Today's Teamster News 01.14.16

TEAMSTERS
Teamsters, West Virginia Workers Stand Strong Against Right to Work  Teamster.org  ...Teamsters General Secretary-Treasurer Ken Hall joined hundreds of labor union and community members at the State Capitol today to voice their opposition to right-to-work legislation introduced today in West Virginia. Delegates are expected to move forward on the measure as early as tomorrow...
NLRB Joint-Employer Rule Likely Headed For Appellate Review  Law360  ...The National Labor Relations Board’s new joint-employer standard is likely headed to an appeals court, after the board's ruling on Tuesday that Browning-Ferris and staffing agency Leadpoint, the parties in the case central to the new standard, unlawfully refused to bargain with the Teamsters. The ruling came four months after the NLRB adopted a looser joint-employer test...
Federal Appellate Court Enforces NLRB Ruling Against Chicago Parking Valet  Local 727  ...A federal appellate court judge has enforced a decision and order issued last year by the National Labor Relations Board against Chicago Parking Valet in which the NLRB found the company had engaged in unfair labor practices. Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the NLRB’s decision and once again ordered the company to desist its unfair labor practices...
Teamsters Local 1932 hires new general manager  Examiner ...On Tuesday night at the regular meeting of the San Bernardino Public Employees Association/ Teamsters Local 1932 Board of Directors, General Manager Deidre Rodriguez stepped down. The board voted to hire Randy Korgan as the new manager in her place. Korgan most recently served as Teamsters Joint Council 42 Organizing Director...
Teamsters Members Win Over $70,000 in Overtime Back Pay  Local 2010  ...Christmas came for early for some members of Teamsters Local 2010 working in the UCSD Eye Institute. On December 22, 2015, 19 workers were awarded checks ranging from $126 to $5,074 for back pay owed for unpaid overtime. “If it wasn’t for the Teamsters we would have never gotten paid,” Leslie Medina said.  “With your help, we got what was owed us"...
Treasury Department Announces Additional January Public Sessions for Feedback on CSPF Rescue Plan  Teamster.org  ...The Treasury Department announced the details today for two additional public sessions in January for Central States, Southeast and Southwest Areas Pension Fund retirees and participants to offer feedback on the proposed rescue plan. The sessions will be hosted by Treasury appointee Kenneth R. Feinberg...
Large pension cuts topic of Teamsters meeting Thursday  Kansas City Star  ...Kansas City area retired Teamsters will meet Thursday in another effort to head off large cuts to their pension checks set to hit next summer. The Missouri-Kansas City Committee to Protect Our Pensions is holding the afternoon session to educate and mobilize beneficiaries of the Central States Pension Fund. Thursday’s meeting includes an address by Jim Kabell, president of the Missouri-Kansas-Nebraska Conference of Teamsters...

GLOBAL LABOR & TRADE
DuluxGroup workers in Australia strike amid looming job cuts  Sydney Morning Herald   ...More than 100 staff at DuluxGroup have been barricaded from the paint maker's Brisbane factory after they voted to go on strike following the company's refusal to remove a cap on redundancy entitlements.
Dulux - which has branded the strike as "opportunistic" -  has installed temporary fencing on council land near the factory at Rocklea...
In Name of Patient Safety and Future of National Healthcare, UK Doctors Strike  Common Dreams  ...Tens of thousands of junior doctors across the United Kingdom joined in strikes and pickets on Tuesday, protesting what they describe as "a fundamental breakdown in trust...for which the government is directly responsible." The strike stems from a dispute over pay and working conditions, weekend shifts in particular...
Toronto's outside workers union announces strike mandate  Toronto Sun  ...Toronto's outside civic workers have voted to strike if negotiations with the city fail, the union announced late Wednesday. CUPE Local 416, representing 6,000 employees including garbage collectors, sought the strike mandate after the city applied for a provincial conciliator late last month...
Canada won't commit yet to Feb. 4 TPP signing  CBC  ...Canada's international trade minister says her government hasn't decided whether it will participate in an expected signing ceremony for the Trans-Pacific Partnership in Auckland, New Zealand early next month. "We are aware that some of the countries are talking about a signing in New Zealand. Canada hasn't yet taken a decision," Chrystia Freeland told reporters in Vancouver Tuesday...
Trans-Pacific Partnership: Obama's man appeals to Turnbull for help  Sydney Morning Herald  ...The US Ambassador to Australia says he wants Malcolm Turnbull to argue the case for the Trans-Pacific Partnership when he visits Washington next week, where members of Congress are undecided about how to vote. On Wednesday, President Barack Obama used his last State of the Union address to appeal to Congress to approve the 12-nation mega trade deal...
Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia might join TPP, says Miti  The Star  ...Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia have actually expressed interest to be part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), said the International Trade and Industry Ministry (Miti). Miti said this in its written response to issues raised by Dr Jomo Kwame Sundaram recently that countries such as Thailand and the Philippines had opted to distance themselves from this treaty...
Guest of Rep. Peter DeFazio at State of the Union has seen effect of trade agreements firsthand  Register-Guard  ...DeFazio places the blame for Phillips’ troubles squarely on the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, which he and other critics say rewarded American companies that moved jobs overseas. NAFTA supporters say the tariff-cutting, investment-encouraging deal has helped boost the economies of the three signatories — the United States, Canada and Mexico. DeFazio has been a long-standing critic, however...

STATE & LIVING WAGE BATTLES
Right to work one of 1st bills out of gate; opposition organized  Metro News  ...Republican legislative leaders are making right to work legislation a top priority for the 2016 Regular Legislative Session. The first bill introduced in the state Senate on Wednesday was the one written to make West Virginia a right to work state. Opponents of the legislation in West Virginia called right to work “destructive” legislation that, in their views, would clear the way for lower wages and the weakening of work protections...
Minimum wage question headed toward 2016 ballot in Maine  Maine Sun Journal  ...Leaders of a statewide referendum campaign to incrementally boost Maine's minimum wage from $7.50 an hour to $12 an hour by 2025 said Wednesday they would deliver more than 80,000 petition signatures to the secretary of state's office Thursday. The campaign, Mainers for Fair Wages, needed just over 61,000 signatures from Maine voters to put the question on the ballot in 2016...
Supporters of redistricting amendment nearing signature goal  The Southern  ...Changing the way Illinois’ legislative districts are drawn is one of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s priorities, and he may get some help this year from outside the General Assembly. Despite the Republican governor’s stance on the issue and his ongoing stalemate with legislative Democrats, putting the once-a-decade redistricting process in the hands of an independent commission has widespread bipartisan support...
Workers In Right To Work States Are Less Likely To Have Access To Retirement Plans  NH Labor News  ...Wide differences in access to and participation in employer-based retirement plans exist across states, with variations by employer size and industry type as well as by workers’ income, age, education, race and ethnicity, according to a report released today by The Pew Charitable Trusts. The report, Who’s In, Who’s Out: A Look at Access to Employer-Based Retirement Plans and Participation in the States, examines the rates of access to and participation in plans in all 50 states...
New York Governor Calls For Paid Family Leave With Moving Story About Caring For His Late Father  Think Progress  ...In his State of the State address on Wednesday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) called for the passage of legislation that would ensure that state residents can take 12 weeks of paid family leave for a new child or a serious illness. Toward the end of his speech, he shared the story of caring for his late father, former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo, at the end of his life last year...
What's next for new Jersey paid sick leave bill?  NorthJersey.com  ...The failure to advance a sick leave bill feared by business leaders but once touted by state New Jersey Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto as a top legislative priority has left both sides wondering what comes next. The bill, which would have required employers to give their workers paid sick leave, was never even posted for a vote...
NAACP: Postpone NC voter ID trial until after primaries  Journal Now  ...The N.C. NAACP is asking a federal judge to postpone a trial on the state’s photo ID requirement until after the March 15 primary, according to court documents filed Tuesday. The trial is set to start Jan. 25 in U.S. District Court in Winston-Salem. The state NAACP, the U.S. Department of Justice and others sued North Carolina and Gov. Pat McCrory in 2013 after state Republican legislators passed a controversial sweeping elections law known as the Voter Information Verification Act...
Study: Minimum Wage Hikes Don't Hurt the Restaurant Industry  Eater  ...When restaurants raise prices to offset moderate increases to the minimum wage, the industry as a whole is not adversely affected. Like, at all. This is the conclusion of a study (see below) released last month by the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration entitled "Have Minimum Wage Increases Hurt the Restaurant Industry? The Evidence Says No!"...
DC Council to consider bills on low-wage worker schedules  WJLA  ...The D.C. Council is considering two bills that are meant to provide low-wage workers with more predictable work hours. One bill would require the retail and food-service industries in the District of Columbia to provide their employees with written schedules at least 21 days in advance. The other would require janitors and maintenance workers in large office buildings to be given at least 30 hours of work per week...

