TEAMSTERS
Teamsters: Seattle Drivers Win a Voice With Historic City Council Vote Teamster.org ...Drivers in Seattle’s for-hire industry won the right to collectively bargain over their wages and working conditions through an initiative passed by the City Council today. The Mike O’Brien-sponsored bill will now move to the mayor’s desk for his signature. Drivers and community supporters celebrated the bill’s passage...
Seattle first U.S. city to let Uber drivers unionize Detroit News ...Seattle on Monday became the first city in the nation to allow drivers of ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft to unionize over pay and working conditions. Supporters erupted into cheers after the City Council voted 8-0 in favor of the legislation, which is seen as a test case for the changing 21st century workforce. The Teamsters Union Local 117 also celebrated the vote, while the National Right To Work Legal Foundation criticized it as a violation of drivers’ rights...
Teamsters Make Progress at Carhaul Talks, More Negotiations to be Scheduled Teamster.org ...The Teamsters Union and carhaul employer representatives continue to discuss and exchange proposals for a new national contract that are responsive to the concerns of the membership. Based on the talks just concluded last week, we can report some tentative progress. Many of the contract proposals have been resolved, but both sides still need to focus on the economic issues. The parties have decided to suspend talks over the holidays...
AFSCME and University reach tentative contract agreement Workday Minnesota ...AFSCME will brief clerical and technical workers this week on a tentative contract settlement with the University of Minnesota that the union said "begins to close the gap between the haves and have-nots at the University." The union credited solidarity among its local unions and with Teamsters Local 320 for leading to a breakthrough in the six-month negotiations...
GLOBAL LABOR & TRADE
Hundreds of Myanmar Garment Workers Mark Seventh Day of Labor Strike Radio Free Asia ...More than 200 garment workers in Myanmar’s commercial capital Yangon Monday marked the seventh day of a strike demanding full salary for November after the owner of the factory that employs them docked their pay for failing to meet production targets. The workers have been protesting since Dec. 7...
Steelworkers union calls on Canada, U.S. to reject TPP Canadian Manufacturing ...The executive board of the United Steelworkers have adopted a formal resolution urging Ottawa and Washington to reject the tentative Trans-Pacific Partnership. The union says the resolution is the precursor for a “fully engaged” TPP rejection campaign that will get underway in both Canada and the U.S. “The TPP will only continue the failed trade policies of the past"...
Major Summit Could Put World's Poorest Inhabitants on Corporate Chopping Block Alternet ...Last week, 453 civil society groups including trade unions, farmers, environmentalists, public interest groups and development advocates from over 150 countries wrote an urgent letter to members of the WTO to “express extreme alarm about the current situation of the negotiations in the WTO.” The 10th Ministerial meeting of the WTO is occurring against a backdrop of accelerated “mega-regional” comprehensive pro-corporate “trade” deals...
TPP trade agreement undercuts biologic patents Washington Examiner ...An important part of the deal is protection of intellectual property — including copyright, trademarks and patents — which are necessary for commercial and scientific innovation. The biggest obstacle to congressional approval, however, appears to be the deal's inadequate protection of intellectual property in "biologic" medicines...
Trans-Pacific Partnership Takes a Hit Hoosier Ag Today ...The Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal recently suffered a huge setback after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in an interview Congress should not take up the trade deal before the November elections. McConnell told the Washington Post that President Obama would be making a big mistake by pushing for a vote on TPP during the election cycle...
Don’t Be Misled; The TPP Is Still Coming Full Steam (opinion) OurFuture.org ...Recently there have been news reports that Republicans are going to delay TPP until after the 2016 elections. Do not be misled; this is a bargaining ploy. They want the Obama administration to make “side agreements” that give corporations even more. We have to keep up the fight, and keep getting the word out. People opposed to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) “trade” agreement have recently had their hopes lifted...
India's October tea output drops 7% as workers strike Economic Times ...India's tea production in key October month dropped 7 per cent from a year earlier to 158.06 million kg, the state-run Tea Board said in a statement, as a strike called by plantation workers in southern India hit plucking. Production in the southern state of Kerala, where plantation workers went on strike demanding higher wages, dropped 60 percent...
STATE & LIVING WAGE BATTLES
Right-Wing GOP Governor Succeeds in Making More People Go Hungry Alternet ...Maine's Gov. Paul LePage can now claim the proud policy achievement of making more needy people go hungry. David Farmer reports in Daily Bangor News that during LePage's administration, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, which administers SNAP benefits, has been so badly mismanaged it risks losing federal funding. The USDA also admonished the organization for failing to process applications in a timely way...
Amid $15 debate, tipped workers call for one minimum wage Times Union ...If state lawmakers approve a raise for all workers during the next legislative session, those earning tips say it’s time to dismantle the state’s two-tiered wage system. In a letter sent to Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday, Restaurant Opportunities Centers United Co-Founder and Co-Director Saru Jayaraman called on the governor to move to abolish the separate tipped minimum wage for certain workers in the restaurant and hospitality industries...
New state laws address gender pay gap, child care, disability leave SF Chronicle ...About three dozen employment laws take effect in California next year, including ones that bolster equal-pay protections, help workers with chronic health conditions and give parents unpaid time off to research schools and deal with child care emergencies. The most significant law on an annual list put out by the California Chamber of Commerce is SB358, the widely publicized Fair Pay Act...
Senate’s Motives At Issue As Redistricting Trial Starts CBS ...The decisions prompting state Senate leaders to choose a redistricting plan they recommended to a Leon County judge took center stage Monday, the first day of a trial to determine whether that map should go to the Florida Supreme Court. Circuit Judge George Reynolds has the task of recommending to the Supreme Court either the Senate’s redistricting proposal or one of several plans offered by a coalition of voting-rights groups...
Lincolnshire creates right-to-work zone that unions oppose Daily Herald ...Lincolnshire has become the first town in the Chicago area to establish itself as a right-to-work zone, a move critics have assailed as anti-union. t's also a move experts say is sure to face a legal challenge. To create the zone, the village board approved an ordinance preventing local employers from requiring workers to pay union dues with payroll deductions...
U.S. LABOR
Detroit casino workers ratify new contract Detroit Free Press ...Workers at Detroit's three casinos ratified a new five-year contract Sunday — ending months of contentious and complicated negotiations and providing relief to thousands of workers. Joe Daugherty, president of Unite Here Local 24 and head of the bargaining committee for a group of unions, said in an e-mail that a majority of workers at all three casinos approved the contract...
UAW-Nexteer workers to vote on second deal Detroit News ...UAW Local 699 President Rick Burzynski believes a second tentative agreement reached with Nexteer Automotive addresses concerns that led to a 20-hour strike and 97 percent of membership rejecting a first deal. “We pretty much addressed everything that our workers wanted,” he said Monday morning, a week after workers walked off their jobs and picketed the Chinese-owned auto supplier...
NLRB certifies VW Chattanooga election results Times Free Press ...The National Labor Relations Board has certified the results of the United Auto Workers election held at Volkswagen's Chattanooga plant on Dec. 3 and 4. Maintenance, or skilled trades, workers at the plant agreed to be represented by the UAW for collective bargaining purposes by a margin of 108 to 44...
Progress made in UAW, Kohler talks Sheboygan Press ...The Kohler Co. strike has entered its fifth week, with more talks scheduled for today between the company and the United Auto Workers Local 833. Union officials weren’t immediately available for comment Monday morning but posted on the UAW Local 833 Facebook page on Friday, Dec. 11, that there was “good movement in talks with the company today”...
IBEW 125 members ratify contract at Pacificorp NW Labor Press ...In votes counted Dec. 14, members of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 125 approved a new four-year contract with Pacific Power by a 72 percent margin. Local 125’s previous collective bargaining agreement with Pacific Power expired Jan. 26, 2015. In June and again in August, members voted down company proposals by overwhelming margins, and on Sept. 1, 2015, they authorized the union to call a strike...
