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Today’s Teamster News For January 17, 2017
TEAMSTERS
Teamsters Vote to Strike at San Francisco International Airport Teamster.org … Teamsters employed as auditors, cashiers and office personnel have voted unanimously to reject a final contract offer from the parking facility operator at the San Francisco International Airport (SFO). “Every worker voted against the company proposal,” said Mark Gleason, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 665, which represents the 110 workers at SFO’s domestic and international parking facility…
Supreme Court denies review of BLET victory on two-person train crews BLET.org …The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) has secured another significant victory for rail workers — this time from the highest court in the United States — in the Union’s ongoing campaign to protect two-person train crews. On January 9, the United States Supreme Court denied a petition filed by the Wheeling and Lake Erie asking that the nation’s highest court review and set aside the 2015 finding by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals that the railroad’s use of managers in place of Union conductors was a major dispute under the RLA…
Firefighters look to Teamsters union for help with city St. George …A majority of firefighters employed by the city of St. George want the Teamsters to represent them due to an allegedly hostile work environment within the city, the union claimed in a press release Friday. “Firefighters employed by the City of St. George approached the Teamsters late last year seeking representation in the work place and a voice on the job,” wrote Spencer Hogue, a representative of the Teamsters Local 222 out of Salt Lake City…
Chicago-Area Teamsters at Railway Industrial Services Vote to Strike Local 710 …Approximately 74 rail workers represented by Teamsters Local 710 in Chicago overwhelmingly voted on Jan. 11 to authorize an unfair labor practice strike against Railway Industrial Services (RIS). The unfair labor practice strike has begun as of 7:00 a.m. this morning in suburban Crest Hill, Ill. Local 710 filed the charge against RIS after the company repeatedly failed to comply with an information request regarding employee benefits, retirement information and health care coverage…
Martin Luther King Jr. died while standing up for sanitation workers’ rights — but many still have to work on his holiday NY Daily News …Civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. was killed while supporting a sanitation workers’ strike — and 48 years later, those same workers don’t get his holiday off. “I’ve taken my son to the Lorraine Motel, we’ve talked about King and how he paid with his life to help sanitation workers,” said Sean Campbell, president of Teamsters Local 831, which represents many of New York’s private sanitation workers…
Teamsters want Hesperia to pay up Daily Press …In a show of solidarity, dozens of Teamsters Local 1932 members wearing orange T-shirts stood in unison during a recent City Council meeting. Teamster Supervisor Steve Matthews told the Council he represents a group of 75 city employees who have continued to work during good and difficult times…
Purolator drivers vote to strike Truck News …Purolator drivers voted 97.4% in favor of strike action, according to the Teamsters union that represents them. Membership has not yet authorized strike action and the bargaining committee has not set a strike deadline, the union said in a note to members…
UC Workers Deserve Livable Wage (opinion) UCSD Guardian …Last Tuesday, Teamsters Local 2010 members of the CX-Unit organized a strike to protest the numerous unfair labor practices and violations of state law committed by University of California. The executive director of Strategic Communications of University of California, Dianne Klein, claims that the University of California is offering an average 18-percent raise over six years, but the Teamsters Local 2010 tells a different story…
GLOBAL LABOR & TRADE
Canada: Molson Coors plant workers on strike, no short-term beer shortage expected Global News …No beer shortages are expected, at least for the short term, after workers at the Molson Coors plant in Toronto walked off the job when labour negotiations between the union and the beer giant broke down this week. Around 320 employees at the Carlingview Drive brewery in Toronto hit the picket line at noon on Thursday when both sides couldn’t reach a deal…
Scotland: trade offer to the UK changes nothing Politico …The U.S. president-elect’s offer of a rapid trade deal with the U.K. once the country leaves the European Union doesn’t change the pro-independence Scottish government’s desire to stay in the European single market, Scotland’s external affairs minister said Monday…
