Teamster News
FedEx Freight Workers In Charlotte Vote To Join Teamsters Local 71 teamster.org ... A group of 222 drivers at FedEx Freight’s Charlotte, N.C., terminal voted today to join Teamsters Local 71...
Sysco And Us Foods Teamsters Protest Sysco Shareholders Meeting teamster.org ...Teamsters employed at Sysco and US Foods protested outside Sysco’s shareholders meeting today to demand answers to tough questions from the company’s Board of Directors about its proposed purchase of US Foods and the impact on thousands of jobs...
Facebook Drivers Vote To Join Teamsters teamster.org ... Drivers who shuttle Facebook employees to and from the company headquarters in Menlo Park., Calif., have voted in favor of representation by Teamsters Local 853 in San Leandro, Calif...
Yonkers, Teamsters employees agree to new 10-year contract MidHudson News ...The City of Yonkers and Teamsters Local 456 have agreed to a new 10-year contract for city employees. The pack, supported by 80 percent of the union’s membership, is retroactive to 2009 and will expire in 2018, Mayor Michael Spano announced Wednesday...
Trade
Conservatives and Liberals Agree, TPP Hates Your Freedom (opinion) Huffington Post ...This supposed trade deal has far-reaching legal implications for our nation and beyond but it has been negotiated in secret without oversight from Congress or the American People...
Obama Is Pushing Two Giant Trade Deals — Here’s What You Need to Know Campaign for America's Future ...only eight House Democrats are on record as favoring fast-track. On the other side of the aisle, as I noted in January, the tea party wing of the Republican Party has dubbed the TPP “Obamatrade,” and is warning, in the words of one “analyst” on the Tea Party News Network, that TPP is a “weapon aimed straight at our Constitution, straight at our sovereignty and straight at Christians around the world.”...
State Battles
S.F. Supervisors Vote 10-0 To Approve "Bill Of Rights" For Formula Retail Workers San Francisco Business Journal ...San Francisco restaurant and retail workers will have more predictable schedules and more opportunities for full-time work under two ordinances passed unanimously by the Board of Supervisors Tuesday...
Voter ID Laws Scrutinized For Impact On Midterms New York Times ...In North Carolina, early voting was cut by seven days. In Kansas, 22,000 people were stopped from registering to vote because they lacked proof of citizenship. And in Texas, Democrats say the country’s toughest voter ID law contributed to a one-term congressman’s losing a tight race to his Republican rival....
Unions Aren't The Problem For Alabama Workers (opinion) Montgomery Advertiser ...union workers earn nearly $4 more per hour than non-union workers for the same work. They have significantly better benefits and retirement plans. And they receive raises and bonuses more frequently. Additionally, unions keep the gap between worker pay and CEO pay closer and they reduce the amount of tax dollars spent on employee training and re-training, because the unions usually ensure its members are properly trained...
Report That Poverty Declined Under Brownback Was Misleading WIBW ...A state agency acknowledges it sent out a news release shortly before November's election that incorrectly claimed poverty in Kansas had declined under Gov. Sam Brownback's administration...
UC tuition-hike plan advances, but debate just beginning San Jose Mercury News ...University of California regents voted Wednesday to raise tuition annually for the next five years if the state doesn't give the system more funding, making an aggressive -- if wildly unpopular -- first move in a high-stakes state-funding fight...
War on Workers
Push To Protect Immigrant Farm Workers Wall Street Journal ...Farm workers and some agriculture industry officials are making a last-minute push for President Barack Obama to include protections for undocumented agricultural workers in his new immigration policy, worried that the pending executive action may be the last opportunity to change immigration rules for a while...
Amazon Worker Forces Changes As Labor Board Settles Claim Bloomberg Businessweek ...the settlement requires the online retailer to post notices at its fulfillment centers notifying employees that they have the right to form unions and work with each other for collective benefits...
Senate Report Criticizes Goldman and JPMorgan Over Their Influence in Commodities Market New York Times ...A two-year Senate-led investigation is throwing back the curtain on the outsize and sometimes hidden sway that Wall Street banks have gained over the markets for essential commodities like oil, aluminum and coal...