Chicago Teachers Union’s Overwhelming Approval of Strike Shows Power of Bottom-up Organizing In These Times ...The numbers are in from the Chicago Teachers Union's strike authorization vote, and it's not even close. After three days of voting last week, 22,678 of the union's 24,752 eligible members cast ballots, and 96.05 percent of them voted “yes”—88 percent of all CTU members. The nation's third-largest — and arguably most important — teachers union has sent a clear message that they are willing to walk off the job amid their current round of contract negotiations...
SOCIAL JUSTICE & OTHER NEWS
New rule: Truck drivers must electronically record hours Newsday ...An estimated 3 million commercial truck and bus drivers must electronically record their hours behind the wheel under a new government rule aimed at enforcing regulations designed to prevent fatigue. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration released the long-awaited rule on Thursday. Drivers have been required to keep paper logs of their hours dating back to 1938...
After Paris, There Is Some Room for Hope The Nation ... it will undoubtedly be many years before renewable forms of energy—wind, solar, tidal, geothermal, and others still in development—replace fossil fuels as the world’s leading energy providers. Nonetheless, 2015 can be viewed as the year in which the epochal transition from one set of fuels to another took off, with renewables making such significant strides...
On policing, the national mood turns toward reform Washington Post ...In Chicago, Mayor Rahm Emanuel fired his police chief and faces a growing clamor for his resignation. In Baltimore, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake fired her police chief and abandoned plans to seek reelection. And in San Francisco, protesters are demanding the head of yet another police chief, prompting Mayor Edwin Lee to vow last week to overhaul police procedures regarding deadly force...
A Tense Baltimore Braces for A Verdict The Atlantic ...As the jury prepares to deliver a verdict in the trial of the first of six police officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray, the Baltimore police department is taking pains to reach out to the community and signal that it is ready to respond to any outcome, including protest. Community activists, meanwhile, say that distrust of the police still runs deep...
Robert Reich: Why the Middle Class Is in Revolt and Susceptible to a Dangerous 'Strongman' Alternet ...Now someone comes along who’s even more of a bully than those who for years have bullied them economically, politically, and even violently. The attraction is understandable, even though misguided. If not Donald Trump, then it will be someone else posing as a strongman. If not this election cycle, it will be the next one. The revolt of the anxious class has just begun...
Flood of Anti-Muslim Violence Driving Record Year for Crimes of Hate Common Dreams ...2015 is shaping up to be "one of the most intensely anti-Muslim periods in American history," according to reports, as increasing xenophobia and hateful rhetoric has propelled a record number of attacks on mosques and Islamic centers across the U.S...
Showing posts with label pay gap. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pay gap. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Friday, October 23, 2015
Today's Teamster News 10.23.15
TEAMSTERS
Union Leader: Don’t Remove Metal Detectors From NYC Schools WLNY ...Gregory Floyd of Teamsters Local 237 said that metal detectors used in schools serve as an effective deterrent for children seeking to bring weapons into the classroom, 1010 WINS’ Juliet Papa reported...
Canada Council Of Teamsters Ratifies Five-Year Agreement With UPS Stockhouse ...UPS Canada (NYSE:UPS) is pleased to announce that a tentative agreement with the Canada Council of Teamsters has been ratified. This results in a new five-year agreement covering approximately 7,000 employees throughout Canada...
On Eve Of Strike Vote, UPS Pilots Get Teamsters Support Logistics Management ...What’s more, leadership at the International Brotherhood of Teamsters said today that General President James Hoffa and General Secretary-Treasurer Ken Hall told the IPA’s President Captain Robert Travis in a letter that “if a strike is necessary, we will not cross your lines, but will stand with you on them.”...
Maine AFL-CIO Talks Minimum Wage Hikes At Biennial Convention WCSH ..."When we bring the bottom up that benefits everyone," explained Traci Place, a delegate for the Teamsters Local 340. "They spend that money in the community, the municipalities have more money the businesses have more money and that brings everybody up and how can that be bad."...
Agreement Ratified At UPS Teamsters Canada ...Eighty-one percent of the UPS workers who voted were in favour of ratifying the tentative agreement negotiated between Teamsters Canada and company management on September 24...
Parking Members To Receive Additional Sick/Personal Day Teamsters Local 727 ...Teamsters Local 727-represented parking members soon will receive an additional sick/personal day, per the collective bargaining agreement...
GLOBAL LABOR & TRADE
TPP Would Allow Milk From Cows Receiving Hormones Into Canada CBC ...As dairy imports from the United States appear set to increase under the terms of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, Canadian consumers concerned about drinking milk from cows receiving hormones will need to read their labels more carefully...
Meet CETA, TTIP’s Dangerous Cousin Left Foot Forward ...One year ago Canada and the EU finalized a trade deal known as CETA (the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement). If you haven’t heard of CETA, what you need to know is simple – it’s like TTIP but coming sooner...
TTIP: EU negotiators appear to break environmental pledge in leaked draft The Guardian ...The EU appears to have broken a promise to reinforce environmental protections in a leaked draft negotiating text submitted in the latest round of TTIP talks in Miami.. In January, the bloc promised to safeguard green laws, defend international standards and protect the EU’s right to set high levels of environmental protection...
'Mass Struggle Works': South African Student Uprising Wins Tuition Freeze Common Dreams ...Facing the largest student uprisings since South Africans toppled apartheid, President Jacob Zuma pledged Friday to freeze tuition fees in the year 2016—prompting declarations of victory, as well as calls to continue the mass mobilizations until full racial and economic equality is won...
Spaniards protest against austerity policies World Bulletin ...Students, health workers and members of trade unions took part in a demonstration dubbed as “Marches for Dignity” on Thursday, shouting for “bread, employment, roof and dignity.” according to a report in PressTV. Education Minister José Ignacio Wert Ortega resigned in July following massive student demonstrations held across the country. But his policy, known as the 3+2 Decree, is still in place...
Obama Administration Softens Criticism of China’s Currency Policy Wall Street Journal ...The U.S. Treasury Department, in its semiannual report on currencies Monday, said the yuan is “below its appropriate medium-term valuation.” In the previous report it said the currency was “significantly undervalued.”...
STATE & LIVING WAGE BATTLES
Right To Work Proposal Introduced In Ohio Bucyrus Telegraph Forum ...A Cincinnati lawmaker introduced his plan to bring a right-to-work law to Ohio despite opposition from fellow Republicans...
Even The Most Elite Women Are Subject To The Gender Pay Gap Huffington Post ...A business degree, even from one from a top school in the country, won't be enough to protect women from the gender gap in compensation...
Massachusetts Coffee Chain Fined $47,000 For Breaking Child Labor Laws, Stealing Tips Boston Globe ...The Massachusetts coffee shop chain Dippin’ Donuts has been fined $47,000 for violating state child labor laws and stealing tips from hourly workers, Attorney General Maura Healey announced Thursday...
Kansas City Council Repeals Minimum Wage Hike But Urges Statewide Increase Kansas City Star ...Blocked by state lawmakers from raising the minimum wage within city limits, the Kansas City Council on Thursday repealed legislation it passed last summer that would have done just that...
Proposal Would Raise Minimum-Wage To $12 An Hour Columbus Dispatch ...Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine today certified the language for a proposed constitutional amendment to provide automatic annual increases in the state minimum wage through 2021...
U.S. LABOR
UAW files petition to organize VW's maintenance workers Nooga ...United Auto Workers Local 42 has filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board seeking an election in hopes of representing maintenance employees at Volkswagen Chattanooga, and ultimately gaining collective bargaining powers...
SEIU, IBEW Locals in New Hampshire Announce Bernie Sanders Endorsement In These Times ...A pair of union locals in New Hampshire, home to the first primary of the 2016 election cycle, endorsed Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders as their candidate for president this week. On Wednesday, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local Union 490 endorsed Sanders, with local executive Denis Beaudoin saying that members at meetings spoke overwhelmingly in favor of the endorsement...
Clinton Scores Key Endorsement From Public-Employee Union NPR ...The nation's largest public-employee union is backing Hillary Clinton for president. The board of the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees voted to endorse the former senator and secretary of State on Friday. Clinton said in a statement of her own that she was "honored" to get AFSCME's endorsement...
