Today's Teamster News 12.07.14

Teamsters
Berlin Metals, Teamsters reach new contract  NWI.com   ...The Berlin Metals steel service center in Hammond reached a new five-year agreement with Teamsters Union Local 142, which represents its warehouse workers...
EYE ON CLALLAM: County to consider pact with Teamsters at Tuesday meeting in Port Angeles  PeninsulaDailyNews.com   ...Clallam County has been bargaining a new contract with the union for more than 20 months...
Trade
TPP market access gains for U.S. dairy must be a priority  Ohio Country Journal   ...“It is crucial for the U.S. to prioritize delivery of benefits to our dairy industry, not other TPP countries,” said Tom Suber, USDEC president...
Europeans fear American 'Frankenfood' in trade deal  UPI   ..."Hormone-boosted beef. Chlorine-washed chicken. Genetically altered vegetables. This is what they want for us," French organic farmer Jean Cabaret tells the Washington Post. "In France, food is about pleasure, about taste. But in the United States, they put anything in their mouths. No, this must be stopped."...
The European Citizens Initiative to stop the TTIP  pressenza   …“We are an alliance of nearly 300 European organisations running a self-organised European Citizens’ Initiative against TTIP and CETA. We believe that these two trade and investment agreements must be stopped because they pose a threat to democracy, the rule of law, the environment, health, public services as well as consumer and labour rights...
State Battles
Arizona county mulls not hiring smokers  Associated Press   ... The proposal would also impose a 30 percent health-insurance surcharge on employees who smoke or consume other tobacco products...
War on Workers
The poor used to have the most opportunity in America. Now the rich do.  Washington Post   ... It seems almost impossible now, but the income of the poorest households -- the bottom 10 percent of them -- grew the fastest in JFK-era America, with the top 1 percent a little bit behind...
As college costs rise, more food pantries sprout on campus  Kansas City Star   ...Emporia is among the latest colleges in Kansas and Missouri to start a food pantry for cash-strapped students. Washburn University in Topeka also opened a pantry last month, Pittsburg State opened one in October and the University of Missouri-Kansas City student activities office is working on opening a food pantry in March...
Why Poor People Stay Poor  Slate   …It’s amazing what things that are absolute crises for me are simple annoyances for people with money. Anything can make you lose your apartment, because any unexpected problem that pops up, like they do, can set off that Rube Goldberg device...
Judge: Give NSA unlimited access to digital data  PC World   ...The U.S. National Security Agency should have an unlimited ability to collect digital information in the name of protecting the country against terrorism and other threats, an influential federal judge said during a debate on privacy. “I think privacy is actually overvalued,” Judge Richard Posner, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, said...
Mother-of-six dies suddenly just four weeks after giving birth: Fast food worker collapsed outside her workplace and never recovered   Daily Mail   ...A kind mother-of-six has died suddenly at the age of 43, just four weeks after giving birth to her sixth child...
Worker dies after being electrocuted  KHOU.com   …A worker died Saturday while working on trimming trees near a power line...

Woot! Local 117 Teamsters ratify Fred Meyer contract!

Great news from Washington State, where our brothers and sisters from Teamsters Local 117 voted on Saturday to ratify a contract with Fred Meyer, a subsidiary of Kroger, Inc. They stood together and bargained a contract that maintains affordable health care and protects members against subcontracting.

We got the news on Twitter:

Congrats! to warehouse workers at Fred Meyer who have just voted to ratify a new 3-yr contract! @Teamsters

The contract covers 388 warehouse workers at the company’s grocery distribution center in Puyallup.
The contract ratification vote is especially sweet because of the fight to get it. Teamsters at Fred Meyer worked without a contract for five weeks. Talks broke off on Sept.10, and Teamsters and allies passed out leaflets describing their concerns at Fred Meyer stores in four states. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters authorized strike support for the Fred Meyer workers.

Tracey Thompson, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 117, issued a statement:

When Fred Meyer intimidates workers, threatens to outsource their jobs, or insists on degrading their medical coverage, it harms the entire community.

A federal mediator stepped in, and the union and the company reached agreement on Monday, Sept. 22.

It all goes to show,

United we bargain, divided we beg.

