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Today’s Teamster News For July 15, 2016
TEAMSTERS
Teamsters union, Catholic Charities Maine readies for annual food drive Bangor Daily News …Every year for the past six years in the week leading up to the Maine Potato Blossom Festival, Traci Place has had one figure on her mind — 480,000. That is the total pounds of food the business agent for the South Portland-based Teamsters Local 340 said on Wednesday that it takes annually to feed the hungry throughout Aroostook County. Each year, in order to satisfy that need, the Teamsters union participates in a statewide Feed The County Food Drive…
Drivers win $5-million settlement in latest victory against trucking companies LA Times …A group of trucking companies in Southern California will pay $5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit brought by drivers who alleged that they were improperly treated as independent contractors, according to a court filing Thursday. “It doesn’t change anything,” said Barb Maynard, a spokeswoman for the Teamsters Union that has been advocating for port truck drivers. “The clock starts again the minute the settlement is over. The misclassification is continuing”…
Teamsters picketing delivery at Francos Wine Merchants NC Advertiser …Four members of Teamsters Local 443 were stationed outside of Francos Wine Merchants for a short time this morning. The group’s appearance was brief, because, as one of the protesters said, they could only stay while Budweiser was making its delivery to the store. According to the Teamsters website, drivers and warehouse workers for Connecticut’s largest Anheuser-Busch distributor, Dichello Distributors, went on strike for what they call the company’s lack of fair contract offer…
Teamsters Pay Scale Approved Lincoln County Record …After several months of discussions and negotiations, a Memorandum of Understanding has been reached with the three units of Teamsters Local 14 in Lincoln County for a new shifting pay scale. Previously tied to the State of Nevada’s pay policies, 1, 2 and 3, with adjustments for translation, the resulting changes in the Memorandum will simplify Public Employees Retirement System calculations for employees on both employer paid and split-pay plans and will not reduce any employees pay…
Strike Action at Résidences Soleil’s Manoir Sainte-Julie: Teamsters are committed to ensuring residents’ well-being by maintaining all services CNW …Workers are set to go on strike tomorrow morning at Manoir Sainte-Julie, one of the seniors’ residences in the Résidences Soleil network owned by billionaire, Eddy Savoie. “Our main concern is the well-being of our seniors,” explained the President of Teamsters Local Union 106, Jean Chartrand. “Over the past few weeks, many of them have come to us to show their support and express their solidarity with our cause”…
GLOBAL LABOR & TRADE
South Korean Shipyard Workers Prepare to Strike Maritime Executive …On Wednesday, a coalition of South Korean shipbuilding unions held a news conference in Seoul to announce that their members will strike in protest of government and industry efforts to reshape the nation’s yards. “Until now we have demanded that [shipbuilders] should stop restructuring that passes the blame to the laborers,” the coalition said…
Strike: UK North Sea services workers walk Petro Global News …UK North Sea services workers voted in favor of a strike action on Wednesday, a week after talks with Wood Group fell apart over pay cuts. Unite the union said its members “overwhelmingly” supported an industrial action as part of the dispute between the workers and Wood Group. The union said that 99.1 percent of those who voted supported the strike action…
Wall Street groups throw support behind Pacific trade deal The Hill …Wall Street groups are putting their weight behind a push to pass a Pacific Rim trade deal this year after reaching an agreement with the Obama administration over a provision that guarantees electronic data can move freely across borders. The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) and the Financial Services Roundtable (FSR) said Wednesday that they will support the Trans-Pacific Partnership…
Are Obama and Clinton Counting on Republican Majorities to Pass TPP? Counterpunch …Support for the TPP has always been majority Republican, despite considerable Democratic support in the Senate and Obama’s own unflagging dedication. If lame duck Republican majorities pass the TPP, Obama can claim his vicious, anti-worker trade legacy, and Hillary can take office without taking the heat…
How Trump and Clinton teamed up to sink trade Politico …There’s one thing that Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have done together this campaign: Cripple trade deals. In a striking divergence from typical Capitol Hill fingerpointing, Democrats and Republicans alike are declining to blame each other for the dimming prospects of passing the sweeping free trade deal with 11 Pacific Rim countries…