From Construction To Exotic Dancing, Worker Misclassification Is Everywhere Washington City Paper ...If a company hires a person to stand near a construction site and direct traffic, is the worker in business for himself? If a company can fire a consultant without warning, is the worker really an independent contractor? Is a strip club still a strip club without exotic dancers? D.C.-area workers are asking these questions—and many more—as they allege the companies they consider their employers have misclassified them as independent contractors...
SOCIAL JUSTICE AND OTHER NEWS
ACLU Accuses Biloxi Of Running Debtors' Prison In Lawsuit Seeking To 'Dismantle Two-Tiered System Of Justice' Common Dreams ...The American Civil Liberties Union has accused Biloxi, Miss. of operating "a modern day debtors' prison," filing a lawsuit on Wednesday charging that the city, in violation of the U.S. Constitution, jails impoverished people for unpaid fines and fees they are unable to pay...
Iceland Just Jailed Dozens Of Corrupt Bankers For 74 Years, The Opposite Of What America Does AlterNet ...In stark contrast to the record low number of prosecutions of CEO’s and high-level financial executives in the U.S., Iceland has just sentenced 26 bankers to a combined 74 years in prison...
Pharma Bro Gets Taught A Necessary Lesson By The Free Market Think Progress ...A drug company plans on introducing the first competitor to Daraprim, the parasitic-fighting drug that’s met national controversy for its skyrocketing price tag. The company, Imprimis Pharmaceuticals, says its new drug will be available for only $1 a tablet — a stark difference from Daraprim’s $750...
Texas Officials Raid Several Planned Parenthood Offices, Demand Addresses Of Employees AlterNet ...Texas sent agents to Planned Parenthood facilities on Thursday seeking documents, the group said, calling it a "politically motivated" move that comes on the heels of the state's Republican leaders barring it from receiving Medicaid money...
Revised Swaps Rule To Spare Big Banks Billions In Collateral Bloomberg Business ...Wall Street banks will escape billions of dollars in additional collateral costs after U.S. regulators softened a rule that would have made their derivatives activities much more expensive...
Tennessee County Overwhelmingly Votes Down Plan To Raise Confederate Flag NBC News ...A Tennessee county voted overwhelmingly Monday night against a plan by one commissioner to raise the Confederate flag above the county's courthouse...
Union Leader: Don’t Remove Metal Detectors From NYC Schools WLNY ...Gregory Floyd of Teamsters Local 237 said that metal detectors used in schools serve as an effective deterrent for children seeking to bring weapons into the classroom, 1010 WINS’ Juliet Papa reported...
Canada Council Of Teamsters Ratifies Five-Year Agreement With UPS Stockhouse ...UPS Canada (NYSE:UPS) is pleased to announce that a tentative agreement with the Canada Council of Teamsters has been ratified. This results in a new five-year agreement covering approximately 7,000 employees throughout Canada...
On Eve Of Strike Vote, UPS Pilots Get Teamsters Support Logistics Management ...What’s more, leadership at the International Brotherhood of Teamsters said today that General President James Hoffa and General Secretary-Treasurer Ken Hall told the IPA’s President Captain Robert Travis in a letter that “if a strike is necessary, we will not cross your lines, but will stand with you on them.”...
Maine AFL-CIO Talks Minimum Wage Hikes At Biennial Convention WCSH ..."When we bring the bottom up that benefits everyone," explained Traci Place, a delegate for the Teamsters Local 340. "They spend that money in the community, the municipalities have more money the businesses have more money and that brings everybody up and how can that be bad."...
Agreement Ratified At UPS Teamsters Canada ...Eighty-one percent of the UPS workers who voted were in favour of ratifying the tentative agreement negotiated between Teamsters Canada and company management on September 24...
Parking Members To Receive Additional Sick/Personal Day Teamsters Local 727 ...Teamsters Local 727-represented parking members soon will receive an additional sick/personal day, per the collective bargaining agreement...
GLOBAL LABOR & TRADE
TPP Would Allow Milk From Cows Receiving Hormones Into Canada CBC ...As dairy imports from the United States appear set to increase under the terms of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, Canadian consumers concerned about drinking milk from cows receiving hormones will need to read their labels more carefully...
Meet CETA, TTIP’s Dangerous Cousin Left Foot Forward ...One year ago Canada and the EU finalized a trade deal known as CETA (the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement). If you haven’t heard of CETA, what you need to know is simple – it’s like TTIP but coming sooner...
TTIP: EU negotiators appear to break environmental pledge in leaked draft The Guardian ...The EU appears to have broken a promise to reinforce environmental protections in a leaked draft negotiating text submitted in the latest round of TTIP talks in Miami.. In January, the bloc promised to safeguard green laws, defend international standards and protect the EU’s right to set high levels of environmental protection...
'Mass Struggle Works': South African Student Uprising Wins Tuition Freeze Common Dreams ...Facing the largest student uprisings since South Africans toppled apartheid, President Jacob Zuma pledged Friday to freeze tuition fees in the year 2016—prompting declarations of victory, as well as calls to continue the mass mobilizations until full racial and economic equality is won...
Spaniards protest against austerity policies World Bulletin ...Students, health workers and members of trade unions took part in a demonstration dubbed as “Marches for Dignity” on Thursday, shouting for “bread, employment, roof and dignity.” according to a report in PressTV. Education Minister José Ignacio Wert Ortega resigned in July following massive student demonstrations held across the country. But his policy, known as the 3+2 Decree, is still in place...
Obama Administration Softens Criticism of China’s Currency Policy Wall Street Journal ...The U.S. Treasury Department, in its semiannual report on currencies Monday, said the yuan is “below its appropriate medium-term valuation.” In the previous report it said the currency was “significantly undervalued.”...
STATE & LIVING WAGE BATTLES
Right To Work Proposal Introduced In Ohio Bucyrus Telegraph Forum ...A Cincinnati lawmaker introduced his plan to bring a right-to-work law to Ohio despite opposition from fellow Republicans...
Even The Most Elite Women Are Subject To The Gender Pay Gap Huffington Post ...A business degree, even from one from a top school in the country, won't be enough to protect women from the gender gap in compensation...
Massachusetts Coffee Chain Fined $47,000 For Breaking Child Labor Laws, Stealing Tips Boston Globe ...The Massachusetts coffee shop chain Dippin’ Donuts has been fined $47,000 for violating state child labor laws and stealing tips from hourly workers, Attorney General Maura Healey announced Thursday...
Kansas City Council Repeals Minimum Wage Hike But Urges Statewide Increase Kansas City Star ...Blocked by state lawmakers from raising the minimum wage within city limits, the Kansas City Council on Thursday repealed legislation it passed last summer that would have done just that...
Proposal Would Raise Minimum-Wage To $12 An Hour Columbus Dispatch ...Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine today certified the language for a proposed constitutional amendment to provide automatic annual increases in the state minimum wage through 2021...
U.S. LABOR
UAW files petition to organize VW's maintenance workers Nooga ...United Auto Workers Local 42 has filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board seeking an election in hopes of representing maintenance employees at Volkswagen Chattanooga, and ultimately gaining collective bargaining powers...
SEIU, IBEW Locals in New Hampshire Announce Bernie Sanders Endorsement In These Times ...A pair of union locals in New Hampshire, home to the first primary of the 2016 election cycle, endorsed Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders as their candidate for president this week. On Wednesday, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local Union 490 endorsed Sanders, with local executive Denis Beaudoin saying that members at meetings spoke overwhelmingly in favor of the endorsement...
Clinton Scores Key Endorsement From Public-Employee Union NPR ...The nation's largest public-employee union is backing Hillary Clinton for president. The board of the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees voted to endorse the former senator and secretary of State on Friday. Clinton said in a statement of her own that she was "honored" to get AFSCME's endorsement...
From Construction To Exotic Dancing, Worker Misclassification Is Everywhere Washington City Paper ...If a company hires a person to stand near a construction site and direct traffic, is the worker in business for himself? If a company can fire a consultant without warning, is the worker really an independent contractor? Is a strip club still a strip club without exotic dancers? D.C.-area workers are asking these questions—and many more—as they allege the companies they consider their employers have misclassified them as independent contractors...
