Will Senate stand with workers or Wall St. and powerful interests in CRomnibus vote?

The U.S. Senate is poised to pass a spending bill that will make life harder for working people, empowers the wealthy and lets Wall Street gamble with taxpayer-insured money.

It's called the #CRomnibus, and it's horrible.

The House of Representatives passed the bill last night. Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa called out the political cowardice of the members of Congress who voted for it.

I am sure that arms were twisted and promises and threats were made in equal measure to pass a spending bill that is rife with provisions that will only prove damaging to the constituents these officials pledged to represent... 

In one sweep of the pen, pension policies that have protected millions of workers for decades could be irrevocably changed resulting in an untold number of retirees losing a substantial percentage of their fixed income should reductions be required. And who benefits? UPS - a $100 billion, Fortune 50 company that is trying to squirm out of an obligation it agreed to when it withdrew from the Teamsters Central States Pension Fund. 

How did so many pension funds reach this critical stage? The government allowed banks to make risky investments with money from pension funds –the same type of financial gambles that a provision in this spending bill will allow to be made again. 

And while our pension funds are being put at risk by these provisions, trucking companies are pulling the strings of their puppets in Congress to roll back hours of service rules so they can force drivers to work 80 hours a week with insufficient rest.

David Dayen at The Fiscal Times calls it a disaster and lists the many, many ways it harms working people:

...the CRomnibus boosts special interests at the expense of ordinary people in a host of other ways... 

It cuts $60 million from the EPA and a whopping $346 million, about 3 percent, from the IRS, at a time when the agency’s workload will increase with Obamacare. The IRS cuts signal to wealthy earners that they can freely engage in tax avoidance, with little expectation of an audit... 

Under the bill, trustees would be enabled to cut pension benefits to current retirees, reversing a 40-year bond with workers who earned their retirement packages. Voters in the District of Columbia who approved legalized marijuana will see their initiative vaporized, with local government prohibited from taxing or regulating the drug’s sale. Trucking companies can make roads less safe by giving their employees 82-hour work weeks without sufficient rest breaks. Pell grants for college students will be cut, with the money diverted to private student loan contractors who have actively harmed borrowers. Government financiers of overseas projects will be prevented from stopping funding for coal-fired power plants. Blue Cross and Blue Shield will be allowed to count “quality improvement” measures toward their mandatory health spending under Obamacare’s “medical loss ratio” provision, a windfall saving them millions of dollars. 

I’m not done. The bill eliminates a bipartisan measure to end “backdoor” searches by the NSA of Americans’ private communications. It blocks the EPA from regulating certain water sources for farmers. It adds an exception to allow the U.S. to continue to fund Egypt’s military leadership. In a giveaway to potato growers, it reduces nutrition standards in school lunches and the Women, Infant and Children food aid program. It halts the listing of new endangered species. It stops the regulation of lead in hunting ammunition or fishing equipment. It limits contributions to the Green Climate Fund to compensate poor countries ravaged by climate change.

You can help try to stop the disaster from happening. Call your senators at 1-888-979-9806 or follow this link: http://teamster.org/protectpensions. Call NOW!

