Today's Teamster News 02.05.15

Teamsters
Teamsters Reach Tentative Agreement With Air Canada  teamster.org   …Today, the Teamsters Union announced a tentative agreement with U.S.-based Air Canada Teamster represented employees that improves wages, benefits and job protections for the entire group...
Shuttle bus drivers for Apple, Yahoo and other tech giants to vote on unionization  Contra Costa Times Drivers employed by Compass Transportation -- which has contracts with Amtrak, Apple, eBay, Genentech, Yahoo and Zynga -- will decide whether to join the Teamsters union on Feb. 27 in an election overseen by the National Labor Relations Board, said Rome Aloise, international vice president and secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 853... Clatsop Enterprise Zone Would Offer Tax Breaks For New Investment  Daily Astorian   ...The council also approved a new three-year contract between the city and the Chauffeurs, Teamsters and Helpers Local 58 that includes 2.5 percent annual pay raises retroactive to last July...
New Pipeline Raises Concerns Near Landfill  KSDK   ...A new waste pipeline running from the troubled Bridgeton landfill is almost complete. The pipe is raising concerns that radioactive material might be pumped beneath some north St. Louis County neighborhoods...
CASA Elects Board Members  La Prensa   ...Mark Sobczak has been a member of the Teamsters Union for 35 years and served as the Teamsters Vice President. He is currently the Commissioner of Resources for the City of Toledo. He has served as a member of the Toledo-Lucas County Visitors and Convention Bureau, the Great Lakes Historical Society, and the Citizen Advisory Panel for the Toledo Refining Company...
Trade
Trade Minister Andrew Robb says Trans-Pacific Partnership deal could be struck within weeks  ABC Rural   …"The chief US trade negotiator Mike Froman, I know from personal contact with the congressmen over there, he's been keeping them abreast the whole way through. Again, there's always uncertainties, but I do feel there's every prospect that the Congress will pass it...
What the Corporate Media Aren't Telling You About the TPP  truthout   …during the 17 month period between August 2013 and February 2015, only one nightly network news show, PBS Newshour, mentioned the trade deal - and they only mentioned it just eight times. ABC, CBS, and NBC didn't mention the TPP once...
Why The Trans-Pacific Partnership Is Bad For Workers, And For Democracy (opinion)  Huffington Post   ... Economists vary widely in their assessments of the TPP, but there's general agreement across ideological stripes that tariffs are already low. In fact, some reports claim that only five of the 29 draft chapters in the agreement actually relate to lowering tariffs. The protest-worthy part of the deal regards the NBTs [non-tariff barriers to trade]--the reduction of regulatory measures, and "freeing" of market activity, in the name of standardizing rules and lowering costs...
State Battles
Right-to-work bill for construction unions passes House committee  The St. Louis American   …On Wednesday, February 4, a Missouri House of Representatives committee passed a so-called “right to work” bill for the building trades, sponsored by state Rep. Courtney Curtis – a black Democrat representing part of North St. Louis County, including Ferguson. All of the bill’s supporters were Republicans in the 8-4 vote...
Lexington Council Votes To Consider Raising Minimum Wage, 'Right-To-Work' Ordinance  Lexington Herald Leader   ...The Urban County Council could begin discussions as early as March on raising the minimum wage in Lexington and on passing an ordinance that would allow people to work in union shops without paying dues...
“Right to Work” Is the Wrong Answer for New Mexico’s Economy  Economic Policy Institute   …What RTW laws do is make it illegal for an employer and employee organization to negotiate a contract that requires every employee benefiting from the contract to pay his or her fair share of the costs of negotiating and enforcing that contract...
Martinez: Let's Stick To The Facts About "Right To Work" (opinion)  KRWG   …When I think of all the issues we face here in our state in building a healthy economy I am appalled that the Governor will be attacking our working families...
Senate committee passes bill repealing prevailing wage over labor’s objections  MetroNews   …A state Senate committee has passed legislation eliminating prevailing wage in West Virginia. The Senate Government Organization Committee room was packed and overflowing into the hallway Tuesday as lawmakers debated SB 361...
Missouri speaker bans lobbyist-funded meals in House committees  Kansas City Star   …The move shuts down a practice that has been a fixture of House committee hearings for years. And it happened amid renewed debate in both the state House and Senate over legislative ethics...
Mayor Bill De Blasio To Push For Major Minimum Wage Hike In New York City  Huffington Post   ...New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) announced Tuesday that he will push to have the city’s hourly minimum wage jump to $13 by next year -- a steep increase from the $8.75 an hour that the city’s lowest-paid workers currently earn...
Walker’s Wisconsin Budget Has A National Message  New York Times   ...Mr. Walker’s proposal calls for cutting about $300 million, or 13 percent, in state funds from the University of Wisconsin System, which includes 13 four-year universities and enrolls some 180,000 students. Mr. Walker’s plan would also take the unusual step of removing the university system from direct state control to a “quasi-governmental” authority that could act autonomously on issues of personnel, procurement, capital projects and tuition...
How Koch-Republican Governors Rob Pensions And Slash Wages  Politicususa   … In states like Kansas, and New Jersey, as just two examples, Republicans created revenue shortfalls due to substantial tax cuts for the rich and to fund the tax cuts refuse to make regular payments into the public employee pension funds. Underfunding, or not funding at all, pension funds is a deliberate plot to create ‘pension fund crises’ that gives Republicans a reason to cut retiree benefits under the guise of keeping the retirement fund solvent. It is worth noting again and again, taxpayers do not pay for public employees’ pensions, and the lack of a pension funds’ solvency is not because employees are not paying their fair share...
War on Workers
Wall Street Pays Bankers to Work in Government And It Doesn't Want Anyone to Know  New Republic   …itigroup is one of three Wall Street banks attempting to keep hidden their practice of paying executives multimillion-dollar awards for entering government service. In letters delivered to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over the last month, Citi, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley seek exemption from a shareholder proposal, filed by the AFL-CIO labor coalition, which would force them to identify all executives eligible for these financial rewards, and the specific dollar amounts at stake…
Unemployment Has Changed. Unemployment Benefits Haven’t.  FiveThirtyEight   ...Nearly 3 million Americans have been out of work for more than six months, the traditional definition of long-term unemployment. That’s down from a peak of 6.8 million in 2010, but as a share of total joblessness, long-term unemployment remains higher today than at the peak of any previous recession. Moreover, the problem appears to be at least partially structural: The amount of time the typical person remains out of work has been trending upward for decades...
Robot Cars Won’t Rescue Uber From Its Clash With Drivers (opinion)  Wired   ...Uber released a survey recently that found most of its drivers were happy, but enough of them are unhappy enough to sue. At least until robot cars hit the roads en masse, Uber will have to figure out a way to keep the drivers on which its business depends. Or else the courts will...
Worker Killed In Backhoe Accident At Texarkana Jobsite  Tyler Morning Telegraph   ...A construction worker has been killed in a backhoe accident at a jobsite in Northeast Texas...
Miscellaneous
Metro-North Service Resumes Amid Investigation Into Deadly Collision  ABC News   …Metro-North train service resumed this morning at the site of Tuesday’s deadly collision between an SUV and passenger train, an accident that killed the SUV’s driver and five passengers...
Extreme cold, ice reveal faults in U.S. northeast mass transit  Reuters   …Wicked winter weather gripping the northeastern United States exposed weaknesses in mass transit systems from Boston to New York, with commuters stranded on icy train platforms amid delays stretching into Tuesday...

