New Calif. law will bring equal pay for all

Once again taking the lead where the dysfunctional U.S. Congress failed to do so, California’s legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown – with significant lobbying from the Teamsters and other unions – pushed through a strong equal pay law that brings fairness of all workers.

Jerry Brown signed the bill into law in October.

The California Fair Pay Act (CFPA), which takes effect Jan. 1, closes loopholes created since the federal Equal Pay Act passed in 1963, at least in the Golden State, home to one of every eight people in the U.S. The CFPA is among almost two dozen pro-worker laws the Democratic-run pro-labor legislature approved in its 2015 session.

The California law expands federal equal pay rights by mandating that employers pay workers, regardless of sex or gender, equally for “substantially similar” work, not just strictly equal work. Federal courts have been increasingly strict in deciding what is “equal work” the federal law covers. They’ve turned most such pay discrimination cases down.

The California law also strengthens worker protection against employer retaliation and requires firms to keep employment records, including pay records, for three years, not two.

A legal summary says California bans paying workers of the opposite sex less for "substantially similar work, when viewed as a composite of skill, effort, and responsibility." And the employer must take account of "similar working conditions," not just wages at the worksite or company branch involved.

California employers could still discriminate in pay, but only if they can show the wage differences “are due to a seniority system, merit system, a system that measures the quantity or quality of production, or a ‘bona fide factor other than sex, such as education, training, or experience,’" the law adds.

And if they cite those reasons, they must be directly job-related – and show that the factor that produces wage discrimination is “consistent with business necessity." The new law then gives workers a defense against business necessity by showing “an alternative business practice exists that would serve the same purpose without producing the wage disparity.”

The California law also bans employers from retaliating against workers who disclose their own wages, discuss other workers’ wages, ask about others’ wages or help other workers exercise their rights. But if the worker asks about wages, the
employer can refuse to answer.

If the employer is guilty of breaking the law, the worker gets back pay plus interest, an equal amount in damages, and attorney’s fees.

• Press Associates, Inc., contributed to this report.

Twelve ways to make women's lives better

Walmart and other employers aren't treating women well.

On the eve of America's greatest non-denominational holiday, it's a good time to remember there is still a lot of work that needs to be done to make the U.S. live up to the high ideals of its founding fathers. And it begins with improving conditions so the majority gender is on equal footing with males in this country.

The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) released a Women's Economic Agenda last week that details 12 measures policymakers can take to improve their lives. They are:

• Raise the minimum wage;
• Eliminate the tipped minimum wage;
• Strengthen collective bargaining rights;
• Strengthen laws against discrimination in hiring, pay and promotion;
• Provide paid family leave;
• Provide paid sick leave;
• Require fair scheduling practices;
• Provide affordable child care and early childhood education;
• Protect and expand Social Security;
• Provide undocumented workers a path towards citizenship;
• Support strong enforcement of labor standards, and;
• Prioritize wage growth and low unemployment when making monetary policy.

As EPI stated in the document:

Over the last several decades, millions of women have joined the workforce and made huge gains in their educational attainment, which exceeds that of men. Yet women are still paid less than men. Indeed, gender wage disparities are present across the wage distribution and within education cohorts, occupations and sectors -- sometimes to a grave degree. Closing the wage gap is essential to helping achieve economic security.

If the U.S. wants a workforce at full employment, policies need to be put in place that allow workers (women and men) the ability to earn a living while also being family friendly. Right now, that's just not the case. It's why the Teamsters rolled out the "Let's Get America Working" platform earlier this year and why other allies have stressed these issues as well.

Congress must value all workers.

