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Today’s Teamster News For June 14, 2016
TEAMSTERS
Teamster Pilots at Kalitta Air Reach Negotiations Impasse Teamster.org …After more than five years of negotiations for a new labor agreement with Kalitta Air, LLC, the cargo airline based in Ypsilanti, Michigan, the union representing its pilots and flight engineers informed the NMB that further mediation efforts would be fruitless and counterproductive. Kalitta Air operates a fleet of Boeing 747 aircraft in support of the global network of DHL Express, a division of the German logistics company, Deutsche Post DHL and other customers…
Brookfield Zoo Members Ratify New Five-Year Contract Local 727 …Teamsters Local 727-represented Brookfield Zoo workers on June 1 overwhelmingly voted to ratify a new five-year contract that preserves union health care benefits for nearly 300 members. The ratification vote comes after a long, arduous negotiation process with Chicago Zoological Society management, which concluded April 21 following more than six months of bargaining and multiple contract extensions…
Teamsters Local 202 Turns 100 Labor Press …Teamsters Local 202, founded in 1916, celebrated its 100th anniversary Saturday, June 11th alongside Bronx elected officials and over a thousand union members.Teamsters Local 202 represents over 4,000 workers in New York, including those at Hunts Point Market, the Bronx’s largest employer. “Teamsters Local 202 has always been a beacon for the Bronx, fighting for good jobs for all borough residents,” said Teamsters Local 202 President Daniel Kane, Jr…
Teamsters Local 633 Endorse Colin Van Ostern For Governor NH Labor News …Today, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 633 endorsed Colin Van Ostern for Governor of New Hampshire. Citing Colin’s record of fighting for working families and growing New Hampshire’s economy, the Teamsters Local 633 join six other local labor unions in backing Van Ostern…
GLOBAL LABOR & TRADE
Mexican State ‘Disappears’ Leaders of Oaxaca’s Striking Teachers Union TeleSUR …Leaders of the CNTE union said the government was resorting to “fascist raids” and “kidnappings” to silence critics. The CNTE teachers union demanded the immediate return of their leaders, Francisco Manuel Villalobos Ricardez and Ruben Nuñez, whom they said were forcibly disappeared by the governments of President Enrique Peña Nieto and Oaxaca Govenor Gabino Cue…
Union seeks show of strength with Paris anti-reform rally Reuters …As public sector strikes lose steam, France’s CGT labour union is planning a show of strength at a demonstration in Paris on Tuesday to confound detractors and show the government that opposition to labour law reform remains potent. Transport strikes have largely fizzled as the Euro 2016 soccer tournament has added pressure to the hardline CGT union to end disruptions…
Singapore urges US against tweaking TPP Today Online …Any move by Congress to amend a massive Pacific trade pact would risk the deal collapsing, according to the Singapore Government. “It’s in the interests of all 12 parties that once we agree on the agreement, that we should not go back and modify any part of it because that runs the risk of unravelling the entire agreement,” Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang said…
House Democrats Want LGBT Protections in TPP Trade Deal Morning Consult …The Obama administration needs to renegotiate the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal because of the lack of protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, according to 27 House Democrats. In a June 9 letter to President Obama, led by Rep. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin, the lawmakers said LGBT people face legal and human rights abuses in two TPP member countries: Brunei and Malaysia…
U.S. vintners fracture over TTIP wine debate Politico …European winemakers have gained useful allies in the push to protect regional names, such as chianti and champagne, in trade talks with the United States: vintners from California’s most-prized wine country. But that doesn’t mean the U.S. will change its stance in the slow-going transatlantic negotiations…
Parmesan and Gouda May Shred a New US Trade Agreement With Europe Vice News …German Chancellor Angela Merkel has long been a booster of a proposed mega trade deal between the United States and European Union. But recently she poured cold water on the TTIP. The two sides can’t agree on how to identify cheeses, Politico reported recently. European diplomats want to bar American cheesemakers from using names that refer to specific European locales, like Gouda, Parmesan or Asiago…
