TEAMSTERS
Hoffa: Central States Shouldn't Cut Pensions Teamster.org ...Michigan workers and retirees should be allowed to live comfortably in their golden years. But increasingly, nest eggs that everyday people contributed to are being threatened. And retirement security is being taken away. The latest example is the Central States Pension Fund which serves hundreds of thousands of Teamsters in the Midwest, including thousands of Michiganians. Trustees with the pension plan filed a petition with the U.S. Treasury Department late last month that would cut the pensions...
Teamsters to Albertsons' Miller: Delay warehouse closing Supermarket News ...Teamsters representing workers at the two Safeway distribution centers slated for closure have appealed to the company’s CEO for an extension. As reported in SN, the centers, operated by C&S Wholesale Grocers for Safeway, are scheduled to close Dec. 5, with work outsourced to other C&S facilities...
Some UberX drivers plan weekend protests San Francisco Chronicle ...Some disgruntled UberX drivers and ex-drivers plan to refrain from working this weekend, terming their action a strike — although technically only employees can stage a strike. Uber drivers are independent contractors, a point currently being litigated in court in California. “It’s time to stand up for Uber driver’s rights,” said organizer Abe Husein, who said he drove part-time for Uber for five months in Kansas City, Mo., until he was deactivated in August...
GLOBAL LABOR & TRADE
The Trans-Pacific Partnership May be Dead on Arrival Huffington Post ...News that U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton had joined the entire rest of the democratic field in opposing the Trans-Pacific Partnership may well sound the death knell for the agreement. It also raises a few interesting possibilities about where things go next. First though, on Clinton's "come to Jesus" moment: yes, it's politics...
The Moral Case Against the TPP (opinion) The Nation ... The TPP must be stopped—not simply because it could put jobs on the line. It needs to be stopped because it rewrites all the rules in favor of big corporations, allowing them to circumvent regulations for the public good—even as its backers claim they’re doing the opposite. The pope knows it. Obama must know it. Even Hillary Clinton, if you can believe it, says she knows it now. And if the texts are ever released, we’ll know it for sure, too...
Malmström tries a new tack on TTIP Politico ...European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström on Wednesday unveiled a new strategy which she called a direct response to growing opposition to an EU-U.S. trade deal, promising more transparency, increased protection for consumers, and a reformed investor dispute court. “We’ve listened to the debate,” said Malmström...
Rising Rates of Male Suicide Across Eurozone Connected to Austerity Measures Newsweek ...New research suggests that men of all ages committed suicide in increasing numbers in the eurozone's poorest countries as a direct result of austerity measures brought in across Europe following the 2009 recession. A study published in Social Science and Medicine is the first to examine the direct impact of fiscal austerity on suicide rates in the group of countries most affected by the eurozone crisis...
Manifesto Offers Vision of 'Joyful' Europe to Supplant Austerity's Misery Common Dreams ...Calling for a "European Europe, which can fulfill its mission to bring peace, freedom, justice, and solidarity to the world," a group of German economists, academics, policy advisers, and Social Democrats has issued a 12-point manifesto that rejects austerity, German hegemony, and right-wing extremism within the EU...
The Secret Weapon for Cutting Costs at Chinese Factories? Interns The Nation ... Rural migrants have filled manufacturing labor demands, but conscripted interns now form a major surplus army of labor, enabling manufacturers to capture a vulnerable youth workforce that’s increasingly striving for a life beyond factory drudgery. Though less publicized than Asia’s notorious garment sweatshops, advocates say the exploitation of contingent student workers follows similar practices of predatory capitalism as “development”...
South Africa Workers agree to end coal strike BD Live ...Just more than a week of strike action in the coal sector came to an end on Tuesday after the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) agreed in principle to a three-year wage deal with producers. No agreement had yet been signed, but management would communicate with workers for a return to work, probably on Wednesday morning, NUM chief negotiator for the sector Peter Bailey said outside the Chamber of Mines head office in Johannesburg...
STATE & LIVING WAGE BATTLES
To Fix National Poverty Crisis, Study Shows Even $15 Wage Won't Do the Job Common Dreams ...There are few states in the U.S. where a $15 hourly wage is enough for workers to make ends meet, and a true livable wage would amount to no less than $16.87 an hour, a new report published Tuesday has found. Even making $15 an hour, which is roughly double the current federal minimum wage, would force a single adult to cut back on essentials like food or medicine in 35 states and Washington, D.C., according to the report...
Despite Increases, Mass. Workers Argue Minimum Wage Still Not High Enough WBUR ...The $9 per hour wage Theresa Pennington earns working at a Dunkin’ Donuts in Lowell is not enough to be able to afford an apartment of her own. Instead, she said, she lives with friends, but that means she is not able to keep custody of her 5-year-old daughter. “The fast food industry is one of the fastest growing in America and more and more of the workers look like me,” Pennington said. “We are not teenagers looking for pocket change"...
Florida minimum wage debate still going on The Ledger ...Raising the minimum wage is a national and statewide discussion. This month, 18 Florida Democrats tried living on $17 a day for five days in an effort to bring attention to the possibility of increasing the state's minimum wage to $15 an hour, as called for in a bill co-sponsored by state Sen. Dwight Bullard and state Rep. Victor Torres Jr...
Minneapolis' largest businesses add to push against workplace changes Star Tribune ...On Tuesday, 80 members of the Minnesota Business Partnership — a group that includes the leaders of Target, U.S. Bancorp, Xcel Energy and Mayo Clinic, among other major employers — convened a phone-conference strategy session. The goal: Defeat a set of proposals to guarantee more predictable schedules and paid sick leave...
Fight for 15 Activists Spend Columbus Day Rallying Against “Racist” Donald Trump In These Times ...The Fight for 15-organized protest, coinciding with Columbus Day, saw demonstrators toting a Donald Trump piñata march to the billionaire mogul’s hotel with a mariachi band in tow. Featuring Trump’s signature combover and its mouth contorted into a trumpet player’s puckered embouchure, the GOP frontrunner’s papier mâché doppelganger was filled with the names of people who had signed onto a statement opposing his rhetoric and policies...
U.S. LABOR
Are those detested two-tiered UAW contracts finally on the way out? LA Times ...One artifact of the auto industry's near-death experience during the Great Recession is the two-tier contract, in which workers hired after a certain date are saddled with permanently lower wages and benefits than their older peers. The United Auto Workers are poised to reach an agreement with Fiat Chrysler that could spell the end to the gap...
Fiat Chrysler Said to Double Use of Temp Workers in UAW Contract Bloomberg ...Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV can double its use of lower-paid temporary staffers under a new labor agreement being voted on by the United Auto Workers union, said two people familiar with the matter. Savings from that concession helps offset big raises given to almost half of the company’s unionized U.S. hourly employees...
What Democrats Missed When They Debated Paid Family Leave Think Progress ...Paid family leave was a big topic of discussion at the first Democratic presidential debate on Tuesday evening. But while all the candidates who were asked about the issue support a mandated family leave policy, they failed to mention the vital need to make sure new fathers have access to and take paid time off when their children arrive...
Is Campaign Cash From Police Unions Watering Down Democrats' Reform Efforts? Truthout ...At every turn, police unions and law enforcement lobbying groups have staunchly opposed measures aimed at policing reform. They have been the first and loudest voices to defend the perpetrators of each new incident of police murder and brutality caught on camera - no matter how heinous. Most recently, in California, unions called on Gov. Jerry Brown to veto a recently passed bill that aims to curb racial profiling...
SOCIAL JUSTICE & OTHER NEWS
The Immigration Issues That Democratic Presidential Candidates Should Tackle Think Progress ...On Tuesday night, when Democratic presidential candidates take the stage for their first debate, they likely won’t touch the topic of immigration in the same blistering way as their Republican opponents have. There probably won’t be mentions of undocumented immigrants as potential criminals, “anchor babies,” and poor English language speakers. Instead, Democratic candidates will likely call for legal status (or citizenship) for the country’s 11.3 million undocumented immigrants...
Bernie and Hillary Duel as Democrats Debate Common Dreams ...The debate featured memorable back-and-forths on key issues as the two current frontrunners, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, discussed such issues as the role that "casino capitalism" has played in wrecking the middle class, the importance of fighting climate change, the scourge of gun violence that grips the country, the failures of U.S. foreign policy in recent years, pervasive racial disparities throughout the criminal justice system, and others...
Why Debt-Free College Is A Big Issue for 2016 Democratic Candidates The Atlantic ...As Democratic presidential hopefuls assembled in Las Vegas Tuesday night for their first formal debate, one topic that has received little airtime during the Republican face-offs garnered far more attention: the high cost of attaining a college degree. Three of the five Democratic candidates have released detailed proposals that seek to reduce dramatically the amount of debt students might accrue on their way to a college degree...
Democrats express strong support for 'Black Lives Matter' movement Mashable ..."Black lives matter," Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said. "We need to combat institutional racism from top to bottom." Black lives matter activists have interrupted Sanders rallies several times during his campaign, and he has since broadened his frequent speeches on economic inequality to include talk of racial inequality...
Showing posts with label black lives matter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label black lives matter. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Today's Teamster News 09.23.15
Teamsters
Hoffa: Vocational Training Makes for Better Paid, Better Prepared Workers Huffington Post ...America needs a 21st century workforce to better compete in the global economy. And the Teamsters are doing their part to make sure workers have the training they require so they can join the workforce of the future. Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor awarded the union a five-year, $4.6 million grant to establish apprenticeship programs in the trucking industry...
Leaders of Carhaul Local Unions Endorse Tentative Agreement Teamster.org ...Today, leaders from local unions that represent carhaul members endorsed the tentative national carhaul agreement, paving the way for members to vote on the proposal later this month. “Today’s vote shows that local union leaders throughout the United States agree with the Negotiating Committee that this tentative agreement addresses our members’ top concerns and protects their benefits while providing real job security,” said Kevin Moore, Director of the Teamsters Carhaul Division...
Teamsters, Coalition Tell Whole Foods: Black Lives Matter Teamster.org ...This past weekend, protesters from the Teamsters and the Sierra Club group Sierra Rise educated attendees of the annual Natural Products Expo East convention about Whole Food’s exploitation of prison labor for profit. “Although Whole Foods caters to the ‘socially conscious’ consumer, it relies on exploited prison labor to make a profit,” said Steve Vairma, Director of the Teamsters Warehouse Division...
EVSC Board, Teamsters still working toward five collective bargaining agreements Courier & Press ...While there is still no collective bargaining agreement between the Evansville Vanderburgh School Board and Teamsters Local 215, contract proposals have been exchanged and both groups said dialogue is ongoing. Since April, the EVSC and Local 215 negotiating teams have met sporadically to negotiate new contracts...
Global Labor & Trade
Steel producers urge TPP negotiators to maintain regional content rules for autos Canadian Manufacturing ...The trade associations representing steel producers in the U.S., Canada and Mexico are urging Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiators to put the brakes on any deal that weakens “rules of origin,” also known as regional content rules, for the auto sector. The organizations sent a joint letter to their respective government trade agencies expressing concern that changes to current rules would “adversely impact the steel industry”...
U.S. dairy exporter pushes for TPP deal acceptable to Congress Japan Times ...Japan and other nations need to open their dairy markets further to hammer out a Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade deal that is acceptable to Congress, Tom Suber, president of the U.S. Dairy Export Council, suggested. Noting that “there are not so many (unresolved issues),” Suber expressed his belief that it is possible for the 12 nations involved in the talks to reach a broad agreement...
U.S. trade chief mum over next TPP talks Japan Today ...U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman kept the public guessing on Tuesday about the date of the next meeting on a broad Pacific free trade pact with his counterparts from 11 other countries. There have been reports that ministers negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership initiative will resume talks possibly on Sept. 30 in Atlanta, but Froman declined to comment on the time frame...
Rallies for a fair TPP UNIFOR ...Simultaneous rallies will be held Wednesday evening outside the campaign and constituency offices of several Conservative candidates in the federal election, calling on the Harper Government to stand up for Canadian jobs in the Trans Pacific Partnership trade talks. "The Harper government has shown that it is willing to sacrifice good auto jobs to get a trade deal," Unifor National President Jerry Dias said...
Do U.S. Workers Really Have to Rely on Canadian and Mexican Negotiators to Look Out for Our Jobs? AFL-CIO ...When the TPP’s backers say “this time it’s different,” it is hard to prove them wrong—given the secrecy of the negotiations. But it seems like every trade agreement the U.S. trade representative negotiates gets sold to unsuspecting Americans as the “best ever,” and the TPP is no different. This time, negotiators from Canada and Mexico have called foul while there is still time to act—and we’re lucky they did...
MEPs react to new TTIP court proposals BBC ...MEPs have given a mixed reaction to new proposals to solve trade disputes between companies and governments in the TTIP EU-US trade deal. Many MEPs on the International Trade Committee said they welcomed plans announced last week by the European Commission for a new investment court system to resolve disputes...
Hyundai Motor Workers Strike at All Three Domestic Plants Wall Street Journal ...More than three-quarters of the workforce of Hyundai Motor Co. walked off the job on Wednesday, disrupting output at South Korea’s largest auto maker for a fourth straight year. Workers at all of the auto maker’s three domestic plants began an eight-hour strike early Wednesday morning after weeks of talks with management on wages and benefits broke down...
Greece's Cruel October: Clock Ticks To Implement New Austerity Reforms Huffington Post ...The financial team of the new Greek government will have to race against the clock this month to prepare a timetable for implementing the austerity reforms agreed to by the previous government. Greek leaders committed to a series of austerity measures in a controversial bailout deal with international creditors this summer...
State & Living Wage Battles
California Clamps Down on Secretive Political Donations Mother Jones ...California regulators took another step last week to crack down on secretive money in state elections. And for that, we have the Koch brothers to thank. On Thursday, state regulators added another layer of security, closing a loophole that might have allowed out-of-state groups and donors to secretly buy influence in California elections...
Cuomo builds on minimum wage campaign NCPR ...The push to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour is getting some help from union-financed advertising, but it still has its opponents. Governor Cuomo has been pushing the proposal to phase-in the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2018 in the New York City region and 2021 upstate. The governor already took executive action to increase the higher minimum wage for fast food workers...
Federal Service Workers Strike to Send a Message to Pope Francis The Nation .... As Pope Francis arrived in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, one thousand federal service workers—including many at the US Capitol, where the pope will speak later in the week—went on strike to protest poverty wages, poor working conditions, and the lack of a union. The federal government is the largest low-wage employer in the country...
