News
Today’s Teamster News For July 28, 2016
TEAMSTERS
Five Ways To Champion A Safe Workplace Teamsters Local 987…Every job is different and so is every workplace. Some jobs are more hazardous than others, but regardless of what you do for work, there’s a lot you can do at work to ensure safety is always top of mind…
Teamsters At Darigold Ratify Five-year Contract Teamsters Local 117…After months at the bargaining table, Teamsters at Darigold voted to ratify a new five-year contract. The 220 Teamsters at Darigold’s Seattle and Issaquah facilities have been working without a contract since May 31. The vote, which took place at the Teamsters Union Hall in Tukwila on July 23, was 139 in favor of ratification to 7 opposed. The proposal was fully-recommended by the bargaining committee…
In Springfield Wednesday, Kander Says Blunt Not The Same Person Elected Greene County Clerk Springfield News-Leader…Speaking to about 70 people in Springfield’s Teamsters hall, Kander said Wednesday that Blunt never misses an opportunity to put the needs of lobbyists above the needs of Missourians. Kander partly faulted Blunt, who’s a member of Republican leadership in the Senate, for the Senate taking a seven-week break at the “worst possible time”…
Newville Council Reinstates Officer Wyatt Wagner Shippensburg News-Chronicle…After laying off full-time police officer Wyatt Wagner last week, Newville council members apologized and unanimously reinstated him Tuesday night. At least 100 people attended the Newville Borough Council meeting at the Friendship Hose Co. station Tuesday night, including many Teamsters Union members and several police officers. Teamsters Local 776 represents the Newville Borough police officers…
School Bus Drivers Begin Union Talks Gulf Breeze News…Teamsters union representatives finally sat down about 10 days ago with the company that hires and pays the current 217 bus drivers for the Santa Rosa County School District. The Durham School Transportation drivers from schools in both the north and south end of the county voted three years ago to join the Teamsters, but Durham filed National Labor Relations complaints about the election, and followed it through the courts until a final court decision was handed down within the last two months saying the election was binding and union negotiations should begin…
Island Air Reaches Agreements With Three Unions Aviation Tribune…The third agreement is an LOA with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), Local 996, which provides collective bargaining for 216 Island Air employees, including aircraft mechanics and inspectors, aircraft cleaners, ground service equipment mechanics, fuelers, flight attendants, stock clerks, and customer and ramp service agents. “The agreement reached between the Hawaii Teamsters and Island Air gives the company labor stability to focus its energy on growing the business,” said Ronan Kozuma, president, Hawaii Teamsters, Local 996. “We want to thank the Union’s representatives and Island Air management in addressing the employees’ concerns and reaching an agreement that both sides will benefit from”…
Yes, Temps Can Unionize Too The Nation…Teamsters California Political Director Doug Bloch says he’s seen the temp labor crisis first-hand at Taylor Farms in Tracy, California, as the Teamsters have struggled for years to organize a farm workforce divided between temps and permanent hires. While Taylor Farms’ neighboring farm in Salinas does have a union (with significantly better working conditions—underscoring the difference a union makes), the management of the Tracy farm’s mixed temp-permanent workforce has resisted unionization efforts and subjected them to harsher conditions, lower wages, and anti-union retaliation…
GLOBAL LABOR & TRADE
UAW Chief Says Clinton Told Him She Would Renegotiate NAFTA Reuters…United Auto Workers President Dennis Williams said on Tuesday that Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has assured him she would renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement if she is elected president. Williams’ comments come as Clinton is under pressure on international trade deals from Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and supporters of her former Democratic rival Bernie Sanders…
UFCW Canada Welcomes Interim Report To Update Ontario Labour Laws UFCW (release)…The release of an Ontario government interim report that lays out options to update Ontario’s outdated labour laws is “a welcome step in acknowledging the laws must change to improve the lives and future of workers across the province,” says Paul Meinema, the national president of UFCW Canada (United Food and Commercial Workers union)…
