Teamster News
Teamsters, Human Rights Groups Decry Inaction By Salvadoran Government On Gilberto Soto Murder teamster.org ...A full-page ad scheduled for publication in tomorrow’s edition of El Salvador’s largest daily newspaper denounces the government for its continued inaction on the 10th anniversary of the assassination of Gilberto Soto, a representative of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Soto was killed while visiting El Salvador to establish fraternal relations with transport workers there and throughout Central America...
Rep. Marcy Kaptur celebrates victory at Teamsters Hall NBC24.com ...Rep. Kaptur arrived at the Teamsters Hall around 10 p.m. to thunderous applause from the crowd of about 100 that were assembled...
Voting No On 1 To Repeal AO 37 Will Save Anchorage Millions (opinion) Alaska Dispatch News ...Each year, Anchorage receives millions of dollars in federal grants that finance much of our public transit system. Since 2007, Anchorage has been awarded over $31 million in federal transit grants. If AO 37 remains law, Anchorage will lose eligibility for that funding, but will not lose the expense of replacing buses and maintaining bus stops...
ArcBest Sees Increase In Third-Quarter Revenue, Production Levels Fort Smith Times Record ...McReynolds said the new labor deal between ABF Freight and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters ratified last October is “tracking as expected” and the savings of $55 million to $65 million would be realized...
Sysco Keeps Planning For US Foods Merger Amid Delay Houston Chronicle ...The Teamsters Union is worried that jobs will be cut in regions where Sysco and US Foods overlap. The group represents more 7,600 Sysco warehouse workers and drivers and 4,000 US Foods warehouse workers. It said in its October newsletter that 2,500 jobs are at stake...
Trade
Agribusiness: TPP Won’t Be Decided This Month WHO ...U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman says the final agreement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will not be made at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit this month in Beijing...
State Battles
Republican Scott Walker wins Wisconsin governor race Capital Gazette ...Wisconsin Republican Governor Scott Walker has won re-election, Reuters/Ipsos projected on Tuesday, prevailing in a tough fight against Democratic challenger Mary Burke...
Gov. Paul LePage wins a second term; Michaud concedes Bangor Daily News ...Paul LePage, the outspoken former businessman who rode a Republican wave into the governor’s mansion and late-night talk show jokes in 2010, has won re-election in Maine...
Kasich, GOP roll in Ohio election Newark Advocate ...Gov. John Kasich led a Republican statewide trouncing of Democrats Tuesday night, assuring Kasich's spot in the discussion about GOP presidential candidates...
Wolf Ousts Corbett in Pa. Governor's Race NBCDFW.com ...Democrat Tom Wolf, who gave $10 million of his own money to underwrite an early TV ad campaign that endeared the businessman and first-time candidate to voters, unseated Gov. Tom Corbett on Tuesday, sending the unpopular incumbent to a historic defeat...
Republican Gov. Rick Scott Defeats Democrat Charlie Crist in Florida Wall Street Journal ...Republican Gov. Rick Scott of Florida won re-election Tuesday, fending off a vigorous challenge from Democrat Charlie Crist and providing the GOP a boost in a key swing state ahead of the 2016 presidential election...
GOP Gov. Rick Snyder Defeats Democrat Mark Schauer in Michigan Wall Street Journal ...Michigan Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, who acknowledged voters’ discontent with the state’s economy recovery, locked up his re-election Tuesday on a promise to help place workers in better-paying jobs...
Brownback Wins in Kansas, Keeping Alive Tax-Cut Crusade Bloomberg ...Kansas Governor Sam Brownback won a second term, surviving a backlash to an anti-tax crusade that pitted him against fellow Republicans and tested voters’ patience for the Tea Party agenda...
California Voters Deal Blow To Prisons, Drug War Huffington Post ...Nonviolent felonies like shoplifting and drug possession will be downgraded to misdemeanors under the ballot measure, Proposition 47. As many as 10,000 people could be eligible for early release from state prisons, and it's expected that courts will annually dispense around 40,000 fewer felony convictions...
War on Workers
Riding Wave of Discontent, G.O.P. Takes Senate New York Times ...Propelled by economic dissatisfaction and anger toward the president, Republicans grabbed Democratic Senate seats in North Carolina, Colorado, Iowa, West Virginia, Arkansas, Montana and South Dakota to gain their first Senate majority since 2006...
To Angry Voters, Washington Comes Out the Biggest Loser New York Times ...Optimism about the future was in short supply in this a-pox-on-all-your-houses climate. And the sense of pessimism appears greater than in the last big election: Nearly two-thirds of voters say the nation is on the wrong track, up from a little over half in 2012...
Construction Worker Killed In Turnpike Crash WMTW ...A worker has been killed in an accident at a construction site on the Maine Turnpike in York, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration...
Uber And Its Shady Partners Are Pushing Drivers Into Subprime Loans ValleyWag ...Instead of mortgages, this time a bubble has formed around auto loans, and reliably ruthless Uber is in the thick of it. Two "partners" in Uber's vehicle financing program are under federal investigation, but Uber hasn't slowed its aggressive marketing campaign to get drivers with bad credit to sign up for loans...
Chipotle Faces Wage Theft Allegations From Workers Franchise Herald ...Chipotle employees from Colorado and Minnesota are alleging that the company often makes workers continue their services "off the clock" without pay. Several of these employees wrote official court statements explaining that they had to continue to clean up their restaurant locations despite the time keeping system clocking them out at 12:30 a.m...
Judge Orders Joseph Esposito To Sit For Deposition After Ebola, ISIS Excuses Were Deemed ‘Not Satisfactory’ New York Daily News ...City lawyers contended that Emergency Management Commissioner Joseph Esposito was too busy to be deposed for an Occupy Wall Street-related civil suit last week because of the Ebola crisis....Esposito, 64, was slated to answer questions under oath last week for a suit brought by a woman who says she was wrongly arrested during the Occupy Wall Street protests in 2011...
Miscellaneous
NSA Chief Bet Money On AT&T As It Spied On You Daily Beast ...At the same time Gen. Keith Alexander was running the National Security Agency, the United States’ biggest spying outfit, he was also trading stocks in an obscure technology company that had a sweetheart deal with one of the NSA’s most important sources of intelligence—the global phone and Internet giant AT&T...
Showing posts with label occupy wall street. Show all posts
Showing posts with label occupy wall street. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
Friday, September 19, 2014
Today's Teamster News 09.19.14
Teamster News
Teamsters Call On FedEx To Stop Paying Personal Taxes For Executives teamster.org ...ISS, the country’s leading proxy voting advisor, has recommended that shareholders vote for a Teamsters-sponsored shareholder proposal at FedEx [NYSE: FDX] that calls on the board of directors to eliminate the practice of paying the personal taxes owed on restricted stock awards on behalf of CEO Fred Smith and other named executive officers...
Teamsters Call On Rush University Medical Center To Bargain In Good Faith teamster.org ...Teamsters Local Union 743 denounced management at Rush University Medical Center (RUMC) today, for continued refusal to bargain with the more than 230 patient care technicians (PCTs) that overwhelmingly voted to become Teamsters on Aug. 29...
Teamsters: 20 years is too long to wait for a safety rule TeamsterNation ...The Teamsters and other public safety advocates sued the U.S. Department of Transportation today for failing to issue long-overdue truck safety requirements...
Hoffa: Georgia Official Must Stop Ignoring Voter Registration Requests IBT ...James P. Hoffa, General President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, issued a statement today addressing reports that Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp is ignoring more than 50,000 voter registration requests as the deadline for new voters to sign up to participate in the upcoming Nov. 4 election looms near...
Trade
Corporate Courts — A Big Red Flag On “Trade” Agreements Trade Reform ...Corporations even sue governments for passing laws that might cause the investors in the corporations to make a bit less money — like raising the minimum wage. But wait, there’s more. The suits aren’t even heard in courts. They are settled by corporate-controlled tribunals set up by these trade agreements...
State Battles
Oregon Minimum Wage Will Increase To $9.25 In 2015 The Oregonian ...Oregon's minimum wage will increase 15 cents to $9.25 an hour in 2015, state labor officials announced Wednesday...
