Today's Teamster News 11.06.14

Teamsters
Rochester Library employees get two-year agreement  Foster's Daily Democrat   ...The agreement was negotiated by the library trustees and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the union representing library employees...
Trade
YES – it really DOES matter that you turn out this Saturday for the International Day of Action against the TPPA!  The Daily Blog   ...It is a hell of a lot easier to stop the TPPA being concluded than trying to prevent it coming into force after the deal has been signed...
Japan will contribute to early TPP trade deal: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe  Reuters   ...Japan will make efforts to break a deadlock in a proposed Asia-Pacific regional trade deal ahead of a key weekend meeting of trade ministers, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Thursday...
"Trade" Deals Have Little to Do With Trade   Center for Economic and Policy Research   ...the TTIP and TPP (the two main deals currently being negotiated) will do almost nothing to increase trade and quite possibly could reduce it…Both deals are primarily about imposing a business-friendly regulatory structure on the signatories to the agreements...
State Battles
ALEC Pols Moving Up in 2014 Midterms  Center for Media and Democracy   ...At least twenty American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) member state legislators and alumni ran for higher office in Tuesday's election, in races from U.S. House and Senate to governor and other executive branch state positions. How did they fare? The short answer is that most won their elections with the support of Koch-tied groups...
Direct Democracy Brings Economic Justice Wins, But Watch Out for ALEC  Center for Media and Democracy   ...Despite big Republican wins in many states, voters in four states approved minimum wage increases, and voters in three states enacted paid sick day laws on Tuesday, giving a boost to progressive policy initiatives even in conservative parts of the country...

War on Workers
The Democrats' Catastrophe and the Need For a New Agenda (opinion)  The American Prospect   ...A defeat of this magnitude suggests that the Democrats are in the same fix as most of the center-left parties of Europe—parties that purport to be the economic advocates of the middle and working classes, but preside over abysmal economies with no clear sense of how to make them better...
Newest Oxfam Report: The richest make $500,000-per-minute  Economic Populist   ...the world’s 85 richest billionaires hold as much wealth as 3.5 billion of humanity’s poorest half...
Luxembourg tax files: how tiny state rubber-stamped tax avoidance on an industrial scale  Guardian   ...some 340 companies from around the world arranged specially-designed corporate structures with the Luxembourg authorities. The businesses include corporations such as Pepsi, Ikea, Accenture, Burberry, Procter & Gamble, Heinz, JP Morgan and FedEx. Leaked papers relating to the Coach handbag firm, drugs group Abbott Laboratories, Amazon, Deutsche Bank and Australian financial group Macquarie are also included....
Hillshire Brands hit with fine for May death of worker caught, killed in machine  Michigan Live   ...Hillshire Brands, a meat processing plant north of Zeeland, has been fined $12,600 after a worker died in a May accident. Ricardo Ramos-Burmudez, 49, a married father of three girls, died May 10 when some of his clothing became caught in machinery...
Worker Run Over and Killed by Dump Truck Identified  New England Cable News   ...Maine State Police have identified a construction worker who was killed when he was run over by a dump truck on the Maine Turnpike in the town of York...

Today's Teamster News 05.20.14

Teamster News
Park Ridge Police Department Chooses Teamsters Representation  teamster.org   ...Teamsters Local 700’s law enforcement membership continues to expand as 40 members with the Park Ridge Police Department join the Teamsters...
Seattle Transportation Network Drivers Vote To Form Association With Teamsters  teamster.org   ...Uber and UberX drivers met in Tukwila, Wash., to begin the process of forming an association which will work with Teamsters Local 117 yesterday...
Trade
Dog Illnesses and Deaths Linked to Imported Pet Treats From China  Alternet   ...the USDA will soon allow U.S. chickens to be sent to  China for processing before being shipped back to the states for human consumption...
Trans-Pacific Partnership: Another Trade Liberalization Scam  Truthout   ...The gathering pressure for Congress to "fast track" the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) demonstrates yet again that trade liberalization is one of the few aspects of economic policy about which there is agreement across the mainstream of the political spectrum...
Steelworkers to D.C.: Enforce our trade laws  Trade Reform   ...About 200 steel industry supporters and steel workers gathered at Civic Park Friday to protest the recent flood of imported steel from South Korea because it jeopardizes jobs within the city’s largest employer. The United Steelworkers Local 1899 in Granite City, which represents most of the 2,500 employees at U.S. Steel’s plant in Granite City, organized the rally because the South Korean steel imported into this country is sold below market value, making it difficult for U.S. steel mills to compete...
State Battles
More states, cities raising minimum wage  USA Today   ...The fast-food walkouts Thursday are part of a broader nationwide effort to raise the minimum wage for millions of low-income workers, a campaign that's notching growing success in states and cities across the USA...
Connecticut Public Retirement Plan Passes, More or Less  The Baseline Scenario   ...a proposal in Connecticut (would) create a new tax-preferred retirement plan that would, by default, include almost all workers who don’t currently have access to an employment-based plan (like a 401(k)). That proposal took some major steps forward when it was included in an end-of-session bill that was passed by the Connecticut legislature...the bill authorizes a feasibility study and implementation plan for the new retirement option...
War On Workers
Congratulations To The Class Of 2014, Most Indebted Ever  Wall Street Journal   ...As college graduates in the Class of 2014 prepare to shift their tassels and accept their diplomas, they leave school with one discouraging distinction: They're the most indebted class ever...
Credit Suisse pleads guilty to criminal charges in US tax evasion settlement  The Guardian   ...Credit Suisse Group has pleaded guilty to criminal charges that it helped Americans evade taxes, becoming the first bank in more than a decade to admit to a crime in the US. It will now pay a long-expected fine of $2.5bn (£1.5bn)...
It's Time to Break Up With Sallie Mae!  Jobs With Justice   ...Despite mounting evidence showing how Sallie Mae has been ripping off federal student loan borrowers for years, it's still possible the Department of Education will renew its multimillion-dollar contract with the shady company next month...
NSA Collects All Phone Calls from One of World’s Most Secretive Tax Havens, But Doesn’t Track That  empty wheel   ...NSA/DEA don’t appear to be using this facility to track money launderers...
Turkey Erupts Over Mining Tragedy; Many Blame Privatization   In These Times   ...Protesters, numbering in the thousands in some major cities, continued to spill into the streets throughout the week holding placards that read, "This is not an accident, it's a massacre.” In Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir, police intervened with tear gas and water cannons...
Occupy Wall Street Protester Cecily McMillan Sentenced To Three Months In Jail  Huffington Post   ...A New York City judge sentenced Occupy Wall Street protester Cecily McMillan on Monday to three months in jail and five years probation...
Miscellaneous
U.S. Charges Five Chinese Military Hackers for Cyber Espionage Against U.S. Corporations and a Labor Organization for Commercial Advantage  US Department of Justice   ...A grand jury in the Western District of Pennsylvania (WDPA) indicted five Chinese military hackers for computer hacking, economic espionage and other offenses directed at six American victims in the U.S. nuclear power, metals and solar products industries...