Today's Teamster News 10.23.15

TEAMSTERS
Union Leader: Don’t Remove Metal Detectors From NYC Schools   WLNY   ...Gregory Floyd of Teamsters Local 237 said that metal detectors used in schools serve as an effective deterrent for children seeking to bring weapons into the classroom, 1010 WINS’ Juliet Papa reported...
Canada Council Of Teamsters Ratifies Five-Year Agreement With UPS   Stockhouse   ...UPS Canada (NYSE:UPS) is pleased to announce that a tentative agreement with the Canada Council of Teamsters has been ratified. This results in a new five-year agreement covering approximately 7,000 employees throughout Canada...
On Eve Of Strike Vote, UPS Pilots Get Teamsters Support   Logistics Management   ...What’s more, leadership at the International Brotherhood of Teamsters said today that General President James Hoffa and General Secretary-Treasurer Ken Hall told the IPA’s President Captain Robert Travis in a letter that “if a strike is necessary, we will not cross your lines, but will stand with you on them.”...
Maine AFL-CIO Talks Minimum Wage Hikes At Biennial Convention   WCSH   ..."When we bring the bottom up that benefits everyone," explained Traci Place, a delegate for the Teamsters Local 340. "They spend that money in the community, the municipalities have more money the businesses have more money and that brings everybody up and how can that be bad."...
Agreement Ratified At UPS   Teamsters Canada   ...Eighty-one percent of the UPS workers who voted were in favour of ratifying the tentative agreement negotiated between Teamsters Canada and company management on September 24...
Parking Members To Receive Additional Sick/Personal Day   Teamsters Local 727   ...Teamsters Local 727-represented parking members soon will receive an additional sick/personal day, per the collective bargaining agreement...

GLOBAL LABOR & TRADE
TPP Would Allow Milk From Cows Receiving Hormones Into Canada   CBC   ...As dairy imports from the United States appear set to increase under the terms of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, Canadian consumers concerned about drinking milk from cows receiving hormones will need to read their labels more carefully...
Meet CETA, TTIP’s Dangerous Cousin   Left Foot Forward   ...One year ago Canada and the EU finalized a trade deal known as CETA (the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement). If you haven’t heard of CETA, what you need to know is simple – it’s like TTIP but coming sooner...
TTIP: EU negotiators appear to break environmental pledge in leaked draft  The Guardian  ...The EU appears to have broken a promise to reinforce environmental protections in a leaked draft negotiating text submitted in the latest round of TTIP talks in Miami.. In January, the bloc promised to safeguard green laws, defend international standards and protect the EU’s right to set high levels of environmental protection...
'Mass Struggle Works': South African Student Uprising Wins Tuition Freeze   Common Dreams   ...Facing the largest student uprisings since South Africans toppled apartheid, President Jacob Zuma pledged Friday to freeze tuition fees in the year 2016—prompting declarations of victory, as well as calls to continue the mass mobilizations until full racial and economic equality is won...
Spaniards protest against austerity policies  World Bulletin   ...Students, health workers and members of trade unions took part in a demonstration dubbed as “Marches for Dignity” on Thursday, shouting for “bread, employment, roof and dignity.” according to a report in PressTV. Education Minister José Ignacio Wert Ortega resigned in July following massive student demonstrations held across the country. But his policy, known as the 3+2 Decree, is still in place...
Obama Administration Softens Criticism of China’s Currency Policy  Wall Street Journal   ...The U.S. Treasury Department, in its semiannual report on currencies Monday, said the yuan is “below its appropriate medium-term valuation.” In the previous report it said the currency was “significantly undervalued.”...

STATE & LIVING WAGE BATTLES
Right To Work Proposal Introduced In Ohio   Bucyrus Telegraph Forum   ...A Cincinnati lawmaker introduced his plan to bring a right-to-work law to Ohio despite opposition from fellow Republicans...
Even The Most Elite Women Are Subject To The Gender Pay Gap   Huffington Post   ...A business degree, even from one from a top school in the country, won't be enough to protect women from the gender gap in compensation...
Massachusetts Coffee Chain Fined $47,000 For Breaking Child Labor Laws, Stealing Tips   Boston Globe   ...The Massachusetts coffee shop chain Dippin’ Donuts has been fined $47,000 for violating state child labor laws and stealing tips from hourly workers, Attorney General Maura Healey announced Thursday...
Kansas City Council Repeals Minimum Wage Hike But Urges Statewide Increase   Kansas City Star   ...Blocked by state lawmakers from raising the minimum wage within city limits, the Kansas City Council on Thursday repealed legislation it passed last summer that would have done just that...
Proposal Would Raise Minimum-Wage To $12 An Hour   Columbus Dispatch   ...Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine today certified the language for a proposed constitutional amendment to provide automatic annual increases in the state minimum wage through 2021...

