RTW4Less dying in MN

Minnesota Teamsters at the Capitol, fighting RTW4Less.

Cross your fingers, everybody. We may just be beating back RTW4less in Minnesota.

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports,

The Minnesota House fell silent Thursday evening as an attempt to revive the proposed 'right to work' constitutional amendment fizzled.

And this:

House Majority Leader David Senjem, R-Rochester, has since said the bill does not appear to have enough Republican support to pass, and is stalled. Senate supporters are trying to again revive it.

From the tweetosphere:

@IBT_320: Fight against #rtw4less is front and center at @Teamstersjc32 we're making progress with Teamsters Truth Squad & we will not relent #mnleg

The always-entertaining Charles Pierce offers this commentary:

You want to see some first-class chickening out? You want to see a white feather the size of a California condor? You want further experimentation from today's Laboratories of Democracy? Well, check out what's going on in Minnesota. The Republican majority in both of the houses of the state legislature got all chuffed with their newfound power, and they were all, like, We can make you do anything you want, Minnesota. Why do you keep hitting yourself in the face, huh? Huh?

Then, of course, things got a little rough for the bullies in the neighboring states, what with John Kasich in Ohio getting roughed up at the ballot box, and Rick Snyder in Michigan getting slapped around by the courts, and goggle-eyed homunculus Scott Walker across the border in Wisconsin getting pummelled by most of the state all at once. Suddenly, thing started looking a little hairy for the local authoritarians. In Minnesota, they proposed an amendment to the state constitution that essentially make Minnesota a right-to-work state, just as Mitch (Presidential Kindling) Daniels pulled off in Indiana. Then they looked at some polls, and started getting some e-mails and, well, some serious rethinking — and scarpering, and buggering-off — seemed to be in order.

Great work, brothers and sisters!

Scratch a Hollywood liberal, find a union hater

We don't think so, but sometimes we do worry. David Macaray in a recent Huffington Post pointed out something we all basically knew -- that a lot of limousine liberals don't exactly like labor unions. They won't come out and say it, most of the time, but you know they don't.

Here's Macaray:

While the Democrats have thrown a few crumbs its way, and academics have eloquently given voice to the Movement, and even non-union workers have grudgingly recognized organized labor's historical contributions, when it comes to the down-and-dirty battles necessary to get the job done, working people realize that no one can be relied upon except other working people, and the unions that represent them.

A character actor I know, a long-time SAG member, once told me: "Scratch a Hollywood liberal, and you'll find a union hater." Granted, it was a broad generalization, but having swum in the Hollywood tank for more than 30 years, he was convinced that the majority of those affluent, progressive-minded denizens of Malibu and the West Side (often stereotyped as "knee-jerk liberals") not only don't respect or admire organized labor, they actually root for it to fail.

And Macaray offers a great example: the reliably lefty Pacifica Foundation, which operates about a dozen radio stations around the country, just hired the union-busting Jackson Lewis law firm. Reports the California Labor Fed:

Last week, the union representing KPFA’s workers, Communications Workers of America Local 9415, became aware of Jackson Lewis’ hire by Pacifica at all five stations in the network – KPFA in the San Francisco Bay Area, KPFK in Los Angeles, KPFT in Houston, WPFW in Washington D.C., and WBAI in New York. At a meeting of KPFA’s bargaining unit, the station’s union workers voted to demand that the Pacifica National Board immediately terminate its arrangement with Jackson Lewis, and sent a letter to all members of Pacifica’s board to that effect. The board met Wednesday, March 7, but chose not to take action to reverse its employment of the union-buster.

KPFA's union stewards wrote:

We see the entry of Jackson Lewis as a declaration of war on the unions that represent Pacifica workers. We fear it will lead to unnecessary legal expenses the network can ill afford, sour Pacifica’s already dismal relationship with its union workers, and alienate many listener-supporters who do not want their donations to be handed over to one of organized labor’s greatest enemies in the United States.

Here's how the Pacifica Foundation self-righteously describes its mission:

...to engage in any activity that shall contribute to a lasting understanding between nations and between the individuals of all nations, races, creeds and colors; to gather and disseminate information on the causes of conflict between any and all of such groups; and through any and all means compatible with the purposes of this corporation to promote the study of political and economic problems and of the causes of religious, philosophical and racial antagonisms.

Sign a petition here to tell KPFA to call off its union busters.

They used to make Etch-A-Sketches in OH

Now they make them in Shenzhen, China.

We're quite certain that doesn't surprise you.

Hat tip to Teamsters International Vice President Al Mixon for pointing this out. Mixon, principal officer of Local 507 in Cleveland, gave a speech at the Teamsters convention last year about our misguided trade policy:

Thanks to NAFTA, CAFTA and the PNTR, there are a lot of things we used to make in Ohio that we don’t make anymore. If you remember, the Etch A Sketch toys, the No. 2 pencils, Eveready batteries, Campbell Soup noodles that gets shipped in now, the Amana stoves. They call it free trade. You know what I call it? It’s bad legislation.

AL Teamsters strike Republic Services; sympathy pickets in NY, OH

On the line in Mobile, Ala.

Our brothers and sisters in Mobile, Ala., were forced to strike after the company backed out of a negotiated contract with the Teamsters.

No one wants to strike, but the members of Local 991 had no choice. Jim Gookins, the local's secretary-treasurer, said:

These workers put their bodies in harm’s way every day to protect the public health. The least Republic can do is provide affordable health coverage for them.

The 24 drivers and helpers went out at 11:30 p.m.

Our brothers and sisters in Buffalo and Columbus have their backs. At 1 a.m., members of Local 375 put up a sympathy picket line at the Republic facility in New York. The 95 Republic drivers and helpers in Buffalo --members of Teamsters Local 449 -- honored the line.

At the same time, a sympathy picket line went up at the Republic facility in Columbus, Ohio. The 78 Republic drivers and mechanics in Columbus, members of Teamsters Local 284, honored that line too.

Makes you proud to be a Teamster, don't it?

Republic is an immensely profitable company that intimidates, harasses and bullies its employees. Meanwhile, the company hauled in nearly $600 million last year, 15 percent higher than 2010.

Republic is demanding concessions in Columbus and Buffalo. In Kansas City, Republic tried to strip employees of some of their overtime pay. In Canton, Ohio, Republic tried to bully workers into giving up their union health care plan.

All across the country, many of Republic's 9,000 Teamster employees are wearing stickers that say, “Republic Services: Don’t Trash Our Contracts.”

The Kochs don't want you to watch this video

Today's Teamster News 03.23.12

More than 1 million manufacturing jobs could be created in U.S. if Americans bought more U.S.-made goods, economist says  Cleveland Plain Dealer   ...if Americans spent just $100 billion on U.S. goods instead of foreign goods - a gap that has widened the last few years - then that would create more than 1 million jobs in manufacturing in the United States...
'The American Economic Model Is Broken'  Financial Armageddon   ...A staggering 63% of respondents across the political spectrum feel that the American economic model is broken. Individuals surveyed do not agree that the prevailing paradigm facilitates equal opportunity, or that hard work and skill are rewarded...
The Wall Street Surcharge On Your Gas Tank  Economic Populist   ...A new, very timely St. Louis Federal Reserve research paper, Speculation in the Oil Market finds 15% of oil price increases are due to speculation and is the second most powerful mover of prices beyond actual physical demand...
Senate Passes JOBS Act, STOCK Act  firedoglake   ...the JOBS Act, a bill that promises an impossible solution to an unrelated problem, which is a mask for its true agenda, to weaken investor protection rules to the benefit of Wall Street firms and corporations...
The GOP’s assault on labor rights: What is happening in the states?  The Hill   ...not one new job has been created by this tsunami of anti-union legislation...
Marietta, Teamsters contract ratified  News and Sentinel   ...A three-year contract with Teamsters Local 637 was ratified ... Terms of the agreement include a 15 percent per pay period contribution by employees toward their health insurance premiums and annual pay increases...

'Buy American' is now fashionable ('bout time)

Cross posting from Manufacture This:

The hottest colors in fashion right now might just be "Red, White, and Blue." Okay, maybe not—but according to a recent article in the Philadelphia Enquirer, more Americans are seeking out Made-in-USA fashions than ever before:

"We have so many people come into our store and ask, 'Is this made in the U.S.A.? Is this made locally?' " said Ali McCloud, owner of the Northern Liberties-based, eco-friendly boutique Arcadia. "People are really starting to pay attention to the made-in-America tag."

And what’s behind the rising demand for American-made clothing? According to Elizabeth Wellington of the Enquirer, there are several factors at play:

Partly, it's a byproduct of an eco-friendly wave of thinking: What better way to lower your carbon footprint then buying clothes manufactured in North Philadelphia or Brooklyn rather than Beijing?

But our growing sense of red-white-and-blue pride also is the fallout from circumstances: Gas and food prices are rising, apparel-industry job opportunities are falling, and presidential candidates are vying to steer our future. So the idea of sending work overseas - especially for something as basic as clothing from a city that once was a textile giant - is unsettling to many.

Read more.