Today's Teamster News 03.04.14

Teamster News
Government report: Too few pilots or too little pay?  Associated Press   ...The nation's regional airlines are having trouble hiring enough pilots, the government says, suggesting one reason may be that they simply don't pay enough. A pool of qualified pilots is available, but it's unclear whether they are willing to work for low entry-level wages, the Government Accountability Office said in a report released Friday...
Trade
Lies Our Political Elites Tell Us As They Rip Us Off  Down With Tyranny!   ...the last mega-trade deal corporate elites and their political handmaidens ... sold the American people, NAFTA, was a beautifully-packaged barrel of lies. Froman is uncomfortable and highly defensive when confronted with the analogy...
Obama’s trade chief undeterred by opposition  Politico   ...The Obama administration is confident it will win support in Congress for a big Asia-Pacific trade deal despite opposition from many Democrats that has stalled legislation needed for approval of the agreement, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said...
State Battles
Report: Privatizing government work reaps lavish profits for some  Tallahassee.com   ...there’s George Zoley of the GEO Group, which runs prisons all over the world. GEO has four of Florida’s six privately run prisons and is a mainstay of the state Republican Party and Gov. Rick Scott’s re-election campaign fund. CMD said Zoley took in $22 million in compensation between 2008 and 2012...
E-mails show Wisconsin Gov. Walker as hands-on tactician fixated on public image  Washington Post   ...An analysis by the Democratic super PAC American Bridge found that Walker was copied on 960 e-mails sent to the private e-mail addresses of public employees during work hours...
WI ALEC Leader in Hot Water over Allegations of Sexual Harassment  Center for Media and Democracy   ...Assembly Majority Leader Bill Kramer, a stalwart of the American Legislative Exchange Council, has been accused of sexually harassing two women while in Washington, D.C. last week for a Wisconsin GOP fundraiser...
Wisconsin income gap widening faster than nation as a whole  The Cap Times   ...Inflation-adjusted income for the bottom 99 percent of Wisconsin residents has actually fallen by 0.4 percent since 1979 while incomes for the upper 1 percent more than doubled over the period...
How ALEC helped Duke Energy block stricter coal ash rules  Facing South   ...ALEC has been involved in efforts to block stricter regulation of coal ash, which is in the spotlight again following Duke Energy's massive spill into the Dan River from a coal ash pit at one of its North Carolina plants. It has carried out this work with the financial backing of Duke, which belonged to ALEC during the height of the group's work to block federal coal ash oversight...
Kasich’s policies hurt local governments  The Columbus Dispatch   ...Beginning in 2011, we have experienced a 50 percent reduction — more than $11 million annually — in local-government funding from the state, primarily due to Kasich’s aggressive income-tax cuts...
The War on Workers
Citi Affiliate’s Troubles Multiply as Money-Laundering Subpoenas Follow Fraud  New York Times   ...A headache is growing for Citigroup as a banking affiliate involved in money transfers across the Mexican border has become ensnared in a criminal investigation...
Amazon workers look for justice from a business-friendly Supreme Court  Salon   ...Temporary workers at Amazon warehouses can spend as long as 30 minutes waiting to get through security checks. Since the security checks are designed as a theft-prevention measure, reasonable people might consider them a part of the regular Amazon warehouse workday. Integrity Solutions Staffing, an Amazon contractor, disagrees...
Miscellaneous
Why Russia No Longer Fears the West  Politico Magazine   ...Putin’s inner circle no longer fear the European establishment. They once imagined them all in MI6. Now they know better. They have seen firsthand how obsequious Western aristocrats and corporate tycoons suddenly turn when their billions come into play. They now view them as hypocrites—the same European elites who help them hide their fortunes...
The Pattern of Job Creation and Destruction by Firm Age and Size  Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta   ...he rate of job creation and destruction tends to decline with firm age. Younger firms of all sizes tend to have higher job-creation (and job-destruction) rates than their older counterparts...

Today's Teamster News 02.26.14

Teamster News
Teamsters Local 722 Secures Three-Year Contract for School Bus Workers  teamster.org   ...More than 70 Teamster school bus workers in western Illinois have ratified a new three-year contract with First Student...
Anheuser-Busch Brewery Contract Extended Until March 31  teamster.org   ...The Teamster negotiators for the Anheuser-Busch brewery contract which covers 3,500 members at 12 breweries have reached a one-month extension agreement with the company...
State Battles
Mo. Republicans Fight for “Right-To-Work”  CBS St. Louis   ...Greater St. Louis Labor Council President Robert Soutier gave emotionally charged testimony. Everything that s being proposed will hurt workers, it hurts the very core people that we represent, said Soutier. It drives wages down. Why are we interesting in attracting low wage workers to this state? ...
Trade
The Trans-Pacific Partnership: No end in sight The Economist   ...opposition to TPP seems to be growing in America as well. The most obvious manifestation of this is that Barack Obama seems to have little immediate hope of winning “fast-track” authority (known now as “Trade-Promotion Authority” or TPA) to negotiate trade agreements that Congress cannot challenge clause by clause...
TPP Talks Fizzle Again under Broad Opposition  Public Citizen   ...The talks have missed a succession of deadlines due to opposition from negotiating countries to corporate-backed U.S. demands that would increase the cost of medicines, restrict financial stability measures, and empower corporations to challenge health and environmental safeguards...
War on Workers
Why We Oppose the Oakland Spy Center  The Oakland Privacy Working Group   ...there is great potential for abuse of civil liberties, and the city cannot afford it.  The city has no data retention and privacy policy or oversight committee for the DAC...
Credit Suisse 'cloak-and-dagger' tactics cost US taxpayers billions – senators  The Guardian   ...John McCain and Carl Levin say offshore schemes operated by Swiss firm helped 22,000 Americans hide billions from taxman...
JP Morgan to cut 8,000 jobs in mortgage and retail  BBC News   ...The bank reported profits of $17.9bn (£10.7bn) in 2013, down from $21.3bn a year earlier....
Bombshell Documents Vanish in the JPMorgan-Madoff Investigation  Wall Street on Parade   ...The Feds slap a $1.7 billion penalty on a bank, file a two-felony count indictment against it, put it on probation for two years – all for not filing a Suspicious Activity Report and yet when a bank did file a Suspicious Activity Report no documents exist to show there was ever an investigation. ...
Democrats again delay Senate minimum wage vote  Associated Press   ... Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin, the bill's author, said Tuesday they now expect to consider it after lawmakers return in late March...