U.S. LABOR
UAW files petition to organize VW's maintenance workers  Nooga  ...United Auto Workers Local 42 has filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board seeking an election in hopes of representing maintenance employees at Volkswagen Chattanooga, and ultimately gaining collective bargaining powers...
SEIU, IBEW Locals in New Hampshire Announce Bernie Sanders Endorsement  In These Times  ...A pair of union locals in New Hampshire, home to the first primary of the 2016 election cycle, endorsed Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders as their candidate for president this week. On Wednesday, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local Union 490 endorsed Sanders, with local executive Denis Beaudoin saying that members at meetings spoke overwhelmingly in favor of the endorsement...
Clinton Scores Key Endorsement From Public-Employee Union  NPR  ...The nation's largest public-employee union is backing Hillary Clinton for president. The board of the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees voted to endorse the former senator and secretary of State on Friday. Clinton said in a statement of her own that she was "honored" to get AFSCME's endorsement...
From Construction To Exotic Dancing, Worker Misclassification Is Everywhere  Washington City Paper   ...If a company hires a person to stand near a construction site and direct traffic, is the worker in business for himself? If a company can fire a consultant without warning, is the worker really an independent contractor? Is a strip club still a strip club without exotic dancers? D.C.-area workers are asking these questions—and many more—as they allege the companies they consider their employers have misclassified them as independent contractors...

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND OTHER NEWS
ACLU Accuses Biloxi Of Running Debtors' Prison In Lawsuit Seeking To 'Dismantle Two-Tiered System Of Justice'  Common Dreams   ...The American Civil Liberties Union has accused Biloxi, Miss. of operating "a modern day debtors' prison," filing a lawsuit on Wednesday charging that the city, in violation of the U.S. Constitution, jails impoverished people for unpaid fines and fees they are unable to pay...
Iceland Just Jailed Dozens Of Corrupt Bankers For 74 Years, The Opposite Of What America Does   AlterNet   ...In stark contrast to the record low number of prosecutions of CEO’s and high-level financial executives in the U.S., Iceland has just sentenced 26 bankers to a combined 74 years in prison...
Pharma Bro Gets Taught A Necessary Lesson By The Free Market   Think Progress   ...A drug company plans on introducing the first competitor to Daraprim, the parasitic-fighting drug that’s met national controversy for its skyrocketing price tag. The company, Imprimis Pharmaceuticals, says its new drug will be available for only $1 a tablet — a stark difference from Daraprim’s $750...
Texas Officials Raid Several Planned Parenthood Offices, Demand Addresses Of Employees   AlterNet   ...Texas sent agents to Planned Parenthood facilities on Thursday seeking documents, the group said, calling it a "politically motivated" move that comes on the heels of the state's Republican leaders barring it from receiving Medicaid money...
Revised Swaps Rule To Spare Big Banks Billions In Collateral   Bloomberg Business   ...Wall Street banks will escape billions of dollars in additional collateral costs after U.S. regulators softened a rule that would have made their derivatives activities much more expensive...
Tennessee County Overwhelmingly Votes Down Plan To Raise Confederate Flag   NBC News   ...A Tennessee county voted overwhelmingly Monday night against a plan by one commissioner to raise the Confederate flag above the county's courthouse...

