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Teamster Mechanics At United Airlines Approve Agreement
Posted: December 30, 2011
Source: Teamster.org
Teamster aircraft mechanics and related workers at United Airlines Inc. [NYSE: UAL] overwhelmingly ratified a contract that provides for significant wage increases, maintenance of health care benefits and enhanced job security protections, the Teamsters Union announced today.

The Teamster contract covers about 5,500 aircraft mechanics and related employees throughout the United States.

“This marks a historic day for Teamster United mechanics,” said Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa. “They stood united for a better future and for big improvements at United. They should feel proud of what they’ve accomplished.”

“My congratulations go out to the negotiating committee for their dedication and perseverance in negotiating a strong Teamster contract. These hardworking Teamster mechanics and related workers deserve all the improvements negotiated in this agreement,” said Teamsters Airline Division Director Capt. David Bourne.

Passage of the agreement is a major step toward achieving the ultimate goal of a single combined contract for the 9,000 Teamster mechanics at a merged United Airlines and Continental Airlines.

"Passage of this agreement was a real breakthrough and a major step toward achieving the ultimate goal of a single combined contract for the 9,000 mechanics at the new airline,” said Roger Apana, a mechanic from Honolulu and a member of the negotiating committee. “It feels good that we were able to achieve a $11,500 signing bonus along with restoring many of the items that were conceded in bankruptcy and securing the best job protections we've had in our 70-year history."

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Union-Election Rule Will Begin April 30, Labor Board Says
Posted: December 24, 2011
Source: Bloomberg
The National Labor Relations Board issued a rule that will lead to speedier U.S. union elections, a measure fought by business groups and Republicans.

The regulation, which will take effect April 30, will simplify union-election procedures and shorten the deadline for balloting after employees request a vote. The board, which resolves disputes between labor and management, adopted the change in a 2-1 vote.

“This rule is about giving all employees who have petitioned for an election the right to vote in a timely manner and without the impediment of needless litigation,” NLRB Chairman Mark Pearce said today in an e-mailed statement.

Republicans in the U.S. House and business groups such as the National Association of Manufacturers have said the labor board has created “ambush elections.” The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said it sued the board to block the rule. The U.S. House on Dec. 1 passed legislation curbing the powers of the agency on the union-vote rule.

“It will still deny access to a fair election process, limit employer free speech, and restrict worker free choice,” Representative John Kline, a Minnesota Republican and chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, said in a statement. The board is “determined to advance an activist, pro-union agenda at any cost,” he said.
Read the source story here.

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New HOS rule keeps 11-hour limit
Posted: December 22, 2011

Source: Teamster Nation
This just in: The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration released the long-awaited final rule on hours of service for commercial drivers. Here's the Journal of Commerce on the rule:

Federal safety regulators issued tougher new hours of service regulations for truck drivers on Thursday, maintaining the 11-hour daily limit that shippers and carriers says is central to U.S. domestic supply chains but also creating tighter requirements for rest periods and total weekly time on the road. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration did not reduce the daily limit to 10 hours or less as logistics industry executives had feared, but the rule requires a 30-minute rest after eight consecutive hours of driving and it cuts the weekly total hours from the current 82 hours to 70.

The changes, the first in the core regulation covering truck driver fatigue since 2003, are the less dramatic than the original regulation the FMCSA had outlined in a preliminary notice. But it also redraws the so-called “34-hour restart” provision that resets driver work clocks to require rest periods at specific times and to reduce the overall work week.

Here's the Teamsters' official response from General President Jim Hoffa:

We said all along that an hours of service rule has to protect highway safety and our truck drivers’ health. We are reviewing the new rule, and in the coming weeks we will meet and discuss it with our allies and, if necessary, determine our next course of action.

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The Stranger Asks Why Are Righties Such Stupid, Crazy, Paranoid Morons?
Posted: December 20, 2011
Source: The Stranger
Right-wing blogs and pseudo-media outlets are working themselves into a frenzy over a job posting for SEIU Healthcare 775NW, the Washington state union that represents thousands of home healthcare workers. The posting for "Senior/Lead Internal Organizer, Home Care" comes with a job description that includes among other things:

· Train and lead members in non-violent civil disobedience, such as occupying state buildings and banks, and peaceful resistance.

· Plan and execute strategic direct action field plans including banner drops, bank takeovers, and capitol occupations with membership, other local unions, and coalition partners.

It's plain language that has prompted the entertainingly wacko RedState to brand SEIU a "radical and militantly Marxist union," and the objectively addlepated Objectivist Pam Geller to prattle about unions being "looters, moochers, destroyers, rapists, thieves, arsonist, killers, etc." Meanwhile, the obviously anti-labor LaborUnionReport asks:

Since the SEIU has already shown it has no respect for private property, the question that lingers is: Will 2013 be the year when a real attorney general finally begins to look at the entire SEIU structure with RICO in mind?

That's right, the stupid, f*cking, crazy, paranoid, right-wing morons apparently view this job listing as reason to prosecute SEIU under racketeering laws devised to combat organized crime. What a bunch of stupid, f*cking, crazy, paranoid, right-wing morons.