Today's Teamster News 09.19.14

Teamster News
Teamsters Call On FedEx To Stop Paying Personal Taxes For Executives  teamster.org   ...ISS, the country’s leading proxy voting advisor, has recommended that shareholders vote for a Teamsters-sponsored shareholder proposal at FedEx [NYSE: FDX] that calls on the board of directors to eliminate the practice of paying the personal taxes owed on restricted stock awards on behalf of CEO Fred Smith and other named executive officers...
Teamsters Call On Rush University Medical Center To Bargain In Good Faith  teamster.org   ...Teamsters Local Union 743 denounced management at Rush University Medical Center (RUMC) today, for continued refusal to bargain with the more than 230 patient care technicians (PCTs) that overwhelmingly voted to become Teamsters on Aug. 29...
Teamsters: 20 years is too long to wait for a safety rule  TeamsterNation   ...The Teamsters and other public safety advocates sued the U.S. Department of Transportation today for failing to issue long-overdue truck safety requirements...
Hoffa: Georgia Official Must Stop Ignoring Voter Registration Requests  IBT   ...James P. Hoffa, General President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, issued a statement today addressing reports that Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp is ignoring more than 50,000 voter registration requests as the deadline for new voters to sign up to participate in the upcoming Nov. 4 election looms near...
Trade
Corporate Courts — A Big Red Flag On “Trade” Agreements  Trade Reform   ...Corporations even sue governments for passing laws that might cause the investors in the corporations to make a bit less money — like raising the minimum wage. But wait, there’s more. The suits aren’t even heard in courts. They are settled by corporate-controlled tribunals set up by these trade agreements...  
State Battles
Oregon Minimum Wage Will Increase To $9.25 In 2015  The Oregonian   ...Oregon's minimum wage will increase 15 cents to $9.25 an hour in 2015, state labor officials announced Wednesday...
Missouri Governor releases additional funding for public education  ABC3   ...Missouri Governor Jay Nixon made a stop at Truman State University Wednesday afternoon to discuss new funding for public universities like Truman State...
More trouble from privatized food contracts  TeamsterNation   ...Aramark is once again proving in Michigan that outsourcing government services to for-profit corporations results in really, really bad service...
Wisconsin ranks 33rd in private-sector job growth, lagging behind the national average  Associated Press   ...the job-growth ranking and Walker's failure to meet his 2010 campaign promise to add 250,000 private-sector jobs are evidence that (Scott Walker's) policies have not worked...
Administration disputes projections of huge state deficit  WTAQ   ...Wisconsin’s non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau painted a bleak financial picture earlier this month, predicting a $1.8 billion dollar structural deficit in the 2015-2017 biennium...
Fox News Admits WI Voter ID Laws May Disenfranchise Voters  Media Matters   ...Fox News acknowledged that a voter ID law may prevent people from casting votes while discussing the upcoming gubernatorial elections in Wisconsin -- despite the network's sustained campaign to deny the negative repercussions these laws have on voting...
Six Years Later, La. Still Waiting For Keystone (opinion)  Shreveport Times   ...From a safety perspective, Keystone is a better option than the rail transport currently used in the American market. A recent study by the Manhattan Institute reaffirmed the longstanding fact that pipelines are a much safer way to transport oil...
War On Workers
Wal-Mart Truck Drivers Granted Class Action Status In California Minimum Wage Lawsuit  The Trucker   ...Truck drivers employed by Wal-Mart have been granted class action status in a lawsuit over the employer’s alleged failure to pay minimum wage in violation of the California Labor Code...
Even in Palin Country, Raising the Minimum Wage Is Wildly Popular  Mother Jones   ... Twenty-three states already have moved past the federal rate, and this November, voters in five more will have a chance to follow suit...
Which Industry's CEOs Are Ripping Off Workers Most?  Huffington Post   ...Today, CEOs at leading fast food companies pocket more than 1,200 times more than their average employees, according to a report by Demos, an economic policy think tank. In comparison, the average CEO at S&P 500 companies today makes about 200 times more than typical employees...
Poverty Unchanged By Wall Street Recovery  firedoglake   ...wealth inequality has actually gotten worse during the recovery. The overwhelming majority of assets are owned by the rich and super-rich so when government policy is used to push the Dow up, few Americans go with it...
School Bus Driver Sacrifices Life To Save 10-Year-Old Girl  Huffington Post   ...Zborowski worked for a private bus company, Cincinnati-based Petermann, a subsidiary of National Express Corp. Zborowski was pronounced dead at a hospital about two hours after the 8:10 a.m. accident...
Worker killed by wood press at Mill City lumber plant  Fox 12 Oregon   ...A lumber mill worker was killed when a wood press was activated as he was conducting repairs on the machine...
Worker killed on the job in Dalton  WRCB-TV   ..."An outside contractor, Spartan Industrial Contracting, was moving equipment and one of their employees was involved in an accident that resulted in a death of one of their employees," Marketing Alliance Group HR spokesperson Michael Arnold said in a statement...
Miscellaneous
Occupy Wall Street Buys, Then Cancels, Student Debt  Huffington Post   ...Strike Debt, a group of anti-debt activists born out of the Occupy Wall Street movement, said it purchased $3.9 million in delinquent private student debt and immediately canceled it...
Police Demilitarization Pits Police Union Against Top Labor Federation  BuzzFeed   ...The International Union of Police Associations, a member of the AFL-CIO, has been largely quiet on the issue of police militarization. But in a couple of open letters the union has shown support for the program that provides police with military-grade weaponry. The AFL-CIO meanwhile has been a vocal supporter of police demilitarization and better oversight...
Domestic Workers Advocate Wins MacArthur Genius Award  Moyers and Company   ...Ai-jen Poo, a labor organizer for America’s nannies, house cleaners and home care attendants, has been named a MacArthur “genius” for 2014...