Today's Teamster News 04.30.15

Teamsters
Disney Teamsters Win Wrongful Termination Case  Teamster.org   ...A federal arbitrator has ruled in favor of three character performers who were fired from Disney's Animal Kingdom for refusing to wear unsanitary costumes, the Teamsters Union announced Monday. The ruling, issued April 26, orders Walt Disney World to reinstate full-time employees Drew Pearson, Matthew Warfield and Raymond “Doug” Biederman...
Group of Shaw’s staff pharmacists in Maine vote to join Teamsters union  Bangor Daily News   ...A group of 21 staff pharmacists at 16 Shaw’s Supermarket stores throughout Maine will join the Teamsters Union Local 340 after approving the move in a vote Tuesday. The union announced the vote in a news release Wednesday. Aligning with the national labor organization will give the staff pharmacists collective bargaining representation...
Unionized: Tiger Transit drivers vote to join International Teamsters Union  The Plainsman   ...The Tiger Transit drivers of Auburn University have voted to unionize in attempt to get more affordable health care, higher wages and respect in the workplace. The workers will be joining the International Brotherhood of Teamsters at the 612 location in Birmingham...
Proxy Voting Advisors Recommend NEX Shareholder Resolution On Internal Review Of Labor Practices  Teamster.org  ...The proposal, which was submitted by the Teamsters General Fund, members of the Local Authorities Pension Fund (LAPFF) and 100 individual NEX shareholders, is the first to be recommended by ISS in at least 10 years that specifically addresses labor issues at a publically-traded company in the U.K...

Global Labor & Trade
Obama trade bill in trouble  Politico   ...At this point, upward of 75 House Republicans could vote against trade promotion authority if it comes up for a vote in the coming weeks, according to aides and lawmakers involved in the process. Some of the lawmakers fear job losses in their districts from free trade; others distrust Obama and oppose giving him more power...
Obama Is Selling the TPP Trade Deal Just Like Al Gore Sold NAFTA  New Republic  ...Gore made a distinction between previous trade deals with Japan and China, and NAFTA, with its side agreements on labor and the environment. Critics of NAFTA “confuse the bad trade deals in the past with this one,” Gore said. This mirrors Obama’s claim about inferior prior deals—including NAFTA. “Not every trade deal has lived up to the hype,” Obama acknowledged...
Rust-belt Republicans face tough sell on global trade deals before 2016  Washington Post  ...Midwest Republicans are keenly aware that their region has been hit hard by disappearing factory jobs, placing these GOP senators in a tough spot heading into the 2016 elections as they tout a message that might not resonate...
White House Trade Pitch Goes Into Overdrive  National Journal  ...The Obama administration is ramping up a massive sales pitch on trade policy, bringing key Democrats to the White House—and using one of its most effective lobbyists in the hallways of the Capitol. Biden seizing the chance to talk trade is just one part of a much wider White House PR and lobbying blitz for the TPP and, equally important, the "fast-track" bill that would strip Congress of its ability to amend sweeping trade deals...
House Dems attack trade deal on eve of Japan PM’s address  The Hill  ...Five Democrats pushed back against the Obama administration’s arguments that adding currency provisions to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) would derail the deal and potentially interfere with U.S. monetary policy decisions...
Travel Chaos As Bus Strike To Go Ahead Tomorrow   Dublin's 98FM  ...Commuters face travel chaos tomorrow as strike action at Bus Eireann and Dublin Bus looks set to go ahead. Drivers are downing tools for two days over the privatisation of bus routes...

