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Today’s Teamster News For March 2, 2017
TEAMSTERS
Mass Layoffs Announced Today As A Result Of Philadelphia Beverage Tax Teamster.org …Teamsters Local Union 830 Secretary-Treasurer Daniel H. Grace on the layoffs announced today by Pepsi: “Our worst fears have been realized. Today, PepsiCo announced the devastating layoffs of 80 to 100 employees in Philadelphia as a direct result of the city’s onerous and discriminatory beverage tax. PepsiCo reported a staggering 43 percent drop in business in the city since January 1, 2017, the day the beverage tax went into effect”…
Teamsters go after drug wholesaler AmerisourceBergen after opioid crisis hits their homes Philly.com …Newly focused on an issue that is ravaging its members, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters on Thursday plans to challenge one of the world’s biggest pharmaceutical wholesalers, demanding that AmerisourceBergen Corp. investigate its own sales practices and potential supply chain diversions, and factor compliance into its executives’ pay…
Recycling Workers Threaten to Strike If Denied Union Labor Press …Workers at the city’s largest residential recycling plant are threatening to strike “any day now” if the company doesn’t recognize their union. More than 70% of the workers at Sims Municipal Recycling’s Sunset Park facility signed cards stating that they wanted to be represented by Teamsters Local 210, Secretary-Treasurer George Miranda told a rally at City Hall Feb. 28…
A fight for worker’s rights may disrupt New York City’s recycling flow AM New York … At the Sims Municipal Recycling facility in Sunset Park, which has a long-term contract with the city, Pineda and other employees say they are being mistreated and are looking to unionize with the Teamsters. The company has resisted the union push by 70 employees at the material recovery facility in Brooklyn, forcing city officials to prepare for the possibilities for that recycling if there were a strike…
Local 710 Railway Industrial Services Members Ratify New Contract Local 710 …The 70 persistent Local 710 Teamsters at Railway Industrial Services have finally secured the benefits they fought for throughout their 44-day long strike and ratified a new three-year contract. They will return to work beginning tomorrow. The railway maintenance workers have remained strong on the picket line since January 17 after negotiations reached a standstill…
Fall River City Council Plays Politics With DCM Workers’ Livelihoods Teamster.org … majority of the Fall River City Council was noticeably absent Tuesday night at a special meeting called by Mayor Jasiel Correia II to address concerns of importance to the Teamsters. The issue before the council was a discussion and vote on the collective bargaining agreement between the city’s Department of Community Maintenance (DCM) and Teamsters Local 251…
Noel Canning workers end strike Yakima Herald …Three dozen unionized Noel Canning workers will return to work after a weeklong strike. The workers, represented by Teamsters Local Union 760, voted to return to work after the company sent a letter to employees agreeing to settle a number of unfair labor practice charges found by the National Labor Relations Board, the union said in a news release Tuesday. The union is waiting for a response from Noel Canning regarding when employees will resume work….
Protest by XPO workers, union overshadows Bradley Jacobs’ keynote address at JOC conference AJOT …XPO freight, port, and rail drivers, as well as XPO warehouse workers, from across the country showed up at the JOC Trans Pacific Maritime conference in Long Beach, California, accompanied by local members of the clergy and Teamsters members in an effort to get an audience with their CEO to address concerns and frustrations expressed by XPO employees across all divisions of the company…
GLOBAL LABOR & TRADE
Kenya: health workers strike over pay rise, perks Daily Nation …Health workers in Kwale downed their tools on Wednesday demanding payment of their allowances. The strike follows failed negotiations with the county government. The workers were adamant that they would only resume duty after being paid their allowances and getting Sh20,000 salary rise for job groups G to L. Apart from salaries, the health workers complained of delayed promotions, discrimination and harassment as well as poor working conditions…
EU to Reject Trump’s Protectionism at Summit, Draft Shows Bloomberg …European Union leaders will seek to distance themselves from President Donald Trump’s views on trade and looser financial regulation when they hold a summit next week as they set out their vision ahead of crucial elections in the coming months. “The EU remains strongly committed to a robust trade policy in an open and rules-based multilateral trading system,” leaders will say…