SOCIAL JUSTICE AND OTHER NEWS
ACLU Accuses Biloxi Of Running Debtors' Prison In Lawsuit Seeking To 'Dismantle Two-Tiered System Of Justice' Common Dreams ...The American Civil Liberties Union has accused Biloxi, Miss. of operating "a modern day debtors' prison," filing a lawsuit on Wednesday charging that the city, in violation of the U.S. Constitution, jails impoverished people for unpaid fines and fees they are unable to pay...
Iceland Just Jailed Dozens Of Corrupt Bankers For 74 Years, The Opposite Of What America Does AlterNet ...In stark contrast to the record low number of prosecutions of CEO’s and high-level financial executives in the U.S., Iceland has just sentenced 26 bankers to a combined 74 years in prison...
Pharma Bro Gets Taught A Necessary Lesson By The Free Market Think Progress ...A drug company plans on introducing the first competitor to Daraprim, the parasitic-fighting drug that’s met national controversy for its skyrocketing price tag. The company, Imprimis Pharmaceuticals, says its new drug will be available for only $1 a tablet — a stark difference from Daraprim’s $750...
Texas Officials Raid Several Planned Parenthood Offices, Demand Addresses Of Employees AlterNet ...Texas sent agents to Planned Parenthood facilities on Thursday seeking documents, the group said, calling it a "politically motivated" move that comes on the heels of the state's Republican leaders barring it from receiving Medicaid money...
Revised Swaps Rule To Spare Big Banks Billions In Collateral Bloomberg Business ...Wall Street banks will escape billions of dollars in additional collateral costs after U.S. regulators softened a rule that would have made their derivatives activities much more expensive...
Tennessee County Overwhelmingly Votes Down Plan To Raise Confederate Flag NBC News ...A Tennessee county voted overwhelmingly Monday night against a plan by one commissioner to raise the Confederate flag above the county's courthouse...
Thursday, August 13, 2015
Today's Teamster News 08.13.15
Teamsters
Tucson Bus Workers On Strike For Nearly A Week Arizona Republic ...Andrew Marshall with the Teamsters Local 104 says about 530 bus employees went on strike on Thursday last week. He says the union and Sun Tran are at an impasse over pay and safety issues like assaults on bus drivers and mold at a facility...
Global Labor & Trade
Robb: TPP Trade Deal Unlikely MacroBusiness ...Australia’s trade minister, Andrew Robb, has appeared at the National Press Club in Canberra today, where he admitted that concluding the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal is looking increasingly unlikely...
China’s Currency Falls For A Third Consecutive Day The Atlantic ...China’s currency devaluation continued for a third day Thursday, as the country’s central bank set the official exchange rate of the renminbi against the U.S. dollar 1.1 percent lower than the day before. Since Tuesday, when the People’s Bank of China stunned markets by announcing the devaluation, the yuan has fallen 4.4 percent, triggering fluctuations in equity markets around the world...
State & Living Wage Battles
Let’s Expose The Gender Pay Gap New York Times ...More than a half-century after President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act of 1963, the gap between what men and women earn has defied every effort to close it. And it can’t be explained away as a statistical glitch, a function of women preferring lower-paying industries or choosing to take time off for kids...
Redistricting Reform In Maryland And Virginia: Can The States Join Forces? Washington Post ...A logical starting point for such a compact is the fact that the two states’ political complexions are mirror images — one has a Republican governor stymied by Democratic legislators; the other has a Democratic governor foiled by Republicans. In both cases, elected lawmakers have arrogantly scoffed at reforming the process by which congressional maps are drawn, preferring to gerrymander districts for maximum partisan advantage...
White House To Hold Summit To Amplify Employees’ Voice In Workplace Wall Street Journal ...The White House will hold a summit in October to explore how American workers can amplify their voices on the job to get ahead, and it touted labor unions as a powerful way to enable that...
Study To Explore Raising The Minimum Wage In Long Beach Receives Unanimous Support Long Beach Post ...Long Beach officially launched itself into the center of the national minimum wage discussion last night, after the city council voted unanimously to approve a report that will explore the benefits and risks of raising wages across the city. The report, which is expected to take about 60 days to complete, could ultimately decide if the city joins others in the region in establishing a higher city-wide minimum wage...
Minding The Gap Philadelphia Inquirer ...With wages growing at the slowest rate in 33 years, the Securities and Exchange Commission's recent vote requiring publicly traded companies to report the ratio of chief executives' earnings to those of average workers should fuel discussion of income inequality and encourage companies to narrow the great divide...
Kansas Cancels Its Ultimate Plan To Punish The Poor Washington Post ...Kansas will not tell its welfare recipients how much cash they should be carrying, at least for now. The state announced last week it would not implement a controversial $25 daily limit on the benefits that enrollees can withdraw in cash from an ATM...
Worker Misclassification Bill Gets Initial NC House Approval WECT ...A second General Assembly chamber has backed an effort to prevent North Carolina businesses from avoiding paying taxes and other benefits by deliberately mislabeling workers as independent contractors...
SEC Admits It’s Not Monitoring Stock Buybacks To Prevent Market Manipulation The Intercept ...The Securities and Exchange Commission has admitted that it has no ability to enforce the main rule intended to prevent market manipulation when companies buy back their own stock, and has no intention to do so...
U.S. Labor
The Perils Of Ever-Changing Work Schedules Extend To Children’s Well-Being New York Times ...A growing body of research suggests that children’s language and problem-solving skills may suffer as a result of their parents’ problematic schedules, and that they may be more likely than other children to smoke and drink when they are older...
Is The Local Economy the Solution To A Post-Capitalist World? AlterNet ...According to community economics advocate Michael Shuman, mainstream economic development today is a scam. States and local government agencies spend big money to lure corporations to their region but do little to stimulate the local economy or support local businesses. And those small businesses, not the chain stores, are often what give a neighborhood its unique identity and make it desirable to live in...
Are Graduate Students ‘Workers’? The Nation ...So although they taught, researched and performed administrative tasks in exchange for the school’s financial support for their studies—even when working on a regular schedule with a designated hourly wage, under a supervisor—that labor wasn’t work, but rather, simply a privilege of their academic experience. This realm, supposedly, is one of scholarly discourse, not labor and capital...
Social Justice & Other News
As Tracy Morgan Heals, NTSB Says Driver In Fatal Crash Was Awake 28 Hours Los Angeles Times ...The investigation into the deadly crash has seemed to move as slowly as Morgan's recovery. But on Tuesday morning, National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Christopher Hart confirmed the driver of the truck that struck Morgan's limousine had been awake for more than 28 hours before the collision...
Why Financial Aid Might Make College More Expensive Vox ...A recent paper from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York finds that for every extra dollar a college gets in Pell Grants, the school charges 40 cents more in tuition. For every extra dollar in subsidized student loans, tuition goes up 65 cents. The effects were much more pronounced at private colleges...
Death Penalty In Connecticut Ruled Unconstitutional Huffington Post ...The Connecticut Supreme Court on Thursday ruled the state's death penalty is unconstitutional. The ruling will affect the 11 inmates currently on the state's death row. Lawmakers repealed the state's death penalty in 2012, but stipulated it only applied to future crimes. Plaintiffs in Thursday's case had argued the 2012 ban should also extend to prisoners already on death row...
Maine Implemented An Elaborate New Drug Test For Welfare. Just One Person Flunked. Think Progress ...Maine began screening applicants to its welfare program in April, requiring those with past drug felony convictions to take a drug test. But despite spending $624 on the program, just one person has tested positive so far, the Associated Press reports...
American Schools Are More Segregated Now Then They Were In 1968, And The Supreme Court Doesn’t Care Think Progress ...White residents had just learned that students from the mostly black district that includes Ferguson, Missouri would be joining their own children due to a law giving students in failing school systems the opportunity to attend classes elsewhere — and these white parents were pissed. One mother demanded metal detectors and drug sniffing dogs, because she falsely believed that the black district was struggling because of a record of “violent behavior.” “I shopped for a school district!” she proclaimed as the crowd of white parents erupted around her in cheers, “I deserve to not have to worry about my children getting stabbed, or taking a drug, or getting robbed.”...