State & Living Wage Battles
Legislation Allowing Delaware 'Right-to-Work' Zones Stalls  WBOC 16   ...Republican legislation allowing "right-to-work" zones in Delaware stalled in a Democratic-led Senate committee Wednesday amid complaints from organized labor that it is a union-busting measure. Under the legislation sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Greg Lavelle, a person would not be required to join a labor union or pay union dues as a condition of employment in a right-to-work zone...
Republicans push for photo ID voting requirements again  The Columbus Dispatch  ...Rep. Andrew Brenner, R-Powell, backed by some of the more conservative members of the House, is introducing legislation that would require voters show a driver’s license, state photo ID card, passport or military ID...
How This State Plans To Close Its Gender Wage Gap  Think Progress   ...The changes New York lawmakers approved look very similar to changes that would be made nationally if Congress were to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act. That bill would ban salary secrecy as well as strengthen the permissible reasons for having gender-based pay differentials... 
Changes to prevailing wage likely but repeal won't happen, Robin Vos says  Milwaulkee Journal Sentinel  ...he 84-year-old law prescribes wages for workers on public works jobs such as bridges and highways according to a complex formula. Conservatives are targeting the law as their next big push after passing right-to-work legislation in March, which prohibits labor groups and employers from agreeing to require workers to pay fees to a union...
Los Angeles Latinas Fast to Raise Minimum Wage  NBC News  ...The 19-year-old daughter of Guatemalan immigrants is among a group of women who are close to completing a 15-day fast in Los Angeles. They hoped to persuade city council members there to raise the minimum wage of $9 an hour to $15 an hour. They planned to break the fast Thursday...
Palo Alto: Committee favors raising minimum wage  Mercury News  ...A City Council committee is backing a proposal to hike the minimum wage -- potentially as high as $15 per hour by 2018. On Tuesday, the four-member Policy and Services Committee voted unanimously to recommend that the full council adopt an ordinance that would see most workers earn $11 per hour starting on Jan. 1, 2016...
La Center school board backs right-to-work   The Columbian   ...The La Center School District made a contentious move Tuesday night, asking union reps to allow district employees to drop their representation. The issue surfaced in the form of a "right-to-choose" resolution that gained unanimous approval from the district's five-member school board...

U.S. Labor
University of Chicago Nurses Narrowly Avert Strike, Claim Victory Against Hospital  In These Times  ...Early Tuesday, National Nurses United (NNU) announced that its 1,500 members at the University of Chicago Medical Center (UCMC) would not go on strike as planned. The union called for a one-day strike set for April 30, following nearly eight months of negotiations and a strike authorization vote...
NLRB Issues Complaint Against El Super Chain  EGP News  ...The National Labor Relations Board issued a complaint against a Paramount-based supermarket chain for allegedly restraining employees from advocating for union representation, it was announced today. The complaint against the El Super chain alleges that the company has refused to bargain with unions for more than a year after failing to agree on a contract with the local United Food and Commercial Workers...
BP, union reach tentative deal to end Whiting refinery strike  Reuters  ...BP Plc and the United Steelworkers union (USW) chapter representing striking workers at the company's Whiting, Indiana, refinery reached a tentative agreement on Wednesday to end an 11-week work stoppage. The two sides have to negotiate an agreement on returning the striking workers to the Chicago-area plant, but a ratification vote is expected next week...
Capitol Vistory Center Workers Allege Retaliation After Strike  Roll Call  ...On April 24, the advocacy group Good Jobs Nation filed the complaint to the National Labor Relations Board on behalf of Duckett and fellow CVC cafeteria worker Tracy Allen. The complaint is filed against Restaurant Associates, which employes the food service contract workers in the Capitol complex...
Here Are All the Ways People Are Dying at Work  The Nation  ...This week, Workers’ Memorial Day reminded us that the leading cause of death at work isn’t factory fires, mine collapses, or machinery accidents—though it is all those things. The main reason workers die is because those in power look the other way. Global Worker Watch’s labor death map presents a chilling snapshot of an everyday calamity...

Miscellaneous
Man Who Blew the Whistle on Big Bank's Practices Is Now About to Lose His Home to that Same Bank  Alternet  ...He went to the federal government as a whistleblower, hoping to bring an end to these practices. Yet in the process of doing so, the bank – today owned by Wells Fargo, which bought it in 2008 – fired him. Kraus is now on the verge of losing his home...

