Finally, more retailers are being thankful for their employees

The good news is that it seems more and more retailers are getting the message that workers should be able to spend Thanksgiving Day with their families, not toiling away at work.

The bad news? Some companies still aren't complying and probably never will. Paging Walmart ...

Anyway, employees of Costco, T.J. Maxx, Nordstrom, Crate and Barrel, American Girl, Burlington Coat Factory, The Home Depot, Marshalls and Staples won't have to be on the job next Thursday. REI, meanwhile, is doing one better -- closing Thanksgiving Day as well as Friday. They're even paying their workers too!

Walmart still refuses to close on Thanksgiving.

But that good cheer is not being extended to employees of Walmart, Target, Macy's, Best Buy, Toys R Us, Kmart or Kohl's. They still are putting financial gains above time with family. Or so they think.

The real kick in the pants is that opening for a few hours on Thanksgiving does not even yield more profits for companies. They're just taking in funds that they would have earned eventually during the holiday shopping season anyway. So thousands of workers give up their holiday for nothing.

As The Street noted:

Labor groups have pushed back on big chains forcing employees to come in for the holiday, while consumer groups have called for shoppers to boycott going out on Thanksgiving 

And stores have started to answer -- though likely more because the strategy of opening on Thanksgiving doesn't add to the bottom line, rather than for workers' morale. Indeed, retailers are finding that being open on Thanksgiving isn't necessarily boosting holiday sales, but rather that Thursday's sales are simply coming at the expense of those on Black Friday.

Whatever the reason, it's the right call. It's time for others to do the same.

Enjoy Teamster-made beer and ice cream this Fourth of July!

Celebrate America's independence with products that are not only made in America, but made by Teamsters.

Going food shopping? Support your brothers and sisters who work at Costco if there's one near you. Many Costcos are represented by Teamsters. The company pays all of its employees an average of $17 an hour; CEO Jim Sinegal believes paying workers well is good business.

Make those jimmies red, white and
blue for the 4th!

The summer's top cookout event demands beer, and Teamsters make (and deliver) a lot of it. Teamsters make such refreshing brews as Labatt's Blue, Beck's, Coors Light, Molson Ice, Miller Lite and the King of Beers, Budweiser. Our brothers and sisters also brew up tasty beverages at smaller breweries, Dundee Craft Beer and Genesee Brewery. Remember, when you buy Teamster beers you're supporting good union jobs!

Ice cream is another requirement for the Fourth of July, and tens of thousands of Teamsters work for American dairies. If you live on the West Coast, look for Darigold dairy products or Tillamook cheese and ice cream for that July 4th picnic. Tillamook makes a grilled ice cream sandwich that makes us hungry just to look at. Alta Dena is another Teamster-represented dairy in California and Arizona that makes about a dozen different ice cream products.

Teamsters who live along the East Coast from Pennsylvania to Florida are probably more familiar with WAWA, a convenience store chain that started as a dairy and is a Teamster-represented employer.  WAWA makes premier ice cream from classic Vanilla or Chocolate to Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup or Mint Chocolate Chip.

Another Teamster employer, Dean Foods, has more than 50 brands, including Country Fresh ice cream in Wisconsin and Michigan; Berkeley Farms ice cream in California; Country Love, Broughton and Ben & Jerry's in Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia and Virginia. Click here to find out what Dean products are near you.

Teamster employer Prairie Farms sells dairy products in 14 Midwestern states, including Prairie Farms ice cream, sherbet and frozen yogurt.  Kemps Dairy in Wisconsin and Minnesota makes a wide variety of ice cream, including Green Bay Packer Salted Caramel Frozen Tundra Twist!

Our brothers and sisters at other unions also make delicious items for that 4th of July barbecue. Check out the AFL-CIO's shopping list for more ideas here.

Note: Not every Teamster-represented beer and ice cream is mentioned here. There are so many!