Today's Teamster News 02.17.14

State Battles
VW works council says will pursue labor representation at U.S. plant  Reuters   ...Volkswagen's works council said it would press on with efforts to set up labor representation at its Chattanooga, Tennessee plant, undeterred by a workers' vote against any such step involving the United Auto Workers union (UAW)...
Spread the word: ALEC’s education agenda not good for kids or public schools  Education Votes   ...All across the country students, parents, educators, and community leaders are teaming up to get the word out about the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and its destructive anti-children and anti-public education agenda...
Crossing Borders and Changing Lives, Lured by Higher State Minimum Wages  New York Times   ...many minimum-wage migrants … travel from homes in Idaho, where the rate is $7.25, to work in Oregon, where it is the second highest in the country, $9.10...
The War on Workers
Race to a million  The Economist   ...EACH second Walmart collects $15,054, Google garners $1,897 and tiny Twitter ekes out $21...
Economics of the 1%: Devastating Democracy for the 99%  The Real News   ...the source of authoritarianism is not fascism or centrally planned economies; it's the ideology of free markets, because what that ideology seeks to do is to say there's no effective role for governments, governments should be minimized. Yet governments are the vehicle by which we the 99 percent assert ourselves...
Pay Pals  Huffington Post   ...Here’s what the Fortune 100 executives paid each other from 2008 to 2012...
Small-firm lawyer takes on Wall Street and wins, twice  Reuters   ...In January, the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan said it is seeking up to $2.1 billion in penalties from Bank of America after a jury in October found the firm liable for fraud over defective mortgages sold by Countrywide. Wasinger's client, former Countrywide Executive Vice President Edward O'Donnell, was the star witness for the prosecution. And earlier this month, JPMorgan Chase agreed to pay $614 million to settle claims that it defrauded the U.S. government by submitting sub par home loans for federal insurance. The case relied in part on evidence provided by another Wasinger client...
Train firms failing half of passengers: Delays, overcrowding and poor value for money means customer satisfaction is 'shockingly low'  Daily Mail   ...Train companies are registering ‘shockingly low’ levels of poor customer satisfaction on overcrowded and over-priced services, a damning new consumer survey reveals today...
Miscellaneous
Abba admit outrageous outfits were worn to avoid tax  The Guardian   ...According to Abba: The Official Photo Book, published to mark 40 years since they won Eurovision with Waterloo, the band's style was influenced in part by laws that allowed the cost of outfits to be deducted against tax – so long as the costumes were so outrageous they could not possibly be worn on the street...
Sophisticated but low-tech power grid attack baffles authorities  Los Angeles Times   ...The military-style raid on April 16 knocked out 17 giant transformers at the Metcalf Transmission Substation, which feeds power to Silicon Valley. The FBI is still working the case, and agents say they are confident it was not the work of terrorists...

Today's Teamster News 02.04.14

Teamsters join thousands in action against Fast Track  TeamsterNation   ...Teamsters, techies and tens of thousands of people took action Friday to oppose a Fast Track bill that would grease the Congressional skids for so-called 'trade deals' like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)...
'Strongest' union head: Put Sanitation plows on the streets, not private plowers  Staten Island Advance   ...(Teamsters Local 631) Union chief Harry Nespoli called the expense of hiring private contractors and paying them to be on stand-by "foolish" and "a waste taxpayer money."...
New York liquor warehousing law in the works, may cost small dealers big  New York Daily News   ...George Miranda, president of Teamsters Joint Council 16, said the bill could create up to 1,000 warehouse jobs in the state. “It is just the right thing to do,” Miranda said...
De Blasio’s horse-carriage ban stalls  Capital New York   ...as the Council holds its second meeting of the new year under the leadership of de Blasio's ally and fellow carriage opponent, Melissa Mark-Viverito, a bill to ban them has yet to appear on the Council's agenda. A spokesman for Mark-Viverito would not say when the bill will be introduced...
YRC announces $300 million debt reduction plan after Teamsters labor agreement  CCJ   ...YRC Worldwide (No. 3 in CCJ’s Top 250) has closed a deal to attempt to reduce its debt by $300 million, per an announcement from the company Jan. 31, in which it will issue $250 million in new stock and convert $50 million in convertible notes to common stock and use the proceeds to reduce its roughly $1 billion of debt...
CN Rail to meet with union over stalled labor deal  Reuters Canada   ...Union members have "a lot of mistrust" with Canada's largest railway, Teamsters Canada Rail Conference General Chairman Roland Hackl told Reuters, and will need assurances that CN will respect rest provisions for workers in the current agreement...
V & V Supremo Workers Benefit from Teamsters Local 703 Contract  teamster.org   ...Represented by the Teamsters since 2001, the workers at V&V Supremo continue to receive annual wage increases, fair and equitable benefits and the protection of the Teamsters’ grievance procedure due to their contract with Local 703...
Teamsters Applaud Green Light for Keystone XL Pipeline  teamster.org   ...Following the U.S. State Department’s analysis that the Keystone XL pipeline project provides a safe and correct process for the transport of Canadian oil to the U.S. Gulf region, the Teamsters Union is pleased that the project, which will directly create 20,000 good jobs for American workers, is one step closer to reality...
Allegheny County workers to strike  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette   ...Nearly 50 Allegheny County workers, mainly truck drivers in the Public Works Department, will strike after members of Teamsters Local 249 overwhelmingly voted Sunday to reject the county's proposals for a new contract, their union leader said...
States Are Feeling the Pinch from Lost Unemployment Revenues  teamster.org   ...Americans who want to work but can’t find a job after months of unemployment are being hit hard by the cut off of long-term unemployment benefits by Republicans in Congress. But their epic policy blunder is hurting everyone, even if they don’t realize it...
New National Poll: Voters Blame Lawmakers for Weak Job Growth  Trade Reform   ...By an overwhelming margin, voters say job creation should be a top priority, beating out deficit reduction by a 2-1 margin (65% vs. 31%)...
2014 stock market selloff intensifies  USA Today   ...The financial turbulence that began in emerging markets and engulfed Wall Street intensified Monday, leaving U.S. stock investors bracing for the possibility of the first 10% market drop since 2011...
Wall Street Journal Exposes Entirely New Private Equity Tax Scam  naked capitalism   ...so-called “monitoring fees” that PE firms levy on the companies they’ve bought should actually be recognized as dividends for corporate tax purposes. This is is significant because fees are a tax deductible expense to the companies while the dividends aren’t, so the effect of this ruse is to shortchange Uncle Sam, and hence ordinary taxpayers to the PE funds’ benefit...
A Rash of Deaths and a Missing Reporter – With Ties to Wall Street Investigations  Wall Street On Parade   ...In a span of four days last week, two current executives and one recently retired top ranking executive of major financial firms were found dead. Both media and police have been quick to label the deaths as likely suicides. Missing from the reports is the salient fact that all three of the financial firms the executives worked for are under investigation for potentially serious financial fraud...
Businesses gather more information than they need from consumers  Los Angeles Times ...Strong rules for collection and use of people's personal data should be enacted...
Edward Snowden speaks: US blackout of interview  Jonathan Turley   ... the interview appears to have been blocked intentionally by US government authorities. In fact, the media in the US appears to have gone to ‘radio silence’ about it. … He says his “breaking point” was “seeing Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, directly lie under oath to Congress.”...
Microsoft, Facebook, Google and Yahoo release US surveillance requests  The Guardian   ...Tens of thousands of accounts associated with customers of Microsoft, Google, Facebook and Yahoo have their data turned over to US government authorities every six months as the result of secret court orders, the tech giants disclosed for the first time on Monday.... 
Newly Wary, Shoppers Trust Cash    ...New York Times ...Like dieters vowing to trade cupcakes for carrots, a number of American shoppers are making a new pledge: cash only...
Factory, construction spending data hint at slowing economy  Reuters   ...U.S. manufacturing activity slowed sharply in January on the back of the biggest drop in new orders in 33 years while construction spending barely rose in December, pointing to some loss of steam in the economy...
Calif. Bill Targets Discrimination Against Caregivers  Associated Press   ...If you don't get a job because you're a woman, or you get fired because you're black, or you get transferred to the night shift because you're gay, there's a law for that. But if you're punished at work because you need time to take your child to the doctor or talk to your confused elderly mother, you might be out of luck...
Olive Garden offers free babysitting to increase sales  Philadelphia Inquirer   ...The "Italian dining experience" inspired restaurant chain has worked on revamping its menu, but on Friday is offering something not many other dining establishments offer: free babysitting...
VW Workers to Decide Whether to Join UAW  uaw.org   From Feb. 12-14, Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, Tenn., will decide the issue of union representation by the United Auto Workers in a secret ballot election supervised by the National Labor Relations Board...

