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Today’s Teamster News For June 21, 2016
TEAMSTERS
STA School Bus Workers in New Jersey Choose Teamsters Union Teamster.org …More than 150 school bus workers who transport students for Student Transportation of America (STA) in Pine Brook, New Jersey, have voted decisively to join Teamsters Local 102 in Springfield Township. The drivers and monitors stood united for fair wages, decent and affordable health insurance, respect and fairness on the job. “I’m glad we did this. We are all very excited to be Teamsters,” said Luz Cadavid, a 9-year driver for STA…
School Bus Workers at Latino Express Stand Strong to Win Teamster Contract Teamster.org …School bus drivers represented by Teamsters Local 777 in Lyons, Ill., have voted overwhelmingly to ratify a first contract agreement at Latino Express, a subcontractor for Chicago Public Schools. The new contract marks a major victory for the 100-worker unit after more than six years of anti-union opposition by the company. Latino Express drivers voted overwhelmingly in favor of Teamster representation in April 2011…
Legislature Passes Bill for School Bus Employee Protections Joint Council 16 …Teamsters Local 553 Secretary-Treasurer Demos P. Demopoulos on legislation that passed the State Legislature to require employee protections in New York City school bus contracts: “The Teamsters applaud the State Legislature for standing up for good jobs for New York City’s school bus workers. Our union represents thousands of New York City school bus drivers, matrons, and mechanics”…
Melrose residents awarded Teamsters Local 25 scholarships Wicked Local …Benjamin, Anthony and Michael Scarpa, all of Melrose, were awarded Teamsters Local 25 scholarships in the amount of $2,000 each. “Teamsters Local 25 is proud to support students like Benjamin, Anthony and Michael to help them further their education,” Teamsters Local 25 President Sean M. O’Brien said…
GLOBAL LABOR & TRADE
Nearly 900 Nestle workers go on strike in Turkey Daily News …Over 900 workers went on strike at a Nestle factory in the northwestern province of Bursa early on June 21 after the company and the labor union, Tek Gıda-İş, could not clinch a collective bargaining deal over disputes in wage raises. The workers came together in front of the Karacabey factory, where Nestle’s chocolate, coffee and water production is carried out…
Nigerian Oil Workers Threaten Strike Oil Price …Oil workers in Nigeria under the union known as the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria are threatening to go on strike, which would lead to a shutdown of oil and gas industry activity. The Senior Staff trade union has given those companies seven days, starting on Monday, to change what the unions holds to be anti-labor practices…
Civil Society in Latin America Campaigns Against Trans-Pacific Partnership IPS News …Civil society organisations from Chile, Mexico and Peru are pressing their legislatures and those of other countries not to ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The free trade agreement, which was signed in New Zealand on Feb. 4, is now pending parliamentary approval in the 12 countries of the bloc, in a process led by Malaysia. Chile, Mexico and Peru are the three Latin American partners…
White House Working With Congress on Language to Implement TPP, Froman Says Morning Consult …The Obama administration is working with members of Congress to craft the legislative language necessary to bring the Trans-Pacific Partnership before both chambers of Congress for final approval, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said Monday. Froman, who was the U.S.’ lead negotiator for the 12-nation TPP trade deal, said at a Council on Foreign Relations event Monday that the administration would like to see Congress approve the agreement “as quickly as possible”…
Obama Calls New Peru President, Confirms Support for TPP Trade Deal Sputnik News …US President Barack Obama has congratulated Peru’s President-Elect Pedro Pablo Kuczynski on his election victory and won his support for the 12-nation Trans Pacific Partnership trade agreement, the White House announced in a readout. Obama and Kuczynski also discussed defending democracy and human rights throughout Latin America…
‘Climate of Xenophobia’ Gripping Europe, UN Official Warns Common Dreams …Speaking to Agence France-Presse in Tehran on Saturday, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said, “Refugees… don’t bring danger” but “flee from dangerous places.” He put responsibility on the shoulders of national leaders, saying that those who don’t talk about the benefits of immigration but instead “stir up public opinion against refugees and migrants have a responsibility in creating a climate of xenophobia”…
The English Working Class Will be the First Victims of a Brexit Vote (opinion) Portside …Those leading the push are pitching Britain’s exit from the EU as all gain and no pain. They promise the masses that everything they like will be better and everything they hate will be gone, when in truth what will be gone are the last vestiges of the welfare state that their grandparents built. For the leave campaign is driven by libertarians who seek to create, in the name of free enterprise, an even more precarious economy…
How the European Union Turned Into a Neoliberal Nightmare (opinion) Alternet …Voting to leave the EU is a no-brainer for the Left. The European Union is remote, racist, imperialist, anti-worker and anti-democratic: It is run by, of, and for the super-rich and their corporations. “Social EU legislation is making zero-hour contracts and agency-working the norm while undermining collective bargaining and full-time, secure employment”…
STATE & LIVING WAGE BATTLES
Kentucky: no compromise in suit over workers’ comp panel Courier-Journal …The governor’s administration and plaintiffs have failed to reach a compromise as a lawsuit continues over Gov. Matt Bevin’s reorganization of a state commission that nominates candidates for appointment as workers’ compensation judges. Attorneys for both sides appeared before Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd Monday morning to discuss how to proceed…
Weakening Prevailing Wage Hurts Local Contractors Illinois Update …A case study from Southern Indiana demonstrates how weakening prevailing wage negatively impacts local contractors and local workers. Out-of-state contractors benefited after Indiana weakened its prevailing wage law, according to a new Economic Commentary from the Midwest Economic Policy Institute. Despite an emerging academic consensus that shows state prevailing wage laws have no discernible impact on project costs, lawmakers in Indiana weakened the state’s law…