Brexit and Fed fears weigh on world stocks; yen firms Reuters …World stock markets fell while the safe-haven yen firmed on Monday amid concerns that Britain may be on the verge of voting to leave the European Union in a referendum that is two weeks away. A vote by Britain to leave the 28-member EU, dubbed “Brexit,” could tip Europe back into recession, putting more pressure on the global economy…
STATE & LIVING WAGE BATTLES
Obama, Congress push min wage cut in bailout of US ‘colony’ Puerto Rico RT …The people of Puerto Rico face strict austerity measures, including a huge cut in the minimum wage, if President Barack Obama and Congress are able to pass their so-called PROMESA bailout package. Obama urged senators to approve the bill quickly during his weekly radio address this weekend. Even though the 3.5 million residents of the US territory can’t vote for the president or federal legislators in the general election, they could be forced to swallow PROMESA…
Supreme Court Renders Puerto Rico ‘Powerless’ in the Face of Austerity Common Dreams …Confirming for one Puerto Rican politician “that the island’s current territorial status has evolved into the worst of both worlds,” the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled that U.S. bankruptcy code bars Puerto Rico from restructuring more than $20 billion of its $72 billion debt. The 5-2 decision “struck down a Puerto Rico law that would have let its public utilities restructure their debt…
Wisconsin Budget panel OKs funds for voter ID education Journal-Sentinel …The state’s elections agency will receive $250,000 to publicize the state’s controversial photo ID law, under a unanimous vote by the Legislature’s budget committee Monday. The meeting featured plenty of sparring between Democratic opponents of the law and Republican supporters, but the public education effort was approved 15-0…
Bevin backpedals on workers’ compensation nominating panel Herald Leader …A Kentucky judge delayed a hearing Monday on Gov. Matt Bevin’s controversial reorganization of a state worker’s compensation panel after he learned that Bevin has signed two new executive orders regarding the panel. Bevin’s general counsel, Steve Pitt, told Franklin Circuit Judge Philip Shepherd at a hearing Monday morning that Bevin issued an executive order over the weekend to rescind all his previous changes to the Workers’ Compensation Nominating Commission…
Where Walmart Can Find The Money To Pay Its Workers At Least $15 An Hour Think Progress …While Walmart has since raised its base pay, it hasn’t brought hourly wages up to $15. According to a new study from the UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research, doing so would cost the company an additional $4.95 billion. It estimated that 979,000 of Walmart’s 1.5 million U.S. employees would get a raise if wages went up to that level…
Minimum Wage Workers Can’t Afford to Live Anywhere in the US (opinion) Truthout …The next time you hear someone moaning about Democrats trying to increase the minimum wage, hit him with this fact: There is nowhere in the United States that people can afford to live on minimum wage. Make no mistake: nowhere means nowhere. We’re not just talking the big cities where everyone already knows how outrageous rent is…
U.S. LABOR
NLRB can order reimbursement of bargaining expenses – D.C. Circuit Reuters …The National Labor Relations Board can order an employer to reimburse a union’s bargaining expenses to remedy an unfair labor practice, a federal appeals court ruled on Friday. A unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld the NLRB’s ruling that Camelot Terrace Inc and Galesburg Terrace Inc, two Illinois nursing homes formerly owned by the same businessman, must pay a union’s negotiating costs…
Appeals court upholds workers’ right to a union vote without delays and stalling tactics Daily Kos …A federal appeals court has upheld a National Labor Relations Board move modernizing and streamlining union representation elections. The rule, which business lobby groups like the American Builders and Contractors and the National Federation of Independent Business have tried to brand as “ambush elections,” cuts down the time employers have to fire and intimidate union supporters…
Fiscal hurdles not the only obstacles facing NJ Transit OA Online …The mood was jubilant at New Jersey Transit headquarters the night of March 11 when Gov. Chris Christie stopped by to announce a tentative labor agreement with rail workers, averting a potential strike that would have caused historic gridlock for New York-bound commuters. Three months later, much has changed, and not necessarily for the better. Two of the rail unions have yet to ratify the contract, starting the clock ticking toward another potential showdown…