Today's Teamster News 01.06.14

Better Than Expected US Economic Data  The Big Picture   ...Generally, the data supports the view that US manufacturing should improve this year...
Meet the Americans Who've Lost Their Unemployment Benefits: "I'm Thoroughly Petrified"  Mother Jones   ..."When you apply for a job at 50 people laugh at you. When you apply for a job at 65 people just look at you like you are crazy..."
The New Financial Scam Driving Workers Deep Into Debt  Alternet   ... there is a new game in town. It’s called “workplace loans” but in many cases they should be called “company store loans...”
Once Upon a Time We Were Winning the War on Poverty  CEPR   ...The rise in inequality over the last three decades explains the lack of progress on reducing poverty...
How Many Constitutional Rights Have Americans Lost?  Washingtons Blog   ...This post explains the liberties guaranteed in the Bill of Rights – the first 10 amendments to the United States Constitution – and provides a scorecard on the extent of the loss of each right...
The Exciting New Trend In Citizenship Programs  Q Experts' Blog   ...Citizenship by Investment, also known as Economic Citizenship, has gained popularity in recent years as a means of acquiring a second passport. One of the achievements of the “immigration consultancy” business as a whole has definitely been to make the whole process more respectable...
Proof that offshore banking is the key to embezzling billions  Quartz   ...Four countries’ legal systems are trying to recoup billions from Ablyazov, who used his position as chairman of the bank to make more than $1.7 billion in loans to holding companies in the British Virgin Islands that were never repaid. Those companies are allegedly controlled by Ablyazov...
TAFTA: 'The Global Corporate Coup', Part Two  The BRAD BLOG   ...Don't care for the secretly-negotiated Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal? You're not gonna like the Trans-Atlantic 'Free Trade' Agreement (TAFTA) much better...
Chinese dam builders rush to Latin America  China Business   ...China's growing involvement in hydropower development in the region boosts clout but also leads to allegations of poor corporate responsibility...
Right-to-work laws do nothing to increase jobs (opinion)  Statesman-Journal   ...How inevitable is a right-to-work fight in Oregon? Our sense is that it is almost as if a big red X has been affixed to a map of our state by outside influences who have decided in secret that we are to be the next target in their misinformation campaign...
Oregon County Won't Raise Taxes, Resorts to Posse  Economic Populist   ...These people do not have the money to pay more taxes and if you want to blame anyone, blame Congress for stopping timber payments to rural regions where jobs are scarce.  It's no surprise areas with poverty rates above 20% reject an increase in mandatory taxes under these circumstances. Bottom line, these rural areas are returning to the wild west and vigilante justice is sure to follow...

Today's Teamster News 01.04.14

Mayor De Blasio’s Horse Policy Is a Pile of Manure (opinion) Daily Beast   ...Bill de Blasio’s first priority as New York City’s leader is to ban horse-drawn carriages in Central Park. Are you kidding?...
US economy losing 'up to a $1bn a week' after jobless benefits cut  The Guardian   ...The US economy is losing up to a billion dollars a week because of the “fiscally irresponsible” decision to end long-term unemployment benefits, a Harvard economist said on Friday...
Worrisome Spike in Student Loan Write-Offs  American Banker   ...Between January and August of last year, lenders wrote off $13.6 billion in student loan debt, a 46 percent increase from the same period of 2012 and the highest amount for this period in any of the last eight years, according to the data from Equifax (See chart 2)...
Beanie Baby Billionaire Seeks to Avoid Jail for Tax Crime  Bloomberg   ...H. Ty Warner, the billionaire creator of Beanie Baby plush toys, asked a judge to give him probation, not prison, for evading taxes on secret Swiss accounts that held as much as $107 million...
Is the NSA Spying on Congress?  Sen. Bernie Sanders   ...U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today asked the National Security Agency director whether the agency has monitored the phone calls, emails and Internet traffic of members of Congress and other elected officials...
Secretive Trans-Pacific Partnership Revealed  Eugene Weekly   ...The TPP talks about a trade deal will govern 40 percent of U.S. imports and exports as well as affect copyrights, pharmaceuticals and more. They are being conducted in secret, and only a few portions of the agreement and memos about it have been leaked...
The secret trade deal that threatens Maine’s frail economy  Portland Phoenix   ...Dozens of shoe factories once employed 30,000 workers in Maine, making it the top shoe-producing state. What’s left of that workforce — several hundred New Balance employees — could soon be gone too, thanks to a massive free trade agreement that’s expected to eliminate a series of tariffs on imported footwear. And jobs may not be all the state has to lose...
Idaho to take over privately-run state prison  Associated Press   ...Idaho's governor says the corrections department will take over operation of the largest privately-run prison in the state after more than a decade of mismanagement and other problems at the facility. Nashville, Tenn.-based Corrections Corporation of America has contracted with the state to run the prison since it was built in 1997...
Glenn Grothman, Wisconsin GOP Senator, Fights For A Seven-Day Workweek  Huffington Post   ...Wisconsin state Sen. Glenn Grothman (R) is attempting to roll back one of the state's progressive labor laws, arguing that workers should be allowed to work without a day off if they so choose...
Video shows businesses lobbying Rebecca Kleefisch for more tax breaks in closed-door meeting  Wisconsin State Journal   ...A recently released video of the Dec. 9 session at Beloit College shows Kleefisch and state Revenue Department Secretary Rick Chandler extolling state efforts to reduce taxes since Republicans took over state government in 2011, and saying they wanted private-sector ideas for another round of cuts...
Pot sales exceed $1 million on first day  9News.com   ...Pot shops did record sales compared to the "medical marijuana days" on Wednesday when recreational marijuana opened. Pot shop owners across Colorado believe they collectively made more than $1 million statewide...
Fun with Numbers  Sheila Kennedy   ...the folks who opposed Right to Work were right when they characterized the measure as “Right to Work for Less.”...