Um... it's no secret that SEIU and other unions have organized non-violent civil disobedience like occupying government buildings and banks. In fact, this is the sort of thing that organized labor routinely does—plan and participate in protests—and from my personal experience covering such protests, they tend to do it in an extraordinarily organized manner. The sit-ins at the DC offices of Rep. Dave Reichert and other Republicans earlier this month—there was nothing particularly "radical" or "militant" about it. The massive occupation of K Street the next day—there was zero "looting, mooching, destroying, raping, thieving, arson, or killing."

These protests were remarkably well planned and executed; the discipline was impressive. And much of the credit must surely go to the training and guidance provided by professional organizers like the one being hired through this job listing.
Read the complete source story here.

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The Antidote for Stupidity of Shipping Tax-Dollar-Financed Jobs Overseas
Posted: December 20, 2011
Source: In These Times
Amid prolonged, painfully high unemployment, ABC News Anchor Diane Sawyer for the past year tirelessly advocated a simple solution—buy American-made products. She clearly explained the reasoning: every American dollar spent on an American-made product helps create an American job.

Defying Sawyer’s admonition to search for “Made in America” tags, California set a record for using government money to create jobs in China. The Golden State awarded a contract for the new Bay Bridge that created 3,000 jobs in China for five years—a period during which the state’s unemployment rate persisted at two percentage points above the nation’s already high average.

Now there’s an antidote for California’s stupidity. It is legislation called the Invest in American Jobs Act. Championed by U.S. Rep. Nick J. Rahall, (D-W.Va.) and Senators Sherrod Brown, (D-Ohio), Bob Casey, (D-Pa.), and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), it would strengthen existing requirements for buying American products when federal tax dollars pay for construction of highway, bridge, public transit, rail, water systems and aviation infrastructure equipment.

To create 200,000 American jobs, Sawyer has challenged Americans to spend just $64 of their $700 in holiday purchases on American-made gifts. Imagine the American jobs that would be created if “Made in America” were stamped on every single part of all $59 billion in infrastructure projects the federal government funds in a typical year.

That’s what Rahall, Brown, Casey and Stabenow want. Unless American-manufactured components aren’t available or would be outrageously more expensive, these lawmakers believe American tax dollars should buy American jobs while financing American infrastructure. So they propose to expand the existing “Buy American” requirements and close loopholes that allow governors like California’s Arnold Schwarzenegger to circumvent the rules.

Schwarzenegger contended that California would save $400 million on the $5.1 billion Bay Bridge if it hired a Chinese firm to build steel decking and a 52-story tall support tower and ship them 6,500 miles to San Francisco.

This turned out to be a “you get what you pay for” lesson for California. The state should have been forewarned by years of publicity about problems with Chinese-manufactured products. For example, toxic drywall imported from China sickened American homeowners, corroded pipes and resulted in hundreds of millions in successful damage claims against the Chinese firms that fabricated it. Or there was the tainted blood thinner Heparin from China that killed at least 81 Americans.

In the case of the Bay Bridge, inspectors failed up to 65 percent of welds on the bridge parts manufactured at the Shanghai plant – welds done workers paid $12 a day for laboring from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. As a result, the state of California and the two American companies it hired to arrange the work, including one ironically named American Bridge, had to send 250 engineers, inspectors and other experts to China to monitor the construction. That created American jobs, but imagine the extra cost.
Read the source story here.

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Happy Holidays from the Teamsters Union
Posted: December 19, 2011
Source: Teamster.org

A Message from Jim Hoffa, General President
General Secretary-Treasurer Tom Keegel and I would like to wish a happy holiday season to our Teamster brothers and sisters throughout North America.

During these difficult economic times, Teamsters continued to work hard, negotiate great contracts and organize thousands of new Teamsters. I’m confident 2012 has great things in store for us, but it’s not going to be an easy year. There are still plenty of lawmakers at the state and national level that want to eliminate unions—some of them are even running for president.

This year started with a bang. As a new wave of conservative lawmakers took office, they wasted no time attempting to gut the hard-earned benefits and rights of union members.

At every turn, Teamsters stood strong. We stood up to Gov. Scott Walker in Wisconsin and Ohio’s Senate Bill 5, we stood up for Occupy Wall Street and we kept pressure on Congress to curb the excesses of Wall Street.

In 2012, we may have to work even harder.

I know the Teamsters Union and you, our members, are ready for the fight. We are proud to stand with you as we fight for fair wages, solid benefits, a safe work environment, a secure retirement and social justice. At this time of year, when many of us spend the holidays with loved ones, we realize just how important our struggle is.

On behalf of the General Executive Board, we wish Teamsters, their families and workers everywhere a warm holiday season and a 2012 filled with health, success and justice.

In solidarity,
Jim Hoffa, General President

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Federal Judge Smacks Down Republican Assault On Unions In FAA Reauthorization
Posted: December 17, 2011
Source: Crooks and Liars
Republicans, led by Rep.John Mica (FL), who have been attempting to undercut workers rights in the reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration received a stern rebuke from a federal court Friday. In 2010, the National Mediation Board set a new rule that discounted employees that don't vote in elections to create a union, rather than counting them as no votes. Republicans charged that the Board overstepped its bounds in creating the new rule. The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld a lower court ruling that the new rules were legitimate.

