
Tea Party lies and distorts at Wisconsin Capitol rally  The Isthmus   ...While the anti-Walker demonstrators were mostly guilty of overstating the governor’s fiendishness (no, he’s probably not as bad as Hitler), the Tea Party folks often distorted the issues...
Day Six of Protests in Madison  WHBL News   ...Madison police estimate the crowd converging on the Wisconsin state Capitol approached 70 thousand Saturday...
Ohio: Statehouse mobilization against SB 5 and Kasich's anti-worker agenda  Monthly Review   ...Thousands of workers and community members will pack the Statehouse again to tell lawmakers to reject the attack on Ohio's middle class and vote NO on Senate Bill 5, a bill that would gut workers' voice on the job in the hopes of dismantling unions in Ohio entirely...
Union members hope to make voices heard  indystar.com   ...Indiana union members plan to swarm the Statehouse this week to protest a slew of Republican-sponsored bills they say would weaken their membership...
As G20 Leaders Set Deal, Geithner Criticizes China  New York Times   ...financial leaders from the Group of 20 agreed on a set of guidelines to identify when economic and financial developments in some countries would create problems for the rest of the world...
Oil Flows, but High Prices Jangle Nerves  New York Times   ...The turmoil in North Africa and the Middle East has helped drive oil prices up to more than $102 a barrel for an important benchmark crude...
Why Isn't Wall Street in Jail?  Rolling Stone   ...Financial crooks brought down the world's economy — but the feds are doing more to protect them than to prosecute them...

Today's Teamster News 02.19.11

Unions aren't to blame for Wisconsin's budget (this is a must read)  Washington Post   ...Let's be clear: Whatever fiscal problems Wisconsin is -- or is not -- facing at the moment, they're not caused by labor unions. That's also true for New Jersey, for Ohio and for the other states...
Wisconsin protests escalate over public worker rights  monstersandcritics   ...Wisconsin is gripped by a large-scale protest over the rights of public sector workers that has been catapulted into a national debate over the role of labour unions and how to handle state budget woes across the United States...
Debate over workers' rights heats up in Ohio  CNN   ...A bill to limit the collective bargaining power of some public-sector workers has sparked protests in Ohio this week...
Indiana House committee to hear right-to-work bill  Louisville Courier-Journal   ...A House committee will consider controversial right-to-work legislation at a hearing Monday, just hours before a key deadline for committee action...
Union approval low, but more still side with labor over gov't  NBC News   ...Public approval of corporations has plummeted even more sharply than that of unions in the past decade.
Diesel cost driven up: Truckers, industry feel paycheck and profit pain  The Modesto Bee   ...It's true that more truckloads are shipped by rail when fuel costs rise, but most experts are blaming the recent fuel increase on the unrest in Egypt and the rest of the Middle East...
FedEx launches new Colorado data center  Datacenter Dynamics   ...Facility to replace Memphis data center in 3 years...
W. Va Teamsters reject Armstrong contract proposal  (Local 175)  Associated Press  ...Teamsters Local 175 president and international vice president Ken Hall says members voted 2-to-1 Thursday to reject the proposal. The plant in Beverly employs about 550 Teamsters members...

Tea Party holds pathetic rally in OH



Photo courtesy Dave Harding @ProgressOhio

 Brother Fred Crow reports this exchange from Ohio: 

SB5 supporter: "we're sick of spending taxpayers' money supporting you!"

Firefighter: "then stop calling 911"

Our protest was tremendous, according to all reports. About 4,000 people, including former Gov. Ted Strickland, showed up for Opposition Testimony at a hearing on SB 5 the anti-worker legislation being debated in the Ohio Senate Insurance, Commerce and Labor Committee.

Says one Twitterer:

@JimHeathONN In my yrs in politics I've never seen anything like what's going on at statehouse Thousands of ppl making voices heard

The Tea Party's protest, well, not so much. Plunderbund reports that maybe 100 Tea Partiers showed up, enough to fill the gift shop, but not enough to surround the building, as they hoped.