Campaign for a "Worker Bill of Rights" Puts ALEC in Spokane's Crosshairs Truthout ...On November 5, 2015, voters in Spokane, Washington, will decide whether or not they are willing to act on their collective frustration by enacting what community activists have termed a "Worker Bill of Rights" via a ballot initiative called Proposition 1. The initiative seeks to secure the "right to a family wage when employed by a large employer"...
Backers of $15 minimum wage ballot measure start gathering signatures Oregon Live ...The backers of a measure to raise Oregon's minimum wage to $15 are starting to gather signatures for the 2016 ballot. Oregonians for 15 plan to hold kickoff events in more than 20 cities Saturday to recruit and train volunteer signature gatherers...
The fight over prevailing wage isn't a classic 'right vs. left' battle Michigan Radio ...Governor Rick Snyder is dead set against repealing the prevailing wage requirement, and has indicated that he’ll veto any bill that does so, if he gets the chance. Many other Republicans more conservative also support prevailing wage, including Rick Santorum and Paul Ryan, the last Republican vice-presidential nominee. You might think major contractors like Barton Malow would want to get rid of prevailing wage, but you’d be wrong...
U.S. Labor
Top unions put brakes on Clinton endorsement Politico ...Two major unions have decided to delay endorsements in the presidential race -- a move labor insiders attribute in part to the uncertainty Vice President Joe Biden’s potential run has inserted into the Democratic primary. The decisions are a setback for Hillary Clinton, who has been courting the labor giants in the hopes of an early lock down of two powerhouse unions that can organize millions of members and resources on the ground...
Pottstown Memorial Medical Center workers authorize 1-day strike WFMZ ...Nearly 300 unionized health care workers at Pottstown Memorial Medical Center are planning to walk off the job for one day next month. Members of SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania have voted to hold a one-day strike in mid-October, union officials said Tuesday. The exact date has not yet been announced...
UFCW 8-Golden State Reaches Tentative Contract Agreements with Safeway Business Wire ...UFCW 8-Golden State announced today they have reached tentative contract agreements with the Safeway supermarket chain in Northern and Central California. The four-year agreement with Safeway protects and enhances the wages, benefits and workplace standards enjoyed by approximately 9,000 workers at 130 Safeway stores, as well as retirees...
Mopar workers to get different pay in UAW-FCA deal Detroit Free Press ...Entry level Mopar workers and axle operators would be under a different wage in new UAW contract than other entry level workers, the Free Press has learned. The tentative agreement between the UAW and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles creates two new wage ranges for entry-level employees that don't work on assembly lines...
Scott Walker’s Campaign Failed Because Voters Actually Don’t Want a Union Buster-in-Chief In These Times ...In deep red, right-to-work Texas, support for union busting was so low that Republican legislators failed to muster sufficient votes to ban payroll deductions for public sector union dues—something Walker had crowed about accomplishing in Wisconsin. The Economic Policy Institute found that 58% of workers would like to be union members instead of the meager 11% we have now as a result of decades of union busting...
Social Justice & Other News
You've heard the GOP rhetoric on immigration. Here are the facts. LA Times ...O all the issues that have bubbled up on the campaign trail so far, nothing has inspired absurdity quite like immigration. Donald Trump isn't the only Republican candidate to have made outlandish comments: Chris Christie has called for FedEx-like tracking of foreigners , and Carly Fiorina has endorsed a crackdown on Chinese birth tourism...
After Getting Shamed For 5000% Hike, ‘Most Hated Man In America’ Will Lower Drug Price Think Progress ...Martin Shkreli, the controversial pharmaceutical CEO and former hedge fund manager, announced that he would reduce the price of the drug Daraprim to “a point that is more affordable.” Shkreli has been the subject of unrelenting criticism since he implemented a 5000% increase in the price of the drug — from $13.50 per pill to $750 — which is used to treat severe infections in AIDS patients and infants...
Pope Francis calls for urgent action on climate change in White House speech The Guardian ...Pope Francis enlisted the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr to help bolster his call for urgent action on climate change on Wednesday in a welcoming ceremony at the White House that Barack Obama said would “shake our conscience from slumber”. In a surprise move, the pope made what amounted to a direct reference to Obama’s new emission regulations, which are deeply controversial among Republicans...
How Automatic Voter Registration Can Transform American Politics The Nation ... The US doesn’t have a voter turnout problem; we have a voter registration problem. Our turnout is abysmal because so many eligible voters are not even registered to vote. Automatic voter registration would change that. In March 2015, Oregon became the first state to automatically register anyone who requests a driver’s license or state ID from the DMV unless they opt out...
The Growing Fight Against The Resurgence Of Debtors’ Prisons Think Progress ...Earlier this month, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) filed a federal lawsuit against Alexander City for operating what it calls “modern-day debtors prisons.” According to the lawsuit, anyone who goes to court and can’t pay the fines is brought to a back room, asked by police if they can pay or have someone immediately bring the money, and are arrested and jailed if they can’t pay, even if they have partial payment...
Nearly 4,000 People Fighting California's Fires Are Paid Just $1 an Hour Truthout ...Some 4,000 of the people working on fire crews in California are prison laborers. These incarcerated people are earning just $1.45 - $3.90 per day while training and $1 per hour while laboring on the fire's front lines beside their more well-compensated civilian counterparts...
Hoffa: Vocational Training Makes for Better Paid, Better Prepared Workers Huffington Post ...America needs a 21st century workforce to better compete in the global economy. And the Teamsters are doing their part to make sure workers have the training they require so they can join the workforce of the future. Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor awarded the union a five-year, $4.6 million grant to establish apprenticeship programs in the trucking industry...
Leaders of Carhaul Local Unions Endorse Tentative Agreement Teamster.org ...Today, leaders from local unions that represent carhaul members endorsed the tentative national carhaul agreement, paving the way for members to vote on the proposal later this month. “Today’s vote shows that local union leaders throughout the United States agree with the Negotiating Committee that this tentative agreement addresses our members’ top concerns and protects their benefits while providing real job security,” said Kevin Moore, Director of the Teamsters Carhaul Division...
Teamsters, Coalition Tell Whole Foods: Black Lives Matter Teamster.org ...This past weekend, protesters from the Teamsters and the Sierra Club group Sierra Rise educated attendees of the annual Natural Products Expo East convention about Whole Food’s exploitation of prison labor for profit. “Although Whole Foods caters to the ‘socially conscious’ consumer, it relies on exploited prison labor to make a profit,” said Steve Vairma, Director of the Teamsters Warehouse Division...
EVSC Board, Teamsters still working toward five collective bargaining agreements Courier & Press ...While there is still no collective bargaining agreement between the Evansville Vanderburgh School Board and Teamsters Local 215, contract proposals have been exchanged and both groups said dialogue is ongoing. Since April, the EVSC and Local 215 negotiating teams have met sporadically to negotiate new contracts...
Global Labor & Trade
Steel producers urge TPP negotiators to maintain regional content rules for autos Canadian Manufacturing ...The trade associations representing steel producers in the U.S., Canada and Mexico are urging Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiators to put the brakes on any deal that weakens “rules of origin,” also known as regional content rules, for the auto sector. The organizations sent a joint letter to their respective government trade agencies expressing concern that changes to current rules would “adversely impact the steel industry”...
U.S. dairy exporter pushes for TPP deal acceptable to Congress Japan Times ...Japan and other nations need to open their dairy markets further to hammer out a Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade deal that is acceptable to Congress, Tom Suber, president of the U.S. Dairy Export Council, suggested. Noting that “there are not so many (unresolved issues),” Suber expressed his belief that it is possible for the 12 nations involved in the talks to reach a broad agreement...
U.S. trade chief mum over next TPP talks Japan Today ...U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman kept the public guessing on Tuesday about the date of the next meeting on a broad Pacific free trade pact with his counterparts from 11 other countries. There have been reports that ministers negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership initiative will resume talks possibly on Sept. 30 in Atlanta, but Froman declined to comment on the time frame...
Rallies for a fair TPP UNIFOR ...Simultaneous rallies will be held Wednesday evening outside the campaign and constituency offices of several Conservative candidates in the federal election, calling on the Harper Government to stand up for Canadian jobs in the Trans Pacific Partnership trade talks. "The Harper government has shown that it is willing to sacrifice good auto jobs to get a trade deal," Unifor National President Jerry Dias said...
Do U.S. Workers Really Have to Rely on Canadian and Mexican Negotiators to Look Out for Our Jobs? AFL-CIO ...When the TPP’s backers say “this time it’s different,” it is hard to prove them wrong—given the secrecy of the negotiations. But it seems like every trade agreement the U.S. trade representative negotiates gets sold to unsuspecting Americans as the “best ever,” and the TPP is no different. This time, negotiators from Canada and Mexico have called foul while there is still time to act—and we’re lucky they did...
MEPs react to new TTIP court proposals BBC ...MEPs have given a mixed reaction to new proposals to solve trade disputes between companies and governments in the TTIP EU-US trade deal. Many MEPs on the International Trade Committee said they welcomed plans announced last week by the European Commission for a new investment court system to resolve disputes...
Hyundai Motor Workers Strike at All Three Domestic Plants Wall Street Journal ...More than three-quarters of the workforce of Hyundai Motor Co. walked off the job on Wednesday, disrupting output at South Korea’s largest auto maker for a fourth straight year. Workers at all of the auto maker’s three domestic plants began an eight-hour strike early Wednesday morning after weeks of talks with management on wages and benefits broke down...
Greece's Cruel October: Clock Ticks To Implement New Austerity Reforms Huffington Post ...The financial team of the new Greek government will have to race against the clock this month to prepare a timetable for implementing the austerity reforms agreed to by the previous government. Greek leaders committed to a series of austerity measures in a controversial bailout deal with international creditors this summer...
California Clamps Down on Secretive Political Donations Mother Jones ...California regulators took another step last week to crack down on secretive money in state elections. And for that, we have the Koch brothers to thank. On Thursday, state regulators added another layer of security, closing a loophole that might have allowed out-of-state groups and donors to secretly buy influence in California elections...
Cuomo builds on minimum wage campaign NCPR ...The push to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour is getting some help from union-financed advertising, but it still has its opponents. Governor Cuomo has been pushing the proposal to phase-in the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2018 in the New York City region and 2021 upstate. The governor already took executive action to increase the higher minimum wage for fast food workers...
Federal Service Workers Strike to Send a Message to Pope Francis The Nation .... As Pope Francis arrived in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, one thousand federal service workers—including many at the US Capitol, where the pope will speak later in the week—went on strike to protest poverty wages, poor working conditions, and the lack of a union. The federal government is the largest low-wage employer in the country...
Campaign for a "Worker Bill of Rights" Puts ALEC in Spokane's Crosshairs Truthout ...On November 5, 2015, voters in Spokane, Washington, will decide whether or not they are willing to act on their collective frustration by enacting what community activists have termed a "Worker Bill of Rights" via a ballot initiative called Proposition 1. The initiative seeks to secure the "right to a family wage when employed by a large employer"...
Backers of $15 minimum wage ballot measure start gathering signatures Oregon Live ...The backers of a measure to raise Oregon's minimum wage to $15 are starting to gather signatures for the 2016 ballot. Oregonians for 15 plan to hold kickoff events in more than 20 cities Saturday to recruit and train volunteer signature gatherers...
The fight over prevailing wage isn't a classic 'right vs. left' battle Michigan Radio ...Governor Rick Snyder is dead set against repealing the prevailing wage requirement, and has indicated that he’ll veto any bill that does so, if he gets the chance. Many other Republicans more conservative also support prevailing wage, including Rick Santorum and Paul Ryan, the last Republican vice-presidential nominee. You might think major contractors like Barton Malow would want to get rid of prevailing wage, but you’d be wrong...
U.S. Labor
Top unions put brakes on Clinton endorsement Politico ...Two major unions have decided to delay endorsements in the presidential race -- a move labor insiders attribute in part to the uncertainty Vice President Joe Biden’s potential run has inserted into the Democratic primary. The decisions are a setback for Hillary Clinton, who has been courting the labor giants in the hopes of an early lock down of two powerhouse unions that can organize millions of members and resources on the ground...
Pottstown Memorial Medical Center workers authorize 1-day strike WFMZ ...Nearly 300 unionized health care workers at Pottstown Memorial Medical Center are planning to walk off the job for one day next month. Members of SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania have voted to hold a one-day strike in mid-October, union officials said Tuesday. The exact date has not yet been announced...
UFCW 8-Golden State Reaches Tentative Contract Agreements with Safeway Business Wire ...UFCW 8-Golden State announced today they have reached tentative contract agreements with the Safeway supermarket chain in Northern and Central California. The four-year agreement with Safeway protects and enhances the wages, benefits and workplace standards enjoyed by approximately 9,000 workers at 130 Safeway stores, as well as retirees...
Mopar workers to get different pay in UAW-FCA deal Detroit Free Press ...Entry level Mopar workers and axle operators would be under a different wage in new UAW contract than other entry level workers, the Free Press has learned. The tentative agreement between the UAW and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles creates two new wage ranges for entry-level employees that don't work on assembly lines...
Scott Walker’s Campaign Failed Because Voters Actually Don’t Want a Union Buster-in-Chief In These Times ...In deep red, right-to-work Texas, support for union busting was so low that Republican legislators failed to muster sufficient votes to ban payroll deductions for public sector union dues—something Walker had crowed about accomplishing in Wisconsin. The Economic Policy Institute found that 58% of workers would like to be union members instead of the meager 11% we have now as a result of decades of union busting...
Social Justice & Other News
You've heard the GOP rhetoric on immigration. Here are the facts. LA Times ...O all the issues that have bubbled up on the campaign trail so far, nothing has inspired absurdity quite like immigration. Donald Trump isn't the only Republican candidate to have made outlandish comments: Chris Christie has called for FedEx-like tracking of foreigners , and Carly Fiorina has endorsed a crackdown on Chinese birth tourism...
After Getting Shamed For 5000% Hike, ‘Most Hated Man In America’ Will Lower Drug Price Think Progress ...Martin Shkreli, the controversial pharmaceutical CEO and former hedge fund manager, announced that he would reduce the price of the drug Daraprim to “a point that is more affordable.” Shkreli has been the subject of unrelenting criticism since he implemented a 5000% increase in the price of the drug — from $13.50 per pill to $750 — which is used to treat severe infections in AIDS patients and infants...
Pope Francis calls for urgent action on climate change in White House speech The Guardian ...Pope Francis enlisted the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr to help bolster his call for urgent action on climate change on Wednesday in a welcoming ceremony at the White House that Barack Obama said would “shake our conscience from slumber”. In a surprise move, the pope made what amounted to a direct reference to Obama’s new emission regulations, which are deeply controversial among Republicans...
