Today's Teamster News 09.22.12

Lawmakers may push "fiscal cliff" deadlines into 2013  Reuters   ...Slowly and quietly, the U.S. Congress may be arriving at a consensus on how to avoid falling off the "fiscal cliff" on December 31 - by simply putting off its own deadline for most of the major year-end budget and tax decisions...
The decline of collective bargaining and the erosion of middle class incomes in Michigan  Economic Policy Institute   ...This divergence between pay and productivity and the corresponding failure of middle-class incomes to grow is strongly related to the erosion of collective bargaining. And collective bargaining has eroded more in Michigan than in the rest of the nation, helping to explain Michigan’s more disappointing outcomes...
It’s official: Quebec tuition hikes are history  Canadian Press   ...The tuition increase that triggered such social strife in Quebec was cancelled Thursday during an action-packed first full day in office for the Parti Quebecois government...
Editorial: Electronic voting is the real threat to elections  USA Today   ...While state lawmakers burn enormous energy in a partisan fight over in-person vote fraud, which is virtually nonexistent, they're largely ignoring far likelier ways votes can be lost, stolen or changed...
Concord city employees protest furlough days  KGO-TV   ...Members of teamsters Local 856 agreed to 13 furlough days per year back in 2009, but now they say the city is doing so much better and it's time for the furloughs to end...
CL bus drivers, attendants ink deal  Northwest Herald   ...Teamsters Local 731 represents about 60 bus drivers and bus attendants in Crystal Lake school Districts 47 and 155 employed by the Transportation Joint Agreement...

Today's Teamster News 07.24.12

Dark side of a Bain success  Salon   ...A for-profit health company bought by Bain -- that Romney profits from -- has exploded in size and tales of neglect...
No Holiday For The Red Squares (Le Devoir)  quebecprotest.com   ... Participants were out in great numbers yesterday in Montreal on the occasion of the 160th day of social action and the fifth national demonstration on the 22nd of the month.
The Future of Manufacturing Is in America, Not China  Foreign Policy   ...The most advanced automobile of today -- the Tesla Roadster -- is already being manufactured in the United States using robotic and AI technologies. Google just announced that it will produce its highly-acclaimed Nexus 7 tablet in the United States. This is just the beginning of the trend...
Boats, Bottles, and Billy the Kid: The Other Koch Brother  Mother Jones   ...he spent $2.3 million on the only authenticated photograph of Billy the Kid. That's still $300,000 more than he's spent on Romney, one of his cheaper hobbies...
Prosser converts campaign account to legal defense fund  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel   ...State Supreme Court Justice David Prosser has re-christened his campaign finance account as a defense fund, which he said he is considering using to fight allegations that he violated judicial ethics rules by putting his hands on the neck of a fellow justice last year...
BusinessView: CP cannot unilaterally cancel the FMP that was negotiated in good faith…  Northumberland View   ... The TCRC General Committees of Adjustment representing members at CP Rail in Western Canada successfully obtained a cease and desist order to stop CP's attempt to cancel Cranbrook Fatigue Management Plan Time Pools...

Today's Teamster News 06.23.12

Republicans’ Voter Suppression Project Grinds On  Bloomberg   ...Across the country, the Republicans’ carefully orchestrated plan to make voting harder -- let’s call it the Voter Suppression Project -- may keep just enough young people and minorities from the polls that Republicans will soon be in charge of all three branches of the federal government...
Corporate profits are at an all-time high  ThinkProgress   ...at the same time that corporate profits are at an all-time high as a percentage of the economy, wages are at an all-time low...
Students protest calmly in Montreal, Quebec City  CBC   ...Thousands of people rallied for day of protest Friday in Montreal and in Quebec City, as student leaders vowed to continue their demonstrations through the summer...
David Koch To Host $50,000-A-Person Dinner For Romney In The Hamptons  BuzzFeed   ...The home at 880 Maiden Lane in Southampton sits on 4 waterfront acres, and has 7 bedrooms and 9 bathrooms, according to Zillow. It was last assessed in 2010 at a valuation of over $22 million...
Allied Waste, Teamsters agree to standstill, local employees to return to work  Evansville Courier & Press   ...both parties agreed during a meeting Tuesday in Washington, D.C., that it was in their best interests to initiate a standstill. That will end the lockout that has kept the employees from working in Evansville since early May...
Teamsters Reach Tentative Agreement With Bus System  KTVN   ... A late-night tentative agreement has been reached between Teamsters Local 533 and MV Transportation, contract operator of the Regional Transportation of the Reno-Sparks-Washoe County (RTC) bus and senior/disabled transit system...