Today's Teamster News 05.28.14

Teamster News
Teamsters Hope To Keep ABF In Little Rock  Memphis Business Journal   ...The president of the Teamsters local in North Little Rock, Tim Nichols, says he will meet with Gov. Mike Beebe this week in hopes of preventing ABF from moving to Memphis...
Bus Company Workers To Vote On Joining Union  WAMC   ...Employees of the Green Mountain Express bus company in Vermont have scheduled a vote on whether to join the Teamsters union. William Kelly, trustee organizer for Teamsters Local 597, tells the Bennington Banner that 23 people at Green Mountain Express are eligible to vote Wednesday...
Pekin City Council approves Teamsters pact  Pekin Daily Times   ...The Pekin City Council on Tuesday approved a three-year contract with the Teamsters, Chauffeurs & Helpers Local 697...
Hollywood Teamsters Back Patric Verrone For State Senate  Deadline Hollywood   ...Hollywood Teamsters Local 399 stood behind former WGA West President Patric Verrone when he led the 2007-08 Writers Guild strike, and it’s supporting him again in his run for the California Legislature...
Trade
European Milk Board opposes TTIP  Dairy Herd Management   ...A dairy farmer group representing organizations in 14 E.U. countries is not happy with current trade talks that would align European and U.S. trade and investment...
TTIP: The Lobby plague is coming  Access   ...The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is a free trade agreement currently being negotiated between the United States and the European Union, aiming at increasing trade and (dangerously) seeking “regulatory coherence.” If adopted, TTIP would become the world’s largest free trade and investment agreement, opening both markets for exchange in goods, services, investment, and public procurement. While the negotiations are being held in secret on both sides of the Atlantic, a large number of concerns arose in Europe on the actual benefits of such a trade agreement and its potential impact on EU legislation on digital rights as well as environmental protection, public health, agriculture, consumer rights, and labour standards...
TPP: Bad for global health (opinion)  OakPark.com   ...On April 8, Oak Park Township approved putting a referendum measure on the November ballot that would declare Oak Park a "TPP-Free Zone."...
State Battles
Will The Supreme Court Kill Public-Employee Unions?  Mother Jones   ...Forget Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and his fellow union-bashing governors. Forget the partisan attacks on organized labor. The gravest threat to public-employee unions--which represent cops, firefighters, prison guards, teachers, nurses and other state workers, is a Supreme Court case named Harris v. Quinn...
Michigan's Snyder signs bill raising minimum wage  Associated Press   ...Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder signed legislation Tuesday to raise the state's minimum wage by 25 percent gradually over the next four years to $9.25 an hour, as Republicans controlling the state government moved to head off a November ballot measure that could have raised pay even more.
Federal Judge Who Halted Walker Dark Money Criminal Probe Attended Koch-Backed Judicial Junkets  Center for Media and Democracy   ...The federal judge who ordered a halt to Wisconsin's "John Doe" criminal investigation into spending during the 2011 and 2012 recall elections has regularly attended all-expenses paid "judicial junkets" funded by the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation, the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, and other ideological and corporate interests...
States Consider Bills To Crack Down On Workplace Bullies  NPR   ...Bullying is a behavioral problem often associated with children in grade school, but according to a recent Zogby poll, more than a quarter of American workers say they've experienced abusive conduct at work...
War On Workers
Median CEO Pay Passes The $10 Million Mark For The First Time  Think Progress   ...The median CEO pay package hit $10.5 million last year, according to the Associated Press, cracking eight figures for the first time since the wire service began calculating the statistic...
Workers At This Giant Retailer Are Really Happy With Their Pay  Think Progress   ...In an analysis of employee feedback shared on Glassdoor over the past year, just one retailer comes in the top 25 for top marks on pay and benefits: Costco...
The Ripple Effects Of Rising Student Debt  New York Times   ...What are the roads not taken because students must take out loans for college? A collection of studies show that the burden of student debt may very well cause people to make different decisions than they would otherwise--affecting not just individual lives, but also the entire economy...
Miscellaneous
Europe's Secret Success  New York Times   ...Europe's financial and macroeconomic woes have overshadowed its remarkable, unheralded longer-term success in an area where it used to lag: job creation. What? You haven't heard about it? Well, that's not too surprising...
7 States Running Out Of Water  Huffington Post   ...In seven states, drought conditions were so severe that each had more than half it's land area in severe drought. Severe drought is characterized by crop loss, frequent water shortages and mandatory water use restrictions...

Today's Teamster News 11.14.13

Drivers Rally Outside D.C. Taxicab Commission Meeting  teamster.org   ...Hundreds of taxi drivers rallied outside the monthly meeting of the D.C. Taxicab Commission today to protest the unfair towing and ticketing of cabs and to demand a voice in the regulatory process. Also, watch this video of D.C. taxi drivers rallying November 4 at Freedom Plaza and delivering a letter outlining their concerns to Washington, D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray...
Hoffa: Congress, Detroit Have Role in Improving Retirement Confidence  teamster.org   ...A secure retirement used to be seen as a right for all hardworking Michiganders. Whether you were a city government employee in Detroit or a private sector worker in Pontiac, if you put in the time and did your job well, you would be rewarded with a nest egg for your golden years that would allow you live comfortably...
Wal-Mart Workers Strike, Target Workers Threaten to Join Black Friday Walkout  Portside   ...Sub-contracted Twin Cities janitorial workers who clean stores for Target and other corporations plan to announce today that they’re prepared to strike that day as well...
Reports shed light on how Koch brothers' money flows to campaigns  The Cap Times   ...A slew of reports released Wednesday reveal that a network of conservative think tanks, funded by multinational corporations and industrialists — most notably Charles and David Koch — comprise a vast dark-money campaign funding mechanism that funnels cash to conservative candidates, including Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker in last year’s recall election...
Scalia’s chance to smash unions: The huge under-the-radar case  Salon   ...A Supreme Court case being argued Wednesday could take away a tactic that's kept unions alive...
You won’t believe how much companies make every single second  Salon   ...The highest grosser on the list is Samsung, which hauls in almost $6,500 a second (In the five minutes it took us to write this post, Samsung made almost $2 million). It is followed closely by Apple at $4,540 a second...
House Pushing Back on Trade Deal; More Detail on How Secret Arbitration Panels Undermine Laws and Regulations   naked capitalism   ...Wow, this is amazing. Word has apparently gotten out even to Congressmen who can normally be lulled to sleep with the invocation of the magic phrase “free trade” that the pending Trans Pacific Partnership is toxic...
WikiLeaks releases major trade agreement draft chapter  Salon   ...“One could see the TPP as a Christmas wish-list for major corporations, and the copyright parts of the text support such a view...”
Bank Of America, Freddie Mac May Settle $1.4 Billion Mortgage Dispute  Reuters   ...The Bank of America is in talks with Freddie Mac to resolve disputes involving more than $1.4 billion in defective mortgages that Freddie wants the bank to take back...
Apple under investigation in Italy for alleged tax fraud  Reuters   ...U.S. tech giant Apple is under investigation in Milan for allegedly hiding more than 1 billion euros ($1.34 billion) from the Italian taxman, a judicial source with direct knowledge of the matter, confirming a local media report...
Congressional Approval Sinks to Record Low  Gallup   ...Americans' approval of the way Congress is handling its job has dropped to 9%, the lowest in Gallup's 39-year history of asking the question...
A Living Wage in Bangladesh (opinion)  New York Times   ...The government of Bangladesh is expected to soon announce an increase in the minimum wage for workers in the country’s clothing factories, which are big suppliers to Western retailers like Walmart and H&M. Its decision could improve the lives of millions of families that struggle to eke out an existence on as little as the equivalent of about $38 a month, the current minimum wage...
Costco, Nordstrom Refuse To Ruin Thanksgiving  Huffington Post   ...If you make a last-minute run to Costco on Thanksgiving Day, you'll be out of luck...
Top Democratic Pollster Says Don't Mess with Social Security -- Or Else Face the Wrath of Voters in 2014  Alternet   ...more than half of the 77 million baby boomers heading toward their mid-60s and older—especially women and people of color—have literally no retirement savings, and will fall into poverty as they age...
Occupy Wall Street activists buy $15 million of Americans' personal debt  The Guardian   ...A group of Occupy Wall Street activists has bought almost $15,000,000 of Americans' personal debt over the last year as part of the Rolling Jubilee project to help people pay off their outstanding credit...
Socialist candidate leading in Seattle City Council race  Raw Story   ...With about 62,000 ballots from King County yet to be counted following the Nov. 4 election, 41-year-old economics professor Kshama Sawant was reportedly ahead of longtime incumbent Richard Conlin by 41 votes, with Sawant gathering 79,751 votes against 79,710 for Conlin...
Corporate crime wave in Texas: How a crackdown could be coming  Salon   ...The nation’s fourth-largest city, Houston, is slated to vote today on cracking down on an alleged national epidemic: companies not paying employees the wages they’re legally owed. The proposed ordinance would make companies found guilty of serious “wage theft” ineligible for city support...
Koch Brothers’ Dark Money Flowed into Wisconsin Recall Fight  Express Milwaukee   ...Group busted in California gave serious money to Wisconsin Club for Growth...
In Unintimidated, Scott Walker Reveals Depth of Disdain for Unions, Protesters  Portside   ...He ...charges that collective bargaining "isn't a right, but a racket."...
Michigan bill would ban employers from asking about felony convictions on job applications Michigan Live   ...Michigan lawmakers are considering banning felony conviction check boxes on job applications. Supporters of the measure say the check boxes unfairly discriminate against people with criminal histories and hinder their ability to become successful members of society...
Freedom of Information Act requests could be cheaper, easier under Michigan House bill  Michigan Live   ...A state House panel on Tuesday unanimously approved a bill designed to update Michigan's Freedom of Information Act and ensure that government offices are not making it unnecessarily difficult for citizens to access public records...
State employee unions launch campaign to highlight government waste  Detroit Free Press   ...A coalition of unions representing 35,000 state employees has launched an effort to highlight areas where Michigan government can be more efficient and improve services to citizens...