U.S. trade rep insists TPP is not dead yet McClatchy …U.S. Trade Ambassador Michael Froman said Thursday that though Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump have been outspoken in their opposition to the expansive trade agreement, he and his colleagues recently enjoyed positive receptions from U.S. lawmakers; a sign, he said, that the deal may soon move forward…
Trade: Mike Pence’s Views Are The Polar Opposite Of Trump’s On Trump’s Key Issue Think Progress ...Trump has made changes to the country’s trade policies one of the most consistent themes of his candidacy. Pence [Trump’s rumored VP pick], on the other hand, has consistently supported freer trade. Pence voted in favor of the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), an extension of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)…
EU-US Trade May Double in Case of TTIP Implementation Sputnik News …The adoption of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), which is currently being negotiated between the European Union and the United States, may double EU-US bilateral trade, the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB) said Thursday. According to the report, Dutch exports to the United States are expected to increase by 95 percent due to the reductions in tariffs and non-tariff barriers to trade…
STATE & LIVING WAGE BATTLES
Ohio: Becker introduces Right to Work legislation Clermont Sun …Representative John Becker (R-Union Township) introduced House Bill 583 on June 30, which provides public sector workers the choice to opt out of union representation and dues, legislation that is commonly referred to as “Right to Work.” In turn, House Bill 583 also allows non-union employees to voluntarily make financial contributions to a union, providing the workers’ unions with an added revenue source…
Connecticut Candidates Tackle Tolls, Minimum Wage New Haven Independent …One candidate wants tolls to return to Connecticut highways. The other’s open to the idea, but wants to look closer at the financial impact first. Both candidates agree when it comes to boosting the minimum wage—and making sure it keeps rising. The two candidates are James Pascarella and Joshua Elliott of Hamden…
N.Carolina: McCrory signs state budget WRAL …Gov. Pat McCrory signed the $22.3 billion state budget on Thursday at a Union County elementary school. The budget raises teacher salaries by an average of 4.7 percent. Other state workers would get a 1.5 percent pay increase under the plan, plus a 0.5 percent bonus, while state retirees would get a one-time 1.6 percent increase to their pensions…
Sharpton: Democrats Aren’t Raising Voter ID Laws “Loudly Enough” As An Issue BuzzFeed …Sharpton said he questions the accuracy of polling that has Hillary Clinton up comfortably over Donald Trump, because — he argued — new voter ID laws could prevent those voters from actually voting. “I think what a lot of people are not dealing with in all of these polls is that 17 new states have new voter ID laws,” Sharpton said…
‘Fight for 15’ Familiar for New York Lawmakers TWC News …Later this month, Democrats at their national convention in Philadelphia will officially back the inclusion of a federal $15 minimum wage — the culmination of what was once on the political fringe being thrust into the mainstream. New York lawmakers this year backed a gradual hike in the minimum wage to $15 for New York City and the surrounding suburbs…
U.S. LABOR
SEIU members protest lack of bargaining Statesman Journal …Marion County employees picketed in downtown Salem early Tuesday night to draw attention to a lack of bargaining on the part of the county. Picket organizers say that the SEIU, which has a temporary contract in place through the end of July, is urging residents to contact their county commissioners and remind them that the county needs to return to the bargaining table…
Philly airport workers vote to strike during DNC CNN …When Democrats arrive in Philadelphia later this month for their party’s convention, they might be met by a picket line. Workers at the Philadelphia International Airport voted Tuesday to go on strike during the Democratic National Convention, which is scheduled to be held July 25-28. As many as 1,000 workers — including baggage handlers and airplane cleaners — could walk off the job…
Nurses’ union threatens strike at Presque Isle hospital Bangor Daily News …Unionized nurses at The Aroostook Medical Center have delivered a 10-day advanced notice of their plan to walk out on strike for two days in protest of staffing concerns they’ve raised in contract negotiations. The Maine State Nurses Association, representing about 200 nurses at TAMC, notified the hospital on Tuesday of their intent to strike on July 22 and 23…