“This court ruling demolishes the argument that the NMB overstepped its bounds in ensuring that NMB elections count only the ballots of those who actually vote,” said Candice Johnson, CWA Communications Director. “Just as importantly, today’s ruling means that the rationale used by many Republican leaders to continue to block the long-term FAA agreement is null and void. This ruling settles this issue once and for all: Republicans cannot continue to block the upgrades and job benefits of the FAA over a provision that has the force of law, fairness, and common sense behind it.”

As the D.C. Circuit’s majority opinion reads, “For seventy-five years, the National Mediation Board counted non-voters as voting against union representation, thereby requiring a majority of eligible voters to affirmatively vote for representation before a union could be certified. In 2010, the Board issued a new rule: elections will henceforth be decided by a majority of votes cast, and those not voting will be understood as acquiescing to the outcome of the election. Appellants challenge the new rule, claiming that it violates the statute and is arbitrary and capricious. Rejecting these arguments, the district court granted summary judgment to the Board.”

The judicial challenge was led by the Air Transport Association, primarily Delta Air Lines. With a district court already ruling in the NMB’s favor, today’s appellate court ruling severely damages the claim that the NMB did anything except bring its elections in line with basic democratic principles and the standard followed in every U.S. election.

“Republican leaders and others obsessed with union-busting are blocking the FAA Reauthorization needlessly over a provision that a series of courts have now declared as fair and valid. House Republican leaders should admit that their true motive is to deny workers’ their right to a union voice, rather than reach a sensible agreement over the FAA Reauthorization bill,” Johnson said.

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Clean Ports Act of 2011 Introduced in Congress
Posted: December 17, 2011
Source: Teamster.org
U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Charles Schumer (D-NY) introduced legislation that would allow local ports, including the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, to regulate and enforce fuel-efficient truck programs that go beyond current federal mandates.

Under the Clean Ports Act of 2011, port cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Newark, Oakland and Seattle would have the authority to set standards, reduce emissions and improve air quality by replacing older diesel trucks with cleaner vehicles without imposing the burden onto truck drivers. Earlier this year, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), a senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, re-introduced the House version of the bill.

“Congress must act to provide New York, and cities all across the country, with the common sense tools they need to improve the quality of air and quality of life for millions of people,” said Senator Gillibrand, a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. “It’s time to update federal laws and allow our nation’s ports to help reduce diesel emissions and improve air quality for all New Yorkers by putting clean trucks on the road.”

“With this bill, New Yorkers who live in and near the working waterfront will be able to breathe a little easier knowing that Congress has provided the tools to ensure that the thousands of trucks on their roads are using the latest in clean technology,” said Senator Schumer. “This is a common-sense initiative that will improve public health without diminishing economic activity in our port. I look forward to pushing hard for it in the Senate.”

“The Clean Ports Act is a critical modernization of federal law that would dramatically improve the quality of air for the 87 million Americans who live and work near major container ports,” said Congressman Nadler (D-NY), the House sponsor of the legislation. “It is indefensible that ports are being challenged from enforcing clean truck programs to replace highly polluting and outmoded diesel trucks. Such pollution profoundly increases rates of asthma, cancer and heart disease and contributes to a growing public health crisis across the nation. I am thrilled that Senator Gillibrand has joined this important campaign to clean up our ports and protect Americans from unnecessary pollution.” 

“Improving air quality for every New Yorker who lives and works near our waterfront is an important piece of the broader environmental goals of PlaNYC, our long-term infrastructure and sustainability strategy,” said Mayor Michael Bloomberg. “The Clean Ports Act will give the City the ability to partner with all stakeholders in developing effective strategies to reduce emissions from the trucks that use our ports.” 

Approximately 95% of the nation’s 110,000 port trucks fail to meet Environmental Protection Agency emission standards. According to agency estimates, poor air quality impacts 87 million people who live and work near U.S. ports. 

The Clean Ports Act of 2011, co-sponsored by Senators Gillibrand, Schumer, Al Franken (D-MN), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) would amend the Federal Motor Carrier Act to allow cities’ ports to set clean truck initiatives and delegate responsibility for the upgrade costs. 

Here in New York City, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey proposed a 10-year clean air strategy that would reduce port activity-related pollutants by 30 percent and greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent. This new federal legislation would enable and empower New York City and Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to do more to reduce truck pollution and emissions. 

In Los Angeles, the clean truck program is set to permanently ban all trucks with engines made prior to 2007 from operating at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach beginning on January 1, 2012.   However, the portion of the program that would require truck companies to hire drivers as direct employees rather than contract with individual “owner-operators” was struck down by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit on September 26, 2011. 

More than 150 civic, environmental, labor, business, and civil rights groups, including the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Change to Win, American Stevedoring, Inc., BlueGreen Alliance, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Sierra Club, Apollo Alliance, and Natural Resources Defense Council, support the Clean Ports Act.