Today's Teamster News 11.29.12

Stand up to so-called Right to Work in Lansing  Michigan State AFL-CIO   ...We NEED you to come to Lansing to join our team of citizen lobbyists talking to legislators about why we don't need a Right-to-Work fight in Michigan Thursday, November 29th. Many Republican legislators and billionaire Dick DeVos are pushing this right wing agenda and we need your help to stop them...
President uses hashtag 'My2K' in fiscal cliff PR effort  CNN   ..."I'm asking Americans all across the country to make your voice heard," Obama said at the event. "Tell members of Congress what a $2,000 tax hike would mean to you. Call your members of Congress. Write them an email, post it on their Facebook walls. You can tweet it using the #My2K..."
Obama On Filibuster Reform: White House Embraces Harry Reid's Rule Changes  Huffington Post   ...Reid has been pushing for a series of changes that would preserve the right of the minority party to hold up legislative matters via a 60-vote threshold, but would make it harder to obstruct Senate business in this manner...
Obama Administration again fails to cite China on currency: Statement from the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM)  manufacture this   ..."We're disappointed that the Treasury Department has once again declined to designate China as a currency manipulator, which it most certainly is. Yes, the Yuan has appreciated somewhat against the dollar, but it is still far below an equilibrium value. The best evidence of that, other than China's massive foreign currency reserves, is our bilateral trade deficit, which is on pace to top last year's record $295 billion...
US bans BP from pitching for new government work  Independent   ...Oil giant is punished for its 'lack of business integrity' over the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster in 2010...
Extending Unemployment Insurance Would Create 300,000 Jobs Next Year  ThinkProgress   ...America’s unemployed are facing a cliff of a different kind. In January, the expanded federal unemployment insurance program will expire, cutting off benefits for millions of Americans...
Spencer Black: GOP stacked deck to control Legislature  The Cap Times   ...Voters also cast 193,000 more votes for Democrats than Republicans in the contests for state Assembly. Yet the Republicans ended up with more than 60 percent of the seats in the Assembly...
The Turning Point in Scott Walker's Little Legal Snag  Esquire   ...Walker keeps telling everyone that he is "confident" that he is not a target of the investigation but, considering that both Rindfleisch and Wink are going to jail because they worked on his campaign while simultaneously working for him in his capacity as county executive, those denials have to be taken with a small mountain of salt...
Waste hauler Republic Services to resume talks with Teamsters  Detroit News   ...Republic Services, a Michigan waste disposal company, said Wednesday it will resume collective bargaining negotiations with Teamsters Local 247 after the union's contract expired over disputes over a pension fund...
Teamster Horsemen's annual party to benefit Toys for Tots  Times Herald Record   ...With their mission in mind, members of the Teamster Horsemen Chapter 16 North and the Local 707 Dockworkers at YRC Freight in Maybrook came up with the idea to help the Marines with their Toys for Tots campaign this holiday season...

DC Teamsters win 2-1/2 year Daycon strike!

Great news! Local 639's long strike at Daycon is over and Teamsters will return to their jobs with back pay. They'll also go back to the bargaining table, where the company was ordered to bargain fairly.

We'll cross post the story by Adam Wright at the DC Labor Council. He and Chris Garlock took the photos.

It took two and a half years but the Teamsters 639 strike against Daycon is finally over. The Upper Marlboro, MD-based janitorial and maintenance supply company is calling the last remaining strikers back to work after a US Court of Appeals ruling Tuesday upheld NLRB rulings in the union’s favor.

“We won every ounce” said a jubilant Local 639 Business Agent Doug Webber. In addition to being ordered to bring all the union members back to work, Daycon owes strikers back pay and benefits “and must return to the table and bargain fairly” for a new contract, Webber told Union City last night. 

Local 639 members at Daycon struck in 2010 when management illegally implemented their bargaining proposals and although the strikers subsequently offered to return to work, the company refused to re-hire them and engaged in what the NLRB determined were a series of unfair labor practices.

