Anti-unionism is real reason behind Supreme Court case

Everyday Americans are facing a real battle keeping their heads above water financially. While unemployment continues to fall, incomes aren't rising for most workers. So it is particularly troublesome that the Supreme Court seems to be setting its sites on lowering incomes for thousands of public sector employees.

On Monday, the nation's highest court heard arguments why several California public school teachers don't think they should have to pay reduced fees that cover collective bargaining costs of their contracts. Those fees, mind you, are not used for political donations. But no matter, their attorney said it's all political and violates the the First Amendment rights of plaintiffs in Friedrich v. California Teachers Association.

Attorney Michael Carver, hired by right-to-work (RTW) forces, also insisted the case would not hurt unions:

Their burden of justification is much higher, because they can’t possibly show that abolition of the agency fees would lead to demise of unions.

Of course, that's exactly what it would do, and why the plaintiffs brought the case in the first place. And the Supreme Court appears ready to side with them, according to numerous media reports. As columnist Dana Milbank wrote in The Washington Post:

The huge political consequences of the case were unstated in the chamber, but the argument was at times as partisan as a debate on the House floor. Carvin frequently interrupted and talked over the three female justices — classic “mansplaining,” as Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick observed from the press seats. Carvin referred to the other side’s argument as the “so-called opposition” and pronounced Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s surname as “Soto-my-ear.” At one point he quipped that he has a First Amendment right not to join the American Bar Association, “because virtually every word out of their mouth I disagree with.” Justice Samuel Alito guffawed. 

The argument was mostly for show, because there was little doubt the 1977 Abood decision will go down. This will make it easier for public-sector workers who benefit from collective bargaining but who don’t want to be in unions to avoid paying fees to the union, even for nonpolitical functions. Union finances will be further drained at a time when labor is historically weak.

Hard-working Americans deserve more than to be shunted to the side by this nation's government. But that is exactly what will happen if the high court rules with the plaintiffs in this case. Union membership will likely further decline, wages will fall and fewer and fewer workers will have access to quality health care and retirement benefits.

A recent study showed that that a reduction in union membership was responsible for more than a third of the 7.6 percent decrease in the share of workers in the middle class between 1984 and 2014. That's what's at stake with this decision. 

The Teamsters and workers can't change the decision of the Supreme Court. But both can counteract any such a ruling by continuing to organize and pushing our lawmakers for policies that benefit workers. That why the Teamsters unveiled their "Let's Get America Working" platform last year and why it will continue to fight like hell to get it implemented.

Never forget -- Teamsters Strong, America Stronger!

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

Teamsters take a stand for fair pay, organizing workers

Local 439 members in Stockton, Calif. leaflet at Fed Ex Freight.

The Teamsters joined with thousands of truck drivers, valet attendants and low-wage workers across the country today in a day of action to raise awareness about the sorry state of wages and benefits for millions of everyday Americans on the job.

FedEx Freight employees, port truck drivers and fast food workers held protests from coast-to-coast. They are joined by Teamster valet attendants at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, who are rallying tonight, and federal contract service workers in the nation’s capital on strike to call out employers who won’t pay fair wages and tamp down on workers organizing.

From Baltimore to Seattle, Teamsters stood outside more than 300 FedEx Freight terminals educating workers about the company's spending of $5.2 million over the past three years to cover the personal taxes of top executives as well hundreds of thousands of dollars to wage anti-worker campaigns. Meanwhile, workers there continue to have access to poor and expensive health benefits.

Teamster organizers said enough is enough:

FedEx Freight workers across the country have been building their power with the Teamsters' help for many months. Workers have committed to fighting for the long-haul to attain their true goal of a collective bargaining agreement with their employer. FedEx Freight workers want a voice and they want it in writing. Workers are overcoming their fear and the companies constant assault on organized labor. 

This workforce has built a very large core of committed individuals and continue to grow their pro-contract, pro-union, pro-Teamster ranks daily. They all understand that this is a marathon and not a sprint and are working diligently with their goal of memorializing their working lives in a written agreement with FedEx Freight!

Local 355 Teamsters gather in Baltimore.

Those efforts were repeated elsewhere. Port truck drivers and their Teamster supporters turned out in Los Angeles, New Jersey and Savannah, Ga. to raise awareness about wage theft and misclassification. These workers have been fighting to be recognized as full-time employees rather than contract workers.

The Teamsters have stood shoulder-to-shoulder in recent years with FedEx Freight workers and port truck drivers in an attempt to expand their voice in the workplace. That effort extends to valet attendants at several Las Vegas hotels as well as other disenfranchised workers across the nation.

The Labor Department’s own statistics prove why joining a union is important. The median union worker earns more than $200 a week more than a non-union one. That’s why the Teamsters have stressed the importance of labor membership in our recent “Let’s Get America Working!” campaign.

Teamster Strong, America Stronger!

Voting begins for Clark County school workers

Ballots went out yesterday to more than 11,500 Clark County School District (CCSD) workers in Nevada. After more than a decade fighting an unfair supermajority election rule, the support staff workers at the nation’s fifth-largest school district are finally taking part in a free and fair election.

According to Local 14 Secretary-Treasurer Larry Griffith, the vote for representation by simple majority was a result of support staff's determination for strong union representation:

The unit first came to us in the early 2000s seeking strong union representation. The odds were against them but they never gave up. I couldn’t be prouder of this unit’s determination. Finally, we will put an end to the pay cuts and concessions by uniting at the bargaining table to win support staff a strong Teamster-backed contract.

CCSD support staff has already voted overwhelmingly two times in favor of Local 14 representation – in a vote tabulated Feb. 3 and in 2006. Despite democratically voting to join the Teamsters, in both elections a supermajority, 50-percent-plus-1 of eligible voters was required to unseat the unit’s current representation, the Education Support Employees Association (ESEA).

After Local 14 overwhelmingly won with 71 percent of workers voting to join the Teamsters over the ESEA in February, however, the workers rallied in protest. Following the vote, on Feb. 12, support staff united once again at the Employee Management Relation Board (EMRB).

This time their voice could no longer be ignored and the EMRB ruled in favor of a third election – this time by a simple-majority vote – take place, acknowledging that the supermajority election rule for the support staff was not in the best interest of the employees. After hundreds of workers joined Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa on stage at the Teamsters Unity Conference this year, CCSD support staff launched a new campaign. This time, the rules are fair and democratic.