Dining Workers’ Negotiation Kicks Off Harvard Crimson …Harvard and its dining services workers traded contract proposals at the first few bargaining sessions of this year’s round of negotiations in early June. According to a press release, UNITE HERE Local 26—the union that represents Harvard University Dining Services workers—proposed a “number of things to make Harvard a more welcoming place to work” at a bargaining session on June 3…
Some Adjunct Professors Earn Just $20,000 a Year The Nation …Northwestern is now poised to join more than 50 campuses that have pushed for unionization since 2013 under Faculty Forward’s umbrella. The campaign is supported by SEIU as part of the same grassroots network as the Fight for 15 movement for low-wage workers in various sectors…
With a stroke of a pen, the next president could give a huge boost to union organizing Vox …The first platform committee meeting for the 2016 Democratic National Convention took place on Wednesday. One proposal that fits the stated agendas of both candidates is the call for a “model employer” executive order — a move the next president (or, indeed, the current one) could take to promote the kind of higher-wage, union-friendly economy that both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders say they want…
Strengthening the State of Women (opinion) Medium …In 2016, women are rising to the top in every field and industry, and breaking down boundaries that held former generations back. There is no denying progress has been made, but being a working woman still comes with enormous challenges. Our paychecks remain unequal and many of us lack a single day of paid leave…
Seattle must address the painful realities of on-demand economy (opinion) Seattle Times …As the undisputed leader of the on-demand economy, Uber argues that its innovative business model has made “traditional” workplace laws unnecessary. By classifying its drivers as independent contractors, Uber avoids paying millions of dollars in taxes and prevents its workers from accessing employment protections…
SOCIAL JUSTICE & OTHER NEWS
Orlando: Thousands Line Up to Donate Blood – But Gay Men Can’t Common Dreams …Thousands of Florida residents formed long lines around blood centers in Orlando, Florida after an urgent call for donations in the wake of the worst mass shooting in US history. Yet many are expressing anger over the federal government’s continuing ban on blood donations from gay and bisexual men….
The Extraordinarily Common Violence Against LGBT People in America The Atlantic …In a 2011 analysis of FBI hate-crime statistics, the Southern Poverty Law Center found that “LGBT people are more than twice as likely to be the target of a violent hate-crime than Jews or black people,” said Mark Potok, a senior fellow at the center. LGBT individuals face a higher risk than other groups of being the victim of an attack…
Trump Claimed Orlando Shooting Suspect Was Foreign-Born. Actually They Were Born In The Same City. Think Progress …During a counterterrorism speech on Monday, Donald Trump claimed that Orlando shooting suspect Omar Mateen was born in someplace called “Afghan.” He then transitioned to discussing how his proposed ban on Muslim immigration would help prevent similar attacks from occurring in the future. But Mateen wasn’t actually foreign-born. In fact, he was born in the same borough of New York City that Trump was…
Trump’s Fearmongering, Hate-Filled Speech on Orlando Is the Scariest Thing He’s Done Yet (opinion) Slate …Trump’s response to the Orlando attack is a frightening window into how he might govern if elected. And his speech on Monday afternoon was the most terrifying of the campaign. The fact that it was more of the same—demagoguery, fearmongering, outright lies—shouldn’t blind us to its disgusting content…
Goldman Sachs hired prostitutes to win Libyan business, court told The Guardian …Goldman Sachs bankers paid for prostitutes, private jets and five-star hotels and held business meetings on yachts to win business from a Libyan investment fund set up under Gaddafi regime, the high court in London was told yesterday. The allegations came at the start of a legal claim by the Libyan Investment Authority for $1.2bn (£846m) from the investment bank…
Is It a Crime to Be Poor? (opinion) New York Times …In the 1830s, the civilized world began to close debtors’ prisons, recognizing them as barbaric and also silly: The one way to ensure that citizens cannot repay debts is to lock them up. In the 21st century, the United States has reinstated a broad system of debtors’ prisons, in effect making it a crime to be poor. If you don’t believe me, come with me to the county jail in Tulsa…