“We’re proud of our members, who hung in this fight for the long haul,” said Local 639 President Tommy Ratliff. “And we couldn’t have won this battle without the support of the Metro Washington Council, the Community Services Agency, and the entire local labor community, which came together to support this struggle.” 

Said Metro Council President Jos Williams, “As if any more proof were needed after our wins at the ballot box on Tuesday, Local 639’s victory shows once more that solidarity, as always, works!”

Today's Teamster News 06.22.12

Romney’s Bain Capital invested in companies that moved jobs overseas  Washington Post   ...During the nearly 15 years that Romney was actively involved in running Bain, a private equity firm that he founded, it owned companies that were pioneers in the practice of shipping work from the United States to overseas call centers and factories making computer components...
Prisons, Privatization, Patronage  New York Times   ...As more and more government functions get privatized, states become pay-to-play paradises, in which both political contributions and contracts for friends and relatives become a quid pro quo for getting government business...
AFSCME Elects Chief Who Backs National Political Role  Bloomberg Businessweek   ...The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees elected its No. 2 leader as president, signaling the biggest U.S. public-workers union will remain active in President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign...
Supreme Court rules against union on nonmember fees for politics  Los Angeles Times   ...TheU.S. Supreme Courtsharply criticized public-sector unions for using money from nonmembers to fund special political campaigns, stepping into the intense political debate about such unions and signaling that new constitutional limits may be coming...
Judge blocks law to stop health care union dues  Detroit Free Press   ...A judge blocked a new Michigan law Wednesday that's aimed at ending union dues paid by home health care workers who are private contractors and not public employees...
American Austerity: Why the States Cutting Spending Are Doing Worse  The Atlantic   ...there isn't any evidence that austerity does any good in a situation like ours...
County employees declare impasse, want pay raise  Seacoast Online   ...Through the Teamsters union, Rockingham County employees claim they've made insurance concessions that will save the county $1.2 million a year, but have received nothing in return...

Today's Teamster News 03.27.12

Iowans Win Victory Over Gov. Branstad’s Abuse of Power  AFSCME   ...A unanimous Iowa Supreme Court ruling declares that Gov. Terry Branstad ... cannot unilaterally shut down the unemployment offices...
Judge Sides with Maine Governor in Labor Mural Dispute  Maine Public Radio   ...U.S. District Court Judge John Woodcock found that Gov. Paul LePage was within his rights to order the mural removed last year...
Minnesota’s War on Voting  The Nation   ... the legislature is bypassing the governor by approving a constitutional amendment for voter ID that will go on the November ballot... 11 percent of US citizens lack government-issued ID, including 18 percent of young voters and 25 percent of African-Americans...
Runaway Spending: Private Contractors Increase the Cost of School Transportation Services in Pennsylvania  Keystone Research   ...We estimate that if all districts switched to the self-supply of transportation services, total spending on student transportation services would fall by $78.3 million, with all of the cost savings accruing to the state...
Your morning jolt: ‘Right to quiet enjoyment’ bill passes House committee  Atlanta Journal Constitution   ...State Rep. Bill Hembree, chairman of the House Industrial Relations, confirmed that his committee this morning passed out SB 469, which would ban union pickets at private residents and require union members to confirm the dues check-off on their paychecks on an annual basis...
Wisconsin One Year Later  Economic Policy Institute   ...overall non-farm employment since Jan. 2011 has rebounded in the Midwestern states surrounding Wisconsin, with Michigan leading the region with Jan. 2012 employment 1.6 percent higher than in Jan. 2011. Wisconsin stands out in the region, lagging with employment significantly lower — by 0.5 percent — in Jan. 2012 than a year earlier...
Nazareth Area School District custodians union agrees to salary reduction to help balance budget proposal  The Express-Times   ...the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Union, representing custodians and other maintenance personnel, has agreed to give back an undisclosed percentage of next school year's pay raise...