Today's Teamster News 02.03.15

Teamsters
Dutchess County LOOP Strike Averted As Negotiations Continue  Daily Freeman   ...The potential strike by the union representing Dutchess County LOOP bus drivers, mechanics, office employees and bus washers has apparently been averted. Teamsters Local 445 Business Agent Jerry Ebert said ... the company said it would resume negotiations, resulting in the union calling off its threat to strike.....
City Of Monroe Reports On Feb. 1 Snow Removal Efforts  Monroe News   ..."I am proud to report that all 15 Teamster personnel, both of our 2 supervisors, and our Superintendent of Public Services, Bill Walters, have all already been involved in our efforts today to combat the winter storm...
Leslie Marshall Show Features Teamsters Fight At Allegiant Air  teamster.org   …Teamsters Local 1224 President Daniel Wells talks with Leslie Marshall about the more than 500 Teamster Allegiant Air pilots and their fight for a fair contract...
Sysco Offers To Sell 11 Facilities To Win Merger Approval  New York Times   ...Sysco said on Monday that it had agreed to divest 11 distribution centers in a bid to obtain the blessing of regulators including the Federal Trade Commission. Sysco will sell the centers for an undisclosed sum to Performance Food Group, which will be its nearest rival after the deal for US Foods closes...
Trade
TPP negotiators agree on copyrights protection  NHK World News   …Negotiators of the Trans Pacific Partnership free trade pact say they are a step closer to reaching a deal on copyright duration in principle. The plan is for copyrights to last for 70 years...
Let's Take Apart The Corporate Case For Fast Track Trade Authority  Economy In Crisis   …an argument that TPP and similar agreements will “expand trade” masks what the bulk of these agreements are really about, which is getting governments off the backs of the giant corporations and protecting their profits from competition and democratic regulation...
Syriza-Led Greek Parliament ‘Will Never Ratify TTIP’  EurActiv   ...After making its voice heard in the debate over sanctions on Russia, the new government in Athens is now making its opposition known to the EU-US trade deal, TTIP...
State Battles
Legislation is detrimental to Missouri workers (opinion)  St. Louis Post Dispatch   …Missouri House Speaker John Diehl wants to make so-called worker freedom a key emphasis for the Legislature by passing right-to-work and “paycheck protection” bills. This legislation has nothing to do with workers’ rights or workers’ protection. Actually, these bills attack both. They undermine the ability of workers to have a voice and to organize opposition to the out-of-state, well-heeled efforts of extremists and the 1 percent...
Right To Work bill introduced in Senate  The InterMountain.com   …Proposed legislation would make West Virginia a Right To Work state...
Scott Walker To Cut $300 Million From Universities, Spend $500 Million On A Pro Basketball Stadium  Think Progress   ...Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker (R) will unveil a budget Tuesday night that aims to slash hundreds of millions of dollars from the state’s public universities over the next two years....
War on Workers
U.S. workers strike for second day at nine refineries; one to shut  Reuters   …Union workers were on strike for a second day on Monday at nine U.S. refineries and chemical plants as they sought a new national contract with oil companies covering laborers at 63 plants...
Croatia just canceled the debts of its poorest citizens  Washington Post   …the government scheme aims to help some of the 317,000 Croatians whose bank accounts have been blocked due to their debts. Given that Croatia is a relatively small Mediterranean country of only 4.4 million inhabitants, the number of indebted citizens is significant and has become a major economic burden for the country…
World Bank Declines Child Labor Investigation World Bulletin   ...The World Banks internal watchdog has decided to pursue and investiage the link between the banks' loans and the Uzbek government-organised forced labour. The request by human rights campaigners to investigate the use of forced labour and child labour was declined, even though it has acknowledged that farms benfitting from its assistance might be forcing both adults and children against their will...
The Mental And Physical Toll Of Student Loans  The Atlantic   ...“Cumulative student loans were significantly and inversely associated with better psychological functioning,” according to the results. That means, generally speaking, student-loan debt was not great for the mental health of study participants...
Portland strippers head to Salem to lobby for better work conditions  Associated Press  …Tired of watching well-meaning strangers impose their own visions for improving the plight of the dancer, some of Portland's seasoned strippers are working directly with state lawmakers and professional lobbyists...
Uber Opening Robotics Research Facility In Pittsburgh To Build Self-Driving Cars  Tech Crunch   …Driver-on-demand service Uber is building a robotics research lab in Pittsburgh, PA to “kickstart autonomous taxi fleet development,” sources close to the decision have confirmed to TechCrunch. They say the company has hired talent from Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute, including lead engineering and commercialization experts...
The New Face of the Koch Campaign  The Daily Beast   …A father of two was sentenced to 55 years in jail for selling pot. The Koch brothers want to help set him free and make him the face of their new campaign for criminal justice reform...
Worker Dies On The Job At Chattanooga's Wrigley Plant  News Channel 9   …A worker died while on the job at Chattanooga's Wrigley Plant in Tuesday's early morning hours…This is the second time someone has died on site of the Wrigley Plant…
Cops: Social Worker Killed to Cover Up Embezzlement  Newser   …In a case that Philadelphia police say has left them "angry and confounded," a social worker allegedly gunned down a colleague in broad daylight after she discovered that he had embezzled tens of thousands of dollars from an after-school outreach program...
Miscellaneous
Keystone XL Pipeline Bill House Vote Eyed For Next Week  International Business Times   ...The House can either vote on the Senate version of the bill as is or write its own bill, pass that and then go into a conference committee with Senate leaders to hash out compromise legislation. A compromise bill might take too long, especially because eight agencies have a Monday deadline to weigh in on Keystone, according to Politico...

