Today's Teamster News 12.15.13

Are Young Workers the Future of Labor?  In These Times   ...nearly two-thirds of 18–29-year olds have a favorable impression of unions, more than any other age bracket. The time is ripe for labor leaders to bring the next generation into the fold...
FAMILY Act: 'Good for Everyone'  AFL-CIO Now   ...The Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act, introduced today by Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), will "grant families access to the paid leave they so desperately need" and "improve job security for all families who have to choose between caring for a family member and a paycheck at times of greatest stress..."
Lurid Subprime Scams Unveiled in Long-Running Fraud Trial  Rolling Stone   ...the subprime bubble exploded because financial companies and banks were in a mad rush to get as many iffy borrowers into loans as quickly as possible – and not because they were forced to...
Wikileaks TPP Revelations Prove US in "Left Field" With Trade Deal  The Real News   ...The revelations demonstrate deep disagreement between the United States and negotiating parties on the issues of intellectual property, agricultural subsidies, and financial services...
Don’t Get Too Excited About the Volcker Rule  The Nation   ...The real solution will not come until another Congress or a new president find the courage to break them up, cut them down to size and restore the old Glass-Steagall division of commercial banking from investment banking...
Nike and Levi’s Working to Kill U.S. Jobs and Industry  Trade Reform   ...They have a few white collar and design jobs in the U.S., but make their money by moving production from the U.S. to elsewhere… taking entire industries and communities in the process...
The War Over Austerity Is Over. Republicans Won.  Mother Jones   ... In their first budget after re-taking the majority—the FY 2012 Ryan budget, passed in 2011—the House Republicans wanted discretionary spending to be $1.039 trillion in 2014 and $1.047 trillion in 2015…. this proposed deal with the Democrats would put discretionary spending at $1.012 trillion in 2014 and $1.014 trillion in 2015...
Telling Fast Food Workers To 'Get A Better Job' Is Nonsense, In 1 Chart  Huffington Post   ...For every job that pays a median wage of at least $15 an hour there are 7 job seekers...

Today's Teamster News 11.30.13

Dozens arrested in Wal-Mart protests nationwide, 10 in Chicago  Chicago Tribune   ...Hundreds of protesters, including some Walmart workers who skipped their shifts on the retail industry's busiest day, spoke, chanted and sang outside of Walmart stores around the United States, making pleas for higher wages and better healthcare for Walmart hourly workers...
Wal-Mart protesters arrested at Black Friday rallies  CNN   ...In a tradition that's becoming as much a part of Black Friday as the shopping, protesters gathered outside a number of Wal-Mart locations Friday calling for higher wages at the country's largest private retailer...
Activists arrested in Virginia at one of 1,500 planned Wal-Mart protests  Salon   ...Nine activists were arrested at an Alexandria, Virginia protest Friday morning, the first of nine planned civil disobedience demonstrations against Wal-Mart...
Walmart's Black Friday Going About As Badly As You'd Expect  Huffington Post   ...The … video was taken at a Walmart in Johnson City, Tenn., according to Instagram user jcooper770. Such instances weren't limited to a single Walmart store, according to various Internet users...
Senators blast Wal-Mart “trampling” workers’ rights as dozens of activists are arrested on Black Friday  Salon   ...Democratic Senators Sherrod Brown and Ed Markey, and House members Jan Schakowsky, Judy Chu, William Lacy Clay, Gwen Moore, and Jim McDermott also voiced their support in a Friday statement, saying “It is time that Walmart pays its workers a fair wage and stops trampling on their rights...”
On Register’s Other Side, Little to Spend”  New York Times   ...In many stores around the country, the workers stocking the shelves and ringing up the gifts are at the very heart of this season’s retail lament —many Americans are so financially strapped that projections for holiday sales have grown bleaker by the week...
The dark side of Black Friday  BBC Trending   ...The vast volume of shoppers has led to chaotic scenes and outbreaks of violence. Stampedes and shootings have plagued the day, resulting in four deaths and 56 injuries in the past five years...
Struggles of Younger US Workers Ripple Through Economy  Alternet   ...Since 1965, the number of households has grown at a rate of 1.5 percent annually, according to census data, and that’s meant about 1.3 million new ones every year. ... “The number of households, via quarterly Census Bureau data, (suggests) we’re only adding about 600,000 to 700,000 this year...
Secretive Corporate Deal in the Works Could Establish Special Closed Door Courts for Big Business  Alternet   ...The proposed investment chapter of the deal revealed plans to expand the system of international investment tribunals that deal with what is called ‘investor-state dispute settlement’. These are closed-door courts that take direct aim at the ability of governments across the world to enact environmental, public health and other protections for their citizens...
World Fights Back Against the Biggest Brother in History  truthout   ...a United Nations committee approved without a vote a draft resolution entitled “The Right to Privacy in a Digital Age.” The nonbinding resolution, which will now head to the General Assembly where it has broad support, follows from a report published in June by the United Nations Human Rights Council. It detailed the negative impact of state surveillance on free expression and human rights and lamented that technology has outpaced legislation...