How Automatic Voter Registration Can Transform American Politics The Nation ... The US doesn’t have a voter turnout problem; we have a voter registration problem. Our turnout is abysmal because so many eligible voters are not even registered to vote. Automatic voter registration would change that. In March 2015, Oregon became the first state to automatically register anyone who requests a driver’s license or state ID from the DMV unless they opt out...
The Growing Fight Against The Resurgence Of Debtors’ Prisons Think Progress ...Earlier this month, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) filed a federal lawsuit against Alexander City for operating what it calls “modern-day debtors prisons.” According to the lawsuit, anyone who goes to court and can’t pay the fines is brought to a back room, asked by police if they can pay or have someone immediately bring the money, and are arrested and jailed if they can’t pay, even if they have partial payment...
Nearly 4,000 People Fighting California's Fires Are Paid Just $1 an Hour Truthout ...Some 4,000 of the people working on fire crews in California are prison laborers. These incarcerated people are earning just $1.45 - $3.90 per day while training and $1 per hour while laboring on the fire's front lines beside their more well-compensated civilian counterparts...
Thursday, August 20, 2015
Today's Teamster News 08.20.15
Teamsters
City Council Stands In Way Of Carriage Horse Ban, de Blasio Tells Activists New York Times ...Mayor Bill de Blasio made a promise as a candidate to animal-rights activists that he would end the Central Park horse-carriage industry on the first day of his administration. Nearly 600 days into his tenure, the horses are still clopping. And the mayor has a new message for activists: Talk to somebody else...
Strike Out Tucson Weekly ...Shortly after his return, he had an altercation with a bus rider who snuck in a beer. The man ended up throwing the beer in Kirk's face, after Kirk asked him to get rid of it. "Passengers realize that there is no accountability ... the disrespect ... they don't have to abide by any rules," he says. All-in-all, there have been 22 assaults on bus drivers in the past 13 months, according to the Teamsters Local Union 104, which is leading the strike. That includes beer-throwing, spitting and more violent incidents...
Bus Service Resumes To Normal In Loudoun County Washington Post ...Teamsters Local 570 and Transdev have been in talks over a collective bargaining agreement for the past six months, according to Loudoun County officials...
Global Labor & Trade
Chinese Shares Trade Lower Again After Days Of Volatility BBC News ...The mainland's benchmark Shanghai Composite was 1.5% down to 3,735.92 points. The negative open comes after the index had seen strong volatility since the beginning of the week...
Russia Used To Have A Powerful Weapon In Its Energy Sector. Not Anymore. Washington Post ...For years, Russia’s ability to choke off energy shipments any time tensions spiked with the West was a potent threat, one that could force much of Europe to shiver during the wintertime. But with energy prices swooning, the Kremlin’s pipeline politics are looking a lot less threatening...
State & Living Wage Battles
Unions Press Congress To Take Off On FAA Bill The Hill ...The AFL-CIO’s Transportation Trades Department is pushing Congress to approve a new round of funding for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) when lawmakers return to Washington next month. The FAA bill, which includes funding for air traffic controllers, is scheduled to expire on Sept. 30...
Missouri Orders New Measures To Prevent Spread Of Bridgeton Landfill Fire St. Louis Post Dispatch ...Missouri regulators are ordering the owner of the smoldering Bridgeton Landfill to add more safeguards and develop a backup plan to prevent the spread of an underground fire past existing defenses...
Landfill Fire Slowing, Closer To Radioactive Waste KMOX ...The Pattonville Fire Protection District is keeping a close eye on the Bridgeton Landfill, after new data shows the underground fire may be getting closer to nuclear material buried in the nearby Westlake Landfill...
Justice Dept. Presses Civil Rights Agenda In Local Courts New York Times ...Burlington, Wash., was a small city fighting what seemed like a local lawsuit. Three poor people said that their public lawyers were too overworked to adequately represent them in municipal court cases. The dispute went mostly unnoticed for two years, until the Obama administration became involved. Unannounced, the Justice Department filed documents in the case and told the judge that he had broad authority to demand changes in Burlington and nearby Mount Vernon. The judge quickly agreed and ordered the cities to hire a new public defense supervisor. He also said he would monitor their legal aid program for three years...
After Criticism, HUD Says It’s Trying To Give The Boot To Public Housing Families Who Earn Too Much Money Washington Post ...In response to an unsparing audit by its watchdog, the Department of Housing and Urban Development has flipped its stance and now says it is urging housing authorities nationwide to evict tenants who earn too much to qualify for government subsidies...
Court Documents: Legal Challenge To N.C. Voter ID Could Be Settled Winston-Salem Journal ...The recent federal trial on North Carolina’s Voter Information Verification Act that ended about two weeks ago did not deal with the state’s photo ID requirement that goes into effect in 2016. It only dealt with other provisions of the law, which reduced the early voting period, eliminated same-day voter registration, prohibited county election officials from counting ballots cast in the wrong precinct but correct county, and abolished preregistration for 16- and 17-year-olds...
KC City Council To Meet, Clarify Minimum Wage Issues WDAF ...Workers in Kansas City could get some clarity on the minimum wage issue Thursday afternoon after the City Council meets to discuss the ordinance. The council meets at 3 p.m...
U.S. Labor
Uber Missed Criminal Records Of Drivers, Prosecutors Assert New York Times ...For more than a year, regulators in various cities have questioned whether Uber, the ride-hailing service, vets its drivers for criminal backgrounds as carefully as traditional taxi companies. Now the district attorneys of San Francisco and Los Angeles have offered perhaps the most concrete evidence to date that people convicted of murder, sex offenses and various property crimes have driven for Uber, despite assurances from the company that it employs “industry-leading” screening...
Private Prison Firms Buy Access To Public Officials At Lavish Industry Conferences Truthout ...The prison industry in the United States has grown so large that there are no less than seven professional associations for people who work at prisons and jails. The industry conferences held by these associations provide a perfect venue for private corrections companies to influence government officials with little public oversight, according to a recent report by the watchdog group In The Public Interest (ITPA)...
Social Justice & Other News
U.S. Consumer Prices Rise For Sixth Straight Month Wall Street Journal ...The consumer-price index, which reflects what Americans pay for everything from razors to radishes, rose a seasonally adjusted 0.1% in July from a month earlier, the Labor Department said Wednesday. From a year earlier, prices are up a very mild 0.2%, but when excluding volatile food and energy categories, the gain in the so-called core index was a more solid 1.8%...
The Military’s Outdated Gender Standards Are Finally Breaking Down Think Progress ...While women still face numerous obstacles when it comes to serving in the military, one barrier is soon to be broken. In an interview with the Navy Times Tuesday Adm. Jon Greenert said women would soon be welcome to participate in one of the military’s most elite units: – the Navy SEALs...
Goldman Sachs' New Loan Program Enters Underregulated, Potentially Abusive Loan Marketplace Truthout ...Though the bank itself hadn't directly seeded high-interest mortgages into communities of color around the country, like Countrywide or other banks that offered mortgages directly had done, Goldman Sachs had profited from selling subprime mortgage-backed securities - and from betting on the failure of these same products. "That was one of the reasons the [financial] crisis really took off," Murray said...
Ohio Planned To Import Death Penalty Drug Illegally Mother Jones ...The state of Ohio planned to illegally import sodium thiopental, a drug used for executions, according to a Food and Drug Administration letter obtained by BuzzFeed through a Freedom of Information Act request...
A Regulator’s Deal With Promontory Skirts A Big Problem New York Times ...Since by necessity it focuses on specific allegations, it leaves untouched a larger problem that goes beyond breaches of consultants’ supposed independence: the increasing extent to which regulators and prosecutors have come to rely on consultants to investigate suspected bank wrongdoing, rather than devoting the time and resources to do investigations themselves...
Black Lives Matter Isn't Stopping Politico ...Memo to 2016 candidates from Black Lives Matter: We will continue to disrupt your events no matter what you do or say, and we won’t stop anytime soon...
Obama Administration Plans To Overhaul Rules On Student Debt Forgiveness Washington Post ...The Obama administration said Wednesday it will overhaul the loan forgiveness process for students who believe they have been defrauded by their colleges, in light of the collapse of controversial for-profit Corinthian Colleges...
City Council Stands In Way Of Carriage Horse Ban, de Blasio Tells Activists New York Times ...Mayor Bill de Blasio made a promise as a candidate to animal-rights activists that he would end the Central Park horse-carriage industry on the first day of his administration. Nearly 600 days into his tenure, the horses are still clopping. And the mayor has a new message for activists: Talk to somebody else...
Strike Out Tucson Weekly ...Shortly after his return, he had an altercation with a bus rider who snuck in a beer. The man ended up throwing the beer in Kirk's face, after Kirk asked him to get rid of it. "Passengers realize that there is no accountability ... the disrespect ... they don't have to abide by any rules," he says. All-in-all, there have been 22 assaults on bus drivers in the past 13 months, according to the Teamsters Local Union 104, which is leading the strike. That includes beer-throwing, spitting and more violent incidents...
Bus Service Resumes To Normal In Loudoun County Washington Post ...Teamsters Local 570 and Transdev have been in talks over a collective bargaining agreement for the past six months, according to Loudoun County officials...
Global Labor & Trade
Chinese Shares Trade Lower Again After Days Of Volatility BBC News ...The mainland's benchmark Shanghai Composite was 1.5% down to 3,735.92 points. The negative open comes after the index had seen strong volatility since the beginning of the week...
Russia Used To Have A Powerful Weapon In Its Energy Sector. Not Anymore. Washington Post ...For years, Russia’s ability to choke off energy shipments any time tensions spiked with the West was a potent threat, one that could force much of Europe to shiver during the wintertime. But with energy prices swooning, the Kremlin’s pipeline politics are looking a lot less threatening...
State & Living Wage Battles
Unions Press Congress To Take Off On FAA Bill The Hill ...The AFL-CIO’s Transportation Trades Department is pushing Congress to approve a new round of funding for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) when lawmakers return to Washington next month. The FAA bill, which includes funding for air traffic controllers, is scheduled to expire on Sept. 30...
Missouri Orders New Measures To Prevent Spread Of Bridgeton Landfill Fire St. Louis Post Dispatch ...Missouri regulators are ordering the owner of the smoldering Bridgeton Landfill to add more safeguards and develop a backup plan to prevent the spread of an underground fire past existing defenses...
Landfill Fire Slowing, Closer To Radioactive Waste KMOX ...The Pattonville Fire Protection District is keeping a close eye on the Bridgeton Landfill, after new data shows the underground fire may be getting closer to nuclear material buried in the nearby Westlake Landfill...
Justice Dept. Presses Civil Rights Agenda In Local Courts New York Times ...Burlington, Wash., was a small city fighting what seemed like a local lawsuit. Three poor people said that their public lawyers were too overworked to adequately represent them in municipal court cases. The dispute went mostly unnoticed for two years, until the Obama administration became involved. Unannounced, the Justice Department filed documents in the case and told the judge that he had broad authority to demand changes in Burlington and nearby Mount Vernon. The judge quickly agreed and ordered the cities to hire a new public defense supervisor. He also said he would monitor their legal aid program for three years...
After Criticism, HUD Says It’s Trying To Give The Boot To Public Housing Families Who Earn Too Much Money Washington Post ...In response to an unsparing audit by its watchdog, the Department of Housing and Urban Development has flipped its stance and now says it is urging housing authorities nationwide to evict tenants who earn too much to qualify for government subsidies...
Court Documents: Legal Challenge To N.C. Voter ID Could Be Settled Winston-Salem Journal ...The recent federal trial on North Carolina’s Voter Information Verification Act that ended about two weeks ago did not deal with the state’s photo ID requirement that goes into effect in 2016. It only dealt with other provisions of the law, which reduced the early voting period, eliminated same-day voter registration, prohibited county election officials from counting ballots cast in the wrong precinct but correct county, and abolished preregistration for 16- and 17-year-olds...
KC City Council To Meet, Clarify Minimum Wage Issues WDAF ...Workers in Kansas City could get some clarity on the minimum wage issue Thursday afternoon after the City Council meets to discuss the ordinance. The council meets at 3 p.m...
U.S. Labor
Uber Missed Criminal Records Of Drivers, Prosecutors Assert New York Times ...For more than a year, regulators in various cities have questioned whether Uber, the ride-hailing service, vets its drivers for criminal backgrounds as carefully as traditional taxi companies. Now the district attorneys of San Francisco and Los Angeles have offered perhaps the most concrete evidence to date that people convicted of murder, sex offenses and various property crimes have driven for Uber, despite assurances from the company that it employs “industry-leading” screening...
Private Prison Firms Buy Access To Public Officials At Lavish Industry Conferences Truthout ...The prison industry in the United States has grown so large that there are no less than seven professional associations for people who work at prisons and jails. The industry conferences held by these associations provide a perfect venue for private corrections companies to influence government officials with little public oversight, according to a recent report by the watchdog group In The Public Interest (ITPA)...
Social Justice & Other News
U.S. Consumer Prices Rise For Sixth Straight Month Wall Street Journal ...The consumer-price index, which reflects what Americans pay for everything from razors to radishes, rose a seasonally adjusted 0.1% in July from a month earlier, the Labor Department said Wednesday. From a year earlier, prices are up a very mild 0.2%, but when excluding volatile food and energy categories, the gain in the so-called core index was a more solid 1.8%...
The Military’s Outdated Gender Standards Are Finally Breaking Down Think Progress ...While women still face numerous obstacles when it comes to serving in the military, one barrier is soon to be broken. In an interview with the Navy Times Tuesday Adm. Jon Greenert said women would soon be welcome to participate in one of the military’s most elite units: – the Navy SEALs...
Goldman Sachs' New Loan Program Enters Underregulated, Potentially Abusive Loan Marketplace Truthout ...Though the bank itself hadn't directly seeded high-interest mortgages into communities of color around the country, like Countrywide or other banks that offered mortgages directly had done, Goldman Sachs had profited from selling subprime mortgage-backed securities - and from betting on the failure of these same products. "That was one of the reasons the [financial] crisis really took off," Murray said...
Ohio Planned To Import Death Penalty Drug Illegally Mother Jones ...The state of Ohio planned to illegally import sodium thiopental, a drug used for executions, according to a Food and Drug Administration letter obtained by BuzzFeed through a Freedom of Information Act request...
A Regulator’s Deal With Promontory Skirts A Big Problem New York Times ...Since by necessity it focuses on specific allegations, it leaves untouched a larger problem that goes beyond breaches of consultants’ supposed independence: the increasing extent to which regulators and prosecutors have come to rely on consultants to investigate suspected bank wrongdoing, rather than devoting the time and resources to do investigations themselves...