UFCW Chapter Holds Rally Outside Ralphs Independent …Kicking off a month of activism throughout southern California, the labor union UFCW Local 770, staged a rally on Wednesday in front of Ralphs on West Carrillo Street. Dozens of grocery store employees from Ralphs, Vons, and Albertsons hoisted picket signs above their heads and gathered in the courtyard in front of the downtown supermarket. “What we want is a contract that helps makes ends meet,” said Rigo Valdez, spokesperson for UCFW Local 770…
Calif. Truckers’ $13M Wage Deal Gets Court’s Initial OK Law 360 …A California federal judge preliminarily approved a $13.5 million settlement Tuesday of allegations that trucking company Exel Direct Inc. denied its delivery drivers rest breaks and failed to properly pay them flat, overtime and minimum wages, saying the deal is reasonable. The three truck drivers had asked the court in June to approve the deal, which they said was reached “on the eve of trial” after four years of “hard-fought litigation” and will provide substantial payouts to 386 drivers…
Why the Fight for a Union by Sex Shop Workers Is Unique Alternet …When Wheeler and her coworkers at the chain’s three New York City locations voted 21-4 to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) in May, it made headlines as the first time adult toy store workers have elected to unionize. But for Wheeler and her colleagues, who began contract negotiations with Babeland on Wednesday, belonging to a union is about increased safety at a job where customers routinely make unwanted sexual advances—or worse…
1 Obscene Statistic Helps Explain Why Income Inequality Is So Bad Huffington Post …Chief executives certainly have demanding jobs ― requiring long hours, boorish appearances on CNBC and earnest declarations of their social commitment ― but are these positions 276 times as hard as yours? In 2015, the average chief executive at the largest corporations in the U.S. earned 276 times what a typical worker made ― about $15 million, a new paper from the Economic Policy Institute reports…
SOCIAL JUSTICE & OTHER NEWS
Deadly truck attack in Nice USA Today …A truck plowed into a crowd celebrating Bastille Day in Nice, France, on Thursday, killing at least 84 people, including two Americans, and injuring 202 others, French officials said. The attack marks the third time France has endured gruesome carnage on its own soil in the past year and a half. People were observing Bastille Day: the anniversary of a mob storming a looming fortress that held political prisoners two days after the French Revolution in Paris started in 1789…
Elizabeth Warren takes on Airbnb, urging scrutiny of large-scale renters The Guardian …Senator Elizabeth Warren has urged the federal government to investigate Airbnb and other short-term rental companies in a move that experts say marks an unprecedented step in US lawmakers’ formal scrutiny of the “sharing economy”. She also raises concerns about racial discrimination through Airbnb, lends weight to some of the central criticisms of the controversial home-sharing tech company, which has faced an intensifying backlash in recent years….
On Advice From Trump, Mexicans And Latinos Will Bring A 15,000-Foot ‘Beautiful’ Wall To Cleveland Think Progress …Donald Trump’s immigration policy dream of erecting a massive wall along the border with a “beautiful” door — all paid for by Mexicans — may soon come true as he accepts his party’s nomination at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio. This week, immigrant activists began a crowd-funded campaign to build and pay for materials to create a 15,000-foot banner wall that they will construct around the perimeter of the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland next week…
Vice President Mike Pence Would Be a Dream for the Koch Brothers The Nation … Trump’s selection of Indiana governor Mike Pence is exceptionally strange. For years, Pence has been a loyal political ally of the biggest GOP donors out there: the Koch Brothers. Pence has employed many top Koch staffers in his political offices, and vice-versa, while a steady flow of Koch money has filled Pence’s campaign accounts. Indiana, which Pence has governed since 2013, has become a testing ground for many of the network’s conservative policy ideas…
Ex-Seattle Police Chief Condemns Systemic Police Racism Dating Back to Slave Patrols Democracy Now … “American policing is in crisis. … Alton Sterling and Philando Castile are two of the most recent casualties in what has become a deadly epidemic.” It may surprise you to learn who wrote those words—not a Black Lives Matter activist, but a former big city police chief. Norm Stamper is the former police chief of Seattle, Washington…