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Today’s Teamster News For February 9, 2016
TEAMSTERS
Safety of Patients May Be Compromised at Humber River Hospital Teamsters Canada …Since the hospital’s opening last October, some 900 workers represented by Teamsters Canada Local Union 419 have noticed and documented dozens of hygiene issues such as the failure to use proper disinfectants in rooms and public spaces. “Mismanagement is a threat to the health and safety of patients and workers,” worries Tim Oribine, union representative at Teamsters Canada Local Union 419…
Local 727 Reps, Pepsi Members Gear Up for Negotiations Local 727 …Teamsters Local 727 representatives are hard at work preparing for upcoming contract negotiations with PepsiCo management. The current contracts covering more than 600 members at Pepsi facilities in Chicago and Kankakee expire April 28, 2016. “First and foremost, this local union will be completely transparent throughout the negotiation process,” said John T. Coli, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 727…
GLOBAL LABOR & TRADE
Pakistan: Paramilitaries kill three striking workers Green Left …Protests erupted throughout Pakistan after the shooting dead on the picket line of three striking workers at Karachi Airport on February 2. The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) employees were part of a nationwide strike against the privatisation of the state-owned airline. One of those killed, Inayat Raza, was a veteran trade unionist…
Israeli Local Authority Workers Set to Go on Strike Tuesday at Midnight Haaretz …Israel’s local authorities are set to launch an open-ended strike starting at midnight tonight. The Histadrut labor federation decided two days ago to launch the strike after the Union of Local Authorities decided not to pay workers a one-time grant that had been called for in the Histadrut’s December agreement with the Finance Ministry…
Greek farmers block highway as anti-austerity protests intensify CTV …Farmers in northern Greece blocked traffic on the country’s main highway Tuesday, intensifying nationwide protests against austerity measures demanded by bailout lenders. Protest organizers said a tractor blockade on the highway linking Athens to Greece’s second largest city, Thessaloniki, would be in effect indefinitely unless the government withdrew proposals for tax hikes and an overhaul of the pension system…
Agreement on TTIP Unlikely to Be Reached During Obama Presidency Sputnik News …A planned free-trade agreement between the European Union and the United States probably will not be reached during the presidency of Barack Obama, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said during a press conference on Monday. Earnest gave no timeline as to when the agreement may be finalized but added that he hopes the agreement will be made “under the leadership of the next US president”…
Obama trade deal taking a hit in presidential race The Hill …Lawmakers say harsh criticism leveled against President Obama’s Pacific Rim trade agreement from presidential candidates in both parties is further complicating its passage. The stinging rhetoric against the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) comes on top of other challenges and could stifle what is already expected to be a difficult process…
How TPP Could Make Our Economy Worse AFLCIO …The Trans-Pacific Partnership is a so-called “trade deal” that could cost 448,000 U.S. jobs, suppress U.S. wages, and irreparably weaken our democracy and sovereignty. Yet U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman is trying to get your member of Congress to vote for it. To win the vote, he is uniting with “Republican-friendly organizations” to win votes from the Republican side of the aisle…
India Rejects Facebook Plan to Exploit World’s Poorest with Private Internet Common Dreams …India’s top telecom regulator on Monday struck a decisive blow against Facebook’s “discriminatory” and controlling internet scheme known as Free Basics. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India ruled against two-tiered pricing for different data platforms or content, effectively banning Free Basics, which only allows users free access to a small number of curated websites, including Facebook…
STATE & LIVING WAGE BATTLES
Snyder cuts focused on unionized workers Lansing State Journal …Gov. Rick Snyder cut fewer civil service positions in his first five years than his predecessor cut in her last five years, but the current administration has focused its cuts on unionized workers. More than a 10th of the state government workforce — a major employer in Greater Lansing — has been shaved over the last decade…
Michigan Voters May Get A Chance To Recall Rick Snyder Think Progress …Michigan officials have approved the circulation of a petition seeking to recall Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) — but not over the Flint water crisis that has been dominating the headlines in recent weeks. Instead, the petition focuses on his decision to take control of schools. At issue in the petition is Snyder’s executive order to bring the Office to Reform Schools under the control of the state’s Department of Technology, Management and Budget…
Bill would eliminate Missouri’s prevailing wage law St. Louis Public Radio …Legislation being considered by a Missouri House committee would dump the state’s prevailing wage for public works projects. This base wage is set annually for a variety of jobs. It is calculated using what workers are actually earning. House Bill 1931’s sponsor, Rep. Warren Love, R-Osceola, says it would allow contractors to start negotiations for salaries at minimum wage instead…
New Hampshire Braces For Impact Of New Voter ID Law Think Progress …New Hampshire will require voters to bring a photo ID to the ballot box for the first time in its history. Those who don’t have an ID can ask the poll workers to vouch for them, but if they don’t personally know the voter, he or she will have to sign a “challenged voter” affidavit and allow poll workers to take a Polaroid picture of them…