Today's Teamster News 05.23.14

Have a wonderful holiday, everyone! TeamsterNation will be on hiatus over the Memorial Day holiday. We'll see you again Tuesday morning!
Teamster News
Youngstown Approves Pacts With 2 Employee Unions  Insurance News Net   ...City council approved contracts with two labor unions that provide salary increases for the first time in about four years. The deals with Teamsters Local 377, which represents 30 street department workers...
Trade
TTIP: EU And US Prepare To Enhance Global Corporatocracy With Free Trade Deal  International Business Times   ...Belgian MP Alain Maron, who was one of the 200 arrested in Belgium last Thursday, May 15, as an unauthorized protest against TTIP broke out in Brussels, branded the deal "an erosion of consumer and human rights."...
State Battles
Two Ways Chris Christie Screwed Over Pensioners for GOP Donors  In These Times   ...Christie isn't being forced to renege on the pension payment—he's choosing to spend money on corporate subsidies and investment fees rather than on those pension promises...
EXCLUSIVE: We name the political donors whose firms got $14bn of pension cash from New Jersey  Pando   ...political donors associated with 43 financial firms managing New Jersey pension money have spent a total of $11.6 million on contributions to New Jersey politicians and to major political organizations operating in New Jersey elections...
Koch Brothers' Detroit Abomination: Stunning Avarice And Cruelty Reaches New Low  Salon.com   ...After much controversy and debate, Michigan's Republican Gov. Rick Snyder has agreed to provide $195 million in state funding that will limit pension cuts to no more than 4.5 percent and protect the Detroit Institute of Art from liquidating its collection. "This is a settlement. This is not a bailout." Snyder said. "And I want to be very, very clear about that." Not so fast Gov. Snyder. Americans for Prosperity has built a shiny new website...
War On Workers
Just Released: What Kinds of Jobs Have Been Created during the Recovery?  Liberty Street Economics   ...during the recession, the vast majority of jobs that were lost in the nation and across the region were middle-skill jobs, such as construction workers, teachers, machine operators, and administrative support workers. These jobs have not come back during the recovery...
Students Now Indentured to the Banksters  Truthout   ...Back in January, 31-year-old Tony Muzzatti, who at the time owed around $60,000 in student loan debt to Sallie Mae and always made on-time payments, was told that he had to immediately make a payment of $10,000, or face asset seizures. That's because his grandmother, who also happened to be his cosigner on the student loans, had just died...
Business That Bashed Obama's OSHA Just Had Horrifying Industrial Accident  Huffington Post   ...During the 2012 presidential campaign, Wisconsin businessman Lance Johnson said President Barack Obama's workplace safety inspectors were burdening him and killing jobs with too much red tape. "I've never been audited by more government agencies in my life than I have under Obama." Johnson, president of Johnson Brass & Machine Foundry Inc. in Saukville, Wisconsin, told the Wall Street Journal in a Nov. 2, 2012 campaign story. On Monday, Johnson's foundry was the site of a horrifying industrial accident...
Cutting Off Emergency Unemployment Benefits Hasn't Pushed People Back To Work  Five Thirty Eight   ...Of the roughly 1.3 million Americans whose benefits disappeared with the end of the program, only a quarter had found jobs as of March, about the same success rate as when the program was still in effect; roughly another quarter had given up searching...
Larry Summers: Student Debt Is Slowing The U.S. Housing Recovery  Wall Street Journal   ...Former White House adviser Lawrence Summers said Wednesday that student debt is slowing the housing recovery and the broader economic recovery, adding a prominent voice to the debate in Washington...
Over 100 McDonald's Workers Arrested Protesting Outside Shareholder Meeting  Think Progress   ...More than 100 workers and dozens of other protesters were arrested during peaceful protests outside McDonald's corporate headquarters on Wednesday. On Thursday, a thousand McDonald's workers and their supporters are marching on the company's Oak Brook, Illinois campus...
Sallie Mae Torments Faithful Student Borrowers After Co-Signers Die  Huffington Post   ...Seven borrowers who had been paying their Sallie Mae student loans on time for years were unexpectedly threatened with asset seizures after a Sallie Mae contractor demanded they immediately repay tens of thousands of dollars simply because a family member had died...
Miscellaneous
Ray LaHood Declares U.S. Highways ‘One Big Pothole’ at ALK Summit  Truckinginfo   ...Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood opened the second day of the ALK Technology Summit in Princeton, N.J., on Wednesday by telling attendees that while the U.S. is "the greatest country in the world [our] transportation and infrastructure is a big mess..."
NSA reform bill loses backing from privacy advocates after major revisions  The Guardian   ...A landmark surveillance bill, likely to pass the US House of Representatives on Thursday, is hemorrhaging support from the civil libertarians and privacy advocates who were its champions from the start...