Black Lives Matter Isn't Stopping Politico ...Memo to 2016 candidates from Black Lives Matter: We will continue to disrupt your events no matter what you do or say, and we won’t stop anytime soon...
Obama Administration Plans To Overhaul Rules On Student Debt Forgiveness Washington Post ...The Obama administration said Wednesday it will overhaul the loan forgiveness process for students who believe they have been defrauded by their colleges, in light of the collapse of controversial for-profit Corinthian Colleges...
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Today's Teamster News 08.19.15
Teamsters
Teamsters Call On SFMTA To Adopt Labor Harmony Resolution Teamster.org ...Teamsters and drivers for Bauer’s Intelligent Transportation held an action next to the Mission Street BART station last week, urging SFMTA pass the labor harmony resolution that was unanimously adopted by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in March...
Salary Hike For Montco Correctional Officers The Intelligencer ...The county’s correctional officers in December 2013 voted to be represented by a union. The vote was 120-82 in favor of representation by Teamsters Local Union 384 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters...
Flexjet Pilots Win Jobs Back, Made Whole for Company's Labor Law Violations Teamster.org ...In a decision by distinguished arbitrator Joshua Javits, three pilots with Flexjet, LLC, have been reinstated to their positions with the carrier and made whole for their terminations. The arbitrator found the terminations were without cause and that the pilots’ terminations resulted from retaliation for protected union activity in violation of federal labor law...
Global Labor & Trade
Turkey In Political Crisis As Violence Spirals Huffington Post ...Gunmen opened fire on Turkish police outside an Istanbul palace and eight soldiers were killed in a bomb attack in the southeast on Wednesday, heightening a sense of crisis as the country's political leaders struggle to form a new government...
German Parliament Overwhelmingly Approves Greek Bailout Huffington Post ...Germany's parliament overwhelmingly approved a third bailout for Greece on Wednesday, removing a key hurdle to providing new loans to the country and keeping it from defaulting on its debts in as little as 24 hours...
EC's Transparency Spin Falls Flat As TTIP Made Even More Secretive Huffington Post ...The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is the biggest trade deal ever negotiated. Yet all British MPs know about it is what little the European Commission (EC) decides to tell them -- and that's about to become a lot less. Last week German website Correct!v revealed that one of the only sources of information for what happens in secret TTIP negotiations will end...
South Sudanese President’s Chilling Threat Against The Lives Of Journalists Think Progress ...The pressure to sign a civil-war ending peace agreement may be getting to South Sudanese President Salva Kiir. On Sunday, the embattled leader threatened to kill journalists reporting “against the country.”...
State & Living Wage Battles
Ohio Lawmaker: Now Is Time For Right To Work Cincinnati.com ...The proposal, which is being drafted, would prohibit mandatory union membership at workplaces. The change would give employees the choice to opt out of unions and their dues, said Brinkman, R-Mount Lookout. Twenty-five states have right-to-work laws, including recently passed proposals in Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana...
Obama's Paid-Leave Policies Make Progress In Cities USA Today ...In his State of the Union Address in January, President Obama said he would go around Congress if necessary and push states to adopt paid-leave laws. Eight months later, only one state — Oregon — has passed such a law. But 17 cities have...
Compromise On Raising Bangor Minimum Wage Fails, Talks To Continue Bangor Daily News ...The City Council’s Business and Economic Development Committee failed Tuesday to move forward a proposed compromise on a local minimum-wage increase...
U.S. Labor
Transportation Secretary And New Jersey Officials Meet To Discuss Hudson River Rail Tunnels New York Times ...After Mr. Foxx met with Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey and the state’s two Democratic senators, Cory A. Booker and Robert Menendez, the officials signaled a new level of cooperation on the project. The four released a joint statement calling the meeting “substantive and productive,” and indicated that they would work to obtain “a substantial federal grant contribution” and other funding options for the plan, known as the Gateway Project...
One-Quarter Of Mothers Return To Work Less Than 2 Weeks After Giving Birth, Report Finds Huffington Post ...The researchers looked at a survey of 2,852 workers who took leave in 2012, honing in on the 93 women who took time off to care for a new baby. Of those women, nearly 12 percent took a week or less; another 11 percent took between one and two weeks off, according to the analysis. Among college graduates, longer leaves ruled the day: Eighty percent of the women who took at least six weeks leave had a degree. Only 54 percent of women without a degree were able to do so...
Amazon's Brutal Workplace Is An Indicator Of An Inhumane Economy Los Angeles Times ...What, ultimately, is the point of all this high-intensity labor, 16 hours a day most days of the year? If it is to make men such as Bezos extremely rich, it has done that, but what is in it for the workers who devote their lives to his vision for two or three years and then wearily stumble away from the company? Have they built something important and soul-enriching? Or did they just shave some minutes off the time it takes to fill the shopping carts of impatient, lazy consumers? Shouldn’t there be a little more to life than that?...
A Simple Practice Can Transform The Lives Of First Responders Huffington Post ...Firefighters are known for their physical strength and bravery, but they also face an immense amount of emotional stress and pressure. And just as first responders train for fitness, so too should they work on sharpening and preparing their minds, according to neuroscientist Amishi Jha...
Social Justice & Other News
As Immigration Judges' Working Conditions Worsen, More May Choose Retirement Los Angeles Times ...“I just really didn't like telling these young kids they had to go back to this situation. It really was very stressful for me and distressing,” she said. “I started out my career representing people with asylum claims, and a lot of those were Central American. I didn't want to sign my name on something and send someone back somewhere where they could potentially lose their life.”...
Americans Back Federal Funds To Planned Parenthood For Health Services, Poll Shows Huffington Post ...Support for federal funding of Planned Parenthood itself to provide those women's health services was even stronger, according to the Reuters/Ipsos released on Wednesday...
These Former Debt Collectors Decided To Ditch The Industry, Buy Up Medical Debt And Forgive It Truthout ...When Paola Gonzalez received a phone call from RIP Medical Debt, she was certain what she heard was a mistake. A prank, maybe. The caller said a $950 hospital bill had been paid for in full: It would not affect her credit and she wouldn't have to worry about it again. "They wanted to pay a bill for me," she said. "I was just speechless."...
How Black Lives Matter Moved From A Hashtag To A Real Political Force Washington Post ...Black Lives Matter has evolved well beyond a hashtag attached to sometimes-smart and often-snarky posts about policing, jailing and racial disparities in the United States. Black Lives Matter, it would seem, has evolved into a social movement with political aims, policy demands and a disparate set of individuals motivated to push those issues into the 2016 campaign...
Confederate Flag Controversy: More US Schools Consider Bans On Display Of Southern Symbol As Charleston Unveils New Policy International Business Times ...Weeks after a white gunman opened fire in a historic black church in South Carolina, the Charleston County School District this week updated its code of conduct for the 2015-2016 school year, which began Monday, to include a ban on the Confederate flag. The policy prohibits students from wearing clothing, jewelry or other apparel featuring images of the rebel banner...
Science Isn’t Broken FiveThirtyEight ...If we’re going to rely on science as a means for reaching the truth — and it’s still the best tool we have — it’s important that we understand and respect just how difficult it is to get a rigorous result. I could pontificate about all the reasons why science is arduous, but instead I’m going to let you experience one of them for yourself. Welcome to the wild world of p-hacking...
Teamsters Call On SFMTA To Adopt Labor Harmony Resolution Teamster.org ...Teamsters and drivers for Bauer’s Intelligent Transportation held an action next to the Mission Street BART station last week, urging SFMTA pass the labor harmony resolution that was unanimously adopted by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in March...
Salary Hike For Montco Correctional Officers The Intelligencer ...The county’s correctional officers in December 2013 voted to be represented by a union. The vote was 120-82 in favor of representation by Teamsters Local Union 384 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters...
Flexjet Pilots Win Jobs Back, Made Whole for Company's Labor Law Violations Teamster.org ...In a decision by distinguished arbitrator Joshua Javits, three pilots with Flexjet, LLC, have been reinstated to their positions with the carrier and made whole for their terminations. The arbitrator found the terminations were without cause and that the pilots’ terminations resulted from retaliation for protected union activity in violation of federal labor law...
Global Labor & Trade
Turkey In Political Crisis As Violence Spirals Huffington Post ...Gunmen opened fire on Turkish police outside an Istanbul palace and eight soldiers were killed in a bomb attack in the southeast on Wednesday, heightening a sense of crisis as the country's political leaders struggle to form a new government...
German Parliament Overwhelmingly Approves Greek Bailout Huffington Post ...Germany's parliament overwhelmingly approved a third bailout for Greece on Wednesday, removing a key hurdle to providing new loans to the country and keeping it from defaulting on its debts in as little as 24 hours...
EC's Transparency Spin Falls Flat As TTIP Made Even More Secretive Huffington Post ...The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is the biggest trade deal ever negotiated. Yet all British MPs know about it is what little the European Commission (EC) decides to tell them -- and that's about to become a lot less. Last week German website Correct!v revealed that one of the only sources of information for what happens in secret TTIP negotiations will end...
South Sudanese President’s Chilling Threat Against The Lives Of Journalists Think Progress ...The pressure to sign a civil-war ending peace agreement may be getting to South Sudanese President Salva Kiir. On Sunday, the embattled leader threatened to kill journalists reporting “against the country.”...
State & Living Wage Battles
Ohio Lawmaker: Now Is Time For Right To Work Cincinnati.com ...The proposal, which is being drafted, would prohibit mandatory union membership at workplaces. The change would give employees the choice to opt out of unions and their dues, said Brinkman, R-Mount Lookout. Twenty-five states have right-to-work laws, including recently passed proposals in Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana...
Obama's Paid-Leave Policies Make Progress In Cities USA Today ...In his State of the Union Address in January, President Obama said he would go around Congress if necessary and push states to adopt paid-leave laws. Eight months later, only one state — Oregon — has passed such a law. But 17 cities have...
Compromise On Raising Bangor Minimum Wage Fails, Talks To Continue Bangor Daily News ...The City Council’s Business and Economic Development Committee failed Tuesday to move forward a proposed compromise on a local minimum-wage increase...
U.S. Labor
Transportation Secretary And New Jersey Officials Meet To Discuss Hudson River Rail Tunnels New York Times ...After Mr. Foxx met with Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey and the state’s two Democratic senators, Cory A. Booker and Robert Menendez, the officials signaled a new level of cooperation on the project. The four released a joint statement calling the meeting “substantive and productive,” and indicated that they would work to obtain “a substantial federal grant contribution” and other funding options for the plan, known as the Gateway Project...
One-Quarter Of Mothers Return To Work Less Than 2 Weeks After Giving Birth, Report Finds Huffington Post ...The researchers looked at a survey of 2,852 workers who took leave in 2012, honing in on the 93 women who took time off to care for a new baby. Of those women, nearly 12 percent took a week or less; another 11 percent took between one and two weeks off, according to the analysis. Among college graduates, longer leaves ruled the day: Eighty percent of the women who took at least six weeks leave had a degree. Only 54 percent of women without a degree were able to do so...
Amazon's Brutal Workplace Is An Indicator Of An Inhumane Economy Los Angeles Times ...What, ultimately, is the point of all this high-intensity labor, 16 hours a day most days of the year? If it is to make men such as Bezos extremely rich, it has done that, but what is in it for the workers who devote their lives to his vision for two or three years and then wearily stumble away from the company? Have they built something important and soul-enriching? Or did they just shave some minutes off the time it takes to fill the shopping carts of impatient, lazy consumers? Shouldn’t there be a little more to life than that?...
A Simple Practice Can Transform The Lives Of First Responders Huffington Post ...Firefighters are known for their physical strength and bravery, but they also face an immense amount of emotional stress and pressure. And just as first responders train for fitness, so too should they work on sharpening and preparing their minds, according to neuroscientist Amishi Jha...
Social Justice & Other News
As Immigration Judges' Working Conditions Worsen, More May Choose Retirement Los Angeles Times ...“I just really didn't like telling these young kids they had to go back to this situation. It really was very stressful for me and distressing,” she said. “I started out my career representing people with asylum claims, and a lot of those were Central American. I didn't want to sign my name on something and send someone back somewhere where they could potentially lose their life.”...
Americans Back Federal Funds To Planned Parenthood For Health Services, Poll Shows Huffington Post ...Support for federal funding of Planned Parenthood itself to provide those women's health services was even stronger, according to the Reuters/Ipsos released on Wednesday...
These Former Debt Collectors Decided To Ditch The Industry, Buy Up Medical Debt And Forgive It Truthout ...When Paola Gonzalez received a phone call from RIP Medical Debt, she was certain what she heard was a mistake. A prank, maybe. The caller said a $950 hospital bill had been paid for in full: It would not affect her credit and she wouldn't have to worry about it again. "They wanted to pay a bill for me," she said. "I was just speechless."...
How Black Lives Matter Moved From A Hashtag To A Real Political Force Washington Post ...Black Lives Matter has evolved well beyond a hashtag attached to sometimes-smart and often-snarky posts about policing, jailing and racial disparities in the United States. Black Lives Matter, it would seem, has evolved into a social movement with political aims, policy demands and a disparate set of individuals motivated to push those issues into the 2016 campaign...
Confederate Flag Controversy: More US Schools Consider Bans On Display Of Southern Symbol As Charleston Unveils New Policy International Business Times ...Weeks after a white gunman opened fire in a historic black church in South Carolina, the Charleston County School District this week updated its code of conduct for the 2015-2016 school year, which began Monday, to include a ban on the Confederate flag. The policy prohibits students from wearing clothing, jewelry or other apparel featuring images of the rebel banner...
Science Isn’t Broken FiveThirtyEight ...If we’re going to rely on science as a means for reaching the truth — and it’s still the best tool we have — it’s important that we understand and respect just how difficult it is to get a rigorous result. I could pontificate about all the reasons why science is arduous, but instead I’m going to let you experience one of them for yourself. Welcome to the wild world of p-hacking...
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Today's Teamster News 08.11.15
Teamsters
Teamsters, Bauer's Drivers Rally For Labor Harmony in San Francisco Teamster.org ...Teamsters and drivers for Bauer’s Intelligent Transportation held an action this morning in San Francisco to call on the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) to adopt a resolution ensuring labor harmony...
Tech-Shuttle Company Is Accused Of Thwarting Efforts To Unionize Its Drivers Mother Jones ..."The drivers need and deserve better wages, better benefits, and more respect," says Doug Bloch, the political director for the Northern California chapter of the Teamsters, which is holding a protest in San Francisco's Mission District today to call attention to Bauer's alleged union-busting tactics. "What Bauer's did is an insult to these workers."...