Today's Teamster News 12.12.14

Teamster News
Workers At Con-Way Freight In Miami Vote To Join Teamsters Local 769  teamster.org   … A group of 74 drivers and dockworkers at Con-way Freight in Miami Lakes, Fla., voted today to join Teamsters Local 769 in North Miami, Fla...
Teamsters Mourn Death Of Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka  teamster.org   ...Teamsters Local 727 joins the State of Illinois in mourning the death of State Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka, who died Dec. 10 of complications from a stroke...
New Orleans Ready Mix Drivers Vote For Teamsters  teamster.org   ...Ready Mix cement workers at Lafarge Concrete have voted to become members of Teamsters Local 270, New Orleans. Lafarge Concrete is one of the largest cement suppliers in the area and handles all types of projects: highways, commercial buildings, schools and residences...
Teamsters Make Public Cry For Better Contracts  Insurance News   ..."While emergency communication is important, so are the daily needs of the nursing home residents and your employees who care for them," said Herb Garber, a representative of Teamsters Local 776, a union representing nursing home workers, during a speech at the meeting...
Bill de Blasio’s Horse-Carriage Ban Gains Little Support From Congress Members From New York  New York Daily News   ...Members of Congress from New York don't get to vote on Mayor de Blasio's bid to ban horse-drawn carriages — but that isn't stopping them from weighing in against the proposal...
Anti-horse carriage group NYCLASS will make 'substantial payment' for campaign finance violations  New York Daily News   ...The group trying to ban horse-drawn carriages in the city will make a “substantial payment” to settle charges that it broke campaign finance rules in last year’s city elections, its lawyer said Wednesday...
Gene Laughlin  Champaign News-Gazette   ...Gene was a World War II Army veteran, serving in the Philippines and Australia. Upon discharge, he worked as a Teamsters truck driver and was a member of Teamsters Local 26. Gene was also a lifetime member of the VFW Post 630, American Legion Post 24, Moose and Eagles Lodges...
Teamsters Reject Contract Proposed By Giant Eagle Subsidiary  WFMJ   ...Local Teamsters employed by Tamarkin, a subsidiary of Giant Eagle, tonight narrowly defeated a contract extension which employees say was the company's "final offer. Union Leaders won't comment, but rank and file employees told 21 News that the company is trying to build a new warehouse, at their expense...
Trade
Labor warns Obama on trade policy  The Hill   ...Labor unions and environmental groups warned President Obama Wednesday that getting too cozy with congressional Republicans on trade issues could imperil other parts of his policy agenda...
Germany calls for transparency on US-EU trade deal  Economic Times   ...Germany has called for more transparency in negotiations for a sweeping trade pact between the European Union and the United States after complaints that the controversial talks are too secretive. "The trust of the citizens is essential to make this important agreement happen," German agriculture minister Christian Schmidt said yesterday after discussing the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) pact with officials in Washington...
State Battles
Wisconsin lawmaker, right-to-work champion leads push on U.S. Constitution  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel   ...The state Legislature's most vocal advocate for right-to-work legislation inside Wisconsin is working outside the state to hold a convention to amend the U.S. Constitution...
Board of Port Authority Proposes a Wage Increase for Airport Workers  New York Times   ...The board meeting held by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey on Wednesday may turn out to be the last one held somewhere other than the World Trade Center and the last one attended by redshirted airport workers demanding higher wages...
Ohio's charter school performance is "grim" and needs state attention, Stanford researcher tells the City Club  Plain Dealer   ...Ohio's longstanding and "grim" problem with underperforming charter schools is improving, a Stanford researcher said at the City Club today, but the state needs to increase its quality control efforts...
War on Workers
Congress poised to allow cuts to private pension payouts  Los Angeles Times   ...More than 1 million Americans who were promised secure, predictable retirement income probably will see part of their monthly benefit checks evaporate as Congress moves to stabilize some private pension systems veering toward insolvency...
Congressional spending bill would suspend some hours-of-service provisions, require FMCSA to further study rules’ impacts  CCJ   ...Congress likely will send a bill to the White House in the coming days that includes a provision that will put a stay on enforcement of two key elements of the 2013 rule: The requirement that a driver’s 34-hour restart include two 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. periods and the provision limiting the use of the restart to one time per week. The suspension of enforcement will last at least until Sept. 30, 2015...
House narrowly averts government shutdown, Senate up next  Chicago Tribune   …The House of Representatives averted a government shutdown on Thursday, narrowly passing a $1.1 trillion spending bill despite strenuous Democratic objections to controversial financial provisions.
Employees Shouldn’t Be Treated Like Products (opinion)  Washington Post   ...Hail the lowly bar code. By enabling retailers to track sales and inventory, it allows them to order goods from warehouses and manufacturers only when needed, reducing overhead and costs. Just-in-time production is a signal achievement of our digitized age. Just-in-time labor is not. Millions of retail workers are routinely summoned to their workplaces with little more advance warning than their employers accord the truckloads of goods or food those workers sell...
Walmart Illegally Punished Workers, Judge Rules  New York Times   ...In a decision made public on Wednesday, Geoffrey Carter, an N.L.R.B. administrative law judge, also found that a Walmart manager had illegally intimidated workers by saying, “If it were up to me, I’d shoot the union.” In addition, the judge said it was unlawful for Walmart managers to tell employees that co-workers returning from a one-day strike would be looking for a new job...
Guest: For better or worse, the labor movement is reinventing itself (opinion)  Los Angeles Times   ...Haltingly, with understandable ambivalence, the American labor movement is morphing into something new. Its most prominent organizing campaigns of recent years — of fast-food workers, domestics, taxi drivers and Wal-Mart employees — have prompted states and cities to raise their minimum wage and create more worker-friendly regulations...
Miscellaneous
Backroom Move Strips 'Backdoor' NSA Spying Ban From Spending Bill  Huffington Post   ...In place of the backdoor surveillance ban is language that states the NSA must not "target" American citizens' content for surveillance. But the agency's highly specific definition of targeting would still allow it to collect and search Americans' emails as long as they are sent abroad...
Fed Sets Tough New Capital Rule For Big Banks  Wall Street Journal   ...The proposal, which will be phased in starting in 2016 and take full effect in 2019, is aimed squarely at pushing big banks to shrink, an outcome regulators were explicit in saying they hope to encourage to reduce the likelihood a firm’s failure could require bailouts or damage the broader economy...