U.S. LABOR
ArcelorMittal could idle some lines at Indiana Harbor  NWI Times  ...ArcelorMittal, one of Northwest Indiana's largest employers, may want to idle more operations at its steelmaking operations at Indiana Harbor in East Chicago. ArcelorMittal is currently discussing operations in East Chicago with the United Steelworkers union, as the two sides try to reach a new three-year labor pact...
Labor talks between Sonoma County, SEIU heading toward impasse  Press Democrat  ...Labor negotiations between Sonoma County and its largest union — representing more than half of the county’s 4,100 public employees — are nearing a stalemate that could drag out contract talks for months. The county has initiated impasse proceedings with the Service Employees International Union Local 1021, which staged a three-day strike in November that disrupted some county services...
Sweet'N Low Workers Rally Outside Fort Greene Packing Plant to Save Jobs  DNA Info  ...Workers are saying “hell no” to Sweet’N Low manufacturer Cumberland Packing after the company announced last week it would end production at its Fort Greene plant. “We’re outraged, to say the least,” said UFCW Local 2013 President Louis Mark Carotenuto. Carotenuto said the workers, who have been called part of the Cumberland family, have since received little information about what’s going to happen to their jobs...
Mega-fleet XPO the latest to be hit with misclassification suit from port drivers  CCJ  ...Truck operators for three drayage carriers owned by carrier conglomerate XPO Logistics have filed a class action lawsuit seeking payment over alleged misclassification as contractors instead of employees, which led to lower wages and denial of state mandated breaks, plaintiffs claim...
Will St. Paul, Minnesota Teachers Soon Be Out on Strike?  In These Times  ...St. Paul teachers union organizer Patrick Burke says that the union has been practicing proactive behavior prevention strategies for a while now, with virtually no support from the district. The latest round of shocking school-based incidents, then, stand as more of a final straw than first steps on the road to a walk out. The union and district began contract negotiations in May of 2015, and Burke says the St. Paul Federation of Teachers put 25 proposals on the table...
UFW informs workers of undocumented rights in wake of ICE raids  Turnto23  ...One by one members of the UFW foundation approached people in Lamont passing out red cards that have the Fourth and Fifth Amendment on them in Spanish. The two amendments give workers constitutional protection from unlawful searches and the right to remain silent. On the other side of the card there are three statements that the UFW says the workers can say to the ICE agent...
Bar Associations Are Much More Like Unions Than Friedrichs’ Attorney Acknowledged  OnLabor  ...If the Supreme Court overturns Abood, it is not clear how States could continue to require lawyers to pay dues to State Bars.  Clearly much of what State bars do to regulate the legal profession involves questions of public policy.  And just as some teachers may disagree with the union’s position on teacher tenure or class size, some lawyers disagree with the bar association’s position on multi-jurisdictional practice or referral fees...

SOCIAL JUSTICE & OTHER NEWS
Myth of the middle class: Most Americans don’t even have $1,000 in savings  Salon  ...What exactly is the middle class? A new study suggests that the U.S. hardly even has one. More than half of Americans — 56 percent, to be exact — have less than $1,000 combined in their checking and savings accounts, according to a recent survey, Forbes reported...
Obama’s Immigration Raids Are Turning Latino Communities Into Ghost Towns  Think Progress  ...Even though the raids have so far been concentrated in Texas, North Carolina, and Georgia, there has been a ripple effect across the country. Latino immigrants in other states — afraid of becoming the next individuals arrested in what they perceive to be random targetings — are resorting to hiding in their homes, keeping their children home from school, and calling on legal residents to do their grocery shopping for them...
The influence of special interests extends to local editorial pages  Sunlight Foundation  ...The editorial pages of local newspapers still remain a key gathering place for debates about local and regional matters of importance. It is also a place where industries and individuals alike seek to influence policymakers at the local level. Alaska Dispatch News columnist Dermot Cole recently took this tactic to task after an op-ed on the seemingly obscure topic of occupational licensing was placed in the Dispatch News by Mark Holden, a senior vice president at Koch Industries...
Koch Daddy and the Nazis, a Revealing History from Jane Mayer  PR Watch  ...Mayer uncovers new information about how Fred Koch joined forces with a genuine Nazi sympathizer from the U.S. to build a refinery personally approved by Adolf Hitler himself, one of the three largest refineries in the Third Reich, which was used to create fuels for Hitler's deadly attacks on peaceful nations. While Mayer does not call Fred Koch a "Nazi sympathizer" himself, readers may disagree when reading Fred Koch's public praise for Germany under Hitler, as well as the other Axis powers, Japan and Italy...

Clinton, Sanders and O'Malley Address Police Violence and White Privilege at Brown and Black Forum  Truthout  ...Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Martin O'Malley fielded pointed questions about police violence, racial justice, reparations, white privilege and deportations at the Iowa Brown & Black Forum on Monday night. The Iowa Brown & Black Forum has been bringing presidential candidates to one of the whitest states in the country in order for them to speak on issues of diversity since 1984...

Today's Teamster News 01.08.16

TEAMSTERS
Arbitrator Rules Parking Employer Created ‘Sham’ Company to Avoid Paying Union  Local 727 ...An arbitrator has ordered PAS, LLC to pay Teamsters Local 727 more than $225,000 in back dues, penalties and late fees after the Chicago parking employer created a “sham” company to avoid its financial obligations to the union. In July 2013, VPS of Illinois closed its business without paying thousands of dollars owed to the union...
NY-NJ port authority revises truck-replacement plan  JOC  ...Environmental groups have insisted that older trucks need to be phased out to reduce unhealthy emissions. Allied with the environmentalists is the Teamsters union, which has tried for years to organize port drivers. A likely side effect of banning older trucks would be to encourage a shift from owner-operators to company employees who would be eligible to unionize...
Teamsters invited to pension session  Press Gazette  ...The Wisconsin Committees to Protect Pensions will hold an informational meeting for active and retired Teamsters. Dobbs will talk about new developments in the effort to stop the cuts from taking effect this summer, legislative proposals introduced in Congress to try to stop the cuts and other information for Teamsters and retirees who want to take action to oppose the proposed cuts...