Iowa poll: State, not counties, should address minimum wage Des Moines Register …Most Iowans think the state Legislature, not local governments, should address the minimum wage, according to a poll commissioned by the Iowa Restaurant Association, which opposes county-by-county changes to the pay rate. The poll comes as Polk County officials consider raising the local minimum wage above the statewide rate of $7.25 an hour…
NC voter ID laws up for debate at appeals court WLOS …A federal appeals court is listening to arguments about North Carolina laws that require photo identification to cast in-person ballots and make other voting changes that critics say discriminate against minorities. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals scheduled a hearing Tuesday about an April trial court ruling that upheld a 2013 law and exceptions approved later to the voter ID mandate…
Baltimore May Be the Next City to Adopt a $15 Minimum Wage In These Times …The national movement toward a minimum wage of $15 an hour is picking up steam in Baltimore, with a key test of strength for the local movement expected before the end of the summer. The City Council’s Labor Committee met this week to begin the process of moving legislation to a vote, hearing testimony from supporters and opponents, and setting the stage for a full Council vote in late July or August…
U.S. LABOR
FedEx to settle driver lawsuits in 20 states for $240 million Reuters …FedEx Ground Package System Inc. has agreed to pay drivers in 20 states $240 million to settle lawsuits claiming the second-largest U.S. parcel delivery company misclassified them as independent contractors, it said on Thursday. The settlement, if approved, would be divided among 12,000 drivers, some of whom would receive tens of thousands of dollars, Beth Ross, lead lawyer for the plaintiffs, said…
Some 5,000 nurses on strike at Allina facilities Workday Minnesota …Nearly 5,000 nurses employed by Allina Health began a seven-day strike Sunday morning, setting up picket lines outside five metro-area facilities. In downtown St. Paul, well over 200 nurses and their supporters blanketed the sidewalk outside United in red, the Minnesota Nurses Association’s official color…
San Diego grocery workers approve strike ABC …Grocery workers in San Diego County voted Monday to authorize a strike against Albertsons, Ralphs and Vons stores, according to the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 135. The union held a pair of strike votes at the Scottish Rite Center in Mission Valley. Now they are awaiting results from several voting sessions at union chapters across Southern California, which will likely come in Tuesday…
UAW Says Volkswagen Reneged on Deal to Recognize Union ABC …The United Auto Workers says Volkswagen officials have reneged on a pledge to recognize the union at the German automaker’s lone U.S. plant in Tennessee. Gary Casteel, the UAW’s secretary-treasurer, released a 2014 document Tuesday stating that Volkswagen would recognize the UAW as the representative of its members in exchange for the union dropping a challenge to the outcome of a union election at the plant in Chattanooga…
Maryland underpaid state employees — possibly up to 13,000 of them Washington Post …The government of Maryland says it has been shortchanging thousands of workers who earn extra pay for overtime and night shifts. State officials notified four public-employee unions — AFSCME, AFT Healthcare-Maryland, the State Law Enforcement Officers’ Labor Alliance and the Maryland Professional Employees Council — about the issue…
Teachers at three Cleveland charter schools ratify new contracts Amsterdam News …The faculty and staff of three charter schools in Cleveland have ratified a new contract. This action makes them the first organized charter schools with a collectively bargained agreement in their city. According to officials, the new contract creates a labor-management committee to increase teacher input, guarantees planning time and rewards experienced teachers…
U.S. union takes aim at potential McDonald’s deals in Asia Reuters …The union backing a high-profile campaign to raise pay and improve working conditions for low-wage U.S. workers on Monday warned potential buyers of roughly 3,000 McDonald’s Corp restaurants in Asia that such deals could saddle them with operational risks, including significant costs and liabilities. While it is not uncommon for U.S. unions to weigh in on corporate mergers or other agreements that could affect the workers they represent, SEIU is acting on behalf of fast-food workers who are not unionized….
SOCIAL JUSTICE & OTHER NEWS
‘Corroding Civil Liberties,’ Supreme Court Codifies Unlawful Police Stops Common Dreams …The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled that evidence recovered during illegal stops may still be used in court, if police officers conducted their searches after learning that a defendant had an outstanding arrest warrant. In a 5-3 ruling, the Supreme Court said such searches do not violate the Fourth Amendment…
Senate fails to pass new gun control restrictions in wake of Orlando shooting The Guardian …The US Senate failed to advance new restrictions aimed at curtailing gun violence on Monday, as lawmakers voted down four separate measures just one week after a terrorist attack in Orlando marked the deadliest mass shooting in the nation’s history…
Is Long-Term Immigration Detention Illegal? The Atlantic …The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Monday to consider whether detained immigrants facing deportation must be allowed a bail hearing if they are held for at least six months, a decision that could have significant implications for immigrant-rights groups. The case the court will hear dates back to 2010, when the American Civil Liberties Union brought a class-action suit against Immigration and Customs Enforcement…
Airbnb Vows to Fight Racism, but Its Users Can’t Sue to Prompt Fairness NY Times …Airbnb requires that people agree to waive their right to sue, or to join in any class-action lawsuit, to use the service. “Airbnb can say it doesn’t condone racism and even has an anti-discrimination policy, but right now that policy doesn’t have teeth if the company is legally insulated from having to comply with the same anti-discrimination laws that real estate brokers must comply with”…
President Trump would be the biggest threat to the U.S. economy (opinion) Washington Post …A report released Monday by Moody’s Analytics forecasts the consequences of several of Trump’s major economic policy proposals. It finds them catastrophic. Taken at face value, Trump’s policies would likely push the United States into a two-year recession, which would be the longest downturn since the Great Depression. They also would cost the country millions of jobs…