Global Labor & Trade
Japan Anxious At Lull, U.S. 'Giving Up', In Pan-Pacific Trade Talks Reuters ...Japan has expressed concern about a loss of momentum in talks on a pan-Pacific trade pact after participants failed to agree to meet again this month to try to clinch a deal that would cover 40 percent of the global economy...
China Devalues Yuan After Poor Economic Data Huffington Post ...China devalued its currency on Tuesday after a run of poor economic data, a move it billed as a free-market reform but which some suspect could be the beginning of a longer-term slide in the exchange rate...
After Marathon Talks, Greece And International Lenders Clinch Multi-Billion Euro Bailout Deal Huffington Post ...Greece and its international lenders reached a multi-billion euro bailout agreement on Tuesday after talking through the night, officials said, potentially saving the country from financial ruin...
Bounty On Its Head: Wikileaks Raising €100K Reward For Secret Text Of TTIP Common Dreams ...The full text of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Agreement (TTIP) now has a bounty on its head. Launched publicly on Tuesday, the media outlet Wikileaks announced its creation of a crowd-sourcing effort that aims to raise a €100,000 reward for the full text of the the TTIP, the corporate-friendly trade pact currently being negotiated in secret by the United States and member countries of the European Union...
Despite Majority Opposition, Japan About To Hit 'Go' On Nuclear Restart Common Dreams ...Despite widespread public opposition and lingering safety concerns, Japan on Tuesday will switch on a nuclear reactor for the first time since the 2011 Fukushima disaster...
Hundreds Of Peace Corps Vets Demand US Stop Funding Ethnic Cleansing Common Dreams ...Over 500 former Peace Corps volunteers are calling on the U.S. government to withhold military aid and stop funding the Dominican Republic's ethnic cleansing of people of Haitian descent, adding theirs to the cacophony of voices—from Pope Francis to United Nations experts to thousands marching in Port-au-Prince—speaking out against the mass-scale human rights violations...
State & Living Wage Battles
Daily Oil Trains Could Threaten Lives In The Bay Area San Francisco Chronicle ...If oil giant Phillips 66 has its way, an oil train disaster and increased air pollution may be coming to a Bay Area town near you. Phillips 66 is proposing an oil transport station to refine Canadian tars sands in San Luis Obispo. If the project is approved by the San Luis Obispo planning commission and board of supervisors, Phillips 66 will have a contract for 500 oil train trips a year that could go right down the spine of the Bay Area...
Wis. Residents Upset About Sand, Oil Train Delays Winona Daily News ...Neighbors living near railroad tracks in Wisconsin are becoming increasingly concerned about long train blockages since an increase in sand and oil shipments have caused them to grow into a frequent and dangerous disruption...
Florida Lawmakers Pushing For Higher Minimum Wage WFSU ...As workers across the country push for higher minimum wage, two Florida lawmakers are joining the fight. They’ve filed a bill that would raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 per hour. But earning a living wage is about more than a person’s hourly pay...
Study Reveals The True Scope Of Voter Disenfranchisement In Texas Think Progress ...A Texas law, which closely resembles similar laws erecting obstacles to the franchise in other states, does far more to keep voters from casting a ballot than previously thought, according to a study conducted by researchers at Rice University and the University of Houston...
Silicon Valley’s Skyrocketing Housing Costs Shut Teachers Out Alternet ...Skyrocketing housing prices in Silicon Valley, the red-hot center of tech entrepreneurship and one of the most highly educated enclaves in the world, are making it hard for teachers to call the area home...
Election Rights Advocates Allege New Voter ID Violations In Ohio WLWT ...The advocates say the laws allow absentee ballots to be rejected for mistakes such as the wrong birth month even though the voter supplied the correction information when requesting the ballot...
U.S. Labor
Unpredictable Work Hours, Chaotic Life New York Times ...The tyranny of erratic work schedules is obvious to employees who don’t know what their schedules will be tomorrow or have to call in to see if there is work. And the effects have been well documented in articles and oral histories. Increasingly, the anecdotal evidence is being confirmed by research...
Social Justice & Other News
Huffington Post, Washington Post Reporters Charged For Doing Journalism In Ferguson Huffington Post ...Reporters from The Huffington Post and Washington Post have been charged with trespassing and interfering with a police officer’s performance, a chilling setback for press freedom coming nearly a year after their arrests in Ferguson, Missouri...
Jerry Brown Nixes 'Alien' From California Labor Law Huffington Post ...California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed legislation Monday removing the word "alien" in reference to undocumented immigrants from the state's labor code. The measure, which will take effect Jan. 1, seeks to modernize the language used in California state law. Brown signed the legislation, SB 432, along with two other bills updating immigration policy on Monday...
Twitter Activists Slam St. Louis County Officials For Ferguson Response With #WhichEmergency Hashtag Salon.com ...Shortly after St. Louis County officials declared a state of emergency last night in response to protesters marking the anniversary of the death of Michael Brown, activists on Twitter did something odd, agreeing with county officials and tweeting that there is, in fact, a state of emergency in St. Louis County — just not the one the officials had declared...
Here's How Much Water Golf Courses, Ski Resorts, And Pools Are Using In California Mother Jones ...Of the thirsty nonagricultural businesses, golf takes the lead: The average Palm Springs golf course uses the same amount of water in one day that a family of four does in five years. The 123 golf courses in the Palm Springs area use nearly a quarter of the region's groundwater...
Water Rationing In Puerto Rico Hits The Poor, Leaves Resorts Untouched Think Progress ...As the commonwealth’s reservoirs drop to their lowest levels in decades, the government has declared a state of emergency, and implemented strict rationing. Hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans now have had tap water only every third day, and that tightened this past weekend, giving families water only two days a week...
Heavily-Armed Oath Keepers Showed Up To Ferguson Last Night Mother Jones ...As demonstrators gathered in Ferguson to continue commemorating the one year anniversary of the fatal shooting of Michael Brown on Monday, five heavily-armed men belonging to a vigilante group called the Oath Keepers were spotted patrolling the streets. According to reports, the Oath Keepers said they were on the scene to provide voluntary protection to a journalist working for the site InfoWars, the conspiracy mill run by noted lunatic Alex Jones...
Racialized Poverty In America Has Nearly Doubled In 21st Century Common Dreams ...Discriminatory housing, zoning, and other policy choices are driving the dramatic rise of racialized poverty and segregation across the United States, with the number of people residing in low-income "ghettos, barrios, and slums" nearly doubling in the 21st century alone, a new report finds...
Teamsters, Bauer's Drivers Rally For Labor Harmony in San Francisco Teamster.org ...Teamsters and drivers for Bauer’s Intelligent Transportation held an action this morning in San Francisco to call on the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) to adopt a resolution ensuring labor harmony...
Tech-Shuttle Company Is Accused Of Thwarting Efforts To Unionize Its Drivers Mother Jones ..."The drivers need and deserve better wages, better benefits, and more respect," says Doug Bloch, the political director for the Northern California chapter of the Teamsters, which is holding a protest in San Francisco's Mission District today to call attention to Bauer's alleged union-busting tactics. "What Bauer's did is an insult to these workers."...
Global Labor & Trade
Japan Anxious At Lull, U.S. 'Giving Up', In Pan-Pacific Trade Talks Reuters ...Japan has expressed concern about a loss of momentum in talks on a pan-Pacific trade pact after participants failed to agree to meet again this month to try to clinch a deal that would cover 40 percent of the global economy...
China Devalues Yuan After Poor Economic Data Huffington Post ...China devalued its currency on Tuesday after a run of poor economic data, a move it billed as a free-market reform but which some suspect could be the beginning of a longer-term slide in the exchange rate...
After Marathon Talks, Greece And International Lenders Clinch Multi-Billion Euro Bailout Deal Huffington Post ...Greece and its international lenders reached a multi-billion euro bailout agreement on Tuesday after talking through the night, officials said, potentially saving the country from financial ruin...
Bounty On Its Head: Wikileaks Raising €100K Reward For Secret Text Of TTIP Common Dreams ...The full text of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Agreement (TTIP) now has a bounty on its head. Launched publicly on Tuesday, the media outlet Wikileaks announced its creation of a crowd-sourcing effort that aims to raise a €100,000 reward for the full text of the the TTIP, the corporate-friendly trade pact currently being negotiated in secret by the United States and member countries of the European Union...
Despite Majority Opposition, Japan About To Hit 'Go' On Nuclear Restart Common Dreams ...Despite widespread public opposition and lingering safety concerns, Japan on Tuesday will switch on a nuclear reactor for the first time since the 2011 Fukushima disaster...
Hundreds Of Peace Corps Vets Demand US Stop Funding Ethnic Cleansing Common Dreams ...Over 500 former Peace Corps volunteers are calling on the U.S. government to withhold military aid and stop funding the Dominican Republic's ethnic cleansing of people of Haitian descent, adding theirs to the cacophony of voices—from Pope Francis to United Nations experts to thousands marching in Port-au-Prince—speaking out against the mass-scale human rights violations...
State & Living Wage Battles
Daily Oil Trains Could Threaten Lives In The Bay Area San Francisco Chronicle ...If oil giant Phillips 66 has its way, an oil train disaster and increased air pollution may be coming to a Bay Area town near you. Phillips 66 is proposing an oil transport station to refine Canadian tars sands in San Luis Obispo. If the project is approved by the San Luis Obispo planning commission and board of supervisors, Phillips 66 will have a contract for 500 oil train trips a year that could go right down the spine of the Bay Area...
Wis. Residents Upset About Sand, Oil Train Delays Winona Daily News ...Neighbors living near railroad tracks in Wisconsin are becoming increasingly concerned about long train blockages since an increase in sand and oil shipments have caused them to grow into a frequent and dangerous disruption...
Florida Lawmakers Pushing For Higher Minimum Wage WFSU ...As workers across the country push for higher minimum wage, two Florida lawmakers are joining the fight. They’ve filed a bill that would raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 per hour. But earning a living wage is about more than a person’s hourly pay...
Study Reveals The True Scope Of Voter Disenfranchisement In Texas Think Progress ...A Texas law, which closely resembles similar laws erecting obstacles to the franchise in other states, does far more to keep voters from casting a ballot than previously thought, according to a study conducted by researchers at Rice University and the University of Houston...
Silicon Valley’s Skyrocketing Housing Costs Shut Teachers Out Alternet ...Skyrocketing housing prices in Silicon Valley, the red-hot center of tech entrepreneurship and one of the most highly educated enclaves in the world, are making it hard for teachers to call the area home...
Election Rights Advocates Allege New Voter ID Violations In Ohio WLWT ...The advocates say the laws allow absentee ballots to be rejected for mistakes such as the wrong birth month even though the voter supplied the correction information when requesting the ballot...
U.S. Labor
Unpredictable Work Hours, Chaotic Life New York Times ...The tyranny of erratic work schedules is obvious to employees who don’t know what their schedules will be tomorrow or have to call in to see if there is work. And the effects have been well documented in articles and oral histories. Increasingly, the anecdotal evidence is being confirmed by research...
Social Justice & Other News
Huffington Post, Washington Post Reporters Charged For Doing Journalism In Ferguson Huffington Post ...Reporters from The Huffington Post and Washington Post have been charged with trespassing and interfering with a police officer’s performance, a chilling setback for press freedom coming nearly a year after their arrests in Ferguson, Missouri...
Jerry Brown Nixes 'Alien' From California Labor Law Huffington Post ...California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed legislation Monday removing the word "alien" in reference to undocumented immigrants from the state's labor code. The measure, which will take effect Jan. 1, seeks to modernize the language used in California state law. Brown signed the legislation, SB 432, along with two other bills updating immigration policy on Monday...
Twitter Activists Slam St. Louis County Officials For Ferguson Response With #WhichEmergency Hashtag Salon.com ...Shortly after St. Louis County officials declared a state of emergency last night in response to protesters marking the anniversary of the death of Michael Brown, activists on Twitter did something odd, agreeing with county officials and tweeting that there is, in fact, a state of emergency in St. Louis County — just not the one the officials had declared...
Here's How Much Water Golf Courses, Ski Resorts, And Pools Are Using In California Mother Jones ...Of the thirsty nonagricultural businesses, golf takes the lead: The average Palm Springs golf course uses the same amount of water in one day that a family of four does in five years. The 123 golf courses in the Palm Springs area use nearly a quarter of the region's groundwater...
Water Rationing In Puerto Rico Hits The Poor, Leaves Resorts Untouched Think Progress ...As the commonwealth’s reservoirs drop to their lowest levels in decades, the government has declared a state of emergency, and implemented strict rationing. Hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans now have had tap water only every third day, and that tightened this past weekend, giving families water only two days a week...
Heavily-Armed Oath Keepers Showed Up To Ferguson Last Night Mother Jones ...As demonstrators gathered in Ferguson to continue commemorating the one year anniversary of the fatal shooting of Michael Brown on Monday, five heavily-armed men belonging to a vigilante group called the Oath Keepers were spotted patrolling the streets. According to reports, the Oath Keepers said they were on the scene to provide voluntary protection to a journalist working for the site InfoWars, the conspiracy mill run by noted lunatic Alex Jones...
Racialized Poverty In America Has Nearly Doubled In 21st Century Common Dreams ...Discriminatory housing, zoning, and other policy choices are driving the dramatic rise of racialized poverty and segregation across the United States, with the number of people residing in low-income "ghettos, barrios, and slums" nearly doubling in the 21st century alone, a new report finds...
Friday, June 26, 2015
Today Teamster News 06.26.15
Teamsters
SEIRPC board OKs Teamsters contract The Hawk Eye ...The Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commissions approved a three-year contract with the Chauffeurs, Teamsters and Helpers Local Union No. 238, affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, at Wednesday's executive board meeting in West Burlington. The contract will need final approval by the full board at its July meeting. The contract includes a 3 percent increase in wages for each of the next three years for SEIBUS drivers and a maintenance manager...
GOP measure would permit longer tandem trucks Associated Press ...Over the objections of safety advocates, the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday approved a trucking industry bid to allow longer tandem trucks on the nation's highways. Pushing the measure were large trucking operations that stand to profit from lower costs. In opposition were unions such as the Teamsters, many states and local governments, and safety advocates. Many smaller trucking companies were against it as well...
Teamster Officers Training Being Held in Missouri Teamster.org ...A Teamsters officers’ training is being held today and Friday, June 26, at the Teamsters Complex in Kansas City, Mo. More than 50 Teamster officers are gathered to take part in the program that is hosted by Teamsters Joint Council 56 and Joint Council 56 President Jim Kabell and coordinated by the IBT Training and Development Department...
