Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Today's Teamster News 08.06.14

Teamster News
Teamsters Back John Liu For NY Senate  New York Daily News   ...“John Liu is a true friend of New York workers who has time and again put himself on the line to be their voice in government,” said Teamsters Joint Council 16 President George Miranda in a campaign statement Monday...
UVM, Teamsters Reach Two-Year Settlement  Insurance News Net   ...The University of Vermont has successfully completed negotiations on a two-year contract with the Chauffeurs, Teamsters, Warehousemen and Helpers Union No. 597. The union represents full-time and regular part-time police officers, service officers, and dispatchers employed by the university...
Simplot Employees Vote To Strike  Jamestown Sun   ...After a day-long union meeting, employees of J.R. Simplot went on strike, picketing outside the potato processing plant in Grand Forks about 6 p.m. Monday...
Mediators Seek Deal In Philadelphia Transit Case  Philadelphia Inquirer   ...SEPTA has been in federally supervised mediation with that union as well as the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers since 2010. Engineers are seeking raises of at least 14.5 percent over five years, about 3 percentage points more than SEPTA has offered...
Trade
Samsung Chops Order To China Supplier That Used Child Labor  CNET   ...Samsung will significantly reduce orders to one of its mobile parts suppliers after uncovering the use of child labor at a Chinese facility...
Congress Sends Obama Letter on TPP and Vietnam Human Rights  Trade Reform   ...Thirty five Congress men and women from both parties sent President Obama a letter last week expressing serious concerns about including Vietnam in Trans Pacific Partnership talks. Vietnam is a serial abuser of human rights...
TPP Talks In Ottawa: Brunei’s Brutal Sharia Law Raises Questions About Future Of Trade Deals  Trade Reform   ...One of the 12 countries involved in the talks is Brunei. The tiny petro-state of half a million people on the southeast Asian island of Borneo recently adopted harsh new Sharia laws, including the death penalty, by stoning, for adultery, gay sex and insulting the Koran. Other elements of the law include prison sentences for pregnancy outside of wedlock or failing to pray on Friday, and amputations or whipping for theft and drinking alcohol...
State Battles
Scott Walker Is Reeling As Wisconsin Governor’s Race Is A Dead Heat  Politicus USA   ...A new poll of Wisconsin brings more bad news for Gov. Scott Walker as the Wisconsin Republican is locked in tie with Democrat Mary Burke 47%-47%...
Mackinac Center offers teachers form to withdraw from MEA during 'August window'  MLive   ...The Mackinac Center, a vocal opponent of the Michigan Education Association, is giving disgruntled teachers a form letter to use in voicing their desire to leave the union during the "August window..."
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel Cuts Schools, Pensions While Preserving Fund For Corporate Subsidies  International Business Times   ...Months after Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said budget constraints forced him to push for pension cuts and mass school closures, an analysis of government documents reveals the city has $1.71 billion in special accounts often used to finance corporate subsidies...
Protests Greet Lawmakers, Corporate Officials Gathering In Dallas As New Arm of ALEC Is Announced  Truthout   ...More than 98 percent of the organization's funding comes from corporations and corporate foundations, with the infamous petrochemical billionaire brothers, Charles and David Koch of Koch Industries, serving as some of the organization's largest donors...
ALEC's Jeffersonian Project Pushes to Amend the Constitution  truthout   ...ALEC is urging state legislators to pass state resolutions calling for a constitutional convention in order to pass a federal balanced budget amendment...
War On Workers
CEO exit pay under attack among Fortune 500  Forbes   ...The latest example: McKesson shareholders narrowly failed to pass a resolution calling for the company to sharply reduce the massive exit pay package in store for its handsomely compensated CEO...
Poll Finds Widespread Economic Anxiety  Wall Street Journal   ...A new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll found that despite the steady pace of hiring in recent months, 76% of adults lack confidence that their children's generation will have a better life than they do—an all-time high...
Mays Orders End To Kellogg Lock-Out  Memphis Daily News   ...U.S. District Judge Samuel “Hardy” Mays has ordered an end to the lock-out of union workers at the Memphis Kellogg plant....
Walgreen Decides Not to Pursue Overseas Tax Inversion  Wall Street Journal   ...Walgreen Co. has decided not to relocate its corporate headquarters, people familiar with the matter said, amid complications in pulling off the transaction and a backdrop of heavy political pressure from Washington to end the controversial tax-avoidance move...
After breaking labor laws, LinkedIn is ordered to pay $6 million in lost wages and damages  Pando   ...LinkedIn and the Department of Labor have reached a settlement that requires the professional social network to pay $6 million to 359 current and former employees in lost wages and damages. This comes after a DoL investigation found that LinkedIn failed to document and compensate workers for overtime hours, in a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act...
Miscellaneous
KSU President Gives Up Over $90,000 Of His Salary To Boost Lowest-Paid Campus Employees  Lexington Herald-Ledger   ...Raymond Burse, interim president of Kentucky State University, has given up more than $90,000 of his salary so university workers earning minimum wage could have their earnings increased to $10.25 an hour...