Sunday, March 22, 2015

Today's Teamster News 03.22.15

Teamsters
Profiles of a Community  teamster.org   ...Seattle Teamsters Explore Diverse Membership...
Trade
Senate's Hatch says making progress on fast-track trade talks  Reuters   ... Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, a Republican, said on Monday he is making progress with his Democratic colleagues on a bill to streamline the passage of free-trade deals through Congress...
State Battles
Session recap: House leaders point fingers  NM Political Report   ...The 2015 New Mexico Legislative Session ended on Saturday with House leaders from both parties pointing fingers and assigning blame on high profile legislation that failed to pass.... Gentry said he was disappointed with many other bills that stalled in the Senate. Third grade retention, right-to-work and a repeal of the law allowing those in the country illegally to obtain driver’s licenses were the major pieces of legislation that Gentry said were strategically held up in the Senate, despite his efforts...
War on Workers
Delivery Drones Hit Bumps on Path to Doorstep  Wall Street Journal   ...Companies hoping to use drones to deliver small packages are confronting technical hurdles such as battery life and weather that are at least as vexing as proposed U.S. regulatory limits...
Mexican farmworkers strike over low wages, blocking harvest  Los Angeles Times   ...The strike, which began Tuesday, has shut down schools and stores across the region and focused attention on alleged labor abuses at agribusinesses that export millions of tons of produce to the U.S. every year. Among those targeted are U.S.-based BerryMex, which grows strawberries and raspberries sold under the Driscoll label....
Who Needs a Boss?  New York Times   ...Research findings about employee-owned bsuinesses are rarely negative -- they are either just as good as regular businesses, or they are more productive, less susceptible to failure, more attentive to quality and less likely to lay off workers in a downturn...
Commentary: Defending unions against the haters (opinion)  Chicago Tribune   ...Restricting union growth has always been bad for workers' economic and political freedom. The cumulative weight of decades of social science has unquestionably demonstrated that union-bargained contracts provide workers with higher incomes, more and better benefits, and a stronger "voice" in the workplace...
58-year-old Worker Dies Due to Ignored Safety Hazards  Occupational Health & Safety   ...A maintenance worker was killed after being pinned down between a scrap metal table and a railing at Hussmann Corp.’s Bridgeton facility, according to a news release. OSHA has cited the company for three willful and 12 serious safety violations...