The excitement for Teamster representation is at an all-time high, says Carlos Pinto, head custodian at CCSD:

It’s been a long time coming, but change is finally here. We are all thrilled to become members of Local and win back what we have lost. We can’t wait to win a Teamster contract that will provide the respect workers deserve and the security our families need.

VIDEO: Inside unionizing Silicon Valley

The Teamsters' efforts to organize low-wage workers in the Silicon Valley at places such as Facebook and Google are getting the attention of the national media at a time when income inequality is a top concern of Americans.

This MSNBC video discusses the work of the Teamsters and other unions to organize and the growing appeal of unions nationwide. Workers are organizing because they are tired of getting the short end of the stick while companies rake in huge profits!

Support is growing for unions across the country because everyday Americans realize they are stronger when they organize together than when they stand alone. Teamster Strong makes America Stronger!

Corporations don't join in on growing love of unions

There is renewed energy in the labor movement. Polls show American support of unions is growing, the data shows union members are paid more than non-union workers, and more and more there is a belief that corporations are taking advantage of employees in an effort to pocket even more profits.

Big business is getting wise to these changing winds as well. And they're doing all they can to clamp down on it before they lose control. In some instances, that means even creating their own fake unions so they can trick workers into accepting lower salaries. The New York Times details one such case in the carnival industry:

[W]hen a new union signed contracts with dozens of companies that operate at fairs and carnivals, it seemed that a group of workers long considered exploited had found a new ally. 

Labor advocates, however, have since charged that the new union was really a stalking-horse for industry, not a champion for laborers, many of whom come from Mexico. And instead of demanding that companies pay the carnival workers more, the advocates say the union deals assured the employers they would not have to do so. 

Several officers of the union, the Association of Mobile Entertainment Workers, also had close ties, it turned out, to two businessmen — one in Texas, the other in Mexico — who have long supplied carnivals and fairs with itinerant Mexican workers.

Other more established companies are putting the screws to workers the old fashion way -- by not giving an inch. The Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the Electrical Workers (IBEW) went into early September in continuing contract talks with Verizon – talks, IBEW said, that featured absolutely no change in the firm’s wide-ranging giveback demands. The talks cover more than 40,000 Verizon workers up and down the East Coast. Verizon makes some $12 million in profits a day.

In response, the unions took to the streets to show mass solidarity for their bargaining teams, with rallies all over the Northeast and mid-Atlantic states. And they enlisted political support, from New York state lawmakers and the mayors of Salisbury, Md., and Yonkers, N.Y. In Albany, N.Y., CWA members demanded the New York Public Service Commission – which regulates telecom firms – get involved and pressure Verizon to bargain in good faith.

Taken together, it is further proof that while the public may increasingly have the back of workers, companies are not joining in. It's part of the reason the Teamsters are pushing forward with our new "Let's Get America Working" platform that not only calls for greater investment, but an increased focus on worker rights as well.

Everyday Americans trying to make ends meet won't be bullied by big business.

• Press Associates contributed to this report.

Staff at Calif. children's home stand up for workplace rights

An organizing victory in California is getting attention because of the unique work the new Teamsters do, and because of the challenges faced by workers in the industry.

Edgewood workers joined Local 856.

After a difficult organizing campaign, direct care staff at Edgewood Center for Children and Families in San Francisco voted to join Local 856 in San Bruno, Calif. In June 2014, workers there began the process of forming a union in an effort to stem the agency’s notoriously high turnover rate and bring benefits and wages on par with comparable nonprofits in San Francisco.

About 150 residential counselors and direct care staff work with some of the most emotionally challenged children in the Bay Area. Staff work up to 16-hours days with no overtime, unaffordable health care options and wages that do not keep up with the cost of living in one of the most expensive cities in the country.

ProPublica, an independent, nonprofit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest, ran a story on the Teamster victory at Edgewood shortly after they joined the union:

Workers at a former orphanage in San Francisco that now functions as a large group home for troubled children have unionized—a rare step by frontline employees who work at facilities that can be both demanding and dangerous. 

In June 2014, a large group of workers at Edgewood, a complex in the city’s Sunset district that houses a maximum of 48 children, first began to work with a local of the national Teamsters union. The workers wanted higher wages, better benefits and a greater say in the treatment of the children under their care, said Michael Shih, a residential counselor who worked on the Edgewood campus for five years and played a leading role in organizing the workers.

Previously, ProPublica reported on the demise of a similar home in Davis, Calif., run by a nonprofit called EMQ FamiliesFirst. Due to staffing problems, workers there were ill equipped to care for the troubled children entrusted to them.

According to ProPublica, the lack of training and low wages resulted in a difficult working environment and high turnover. Residential counselor Cory Henning said in a statement:

In the past year, I have had to take over two months off of work due to assaults on the floor. Instead of receiving support from the management while injured, I was asked to return to the floor… essentially risking my safety due to low-staffing.

Edgewood’s conduct in an October 2014 election resulted in a National Labor Relations Board investigation. Edgewood agreed to a settlement and the workers won a new election, voting to join the Teamsters in May.

Look for a story on these workers in the next issue of Teamster magazine.

Walmart still has a ways to go to help workers

Walmart in recent months has being trying to improve its public image by talking about raising its wages and improving working conditions. But the world's largest retailer still has a long way to go to bring its workforce practices up to an acceptable level, as a recent report by the Food Chain Workers' Alliance shows.

President Hoffa rallied with Taylor Farms workers last year.

As it stands, Walmart workers and those in its food supply chain are forced to put up with a number
labor issues, including gender and racial discrimination, unfair treatment of immigrants, low pay and violations of workers' freedom of association. There have also been safety violations and worker fatalities, as the document notes.

The Teamsters are familiar with several of these situations. For instance, the union has and continues to fight the practices of salad producer Taylor Farms and organic food supplier United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI), for the treatment of workers and the environment.

In talking about California-based Taylor Farms, the document states:

Among the many labor rights issues at Taylor Farms, the company’s almost permanent use of temporary workers through the Abel Mendoza and Slingshot agencies is one that must be highlighted. Almost two-thirds of Taylor Farms’ Tracy workforce is staffed by one of these agencies. This staffing method allows Taylor Farms to avoid giving out full-time benefits to workers that have been there for years. Some of these “temporary” employees have been working at Taylor Farms for up to 14 years and most are paid only the minimum wage. On average, the workers in Tracy earn $3 per hour less than union workers in the same job classifications in Salinas.