The Persecution Of Chelsea Manning The Atlantic ...Chelsea Manning, the former Army intelligence analyst convicted of giving a trove of secrets to WikiLeaks, is serving a 35-year sentence inside a military prison. And now she may be thrown into solitary confinement indefinitely, her lawyer says...
Labor And Industries Makes No Decision In Child-Labor Investigation Of Western Hockey League Seattle Times ...An investigation of the Western Hockey League (WHL) for possible child-labor violations by the state Department of Labor and Industries ended without a decision...
Tucson Bus Workers On Strike For Nearly A Week Arizona Republic ...Andrew Marshall with the Teamsters Local 104 says about 530 bus employees went on strike on Thursday last week. He says the union and Sun Tran are at an impasse over pay and safety issues like assaults on bus drivers and mold at a facility...
Global Labor & Trade
Robb: TPP Trade Deal Unlikely MacroBusiness ...Australia’s trade minister, Andrew Robb, has appeared at the National Press Club in Canberra today, where he admitted that concluding the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal is looking increasingly unlikely...
China’s Currency Falls For A Third Consecutive Day The Atlantic ...China’s currency devaluation continued for a third day Thursday, as the country’s central bank set the official exchange rate of the renminbi against the U.S. dollar 1.1 percent lower than the day before. Since Tuesday, when the People’s Bank of China stunned markets by announcing the devaluation, the yuan has fallen 4.4 percent, triggering fluctuations in equity markets around the world...
State & Living Wage Battles
Let’s Expose The Gender Pay Gap New York Times ...More than a half-century after President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act of 1963, the gap between what men and women earn has defied every effort to close it. And it can’t be explained away as a statistical glitch, a function of women preferring lower-paying industries or choosing to take time off for kids...
Redistricting Reform In Maryland And Virginia: Can The States Join Forces? Washington Post ...A logical starting point for such a compact is the fact that the two states’ political complexions are mirror images — one has a Republican governor stymied by Democratic legislators; the other has a Democratic governor foiled by Republicans. In both cases, elected lawmakers have arrogantly scoffed at reforming the process by which congressional maps are drawn, preferring to gerrymander districts for maximum partisan advantage...
White House To Hold Summit To Amplify Employees’ Voice In Workplace Wall Street Journal ...The White House will hold a summit in October to explore how American workers can amplify their voices on the job to get ahead, and it touted labor unions as a powerful way to enable that...
Study To Explore Raising The Minimum Wage In Long Beach Receives Unanimous Support Long Beach Post ...Long Beach officially launched itself into the center of the national minimum wage discussion last night, after the city council voted unanimously to approve a report that will explore the benefits and risks of raising wages across the city. The report, which is expected to take about 60 days to complete, could ultimately decide if the city joins others in the region in establishing a higher city-wide minimum wage...
Minding The Gap Philadelphia Inquirer ...With wages growing at the slowest rate in 33 years, the Securities and Exchange Commission's recent vote requiring publicly traded companies to report the ratio of chief executives' earnings to those of average workers should fuel discussion of income inequality and encourage companies to narrow the great divide...
Kansas Cancels Its Ultimate Plan To Punish The Poor Washington Post ...Kansas will not tell its welfare recipients how much cash they should be carrying, at least for now. The state announced last week it would not implement a controversial $25 daily limit on the benefits that enrollees can withdraw in cash from an ATM...
Worker Misclassification Bill Gets Initial NC House Approval WECT ...A second General Assembly chamber has backed an effort to prevent North Carolina businesses from avoiding paying taxes and other benefits by deliberately mislabeling workers as independent contractors...
SEC Admits It’s Not Monitoring Stock Buybacks To Prevent Market Manipulation The Intercept ...The Securities and Exchange Commission has admitted that it has no ability to enforce the main rule intended to prevent market manipulation when companies buy back their own stock, and has no intention to do so...
U.S. Labor
The Perils Of Ever-Changing Work Schedules Extend To Children’s Well-Being New York Times ...A growing body of research suggests that children’s language and problem-solving skills may suffer as a result of their parents’ problematic schedules, and that they may be more likely than other children to smoke and drink when they are older...
Is The Local Economy the Solution To A Post-Capitalist World? AlterNet ...According to community economics advocate Michael Shuman, mainstream economic development today is a scam. States and local government agencies spend big money to lure corporations to their region but do little to stimulate the local economy or support local businesses. And those small businesses, not the chain stores, are often what give a neighborhood its unique identity and make it desirable to live in...
Are Graduate Students ‘Workers’? The Nation ...So although they taught, researched and performed administrative tasks in exchange for the school’s financial support for their studies—even when working on a regular schedule with a designated hourly wage, under a supervisor—that labor wasn’t work, but rather, simply a privilege of their academic experience. This realm, supposedly, is one of scholarly discourse, not labor and capital...
Social Justice & Other News
As Tracy Morgan Heals, NTSB Says Driver In Fatal Crash Was Awake 28 Hours Los Angeles Times ...The investigation into the deadly crash has seemed to move as slowly as Morgan's recovery. But on Tuesday morning, National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Christopher Hart confirmed the driver of the truck that struck Morgan's limousine had been awake for more than 28 hours before the collision...
Why Financial Aid Might Make College More Expensive Vox ...A recent paper from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York finds that for every extra dollar a college gets in Pell Grants, the school charges 40 cents more in tuition. For every extra dollar in subsidized student loans, tuition goes up 65 cents. The effects were much more pronounced at private colleges...
Death Penalty In Connecticut Ruled Unconstitutional Huffington Post ...The Connecticut Supreme Court on Thursday ruled the state's death penalty is unconstitutional. The ruling will affect the 11 inmates currently on the state's death row. Lawmakers repealed the state's death penalty in 2012, but stipulated it only applied to future crimes. Plaintiffs in Thursday's case had argued the 2012 ban should also extend to prisoners already on death row...
Maine Implemented An Elaborate New Drug Test For Welfare. Just One Person Flunked. Think Progress ...Maine began screening applicants to its welfare program in April, requiring those with past drug felony convictions to take a drug test. But despite spending $624 on the program, just one person has tested positive so far, the Associated Press reports...
American Schools Are More Segregated Now Then They Were In 1968, And The Supreme Court Doesn’t Care Think Progress ...White residents had just learned that students from the mostly black district that includes Ferguson, Missouri would be joining their own children due to a law giving students in failing school systems the opportunity to attend classes elsewhere — and these white parents were pissed. One mother demanded metal detectors and drug sniffing dogs, because she falsely believed that the black district was struggling because of a record of “violent behavior.” “I shopped for a school district!” she proclaimed as the crowd of white parents erupted around her in cheers, “I deserve to not have to worry about my children getting stabbed, or taking a drug, or getting robbed.”...
The Persecution Of Chelsea Manning The Atlantic ...Chelsea Manning, the former Army intelligence analyst convicted of giving a trove of secrets to WikiLeaks, is serving a 35-year sentence inside a military prison. And now she may be thrown into solitary confinement indefinitely, her lawyer says...
Labor And Industries Makes No Decision In Child-Labor Investigation Of Western Hockey League Seattle Times ...An investigation of the Western Hockey League (WHL) for possible child-labor violations by the state Department of Labor and Industries ended without a decision...
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Today's Teamster News 12.04.13
2014 Teamsters Leadership Academy (TLA) Course Summary teamster.org ...Below
is a list of the 2014 Teamsters Leadership Academy programs available
from the IBT Training and Development Department for Teamster leaders. Download the schedule here...
Report: ALEC faces financial, possibly legal, problems UPI ...A conservative U.S. lobbying group critics say has undue influence on public policy faces a funding crisis and possible legal trouble, internal documents show...
Ill. Legislature OKs fix for $100B pension crisis Associated Press ...A coalition of unions known as We Are One Illinois, which lobbied heavily against the bill, issued a statement saying the legislation is unfair to workers and retirees who for years made faithful contributions to retirement systems but now will see benefits cut because of government mismanagement. "This is no victory for Illinois, but a dark day for its citizens and public servants," they said. "Teachers, caregivers, police and others stand to lose huge portions of their life savings because politicians chose to threaten their retirement security..."