Today's Teamster News 05.21.14

Teamster News
Can The Teamsters Save Union Pensions?  Institutional Investor   ...the Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Fund ...(has)..."been conservative in their investments, professional in their management and fortunate in their economics..."
Pekin Schools Notify Parents Of Strike Possibility  Pekin Daily Times   ...Officials of Pekin School Districts 108 and 303 as well as the city's private schools notified parents Monday evening that they may need to find alternative transportation for their children to get to school starting Wednesday...
Trade
Thousands of dogs, and 3 people, sickened by jerky pet treats, FDA says  CBS News   ... The Food and Drug Administration released updated information on Friday about an ongoing investigation into illnesses and deaths caused by jerky pet treats imported from China...
Fine Line Seen in U.S. Spying on Companies  New York Times   ... the government does not deny it routinely spies to advance American economic advantage, which is part of its broad definition of how it protects American national security. In short, the officials say, while the N.S.A. cannot spy on Airbus and give the results to Boeing, it is free to spy on European or Asian trade negotiators and use the results to help American trade officials — and, by extension, the American industries and workers they are trying to bolster...
For U.S. Companies That Challenge China, the Risk of Digital Reprisal  New York Times   ...The United Steelworkers union lost computer records containing trade policy strategies and discussions about rare earth metals and auto parts. All four had something in common besides data theft: Each was in the middle of pushing back against China’s trade policies by seeking help from the World Trade Organization or the Commerce Department...
TPP Talks To Intensify, No Accord Yet  Channel News Asia   ...Asia-Pacific trade ministers said on Tuesday they would intensify talks on a vast trans-Pacific free trade agreement, but offered no clue on when a final accord would be reached...
State Battles
NSA data-gathering may run into California roadblock  Reuters   ...The federal government would need a warrant from a judge if it wants the cooperation of California officials in searching residents' cellphone and computer records, under a bill making its way through the state legislature...
If Ohio Eases Green-Energy Rules, Will It Spark National Trend?  Columbus Dispatch   ...Ohio is on the cusp of becoming the first state to significantly ease its renewable energy standards, a milestone that would be noticed in states around the country where similar debates are being waged...
War On Workers
Harris v. Quinn Is About the Right of Home Care Workers to Improve Their Wages  Economic Policy Institute   ...The Supreme Court is expected to decide Harris v. Quinn, a case of major importance for American workers, in the next few days. Many observers predict a disastrous decision that will cripple union organizing and collective bargaining for home health aides, child care workers, and other direct care aides. But the Court could go much further and threaten the ability of all public employees to form unions and bargain collectively with any state or local government...
Florida high school charging parents $200 to see their child's graduation - and even seniors must pay $20 to attend  Daily Mail   ...High School Principal Don Sauer told reporters that the fees are an effort to cover the $12,000 graduation costs for the school after the school district pulled $3,400 from its annual contribution to cut costs...
This Chart Is The Fate of Housing In America As Student Loans Bankrupt A Whole Generation  naked capitalism   ...Student loan balances soared 362% to $1.1 trillion since 2003, during a period when mortgage debt – including the effects of the current Housing Bubble 2 – rose “only” 65% to $8.2 trillion and credit card debt actually declined by 4.2% to $660 billion (chart). ...And so the proportion of first-time buyers – the single most important sign of a healthy housing market – has been shrinking for years...
GM issues more recalls, this time for 2.42 million vehicles  Los Angeles Times   ...None of the four recalls is related to GM’s faulty ignition switches. That issue, which has been linked to at least 13 deaths and recalls of 2.6 million vehicles, has prompted federal fines and several investigations into why GM neglected to issue the recalls for more than a decade...
No, Taking Away Unemployment Benefits Doesn't Make People Get Jobs  Think Progress   ...When 1.3 million long-term unemployed people lost benefits because Congress let the program lapse, some claimed that taking away the checks would encourage people to go out and get a job. That isn't panning out for the 74,000 people who are no longer getting checks in Illinois...
NFL Cheerleader Alleges She Was Paid $2 An Hour  Think Progress   ...The Tampa Bay Buccaneers became the fifth NFL franchise to face a minimum wage lawsuit Monday, when a former cheerleader alleged in a complaint that the team paid her just $2 an hour...

Today's Teamster News 04.03.14

Teamster News
Shumlin Calls For End To CCTA Strike  Vermont Public Radio   ...Gov. Pete Shumlin urged Teamster drivers and management of the Chittenden County Transportation Authority on Tuesday to agree to a contract deal as soon as possible...
Bus Drivers and CCTA Management To Negotiate Again Wednesday  Burlington Free Press   ...Teamster Drivers with the Chittenden County Transportation Authority will meet with management at 5 pm Wednesday to continue negotiations over a three-year contract, CCTA Board of Commissioners Chairman Tom Buckley told the Burlington Free Press Tuesday afternoon...
California Teamsters Call On US Foods To Recognize Union, Provide Security For Workers  teamster.org   ...On Tuesday, US Foods warehouse workers in Corona, Calif., called on the company to recognize Teamsters Local Union 63, Los Angeles, as their bargaining representative and to proceed immediately to negotiations for a first contract. The workers are concerned about job security as Sysco attempts to acquire their employer...
Rangel Snags Endorsement From Teamsters Union  New York Observer   ...Congressman Charlie Rangel, who is facing a tough re-election battle in a rematch against State Senator Adriano Espaillat, has notched another endorsement, this time from the Teamsters union...
Trade
Trans-Pacific Partnership Update  KMA Land   ...Japan said last week it would be difficult to achieve a breakthrough in talks with the United States on a pacific trade deal in time for President Barack Obama's trip to Asia next month...
Defense Science Board: Offshoring Of U.S. Manufacturing Has Created National Security Vulnerabilities  Trade Reform   ...For the first time perhaps ever, a U.S.-government report has stated that the shift of American manufacturing overseas is causing a decline in Americans’ standard of living...
State Battles
Right to Work future still uncertain after late meeting  Springfield News-Leader   ...The fate of Right to Work remains unclear following a late night meeting of House Republicans after a less controversial Paycheck Protection measure was given early approval Monday...
Emails Show Sen. Corker’s Chief of Staff Coordinated with Network of Anti-UAW Union Busters   In These Times   ...Leaked documents obtained by Nashville TV station NewsChannel 5 WVTF reveal communications between the employees of two Tennessee Republicans—Sen. Bob Corker and Gov. Bill Haslam—and a network of prominent anti-union professionals during the United Auto Workers' union drive at a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga earlier this year...
Union-busting efforts move forward in Mississippi, Michigan  MSNBC   ...One of the reasons anti-labor forces fought so hard to prevail in February’s fight in Chattanooga was that they wanted to send a message: conservatives are prepared to fight against unionization wherever and whenever they can...
Florida Gov. Rick Scott's 2012 voter purge violated federal law, court rules  Tampa Bay Times   ...A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Gov. Rick Scott’s administration violated federal law by trying to remove noncitizens from the voter rolls too close to the 2012 presidential election...
Drought in California may hinder job growth for years, economists say  Los Angeles Times   ...Lack of rain in 2013 could diminish the fishing and manufacturing sectors in California, the UCLA Anderson Forecast says. Even without the weather factor, L.A. is grappling with major problems with its job market...
War on Workers
Power Surge for Donors  New York Times   ...Big donors, leaders of political parties and candidates with access to wealthy supporters will be the biggest beneficiaries of the Supreme Court decision issued on Wednesday, a ruling that could fundamentally reshape the political terrain in the 2014 elections and beyond...
Supreme Court Strikes Aggregate Donations Caps in Federal Elections  Reuters   ...On a 5-4 vote, the court struck down the overall limits on how much individuals can give to candidates, parties and political action committees in total during the federal two-year election cycle...
NSA searched Americans’ communications without a warrant, intelligence director says  Washington Post   ...Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. acknowledged that the National Security Agency has searched for Americans’ communications without warrants in massive databases that gather e-mails and phone calls of foreign targets...
More Americans see middle class status slipping  Associated Press   ...Nearly five years after the Great Recession ended, more people are coming to the painful realization that they’re no longer part of it...
BLS Issues New Occupational Employment and Wage Report  Fire Dog Lake   ...According to a new report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, both retail clerks and cashiers are occupations highest in employment...
Koch brothers vs. a bus: Why two billionaires hate a transit project in Nashville  Salon   ...The idea of a public bus transport project in Nashville, Tenn. is under fire as the Koch brothers and their front organization are trying to stop it...
Baltimore's MICA Adjunct Professors Set to Vote on Unionization  The Real News   ...Maryland Institute College of Art part-time faculty member Hannah Brancato and organizer Maria Maisto discuss the growing nationwide trend of adjunct professors organizing in order to collective bargain for decent salaries and benefits...
U.S. Labor Department Calls NFL Cheerleaders 'Seasonal Amusement' -- Says They Don't Deserve Minimum Wage  The Guardian   ...With next to no labor rights and making nowhere near the minimum wage, they could use a cheer or two themselves...
Miscellaneous
Greed Kills  Reuters   ...General Motors Co in 2005 decided not to change an ignition switch eventually linked to the deaths of at least 13 people because it would have added about a dollar to the cost of each car, according to an internal GM document provided to U.S. congressional investigators...
Caterpillar avoided $2.4 billion in taxes, senator says  Los Angeles Times   ...Sen. Carl Levin, saying it was "long past time" to ensure that multinational U.S. corporations pay taxes on their overseas profits, took Caterpillar Inc. to task for an offshore strategy that helped the company avoid $2.4 billion in income taxes...
Straight From the NSA's Mouth: We Searched You Without a Warrant  AlterNet   ..NSA Director Clapper finally admitted to senators that the NSA performed warrantless searches...