UK: abour urges Theresa May not to rush into trade deal with U.S. to avoid being ‘swallowed up’ Independent …Britain after Brexit will be a “small player”, making it easier for the United States to get its way and impose unwanted measures in any rapid-fire trade talks, the Opposition said. The warning came as questions were asked about the implications for UK pharmaceutical firms and farmers of any agreement offering the US freer access to markets…
Japan, Vietnam to cooperate on TPP Asian Review …The leaders of Japan and Vietnam shared a desire to see the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade deal put into force at an early date at their meeting here Monday. Abe has completed legislative procedures necessary for Japan to put the TPP into force…
NZ will promote TPP despite US rejection Radio NZ …Yesterday Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull also reaffirmed their support for the trade deal. In his first visit to Australia since Mr Turnbull became Prime Minister, Mr Abe said both leaders were committed to ensuring the 12-country TPP trade deal would come into effect…
New administration will renegotiate our trade deals. Will it really be on behalf of workers? Washington Post …A coalition of groups that helped stopped the Trans-Pacific Partnership is today sending a letter to the president-elect outlining a variety of things that it hopes to see from renegotiated trade deals. This letter is useful to us as a blueprint for trying to judge whether the new administration’s efforts are truly geared to improving the lot of working people…
Greek State Minister Warns of New Referendum on Austerity Sputnik News …Athens has been pressured into cutting pensions and lowering the minimum tax-free income in order to meet its budget commitments to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), demands Flabouraris said were “irrational.” “There is no way the government will sign up to irrational demands by creditors,” the minister said, speaking of a widening gap between Greece and international lenders…
Walmart Urged to Sell Sustainable, Ethical Canned Tuna Progressive Grocer …Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has received a letter from a broad coalition of labor and environmental organizations urging the Bentonville, Ark.-based mega-retailer to carry more sustainable and ethical canned tuna. Addressed to CEO Doug McMillon, the letter notes: “Walmart buys tuna from Thai Union Group, a company that has been under the spotlight for its links to human rights and labor abuse, including forced labor and human trafficking…
STATE & LIVING WAGE BATTLES
Anti-union RTW legislation advances in Missouri House Labor Tribune …Missouri legislators promised to fast-track so-called “right-to-work” this session and they wasted no time this week – hearing five versions of the anti-union, anti-worker legislation before the House Economic Development Committee, which bundled them into one bill that is expected to be heard in the full House next week…
N.H. Lawmakers Debate Bill That Could Weaken Labor Unions’ Power CBS …New Hampshire lawmakers are holding the first public hearing on a bill aimed at weakening the power of labor unions. The Senate Commerce Committee will take testimony on a bill known as right to work Tuesday afternoon. The bill would prohibit public and private unions from requiring employees to join or contribute money…
Virginia: senate committee blocks minimum wage increase Free Press …The Republican-controlled Senate Commerce and Labor Committee failed to pass two measures that would have seen an increase in Virginia’s minimum wage and, by extension, would have provided relief to thousands of working Virginians. Senator Dave Marsden’s (D-Fairfax) SB785 would have seen an incremental increase to the Virginia minimum wage…
Montana: legislature discusses increasing minimum wage from $8.15 to $10.10 an hour Billings Gazette …A Helena legislator wants to increase the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, a proposal that drew both support and criticism Monday. Rep. Mary Ann Dunwell, D-Helena, introduced House Bill 169 to the Business and Labor Committee. The increased minimum wage proposed by Dunwell would take effect January 2018…
Democrats Want to Revive Obama’s Overtime Rule State by State Bloomberg …Democrats in Rhode Island, Connecticut, Maryland, Wisconsin and Michigan said they plan to introduce bills modeled on Obama’s reform, which would have made millions more white-collar workers eligible for overtime. More are likely to follow, said Sam Munger, a senior adviser for the State Innovation Exchange, which promotes progressive legislation…
U.S. LABOR