Walmart Workers Rally in "Global Day of Action for Decent Work" truthout ...On November 19, Walmart workers in 10 countries are holding demonstrations to highlight the company's poor labor practices from its retail stores throughout the entire supply chain, and to call for a living wage for Walmart's global workforce and countless supply chain workers...
Tracy Morgan Fighting To Recover From ‘Severe Brain Injury,’ Lawyer Says New York Times ...A Walmart truck slammed into a limo van that was carrying Mr. Morgan and several friends on their way back from a show in Delaware. One person was killed, and three others were injured, two seriously. Mr. Morgan, 46, spent several weeks in a hospital and in rehabilitation...
Chesapeake police ID worker killed in accident Associated Press ...Chesapeake police have identified a worker who died after he was run over by truck. Officer Kelly O'Sullivan tells media outlets that 47-year-old Nouel Fallejo of Virginia Beach was working on the truck...
Lawsuit settlement in death of film worker in Ga. Associated Press ... The family of a film worker killed when she was hit along train tracks while shooting a biographical movie about singer Gregg Allman announced a settlement Wednesday with several defendants...
West Texas worker killed under semitrailer Associated Press ...Authorities in West Texas say a worker has died after being crushed under a semitrailer that he was working on...
Miscellaneous
Bill To Restrict N.S.A. Data Collection Blocked In Vote By Senate Republicans New York Times ...Tuesday’s vote only put off until next year a debate over security and personal liberties. While a Republican-controlled Senate is less likely to go along with the kinds of reforms that were in the bill, which sponsors had named the U.S.A. Freedom Act, the debate could further expose rifts between the party’s interventionist and more libertarian-leaning wings...
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
All along the supply chain, workers demand change in 10 countries and one port
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The Orange County Register reported the port drivers struck six companies by Tuesday. With the support of the Teamsters, they have tenaciously held continuous picket lines from the beginning of the strike. According to the Register, it's having an impact:
The strike is exacerbating congestion at the ports, which is already high due to a lack of truck chassis and rising trade volume from the improving economy.
Dockworkers with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union have been working without a contract since July and have faced recent accusations from the Pacific Maritime Association that the union is intentionally orchestrating the slowdown.
Drivers from QTS Inc., LACA Express and WinWin Logistics Inc. went on strike Monday, and drivers from Pacer and Harbor Rail Transport struck on Tuesday.
Port truck drivers want to be classified as employees and not independent contractors. As employees, they would be able to form a union and receive workplace protections.This afternoon, the striking drivers marched on the boss and delivered petitions demanding dignity and respect.
Around the world, Walmart workers took action to demand better wages, better working conditions and an end to retaliation. Twitter tells us:
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| In India, street vendors protested by Walmart Gurgaon (Haryana) |
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| Workers in over 2100 stores signed the petition were delivered in the rain RIGHT to #WalmartGlobal office in Miami |
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| Another Walmart protest in Brasil. @UGT_BRASIL calls for #LivingWages & Decent Work.
Strike season appears to be upon us!
|
Sysco, US Foods Teamsters rally for answers about their jobs
 |
| Sysco and US Foods Teamsters from IL, MO, WI, CO, AZ, CA, WA, IN, OH, TX |
Sysco has made vague statements that 'all employees will become Sysco associates Day One' if the merger is approved.
Teamsters General Secretary-Treasurer Ken Hall says the men and women who work for the two companies deserve to know what that means.
“Thousands of workers at Sysco and US Foods are concerned about their livelihoods," Hall said in a statement. "Will Sysco honor its existing collective bargaining agreements at both companies? How does it intend to save $600 million over the next four years, and will its loyal, long-term employees pay that price?”
Sysco’s planned merger with its only national competitor, US Foods, is still far from inevitable. The company has twice announced delays in closing the deal since it was announced in December 2013.
