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Today’s Teamster News For April 28, 2016
TEAMSTERS
US Foods Provokes Md. Teamsters to Launch Unfair Labor Practices Strike Teamster.org …Nearly 200 Maryland Teamsters working for US Foods began an unfair labor practice strike today at the company’s Severn, Md. distribution center. Warehouse workers and drivers filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging that US Foods has been bargaining in bad faith about its decision to close the Severn facility in June…
Teamsters strike at US Foods facility in Severn Baltimore Sun …Workers at a US Foods distribution center in Anne Arundel County went on strike Wednesday, three weeks after the company confirmed plans to close the facility. The Teamsters union, which represents about 190 people at the Severn plant through two locals, said in a statement that members walked off the job at 2 p.m…
Hoffa: Workplace Safety is Still Elusive Goal for Many on the Job Huffington Post …Today is Workers’ Memorial Day, a time to remember and honor our fallen brothers and sisters in the labor movement all across the globe. But while technological advancements should be making the workplace safer, deaths and injuries on the job are still a major concern…
Top transport unions condemn National Express over labour violations ITF Global …The executive board of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) has fully endorsed the invoking of the ITF charter on responding to corporate violations of workers’ rights against National Express by its North American member union the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (the Teamsters)…
Treasury issues final regulations affecting Central States Pension Fund proposal Kansas City Star …The U.S. Treasury got around Wednesday to issuing the final regulations that the Central States Pension Fund and others must follow under a controversial 2014 law that allows struggling funds to cut current benefits. A ruling on Central States’ proposal, from Treasury-appointed special master Kenneth Feinberg, is expected next week. Many local retired Teamster groups have held rallies to protest the proposed cuts…
JCPS employees, parents slam district over recommended salary freeze WDRB …One day after a comprehensive salary review was released by Jefferson County Public Schools, dozens of parents, teachers and other employees are slamming the district over a recommendation to freeze the salaries of some workers. “Morale is already bad and we already have a high turnover,” said John Stovall, president of Teamsters Local 783…
Local 727 Urges Osco to Work With Union, Company Still Ignoring Pharmacists’ Concerns Local 727 …The Teamsters Local 727 Bargaining Committee opened contract negotiations April 27 by urging Osco management to work with the union to reach a fair agreement. “We need to change the dynamic of our ongoing partnership,” said John T. Coli, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 727…
GLOBAL LABOR & TRADE
‘Let the Rich Pay More Taxes’: Thousands Take to Streets in Costa Rica Common Dreams …Public sector workers in Costa Rica were on strike Tuesday and Wednesday, demanding salary increases, higher taxes on the wealthy, and land rights for peasants. Thousands of teachers, medical workers, and their allies reportedly marched to the national congress building on Tuesday, demonstrating to President Luis Guillermo Solís “that the people are not happy with his administration,” said Gilberto Cascante, the president of the ANDE teachers union…
Barack Obama Readies For Final TPP Push, Which Could Benefit Presidential Library Donors IBTimes …President Barack Obama last week renewed his push for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, suggesting that it will be easier to pass the deal after the elections are over. The idea is that lawmakers will then be more insulated from political influence. Yet Obama has his own potential incentives to push for the TPP: His presidential foundation has been relying on support from industries that could profit from the agreement…
160 Farm and Food Groups Ask Congress to Reject TPP KTIC …The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) has become a divisive issue in the nation’s capital, and criticism intensified after 161 food, farm, faith and rural organizations sent a letter to Capitol Hill today, urging lawmakers to reject the trade pact…
Warning: TPP Rearing Its Ugly Head OurFuture.org …The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) went dormant in Congress after election season began. It became clear that the public despises our country’s corporate-dominated “trade deals” that let companies just lay people off and close factories here to take advantage of conditions in countries that allow people and the environment to be exploited. But now people who follow these things are hearing more and more talk behind the scenes that indicate corporate America is going to try to push TPP through after the elections…
Thai farmers vow protests if TPP gets nod Bangkok Post …Farmers nationwide have threatened to organise protests against the government if it decides Thailand should take part in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement. National Farmers Council (NFC). National Farmers Council (NFC) chairman, Prapat Panyachatrak, said Wednesday he was worried the farming sector will bear the brunt of the impact if the government decides to join…
TTIP deal ‘will not succeed’ if French standards aren’t maintained, Paris warns Washington RT …The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the US and EU will fail unless it can guarantee France’s quality of life, Prime Minister Manuel Valls has warned, while the French trade minister has said chances of an agreement are fading…
Eleven dead in Rio Olympics construction over three years: official Yahoo News …A total of 11 people have been killed over the last three years on construction projects for the Rio Olympics, an official told AFP on Monday. “It’s a frightening number,” said Robson Leite, inspector for the labor office in the state of Rio de Janeiro. He compared the toll in a single city to the eight killed during construction of sites for the football World Cup hosted around Brazil in 2014…
STATE & LIVING WAGE BATTLES
Bill seeks to open California health exchange to immigrants Associated Press …California’s Legislature is considering asking the federal government for permission to sell health insurance through the Covered California exchange to people who can’t prove they’re legally in the country. The measure, approved Tuesday by Democrats in the Assembly Health Committee, would extend California’s recent efforts to integrate people living in the country without authorization…