Today's Teamster News 02.18.12

Risking union ire, Romney slams Santorum’s labor votes  Boston Globe   ...“I’ve taken on union bosses before, and I’m happy to take them on again because I happen to believe that you can protect the interests of American taxpayers, and you can protect a great industry like automobiles without having to give in to the UAW [United Auto Workers], and I sure won’t,’’ Romney said Wednesday....
Supreme Court blocks Montana ruling against outside group spending  CNN   ... The Supreme Court has blocked enforcement of a ruling by Montana's highest court that upholds the state's century-long restrictions on independent political spending by outside groups in election campaigns...
Why Inequality Matters: 3 Ways the Mortgage Crisis Has Undermined Our Legal System  New Deal 2.0   ...Banks are demonstrating that if you have enough money and influence, you’re not expected to follow the same laws as everyone else...
Reversing Local Austerity  New York Times   ...we could put well over a million people to work directly, and probably around 3 million once you take other effects into account, without any need to come up with new projects; just transfer enough money to state and local governments to let them return to doing the essential business of government, like educating our children...
Judge denies Walker request for extension  Wisconsin State Journal   ...A judge has denied Gov. Scott Walker's request for a two-week extension to review recall petition signatures...
Teamsters threaten to picket Ford plant as Escape production looms  Louisville Courier-Journal   ...The union fears Ford is going to hire only non-Teamsters drivers at lower wages to prepare new sport utility vehicles for shipment to car dealers...
CP Rail seeks conciliation in contract talks with Teamsters  The Star   ...Canadian Pacific Railway is asking the federal labour minister to appoint a conciliator to help push along talks with its main union...

VIDEO: 'Just practicing' picket for strong Teamster contract in GA

Teamster drivers and mechanics of Local 728 in Atlanta, Georgia who work at Republic Services/Allied Waste conduct a “just practicing” picket outside the employer's transfer station. Joined by community supporters from Atlanta Jobs with Justice and the Young Workers Council, these waste workers are fighting for a strong Teamsters contract and for Republic to cease illegal union busting tactics.

Today's Teamster News 03.05.11

Are Wisconsin Republicans preparing to break with Walker?  Washington Post   ...we now have two news outlets, one local and one national, claiming GOP defections from Governor Scott Walker may be in the works...
Convictions 'Very Strong' for Wisconsin 14 as pressure grows   International Business Times   ...fourteen Wisconsin Democratic lawmakers said Friday they are not threatened by possible arrest and the chance that 1,500 people could lose their jobs if they don't return to work...
More Than 200 Union Protesters Rally Against SB 5  WLWT   ...Ohio Senate Bill 5 sent more than 200 union protesters to the streets of Clermont County in their vow to fight the bill all the way to the polls...
Indy protests run 'one day' longer, stronger  Evansville Courier & Press   ...For 12 days, union and nonunion workers have flocked to the Statehouse in protest of what they consider "anti-worker" legislation...
Randolph County Workers, Business Negotiate Contract (Local 175)   MetroNews   ...Union workers at a Randolph County Plant are still trying to work out a contract with company officials...
CAW members ratify contracts at Air Transat's Handlex; Teamsters still out  The Canadian Press   ...The labour contracts don't cover 400 Handlex employees in Toronto and Montreal who are represented by the Teamsters union and off the job...

Today's Teamster News 02.02.11

Teamsters Mourn Slain Washington State Corrections Officer Jayme Lee Biendl  IBT   ...The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is mourning the death of Washington State Corrections Officer Jayme Lee Biendl, who was slain at a prison chapel, allegedly by an inmate...
The Paradox of Corporate Taxes  New York Times   ... the United States now has a corporate tax code that’s the worst of all worlds. ..
LRB grants cab drivers OK to join Teamsters News 880 AM   ...The Labour Relations Board (LRB) has granted a group of more than 1,000 Edmonton drivers approval to join the Teamsters' Union...
Waivers From Rules Granted to Many  Wall Street Journal   ... 733 applicants, mainly employers and union-affiliated insurers, received an exemption from a requirement that puts their plans on the hook for up to $750,000 in eligible medical bills for each covered worker this year...
Dairy plant workers get state, union aid (Local 687)  Watertown Daily TImes   ...Employees at North Lawrence Dairy Inc. are receiving assistance from Teamsters Local 687, the state Department of Labor and other agencies as the plant prepares to shut down...
Smithfield road workers vote to join union  (Local 773)  Pocono Record   ...A majority of Smithfield Township's five road workers voted Friday to join a union...
Federal Judge Orders Carrier to Restore Teamster Pay   Journal of Commerce   ...Indiana cement hauler ordered to recognize union, resume bargaining...
Detroit Media Partnership Adds Jobs To Open Local Consumer Solutions Center (Local 372)  PR Newswire   ...Detroit Media Partnership today announced it is opening a new customer service center at its Sterling Heights operations facility in March...
Selectmen, police, DPW unions agree on contracts  (Local 633)  Laconia Citizen   ...Both union contracts for municipal employees in Gilford have been approved by selectmen...
UPS Profit Tops Estimates  Reuters   ...(UPS) reported a quarterly profit that beat estimates and forecast record-high profits in 2011, sending its shares up more than 4 percent...
FedEx to use rail intermodal service for first time in 40-year history, NS says  Progressive Railroading   ...FedEx Freight Corp. announced it's launching a new unified less-than-truckload (LTL) network, and offering new FedEx Freight® Priority and FedEx Freight® Economy LTL services...