Inequity is still an issue on Equal Pay Day

Women lawmakers took center stage today on Capitol Hill to demand fair pay for female workers in honor of Equal Pay Day. And the Teamsters are standing with them.

Teamster women receive equal pay. But many others don't.

Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), a repeated sponsor of the Paycheck Fairness Act, led the charge in urging Congress to take up and pass the legislation. The measure would help close the wage gap between women and men working equivalent jobs. The pay disparity costs women and their families $434,000 over the length of their careers.

She said:

We need to get equal pay in our law books and equal pay in our checkbooks, and to finally get rid of the harassment and intimidation women face in the marketplace when they even ask about how much pay they make or try to identify how much pay they should make. 

As it stands, women on average earn only 78 cents to every dollar made by a male. The Paycheck Fairness Act builds on the promise of the Equal Pay Act passed in 1963. It would empower women to negotiate for fair pay, close loopholes courts have created in the law, create incentives for companies to obey laws and bolster enforcement efforts.

The Teamsters are a strong supporter of the legislation. General President Jim Hoffa sent a letter to senators last fall telling them it was well past time for them to back efforts to equalize pay so that workers can better support their families.

The pay gap has barely budged in more than a decade. It hits nearly every occupation and is even worse for women of color. This not just a low-income problem. It is an every women problem. It is an American families problem.

It may be the 21st century, but for too many women it might as well be the Dark Ages. It is time for all of Congress to take a stand against this blatant inequity.

Today's Teamster News 09.06.14

Teamster News
US Foods Workers In Corona, California Vote To Join Teamsters Local 63  IBT   ...On Thursday, Sept. 4, US Foods warehouse workers in Corona, Calif. voted by more than a 2-1 margin to join Teamsters Local Union 63 in Covina, Calif. The workers are concerned about job security as Sysco attempts to acquire their employer...
Teamsters, LA trucker clash over alleged firings  Journal of Commerce   ...A Teamsters-affiliated organization accused a Southern California drayage company of firing at least 33 drivers who filed wage and hour claims against the carrier, an accusation the company said is not truthful...
Tentative Agreement Reached Between MV Transportation, Teamsters  KOLO8   ...Drivers, mechanics and dispatchers for RTC RIDE and their employer, MV Transportation, have reached a tentative collective bargaining agreement...
Teamsters Launch Campaign Against Republic Services’ Discrimination In The South  IBT   ...Teamsters who work at Republic Services, Bill Gates’ giant trash corporation [NYSE: RSG], are fighting back against discrimination. Republic workers wore stickers in six states today to protest Republic’s wage discrimination system. In Atlanta, new hires are paid less at all levels for doing the same job as workers hired previously...
Teamsters Rally In Chicago To Support Gov. Quinn, Stand With Workers  IBT   ...Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa said that corporate-backed candidates waging war on workers should be worried about November’s election. “They may have more money but they can’t outwork us,” Hoffa said. “We have the boots on the ground and those boots are going to go walking to the polls.”...
Trade