Steve Vairma is the Teamsters Warehouse Division Director, which represents 120,000 warehouse workers and nearly 12,000 at Sysco and US Foods. Vairma said,
It’s time Sysco clears the air. We are here to show the company that we will do whatever it takes to protect Teamsters employed at Sysco and US Foods.The Federal Trade Commission is putting the deal under intense scrutiny. The transaction was structured by executives who stand to gain from it. No shareholder had a vote. The companies' workers and customers along with anti-monopoly groups warn the merger could significantly harm competition in U.S. markets.
Scott Laughlin, a Sysco employee, said,
Executives are poised to line their pockets from this merger, but we could lose our jobs and the company won’t even tell us if it plans to sell our warehouse or close it altogether.Forty-six executives stand to pocket cash bonuses on completion of the merger. Chief Financial Officer Robert Kreidler has already cashed in $429,000 and will earn another $715,000 if the transaction closes. Three other executives will split nearly $1.5 million if the deal is approved.
In addition to the rally outside the annual meeting, several Teamsters inside the meeting raised concerns about the merger to Sysco’s senior executives and board members. Shelly Allsup, a Teamsters representative from San Diego, Calif., said:
Investors don't know what the composition of a newly combined company would look like. A possible anti-trust remedy from the FTC could call for divestitures from certain markets.
Today's Teamster News 11.19.14
Teamster News
Teamsters: Port Truck Driver Strike Spreads To Intermodal Rail Yards teamster.org ...Early Tuesday morning, the port truck driver strike spread from the Ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach to intermodal rail yards that are serviced by Pacer Cartage and Harbor Rail Transport (HRT). These rail yards dispatch cargo to and from warehouses and distribution centers across America...
Teamsters Rally At Facebook teamster.org ...Teamsters and Facebook drivers rallied today at Facebook headquarters, along with community and political leaders. ABC News in San Francisco reports on the efforts by Facebook drivers to organize with Teamsters Local 853 in San Leandro, Calif...
Facebook shuttle drivers to vote on union Associated Press ...Facebook shuttle bus drivers will vote to decide whether to unionize in an attempt to get better pay and working conditions...
Teamsters host giving event Saturday Troy Messenger ...The holiday season is quickly approaching and many local organizations are seeking to help those in need during a giving season, including members of Teamsters National Black Caucus...
Teamsters continue contentious talks with Hernando over delayed pay raises Tampa Bay Times ...the union has now requested minimum increases for all of its members of at least 8 percent...
Trade
Elections featured bipartisan appeal to Americans’ opposition to unfair trade The Hill ...only 20 percent of Americans believed that the trade status quo has led to U.S. job creation, while half of Americans said the result has been U.S. job losses...
Time running out for action on fast-track trade authority: Senator Reuters ...U.S. lawmakers have very little time to consider granting the White House power to fast-track trade deals before Congress finishes up for the year, the head of the Senate committee responsible for trade said on Tuesday...
State Battles
Workers’ Rights Expand Under Proposed S.F. Ordinances Washington Post ...San Francisco restaurant and retail workers could soon have more predictable schedules, more opportunity for full-time work and more rights in general after the Board of Supervisors’ budget committee sent two proposed ordinances to the full board over the objections of the business community...
Supreme Court To Hear Right-To-Work Arguments In Jan. Lansing State Journal ...The Michigan Supreme Court will in January hear oral arguments on whether the state’s controversial right-to-work law applies to state employees and on another case related to state employee pensions...
Illinois Lawmakers Rush To Pass Wage Hike Voters Asked For Bloomberg Businessweek ...By a 2-to-1 margin, Illinois voters passed a nonbinding ballot measure in the Nov. 4 midterms urging the legislature to raise the state minimum wage. But they also elected a new governor, Republican Bruce Rauner, who’s supported reducing or eliminating it entirely. So outgoing Governor Pat Quinn is pressing the legislature to pass the wage increase the voters asked for—and to do so in the two months remaining before the governor they elected has the chance to veto it...
Wisconsin developer went to Walker with interest in buying state buildings Associated Press ...One of Wisconsin's largest real estate developers wrote to Gov. Scott Walker to express his interest in buying several prominent state office buildings at the same time the Legislature was considering doing away with competitive bidding for such sales, according to newly released records...