Meanwhile, the paper also details UNFI's effort to crackdown on warehouse workers interested in joining the Teamsters, and how the federal government sided with the union:

On February 10, 2015, the federal government found that UNFI unlawfully refused to bargain with the Teamsters union at its Moreno Valley facility [in Southern California]. This conduct would be troubling by any employer, but “it is all the more so because UNFI has represented itself to the public as a company that operates according to principles of social responsibility…” Because of UNFI’s illegal scare tactics and refusal to recognize the union contract, UNFI warehouse workers in Moreno Valley still do not have protection and benefits from unionization and collective bargaining.

If Walmart is truly interested in doing the right thing and helping workers and the environment, it will use its market power to sway suppliers and distributors to allow workers to organize and raise their standards to benefit people all across the globe.

Today's Teamster News 05.13.15

Teamsters
Hoffa: What America needs from its trade pacts   Detroit News  ...The U.S. Senate has decided, for now, not to put the Trans-Pacific Partnership on the fast track. That's a good thing. This issue deserves a full debate. Fast track trade authority is would allow bad trade pacts like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) to sail through Capitol Hill with little debate and no chance to be amended...
Teamsters Applaud Senate Defeat of Cloture for Fast Track Bill  Teamster.org   ...Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa on today’s defeat of a vote for cloture on the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) bill: “With today’s defeat in the Senate of a vote for cloture on fast track, members of Congress have signaled they will not relinquish their constitutional authority over trade agreements"...
Teamsters protest in Mo. Capitol against right to work  Teamster Nation   ...Another battle is raging in the state of Missouri against a right-to-work-for-less legislative attack on unions. And Teamsters are on the front line with other union members fighting for American workers. On Monday, workers and union leaders stormed the Missouri Capitol as state lawmakers heard testimony on the proposed bill to make the "Show-Me-State" the 26th "right to work" state in the country...

Global Labor & Trade
Senate Democrats Foil Obama on Asia Trade Deal  New York Times  ...Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked consideration of giving President Obama power to accelerate a broad trade accord with Asia, a rebuke that the president helped bring on himself. After more than six years battling Republicans on everything from his signature health care legislation to simply keeping the government open, Mr. Obama is at odds with his own party...
The March Trade Deficit and the Trans-Pacific Partnership  Huff Post  ...The jump in the March trade deficit, coupled with the weak job numbers for the last two months, should highlight the importance of including rules on currency in trade agreements. Such rules could ensure that the dollar does not remain over-valued and prevent the economy from reaching full employment...
Obama fails first test on trade  Politico  ...Tuesday was the first test vote on trade, and President Barack Obama failed. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) declared the 52-45 vote “shocking,” labor and progressive groups declared victory, and the White House was left insisting that things really aren’t over yet for fast-track authority and the broader Trans-Pacific Partnership trade treaty that the administration is hoping would follow...
Why Doctors Without Borders Is Lobbying Against Obama’s Trade Deal  National Journal  ...The physicians group has quietly been opposing the emerging Trans-Pacific Partnership for a few years now, but its efforts are growing more public. It sent multiple letters to Obama in the past few months, as the congressional debate about giving the president fast-track authority has ramped up, warning about the implications for drug costs in other countries...
Jesse Jackson: Don't believe Obama on trade deal  Chicago Sun Times  ...The president argues the case for a level playing field, but his allies — the Republican majorities in Congress, the business lobby — keep the field slanted against working people. Our global policies aren’t the only reason for this, but they are one contributor to it. The cycle of drugs-in-jobs-out must end. We need to go another way. Fast track sends us the wrong way...
Labour begins indefinite strike in Bauchi  Daily Post  ...For the failure of the Bauchi State government to pay outstanding March and April salaries, the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Trade Union Congress, TUC and the Joint Public Service Negotiation Council, JPSNC, in the state, have called their members out for an indefinite strike with effect from today, May 13...
Obama’s trade deal: Why he’s in danger of losing  (opinion) Washinton Post   ...The secrecy makes it appear Obama is hiding something. “If the president is so confident it’s a good deal, he should declassify the text and let people see it before asking Congress to tie its hands on fixing it,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) told my colleague Greg Sargent. Instead of coming clean, Obama prefers to inform fellow Democrats that he’s the smartest guy in the room...

State & Living Wage Battles
Senate Passes ALEC 'Right to Work' Attacks - What's Next?  Progress Missouri  ...It’s been an ugly 24 hours in the Capitol. Tonight, despite strong bipartisan opposition in both the House and Senate, extremists in the Senate rammed through the American Legislative Exchange Council’s (ALEC) so-called ‘right-to-work’ legislation. Despite all the arm-twisting, ALEC and the Koch Brothers still don’t have the votes to override a veto from Governor Jay Nixon...
Mo. Senate shuts down debate to pass "right-to-work"  St. Louis Post-Dispatch   ...Missouri Senate Republicans shut down debate Tuesday to pass a “right-to-work” measure after Democrats filibustered the bill for more than eight hours. In return, Senate Democrats plan to shut down everything else until the session ends at 6 p.m. Friday. The rare measure to shut down debate, known as the previous question, has been used in the Senate only 14 times since 1970...
Anti-union bill gains momentum in right-to-work Louisiana  Associated Press  ...An anti-union bill is stirring up what may be Louisiana's first real battle between business and labor unions in a generation. The measure is scheduled for a Tuesday debate before the full House. If approved, it would bar police, firefighters and teachers from having union dues automatically deducted from their pay...
Ohio Republicans push new voter ID bill  MSNBC  ...With 2016 approaching, Ohio Republicans are making a new push for a voter ID bill—setting the stage for another battle over voting in the nation’s most pivotal swing state. Legislation introduced last week by conservatives in the statehouse would require that voters show a driver’s license, passport or military ID...
Mich. Senate panel to debate repeal of prevailing wage laws  Lansing State Journal  ...The contentious issue of repealing Michigan’s prevailing wage laws will get a hearing Wednesday morning at the state Capitol. Gov. Rick Snyder said last week that he doesn’t support a repeal, but that isn’t stopping the Senate’s Michigan Competitiveness committee from taking up a package of three bills beginning at 8 a.m. Wednesday...
N.J. unions protest cuts to pensions in big Statehouse rally  NJ.com  ...Workers clad in red, blue or green t-shirts carried signs imploring the governor to "fund the pension" and "obey the law." The pension law at the center of the fight requires the state to increase payments into the public employees pension fund, while also freezing cost-of-living adjustments, raising the retirement age and forcing workers to contribute more for their retirement...
A Game-Changing Moment for Fast-Food Workers  Huff Post  ...Two and half years ago, 200 fast-food workers went on strike in New York City demanding $15 an hour and union rights. Most people, including many in the labor movement, thought the cooks and cashiers from restaurants like McDonald's, Burger King and Wendy's had no chance to win. But nine strikes later, and having sparked a global movement for higher pay, $15 doesn't seem so crazy anymore...
Chris Christie Wants To Expand Corporate Tax Breaks Without Any Proof That They Work  Think Progress  ...New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) has approved $5.4 billion in corporate tax breaks since he took office in 2010. And on Monday, just before he called for cutting corporate tax rates across the country as part of a national economic policy plan, he vetoed a measure that would allow taxpayers to evaluate if the subsidies are actually working...