Negotiators Struggle To Find Benefits For Public Health In TTIP  EurActiv   ...More than a year after the launch of the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) talks, negotiators from both sides of the Atlantic still struggle to prove the positive impact of the potential deal on public health...
State Battles
Federal Judge Orders Ohio To Undo Cuts To Early Voting  New York Times   ...The preliminary injunction issued by Judge Peter C. Economus was a setback for Gov. John R. Kasich, a Republican and vocal proponent of the measures, and could affect the upcoming elections in Ohio, a closely contested swing state...
Indiana Supreme Court considers right-to-work challenge  Post-Tribune   ...The Indiana Supreme Court heard oral arguments Thursday morning over Indiana’s right-to-work case and whether it violates the state constitution clause requiring fair payment in return for services provided...
MEA: Fewer than 5,000 members opted-out of union during August window  MLive   ...The Michigan Education Association says less than 5,000 of its 110,000 active members left the union during a controversial August opt-out period, as allowed under the state’s new right-to-work law...
Koch-backed ALEC infiltrates local governments  Wisconsin Gazette   ...The American Legislative Exchange Council is taking an interest in local governments, which troubles the progressives who demonstrated for days outside the ALEC’s annual conference in Dallas earlier this summer...
War On Workers
U.S. Payroll Rise Is Weakest This Year at 142,000 for August  Bloomberg   ...American employers hired fewer workers than forecast in August and the jobless rate dropped because people left the workforce, bolstering those on the Federal Reserve who want to be more deliberate in removing monetary stimulus...
Pace of Job Growth Slows Further in August  Center for Economic Policy and Research   ...The falloff was widespread across industries.…In percentage terms, the motion pictures sector continues to be a big job loser, shedding 6,000 jobs in August -- 2.0 percent of total employment…
Don’t Blame Boomers For Unemployed Workers Leaving The Labor Force  Five Thirty Eight   ...The unemployment rate for Americans younger than 25 was 13 percent in August, compared to 4.6 percent for those 55 and older. So it makes sense that younger workers would make up an outsize share of those abandoning their job searches...
Worker Killed In Accident At Metro Airport  WXYZ   ...Prospect Airport Services says one of their workers has died after being injured on the job at Metro Airport...
Trump Taj Mahal Could Be The Next Atlantic City Casino To Close, Owners Say  NorthJersey.com   ...The owners of Trump Taj Mahal are warning that it could join the roster of closed casinos in Atlantic City, based on the company’s comments in a recent filing to the state Division of Gaming Enforcement...
One Reason Women Fare Worse in Negotiations? People Lie to Them.  Slate   ...new research supports my fear: The stereotype that women are incompetent makes people more likely to lie to them during negotiations...
Miscellaneous
Fake Cell Towers Allow The NSA And Police To Keep Track Of You  Newsweek   ...The Internet is abuzz with reports of mysterious devices sprinkled across America—many of them on military bases—that connect to your phone by mimicking cell phone towers and sucking up your data. There is little public information about these devices, but they are the new favorite toy of government agencies of all stripes; everyone from the National Security Agency to local police forces are using them...