GLOBAL LABOR & TRADE
Colombian Unions to Protest Paltry Minimum Wage Increase  TeleSUR  ...Labor leaders in Colombia say the Constitutional Court has previously ruled that wage increase cannot fall below the rate of inflation. ​Fabio Arias, secretary-general of Colombia's United Workers Trade Union Federation, said Wednesday that his organization will submit a formal complaint before the country's Council of State over a decree raising the minimum wage by only 7 percent...
Delhi's sanitation workers to go on indefinite strike from January 27  Economic Times  ...Scores of municipal sanitation workers on Wednesday decided to go on an indefinite strike from January 27 claiming the civic bodies' failure in meeting their demands, including regularization of salary. The workers have been sitting on a relay hunger strike for the past month at the Jantar Mantar under various unions...
Ontario prepares for looming strike by correctional workers  Globe and Mail  ...This week across Ontario, however, the sudden appearance of construction crews outside jails has prompted weary acceptance that a looming strike could be long and, according to the correctional union, dangerous for the managers forced to operate the institutions. By Thursday, there was ample evidence that the province was preparing for protracted labour action...
Hundreds of advocacy groups ask Congress to block Obama’s Pacific Rim trade pact  Washington Post  ...A coalition of more than 1,500 interest groups is sending a letter to Congress on Thursday demanding that lawmakers block the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the 12-nation Pacific Rim trade pact championed by the Obama administration. Labor unions, environmental groups, consumer advocates and faith groups are among the 1,525 organizations...
Pacific Trade Deal Foes Say Keystone Case Shows Pact's Risk  Bloomberg  ...A legal dispute over the Keystone XL oil pipeline is giving opponents of a Pacific trade agreement a fresh argument in their effort to get Congress to kill the pact. They say the case announced Wednesday, in which TransCanada Corp. is seeking arbitration to recover $15 billion tied to the Obama administration’s rejection of Keystone, shows how foreign companies could use provisions of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement to challenge U.S. policy on the environment and other matters...
World Bank: TPP Trade Deal to Benefit Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia Most by 2030  Sputnik News  ...The US-backed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade deal is set to provide economic impetus predominantly to Vietnam, Japan and Malaysia among other parties to the agreement by 2030, a Global Economic Prospects report showed...
India set to push for liberalisation of services trade at WTO Geneva talks  Economic Times  ...Reinstating its stand of continuing with the Doha Development Agenda, India will push for liberalising services trade at the World Trade Organization talks in Geneva. 23 countries of the WTO are separately negotiating the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA), which aims at opening up markets and improving rules in areas such as licensing, financial services, telecom, ecommerce, maritime transport and professionals moving abroad temporarily to provide services...
U.S. Says `Tremendous Progress' Made on South Africa Trade Talks  Bloomberg  ...South Africa and the U.S. made “tremendous progress” on talks to resolve a trade dispute between the two nations, U.S. Ambassador to South Africa Patrick Gaspard said. South Africa has been under pressure to reach agreement with the U.S. to open its market to American chicken and beef products in order to retain preferential trade benefits...

STATE & LIVING WAGE BATTLES
Martinez revives right-to-work debate in New Mexico  Las Cruces Sun-News  ...Republican Gov. Susana Martinez is reviving the right-to-work debate in New Mexico, saying she’ll include the issue on the agenda for the upcoming legislative session. She made the announcement Thursday during a panel discussion before a crowded room of business leaders...
Minimum wage boost hangs over California budget negotiations  SacBee  ...They haven’t yet acquired enough signatures to go before voters, but ballot initiatives to bump California’s minimum wage to $15 figured into early discussions of the state budget proposal unveiled Thursday. Organized labor groups across the country have focused their energy on the push for a $15 wage...
Cuomo eyeing plan to give New Yorkers 12 weeks paid family leave  NY Post  ...Gov. Cuomo is mulling a plan to provide up to 12 weeks of paid family leave to New Yorkers in the coming year after Mayor de Blasio allowed city workers to receive the benefit in 2014. Gubernatorial aides met with advocates Dec. 29 in Manhattan to talk providing paid time off for employees with a new child, an injury or a sick family member...
Paid Family Leave Gets More Attention, but Workers Still Struggle  New York Times  ...This year is shaping up to be a big one for paid family leave. On Thursday, the Independent Democratic Conference, a breakaway group of New York state senators, plans to introduce 12 weeks of paid leave as part of its legislative agenda; Gov. Andrew Cuomo is reportedly considering similar legislation...
Virginia to use new congressional map this year, benefiting Democrats  Daily Kos  ...In yet another victory for Democrats, the federal court hearing a lawsuit challenging the state's congressional lines just ruled that elections this year must go forward under a new map proposed by a court-appointed expert, one that all but guarantees that GOP Rep. Randy Forbes' 4th District will turn solidly blue...
Democrats call for redistricting reform  AJC  ...Three Democratic lawmakers are pushing to create an independent commission to redraw political lines in the future. Sen. Elena Parent (D – Atlanta), Rep. Pat Gardner (D – Atlanta) and Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver (D – Decatur) said the legislation would be a fairer way to redraw current legislative and congressional district lines in coming years...
"Gov. Snyder Should Be Arrested": Flint Residents Demand Justice over Water Poisoning  Democracy Now  ...Protests are growing in Flint, Michigan, over the state’s cover-up of the ongoing water contamination crisis. Filmmaker Michael Moore is asking fans to sign a petition on his website calling for the immediate resignation of Governor Rick Snyder. In an open letter to the governor, he writes: "[Y]ou have effectively poisoned, not just some, but apparently ALL of the children in my hometown of Flint"...

U.S. LABOR
One Step Closer To Collective Bargaining, Some Temp Workers Unionize  NPR  ...Advocates for temporary workers are celebrating a decision by the National Labor Relations Board to broaden the definition of joint employers — a move that could bring many temp workers closer to collective bargaining. One of the first to join a union following the new rule is a group of Guatemalans in New Bedford, Mass...
Strong Job Growth In 2015 Still Couldn’t Give Workers A Raise  Think Progress  ...The economy added 292,000 jobs in December while the unemployment rate stayed at 5 percent, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Analysts had expected 200,000 jobs to be added. However, gains in wages were weak. Hourly earnings fell 1 cent in December after a 5-cent increase in November, and average hourly earnings have risen just 2.5 percent over the last year...
Company must pay after making workers clock out for bathroom breaks  KCCI  ...A Pennsylvania company that publishes business newsletters will pay about $1.75 million to thousands of employees who had to clock out while going on short breaks, including for the bathroom. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that a federal judge has given the U.S. Department of Labor and the Malvern-based company, American Future Systems Inc., until Thursday to submit proposals on managing payment...
Rauner implements merit pay for some workers; AFSCME opposed  NW Herald  ...Gov. Bruce Rauner's administration is starting a new compensation system for some state workers that includes merit pay and bonuses for saving taxpayers money, a plan the former businessman says will make government more efficient. It's the latest sticking point in long-running negotiations between Rauner's office and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents about 36,000 state employees...
When companies hire temp workers by race, black applicants lose out  Reveal News  ...When its clients wanted to hire temp workers based on race, sex or age, Automation was happy to oblige, according to dozens of former employees. Often, the practice was blatant. A manager at a Georgia manufacturing plant asked Christie Ragland not to send him “any black thugs,” she said...
This Supreme Court Case Could Make All Public Unions ‘Right to Work’  The Nation  ...O n January 11, the Supreme Court will hear argument on Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, a full-bore attack on public-sector unions. The lead Friedrichs plaintiffs, a group of fiercely anti-union California public-school teachers, seek to reverse Abood v. Detroit Board of Education (1977) on First Amendment grounds. Abood has provided the bedrock constitutional analysis and recommended administrative structure for public-sector unionism...
Can Millennials Save Organized Labor?  Labor 411  ...A new Pew survey reveals how Millennials, the oft-hyped demographic, view key social institutions. It turns out that Millennials have a more positive view of many major social institutions than their elders and that one of the most notable examples is organized labor. Labor unions are viewed more positively today than they were five years ago by all age groups,  but the uptick in opinion is especially notable among those born after 1980...
Why Do Americans Work So Much?  The Atlantic  ...In a new paper, Friedman tries to figure out why increased productivity has not translated into increased leisure time. American inequality means that the gains of increasing productivity are not widely shared. In other words, most Americans are too poor to work less...

