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Today’s Teamster News For October 26, 2016
TEAMSTERS
Allegiant Flight Dispatchers Vote to Join Teamsters Union Teamster.org …By a margin of 25 to 4, flight dispatchers at Allegiant Air voted to join the International Brotherhood of Teamsters in a vote count announced by the National Mediation Board. There are 34 members in the bargaining unit. “On behalf of everyone in the Airline Division, and all of our members, I would like to welcome this group of workers to the Teamsters,” said Capt. David Bourne, Director of the Teamsters Airline Division….
UPS Aircraft Teamsters May Go on Strike Santa Monica Observer …With the holiday shopping season just around the corner, mechanics and other workers who service UPS’ fleet of jet engine aircraft started voting Friday to authorize a strike. The strike vote comes after three years of prolonged negotiations during which UPS continues to demand huge concessions…
School Bus Strike Vote Scheduled Joint Council 16 …School bus drivers and attendants at Jofaz Transportation and Y&M Transit will hold a strike vote Wednesday night, Teamsters union officials announced today. After months of negotiations and two contract extensions, workers say they are fed up with their employer’s demand that workers shoulder all future healthcare cost increases…
Jaime Martinez: stripping fair pay & safe workplaces exec. order from defense contracts will hurt workers The Hill …I am a port truck driver for K&R Transportation/California Cartage, a leading logistics conglomerate at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. My employer is a defense subcontractor that handles our nation’s military cargo. The company was issued a complaint by the National Labor Relations Board for intimidating and threatening workers for attempting to organize with the Teamsters…
US Foods faces latest labor strike in Denver Meat Poultry …US Foods continues to deal with labor strikes around the country with the latest one happening in Denver on Oct. 24. Teamsters Local 455 established an unfair labor practice picket line to protest the broadline foodservice provider’s alleged violations of federal labor laws that protect workers’ rights…
With the Adoption of a New Food Procurement Policy, OUSD’s School Lunch Program Gets a Grade East Bay Express …One of the notable aspects of the Good Food Purchasing Policy is that it places a priority on labor issues, which often get overlooked within the broader food justice movement. For that reason, the Teamsters have thrown their support behind the policy. Doug Bloch, the political director for Teamsters Joint Council 7, which covers much of California, noted that the policy played an instrumental role in securing a contract for union delivery drivers in Los Angeles…
After Numerous Bargaining Sessions, Teamsters Reject SCI’s Updated Contract Agreement Local 727 …Representatives of Local 727 and Service Corporation International engaged in negotiations for a successor agreement to the collective bargaining agreement, which expired June 30, 2016. Union representatives rejected the extensive proposals of the company to diminish the contract rights of the membership. The union previously proposed only five changes based on members’ demands…
GLOBAL LABOR & TRADE
Kenya: Patients’ Relief as Meru Health Workers End Three Week Strike All Africa …Health workers’ unions in Meru have called off a three-week strike after they entered an agreement with county government officials. The workers downed their tools on October 5, 2016, accusing the county government of failing to promote them. Union officials representing nurses, laboratory technologists, pharmacists and public health workers held talks for two days…
Two Honduran Rights Activists Killed, More Threatened Solidarity Center …The leader of a rural land rights organization and a fellow activist were killed in recent days in the northern Honduran department of Colόn, and other activists report escalating threats and intimidation. The murders are part of an ongoing pattern of violence against human rights activists in Honduras, according to union leaders…
Trudeau Signals Canadian TPP Approval Amid European Trade Delays Bloomberg …Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gave his strongest indication yet that he will ratify the Trans Pacific Partnership, as Canada’s free-trade deal with the European Union faces collapse. The 12-nation Pacific Rim deal was reached during the Canadian election campaign last year, weeks before Trudeau took power, and he has neither formally endorsed nor rejected it as his government consults on the accord…
Obama to Advocate TPP Deal in Peru Summit of Asia-Pacific Leaders Sputnik News …US President Barack Obama plans to seek support for the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement at an upcoming economic summit in Peru, the White House announced in a press release on Tuesday. The annual summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum takes place in Peru November 18-20. US presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump both oppose the TPP, which would join the United States with 11 other Pacific Rim nations…