Today's Teamster News 12.31.13

Northern Tier shuts crude distillation unit -union Reuters ...Chris Riley, the business agent for Teamsters Local 120, which represents workers at the 89,500-barrel-per-day (bpd) plant in St. Paul, Minnesota, said a maintenance problem prompted the shutdown of the larger of two crude units for six to seven days. The unit shutdown at Northern Tier's only refinery came as a Dec. 31 contract expiration loomed. The union was considering a strike...
Train Derailment Causes Fiery Destruction In Casselton, ND Associated Press ...Authorities urged residents to evacuate a small North Dakota town Monday night after a mile-long train carrying crude oil derailed outside of town, shaking residents with a series of explosions that sent flames and black smoke skyward...
Fired Walmart Warehouse Workers Win $50,000 in Back Pay In These Times ... Last Monday, just days after a Walmart contractor agreed to pay out $4.7 million for alleged wage theft to more than 500 warehouse workers in southern California, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) secured a settlement over illegal retaliation against employees at the retail giant's distribution center in Elwood, Ill...
Clothing Brands Sidestep Blame for Safety Lapses New York Times ... four brands agreed last week to help finance a landmark $40 million compensation fund for the victims. But many other brands, including Mango, have so far refused to contribute to the fund…
Out of jobs, out of benefits, out of luck (Opinion. Note the author.) CNN ...People who can't work still must eat. Americans in distress have a claim on the rest of the nation. Extend unemployment insurance. Sustain food stamps. While we're looking for a new deal, at least quit deluding ourselves that the old deal is still operable. It's not...
I worked on the US drone program. The public should know what really goes on (opinion) The Guardian ... "How many soldiers have you seen die on the side of a road in Afghanistan because our ever-so-accurate UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] were unable to detect an IED [improvised explosive device] that awaited their convoy?"...
Younger military veterans are angered by budget cuts to their pension benefits Washington Post ...The plan to trim pension increases for working-age military retirees such as Preston is by far the most controversial provision in a bipartisan budget deal approved by Congress and signed last week by President Obama...
Nafta at 20 (.pdf) Public Citizen ...One Million U.S. Jobs Lost, Mass Displacement and Instability in Mexico, Record Income Inequality, Scores of Corporate Attacks on Environmental and Health Laws...
Moguls Rent South Dakota Addresses to Shelter Wealth Forever Bloomberg ...South Dakota’s sudden popularity illustrates how, at a time of rising U.S. economic inequality, the wealthiest Americans are embracing ever more creative ways to reduce taxes legally...
Ikea Isn't Only Furnishing Your Bedroom, It's Watching You There truthout ...Ikea has been able to access personal records including bank account information, driving records, vehicle registrations and property records. It has used these in vetting job applicants and in building cases against employees accused of wrongdoing...
South Korea's railway workers end three-week strike Straits Times ...Thousands of South Korean railway workers agreed on Monday to end a three-week partial strike after lawmakers promised to reflect their opinions in the government's controversial plan to reorganise railway services...
Greek prison system collapsing, labeled 'inhuman' Associated Press ...The crisis is playing out as Greece goes through a dramatic economic meltdown. As a result, prison populations are surging even as funds for guards and facilities are shrinking, a toxic mix that police and justice officials warn could explode in violence at any time...

Today's Teamster News 12.23.13

UPDATE: Adding S. Korea rail strike item.
Military pension cuts now unsure; changes likely  Washington Post   ...The Pentagon’s top civilian says it’s time to tame burgeoning military personnel costs, but he’s facing a test of wills with the nation’s powerful veterans groups, which want no cut in their benefits...
Diplomat's housekeeper kept 'like a slave'  New York Post   ...In India, Devyani Khobragade advocated for women’s rights. But in New York, she was a slave driver, says the family of Khobragade’s housekeeper...
50 educators sign letter to Catholic University protesting Koch Foundation’s $1 million gift  Washington Post   ...Fifty prominent Catholic educators have signed a letter protesting Catholic University of America’s recent acceptance of a $1 million grant from a foundation affiliated with the billionaire libertarian Koch brothers … It says the Koch brothers’ activism against unions and climate-change science, among other things, is in “stark contrast” to the church’s “traditional social justice teachings.”…
U.S. agriculture considering opposition to TPP trade deal  The Grand Island Independent   ...A coalition of agricultural organizations is likely to oppose a final Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement if Japan is included...
South Korean union vows all-out strike in sympathy with rail workers  Reuters   ...South Korea's militant labor federation announced a general strike from Saturday in sympathy with rail workers, after police hauled away scores of strikers in a two-week dispute that has hit President Park Geun-hye's popularity ratings...
Corporate Tribunals: A U.S. / EU Holiday Gift to Foreign Firms?  Public Citizen   ...A moratorium on fracking. A strong anti-smoking cigarette label. A requirement to clean up industrial pollution. A medicine patent policy that could tamp down health costs. A decision to phase out nuclear energy. Each of these has been attacked by a foreign corporation using "trade" and investment treaties that allow firms to circumvent domestic legal systems and directly challenge domestic public interest policies before private international tribunals...
This Chart Blows Up the Myth of the Welfare Queen  The Atlantic   ...On average, they spend $30,582 in a year, compared to $66,525 for families not on public assistance. Meanwhile, they spend a third less on food, half as much on housing, and 60 percent less on entertainment...
US Treasury signs anti-tax evasion pacts with six jurisdictions  Reuters   ...The agreements were completed this past week with Bermuda, Malta, the Netherlands and three UK Crown Dependencies: Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man...
The death of the American Dream in a single image  Hullabaloo   ... It is harder for the poor to get into the middle class, and for the middle class to become wealthy, in America than in almost any other industrialized country. Our income distribution is the most unequal of any industrialized country, and at the highest level since 1928...

Today's Teamster News 12.21.13

Teamsters Seek Court Order to Restore Status Quo at Allegiant Air  teamster.org   ...Today the Teamsters filed a motion in federal court seeking an order enjoining Allegiant Air from violating the status quo provisions as embodied in the 2010 Pilot Work Rules Agreement and in binding past practices that were in effect at the time Allegiant Air and the Teamsters began negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement...
Supervisor Interrogates, Denies the Right of a Witness and Suspends Employee  teamster.org   ...A five-year employee at the McKesson (NYSE: MCK) distribution center in Duluth, Ga., was interrogated by a supervisor for more than an hour without a witness and suspended, after he dressed up as McKesson CEO John Hammergren at a company costume party. A recording of the interrogation can be found here (http://bit.ly/1kpFhQi)....
Man dresses up as boss for Halloween — and suffers the consequences  Salon   ...A man who dressed up as his boss at a company Halloween party tells Salon the stunt got him interrogated and suspended for four days – and he has a tape recording to back him up...
Retaliation Against Korean Railway Strikers Intensifies  teamster.org   ...Arrests of union leaders have begun and police have raided the Korean Railway Workers’ Union headquarters, seizing computer files and other equipment. The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) reports that the military is mobilizing as strikebreakers...
Banks Mess With Own Workers  teamster.org   ...almost a third of the country’s bank tellers are receiving some form of public assistance...
Portugal scrambles to find new pension cuts  Associated Press   ...Portugal's prime minister says his government is looking for new savings to meet its budget targets next year after a court disallowed planned cuts in state pensions...
How U.S. spying cost Boeing multibillion-dollar jet contract  Reuters   ...The decision was one of the biggest and most expensive consequences yet of the NSA revelations, which have strained Washington's relations with countries around the world...
Meet Nicholas Moore, America's Highest Paid Road Worker.  Alternet   ...The managing director and CEO of Macquarie made $8.8 million in fiscal year 2013...
Congress cuts Food Stamps, maintains Estate Tax Loophole worth $100 bn to the Rich  informed comment   ...A 1990 law passed by Congress seeking to close a loophole in the Estate Tax ended up having an even bigger loophole that has cost the government $100 bn in taxes...
Want to Eat at Restaurants That Treat Their Workers Well? There's an App for That  AFL-CIO Now   ...To support employers in the restaurant industry that do treat their workers well, check out the ROC Diners Guide so we can vote with our dollars on the kinds of establishments we want to see more of...
Minnesota’s chemical problem  MPR News   ...Temporary workers in Minnesota are much more likely to get injured on the job when compared to temporary workers in other states according to reporting by ProPublica...
North Carolina’s Failed Experiment in Cutting Unemployment Benefits  Economic Policy Institute   ...tens of thousands of North Carolinians stopped looking for jobs that weren’t there once they were cut off from weekly benefits (which are only paid to people who are actively seeking paid employment). The labor force participation rate fell nearly a full percentage point, as 42,656 workers gave up looking and dropped out of the labor force...
Ohio Newspapers Fail The ALEC Disclosure Test  Media Matters   ...Of the 44 articles to cite the Buckeye Institute between June 13 and December 12, not a single paper mentioned Buckeye's ties to the conservative legislation manufacturer ALEC, the organizations funded by billionaire conservative Koch brothers, or big tobacco...