Today's Teamster News 03.22.14

Teamster News
Truckers for Costco and Forever 21 land victory that may allow joining the Teamsters  Salon ...The Port of Los Angeles workers who alleged stolen wages and false "independent contractor" scam now one step closer to organizing with the Teamsters Union...
Truck Drivers Handed Labor Victory That Could Reshape The Industry  ThinkProgress   ...Truck drivers at a Los Angeles-area freight hauling company cannot be treated as “independent contractors” or harassed for discussing the possibility of unionizing, according to a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruling issued Thursday...
Port truck drivers vying to join union get state, federal boost  Los Angeles Times   ...A string of actions by state officials and the National Labor Relations Board has strengthened the hand of truck drivers who say they need union representation to improve pay and working conditions for the thousands who transport cargo out of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach...
Port Truck Drivers Labeled 'Independent Contractors' Told They Have Right To Unionize  Huffington Post   ...As part of a settlement with the Teamsters that was finalized on Thursday, Pacific 9 Transportation in Carson, Calif., has agreed to hang a posting in the workplace saying workers have the right to form a labor union...
Teamsters Local 722 Highway Maintainers Ratify New Contract  Joint Council 25   ...Carroll County, Illinois, public employees represented by Teamsters Local 722 unanimously approved a new three-year contract with the county’s highway department...
APAC/Old Castle Inc. Drivers Choose Teamsters  Teamsters Local 523   ...Drivers at APAC/Old Castle Inc. in Vinita, Okla. voted to join Teamsters Local 523 in Tulsa, securing a strong voice on the job, despite the company's blatant union-busting tactics...
Teamsters at CCTA find support from fellow workers  Burlington Free Press   ...Drivers with Chittenden County Transportation Authority (CCTA), who are represented by Teamsters Local 597, were joined by numbers of organizations at a rally in support of their strike against the company since Monday....
Teamsters, Pasco reach tentative contract deal  Tampa Bay Times  ...Teamsters Local 79, which represents more than half of Pasco County, Florida's workers, says it has reached a tentative contract deal after a final round of talks...
Georgia Senate votes to bar some workers from unemployment benefits  Atlanta Journal-Constitution   ...The Georgia Senate approved a measure Thursday that would ban bus drivers, cafeteria workers and other people who work for private firms in public schools from claiming unemployment benefits when school is out...
Teamsters reject CN deal, company proposes binding arbitration   The Northern View ...The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference has rejected a second proposed settlement with CN with a vote of 891 against and 852 voting in favor of the agreement...
Teamsters Step Up Fight for D.C. Taxi Drivers   teamster.org ...The Teamsters Local 922-affiliated Washington, D.C. Taxi Operators Association filed a petition on Wednesday demanding that ride-sharing companies adhere to similar regulations that the taxi drivers follow...
Trade
Roberto Azevedo urges U.S. to push for Doha finish  Politico   ...World Trade Organization Director-General Roberto Azevedo urged the United States on Monday to reprise its traditional leadership role in the multilateral trading system by pushing to bring the 13-year-old Doha Round of world trade talks to a swift conclusion...
State Battles
W.Va. governor signs budget that taps reserves  Associated Press ...West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin signed a budget into law Wednesday that dips into millions of dollars in state reserves but gives public employees raises...
Louisiana committee OK's bill to bar teachers unions from public pension system  Times-Picayune   ...The House Retirement Committee on Thursday approved a bill that would bar any future employees of four organizations, two of them teachers unions, from also being members in the state public pension system for teachers...
War on Workers
Real wage stagnation, year 41  Angry Bear   ...The good news is that… real wages advanced somewhat in 2013, from $294.31 per week (in 1982-84 dollars) to $295.51, an increase of 0.4%. Woo hoo! The bad news, of course, is that this is still 13.5% off the peak real weekly wage of $341.73, achieved in 1972... 
Social Security already hit by the austerity squeeze  DailyKos   ... that annual statement you used to get that provided your earnings to date and estimated your monthly benefits is gone now. It was an important educational tool for Social Security, and a reminder that you are paying into a secure retirement fund. The statements are still available, but you have to be able to go online or visit an SSA office...
Microsoft Software Leak Inquiry Raises Privacy Issues  New York Times   ...The company conducted an inquiry by reading through email and instant messages, which may violate its promise of privacy, highlighting the power technology companies have to snoop on their customers...
Fox Has Consistently Minimized Koch Campaign Funding, But The Truth Is Out  Media Matters   ...As the group emerges as a dominant force in the 2014 midterm elections, spending up to 10 times as much as any major outside Democratic group so far, officials of the organization say their effort is not confined to hammering away at President Obama's Affordable Care Act...
Miscellaneous
Discovery of body clock reset mechanism could help shift workers and jetsetters  gizmag   ..."As this work progresses in clinical terms, we may be able to enhance the clock's ability to deal with shift work, and importantly understand how maladaptation of the clock contributes to diseases such as diabetes and chronic inflammation"...
Bernie Madoff: 'JPMorgan knew'  PoliticoPro   ...JPMorgan Chase served as Madoff’s bank for more than two decades and its role in his infamous Ponzi scheme has been the subject of intense interest to both federal authorities and investors who were victims of his fraud...
Hog Wild: Factory Farms are Poisoning Iowa's Drinking Water  Mother Jones   ...Millions of pigs are crammed into overcrowded barns all across the state, being fattened for slaughter while breeding superbugs—all to feed China's growing appetite for Spam...
Revelations of NSA Spying Cost U.S. Tech Companies  New York Times   ...Tech companies in the United States have lost customers and billions of dollars while companies overseas are gaining customers because of the revelations made by Edward J. Snowden,tied these providers to the National Security Agency’s vast surveillance program.