Missouri Governor releases additional funding for public education ABC3 ...Missouri Governor Jay Nixon made a stop at Truman State University Wednesday afternoon to discuss new funding for public universities like Truman State...
More trouble from privatized food contracts TeamsterNation ...Aramark is once again proving in Michigan that outsourcing government services to for-profit corporations results in really, really bad service...
Wisconsin ranks 33rd in private-sector job growth, lagging behind the national average Associated Press ...the job-growth ranking and Walker's failure to meet his 2010 campaign promise to add 250,000 private-sector jobs are evidence that (Scott Walker's) policies have not worked...
Administration disputes projections of huge state deficit WTAQ ...Wisconsin’s non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau painted a bleak financial picture earlier this month, predicting a $1.8 billion dollar structural deficit in the 2015-2017 biennium...
Fox News Admits WI Voter ID Laws May Disenfranchise Voters Media Matters ...Fox News acknowledged that a voter ID law may prevent people from casting votes while discussing the upcoming gubernatorial elections in Wisconsin -- despite the network's sustained campaign to deny the negative repercussions these laws have on voting...
Six Years Later, La. Still Waiting For Keystone (opinion) Shreveport Times ...From a safety perspective, Keystone is a better option than the rail transport currently used in the American market. A recent study by the Manhattan Institute reaffirmed the longstanding fact that pipelines are a much safer way to transport oil...
War On Workers
Wal-Mart Truck Drivers Granted Class Action Status In California Minimum Wage Lawsuit The Trucker ...Truck drivers employed by Wal-Mart have been granted class action status in a lawsuit over the employer’s alleged failure to pay minimum wage in violation of the California Labor Code...
Even in Palin Country, Raising the Minimum Wage Is Wildly Popular Mother Jones ... Twenty-three states already have moved past the federal rate, and this November, voters in five more will have a chance to follow suit...
Which Industry's CEOs Are Ripping Off Workers Most? Huffington Post ...Today, CEOs at leading fast food companies pocket more than 1,200 times more than their average employees, according to a report by Demos, an economic policy think tank. In comparison, the average CEO at S&P 500 companies today makes about 200 times more than typical employees...
Poverty Unchanged By Wall Street Recovery firedoglake ...wealth inequality has actually gotten worse during the recovery. The overwhelming majority of assets are owned by the rich and super-rich so when government policy is used to push the Dow up, few Americans go with it...
School Bus Driver Sacrifices Life To Save 10-Year-Old Girl Huffington Post ...Zborowski worked for a private bus company, Cincinnati-based Petermann, a subsidiary of National Express Corp. Zborowski was pronounced dead at a hospital about two hours after the 8:10 a.m. accident...
Worker killed by wood press at Mill City lumber plant Fox 12 Oregon ...A lumber mill worker was killed when a wood press was activated as he was conducting repairs on the machine...
Worker killed on the job in Dalton WRCB-TV ..."An outside contractor, Spartan Industrial Contracting, was moving equipment and one of their employees was involved in an accident that resulted in a death of one of their employees," Marketing Alliance Group HR spokesperson Michael Arnold said in a statement...
Miscellaneous
Occupy Wall Street Buys, Then Cancels, Student Debt Huffington Post ...Strike Debt, a group of anti-debt activists born out of the Occupy Wall Street movement, said it purchased $3.9 million in delinquent private student debt and immediately canceled it...
Police Demilitarization Pits Police Union Against Top Labor Federation BuzzFeed ...The International Union of Police Associations, a member of the AFL-CIO, has been largely quiet on the issue of police militarization. But in a couple of open letters the union has shown support for the program that provides police with military-grade weaponry. The AFL-CIO meanwhile has been a vocal supporter of police demilitarization and better oversight...
Domestic Workers Advocate Wins MacArthur Genius Award Moyers and Company ...Ai-jen Poo, a labor organizer for America’s nannies, house cleaners and home care attendants, has been named a MacArthur “genius” for 2014...
Teamsters Call On FedEx To Stop Paying Personal Taxes For Executives teamster.org ...ISS, the country’s leading proxy voting advisor, has recommended that shareholders vote for a Teamsters-sponsored shareholder proposal at FedEx [NYSE: FDX] that calls on the board of directors to eliminate the practice of paying the personal taxes owed on restricted stock awards on behalf of CEO Fred Smith and other named executive officers...
Teamsters Call On Rush University Medical Center To Bargain In Good Faith teamster.org ...Teamsters Local Union 743 denounced management at Rush University Medical Center (RUMC) today, for continued refusal to bargain with the more than 230 patient care technicians (PCTs) that overwhelmingly voted to become Teamsters on Aug. 29...
Teamsters: 20 years is too long to wait for a safety rule TeamsterNation ...The Teamsters and other public safety advocates sued the U.S. Department of Transportation today for failing to issue long-overdue truck safety requirements...
Hoffa: Georgia Official Must Stop Ignoring Voter Registration Requests IBT ...James P. Hoffa, General President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, issued a statement today addressing reports that Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp is ignoring more than 50,000 voter registration requests as the deadline for new voters to sign up to participate in the upcoming Nov. 4 election looms near...
Trade
Corporate Courts — A Big Red Flag On “Trade” Agreements Trade Reform ...Corporations even sue governments for passing laws that might cause the investors in the corporations to make a bit less money — like raising the minimum wage. But wait, there’s more. The suits aren’t even heard in courts. They are settled by corporate-controlled tribunals set up by these trade agreements...
State Battles
Oregon Minimum Wage Will Increase To $9.25 In 2015 The Oregonian ...Oregon's minimum wage will increase 15 cents to $9.25 an hour in 2015, state labor officials announced Wednesday...
Missouri Governor releases additional funding for public education ABC3 ...Missouri Governor Jay Nixon made a stop at Truman State University Wednesday afternoon to discuss new funding for public universities like Truman State...
More trouble from privatized food contracts TeamsterNation ...Aramark is once again proving in Michigan that outsourcing government services to for-profit corporations results in really, really bad service...
Wisconsin ranks 33rd in private-sector job growth, lagging behind the national average Associated Press ...the job-growth ranking and Walker's failure to meet his 2010 campaign promise to add 250,000 private-sector jobs are evidence that (Scott Walker's) policies have not worked...
Administration disputes projections of huge state deficit WTAQ ...Wisconsin’s non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau painted a bleak financial picture earlier this month, predicting a $1.8 billion dollar structural deficit in the 2015-2017 biennium...
Fox News Admits WI Voter ID Laws May Disenfranchise Voters Media Matters ...Fox News acknowledged that a voter ID law may prevent people from casting votes while discussing the upcoming gubernatorial elections in Wisconsin -- despite the network's sustained campaign to deny the negative repercussions these laws have on voting...
Six Years Later, La. Still Waiting For Keystone (opinion) Shreveport Times ...From a safety perspective, Keystone is a better option than the rail transport currently used in the American market. A recent study by the Manhattan Institute reaffirmed the longstanding fact that pipelines are a much safer way to transport oil...
War On Workers
Wal-Mart Truck Drivers Granted Class Action Status In California Minimum Wage Lawsuit The Trucker ...Truck drivers employed by Wal-Mart have been granted class action status in a lawsuit over the employer’s alleged failure to pay minimum wage in violation of the California Labor Code...
Even in Palin Country, Raising the Minimum Wage Is Wildly Popular Mother Jones ... Twenty-three states already have moved past the federal rate, and this November, voters in five more will have a chance to follow suit...
Which Industry's CEOs Are Ripping Off Workers Most? Huffington Post ...Today, CEOs at leading fast food companies pocket more than 1,200 times more than their average employees, according to a report by Demos, an economic policy think tank. In comparison, the average CEO at S&P 500 companies today makes about 200 times more than typical employees...
Poverty Unchanged By Wall Street Recovery firedoglake ...wealth inequality has actually gotten worse during the recovery. The overwhelming majority of assets are owned by the rich and super-rich so when government policy is used to push the Dow up, few Americans go with it...
School Bus Driver Sacrifices Life To Save 10-Year-Old Girl Huffington Post ...Zborowski worked for a private bus company, Cincinnati-based Petermann, a subsidiary of National Express Corp. Zborowski was pronounced dead at a hospital about two hours after the 8:10 a.m. accident...