War on Workers
Seven big U.S. companies paid CEOs more than Uncle Sam in 2013: study Reuters ...the study said the seven companies, which in 2013 reported more than $74 billion in combined U.S. pre-tax profits, came out ahead on their taxes, gaining $1.9 billion more than they owed. At the same time, the CEOs at each of the seven companies last year was paid an average of $17.3 million...
Mega-Mergers Popular Again On Wall Street New York Times ...Mergers worth $100 billion, made on Monday, put Wall Street on pace for a year of deal-making rivaling those during the dot-com bubble and the private equity upsurge just before the financial crisis...
Uber Executive Suggests Digging Up Dirt On Journalists BuzzFeed ...A senior executive at Uber suggested that the company should consider hiring a team of opposition researchers to dig up dirt on its critics in the media — and specifically to spread details of the personal life of a female journalist who has criticized the company...
Owners: Taj Mahal Closing Expected By Dec. 12 Philadelphia Inquirer ...The owners of the Trump Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City said in a court filing Friday they expected to close the Boardwalk property on or before Dec. 12...
1.6 Million-Member American Federation Of Teachers Bans Coca-Cola Products Citing Child Labor And Human Rights Record KWQC ...Corporate Campaign, Inc. and the Campaign to Stop Killer Coke announce that the American Federation of Teachers (AFT, AFL-CIO) has declared the banning of all Coca-Cola products from its facilities and events, as an official policy of the union...
“An Ongoing Criminal Enterprise”: Why America’s Housing Disaster Is Back And Wreaking Terror Salon.com ...According to housing analyst RealtyTrac, foreclosure filings shot up 15 percent last month, the largest increase in over four years... [mortgage servicers] are breaking laws and degrading the integrity of the courts to kick people out of their homes, a sad and enduring legacy of the destruction of the nation’s property system during the housing bubble years....
Worker at New Bedford trash hauler dies on the job Associated Press ...64-year-old Manuel Viera was walking in ABC Disposal's parking lot at about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday when a large flatbed truck that transports Dumpsters accidentally struck him...
Senate Democrats reject bill to build oil pipeline Associated Press ...The Democrat-controlled Senate has defeated a bill to approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline...
Teamsters: Port Truck Driver Strike Spreads To Intermodal Rail Yards teamster.org ...Early Tuesday morning, the port truck driver strike spread from the Ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach to intermodal rail yards that are serviced by Pacer Cartage and Harbor Rail Transport (HRT). These rail yards dispatch cargo to and from warehouses and distribution centers across America...
Teamsters Rally At Facebook teamster.org ...Teamsters and Facebook drivers rallied today at Facebook headquarters, along with community and political leaders. ABC News in San Francisco reports on the efforts by Facebook drivers to organize with Teamsters Local 853 in San Leandro, Calif...
Facebook shuttle drivers to vote on union Associated Press ...Facebook shuttle bus drivers will vote to decide whether to unionize in an attempt to get better pay and working conditions...
Teamsters host giving event Saturday Troy Messenger ...The holiday season is quickly approaching and many local organizations are seeking to help those in need during a giving season, including members of Teamsters National Black Caucus...
Teamsters continue contentious talks with Hernando over delayed pay raises Tampa Bay Times ...the union has now requested minimum increases for all of its members of at least 8 percent...
Trade
Elections featured bipartisan appeal to Americans’ opposition to unfair trade The Hill ...only 20 percent of Americans believed that the trade status quo has led to U.S. job creation, while half of Americans said the result has been U.S. job losses...
Time running out for action on fast-track trade authority: Senator Reuters ...U.S. lawmakers have very little time to consider granting the White House power to fast-track trade deals before Congress finishes up for the year, the head of the Senate committee responsible for trade said on Tuesday...
State Battles
Workers’ Rights Expand Under Proposed S.F. Ordinances Washington Post ...San Francisco restaurant and retail workers could soon have more predictable schedules, more opportunity for full-time work and more rights in general after the Board of Supervisors’ budget committee sent two proposed ordinances to the full board over the objections of the business community...
Supreme Court To Hear Right-To-Work Arguments In Jan. Lansing State Journal ...The Michigan Supreme Court will in January hear oral arguments on whether the state’s controversial right-to-work law applies to state employees and on another case related to state employee pensions...