Today's Teamster News 08.08.13

Federal Mediator Arrive To Teamsters Strike Against Gold Cross Ambulance  Imperial Valley Press   ...Federal mediators arrived Tuesday to assist with negotiations between Gold Cross Ambulance employees on strike and the company...
Teamsters Local 2010 Signs Up 333 New Members  Teamsters Local 2010   ...Employees at the University of California’s state-wide campuses stepped up and joined Local 2010 as a result of a union-building blitz recently...
MM&A files for creditor protection after Lac-Mégantic rail disaster  Globe and Mail   ...The U.S.-based railway whose train crashed in Lac-Mégantic, Que., last month has filed for creditor protection in Canada and the United States, saying it is unable to deal with mounting bills arising from the disaster...
What's on ALEC's Agenda for its 40th Anniversary Meeting in Chicago?  Center for Media and Democracy   ...The "Employee Secret Ballot Protection Act" will be amended "to call for [union certification by] a majority of members in the bargaining unit, rather than a majority of those voting." This was the same certification policy pushed by Scott Walker in Wisconsin, and creates an almost insurmountable burden...
Worker wages: Wendy's vs. Wal-Mart vs. Costco  CNNMoney   ...Hundreds of dissatisfied workers at major companies like Wal-Mart, McDonald's and Wendy's have joined protests nationwide, demanding higher wages and better benefits. One company hasn't had to deal with such strikes. Costco pays its hourly workers an average of just over $20 an hour, compared to just under $13 at competitor Wal-Mart. Even President Obama praised Costco in a recent speech about helping the middle class...
Wage Gap Between CEOs, Workers Shows Costly Disregard (opinion) The Reporter …U.S. workers are tired of being the last ones considered when wealth is being made in America. While the average CEO pay has climbed to over 300 times the average worker’s, those making the legal minimum of $7.25—only $15,000 a year—have gone without a legally required raise for four years...
Fast food worker: 'We go hungry'  MSNBC   ...In a major speech on the economy Wednesday, President Obama declared that it is “time for the minimum wage to go up.” While more people are employed as the country continues to climb out of a deep recession, many full-time workers making the minimum wage are still living in poverty…
A hard landing for the middle class (opinion)  Washington Post   ...It’s August, and Americans by the millions are cramming themselves into coach-class seats as they embark on their summer vacations. Airline seating may be the best concrete expression of what’s happened to the economy. The joys of air travel have been redistributed upward and are now reserved for the well-heeled few...
Michigan's auto companies, workers pay price when economic rivals rig the market  Michigan Live   ...U.S. automakers, only a few years out of their deathbeds, are back in the black, despite their prewritten obituaries in 2009. But despite their turnaround, the Big Three still face significant hurdles in getting their goods into Japan, and face import competition subsidized by currency manipulation...
Free-trade deal with Korea is costing American jobs, report says  Denver Post   ...Although the Korea-US FTA has been in effect for little more than a year, it is already drawing vehement condemnation. It wasn't supposed to be this way. The International Trade Commission estimated the pact would kick-start some $10 billion in US exports to Korea. But it's not clear that the agreement is living up to its promise...
The Three Biggest Lies About Why Corporate Taxes Should Be Lowered (opinion)   Huffington Post   ...Instead of spending August on the beach, corporate lobbyists are readying arguments for when Congress returns in September about why corporate taxes should be lowered. But they're lies. You need to know why so you can spread the truth...
Cameron the worst PM for living standards in history  Liberal Conspiracy   ...An analysis of figures from the Office for National Statistics out today show that David Cameron has been in Downing Street for 36 months of falling real wages – more than any Prime Minister on record...
JPMorgan Sued With Goldman in Aluminum Antitrust Case  Bloomberg   ...JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), the biggest U.S. bank, was sued with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) and Glencore Xstrata Plc (GLEN) over claims they restrained aluminum supplies and drove up prices...
Perry Vetoed Texas Equal Pay Bill Under Pressure From Macy's, Kroger Huffington Post   ...Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) vetoed a bill to help prevent wage discrimination after receiving letters against the measure from retailers like Macy's and Kroger Food Stores, according to newly obtained documents. The bill would have brought Texas state law in line with the federal Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which makes it easier for women to sue employers over wage discrimination...
Eminent domain proposal for mortgages gains traction in California  Los Angeles Times   ...Cities in the Golden State are once again testing a controversial mortgage relief plan that could use local eminent domain powers to help residents stung by the last housing crisis...
Cuomo administration cracks down on illegal payday lenders   Legislative Gazette   ...Gov. Andrew Cuomo has announced his administration is actively issuing cease and desist orders to online loan companies providing illegal payday loans to New York residents following an investigation that revealed that some lenders were offering online loans with interest rates as high as 1,095 percent...
Veto Decision Looms for DC Retail Living Wage Bill  The Nation   ...Four weeks after the Washington, D.C. City Council passed a bill to hike some retail workers’ wages, D.C. Mayor Vince Gray has not yet indicated whether he will let it become law...