Today's Teamster News 06.11.12

When libertarianism fails  Salon   ...Chinatown buses revolutionized urban transit but had awful safety records, proving not every ingenious idea is good...
China Trade Surprise Signals Domestic Stimulus Focus  Bloomberg   ...China’s exports rose in May at more than double the pace analysts estimated while industrial output and retail sales trailed forecasts...The government may boost tax cuts and speed up spending on public works to ensure growth of more than 8.5 percent in the second half of the year...
Quebec students scare govt. into applying draconian law  Press TV   ...Thousands of Canadian students, who have continued four months of protests over tuition fee hikes, are now getting a boost from labor unions and teachers...
How the Wisconsin Uprising Got Hijacked  TomDispatch.com   ...as we're fast learning in this era of super-PACs and billionaire bankrollers, locking yourself into a remarkably broken electoral system ... may be the mistake of the decade...
After Walker victory, Indiana governor suggests public unions should go  Fox News   ..."I think, really, government works better without them," Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels told "Fox News Sunday," when asked whether public-worker unions should even exist...
Gov Walker’s job report was pure fiction: documents prove he failed to add jobs losses from 3 months  Freakout Nation   ...Walker neglected to add in job loses from October, November and February...

Today's Teamster News 06.01.12

38th consecutive night demo peaceful but illegal  Montreal Gazette   ...it began just hours after talks between the government and student associations collapsed. The nighttime demonstration drew a crowd of several thousand and got off to its usual start at 8 p.m. with the sound of pots and pans echoing through Place Émilie-Gamelin...
Federal Officials Shut Down 26 Bus Operators  New York Times   ...Citing imminent safety hazards, federal officials ordered 26 companies on Thursday to stop operating many of the inexpensive buses that pick up passengers at curbsides all over Manhattan’s Chinatown and haul them to other cities up and down the East Coast...
Justice Department Demands Florida Stop Purging Voter Rolls  Talking Points Memo   ...The Justice Department sent a letter to Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner Thursday evening demanding the state cease purging its voting rolls because the process it is using has not been cleared under the Voting Rights Act, TPM has learned...
Walker's office stonewalled DA inquiry, record shows  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel   ...Milwaukee County prosecutors opened the secret John Doe criminal investigation more than two years ago after being stonewalled by Gov. Scott Walker's office when he was county executive, according to a newly released record...
Fla. prison health care privatization challenged  Associated Press   ...Lawyers for public employee unions and a pair of nurses urged a judge Wednesday to block a plan for privatizing health care in Florida's prisons...
CP Rail Workers Return to Jobs as Strike Law Passes  Bloomberg Businessweek   ...Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd.’s (CP) striking Teamsters workers are returning to their jobs today after Parliament passed a bill to end the weeklong labor action that snarled industry supply chains and seaport traffic...
The Lockout Is Over: Sotheby’s Finally Resolves Dispute With Its Union Art Handlers  Blouin Art Info   ...All the union-sympathizing auction lovers out there can rejoice — after a 10-month-long lockout of the union art handlers at Sotheby’s New York, the auction house management finally came to an agreement with the Teamsters Local 814, which represents 42 art handlers, according to Crain’s New York...

