Teamsters
Thousands Of Teamsters March In New York Labor Day Parade Teamster.org ...Thousands of Teamsters in New York participated in the annual Labor Day parade on Saturday. Members from local unions representing a variety of industries including construction, motion picture, theatrical trades, warehouse, public services, sanitation, parking, brewery, soft drink, freight, funeral, moving and printing participated. In each of the local union contingents members held the new "Let's Get America Working - Union Strong, America Stronger" signs...
Atlanta Teamsters Ratify Sysco Contract, First Ever in Georgia Teamster.org ...Teamsters Local 528 members, whose fight to win union representation has lasted more than 18 months, ratified a first contract that provides strong union protections for more than 400 workers at Sysco’s Atlanta facility on Saturday. “This has been an uphill struggle, but these workers stood together through it all to negotiate a strong first contract that will protect them for years to come,” said Maurice Cobb, Teamsters Local 528 President...
Port truck drivers enter 10th week of wage-theft protests Press Telegram ...Truck drivers for a transportation company serving the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports entered their 10th week protesting what they say are more than $6 million in wages and expenses stolen by their employer, a Teamsters official said Monday. The drivers picketing at Pacific 9 Transportation’s Carson truck yard say they should be on the pay roll as employees but are instead misclassified as independent contractors...
Teamsters Vehemently Voice Opposition to Harmful Soda Tax Local 727 ...Teamster representatives and beverage industry members showed their strength and solidarity in vehement opposition of 12th Ward Ald. George Cardenas’ proposed penny-an-ounce soda tax. Dozens of Local 727 members dressed proudly in work shirts displaying Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper and other soft drink logos packed Chicago’s City Council chambers for a Health Committee hearing on Sept. 9 as opponents of the harmful tax outnumbered supporters by an estimated 40 to 1...
Local 727 Continues to Raise Hotel Industry’s Working Standards Local 727 ...Teamsters Local 727’s campaign to raise wages and working standards at Chicago-area hotels recorded another victory last week when DoubleTree Arlington Heights shuttle bus drivers ratified their first union contract. The five-year agreement includes annual wage increases, paid sick/personal days and crucial job protections such as a grievance and arbitration procedure, seniority and non-discrimination clauses, and roll-off for discipline...
Teamsters Raise $37,500 for Camp Papillon Teamsters Canada ...On Thursday, the Teamsters Union sent the profits from the Teamsters Quebec Omnium to the Director General of the Quebec Society for Disabled Children and Camp Papillon, Ronald Davidson. A total of $37 500 was donated to the camp that that, each year, welcomes close to 700 children with disabilities by giving them a chance to experience outdoor living in a secure environment...
Global Labor & Trade
Labor Will Keep Up Trade Pressure on Democrats National Journal ...Two months after the passage of controversial trade legislation that stirred tensions within the Democratic Party, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said organized labor has no plans to back down when it comes time for Congress to ratify passage of a sweeping Pacific trade deal. Asked if his group would apply pressure to Democrats on the issue—even if it came up close to the election—Trumka replied, “Yes”...
Auto parts differences between Japan, U.S. and others seen clouding prospects for next TPP ministerial talks Japan Times ...The 12 countries taking part in Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade negotiations are likely to face difficulties in arranging a ministerial meeting as Japan, the United States and others were unable to narrow the gap over the automotive sector in recent working-level talks. The participating nations are aiming to hold a ministerial session later this month or in early October, after they failed to reach a broad TPP accord at their previous ministerial discussions...
Thailand looks to join US-led TPP Today Online ...Thailand is interested in joining the ambitious Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade pact being touted by the United States, but needs to study the terms and conditions of the new trade bloc first, Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak has said. “We are very interested, but we must weigh the advantages and disadvantages carefully,” Mr Somkid told the Bangkok Post...
Uruguay Pulls Out Of ‘Secret’ Talks On Trade In Services Eurasia Review ...Just a week before the deadline for submitting national offers on liberalisation of services sectors under the on-going “secret” talks for a Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA), Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez decided on September 7 to abandon the plurilateral negotiations. The Uruguayan president’s action follows a decision taken on September 5 by a large majority of the Frente Amplio, the governing leftist political coalition, against Uruguay continuing to be part of the TiSA negotiations...
Germany Closes Its Border With Austria, Hoping to Stop the Refugee Flow Mother Jones ...The German government has announced that the country is closing its border with Austria and also suspending train traffic to and from its southern neighbor, the route by which tens of thousands of refugees have entered Germany in recent days. Those borders have been open for nearly 20 years under the Schengen Agreement, which turned most of the European Union into one large free-travel zone with no internal border checks...
Brazil unveils a massive $17 billion austerity package that won't make people happy Business Insider ...Brazil announced a massive $17 billion austerity package Monday in a bid to boost its ailing economy amid a deepening crisis that has already caused a shock downgrade of its credit rating. The package -- announced at a news conference by Planning Minister Nelson Barbosa -- includes freezing public sector salary raises and hiring, entirely eliminating 10 of 39 ministries, cutting 1,000 jobs and slashing housing and health-related social spending...
Forced Labor Rampant in Uzbekistan Fall Cotton Harvest Solidarity Center ...Health care workers in Uzbekistan are toiling in cotton fields and third- and fourth-year university students are now on their way as well, forced by the government to labor in the country’s fall harvest, according to stories compiled by the Uzbek-German Forum for Human Rights. The nonprofit organization also is highlighting news that minors again may be forced into picking cotton...
State & Living Wage Battles
Missouri GOP governor candidates urge right-to-work override Kansas City Star ...Five likely Republican candidates for Missouri governor have sent a letter to state lawmakers urging them to overturn Gov. Jay Nixon’s veto of so-called right to work legislation. The candidates are Eric Greitens, Catherine Hanaway, Peter Kinder, Randy Asbury, and John Brunner. The veto session starts Wednesday. The bill under consideration would prohibit the collection of mandatory union dues. The vote is likely to be close...
Vote postponed on minimum wage bill WIAT ...A vote on legislation to keep municipalities in Alabama from independently raising the minimum wage has been postponed in the state House of Representatives. The bill was introduced last week by Rep. David Faulkner (R – Mountain Brook), not long after the Birmingham City Council voted to raise minimum wage from $7.25 an hour, the federal rate, to $10.10 an hour, to be phased in over two years...
Anti-union group offers petition to end prevailing wage Detroit Free Press ...A group looking to end Michigan's prevailing-wage law turned in enough signatures Monday to put the issue before the Legislature. The 390,959 signatures in 44 boxes still have to go through a review with the Michigan Secretary of State to determine whether there are at least 252,523 valid signatures...
NJ's paid sick leave bill stalls North Jersey ...A bill that would require employers to give workers paid sick time off remains stalled over whether the statewide law should be the final word on what employers must do, or whether it should allow towns to pass their own laws in the future. The bill, which has the backing of committees in the Senate and the Assembly, has gotten bogged down over whether the law should supersede nine municipal paid sick leave laws...
10 Cities Where It’s Most Terrifying To Scrape By On Minimum Wage Huffington Post ...Recently, New York became the first state to approve a $15 minimum wage for the state’s 200,000 fast-food cooks and cashiers. Gov. Andrew Cuomo used the occasion to announce a campaign to make New York the first state in the nation to adopt the same standard for all of its workers. In fact, workers making minimum wage in New York counties have had it relatively easy, at least compared with the following 10 counties...
U.S. Labor
No deal yet: UAW, Fiat Chrysler pulled an all-nighter Detroit Free Press ...No deal yet as the UAW and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles continued to negotiate through the night after extending the existing collective agreement on an hour-by-hour basis in anticipation of signing a tentative agreement soon. The pace of the talks slowed a bit in the predawn hours but a core group continued to soldier on. Full resumption of bargaining is expected to resume by midday...
