Saturday, February 14, 2015

Today's Teamster News 02.14.15

Teamsters
Teamsters Celebrate, Remember James R. Hoffa  teamster.org   ...Each year in February, Teamsters take a moment to reflect upon and remember a leader who changed the course of history for working men and women in America. James R. Hoffa, born February 14, 1913, served as General President of the Teamsters Union from 1957 to 1971. In that time, he inspired thousands to stand up and let their voices be heard...
Nevada Board Gives Up Supermajority Rule For Switching Unions  Las Vegas Review Journal   ...The three-member Nevada Local Government Employee-Management Relations Board unanimously agreed to make the changes at a meeting Thursday after ruling on a recent vote by Clark County School District support staff to determine whether Teamsters Local 14 would supplant the Education Support Employees Association at the bargaining table...
Union: Heidelberg Dispute Is Trickling Down  Cincinnati Business Courier   ... the battle over ownership of one of the region's largest beer distributing companies is having an effect on employees, and many are working without a contract....
Return To Work: Golan's Workers Claim Win After Six-Month Strike  Chicago Tribune   ...More than six months after workers at Skokie's Golan's Moving & Storage went on strike to try to win their first union contract, they returned to their jobs this month, claiming victory after agreeing to a three-year pact with the company....
CP Rail Faces Two Strike Deadlines This Weekend  Toronto Star   ...The Teamsters represents 3,300 locomotive engineers and other train workers at CP Rail. The union says the company is either unwilling or unable to comply with agreements that require train crews to stop operating and obtain rest after 10 continuous hours of work...
What People Power Can Achieve: Take The LA Port Drivers  City Watch   ...With the support of LA Mayor Eric Garcetti, drivers from dozens of companies last year joined in unity (with Teamsters Local 848) to demand changes from drayage firms.  They met “to fight for justice.”...
FTC Delays Vote On $3.5B Food Merger After Sysco Meetings  New York Post   ...The Federal Trade Commission has blinked. The regulator was close Wednesday night to voting to block a $3.5 billion food industry merger — but postponed the decision after an intense day of meetings with Sysco, The Post has learned...
Sean Corr Will Race In The Lucas Oil 200 At Daytona Saturday To Support NYC's Horse-And-Carriage Industry  New York Daily News   ...One of the top contenders in this year’s Daytona Speedweek is running on Big Apple horse-and carriage power. Sean Corr, an up-and-coming race car driver from upstate New York, decked out his race car with a mural featuring a Central Park horse-carriage driver to show support for the embattled industry...
Labor Council Awards Honor Local Union Activists  Syracuse Post Standard   ...Unsung Hero Award: John Pekoff, Teamsters 317. Pekoff has helped with behind-the-scenes tasks like securing money for buses for the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade, lining up food for events and offering up the local Teamster Hall for meetings, training and phone banks...
Trade
Democrat Says Obama Administration Dodging Request To Read Trade Deals Without Restrictions  Huffington Post   …A Democratic congressman has accused the Obama administration of dodging his request for "unimpeded" access to two controversial trade agreements -- reigniting a dispute over transparency as the president presses legislators for so-called "fast-track" authority, which would block members of Congress from offering amendments to either deal...
TPP free trade deal no closer to transparency  SBS   …Australia’s hand in what is potentially the world's largest free trade agreement remains hidden from the public...
State Battles
Right-to-work laws won't save Illinois  Chicago Tribune   … It's impossible to claim that RTW laws help state economies. RTW advocates such as Rauner simply haven't made their case. If these laws have any impact on a state's well-being, the evidence doesn't show it. Except for one thing: Invariably, wages are lower in RTW states…
Assembly Dems Propose Minimum Wage Boost To $10.10  Wisconsin Public Radio   ...Among the bills pushed by state Dems is one that would index the Homestead Tax Credit for low-income families to the rate of inflation and another that would restore cuts to the Earned Income Tax Credit for low-income workers. A third would enact a $10.10 minimum wage...
GOP Contender Walker Draws Wall Street Cash  Wall Street Journal   ...Wall Street is warming up to Wisconsin’s Republican Gov. Scott Walker. Several GOP fundraisers from the financial-services industry and other Manhattan business sectors are hosting donor events for Mr. Walker, a likely presidential candidate, when he visits New York next week...
War on Workers
West Coast Ports Will Take A Split 4-Day Weekend Off  Consumerist   …Today is a holiday according to the port workers’ contracts, and so is Monday. Instead of paying overtime for what shipping line representatives say is deliberately slowed-down work, they’re simply shutting everything down for those four days, as they did last weekend. The unions, meanwhile, claim that the owners are trying to force a lockout, and also making the backlog even worse as a negotiating tactic...
Experts: Unaffordable rents here to stay  Housing Wire   …Unaffordable rents are making it hard for people to save for down payments, and they aren’t likely to ease up for at least two years, according to the latest Zillow Home Price Expectations Survey…
Miscellaneous
Make It A Union-Made Valentine's Day  Union Plus   ...Did you know Necco Sweethearts, See's Candy, and some Hershey Kisses are just a few of the sweet treats made by your fellow union members?  Sweets for your Valentine can be even sweeter when they're union-made...