The veep vs. veep battle over TPP Politico …The tussle over the TPP could come down to the battle of the Democratic vice presidents: Joe Biden versus Tim Kaine. f the trade deal comes up during the lame-duck session this fall, the two could play leading roles on opposite sides of the debate: Kaine as a potentially significant “no” vote should the pact come up for a vote while he’s still in the Senate, and Biden as President Barack Obama’s go-to guy for shoring up Senate support and casting the tie-breaking vote if need be…
Toxic Buffet: How the TPP Trades Away Seafood Safety Food & Water Watch …Border inspectors with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) examine only a tiny portion of imports, and the FDA conducts even fewer tests in laboratories to screen imports for illegal drug residues, pathogens like Salmonella or other contaminants. The currently pending Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) would only increase imports further — including from major fish farming nations like Vietnam and Malaysia that already have a checkered safety record…
Gender pay gap could take 170 years to close, says World Economic Forum The Guardian …The authors of a new report forecasting that it could take 170 years to eradicate the disparity in pay and employment opportunities for men and women have called for urgent action to close the gender equality gap. The report by the World Economic Forum – best known for its high-profile gathering each year in Davos, Switzerland – found that economic disparity between women and men around the world was rising…
Child Workers Found In Clothing Supply Chain: ASOS, Marks & Spencer Implicated Forbes …Iconic retail brands have been recently implicated in a BBC investigation into the unethical practices of Turkish textile industry. ASOS, an online fashion company and Marks & Spencer, an iconic British high street retailer, have both been identified as possessing child workers in their supply chains…
STATE & LIVING WAGE BATTLES
New Jersey: Chris Christie Is Over The Atlantic …Two of his top aides have now testified under oath that Christie knew of the lane closures—ones that would strand thousands of motorists on the George Washington Bridge—in advance. Prosecutors have maintained that the lanes were closed by Kelly and Baroni as retribution against the mayor of Fort Lee…
Georgia: A growing conflict over voting rights is playing out in the state, where the presidential race is tightening Washington Post …A growing conflict over voting rights and ballot access is playing out in Georgia, where civil rights activists are trading accusations with Republican elected officials and where the stakes have risen considerably with the state’s new status as a closely watched battleground. Activists said this month that as many as 100,000 Georgia voter-registration applications have not been processed…
Indiana officials are trying to block almost 45,000 black citizens from voting Think Progress …Roughly 45,000 newly registered voters in Indiana — almost all of whom are black — may not be allowed to vote next month after state police targeted the state’s largest voter registration drive, forcing it to shut down its operation. Police raided the Indiana Voter Registration Project (IVRP) offices on October 4, seizing documents and equipment and forcing the group to cease its get-out-the-vote efforts…
Pennsylvania: Ride-Sharing Legislation Passes Senate, Opens Door For Uber, Lyft In Philadelphia CBS …A spokesman says Governor Tom Wolf will sign legislation on the way to his desk that will grant permanent, statewide authorization to Uber, Lyft and other ride-sharing services. The state Senate gave final approval to the bill Monday. Authorization for ride-share services expired in Philadelphia at the end of September…
D.C.: Bowser, council chair spar over paid family leave Washington Post …Bowser sparred with Mendelson, a fellow Democrat, over his handling of the family leave legislation, blasting what she called “secrecy” surrounding the details of the proposal just weeks before he plans to bring it up for vote in November. The mayor also questioned whether paid family leave was the best use of city funds. “You want to raise taxes,” Bowser said…
Fact check: voter roll problems do not equate to fraud US News & World Report …The Pew Center said election officials have worked to upgrade their voter registration systems. It noted that 40 states now provide or have passed legislation allowing for online voter registration and 20 states have signed up for the Electronic Registration Information Center. That system is administered by the states and alerts election officials to cases in which a voter’s information may be out of date…
U.S. LABOR
Three unions await Libbey strike outcome The Blade …Libbey Inc. effectively gave the striking members of Glass Molders Plastics Local 59 an extra 48 hours to approve a new deal on Monday after the union twice rejected contract offers over the weekend. But while the union, on strike nearly two weeks now, represents a relatively small share of Libbey’s Toledo-area employees, a continued impasse beyond that could sink agreements the company recently reached with its three other unions…