Illinois Lawmakers Rush To Pass Wage Hike Voters Asked For Bloomberg Businessweek ...By a 2-to-1 margin, Illinois voters passed a nonbinding ballot measure in the Nov. 4 midterms urging the legislature to raise the state minimum wage. But they also elected a new governor, Republican Bruce Rauner, who’s supported reducing or eliminating it entirely. So outgoing Governor Pat Quinn is pressing the legislature to pass the wage increase the voters asked for—and to do so in the two months remaining before the governor they elected has the chance to veto it...
Wisconsin developer went to Walker with interest in buying state buildings Associated Press ...One of Wisconsin's largest real estate developers wrote to Gov. Scott Walker to express his interest in buying several prominent state office buildings at the same time the Legislature was considering doing away with competitive bidding for such sales, according to newly released records...
War on Workers
Seven big U.S. companies paid CEOs more than Uncle Sam in 2013: study Reuters ...the study said the seven companies, which in 2013 reported more than $74 billion in combined U.S. pre-tax profits, came out ahead on their taxes, gaining $1.9 billion more than they owed. At the same time, the CEOs at each of the seven companies last year was paid an average of $17.3 million...
Mega-Mergers Popular Again On Wall Street New York Times ...Mergers worth $100 billion, made on Monday, put Wall Street on pace for a year of deal-making rivaling those during the dot-com bubble and the private equity upsurge just before the financial crisis...
Uber Executive Suggests Digging Up Dirt On Journalists BuzzFeed ...A senior executive at Uber suggested that the company should consider hiring a team of opposition researchers to dig up dirt on its critics in the media — and specifically to spread details of the personal life of a female journalist who has criticized the company...
Owners: Taj Mahal Closing Expected By Dec. 12 Philadelphia Inquirer ...The owners of the Trump Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City said in a court filing Friday they expected to close the Boardwalk property on or before Dec. 12...
1.6 Million-Member American Federation Of Teachers Bans Coca-Cola Products Citing Child Labor And Human Rights Record KWQC ...Corporate Campaign, Inc. and the Campaign to Stop Killer Coke announce that the American Federation of Teachers (AFT, AFL-CIO) has declared the banning of all Coca-Cola products from its facilities and events, as an official policy of the union...
“An Ongoing Criminal Enterprise”: Why America’s Housing Disaster Is Back And Wreaking Terror Salon.com ...According to housing analyst RealtyTrac, foreclosure filings shot up 15 percent last month, the largest increase in over four years... [mortgage servicers] are breaking laws and degrading the integrity of the courts to kick people out of their homes, a sad and enduring legacy of the destruction of the nation’s property system during the housing bubble years....
Worker at New Bedford trash hauler dies on the job Associated Press ...64-year-old Manuel Viera was walking in ABC Disposal's parking lot at about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday when a large flatbed truck that transports Dumpsters accidentally struck him...
Senate Democrats reject bill to build oil pipeline Associated Press ...The Democrat-controlled Senate has defeated a bill to approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline...
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Video: Federal contract workers rally at the 'Capitol of Inequality'
The workers' movement to raise their wages, fix their schedules and their workplaces and to escape retaliation just keeps getting broader.
We received this in our in-box today from our allies at Good Jobs Nation:
Last week, America’s progressive leadership released a new economic executive action platform – More than the Minimum – to call on the President to award lucrative contracts to companies that pay living wages, offer good benefits and respect workers' rights.
To drive the point home, hundreds of federal contract workers from the U.S. Capitol and other federal sites went on strike chanting “Mr. President, it’s been tough, $10.10 is not enough!”Today, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. George Miller held a Capitol Hill briefing on workers' erratic schedules that deprive them of time with family or predictable earnings.
Peter Schroeder at The Hill reports,
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and a host of left-leaning groups are setting their sights on Wal-Mart as they push for improved treatment of workers.
Warren joined with Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), labor advocates, and employees of the retail chain to criticize its wage and scheduling policies, and push for Congress to force changes to better accommodate workers.