Today's Teamster News 06.15.13

America's private prison system is a national disgrace  The Guardian   ... in a recent lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on behalf of prisoners at the East Mississippi Correctional Facility (EMCF)...the ACLU contends, the facility, which is operated by private contractors, is rife with horrific abuses...
New Report: How the U.S.-EU Trade Deal would Grant Sweeping Corporate Privileges  Public Citizen   ...Report after report has indicated that the massive U.S.-EU deal is on shaky ground now that the NSA spying scandal has fueled European privacy concerns and botched the hopes of U.S. telecommunications firms to use the deal to downsize data privacy protections...
Senator Warren Presses White House to Release Pacific Trade Text  Bloomberg Business Week   ...President Barack Obama’s administration should release documents the U.S. and 10 other Pacific-region nations are using as they negotiate a new trade agreement, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren said...
Another reason to love Costco: better prices for generic prescription drugs   Deseret News   ...Not only does Costco pay its workers decent wages, Los Angeles Times reporter David Lazarus recently reported that Costco's drug prices consistently came in well below those of other leading pharmacies…
Google lambasted over tax avoidance in the U.K  MarketWatch   ...Google Inc. has aggressively avoided paying corporation tax in Britain and its reputation won’t be restored until it begins to pay what is due, a U.K. parliamentary committee said Thursday, in the latest sign that governments around the world are stepping up scrutiny of the tax affairs of multinational firms...
NSA snooping: Facebook reveals details of data requests  BBC News   ...Facebook received 9,000-10,000 requests for user data from US government entities in the second half of 2012...
BofA Gave Bonuses to Foreclose on Clients, Lawsuit Claims  Bloomberg News   ...Bank of America Corp. (BAC), the second-biggest U.S. lender, rewarded staff with cash bonuses and gift cards for meeting quotas tied to sending distressed homeowners into foreclosure, former employees said in court documents...
IT FINALLY COMES OUT: Elite Traders Are Getting Access To Data Before Everyone Else  Business Insider   ...Time after time ahead of major news, there seems to be someone who knows something before it happens — there seem to be trades that hit too hard and fast before the news is actually made...
Banks Slow to Clean Up the Mortgage Mess  CNBC   ...After multiple enforcement actions, lawsuits and multibillion-dollar settlements, state and federal regulators are making sluggish progress in their efforts to prod banks to help mortgage borrowers...
More unpaid interns file lawsuits against employers for pay   Los Angeles Times   ...There are tens of thousands of interns during the summer time, asked to make coffee and shuffle mail for little to no pay, all for a line to add to their resume. But the unpaid internship is under assault, at least in New York, where employment lawyers are filing lawsuit after lawsuit against media companies over unpaid internships – and winning...
MT task force will address wage gap for men and women state workers  KXLH News   ...On Thursday, Governor Steve Bullock signed an executive order establishing a task force to address the issue of the wage gap between men in women in Montana's work force, and they'll be starting internally first...
Connecticut attorney general taking layoff ruling to Supreme Court  Middletown Press   ...Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen vowed Thursday to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a ruling that said former Gov. John G. Rowland's administration violated unionized state employees' constitutional rights when he laid off 2,800 of them in 2003...
School district approves raises  News-Leader   ...The Springfield (Missouri) school board approved four 2013-14 collective bargaining contracts during its study session on Tuesday that includes across-the-board pay hikes for employees, including workers represented by Teamsters Local 245...
Stagehands End Protest, Deal Struck with Brookhaven Amphitheater  Port Jefferson Patch   ...Theatrical Teamsters Local 817 and Long Island Stagehands Local 340 IATSE have reached an agreement for their members after protesting outside Brookhaven, New York's Pennysaver Amphitheater...
Peace Wapiti bus drivers to fight mandatory retirement  Peace Country Sun   ...Senior bus drivers with the Peace Wapiti School Division (PWSD) who are represented by Teamsters Local 362 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, are taking a stand against the division’s controversial retirement policy...
L.A. City Council and film industry again clash over green bike lanes  Los Angeles Times   ...The L.A. City Council and the film industry are once again on a collision course over a green-colored bike lane downtown, which has been a bone of contention with location scouts and filmmakers, who complain that bright green color makes it harder to film movies set in a different era along the street and to continue L.A.'s long tradition of playing other cities....