Today's Teamster News 05.27.12

Romney Argues Big Spending Cuts Would Cause 'Depression,' Contrary To Tea Party Activists  Huffington Post   ...Romney, however, said that pushing drastic spending cuts during shaky economic times is a prescription for "recession or depression..."
Protest in the streets despite downpour and tornado warning, 1 arrest  Montreal Open File   ...Though the rain only lasted for about half an hour and the tornado warning was soon lifted, the energy it gave the crowd propelled one of the most boisterous, celebratory and peaceful demonstrations in over a month to party on through the streets for four straight hours...
“American” Corporations Adding More Jobs Overseas Than at Home  Economy in Crisis   ...The Wall Street Journal recently did an analysis of job creation by the 35 largest corporations who file their employment statistics with the federal government. Over the past two years these companies have added 113,000 jobs in the United States, but they added 333,000 jobs overseas...
Dr. Deer’s $125,000 Taxpayer-Funded Endorsement of Scott Walker  Wisconsin Citizens Media Coop   ...Kroll has not actually put much time into Wisconsin since taking the job as Deer Czar. He was not even in the state during the 9 day deer season in 2011. His preliminary report on deer management was short and perfunctory, and demonstrated that he has not put much effort into learning about the state and its hunting history...
Negotiations continue at Canadian Pacific  Northumberland View   ...Negotiations are ongoing with Canadian Pacific (CP) and will likely continue through the weekend. The Teamster Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) bargaining committee is meeting with conciliators and with the employer...
Tentative Agreement Reached Between Local One and Empire New York -- Picket Line Pulled for Weekend  New York Daily News   ...Labor negotiations have freed up W. 45th St. (between Broadway and Eighth Ave) from protesters who have been picketing the cabaret-circus "Empire New York" for use on non-union crew for the last nine days...

Today's Teamster News 05.26.12

Québec's Student Strike Turning Into a Citizens' Revolt  truthout   ... On its 102nd day, the student movement is growing, as is the awareness of an ever more oppressive and corrupt government...
NO DISCLOSURE: WSJ, Fox Defended ALEC Without Noting News Corp. Is A Member  Media Matters for America   ...The editorial board of The Wall Street Journal and employees of Fox News have repeatedly shielded the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) from criticism without disclosing that parent company News Corp. is a member of that organization...
Senate Armed Services Committee Releases Report on Counterfeit Electronic Parts  Trade Reform   ...A Senate Armed Services Committee investigation discovered counterfeit electronic parts from China in the Air Force’s largest cargo plane, in assemblies intended for Special Operations helicopters, and in a Navy surveillance plane among 1,800 cases of bogus parts, a committee report released today shows...
Dispatches XXII: Wisconsin and US Employment Growth Compared  Econbrowser   ...Wisconsin employment is lagging far, far behind the smooth path implied by Governor Walker's 250,000 increase in private employment...
In recall battle, Wisconsin Gov. Scott says new figures showing job gains are "the final job numbers"  Politifact   ...We rate Walker’s statement False...
CP union members keep vision on track  Northern Life   ...Locomotive engineers and conductors from CP Rail, part of Teamsters Canada Rail Conference Local 308 in Sudbury, have been on the picket line since May 23, and they have no intention of leaving until their requests for maintaining 10-hour shifts and leaving pensions alone are heard...

Today's Teamster News 05.25.12

More than 500 arrested as battle-hardened protesters march through the streets  Montreal Open File   ...Surrounded by a small army of riot police, hundreds of protesters sat down on Sherbrooke Street Wednesday night and chanted “let’s stay peaceful.” Within an hour 400 of them were rounded up, handcuffed and stuffed into city buses to be detained until Thursday morning...
Sources: Cuomo tried to keep New York public labor heads off DNC delegate list  Politico   ...New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo had tried to keep the heads of four major New York state public sector unions off the list of Democratic National Committee at-large delegates, finally agreeing to add three of them late last night after a string of negotiations, multiple sources told POLITICO...
Half Of Detroit’s Streetlights May Go Out As City Shrinks  Bloomberg News   ...As it is, 40 percent of the 88,000 streetlights are broken and the city, whose finances are to be overseen by an appointed board, can’t afford to fix them...
How Governor Rick Scott Is Preventing Eligible U.S. Citizens From Voting In Florida  ThinkProgress   ...Scott instructed his former Secretary of State, Kurt Browning, to compile a list of people who were registered in Florida but ineligible to vote. Browning struggled to aquire accurate data and eventually resigned his post in February. Scott moved forward with the effort anyway...
Wisconsin Recall Roundup May 24, 2012  PR Watch   ...Governor Scott Walker will be joined by Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal at two campaign events in Wisconsin today to aid Walker as he faces Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett in a June 5 recall election...
CP Rail strike could hurt terminals  North Shore News   ,,,NORTH Shore port terminal operators say they're hoping a settlement will be reached soon in the Canadian Pacific Rail strike - before it starts costing them money...