Employment distress affects 2.9 million Californians SacBee …Officially, 1.1 million Californians are unemployed, half as many as the state had during the depths of the Great Recession. However, a new analysis of employment data by the Legislature’s budget adviser suggests that when the underemployed and labor force dropouts are added to the official number, job distress affects nearly three times as many Californians…
Proposal to raise SC’s minimum wage killed The State …A South Carolina Senate subcommittee on Wednesday killed a bill that would have raised the minimum wage in the Palmetto State to $15 an hour by 2020. Filed by state Sen. Marlon Kimpson, D-Charleston, the bill would have raised the minimum wage from the federally mandated $7.25 a hour by increments until it reached $15…
CEO pays more than double the $7.25 wage and couldn’t be happier CNBC …Work two hours at the $7.25 federal minimum wage, and you still wouldn’t make the lowest hourly wage at Earth Friendly Products. It’s been two years since the California-based company decided to hike its lowest rate to $17 on Earth Day — a move it says has cut voluntary turnover by nearly 50 percent. Right away, it saw productivity and morale increase — improvements that offset the higher wage…
Labor Voices: Americans still dream for a livable wage (opinion) Detroit News …Strong communities are based upon a workforce that earns livable wages and benefits. Well-paying jobs are the basic building blocks for creating well-established homes, communities and securing our country’s economic future. Detroit’s economy was at its best when full-time, good-paying jobs were plentiful…
Setback on voter ID, but the fight goes on (editorial) News & Observer …Federal Judge Thomas Schroeder of North Carolina’s Middle District upheld the law last week. He assumed that the GOP’s upending of voting laws was merely a bit of legislative housekeeping, not a deliberate effort to dampen turnout. The U.S. Supreme Court is likely to make the final decision on the constitutionality of the law…
Tuesday’s Baltimore Primary Results Mean a $15 Minimum Wage Is Likely Coming Soon In These Times …Fight for 15 supporters are mobilizing behind a bill introduced earlier this month by City Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke (D). Clarke’s bill would raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2020, and also eliminate the subminimum “tipped wage”…
U.S. LABOR
Verizon Strike Update: Replacement Workers Unsafe, Unions Allege Hoboken Patch …“Safety violations run rampant,” according to union leaders with Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. As a massive worker strike involving almost 40,000 Verizon employees enters its third week, union leaders are alleging that replacement workers are “endangering themselves and the public” due to a lack of proper safety practices…
USW-ArcelorMittal strike a deal Mesabi Daily News …United Steelworkers and ArcelorMittal announced a tentative three-year contract agreement Wednesday after several months of negotiations, dating back almost a year. No details were released on the tentative deal, except that it is set to expire on Sept. 1, 2018. “The proposed new agreement preserves our economic security and other contractual protections,” the union said in a release…
House takes on persuader rule Politico …A House Education and the Workforce subcommittee will hold a hearing this morning on the Labor Department’s so-called persuader rule. The regulation, which took effect on Monday, requires employers to provide additional disclosures for union-busting activities…
The Growing Crisis Of Workplace Violence Facing The Country’s Nurses Think Progress …According to a report released Wednesday by the AFL-CIO, there were officially about 3.8 million work-related injuries and illnesses reported in 2014, although because underreporting is so widespread, the real number is likely somewhere between 7.6 and 11.4 million. That’s more than 10,000 people hurt or sickened at work every day…
In the Time It Takes to Read This Article, a Person Will Die at Work in the US The Nation …By the time you’re done reading this article, roughly one person will likely have died from dangerous working conditions somewhere in America. It could happen in virtually any job, but it’s especially likely to happen to a Latino worker. There’s also good chance they’ll be killed in a rigging mishap while extracting the natural gas powering your laptop, or perhaps they’ll be an immigrant woman killed in a farming accident while harvesting your groceries…
Indiana Carrier plant workers take their case directly to UTC shareholders People’s World …On February 10th, United Technologies (UTC) announced its “business decision” to shutter the Carrier plant in Indianapolis and move production to Monterrey, Mexico. The move would eliminate at least 1,400 jobs in Indianapolis. On Monday, members of the United Steelworkers Local 1999 who work at the facility scheduled for closure traveled to the UTC shareholder meeting in Florida…
If You’re the Only Woman or Person of Color Being Considered for a Job, You Won’t Be Hired Slate …A series of studies described in a recent Harvard Business Review article indicate that having a single woman or a single person of color in the finalist pool for a job is effectively equivalent to having zero women or people of color. “If there’s only one woman in your candidate pool, there’s statistically no chance she’ll be hired,” write business professors Stefanie K. Johnson and David R. Hekman and Ph.D. candidate Elsa T. Chan…
SOCIAL JUSTICE & OTHER NEWS
One Weird Trick to Reduce Crime Across America: Pay People More Instead of Jailing Them Gawker …A report released yesterday by the White House Council of Economic Advisers offers up an unconventional idea for reducing crime in America: Raise the national minimum wage to $12. According to the CEC’s analysis, based on stats from the FBI, the Bureau of Justice Statistics and others, raising the minimum wage to $12 by 2020 would lead to a three to five-percent reduction in the crime rate…
Obama administration urges states to curb use of solitary confinement The Guardian …The Obama administration is pressing individual states to join its mission to cut back on the use of solitary confinement in US prisons, in the hope of reining in a practice that is still widespread despite having been denounced as potentially amounting to torture…