SOCIAL JUSTICE & OTHER NEWS
A Rush of Central Americans Compounds Obama’s Immigration Task  NY Times  ...When mothers and children streamed across the Texas border in 2014, the Obama administration devised a strategy to manage the influx, putting them in detention centers to convince others that illegal crossers would be caught and sent back. But that strategy is now under intense legal and political attack, leaving the administration with limited options...
Bernie Sanders Demands President Obama End ‘Inhumane’ Roundups Of Immigrant Families  Think Progress  ...Vermont Senator and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders wrote to the White House on Thursday, demanding an end to the stepped up immigration raids and deportations of Central Americans that the Obama Administration announced just before Christmas. Just after the new year, more than 100 people were arrested in Georgia, North Carolina, and Texas, including many women and children...
Sen. Elizabeth Warren Cheers Bernie's Fight to "Hold Big Banks Accountable"  Common Dreams  ...Sen. Bernie Sanders got a shout-out from big bank critic Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Wednesday a day after the presidential hopeful gave a policy speech laying out his tough on Wall Street stance. During his speech in New York on Wednesday, Sanders said, "Wall Street and corporate greed is destroying the fabric of our nation." He also vowed to break up too-big-to- fail banks...
Making the World Safe for Predatory Capitalism  CounterPunch  ...Steve Jobs used old-fashioned anti-raiding agreements to keep competitors from enticing away his workers. Gates and Google have both engaged in anti-competitive practices that likely would have brought antitrust enforcement in prior decades. And Amazon has prospered not only because of low prices and good service, but also by being exempted from the requirement to collect the same sales tax as its brick-and-mortar competitors...
Oregon Sheriff Meets Ammon Bundy, Greets Him With Handshake Not Handcuffs  Think Progress  ...The treatment of armed militants conducting an illegal occupation in Oregon differs greatly from the response to overwhelmingly peaceful demonstrations by unarmed individuals protesting police misconduct. In Ferguson, for example, protesters were met by police with military-style equipment, full riot gear, and tear gas...

Today's Teamster News 12.18.15

TEAMSTERS
Parsippany School Bus Workers Choose Teamsters Union  Teamster.org  ...School bus drivers and aides at Student Transportation of America (STA) in Parsippany, N.J., overcame tough opposition from management Wednesday, voting decisively in favor of union representation by Teamsters Local 102 in Springfield Township, N.J. The 78 bus workers are calling for improved working conditions, respect on the job and assurances that they will be paid for all hours worked...
Orange County Employees Join Teamsters  Teamster.org  ...A majority of the more than 400 operations and service maintenance workers employed by Orange County, Calif., voted to join Local 952 yesterday. After years of being part of an association, the new members of the local, which include custodians, laborers, mechanics, public works maintenance, equipment operators and pest control workers, overwhelmingly chose Teamster representation...
Local 528 Welcomes Pepsi Workers  Teamster.org  ...Drivers, merchandisers and warehouse workers at the Pepsi facility in Macon, Ga., recently voted to become members of Local 528. A majority of the 45-person unit cast ballots in the Teamsters’ favor. “We are pretty excited that we won,” said Erick Barber, a warehouse worker at the Macon facility. “This is my first time being a union member and I encourage anyone considering joining the Teamsters to keep pushing forward”...
Talks Progress in Effort to Save Safeway Warehouse Jobs  DC Labor  ...Union leaders and political allies trying to save nearly 1,000 jobs at the Safeway warehouse in Upper Marlboroon Tuesday had their “most productive meeting yet” with top officials from Albertson’s, Safeway’s parent company. “We have a much clearer picture of what needs to happen, and it was a very productive meeting on all sides,” said Ritchie Brooks, president of Teamsters Local 730, which represents most of the workers...

GLOBAL LABOR & TRADE
Workers let go after strike for 6-peso raise  Mexico News Daily  ...Over 100 workers were laid off at a Lexmark plant in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, after going on strike for two days to press for a daily wage increase of 6 pesos, or US $0.35. They sought the increase, from 114 to 120 pesos, for more experienced workers, but the company rejected the demand in October. Discontent among workers had been brewing for months...
Cambodia garment factory owners ask government to help quash strike by workers  Star Tribune  ...Garment factory owners in Cambodia asked the government on Thursday to help stop a strike by workers for higher wages, saying the labor action is damaging the investment climate for the industry, the country's main source of exports. Wages are a volatile issue in Cambodia.  Unions sought an increase in the minimum monthly wage to $160 in 2016, but most settled for $140...
EU Aims for Free Trade Deal With US by End of Obama's Presidency - Merkel  Sputnik News ...The European Union aims to reach a free trade agreement with the United States by the end of current US President Barack Obama's term, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Friday. "We reiterated that we need a fast conclusion of talks on the Transatlantic Free Trade Area, and that it remains our goal to achieve such a political decision during Obama's presidency," Merkel told reporters...
TPP Ratification Process Grinding To A Halt As Canada Launches 'Widespread Consultations' On The Deal  Tech Dirt  ...The arrival of a new government in Canada has meant that the corporate sovereignty provisions in the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between Canada and the EU might be re-examined. The other major trade deal involving Canada, TPP, is much more complex. Although that limits the Canadian government's scope for changing course, it appears that it is nonetheless taking a radically different approach compared to its predecessor...
Spanish Coalition Speaks Out Against Proposed EU-US Free Trade Deals  Sputnik News  ...The Spanish United Left-Popular Unity coalition does not support the free trade deals the Euorpean Union is negotiating with the United States, the party candidate for the country’s parliament said. The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is a proposed free-trade deal between the European Union and the United States. The agreement which has been criticized for its unusual secrecy, is opposed by many Europeans...
County Board voices its opposition to TPP  Mesabi Daily News  ...St. Louis County commissioners on Tuesday solidified their opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement. Commissioner Tom Rukavina of Pike Township brought the resolution forward after State Rep. Jason Metsa addressed the board earlier in the year on the TPP’s affect on local business and industry, which was unanimously approved...
Portugal's Anti-Austerity Govt Reverses Public Pay Cuts  ABC  ...Portugal's new Socialist government is restoring full pay to civil servants after four years of cuts, ticking off another item on its anti-austerity to-do list. Under legislation approved Friday, pay increases will be phased in over next year until previous pay levels are reached in October. Cuts of up to 10 percent for staff earning more than 1,500 euros ($1,620) a month came into force in 2011...
Albanians protest over government’s austerity measures  Euro News  ...Thousands of Albanians took to the streets to protest over the governments handling of the economy with rising levels of poverty and unemployment. The government has angered many by cracking down on non-payment of household electricity bills, increasing social security contributions and raising income tax...