Judge: Detroit eligible for Chapter 9 bankruptcy Associated Press ...Detroit is eligible to shed billions in debt in the largest public bankruptcy in U.S. history, a judge said Tuesday in a long-awaited decision that now shifts the case toward how the city will accomplish that task...
Missouri Extremists Get an Early Start on Attacking Working Families for 2014 Legislative Session AFL-CIO Now ...Extremist pro-corporate Republicans in Missouri are getting an early start on attacking the rights of working families by pre-filing a "right to work" for less bill for the 2014 legislative session. While there undoubtedly will be similar attacks in other states in 2014, Missouri is the first state to take formal steps to strip working families of their rights...
Scott Walker campaign aide fired after tweets demeaning Hispanics Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel ...For the second time in less than four months, Gov. Scott Walker has fired an aide for making demeaning comments about Hispanics on social media...
Fast Food Strikes Will Hit 100 Cities On Thursday ThinkProgress ...Fast food workers will stage a one-day strike against their employers in 100 cities on Thursday ... Strikes will take place for the first time in some cities, such as Charleston, SC; Providence, RI; and Pittsburgh, PA.
They’ll also stage protests in an additional 100 cities, activists say...
Fast food CEOs exploit despicable tax loophole Salon ...Outrageous: In two years, fast food corporations paid out $183 million in deductible "performance pay" to top brass...
Making One Do the Work of Three: My Years at Wal-Mart CounterPunch ...This is the text of a speech given on November 29, in Raleigh, North Carolina by former Wal-Mart worker Patrick Snipes...
Cisco Says NSA Costing Them Major Business Abroad firedoglake ...Cisco Systems, one of the largest networking equipment sellers in the world, has been losing major business in the wake of the NSA spying scandal. The company has publicly blamed the NSA for sowing distrust between American technology companies and the rest of the world – potentially costing them billions...
Race to the Bottom: Declining State Corporate Tax Rates CounterPunch ...Behind the decline in the corporate income tax as a share of total tax revenues lies the growing proliferation of corporate tax exemptions, credits, deferral of payments, and various other ‘loopholes.’...
Global Elites Getting Nervous About Skyrocketing Inequality (But Won't Spare a Nickel to Fix It) AlterNet ...There’s a lot of handwringing, but will elite anxiety bring any changes?...
Survey: Rich kids reap benefits of online courses Bloomberg News ...An international poll casts doubt on the idea that the free online classes will benefit disenfranchised students...
As Hospital Prices Soar, a Single Stitch Tops $500 New York Times ...Hospital pricing is often convoluted, and hospital charges represent about a third of the total United States health care bill...
Report: ALEC faces financial, possibly legal, problems UPI ...A conservative U.S. lobbying group critics say has undue influence on public policy faces a funding crisis and possible legal trouble, internal documents show...
Ill. Legislature OKs fix for $100B pension crisis Associated Press ...A coalition of unions known as We Are One Illinois, which lobbied heavily against the bill, issued a statement saying the legislation is unfair to workers and retirees who for years made faithful contributions to retirement systems but now will see benefits cut because of government mismanagement. "This is no victory for Illinois, but a dark day for its citizens and public servants," they said. "Teachers, caregivers, police and others stand to lose huge portions of their life savings because politicians chose to threaten their retirement security..."
Judge: Detroit eligible for Chapter 9 bankruptcy Associated Press ...Detroit is eligible to shed billions in debt in the largest public bankruptcy in U.S. history, a judge said Tuesday in a long-awaited decision that now shifts the case toward how the city will accomplish that task...
Missouri Extremists Get an Early Start on Attacking Working Families for 2014 Legislative Session AFL-CIO Now ...Extremist pro-corporate Republicans in Missouri are getting an early start on attacking the rights of working families by pre-filing a "right to work" for less bill for the 2014 legislative session. While there undoubtedly will be similar attacks in other states in 2014, Missouri is the first state to take formal steps to strip working families of their rights...
Scott Walker campaign aide fired after tweets demeaning Hispanics Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel ...For the second time in less than four months, Gov. Scott Walker has fired an aide for making demeaning comments about Hispanics on social media...
Fast Food Strikes Will Hit 100 Cities On Thursday ThinkProgress ...Fast food workers will stage a one-day strike against their employers in 100 cities on Thursday ... Strikes will take place for the first time in some cities, such as Charleston, SC; Providence, RI; and Pittsburgh, PA.
They’ll also stage protests in an additional 100 cities, activists say...
Fast food CEOs exploit despicable tax loophole Salon ...Outrageous: In two years, fast food corporations paid out $183 million in deductible "performance pay" to top brass...
Making One Do the Work of Three: My Years at Wal-Mart CounterPunch ...This is the text of a speech given on November 29, in Raleigh, North Carolina by former Wal-Mart worker Patrick Snipes...
Cisco Says NSA Costing Them Major Business Abroad firedoglake ...Cisco Systems, one of the largest networking equipment sellers in the world, has been losing major business in the wake of the NSA spying scandal. The company has publicly blamed the NSA for sowing distrust between American technology companies and the rest of the world – potentially costing them billions...
Race to the Bottom: Declining State Corporate Tax Rates CounterPunch ...Behind the decline in the corporate income tax as a share of total tax revenues lies the growing proliferation of corporate tax exemptions, credits, deferral of payments, and various other ‘loopholes.’...
Global Elites Getting Nervous About Skyrocketing Inequality (But Won't Spare a Nickel to Fix It) AlterNet ...There’s a lot of handwringing, but will elite anxiety bring any changes?...
Survey: Rich kids reap benefits of online courses Bloomberg News ...An international poll casts doubt on the idea that the free online classes will benefit disenfranchised students...
As Hospital Prices Soar, a Single Stitch Tops $500 New York Times ...Hospital pricing is often convoluted, and hospital charges represent about a third of the total United States health care bill...
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Today's Teamster News 05.29.13
Working moms are now main breadwinners in a record 40 percent of US households with children Associated Press ...While most are headed by single mothers, a growing number are families with married mothers who bring in more income than their husbands...
Chance at a Union Job Draws 800 Job Applicants in Queens, N.Y. AFL-CIO ...a union elevator mechanic job prompted nearly 1,000 young workers to haul out tents and mattresses and weather the great outdoors of Long Island City at the chance to be considered...
Feds investigate Md. train derailment, explosion Associated Press ...In the third serious derailment this month, a dozen or so rail cars — at least one carrying hazardous materials — went off the tracks around 2 p.m. Tuesday in Rosedale, Md., a suburb east of Baltimore. Several rail cars caught fire, sending a plume of black and gray smoke into the air that could be seen for miles, and an explosion rattled homes at least a half-mile away...
'Lost generation' fears for Europe's youth as unemployment soars across eurozone and leaves more than 19million without jobs Daily Mail ...In Greece, 58 per cent of under-25s are unemployed, along with 56 per cent in Spain and 38 per cent in Portugal and Italy. In the eurozone as a whole it is 24 per cent. In the UK it is 21 per cent...
Citi settles U.S. suit over $3.5 billion in mortgage securities Reuters ...Citigroup Inc (C.N) has reached a settlement with a federal agency that had accused the bank of misleading Fannie Mae (FNMA.OB) and Freddie Mac (FMCC.OB) into buying $3.5 billion of mortgage-backed securities...
US tax inspector targets Caribbean bank The Guardian ...A Caribbean bank formerly co-owned by Barclays has been targeted by US tax authorities seeking information on suspected American tax evaders...
US prosecutes '$6 bn money-laundering hub' BBC News ...The Liberty Reserve digital money service that was shut down laundered more than $6 billion in criminal cash, US authorities have said...
Wal-Mart pleads guilty in environmental case involving pesticides sent to Missouri contractor Kansas City Star ...Retailer Wal-Mart resolved years of hazardous-waste complaints Tuesday with criminal guilty pleas in Missouri and California and the settlement of a civil lawsuit filed by federal environmental authorities...
