Friday, March 30, 2012

Today's Teamster News 03.30.12

Spain's general strike shows first signs of rebellion against austerity  The Guardian   ...With near-empty railway stations, shut factories, mass marches and occasional outbreaks of violence during a general strike on Thursday, Spaniards showed the first signs of rebellion against the reformist, austerity-preaching conservative government they voted in four months ago...
Foxconn Auditor Finds ‘Serious’ Violations of Chinese Law  Bloomberg   ...An audit of Foxconn Technology Group (2354) found “serious and pressing” violations of Chinese labor laws, prompting the biggest maker of Apple Inc. (AAPL) devices to pledge to cut working hours and give employees more oversight. Inspectors found at least 50 breaches of Chinese regulations as well as the code of conduct Apple signed when it joined the Fair Labor Association in January after deaths of workers at suppliers, the monitoring group said today...
China's Industrial Espionage Knows No Bounds  Economic Populist   ...Every major company in the United States has already been penetrated by China. So says cyber security expert and former White House counter-terrorism advisor Richard Clarke. In a new Smithsonian Magazine interview, Clarke amplifies what has already been revealed, China is ripping off U.S. and other corporations left and right...
Taking Bosses Hostage: A Labor Negotiating Tactic In France  Testoserone Pit   ...In France, the labor negotiation tactic of locking up bosses is not unusual after a company threatens with layoffs or plant closings. Law enforcement rarely intervenes...
Garbage Company’s Trashed Promise Sparks Rare Rolling Sympathy Strike  Alternet   ...Teamsters in Alabama went on strike against a giant garbage company--and in Seattle, New York and Ohio, workers joined them in solidarity, in a move that's usually illegal...
Judge Orders Hearing in Teamsters' Challenge to FDOC Probation Rules  Local 2011   ...An administrative judge today ordered a hearing in Teamsters Local 2011's legal challenge to restore the requirement that probation officers visit the homes of dangerous criminals on probation...