STATE & LIVING WAGE BATTLES
2016 Ballot Effort to Privatize California Public Employee Pensions Faces Rocky Start, New Poll Finds  Alternet  ...The conservative obsession to cut public employee pensions is facing an uphill climb in California, according to a newly released poll that found ambivalent support for a pair of 2016 ballot measures pushed by former San Jose and San Diego officials. According to a Capital & Main-David Binder statewide poll of 500 likely voters, there’s roughly a 40-40 split, with the rest undecided, for both measures...
Missouri lawmaker proposes $15 minimum wage statewide  Business Journal   ...A Democratic state representative from St. Louis has pre-filed legislation that would raise the state’s minimum wage from $7.65 per hour to $15 per hour. State Rep. Michael Butler said in a statement that Missourians who work full-time jobs should not live in poverty...
Florida Senate redistricting trial ends as judge weighs options  Miami Herald  ...After eight rulings by the Florida Supreme Court and an admission of guilt by legislators, the Senate redistricting trial ended Thursday with a Tallahassee judge asking the parties to tell him their top choices for a new Senate map. Leon County Circuit Court Judge George Reynolds now must decide whether to accept one of four proposals offered by the challengers...
Federal judge dismisses voter ID challenge  Post Crescent  ...Wisconsin's requirement that voters show photo identification at the polls has survived another legal challenge after a federal judge Thursday dismissed portions of a wide-ranging lawsuit alleging the mandate burdens the right to vote. One Wisconsin Institute Inc., a liberal group; Citizen Action of Wisconsin Education Fund, a voting rights organization; and a half-dozen individual voters filed the lawsuit...
Will all N.J. workers get paid sick leave?  NJ.com  ...The state Senate on Thursday passed a bill entitling all employees to paid sick leave in New Jersey. The bill, which requires employers of all sizes to offer their workers paid sick time off, was opposed by business groups that called it a one-size-fits-all approach would hurt small businesses and drive up costs. Proponents say the measure is a pro-worker and pro-public health policy that will spare people from having to choose between their health and their jobs...
Labor advocates concerned about Tacoma minimum wage rules  News Tribune  ...Tacoma is wrapping up its rule-writing for the city’s new minimum wage law, and some labor advocates are concerned that the regulations water down what voters approved. Those advocates say several issues concern them, including what they describe as lax record-keeping requirements for employers and a fuzzy enforcement process...
City Wraps Up The Year By Giving Workers The Ability To Take A Paid Day Off When They Get Sick  Think Progress  ...New Brunswick, New Jersey passed a paid sick leave ordinance. That makes it the 27th place in the country to do so, as well as the eleventh city in the state. The news was received with mixed support by advocates. It marks another step forward in the wave of legislation that has swept the country and helps address the fact that 40 percent of workers in the city previously lacked paid leave for their own or a family member’s illness...

U.S. LABOR
23,000 NYC Janitors Could Walk Off Job  NY AFLCIO  ...With the contract deadline fast-approaching, commercial cleaners—members of 32BJ SEIU— voted to strike if no agreement is reached by the December 31st contract expiration. “We are not going to accept anything less than a fair deal that protects health care and retirement benefits and includes a raise that enables our members to continue to raise their families in New York City,” said 32BJ President Hector Figueroa...
SEIU 775 chalks up another victory as caregivers join union  Business Journal  ...SEIU 775 has scored another big victory. About 275 residential caregivers at ResCare Washington Inc. have joined the union, which represents 44,000 long-term care workers in Washington state and Montana. The caregivers join 953 home care workers from First Choice, a private home care agency, who joined the union in July...
This Is Why Chicago Teachers Are Fed Up With The Mayor  Think Progress  ...An overwhelming majority of the Chicago Teachers Union, 88 percent, voted on Monday to allow union leaders to call for a strike. It will be several months before the union decides whether to actually begin a strike. First, they’re going on a “fact-finding mission” in one last effort to resolve the negotiations. But if they do decide to walk out of their classrooms, it will be the second time the union has gone on strike...
The Nation Is Giving Workers 4 Months Of Paid Parental Leave  Huffington Post  ...The progressive magazine The Nation announced Wednesday that it would be offering workers four months of paid parental leave and 25 percent raises over the next six years. These kinds of benefits may be par for the course at tech companies like Google and Facebook and Netflix, but are pretty much unheard of in the media world -- or any other industry in the U.S., for that matter...
Dems call on Labor Dept. to investigate grocery chain  The Hill  ...House Democrats from Arizona, California and Nevada are calling on the Obama administration to investigate alleged labor law violations by one of North America’s largest retailers. A coalition of U.S. and Mexican labor and civil society groups  have accused the company of prohibiting employees from joining labor unions, inquiring about pregnancies during job interviews to screen out pregnant women and hiring volunteer grocery packers who are paid only tips...

SOCIAL JUSTICE & OTHER NEWS
The Life-Saving Train Technology That Congress Isn’t Fully Funding  The Atlantic  ...The derailment of Amtrak train 188 in Philadelphia earlier this year, which killed eight people, introduced many Americans to a safety technology that could have prevented the crash in the first place: positive train control. Now, Congress has allocated $25 million in funding in the omnibus bill to help railroads implement the technology—but some of Washington’s most ardent supporters of PTC are still let down...
Not Just Oceans and Atmosphere, Rapid Warming Killing World's Lakes  Common Dreams  ...The world's lakes are warming at a faster rate than oceans and atmosphere, a trend that may already have triggered major changes in aquatic ecosystems, according to a new report published in Geophysical Research Letters on Wednesday. Globally, lakes have been heating up an average of 0.34°C (.61°F) per decade between 1985 and 2009, researchers found...
Hate Crimes Against Muslims Have Spiked in U.S. Since Paris Attack  Slate  ...A California State University research group that monitors suspected hate crimes against American Muslims says it's aware of 38 such incidents since the Nov. 13 terror attacks in Paris, triple the usual average of 12.6 per month. The New York Times spoke to Brian Levin of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism: The frequency of the recent attacks has not reached the levels seen in the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001...
Sanders is Right. The Childcare System in the US is a Disaster  Common Dreams  ...One presidential hopeful's assessment is that the child care system in the U.S. is disastrous. And based on the findings of a new survey, many working parents in the U.S. have reason to agree. The Pew Research Center report, which surveyed over 1,800 parents of kids under 18, showed that nearly half (48 percent) of working parents with at least one child under school age say their children attend day care or preschool...
New Orleans Votes to Remove Confederate Monuments to Robert E. Lee and Others  Slate  ...The New Orleans City Council voted Thursday to remove a handful of monuments to the Confederacy from prominent locations around the city. The 6-to-1 vote to remove the three Civil War-era inspired statues and one obelisk was the culmination of a contentious campaign that began over the summer when New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu called for their removal...

Today's Teamster News 12.11.15

TEAMSTERS
Teamsters, Activists Deliver Thousands of Signed Petitions to UPS Calling for Withdrawal from ALEC  Teamster.org  ...Today, Teamsters Union representatives in Washington, D.C. and Atlanta, Ga. led delegations that included environmental and community activists that delivered thousands signed petitions to UPS offices in both cities. The 75,000 signed petitions collected call on the corporation to withdraw its membership in the controversial American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)...
Hoffa: Final Customs Bill Offers Little More to Make TPP Better for Workers  Teamster.org  ...Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa in response to the issuance of a House-Senate conference report on a customs reauthorization bill that does little to address the many shortfalls contained in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP): “If leaders in Congress were trying to come up with a way to make trade fair for American workers and those around the globe, they failed miserably"...
Drivers at Transdev Vote to Join Teamsters Local 117  Local 117  ...Drivers, who are employed by Transdev, have voted to join Teamsters Local 117. The 260 workers came together seeking retirement security, affordable health care, fair and equal treatment, strong representation, and respect. “We’ve taken a very important step toward making our work environment better for the future,” said John Secord, a 4-year Transdev employee...