Today's Teamster News 03.15.14

Teamster News
Donora OKs four-year Teamster contract for police  Pittsburgh Tribune-Review   ...The Donora, Penn. council unanimously approved a tentative four-year contract with Teamsters Local 205 that includes a wage increase and one-time bonuses for four full-time officers and several part-time officers...
Teamsters Secure New Contract with Richland Township  Penn Live   ...Richland Township employees will receive a raise of at least 75 cents per hour for this year, approved March 5, the same night that township supervisors endorsed a new five-year contract with Teamsters Local 205, based in White Oak, Penn., which represents six full-time public-works employees...
Food contracts cycle underway again for Southern Calif. Teamsters, UFCW  People's World   ...A historic core industry of the two major unions (Teamsters and UFCW) in Southern California, retail food, has begun its every-five-years-or-so cycle of bare-knuckle contract negotiations...
3 Labor Organizations Endorse Deb Goldberg for MA Treasurer  GoLocalWorchester   ...Deb Goldberg's campaign for Massachusetts Treasurer received a boost Thursday after receiving endorsements from Teamsters Local 25, Painters DC #35 and Brookline Fire Fighters Local 950, citing her dedication to wage equality and respect for workers...
Time for Congress to Move on Income Inequality  teamster.org ...A Senate committee took up discussion of income inequality during a hearing this week focused on how to improve the lives of working families. But unfortunately, not everyone agreed that Capitol Hill needed to lend a hand to lift wages...
Trade
Teamsters: U.S.-Korea Trade Deal Marks Two Years of Failure  teamster.org   ...On the two-year anniversary of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS), the Teamsters Union denounces the pact as another failed trade deal that enriches global corporations while eliminating middle-class jobs in the United States...
REPORT: NAFTA’s Deadly Legacy: Corporate Profits Over People And Planet  MintPress News   ...Ahead of Transatlantic and Transpacific trade deals, report authors warn: 'Remember NAFTA'...
State News
Attack on Labor  The Tribune-Review   ...In Harrisburg, legislation has been proposed to prevent the automatic withholding of union dues from public employees' paychecks...This legislation serves only to undermine the timely, efficient payment of monies that are rightfully due to unions. Automatic withholding is routinely used by employers to collect money owed for charitable contributions, for insurance premiums, for child support and for taxes...
Alabama House approves payday loan database  Associated Press   ...The Alabama House of Representatives on Thursday voted to create a state database to enforce an existing $500 limit on how much people can borrow at one time from the short-term lenders...
Bill targeting predatory lending sent to Maine governor  Associated Press   ...The Democratic-controlled House and Senate gave final approval to the bill this week that aims to protect Mainers from unlicensed online lenders who offer illegitimate short-term loans that can drain consumers' bank accounts with high interest rates and fees...
New York union membership grows 8% from 2012 to 2013  Long Island Newsday ...Unions in New York State added 145,000 members last year, the first increase since 2007, new federal data show. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday that the ranks of private-sector and government unions in the state totaled nearly 2 million in 2013, a gain of 8 percent from a year earlier...
War on Workers
Wall Street and Multinationals Get Theirs While America Suffers  Economic Populist   ...corporations are stockpiling cash, tax free, abroad and added $206 billion to their coffers in 2013.  The offshore cash holdings now are $1.95 trillion.  Three of the biggest labor arbitragers and offshore outsourcers of them all, Microsoft, IBM and Apple, account for 18.2% of the 2013 offshore cash holdings increase.  All of these companies have fired top tier Scientists and Engineers and replaced them with cheaper foreign guest workers as well as moved R&D jobs offshore...
Obama: If You 'Work More, You Should Get Paid More'  WBNI   ...President Obama signed a memo directing his labor secretary to rewrite the rules governing overtime in the country...
People Think We’re in a Recession. Don’t Blame Them.  New York Times   ... 57 percent still think the economy is in recession... for much of America, despite years of modest gross domestic product growth and strong stock market gains, the economy isn’t good...
A Relentless Widening of Disparity in Wealth  New York Times   ...the economic forces concentrating more and more wealth into the hands of the fortunate few are almost sure to prevail for a very long time...
Greek unemployment rises to 27.5 percent  Associated Press   ...Official figures show the unemployment rate in Greece increased to 27.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013 as the economy struggled to emerge from a protracted recession...
New York City transit workers have personal info exposed  Associated Press ...The Social Security numbers and other personal information of about 15,000 New York City transit workers has been found on a CD inside a refurbished computer sold by a retailer, according to a letter obtained by The Associated Press...
Bank of America back in court over $2.1 billion fraud penalties  Reuters   ...A U.S. judge wrestled on Thursday with a U.S. Justice Department request that Bank of America Corp pay $2.1 billion in penalties after being found liable for fraud over defective mortgages sold by its Countrywide unit...
Debt Collectors Go After Service Members Despite Protections  Truthout ...Debt collectors are targeting members of the Armed Services by calling their superior officers, threatening reduction in rank and even courts-martial, despite stepped-up efforts to protect them from abuse, according to a government report issued last week...
More Than 900 Workers Have Already Died Building Qatar’s World Cup Facilities  Smithsonian   ...400 Nepalese migrant workers had already died at building sites. Between 2010 and 2012 more than 700 workers from India lost their lives working on construction sites in Qatar, too...
For the first time in years, contract talks between city and unions show both sides want a deal  New York Daily News ...Talks began this week between the de Blasio administration and city unions over labor contracts for 300,000 municipal workers. It was night and day compared to the Bloomberg era...