Worker killed by wood press at Mill City lumber plant Fox 12 Oregon ...A lumber mill worker was killed when a wood press was activated as he was conducting repairs on the machine...
Worker killed on the job in Dalton WRCB-TV ..."An outside contractor, Spartan Industrial Contracting, was moving equipment and one of their employees was involved in an accident that resulted in a death of one of their employees," Marketing Alliance Group HR spokesperson Michael Arnold said in a statement...
Miscellaneous
Occupy Wall Street Buys, Then Cancels, Student Debt Huffington Post ...Strike Debt, a group of anti-debt activists born out of the Occupy Wall Street movement, said it purchased $3.9 million in delinquent private student debt and immediately canceled it...
Police Demilitarization Pits Police Union Against Top Labor Federation BuzzFeed ...The International Union of Police Associations, a member of the AFL-CIO, has been largely quiet on the issue of police militarization. But in a couple of open letters the union has shown support for the program that provides police with military-grade weaponry. The AFL-CIO meanwhile has been a vocal supporter of police demilitarization and better oversight...
Domestic Workers Advocate Wins MacArthur Genius Award Moyers and Company ...Ai-jen Poo, a labor organizer for America’s nannies, house cleaners and home care attendants, has been named a MacArthur “genius” for 2014...
Thursday, June 12, 2014
Today's Teamster News 06.12.14
Teamster News
Teamsters: THUD Amendments Will Weaken Highway Safety Standards TheTrucker.com ...Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa Monday denounced two potential floor amendments to the Transportation Housing and Urban Development (THUD) FY ’15 Appropriations bill that the Teamsters say will weaken highway safety standards by putting fatigued drivers on the road in bigger, heavier trucks...
Teamsters come out against hours changes, ATA still supportive Overdrive ...The Teamsters Union has voiced its opposition to recent Congressional action to roll back the 2013 changes to federal hours-of-service restart provisions, but American Trucking Associations head Bill Graves is holding strong on the group’s support for suspending the changes...
Official Statement of the Teamsters Union on the Worldwide Taxi Drivers' Protests Against Uber teamster.org ..."I express our solidarity with today’s protests by taxi drivers in city after city across Europe. The drivers are calling for fairness and asking that if the private sedan services are allowed to operate that they do so on a level playing field. Uber is currently operating without having to comply with the same rules and regulations that taxi drivers do..."
Teamsters Local 142 Wants To Bid On Chesterton Police Officers' Health Care Chesterton Tribune ...The officers of the Chesterton Police Department and their brothers in Teamsters Local 142 filled the meeting room of the town hall on Monday night, to hear a union attorney accuse the Town Council of fiduciary irresponsibility. At issue: the Teamsters is interested in bidding its healthcare plan to CPD officers...
Teamsters Against HoS Restart Charges Truck News ...The accident involving a Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. driver and comedian Tracy Morgan’s entourage has yet another industry organization weighing in about potential hours of service changes. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters sent an open letter to the US House of Representatives saying any steps to “delay, revise or replace the current hours of service 34-hour restart provision” or allow increases in truck size and weight, “especially they size of double trailers from the current 28-ft. to 33-ft.” should be opposed...
Coral Gables Employees To Get One Time Bonus Miami Herald ...The Coral Gables City Commission approved a two-year contract with the city’s general employees union Tuesday that includes a one-time bonus and lower pension contributions from employees during the first year...
Trade
Comment: Shrouded in secrecy, opposition to TPP mounts SBS ...They want to reassure us that we don’t need to worry about spiralling drug costs or curtailed internet freedom, but they’re not willing to let us see the text of the deal to back up their claims...
Livestock Groups Show Concern for TPP During D.C. Hearing Farm Futures ...Japan's TPP requests to exempt certain "sensitive" products – including pork and beef, dairy, sugar, wheat and barley, and rice and starch – from tariff elimination has big impacts on future trade deals and the ag industry's ability to benefit from the agreement, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association said during a hearing before the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee...
Anger by US farmers threatens ambitious Pacific trade pact Reuters ...U.S. farmers are in an uproar over signs Japan will maintain some barriers to agricultural exports under a Pacific trade pact, which threatens to unravel a deal that is central to U.S. efforts to retain economic and security influence in the region...
State Battles
Repeal the pension tax on Michigan seniors Detroit News ...a retired couple born after 1952 with more than $50,000 in income, including $48,000 in pension benefits, paid $1,930 more in taxes than they would have if pensions weren’t taxed...
New Jersey's soaring subsidy program doing little to boost struggling economy The Guardian ...Study says New Jersey badly trailing other states' economic recovery despite corporate credits rising sevenfold under Christie...
Council Votes Again To End Collective Bargaining Fort Wayne Journal Gazette ...City Council members again voted along party lines Tuesday to end collective bargaining for all city workers except police and firefighters...
San Francisco Voters Will Weigh In On A $15 Minimum Wage Think Progress ...A question on San Francisco’s November ballot will ask city residents whether they want to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by July 2018...
Why that ruling against teacher tenure won't help your schoolchildren (opinion) Los Angeles Times ... one should be "suspicious of wealthy and powerful individuals and groups whose advocacy for children leads to 'reforms' that won’t cost a cent, but will weaken labor."...
Numbers put lie to state growth strategy (opinion) Journal Gazette ...Light taxation and regulation haven’t raised living standard (in Indiana)...
War On Workers
Walmart Associate: 'Give The Workers Dignity And Respect We Deserve' WBUR ...Charmaine Givens-Thomas ... is a sales associate who has worked at Walmart for eight years. She makes $23,000 a year and has trouble paying rent and putting food on the table. She says Walmart should pay its employees a living wage...
Cantor’s Loss a Triumph for Anti-Corporate Right-Wing Populism naked capitalism ...conservative economics professor David Brat succeeded in channeling a strain of right-wing populism to target Cantor, and plausibly so, as a corporate stooge and progenitor of crony capitalism...
Clauses That Hurt Workers New York Times ...Many businesses have long required that executives and other important employees agree not to work for a competitor for a year or two after they leave. Now some employers are unfairly imposing that requirement on all kinds of workers, including lower-wage employees like camp counselors, interns and yoga instructors...
Here's Why Amazon Is More Brutal Than Walmart Time ...The recent dustup between Amazon and publisher Hachette reminds us that retail is a brutal business — tough on employees, really hard on suppliers. Walmart, the largest physical retailer, and Amazon, the largest retailer online, illustrate the pain produced in the effort to make consumers’ prices as low as possible...
Miscellaneous
Occupy Wall Street Protesters Win Lawsuit Over Arrests Washington Post ...New York City has agreed to pay nearly $600,000 to settle allegations that police wrongfully arrested a group of Occupy Wall Street protesters, marking what their lawyers Tuesday called the largest settlement to date in a single Occupy-related civil rights case...
Teamsters: THUD Amendments Will Weaken Highway Safety Standards TheTrucker.com ...Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa Monday denounced two potential floor amendments to the Transportation Housing and Urban Development (THUD) FY ’15 Appropriations bill that the Teamsters say will weaken highway safety standards by putting fatigued drivers on the road in bigger, heavier trucks...
Teamsters come out against hours changes, ATA still supportive Overdrive ...The Teamsters Union has voiced its opposition to recent Congressional action to roll back the 2013 changes to federal hours-of-service restart provisions, but American Trucking Associations head Bill Graves is holding strong on the group’s support for suspending the changes...
Official Statement of the Teamsters Union on the Worldwide Taxi Drivers' Protests Against Uber teamster.org ..."I express our solidarity with today’s protests by taxi drivers in city after city across Europe. The drivers are calling for fairness and asking that if the private sedan services are allowed to operate that they do so on a level playing field. Uber is currently operating without having to comply with the same rules and regulations that taxi drivers do..."
Teamsters Local 142 Wants To Bid On Chesterton Police Officers' Health Care Chesterton Tribune ...The officers of the Chesterton Police Department and their brothers in Teamsters Local 142 filled the meeting room of the town hall on Monday night, to hear a union attorney accuse the Town Council of fiduciary irresponsibility. At issue: the Teamsters is interested in bidding its healthcare plan to CPD officers...