Global Labor & Trade
House completes Obama’s trade items as Pacific pact looms Washington Post ...The Republican-led Congress rounded out President Barack Obama’s trade package Thursday, overwhelmingly passing a worker training program just weeks after it was stymied. The House voted 286 to 138 to renew the program for workers displaced by international trade. Obama had said he wanted to sign that bill alongside the “fast track” negotiating authority that Congress approved a day earlier...
Congress approves assistance for workers who lose jobs to trade LA Times ...Congress gave final approval Thursday to a program that provides funds for retraining workers who lose their jobs to overseas trade, a key component of President Obama's trade agenda. The Trade Adjustment Assistance bill, which is now on its way to the White House, became tangled in a political debate over giving the administration fast-track authority to negotiate trade deals...
Obama Bolsters His Leverage With Trade Victory, but at a Cost New York Times ...President Obama’s success in rescuing his high-priority trade legislation from a rebellion by fellow Democrats strengthens his hand internationally and paves the way for completion of the most expansive economic agreement in generations. While the turbulent process was embarrassing for the president and deeply confusing for foreign negotiating partners, Mr. Obama now has the leverage he sought to force the final concessions needed to wrap up a free-trade pact...
Democrats Mend Fences After Bloody Trade Fight National Journal ...After weeks of all-out fighting over President Obama's trade agenda—and a bitter defeat for its Democratic opponents—the combatants in the House Democratic Caucus are ready to bury the hatchet. That doesn't mean Democrats are done fighting over trade. TPA prevents Congress from amending the pending Trans-Pacific Partnership, but members will still get an up-or-down vote when the 12-nation trade deal is completed...
Sen. Stabenow Calls for Voluntary Country-of-Origin Labels on Meat Wall Street Journal ...U.S. lawmakers are weighing the fate of country-of-origin labels, known as COOL, after the World Trade Organization said in May that the existing requirement discriminates against animals from Canada and Mexico. Following their win at the WTO, both Canada and Mexico are now threatening retaliatory measures totaling more than a combined $3 billion. Canada has threatened trade restrictions on a range of U.S. products...
The Fight for Fair Trade: How Far We've Come, How Much Further We Will Go (opinion) Huffington Post ...After a long, arduous fight, Congress passed legislation that will put harmful trade pacts on the fast track. Now our job is to put aside this momentary loss, build on the incredible momentum we have created in the fight for fair and responsible trade, and shift focus to the even bigger fights ahead. We must now focus on defeating the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)...
In China, Walmart Is Unionized, But Workers Have No Power on the Job In These Times ...Walmart has succeeded in meeting the Chinese government’s demands that the company allow unions to be formally established, but this has not translated into any effective collective bargaining power for some 107,000 workers at the company’s 411 Chinese stores, says Han Dongfang, Executive Director of the Hong Kong-based China Labour Bulletin...
State & Living Wage Battles
New Mexico Will Make It Even Harder To Get Food Stamps Think Progress ...With an unemployment rate well above the national average and more than one in four of its children on the brink of hunger, New Mexico is poised to make it harder to get food stamps. Like most other states, New Mexico has waived federal work requirements tied to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) since about 2009. The work rules are designed to lapse when the unemployment is severe, since requiring people to find work or starve makes little sense when there’s no work to be had...
Connecticut Just Passed a Law Requiring Bosses Who Steal Workers’ Wages to Pay Them Back Double In These Times ...For many employers, wage theft makes good business sense. The probability of getting caught refusing to pay a worker overtime, shaving hours off their check or paying less than the minimum wage is low. This Wednesday, Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy signed into law Senate Bill 914, a measure that will allow victims of wage theft to collect double the amount due them...
W.Va. governor: No prevailing wage July 1 due to lawmakers Herald-Dispatch ...Blaming inaction by state lawmakers, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin's administration says the state's prevailing wage will disappear July 1 for a short-term lapse that is creating uncertainty for the construction industry. On Thursday, the Democratic governor's spokesman, Chris Stadelman, said WorkForce West Virginia couldn't calculate the rate for public construction projects by July 1...
Lawsuit aims to declare Nevada minimum wage unconstitutional Las Vegas Review-Journal ...Several Nevada businesses are asking a federal judge to declare the state’s minimum wage law unconstitutional. According to a recent fact sheet prepared by a Legislative Counsel Bureau researcher, an amendment to the Nevada Constitution to raise the minimum wage paid to employees was approved by voters in 2004 and was reaffirmed in 2006. The 2006 voter-approved amendment requires the minimum wage to be recalculated each year...
Maine House members launching push to impeach LePage Bangor Daily News ...Six lawmakers said Thursday they will attempt to launch impeachment proceedings against Republican Gov. Paul LePage for his alleged role in pushing Democratic House Speaker Mark Eves out of a new job at Good Will-Hinckley School. The House of Representatives has “sole power of impeachment” according to Article 4 of the Maine Constitution...
U.S. Labor
Truckers end protest over terminal wait time at Port of New Orleans NOLA.com The independent truck drivers who protested outside the Port of New Orleans this week returned to work Thursday morning (June 25) after reaching an agreement with terminal operators and local trucking companies that satisfied part of their demands. As part of the deal, drivers said the local trucking companies that hire them have agreed to pay them $40 to transport each damaged shipping container to a repair facility...
More Than 9,000 Santa Clara County SEIU Union Workers Vote to Strike Over "Unfair Labor" Practices NBC ...More than 9,000 Santa Clara County union workers voted on Wednesday to authorize a strike next week over what they say are unfair labor practices – the first time in more than four decades. SEIU 521 spokeswoman Khanh Weinberg said that 97 percent of the union members comprising of 911 dispatchers, janitors, librarians and nurses, voted to authorize the strike on Tuesday. Workers voted to hold an "open-ended" strike with no end date...
Ford, UAW talking in advance of contract talks NWI Times ...Ford and the United Auto Workers union have been talking before upcoming contract negotiations, which should officially start next month. The UAW represents about 5,000 workers locally at the Chicago Assembly Plant in Hegewisch and the Chicago Stamping Plant in Chicago Heights. The union hopes to boost pay and eliminate a two-tier system where newer workers make less to do the same job as more senior employees...
State, AFSCME OK ongoing talks without lockout or strike News & Observer ...Negotiations on a contract with Illinois' largest public employee union will continue without the possibility of a strike or lockout for one month after the contract expires next week. Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner's office and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Council 31, released a statement Thursday about the agreement. The idea is to let both sides negotiate in July without the threat of disruption of public services. The statement says "all legal and contractual" rights will be preserved...
Miscellaneous
Senate Recommends $1.7 Billion In Education Cuts Think Progress ...The Senate Appropriations Committee advanced a labor, health and education bill for the next fiscal year out of committee Thursday. The U.S. Department of Education would lose $1.7 billion in the Senate spending bill compared to its current funding levels. Those cuts were significantly less than the House Appropriations Committee, which cut the department by $2.8 billion...
In Surprise Decision, SCOTUS Rules Against Discriminatory Housing Practices Common Dreams ...In a decision applauded by housing and civil rights groups on Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Fair Housing Act (FHA) allows people to pursue lawsuits when a housing practice has a discriminatory effect, even if that practice wasn't intended to discriminate—an effect known as "disparate impact"...
Gay marriage declared legal across the US in historic supreme court ruling The Guardian ...Same-sex marriages are now legal across the entirety of the United States after a historic supreme court ruling that declared attempts by conservative states to ban them unconstitutional. In what may prove the most important civil rights case in a generation, five of the nine court justices determined that the right to marriage equality was enshrined under the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment...
"Slavery Deeply Embedded" in South Carolina: Emanuel AME Church on Street Named for Racist Lawmaker Democracy Now ...When Rev. Clementa Pinckney lay in state at the Capitol this week, his body had to be brought past the Confederate flag that still flies there and is the symbol embraced by his killer, Dylann Roof. The Emanuel AME Church in Charleston is located on Calhoun Street, named for one of the most prominent pro-slavery figures in history, the late Senator and Vice President John C. Calhoun, who argued slavery was a "positive good" rather than a "necessary evil"...
Separate Attacks Leave One Dead in France and Dozens Killed in Tunisia Common Dreams ...Violence was making global news headlines in two countries on Friday as an earlier attack on a U.S.-owned gas plant in France was later overshadowed by an attack on a hotel in Sousse, Tunisia, where nearly thirty people are reported dead. The Associated Press reports on the attacks in Tunisia: "Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has confirmed that one of the two beachside hotels where tourists were shot in Tunisia, killing at least 27 people, is owned by a Spanish company"...
SEIRPC board OKs Teamsters contract The Hawk Eye ...The Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commissions approved a three-year contract with the Chauffeurs, Teamsters and Helpers Local Union No. 238, affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, at Wednesday's executive board meeting in West Burlington. The contract will need final approval by the full board at its July meeting. The contract includes a 3 percent increase in wages for each of the next three years for SEIBUS drivers and a maintenance manager...
GOP measure would permit longer tandem trucks Associated Press ...Over the objections of safety advocates, the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday approved a trucking industry bid to allow longer tandem trucks on the nation's highways. Pushing the measure were large trucking operations that stand to profit from lower costs. In opposition were unions such as the Teamsters, many states and local governments, and safety advocates. Many smaller trucking companies were against it as well...
Teamster Officers Training Being Held in Missouri Teamster.org ...A Teamsters officers’ training is being held today and Friday, June 26, at the Teamsters Complex in Kansas City, Mo. More than 50 Teamster officers are gathered to take part in the program that is hosted by Teamsters Joint Council 56 and Joint Council 56 President Jim Kabell and coordinated by the IBT Training and Development Department...
Global Labor & Trade
House completes Obama’s trade items as Pacific pact looms Washington Post ...The Republican-led Congress rounded out President Barack Obama’s trade package Thursday, overwhelmingly passing a worker training program just weeks after it was stymied. The House voted 286 to 138 to renew the program for workers displaced by international trade. Obama had said he wanted to sign that bill alongside the “fast track” negotiating authority that Congress approved a day earlier...
Congress approves assistance for workers who lose jobs to trade LA Times ...Congress gave final approval Thursday to a program that provides funds for retraining workers who lose their jobs to overseas trade, a key component of President Obama's trade agenda. The Trade Adjustment Assistance bill, which is now on its way to the White House, became tangled in a political debate over giving the administration fast-track authority to negotiate trade deals...
Obama Bolsters His Leverage With Trade Victory, but at a Cost New York Times ...President Obama’s success in rescuing his high-priority trade legislation from a rebellion by fellow Democrats strengthens his hand internationally and paves the way for completion of the most expansive economic agreement in generations. While the turbulent process was embarrassing for the president and deeply confusing for foreign negotiating partners, Mr. Obama now has the leverage he sought to force the final concessions needed to wrap up a free-trade pact...
Democrats Mend Fences After Bloody Trade Fight National Journal ...After weeks of all-out fighting over President Obama's trade agenda—and a bitter defeat for its Democratic opponents—the combatants in the House Democratic Caucus are ready to bury the hatchet. That doesn't mean Democrats are done fighting over trade. TPA prevents Congress from amending the pending Trans-Pacific Partnership, but members will still get an up-or-down vote when the 12-nation trade deal is completed...
Sen. Stabenow Calls for Voluntary Country-of-Origin Labels on Meat Wall Street Journal ...U.S. lawmakers are weighing the fate of country-of-origin labels, known as COOL, after the World Trade Organization said in May that the existing requirement discriminates against animals from Canada and Mexico. Following their win at the WTO, both Canada and Mexico are now threatening retaliatory measures totaling more than a combined $3 billion. Canada has threatened trade restrictions on a range of U.S. products...
The Fight for Fair Trade: How Far We've Come, How Much Further We Will Go (opinion) Huffington Post ...After a long, arduous fight, Congress passed legislation that will put harmful trade pacts on the fast track. Now our job is to put aside this momentary loss, build on the incredible momentum we have created in the fight for fair and responsible trade, and shift focus to the even bigger fights ahead. We must now focus on defeating the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)...
In China, Walmart Is Unionized, But Workers Have No Power on the Job In These Times ...Walmart has succeeded in meeting the Chinese government’s demands that the company allow unions to be formally established, but this has not translated into any effective collective bargaining power for some 107,000 workers at the company’s 411 Chinese stores, says Han Dongfang, Executive Director of the Hong Kong-based China Labour Bulletin...
State & Living Wage Battles
New Mexico Will Make It Even Harder To Get Food Stamps Think Progress ...With an unemployment rate well above the national average and more than one in four of its children on the brink of hunger, New Mexico is poised to make it harder to get food stamps. Like most other states, New Mexico has waived federal work requirements tied to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) since about 2009. The work rules are designed to lapse when the unemployment is severe, since requiring people to find work or starve makes little sense when there’s no work to be had...
Connecticut Just Passed a Law Requiring Bosses Who Steal Workers’ Wages to Pay Them Back Double In These Times ...For many employers, wage theft makes good business sense. The probability of getting caught refusing to pay a worker overtime, shaving hours off their check or paying less than the minimum wage is low. This Wednesday, Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy signed into law Senate Bill 914, a measure that will allow victims of wage theft to collect double the amount due them...
W.Va. governor: No prevailing wage July 1 due to lawmakers Herald-Dispatch ...Blaming inaction by state lawmakers, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin's administration says the state's prevailing wage will disappear July 1 for a short-term lapse that is creating uncertainty for the construction industry. On Thursday, the Democratic governor's spokesman, Chris Stadelman, said WorkForce West Virginia couldn't calculate the rate for public construction projects by July 1...
Lawsuit aims to declare Nevada minimum wage unconstitutional Las Vegas Review-Journal ...Several Nevada businesses are asking a federal judge to declare the state’s minimum wage law unconstitutional. According to a recent fact sheet prepared by a Legislative Counsel Bureau researcher, an amendment to the Nevada Constitution to raise the minimum wage paid to employees was approved by voters in 2004 and was reaffirmed in 2006. The 2006 voter-approved amendment requires the minimum wage to be recalculated each year...
Maine House members launching push to impeach LePage Bangor Daily News ...Six lawmakers said Thursday they will attempt to launch impeachment proceedings against Republican Gov. Paul LePage for his alleged role in pushing Democratic House Speaker Mark Eves out of a new job at Good Will-Hinckley School. The House of Representatives has “sole power of impeachment” according to Article 4 of the Maine Constitution...
U.S. Labor
Truckers end protest over terminal wait time at Port of New Orleans NOLA.com The independent truck drivers who protested outside the Port of New Orleans this week returned to work Thursday morning (June 25) after reaching an agreement with terminal operators and local trucking companies that satisfied part of their demands. As part of the deal, drivers said the local trucking companies that hire them have agreed to pay them $40 to transport each damaged shipping container to a repair facility...