The Verizon Standoff and the Future of Labor, Communication and Privacy Counterpunch ...On August 1, 2015, the IBEW and CWA contract with Verizon expired. However, unlike previous years, they decided to not strike, a move meant to undermine the company’s hiring and housing of scabs. This is a labor struggle that will have a major impact on the entire labor movement. “I think the days of the short strike is over. Verizon wants to break the union and is willing to overwork lower levels of management in the process,” said Dan Murphy, a retired member of the union...
ATI declines USW offer to return to bargaining table Times Online ...he United Steelworkers tried to get Allegheny Technologies back to the bargaining table ahead of a scheduled mediation Friday, but the company declined to bargain. USW spokesman Wayne Ranick said the company still stands firm to its “last, best and final” offer made more than a month ago before the company locked out thousands of union members...
This Is How Bad the Sharing Economy Is for Workers The Nation ... The “sharing” or “gig” economy—think Airbnb, Uber, and Taskrabbit—has made massive fortunes reducing labor to disassembled microtasks; unfortunately, it’s shrunk workers’ rights too. But as our jobs are redefined by labor-brokering platforms, some advocates are trying to redefine labor rights for a digital economy. Currently, the gig economy trades labor fluidly across online platforms...
How Cities Can Join the Fight Against Wage Theft Truthout ...Unpaid labor, which is sometimes referred to as wage theft, is a national problem that affects working families and deprives large amounts of money from being circulated in our communities. Estimates on the issue range as high as $30 billion in unpaid wages. The US Department of Labor alone collects hundreds of millions of dollars in wages that were originally not paid, touching only the tip of the iceberg...
Scott Walker wants to destroy what’s left of America’s unions Slate ...On Monday, the Wisconsin governor released his plan to strangle unions, titled “My Plan to Give Power to the People, Not the Union Bosses.” He would end collective bargaining for federal employees, as per his move in 2011; he would require complete disclosure for union expenditures and total compensation of union officers; he would sign a national “right to work law;” he would repeal wage controls for federal infrastructure projects; and he would eliminate the National Labor Relations Board...
Social Justice & Other News
Why Non-Voters Matter The Atlantic ...In 2014, just 41.9 percent of the voting-age citizen population of the United States voted. But the people who voted are not only in the minority, they form an unrepresentative minority. In many salient ways, voters are not like nonvoters: voters are richer, whiter, and older than other Americans. "Why Voting Matters," shows how their votes produce a government that caters to their interests—and how boosting turnout would lead to a more representative democracy...
Colleges Flush With Cash Saddle Poorest Students With Debt Common Dreams ...NYU is not the only university with a billion-dollar endowment to leave its poorest students with heavy debt loads. More than a quarter of the nation’s 60 wealthiest universities leave their low-income students owing an average of more than $20,000 in federal loans. At the University of Southern California, which has a $4.6 billion endowment, low-income students graduate with slightly more debt than NYU’s graduates: $23,375...
Ferguson "People's Report" Unveils Bold Plan To Achieve Racial Equity Common Dreams ...A panel of activists, researchers, community members, and other volunteers on Monday unveiled a new report with 189 "calls to action" to address the scourge of racial inequity in and around St. Louis, Missouri, illuminated by a year of protests following the police shooting death of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown last August. Brown's death at the hands of a white police officer galvanized new questions and demands over institutional racism in the U.S...
The Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration The Atlantic ...Influenced by the civil-rights movement, Moynihan focused on the black family. He believed that an undue optimism about the pending passage of civil-rights legislation was obscuring a pressing problem: a deficit of employed black men of strong character. “The Negro Family” argued that the federal government was underestimating the damage done to black families by “three centuries of sometimes unimaginable mistreatment” as well as a “racist virus in the American blood stream”...
Showing posts with label hotel workers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hotel workers. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Monday, July 20, 2015
Today's Teamster News 07.20.15
Teamsters
Drivers at Lumber Company Near Philadelphia Join Teamsters Local 107 Teamster.org ...On Friday, July 17, drivers at Lumbermen Associates in Bristol, Pennsylvania voted 9-0 to join Local 107. The employees drive flatbed trucks and deliver and pick up lumber at and to various locations. There are 10 drivers in the bargaining unit. “The unanimous vote clearly shows that these drivers are seeking a safe workplace and fairness on the job,” said Bill Hamilton, President of Local 107...
High Tech and New Media: Organized Labor’s New Frontier National Law Review ...One of Silicon Valley Rising’s first successes came earlier this year, when it was certified as the bargaining representative of the company that Facebook relies upon to provide shuttle bus services between its various facilities at its headquarters. Soon after it won a representation election, Teamsters Local 853 negotiated a first contract with Loop Transportation that significantly increased wages and benefits and changed work rules...
Minneapolis commemoration of 1934 Teamsters strike Fight Back News ...About 200 people gathered in the Warehouse District here, July 18, to install a plaque commemorating the 1934 Teamsters strike. The epic strike was one of the pivotal events of the 1930s that ushered in a huge upsurge in the labor movement. Speaking on behalf of the Remember 1934 Committee, Bob Kolstad, of Teamster Local 320 stated, “This is an important day. We believe that the plaque we are unveiling here today is the first public monument to the labor movement in the city of Minneapolis"...
Kalama police officers, Teamsters get raises TDN.com ...Kalama police officers and members of the Teamsters union are both getting raises for the next three years under new contracts with the city signed this month. The Teamsters Local No. 58 represents about a dozen employees on the public works crew and in the city’s finance department. The police guild represents four officers...
Global Labor & Trade
Congress Suggests Obama Will Ignore Slavery To Secure Trade Deal Huffington Post ...Lawmakers across Capitol Hill raised questions Thursday about whether President Barack Obama's administration is willing to look the other way on some of the worst human trafficking violations in the world in order to win his trade deal. The doubts concern reports that the State Department is about to upgrade Malaysia in its annual Trafficking In Persons report from Tier 3, the worst ranking, to Tier 2...
House Dems: White House pushing Big Pharma agenda in trade deal The Hill ...A pair of House Democrats are attacking the Obama administration for secretly shaping a trade deal that they say boosts profits for American pharmaceutical giants at the expense of patients worldwide. Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) argued Friday that the U.S. is the only country pushing the “Big Pharma” agenda in the ongoing talks for the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal...
Agricultural implications just the tip of the TPP iceberg The Hill Times ...The Trans Pacific Partnership, a proposed trade agreement that encompasses nearly 40 per cent of world GDP, heads to Hawaii later this month for ministerial-level negotiations. According to media reports, this may be the final round of talks, with countries expected to address the remaining contentious issues. Canadian coverage of the TPP has centered primarily on U.S. demands for changes to longstanding agricultural market safeguards...
Scottish MEP: TTIP deal may not complete during current European Parliament Herald Scotland ...Scotland's senior politician in Europe David Martin MEP has cast doubt on completion of a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) deal in the lifetime of the current European Parliament or the Obama administration. His remarks are also likely to be influential because of his 30 years experience in the parliament, and because he himself is an outspoken supporter of the controversial US-EU TTIP deal...
Dingell pushes back on trade deal Michigan Radio ...U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell won't support a free-trade deal she says will harm the auto industry and Michigan's economy. She's criticizing the Obama administration's Trans-Pacific Partnership on the basis that it doesn't address currency manipulation that keeps foreign currencies artificially low compared to the U.S. dollar...
Greek banks reopen but cash limits remain and taxes soar Boston Herald ...Greek banks opened their doors Monday for the first time in over three weeks, a move the government hopes will help the economy get back to normal following a period dominated by fears over the country's future in the euro. Strict controls on the amounts individuals can withdraw remain, however, and new austerity taxes demanded by the country's European creditors came into effect, making most everyday items more expensive — from coffee to taxis...
Cabbies Are Driving the Opposition to China’s Ridesharing Revolution The Nation ...Hundreds of cab drivers have gone on strike in cities across China to protest the invasion of a new rival: a rash of ride-sharing companies rapidly flooding the streets with slick marketing and nimble digital platforms. Angry drivers are pushing back with clever protest hacks...