GLOBAL LABOR & TRADE
Paris Transport Workers Strike Amid Spike In Suspicious Package Claims  IBTimes  ...Less than a month since the Paris terror attacks that killed 130 and fueled international concerns over security, Paris transport workers are expressing their concerns for their own safety. Workers went on a 24-hour strike Thursday, saying security concerns have increased as a result of a high number of suspicious packages being reported on Paris public transportation, the Agence France-Presse reported. Passengers in Paris reported severely disrupted train traffic...
McConnell deals blow to Obama TPP hopes  The Hill  ...Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Thursday crushed any hope that Congress could pass a sweeping Asia-Pacific trade agreement before the 2016 elections. McConnell, who has expressed concerns about the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and has yet to take a stance, said President Obama is risking defeat of his signature trade deal if he tries to push for passage before a lame-duck session next year...
Honduras and CAFTA Show Us One of the Key Reasons Why TPP Should Be Opposed  (opinion) AFLCIO  ...This week, the governments of Honduras and the United States signed an action plan to begin addressing the widespread failure to enforce labor laws in Honduras. While this is a small step in the right direction, the Honduran government has not fully considered or included workers' recommendations regarding this Monitoring and Action Plan. The Honduran government, employers and unions have reached consensus on some points...
Portugal's new anti-austerity government makes more spending cuts in battle to lower deficit  Star Tribune  ...Portugal's new anti-austerity Socialist government has hit a snag: it needs to introduce more cutbacks to keep its pledge of getting the budget deficit lower than 3 percent this year, as demanded by its eurozone partners and creditors. Finance Minister Mario Centeno said after a Cabinet meeting Thursday the government is imposing a freeze on non-urgent spending...
Tunisian Unions Receive Nobel Prize in Ceremony Today  Solidarity Center  ...,The Nobel Peace Prize was formally awarded today to the Tunisian “Quartet,” which includes the country’s labor movement for its role in brokering a peaceful path to democracy. At a ceremony in Oslo, Norway, Houcine Abassi, general secretary of the Tunisian General Labor Union (Union Générale Tunisienne du Travail, UGTT) said, “Tunisia is an exception so far in the Arab Spring countries, but this doesn’t mean that it may not be replicated in other countries”...
How Climate Change Will Transform Work  The Nation  ...The term “green economy” danced around the corridors at the Paris climate talks, evoking visions of electric cars and “clean tech.” But “decarbonization” is a messier story in the Global South. Workers in the rapidly warming “developing world” need more than wind turbines and highbrow organic farms; they need to build livelihoods that can mitigate ecological crisis—and leap ahead of the dominant fossil-fuel based economies, which historically have both controlled and stifled their development...

STATE & LIVING WAGE BATTLES
Connecticut Legislature Approves Budget Cuts  Wall Street Journal  ...Lawmakers in Connecticut on Tuesday approved a $350 million plan to address a shortfall in the state’s budget. The state Senate, controlled by Democrats, passed the bill 20-15. The House of Representatives, also controlled by Democrats, passed it 75-65. The plan cuts spending by $195.8 million and diverts $135.7 million from several specialized accounts, including the transportation fund...
Senate moves Pennsylvania budget fight into House's court  WTAE  ...The Pennsylvania Senate sprinted through hundreds of pages of just-unveiled budget legislation Thursday, handing it back to the House Republican majority and all but ensuring that a five-month stalemate that is crippling social services agencies would plow into next week. The Republican-controlled Senate adjourned Thursday night after a marathon week of passing major bills that authorize $30.8 billion in spending...
California pension overhaul advocates move forward after Kamala Harris issues analyses  Sac Bee  ...California moved one step closer to a public retirement fight after the state issued official summaries for two pension-change ballot proposals on Thursday – and for the first time neither labor unions nor the measures’ proponents griped that the language was politically slanted or inaccurate. “It’s not the most positive way to describe the initiative,” said Chuck Reed, the former San Jose mayor who is backing the proposal...

‘Right to work’ a tired, failed proposal  (opinion) Cincinnati.com  ...Here in Ohio, a broad coalition of working people is mobilizing against yet another attack on collective bargaining. Even though “right to work” has failed repeatedly in the past, Rep. Tom Brinkman, R-Mount Lookout, is pushing a new bill in the statehouse. It’s an effort to keep middle-class Ohioans from speaking up together for wages and benefits that can sustain our families...

Tucson talks of requiring paid sick leave from employers  Arizona Daily Star  ...The City Council is studying a proposal to require all Tucson employers to give earned sick days to employees, but the issue got off to a shaky start. Councilwoman Regina Romero proposed a city ordinance Tuesday making sick time mandatory as part of a “working family agenda,” but the discussion got heated and turned to whether the city can spend time on social justice issues while it’s trying to get its own fiscal house in order...

U.S. LABOR
Uber drivers get big boost in lawsuit against company  SF Chronicle  ...In a major setback for Uber, a federal judge on Wednesday dramatically expanded the scope — both in potential financial damages and in the number of people affected — of a class-action lawsuit by California drivers seeking to be reclassified as employees. U.S. District Judge Edward Chen ruled that even drivers who accepted mandatory arbitration in their Uber contract should be included in the case...
Negotiations Resume Between Kohler Company, Striking Workers  CBS  ...Negotiations resumed between Kohler company and union officials on Thursday, according to UAW Local 833 members. The 2,000 striking employees got their final paycheck at the end of last week from the company. Some will also have their vacation time paid out, members said...
Suburban office janitors rally for $15 wage as contract expiration looms  Business Journal  ...Dozens of janitors who staff more than 150 suburban Philadelphia office buildings called for a wage that would give their children a Christmas they deserve in a demonstration Thursday outside Vanguard's Malvern offices. Members of the 32BJ Service Employees International Union want the owners of the approximately 170 properties in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties to agree to raise their wage...
D.C. Streetcar Management Found Guilty of Threatening Workers  DC Labor  ...As news surfaced that the beleaguered DC Streetcar will not be ready this year and an exposé showed that the project has drained more than $200 million in taxpayer funds, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled that the private DDOT contractor charged with operating the streetcar engaged in illegal anti-union activity, including threatening workers who wanted to join a union. The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) says the decision is a legal victory...
The Tipping Point: Most Americans No Longer Are Middle Class  NPR  ...Americans have long lived in a nation made up primarily of middle-class families, neither rich nor poor, but comfortable enough. This year, that changed, according to the Pew Research Center. A just-released analysis of government data shows that as of 2015, middle-income households have become the minority...
Proposed House and Senate Bills Would Roll Back New Worker Protections in Guestworker Program  In These Times  ..After years of legal battles, the H-2B guestworker program finally acquired official rules in April. For the first time, workers in the program were guaranteed basic protections like minimum hours and local average wages. But now those rules are being challenged in several Congressional bills. The proposed bills could dramatically alter the program, cutting protections for U.S. and foreign workers alike...

UC Berkeley Workers, Students Say University’s Subcontracted Campus Jobs Mean Poverty Wages  In These Times  ...Twenty-two student protesters were arrested on December 3 after staging a two-hour occupation of the central administration offices at the University of California, Berkeley. The protesters stormed California Hall, where school head Chancellor Nicholas Dirks is headquartered, and sat down in the office lobby demanding living wages and benefits for workers employed by private contractors on campus...

After Laquan McDonald’s Shooting, Chicago Targets Police Contract Protections  Mother Jones  ...The Fraternal Order of Police contract with the city shapes how Chicago handles police misconduct allegations, disciplines rank-and-file officers, as well as when the city pays legal costs for police officers accused of wrongdoing. While activists have long called for changes to the contract, many people in local government have not been eager to take on that fight—until now...