Today's Teamster News 12.18.13

Teamsters Stand in Solidarity with Korean Railway Workers on Strike  teamster.org   ...The Teamsters and the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division of the Teamsters are standing in solidarity with striking Korean railway workers...
Port Workers In IKEA Supply Chain Hold Solidarity Actions Over Lockout  teamster.org   ...hundreds of dock workers at 10 ports around the globe held rallies to show their support for the 350 Teamsters who have been locked out from their jobs without pay for seven months at IKEA’s store in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada...
Teamsters Donating Toys to Hershey Ronald McDonald House  teamster.org   ...Teamsters Local Union 776 in Harrisburg will be donating more than $7,500 in toys to the Ronald McDonald House in Hershey...
SCI Deceives Grieving Family For $15,000 Funeral, Relatives Outraged  teamster.org   ...“We had no clue there was a change of ownership,” Johnson said. “We went there on the memory of a good family business only to find out it is owned by this huge conglomerate that is mistreating workers and basically spitting on the memory of my mom...”
Northern Tier Refinery Workers Vote To Strike  teamster.org   ...workers from the Northern Tier refinery in St. Paul Park, Minn. voted overwhelmingly to strike if necessary, rejecting cuts proposed by management that could dramatically undermine the safety of operations. The refinery workers are represented by Teamsters Local 120...
GES Exposition Services Threatens Chicago's Convention Business  teamster.org   ...The company is demanding a laundry list of concessions from the Teamsters, including more work-rule restrictions, further crew-size reductions and changes in seniority...
It’s Time to Halt Middle-Class Housing Crisis  teamster.org   ...10 million homeowners still owe more than their homes are worth...
Accidental Tax Break Saves Wealthiest Americans $100 Billion  Bloomberg   ...By shuffling his company stock in and out of more than 30 trusts, he’s given at least $7.9 billion to his heirs while legally avoiding about $2.8 billion in U.S. gift taxes since 2010, according to calculations based on data in Adelson’s U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings...
U.S. preparing civil charges against Citigroup, Merrill Lynch: sources  Reuters   ...Civil investigators have compiled evidence that allegedly shows that investors lost tens of billions of dollars after purchasing securities Citigroup had marketed as safe even though the bank had reason to believe otherwise...
Elizabeth Warren’s New Bill Aims to Stop Employers Discriminating Against the Poor  truthdig   ...Employers often use credit scores to weed out poorer applicants despite the fact that studies show these numbers have nothing to do with productivity or dedication, but the Equal Employment for All Act introduced Tuesday would prohibit this form of discrimination from taking place...
Why are we letting China buy American companies?  New York Post   ...The Smithfield buyout is a great loss because the company has become a huge exporter, to Japan and elsewhere, and has developed, with taxpayer assistance, systems and technologies that are best in class. Of course, that was why it became a target and why China Inc. overpaid to get it. But the only American beneficiaries will be a handful of investors. The rest of Smithfield’s stakeholders, and the American economy, will be bruised...
Another Apple Supplier in China Admits Gross Violations of Worker Rights  Economic Policy Institute   ...In a swift reaction to ugly publicity about suicides, injuries, and mistreatment of workers, Biel Crystal, one of Apple’s most important suppliers of touchscreen cover glass for its iPhones, reached an agreement with the Chinese labor rights group, SACOM, to take three steps toward better conditions by January 2014...
Mexico's rights body warns of growth of vigilantes  Associated Press   ...Raul Plascencia, president of the National Human Rights Commission, said the growth of these groups are already undermining the rule of law but could also lead to more violence. He blamed the emergence of such groups on an official failure to provide security...
Merkel compared NSA to Stasi in heated encounter with Obama  The Guardian   ...German chancellor furious after revelations US intelligence agency listened in on her personal mobile phone...
Court: Occupy Columbia can sue Haley over arrests  Associated Press   ...Gov. Nikki Haley isn't immune from being sued by Occupy Columbia protesters who were kicked off the Statehouse grounds in 2011, a federal appeals court ruled Monday...

Today's Teamster News 12.08.13

Army of Rightwing Groups Plan Assault on State Laws in 2014  Common Dreams   ...more than forty state-level conservative groups are planning a "US-wide assault" on "education, healthcare, income tax, workers' compensation and the environment..."
Does Lowering Corporate Tax Rates Create Jobs? Answer is a resounding "no"  ataxingmatter   ... a supermajority (22) of the 30 corporations paying the HIGHEST tax rates created 200,000 jobs between 2008 and 2012, while only 8 of those 30 had any reductions in the number of employees.  IN contrast, the 30 profitable corporations paying no or very little taxes in that period had an aggregate loss of more than 51,000 jobs--half created a few jobs and half reduced jobs between 2008 and 2012...
Members of Congress: Fast Tracking the TPP is a Non-Starter  Public Citizen   ...On the eve of an attempt by executive branch negotiators to rush the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) to conclusion in negotiations happening in Singapore this weekend, members of Congress, speaking from the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday, declared that an attempt to Fast Track the secretive, sweeping pact through Congress would be dead on arrival...
Lies, Damn Lies, and Retirement Savings  Economic Policy Institute   ...The sad reality is that the only households with any 401(k) savings to speak of are white non-Hispanic college-educated married couples. Even within this narrow demographic, all but the wealthiest, who use retirement accounts as tax shelters, would be better off under a more egalitarian and efficient system...
Citigroup and JPMorgan Settle With EU Commission for Rigging Libor; U.S. Justice Department Stays Mum  Wall Street on Parade   ...As lawsuits by municipalities across America pile up in the courts, the question on everyone’s mind is: “why isn’t the Justice Department bringing charges against U.S. banks”?...
U.S. IRS not fully ready for law against offshore tax evasion -watchdog  Reuters   ...The U.S. Internal Revenue Service has spent 19 months and more than $8.6 million getting ready to enforce a new law against offshore tax evasion that takes effect next year, but the agency is still not prepared, a watchdog group said...
The One-Day Strike: The New Labor Weapon of Last Resort  Time   ...“You don’t know if something like this is going to fizzle out or if it’s going to keep going and gaining steam and hit a tipping point where change can actually happen.”...