Today's Teamster News 08.30.13

Illinois Teamsters endorse Pat Quinn for governor  Teamsters Joint Council 25   ...Teamsters Joint Council 25 endorsed Pat Quinn for a second term as Illinois governor today in a press conference at the Chicago International Produce Market...
Teamsters Approve Contract Extension With DHL’s Air Express International  Transport Topics   ...Teamsters union workers employed by DHL subsidiary Air Express International have approved a one-year contract extension, the union said...
Fast food strikes go super-sized in clash over wages  CNBC   ...From San Diego to New York, workers stopped flipping burgers, frying fries, and slathering on secret sauce in what organizers called the largest strikes against the nation's fast food companies ever...
US Banks Earn Record $42.2B in 2nd Quarter  Associated Press   ...The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. says the banking industry earned $42.2 billion in the second quarter, up 23 percent from the second quarter of 2012. About 54 percent of U.S. banks reported improved earnings from a year earlier...
Teen employment hits record lows, suggesting lost generation  McClatchy   ...slightly more than three in 10 teens actually worked a summer job, out of a universe of roughly 16.8 million U.S. teens. “We have never had anything this low in our lives. This is a Great Depression for teens, and no time in history have we encountered anything like that,” said Andrew Sum, director of the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University in Boston...
San Bernardino, California, eligible for bankruptcy: judge  Reuters   ...The tentative ruling came despite objections by the California Public Employees' Retirement System, or Calpers. The $260 billion pension fund is the city's biggest creditor...
NSA: fear of a black van  zdnet   ...Most of us are good citizens. And yet. What if the government is listening in, or watching, or scanning, and some algorithm triggers an investigation and some quota-happy g-man decides to make one of us a pet project?...
Poverty saps mental capacity to deal with complex tasks, say scientists  The Guardian   ...Poor people spend so much mental energy on the immediate problems of paying bills and cutting costs that they are left with less capacity to deal with other complex but important tasks, including education, training or managing their time, suggests research published on Thursday...
Why is Sydney University on strike? Because students are not our 'clients' (opinion)  The Guardian   ...The ongoing commodification of higher education is just one facet of the disastrous hijacking of universities by corporate ideology. We are fighting this...
Colombia farmers' strikes spread to cities  3 News   ...Nationwide agricultural strikes are continuing in Colombia after more than a week of ongoing roadblocks, marches and clashes with the police. Protests have grown in size and intensity after the president, Juan Manuel Santos, denied a strike was happening...
No federal challenge to pot legalization in two states  CNN   ...Attorney General Eric Holder, in a conference call Thursday morning, notified the governors of Colorado and Washington that the department, for now, will not seek to pre-empt those states' laws, which followed voters' approval of ballot measures that legalized recreational marijuana use...
Nearly 40% of the Top Paid CEOs Bombed at Their Jobs  Economic Populist   ...Of those 500 who made the Wall Street Journal's top 25 highest paid Chief Executive Officer list, a whopping 38% were utter failures at their jobs...

Young Teamsters trained to deal with bully bosses

Not your Grandfather's union meeting.

Can you deal with a bully boss? These young Teamsters sure can! In a June 25th training session with attorney Jason Rabinowitz, a group of young Teamsters from Local 856 learned how to deal with bad bosses.

Doris Garcia, an accounts payable clerk at Carcione’s Fresh Produce, has always had good bosses. However, as a 27-year-old Teamster, she wanted to know more about workers rights. She realizes she may have a bad boss some day, and she wants to help co-workers with grievances they may have with their bosses.