Today's Teamster News 01.28.11

St. Louis County Strike Averted. Here's What Really Happened.  Local 320  ...A lot has been said in the press about the alleged walk out of workers in Virginia.  It is unfortunate that County Administration jumped to this conclusion and spread this falsehood without checking the facts...
Goldman Sachs Got Billions From AIG For Its Own Account, Crisis Panel Finds  Huffington Post   ...The fact that a significant slice of the proceeds secured by Goldman through the AIG bailout landed in its own account--as opposed to those of its clients or business partners-- has not been previously disclosed...
YRC to cut 80 jobs in Akron  Journal of Commerce  ...The jobs affected are at the former Roadway headquarters on Gorge Boulevard. The work will be shifted to Buffalo, N.Y., and YRC's headquarters in Overland Park, Kan...
Weather Shield Contract (Local 662)  WJFW  ...The agreement keeps existing benefits with no across the board wage increase until the summer of 2012...
5 percent pay raise suggested for Polk officials Des Moines Register  ...labor agreements ... are expected to result in roughly 1.5 percent pay increases for employees...
Some Sullivan workers to get layoff notices next week  (Local 445)  Times Herald-Record   ...Legislators huddled for five hours Thursday to decide what positions to cut after labor unions refused to defer raises and longevity payments...
Study finds L.A.'s trash disposal system is wasteful and polluting  Los Angeles Times   ...A labor-backed advocacy group issued a study Wednesday that ... called for the adoption of a franchise process that could bolster recycling rates, provide green jobs and increase city revenue...
Teamsters Toledo Local votes to rejoin AFL-CIO  (Local 20)  Toledo Blade   ...the first time the local union has been under the AFL-CIO’s broader labor umbrella since 1957...
Santa Barbara MTD, Teamsters Union to Enter Into Mediation Over Retirement Benefits  (Local 186)  Noozhawk   ...The agency proposes, as a cost-saving measure, increasing the retirement age for employees to be eligible for full health benefits...
Crowell bill would make Missouri right-to-work state  Southeast Missourian   ...This legislative session, and for the past several years, Crowell has filed legislation that would prohibit union-only workplaces...
How The U.S. Chamber Of Commerce’s Egyptian Affiliate Went To Bat For The Egyptian Dictatorship  ThinkProgress   ...the U.S. Chamber of Commerce maintains a network of foreign affiliates known as Amchams, “which are foreign chambers of the Chamber composed of American and foreign companies...”
Brooksley Born of the FCIC: “We may well still be in a financial crisis”  firedoglake   "...We don’t know how solvent a number of institutions are...”

Today's Teamster News 1.7.11

Hoffa 'Deeply Disappointed' In Mexican Trucks Proposal  IBT   ...Hoffa today questioned why the Department of Transportation (DOT) proposed a new cross-border trucking program at a time of persistent high U.S. unemployment, budget deficits and unrelenting drug violence in Mexico...
December Retail Sales Are Weaker Than Expected  New York Times   ...Sales at stores open at least a year rose 3.1 percent in December compared with the same month a year ago...
U.N. Data Notes Sharp Rise in World Food Prices  New York Times   ...Prices are expected to remain high this year, prompting concern that the world may be approaching another crisis...
Teamsters stand up for Timmins over Ring of Fire discovery  The Timmins Times   ...Union wants railway workers to benefit from a new rail line to Timmins...
UPS has the highest level of cash in the air freight and logistics industry  Zacks.com
Lawmakers feel heat of Keystone XL opponents  Lincoln Journal Star   ...Opposition along the proposed route farther west through the Nebraska Sandhills and over the Ogallala Aquifer has been more vocal and more organized...
Could ESPN Deal Prevent an NFL Lockout?  Forbes   ...ESPN and the NFL are on the verge of a massive contract extension for Monday Night Football...
Town ratifies Teamsters contract  seacoastonline.com  ...Hampton selectmen ratified a one-year deal with the Teamsters, which ... have been working without a contract for the last six years...
Teamsters Local Union Votes on First Collective Bargaining Agreement  WJHG-TV  ...The police officers ...voting Thursday on their first collective bargaining agreement with the Panama City...
Toledo violated law by forcing sanitation pact, state declares  (Local 20) Toledo Blade  ...The State Employment Relations Board Thursday found probable cause that the city of Toledo violated Ohio's collective bargaining laws by ... by imposing a new contract upon unionized city refuse and sewer plant workers...
 