VIDEO: All New York labor rallies behind Teamster horse carriage drivers

Here's a terrific video about Teamster Joint Council 16's Monday rally against a proposed ban on horse carriages. Banning New York City's iconic horse carriages would destroy 300 Teamster jobs, and New York union members arrived in droves to show their support for the horse carriage drivers.

The good news: Joint Council 16 President George Miranda believes New York City councilmembers will decide against the bill. Brother Miranda told the New York LaborPress

I’m confident that there is no appetite right now on the City Council to pass this, and I hope it stays that way. This is a bread and butter issue. To do away with 300 jobs is just unconscionable. We hope the Council understands that, and that we’re willing to work with them to find solutions to the problems [they think exist] in the industry.

Three previously undecided councilmembers said they're against the bill on Monday. More are expected to oppose the ban.

Here's Joint Council 16's press statement:

Central Park's horse carriage drivers were joined by a cross section of the New York City labor movement for a rally at City Hall today. The rally preceded the introduction of City Council legislation to ban the industry. See more photos from the event, here. 

“Today, New York City's labor movement stands as one behind our brothers and sisters in the carriage industry,” said Teamster Joint Council 16 President George Miranda. The carriage drivers are among the 120,000 members of the Teamsters union in Downstate New York. 

“If the City Council takes away their jobs, these workers will lose everything – and they haven't done anything wrong. We are asking City Council Members to oppose this bill, and we intend to win.” 

“What am I supposed to do without this job?” said Angel Hernandez, one of the 300 New Yorkers employed in the carriage industry. “How do I pay my bills? Provide for my children? I am proud of the work that I do and hope the City Council doesn't take this job away from my family.” 

The Teamsters and carriage drivers were joined by the labor umbrella organization New York City Central Labor Council, as well as many of its member unions, such as 32BJ SEIU, the Laborers, United Food and Commercial Workers, Transportation Workers Union, United Auto Workers, the Carpenters, the Machinists, the Insulators Union, the Plumbers Union, and the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, District 9.

Stay strong, brothers and sisters!

CRomnibus stalled! Keep those calls and emails coming.

The Teamsters Union is urging members to call and write their representatives in Congress with a message: Vote NO on the spending bill that would slash pensions and put tired truckers on the road while empowering Wall Street and the wealthy.

It's working. The bill, nicknamed the CRomnibus, is stalled despite the threat of a government shutdown at midnight Friday if it doesn't pass. (Congress could instead just pass a bill to continue funding at current levels.)

The bill includes provisions that would cut multiemployer pension benefits for people who've already earned them. It would change the hours-of-service rule to let truck drivers work 82 hours a week instead of the current 70. On top of that, it would undo financial reforms and let big banks gamble with money insured by taxpayers. It would also raise the amount of money very rich people can give to political candidates by a factor of 10.

The Hill reported "Funding bill struggles for votes; Short-term measure an option."

A $1.1 trillion bill to keep the government open appeared to be teetering Thursday after House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) announced her opposition and the package narrowly survived a procedural vote. 