Rabinowitz, who is also an instructor at UC-Davis, taught her how to defend herself and her co-workers against bully bosses. He discussed what qualifies as workplace harassment and explained what falls under legal guidelines and what does not. He described both the legal route and the non-legal route for taking action against a bully boss.

“Knowing alternatives to legal action, knowing that you can come together to create change by signing petitions or organizing a walk-out, that was the most beneficial part of the training,” said Garcia.

Cristina Garcia, a 24-year old Teamster employed at the Fairmont San Francisco Hotel, echoes her Teamster sister. “The training explained that by all uniting together, backing each other up and standing up to managers as a unit creates one of the best opportunities for positive change,” said Garcia. Rabinowitz also taught young Teamsters how to sign petitions and obtain restraining orders in cases of harassment and violence.

Although Cristina Garcia has never had a bully boss, she has seen her co-workers in uncomfortable situations with their bosses. She was excited to see the Teamsters offering a training on this often overlooked topic.

Doris Garcia explained, “It is a relief to know that I can come to my local with a grievance and know that people are backing me and will help me to improve my situation.”

The training was held at the Handlery Hotel in San Francisco.

Today's Teamster News 04.23.11

YRC reports progress in financial restructuring negotiations  Kansas City Star   ...John Lamar, YRC's chief restructuring officer, said in a brief statement the company has been working closely with JP Morgan...the steering committee, the company’s pension funds and the Teamsters National Freight Industry Negotiating Committee...
Marathon County Supreme Court race recount is set for Wednesday  Wausau Daily Herald   ...The campaigns agreed in court to a hand recount in precincts across 31 counties where electronic machines' memory cartridges are full...
Voters to get opportunity to sign repeal petitions  Toledo Blade   ...opponents of a new law weakening the collective bargaining rights of public employees will ask voters to begin exercising direct democracy Saturday by signing repeal petitions...
Builders of New Homes Seeing No Sign of Recovery  New York Times   ...
The recession hurt a lot of industries, but it knocked the residential construction market to the mat and has kept it there...
Young workers face a dire labor market without a safety net  EPI   ...The unemployment rate for high school graduates under age 25 who were not enrolled in school was 22.5%, compared with 9.3% for college graduates of the same age...
9/11 First Responders To Be Run Through FBI Terrorism Watch List Before Getting Health Care Benefits  TalkingPointsMemo   ...a provision in the James Zadroga 9/11 Health And Compensation law...requires them to be run through the FBI's terrorism watch list...
Minn. GOP House Speaker Backs Off Calling Voting A 'Privilege,' Not A Right  TalkingPointsMemo   ...Kurt Zellers (R), who is strongly pushing for passage of a voter ID law, has now backed away from comments he made in a radio appearance on Wednesday...

Young workers, it's up to you

Jobs are scarce and young workers are struggling more than most of us, writes Cory McCray, president of the Young Trade Unionists in Baltimore, Md. He's no whiner, though. McCray says young workers are the ones who will have to stand up, take responsibility and fix the mess their parents made.

Watch the YTU's video or go to their Facebook page. You'll see there's hope for labor.

McCray recently wrote a terrific column, "The plight of young workers in a struggling economy," in which he asks,

...have we really taken the time to understand what the future may hold for the Young Worker - whose unemployment rate has been stated to linger around 20%?

The statistics are frightening: Jobless rates for young men are rising: 20.5 percent for young men, 33.4 percent amont young African-Americans and 21.6 percent for young Asian-Americans. Jobless rates for young women are high and hardly changed: 17.5 percent for young women, 16.2 percent for young Caucasians and 22.1 percent for young Hispanics.  Writes McCray:

For the Young Worker that’s found some type of employment in this bad job market, research shows they’re earning 17.5% less than their counterparts in a good economy.

Research also shows this can have an adverse impact on Young Workers for an amazing seventeen years of their life!

As we deal with underemployment and less benefits than our parents’ generation, we’re at a point in time where businesses are demonizing pensions to institute a new program that I call: “Save your own retirement - 401K slaves.”

The point I’m trying to make is that it is heartbreaking to see my young friends and their families having to deal with this epidemic that is out of our control.

McCray urges young workers to buy American, get trained or educated and fight for the things their parents gave up (like pensions and living wages.) He writes

Young Workers - I challenge you not to fall into a trap and relax - like previous generations have - but to survive, learn and fight such as those who lived through the Great Depression.

We have the power to enact change and stimulate this great country we call America!

Let's hope he's right.