Today's Teamster News 12.31.10

Unemployment claims drop unexpectedly  Los Angeles Times   ...signs are mounting that employers might at last be starting to hire new workers...
Storm hit NYC on eve of sanitation worker shake-up  Associated Press   ...Harry Nespoli, president of the Teamster's local that represents sanitation workers including plow drivers, also denied a city councilman's claims that sanitation workers' bosses encouraged a slowdown...
Continental Fleet Service Workers Ratify First Contract  IBT   ...Agreement provides for multiple job protections, significant sage increases...
Rattner settles pension kickback case for $10 million  New York Times   ... financier Steven L. Rattner has agreed to pay $10 million to settle civil charges that he engaged in a kickback scheme involving New York state’s pension fund...
NewPage union: 'No'  (Local 486)  Escanaba Daily News   ...Union employees at NewPage overwhelmingly rejected the latest contract offer from the company...
Aspinwall labor talks for 4 come down to wire  (Local 249)  Valley News Dispactch  ...Aspinwall officials are negotiating a new three-year contract with the borough's four full-time public works employees...
Saline employees agree to health-care concessions  (Local 214)  annarbor.com   ...Saline's two police unions, members of Teamsters Local 214 and its nonunion employees recently agreed to concessions...
 

Woo-hoo! Continental ramp workers ratify first contract!

It's official! Continental Airlines 7,600 fleet service workers can look forward to job security and four pay hikes over the next 2-1/2 years, now that they've ratified their first-ever contract.

The "We Have Our First Contract!" flier announcing the great news says,

...the contract offers protections against unjust discipline, terminations, outsourcing and furloughs, and provides for 10.5 percent pay increases over the life of the 30-month contract. The contract protects our pension, caps health-care costs and provides for our bonus...

This is a big victory in the war to raise workers' living standards. It's very hard to get to that first contract. Many newly-organized workers never manage to bargain successfully with their employers. A Cornell University professor who studied the problem found 52 percent of workers who form a union are still without a contract a year after they win an election. Two years after the election, 37 percent don't have a contract.

The  Teamsters negotiating committee did a great job with Continental management. Miguel Vasquez, a fleet service worker in Newark, was on the committee. He said the contract adds protections for workers -- "including an important grievance procedure."

James Wells, a fleet service worker in Boston, said he's looking forward to having some solid protections in writing. “Without a contract we don’t have any real power, but now we’ll be able to flex some muscle when we stand up for our rights.”




Meet some of the other Continental fleet service workers here.

Today's Teamster News 12.18.10

House Republicans Plan to Force California Into Bankruptcy to Bust Unions  Calitics  ...by changing the law to allow state bankruptcies, and then forcing states to go bankrupt by cutting their funding and undermining their ability to borrow, states would be able to reopen contracts with public employees...
Rick Scott vs. high-speed rail  Orlando Sentinel   ...Rick Scott's aversion to high-speed rail threatens Florida's economy...
Two states sue Bank of America over mortgages  New York Times    ...Arizona and Nevada on Friday filed a lawsuit against Bank of America, accusing it of engaging in “widespread fraud” by misleading customers with “false promises” about their eligibility for modifications on their home mortgages...
YRC Shares Truck Ahead After Suit Dismissed  Barron's   ...Shares of trucking and logistics company YRC Worldwide rose 15% on Friday...
Southwest technicians approve contract extensions  Associated Press 
School bus drivers hold off on strike  Mid-Hudson News

Today's Teamster News 12.15.10

Judge Rules for FedEx in Dispute With Drivers  Associated Press   ...A federal judge in Indiana ruled Tuesday in favor of FedEx in the company’s dispute with drivers over whether they were independent contractors...
To Conquer Wind Power, China Writes the Rules  New York Times   ...competing for China’s lucrative business means playing by strict house rules that are often stacked in Beijing’s favor...
Holiday season boosts shipping companies in more than one way  The Arizona Republic    ...For FedEx and UPS, Monday and Tuesday are projected to be the shippers' busiest days of the holiday season...
Save the Children Breaks With Soda Tax Effort  New York Times   ...Carolyn Miles, chief operating officer of Save the Children, said there was no connection between the group’s about-face on soda taxes and the discussions with Coke...
Geithner Blocking Legal Help for Foreclosure Victims  Huffington Post   ...Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has authorized big payouts to banks in an effort to encourage mortgage modifications...
Democrats' budget bill: $1.1 trillion; 1,900 pages  Politico   ...Senate Democrats rolled out a year-end, governmentwide spending bill Tuesday that cuts more than $26 billion from President Barack Obama’s 2011 requests...
Senate nears passage of $858 billion tax-cut deal  McClatchy Newspaper
U.S. Appeals Court overturns ruling on Frontier Airlines mechanics   Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel   ...The panel ruled ...(the) ...order should be changed to require the Teamsters to seek a ruling on the situation from the National Mediation Board...
Veolia Transportation Finally Reaches Contract Agreement with Teamsters  Phoenix New Times   ...Veolia is paying employees for each of the 11 work days they missed when the company locked them off the job site. ...
No tax hike in Mahoning County next year  Youngstown Vindicator   ...supervisors accepted a new two-year contract with the road workers' Teamsters bargaining unit...
Adams County board approves tax levy  connecttristates.com   ...The board also approved a tentative agreement with five units of county employees in the police and teamsters unions for a three-year contract...