U.S. Labor
Union and Nonprofit Leaders: Labor Should Shift Its Focus to Organizing Black Workers  In These Times  ...Despite years of decline, the labor movement continues to provide economic stability in many black communities. Of all demographic groups, black workers have the highest union membership rates. These historic ties have led some to see black workers as a cornerstone to any effort to rebuild a movement in deep decline. And drawing from the national momentum of organizing around police reform, many black labor leaders today are leading the charge...
USW Accuses AP Green of Unfair Labor Practices, Unlawful Lockout at Ohio Refractory Plant  PR Newswire  ...The United Steelworkers (USW) today said that the union has filed unfair labor practices against AP Green Refractories, Inc. on behalf of more than 40 Local 2324-5 members who have been locked out of their jobs at the company's Oak Hill, Ohio production facility since April 15, 2015...
When Will We Stop Exploiting Home-Care Workers?  Dame Magazine  ...The work of the nation's 2 million home health-care aides and attendants has been in the public spotlight for a while now, first as those workers rose up and demanded that their labor be valued the same way as other work is, through access to the protections of labor law, and then as the victories they won have been dismantled in court bit by bit...

Miscellaneous
Amtrak Philadelphia train crash: mayor describes 'disastrous mess'  The Guardian  ...A crash investigation has begun into what caused an Amtrak train to derail in north Philadelphia, killing at least five people and leaving six others critically injured. A sixth person was declared dead by Herb Cushing, medical director of Temple University hospital in Philadelphia...
Amtrak Train Derails in Philadelphia, Killing at Least 6 and Injuring Dozens  New York Times   ... Emergency crews picked through the wreckage of a derailed Amtrak train Wednesday, looking for survivors and victims. The Northeast Corridor, which runs between Boston and Washington, is one of the railroad’s busiest and most profitable lines. But officials have long complained that the agency needs more subsidies from Congress to improve the railroad’s deteriorating infrastructure and replace aging equipment...
Wall Street greed refuses to die: How lobbyists & dark-money groups are exposing us to another disaster  Salon   ...After five years, the big banks are already hard at work trying to dismantle regulations that were put in place to prevent irresponsible banking and financial destruction. And “studies” like the one released by the  American Action Forum, who for all we know is being funded by the big banks themselves, will help them achieve this goal. Who knows, maybe it will take another, even more disastrous economic collapse to really change the system... 

NLRB to issue complaint against Sysco, bring justice for fired Teamsters

Shuandrez Fitzgerald, one of the 11 fired
workers at Sysco Atlanta

The Federal Government is weighing in on the side of workers at Sysco in Atlanta who were wrongly terminated after their successful campaign to join Teamsters Local 528.
The National Labor Relations Board told the union last week that it will be issuing a complaint against the company and seeking reinstatement and back pay for the fired workers.

In addition, the NLRB complaint will allege Sysco cut warehouse pay and changed workplace rules without bargaining. And the complaint will allege unlawful interrogation, threats and surveillance against workers.

The 11 fired Teamsters were part of a huge effort to organize their more than 400 coworkers who are drivers and warehouse workers for Sysco. Last week Sysco and US Food Teamsters took part in a national day of action, demanding that Sysco put the fired workers back on the job and negotiate a fair contract.

The Sysco-US Foods workers Facebook page explains:

The Federal Government has spoken, and it's saying: put fired Sysco workers back to work! During Teamster Local 528’s organizing drive in Atlanta last year, Sysco managers engaged in an intense anti-union campaign. Teamsters across the country stood shoulder-to-shoulder with their Atlanta brothers and sisters, pledging to have their back throughout all of Sysco’s unionbusting...

...the National Labor Relations Board informed Teamsters Local 528 that it will issue a complaint against Sysco. The complaint will allege that Sysco violated federal labor law when it: discharged workers in retaliation for union activity, wrongfully terminated and suspended workers, decreased warehouse workers’ pay, changed work rules without bargaining, and unlawfully interrogated, threatened and surveilled workers. The Board will seek reinstatement and backpay for 11 workers fired or disciplined for union activity and is investigating additional charges, including three more terminations. 

This is a huge victory for workers and a strong statement about the power of Teamster solidarity.

When news of the pending NRLB complaint came out, messages of support spread like wildfire across social media:

Casey Whitson: "Congrats boys, united we stand!!!"

Carlos A. Silva: "Local. 79 Fl ... Way to go!! Keep our union strong!

Benny Hernandez: "That's what I call Teamster Power! #proudteamster"

Jose Flores: "Nothing beats being a Teamster. ..you got a voice and rights."

Even in the face of a viciously anti-union company with an army of union-busting lawyers at its disposal, the strength of Teamsters standing together is unbeatable.

In the meantime, our Teamster brothers and sisters in Altanta can count on our continued solidarity. The fight to protect and improve jobs at Sysco and US Foods continues!

Saint Vincent Hospital workers march on boss, request recognition as Teamsters

More than 40 hospital tech workers at Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester, MA marched on the boss yesterday. Holding signs that read "Recognize Our Union" and "Health Care Workers Deserve Good Health Care," the group marched from the hospital atrium to the CEO’s office to present a letter requesting recognition of their chosen union, Teamsters Local 170.

A majority of the more than 200 workers in the unit signed Local 170 authorization cards. But instead of respecting the wishes of its employees, hospital management refused to recognize the union. Local 170 immediately filed for an election with the National Labor Relations Board.

Jennifer Fontaine, who has helped lead her coworkers in the organizing drive, explained on Facebook:

We marched to the CEO'S office with a large group. We had support from our nurses and friends. The secretaries in his office had their jaws on the floor. Our committee member Heather Daniels who made the appointment was ushered into Mr. McLaughlin’s office before he slammed the door in our face. We opened the door and Kim proudly read the demand letter. He stopped her 3/4 of the way in and said he refused to recognize us. Our union head Mike Hogan told the CEO we will see him in 42 days. The CEO said no he wouldn't and Mike stuck HIS hand out and introduced himself. Mike told him to take a good look at us and the CEO said I know some of them. Mike said to the CEO he was going to know us better and we deserve better health care. 