Unemployed workers, Teamsters, lawmakers rally to restore unemployment benefits

Teamsters crammed into this Capitol Hill room today to support
unemployment benefits extensions. 

Teamsters, jobless workers, union activists, faith leaders and members of Congress crammed into a Capitol Hill visitor room today for a rally to push for the renewal of unemployment insurance. Cut off from emergency aid since last month are 1.4 million workers struggling to find jobs.

The rally was held one day after a successful Senate vote to move forward a bill that would continue Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) for the long-term unemployed.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi led the rally calling on House Republicans to follow the Senate’s lead:

We know that these benefits for unemployed workers are put back into the economy and boost growth by creating demand. The numbers speak for themselves. But today we have families and unemployed workers here to tell the human side of this story. 

Unemployed workers affected by Congress’s inaction on unemployment insurance stood behind members of Congress and other leaders, including Sens. Jack Reed of Rhode Island and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania.

Dozens of jobless workers from Casey's home state of Pennsylvania took part in the rally, holding up signs that said “1.4 million reasons to extend EUC” and “These checks feed my family.”

Said Sen. Casey,

In Pennsylvania alone, more than 73,000 people have been affected by the cuts to unemployment benefits. The number of people lifted out of poverty thanks to EUC just in Pennsylvania is over 196,000.

Sen. Reed added,

These people are our neighbors. And yet when they are most vulnerable, we cut them off from the support they desperately need while they look for work. We have to remain relentless, persistent and dissatisfied until these benefits are restored.

Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa sent letters to every member of Congress yesterday urging them to vote the right way:

The EUC program already helped millions of Americans avoid the grip of poverty during the great recession. With an estimated one job currently available for every three job seekers, the labor market is structurally unable to employ all of those who have been removed from the EUC program. The long-term unemployed face an especially uphill battle, with approximately 37% of the unemployed having been out of work for over 26 weeks. 

Teamsters and other union members joined faith leaders like Rev. Michael Livingston from the National Council of Churches who spoke to the moral outrage of leaving jobless workers to fend for themselves.

Since Congress failed to renew emergency unemployment insurance in December, anti-worker lawmakers in Washington have barely been able to concealed their disdain for the unemployed, using their tired – and utterly false – talking points about unemployment benefits breeding laziness among workers.

AFL-CIO President Rich Trumka said right-wing leaders in the House opposing unemployment benefits are trying to spin their position as if they are trying to help workers:

There’s nothing compassionate about denying unemployment insurance to people who are out of work. This will continue to be a PR disaster for right-wing leaders in Congress because cutting unemployment benefits is a human disaster. More than two-thirds of Americans want to extend jobless benefits – with no strings attached.

As if workers haven’t suffered enough at the hands of corporate puppets in Congress, House Republicans insist that any extension of unemployment benefits be accompanied by cuts to other parts of the social safety net. And with three workers for every available job in this economy, the right-wing’s only “jobs program” is more tax cuts for the rich.

Lawmakers at today’s rally vowed to continue fighting to renew EUC. Nevada Rep. Steve Horsford said,

We need to ask members of Congress if they know what it’s like to be unemployed. Because when you talk to these unemployed Americans, we know this is personal.

You can help. Call your representatives in Congress and tell them to vote to extend unemployment benefits. Just click  here.

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 12.16.13

Pope Francis In Peace Message Attacks Mega-Salaries With 'Crumbs' For Poor  Huffington Post   ...Pope Francis said in the first peace message of his pontificate that huge salaries and bonuses are symptoms of an economy based on greed and inequality and called again for nations to narrow the wealth gap...
Rich People’s Idea of Charity: Giving to Elite Schools and Operas  Alternet   ...a large portion of the charitable deductions now claimed by America’s wealthy are for donations to culture palaces – operas, art museums, symphonies, and theaters – where they spend their leisure time hobnobbing with other wealthy benefactors...
Is this the end of in-flight phone calls?  Salon   ...There’s a government showdown in the making, and it’s all about cellphones: specifically, if passengers on US flights should be allowed to make phone calls or not...
The 1% is Hogging so much of our Income that it’s Holding the Economy Back  Informed Comment   ...“If the typical American family still got today the same share of income they earned in 1980, they would earn about 25 percent more and have an astounding $13,000 more a year...
Poverty nation: How America created a low-wage work swamp  Salon   ... a quarter of people who have jobs today make so little money that they also receive some form of public assistance, or welfare – a proportion that’s much higher in some of the fastest growing sectors of the workforce. Or that 60 percent of able-bodied adult food-stamp recipients are employed...
IBM faces shareholder lawsuit over cooperation with NSA  CNet   ...IBM's cooperation with a National Security Agency surveillance program caused sales in China to "abruptly halt" and the company's stock price to decline, a shareholder lawsuit claims...
US Government Pays Contractors Twice as Much as Civil Servants for the Same Work  Bill Moyers   ...the budget deal just worked out between the White House and Capitol Hill will prevent a government shutdown and all of its attendant global financial inconveniences. But it does nothing to curtail wasteful spending on companies that are among the nation’s richest and most powerful – from Booz Allen Hamilton, the $6 billion-a-year management-consulting firm, to Boeing, the defense contractor boasting $82 billion in worldwide sales...
Pushing for Justice at Walmart  The Daily Beast   ...Dominic Ware was a charismatic leader in the nationwide Our Walmart campaign, fighting for better working conditions—until he got fired after speaking out for himself and his coworkers...
Amid Healing Labor Market, Long-Term Unemployment Still Dire  US News   ...As Washington fights about jobless benefits, the long-term jobless make up a remarkably high share of the unemployed...