South Africa Minister Of Finance Pravin Gordhan Goes Full Circle, Says Nation Needs To Rethink Austerity Reuters…South Africa cannot rely on austerity measures to reduce public debt and boost economic growth, as previously thought, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said on Tuesday. Gordhan has been trying to find a balance between reining in spending to contain South Africa’s budget deficit and avoid credit rating downgrades, while also finding ways to boost economic growth and provide basic services to the poor…
Unions Want One Thing From Hillary Tonight: A Stake In TPP’s Heart The Hill…Labor unions want Hillary Clinton to put a stake in the heart of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal once and for all on Thursday, when she accepts the Democratic nomination for president at the party’s national convention. Doing so would cement a significant break for Clinton with President Obama, and labor officials believe it would kill any chance of moving the pact in a lame-duck Congress after the election…
Left’s TPP Opposition Is No Passing Fad Politico…Opposition to TPP, at least in the Sanders wing of the party, is showing no sign of cooling off after a thwarted bid to embed that stance in the party platform. Sanders electrified the convention hall Monday with his call to stop a vote on the deal during the lame-duck session of Congress. And Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s suggestion that Hillary Clinton would flip to supporting TPP as president, with some tweaks, was swiftly repudiated by her campaign…
Gov’t Rejects “Paltry” US Offer In WTO Gaming Dispute Antigua Observer…Negotiators from the United States (US) government have failed to impress the Cabinet of Antigua & Barbuda with a settlement offer in the ongoing online gaming dispute, but have instead raised the ire of the Prime Minister Gaston Browne, who has dismissed their offer as “paltry”. At the same time, the apparent frustration of the process has driven the government to alter its strategy in the dispute, advising that it is now prepared to implement the sanctions awarded to Antigua & Barbuda by the World Trade Organization (WTO)…
Union Calls On Irish Government To Heed Public Support For Referendum On TTIP/CETA Deal Breakingnews.ie…The Unite union has today called on the Government to heed the findings of a recent poll which showed almost two-thirds of people in Ireland favour a referendum on TTIP and CETA. The recent Red C poll found that 74% of those polled believe that the proposed trade deals should be put to a referendum, with the figure rising to 80% among women and 82% among those aged 18-24…
Kazakh Oil Industry Workers Go On Strike Over Pay Cuts Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty…Hundreds of oil industry workers have staged a two-hour strike in the western Kazakh town Zhanaozen protesting what the organizers described as impending pay cuts. The organizers say some 700 workers of the Burgylau oilfield service company took part in the protest on the morning of July 28…
STATE & LIVING WAGE BATTLES
Philadelphia Workers Are Desperate For A Minimum Wage Hike Huffington Post…Several workers in South Philadelphia, not far from the Democratic National Convention, told The Huffington Post that a minimum wage hike can’t come soon enough. The minimum wage in Pennsylvania is $7.25 an hour, the same as the federal minimum wage. While many cities are free to raise the minimum wage higher than the state level, Pennsylvania law precludes cities from doing so…
Trump Can’t Keep His Story Straight On The Minimum Wage MSNBC…Indeed, let’s circle back to some of our previous coverage. Trump’s original position, as articulated during one of the debates for the GOP presidential candidates last fall, was that he opposed a wage hike. Asked about his position on the minimum wage, Trump specifically said, “I hate to say it, but we have to leave it the way it is. People have to go out, they have to work really hard, and they have to get into that upper stratum. But we cannot do this if we are going to compete with the rest of the world, we just can’t do it”…
Businesses Should Cut Ties With Union-busting Lobbyists Indianapolis Star (opinion)…Right to Work is not an Indiana idea. And rather than protecting workers, the law is undermining labor unions and helping employers drive down wages and benefits. That’s no accident — much of the text was copied and pasted straight from a “model” bill in the library of the American Legislative Exchange Council, a secretive lobbying group that does the bidding of some of the country’s largest corporations and has made union-busting a top priority…
Tough GOP Law On Unemployment Benefits Dumped By High Court St. Louis Post-Dispatch…A state law that capped unemployment benefits for laid off workers at 13 weeks has been found unconstitutional by the Missouri Supreme Court. In a 4-3 decision, the high court found that the Republican-led Legislature incorrectly approved the change, which slashed the maximum number of weeks of jobless benefits to one of the lowest levels in the nation…