“It is good to hear workers’ voices in the halls of Congress,” said Warren. “No one in this country should work full-time and still live in poverty, and that’s what raising the minimum wage is all about.”
Miller said companies “conspired” to keep workers down, and it was up to policymakers to improve worker conditions.
“This is about the simple dignity of the people that you’ve hired to work,” he said. “We have to override what the policies are in a place like Wal-Mart.”
Teamsters are supporting actions taken by low-wage workers, even as Walmart and fast food workers support Teamster organizing efforts at ports and food processing companies. Walmart workers spoke out in support of the port drivers striking in Los Angeles. California's politicial leaders were recently briefed by a McDonald's worker, a UFCW Safeway member along with Teamsters and Taylor Farms workers.
For a living wage and a union, California bus drivers rally and port drivers strike
Today in California truck drivers at the Port of Los Angeles/Long Beach extended their strike to two more companies as Facebook shuttle drivers rallied in the Bay area. Both groups of drivers want better lives, higher wages and a union.
Teamsters and striking port drivers expanded their picket lines to rail yards serviced by Pacer Cartage and Harbor Rail Transport to try to disrupt cargo distribution before Black Friday.
The strike, which began Thursday, kicked off another season of short sudden strikes. On the same day the port drivers walked off the job in Los Angeles, hundreds of striking federal contract workers marched on Capitol Hill to demand a $15 minimum wage and a union. Back in California, Walmart workers staged their first-ever sit-down strike in a Crenshaw store, refusing to move for two solid hours. The action was livestreamed and can be seen here.
The port truck drivers and Facebook shuttle drivers are leading a wave of worker resistance to the unequal distribution of the nation's growing wealth. They are fighting on many fronts: against wage theft, against misclassification, against disruptive schedules, against dangerous working conditions and against retaliation for trying to form a union.
The port truck driver strike is starting to have an impact, according to Justice for LA/LB Port Drivers spokesperson Barb Maynard. Maynard said two companies that said they wouldn't sit under the same roof with the Teamsters are now sitting down and negotiating ... with the Teamsters.
According to CBS Los Angeles.
After the rally, supporters marched a petition with 5,000 signatures to Zuckerberg, who refused to accept it.
Aloise tweeted:
 |
| Striking port truck drivers today in Los Angeles |
The strike, which began Thursday, kicked off another season of short sudden strikes. On the same day the port drivers walked off the job in Los Angeles, hundreds of striking federal contract workers marched on Capitol Hill to demand a $15 minimum wage and a union. Back in California, Walmart workers staged their first-ever sit-down strike in a Crenshaw store, refusing to move for two solid hours. The action was livestreamed and can be seen here.
The port truck drivers and Facebook shuttle drivers are leading a wave of worker resistance to the unequal distribution of the nation's growing wealth. They are fighting on many fronts: against wage theft, against misclassification, against disruptive schedules, against dangerous working conditions and against retaliation for trying to form a union.
The port truck driver strike is starting to have an impact, according to Justice for LA/LB Port Drivers spokesperson Barb Maynard. Maynard said two companies that said they wouldn't sit under the same roof with the Teamsters are now sitting down and negotiating ... with the Teamsters.
According to CBS Los Angeles.
Drivers intend to follow trucks from Pacer and HRT to customer locations, including the rail yards, and picket the trucks while they are working at those locations.
Truck drivers at the port have been walking off the job since the summer over their classification as independent contractors. The drivers want better pay and benefits and work place protections.
“The truck drivers are already tired. They’re fed up with the abuse, they’re fed up with the injustice and they’re tired of the disrespect they’re giving us,” driver Alex Paz said.Farther north, Facebook shuttle drivers, Teamsters and supporters rallied along with local officials such as Daly City Mayor David Canepa, San Mateo City Council Member David Lim, Maria Fernandez from Working Partnerships USA and Teamsters Local 853 Secretary-Treasurer Rome Aloise. Ralliers demanded Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg urge the drivers' employer, Loop Transportation, to recognize the Teamsters as their representative.
After the rally, supporters marched a petition with 5,000 signatures to Zuckerberg, who refused to accept it.