Trump suggests ignoring World Trade Organization in major policy shift Washington Post …The Trump administration on Wednesday announced a sharp break from U.S. trade policy, vowing it may ignore certain rulings by the World Trade Organization if those decisions infringe on U.S. sovereignty. The new trade approach, which was sent to Congress Wednesday, could affect businesses and consumers worldwide, with the White House suggesting the United States could unilaterally impose tariffs against countries it thinks have unfair trade practices…
How NAFTA hurt México the most Vide en el Valle …Workers on both sides of the U.S.-México border were ultimately hurt. “Americans lost their jobs when the manufacturing companies they worked for closed up shop to go abroad. Many of these jobs were held by middle class families who were suddenly left without any work. In México, self-sufficient families were forced to sell their lands to American corporations,” said Fabrizio Sasso, executive director of the Sacramento Central Labor Council…
Hershey To Cut Thousands Of Jobs Globally Fortune …Hershey plans to trim thousands of jobs from the chocolate maker’s global workforce, a restructuring that comes as many Big Food makers are enacting belt-tightening moves as the industry faces stalling sales. On Tuesday, Hershey said the job cuts would reduce the global workforce by 15% and is driven primarily by cuts to the company’s hourly staff outside of the U.S…
Trump promises more coal and steel jobs. China is cutting 500,000 CNN …”Dying industries will come roaring back to life,” Trump declared on Tuesday night. As he was speaking, a top official thousands of miles away in Beijing was detailing China’s plans to cut half a million jobs in heavy industries this year. That’s on top of 726,000 jobs that were axed in the coal and steel industries last year, said Yin Weimin, the country’s minister for human resources…
Greeks protest as government, lenders discuss new austerity Reuters …Thousands of people protested in central Athens on Wednesday against new austerity measures that the Greek government and its lenders have been discussing in an effort to conclude a drawn-out bailout review and unlock funds for the country. Some 2,000 people took part in the rally…
STATE & LIVING WAGE BATTLES
West Virginia Senate Passes Right-To-Work Provision US News & World Report …The West Virginia Senate has voted to clarify the right-to-work law facing a union court challenge after enactment last year. The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that the Republican-controlled Senate split 22-12 along party lines to advance the bill. The state AFL-CIO and other unions obtained a preliminary injunction against the law last year…
Democrats seeking paid sick leave for Michigan workers MLive …House and Senate Democrats on Wednesday announced the re-introduction of legislation that would give Michigan employees one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours they worked. It’s an idea that’s kicked around for the past couple years in Lansing, including through a failed ballot initiative. But this time around, Democratic lawmakers are hoping Republicans will take a cue from President Donald Trump and start considering these benefits…
Oregon bill zooms in on paid family leave KOIN …Oregon House Bill 3087 would make paid leave for the birth of a child or care of a sick relative the law of the land in Oregon. Employees and employers would each contribute up to half of 1% of an employee’s wages through a regular payroll deduction. When an employee has a qualifying reason for leave they would receive partial wage replacement for their time away from work directly from the state insurance fund…
Tell Kentucky lawmakers to reject 50 percent increase in weight for some trucks (opinion) Herald Leader …The Kentucky House on Monday approved by a 64-27 vote House Bill 184 that allows certain semi-trailers to increase their maximum weight from 80,000 pounds to 120,000 pounds — a 50 percent increase in truck weight. In other words, this proposal would allow trucks to haul their current maximum loads in addition to the equivalent of 10 passenger vehicles stacked on top…
Puerto Rico Governor Bucks Deep Austerity in Recovery Plan Bloomberg …Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello released a plan to steady the island’s crumbling finances that depends largely on overhauling the tax system and squeezing cost savings from the government, seeking to avoid deep and swift budget cuts that he has said would deal a devastating blow to an already teetering economy…
U.S. LABOR
Bernie Sanders to join Nissan march The Hill …Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will join more than 1,000 protesters Saturday as they march outside a Nissan plant in Mississippi to demand a union. The March on Mississippi is just the latest protest sweeping across Nissan plants in the South. The Nissan protesters are complaining about what they see as civil rights abuses and mistreatment of black workers at the Japanese automaker’s plant in Canton, Miss…