Today's Teamster News 06.13.13

Inequality In U.S. Is Scarily High, Rising (INFOGRAPHIC)  Huffington Post   ...Half of the U.S. population is now considered poor or low-income...
The Trade Deal Scam  Truthout   ...There are two key facts people should know about these proposed trade deals. First, they are mostly not about trade. Second they are not intended to boost the economy in a way that will help most of us...
How Costco saves taxpayers money  CNNMoney   ...The discount retail chain has remained steadfast on giving decent pay and benefits for its rank and file, saving the company--and U.S. taxpayers--plenty of money in the process...
How Spy Agency Contractors Have Already Abused Their Power  The Nation   ...Two years ago, a batch of stolen e-mails revealed a plot by a set of three defense contractors (Palantir Technologies, Berico Technologies and HBGary Federal) to target activists, reporters, labor unions and political organizations...
Behind Cry for Help From China Labor Camp  New York Times   ...In interviews with more than a dozen people who were imprisoned at Masanjia and other camps around the country, they described a catalog of horrific abuse, including frequent beatings, days of sleep deprivation and prisoners chained up in painful positions for weeks on end...
Darrell Issa joins Democrats’ push on foreclosure review  Politico   ... Democrats and consumer advocates pushing federal banking regulators to release more details about an abandoned review of past foreclosure abuses have a new ally: Darrell Issa...
Greek state TV, radio broadcasts going off the air  Associated Press   ...Greek state TV and radio have begun going off the air, hours after the government said it would temporarily close all state-run broadcasts, with the loss of about 2,500 job, due to austerity cuts...
North Carolina Is the New Wisconsin  The Nation   ...Republicans have imported a slew of ALEC-inspired policies in an attempt to turn the New South back into the Old Confederacy...
City Council grapples with looming budget shortfall, union concerns  Fort Wayne News-Sentinel   ...Fort Wayne City Council on Tuesday decided to hold for another week an ordinance that, if passed as currently written, would strip the ability of unions to collectively bargain aspects of health insurance coverage with the city...
Montana attorney general forms coalition to oppose Internet sales tax bill in Congress  Great Falls Tribune   ...Montana Attorney General Tim Fox on Wednesday announced the formation of a multi-state coalition opposed to a proposed federal Internet sales tax bill that would force businesses to collect sales tax for other states, counties and cities...
Iowa law closes sales tax loophole for online sellers  Sioux City Journal   ...Gov. Terry Branstad signed legislation to close a loophole that lets out-of-state online retailers offer customers a purchase price without collecting the state’s sales tax...
Massachusetts Minimum Wage Hearing Draws Crowd  WTIC 1080   ...Advocates for a higher Massachusetts minimum wage packed a Statehouse hearing Tuesday, saying an increase is a matter of fairness and would boost the economy...
Hoffa: Congress Needs to Take Action to Keep College Affordable  IBT   ...Working people struggle and fight to form unions so their children can have better lives than they do. For many, that means sending their sons and daughters to college. Higher education has long been the stepping stone to a better life. But that stone is being swept away by a tide of student debt...
Leslie Marshall Show Discusses Our Victory Against Knives on Planes  IBT  ...The Teamsters Airline Division, as part of the Coalition of Flight Attendant Unions, claimed a big victory last week with the TSA’s decision to disallow knives on planes...
Teamsters, Community Leaders Speak Before Rhinebeck School Board  IBT   ...School bus drivers and monitors, along with Teamsters Local 445 and New York State United Teachers (NYSUT)leaders, spoke out at Tuesday night’s Rhinebeck School Board meeting about their ongoing fight for a fair contract from Durham School Services...
Teamsters Complaint Results In $600,000 Settlement For Correctional Officers  IBT   ...The U.S. Department of Labor is overseeing the award of a $603,237 settlement to current and retired employees of the State Prison Facility in Raiford after finding that more than 700 corrections officers were not being properly compensated...

Today's Teamster News 06.07.13

Federal unemployment checks to shrink by $51 next week   Chicago-Tribune   ...Those collecting extended, federal unemployment benefits will see weekly checks shrink by $51 as of June 10 because of sequestration budget cuts...
Mexico's Drug War Claims 70, 000 Lives in 6 Years  The Real News   ...Mexico's government estimates 26,000 people have gone missing since 2007 and as many as 70,000 killed in drug-related violence...
Nicaragua gives Chinese firm contract to build alternative to Panama Canal  Guardian   ...Project will reinforce China's growing influence on global trade and weaken US dominance over a key shipping route...
U.S. lawmakers air concerns about Smithfield-Shuanghui deal  Reuters   ...Chinese meat company Shuanghui International's plans to buy U.S.-based pork producer Smithfield Foods Inc has some lawmakers worried the deal could create food safety issues for U.S. consumers...
Walmart's War Against Unions -- and the U.S. Laws That Make It Possible  Huffington Post   ...As Walmart workers from across the country once again converge this week on the corporation's headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas, one startling fact stands out: none of them, or any of the retail giant's 1.4 million workers, are represented by a union...
Senate GOP Puts Corporate Tax Loopholes Over Student Loans  Think Progress   ...After their own proposal on student loan interest rates failed, Republican senators blocked a Democratic proposal to forestall the doubling of rates for the poorest students for two years. Republicans object to the way Democrats would pay for the extension – by closing tax loopholes for oil companies, wealthy pensioners, and multinational corporations...
Costco CEO Craig Jelinek Leads the Cheapest, Happiest Company in the World  Bloomberg BusinessWeek   ...59-year-old Joe Carcello has an annual salary of $52,700, gets five weeks of vacation a year, and is looking forward to retiring on the sizable nest egg in his 401(k), which his employer augments with matching funds. After 26 years at his company, he’s not worried about layoffs. In 2009, as the recession deepened, his bosses handed out raises. This wouldn’t be remarkable except that Carcello works in retail, one of the stingiest industries in America, with some of the most dissatisfied workers. But Carcello works at Costco...
Bustos makes push to have U.S. government only purchase flags made in USA  Rock River Times   ...U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., continued her push for American jobs by fighting to ensure all American flags are made in America by offering an amendment, which passed by a bipartisan voice vote, to the FY 2014 Homeland Security Appropriations Act (H.R. 2217)...
Unions fight Koch brothers' bid to buy the public square  AFT News   ...Union members are mobilizing against the potential sale of the Los Angeles Times, the Baltimore Sun, and other print, electronic and online media assets held by Tribune Co., to billionaire brothers David and Charles Koch, two of the most virulent anti-worker voices in the nation...
Documents: U.S. mining data from 9 leading Internet firms; companies deny knowledge  Washington Post   ...The National Security Agency and the FBI are tapping directly into the central servers of nine leading U.S. Internet companies, extracting audio and video chats, photographs, e-mails, documents, and connection logs that enable analysts to track foreign targets...
Verizon provides all call records to U.S. under court order   Washington Post   ...The National Security Agency appears to be collecting the telephone records of tens of millions of American customers of Verizon, one of the nation’s largest phone companies, under a top-secret court order issued in April...
Fed index ranks Wisconsin 49th in economic outlook  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel   ... the Leading Index is also the most recent report that suggests that Wisconsin is struggling in comparison with other states...
$1,480 checks going out to more than 72,000 foreclosed Floridians  Sun Sentinel   ...More than 72,000 eligible Floridians who lost their homes to foreclosure from 2008 to 2011 will receive $1,480 from the landmark mortgage settlement involving the nation's five largest mortgage lenders, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi announced...
MV Transportation Puts Paratransit Services, Public at Risk  Teamsters Local 727   ...Paratransit services in Cook County could be suspended starting next week because MV Transportation is on the cusp of forcing a work stoppage...
NMB Approves US Airways Election to Move Forward  IBT   ...On June 6, the National Mediation Board (NMB) announced that the Teamsters Union has a showing of interest (sufficient authorization cards) and will be scheduling an election soon. This is a huge step forward in our campaign to win a more secure future as Teamsters at the world’s largest airline...
First Transit Workers Join Teamsters  Teamsters Local 727   ... Dispatchers and call takers at First Transit have voted unanimously to join the Teamsters Union...