Aloise tweeted:
Rome Aloise @ibtrome 5h5 hours ago
Proof that Facebook is behind Loops antiunion stance Facebook refused to allow us to deliver over 5000 signatures urging them to be fair.
Today's Teamster News 11.18.14
Teamster News
L.A.-Area Port Truckers Expand Strike To Three New Companies Los Angeles Times ...Drivers from QTS Inc., LACA Express and WinWin Logistics Inc. joined an ongoing strike Monday morning, said Barb Maynard, a spokeswoman for the Teamsters Union, which is backing the drivers...
Port Truckers Drive Home Difference Between Contractors And Employees Los Angeles Times ...Decades ago, such drivers were full-time employees, but many companies began treating them as independent contractors to bump profits and cut labor costs. And when environmental safeguards made expensive clean-energy trucks mandatory, drivers essentially became indentured servants, with truck leasing costs, insurance and other expenses deducted from their paychecks, often knocking them below minimum wage but still requiring them to pay for gas and repairs....
Fired Disney performers seeking jobs, back pay Bay News 9 ...The Teamsters Union representing the three men has already been through the grievance process and will now go forward to present their case to a federal arbitrator, unless Disney meets their demands...
Trade
French Government Will Not Sign TTIP Agreement In 2015 EurActiv ...Matthias Fekl, France's Secretary of State for Foreign Trade, has made it clear that France will not support the inclusion of the Investor State Dispute Settlement mechanism (ISDS) in a potential TTIP agreement...
State Battles
Government employees produce nothing, says ignorant Kansas House Speaker Ray Merrick of Johnson County (opinion) Kansas City Star ...News flash for Ray Merrick: Those employees doing “nothing” are the schoolteachers, firefighters and police officers employed by governments across the state. These are the hardworking employees who make it possible to educate Kansas children and protect Kansas families...
An Embattled ALEC, Buoyed by Election Results, Lays Blueprint for 2015 Center for Media and Democracy ...ALEC has been bleeding corporate members, but with Republicans now in control of 68 out of 98 state legislative bodies, there are fewer impediments to the enactment of the corporate-friendly legislation that ALEC peddles -- and in early December, ALEC and the corporations that still fund it will likely lay out the legislative blueprint for 2015 at the ALEC States & Nation Policy Summit in Washington, DC...
California Tells Court It Can’t Release Inmates Early Because It Would Lose Cheap Prison Labor ThinkProgress ...Out of California’s years-long litigation over reducing the population of prisons deemed unconstitutionally overcrowded by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2010, another obstacle to addressing the U.S. epidemic of mass incarceration has emerged: The utility of cheap prison labor...
War on Workers
Number Of Homeless Children In America Surges To All-Time High: Report Huffington Post ...The number of homeless children in the U.S. has surged in recent years to an all-time high, amounting to one child in every 30, according to a comprehensive state-by-state report that blames the nation's high poverty rate, the lack of affordable housing and the impacts of pervasive domestic violence...
We Are the Most Unequal Society in the Developed World...And We Don't Know It (opinion) Huffington Post ...Americans grossly underestimated this gap. Instead of 354 to 1, the Americans in representative survey think it is only 30 to 1. When asked what the ideal pay gap should be, Americans say that a fair gap would be about 7 to 1...
Agencies Look For Cause Of Fatal Gas Leak In Texas New York Times ...Randall Clements, the plant manager, said DuPont was working with the authorities and conducting its own “top-to-bottom review” of the accident. Asked how the leak had begun and whether the problem had been a result of equipment failure or human error, a company spokesman, Gregg M. Schmidt, said answering those questions was part of the investigation...
Worker dies in fall at Mosinee paper mill Associated Press ...A 55-year-old worker was killed when he fell from a hydraulic bucket while installing insulation at a Mosinee paper mill...
Trump Taj Mahal Casino In Atlantic City Will Shutter New York Daily News ...The owner of the struggling Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort filed court papers on Friday saying it will close next month, making it the fifth of the city’s 12 casinos to shut down this year...