The House went into recess shortly after 2 p.m. after the debate on the bill had concluded, something that could signal GOP leaders aren’t sure they have the votes necessary to pass the bill... 

Pelosi in a floor speech Thursday afternoon harshly criticized the language on Wall Street and a separate provision allowing wealthy political contributors to greatly increase their annual donations to political committees. 

“It will not have my support,” Pelosi said. “This is a moral hazard. We're being asked to vote for a moral hazard.”

If you haven't yet, please email your representatives in Congress and tell them to vote no on the CRomnibus. Just click on this link to send an email: http://ibt.io/cromnibus

Click on this link to make a call: http://teamster.org/protectpensions

It will only take a few minutes to do both.

Today's Teamster News 12.11.14

Teamster News
Call Congress NOW!   teamster.org   ...The legislation would: Threaten the retirement security of thousands of retirees; Increase the number of hours that truck drivers can spend on the road every week...
That awful congressional plan to allow pension cuts heads for enactment (opinion)  Los Angeles Times   ...The congressional proposal to deal with a supposed crisis in worker pensions by allowing trustees to slash the benefits of already retired workers to shreds is heading toward enactment...
Lame-Duck Congress Nears Last-Minute Vote On Sweeping Pension Reform  In These Times   ...Congress is nearing a vote on arguably the biggest change to private pension law in decades. The proposed reforms would grant sweeping new authority to the trustees of some “deeply troubled” multi-employer pension plans to slash benefits promised to current retirees—something that’s illegal under existing law...
Keystone Pipeline Would Boost Middle Class (opinion)  Detroit News   ...Jobs might not be in such short supply like they once were in Michigan and elsewhere. But good-paying jobs still are. That’s why the Teamsters support the Keystone XL pipeline project that would allow North America to produce more of the world’s oil supply. And that’s why Michigan’s elected officials should too...
Horse-carriage ban prompts Queens Dem backlash  Capital New York   ...DenDekker wrote, “How progressive is it to VOTE union workers out of a job ? Maybe WE should VOTE them out of a job in the next election ! UNION workers UNITE and take a stand.
Clallam Reaches Agreement On Labor Contract With Largest Union  Peninsula Daily News   ...Clallam County and its largest union have apparently reached an agreement on a new labor contract after more than 20 months of good-faith bargaining. Commissioners Jim McEntire and Mike Doherty voted Tuesday to approve a four-year contract with Teamsters Local 589...
Canfield Township, Teamsters agree to deal  Youngstown Vindicator   ...Greg Shadle, vice president of Teamsters 377, said the three-year contract is effective May 1, 2013, and runs to April 30, 2016. “There were no real big changes,” Shadle said. “We’re happy to get it over with.”
Trade
TPP Negotiators Hit With Protests That Media Don't Cover  Huffington Post   ...The secret Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations resumed this week, this time in D.C. TPP is a massive agreement that sets up new rules for over 40 percent of the global economy. It will have profound effects on our jobs, our standard of living now and in the future and our ability to make a living as a country. Oddly, though, as of Monday morning you have to read about it in Japan Times because few-to-no US media outlets are covering it...
USTR Protests Demand: Stop The Secrecy, Release The Texts  CounterCurrents   ...On Monday morning members of Popular Resistance held a ‘Sit-in to End the Secrecy’ on the front steps of the USTR office . As Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiators and USTR staff arrived for their first day of meetings this week, demonstrators demanded that they stop hiding the text of the trade agreement and instead make it available to the public telling them “secret negotiations are anti-democratic...
“No TTIP” Christmas card submitted by singing Santas on behalf of one million  World Development Movement   ...As the Santa Clauses sang Christmas carols re-written with lyrics referring to the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), the giant Christmas card depicting Santa carrying a sack with the #noTTIP hashtag, was presented to the BIS offices...
State Battles
Gov. Rick Scott names new chief to run Florida’s troubled prison system  Miami Herald   ...Gov. Rick Scott announced the appointment of Julie Jones to run the prison system, the nation’s third largest, effective Jan. 5...