Plunderbund found e-mails sent last week by the head of the Portage County Tea Party, who organized buses to bring the Tea Party. Referring to last week's protest, the e-mail said:

“We do not want to just fill the gallery, we want to surround the building. They had 800 we need 8,000!”

Here's more from the Tea Party e-mail:

“Then we need to get our people down to the Capital for next Thursday’s hearings. We do not want to just fill the gallery, we want to surround the building. They had 800 we need 8,000! The Portage County TEA Party will be organizing buses to Columbus for our members. I encourage other leaders to do the same. This is the moment we have been waiting for when something actually changes for the better. When all the talk finally becomes action. If we do not win this fight, right here, right now, our entire agenda is doomed. We must go all in on this one.”

So sad.

Today's Teamsters News 02.18.11

Hoffa Praises Wisconsin Demonstrators  IBT   ...Hoffa saluted the tens of thousands of people streaming into Wisconsin’s capital this week to protest Gov. Scott Walker’s budget proposal...
State Democrats absent for vote as Wisconsin budget protests swell  CNN   ...Wisconsin state senators are expected to reconvene Friday as lawmakers wrangled over a bill that would strip teachers and other public employees of most of their collective bargaining rights and cut their benefits...
A third day of protests begins against the Walker budget bill for Wisconsin  The Daily Page   ..."Brothers and sisters! Monday, two thousand T.A.'s from the university came to the Capitol. Tuesday, 20,000 firefighters and teamsters and SEIU members came. Welcome to day three..."
Ohio Residents Also Protesting  neon tommy   ...The outpouring of anger by Wisconsin residents upset over proposed anti-union legislation spread across the Midwest Thursday as thousands of protestors in Ohio, which faces a similar measure, descended on the statehouse...
Teamsters head opposes Korean trade pact  Detroit News   ...Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa, in a break from the Obama administration and the United Auto Workers union, opposes the Korea Free Trade Agreement...
Truckers to Speak Out on HOS Proposal  Journal of Commerce   ...Carriers, drivers expected to oppose shorter hours at FMCSA listening session today...
Coke, NLRB reach union settlement  (Local 728) Atlanta Business Chronicle   ...The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on Wednesday ordered a subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Co., Coca-Cola Refreshments USA Inc., to post a statement in two metro Atlanta bottling facilities, telling employees of their legal right to form a union...
Another female staffer attacked at Monroe prison  Associated Press   ...“We have been saying for months that there is an urgent need for fundamental changes at the DOC to ensure the safety of Correctional Employees. This incident reinforces that need,” said Tracey A. Thompson, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 117...

Huge Wisco protests spread to Ohio (VIDEO)

Workers have been protesting Senate Bill 5 in Ohio all week, but today the crowd grew to about 4,000, according to news reports. SB 5 is a bill that would strip public employee unions of nearly all their collective bargaining rights, much as Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's would.

Reports The Columbus Dispatch:

The spacious Statehouse atrium was packed mostly with public union workers outraged at efforts to end collectie bargaining for state workers and significantly weaken the ability for local workers to bargain for their pay, benefits and working conditions.

Unions made a strong showing for the bill's first two hearings, and they were joined today by more than 200 red-shirt clad tea party activists pushing for the bill's passage. The mix verbally clashed in the Statehouse rotunda, where each side did its best to drown out the other.

Meanwhile, the atrium had the feel of a rock concert or an Ohio State football game, as union supporters cheered loudly when Senate sergeants-at-arms led their leaders across the balcony and into the hearing room.

The ProgressOhio blog has some good videos of the protest here.

Bloomberg offers this:

Firefighters Dave Hefflinger and Jerry Greer stood near hundreds of workers elbow-to-elbow in the statehouse atrium and listened to a Senate hearing through speakers. Chants of “Kill the bill” echoed.

“We’re here to support our brothers and sisters,” Hefflinger, a 27-year veteran, said in an interview. “They’re trying to take away what we fought for all of these years.”