Negotiations with SEPTA workers stall as strike deadline nears Philly.com …Members of a union representing almost 5,000 SEPTA bus, trolley, and subway workers warned that a strike would be unavoidable if a new contract agreement were not reached within the next week. “My members have mandated that at 12:01 (a.m.) we will go on strike,” said Willie Brown, president of Transportation Workers United Local 234…
Harvard Reaches Tentative Agreement to End Cafeteria Workers’ Strike New York Times …Cafeteria workers at Harvard, who have been on strike for nearly three weeks in an effort to avoid an increase in their health care costs and to earn higher salaries, could return to work this week after a tentative agreement was reached with the university, a union president said. Brian Lang, the president of Unite Here Local 26, which represents about 750 cafeteria workers, confirmed that terms had been reached early Tuesday morning…
White House urges ban on non-compete agreements for many workers Reuters …The Obama administration on Tuesday called on U.S. states to ban agreements prohibiting many workers from moving to their employers’ rivals, saying it would lead to a more competitive labor market and faster wage growth. The administration said so-called non-compete agreements interfere with worker mobility…
How Businesses Could Skirt the New Overtime Law TIME … There is substantial evidence how employers will respond: They will cut weekly hours of previously exempt workers who had been working more than 40 hours per week, but that cut will be small enough so that those workers’ weekly earnings will increase. Employees will work less but make more…
This Group Wants To Help Middle-Class Workers As Robots Take Their Jobs Huffington Post …As workers across the country increasingly worry about robots taking their jobs, one group is helping to educate the workforce and serve as a fulcrum for solutions around the issue. WorkingNation, a nonprofit project that launched in September, aims to inform people about the changing landscape of employment due to the rise in automation…
Retailers Rushed to Hire for Holidays, a Sign of Tight Labor Market Wall Street Journal …Retailers are scrambling to hire holiday-season workers despite an unusually early start on recruiting this year, creating a collision among employers for temporary help in a tight labor market. Data from job-search site Indeed.com shows retailers, and the warehouse and logistics firms they compete with for seasonal labor, started searching for temporary workers in August, a month earlier than in recent years…
SOCIAL JUSTICE & OTHER NEWS
Elizabeth Warren has a message for Donald Trump: ‘Nasty women vote’ Washington Post …Elizabeth Warren turned one of Republican Donald Trump’s insults against him on Monday, warning that “nasty women” will be his undoing on Election Day. Campaigning alongside Democratic presidential nominee Clinton 15 days before the election, Warren mocked Trump as a bigot and a sexist boor…
Gary Johnson’s Hard-Right Record Jacobin …Gary Johnson spent his time as New Mexico’s governor championing private prisons and austerity. He’s not worth a protest vote. After inaugurating New Mexico’s use of private prisons, Johnson made it his top political priority to install a school voucher system (an effort that failed because of the legislature’s opposition). He also annulled public employees’ collective-bargaining rights…
Student Debt May Be Contributing to Racial Inequality Bloomberg …The pursuit of higher education may be exacerbating gaps in financial well-being between blacks and whites, rather than narrowing them. Black Americans who recently graduated college owe close to twice as much on their student loans as whites, a racial gap that has climbed nearly 14-fold over the past 15 years…
Heartbreaking New Documentary Immortalizes Chicago Black Women Killed By Police Huffington Post …A new documentary is helping to ensure that we never forget Rekia Boyd, Bettie Jones and other black women killed in interactions with police. As of October, 10 black women have been killed by police this year, according to a tracker from The Guardian…
Uber’s self-driving truck went on a 120-mile beer run to make history Business Insider …In the arms race to build self-driving vehicles, the Uber-owned company Otto last week reached a milestone by completing the first commercial cargo run for a self-driving truck. Two thousand cases of Budweiser beer filled the trailer. While others working on self-driving technology are building new vehicles, Otto is designing a system that could be retrofitted onto existing trucks…
Report Shows ‘Bold New Vision’ for Carbon-Free Transportation System Is Possible Common Dreams …Calling for a total revamp of the nation’s transportation policy towards one driven by the need to avert climate disaster, a new report published Monday lays out 50 steps the U.S. can take to reach a carbon-free system. Currently, the transportation system is “Climate Enemy #1,” the new publication released by Environment America and authored by think tank Frontier Group, states…