Geisinger nurses protest working conditions at Scranton hospital Citizens Voice …Hours after Geisinger introduced a broad campaign to hire 2,000 employees this year, nurses protested for higher wages and better working conditions at the system’s Scranton hospital. The Pennsylvania Association of Skilled Nurses and Allied Professionals, or PASNAP, rallied Wednesday at Geisinger Community Medical Center waving signs that read “Safe staffing saves lives” and “Patients before profits”…
Union trailing in Duke vote; ballot challenges leave outcome uncertain Herald-Sun …So far, most of the Duke University Ph.D. students whose votes have been counted are against the idea of joining the Service Employees International Union. But voting-eligibility disputes have clouded the picture, creating what union organizers are terming an “indeterminate outcome” to last week’s representation election…
Honeywell on the Hook for UAW Benefits, Judge Rules Industry Week …A group of about 500 retirees from Honeywell International’s plant in Greenville, Ohio, are entitled to their full pensions, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday. In December 2015, Honeywell sent letters to UAW retirees from the plant, saying that their coverage would be terminated the following December…
AFL-CIO moves to dismiss ‘several dozens’ of its headquarters staff Washington Post …The AFL-CIO confirmed Monday that it will dismiss “several dozens” of the roughly 400 staff and furlough others working at its headquarters just north of Lafayette Square in Washington. In addition to eroding membership, the labor federation faces government and court challenges to its ability to collect dues and new “right-to-work” laws in states that make organizing difficult…
Colorado Uber, Lyft drivers are sleeping in cars to make ends meet Denver Channel …An Uber spokesman said they encourage drivers to take a break whenever they are tired, and he pointed out that more than 50 percent of Uber drivers work less than 10 hours a week. Lyft, in a statement, reported that only “a very small fraction of drivers” have told them they choose to rest in their cars. Some drivers have complained about Uber lowering fares, arguing that if Uber paid them as employees, they would not have to resort to sleeping in their cars…
Congress is laser-focused on rolling back protections for workers, consumers, and the environment EPI …This week, the House of Representatives will consider three bills that further advance a deregulatory agenda that jeopardizes worker safety, consumer protections, and our environment. The House will also vote on resolutions to block existing rules, including an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulation that enables OSHA to hold employers accountable for failing to keep accurate records of workplace injuries and illnesses…
SOCIAL JUSTICE & OTHER NEWS
Trump Seesaws on Legal Status for Undocumented Immigrants New York Times …President Trump dangled on Tuesday the prospect of a stunning reversal on immigration, first saying he is open to providing legal status for millions of undocumented immigrants and then declining to directly bring the idea up in his first speech to a joint session of Congress. Hours before the speech, Mr. Trump told reporters that “the time is right for an immigration bill as long as there is compromise on both sides”…
Top Republicans call on Sessions to recuse himself from Russia investigation Washington Post …Top Republicans said Thursday that Attorney General Jeff Sessions should recuse himself from federal investigations of whether Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) tweeted early Thursday that “AG Sessions should clarify his testimony and recuse himself”…
Trump lied. Right-wing extremists — not foreigners — commit more terror attacks in the U.S. Think Progress …During his first speech to Congress on Tuesday, President Trump falsely claimed that foreigners have committed the “vast majority” of terrorism-related offenses in the United States since the terror attacks on September 11, 2001. Professors Charles Kurzman and David Schanzer found that Islam-inspired terror attacks accounted for 50 deaths since 9/11, but that “right-wing extremists averaged 337 attacks per year in the decade after 9/11, causing a total of 254 fatalities”…
“It would ruin her life”: How the Texas bathroom bill would impact trans students Salon …A bill being considered by the Texas legislature would make it more difficult for girls like Marilyn to do something as simple as go to the bathroom in their school. State Bill 6, which is currently being debated by the state’s General Assembly, would mandate that transgender people use the bathroom that corresponds with the gender marker listed on their birth certificate…
Trump draws a fake conclusion from a study that actually finds immigration is good for the economy Think Progress …Trump proposed adopting a merit-based immigration system to bring millions of jobs back to the United States and raise American incomes, claiming that incoming immigrants “strain” public resources and depress wages. But in order to make his case, Trump cited a report that draws the opposite conclusion, and finds that “immigrant workers have little to no negative effects on the wages or overall employment levels of native-born workers”…