Teamsters Against HoS Restart Charges Truck News ...The accident involving a Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. driver and comedian Tracy Morgan’s entourage has yet another industry organization weighing in about potential hours of service changes. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters sent an open letter to the US House of Representatives saying any steps to “delay, revise or replace the current hours of service 34-hour restart provision” or allow increases in truck size and weight, “especially they size of double trailers from the current 28-ft. to 33-ft.” should be opposed...
Coral Gables Employees To Get One Time Bonus Miami Herald ...The Coral Gables City Commission approved a two-year contract with the city’s general employees union Tuesday that includes a one-time bonus and lower pension contributions from employees during the first year...
Trade
Comment: Shrouded in secrecy, opposition to TPP mounts SBS ...They want to reassure us that we don’t need to worry about spiralling drug costs or curtailed internet freedom, but they’re not willing to let us see the text of the deal to back up their claims...
Livestock Groups Show Concern for TPP During D.C. Hearing Farm Futures ...Japan's TPP requests to exempt certain "sensitive" products – including pork and beef, dairy, sugar, wheat and barley, and rice and starch – from tariff elimination has big impacts on future trade deals and the ag industry's ability to benefit from the agreement, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association said during a hearing before the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee...
Anger by US farmers threatens ambitious Pacific trade pact Reuters ...U.S. farmers are in an uproar over signs Japan will maintain some barriers to agricultural exports under a Pacific trade pact, which threatens to unravel a deal that is central to U.S. efforts to retain economic and security influence in the region...
State Battles
Repeal the pension tax on Michigan seniors Detroit News ...a retired couple born after 1952 with more than $50,000 in income, including $48,000 in pension benefits, paid $1,930 more in taxes than they would have if pensions weren’t taxed...
New Jersey's soaring subsidy program doing little to boost struggling economy The Guardian ...Study says New Jersey badly trailing other states' economic recovery despite corporate credits rising sevenfold under Christie...
Council Votes Again To End Collective Bargaining Fort Wayne Journal Gazette ...City Council members again voted along party lines Tuesday to end collective bargaining for all city workers except police and firefighters...
San Francisco Voters Will Weigh In On A $15 Minimum Wage Think Progress ...A question on San Francisco’s November ballot will ask city residents whether they want to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by July 2018...
Why that ruling against teacher tenure won't help your schoolchildren (opinion) Los Angeles Times ... one should be "suspicious of wealthy and powerful individuals and groups whose advocacy for children leads to 'reforms' that won’t cost a cent, but will weaken labor."...
Numbers put lie to state growth strategy (opinion) Journal Gazette ...Light taxation and regulation haven’t raised living standard (in Indiana)...
War On Workers
Walmart Associate: 'Give The Workers Dignity And Respect We Deserve' WBUR ...Charmaine Givens-Thomas ... is a sales associate who has worked at Walmart for eight years. She makes $23,000 a year and has trouble paying rent and putting food on the table. She says Walmart should pay its employees a living wage...
Cantor’s Loss a Triumph for Anti-Corporate Right-Wing Populism naked capitalism ...conservative economics professor David Brat succeeded in channeling a strain of right-wing populism to target Cantor, and plausibly so, as a corporate stooge and progenitor of crony capitalism...
Clauses That Hurt Workers New York Times ...Many businesses have long required that executives and other important employees agree not to work for a competitor for a year or two after they leave. Now some employers are unfairly imposing that requirement on all kinds of workers, including lower-wage employees like camp counselors, interns and yoga instructors...
Here's Why Amazon Is More Brutal Than Walmart Time ...The recent dustup between Amazon and publisher Hachette reminds us that retail is a brutal business — tough on employees, really hard on suppliers. Walmart, the largest physical retailer, and Amazon, the largest retailer online, illustrate the pain produced in the effort to make consumers’ prices as low as possible...
Miscellaneous
Occupy Wall Street Protesters Win Lawsuit Over Arrests Washington Post ...New York City has agreed to pay nearly $600,000 to settle allegations that police wrongfully arrested a group of Occupy Wall Street protesters, marking what their lawyers Tuesday called the largest settlement to date in a single Occupy-related civil rights case...
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Today's Teamster News 05.20.14
Teamster News
Park Ridge Police Department Chooses Teamsters Representation teamster.org ...Teamsters Local 700’s law enforcement membership continues to expand as 40 members with the Park Ridge Police Department join the Teamsters...
Seattle Transportation Network Drivers Vote To Form Association With Teamsters teamster.org ...Uber and UberX drivers met in Tukwila, Wash., to begin the process of forming an association which will work with Teamsters Local 117 yesterday...
Trade
Dog Illnesses and Deaths Linked to Imported Pet Treats From China Alternet ...the USDA will soon allow U.S. chickens to be sent to China for processing before being shipped back to the states for human consumption...
Trans-Pacific Partnership: Another Trade Liberalization Scam Truthout ...The gathering pressure for Congress to "fast track" the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) demonstrates yet again that trade liberalization is one of the few aspects of economic policy about which there is agreement across the mainstream of the political spectrum...
Steelworkers to D.C.: Enforce our trade laws Trade Reform ...About 200 steel industry supporters and steel workers gathered at Civic Park Friday to protest the recent flood of imported steel from South Korea because it jeopardizes jobs within the city’s largest employer. The United Steelworkers Local 1899 in Granite City, which represents most of the 2,500 employees at U.S. Steel’s plant in Granite City, organized the rally because the South Korean steel imported into this country is sold below market value, making it difficult for U.S. steel mills to compete...
State Battles
More states, cities raising minimum wage USA Today ...The fast-food walkouts Thursday are part of a broader nationwide effort to raise the minimum wage for millions of low-income workers, a campaign that's notching growing success in states and cities across the USA...
Connecticut Public Retirement Plan Passes, More or Less The Baseline Scenario ...a proposal in Connecticut (would) create a new tax-preferred retirement plan that would, by default, include almost all workers who don’t currently have access to an employment-based plan (like a 401(k)). That proposal took some major steps forward when it was included in an end-of-session bill that was passed by the Connecticut legislature...the bill authorizes a feasibility study and implementation plan for the new retirement option...
War On Workers
Congratulations To The Class Of 2014, Most Indebted Ever Wall Street Journal ...As college graduates in the Class of 2014 prepare to shift their tassels and accept their diplomas, they leave school with one discouraging distinction: They're the most indebted class ever...
Credit Suisse pleads guilty to criminal charges in US tax evasion settlement The Guardian ...Credit Suisse Group has pleaded guilty to criminal charges that it helped Americans evade taxes, becoming the first bank in more than a decade to admit to a crime in the US. It will now pay a long-expected fine of $2.5bn (£1.5bn)...
It's Time to Break Up With Sallie Mae! Jobs With Justice ...Despite mounting evidence showing how Sallie Mae has been ripping off federal student loan borrowers for years, it's still possible the Department of Education will renew its multimillion-dollar contract with the shady company next month...
NSA Collects All Phone Calls from One of World’s Most Secretive Tax Havens, But Doesn’t Track That empty wheel ...NSA/DEA don’t appear to be using this facility to track money launderers...
Turkey Erupts Over Mining Tragedy; Many Blame Privatization In These Times ...Protesters, numbering in the thousands in some major cities, continued to spill into the streets throughout the week holding placards that read, "This is not an accident, it's a massacre.” In Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir, police intervened with tear gas and water cannons...
Occupy Wall Street Protester Cecily McMillan Sentenced To Three Months In Jail Huffington Post ...A New York City judge sentenced Occupy Wall Street protester Cecily McMillan on Monday to three months in jail and five years probation...
Miscellaneous
U.S. Charges Five Chinese Military Hackers for Cyber Espionage Against U.S. Corporations and a Labor Organization for Commercial Advantage US Department of Justice ...A grand jury in the Western District of Pennsylvania (WDPA) indicted five Chinese military hackers for computer hacking, economic espionage and other offenses directed at six American victims in the U.S. nuclear power, metals and solar products industries...
Park Ridge Police Department Chooses Teamsters Representation teamster.org ...Teamsters Local 700’s law enforcement membership continues to expand as 40 members with the Park Ridge Police Department join the Teamsters...