The tech workers at Saint Vincent Hospital, who are mostly women, are vital to the hospital’s operations. They perform professional technical work in radiology, surgery, respiratory, pharmacy, sterile processing and other departments.

Check out the video from the workers' action:

(Click here to view the video on YouTube)

Saint Vincent is owned by Tenet Healthcare, which makes more than $15 billion in annual revenue. The hospital’s unionized nurses recently settled a contract with management, retaining their strong health insurance. But the techs like Jennifer and her coworkers are stuck with substandard health insurance which has left many of them buried in medical bills, facing debt and heavy workloads.

The irony of poor health care in a hospital is lost on no one, as the workers said in a statement:

How can health care workers like us be subjected to such terrible health care?

Donna Franciosa, a 40-year employee at Saint Vincent, said:

We need to be reinstated with the health care coverage afforded to other union members. We deserve a fair wage and benefits package – and fair staffing levels. We have made this hospital the "premier" success for Tenet – now it’s time for our success.

As Teamsters, we know coming together and standing up to the boss isn’t easy. And it’s especially scary when you don’t have a union contract protecting you. That's why the courage of Saint Vincent workers is so powerful and inspiring.

While workers around the country are under attack, some workers – like the brave hospital workers in Massachusetts – are fighting back. We can’t wait to welcome these future Teamsters to our union!

West Coast innovations in improving workers' lives

Two recent developments that promise to improve workers' lives caught our attention, and both have to do with the West Coast high-tech industry, including Microsoft, Apple, Genentech and Facebook.

In Seattle, Microsoft announced Thursday that it would require many of its 2,000 contractors and vendors to give  15 paid days off for sick days and vacation time for their employees who work for Microsoft. The New York Times notes,

As the economy has become more dependent on contract workers, workers’ rights advocates have voiced concern about their working conditions, especially for low-skilled jobs. 

The situation is particularly acute in the tech industry, where average full-time employees earn more than $115,000 a year, along with generous benefits like child care, gourmet cafeterias and luxury shuttle rides to work. Many of the contracted service workers — who take care of the children, cook the food or drive the shuttles — earn near poverty-level wages and often do not receive basic benefits like sick leave.

Of course, there's another way for contract employees to win paid time off: Organize. And that's what San Francisco shuttle drivers are doing with the Teamsters. 

The city's Board of Supervisor on Tuesday may have made it easier. It passed a resolution urging the city’s transit agency to consider labor harmony when approving commuter shuttles to high-tech firms. 

Recently, Facebook shuttle drivers who work for Loop Transportation were organized under the leadership of Rome Aloise, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 853. In February they worked out a contract that raised the drivers into the middle class. According to the local, 

Under the contract, drivers now making $15-20/hr. will see their wages increase to $21-29/hr. They will enjoy fully paid family health insurance, paid vacation, holidays, sick days, retirement, and more.

Local 853 went on to organize drivers for Compass Transportation, which makes up some of the fleets for Ebay, Genentech, Apple, Yahoo, and Zynga. They have yet to reach an agreement. 

Said Brother Doug Bloch, Political Director for Teamsters Joint Council 7, 

There are a couple organizing campaigns happening as we speak, and the workers are afraid of retaliation. But that’s what the board addresses with this resolution.

Teamsters Local 665 is organizing shuttle drivers at Bauer Transportation, but not without difficulty. NBC Bay Area reported on Tuesday,

The Teamsters filed an unfair labor relations complaint with the National Labor Relations Board against Bauer, citing Bauer’s surveillance of employees and efforts to prevent employee union elections. That complaint is currently under review. Bauer is one of the eight major shuttle contractors for large, and typically high-tech, Bay Area companies. 

When Teamsters began talking to Bauer’s shuttle drivers, the union felt that company management turned hostile. During outreach in the last month, Mark Gleason, principal officer for Teamsters 665, said that management at Bauer followed and confronted the Teamsters who were meeting with drivers in San Francisco. He wouldn't disclose the details of this supposed confrontation.

Let's hope San Francisco's transit agency heeds the Board of Supervisors.

Sysco fired 18 workers for organizing a union. Demand justice!

There's been an outpouring of support for Sysco workers who were fired for supporting successful union drives in Atlanta and Olathe, Kan. Thousands of people emailed Sysco CEO William J. Delaney III demanding he reinstate the workers who were fired unjustly.

You can help. Go to http://ibt.io/sysco to join in the fight for justice.

Bruce Her, pictured above, was one of the 15 who lost his job in Atlanta during the campaign to join Teamsters Local 528. Three more Sysco workers were terminated in Kansas for the same reason.

The Protecting Sysco & US Foods Workers Facebook page tells us that isn't all Sysco did:

Teamsters Local 528 has filed numerous charges against the company for direct dealing with employees, making unilateral changes to things such as work rules, discipline standards and scheduling, conducting surveillance and threatening employees.

Sysco also fired Jason Coder, father of three, for supporting
the Teamsters organizing drive in Kansas.

Sysco’s anti-union antagonism is continuing as workers in the two facilities try to bargain first contracts after winning their Teamster representation elections.

Nearly 8,000 Teamsters helped build Sysco into the leading high-volume foodservice provider in the United States. They have pledged to pursue relentlessly justice for the workers targeted for their union activity.

Shuandrez Fitzgerald, father of twins,
was fired by Sysco for helping to
organize the Atlanta facility.

You can help by calling on Delaney to immediately reinstate the terminated workers and to bargain in good faith for fair contracts. Go to this link http://ibt.io/sysco to send an email to Delaney demanding justice and an end to union busting.