Today's Teamster News, 05.31.13

(UPDATES with new item in final graf.)
Tax breaks benefit rich households the most, report says  Los Angeles Times   ...Tax breaks benefit U.S. households unevenly, with the top 1% receiving more than 17% of the savings in 2013...
Unions Press to End Favored Trade Status for Bangladesh  New York Times   ...After several deadly factory disasters in Bangladesh — including the collapse of an eight-story garment factory that left at least 1,127 people dead, labor advocates are stepping up pressure on the Obama administration, calling for it to convey its disapproval of working conditions in the country by revoking its special trade status...
Walmart Protest Movement Grows As Workers Strike Again  Huffington Post   ...As Walmart workers this week resume strikes at stores around the nation, organizers are saying that more employees than ever have joined the ranks of the activists, with some experts going so far as to say that the movement has achieved critical mass…
Labor groups launch three-pronged fight to pass 'Walmart' bill  Sacramento Bee   ...California labor unions have launched a lobbying, direct mail and online advertising blitz in support of legislation to penalize large employers if wages they pay are not high enough to keep workers off Medi-Cal rolls...
Costco's Profit Soars To $459 Million As Low-Wage Competitors Struggle   Huffington Post ...At a time when other retailers are struggling to get people into stores, Costco is enjoying a moment in the sun. The company boosted its profits while paying its workers a decent wage, a claim many of Costco’s competitors, including Walmart and Target, can’t make...
Protesters To Koch Brothers: Keep Your Hands Off Tribune!  Forbes   ...It’s not clear exactly how serious Charles and David Koch are about buying Tribune Co.’s newspapers, but their critics are completely serious about stopping them...
Republican lawmakers trampling democracy in Michigan (opinion)  Michigan Live   ...Democracy is dying in Michigan, thanks to our Republican legislators. First, changing voting districts increased their chances of winning elections. Then, they ignored the wishes of the people by passing a Right-to-Work bill which cannot be repealed because it is tied to appropriations. Wait---There’s more…
Watchdogs oppose NC undercover investigations bill  Associated Press   ...A North Carolina bill criminalizing undercover investigations into workplace abuses has drawn opposition from at least 25 animal welfare, worker and watchdog groups...
Seattle fast food workers walk off the job  Seattle Times   ...A strike by fast food workers has hit restaurants in Seattle yesterday and organizers say more restaurants have been targeted by the movement...
Court Says Rick Scott Cannot Require Drug Testing for All Florida State Workers  Huffington Post   ...A federal appeals court ruled on Wednesday that Florida Gov. Rick Scott cannot require all state employees to take random drug tests and told the state to identify which government workers it believes should undergo periodic testing...
Motorola announces Texas facility making first US-assembled smartphones, creating 2,000 jobs  Associated Press   ...Cellphone pioneer Motorola announced it’s opening a Texas manufacturing facility that will create 2,000 jobs and produce its new flagship device, Moto X, the first smartphone ever assembled in the U.S...
10-year strike at Congress Plaza Hotel is over   Chicago Tribune   ...A 10-year strike at the Congress Plaza hotel in downtown Chicago -- believed to be the longest hotel strike in the world --has ended...
Transportation Department Names Teamsters To Freight Advisory Committee  US Department of Transportation   ...Jim Hoffa, Teamsters General President, has been appointed to the DOT’s Freight Transportation Committee, along with Rick Inclima of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division. The committee will explore ways to improve the freight transportation system...
Sunsweet union employees demonstrate outside Yuba City plant  Appeal-Democrat   ...Employees represented by Teamsters Union Local 601 at the Yuba City Sunsweet Growers plant whooped, hollered and carried signs in a demonstration Thursday outside the plant...