Today's Teamster News 09.17.13

Lincare Drivers Join the Teamsters Union  teamster.org   ...Drivers with Lincare Inc. in Marlborough, Mass., voted unanimously on Sept. 16 to join Teamsters Local 170 in Worcester, Mass...
Legislation would prevent shortcuts in setting sleep apnea regulations   Fleet Owner ...Trucking interests, including the Teamsters Union, are applauding legislation introduced late last week that would prevent the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration from taking shortcuts in the process if they intend to set standards for screening and testing professional drivers for sleep apnea...
Culinary Union warns of citywide strike in Vegas  Associated Press   ...The Culinary Union has issued a written warning to Wall Street investors, saying a citywide strike by Las Vegas hotel workers is possible if contracts aren't inked soon with two major companies...
Rich-Poor Employment Gap Now Widest On Record  Associated Press   ...The gap in employment rates between America's highest- and lowest-income families has stretched to its widest levels since officials began tracking the data a decade ago, according to an analysis of government data conducted for The Associated Press...
Amid slow economic recovery, more Americans identify as 'lower class'  Los Angeles Times   ...A small but surging share of Americans consider themselves 'lower class,' a surprise to some researchers and activists despite the bruising economy...
House GOP moves forward with $40 billion cut to food stamps  The Hill   ...House Republicans on Monday introduced a food stamp reform bill that they say will cut $40 billion from the program over 10 years....
CFPB Warns Employers About Payroll Card Abuse  AFL-CIO Now   ... The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) warned employers yesterday about the misuse of prepaid payroll cards and that they cannot require workers receive their wages via prepaid cards.  ..
Larry Summers Withdraws From Fed Chair Race   Fire Dog Lake   ...In a stinging rebuke to the forces of financial deregulation in general, and the Robert Rubin clique in particular, Larry Summers withdrew his name from consideration for Chairman of the Federal Reserve after it became clear he could not be confirmed...
American Fugitive Used Big Banks To Shuffle More Than $1 Million Offshore, Records Show  ICIJ   ...An American wanted on organized crime charges in New Jersey and New York shuffled more than $1 million around the world through accounts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Australia’s ANZ Bank, confidential records show...
The US Federal Deficit Continues to Shrink  truthout   ...The federal budget deficit has been plummeting in size over the last few years; however, judging from polls, most Americans do not know that – indeed, their concern over the deficit has grown even as the annual deficit has shrunk significantly...
Third World Watch: Deadly Brain Amoeba Found in US Tap Water  Naked Capitalism   ...The US now ranks 27th in life expectancy among 34 advanced economies, down from 20 in 1990.But in addition to the considerable health dangers of stress and weak social bonds, more obvious public health risks may be coming to the fore. Strained municipal budgets means reduced public services...
POSITIVE TRAIN CONTROL: Additional Authorities Could Benefit Implementation  GAO   ...To install positive train control (PTC)--a communications-based system designed to prevent certain types of train accidents caused by human factors-- almost all railroads are overlaying their existing infrastructure with PTC components; nonetheless, most railroads report they will miss the December 31, 2015, implementation deadline...
Week-long strikes against austerity, reform begin in Greece  Xinhuanet   ...Greece's labor unions launched on Monday a new week of strike action, the most extensive this autumn, against austerity and reform measures introduced to tackle Greece's crippling debt problems...
Phoenix pension ‘spiking’ rules vary for city employees  Arizona Republic   ...While retiring Phoenix City Manager David Cavazos considers converting roughly $200,000 in unused sick leave to enhance his pension, the city is fighting rank-and-file municipal employees in court to keep them from doing the same thing...
Groups may seek privatized liquor sales in Oregon  Statesman Journal   ...Grocery stores and convenience stores may get behind a ballot initiative to privatize state-run liquor stores now that the Oregon Liquor Control Commission has decided to let liquor stores sell wine and beer...
Right-to-work ruling faces rough road   Post-Tribune   ...They couldn’t stop it in the General Assembly, and they failed in federal court. But last week, opponents of Indiana’s right-to-work law finally had reason to celebrate, when Lake Superior Court Judge John Sedia ruled the law unconstitutional...
Wisconsin DOT provides grant, loans for four freight-rail projects  Progressive Railroading   ...Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker on Friday announced the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) will provide grants and loans totaling nearly $11 million for four freight-rail improvement projects...

Today's Teamster News 09.08.13

First Coast Gears: Pontiac muscle comes on strong at Teamsters show  Florida Times Union ...Harris and Boito brought their Pontiacs to the annual Labor Day weekend car show at Teamsters Local 512 on Lane Avenue last Saturday...
Privacy Scandal: NSA Can Spy on Smart Phone Data  Der Spiegel   ...The United States' National Security Agency intelligence-gathering operation is capable of accessing user data from smart phones from all leading manufacturers...
Naked tax protest in front of German Chancellor's office  Tax Justice Network   ...a naked tax protest by Attac-Germany, with calls for unitary taxation and country by country reporting...
Low-Wage Employers Have Fought Hard to Keep Their Workers Poor — Now Workers are Fighting Back  Moyers & Co.   ...After decades of seeing their incomes shrink, those at the bottom of the economic ladder are starting to band together and fight back — and it’s one of the most important economic stories of our time...
Free Markets are Fraudulent Markets (opinion)  Economic Populist   ...Historically, competitive market economies are a relatively new economic system, and while very productive, they are not self-sustaining, are unstable and require significant state support and regulation to function properly...
The Political Calculations behind Growing Inequality  truthout   ...In the 1980s, campaign contributions from the top 0.01 percent roughly equaled the campaign contributions from all of organized labor. In 2012, America’s top 0.01 percent all by themselves outspent labor by more than four-to-one...
Want to Move Kids Out of Poverty? Then Protect the Middle Class  The Atlantic   ...in parts of the country that are more heavily middle class, there also tends to be more upward mobility for the poor...
An American Bridge Made of Chinese Steel Demonstrates the Need for a Rational Trade Policy  Economy In Crisis   ...The prices for Chinese-made steel are about 25% lower than for domestic steel, but this does not represent a victory won on an open and level playing field...
Detroit, Labor Day and a Hard Day’s Night (opinion)  The Hill   ...A competitive nation needs a strong safety net for its citizens, one that neither depends on fickle global employers nor burdens workers’ democratic institutions with a redistributive role best played by the government.    In addition, the U.S. should take a cue from the European Union and allocate more funds to help hard hit areas transition their economies...
Burlesque performers, occupiers protest possible sale of Portland park  Bangor Daily News   ...Tension over whether a large section of Portland’s Congress Square Park should be sold to private developers escalated late Friday night, as burlesque performers and members of the occupy movement demonstrated at the site, attracting police warnings...
Occupy Sandy builds worker power in Far Rockaway  Co-operative News   ...One of those bigger projects is a worker-run cooperative initiative, organized by Occupy Sandy and supported by the Working World, an organization that specializes in incubating collectively owned businesses...