Today's Teamster News 03.19.15

Teamsters
Ryder Drivers At Three Locations In California Join Teamsters Union  insurancenewsnet.com   ... Drivers with Ryder Integrated Logistics at three California locations have voted to join the Teamsters Union, gaining representation for 105 workers in one week (see also International Brotherhood of Teamsters)...
SBPEA Losing 840 Members  San Bernardino Sun   ...“Many members, as well as all of us, are excited about the affiliation, and we will spend the next few weeks educating the members on all of the benefits of affiliating with the Teamsters Union,” Rodriguez said....
Middletown Supervisors Approve Contract With Teamsters Union Employees  Bucks County Courier Tribune   ...Middletown employees belonging to Teamsters Local 107 will get 3 percent pay increases in each of the next three years under a new contract unanimously approved by the township supervisors at Monday night’s meeting....
Eurest Workers Use Pressure Tactics At Halifax Airport  NewsWire   ...Eurest's 26 workers responsible for maintenance at Robert Stanfield Airport (YHZ) are resorting to pressure tactics 11 months after their collective agreement expired. The points at issue are both various and troubling: no benefits, low pay, unfair treatment by the employer, and others. "These workers clean toilets and don't even have group insurance. So if they get sick, they can't get reimbursed for any prescription drugs they may have to take," said Local Union 927 president Rob Beairsto....
Sysco Merger With US Foods A Step Too Far (opinion)  Houston Chronicle   ...Management's responsibility at a public company is to maximize shareholder value by grabbing as much market power and profit as possible....
Trade
Facing Dem anger, White House eases restrictions on classified trade files  The Hill   ...The loudest protests have come from liberal House Democrats who said the rules to view the text were too stringent. They have argued that the White House didn't want them to know the TPP details because they say any deal is likely to be bad for U.S. workers and their wages...
Pelosi Embraces Tough Questions About Obama's Trade Agenda  Associated Press   ...President Barack Obama's bid for a new trade deal didn't get easier Tuesday when the House's top Democrat said her caucus embraces a dozen demands that may be tough to meet...
Why the TPP will have a devastating impact on unions  The Ed Show   ...Closed door, classified meetings about the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership raises questions about transparency from the Obama Administration. Ed Schultz and Leo Gerard discuss...
Trumka Takes Opposition to a TPP Fast-Track to the Peterson Institute  Campaign for America's Future   ...One of the most troubling aspects of TPP is how few people have seen the entire treaty, Trumka said. So far only leaked portions have been released that clearly favor a race to the bottom, putting corporate interests over investment in human and environmental rights...
State Battles
Missouri Senate Panel Advances 1 Republican Labor Priority  Southeast Missourian   ...Right-to-work legislation, which would ban contracts that force all workers to pay union fees, was sent on Tuesday to the full Senate. But the Senate Small Business, Insurance and Industry Committee failed to move forward with what supporters call a "paycheck protection" measure that would require annual written authorization from public employee union members before paying union dues...
'Right To Work' Fight Over Public Employee Unions Heats Up In Oregon, May Go To 2016 Ballot  The Oregonian   ...Oregon may be one of the next big battlegrounds over "right to work" restrictions on unions that have now spread to 25 states. Washington County attorney Jill Gibson, who has been supported by some of the state's major conservative political donors, is moving toward putting a measure on the 2016 ballot that would allow public employees to opt out of financially supporting a union...
Kansas Panel Considers Limits On Public Workers' Collective Bargaining  Topeka Capital Journal   ...A legislative committee in Kansas is considering a proposal to restrict collective bargaining between public employees and state and local government agencies. Chairwoman Julia Lynn said the Senate Commerce Committee will debate the measure during its meeting Wednesday. Lynn is an Olathe Republican and has said she believes the GOP-dominated panel supports the bill...
Federal Judge Won’t Block Seattle’s $15 Minimum Wage  Seattle Post-Intelligencer   ...U.S. District Judge Richard Jones has refused to issue an injunction to halt Seattle’s nationally watched $15-an-hour minimum wage, slated to take effect in the Emerald City on April 1. “Great news! This ruling ensures that on April 1, the minimum wage will go up for all Seattle workers,” Mayor Ed Murray said in a statement...
War on Workers
Manufacturing Jobs Are Back, But Wages Are Not  Engineering.com   ...In 2007, the wage gap between the average manufacturing worker and all private-sector workers was barely noticeable ($19.40 and $19.57 respectively). However, by 2013 the average manufacturing wage had fallen by 85 cents, or 7.7 percent below the median average for all occupations. Today, approximately 1.5 million manufacturing workers – one in four – earn $11.91 or less per hour. Meanwhile, 600,000 workers make just $9.60 an hour...
Report: Energy companies, big banks reap big federal assistance  McClatchy   ...Big banks and Wall Street firms that took advantage of the bailout following the 2008 economic crash have reaped hundreds of billions, and even trillions, of dollars in assistance, according to Good Jobs First, a nonprofit organization that tracks government subsidies to corporations...
Target to Increase Wages to Minimum $9/Hour for All Workers in April  Wall Street Journal   ...Target Corp. plans to boost pay of all its workers to at least $9 an hour starting next month, following similar moves by rivals Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and TJX Cos. as competition for lower wage workers heats up...
Higher minimum wages are associated with greater financial well-being  London School of Economics   ... Even if some low-wage jobs disappear as minimum wages rise, the end result is greater economic security and prosperity overall for people who live and work in countries with higher minimums...
Senate Democrats Consider Raising Their Minimum Wage Proposal To $12  Huffington Post   ...Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), ranking member of the Senate's labor committee, has been reaching out to her Democratic colleagues to rally support for a more ambitious minimum wage proposal, according to a Senate source familiar with the conversations. Murray's idea: hike the federal minimum wage to $12 by 2020, rather than the current $10.10 proposal languishing in Congress. The wage floor would then be tied to an inflation index so that it rose with the cost of living...
Worker dies after 11-foot fall in Arkansas  Equipment World   ...29-year-old Erik Rivera Pontilla fell from a beam he was bolting into place. The Little Rock Police Department told the site that Pontilla lost his footing and fell directly onto a slab below. No one was nearby when he fell and no mention is made of harnesses or nets in the report...
Miscellaneous
IRS may broaden rule to police political nonprofits  Politico   ...IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said the agency may expand a yet-to-be-released rule governing 501(c)(4), “social welfare” groups, to include political groups known as 527s, which focus on elections. It could require them both — as well as other types of tax-exempt groups — to operate under the same definition of “political activity.”...
U.S. Sets New Record For Denying, Censoring Government Files  Huffington Post   ...The Obama administration set a new record again for more often than ever censoring government files or outright denying access to them last year under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, according to a new analysis of federal data by The Associated Press...