Today's Teamster News 05.21.14

Teamster News
Can The Teamsters Save Union Pensions?  Institutional Investor   ...the Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Fund ...(has)..."been conservative in their investments, professional in their management and fortunate in their economics..."
Pekin Schools Notify Parents Of Strike Possibility  Pekin Daily Times   ...Officials of Pekin School Districts 108 and 303 as well as the city's private schools notified parents Monday evening that they may need to find alternative transportation for their children to get to school starting Wednesday...
Trade
Thousands of dogs, and 3 people, sickened by jerky pet treats, FDA says  CBS News   ... The Food and Drug Administration released updated information on Friday about an ongoing investigation into illnesses and deaths caused by jerky pet treats imported from China...
Fine Line Seen in U.S. Spying on Companies  New York Times   ... the government does not deny it routinely spies to advance American economic advantage, which is part of its broad definition of how it protects American national security. In short, the officials say, while the N.S.A. cannot spy on Airbus and give the results to Boeing, it is free to spy on European or Asian trade negotiators and use the results to help American trade officials — and, by extension, the American industries and workers they are trying to bolster...
For U.S. Companies That Challenge China, the Risk of Digital Reprisal  New York Times   ...The United Steelworkers union lost computer records containing trade policy strategies and discussions about rare earth metals and auto parts. All four had something in common besides data theft: Each was in the middle of pushing back against China’s trade policies by seeking help from the World Trade Organization or the Commerce Department...
TPP Talks To Intensify, No Accord Yet  Channel News Asia   ...Asia-Pacific trade ministers said on Tuesday they would intensify talks on a vast trans-Pacific free trade agreement, but offered no clue on when a final accord would be reached...
State Battles
NSA data-gathering may run into California roadblock  Reuters   ...The federal government would need a warrant from a judge if it wants the cooperation of California officials in searching residents' cellphone and computer records, under a bill making its way through the state legislature...
If Ohio Eases Green-Energy Rules, Will It Spark National Trend?  Columbus Dispatch   ...Ohio is on the cusp of becoming the first state to significantly ease its renewable energy standards, a milestone that would be noticed in states around the country where similar debates are being waged...
War On Workers
Harris v. Quinn Is About the Right of Home Care Workers to Improve Their Wages  Economic Policy Institute   ...The Supreme Court is expected to decide Harris v. Quinn, a case of major importance for American workers, in the next few days. Many observers predict a disastrous decision that will cripple union organizing and collective bargaining for home health aides, child care workers, and other direct care aides. But the Court could go much further and threaten the ability of all public employees to form unions and bargain collectively with any state or local government...
Florida high school charging parents $200 to see their child's graduation - and even seniors must pay $20 to attend  Daily Mail   ...High School Principal Don Sauer told reporters that the fees are an effort to cover the $12,000 graduation costs for the school after the school district pulled $3,400 from its annual contribution to cut costs...
This Chart Is The Fate of Housing In America As Student Loans Bankrupt A Whole Generation  naked capitalism   ...Student loan balances soared 362% to $1.1 trillion since 2003, during a period when mortgage debt – including the effects of the current Housing Bubble 2 – rose “only” 65% to $8.2 trillion and credit card debt actually declined by 4.2% to $660 billion (chart). ...And so the proportion of first-time buyers – the single most important sign of a healthy housing market – has been shrinking for years...
GM issues more recalls, this time for 2.42 million vehicles  Los Angeles Times   ...None of the four recalls is related to GM’s faulty ignition switches. That issue, which has been linked to at least 13 deaths and recalls of 2.6 million vehicles, has prompted federal fines and several investigations into why GM neglected to issue the recalls for more than a decade...
No, Taking Away Unemployment Benefits Doesn't Make People Get Jobs  Think Progress   ...When 1.3 million long-term unemployed people lost benefits because Congress let the program lapse, some claimed that taking away the checks would encourage people to go out and get a job. That isn't panning out for the 74,000 people who are no longer getting checks in Illinois...
NFL Cheerleader Alleges She Was Paid $2 An Hour  Think Progress   ...The Tampa Bay Buccaneers became the fifth NFL franchise to face a minimum wage lawsuit Monday, when a former cheerleader alleged in a complaint that the team paid her just $2 an hour...

Links 08/26/10

Wal-Mart Asks Supreme Court to Hear Bias Suit New York Times ...Wal-Mart Stores asked the Supreme Court on Wednesday to review the largest employment discrimination lawsuit in American history.

Housing Market Plunged in July, Fueling Anxiety New York Times ...Housing sales in July plunged 25.5 percent below the level of a year ago...

Despite Reform, Banks Have Room for Risky Deals New York Times ...financial regulation...will not stop banks from making bets that some critics deem risky...

SEC backs labor on corporate board votes Washington Times ...The Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday handed labor and social-activist groups a big victory by approving rules making it easier for them to put allies on corporate boards...

Should a Union-Busting Company Build the MLK Memorial? Washington City Paper ... the United Construction Workers union ...says Dulles, Va.-based Southland Concrete—which is doing the concrete work for the $120 million project—has by far the most complaints from its workers.

Construction workers win $2.2 million settlement Associated Press ...state Attorney General Jerry Brown says investigators uncovered a years-long scheme at Country Builders, Inc. to cheat employees and evade workers' compensation costs.

GOP seizes on private-public pay gap as a midterm election issue The Hill ...Federal workers have become a new flashpoint in the fight between Republicans and Democrats on the economy.

Court Hears Effort to Delay Dollar Thrifty Buyout Vote New York Times ...Shareholders of the Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group asked a judge on Wednesday to delay a vote on the company’s $1.2 billion sale to Hertz Global Holdings, contending that the board had failed to consider a higher offer from the Avis Budget Group.