SOCIAL JUSTICE & OTHER NEWS
Report Shows How Charter Schools Are in Business of 'Privatization and Profiteering'  Common Dreams  ...The explosion of charter schools in the U.S. is allowing individuals, corporations, and organizations to use public funds to secure their own financial gain and private profit—often at the expense of the common interest they claim to serve, a new policy brief from the National Education Policy Center at the University of Colorado-Boulder finds...
Immigration official: Etowah immigration detainee hunger strike over  AL.com  ...A hunger strike by immigration detainees at the Etowah County Detention Center that began the day before Thanksgiving has ended, immigration officials say. Bryan Cox, a spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), said eight detainees ate the evening meal Wednesday and "voluntarily ended their strike." "As of today the Etowah hunger strike is over," Cox said Wednesday...
Climate Apartheid: Greenpeace Chief Says Poorest Suffer Brunt of Rich Nations' Emissions  Democracy Now  ...Representatives from nearly 200 nations are in the final stretch of negotiations at the U.N. climate summit in Paris. The text has nearly 100 outstanding points of disagreement that still need to be resolved. One of the most contentious issues is the role that wealthy and more advanced developing countries should play in helping vulnerable nations cope with the impacts of climate change...
Poll: Majority of Americans oppose Trump's Muslim ban plan  Daily Kos  ...Poll: Majority of Americans oppose Trump's Muslim ban plan. There are sharp differences by political party. Just over half of Republicans responding -- 54 percent -- support such a ban, while most Democrats and independents do not...
Hundreds of U.S. Groups Join Forces to Stand Against 'Dangerous Tide of Hatred, Violence'  Common Dreams  ...It is incumbent on every public figure, elected politician, and media outlet to stand up against the "dangerous tide of hatred, violence, and suspicion" taking hold in the United States, over 700 prominent organizations and people declared in a full-page ad in Thursday's New York Times. Signatories warn that, in particular, violence is aimed at "Arab and Muslim Americans, women and the places we seek health care, Black people, immigrants and refugees...
A Guilty Verdict for Daniel Holtzclaw  The Atlantic  ...An Oklahoma County jury handed down a series of guilty verdicts on Thursday night in the trial of former Oklahoma City Police Department officer Daniel Holtzclaw, who allegedly raped and sexually assaulted at least 13 black women in the neighborhood he patrolled. Holtzclaw, who turned 29 years old on Thursday, faced 36 charges in total...

Today's Teamster News 11.18.15

TEAMSTERS
Teamsters Support House Introduction of Pension Accountability Act  Teamster.org  ...The Teamsters Union expressed its support today of the introduction of the House companion bill for Sen. Rob Portman’s (R-Ohio) Pension Accountability Act. The bill (HR 4029), which was introduced in the House by Reps. David Joyce (R-Ohio) and Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), would guarantee that the votes of thousands of retirees and participants would not be nullified as part of the process included in the Multi-employer Pension Reform Act (MPRA)...
Teamsters Applaud SFMTA Vote Ensuring Labor Harmony for Commuter Shuttles  Teamster.org  ...Today, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) voted to make the city’s commuter shuttle pilot program permanent, while also ensuring labor harmony for workers employed by commuter shuttle operators. The commuter shuttle program pertains to buses primarily serving Silicon Valley’s high tech industry, including Apple, Google, Facebook, and others. Consistent efforts by commuter shuttle drivers, Teamsters and community members to keep public attention on the critical labor harmony resolution resulted in final passage...
Miami Transfer Ratifies New 3 Year Contract  Local 769  ...On Monday November 16, 2015, Teamsters Local 769 members from Miami Transfer ratified a new 3 year contract. Miami Transfer has been in business since 1896 and along with Florida Rigging they do a lot of work for Florida Power and Light. They also do a lot of rigging work for Pike and other utility pole companies throughout the Miami, Broward, and Palm Beach county areas...
Teamsters, Carhaul Employer Group to Reconvene  Teamster.org  ...The Teamsters National Automobile Transporters Negotiating Committee (TNATINC) will reconvene with the carhaul employer group this week to negotiate on the members’ behalf after carhaulers overwhelmingly voted to reject the national agreement and two supplemental agreements. The negotiations come after local unions held meetings over the past few weeks with the carhaul members to discuss the recently rejected tentative agreement...
Workers protest poverty wages at the U of MN  Fight Back News  ...More than 350 workers on the Twin Cities and Duluth campuses of the University of Minnesota braved the rain, Nov. 17, to rally and picket for raises and respect for unionized staff at the U of MN. Members of U of MN AFSCME and Teamsters Local 320, which collectively represent over 4000 university workers, are currently in contract negotiations...

GLOBAL LABOR & TRADE
Obama presses Canada for quick TPP approval  Globe and Mail  ...U.S. President Barack Obama is pressuring Canada and the other members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership to approve the trade deal as quickly as possible. The 12 leaders of TPP nations met Wednesday for the first time since they announced the deal in October and released the text on Nov. 5. The closed-door meeting was also the first opportunity for Canada’s new Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to meet with TPP leaders...
Protests Continue as Obama Praises TPP at APEC Summit  TeleSUR  ...Activists protesting against the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit (APEC) in Manila, Philippines, clashed with police on Wednesday in attempts to take their demonstration to the site of the the APEC meetings, where world leaders also met to discuss the controversial Trans Pacific Partnership. Social movements including labor unions, women’s groups, students, Indigenous people, farmer organizations, and international activists have protested the negative impacts of APEC’s free trade model...
TPP activists storm Morgan Stanley office in Washington  RT  ...Activists united against the Trans Pacific Partnership deal disrupted the Washington, DC offices of investment firm Morgan Stanley. Protesters pushed by the company’s security as they charged their way into the building. Morgan Stanley is one of many US companies supporting the TPP and has spent almost $10m on lobbying over the past three years...
The Trans-Pacific Partnership could end US-made clothing  New York Post  ...The deal would eliminate tariffs between the US, Canada, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. A key NYC industry, clothing and apparel, is more divided in its take on TPP. “They’re not encouraging the consumer to buy more American-made products,” says Ramdat Harihar, CEO of R&C Apparel.  “If they’re cutting tariffs, they will manufacture more overseas”...
Greece, Lenders Reach Deal over Austerity Reforms; Aid Unlocked  TeleSUR  ...The Greek Finance Ministry said a payment of 2 billion euros will be made by creditors on Friday after reforms are ratified by parliament. Greece has reached an agreement with its European creditors Tuesday over financial reforms and austerity measures, allowing the country to receive bailout loans that were blocked because of disagreements over the reforms...
Honduran Union Leader, Family Leave Home after Threats  Solidarity Center  ...Honduran union leader Nelson Geovanni Nuñez Chavez was forced to leave his home with his family last week after repeatedly being followed and harassed, according to the Honduras-based nonprofit ACI-Participa. Nuñez Chavez is technical adviser to the Honduran agricultural workers’ union, Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Agroindustria y Similares (STAS), and host of the radio program, “The Unionist, Live”...
India cbank workers' strike on Thursday likely to disrupt settlements  Reuters  ...Nov 18 About 17,000 employees of the Reserve Bank of India are set to go on strike on Thursday for better retirement benefits and to oppose reforms to the central bank, raising the prospect of disruptions to banks and markets. The four unions that have called the strike say the reforms will reduce the RBI's regulatory powers and take away debt management operations away from the central bank...

STATE & LIVING WAGE BATTLES
Right To Work Is Debated in West Virginia  The Intelligencer  ...West Virginia Senate President Bill Cole said it is time to join the 25 other states that have passed right-to-work laws, but labor leaders Mike Caputo and Kenny Perdue said this is merely a Republican attempt to reduce wages for workers in an already poor state. State law currently allows companies to require membership in a union as a condition of employment. That practice is forbidden in right-to-work states...
Is "Right to Work" Right for W.Va.?  WV Public  ...Dozens of union members attended a joint committee meeting Sunday making their opposition for Right to Work legislation clear. For two hours, the Joint Committee on the Judiciary met to discuss possible Right to Work legislation and how it might affect West Virginia. Right to Work laws prohibit certain types of agreements between labor unions and employers...
Bills introduced by Simon address sexual orientation, campaign funds, paid sick leave  WTVR  ...HB07 wants full time employees to get a reasonable number of sick days. “Hard working Virginians shouldn’t have to choose between getting paid and going to work with a fever, the flu or worse,” Simon said. “It is essential to the health of Virginia’s workplaces that we provide a reasonable number of paid sick days for full time employees"...
L.A. County sets up wage enforcement program to police new minimum wage rules  LA Times  ...In  the wake of this summer's decision to hike the minimum wage in unincorporated areas to $15 by 2020, Los Angeles County supervisors voted Tuesday to set up a new division to go after employers who violate the wage law. Details of how the enforcement program will work and what penalties will apply to offending employers remain to be worked out...