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Navy To Employ a Project Labor Agreement for $600M Explosives Handling Wharf
Posted: December 15, 2011
Source: We Party Patriots
In an unprecedented move the Navy has added the requirement of a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) to their newest construction project which will be put out to bid at the Bangor Naval Base in Silverdale, Washington. The Explosive Handling Wharf #2 project, estimated at $600 million, is expected to break ground in spring of 2012 in a community that will benefit from real economic growth.

Construction labor unions met with the Navy in November to explore the benefits a PLA would offer on this project. Cost savings and highly skilled labor proved to be the winning combination to secure the agreement. Once the project gets underway, this will be the first PLA utilized by the Navy.

“The use of a PLA is a very good fit for the Navy’s business needs on this project,” said David Myers, Executive Secretary for the Washington State Building and Construction Trades Council. “All construction unions came together and made a commitment to meet the very strict windows available to do construction on the waterfront. This sort of commitment to the project will ensure success and open talks for additional PLA’s in the future”

The construction labor on this project will be provided by the Olympic Peninsula Building Trades and the Northwest Regional Council of the National Construction Alliance II (NWNCA).

“I applaud the decision to use an available, highly skilled local workforce,” said Lee Whetham, President of Olympic Peninsula Building and Construction Trades Council. “Many Fortune 500 companies have already completed successful construction projects using this same approach.”
Read the complete source story here.

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Top Economists Call for Higher Taxes on Mega-Rich
Posted: December 14, 2011
Source: AFL-CIO Now Blog
A new study by a team of top economists finds that if the tax rate for the highest-income Americans was pegged at—drum roll please—83 percent—it wouldn’t impact anyone butthe “mega-rich.”

When Ronald Reagan and his Republican successors began three decades of hacking away at the taxes the rich paid—once as high as 80 percent—they claimed it would spur unfettered, long-term uninterrupted economic growth for all. Great Britain’s Margaret Thatcher followed the same game plan. Well, say the authors:

Countries that made large cuts in top tax rates such as the United Kingdom or the United States have not grown significantly faster than countries that did not, such as Germany or Denmark.

Along with the tax cuts, the decades-long soaring level of executive pay, stock options and bonuses have given the top 1 percent an even greater share of the nation’s wealth. The authors say that share of the wealth has led to greater influence for the affluent and helped retain their impenetrable shield against tax increases. Even a tiny tax increase on the rich will crash the economy and kill jobs say the wealthy’s best friends—Republican lawmakers and presidential candidates.

With higher income concentration, top earners have more economic resources to influence social beliefs (through think tanks and media) and policies (through lobbying), thereby creating some reverse causality between income inequality, perceptions, and policies.

Or as Dan Beucke at Bloomberg BusinessWeek writes:

That’s a dry way of saying the rich make a lot more than they deserve and they’ve used that wealth to persuade the rest of us that they deserve it.

The report also takes on those pay hikes and other CEO compensation and finds the perks aren’t the rewards for better job performance. The study suggests, says Beucke,

pay increases for the wealthiest few reflect mostly “rent seeking”—econo-speak for unshackled greed—rather than executive-suite productivity improvements.

The study was conducted by Thomas Piketty of the Paris School of Economics, Emmanuel Saez of the University of California, Berkeley, and Stefanie Stantcheva of MIT. Click here for the full report.

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Hoffa Denounces House GOP for Vote on Unemployment Insurance
Posted: December 14, 2011
Source: Teamster.org
Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa criticized Tuesday’s vote by House Republicans to cut unemployment benefits and restrict them to high school graduates.

“It’s bad enough that Republicans blocked bills to create jobs, but now they cut unemployment benefits for people who can’t find work,” Hoffa said. “People can’t ‘just get a job’ when there are four unemployed people for every job opening.”

The House of Representatives on Tuesday voted to extend the payroll tax cut and unemployment insurance beyond the Dec. 31 expiration date. However, the bill cuts unemployment benefits by 40 weeks, requires recipients to have a high school diploma or GED and charges them for re-employment services. Republicans insisted on these cuts.

“Our economy will continue to stall unless we put money in the pockets of people who will spend it,” Hoffa said. “This is a callous move by House Republicans, who apparently don’t care if America’s middle class disappears.”

Unemployment, now at 8.6 percent, has exceeded 8 percent for nearly three years, the longest since the government began keeping records in 1948.

The National Employment Law Project estimates the bill would cost $22 billion in lost economic growth and 140,000 fewer jobs next year.

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Returning Heroes and Wounded Warrior Tax Credits
Posted: December 13, 2011
Source: Helmets to Hardhats
In August, President Obama called on Congress to enact tax credits that will help get veterans back to work. The Returning Heroes Tax Credit provides businesses that hire unemployed veterans with a maximum credit of $5,600 per veteran, and the Wounded Warriors Tax Credit offers businesses that hire veterans with service-connected disabilities with a maximum credit of $9,600 per veteran.

These tax credits were included in the American Jobs Act and were signed into law by President Obama on November 21, 2011.