Elders Should Exercise Caution Before Turning to Payday Loans Rocky Mount Telegram ...An increasing number of cash-strapped elders are turning to payday loans—a highly-risky source of short-term financing—to cover their day-to-day expenses...
Appeals court says union groups may revise lawsuit Associated Press ...Union groups are getting a chance to revise their lawsuit and add new defendants in a challenge to two Idaho laws targeting organized labor...
Women still on the lower salary rungs in Wyoming state government Star-Tribune ...Women working in Wyoming’s state government hold relatively few high-paid jobs — including management positions — compared to men, a state-issued report found...
American Airlines Mechanics File for Election to Become Teamsters IBT ...American Airlines mechanics and related workers filed for an election today with the National Mediation Board (NMB) as part of a months-long effort to become Teamsters...
Local 117 Members Attend National Police Week Teamsters Local 117 ...Two Local 117 Police Officers, Roger Gale of the City of Pacific and Willie Bergin from the University of Washington, attended National Police Week in Washington D.C. from May 12-18...
Collective Bargaining TLA Slated for June 18-21 IBT ...The IBT Training and Development Department is conducting a Teamsters Leadership Academy on Collective Bargaining, June18-21, 2013, hosted by Joint Council 40 in Mars, Pennsylvania...
Advanced Business Agents’ Seminar Scheduled July 29-31 IBT ...The IBT Training and Development Department will conduct an Advanced Business Agents seminar July 29-31, 2013 at Teamsters Joint Council 25 in Chicago...
Chance at a Union Job Draws 800 Job Applicants in Queens, N.Y. AFL-CIO ...a union elevator mechanic job prompted nearly 1,000 young workers to haul out tents and mattresses and weather the great outdoors of Long Island City at the chance to be considered...
Feds investigate Md. train derailment, explosion Associated Press ...In the third serious derailment this month, a dozen or so rail cars — at least one carrying hazardous materials — went off the tracks around 2 p.m. Tuesday in Rosedale, Md., a suburb east of Baltimore. Several rail cars caught fire, sending a plume of black and gray smoke into the air that could be seen for miles, and an explosion rattled homes at least a half-mile away...
'Lost generation' fears for Europe's youth as unemployment soars across eurozone and leaves more than 19million without jobs Daily Mail ...In Greece, 58 per cent of under-25s are unemployed, along with 56 per cent in Spain and 38 per cent in Portugal and Italy. In the eurozone as a whole it is 24 per cent. In the UK it is 21 per cent...
Citi settles U.S. suit over $3.5 billion in mortgage securities Reuters ...Citigroup Inc (C.N) has reached a settlement with a federal agency that had accused the bank of misleading Fannie Mae (FNMA.OB) and Freddie Mac (FMCC.OB) into buying $3.5 billion of mortgage-backed securities...
US tax inspector targets Caribbean bank The Guardian ...A Caribbean bank formerly co-owned by Barclays has been targeted by US tax authorities seeking information on suspected American tax evaders...
US prosecutes '$6 bn money-laundering hub' BBC News ...The Liberty Reserve digital money service that was shut down laundered more than $6 billion in criminal cash, US authorities have said...
Wal-Mart pleads guilty in environmental case involving pesticides sent to Missouri contractor Kansas City Star ...Retailer Wal-Mart resolved years of hazardous-waste complaints Tuesday with criminal guilty pleas in Missouri and California and the settlement of a civil lawsuit filed by federal environmental authorities...
Elders Should Exercise Caution Before Turning to Payday Loans Rocky Mount Telegram ...An increasing number of cash-strapped elders are turning to payday loans—a highly-risky source of short-term financing—to cover their day-to-day expenses...
Appeals court says union groups may revise lawsuit Associated Press ...Union groups are getting a chance to revise their lawsuit and add new defendants in a challenge to two Idaho laws targeting organized labor...
Women still on the lower salary rungs in Wyoming state government Star-Tribune ...Women working in Wyoming’s state government hold relatively few high-paid jobs — including management positions — compared to men, a state-issued report found...
American Airlines Mechanics File for Election to Become Teamsters IBT ...American Airlines mechanics and related workers filed for an election today with the National Mediation Board (NMB) as part of a months-long effort to become Teamsters...
Local 117 Members Attend National Police Week Teamsters Local 117 ...Two Local 117 Police Officers, Roger Gale of the City of Pacific and Willie Bergin from the University of Washington, attended National Police Week in Washington D.C. from May 12-18...
Collective Bargaining TLA Slated for June 18-21 IBT ...The IBT Training and Development Department is conducting a Teamsters Leadership Academy on Collective Bargaining, June18-21, 2013, hosted by Joint Council 40 in Mars, Pennsylvania...
Advanced Business Agents’ Seminar Scheduled July 29-31 IBT ...The IBT Training and Development Department will conduct an Advanced Business Agents seminar July 29-31, 2013 at Teamsters Joint Council 25 in Chicago...
Friday, May 17, 2013
Today's Teamster News 05.17.13
Oil Companies Raided In Price-Fixing Probe firedoglake ...BP and Shell have been raided by agents of the European Commission on suspicion of rigging oil prices for over a decade...
Flood of 10,000 Critical Public Comments Spotlights TAFTA Controversy Public Citizen ...Submission of more than 10,000 public comments on the Trans-Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (TAFTA) to the U.S. Trade Representative’s (USTR) docket last week punctured the notion that the pact will avoid the controversies that have dogged past trade deals...
Apple on offense over $100B offshore stash Politico ...CEO Tim Cook is coming to Washington to testify in front of a panel of senators about stashing more than $100 billion overseas...
Meet the group the IRS actually denied: Democrats! Salon ...Although Tea Party applicants got unfair IRS scrutiny, only one known group had status revoked. They’re Democrats...
Jobless Claims in U.S. Jump to Highest Level in Six Weeks Bloomberg ...The number of applications for unemployment insurance payments jumped by 32,000 to 360,000 in the week ended May 11, the most since the end of March, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington...
Second appeals court invalidates Obama's NLRB recess appointments Politico ...The issue has far-reaching implications for both the NLRB and other boards, including Obama’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which has been a frequent target of conservatives and whose director was a recess appointment...
The New Pay-As-You-Go Landscape of American “Democracy” Huffington Post ...For now at least, Sheldon Adelson is an extreme example, but he portends a future in which 1-percenters can flood the system with money in ways beyond the dreams of ordinary Americans...
Goodwill Minimum Wage Loophole Will Shock You Huffington Post ...Goodwill Industries is the worst charity in America. Yes, the same Goodwill that you just gave all of your old clothing to. Yes, the same Goodwill where you bargain-hunt on the weekends. Yes, the same Goodwill that Beyoncé is encouraging her fans to support with donation drives at her North American concerts...
Collapse at Cambodia shoe factory BBC News ...Part of a shoe factory has collapsed in Cambodia, leaving at least two people dead, officials say...Regulatory Oversight Can Save Lives TriStates Public Radio ...The West, Texas, fertilizer plant explosion that killed 14 people, injured about 200 others and destroyed dozens of homes was so powerful it could be felt 50 miles away, registering as a 2.1-magnitude earthquake. The blast should continue to rumble throughout the country since its owner apparently didn’t disclose the dangers there, and the government agencies responsible for protecting the area also failed...
Walmart refuses to join worker safety deal The Guardian ...Walmart has confirmed it will not sign up to a legally binding agreement on worker safety and building regulations in Bangladesh supported by retailers including H&M, Zara, Primark, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Marks and Spencer, Next, C&A and several others...
Gender pay gap still leaves a divide among earnings WFMJ-NBC ...It's been 50 years since President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act in an attempt to end wage disparity based on gender. Congressman Tim Ryan recently called for the passage of bills he originally co-sponsored to address this issue...
NSSA pension benefits to go up in August NewsDay …National Social Security Authority (NSSA) minimum pensions go up from August 1, following government’s gazetting of increases in pension contribution rates from June 1 and its raising of the maximum insurable earnings from $200 to $700...
Despite GOP claims that right to work bill is going nowhere, Democrats continue fundraising pleas Cleveland Plain Dealer ...Ohio Senate President Keith Faber thought his pledge to kill a package of right to work bills might end "breathless fundraising appeals" from Democrats. How wrong he was...