Today's Teamster News 03.16.15

Teamsters
County public employees to vote for Teamsters affiliation  Daily Press   ... Ballots have been mailed out to more than 15,000 San Bernardino County, city and agency employees to vote on whether they want to join Teamsters, officials said...
Trade
Ron Wyden's internet freedom allies fret he'll abandon them on trade pact  The Oregonian   ...Sen. Ron Wyden was greeted Friday morning at his Umatilla town hall meeting by a 30-foot-long blimp urging him to oppose an upcoming trade pack that critics say could curb internet freedom...
Wyden faces wide scope of question  East Oregonian   ...Education and international trade were on the minds of citizens who showed up to a town hall meeting hosted by Sen. Ron Wyden in Umatilla Friday...
TPP clock ticks as Congress dallies on trade authority  Japan Times   ... Negotiations on a contested Pacific free trade pact have apparently hit a new snag — a U.S. legislative delay in bringing forward a bill viewed as crucial to concluding the deal. Dashing earlier expectations, the U.S. Congress has yet to submit a bill that would grant what is called Trade Promotion Authority to President Barack Obama so he can sign trade deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership without deep legislative scrutiny...
Getting It Wrong on Trade: TPP Is Not Good for Workers  Beat the Press   ...What part of getting kicked in the face do you not understand?...
State Battles
'Right to work' laws aren't about jobs or rights. They're about power.  The Week   ... If you're an average worker who just wants to make more money, should you oppose "Right to Work" statutes? Absolutely...
Prevailing Wage Laws: Why Are They An Increasingly Popular Target For Republican State Legislators?  International Business Times   ... This session, Nevada has already repealed prevailing wages for school construction projects. A bill that scales back West Virginia’s system awaits the signature of the governor. Indiana nears a repeal. Michigan mulls a similar proposal. Some Wisconsin Republicans see it as the next step after right-to-work...
War on Workers
Working Minority Families Are Twice As Likely To Be Low-Income As Whites  Wall Street Journal   ... Racial and ethnic minorities made up 40% of all working families, but accounted for 58% of working families that are low-income...
NYU Graduate Students Win Historic Victory  The American Prospect   ...the Graduate Students Organizing Committee of the United Autoworkers, or GSOC, reached a historic, tentative agreement with administrators at New York University, averting a strike that was scheduled to begin just hours later...
Worker killed after being thrown from machine  Equipment World   ...Law enforcement and Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials are investigating the death of a construction worker on a jobsite in Rutherford County, North Carolina...
Miscellaneous
The rise of luxury toilet paper  Washington Post   ...Sales in the United States of what the industry calls "luxury" rolls — anything quilted, lotioned, perfumed or ultra-soft, from two- to four-ply — climbed to $1.4 billion last year, outpacing all other kinds of toilet paper for the first time in nearly a decade...

Today's Teamster News 03.13.15

Teamsters
Teamsters Praise Lt. Governor Stack For Supporting Working Families  IBT   ...Teamsters across the state are praising Lt. Governor Mike Stack for standing strong and striking down an attempt by some lawmakers to place a stranglehold on unions...
Could The Gogama Derailment Have Been Prevented?  NewsWire   ...The Teamsters Union once again raises concerns following the third train derailment in Northern Ontario in less than a month. For years, the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC)—which represents more than 12,000 railway workers—have continually stressed the need for more inspectors to be hired to see to the optimal operation of the equipment and the integrity of the tracks...
Facebook approves shuttle drivers contract  USA Today   ...Facebook and the contractor that supplies the shuttle drivers who transport the social networking giant's employees have agreed to a union-negotiated contract...
Google Shuttle Drivers To See Pay Hike, Better Benefits  San Jose Mercury News   ...The overtures come amid a growing Silicon Valley labor movement that has unionized some companies' shuttle drivers and also sought to lift up janitors, cooks, security guards and other service workers who buttress the high-tech economy. Shuttle drivers for Yahoo, Apple, Genentech, eBay and Zynga voted to join the Teamsters last month, following the lead of Facebook drivers, who joined the union in November...
Ryder Drivers In California Unionize  Materials Management and Distribution   ...Drivers with Ryder Integrated Logistics at three California locations have voted to join the Teamsters Union, gaining representation for 105 workers in one week. Eight-four drivers in Riverside and nine drivers in Fontana are now members of Teamsters Local 166 in Bloomington, California, and 12 drivers in Orange, have joined Teamsters Local 952, also located in Orange...
Time to Celebrate with Some Union Wine  Beeson Tayer & Bodine   ...Nearly 50 workers at the Constellation Brands Woodbridge Winery have joined the ranks of Teamsters Local 601. Constellation Brands is one of the largest wineries in the United States and produces some of the finest wines in California, including Ravens Wood, Toasted Head and Robert Mondavi wines...
Trade
AFL-CIO head on Obama’s trade push: ‘We are going all out to oppose it’  Washington Post   ...The head of the nation's largest labor organization on Tuesday slammed President Obama's trade push and vowed to block efforts in Congress to help the administration finalize a major free trade pact in the Asia Pacific...
Saving Obama from a Bad Trade Deal  American Prospect   ...lans to rush fast-track authority for two trade deals for a quick House and Senate vote abruptly broke down on Tuesday. The White House was hoping to put the vote to Congress as early as this week...
Elizabeth Warren Says Trade Deal May Force U.S. Payouts to Overseas Firms  Bloomberg   ...A nearly completed trade agreement among 12 Pacific Rim nations may require U.S. taxpayers to finance settlements to multinational corporations that say U.S. regulations hurt their companies, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren said Wednesday...
Major U.S. Unions Step Up Battle Against TPP  Japan Times   ...The largest American labor federation says it and its affiliated unions are freezing political contributions to federal candidates “until further notice” to channel funds into labor’s intensifying battle to stop or at least help shape a proposed free trade agreement being negotiated by the U.S. and other nations that border the Pacific Ocean...
State Battles
Bill would curtail bargaining power of public sector unions in Kansas  Wichita Eagle   ...Senate Bill 179, which had a hearing in the Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday, would define “conditions of employment” to exclusively mean salaries and wages in future contract negotiations between state and local governments and employees. That would mean that sick leave, insurance benefits and retirement benefits, for example, would no longer be included in negotiations between municipalities and police and firefighters’ unions...
Wages Are Lower in States With These Laws  New York Times   ...Where unions are strong, compensation increases even for workers not covered by any union contract, as nonunion employers face competitive pressure to match union standards...
House Narrowly Approves Right-To-Work Bill  New Hampshire Union Leader   ...A measure prohibiting labor unions from collecting agency fees to pay for negotiating and administering collective bargaining agreements was approved by the House on a 149-146 vote Wednesday. However, the bill faces a near-certain death in the Senate, which is evenly split 12-12 on the issue...
NY Assembly Democrats Propose State Budget Increasing Minimum Wage, School Aid  Syracuse Post Standard   ...Assembly Democrats on Tuesday proposed a $150.7 billion state budget they say will put families first, proposing larger increases in the minimum wage and public school aid than Gov. Andrew Cuomo did...
War on Workers
Wall Street's Yearly Bonuses Could Double the Pay for All of America's Minimum Wage Workers  New Republic   ...So how much are the wolves of Wall Street cashing in? Collectively, the report found, the employees received $28.5 billion in bonuses last year, a 3 percent jump, despite a decline in industry profits...
Union signals possible proposal coming to end U.S. refinery strike  Reuters  ...The United Steelworkers union signaled that lead refinery owner representative Shell Oil Co. may offer a possible settlement in the coming days that could end the largest refinery strike in 35 years...
Juries To Decide Landmark Cases Against Uber and Lyft  Forbes   ...Two landmark lawsuits that claim that drivers for ride-hailing services Uber and Lyft should be considered employees rather than contractors will both go to jury trial, two U.S. judges ruled Wednesday. The decisions could have a ripple effect on the business models of the burgeoning on-demand and sharing economies...
1 Worker Killed, 1 Hurt in New Mexico Oil Field Explosion  Associated Press   ...
An explosion at a New Mexico oil field site has killed one worker and injured another. Authorities say preliminary information indicates the workers were loading material into perforated pipe being installed into a drilling pipe in southern Lea County when the blast occurred Wednesday...
Why Salaries Don’t Rise (opinion)  Washington Post   ...At the root of our great pay stagnation is the appropriation by major investors of the funds that used to go to businesses’ research, modernization, expansion and workers. Full employment will certainly boost workers’ wages, but unless the power shift from workers to investors is reversed, the stagnant middle class we will always have with us...