Returning Heroes and Wounded Warrior Tax Credits
Under the Recovery Act, employers who hired certain unemployed veterans were eligible for a tax credit of up to 40 percent of the first $6,000 of wages, for a maximum credit of $2,400. This credit expired at the end of 2010.

On November 21, 2011, the President signed into law two new tax credits:

1. The Returning Heroes Tax Credit is a new hiring tax credit that will provide an incentive for businesses to hire unemployed veterans.
   • Short-term unemployed: A new credit of 40 percent of the first $6,000 of wages (up to $2,400) for employers who hire veterans who have been unemployed at least 4 weeks.
   • Long-term unemployed: A new credit of 40 percent of the first $14,000 of wages (up to $5,600) for employers who hire veterans who have been unemployed longer than 6 months.


2. The Wounded Warrior Tax Credit will double the existing tax credit for long-term unemployed veterans with service-connected disabilities.
   • Maintain the existing Work Opportunity Tax Credit for veterans with service-connected disabilities (currently the maximum is $4,800).
   • A new credit of 40 percent of the first $24,000 of wages (up to $9,600) for firms that hire veterans with service-connected disabilities who have been unemployed longer than 6 months.

Below is a link to the U. S. Department of Labor Work Opportunity Tax Credit which includes:

• How to Earn a Tax Credit For New Hires
• How To Apply For The Tax Savings
• Where To Get More Information

http://www.doleta.gov/business/Incentives/opptax

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New Report: National Express Group's Workplace Rights Policy Falls Far Short Of International Standards
Posted: December 12, 2011
Source: Teamster.org
In recent years, employees of Durham School Services, the nation’s second-largest private student transportation provider, have sought to form unions in order to gain decent pay and a voice on the job. But like so many workers, Durham employees have faced active resistance from their employer—despite the company’s claim to be a model corporate citizen that respects basic workplace rights.

A new study from American Rights at Work compares the “Workplace Rights Policy” of National Express Group, Durham’s parent company, to internationally-accepted standards for workers’ rights, and finds that the company’s policy falls far short of protecting its employees’ freedom of association and other fundamental rights on the job. On the contrary, the policy selectively includes only the rights that serve the interests of management and provides cover for the company’s aggressive anti-union campaigns.

The report, “Analysis of National Express Group PLC’s Workplace Rights Policy,” is available here .

“We’ve seen it before: Companies that respect their employees’ rights overseas take advantage of our country’s lower standards to trample workers’ rights here in the states,” said Kimberly Freeman Brown, Executive Director of American Rights at Work. “But in this upside down economy, it’s more important than ever that Americans can join together on the job for a fair shake. Paying lip service to international workers’ rights standards is inexcusable —it’s time for Durham School Services to walk the walk.”

Durham School Services is the U.S. division of National Express Group, a large, multinational transportation conglomerate based in the United Kingdom. With a fleet of over 13,000 buses, Durham currently holds contracts with 350 school districts located in 30 states.

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University of California Employees Ratify First Teamster Contract
Posted: December 12, 2011
Source: Teamster.org
Clerical and administrative services employees who are members of Teamsters Local 2010 of the University of California have voted in a new contract guaranteeing wage increases for the next five years. The employees, members of Teamsters Local Union 2010, work at all 10 campuses and one laboratory of the state’s university system.

“We are proud to have partnered with Local 2010 to negotiate this strong contract for the employees of the University of California,” said Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa. “Our representatives worked tirelessly to win the wage increases, which are guaranteed in the agreement. These hardworking clerical employees deserve no less.”

There will be a wage increases during the five-year term of the contract equal to between 20-28 percent of annual earnings. Given California’s budget crisis and the nation’s overall economic status, a contract with guaranteed wage increases is a firm victory.

“The new contract addresses a number of important issues, especially income equality,” said Michael Filler, Director of the Teamsters Public Services Division. “With the ongoing involvement of Teamster UC members across the state, we will continue to make progress.”

CUE-Teamsters Local 2010 is affiliated with the Public Services Division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters which represents over 260,000 public service employees throughout the United States

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Will Occupy Shut Down All West Coast Ports?
Posted: December 11, 2011
Source: Mother Jones
[...] Barucha Peller, a member of Occupy Oakland's West Coast port shutdown coordinating committee, said Monday's plans are an "unprecedented" stand for a movement that's only three months old. Activists have learned from the previous shutdown, she believes, and will work to avoid repeating mistakes such as blocking truck drivers mistakenly thought to be incoming nonunion workers. "November 2 we were organizing on the fly," she explained. "Now we're communicating a lot better with the port truckers and flyering a lot more down at the port." Both truckers and the ILWU members, she added, have had "really positive responses" to the plans. 

Stan Woods, a member of the ILWU Local 6 in San Francisco on Occupy Oakland's port shutdown committee, believes that Monday's plans are in line with the union's decades-long history of picketing in support of social-justice causes (which former communications director Steve Stallone details here). "I have no doubt the national leadership believes what it says," Woods said, "but the ILWU, despite its problems, is one of the most democratic unions, with lots of autonomy." Solidarity strikes have been illegal since 1947, but ILWU workers have a history of protesting without official union sanction.