Signatures For Two Minimum Wage Hike Initiatives Turned In Arizona Daily Sun…Flagstaff voters may be faced with two ballot questions on raising the minimum wage in November –to either $15 an hour or $12. And if both pass, it appears the $15 rate would apply in Flagstaff under a 2006 state enabling initiative — there is no specific state statute accounting for such a situation…
Minneapolis City Council Vote On $15 Minimum Wage Could Put Amendment On Ballot Minnesota Daily…A proposal to raise the minimum wage in Minneapolis has drawn contention from some who think it will negatively affect businesses. The petition, with over 8,000 signatures, was received by the City Council Friday. The proposal would raise the city’s minimum wage incrementally over several years to $15 per hour…
Record Share Of U.S. Workers Have Paid Sick Leave: Labor Department Reuters…A record 64 percent of U.S. private sector workers are now entitled to sick leave, marking a steady rise in the past decade, the Labor Department said on Tuesday. The increase has come as five states, the District of Columbia and 28 localities have enacted legislation in recent years mandating sick leave for workers. Chicago’s city council unanimously passed a bill last month that allows workers to earn days off for illness…
Labor An Issue In Heated 1st Congressional Race The Detroit News…A contentious Republican primary in northern Michigan’s 1st Congressional District has drawn the interest of some labor unions siding with state Sen. Tom Casperson in his bid to knock off two GOP rivals in Tuesday’s primary election. The union-funded Defending Main Street super political action committee has made a late entry into the race, buying $150,000 in TV airtime and $25,000 in mail advertising attacking Casperson’s chief rival, former state Sen. Jason Allen of Traverse City…
U.S. LABOR
Opinion Blocking DOL Rule Cites Clash With Ethics Rules Bloomberg BNA…The case centers on a new regulatory regime that has produced a fundamental disagreement between the nation’s largest bar association and a group of law professors from around the nation. The ABA has opposed the rule since its proposal five years ago, and nearly two dozen law professors have gone on the record supporting it…
Flush With Cash, N.B.A.’s Players Union Will Improve Retiree Benefits New York Times…Backed by a financial windfall that has distributed extraordinary wealth throughout the N.B.A. this summer, the National Basketball Players Association will offer improved access to health insurance to more than 1,500 retired players. The upgrade, made to part of the collectively bargained benefits package, was unilaterally enacted by the union and unanimously approved by player representatives at their annual summit meeting in late June. The union was expected to make an announcement about the decision later this week…
Santa Clara County Court Clerks Vote To Strike The Mercury News…More than 115 members of the association that represents Santa Clara County Superior Court clerks voted unanimously Tuesday night to reject the court’s final contract offer and go on strike, most likely next month. Asked at the meeting by their leaders whether the contract offer was worthy of having the full membership vote on, all 118 members in attendance shouted an emphatic “no”…
Chicago Teachers Union, District Set To Begin Fresh Round Of Talks Chicago Tribune…The Chicago Teachers Union and the school board are set to begin a fresh round of contract talks that will take place as the school district readies a budget that officials say will be balanced despite a lingering $300 million deficit. Officials for both sides said they have been discussing a bargaining schedule and plan to exchange contract proposals next week…
A Conversation With A Teacher Who Decided To Go On Strike The Atlantic…Noam Gundle has taught biology and oceanography at Ballard High School in Seattle for more than 15 years, and was a participant in the strike. His interests in activism—from climate change to education reform—along with his desire to mentor led him to a career in education. I spoke with Gundle about his job, some major shifts in the world of education, and the impact he hopes to make on his students…
How The DNC Avoided A Philly Airport Worker Strike American Prospect…For all the discord and angry protests at the Democratic convention in Philadelphia this week, organizers should at least be grateful that most delegates arrived without incident. Had the city’s airport workers not narrowly averted a strike on Sunday, things could have been even more chaotic still, with stranded delegates unable to land in Philadelphia….