MTA strike averted in NYC as union, transit agency reach tentative contract Pix …Hours after MTA workers’ contract expired without a new agreement, the Transport Workers Union said it has reached a tentative deal with the transit agency to avoid a strike. “We won a tentative contract with solid raises, and other strong economic gains, moving transit workers well ahead of inflation and greatly improving their quality of life,” the union said in a statement Monday…
Illinois’ biggest state worker union schedules strike-authorization vote Chicago Tribune …Illinois’ largest public employee union moved one step closer to a confrontation with Gov. Bruce Rauner, scheduling votes that could authorize a state worker strike if the union and the Republican governor are unable to reach a deal on new contract terms. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31 announced the strike vote plan in a letter to union members, scheduling votes starting Jan. 30 and ending mid-February…
Aviation unions sue Obama admin over Norwegian Air decision The Hill …In a lawsuit filed in the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Thursday, unions representing pilots and flight attendants asked that the decision be overturned based on the grounds that it violates labor protections contained in the international Open Skies agreements…
DOL Taking Block Of Persuader Rule To 5th Circ. Law360 …The Department of Labor is appealing a November decision permanently blocking a controversial rule requiring businesses that ask for advice on responding to union campaigns to report when they do so, according to an appeal notice filed Thursday with a Texas federal court. The agency will ask the Fifth Circuit to review U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings’ decision to grant a request by a collection of states and business groups to block the so-called persuader rule…
The Revolt of Working Parents The Atlantic …In the past decade, the number of caregiver-discrimination lawsuits has tripled compared to the previous decade, according to research from the Center for WorkLife Law at the University of California, San Francisco. Between 2006 and 2015, researchers found that more than 3,000 such cases were decided in state and federal courts, even as overall federal job-discrimination claims were declining…
Incoming Administration’s Vow to Erase Obama’s Executive Orders Takes Aim at Diversity Bloomberg …The president-elect’s pledge to cancel the executive orders of his predecessor would have wide-ranging implications in compensation, paid leave, diversity in hiring, and protection for gay and transgender employees in the workplace. Among more than 240 executive orders signed by President Barack Obama since he took office in 2009, about 27 relate to the workplace…
Sources: Labor pick Andrew Puzder has voiced second thoughts about nomination CNN …The president-elect’s choice to be labor secretary has voiced second thoughts in recent days, because of a relentless barrage of criticism from Democrats, labor unions and other liberal groups, a business ally and GOP sources tell CNN. Andy Puzder is the CEO of the company that owns the Hardees and Carl’s Jr. fast food chains…
Commerce pick Wilbur Ross offshored 2,700 jobs since 2004 Reuters …Billionaire Wilbur Ross earned his fortune in part by running businesses that have offshored thousands of U.S. jobs, according to Labor Department data attained by Reuters. As a high-stakes investor a decade ago, Ross specialized in turning around troubled manufacturing companies at a time when the U.S. economy was losing more than 100,000 jobs yearly due to global trade…
SOCIAL JUSTICE & OTHER NEWS
Chicago police routinely violated civil rights: U.S. Justice Department Reuters …Chicago police routinely violated the civil rights of people in one of America’s largest cities, the U.S. Justice Department said in a report released on Friday, citing excessive force, racially discriminatory conduct and a “code of silence” to thwart investigations into police misconduct. The report said excessive force falls “heaviest on black and Latino communities,” with police using force almost 10 times more often against blacks than whites…
The Coming Crusade Against Public Education The Nation …Betsy DeVos, whose nomination for secretary of education will be reviewed by the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee on Tuesday, has never taught in a classroom. She’s never worked in a school administration, nor in a state education system, nor has she studied pedagogy. DeVos adheres to the idea that free-market competition between schools will produce the best outcome for students…
Private prisons are poised for a comeback. Here’s how to reform them. Vox …Private prisons have received their fair share of criticism over the past few decades. Today, states and federal government continue to draw up irresponsible contracts with private prison firms that gives them far too much leeway. This has led to a lack of accountability and transparency, a lack of programming in many prisons, and no way to ascertain recidivism rates…