State & Living Wage Battles
In Maine, a Minimum Wage Law With a Surprise Inside Bloomberg ...On July 6, the City Council of Portland, Maine, voted 6 to 3 to establish a local minimum wage of $10.10, a $2.60 increase over the statewide minimum. The next day, the mayor and several council members said they’d made a mistake. The law, which they thought would let restaurants and other businesses keep paying tipped employees $3.75 an hour, actually gave such workers a giant raise—to $6.35 an hour...
New California law recognizes pro cheerleaders as employees ESPN ...Gov. Jerry Brown has approved legislation recognizing California's professional cheerleaders as employees who are entitled to minimum wage and overtime. Brown announced Wednesday that he signed AB202, requiring that sports teams employ cheerleaders as workers instead of contractors. It provides them with sick leave and overtime pay, as well as other labor protections available to team staff...
Taxpayers covered $340,000 for security during right-to-work debates Journal-Sentinel ...State taxpayers paid more than $340,000 to provide extra security at the Capitol this year during the debate over legislation known as the right-to-work law, which bans labor contracts that include mandatory union fees. The costs added up even though labor demonstrations against that measure never reached the massive size and fever pitch of the 2011 protests over Act 10, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's repeal of most collective bargaining for most public workers...
Michigan Ditches For-Profit Prison Food Provider, But Not Because It Fed Inmates Rat-Eaten Trash Think Progress ...After the company repeatedly fed inmates out of trash cans, struggled with maggot problems in its kitchens, encouraged prisoners to serve each other meat that had been unrefrigerated for days, and hired workers who consorted with inmates, Aramark Correctional Services is finally losing its contract with the state of Michigan’s prison system...
N.Y. Panel Is Set to Propose $15 Fast-Food Wage Wall Street Journal ...New York state’s fast-food wage board on Wednesday is expected to recommend raising the fast-food minimum wage to $15 an hour, and the state’s labor commissioner is expected to approve that recommendation, according to a person familiar with the board’s plans. The move is fairly unusual: While other cities have raised the minimum wage to $15, it is uncommon for a state to do so for only one industry...
Voting rights trial continues in Winston-Salem Progressive Pulse ...Attorneys and parties in the voting rights trial return to federal court in Winston-Salem this morning to continue presenting testimony and other evidence to U.S. District Judge Thomas Schroeder. During week one of what’s expected to be a multi-week trial, attorneys for the parties challenging the sweeping voting restrictions adopted in 2013 unfolded their case with personal stories from voters...
Five Things to Know About the Scott Walker John Doe Ruling Truthout ....The Wisconsin Supreme Court has single-handedly rewritten the state's limits on money in politics, rendering the state's disclosure laws and contribution limits meaningless, and opening the door to unlimited funds directly from corporations and foreign firms. In a 4-2 decision that broke along ideological lines, the Court's conservative majority ended the John Doe probe into whether Governor Scott Walker illegally coordinated with supposedly "independent" dark money groups...
New Mexico City Finds A Home For All Its Homeless Veterans Think Progress ...When Mayor Ken Miyagishima (D) directed municipal resources towards providing housing for the city’s homeless population, earmarking tens of thousands of dollars for a local homeless nonprofit Community of Hope, the number of veterans living on the streets began to come down dramatically.
This week, the mayor announced that the city had achieved its goal of ending veterans’ homelessness...
U.S. Labor
Contract talks begin for Detroit automakers, UAW MLive ...It's been a cool summer in Michigan, but the temperature will be rising in the negotiating rooms as the United Auto Workers union and the Detroit Three automakers hammer out new contracts. Talks kicked off last week at General Motors Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. They will begin at Ford Motor Co. later this month. The current contracts, covering about 139,000 UAW members, expire on Sept. 14...
CWA, IBEW local unions say they are conducting a strike authorization vote with Verizon Fierce Telecom ...As Verizon and wireline workers represented by the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) continue their labor negotiations, local members said they are in the process of conducting a strike authorization vote. CWA said in a regional bargaining report that it wants to send Verizon a "strong message that we will do whatever it takes to achieve a fair and just contract"...
Women’s college agrees to let adjunct faculty unionize after giving up NLRB fight The College Fix ...Rather than keep fighting adjunct faculty who want to unionize, Barnard College is giving up. The Columbia Spectator reports that the women’s college, affiliated with Columbia University, spent 13 hours in negotiation with Barnard Contingent Faculty-UAW rather than present its closing arguments at the eighth and final National Labor Relations Board hearing Thursday...
GOP funding bill would force the NLRB to lay off one-third of its staff People's World ...The Obama administration is blasting a Republican-authored money bill for the National Labor Relations Board, the Labor Department and other agencies, saying the cuts would force the NLRB to lay off one-third of its staff...
Mendocino County, SEIU 1021 reach tentative agreement Daily Journal ...Mendocino County workers represented by Service Employees’ International Union Local 1021 could soon see a reinstatement in pay which was cut by 10 percent in 2011. The county Executive Office reported late Friday afternoon it had reached a tentative agreement with the union after a three-day negotiating period. The agreement is for two years, and employees will see a 3 percent salary reinstatement in the first year...
New York City airport employees will vote Monday to set a time for a labor strike Sputnik ...New York City airport employees will vote Monday to set a time for a labor strike demanding higher wages and benefits, local media reported, citing the labor union. Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is expected to announce the strike date on Tuesday following the vote, NBC New York reported Sunday...
The ‘Nightmarish’ Boston Hotel Where Workers Have To Deal with Vomit, Blood-Soaked Carpets, Needles In These Times ...On June 25, workers at Boston’s Wyndham Beacon Hill took to the streets to protest unsafe working conditions, the culmination of an escalating fight over biohazards at the hotel. The alleged ongoing problem and lack of response from hotel management led the non-union workers to begin organizing around the issue in 2014, reaching out to UNITE HERE Local 26, which represents hotel and other service workers, for assistance...
Class Action Lawsuit Advances, Claiming Abercrombie Employees Were Forced To Buy Abercrombie Clothes Think Progress ...On Thursday, a California federal judge certified a class action lawsuit for about 62,000 Abercrombie & Fitch employees who claim that they were illegally required to buy the company’s clothing for work. Abercrombie’s “Look Policy” requires workers on the floor to wear “clothes, accessories and footwear that are similar in style and fit to the brand, and that are consistent with the current fashion season and colors” but that aren’t “clearly that of a competitor”...
Miscellaneous
Disrupting Speeches, Protesters Challenge Sanders and O'Malley: Say 'Black Lives Matter!' Common Dreams ...Demanding that pervasive racial injustice and police brutality against people of color be addressed on the campaign trail, protesters with the Black Lives Matter movement interrupted speeches by Democratic candidates Bernie Sanders and Martin O'Malley Saturday evening. Cutting off O'Malley's prepared remarks during the annual Netroots Nation convention in Phoenix, Arizona, activist Patrisse Cullors described the urgency driving the protest...
Elizabeth Warren Challenges Presidential Candidates to Stop Revolving Door Between Wall St. and Government Atlernet ...Elizabeth Warren has drawn a line in 2016’s presidential election sands. Speaking at the Netroots Nation conference in Phoenix on Friday, she challenged the presidential candidates to stand behind legislation introduced this week that would vastly slow down the revolving door between Wall Street’s financial firms and working for the government—where high-level private sector employees end up making government decisions that favor their past employers over the public...
Cuba raises flag in Washington as embassy reopens after half a century The Guardian ...Diplomatic relations between the US and Cuba have been officially restored, with Cuba’s foreign minister taking the hugely symbolic step of raising his country’s flag at a newly designated embassy in Washington later on Monday. Bruno RodrÃguez, visiting the US capital for the first time in his life, conducted the ceremony at the mansion which has not functioned as an embassy for more than 50 years...
L.A. County considers new immigration program for jails in light of S.F. slaying LA Times ...In Los Angeles and across the country, local authorities are deciding to what degree they should participate in ICE's new Priority Enforcement Program. Under the program, ICE asks jails to notify federal agents when inmates flagged for potential deportation are being released, and in some cases asks jails to hold such inmates so federal agents can pick them up...