Miscellaneous
Keystone at Senate tipping point The Hill ...Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and other supporters of the Keystone XL oil pipeline are stuck at 59 votes — one vote shy of the supermajority they need to move their bill forward on Tuesday...
L.A.-Area Port Truckers Expand Strike To Three New Companies Los Angeles Times ...Drivers from QTS Inc., LACA Express and WinWin Logistics Inc. joined an ongoing strike Monday morning, said Barb Maynard, a spokeswoman for the Teamsters Union, which is backing the drivers...
Port Truckers Drive Home Difference Between Contractors And Employees Los Angeles Times ...Decades ago, such drivers were full-time employees, but many companies began treating them as independent contractors to bump profits and cut labor costs. And when environmental safeguards made expensive clean-energy trucks mandatory, drivers essentially became indentured servants, with truck leasing costs, insurance and other expenses deducted from their paychecks, often knocking them below minimum wage but still requiring them to pay for gas and repairs....
Fired Disney performers seeking jobs, back pay Bay News 9 ...The Teamsters Union representing the three men has already been through the grievance process and will now go forward to present their case to a federal arbitrator, unless Disney meets their demands...
Trade
French Government Will Not Sign TTIP Agreement In 2015 EurActiv ...Matthias Fekl, France's Secretary of State for Foreign Trade, has made it clear that France will not support the inclusion of the Investor State Dispute Settlement mechanism (ISDS) in a potential TTIP agreement...
State Battles
Government employees produce nothing, says ignorant Kansas House Speaker Ray Merrick of Johnson County (opinion) Kansas City Star ...News flash for Ray Merrick: Those employees doing “nothing” are the schoolteachers, firefighters and police officers employed by governments across the state. These are the hardworking employees who make it possible to educate Kansas children and protect Kansas families...
An Embattled ALEC, Buoyed by Election Results, Lays Blueprint for 2015 Center for Media and Democracy ...ALEC has been bleeding corporate members, but with Republicans now in control of 68 out of 98 state legislative bodies, there are fewer impediments to the enactment of the corporate-friendly legislation that ALEC peddles -- and in early December, ALEC and the corporations that still fund it will likely lay out the legislative blueprint for 2015 at the ALEC States & Nation Policy Summit in Washington, DC...
California Tells Court It Can’t Release Inmates Early Because It Would Lose Cheap Prison Labor ThinkProgress ...Out of California’s years-long litigation over reducing the population of prisons deemed unconstitutionally overcrowded by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2010, another obstacle to addressing the U.S. epidemic of mass incarceration has emerged: The utility of cheap prison labor...
War on Workers
Number Of Homeless Children In America Surges To All-Time High: Report Huffington Post ...The number of homeless children in the U.S. has surged in recent years to an all-time high, amounting to one child in every 30, according to a comprehensive state-by-state report that blames the nation's high poverty rate, the lack of affordable housing and the impacts of pervasive domestic violence...
We Are the Most Unequal Society in the Developed World...And We Don't Know It (opinion) Huffington Post ...Americans grossly underestimated this gap. Instead of 354 to 1, the Americans in representative survey think it is only 30 to 1. When asked what the ideal pay gap should be, Americans say that a fair gap would be about 7 to 1...
Agencies Look For Cause Of Fatal Gas Leak In Texas New York Times ...Randall Clements, the plant manager, said DuPont was working with the authorities and conducting its own “top-to-bottom review” of the accident. Asked how the leak had begun and whether the problem had been a result of equipment failure or human error, a company spokesman, Gregg M. Schmidt, said answering those questions was part of the investigation...
Worker dies in fall at Mosinee paper mill Associated Press ...A 55-year-old worker was killed when he fell from a hydraulic bucket while installing insulation at a Mosinee paper mill...
Trump Taj Mahal Casino In Atlantic City Will Shutter New York Daily News ...The owner of the struggling Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort filed court papers on Friday saying it will close next month, making it the fifth of the city’s 12 casinos to shut down this year...
Miscellaneous
Keystone at Senate tipping point The Hill ...Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and other supporters of the Keystone XL oil pipeline are stuck at 59 votes — one vote shy of the supermajority they need to move their bill forward on Tuesday...
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