More Than 9,000 Santa Clara County SEIU Union Workers Vote to Strike Over "Unfair Labor" Practices NBC ...More than 9,000 Santa Clara County union workers voted on Wednesday to authorize a strike next week over what they say are unfair labor practices – the first time in more than four decades. SEIU 521 spokeswoman Khanh Weinberg said that 97 percent of the union members comprising of 911 dispatchers, janitors, librarians and nurses, voted to authorize the strike on Tuesday. Workers voted to hold an "open-ended" strike with no end date...
Ford, UAW talking in advance of contract talks NWI Times ...Ford and the United Auto Workers union have been talking before upcoming contract negotiations, which should officially start next month. The UAW represents about 5,000 workers locally at the Chicago Assembly Plant in Hegewisch and the Chicago Stamping Plant in Chicago Heights. The union hopes to boost pay and eliminate a two-tier system where newer workers make less to do the same job as more senior employees...
State, AFSCME OK ongoing talks without lockout or strike News & Observer ...Negotiations on a contract with Illinois' largest public employee union will continue without the possibility of a strike or lockout for one month after the contract expires next week. Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner's office and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Council 31, released a statement Thursday about the agreement. The idea is to let both sides negotiate in July without the threat of disruption of public services. The statement says "all legal and contractual" rights will be preserved...
Showing Solidarity with Ink Master Workers AFL-CIO ...Workers at "Ink Master" voted overwhelmingly for a union last year. Since then, Original Media, the master behind "Ink Master," has refused to bargain in good faith with the Writers Guild of America, East, AFL-CIO. Original Media is being investigated currently by the National Labor Relations Board for failing to bargain in good faith...
Inside the Growing Movement to Unionize Charter Schools The American Prospect ...The labor struggle happening in Los Angeles mirrors a growing number of efforts taking place at charter schools around the country, where most teachers work with no job security on year-to-year contracts. For teachers, unions, and charter school advocates, the moment is fraught with challenges. Traditional unions are grappling with how they can both organize charter teachers and still work politically to curb charter expansion...
Diversifying labor ‘one way or the other’ St. Louis American ...Attendees gave a nod to union members at the Communications Workers of America (CWA), who passed a “Black Lives Matter” resolution at their national convention on June 10 to address the issues of “systematic racism” in the United States. “Part of our goal in passing the resolution is to start active members of CWA talking about these issues,” said Bradley Harmon, president of the CWA Local 6355. “That has already started. I think it deepened our commitment towards working for racial justice”...
Inside the Growing Movement to Unionize Charter Schools The American Prospect ...The labor struggle happening in Los Angeles mirrors a growing number of efforts taking place at charter schools around the country, where most teachers work with no job security on year-to-year contracts. For teachers, unions, and charter school advocates, the moment is fraught with challenges. Traditional unions are grappling with how they can both organize charter teachers and still work politically to curb charter expansion...
Diversifying labor ‘one way or the other’ St. Louis American ...Attendees gave a nod to union members at the Communications Workers of America (CWA), who passed a “Black Lives Matter” resolution at their national convention on June 10 to address the issues of “systematic racism” in the United States. “Part of our goal in passing the resolution is to start active members of CWA talking about these issues,” said Bradley Harmon, president of the CWA Local 6355. “That has already started. I think it deepened our commitment towards working for racial justice”...
Miscellaneous
Senate Recommends $1.7 Billion In Education Cuts Think Progress ...The Senate Appropriations Committee advanced a labor, health and education bill for the next fiscal year out of committee Thursday. The U.S. Department of Education would lose $1.7 billion in the Senate spending bill compared to its current funding levels. Those cuts were significantly less than the House Appropriations Committee, which cut the department by $2.8 billion...
In Surprise Decision, SCOTUS Rules Against Discriminatory Housing Practices Common Dreams ...In a decision applauded by housing and civil rights groups on Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Fair Housing Act (FHA) allows people to pursue lawsuits when a housing practice has a discriminatory effect, even if that practice wasn't intended to discriminate—an effect known as "disparate impact"...
Gay marriage declared legal across the US in historic supreme court ruling The Guardian ...Same-sex marriages are now legal across the entirety of the United States after a historic supreme court ruling that declared attempts by conservative states to ban them unconstitutional. In what may prove the most important civil rights case in a generation, five of the nine court justices determined that the right to marriage equality was enshrined under the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment...
"Slavery Deeply Embedded" in South Carolina: Emanuel AME Church on Street Named for Racist Lawmaker Democracy Now ...When Rev. Clementa Pinckney lay in state at the Capitol this week, his body had to be brought past the Confederate flag that still flies there and is the symbol embraced by his killer, Dylann Roof. The Emanuel AME Church in Charleston is located on Calhoun Street, named for one of the most prominent pro-slavery figures in history, the late Senator and Vice President John C. Calhoun, who argued slavery was a "positive good" rather than a "necessary evil"...
Separate Attacks Leave One Dead in France and Dozens Killed in Tunisia Common Dreams ...Violence was making global news headlines in two countries on Friday as an earlier attack on a U.S.-owned gas plant in France was later overshadowed by an attack on a hotel in Sousse, Tunisia, where nearly thirty people are reported dead. The Associated Press reports on the attacks in Tunisia: "Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has confirmed that one of the two beachside hotels where tourists were shot in Tunisia, killing at least 27 people, is owned by a Spanish company"...
Monday, June 22, 2015
Today's Teamster News 06.22.15
Teamsters
STA School Bus Drivers Choose Teamsters Local 445 Teamster.org ...The men and women who transport schoolchildren for Student Transportation of America (STA) in Middletown, N.Y., have voted 56-47 to join Teamsters Local 445 in Rock Tavern, N.Y., after a hard-fought campaign for respect, fair pay and better working conditions at the company. There are 110 drivers in the bargaining unit...
Uno Foods Workers in Brockton Join Teamsters Local 653 Teamster.org ...The workers who produce frozen pizzas for Uno Foods in Brockton, Mass., have voted by a more than 2-1 margin in favor of Teamsters Local 653 representation. The 90 workers joined the union seeking respect and better working conditions at the company...
Allegiant's Woes Continue, Exec's Pay Resolution Wins Shareholders' Support Teamster.org ...Shareholders of Allegiant Travel Company registered strong support for more robust executive pay policies and independent board oversight at the company’s annual meeting yesterday. A shareholder proposal sponsored by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters seeking to prevent unearned windfall awards being paid to executives in the event of a change of control won majority support, 56.8 percent, by public shareholders...
EVSC and Teamsters still clash on two points during collective bargaining, meetings have stopped Courier & Press ...Teamsters Local 215 President Chuck Whobrey plans to be at Monday night’s Evansville Vanderburgh School Board meeting with one request: to ask members to resume collective bargaining negotiations. Since April, three collective bargaining meetings for the five EVSC employee groups represented by Teamsters have occurred...
Global Labor & Trade
Fast-track back before Senate The Hill ...The Senate is poised to vote a second time on granting President Obama fast-track trade authority. The House revived the president’s trade agenda on Thursday, passing trade promotion authority (TPA), also known as fast-track, and sending the bill to the upper chamber. Obama has said he wants both TAA and fast-track to reach his desk, but pro-trade Senate Dems are wary of the new plan...
Hillary Clinton Says No to Granting ‘Fast Track’ Authority on Trade Deal New York Times ...Hillary Rodham Clinton said she would “probably not” vote for fast-track authority for the trade deal that President Obama is seeking, but she acknowledged that she once said positive things about “the potential” for the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement. Mrs. Clinton is in a bind over an agreement she once praised as a potential “gold standard” for trade deals when she was secretary of state...
Neoliberals’ pity party: Why an emboldened liberalism has corporate Dems running scared Salon ...While the ultimate fate of the TPP is still unclear, there’s one element of this ongoing fight within the Democratic Party that you should expect to see more of in the years to come. It’s not the rise of a more combative labor movement, though that’s certainly part of it. And it’s not the decline of the party’s neoliberal wing, though that’s happening, too. It's the wails of outrage and self-pity from moderate Democrats who resent the party’s once docile, but now ascendant, liberal base...
In House Trade Vote, Party Affiliation Mattered Wall Street Journal ...There’s no doubt international trade exact winners and losers across a vast economy. U.S. districts heavy on manufacturing get hit, while more highly educated areas, often big on service and tech jobs, hold their own or prosper. The GOP for decades has been the more pro-trade party, while the Democrats have channeled the apprehensions of unionized and working-class workers. In the trade vote, what mattered, above all, was party affiliation...
Why ‘Fast Track’ Was Defeated Once — and Why That Was the Right Decision (opinion) Roll Call ...With the effective defeat of the initial vote on the trade bill package, advocates of the trade agreement are making a herculean last gasp effort to get the bill passed on a re-vote. They are castigating opponents as Luddites who favor a new isolationism, diminishing the influence of the U.S. in the world. They claim the bill is a job creator. None of this is true...
The President's Trade Deal Struggles Because It's Bad Policy (opinion) Huffington Post ...Proponents of NAFTA-style trade deals promise we will share the gains from trade, raise labor standards and protect the environment. Our lived experience tells us otherwise. Our US Trade Representative has never enforced environmental standards. Peru violated its commitments for environmental standards, and relaxed labor protections it needed to qualify for the US-Peru trade deal...
Several thousand rally in Athens against austerity Reuters ...Thousands of people rallied in front of parliament in Athens on Sunday, urging Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to resist pressure from international creditors to accept more austerity in exchange for unlocking billions of euros in bailout funds. The demonstration by supporters of Tsipras's ruling Syriza party and others opposed to the euro, was the second anti-euro rally in a week in central Athens...
Thousands join anti-austerity march in London Aljazeera ...Thousands of demonstrators staged an anti-austerity march in London on Saturday, in the first major public protest since Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron won a general election. Opposition politicians, trade union bosses and celebrities were among the crowds marching through the capital's financial district...
Workers may be losers in Mexico’s car boom Washington Post ...It wasn’t a planned strike, more an impromptu protest: A group of assembly-line workers at the Mazda car factory one spring morning just stepped away from their posts. In addition to long, strenuous hours, they said, they endured constant taunts from one assistant manager, who also had allegedly sexually harassed an employee. They refused to work until they could air their grievances with his superiors...
University Union Leader Murdered in Honduras Solidarity Center ...Héctor Martínez Motiño, president of a local sectional union of Workers of the National Autonomous University of Honduras (SITRAUNAH), was murdered Tuesday, shot by gunmen as he drove home from work. Martínez Motiño, a lecturer at the Choluteca campus of the National Autonomous University of Honduras, in the south of the country, had faced three other attempts on his life and numerous anonymous threats, the result of his reporting of violations of human and worker rights within the university... Sumifru banana workers regain jobs after 9-day strike Bulatlat ...The 147 workers in packing plant 90 of Japanese giant Sumitomo Fruit Corp. (Sumifru) in Compostela Valley are back at work beginning today June 19, after the conclusion of their strike which lasted nine days. Sumifru reportedly agreed to reinstate all the workers it fired last week in what the unions in the banana packing plants described as a foul, retaliatory action by Sumifru for their previous success in opposing wage cuts...
State & Living Wage Battles
With Lawsuit Looming, North Carolina Scrambles To Loosen Voter ID Rules Think Progress ...Just weeks ahead of a major court case from civil rights groups challenging North Carolina’s voting restrictions, state legislators passed a bill Thursday easing the controversial voter ID provision. If Governor Pat McCrory signs the new bill, voters who lack the an ID will still be able to cast a ballot, but only if they sign an affidavit swearing they fall into one of the acceptable categories...
US unemployment rates rose in half of states in May Press TV ...The Unemployment rate rose in half of US states last month, largely due to more people beginning to search for work but unable to find jobs, according to the latest government data. The growth in unemployment rates came as 37 states added jobs last month, while 12 states cut jobs, the report said. Montana’s unemployment rate was unchanged...
Paid sick leave for all N.J. workers? Bill set to advance Monday NJ.com ...Slowly but surely, Democrats who control the Legislature are advancing a bill that would require all New Jersey employers to provide paid sick leave to their workers. The state Senate Labor Committee is scheduled to consider the legislation (S785) Monday afternoon...
Democrats plan event to support 'right-to-work' veto Jopline Globe ...State Rep. Charlie Norr, of Springfield, will be the keynote speaker on Wednesday when Southwest Missouri Democrats sponsor a town hall meeting in support of Gov. Jay Nixon's decision to veto the "right-to-work" measure passed by lawmakers in the recent session of the General Assembly. Republican members of the Missouri House and Senate have indicated they will attempt to override Nixon's veto in September...
New prevailing wage to miss July 1 deadline Metro News ...No decision has been made by Gov. Tomblin’s administration on what to do if there’s no new prevailing wage in West Virginia by July 1. WorkForce West Virginia is working to develop the wage but just recently sent out surveys to 5,250 contractors. It’s going to take a while to gather feedback according to WorkForce’s research director Jeff Green...
Wage Board meets final time before deciding on fast food workers' wage WNYT ...There will be one final meeting before there could be a decision on whether or not fast food workers should get paid more. The Wage Board created by Gov. Andrew Cuomo has its final meeting Monday in Albany and fast food workers are planning a rally at the meeting. Supporters of the "Fight for 15" movement say they are expecting hundreds to turn up for a rally Monday morning before the Wage Board meeting...
U.S. Labor
Philadelphia Airport Workers Win Major Victory Against Abusive Subcontracting In These Times ...After over a year of worker strikes and solidarity from a labor and faith coalition, Philadelphia International Airport contracted workers received assurance that they can form a union without retaliation and will be paid a $12 minimum wage. This is a major victory for contracted workers across the country whose bosses and workplaces regularly take advantage of indirect employment arrangements to avoid responsibility for workers’ rights and conditions...
T-Mobile Ditches Policy That Could Punish Staff Requesting Too Much Sick Leave Buzzfeed ...T-Mobile has changed a disciplinary policy that could punish call center staff for requesting time off when sick or caring for family members, after pressure from workers and labor activists. The change comes after months of pressure from workers and union activists in America and Germany to improve conditions at T-Mobile. Their united front is the result of a rare partnership between the Communications Workers of America and ver.di, a powerful German union...
Closing wage gap will be key issue for UAW Journal Gazette ...The United Auto Workers, seeking to close the pay gap between veteran and newer workers, will begin formal negotiations with the biggest U.S. automakers next month, union Vice President Jimmy Settles said. The union will start talks with Ford on July 23 at Detroit’s Cass Tech High School, Settles said last week. Negotiations with General Motors and Fiat Chrysler will open July 13 and 14, he said...