Mom Gets Arrested For ‘Abandoning’ Kids In Nearby Food Court While At Job Interview Think Progress ...A single mom was arrested at the Memorial City Mall in Houston, Texas, for allegedly “abandoning” her two and six-year-old children who were waiting for her 30 feet away. Laura Browder had just moved to Houston from Chicago and was called in for a last-minute interview for a job, according to KHOU. Because she was new in town, she didn’t have anyone to watch her children...
FBI Joins Investigation Into 'Unfathomable' Death of Sandra Bland Common Dreams ...The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Friday announced it was joining the probe into the disturbing death of Sandra Bland, a 28-year-old black woman who died in police custody in Texas on Monday. An investigation was launched on Wednesday by the Texas Rangers, a branch of the state's Department of Public Safety, after a campaign spread demanding answers about the young woman's death under the hashtag #WhatHappenedToSandraBland...
Drivers at Lumber Company Near Philadelphia Join Teamsters Local 107 Teamster.org ...On Friday, July 17, drivers at Lumbermen Associates in Bristol, Pennsylvania voted 9-0 to join Local 107. The employees drive flatbed trucks and deliver and pick up lumber at and to various locations. There are 10 drivers in the bargaining unit. “The unanimous vote clearly shows that these drivers are seeking a safe workplace and fairness on the job,” said Bill Hamilton, President of Local 107...
High Tech and New Media: Organized Labor’s New Frontier National Law Review ...One of Silicon Valley Rising’s first successes came earlier this year, when it was certified as the bargaining representative of the company that Facebook relies upon to provide shuttle bus services between its various facilities at its headquarters. Soon after it won a representation election, Teamsters Local 853 negotiated a first contract with Loop Transportation that significantly increased wages and benefits and changed work rules...
Minneapolis commemoration of 1934 Teamsters strike Fight Back News ...About 200 people gathered in the Warehouse District here, July 18, to install a plaque commemorating the 1934 Teamsters strike. The epic strike was one of the pivotal events of the 1930s that ushered in a huge upsurge in the labor movement. Speaking on behalf of the Remember 1934 Committee, Bob Kolstad, of Teamster Local 320 stated, “This is an important day. We believe that the plaque we are unveiling here today is the first public monument to the labor movement in the city of Minneapolis"...
Kalama police officers, Teamsters get raises TDN.com ...Kalama police officers and members of the Teamsters union are both getting raises for the next three years under new contracts with the city signed this month. The Teamsters Local No. 58 represents about a dozen employees on the public works crew and in the city’s finance department. The police guild represents four officers...
Global Labor & Trade
Congress Suggests Obama Will Ignore Slavery To Secure Trade Deal Huffington Post ...Lawmakers across Capitol Hill raised questions Thursday about whether President Barack Obama's administration is willing to look the other way on some of the worst human trafficking violations in the world in order to win his trade deal. The doubts concern reports that the State Department is about to upgrade Malaysia in its annual Trafficking In Persons report from Tier 3, the worst ranking, to Tier 2...
House Dems: White House pushing Big Pharma agenda in trade deal The Hill ...A pair of House Democrats are attacking the Obama administration for secretly shaping a trade deal that they say boosts profits for American pharmaceutical giants at the expense of patients worldwide. Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) argued Friday that the U.S. is the only country pushing the “Big Pharma” agenda in the ongoing talks for the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal...
Agricultural implications just the tip of the TPP iceberg The Hill Times ...The Trans Pacific Partnership, a proposed trade agreement that encompasses nearly 40 per cent of world GDP, heads to Hawaii later this month for ministerial-level negotiations. According to media reports, this may be the final round of talks, with countries expected to address the remaining contentious issues. Canadian coverage of the TPP has centered primarily on U.S. demands for changes to longstanding agricultural market safeguards...
Scottish MEP: TTIP deal may not complete during current European Parliament Herald Scotland ...Scotland's senior politician in Europe David Martin MEP has cast doubt on completion of a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) deal in the lifetime of the current European Parliament or the Obama administration. His remarks are also likely to be influential because of his 30 years experience in the parliament, and because he himself is an outspoken supporter of the controversial US-EU TTIP deal...
Dingell pushes back on trade deal Michigan Radio ...U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell won't support a free-trade deal she says will harm the auto industry and Michigan's economy. She's criticizing the Obama administration's Trans-Pacific Partnership on the basis that it doesn't address currency manipulation that keeps foreign currencies artificially low compared to the U.S. dollar...
Greek banks reopen but cash limits remain and taxes soar Boston Herald ...Greek banks opened their doors Monday for the first time in over three weeks, a move the government hopes will help the economy get back to normal following a period dominated by fears over the country's future in the euro. Strict controls on the amounts individuals can withdraw remain, however, and new austerity taxes demanded by the country's European creditors came into effect, making most everyday items more expensive — from coffee to taxis...
Cabbies Are Driving the Opposition to China’s Ridesharing Revolution The Nation ...Hundreds of cab drivers have gone on strike in cities across China to protest the invasion of a new rival: a rash of ride-sharing companies rapidly flooding the streets with slick marketing and nimble digital platforms. Angry drivers are pushing back with clever protest hacks...
State & Living Wage Battles
In Maine, a Minimum Wage Law With a Surprise Inside Bloomberg ...On July 6, the City Council of Portland, Maine, voted 6 to 3 to establish a local minimum wage of $10.10, a $2.60 increase over the statewide minimum. The next day, the mayor and several council members said they’d made a mistake. The law, which they thought would let restaurants and other businesses keep paying tipped employees $3.75 an hour, actually gave such workers a giant raise—to $6.35 an hour...
New California law recognizes pro cheerleaders as employees ESPN ...Gov. Jerry Brown has approved legislation recognizing California's professional cheerleaders as employees who are entitled to minimum wage and overtime. Brown announced Wednesday that he signed AB202, requiring that sports teams employ cheerleaders as workers instead of contractors. It provides them with sick leave and overtime pay, as well as other labor protections available to team staff...
Taxpayers covered $340,000 for security during right-to-work debates Journal-Sentinel ...State taxpayers paid more than $340,000 to provide extra security at the Capitol this year during the debate over legislation known as the right-to-work law, which bans labor contracts that include mandatory union fees. The costs added up even though labor demonstrations against that measure never reached the massive size and fever pitch of the 2011 protests over Act 10, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's repeal of most collective bargaining for most public workers...
Michigan Ditches For-Profit Prison Food Provider, But Not Because It Fed Inmates Rat-Eaten Trash Think Progress ...After the company repeatedly fed inmates out of trash cans, struggled with maggot problems in its kitchens, encouraged prisoners to serve each other meat that had been unrefrigerated for days, and hired workers who consorted with inmates, Aramark Correctional Services is finally losing its contract with the state of Michigan’s prison system...
N.Y. Panel Is Set to Propose $15 Fast-Food Wage Wall Street Journal ...New York state’s fast-food wage board on Wednesday is expected to recommend raising the fast-food minimum wage to $15 an hour, and the state’s labor commissioner is expected to approve that recommendation, according to a person familiar with the board’s plans. The move is fairly unusual: While other cities have raised the minimum wage to $15, it is uncommon for a state to do so for only one industry...
Voting rights trial continues in Winston-Salem Progressive Pulse ...Attorneys and parties in the voting rights trial return to federal court in Winston-Salem this morning to continue presenting testimony and other evidence to U.S. District Judge Thomas Schroeder. During week one of what’s expected to be a multi-week trial, attorneys for the parties challenging the sweeping voting restrictions adopted in 2013 unfolded their case with personal stories from voters...
Five Things to Know About the Scott Walker John Doe Ruling Truthout ....The Wisconsin Supreme Court has single-handedly rewritten the state's limits on money in politics, rendering the state's disclosure laws and contribution limits meaningless, and opening the door to unlimited funds directly from corporations and foreign firms. In a 4-2 decision that broke along ideological lines, the Court's conservative majority ended the John Doe probe into whether Governor Scott Walker illegally coordinated with supposedly "independent" dark money groups...