Today's Teamster News 03.12.15

Teamsters
Teamsters hit FMCSA with lawsuit over move to open border for Mexican carriers  Overdrive   ...The Teamsters Union announced this week it has filed a lawsuit against the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s recent move to expand its cross-border trucking program with Mexico...
Teamsters Win Landslide Shareholder Vote At Hologic  teamster.org   ... A shareholder proposal sponsored by the Teamsters-affiliated GCC Benevolent Trust Fund secured an overwhelming majority vote of shareholders at last week’s Hologic Incorporated annual meeting. The proposal called on the Board of Directors to submit the adoption, maintenance or extension of any poison pill plan to a vote of the shareholders...
Hoffa: Film Tax Credits Are Worth Saving  Detroit News   ...Lawmakers on the campaign trail in Michigan have rightfully stressed the need for jobs in recent years. They say it is a top priority. But once within the cozy confines of the Statehouse in Lansing, too many seem to lose sight of the issue or its importance to their constituents. Case in point — a House committee’s decision last week to back legislation that ends some $50 million in annual tax credits to encourage films and television shows to shoot in the Great Lakes State...
Teamsters, RI Hospital Negotiations Stall  Rhode Island Public Radio   ...The Teamsters represent about 2500 nursing assistants, food service, and other workers at Rhode Island Hospital. They’ve threatened to strike if negotiators can’t agree on job protections and wage hikes, as well as improvements to their retirement plan...
Debate Over Fawn's Police Coverage Intensifies  Pittsburgh Tribune Review   ...Smith had a copy of a letter dated March 2, from Tom Huck, business agent for Teamsters Local 249 which represents the police, to supervisors chairman David Montanari. The supervisors and Teamsters negotiators were unable to come to a contract agreement for the police and the contract is headed to arbitration. In the letter, also sent to the Valley News Dispatch, Huck criticized the supervisors for allowing the shifts to go unmanned...
County Employees Receive Pay Hike  Ottumwa Courier   ...Employees in two different bargaining units were given identical pay increases by Wapello County Board of Supervisors Tuesday night. Teamsters Local 238 for the courthouse bargaining unit and Teamsters Local 238 for the sheriff's bargaining unit will receive a two percent increase on July 1, 2015, and July 1, 2016 and a two and half percent increase on July 1, 2017...
Trade
Push against investment rules in U.S. trade deals picks up  Reuters   ...Law professors from across the United States urged lawmakers to keep rules to protect foreign investors out of trade pacts on Wednesday, warning they would give big companies too much power...
Huckabee slams 'globalists,' free trade agreements  Politico   ...Expressing deep skepticism of proposed free trade agreements, Mike Huckabee warned in Iowa Saturday that the United States is becoming like communist China...
Unions To Fight Trade Pact By Freezing Political Donations  Wall Street Journal   ...The move is part of the unions’ campaign against the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, which the Obama administration is negotiating with 11 nations around the Pacific Ocean. The unions worry the trade agreement could send more jobs to low-wage countries, including Vietnam and Malaysia...
Paul Krugman: TPP At The NABE  New York Times   ...Why, exactly, should the Obama administration spend any political capital – alienating labor, disillusioning progressive activists – over such a deal?...
Health Impact Assessment: TPP Poses Risks To Affordable Medicines, Tobacco Control And Nutrition Labeling  Techdirt   ...The negotiations are still being conducted with a total lack of transparency -- especially compared to TAFTA/TTIP, where public pressure has led to the release of a large number of documents from the EU, though not from the US...
State Battles
Unions Challenge Wisconsin's New 'Right-To-Work' Law In Court  Reuters   ...The Wisconsin state AFL-CIO and two other unions filed suit on Tuesday challenging a new statute that lets private-sector employees avoid joining unions or paying dues even when covered by union-negotiated contracts...
Right-To-Work: NM Senate Panel Tables Bill  KOTA   ...A New Mexico Senate panel has voted along party lines to stop the advance of a bill that prohibits requiring workers to join a union and pay dues as a condition of employment...
War on Workers
Not a Puzzle—Wages Growth is Sluggish Because Employers Hold All the Cards  Economic Policy Institute   ...We’ve finally seen 12 consecutive months of job growth above 200,000, but wage growth shows little sign of accelerating. The question that everyone seems to be asking now is, when will wage growth pick up?...
Business Pushes for Delay, Litigation, and One-Sided Access in Union Elections  Economic Policy Institute   ... The NLRB is updating obsolete election rules that fail to recognize modern developments like e-mail, and which encourage excessive litigation and delay. Yet a panel stacked with anti-union lawyers attacked the rules as if they were ending American democracy...
How income fraud made the housing bubble worse  Science Daily   ... The researchers place the blame for falsified earnings listed on mortgage applications -- which the researchers call "buyer income overstatement" -- on brokers producing mortgages intended to be sold as securities...
Worker Electrocuted, Killed On South Tropical Trail  Space Coast Daily   ...A worker was killed Tuesday at about 2:45 p.m. while replacing power poles...