Today's Teamster News 05.24.12

Union funds flow into Quebec in support of student activists  The Globe and Mail   ...Trade unions based outside Quebec have already confirmed sending more than $36,000 into the bank accounts of the province’s largest student federations...
1,000 dogs sickened by jerky pet treats made in China  Trade Reform   ...The Food and Drug Administration has been warning owners about continued problems with the chicken jerky strips, treats and nuggets since November. Three of the top brands of treats cited in complaints of harm include Waggin’ Train and Canyon Creek Ranch brands produced byNestle Purina PetCare, andMilo’s Kitchen Home-style Dog Treats produced by Del Monte...
Over 99% of Federal Reserve Bank Enforcement Actions Are Resolved Without Admission of Guilt  naked capitalism   ...(Democrats) don’t want regulation, they want to be seen as wanting regulation.  And the Republicans, while they want to be seen as the party against regulation, are actually quite happy having regulators they can work with, regulators who protect the banks from state or local level action...
Walker Lied to Congress, Created Act 10 Immediately After 2010 Election  WTDY   ...Dylan Brogan, has just reported that officials at the the Legislative Reference Bureau say they began work on Act 10, at the request of Walker, in November of 2010-- days after the election. This directly contradicts sworn testimony Walker gave to the U.S. House Oversight Committee...
Labour minister threatens back-to-work bill if CP strike drags on  Financial Post   ...In the wake of Wednesday’s strike by locomotive engineers and conductors at Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd, the country’s second-biggest railroad, the labour minister issued a warning: Any work stoppage that threatens to have a “grave” impact on the economy is fair game for government action...
Meeting Between Teamsters and Allied Waste Fails to Materialize   TriState Homepage   ...Sources told Eyewitness News that members of the Teamsters Local 215 would meet with Allied Waste this morning at the union headquarters, but no one showed up...
No contract yet for Nichols, union  Quad City Business Journal   ...After another round of contract talks, Nichols Aluminum and Teamsters Local 371 have yet to reach an agreement, the two sides said Wednesday...
St. Luke's Nurses Picket  RecordOnline.com   ...Nurses and pharmacists at St. Luke's Cornwall Hospital have been without a contract for over a year. The administration is proposing radical contract changes including raising healthcare costs by more than 100% , job security issues and cutting their pay among other drastic proposals. Being members of 1199SEIU and Teamsters Local 445...

Today's Teamster News 05.23.12

Trade Negotiators Trying to Limit “Buy American”  Trade Reform   ...U.S. Trade Negotiators are pushing for a provision in the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement that would prevent the U.S. government from “Buying American” when spending taxpayer money...

China Mainlined Into U.S. Debt  Economic Populist   ...China can now bypass Wall Street when buying U.S. government debt and go straight to the U.S. Treasury, in what is the Treasury's first-ever direct relationship with a foreign government, according to documents viewed by Reuters...(and If China wants to deliberately undervalue its currency, well, let's just make it easier for them to do so...)

Massive Montreal rally marks 100 days of student protests  The Globe and Mail   ...Tens of thousands of people clogged Montreal’s city core in a festive, multi-headed march designed to make a mockery of a new provincial law that demands protest routes be approved in advance...

Obama spending binge never happened  MarketWatch  ...Although there was a big stimulus bill under Obama, federal spending is rising at the slowest pace since Dwight Eisenhower brought the Korean War to an end in the 1950s...

For the Billionaire who has everything: "I think I'll buy me a State!"  Uppity Wisconsin   ...A brief review of Governor Scott Walker's biggest donors reveals more than just Diane Hendricks (net worth $2.8 Billion) giving Walker a $500,000 retainer to deliver a “red state”. She is not the only billionaire to make a down payment on a “Red: right to work” Wisconsin...