New Mexico City Finds A Home For All Its Homeless Veterans Think Progress ...When Mayor Ken Miyagishima (D) directed municipal resources towards providing housing for the city’s homeless population, earmarking tens of thousands of dollars for a local homeless nonprofit Community of Hope, the number of veterans living on the streets began to come down dramatically.
This week, the mayor announced that the city had achieved its goal of ending veterans’ homelessness...
U.S. Labor
Contract talks begin for Detroit automakers, UAW MLive ...It's been a cool summer in Michigan, but the temperature will be rising in the negotiating rooms as the United Auto Workers union and the Detroit Three automakers hammer out new contracts. Talks kicked off last week at General Motors Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. They will begin at Ford Motor Co. later this month. The current contracts, covering about 139,000 UAW members, expire on Sept. 14...
CWA, IBEW local unions say they are conducting a strike authorization vote with Verizon Fierce Telecom ...As Verizon and wireline workers represented by the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) continue their labor negotiations, local members said they are in the process of conducting a strike authorization vote. CWA said in a regional bargaining report that it wants to send Verizon a "strong message that we will do whatever it takes to achieve a fair and just contract"...
Women’s college agrees to let adjunct faculty unionize after giving up NLRB fight The College Fix ...Rather than keep fighting adjunct faculty who want to unionize, Barnard College is giving up. The Columbia Spectator reports that the women’s college, affiliated with Columbia University, spent 13 hours in negotiation with Barnard Contingent Faculty-UAW rather than present its closing arguments at the eighth and final National Labor Relations Board hearing Thursday...
GOP funding bill would force the NLRB to lay off one-third of its staff People's World ...The Obama administration is blasting a Republican-authored money bill for the National Labor Relations Board, the Labor Department and other agencies, saying the cuts would force the NLRB to lay off one-third of its staff...
Mendocino County, SEIU 1021 reach tentative agreement Daily Journal ...Mendocino County workers represented by Service Employees’ International Union Local 1021 could soon see a reinstatement in pay which was cut by 10 percent in 2011. The county Executive Office reported late Friday afternoon it had reached a tentative agreement with the union after a three-day negotiating period. The agreement is for two years, and employees will see a 3 percent salary reinstatement in the first year...
New York City airport employees will vote Monday to set a time for a labor strike Sputnik ...New York City airport employees will vote Monday to set a time for a labor strike demanding higher wages and benefits, local media reported, citing the labor union. Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is expected to announce the strike date on Tuesday following the vote, NBC New York reported Sunday...
The ‘Nightmarish’ Boston Hotel Where Workers Have To Deal with Vomit, Blood-Soaked Carpets, Needles In These Times ...On June 25, workers at Boston’s Wyndham Beacon Hill took to the streets to protest unsafe working conditions, the culmination of an escalating fight over biohazards at the hotel. The alleged ongoing problem and lack of response from hotel management led the non-union workers to begin organizing around the issue in 2014, reaching out to UNITE HERE Local 26, which represents hotel and other service workers, for assistance...
Class Action Lawsuit Advances, Claiming Abercrombie Employees Were Forced To Buy Abercrombie Clothes Think Progress ...On Thursday, a California federal judge certified a class action lawsuit for about 62,000 Abercrombie & Fitch employees who claim that they were illegally required to buy the company’s clothing for work. Abercrombie’s “Look Policy” requires workers on the floor to wear “clothes, accessories and footwear that are similar in style and fit to the brand, and that are consistent with the current fashion season and colors” but that aren’t “clearly that of a competitor”...
Miscellaneous
Disrupting Speeches, Protesters Challenge Sanders and O'Malley: Say 'Black Lives Matter!' Common Dreams ...Demanding that pervasive racial injustice and police brutality against people of color be addressed on the campaign trail, protesters with the Black Lives Matter movement interrupted speeches by Democratic candidates Bernie Sanders and Martin O'Malley Saturday evening. Cutting off O'Malley's prepared remarks during the annual Netroots Nation convention in Phoenix, Arizona, activist Patrisse Cullors described the urgency driving the protest...
Elizabeth Warren Challenges Presidential Candidates to Stop Revolving Door Between Wall St. and Government Atlernet ...Elizabeth Warren has drawn a line in 2016’s presidential election sands. Speaking at the Netroots Nation conference in Phoenix on Friday, she challenged the presidential candidates to stand behind legislation introduced this week that would vastly slow down the revolving door between Wall Street’s financial firms and working for the government—where high-level private sector employees end up making government decisions that favor their past employers over the public...
Cuba raises flag in Washington as embassy reopens after half a century The Guardian ...Diplomatic relations between the US and Cuba have been officially restored, with Cuba’s foreign minister taking the hugely symbolic step of raising his country’s flag at a newly designated embassy in Washington later on Monday. Bruno RodrÃguez, visiting the US capital for the first time in his life, conducted the ceremony at the mansion which has not functioned as an embassy for more than 50 years...
L.A. County considers new immigration program for jails in light of S.F. slaying LA Times ...In Los Angeles and across the country, local authorities are deciding to what degree they should participate in ICE's new Priority Enforcement Program. Under the program, ICE asks jails to notify federal agents when inmates flagged for potential deportation are being released, and in some cases asks jails to hold such inmates so federal agents can pick them up...
Mom Gets Arrested For ‘Abandoning’ Kids In Nearby Food Court While At Job Interview Think Progress ...A single mom was arrested at the Memorial City Mall in Houston, Texas, for allegedly “abandoning” her two and six-year-old children who were waiting for her 30 feet away. Laura Browder had just moved to Houston from Chicago and was called in for a last-minute interview for a job, according to KHOU. Because she was new in town, she didn’t have anyone to watch her children...
FBI Joins Investigation Into 'Unfathomable' Death of Sandra Bland Common Dreams ...The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Friday announced it was joining the probe into the disturbing death of Sandra Bland, a 28-year-old black woman who died in police custody in Texas on Monday. An investigation was launched on Wednesday by the Texas Rangers, a branch of the state's Department of Public Safety, after a campaign spread demanding answers about the young woman's death under the hashtag #WhatHappenedToSandraBland...
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Today's Teamster News 04.15.15
Teamsters
San Bernardino Public Employees Vote To Become Teamsters Teamster.org ...San Bernardino County public employees have voted to affiliate with the Teamsters Union, paving the way for more than 13,500 workers to have a more secure future, Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa announced today. About 61 percent voted in favor of Teamster representation. The workers had been solely represented by the San Bernardino Public Employees Association (SBPEA), but now they have the added benefits of Teamster representation...
Air Canada Teamsters Ratify New Contract TeamsterAir.org ...A new contract covering more than 500 U.S.-based Air Canada employees was ratified by Teamster members who voted 200-to-101 in favor of the agreement. The seven-year contract includes wage increase, job security and improved benefits...
Hoffa: When ‘open skies’ means unfair advantage Detroit News ...Unfair labor practices are once again hurting U.S. workers and threatening jobs here in Michigan and across America. This time, the threat is coming from overseas, as three airlines from the Middle East — Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways and Emirates — are embracing shady financial practices and anti-worker policies to undercut U.S. companies...
Maryland Teamsters Endorse Chris Van Hollen Washington Post ...Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) has scored the first union endorsement in the race to replace Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), winning support from a Maryland branch of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The Baltimore-based union represents about 10,000 families in the state...
Helen Gym Receives Three More Labor Endorsements Politics PA ...Helen Gym, candidate for Philadelphia City Council At-Large, today announced the endorsements of three new labor groups. The former teacher scored endorsements from the Teamsters Local 502 - the Commonwealth Association of School Administrators; AFT Local 2026 - the Faculty and Staff Federation of Community College of Philadelphia; and the AFSCME District Council 47...
Judge Supports Sandpiper Pipeline In Northern Minnesota Minneapolis Star Tribune ...Enbridge Energy’s plans for a new pipeline to carry North Dakota crude oil across northern Minnesota got a major boost Monday when an administrative judge concluded that the Sandpiper project is needed — and that other proposed routes are not as good...