Michigan bill would prevent local governments from negotiating wages, community benefits with developers  MLive   ...A bill that would prevent local units of government from executing community benefits agreements with developers seeking incentives narrowly made it out of the House Competitiveness Committee on Tuesday with strong opposition from some Detroiters...
Michigan: Detroit Manager Ends Work  New York Times   ...Gov. Rick Snyder on Tuesday agreed to end Detroit’s status as a city in financial emergency and to send home the emergency manager he appointed in March 2013 to oversee the city through its crisis...
Bill Would Raise SC’s Minimum Wage To $1 Over Federal  WSPA   ...A bill pre-filed in the South Carolina Senate would raise the minimum wage in the state to $1 an hour higher than the federal minimum wage, which is currently $7.25 an hour. Sen. John Scott, D-Columbia, is the sponsor of the bill...
Uber’s System For Screening Drivers Draws Scrutiny  New York Times   ...Uber has fought against legislation requiring background checks as strong as those demanded of traditional taxis. Other ride-sharing companies like Lyft and Sidecar, Uber’s chief rivals, have also pushed against the laws, but supporters of stronger background checks say Uber has been by far the most aggressive...
War on Workers
Why is Jimmy John's making low-wage workers sign non-compete agreements?  AlJazeera America   ...For two years, it forbids former employees from working for “any business which delivers more than 10 percent of its revenue” from sandwiches if that business is “within three miles” of a Jimmy John’s store...
Justice Clarence Thomas Suggests Amazon Warehouse Workers Should Unionize  Huffington Post   ...Addressing the workers' arguments, the court's opinion, delivered by conservative Justice Clarence Thomas, included this curious line: "These arguments are properly presented to the employer at the bargaining table … not to a court in an FLSA claim." It's not clear whether the irony was intended. Amazon's U.S. warehouses, of course, are entirely non-union...
You're Likely to Be a Lot Poorer Than You Were a Few Years Ago—And It's All By Design  Alternet   ...The typical American is even poorer than his or her equivalent in Greece. The median Australian is four times wealthier. The Canadians are twice as wealthy. The U.S. continues to lead the world in billionaires (571 in 2014, with China a distant second at 190). But after decades of financial deregulation and attacks on employee rights, Americans rank 26th in median wealth...
When Charter Schools Are Nonprofit in Name Only  Pro Publica   ... charter schools sometimes cede control of public dollars to private companies that have no legal obligation to act in the best interests of the schools or taxpayers. When the agreement is with a for-profit firm like National Heritage Academies, it's also a chance for such firms to turn taxpayer money into tidy profits...
Desperate Workers On A Mexican Mega-Farm: 'They Treated Us Like Slaves'  Los Angeles Times   ...At the labor camp for Bioparques de Occidente, they and other farmworkers slept sprawled head to toe on concrete floors. Their rooms crawled with scorpions and bedbugs. Meals were skimpy, hunger a constant. Camp bosses kept people in line with threats and, when that failed, with their fists...
Latino Worker Dies Following Exposure to Nitrogen in Tanker Truck  Occupational Health and Safety   ... The 23-year-old worker was found unresponsive in a tanker truck at Michael Foods Inc.'s Big Red Farms facility in Wakefield, Neb. He was conducting sampling of the tank, which contained egg products and nitrogen. OSHA has cited the company for five serious safety violations, including exposing employees to nitrogen hazards...
Miscellaneous
Report: Significant technical trials remain before drones can safely access national airspace  Network World   ...the GAO said the main issues continue to include the ability for drones to avoid other aircraft in the sky; what backup network is available and how should the system behave if it loses its communications link...
70 Percent Of Global Mobile Networks Monitored By NSA  Daily Sabah   ...The National Security Agency (NSA) has monitored about 70 percent of global mobile phone networks and 75 percent of the mobile phone networks in Turkey under the scope of an operation named AURORAGOLD according to recent reports obtained from documents supplied by whistle blower Edward Snowden...

Breaking: Congress to consider spending bill that slashes pensions, raises hours of service. Help stop it!

Last night, Congress released the text of an omnibus spending bill to fund the government for fiscal year 2015. The bill would keep the government open on the backs of hardworking Americans and retirees.

At the last minute, a pension amendment was added that threatens the retirement security of thousands of retirees. The amendment will not even get a separate vote because of procedural manipulation.