The ILWU leadership is against another port shutdown. Last Wednesday evening, ILWU communications director Craig Merrilees attended a meeting of about 40 members of Occupy the Hood's Oakland chapter to hand out a letter from union president Robert McEllrath, which disputed occupiers' claims. "Support is one thing," the letter read (PDF). "Organization from outside groups attempting to co-opt our struggle in order to advance a broader agenda is quite another and one that is destructive to our democratic process and jeopardizes our over two year struggle in Longview." McEllrath wrote that criticism of the ILWU's position "is shortsighted and only serves the 1%." A separate letter from the Port of Oakland (PDF) made a similar argument that port shutdowns would hurt average citizens by "diverting cargo, tax revenue, and jobs to other communities."

Of course, disrupting commerce is the whole point of Monday's protests. According to the Journal of Commerce, the West Coast ports are responsible for more than 50 percent of the country's containerized trade, and a 10-day lockout of longshoremen in 2002 cost an estimated $1 billion a day. Occupy Oakland's November blockade reportedly caused $4 million in revenue loss. In the video announcing Monday's protest, local hip-hop artist and Occupy Oakland organizer Boots Riley declared the movement's intention to "shut down all West Coast ports" to "not only make a statement but cause a lot of profit loss."

In reality, though, the Occupy movement has no intention of actually trying to shut down all of the more than three dozen ports along the West Coast of the United States and Canada. According to the protest's website, occupations in 14 coastal cities—including Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle, Tacoma, and Vancouver—will participate, but they don't all plan to shut down their respective ports.
Read the source story here.

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US Foods strike settled
Posted: December 9, 2011
Source: Teamster Nation
Props to the thousands of Teamsters who stood together with striking maintenance workers at US Foods. This week, US Foods workers represented by Local 722 in La Salle, Ill., ratified a new contract. All outstanding issues are resolved.

Steve Mongan, president of Local 722, thanked the Teamsters for their inspiring support:

As I said before – no one wants to strike and we are happy we were able to get back to work and serve the customers. On behalf of our members at Local 722 we thank the Teamster US Foods members that showed our members unprecedented support. I truly hope and believe this agreement will pave the way for a new relationship with US Foods.

Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa said other Teamster locals will be negotiating contracts in the next few months:

We have been able to settle our US Foods contracts in the past without strikes and anticipate getting back to that in the future.

The Teamsters represent approximately 4,000 employees at US Foods at 24 distribution centers throughout the nation.

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Teamsters Safety & Health Facts
Restricting the Use of Cellular Phones
Posted: December 8, 2011
Source: Teamster.org
On November 23rd, 2011 the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and Pipeline Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) issued a final rule amending the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) and the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMRs). This rule was issued to improve safety by reducing the frequency of distracted drivingrelated crashes, fatalities, and injuries involving drivers of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs). The Agencies also amended their regulations to implement new driver disqualification sanctions for drivers of CMVs who fail to comply with the Federal restriction and new driver disqualification sanctions for commercial driver's license (CDL) holders who have multiple convictions for violating a State or local law ordinance on motor vehicle traffic control that restricts the use of hand-held mobile telephones. Additionally, motor carriers are prohibited from requiring or allowing drivers of CMVs to use mobile, hand-held telephones while operating CMVs. The Final Rule becomes effective December 23rd, 2011.

OVERVIEW OF NEW REGULATION
This rulemaking restricts a CMV driver from holding a mobile telephone to conduct a voice communication, dialing a mobile telephone by pressing more than a single button, or reaching for a mobile phone in an unacceptable and unsafe manner (e.g. reaching for any mobile telephone on the passenger seat, under the driver's seat, or into the sleeper berth). A driver of a CMV who desires to use a mobile phone while driving will need to use a compliant mobile telephone (such as hands-free) located in close proximity to the driver that can be operated in compliance with this rule. Thus, the ease of "reach" or accessibility of the phone is relevant only when a driver chooses to have access to a mobile telephone while driving. Essentially, the CMV driver must be ready to conduct a voice communication on a compliant mobile telephone, before driving the vehicle.

The rule adds a driver disqualification provision for: (1) interstate CMV drivers convicted of using a hand-held mobile telephone, and (2) CDL holders convicted of two or more serious traffic violations of State or local laws or ordinances on motor vehicle traffic control, including using a hand-held mobile telephone. The rule also requires interstate motor carriers to ensure compliance by their drivers with the restrictions on use of a hand-held mobile telephone while driving a CMV. Finally, the rule prohibits motor carriers and employers from requiring or allowing a CMV driver to use a hand-held mobile telephone while operating in interstate commerce.
Read the complete pdf source document here.

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Machinists Vote For Jobs!
Posted: December 8, 2011
Source: Aerospace Machinists 751
SEATTLE – Machinists Union members have approved a four-year contract extension with the Boeing Co. that ensures the 737 MAX will be built in Puget Sound.

The final vote was 74 percent to accept the extension, union officers said. More than 31,000 union members in Washington, Oregon, Kansas and California were eligible to vote.