Conductor Dies On The Job At Saskatchewan Rail Yard Occupational Health & Safety Canada ...The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) sent a team of investigators to the scene of the incident, according to a press release. The release noted that the incident had involved the death of a Canadian National Rail (CN) employee, but no other information was available from the TSB as of press time...
Global Labor & Trade
Inside The White House’s War On The Left Over Trade Buzzfeed ...The story is just one of many from recent weeks as the White House executes an aggressive, furious, localized effort to break progressive opposition to one of its top priorities: President Obama’s trade agenda. Unions, activists, and progressive lawmakers have united against the “fast track” authority Obama seeks to put back into place...
Battle for Oregon highlights Obama's free-trade challenge Reuters ...With 44 percent of Oregon's exports already heading to the Trans Pacific Partnership countries and an estimated one in five jobs dependent on trade, local businesses are lobbying for the 12-nation pact. Yet scars from two decades of globalization and fears that big business will hijack the agenda make even many of those who may benefit from more trade apprehensive...
Leading House Democrat Will Oppose TPP Fast Track The Nation ...As legislation to fast-track congressional approval of the Trans-Pacific Partnership gets ready to finally make its debut in Congress this week, Representative Chris Van Hollen, the ranking member of the House Budget Committee, wrote in a letter to the ranking member of the House Ways & Means Committee that he would oppose fast-track authority...
As Bills Advance, Will Grassroots Resistance Finally Overcome Fast Track Push? Common Dreams ...Signaling that loud grassroots resistance may be working, congressional Democrats are failing to get behind the White House's push for unilateral authority over the secretive 12-nation trade deal known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), according to news reports on Tuesday...
TTIP: MEPs Differ On Safeguards For Data, Services, Environment And Investment European Parliment News ...Eight hundred and ninety-eight amendments to a draft resolution on progress in talks with the US on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) were debated by the International Trade Committee on Monday...
The Worst Deal You’ve Never Heard Of – Outrage, Please! (opinion) Ben & Jerry's ...Hey, what is the global economy for, anyway? Creating profits for a few, or prosperity for everyone? We don’t like the looks of the two trade agreements currently being negotiated in secret by corporations and governments around the world. And this week Congress may make a BIG mistake – putting these agreements on the ‘Fast Track’ to becoming a reality...
State & Living Wage Battles
Nevada Minimum Wage Change Bills Dead In Legislature KRNV ...Two proposed constitutional changes to Nevada's minimum wage will not go forward. SJR 6 and SJR 8 would have changed Nevada's constitutionally required minimum wage but both resolutions didn't receive a committee vote by Friday's deadline...
Reeling from Gov. Pence's 'religious freedom' debacle, Indiana hires global PR firm to repair image Daily Kos ...Here's something Indiana lawmakers probably didn't account for in their annual budget -- spending $2 million on a global public relations firm to stanch the bleeding from the "right to discriminate" bill they enacted...
Campaign to begin for a $15 minimum wage in D.C. Washington Post ...A coalition of labor and social justice groups plan to kick off a ballot-measure campaign Wednesday for a $15 minimum wage in the nation’s capital, an hourly rate more than twice the federal minimum that could make D.C. ground zero in a growing national debate over income inequality...
NH voter ID law imperils privacy (opinion) The Telegraph ...What hasn’t received much attention is an ill-conceived policy change that would place new financial and logistical hardships on already overburdened election officials, violate the privacy rights of voters and all but guarantee a patchwork, unequal application of our election laws from one polling place to another...
Fast-food strikes widen into social-justice movement USA Today ...Organizers are calling it the largest-ever mobilization of U.S. workers seeking higher pay. That's yet to be determined. But what began on Tuesday with several low-wage worker protests and marches in Boston and Detroit started seriously expanding nationwide on Wednesday beginning shortly after 6 a.m. at a McDonald's in New York City...
The Courage of Low-Wage Workers On Strike In These Times ...Hedges, the fired Delta worker, put it another way: “a lot of the better paid workers also understand that the bottom has to be raised otherwise the top is going to fall as well.” If for no other reason than self-interest, join the gutsy minimum-wage workers at a Fight for $15 event Wednesday...
Women Still Earn A Lot Less Than Men (opinion) New York Times ...In 1963, when President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act, a woman working full time year-round typically made 59 cents for every dollar paid to her male counterpart. By 2013, the latest year of available census data, it was 78 cents on the dollar. Another measure of the wage gap, computed by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, shows that, in 2014, the ratio of female-to-male weekly earnings was 82.5 percent...
U.S. Labor
DoubleTree Hotel Workers Approve Unionization The Harvard Crimson ...Following a campaign of more than two years that included demonstrations, a strike, and a boycott, workers at the Soldiers Field Road DoubleTree Hotel, a Hilton Hotels enterprise housed in a building owned by Harvard, have organized with the UNITE HERE! Local 26 union, according to workers and union representatives...
One Year Later, NLRB Still Hasn't Ruled On Appeal Of Whether College Football Players May Unionize Forbes ...More than one year after the National Labor Relations Board’s 13th Region ruled that college athletes are employees and thus may unionize, Northwestern University’s appeal of the regional board decision remains unresolved. Although the full National Labor Relations Board has decided numerous more recent disputes, there is still no word on when a decision can be expected in this very important case...
USW Members Voting on LyondellBasell Contract Today Houston Press ...More than two months in, the United Steelworkers oil refinery strike still isn't technically over, but things could wrap up soon for the USW District 227 workers at LyondellBasell in Pasadena. By putting down this last, best and final offer, the company is calling on USW 227 members to actually vote on the contract. If the majority votes yes, then company officials and union reps will start working out a return-to-work agreement...
One Company’s New Minimum Wage: $70,000 A Year New York Times ...If it’s a publicity stunt, it’s a costly one. Mr. Price, who started the Seattle-based credit-card payment processing firm in 2004 at the age of 19, said he would pay for the wage increases by cutting his own salary from nearly $1 million to $70,000 and using 75 to 80 percent of the company’s anticipated $2.2 million in profit this year...
Chris Christie Pitches Social Security Cuts That Would Help Wall Street Take Over Retirement System Think Progress ...Christie has a track record in New Jersey of making big promises to retirees and then walking away from them. And this newest, national promise isn’t even a particularly effective one. Opponents of benefit cuts denounced the governor’s approach as the first stage in a gradual assault on an immensely popular program...
Miscellaneous
The Numbers Are Staggering: U.S. Is 'World Leader' in Child Poverty Alternet ...America's wealth grew by 60 percent in the past six years, by over $30 trillion. In approximately the same time, the number of homeless children has also grown by 60 percent. Over half of public school students are poor enough to qualify for lunch subsidies, and almost half of black children under the age of six are living in poverty...
U.S. Budget Deficit Widens, Ending Run Of Shrinkage Wall Street Journal ...The U.S. budget deficit widened slightly during the first half of the 2015 fiscal year, ending a streak of sustained declines. The Treasury ran a deficit of $439 billion during the first half of the fiscal year begun Oct. 1, up 6% from a year earlier, the Treasury Department said Monday in its monthly report...
San Bernardino Public Employees Vote To Become Teamsters Teamster.org ...San Bernardino County public employees have voted to affiliate with the Teamsters Union, paving the way for more than 13,500 workers to have a more secure future, Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa announced today. About 61 percent voted in favor of Teamster representation. The workers had been solely represented by the San Bernardino Public Employees Association (SBPEA), but now they have the added benefits of Teamster representation...
Air Canada Teamsters Ratify New Contract TeamsterAir.org ...A new contract covering more than 500 U.S.-based Air Canada employees was ratified by Teamster members who voted 200-to-101 in favor of the agreement. The seven-year contract includes wage increase, job security and improved benefits...
Hoffa: When ‘open skies’ means unfair advantage Detroit News ...Unfair labor practices are once again hurting U.S. workers and threatening jobs here in Michigan and across America. This time, the threat is coming from overseas, as three airlines from the Middle East — Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways and Emirates — are embracing shady financial practices and anti-worker policies to undercut U.S. companies...
Maryland Teamsters Endorse Chris Van Hollen Washington Post ...Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) has scored the first union endorsement in the race to replace Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), winning support from a Maryland branch of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The Baltimore-based union represents about 10,000 families in the state...
Helen Gym Receives Three More Labor Endorsements Politics PA ...Helen Gym, candidate for Philadelphia City Council At-Large, today announced the endorsements of three new labor groups. The former teacher scored endorsements from the Teamsters Local 502 - the Commonwealth Association of School Administrators; AFT Local 2026 - the Faculty and Staff Federation of Community College of Philadelphia; and the AFSCME District Council 47...
Judge Supports Sandpiper Pipeline In Northern Minnesota Minneapolis Star Tribune ...Enbridge Energy’s plans for a new pipeline to carry North Dakota crude oil across northern Minnesota got a major boost Monday when an administrative judge concluded that the Sandpiper project is needed — and that other proposed routes are not as good...
Conductor Dies On The Job At Saskatchewan Rail Yard Occupational Health & Safety Canada ...The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) sent a team of investigators to the scene of the incident, according to a press release. The release noted that the incident had involved the death of a Canadian National Rail (CN) employee, but no other information was available from the TSB as of press time...
Global Labor & Trade
Inside The White House’s War On The Left Over Trade Buzzfeed ...The story is just one of many from recent weeks as the White House executes an aggressive, furious, localized effort to break progressive opposition to one of its top priorities: President Obama’s trade agenda. Unions, activists, and progressive lawmakers have united against the “fast track” authority Obama seeks to put back into place...
Battle for Oregon highlights Obama's free-trade challenge Reuters ...With 44 percent of Oregon's exports already heading to the Trans Pacific Partnership countries and an estimated one in five jobs dependent on trade, local businesses are lobbying for the 12-nation pact. Yet scars from two decades of globalization and fears that big business will hijack the agenda make even many of those who may benefit from more trade apprehensive...
Leading House Democrat Will Oppose TPP Fast Track The Nation ...As legislation to fast-track congressional approval of the Trans-Pacific Partnership gets ready to finally make its debut in Congress this week, Representative Chris Van Hollen, the ranking member of the House Budget Committee, wrote in a letter to the ranking member of the House Ways & Means Committee that he would oppose fast-track authority...
As Bills Advance, Will Grassroots Resistance Finally Overcome Fast Track Push? Common Dreams ...Signaling that loud grassroots resistance may be working, congressional Democrats are failing to get behind the White House's push for unilateral authority over the secretive 12-nation trade deal known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), according to news reports on Tuesday...
TTIP: MEPs Differ On Safeguards For Data, Services, Environment And Investment European Parliment News ...Eight hundred and ninety-eight amendments to a draft resolution on progress in talks with the US on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) were debated by the International Trade Committee on Monday...
The Worst Deal You’ve Never Heard Of – Outrage, Please! (opinion) Ben & Jerry's ...Hey, what is the global economy for, anyway? Creating profits for a few, or prosperity for everyone? We don’t like the looks of the two trade agreements currently being negotiated in secret by corporations and governments around the world. And this week Congress may make a BIG mistake – putting these agreements on the ‘Fast Track’ to becoming a reality...
State & Living Wage Battles
Nevada Minimum Wage Change Bills Dead In Legislature KRNV ...Two proposed constitutional changes to Nevada's minimum wage will not go forward. SJR 6 and SJR 8 would have changed Nevada's constitutionally required minimum wage but both resolutions didn't receive a committee vote by Friday's deadline...
Reeling from Gov. Pence's 'religious freedom' debacle, Indiana hires global PR firm to repair image Daily Kos ...Here's something Indiana lawmakers probably didn't account for in their annual budget -- spending $2 million on a global public relations firm to stanch the bleeding from the "right to discriminate" bill they enacted...
Campaign to begin for a $15 minimum wage in D.C. Washington Post ...A coalition of labor and social justice groups plan to kick off a ballot-measure campaign Wednesday for a $15 minimum wage in the nation’s capital, an hourly rate more than twice the federal minimum that could make D.C. ground zero in a growing national debate over income inequality...
NH voter ID law imperils privacy (opinion) The Telegraph ...What hasn’t received much attention is an ill-conceived policy change that would place new financial and logistical hardships on already overburdened election officials, violate the privacy rights of voters and all but guarantee a patchwork, unequal application of our election laws from one polling place to another...
Fast-food strikes widen into social-justice movement USA Today ...Organizers are calling it the largest-ever mobilization of U.S. workers seeking higher pay. That's yet to be determined. But what began on Tuesday with several low-wage worker protests and marches in Boston and Detroit started seriously expanding nationwide on Wednesday beginning shortly after 6 a.m. at a McDonald's in New York City...
The Courage of Low-Wage Workers On Strike In These Times ...Hedges, the fired Delta worker, put it another way: “a lot of the better paid workers also understand that the bottom has to be raised otherwise the top is going to fall as well.” If for no other reason than self-interest, join the gutsy minimum-wage workers at a Fight for $15 event Wednesday...
Women Still Earn A Lot Less Than Men (opinion) New York Times ...In 1963, when President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act, a woman working full time year-round typically made 59 cents for every dollar paid to her male counterpart. By 2013, the latest year of available census data, it was 78 cents on the dollar. Another measure of the wage gap, computed by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, shows that, in 2014, the ratio of female-to-male weekly earnings was 82.5 percent...
U.S. Labor
DoubleTree Hotel Workers Approve Unionization The Harvard Crimson ...Following a campaign of more than two years that included demonstrations, a strike, and a boycott, workers at the Soldiers Field Road DoubleTree Hotel, a Hilton Hotels enterprise housed in a building owned by Harvard, have organized with the UNITE HERE! Local 26 union, according to workers and union representatives...
One Year Later, NLRB Still Hasn't Ruled On Appeal Of Whether College Football Players May Unionize Forbes ...More than one year after the National Labor Relations Board’s 13th Region ruled that college athletes are employees and thus may unionize, Northwestern University’s appeal of the regional board decision remains unresolved. Although the full National Labor Relations Board has decided numerous more recent disputes, there is still no word on when a decision can be expected in this very important case...
USW Members Voting on LyondellBasell Contract Today Houston Press ...More than two months in, the United Steelworkers oil refinery strike still isn't technically over, but things could wrap up soon for the USW District 227 workers at LyondellBasell in Pasadena. By putting down this last, best and final offer, the company is calling on USW 227 members to actually vote on the contract. If the majority votes yes, then company officials and union reps will start working out a return-to-work agreement...
One Company’s New Minimum Wage: $70,000 A Year New York Times ...If it’s a publicity stunt, it’s a costly one. Mr. Price, who started the Seattle-based credit-card payment processing firm in 2004 at the age of 19, said he would pay for the wage increases by cutting his own salary from nearly $1 million to $70,000 and using 75 to 80 percent of the company’s anticipated $2.2 million in profit this year...
Chris Christie Pitches Social Security Cuts That Would Help Wall Street Take Over Retirement System Think Progress ...Christie has a track record in New Jersey of making big promises to retirees and then walking away from them. And this newest, national promise isn’t even a particularly effective one. Opponents of benefit cuts denounced the governor’s approach as the first stage in a gradual assault on an immensely popular program...
Miscellaneous
The Numbers Are Staggering: U.S. Is 'World Leader' in Child Poverty Alternet ...America's wealth grew by 60 percent in the past six years, by over $30 trillion. In approximately the same time, the number of homeless children has also grown by 60 percent. Over half of public school students are poor enough to qualify for lunch subsidies, and almost half of black children under the age of six are living in poverty...
U.S. Budget Deficit Widens, Ending Run Of Shrinkage Wall Street Journal ...The U.S. budget deficit widened slightly during the first half of the 2015 fiscal year, ending a streak of sustained declines. The Treasury ran a deficit of $439 billion during the first half of the fiscal year begun Oct. 1, up 6% from a year earlier, the Treasury Department said Monday in its monthly report...
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Today's Teamster News 07.17.13
Obama makes new NLRB nominations USA Today ...President Obama fulfilled his part of a Senate deal Tuesday to avoid major changes in the filibuster rules, making two new nominations to the National Labor Relations Board. Obama put up Nancy Schiffer, associate general counsel at the AFL-CIO, and Kent Hirozawa, chief counsel to NLRB chairman Mark Pearce...
Cordray Confirmed as Head of Financial Watchdog, After Long Wait New York Times ...Republicans agreed to allow the confirmation of Richard Cordray, by a vote of 66 to 34, cementing a new era of expansive federal oversight of companies that lend money to consumers...
Greeks take to streets again amid general strike over job cut plans The Guardian ...Tens of thousands of Greeks took to the streets on Tuesday as unions, protesting controversial plans to slash 25,000 public sector jobs, brought the country to a standstill in a fourth general strike this year...
Native American tribes’ lawsuit could decide who controls Senate in 2015 The Hill ... A high-profile lawsuit on the voting rights of Native Americans could help determine control of the Senate in the next Congress…
Fitzpatrick begins push to certify, label American-made products Philadelphia Business Journal ...Congressmen Mike Fitzpatrick (R-Penn.) introduced legislation that would encourage consumers to buy more U.S.-made goods. The America Star initiative would be similar to the popular Energy Star program that certifies energy-efficient appliances...
Department of Justice slaps Gallup with $10.5M fine Politico ...Gallup Organization has agreed to pay the government $10.5 million to settle a false claims case against the company for allegedly inflating cost estimates in government contracts. The Justice Department announced the settlement, resolving a complaint originally brought under the Whistleblower Protection Act by a former Gallup director of client services...
FEEA overwhelmed with furlough aid requests Federal News Radio ...Federal workers hit by furloughs are increasingly applying for aid from the Federal Employee Education and Assistance Fund (FEEA), a nonprofit organization that provides emergency loans to feds who have trouble meeting basic living expenses...
Wal-Mart faceoff with DC fuels minimum wage debate Associated Press ...The bitter standoff between Wal-Mart and District of Columbia officials over the city’s effort to impose a higher minimum wage on big-box retailers is fueling a wider debate about how far cities should go in trying to raise pay for low-wage workers — and whether larger companies should be required to pay more...
Rotunda Announcement: “Any participants or spectators are subject to arrest” blue cheddar ...today the Capitol Police announced that the people singing in the rotunda from noon to 1 P.M. were “Unlawfully Assembled” and “any participants or spectators are subject to arrest”...
New Report: Unions Shield Workers—and States—Against Recession In These Times ...The report’s findings strongly suggest that the decline of unionization has played a considerable role in the increase of income inequality in Illinois, which can in turn slow economic growth. The report also suggests that lags in union membership put a strain on the social safety net, sapping resources that could otherwise be invested to speed the state's recovery...
Halliburton fined in North Dakota after Duluth worker’s death Duluth News Tribune ...For the first time, oil industry giant Halliburton has been cited for workplace safety violations in North Dakota. A release issued Monday by the U.S. Department of Labor detailed two “serious safety violations” levied against the energy giant in relation to the Jan. 19 death of a Duluth man at an oil rig site...
Hawaii hotel workers could be in line for millions in tips KHON2 News ...The Hawaii State Supreme Court ruled Monday that a class action lawsuit against certain hotels “can” move forward with a class action suit that could eventually mean thousands of employees are due millions of dollars in lost tips...
Photo ID Law on Trial in Pennsylvania: What's at Stake for Our Democracy Huffington Post ...PA’s photo ID law which mainly affects the elderly, disabled and poor people is being challenged by the ACLU...
Bay City Commissioners approve new Teamsters contract for 9 supervisors Michigan Live ...Bay City commissioners approved a new contract for nine City Hall managers, who are represented by Teamsters Local 214...
Buffalo Teamsters Reach Tentative Agreement With Rural/Metro Medical IBT ...Early yesterday morning after 21 hours of negotiating, Teamsters Local 375, which represents the 400 EMTs and paramedics working at Rural/Metro medical services, reached a tentative agreement for a new 4-year contract that includes a wage increase and benefit improvements...
Cordray Confirmed as Head of Financial Watchdog, After Long Wait New York Times ...Republicans agreed to allow the confirmation of Richard Cordray, by a vote of 66 to 34, cementing a new era of expansive federal oversight of companies that lend money to consumers...
Greeks take to streets again amid general strike over job cut plans The Guardian ...Tens of thousands of Greeks took to the streets on Tuesday as unions, protesting controversial plans to slash 25,000 public sector jobs, brought the country to a standstill in a fourth general strike this year...
Native American tribes’ lawsuit could decide who controls Senate in 2015 The Hill ... A high-profile lawsuit on the voting rights of Native Americans could help determine control of the Senate in the next Congress…
Fitzpatrick begins push to certify, label American-made products Philadelphia Business Journal ...Congressmen Mike Fitzpatrick (R-Penn.) introduced legislation that would encourage consumers to buy more U.S.-made goods. The America Star initiative would be similar to the popular Energy Star program that certifies energy-efficient appliances...
Department of Justice slaps Gallup with $10.5M fine Politico ...Gallup Organization has agreed to pay the government $10.5 million to settle a false claims case against the company for allegedly inflating cost estimates in government contracts. The Justice Department announced the settlement, resolving a complaint originally brought under the Whistleblower Protection Act by a former Gallup director of client services...
FEEA overwhelmed with furlough aid requests Federal News Radio ...Federal workers hit by furloughs are increasingly applying for aid from the Federal Employee Education and Assistance Fund (FEEA), a nonprofit organization that provides emergency loans to feds who have trouble meeting basic living expenses...
Wal-Mart faceoff with DC fuels minimum wage debate Associated Press ...The bitter standoff between Wal-Mart and District of Columbia officials over the city’s effort to impose a higher minimum wage on big-box retailers is fueling a wider debate about how far cities should go in trying to raise pay for low-wage workers — and whether larger companies should be required to pay more...
Rotunda Announcement: “Any participants or spectators are subject to arrest” blue cheddar ...today the Capitol Police announced that the people singing in the rotunda from noon to 1 P.M. were “Unlawfully Assembled” and “any participants or spectators are subject to arrest”...
New Report: Unions Shield Workers—and States—Against Recession In These Times ...The report’s findings strongly suggest that the decline of unionization has played a considerable role in the increase of income inequality in Illinois, which can in turn slow economic growth. The report also suggests that lags in union membership put a strain on the social safety net, sapping resources that could otherwise be invested to speed the state's recovery...
Halliburton fined in North Dakota after Duluth worker’s death Duluth News Tribune ...For the first time, oil industry giant Halliburton has been cited for workplace safety violations in North Dakota. A release issued Monday by the U.S. Department of Labor detailed two “serious safety violations” levied against the energy giant in relation to the Jan. 19 death of a Duluth man at an oil rig site...
Hawaii hotel workers could be in line for millions in tips KHON2 News ...The Hawaii State Supreme Court ruled Monday that a class action lawsuit against certain hotels “can” move forward with a class action suit that could eventually mean thousands of employees are due millions of dollars in lost tips...
Photo ID Law on Trial in Pennsylvania: What's at Stake for Our Democracy Huffington Post ...PA’s photo ID law which mainly affects the elderly, disabled and poor people is being challenged by the ACLU...
Bay City Commissioners approve new Teamsters contract for 9 supervisors Michigan Live ...Bay City commissioners approved a new contract for nine City Hall managers, who are represented by Teamsters Local 214...
Buffalo Teamsters Reach Tentative Agreement With Rural/Metro Medical IBT ...Early yesterday morning after 21 hours of negotiating, Teamsters Local 375, which represents the 400 EMTs and paramedics working at Rural/Metro medical services, reached a tentative agreement for a new 4-year contract that includes a wage increase and benefit improvements...
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