Senate passes worker rights bill for child care, home health workers Workday Minnesota ...After Republicans filibustered through the night and past dawn, the Senate passed landmark legislation Wednesday extending collective bargaining rights to 9,000 family child-care providers and 12,000 home health-care workers...
Flood of 10,000 Critical Public Comments Spotlights TAFTA Controversy Public Citizen ...Submission of more than 10,000 public comments on the Trans-Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (TAFTA) to the U.S. Trade Representative’s (USTR) docket last week punctured the notion that the pact will avoid the controversies that have dogged past trade deals...
Apple on offense over $100B offshore stash Politico ...CEO Tim Cook is coming to Washington to testify in front of a panel of senators about stashing more than $100 billion overseas...
Meet the group the IRS actually denied: Democrats! Salon ...Although Tea Party applicants got unfair IRS scrutiny, only one known group had status revoked. They’re Democrats...
Jobless Claims in U.S. Jump to Highest Level in Six Weeks Bloomberg ...The number of applications for unemployment insurance payments jumped by 32,000 to 360,000 in the week ended May 11, the most since the end of March, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington...
Second appeals court invalidates Obama's NLRB recess appointments Politico ...The issue has far-reaching implications for both the NLRB and other boards, including Obama’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which has been a frequent target of conservatives and whose director was a recess appointment...
The New Pay-As-You-Go Landscape of American “Democracy” Huffington Post ...For now at least, Sheldon Adelson is an extreme example, but he portends a future in which 1-percenters can flood the system with money in ways beyond the dreams of ordinary Americans...
Goodwill Minimum Wage Loophole Will Shock You Huffington Post ...Goodwill Industries is the worst charity in America. Yes, the same Goodwill that you just gave all of your old clothing to. Yes, the same Goodwill where you bargain-hunt on the weekends. Yes, the same Goodwill that Beyoncé is encouraging her fans to support with donation drives at her North American concerts...
Collapse at Cambodia shoe factory BBC News ...Part of a shoe factory has collapsed in Cambodia, leaving at least two people dead, officials say...Regulatory Oversight Can Save Lives TriStates Public Radio ...The West, Texas, fertilizer plant explosion that killed 14 people, injured about 200 others and destroyed dozens of homes was so powerful it could be felt 50 miles away, registering as a 2.1-magnitude earthquake. The blast should continue to rumble throughout the country since its owner apparently didn’t disclose the dangers there, and the government agencies responsible for protecting the area also failed...
Walmart refuses to join worker safety deal The Guardian ...Walmart has confirmed it will not sign up to a legally binding agreement on worker safety and building regulations in Bangladesh supported by retailers including H&M, Zara, Primark, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Marks and Spencer, Next, C&A and several others...
Gender pay gap still leaves a divide among earnings WFMJ-NBC ...It's been 50 years since President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act in an attempt to end wage disparity based on gender. Congressman Tim Ryan recently called for the passage of bills he originally co-sponsored to address this issue...
NSSA pension benefits to go up in August NewsDay …National Social Security Authority (NSSA) minimum pensions go up from August 1, following government’s gazetting of increases in pension contribution rates from June 1 and its raising of the maximum insurable earnings from $200 to $700...
Despite GOP claims that right to work bill is going nowhere, Democrats continue fundraising pleas Cleveland Plain Dealer ...Ohio Senate President Keith Faber thought his pledge to kill a package of right to work bills might end "breathless fundraising appeals" from Democrats. How wrong he was...
Senate passes worker rights bill for child care, home health workers Workday Minnesota ...After Republicans filibustered through the night and past dawn, the Senate passed landmark legislation Wednesday extending collective bargaining rights to 9,000 family child-care providers and 12,000 home health-care workers...
Indiana is a zero in study of states' campaign finance disclosure law for outside groups Desert Sun ...Indiana didn’t just get an F in a state-by-state comparison of laws requiring outside groups to report their campaign spending. The state got a zero...
Pennsylvania Senate Narrows Privatization Focus Shanken News Daily ...Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett’s push for total privatization of the state’s wine and spirits retail monopoly appears to be on ice, with state senators suggesting they could support some loosening of alcohol retail restrictions but not a mandatory sell-off of the state’s retail and wholesale infrastructure...
The shadowy conservative group ALEC has members in Nevada’s Legislature Las Vegas City Life ...ProgressNow says ALEC is secretive and reports that the Nevada Legislature, which pays for trips by legislators to ALEC’s conferences and annual membership dues, would not release correspondence between ALEC and its legislative members in Nevada because “disclosure of the correspondence would inevitably reveal the Senators’ deliberations...
Show Me Koch Brothers St. Louis American ...According to a new report by Progress Missouri, (state Sen. Jamilah) Nasheed (D-St. Louis) can trace her new right-wing friendships back from Jones and Sinquefield all the way to the Koch brothers...
Mo. House Passes Paycheck Deception, but Veto Expected AFL-CIO Now ...The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), its corporate backers and extremist Missouri lawmakers may have won the first round in their drive to silence working people with a paycheck deception bill, when the House gave it final approval (86-69) earlier this week...
Illinois poised to let 17-year-olds vote in primaries Chicago Tribune ...Gov. Pat Quinn and other prospective governor candidates might be targeting a new voting group during the primary elections next year: 17-year-olds...
New Mexico’s State Supreme Court hears arguments in dispute over back pay, raises for state workers Albuquerque Journal ...The state Supreme Court heard arguments today in a five-year-old dispute over whether some 10,000 state workers were shortchanged and are owed back pay and ongoing raises...
First Student, union reach tentative deal Daily News-Miner ...Fairbanks-area school bus personnel represented by Teamsters Local 959 and the First Student transportation company have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract...
County Ratifies Tentative Agreement for Guards; Abolishes Office of Jury Commissioner Gant Daily ...The Clearfield County (Pennsylvania) Commissioners voted to ratify its global tentative agreement with Teamsters Local 205 for the guards at the Clearfield County Jail at Tuesday’s regular board meeting...
Pennsylvania Senate Narrows Privatization Focus Shanken News Daily ...Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett’s push for total privatization of the state’s wine and spirits retail monopoly appears to be on ice, with state senators suggesting they could support some loosening of alcohol retail restrictions but not a mandatory sell-off of the state’s retail and wholesale infrastructure...
The shadowy conservative group ALEC has members in Nevada’s Legislature Las Vegas City Life ...ProgressNow says ALEC is secretive and reports that the Nevada Legislature, which pays for trips by legislators to ALEC’s conferences and annual membership dues, would not release correspondence between ALEC and its legislative members in Nevada because “disclosure of the correspondence would inevitably reveal the Senators’ deliberations...
Show Me Koch Brothers St. Louis American ...According to a new report by Progress Missouri, (state Sen. Jamilah) Nasheed (D-St. Louis) can trace her new right-wing friendships back from Jones and Sinquefield all the way to the Koch brothers...
Mo. House Passes Paycheck Deception, but Veto Expected AFL-CIO Now ...The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), its corporate backers and extremist Missouri lawmakers may have won the first round in their drive to silence working people with a paycheck deception bill, when the House gave it final approval (86-69) earlier this week...
Illinois poised to let 17-year-olds vote in primaries Chicago Tribune ...Gov. Pat Quinn and other prospective governor candidates might be targeting a new voting group during the primary elections next year: 17-year-olds...
New Mexico’s State Supreme Court hears arguments in dispute over back pay, raises for state workers Albuquerque Journal ...The state Supreme Court heard arguments today in a five-year-old dispute over whether some 10,000 state workers were shortchanged and are owed back pay and ongoing raises...
First Student, union reach tentative deal Daily News-Miner ...Fairbanks-area school bus personnel represented by Teamsters Local 959 and the First Student transportation company have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract...
County Ratifies Tentative Agreement for Guards; Abolishes Office of Jury Commissioner Gant Daily ...The Clearfield County (Pennsylvania) Commissioners voted to ratify its global tentative agreement with Teamsters Local 205 for the guards at the Clearfield County Jail at Tuesday’s regular board meeting...
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