Senate to vote on minimum wage Statesman Journal …The Oregon Senate will vote this week on a plan that would increase the minimum wage. The vote will likely take place Thursday, and if the bill passes it will go to the House for a vote. The issue has been met with controversy as labor and business interests compete on opposing sides. Labor, business and lawmakers are also gearing up for a potential minimum wage fight at the ballot box if the Legislature does not act…
Right-To-Work amendment will go to Virginia voters Daily Progress …The only obstacle remaining in the path of a Virginia right-to-work constitutional amendment is the November ballot and an affirmative vote by Virginia citizens. The House of Delegates’ approval of a resolution on Tuesday and right-to-work referendum bill on Wednesday cleared the way for the November citizen vote on the amendment…
State seeks emergency stay of redistricting ruling Progressive Pulse …State officials have asked the three-judge panel that late last week tossed Congressional Districts 1 and 12 as racial gerrymanders to stay their order requiring a new congressional redistricting plan by February 19, arguing that disrupting the primary elections already underway will lead to “significant voter confusion and irreparable harm to the citizens of North Carolina”…
“They just don’t have any other option”: Why crappy wages are ruining the American dream — and costing taxpayers Salon.com …On the question of whether paying workers at your favorite fast food joint a living wage will render the chunks of corn syrup and sodium they sell unaffordable, the answer is no. There probably won’t be any affect on price whatsoever, of course. But we’re talking cents here; often less than a quarter’s difference. It is extremely likely, in other words, that you can afford it…
U.S. LABOR
Uber NYC: Angered By Fare Cuts, Drivers At LaGuardia Airport Say They Want A Union IBTimes …Some 600 Uber drivers at New York City’s LaGuardia Airport could make history by becoming the first workers at the ride-hailing giant to form a federally recognized labor union. Earlier this week, Local 1430 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers filed for an election on their behalf…
Kroger workers authorize strike in battle over healthcare costs KSLA …housands of Kroger employees across Louisiana and East Texas are gearing up to fight for their health benefits, including members of the local UFCW union in Shreveport. On Monday night, United Food & Commercial Workers Union Local 455 employees from Kroger stores voted to authorize a strike…
GM, UAW donating $3M to help Flint kids The Detroit News …General Motors Co. and the United Auto Workers will donate $3 million to the United Way of Genesee County to help support health and education needs for the children of Flint who have been impacted by lead-contaminated water. The announce comes less than a week after UAW President Dennis Williams condemned public officials for the Flint water fiasco…
Keck workers present letter for strike Daily Trojan …A delegation of Keck healthcare workers, National Union of Healthcare Workers representatives and USC students presented a letter addressed to the University President C. L. Max Nikias on Feb. 8, informing him that 900 members of the NUHW will conduct a strike at Keck School of Medicine of USC, in addition to requesting his help in bringing the protracted contract negotiations between Keck and the NUHW workers to a close…
USW: ArcelorMittal can cut costs without concessions NWITimes …The United Steelworkers union says it can save ArcelorMittal money after a disastrous loss of $7.9 billion in 2015, including $6.7 billion in the fourth quarter alone. And the USW said it can do it without concessions that would, for instance, force workers to pay more out of pocket for their health care…
WFP to join city-based waste management reform group Capital New York …The Working Families Party will announce later today that it is joining a city coalition of labor an environmental advocates pushing for reforms to the city’s private waste industry. The Transform Don’t Trash NYC group was formed to push for regulatory changes governing the hundreds of private carters and waste transfer stations that are responsible for all of the city’s commercial garbage pickup and disposal…
Searching for the Origins of the Racial Wage Disparity In Jim Crow America The Atlantic …In a new paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research, the economists Celeste K. Carruthers and Marianne H. Wanamaker shed more light on today’s racial wage gap by turning to history: In their research, they look into the forces that determined the wages of Southern men during the 1940s, when segregation was legal and black workers weren’t protected by any anti-discrimination laws…
SOCIAL JUSTICE & OTHER NEWS
Why Are Black Girls and Women Dying in Police Custody? Truthout …In 2013, the rate of African-American youth detained in juvenile detention, correctional and/or residential facilities was 495 per 100,000, the highest of any racial or ethnic group, according to National Kids Count data. For African-American girls specifically, the rate was 78 per 100,000, according to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention…
“This Man Will Almost Certainly Die”: The Secret Deaths of Dozens at Privatized Immigrant-Only Jails Democracy Now …A shocking new investigation about private prisons has revealed dozens of men have died in disturbing circumstances inside these facilities in recent years. The investigation published in The Nation magazine documents more than 100 deaths at private, immigrant-only prisons since 1998. The investigation’s author, Seth Freed Wessler, spent more than two years fighting in and out of court to obtain more than 9,000 pages of medical records that private prison contractors had submitted to the Bureau of Prisons…
Democracy ‘Waking Up’ with National Movement to Reform Campaign Finance Common Dreams …Since 2010—the year the Supreme Court codified corporate personhood and opened the doors to unlimited election spending with Citizens United v. FEC—at least 23 states have enacted disclosure laws to counteract the court’s ruling, while a slew of cities and localities have launched efforts to prioritize small donor participation, Our Voices, Our Democracy found…