Today's Teamster News 04.19.13

One Boston Bombing Suspect Reportedly in Custody, One Remains at Large  The Atlantic   ...a series of violent events culminated in Watertown, Massachusetts late Thursday night after two unidentified suspects engaged with police from a Mercedes SUV. ..
Proposed Bill Would End 40-Hour Work Week  iMail   ...House Republicans have introduced a bill that would end the 40-hour work week, dismantling an important component of the Federal Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938 and hurting middle-class families across the country...
Behold the power of the neutered regulatory state  firedoglake   ...The Occupational Safety and Health Administration most recently inspected the Texas fertilizer plant that exploded Wednesday night in 1985...
In win for Shell, U.S. top court curbs human rights claims  Reuters   ...In a major victory for multinational companies, the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday limited the ability of human rights plaintiffs to invoke a 224-year-old federal law when suing companies over alleged collusion with violent foreign governments...
Group says major companies involved in tax scheme  Associated Press   ...A Chicago-area transportation agency on Wednesday alleged that some of the nation's largest and best known companies including AT&T, Sears Holdings Corp., Verizon and Target are running "sham" offices as part of a scheme with two small northern Illinois communities to avoid paying millions of dollars in taxes in Chicago and Cook County...
Majority in U.S. Want Wealth More Evenly Distributed  Gallup   ...And 52% support heavy taxes on the rich to redistribute wealth...
Walmart Pays Workers Poorly And Sinks While Costco Pays Workers Well And Sails-Proof That You Get What You Pay For   Forbes   ...Costco’s most recent quarterly earnings report reveals a fairly healthy eight percent rate of growth in year-on-year sales, while, Costco’s primary competitor, Walmart, saw an anemic 1.2 percent rise in sales...
France Threatens to Block Start of EU/U.S. Free Trade Talks  Reuters   ...France said on Thursday it would block proposed negotiations on a free trade agreement between the European Union and the United States unless cultural sectors, such as television and radio, were excluded from the talks...
Congress Returns to Public Pension Battle With New Bill  Reuters   ...Congress is again joining the fight over public pensions, as a Republican Representative on Thursday pushed a bill to require state and local funds to give more accurate information on their assets and to bar the federal government from bailing them out during a financial crisis...
Wage-theft bill heads to floor  Orlando Sentinel   ...A bill pre-empting to the state the regulation of "wage theft," an effort to block some local efforts in Orlando and South Florida, is headed to the House floor...
Missouri House endorses 'right-to-work' for police  ConnectMidMissouri.com   ...The Missouri House has voted to bar the payment of union dues as a condition of employment for law enforcement officers...
Mont. House approves GOP election referendums  Associated Press   ...The Montana House on Wednesday approved a pair of election referendums that sparked uproar in the Senate two weeks ago when Democrats failed in an attempt to block the bills...
Series of ballot initiatives would impact public employee union dues  Statesman Journal   ...The 2014 election could be rough on (Oregon's) public employee unions. Three ballot initiatives have been filed that would undercut the unions’ ability to collect dues from members, and they all have more than a year to collect signatures...
Unions Will Rally in Chambersburg Against Right to Work Proposal   The Record Herald   ...A rally against House Bill 50, which would make Pennsylvania a right to work state, will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 20, in Chambersburg...
Illinois Teamsters Benefit From Robust Film Industry   IBT ...The record spending on movies, TV shows and commercials resulted in more than 2,200 jobs, including steady work for hundreds of Local 727 members...
National Express Faces AGM Revolt Over Staff Rights  The Independent   ...The umbrella group representing local authority pension funds has urged its members to vote down National Express' annual report over US labour practices at the transport company's lucrative school bus business...
Striking Teamsters At Republc Services Extend Picket Lines To California  IBT   ...Striking sanitation workers from Republic Service’s hauling yards in Memphis and Millington, Tennessee extended picket lines to California early this morning...
Durham School Bus Drivers Speak Out About Safety, Human Rights Concerns  IBT   ...School bus drivers from Milton, Pace and Navarre, Fla., shared serious concerns today over safety, service and working conditions at Durham School Services with a panel of international union representatives, trade unionists from the U.S. and prominent community leaders...
Garbage Strike Interrupts Service In Toledo  WTVG-TV   ...Teamsters Union members that collect the trash in Toledo honored extended picket lines from striking Teamsters at Local 377 in Youngstown yesterday...
Ohio Labor Dispute Leads To Disruptions In Puget Sound Trash Pick-Ups  KIRO-TV   ...A garbage strike 2,500 miles away is keeping thousands of Puget Sound residents from getting their trash picked up...
Waste Workers On Strike For 2nd Time In 4 Months  WMC-TV   ...For the second time in four months, Teamsters Local Union 984 workers are on strike...
Teamsters, King's Material Agree on New Contract  Quad-City Business Journal   ...Members of Teamsters Local 371 and management at King's Material Inc., Eldridge, have reached an agreement on a new contract...