Hefflinger, 49, and Greer, 39, members of the department in Findlay, Ohio, drove two hours south to protest the bill.

...Joe Rugola, the former president of the Ohio AFL-CIO who also is executive director of the Ohio Association of Public School Employees, said he represents bus drivers and janitors who earn about $24,000 a year.

“I’m still looking for this privileged class of workers,” Rugola said in an interview while waiting to testify. “This is just part of a national attack on working people.”

Another day of protests

And not just in Wisconsin, where the rally today is expected to be even bigger than yesterday's. They're protesting Gov. Scott Walker's savage, vindictive budget,  which passed the Senate committee last night and will move to the floor today.

In Ohio, the crowd is already estimated at 4,200. They're protesting as hearings continue on Sen. Shannon Jones' vindictive, savage SB 5, which would eliminate collective bargaining for government workers. (If you haven't yet, sign up for the StandUpForOhio Facebook page for updates.)

Workers held a "Working Families Day" at the Minnesota statehouse and hundreds of students demonstrated against planned tuition hikes. Watch the Minnesota AFL-CIO's video about the lobby day here.

In Michigan, Gov. Rick Snyder is announcing his budget, which may also set off protests. It includes job cuts, concessions from government workers, tax hikes on the middle class and tax breaks for business.

Oh, and here's another lovely proposal from the corporate stooges who managed to get themselves elected in Nevada: a bill was introduced to repeal the minimum wage.

It just gets better and better.

Today's Teamster News 02.17.11

Thousands rally at Wisconsin Capitol to protest anti-union bill  Associated Press   ...The sweeping measure was moving swiftly through the GOP-led Legislature and would mark a dramatic shift for Wisconsin...
Labor packs Ohio Statehouse, protests union limits  CNBC   ...Hundreds of union protesters again packed the Statehouse in protest on Tuesday as government officials from around the state lined up in support of a bill that would wipe out Ohio's nearly 30-year-old collective bargaining law and make other union changes...
Labor unions work to raise profile in Statehouse  tribstar.com   ...Indiana’s labor unions...leadership is calling in the forces, mobilizing members en masse to protest what they’ve called an “anti-worker agenda” with far-reaching consequences...
UPS Executive Restates Earnings Guidance  Wall Street Journal   ...United Parcel Service Inc.'s chief financial officer described the weather last month as "brutal" but played down the overall impact of the winter storms and reiterated the company's 2011 earnings forecast...
Winter hammers FedEx profit and revenues  Fleet Owner   ...FedEx Corp. said earnings for the third quarter of its fiscal year took a severe beating due largely to severe winter weather In the U.S. and Europe that significantly disrupted its global shipping operations...
House committee passes FAA bill without provision opposed by FedEx  The Commercial Appeal   ...A similar measure is expected to pass the Senate later this week...
Legal troubles continue for YRC  The City Wire   ...YRC also faces a critical Feb. 28 deadline to qualify for debt restructuring or some other “qualifying transaction” as part of an agreement with the Teamsters...
Riot Police Face Striking Truckers in Colombia  Wall Street Journal   ...The truckers' strike, which began nearly two weeks ago over deregulation of the industry, involves the majority of some 200,000 Colombian truckers...
Baggage handlers hit picket lines in Toronto, Montreal (Local 419)  CTV   ...The union representing 400 striking baggage handlers at airports in Toronto and Montreal says its members plan to picket 24 hours a day until their labour dispute is resolved...
Harkin Opposes Anti-Worker Amendments to FAA Reauthorization  Sen. Tom Harkin   ...Harkin (D-IA) spoke on the floor of the Senate to oppose an amendment that would undermine flight crews’ job safety...
Loudoun County Transit/Veolia Workers March On Boss  IBT   ...Dozens of Loudoun County Transit drivers represented by Teamsters Local 570 in Baltimore, marched on their management today, presenting a petition demanding a fair union contract...