Seattle Transportation Network Drivers Vote To Form Association With Teamsters teamster.org ...Uber and UberX drivers met in Tukwila, Wash., to begin the process of forming an association which will work with Teamsters Local 117 yesterday...
Trade
Dog Illnesses and Deaths Linked to Imported Pet Treats From China Alternet ...the USDA will soon allow U.S. chickens to be sent to China for processing before being shipped back to the states for human consumption...
Trans-Pacific Partnership: Another Trade Liberalization Scam Truthout ...The gathering pressure for Congress to "fast track" the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) demonstrates yet again that trade liberalization is one of the few aspects of economic policy about which there is agreement across the mainstream of the political spectrum...
Steelworkers to D.C.: Enforce our trade laws Trade Reform ...About 200 steel industry supporters and steel workers gathered at Civic Park Friday to protest the recent flood of imported steel from South Korea because it jeopardizes jobs within the city’s largest employer. The United Steelworkers Local 1899 in Granite City, which represents most of the 2,500 employees at U.S. Steel’s plant in Granite City, organized the rally because the South Korean steel imported into this country is sold below market value, making it difficult for U.S. steel mills to compete...
State Battles
More states, cities raising minimum wage USA Today ...The fast-food walkouts Thursday are part of a broader nationwide effort to raise the minimum wage for millions of low-income workers, a campaign that's notching growing success in states and cities across the USA...
Connecticut Public Retirement Plan Passes, More or Less The Baseline Scenario ...a proposal in Connecticut (would) create a new tax-preferred retirement plan that would, by default, include almost all workers who don’t currently have access to an employment-based plan (like a 401(k)). That proposal took some major steps forward when it was included in an end-of-session bill that was passed by the Connecticut legislature...the bill authorizes a feasibility study and implementation plan for the new retirement option...
War On Workers
Congratulations To The Class Of 2014, Most Indebted Ever Wall Street Journal ...As college graduates in the Class of 2014 prepare to shift their tassels and accept their diplomas, they leave school with one discouraging distinction: They're the most indebted class ever...
Credit Suisse pleads guilty to criminal charges in US tax evasion settlement The Guardian ...Credit Suisse Group has pleaded guilty to criminal charges that it helped Americans evade taxes, becoming the first bank in more than a decade to admit to a crime in the US. It will now pay a long-expected fine of $2.5bn (£1.5bn)...
It's Time to Break Up With Sallie Mae! Jobs With Justice ...Despite mounting evidence showing how Sallie Mae has been ripping off federal student loan borrowers for years, it's still possible the Department of Education will renew its multimillion-dollar contract with the shady company next month...
NSA Collects All Phone Calls from One of World’s Most Secretive Tax Havens, But Doesn’t Track That empty wheel ...NSA/DEA don’t appear to be using this facility to track money launderers...
Turkey Erupts Over Mining Tragedy; Many Blame Privatization In These Times ...Protesters, numbering in the thousands in some major cities, continued to spill into the streets throughout the week holding placards that read, "This is not an accident, it's a massacre.” In Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir, police intervened with tear gas and water cannons...
Occupy Wall Street Protester Cecily McMillan Sentenced To Three Months In Jail Huffington Post ...A New York City judge sentenced Occupy Wall Street protester Cecily McMillan on Monday to three months in jail and five years probation...
Miscellaneous
U.S. Charges Five Chinese Military Hackers for Cyber Espionage Against U.S. Corporations and a Labor Organization for Commercial Advantage US Department of Justice ...A grand jury in the Western District of Pennsylvania (WDPA) indicted five Chinese military hackers for computer hacking, economic espionage and other offenses directed at six American victims in the U.S. nuclear power, metals and solar products industries...
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Today's Teamster News 01.06.12
Payrolls Tread Water Once Again in December 2012 Economic Populist ...The United States is now down -3.961 million jobs from December 2007, five years ago. The ongoing employment crisis just hit the half decade anniversary...
Secret and Lies of the Bailout Rolling Stone ...The federal rescue of Wall Street didn’t fix the economy – it created a permanent bailout state based on a Ponzi-like confidence scheme. And the worst may be yet to come...
Freedom of Speech vs. Wall Street’s Interests All Things Democrat ...even if you hate OWS (Occupy Wall Street( and you want to scream at them because you think they’re selfish, dirty hippies who just need to get a job, if you consider yourself an American, you should be appalled by Wall Street’s role in the violent crackdown...
CTJ: Poorest 60% of Americans Get Just 18% of the Tax Cuts in the Fiscal Cliff Deal Tax Justice Network ...the richest one percent of Americans will receive the same share of the tax cuts as the poorest 60 percent of Americans...
Labor Groups Pan Walmart Plan to Bring Oversight Approach Used in Bangladesh to the US The Nation "...it makes perfect sense that now that they’re facing public relations problems anew around treatment of workers in their domestic distribution system, that they would choose to apply the same public relations scam to that problem that they’ve applied internationally...”
New twist in stricken rig saga: Shell was moving it to avoid tax The Independent ...The oil giant will instead suffer a multi-million dollar loss on the exercise after the rig ran aground off the Alaskan coast...
US Army joins battle to save stricken Shell rig The Telegraph ...The US Army has been called in to help with the battle to salvage Royal Dutch Shell’s stricken Kulluk Arctic drilling rig, which has now been beached in environmentally delicate waters for nearly a week...
Health Insurers Raise Some Rates by Double Digits New York Times ...Health insurance companies across the country are seeking and winning double-digit increases in premiums for some customers, even though one of the biggest objectives of the Obama administration’s health care law was to stem the rapid rise in insurance costs for consumers...
Army Corps tamps down barge worries on Mississippi Associated Press ...Efforts taken to keep a crucial stretch of the drought-starved Mississippi River open to barge traffic should be sufficient to avert a shipping shutdown that the industry fears is imminent, Army Corps of Engineers and Coast Guard officials said...
Secret and Lies of the Bailout Rolling Stone ...The federal rescue of Wall Street didn’t fix the economy – it created a permanent bailout state based on a Ponzi-like confidence scheme. And the worst may be yet to come...
Freedom of Speech vs. Wall Street’s Interests All Things Democrat ...even if you hate OWS (Occupy Wall Street( and you want to scream at them because you think they’re selfish, dirty hippies who just need to get a job, if you consider yourself an American, you should be appalled by Wall Street’s role in the violent crackdown...
CTJ: Poorest 60% of Americans Get Just 18% of the Tax Cuts in the Fiscal Cliff Deal Tax Justice Network ...the richest one percent of Americans will receive the same share of the tax cuts as the poorest 60 percent of Americans...
Labor Groups Pan Walmart Plan to Bring Oversight Approach Used in Bangladesh to the US The Nation "...it makes perfect sense that now that they’re facing public relations problems anew around treatment of workers in their domestic distribution system, that they would choose to apply the same public relations scam to that problem that they’ve applied internationally...”
New twist in stricken rig saga: Shell was moving it to avoid tax The Independent ...The oil giant will instead suffer a multi-million dollar loss on the exercise after the rig ran aground off the Alaskan coast...
US Army joins battle to save stricken Shell rig The Telegraph ...The US Army has been called in to help with the battle to salvage Royal Dutch Shell’s stricken Kulluk Arctic drilling rig, which has now been beached in environmentally delicate waters for nearly a week...
Health Insurers Raise Some Rates by Double Digits New York Times ...Health insurance companies across the country are seeking and winning double-digit increases in premiums for some customers, even though one of the biggest objectives of the Obama administration’s health care law was to stem the rapid rise in insurance costs for consumers...
Army Corps tamps down barge worries on Mississippi Associated Press ...Efforts taken to keep a crucial stretch of the drought-starved Mississippi River open to barge traffic should be sufficient to avert a shipping shutdown that the industry fears is imminent, Army Corps of Engineers and Coast Guard officials said...
Monday, December 31, 2012
Today's Teamster News 12.31.12
Fiscal Cliff Talks Resume After GOP Caves On Social Security Cut Talking Points Memo ...Negotiations stalled Saturday night when Minority Leader Mitch McConnell pushed a Social Security benefit cut as a way to offset spending measures including emergency unemployment benefits. Democrats balked, leaked the offer to the media, and Republicans quickly retracted the demand...