“This agreement represents a historic moment in changing the relationship between this union and the Boeing Co.,” said Tom Wroblewski, the president of Machinists Union District Lodge 751 in Seattle. “For the first time, company executives are committing to you to keep work in Puget Sound.”

“This agreement shows the collective bargaining process is flexible enough to adjust with the times,” said Wroblewski. “The process allowed us to be creative and produce a win-win for everyone – our members, Boeing, airline customers, and the community. This is a vote of confidence for job security and a stronger future for this region.”

The agreement extends the current contract, which was set to expire in September 2012, another four years.

The biggest benefit to the contract was the commitment to job security, Wroblewski said.

“As a result of this vote, we have the strongest commitment to the future of aerospace jobs in Washington State that we’ve ever had,” he said.

The new contract also creates a new, top-level joint council of union and company leaders that will meet monthly to pursue opportunities and work together to solve problems.

“This committee has agreed to four mutual objectives, and first among them is this: creating and sustaining good-paying jobs with benefits,” Wroblewski said. “Thanks to your vote on this contract extension, that now is one of the Boeing Co.’s stated goals.”

Under the terms of the extended contract, Machinists will receive:

2-percent wage increases in each year of the contract, plus additional cost-of-living adjustments;

A new incentive plan that will pay out up to 4 percent each year;

Increases to the formula for calculating pensions, plus a continuation of the current 401(k) savings plan with a company match, plus a commitment to preserving pensions for new hires;

A $5,000 ratification bonus, which will be paid on Dec. 15.

In exchange, union members agreed to pay higher medical premiums starting in 2013.

Boeing and the Machinists Union have clashed in the past, Wroblewski acknowledged. But with the ratification of the contract extension, the two sides are now committed to working together.

“It’ll be a big shift; that we both need to embrace. But we must do this,” he said. “Because it’s obvious that we as union members cannot prosper if the Boeing Co. isn’t successful, and we’ve seen quite clearly that Boeing’s success is tied directly to the skills and experience of our Machinists Union members.”

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President Obama Calls To Congratulate Hoffa On Teamsters Election Victory
Posted: December 7, 2011
Source: Teamster.org
Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa takes a congratulatory phone call in his office from President Obama at 11:57 a.m. on Dec. 7. The President called to congratulate Hoffa on his overwhelming victory in the recent IBT election. Hoffa's fourth term as General President begins in March.

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Teamsters Deliver Christmas Trees To Vice President Joe Biden's Residence
Posted: December 7, 2011
Source: Teamster.org
Thanks to Teamsters, Vice President Joe Biden's residence in Washington, D.C. is decorated nicely for the holidays.

Teamsters delivered one big Fraser fir tree and two smaller (just over 11 feet) trees from western Michigan to Washington, D.C. on trucks with Teamsters at the helm. The trees are from Wahmhoff Farms Nursery in Gobles, Mich., and they also supply Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder's Christmas tree.

According to Ron Holzgen, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 406 in Grand Rapids, Mich., a Local 406 freight member loaded the trees onto a USF Holland truck and the driver transported the trees to a YRC terminal in Akron, Ohio. The trees were then taken to a freight terminal in Maryland before heading to Biden's residence. They arrived at the vice president's residence on November 22.

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Teamsters Reach Settlement With US Foods
Posted: December 6, 2011
Source: Teamster.org
US Foods workers represented by Teamsters Local 722 in La Salle, Ill. ratified a new contract on Monday, December 5th that resolved the open contract and all outstanding issues.

“As I said before – no one wants to strike and we are happy we were able to get back to work and serve the customers,” said Steve Mongan, President of Teamsters Local Union 722.  “On behalf of our members at Local 722 we thank the Teamster US Foods members that showed our members unprecedented support. I truly hope and believe this agreement will pave the way for a new relationship with US Foods.”

“Other Teamster Local Unions have contracts that will be open for negotiations in the coming months, said Jim Hoffa, Teamsters General President.  We have been able to settle our US Foods contracts in the past without strikes and anticipate getting back to that in the future.”

The Teamsters represent approximately 4,000 employees at US Foods at 24 distribution centers throughout the nation.

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Hoffa Asks Cuomo To Remove Diana Taylor From Public Board 
Posted: December 6, 2011
Source: Teamster.org
Teamster General President Jim Hoffa sent a letter today to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo asking him to remove Diana Taylor from the board of Hudson River Park Trust.

Taylor said Thursday she would resign from Sotheby’s board if the company responded to its workers’ pleas for their jobs at their current wages.  Forty-three art handlers, members of Teamsters Local 814, were thrown out of work on Aug. 1 because they refused Sotheby’s demands to accept wage and benefit cuts and the dissolution of the union.

During a meeting of the Hudson River Park Trust, Taylor made the following statement to art handlers David Martinez and Julian Tysh: “I have one thing to say to you. I have had one conversation with [Sotheby's CEO] Bill Ruprecht about this, and I told him that if he accedes to any of your demands, I will resign from the board."

The video of her remarks can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iNw-lgA9DQ

“Ms. Taylor thinks it’s an unreasonable ‘demand’ for middle-class workers to want a job, a union and a stable standard of living,” Hoffa said. “She may represent the views of 1 percent of New York’s wealthiest, but she doesn’t represent the 99 percent whose interests she is entrusted to represent as chair of the Hudson River Park Trust.
Read complete source story here.