Carrier, United Steelworkers Reach Agreement On Benefits Package WISH (Indianapolis, IN)…Carrier has reached an agreement with the United Steelworkers as 1,400 workers prepare to lose their jobs as part of Carrier’s move to Mexico. In a statement sent by Carrier, Indianapolis employees will receive a benefits package as a result of the relocation…
UAW Blasts Renault-Nissan For Denying French Lawmaker A Meeting Automotive News…The UAW criticized the Renault-Nissan Alliance after it turned down a meeting with a member of the French parliament at its Canton, Miss., plant, which the UAW hopes to unionize. Christian Hutin, a member of the French National Assembly who is seeking to have French officials put pressure on Nissan to allow workers to unionize, visited Mississippi on Tuesday to meet with workers, labor leaders and others. The French government owns about 20 percent of Renault, Nissan’s largest shareholder…
SEIU-Healthcare Workers West Picket Dominican Hospital Santa Cruz Sentinel…More than 15,000 Dignity Health employees are members of Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, including 95 at Dominican Oaks and nearly 600 at Dominican Hospital. They include workers in environmental services and certified nursing assistants. SEIU members got a 3 percent raise this year under their contract, which expires April 30, 2018. The agreement has a reopener clause for 2017 wages and benefits. SEIU spokesman Sean Wherley said Dignity Health proposed freezing workers’ wages and cutting benefits…
SOCIAL JUSTICE & OTHER NEWS
The Ugly Truth About The White House And Its History Of Slavery Washington Post…Michelle Obama’s speech during the first day of the Democratic National Convention was generally lauded. One sentence in particular garnered more attention, and controversy, than the rest: “That is the story of this country, the story that has brought me to this stage tonight, the story of generations of people who felt the lash of bondage, the shame of servitude, the sting of segregation, but who kept on striving and hoping and doing what needed to be done so that today I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves”…
Trump Seeks More Foreign Guest Workers For His Companies Buzzfeed News…The presidential candidate is seeking to bring in 78 more servers, housekeepers, and cooks for his Mar-a-Lago resort and nearby golf course. The controversial guest worker program allows employers to import foreign workers, but only when there are no Americans who want the jobs…
Now, Even ‘Corporate Democrats’ Are Saying American Capitalism Needs To Be Radically Reformed New York Magazine…But the ascendance of both left-wing and right-wing populism, in the United States and across the Western world, seems to have whet Establishment Democrats’ appetite for egalitarian reform. “If we don’t reframe capitalism for the 21st century, then the anger is going to become a movement that is going to disrupt what is working,” Warner said Wednesday…
What Gender Pay-Gap Statistics Aren’t Capturing The Atlantic…These are decisions shaped by cultural norms and expectations, societal forces that aren’t cleanly captured by pay data. Gould and Schieder point to a multitude of messages that women get from society about what sorts of jobs they should pick: The expectations of American mothers could lead women to take lower-paying jobs because they’re more likely to offer flexible (or shorter hours), while fears of discrimination might steer them away from higher-paying professions. In other words, adjusted statistics could be missing the role of discrimination in the processes that lead women to choose the careers they do…
Asian-American Advocates Call For Solidarity With Black Lives Matter NBC News…Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community leaders have been adding their voices to those in the Black Lives Matter movement this month, arguing for solidarity and accountability across communities as the nation grapples with the shooting deaths of unarmed African Americans by police officers as well as the shooting deaths of police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge…