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Today’s Teamster News For February 1, 2017
TEAMSTERS
Hoffa: Keep Trade Reform Efforts Alive Detroit News …Workers across Michigan and the nation got some good news last week when President Trump applied the official death knell to the terrible Trans-Pacific Partnership, which would have shipped thousands of jobs overseas while tamping down on wages at home. It was the culmination of years of work by the Teamsters, other unions and fair trade advocates worried about the future of U.S. jobs, the environment, food safety and foreign corporate intervention in lawmaking in this country…
Teamsters Statement on Gorsuch Nomination to the Supreme Court Teamster.org …The nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the United States Supreme Court raises serious concerns for workers across our nation. Any person seeking to serve on the highest court in the land must respect working Americans and their rights on the job. It appears that Judge Gorsuch has often sided with corporations over workers in a number of cases…
Teamsters Press Trump to Drop NAFTA’s Mexican Trucker Provision Bloomberg ..The Teamsters Union is lobbying President Donald Trump to eliminate a NAFTA provision that allows long-haul Mexican trucks to operate in the U.S. Teamsters General President James Hoffa discussed a contentious North American Free Trade Agreement provision that allows cross-border trucking trips originating from Mexico when he met with Trump on Jan. 11, a union spokesperson told Bloomberg BNA…
Local 727 Wins Grievances, Secures Back Pay for Two CDT Employees Local 727 …Teamsters Local 727 recently settled two grievances and secured substantial back pay for two bargaining unit employees with Cook-DuPage Transportation (CDT). One driver represented by Local 727 was put out of service by Pace and unfairly terminated by CDT. The union filed a grievance on her behalf and, after just four days off the job, the Teamster was returned to work in the same job classification…
New York Teamsters Support Immigrants, Oppose Trump Immigration Orders JC 16 …George Miranda, President of Teamsters Joint Council 16 and the Teamsters National Hispanic Caucus, had the following statement in response to President Trump’s immigration executive orders. Teamsters Joint Council 16 represents 120,000 members across Downstate New York and Puerto Rico. “Our members, many of whom are immigrants, are scared today, but they are standing strong”…
Teamsters Joint Council 7 Stands Up For Immigrant Workers PR Newswire …In the wake of the Trump administration’s executive orders on immigration, Teamsters Joint Council 7 reaffirmed its commitment to protecting immigrant workers. “Teamster food processing jobs have been the path to the middle class for several generations of Latino workers in California’s Central and Salinas Valleys,” said Rome Aloise, President of Teamsters Joint Council 7…
How should California regulate pot? The Teamsters are weighing in SacBee …Special interests from the Teamsters to the makers of marijuana-infused mouth spray are sending lobbyists to the California Capitol as the state seeks to reconcile existing medical marijuana laws with the measure to legalize recreational pot voters passed in November. The growers association is part of a coalition with the Teamsters, local governments, police chiefs and a West Sacramento distribution company called RVR…
GLOBAL LABOR & TRADE
Chilean workers vote to strike at world no.1 copper mine Reuters …Workers at BHP Billiton’s Escondida mine in Chile, the world’s biggest copper mine, have voted to reject a company wage offer and go on strike, the union told Reuters in the early hours of Wednesday. The strike is due to begin in 48 hours but the union said the company will likely request government mediation to attempt a resolution, which would delay any strike action for about another week…
Air France union urges members to refuse work on U.S. flights after Trump order Reuters …The hardline CGT trade union at Air France (AIRF.PA) has called on its members to refuse to work on U.S.-bound flights in protest against the U.S. immigration order that temporarily prevents refugees and travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States. The executive order by U.S. President Donald Trump has drawn criticism from airlines body IATA…
Canada CEOs Urge Trudeau to Take Rejected U.S. Tech Workers Bloomberg …Canada’s technology community is urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to snap up industry workers caught in U.S. President Donald Trump’s border crackdown, saying embracing diversity drives innovation and the economy. Amid chaos in U.S. airports after Trump signed an executive order barring citizens from seven mainly Muslim nations, dozens of Canada’s tech chief executive officers signed a letter asking Canada to offer immediate entry…
Google employees stage worldwide walkout over Trump edict USA Today …Chanting Google employees launched into a round of “Sergey! Sergey!” Monday afternoon as hundreds of Googlers walked out of their offices at the company’s Mountain View, Calif. headquarters to rally in protest of President Trump’s executive order banning immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries. Rallies were held at Google offices worldwide and by some counts as many as 2,000 employees took part…
US, UK to begin post-Brexit bilateral trade negotiations Supply Chain Dive …During their recent meeting, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to begin trade negotiations immediately, in anticipation of a post-Brexit economic relationship, The Independent reported last week. May is particularly optimistic about the new beginning…
Merkel rejects U.S. comments, says Germany cannot influence euro Reuters …Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday rejected a U.S. trade adviser’s charge that Germany was using an “undervalued” euro to gain advantage, saying her government had always called on the European Central Bank to pursue an independent policy. “Germany is a country that has always called for the European Central Bank to pursue an independent policy, just as the Bundesbank did that before the euro existed”…
The paradoxes and pitfalls of Trump’s trade agenda (opinion) The Hill …Whether President Trump’s trade policy can deliver on his stated goals of reducing the U.S. trade deficit and creating American jobs remains to be seen. Whether he can build congressional support for his trade agenda is also uncertain. Many congressional Republicans support the status quo…
STATE & LIVING WAGE BATTLES
House committee sets sights on repealing prevailing wage Missourian …Missouri’s prevailing wage law started its path toward the chopping block Tuesday when state House members gave their initial support to a repeal. In a committee room packed with union workers, contractors, county commissioners and school board members, the Committee on Economic Development listened to a lively debate about the law…
Arkansas House OKs Bid to Revive State’s Voter ID Law ABC …The Arkansas House approved a plan Tuesday to reinstate a voter ID law that was struck down more than two years ago, with Republicans counting on a new state Supreme Court makeup to uphold the measure this time. The proposal approved by a 74-21 vote is nearly identical to a law the Republican Legislature enacted in 2013 requiring voters to show photo identification before casting a ballot…
North Dakota House committee gives thumbs down to $2 minimum wage increase Bismarck Tribune …A North Dakota House committee voted against a bill to increase the state’s minimum wage Tuesday, rejecting arguments that such a move was necessary to boost earnings. Rep. Marvin Nelson, D-Rolla, proposed a $9.25 hourly minimum wage, a $2 increase from the current statute, starting in 2018 with annual adjustments for cost of living increases beginning a year after that…
State House rejects raising minimum wage Star Tribune …A proposal to raise the state minimum wage in Wyoming to the federal level of $7.25 per hour has been defeated in the state House. House Bill 140 failed on a 40-20 vote Tuesday. Wyoming’s current minimum wage is $5.15 an hour for employees not covered by the federal minimum wage…
North Dakota Lawmakers Advance Bill to Limit Oil Spill Reporting Democracy Now …In North Dakota, the state House of Representatives has advanced a bill that would allow companies to conceal spills of oil, natural gas and contaminated water. House Bill 1151 passed overwhelmingly last Wednesday. It would end a requirement that fossil fuel companies report spills at well sites of less than 10 barrels, or 420 gallons…
U.S. LABOR
CWA, AT&T Strike Deal for DirecTV Workers Multichannel News …The Communications Workers of America has tentatively struck a new contract with AT&T covering 500 DirecTV service center employees. The contract, which still needs to be ratified by members, covers workers in Alabama, California, Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota and Tennessee…
Workers at Trump’s Washington hotel vote to join union, casting spotlight on potential conflicts Washington Post …Workers at President Trump’s Washington hotel have voted to join one of America’s leading labor unions, setting the stage for potentially tense labor negotiations at one of Trump’s most high-profile businesses a few blocks from the White House. About 40 housekeepers and guest-room workers at the Trump International Hotel Washington voted last week to join Unite Here Local 25, a chapter that represents 6,500 hospitality workers across the Washington area, a union executive said…
Huffington Post workers ratify first-ever union contract NY Post …Nearly a year after voting to unionize, editorial workers at the Huffington Post voted overwhelmingly to approve its first-ever collective bargaining agreement covering more than 200 people. In addition to a minimum 3 percent annual wage hike over the next three years, the pact blocks editorial types from working on branded content or native advertising that is paid for by a sponsor or advertiser and introduces protections guaranteeing editorial independence…
Union clout grew in California last year, unlike rest of nation LA Daily News …Love unions or hate them, California continues to be a relative hotbed for organized labor. A new report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows union influence in the entire California workplace grew slightly last year, a stark contrast to declining union rolls nationwide. California is a comparative union town, with 2.55 million members statewide in 2016, highest in the nation…
Union Groups Denounce Trump Orders, Vow Collective Action Bloomberg …Labor groups representing immigrants, women, blacks, Latinos and Asian-Americans vowed collective action against President Donald Trump at a rally in Washington Jan. 27. Representatives from AFL-CIO constituency groups gathered at the federation’s headquarters to denounce executive orders Trump signed Jan. 25…
White House says LGBT protections for federal workers will remain Washington Post …The White House vowed Tuesday to keep the Obama administration protections extended to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender workers, a statement said, apparently responding to reports that the orders would be reversed. “President Trump continues to be respectful and supportive of L.G.B.T.Q. rights, just as he was throughout the election,” the White House said in a statement…
U.S. Senate panel postpones hearing for Labor nominee Puzder yet again Reuters …The U.S. Senate panel tasked with vetting Andrew Puzder to head the Labor Department has postponed its tentative plans to hold his confirmation hearing yet again, a move that some political strategists say could signal trouble for the fast-food executive…
Rise of the machines: Fear robots, not China or Mexico (opinion) CNN …President Trump portrays Mexico, China and global trade as the biggest threats to American manufacturing jobs. His predecessor also offered a warning to American workers, of a different kind. “The next wave of economic dislocations won’t come from overseas. It will come from the relentless pace of automation that makes a lot of good middle class jobs obsolete,” President Obama said in his farewell address. Research supports Obama’s claim…
SOCIAL JUSTICE & OTHER NEWS
Senate Democrats Boycott Key Votes On 2 Top Trump Nominees Huffington Post …Senate Democrats deployed a dramatic eleventh-hour maneuver to deny committee votes to two of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks Tuesday, arguing that those nominees had lied to them. Senators on the Finance Committee were set to vote on Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) to lead the Department of Health and Human Services and Steve Mnuchin to lead the Treasury Department…
Trump backers start outside money political group USA Today …Several key political operatives from President Trump’s campaign announced plans Monday to launch an outside group they say will promote the new president’s policies and provide a “counter balance” to “the agenda of the liberal and biased media.” The group, called America First Policies, will operate as a non-profit to mobilize public support for Trump’s agenda and “communicate directly to citizens,” according to a statement announcing the new venture…
The FBI has quietly investigated white supremacist infiltration of law enforcement The Intercept …White supremacists and other domestic extremists maintain an active presence in U.S. police departments and other law enforcement agencies. A striking reference to that conclusion, notable for its confidence and the policy prescriptions that accompany it, appears in a classified FBI Counterterrorism Policy Guide from April 2015…