House prepares three 'milk cliff' bills The Hill ...The three bills are aimed at preventing a spike in dairy prices looming in the new year. Because Congress has failed to renew farm programs, an underlying 1949 law is slated to kick in. This would force the government to buy up American milk at inflated prices and the purchases are expected to possibly double the price of milk at the grocery store as supplies dwindle...
Occupy Wall Street Labeled "Terrorists" By The FBI Economic Populist ...Wonder why all of a sudden cities across America coordinated and shut down the Occupy Wall Street movement? Now we know and it was coordinated by the banks. The FBI, DHS, police, and private-sector financial businesses all coordinated to repress the people and suppress a movement...
Cheap Shots 2012: Scott Walker The Daily Isthmus ...For the second year in a row, we find it impossible to come up with a single Cheap Shot Award for our governor, who continued to put politics before policy, cater to monied interests and sow division among an already deeply divided state...
Auditors uncover problems at private prisons in Ohio Dayton Daily News ...unsafe and unsanitary conditions were documented by state monitors at one of Ohio’s privately-run prisons forcing the new operator to make major changes less than one year after taking control of the facility...
Tribune media company to emerge from bankruptcy Raw Story ...The company owns 23 television stations and a number of leading daily newspapers include the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Baltimore Sun, and Orlando Sentinel...
UPS: A Wonderful Company At A Fair Price Seeking Alpha ...UPS continues to benefit from the growth of online ordering from companies such as Amazon (AMZN)...
House prepares three 'milk cliff' bills The Hill ...The three bills are aimed at preventing a spike in dairy prices looming in the new year. Because Congress has failed to renew farm programs, an underlying 1949 law is slated to kick in. This would force the government to buy up American milk at inflated prices and the purchases are expected to possibly double the price of milk at the grocery store as supplies dwindle...
Occupy Wall Street Labeled "Terrorists" By The FBI Economic Populist ...Wonder why all of a sudden cities across America coordinated and shut down the Occupy Wall Street movement? Now we know and it was coordinated by the banks. The FBI, DHS, police, and private-sector financial businesses all coordinated to repress the people and suppress a movement...
Cheap Shots 2012: Scott Walker The Daily Isthmus ...For the second year in a row, we find it impossible to come up with a single Cheap Shot Award for our governor, who continued to put politics before policy, cater to monied interests and sow division among an already deeply divided state...
Auditors uncover problems at private prisons in Ohio Dayton Daily News ...unsafe and unsanitary conditions were documented by state monitors at one of Ohio’s privately-run prisons forcing the new operator to make major changes less than one year after taking control of the facility...
Tribune media company to emerge from bankruptcy Raw Story ...The company owns 23 television stations and a number of leading daily newspapers include the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Baltimore Sun, and Orlando Sentinel...
UPS: A Wonderful Company At A Fair Price Seeking Alpha ...UPS continues to benefit from the growth of online ordering from companies such as Amazon (AMZN)...
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Today's Teamster News 11.13.12
Eurozone crisis live: Greece gets more time as IMF and EU clash Guardian ...Athens given until 2016 to hit its fiscal targets...
Cold, Dark and Damp, Pockets of Misery Persist 2 Weeks Later New York Times ...Two weeks. Monday was the 14th day since Hurricane Sandy upended lives on the Eastern Seaboard, the longest two weeks of many people’s lives. Plastic bottles. Warming buses. Charging stations. These are just a few of the signposts in a changed world. Help is coming, the people are told...
Mayor Bloomberg Owes OWS an Apology firedoglake ...Continuing to think outside the box, OWS has two new initiatives: Occupy Sandy and Rolling Debt Jubilee...
Gas prices: FSA examines whistleblower's claims of 'Libor-like' manipulation Guardian ...The City watchdog, the Financial Services Authority, is investigating claims by a whistleblower that Britain's £300bn wholesale gas market has been "regularly" manipulated by some of the big power companies, exploiting weaknesses that echo the recent Libor scandal...
Ring the Register: Another $15.4 Million for Disgraced ex-Citi CEO Vikram Pandit firedoglake ...If anyone deserves a $6.7 million bonus, it’s the CEO who squandered 88% of his company’s stock value...(um, that's sarcasm)
Two million jobless Americans face their own fiscal cliff if unemployment benefits expire Daily Kos ... If nothing changes between now and Dec. 29, the Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee estimate that some two million Americans will be up jobless creek without the paddle provided by these emergency extensions...
Cold, Dark and Damp, Pockets of Misery Persist 2 Weeks Later New York Times ...Two weeks. Monday was the 14th day since Hurricane Sandy upended lives on the Eastern Seaboard, the longest two weeks of many people’s lives. Plastic bottles. Warming buses. Charging stations. These are just a few of the signposts in a changed world. Help is coming, the people are told...
Mayor Bloomberg Owes OWS an Apology firedoglake ...Continuing to think outside the box, OWS has two new initiatives: Occupy Sandy and Rolling Debt Jubilee...
Gas prices: FSA examines whistleblower's claims of 'Libor-like' manipulation Guardian ...The City watchdog, the Financial Services Authority, is investigating claims by a whistleblower that Britain's £300bn wholesale gas market has been "regularly" manipulated by some of the big power companies, exploiting weaknesses that echo the recent Libor scandal...
Ring the Register: Another $15.4 Million for Disgraced ex-Citi CEO Vikram Pandit firedoglake ...If anyone deserves a $6.7 million bonus, it’s the CEO who squandered 88% of his company’s stock value...(um, that's sarcasm)
Two million jobless Americans face their own fiscal cliff if unemployment benefits expire Daily Kos ... If nothing changes between now and Dec. 29, the Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee estimate that some two million Americans will be up jobless creek without the paddle provided by these emergency extensions...
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Today's Teamster News 01.01.12
A Christmas Message From America's Rich Rolling Stone ...People like Dimon, and Schwarzman, and John Paulson, and all of the rest of them who think the “imbeciles” on the streets are simply full of reasonless class anger, they don’t get it...What makes people furious is that they have stopped being citizens...
This is crony capitalism LDSGeek ...Crony capitalism - a capitalist economy in which success in business depends on close relationships between business people and government officials...
Delegation Slams Treasury Report On Chinese Currency Lewiston Sun Journal ...the Obama administration stopped short of accusing labeling China a currency manipulator. The issue has been taken up by some congressional lawmakers who believe the currency’s low market value is doubling as a trade subsidy for Chinese exporters while costing American jobs...
China and India Really Are Cheap Labor in Manufacturing Economic Populist ...Manufacturing labor costs in China and India are 4% of the United States for 2009...
The Shadow Superpower Foreign Policy ...Forget China: the $10 trillion global black market is the world's fastest growing economy -- and its future...
Unemployed Portuguese told to 'just emigrate' al-Jazeera ...Portugal's prime minister has been criticised for suggesting that unemployed youth leave the country to find work...
Protesters Occupy New Year in Zuccotti Park New York Daily News ...Protesters occupied New Year’s Eve inside Zuccotti Park late Saturday, creating a steel mountain of NYPD barricades in its plaza as thousands of cops were busy protecting Times Square...
As John Doe Probe Heats Up - Past Misdeeds Plague Walker Politiscoop ...the speculation into what had transpired grows and Scott Walker's questionable past starts to come to light...
This is crony capitalism LDSGeek ...Crony capitalism - a capitalist economy in which success in business depends on close relationships between business people and government officials...
Delegation Slams Treasury Report On Chinese Currency Lewiston Sun Journal ...the Obama administration stopped short of accusing labeling China a currency manipulator. The issue has been taken up by some congressional lawmakers who believe the currency’s low market value is doubling as a trade subsidy for Chinese exporters while costing American jobs...
China and India Really Are Cheap Labor in Manufacturing Economic Populist ...Manufacturing labor costs in China and India are 4% of the United States for 2009...
The Shadow Superpower Foreign Policy ...Forget China: the $10 trillion global black market is the world's fastest growing economy -- and its future...
Unemployed Portuguese told to 'just emigrate' al-Jazeera ...Portugal's prime minister has been criticised for suggesting that unemployed youth leave the country to find work...
Protesters Occupy New Year in Zuccotti Park New York Daily News ...Protesters occupied New Year’s Eve inside Zuccotti Park late Saturday, creating a steel mountain of NYPD barricades in its plaza as thousands of cops were busy protecting Times Square...
As John Doe Probe Heats Up - Past Misdeeds Plague Walker Politiscoop ...the speculation into what had transpired grows and Scott Walker's questionable past starts to come to light...
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Today's Teamster News 12.27.11
Program to Give Access to NAFTA Trucks Violates the Law Eyes on Trade ...Public Citizen, the Teamsters, and the Sierra Club filed an opening brief earlier this week on our lawsuit to stop the Obama administration's illegal program to allow unsafe Mexico-domiciled trucks to travel throughout the United States...
The Big Lie (opinion) The Daily Beast ...the convulsion to come won’t really be about Wall Street’s derivatives malefactions, or its subprime fun and games, or rogue trading, or the folly of banks. It will be about this society’s final opportunity to rip away the paralyzing shackles of corruption or else dwell forever in a neofeudal social order...
Growing wealth widens distance between lawmakers and constituents Washington Post ...Between 1984 and 2009, the median net worth of a member of the House more than doubled ... from $280,000 to $725,000...Over the same period, the wealth of an American family has declined slightly...
Falling home values mean budget crunches for cities Washington Post ...Because of the time it often takes for property assessments to reflect falling home values, the bust that began in 2007 has just begun to ravage tax revenues in communities from coast to coast. The problem is unlikely to subside soon....
93-Year-Old Tennessee Woman Who Cleaned State Capitol For 30 Years Denied Voter ID Think Progress ...A 93-year-old Tennessee woman ... says she won’t be able to vote for the first time in decades after being told this week that her old state ID failed to meet new voter ID regulations...
Pimps for Private Prisons and Profit Blogfor Arizona ...the long-awaited cost-benefit analysis that the Department of Corrections is required to do by law, but has never done until now, has been released. According to the DOC, private prisons are comparable in cost and quality to state run prisons...The DOC has decided to cancel bids to build 5,000 private prison beds in Arizona...
The Big Lie (opinion) The Daily Beast ...the convulsion to come won’t really be about Wall Street’s derivatives malefactions, or its subprime fun and games, or rogue trading, or the folly of banks. It will be about this society’s final opportunity to rip away the paralyzing shackles of corruption or else dwell forever in a neofeudal social order...
Growing wealth widens distance between lawmakers and constituents Washington Post ...Between 1984 and 2009, the median net worth of a member of the House more than doubled ... from $280,000 to $725,000...Over the same period, the wealth of an American family has declined slightly...
Falling home values mean budget crunches for cities Washington Post ...Because of the time it often takes for property assessments to reflect falling home values, the bust that began in 2007 has just begun to ravage tax revenues in communities from coast to coast. The problem is unlikely to subside soon....
93-Year-Old Tennessee Woman Who Cleaned State Capitol For 30 Years Denied Voter ID Think Progress ...A 93-year-old Tennessee woman ... says she won’t be able to vote for the first time in decades after being told this week that her old state ID failed to meet new voter ID regulations...
Pimps for Private Prisons and Profit Blogfor Arizona ...the long-awaited cost-benefit analysis that the Department of Corrections is required to do by law, but has never done until now, has been released. According to the DOC, private prisons are comparable in cost and quality to state run prisons...The DOC has decided to cancel bids to build 5,000 private prison beds in Arizona...
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Today's Teamster News 11.16.11
Tea Party activists, non-union trade group kick off campaign for right-to-work amendment Dayton Daily News ...Rob Nichols, spokesman for GOP Gov. John Kasich, said in an email: “Now’s not the time to be taking up or considering these types of issues...”
Could 'Right-To-Work' Backfire On Republicans? theindychannel.com ...Indiana Republicans seem determined to push ahead with a so-called "right-to-work" law in the next legislative session, but the experiences of a neighboring state may cause them to rethink their strategy...
Keystone pipeline builder proposes changing Nebraska route Los Angeles Times ...The builders of the controversial Keystone XL tar sands pipeline agreed Monday to reroute it around Nebraska's ecologically fragile Sandhills in the hope the move would shorten any delay in the project, which has posed political complications for the Obama administration...
Teamsters Vote Official Support of Occupy Wall Street IBT ...The General Executive Board of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters unanimously passed a resolution today supporting the right of protesters at Occupy Wall Street to assemble at Liberty Park...
Protesters vow to fight on after return to NY park AFP ...Protesters have flooded back into the New York park where police demolished their two-month-old tent camp, vowing to step up the Occupy Wall Street campaign despite a ban on camping out there...
Contagion grips euro zone debt markets Reuters ...Europe's government debt market was hit again on Wednesday, with Italy's borrowing costs above the 7 percent level widely viewed as unsustainable despite the European Central Bank buying up its bonds...
Could 'Right-To-Work' Backfire On Republicans? theindychannel.com ...Indiana Republicans seem determined to push ahead with a so-called "right-to-work" law in the next legislative session, but the experiences of a neighboring state may cause them to rethink their strategy...
Keystone pipeline builder proposes changing Nebraska route Los Angeles Times ...The builders of the controversial Keystone XL tar sands pipeline agreed Monday to reroute it around Nebraska's ecologically fragile Sandhills in the hope the move would shorten any delay in the project, which has posed political complications for the Obama administration...
Teamsters Vote Official Support of Occupy Wall Street IBT ...The General Executive Board of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters unanimously passed a resolution today supporting the right of protesters at Occupy Wall Street to assemble at Liberty Park...
Protesters vow to fight on after return to NY park AFP ...Protesters have flooded back into the New York park where police demolished their two-month-old tent camp, vowing to step up the Occupy Wall Street campaign despite a ban on camping out there...
Contagion grips euro zone debt markets Reuters ...Europe's government debt market was hit again on Wednesday, with Italy's borrowing costs above the 7 percent level widely viewed as unsustainable despite the European Central Bank buying up its bonds...
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Today's Teamster News 11.12.11
Congress Members Took Part in Insider Trading: Abramoff CNBC ...As many as a dozen members of Congress and their aides took part in insider trading based on foreknowledge of market moving information on Capitol Hill, disgraced Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff told CNBC...
Unemployment for Young Vets: 30%, and Rising Bloomberg ...while the job market is slowly improving for most Americans, it’s moving in the opposite direction for Gulf War II vets...
Occupy Wall Street is winning Politico ...Whatever the objectives of protesters involved in Occupy Wall Street, they have succeeded in engaging the country in a conversation about income inequality...
Wisconsin unions encouraged by Ohio vote but face tough challenge in recalling Gov. Walker Associated Press ...The resounding rejection of an anti-union law by Ohio voters provides a huge boost for Democrats and union officials preparing for their next major battle -- the attempted recall of Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker -- but their prospects could be clouded by the differences between the two Midwestern states and their election laws...
United, Teamsters reach deal on labor contract Chicago Tribune ...The deal is really an interim contract, part of a two-step process to first get union contracts with United and Continental mechanics separately and then negotiate a joint deal...
Teamsters Union International Officer Election Ballot Count Begins November 14 Office of the Election Supervisor for the IBT ...The ... Election Supervisor for the ... Teamsters Union ... will begin counting Teamsters' votes for officers of the International Union on Monday, November 14 in Alexandria, VA...
Unemployment for Young Vets: 30%, and Rising Bloomberg ...while the job market is slowly improving for most Americans, it’s moving in the opposite direction for Gulf War II vets...
Occupy Wall Street is winning Politico ...Whatever the objectives of protesters involved in Occupy Wall Street, they have succeeded in engaging the country in a conversation about income inequality...
Wisconsin unions encouraged by Ohio vote but face tough challenge in recalling Gov. Walker Associated Press ...The resounding rejection of an anti-union law by Ohio voters provides a huge boost for Democrats and union officials preparing for their next major battle -- the attempted recall of Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker -- but their prospects could be clouded by the differences between the two Midwestern states and their election laws...
United, Teamsters reach deal on labor contract Chicago Tribune ...The deal is really an interim contract, part of a two-step process to first get union contracts with United and Continental mechanics separately and then negotiate a joint deal...
Teamsters Union International Officer Election Ballot Count Begins November 14 Office of the Election Supervisor for the IBT ...The ... Election Supervisor for the ... Teamsters Union ... will begin counting Teamsters' votes for officers of the International Union on Monday, November 14 in Alexandria, VA...
Monday, October 31, 2011
Today's Teamster News 10.31.11
Over 800 Occupy Protesters Charged, But How Many Will Go to Court? New York Observer ...the lawyers for OWS aren’t playing: they say that their clients would rather have their day in court than take a plea that might prohibit them from participating in any more protests...
Editorial: Scrutiny of Walker's pay adds tension Green Bay Press Gazette ...We saw last week what happens when the government proposes a wage freeze for state workers in the same document that shows the governor earns more than his predecessor. Discord...
Florida Democrats: Rick Scott the poster boy for GOP extremism The Tampe Tribune ...Democratic activists and insiders gathered here to kick off the 2012 campaign season believe Scott, whose job approval ratings have hovered among the lowest of any governor in the nation, will help them in the coming election – even though he won't be on the ballot until 2014...
Inkster being reviewed by state officials under emergency manager process Detroit News ... State officials have begun a 30-day review of the city's finances under the toughened emergency manager law for local governments and school districts...
Teamsters Condemn Qantas CEO Alan Joyce for Attack on Workers IBT ...As Largest U.S. Transportation Union Takes Local Action to Stand with Aussies, Teamster Delegation to Sydney, Melbourne Remains “Stranded in Solidarity”...
Mobility falls to record low as Americans stay put Associated Press ...Yet another symptom of the economic downturn: Americans aren't moving...U.S. mobility is at its lowest point since World War II...
Editorial: Scrutiny of Walker's pay adds tension Green Bay Press Gazette ...We saw last week what happens when the government proposes a wage freeze for state workers in the same document that shows the governor earns more than his predecessor. Discord...
Florida Democrats: Rick Scott the poster boy for GOP extremism The Tampe Tribune ...Democratic activists and insiders gathered here to kick off the 2012 campaign season believe Scott, whose job approval ratings have hovered among the lowest of any governor in the nation, will help them in the coming election – even though he won't be on the ballot until 2014...
Inkster being reviewed by state officials under emergency manager process Detroit News ... State officials have begun a 30-day review of the city's finances under the toughened emergency manager law for local governments and school districts...
Teamsters Condemn Qantas CEO Alan Joyce for Attack on Workers IBT ...As Largest U.S. Transportation Union Takes Local Action to Stand with Aussies, Teamster Delegation to Sydney, Melbourne Remains “Stranded in Solidarity”...
Mobility falls to record low as Americans stay put Associated Press ...Yet another symptom of the economic downturn: Americans aren't moving...U.S. mobility is at its lowest point since World War II...
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Today's Teamster News 10.25.11
Opposition To Ohio's SB 5 Grows, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Women, Union Members Push Kasich Deeper In Hole Quinnipiac University ...Ohio voters support 57 - 32 percent the repeal of SB 5, the centerpiece of Gov. John Kasich's legislative program, as the margin against the governor's measure has almost doubled in the last month, from 51 - 38 percent for repeal September 27, a 13-point margin, to a 25-point margin...
Vatican Calls for Oversight of the World’s Finances New York Times ...The Vatican called on Monday for an overhaul of the world’s financial systems, and again proposed establishment of a supranational authority to oversee the global economy, calling it necessary to bring more democratic and ethical principles to a marketplace run amok...
Occupy Wall Street protesters making preparations for long, cold winter in Zuccotti Park Daily News ...If Mayor Bloomberg thinks Occupy Wall Street protesters will fold up camp once winter sets in, he better think again...
Rick Scott Says He May Reject Federal Education Funding He Already Applied For ThinkProgress ...Gov. Rick Scott said Florida will reject a federal early learning grant if it comes with strings attached...
Another Dept. of Workforce Development Secretary Abandons Ship blue cheddar ...(Gov. Scott) Walker ran on a promise of creating 250,000 jobs by 2014, but job creation numbers released by the DWD during Walker’s short time in office have been dismal...
Greektown Casino workers OK agreement Detroit News ...Workers at Greektown Casino voted today to ratify a new, four-year agreement by a margin of 3-1, said Shawn Ellis, communications director for Teamsters Local 372...
Vatican Calls for Oversight of the World’s Finances New York Times ...The Vatican called on Monday for an overhaul of the world’s financial systems, and again proposed establishment of a supranational authority to oversee the global economy, calling it necessary to bring more democratic and ethical principles to a marketplace run amok...
Occupy Wall Street protesters making preparations for long, cold winter in Zuccotti Park Daily News ...If Mayor Bloomberg thinks Occupy Wall Street protesters will fold up camp once winter sets in, he better think again...
Rick Scott Says He May Reject Federal Education Funding He Already Applied For ThinkProgress ...Gov. Rick Scott said Florida will reject a federal early learning grant if it comes with strings attached...
Another Dept. of Workforce Development Secretary Abandons Ship blue cheddar ...(Gov. Scott) Walker ran on a promise of creating 250,000 jobs by 2014, but job creation numbers released by the DWD during Walker’s short time in office have been dismal...
Greektown Casino workers OK agreement Detroit News ...Workers at Greektown Casino voted today to ratify a new, four-year agreement by a margin of 3-1, said Shawn Ellis, communications director for Teamsters Local 372...
Monday, October 24, 2011
Occupy Newsrooms
Ironically, one of those companies is Gannett. Ironic, because Gannett owns USA Today. Recently, notes Carr, USA Today ran an editorial that said,
The bonus system has gone beyond a means of rewarding talent and is now Wall Street’s primary business. Institutions take huge gambles because the short-term returns are a rationale for their rich payouts. But even when the consequences of their risky behavior come back to haunt them, they still pay huge bonuses.Writes Carr:
If you were looking for bonus excess despite miserable operations, the best recent example I can think of is Gannett, which owns USA Today.
The week before the editorial ran, Craig A. Dubow resigned as Gannett’s chief executive. His short six-year tenure was, by most accounts, a disaster. Gannett’s stock price declined to about $10 a share from a high of $75 the day after he took over; the number of employees at Gannett plummeted to 32,000 from about 52,000, resulting in a remarkable diminution in journalistic boots on the ground at the 82 newspapers the company owns.
Never a standout in journalism performance, the company strip-mined its newspapers in search of earnings, leaving many communities with far less original, serious reporting.
Given that legacy, it was about time Mr. Dubow was shown the door, right? Not in the current world we live in. Not only did Mr. Dubow retire under his own power because of health reasons, he got a mash note from Marjorie Magner, a member of Gannett’s board, who said without irony that “Craig championed our consumers and their ever-changing needs for news and information.”
But the board gave him far more than undeserved plaudits. Mr. Dubow walked out the door with just under $37.1 million in retirement, health and disability benefits. That comes on top of a combined $16 million in salary and bonuses in the last two years.
And in case you thought they were paying up just to get rid of a certain way of doing business — slicing and dicing their way to quarterly profits — Mr. Dubow was replaced by Gracia C. Martore, the company’s president and chief operating officer. She was Mr. Dubow’s steady accomplice in working the cost side of the business, without finding much in the way of new revenue. She has already pocketed millions in bonuses and will now be in line for even more.Carr also takes on the Teamsters old nemesis, Sam Zell.
The Tribune Company, a chain of newspapers and television stations run into the ground by Sam Zell after he bought it in 2007, is paying out tens of millions of dollars in bonuses as part of a deal in which it would exit bankruptcy.
Over 4,000 people in the company lost their jobs, and the journalistic missions of formerly robust newspapers it operates — including The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune and The Baltimore Sun — have been curtailed. And even though Randy Michaels and some of his corporate fraternity brothers who operated the company into bankruptcy are gone, more than 600 managers who were there while the company cratered remain.
Not only do they have jobs while so many others were sent packing, but the remaining leadership will be eligible for a bonus pool from $26.4 million to $32.4 million under the current plan.And we can heartily agree with Carr's conclusion about people "who are content to slide people out of the back of the truck until it runs out of gas:"
(They) not only don’t deserve tens of millions in bonuses, they don’t deserve jobs.
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