Canadian Pacific Strike Starts, Snarling Rail Shipments  Bloomberg BusinessWeek   ...Teamsters union members walked off their jobs at Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (CP) today, disrupting cargo shipments and complicating operations for a company trying to replace its chief executive officer.,,

Dissent criminalized in Quebec

The massive student strike in Quebec, now in its fourth month, has taken the policies of austerity head on as more than 100,000 students protest against student fee hikes in the province. But now the Canadian government is instituting the most chilling crackdown on the right to protest in North America with its recent enactment of Bill 78.

As the Legal Committee of the Coalition of the Association of Student Union Solidarity (CLASSE) wrote in a statement:

Among other draconian elements brought forward by this law, any gathering of 50 or more people must submit their plans to the police eight hours ahead of time and must agree to any changes to the gathering’s trajectory, start time, etc. Any failure to comply with this stifling of freedom of assembly and association will be met with a fine of up to $5,000 for every participant, $35,000 for someone representing a ‘leadership’ position, or $125,000 if a union – labour or student – is deemed to be in charge.

We’ve seen similar attempts to stifle protest in the U.S. In March an ALEC-inspired anti-union, anti-picketing bill was defeated in Georgia thanks to a coalition of groups, including labor and Tea Party activists. Teamsters Local 728 led that fight, using social media to build opposition to the bill.

But Bill 78 is already the law in Quebec. It’s a draconian assault on democracy and free speech that has dangerous implications for students and workers in Canada. Right now, 4,800 Canadian Teamsters are preparing to strike at Canadian Pacific rail. Of course, Bill 78 won’t affect those workers directly, but an alarming precedent has been set.

As CLASSE said in its statement:

One cannot view this law in isolation. In the past few months, the Québec student movement – inspired by Occupy, the Indignados of Spain, the students of Chile, and over 50 years of student struggle in Québec; and presently at North America’s forefront of fighting the government’s austerity agenda – has been confronted by precedent-shattering judicial and police repression in an attempt to force the end of the strike and our right to organize collectively. 

…[O]f particular concern for those of us involved in the labour movement is that anti-strike forces have filed injunctions systematically from campus to campus to prevent the enactment of strike mandates, duly and democratically voted in general assemblies.

The Quebec students have vowed to continue their strike in defiance of Bill 78.

They got some high-profile support last weekend on Saturday Night Live. Arcade Fire band members, playing behind Mick Jagger, wore red squares to show their solidarity with the students.

Today's Teamster News 05.21.12

States Unite Against Citizens United  Associated Press   ...wenty-two states and the District of Columbia are backing Montana in its fight to prevent the U.S. Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision from being used to strike down state laws restricting corporate campaign spending...
Emergency law, celebrity support giving oxygen to Quebec protesters  The Globe and Mail   ...Quebec’s emergency law aimed at reining in protest marches and restoring social peace failed to stop outbursts of violence during its first test over the weekend, while the months-long student movement gained some big-name support on the global stage....And Montreal band Arcade Fire sported the red squares while performing alongside Mick Jagger on NBC’s Saturday Night Live...
Greek cash withdrawals raise fear of run on bank  Los Angeles Times   ... Middle-class Greeks have already borne the brunt of the financial crisis since it exploded more than two years ago and probably will feel the most pain if the country ends up being booted from the 17-nation Eurozone...
Mississippi prison riot leaves guard dead, 8 hurt  Associated Press   ...It's a privately run facility used to hold illegal immigrants for the Federal Bureau of Prisons...
Koch Operative Steered $55 Million To Front Groups Airing Ads Against Democrats; Ads Assailed Candidates Over Abortion, 9/11, Medicare  Republic Report   ...a new document filed with the IRS reveals how the Koch political machine funneled over $54.5 million in previously undisclosed funds to a litany of front groups designed to smear Democrats...
A Sea of Robin Hoods Tell the G8, "It's Time to Tax Wall Street!"  PR Watch   ...Thousands of nurses from around the world descended upon Daley Plaza, in the heart of Chicago on May 18, to demand that the richest nations in the world put an end to austerity politics and start asking the people who collapsed the global economy to do more to "heal the world."...