Today's Teamster News 09.26.13

(UPDATES with items about federal contract worker pay)

Hoffa Calls On Cruz, Right-Wing Extremists To Stop ACA Misrepresentations  teamster.org   ...Here's an official statement by Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa...
Hundreds of Manufacturing Workers Ratify First Teamster Contract  Joint Council 25   ...Approximately 340 manufacturing employees at Senior Flexonics ratified their first contract with Teamsters Local 330 by a 3-to-1 margin...
Teamsters: Private Prison Quotas Rob Taxpayers  teamster.org   ...The Teamsters Union is denouncing the findings of a new study revealing that private prison management firms have contracts that directly link profits to inmate capacity. The Teamsters Union represents 30,000 correctional officers in 20 states across the country...
Teamsters Capital Strategies Speaks Out On Wage Disparity  The Leslie Marshall Show ...A proposed rule for the Security and Exchange Commission would shed light on the ratio of media worker pay versus that of a company’s CEO...
BASIS TLA Scheduled October 7-11  teamster.org   ...The IBT Training and Development Department will conduct a Teamsters Leadership Academy for new local union business agents, October 7-11, 2013, at the union's headquarters in Washington, D.C...
Organizational Skills for Office Managers Scheduled for November 6-8  teamster.org   ...The IBT Training and Development Department will conduct a TLA for Teamster Office Managers and key administrative staff, November 6-8, 2013, at the union's headquarters in Washington, D.C...
Federal Contracts Send Billions Of Dollars To CEOs But Pay Workers A Poverty Wage  ThinkProgress   ...The contracting practices that make the federal government the largest low-wage employer in the country are also paying top corporate executives nearly $24 billion per year according to new research from the think tank Demos...
Federal workers to strike, march on White House Wednesday  Salon   ...Cleaning and concessions workers in federal buildings will protest their taxpayer-funded poverty jobs...
How Bad Data Warped Everything We Thought We Knew About the Jobs Recovery  The Atlantic   ... the jobs report's real margin of error has been about as big as the average jobs report itself the past few years...
Wal-Mart Cutting Orders as Unsold Merchandise Piles Up  Bloomberg News   ...Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) is cutting orders it places with suppliers this quarter and next to address rising inventories the company flagged in last month’s earnings report...
Steelmakers rally against China  Pittsburgh Business Times   ...Steel manufacturers in the U.S. have been filing complaints with U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission against a number of countries, including China, charging that unregulated imports are causing material injury to the domestic steel industry...
Austerity measures push Greek universities to point of collapse  The Guardian   ...Internationally mandated austerity measures have pushed universities in Greece to the point of collapse with many of the debt-stricken country's pre-eminent higher education institutions being forced to suspend operations...
Revealed: Qatar's World Cup 'slaves'  The Guardian   ...thousands of Nepalese, who make up the single largest group of labourers in Qatar, face exploitation and abuses that amount to modern-day slavery, as defined by the International Labour Organisation, during a building binge paving the way for 2022...
Union to Protest Staffing Levels at Iowa Prisons  Associated Press   ...The union that represents correctional officers at Iowa prisons is planning an informational picket to raise awareness about what it calls dangerously low staffing levels...
CFPB Takes Aim At Sallie Mae For Student Loan Servicing  Huffington Post   ...A federal consumer regulator has taken aim at the Department of Education’s preferred companies for servicing the agency’s $1 trillion in student loans, highlighting potentially poor customer service and raising the specter of increased government scrutiny...
Is President Obama In Denial About the National Threat Wall Street Poses (opinion)  Wall Street on Parade   ...This is not a banking system – this is an institutionalized, legalized, mechanized, wealth transfer system bearing the imprimatur of the President of the United States and the U.S. Congress through their refusal to take the simple measure that can stop the looting in its tracks – the restoration of the Glass-Steagall Act...
The Republican Vote to Cut Food Stamps is Really a Decision to Kill the "Useless Eaters" (opinion)  AlterNet   ...15 million Americans were “food insecure” in the United States during 2012. The Great Recession has increased the number of Americans who do not have sufficient food by 30 percent. The fastest growing group of people who need some assistance is the elderly...
Some public companies are divulging more details about their political contributions  Washington Post   ...Some of the nation’s largest publicly traded companies are divulging more details about their political contributions, in part to ward off lawsuits and mounting pressure from shareholders, who increasingly have thrust the issue before boards of directors...
City workers protest Emanuel over contract talks  Chicago Tribune   ...Scores of union workers protested outside city buildings during lunch Tuesday, taking aim at Mayor Rahm Emanuel for what they contend is an attempt to retroactively freeze their wages after privatizing hundreds of jobs in the past couple of years...
Exposing The Pay Gap  New York Times   ...Of all the provisions in the vast and complex Dodd-Frank financial reform law, one of the most far-reaching is also the most direct and easily understood. It requires public companies to compute and disclose the ratio of a chief executive’s pay to that of a typical employee...
For-Hire Trucking Tonnage Index Rose in August  Journal of Commerce   ...The American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Trucking Tonnage Index increased 1.4 percent in August from July, to 126.9, after slipping 0.6 percent in July...
How A New Job Application Form Could Save Hundreds Of Californians From Returning To Prison  Think Progress    ...In an attempt to cut down on employment discrimination against felons and reduce recidivism rates, a bill waiting for California Gov. Jerry Brown’s signature would remove a question on local and state job applications asking applicants about their criminal record...

NC Moral Monday protesters take on unemployment cuts; more than 80 arrested

Police arrested more than 80 people during the ninth Moral Monday protest in Raleigh, N.C,. last night. They were protesting a new state law that cuts off federal unemployment benefits for 70,000 state residents. Since late April, law enforcement has detained about 675 demonstrators for protesting the policies of Gov. Pat McCrory and the Republican-majority Legislature.

North Carolina yesterday became the first state to opt out from collecting extended unemployment benefits. Beyond those immediately affected, another 100,000 state residents could lose their benefits in the coming months. The new law also hacks the maximum weekly benefit a laid-off worker can receive from $535 to $350.

For some in the crowd of 1,200 gathered near the Statehouse, the loss is far more than a statistic. Wayne Bostic said he is unsure whether he will be able to remain in his home:

It means my check, which is the mortgage check, is not going to be there. How is a cut in anybody's money going to help a person?

Chapel Hill resident Kristin Frescoln is the former manager of the state's drug treatment courts who lost her job in 2011 when the Legislature largely defunded the program. She said the protests build awareness of what is going on in North Carolina:

We have to bring attention to what is happening here. It's our obligation in a democracy to speak out.

The state chapter of the NAACP, with the backing of unions, the North Carolina Democratic Party and others, have continued to put pressure on Gov. McCrory and the Legislature. They are dancing to the tune of the state's multimillionaire budget director, Art Pope. Pope is a friend of the Koch brothers and a disciple of ALEC, the escort service for corporations and state lawmakers. Pope helped pay for the 2012 candidacies of the governor and many state GOP lawmakers now in office.

Besides unemployment benefit cuts, the Legislature opted out of participating in the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion, which would have covered an additional 500,000 North Carolinians. The Legislature is also proposing tax changes that would favor corporations and the rich over middle-class families and education cuts as well.

Stay tuned...

Good dog!