Today's Teamster News 02.20.13

Speculators driving gas prices up, up, up  McClatchy   ...gasoline prices are soaring again and eating away at the purchasing power of ordinary Americans. And again, financial speculators appear to be a big part of the story. The national average pump price hit $3.74 for a gallon of unleaded gasoline Tuesday, up a sharp 44 cents per gallon from just a month ago...
It Takes a B.A. to Find a Job as a File Clerk  New York Times   ...Across industries and geographic areas, many other jobs that didn’t used to require a diploma — positions like dental hygienists, cargo agents, clerks and claims adjusters — are increasingly requiring one, according to Burning Glass, a company that analyzes job ads from more than 20,000 online sources, including major job boards and small- to midsize-employer sites...
Greeks Hold First General Strike as Samaras Implements Austerity  Bloomberg   ...The strike is the latest challenge from unions to Samaras, who has used emergency decrees twice in the past month to end walkouts prompted by the spending cuts and tax increases required to keep funds flowing to the country...The new pension and wage cuts and tax hikes follow a wave of austerity measures that has led the country to a sixth year of recession and unemployment to a record 27 percent...
Iberia strikers clash with police  Irish Times   ...Striking union workers clashed with police at Madrid’s Barajas airport yesterday on the first day of a week-long strike over more than 3,800 pending job cuts at Spain’s flagship airline Iberia. More than 80 Iberia flights were cancelled as workers at the carrier began a series of five-day walkouts...
Republican Bill Targets Private Sector Unions  The Wheeler Report   ...A bill being rushed through the Republican-controlled State Legislature is an attack on private sector
union bargaining rights, three legislators charged today. The proposal, sponsored by State Senator Paul Farrow (R-Pewaukee) and Representative Ed Brooks (RReedsburg), would allow employers to reduce the hours of their union-represented employees without the union’s approval...
Liquor privatization bill to be introduced  The Patriot-News   ...(Pennsylvania) State House Majority Leader Mike Turzai, a leading advocate for privatization, has begun circulating a memo asking lawmakers to sponsor a bill. The bill, House Bill 790, will be introduced March 4...Democrats have fought efforts to sell the state stores, siding with unions representing state store workers...
Florida House speaker's plan for pension reform hits a snag  Bradenton Herald   ...A report released Friday was supposed to provide an estimate of how much the change would cost to pay out benefits to the employees currently in the system while switching new state employees into 401(k)-style retirement plans. Instead, the report was deemed incomplete...
Controversy over teachers' union email continues in Lansing  Livingston Daily Press & Argus   ...State House Bill 4201, introduced this month, would prohibit a public employee from using public email for political campaigning, union activities, union recruitment, or fundraising...
Bills target public-sector unions  Arizona Republic   ...Republicans at the Arizona Legislature are continuing efforts to restrict public-employee unions. Three bills to restrict unions passed a Senate committee on Monday. Another is scheduled for a House committee vote today. Several other bills are at various stages in the legislative process...
New Boeing contract splits engineers, tech workers  Associated Press   ...Boeing Co.'s engineers have accepted a new four-year contract while technical workers rejected their offer and voted to authorize a future strike...
School Bus Drivers End Strike, in Win for New York Mayor  New York Times   ...The main union for New York City’s school bus drivers ended its monthlong strike Friday, handing a victory to the Bloomberg administration, which had refused to give in to the union’s demands for job protections...
Costco Teamsters Ratify Three-year Contract  IBT   ...Teamster members at Costco have voted overwhelmingly in favor of a new three-year contract that includes a 9 percent wage increase over the term of the agreement, stronger job protections and an improved grievance procedure for the 15,000 workers. Costco Teamsters, who are the highest-paid retail employees in the country with the best benefits, voted 77 percent in favor of the new contract...

Today's Teamster News 01.11.13

North American Union sought among NAFTA believers  Trade Reform   ...The folks that gave us NAFTA continue to push for a full North American integration like the European Union.  The NAFTA-20 meeting was held in San Antonio last November.  Robert Pastor is credited as the Father of the North American Union idea...
Congress is awful because members spend all day long talking to rich people  Salon   ...Members of Congress don’t know anything about “the issues” and they spend all their time fundraising...
Jack Lew’s union-busting past  Salon   ...our possible next treasury secretary played a critical role trouncing an NYU union...

More And More Of America's PhDs Are On Welfare  Business Insider   ...The number of people with graduate degrees — master's degrees and doctorates — who have had to apply for food stamps, unemployment or other assistance more than tripled between 2007 and 2010...
Long-Term Unemployed Winning Jobs Or Giving Up?  Huffington Post   ..."There are still a lot of people who haven't found work, and it's reasonable to guess it's not because they're shirking, but because the labor market is still pretty terrible..."
Is right-to-work Pure Michigan? New Pure Michigan ad says so  Detroit Free Press   ...The state of Michigan wasted no time in touting its upcoming status as a right-to-work state in a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal...
ACLU says Scott has led “wide-ranging, expensive assault” on civil liberties  The Palm Beach Post   ...ACLU has challenged Scott over executive orders or legislation involving voting rights, religious freedom, abortion rights, judicial oversight, freedom of speech, and proposed drug-testing of public employees and welfare recipients...
Former Walker aide Darlene Wink gets probation, avoids imprisonment  Wisconsin State Journal   ...Wink, 62, was one of six people who faced criminal charges stemming from a long-running secret investigation. The probe looked into activity by Walker's former aides and associates after Walker, a Republican, became the county executive in May 2010...
ABF Freight, Teamsters meet in KC to hash out labor deal  Kansas City Business Journal   ...Gordon Sweeton, the co-chairman of the Teamsters’ National ABF Negotiating Committee said the union is disappointed with ABF’s proposals so far...
Teamsters Reach Tentative Agreement With Costco  IBT   ...The Teamsters Union has reached a tentative agreement with Costco that keeps the warehouse club’s workers as among the highest-paid retail employees in the country with the best benefits...

Woot! Great news for Costco Teamsters (UPDATE)

Good advice

(UPDATES with more information from press statement)

Teamsters International Vice President Rome Aloise posted this on Facebook:

Costco contract for California, NY, NJ, VA, MD, tentatively settled last night. One of our more significant contracts as we changed some systemic areas that have been in place since the Price Club days. The economics keep the Teamsters Costco members the highest paid retail workers in the country by a significant amount. This is the 10th one I have negotiated, and perhaps the most difficult. Non-Union Costco workers will benefit by our members resolve, but they have no right to have a say or vote. The next step is the contract will go out to ratification. Thank you to the members for supporting the bargaining team, and thank you to the bargaining team for doing a great job.

A press statement has just been issued with more detail:

The tentative three-year agreement provides for an improved grievance procedure, wage increases for each year of the contract and strengthened seniority language. The ballots for the tentative agreement will be counted on Feb. 19. The current three-year contract expires on Jan. 31. 

“Costco employees know that being a Teamster means strong representation at the bargaining table, and this new agreement is the proof,” said Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa. “Costco is a good example of a thriving company that is powered by a strong union workforce, which shares in its success.” 

The Teamsters Union represents almost 15,000 Costco workers at 55 locations in California, New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia. Costco’s average pay is more than 42 percent higher than its rival Sam’s Club, which is owned by Walmart. Costco’s unionized workforce, with strong wages and benefits, results in low turnover and higher-skilled employees at the company. 

Congratulations to all!