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Members Stand Strong At US Foods
Posted: December 5, 2011
Source: Teamster Talk
On November 4, 107 members of Local 117 at US Foods in Fife honored a picket line that was established earlier in the week by striking Teamsters, thousands of miles away, in Streator Illinois. Maintenance workers in Illinois were on a ULP strike in response to the company's retaliation against workers and its refusal to bargain in good faith.

"I've worked at US Foods for 28 years," said Mike Vagasky of Streator, Ill. "I don't want to strike, but after KKR and CD&R purchased the company, they have done nothing but bully, harass and intimidate us."

Private equity giants, KKR and CD&R, purchased the company in 2007.

LOCAL 117 MEMBERS STAND STRONG
At the Fife facility, drivers and warehouse workers informed their employer of their intent to honor the picket line when they arrived to work on November 4.

"We are standing strong in solidarity with our Brothers and Sisters in Illinois," said Shop Steward and Steward Advisory Council member, John Peterson.

Extended picket lines were established across the country at US Foods facilities in Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Indiana, Minnesota, Colorado and a number of other locations.
See the complete issue here.

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Incorrect phone number on PHA postcard
Posted: December 5, 2011
Source: WTWT

Oops! We're passing along this message from StayWell Health Management regarding WTWT participants:

Good Afternoon,

Today you received a postcard in the mail titled Get Active-Take the Personal Health Assessment.  Please note that the phone number listed on the back of the card was incorrect. The correct phone number for the StayWell HelpLine is 1-888-388-8259.  We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Sincerely,

StayWell Health Management

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YRC Worldwide Executes 1-For-300 Reverse Stock Split
Posted: December 4, 2011
Source: Teamster.org
As you may have read in the news today, YRC successfully executed a reverse stock split to raise its stock price above $1 to comply with NASDAQ listing rules.  This reverse split has lowered authorized and outstanding common equity shares from 12 billion to approximately 40 million.  In connection with the reverse split, from December 2, 2011 through January 2, 2012, YRC shares will trade under the symbol “YRCWD.”  Shares will revert to “YRCW” on January 3, 2012.

For those who received shares of YRC stock following the completion of the restructuring in July, today’s actions will not affect the value of your shares, but they will lower the total number of shares in your account by the same ratio (for example, if you received 1,200 shares following the restructuring, you will now have 4 shares of YRC stock).  Again the total value of all your shares at the time of the split will be the same (if the per share value pre-split was $.03 and you had 1,200 shares your total value was $36; immediately post-split the per share value was $9.00 and with 4 shares your total value is still $36).

No fractional shares will be issued in connection with the split; any fractional shares you may own following the split will be pooled by the Company’s transfer agent and sold on the open market with the cash proceeds deposited pro rata in your accounts.  No action is necessary on the part of YRC Teamster members in connection with today’s reverse split.

Please see the following press release from the Company containing additional details: http://investors.yrcw.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=628907

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Hundreds Of Warehouse Workers In Swedesboro, Bridgeport Honor Picket Lines
Posted: December 1, 2011
Source: Teamster.org
(Swedesboro and Bridgeport, N.J.)—Teamsters from Locals 628 in Philadelphia and 169 in Elkins Park, Penn. once again refused to cross picket lines at US Foods distribution facilities in Swedesboro and Bridgeport, N.J. yesterday evening.

The sympathy picket lines, which were established by members of Locals 1414 in Philadelphia and 676 in Collingswood, N.J., were in support of an unfair labor practice strike by maintenance workers at US Foods’ Streator, Ill. location. That strike began October 30 in response to US Foods’ violation of  Federal labor laws, including disciplining a Streator employee for being absent while he was in contract negotiations with the company as a member of the bargaining committee for Teamsters Local 722.

Picket line extensions and sympathy pickets have spread to 12 US Foods facilities across the country during the past month. More than 2,000 Teamsters have honored picket lines in Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, Minnesota, New York, New Jersey, Washington, Colorado and Maryland.

At the center of the picket extensions is Mike Vagasky, a member of Local 722 in La Salle, Ill. and a maintenance worker at US Foods in Streator. Vagasky has extended his picketing to warehouses in Bensenville, Ill., St. Louis, Mo., Fishers, Ind. and Englewood, Colo.

“Our members who work at US Foods care about this company and its customers, but they are not willing to cross lawful picket lines,” said Teamsters Warehouse Division Director John Williams. “Our members, like the rest of the 99 percent in America, are tired of being bullied and having their rights under federal labor law violated while the private equity firms and other Wall Street bankers in the top one percent destroy their livelihood.”

US Foods, which distributes food and related products to restaurants and schools, is owned by private equity giants KKR and CD&R. KKR and CD&R purchased US Foods (then U.S. Foodservice) in 2007. The Teamsters represent approximately 4,000 employees at US Foods at 25 distribution centers throughout the nation.

For more information, visit www.USFoodsWorkers.org and www.flickr.com/photos/usfoodsworkers/   

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