Today's Teamster News 07.05.13

Most in U.S. Still Proud to Be an American  Gallup   ...Despite their widespread national pride, Americans evince a much more negative response when asked if the signers of the Declaration of Independence would be pleased or disappointed by the way the United States has turned out...
Ralph Nader questions Corporate Patriotism  Economic Populist   ..."Corporations and their attorneys like to be judged as 'persons' under our constitutions and laws. So it is entirely appropriate to judge the character of a U.S. chartered corporation by the measure of corporate patriotism – especially if it is operating worldwide..."
Four Years Into Recovery, Austerity’s Toll is At Least 3 Million Jobs  Economic Policy Institute   ...The fact that four years into the recovery we still have not yet come close to making up the jobs lost in the downturn, (much less the jobs needed to keep up with growth in the potential workforce over that time), is a grimmer situation than anything our labor market has seen in seven decades...
Paid Sick Leave Laws Generate Concern, but Not Much Pain  New York Times   ...Among those companies that did have to put a new policy in place, about half reported that adopting and managing it was not difficult, according to the study. And many businesses fearful that paying for sick leave would drive up expenses have since reported that those concerns were unfounded...
Prosecutions of offshore banks may help turn tide against secrecy  McClatchy   ...The U.S. accused the Swiss adviser of working closely with Swiss banks to help Americans access their undeclared money...
Misinformation on classified NSA programs includes statements by senior U.S. officials  Washington Post   ...But details that have emerged from the exposure of hundreds of pages of previously classified NSA documents indicate that public assertions about these programs by senior U.S. officials have also often been misleading, erroneous or simply false...
EU Votes To Suspend U.S. Data Sharing Agreements Over NSA Scandal  firedoglake.com   ...The fallout from the NSA spying scandal may be just beginning as the European Parliament voted in favor of a resolution that would back the European Commission if it decides to suspend data sharing agreements with the U.S...
The next time someone tells you Scott Walker balanced the budget…  Forward Lookout   ...…tell them that they are wrong...
Oregon legislature passes bill to give free tuition to in-state residents  Raw Story   ...This week the Oregon Senate passed a bill that would create a fund allowing it to bypass traditional student lenders by giving free tuition to students who then pay it back with a deduction from their paychecks after they graduate...
Teamsters file unfair labor charge against state prison system  Tampa Bay Times   ...The Teamsters Union on Wednesday filed a new complaint against the state Department of Corrections, challenging time-off restrictions instituted by Gov. Rick Scott's administration dealing with earned time off for more than 20,000 correctional officers...

Today's Teamster News 06.24.13

(UPDATES to ADD Detroit march)
The Retirement Savings Crisis: Is It Worse Than We Think?  National Institute on Retirement Security   ...the average U.S. working-age household has virtually no retirement savings...
Employers Test Plans That Cap Health Costs  New York Times   ...Hoping to cut medical costs, employers are experimenting with a new way to pay for health care, telling workers that their company health plan will pay only a fixed amount for a given test or procedure, like a CT scan or knee replacement...
United States of ALEC, A 2013 Follow-Up  Moyers & Company   ...In state houses around the country, hundreds of pieces of boilerplate ALEC legislation are proposed or enacted that would, among other things, dilute collective bargaining rights, make it harder for some Americans to vote, and limit corporate liability for harm caused to consumers — each accomplished without the public ever knowing who’s behind it...
$10 Minimum Wage Would Push More Than Half Of Working Poor Out Of Poverty: Study  Huffington Post   ... nearly 58 percent -- or roughly 6 million -- of the 10.4 million U.S. workers living below the federal poverty level in 2011 would be pulled out by such an increase...
Control over food is at stake with Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)  OpEdNews   ...The agriculture section of the Ecology Branch of the Green Shadow Cabinet opposes the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) as the latest Free Trade Agreement (FTA) assault against food sovereignty, where the profits of multinational companies are placed ahead of the food security needs of individual nations...
Tens of thousands march in Rome against unemployment  Reuters   ...Thousands of workers and unemployed people marched in Rome on Saturday to protest against record unemployment and call on Enrico Letta's two-month-old government to deliver more than empty rhetoric on the issue...
Latest Brazil protests bring 250,000 on to streets  Associated Press   ...More than 250,000 anti-government protesters have again taken to the streets in several Brazilian cities and engaged police in isolated intense conflicts. Demonstrators vowed to stay in the streets until concrete steps are taken to reform the political system...
U.S. and Other G8 Governments Move to Prevent Tax Evasion and Avoidance, But Is It Enough?  Citizens for Tax Justice   ...the leaders of the G-8 countries meeting in Northern Ireland released a declaration that included cracking down on the use of shell corporations for tax evasion and principles related to this goal, while the White House released a national action plan to implement these principles...

Cutting wages won’t create jobs (opinion)  The Hill   ...With few supporters on their side, restaurant industry advocates are now appealing to outdated myths about the impact of raising the minimum wage, in order to justify their campaign to block a long-overdue increase...
Martin Luther King Jr. Detroit March Of 1963 Commemorated 50 Years Later With Walk Down Woodward  Associated Press   ...Thousands participated in a Detroit march commemorating the 50th anniversary of one that Martin Luther King Jr. led in 1963...
Asheville group off to Moral Monday protests  Black Mountain News   ...A coalition of groups opposing a state takeover of Asheville’s water system have organized a bus trip to the protests Monday, adding about 100 area residents to into the Moral Monday mix...
NC Gov. McCory Repeals Racial Justice Act, Restores Legal Lynching on Juneteenth Liberation Holiday  Daily Kos   ...North Carolina Governor McCrory secretly signed Republican passed legislation (The Legal Lynching Act of 2013) repealing North Carolina's Racial Justice Act on June 19, Junteenth, the African American holiday of liberation of the enslaved...
Ohio GOP to raise taxes on the poor, elderly  Plunderbund   ...The conference committee for the Ohio budget has reported out a plan with completely different tax provisions than either chamber. It dramatically raises sales taxes and property taxes to finance a tax cut for business investors and an income tax cut for the rich...
Chauffeurs, Teamsters & Helpers speak out against police department allegations  Uniontown Herald-Standard   ...Representatives from Chauffeurs, Teamsters & Helpers, Local Union 491 of Uniontown said they welcome an independent investigation of the Brownsville Police Department...

VIDEO: Protesters battle corporate tax evaders virtually with Wii, Kinect for Xbox

Protesters in 10 cities are using video game technology to battle corporate greed. Forbes reports that giant projections on the sides of corporate buildings like Citibank let the protesters use a Wii controller or Kinect for Xbox 260 to play the Tax Evaders video game.

Today is the last day of the five-day protest in cities including New York, Baltimore, Seattle, New Orleans, Milwaukee, Tampa and Gainesville.

Forbes reports:

Tax Evaders, which is also available to play for free online at www.taxevaders.net, is a humorous take on Space Invaders that offers more than just the chance for a high score. With the nation busy making last-minute preparations for the IRS tax deadline, this original game is literally shedding light (through projection technology designed for Occupy Wall Street) on one of the problems this country faces because of corporate loopholes and a government controlled by special interest groups. 

Gan Golan, coordinator of the national project, talks about what’s wrong with our current tax loopholes and how gaming can be used to raise awareness for important issues in this exclusive interview. 

Where did the idea for a video game come from? 

I like to use popular culture to help get a message across, particularly sports and games, where the issue of fairness and playing by the rules are ever-present for the viewer. This underscores the incredible unfairness of how corporations have distorted our economic and political systems. Last year I was working within Occupy Wall Street and created a fake baseball team to go after super wealthy corporations who did not pay taxes, called The Tax Dodgers, where every player was a corporation, like GE, Verizon or Boeing. We showed up to corporate headquarters and did performances for the crowds on the street. That became popular to the point where we were actually contacted by the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown and one of our uniforms was then put on display. That actually happened. After that, I was trying to figure out a new way to bring these same issues to light and that’s when I realized that maybe the only thing as popular as sports, were video games. (Read the rest here.)

Tax Evaders tells us:

The wealthiest, most powerful corporations are stealing hundreds of billions of dollars from our treasury every year by dodging their taxes – while the rest of us pay the bill and accept austerity. So the folks at Tax Evaders went where they live. 

None of these actions would’ve been possible without: Overpass Light Brigades across the country, Occupy Wall Street, The Illuminator, Luminous Intervention, San Francisco Projection Department, US Uncut, Citizen Engagement Lab, Yes Lab, and The Other 98%.

Play the game itself here.