Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Today's Teamster News 03.10.15

Teamsters
Hoffa: Right-To-Work In Wisconsin Is Another Step Down The Wrong Road For Working Families  teamster.org   ...“Today, Gov. Scott Walker ignored the will of Wisconsin’s working families, signing a right-to-work bill into law that was fast tracked through the state legislature...
40 hurt when Amtrak train slams into truck in Halifax County  WRAL.com   ...Dozens of passengers were injured Monday when an Amtrak train traveling from Charlotte to New York derailed in Halifax County after slamming into a tractor-trailer that apparently got stuck at an intersection, authorities said...
Apple Gives Shuttle Bus Drivers A Raise  San Jose Mercury News   ...Last week, Apple announced it would hire many of its contract security guards as full-time employees entitled to the same benefits as other workers, echoing a similar step made last year by Google. What's more, shuttle bus drivers for popular Silicon Valley contractors Loop Transportation and Compass Transportation have joined the Teamsters union, which is negotiating for better pay and benefits...
Handi-Van Management, Drivers' Union At Odds Over Customer Complaint Calls  KHNL   ...The disagreement centers over a small card that the Hawaii Teamsters Local 996 distributed to its drivers to give to their passengers, which includes the phone numbers for the offices of the mayor, city manager and transportation. The drivers started giving out the cards last November, a month after the city changed the HandiVan reservation system, resulting in long waits and irate customers...
Sysco Extends Merger Pact With U.S. Foods To May  Wall Street Journal   ...The food-distributor said the termination date for the accord, initially reached in December 2013, was moved to May 7 from March 8, in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Court hearings are set to begin May 5 on the Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust lawsuit against the merger of Sysco and U.S. Foods, the nation’s two largest food distributors...
Trade
Secret Treaties: Why I'm Against the TPP  Huffington Post   ...The TPP masquerades as a "free-trade" agreement when in reality its designed to make it even easier for colossal corporations to ship American jobs overseas by dismantling organized labor, undercutting workers' rights and shirking environmental regulations...
State Battles
Scott Walker Signs Right-To-Work Bill  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel   ...Gov. Scott Walker has signed the right-to-work legislation passed last week by the state Legislature...
Senate Committee Pushes Vote On Labor Bills To Tuesday  Santa Fe New Mexican   ...The weekslong debate over whether New Mexico should outlaw compulsory union fees will go on for at least two more days...
Raimondo To Seek Minimum Wage Hike  Providence Journal   ...Governor Raimondo campaigned for office on a promise to back an increase in the state's minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. On Monday, she will call on state lawmakers to help her fulfill that campaign pledge by raising the minimum wage from $9 to $10.10 an hour in 2016...
Bills On Workers' Comp Bias And Ride-Sharing Safety Are Resurrected  Los Angeles Times   ...Lawmakers once again are grappling with complaints from injured workers that insurers unfairly slash their disability payments. A bill by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) would partially address the problem of alleged bias against women hurt on the job. The bill has strong backing from labor unions...
War on Workers
The 21st century has been terrible for working Americans  Washington Post   ...Of all the scary stats you've heard about the U.S. economy over the last few years, this might be the scariest: Almost two-thirds of American households earn less money today than they did in 2002...
Poll: Fox News most trusted network  Politico   ...In comparison rankings, 29 percent responded that they trust Fox News the most. CNN follows with 22 percent, CBS News and NBC News are at 10 percent, ABC News at 8 percent and MSNBC at 7 percent...
Wrecks Hit Tougher Oil Railcars  Wall Street Journal   ...In a string of recent oil train derailments in the U.S. and Canada, new and sturdier railroad tanker cars being built to carry a rising tide of crude oil across the continent have failed to prevent ruptures...
NYCHA Employee Dies After Plunge While On Job At Coney Island Public Housing Complex  New York Daily News   ...A New York City Housing Authority employee died in a Coney Island public housing complex building Saturday — the victim of an apparent fall, cops said...
Miscellaneous
Credit-Reporting Giants Agree To Overhaul  Wall Street Journal   ...Under an agreement announced Monday with New York state, Equifax Information Services LLC, Experian Information Solutions Inc. and TransUnion LLC will be more proactive in resolving disputes over information contained in credit reports—a process federal watchdogs and consumer advocates have long decried as being stacked against individuals...