U.S. LABOR
Sonoma County SEIU workers strike amid contract talks  Press Democrat  ...About 1,500 Sonoma County government employees joined picket lines Tuesday for the first day of a planned three-day strike by the county’s largest group of unionized workers. The demonstrations, clustered mainly outside county offices in Santa Rosa, escalated a standoff between local government officials and rank-and-file employees about the rising cost of health care and other living expenses...
Ford-UAW contract passage in doubt as voting nears end  Reuters  ...Workers at two large Ford Motor Co (F.N) plants in Louisville, Kentucky, rejected a proposed four-year labor contract by 2-to-1 margin, putting its passage in doubt as voting at Ford plants factories nears an end. Of 7,408 votes cast at Louisville Assembly and Kentucky Truck plants, 65.5 percent voted against the contract, according to a UAW official...
Papa John's Franchisee Gets Jail Time For Failing To Pay Full Wages  Huffington Post  ...The owner of several Papa John's franchises in New York City will serve 60 days in jail for failing to pay his workers the minimum wage and overtime, New York's attorney general announced Monday. Two months isn't a particularly long time in the hoosegow, but any jail time at all is notable in a wage theft case...
McDonald's franchises must comply with NLRB subpoenas, judge says  Reuters  ...A U.S. judge has ordered 10 McDonald's franchisees in New York City to comply with subpoenas from the National Labor Relations Board seeking information on their relationship with McDonald's Corp, as the agency tries to prove that the fast food giant is a joint employer of franchise workers...
Airlines Do Fixes on the Cheap by Sending Planes Abroad to Unlicensed Mechanics  Alternet  ...Like outsourcing in every other industry, aviation outsourcing comes down to money. After 9/11, when America’s airline industry found itself in financial dire straits, commercial fliers introduced a number of cost-cutting measures. We’re now far too familiar with these practices, most of which remain with us. Less widely known is the fact that airlines also looked for ways to slash repair costs, a solution that required looking abroad...
The Lowest End Of The Income Spectrum Is A Dangerous Place For Mothers To Be  Think Progress  ...In a new research paper from Kristin S. Seefeldt and Heather Sandstrom published by the Russell Sage Foundation, the authors note that about 12 percent of all low-income mothers had neither a job nor welfare benefits in 2004, which jumped to about 20 percent by 2008. “The number of families with children who are without work and without cash welfare benefits has been growing over time since the implementation of welfare reform in 1996,” said Seefeldt...
U.S. Economy Increasingly Dominated by Monopolies as 2015 Corporate Mergers Continue  Alternet  ...There’s more evidence that corporate America is becoming ever more monopolistic and that’s not good for small businesses or consumers. This year is on track to see the most corporate mergers and takeovers since the Great Recession of 2008, according to many business page reports that said October was the fifth biggest month ever for mergers...
SEIU endorses Clinton  Politico  ...The powerful union behind the fast food workers' wage movement endorsed Hillary Clinton for president Tuesday. The 2-million-member Service Employees International Union approved the endorsement through a vote by its executive board. “Hillary Clinton has proven she will fight, deliver and win for working families,” said SEIU President Mary Kay Henry in a statement...

SOCIAL JUSTICE & OTHER NEWS
Poll shows support for reversing highway bill safety changes  The Hill  ...Safety advocates are touting a poll showing public support for reversing a host of regulatory changes that are included in a highway funding bill that is being negotiated by lawmakers. 77 percent of U.S. residents oppose a controversial proposal to increase a current limit on the length of double-trailer truck rigs from 28 feet to 33 feet. Only 22 percent of the poll's respondents said they support the longer truck proposal...
Koch brothers hijack historic criminal justice reform to make it tougher to go after corporate criminals  Salon  ...Not one Wall Street executive was criminally charged following the 2008 global financial collapse, and if the Koch brothers and House Republicans have their way, it’ll be harder to hold white collar criminals accountable for their future malfeasance. In an age when even acts of terror fail to lessen the tense political divisions in Washington, D.C. a rare beacon of bipartisanship comprise has taken root among elected federal officials working on criminal justice reform...
Paris attacks reshape U.S. debate on immigration, security  Reuters  ...U.S. lawmakers called on Tuesday for even tighter scrutiny of Syrian refugees fleeing to the United States as last week's deadly Paris attacks recast America's debate over immigration and national security, prompting a sharp rebuke from President Barack Obama, who said attempts to block entry were "offensive and contrary to American values"...
France Rejects Fear, Renews Commitment To Take In 30,000 Syrian Refugees  Think Progress  ...French President Francois Hollande promised to honor his commitment to take in tens of thousands of refugees on Wednesday. He said France would do so despite concerns raised by ultra-right nationalist leaders that refugees might pose a security threat to the country. Many immigration experts and political leaders noted that such humanitarian measures undermine ISIS’ argument that the West is at odds with Muslims...
"A Disturbing Increase in Islamophobia": U.S. Mosques Threatened, Canadian Mosque Set on Fire  Democracy Now  ...There are growing reports of Islamophobic attacks since Friday’s massacre in Paris. Just hours after the Paris assault, a caller left a voicemail laced with racial slurs for the Islamic Society of Pinellas County in St. Petersburg, Florida. The caller left his full name and threatened to "firebomb you, shoot whoever’s there on sight in the head." Meanwhile in Pflugerville, Texas, residents found a torn Qur’an covered in feces...
Latest Incidents Show Police Brutality Persists Despite Elevated Awareness  Common Dreams  ...Separate incidents in two U.S. cities over recent days reveal that tensions remain elevated over police brutality and use of excessive force in the United States. Captured last week on tape, the beating of a man in San Francisco has been likened to the infamous assault on Rodney King by the Los Angeles Police Department in 1991...

Top CEOs' retirement equal to more than 40% of Americans

Retirement security is a top concern of everyday Americans. That's because they know all too well the consequences of it.

CEOs aren't facing retirement cuts like some workers.

A new report details the wide gulf that exists in retirement savings. The document, released today by the Center for Effective Government and the Institute for Policy Studies, shows that 100 CEOs have as much in company retirement assets as the entire retirement savings of 41 percent of American families.

The average worth of the 100 largest CEO retirement accounts is about $49.3 million. David Novak of YUM Brands -- the parent company of Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC -- had the largest company-paid retirement package at $234 million.

Sarah Anderson, director of the Institute for Policy Studies' Global Economy Project, said the report details yet another symptom of the nation's growing income inequality problem:

The CEO-worker retirement divide has turned our country’s already extreme income divide into an even wider economic chasm. And what few realize is that the trends of expanding CEO pensions and increasing worker retirement insecurity are inextricably linked.

The percentage of private sector workers covered by a defined benefit pension that guarantees monthly payments has dropped from 35 percent in the early 1990s to 18 percent last year. And nearly half of all U.S. workers had no access to any retirement plan at work.

That's unacceptable. That's why the Teamsters have been at the forefront of fighting excessive CEO compensation. The union pushed hard for the Securities Exchange Commission to institute the CEO pay ratio rule approved under Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation passed in 2010, and protested the pay and retirement package of McKesson CEO John Hammegren while the company provided substandard wages and health benefits to employees in Florida.

We also included retirement security as one of its planks in the Teamster's "Let's Get America Working" platform that sets out a path to improve the lives of workers across the country. Because if the U.S. is to succeed, all of those participating in the economy need to get a piece of the pie.