Uneasy Peace Between Rauner Administration, AFSCME Council 31 with Contract Set to Expire July 1 Reboot Illinois ...With the contracts between the state and unionized employees about to expire July 1, both the governor’s office and organized labor say they intend to stay at the table, But that may not not last forever. So far, there’s been little visible progress in talks between negotiators for Gov. Bruce Rauner and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents the bulk of more than 40,000 unionized state employees...
A Pot Industry First: Cannabis Workers Join Food Workers Union KPLU ...The employees at Tacoma’s Cannabis Club Collective will soon be members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union. All eight staff members voted this week to join the 1.3 million-member international organization in what is the first-ever union contract in Washington’s marijuana industry...
Why It's Time for Interns to Unionize (opinion) Alternet ...Interns employed in D.C.’s web of progressive organizations often spend their days fighting for a living wage, but some don’t make even a dime, much less the current minimum wage. Some organizations offer “opportunities” for college credit or a small stipend, which is not sufficient for them to live and eat in one of America’s most expensive cities. Now, thanks to the organizing work of one savvy group of union interns, the tide may be about to turn...
Pay raises at stake in Clark County, SEIU clash Las Vegas Review-Journal ...Clark County and its largest union are locked in a contentious labor dispute over a new state law, a battle that might not end until September. In the meantime, workers affiliated with the Service Employees International Union Local 1107 with a June hiring anniversary will be the first to be denied the salary increases they anticipated before the law passed. A growing number will suffer the same fate each month until the dispute is resolved...
Miscellaneous
'Stand With Charleston': Communities Across Country Rise Up for Black Lives Common Dreams ...As Charleston’s historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal church reopens for services, people across the United States on Sunday are marching through the streets, mobilizing in their faith communities, and staging direct actions to demand an end to white supremacist terror nationwide. "What happened to our family is part of a larger attack on Black and Brown bodies," wrote Rev. Waltrina Middleton...
Why Is the Flag Still There? The Atlantic ...The flags of the United States and of South Carolina, atop the Capitol dome in Columbia, were lowered to half-staff last week in the wake of the Charleston shootings. The Confederate battle flag flying on the Capitol grounds was not. Roof understood the symbolism of the flag he waved only all too well. When South Carolina seceded in 1860, it issued a Declaration which glossed over states’ rights. It did not mention the tariff. South Carolina was seceding, it explained, due to the “increasing hostility to the institution of slavery”...
Robert Reich: Mass incarceration is ruining us — and shackling the economy Salon ...Unless we recognize the racism and abuse of our criminal justice system and tackle the dehumanizing stereotypes that underlie it, our nation – and our economy – will never be as strong as it could be. We’re spending a fortune locking people up who could fuel our economy and build strong communities, in some cases just to increase the profits of private prison corporations...
STA School Bus Drivers Choose Teamsters Local 445 Teamster.org ...The men and women who transport schoolchildren for Student Transportation of America (STA) in Middletown, N.Y., have voted 56-47 to join Teamsters Local 445 in Rock Tavern, N.Y., after a hard-fought campaign for respect, fair pay and better working conditions at the company. There are 110 drivers in the bargaining unit...
Uno Foods Workers in Brockton Join Teamsters Local 653 Teamster.org ...The workers who produce frozen pizzas for Uno Foods in Brockton, Mass., have voted by a more than 2-1 margin in favor of Teamsters Local 653 representation. The 90 workers joined the union seeking respect and better working conditions at the company...
Allegiant's Woes Continue, Exec's Pay Resolution Wins Shareholders' Support Teamster.org ...Shareholders of Allegiant Travel Company registered strong support for more robust executive pay policies and independent board oversight at the company’s annual meeting yesterday. A shareholder proposal sponsored by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters seeking to prevent unearned windfall awards being paid to executives in the event of a change of control won majority support, 56.8 percent, by public shareholders...
EVSC and Teamsters still clash on two points during collective bargaining, meetings have stopped Courier & Press ...Teamsters Local 215 President Chuck Whobrey plans to be at Monday night’s Evansville Vanderburgh School Board meeting with one request: to ask members to resume collective bargaining negotiations. Since April, three collective bargaining meetings for the five EVSC employee groups represented by Teamsters have occurred...
Global Labor & Trade
Fast-track back before Senate The Hill ...The Senate is poised to vote a second time on granting President Obama fast-track trade authority. The House revived the president’s trade agenda on Thursday, passing trade promotion authority (TPA), also known as fast-track, and sending the bill to the upper chamber. Obama has said he wants both TAA and fast-track to reach his desk, but pro-trade Senate Dems are wary of the new plan...
Hillary Clinton Says No to Granting ‘Fast Track’ Authority on Trade Deal New York Times ...Hillary Rodham Clinton said she would “probably not” vote for fast-track authority for the trade deal that President Obama is seeking, but she acknowledged that she once said positive things about “the potential” for the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement. Mrs. Clinton is in a bind over an agreement she once praised as a potential “gold standard” for trade deals when she was secretary of state...
Neoliberals’ pity party: Why an emboldened liberalism has corporate Dems running scared Salon ...While the ultimate fate of the TPP is still unclear, there’s one element of this ongoing fight within the Democratic Party that you should expect to see more of in the years to come. It’s not the rise of a more combative labor movement, though that’s certainly part of it. And it’s not the decline of the party’s neoliberal wing, though that’s happening, too. It's the wails of outrage and self-pity from moderate Democrats who resent the party’s once docile, but now ascendant, liberal base...
In House Trade Vote, Party Affiliation Mattered Wall Street Journal ...There’s no doubt international trade exact winners and losers across a vast economy. U.S. districts heavy on manufacturing get hit, while more highly educated areas, often big on service and tech jobs, hold their own or prosper. The GOP for decades has been the more pro-trade party, while the Democrats have channeled the apprehensions of unionized and working-class workers. In the trade vote, what mattered, above all, was party affiliation...
Why ‘Fast Track’ Was Defeated Once — and Why That Was the Right Decision (opinion) Roll Call ...With the effective defeat of the initial vote on the trade bill package, advocates of the trade agreement are making a herculean last gasp effort to get the bill passed on a re-vote. They are castigating opponents as Luddites who favor a new isolationism, diminishing the influence of the U.S. in the world. They claim the bill is a job creator. None of this is true...
The President's Trade Deal Struggles Because It's Bad Policy (opinion) Huffington Post ...Proponents of NAFTA-style trade deals promise we will share the gains from trade, raise labor standards and protect the environment. Our lived experience tells us otherwise. Our US Trade Representative has never enforced environmental standards. Peru violated its commitments for environmental standards, and relaxed labor protections it needed to qualify for the US-Peru trade deal...
Several thousand rally in Athens against austerity Reuters ...Thousands of people rallied in front of parliament in Athens on Sunday, urging Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to resist pressure from international creditors to accept more austerity in exchange for unlocking billions of euros in bailout funds. The demonstration by supporters of Tsipras's ruling Syriza party and others opposed to the euro, was the second anti-euro rally in a week in central Athens...
Thousands join anti-austerity march in London Aljazeera ...Thousands of demonstrators staged an anti-austerity march in London on Saturday, in the first major public protest since Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron won a general election. Opposition politicians, trade union bosses and celebrities were among the crowds marching through the capital's financial district...
Workers may be losers in Mexico’s car boom Washington Post ...It wasn’t a planned strike, more an impromptu protest: A group of assembly-line workers at the Mazda car factory one spring morning just stepped away from their posts. In addition to long, strenuous hours, they said, they endured constant taunts from one assistant manager, who also had allegedly sexually harassed an employee. They refused to work until they could air their grievances with his superiors...
University Union Leader Murdered in Honduras Solidarity Center ...Héctor Martínez Motiño, president of a local sectional union of Workers of the National Autonomous University of Honduras (SITRAUNAH), was murdered Tuesday, shot by gunmen as he drove home from work. Martínez Motiño, a lecturer at the Choluteca campus of the National Autonomous University of Honduras, in the south of the country, had faced three other attempts on his life and numerous anonymous threats, the result of his reporting of violations of human and worker rights within the university... Sumifru banana workers regain jobs after 9-day strike Bulatlat ...The 147 workers in packing plant 90 of Japanese giant Sumitomo Fruit Corp. (Sumifru) in Compostela Valley are back at work beginning today June 19, after the conclusion of their strike which lasted nine days. Sumifru reportedly agreed to reinstate all the workers it fired last week in what the unions in the banana packing plants described as a foul, retaliatory action by Sumifru for their previous success in opposing wage cuts...
State & Living Wage Battles
With Lawsuit Looming, North Carolina Scrambles To Loosen Voter ID Rules Think Progress ...Just weeks ahead of a major court case from civil rights groups challenging North Carolina’s voting restrictions, state legislators passed a bill Thursday easing the controversial voter ID provision. If Governor Pat McCrory signs the new bill, voters who lack the an ID will still be able to cast a ballot, but only if they sign an affidavit swearing they fall into one of the acceptable categories...
US unemployment rates rose in half of states in May Press TV ...The Unemployment rate rose in half of US states last month, largely due to more people beginning to search for work but unable to find jobs, according to the latest government data. The growth in unemployment rates came as 37 states added jobs last month, while 12 states cut jobs, the report said. Montana’s unemployment rate was unchanged...
Paid sick leave for all N.J. workers? Bill set to advance Monday NJ.com ...Slowly but surely, Democrats who control the Legislature are advancing a bill that would require all New Jersey employers to provide paid sick leave to their workers. The state Senate Labor Committee is scheduled to consider the legislation (S785) Monday afternoon...
Democrats plan event to support 'right-to-work' veto Jopline Globe ...State Rep. Charlie Norr, of Springfield, will be the keynote speaker on Wednesday when Southwest Missouri Democrats sponsor a town hall meeting in support of Gov. Jay Nixon's decision to veto the "right-to-work" measure passed by lawmakers in the recent session of the General Assembly. Republican members of the Missouri House and Senate have indicated they will attempt to override Nixon's veto in September...
New prevailing wage to miss July 1 deadline Metro News ...No decision has been made by Gov. Tomblin’s administration on what to do if there’s no new prevailing wage in West Virginia by July 1. WorkForce West Virginia is working to develop the wage but just recently sent out surveys to 5,250 contractors. It’s going to take a while to gather feedback according to WorkForce’s research director Jeff Green...
Wage Board meets final time before deciding on fast food workers' wage WNYT ...There will be one final meeting before there could be a decision on whether or not fast food workers should get paid more. The Wage Board created by Gov. Andrew Cuomo has its final meeting Monday in Albany and fast food workers are planning a rally at the meeting. Supporters of the "Fight for 15" movement say they are expecting hundreds to turn up for a rally Monday morning before the Wage Board meeting...
U.S. Labor
Philadelphia Airport Workers Win Major Victory Against Abusive Subcontracting In These Times ...After over a year of worker strikes and solidarity from a labor and faith coalition, Philadelphia International Airport contracted workers received assurance that they can form a union without retaliation and will be paid a $12 minimum wage. This is a major victory for contracted workers across the country whose bosses and workplaces regularly take advantage of indirect employment arrangements to avoid responsibility for workers’ rights and conditions...
T-Mobile Ditches Policy That Could Punish Staff Requesting Too Much Sick Leave Buzzfeed ...T-Mobile has changed a disciplinary policy that could punish call center staff for requesting time off when sick or caring for family members, after pressure from workers and labor activists. The change comes after months of pressure from workers and union activists in America and Germany to improve conditions at T-Mobile. Their united front is the result of a rare partnership between the Communications Workers of America and ver.di, a powerful German union...
Closing wage gap will be key issue for UAW Journal Gazette ...The United Auto Workers, seeking to close the pay gap between veteran and newer workers, will begin formal negotiations with the biggest U.S. automakers next month, union Vice President Jimmy Settles said. The union will start talks with Ford on July 23 at Detroit’s Cass Tech High School, Settles said last week. Negotiations with General Motors and Fiat Chrysler will open July 13 and 14, he said...
Uneasy Peace Between Rauner Administration, AFSCME Council 31 with Contract Set to Expire July 1 Reboot Illinois ...With the contracts between the state and unionized employees about to expire July 1, both the governor’s office and organized labor say they intend to stay at the table, But that may not not last forever. So far, there’s been little visible progress in talks between negotiators for Gov. Bruce Rauner and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents the bulk of more than 40,000 unionized state employees...
A Pot Industry First: Cannabis Workers Join Food Workers Union KPLU ...The employees at Tacoma’s Cannabis Club Collective will soon be members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union. All eight staff members voted this week to join the 1.3 million-member international organization in what is the first-ever union contract in Washington’s marijuana industry...
Why It's Time for Interns to Unionize (opinion) Alternet ...Interns employed in D.C.’s web of progressive organizations often spend their days fighting for a living wage, but some don’t make even a dime, much less the current minimum wage. Some organizations offer “opportunities” for college credit or a small stipend, which is not sufficient for them to live and eat in one of America’s most expensive cities. Now, thanks to the organizing work of one savvy group of union interns, the tide may be about to turn...
Pay raises at stake in Clark County, SEIU clash Las Vegas Review-Journal ...Clark County and its largest union are locked in a contentious labor dispute over a new state law, a battle that might not end until September. In the meantime, workers affiliated with the Service Employees International Union Local 1107 with a June hiring anniversary will be the first to be denied the salary increases they anticipated before the law passed. A growing number will suffer the same fate each month until the dispute is resolved...
Miscellaneous
'Stand With Charleston': Communities Across Country Rise Up for Black Lives Common Dreams ...As Charleston’s historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal church reopens for services, people across the United States on Sunday are marching through the streets, mobilizing in their faith communities, and staging direct actions to demand an end to white supremacist terror nationwide. "What happened to our family is part of a larger attack on Black and Brown bodies," wrote Rev. Waltrina Middleton...
Why Is the Flag Still There? The Atlantic ...The flags of the United States and of South Carolina, atop the Capitol dome in Columbia, were lowered to half-staff last week in the wake of the Charleston shootings. The Confederate battle flag flying on the Capitol grounds was not. Roof understood the symbolism of the flag he waved only all too well. When South Carolina seceded in 1860, it issued a Declaration which glossed over states’ rights. It did not mention the tariff. South Carolina was seceding, it explained, due to the “increasing hostility to the institution of slavery”...
Robert Reich: Mass incarceration is ruining us — and shackling the economy Salon ...Unless we recognize the racism and abuse of our criminal justice system and tackle the dehumanizing stereotypes that underlie it, our nation – and our economy – will never be as strong as it could be. We’re spending a fortune locking people up who could fuel our economy and build strong communities, in some cases just to increase the profits of private prison corporations...
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