The Teamsters have always opposed pension cuts. Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa wrote to every member of Congress pointing out that the bill will 'slash the pensions of thousands of retirees who worked years for a pension that they thought would provide them financial security in their retirement years. That promise is now busted.'

Hoffa added:  "And a last minute $2 billion bailout to a $100 billion Fortune 50 company for breaking its promise to employees is outrageous and only adds to the list of special interest provisions in this bill."

Not only that, the omnibus bill endangers drivers' lives by rolling back Hours-of-Service regulations. It would let truck drivers work up to 82 hours a week.

This omnibus bill threatens pensions and increases the hours Teamsters have to work. It lets the wealthy put even more money into politics so that we will continue to see legislation that benefits the wealthy and not hardworking Americans.

1. Call your congressional representatives at 1-888-979-9806. Tell whoever answers to vote NO on the omnibus bill because it cuts pensions and makes truck drivers work longer. Or you can leave a message.

2. Send an email to your congressional representatives. Click on this link http://ibt.io/cromnibus and follow the instructions.

Both actions will only take a few minutes and they will make a big difference!

Thank you for all you do.

Worker Wins, brought to you by your local labor union

Workers everywhere are standing up, speaking out and fighting for better wages and working conditions. In the past month alone, workers scored a number of community and organizing victories.

Our brothers and sisters at the AFL-CIO are now spreading the good news with 'Worker Wins' updates. They shared some good Teamster news. For example,

Facebook Bus Drivers Organize in San Francisco: Over eighty bus drivers employed by Facebook voted to organize as part of a growing effort in Silicon Valley’s tech sector to win better wages and benefits for low wage workers.

And this:

Boston Parking Attendants Look to Expand Organizing Efforts: Parking attendants in Boston are working to organize approximately 1,600 workers in the Boston area in an attempt to improve working conditions and substandard pay. Parking workers have won contracts with five parking companies in the Boston area over the last two years, and aim to organize at least three additional companies in the area.

Here are a few other recent Teamster wins:

Teamsters Win 3rd FedEx Freight Election “Like the drivers in Philadelphia and in South Brunswick, N.J., who voted to join the Teamsters, the workers in Charlotte want to be treated fairly and they want to have consistent, fair work rules,” said Steve Bess, President of Teamsters Local 71 in Charlotte.   

Teamsters At Las Vegas Hotel Ratify First Contract  The workers ratified their five-year contract by a vote of 23 to 3 on December 8, 2014. The group includes warehouse workers, groundskeepers and valets. The Cromwell, the only boutique hotel on the Strip, was built as the Barbary Coast Hotel & Casino and was later know as Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall and Saloon.

Franklin Park Public Works Employees Ratify First Teamsters Contract  Public works employees in the Village of Franklin Park, Ill., ratified their first Teamsters contract after unanimously voting to join the Teamsters. 

First Student School Bus Workers Vote To Join Teamsters Local 653 School bus workers at the Abington, Mass., First Student yard have voted overwhelmingly, 38-8, in favor of representation by Teamsters Local 653 in South Easton, Mass. The group of 60 drivers and monitors transport children in the Rockland, Holbrook and Weymouth school districts.

Then of course these:

Walmart Workers Stage Nationwide Black Friday Protests: Walmart workers were joined by unions and community allies in staging approximately 1,600 protests against the corporation’s low wages and hostile work environments on Black Friday. This is the third year in a row that workers have staged Black Friday protests, with this year’s being the biggest yet.
Workers Fight for $15: Workers in a diverse set of sectors, from airline workers to retail employees, joined fast food workers in a nationwide strike across 190 cities. Workers spoke out for a $15 minimum wage and the right to organize for better working conditions and workplace fairness.
Boston Bike Share Workers Vote to Unionize: Employees of Hubway, a Boston-based bike share company, voted overwhelmingly to join Transport Workers Union Local 100. The workers, including mechanics, technicians, and dispatchers, are part of a national campaign to organize bike share workers.

UAW certified to represent VW workers in Tennessee An accounting firm has certified that the UAW represents more than 45% of Volkswagen workers, giving the union the ability to meet with the automaker's management on a regular basis. 

Pretty good looking list, eh?