Today's Teamster News 12.02.10

Horizon Air Pilots Approve Five-Year Agreement  IBT   ...The new contract includes dramatic improvements in work conditions where the pilots will be writing their own schedules and trips...
Teamsters Oppose Bill That Includes Retirement Age Increase  IBT   ...A new bill passed by the Illinois House of Representatives would bring sweeping changes to police and fire pension systems in Chicago...
Teamsters ratify new grocery contract with 97% vote  West Seattle Herald   ...Members of Teamsters Local 38 working for Albertsons, QFC, and Safeway in Snohomish County ratify a new 3-year contract...
Cities try to light up holidays in dim times  The Detroit News   ...Kathy Ritter, the steward of Teamsters Local 214, was off the clock, working on her own time to help ensure the downtown looks merry this year, even with a tight city budget...
FedEx to cut 172 jobs  Charlotte Business Journal   ...About 1700 jobs will be cut nationally...
County Recorder in Massachusetts Goes After MERS  firedoglake  ...  A deed recorder in South Essex, Massachusetts, is basically taking on MERS...
Recovery gathers steam  Wall Street Journal   ...The U.S. economy is starting to fire on more cylinders, though the upturn remains too weak to bring down high unemployment...
Fed Data Shows Foreign Banks Huge Beneficiaries of Emergency Lending Programs, Hedge Funds, McDonald's, Harley-Davidson and Others Also Received Help  naked capitalism   Good summary of the Fed's data dump yesterday.
Too Big to Succeed (opinion)  New York Times   ...an absence of accountability and blatant inequities in treatment are why Americans remain angry...
A new political landscape, same old lies about labor (opinion) The Hill's Congress Blog  ......Unions lift productivity on average by 19 percent to 24 percent in manufacturing, 16 percent in hospitals and up to 38 percent in the construction sector...

Tentative agreement for Continental, Teamsters

This just in: The Teamsters and United Continental Holdings (the new parent of Continental and United airlines) reached agreement on a first contract that includes job security language and four pay hikes over the next 2-1/2 years for Continental fleet service workers. The contract, if ratified, will cover 7,600 new Teamsters who perform essential work at airports, including handling baggage, moving cargo and directing jets to the terminal gates.

Continental's fleet service workers voted overwhelmingly to join the Teamsters on Feb. 12 this year.

General President Hoffa called it a solid agreement that sets the union up well for the merger process. Gary Welch, a 14-year fleet service worker based in Houston, served on the Teamsters Negotiating Committee. He said achieving a good first contract after five months is "impressive and unusual."

According to the IBT, the 30-month contract is retroactive to July 1, 2010. It includes 10.5 percent in guaranteed raises compounded over the life of the contract, strong job-security language, profit sharing, shift-dirrectial pay, longevity premium increases ang better displacement and grievance procedures.

Slideshow: Picketing Monroe Prison

Here's a great slide show of Local 117 Teamsters picketing Monroe Correctional Complex last week in Washington.

Our Teamster brothers and sisters on Nov. 17 were protesting job and program cuts by the Washington State Department of Corrections. Said Local 117's secretary-treasurer, Tracey A. Thompson:

“These reductions, along with the State’s proposals in bargaining, are simply unacceptable. Our members work side-by-side with some of society’s most dangerous criminals. We will not stand idly by and allow the State to dismantle protections that help keep them safe.”

Local 117 also filed a lawsuit against the cuts, and the local news media is picking up the story.

The Everett Herald reported on Sunday

There's a razor-thin line between safe and sorry inside state prisons and Kimberly Nichols thinks it's getting crossed — in the wrong direction. She's the wife of a prison guard at Monroe Correctional Complex and she's been telling anyone who will listen how planned budget cuts will mean less pay and more risk for her husband...

...Convicted sex offenders will get less treatment before release. Education, counseling and chemical dependency programs will be scaled back. There'll be complete lockdowns at some prisons each month. New officers will get less training. There'll be fewer officers on patrol in kitchens where inmates can pocket implements for later use as a weapon.

Watch a video of the action here.