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IBT | Today marks the start of our Voter Registration Week of Action! The first step to voting is making sure that you’re registered. If you’ve recently moved or haven’t voted in a while, your registration may be inactive and you could have a difficult time voting at the polls. Make sure that doesn’t happen by registering to vote NOW!

This week, Teamsters all over the country will be going to worksites to help register voters. Just in case they don’t make it to your workplace, make sure you’re registered by CLICKING HERE to request a paper voter registration form. You can also check to see if your state has ONLINE VOTER REGISTRATION.

For more resources about voter registration rules in your state, check out the Fair Elections Legal Network State-Specific Guides. All workers can win this fall if we get out to vote. Register to vote now to make your voice heard in November!

IBT | The verdict is in: port trucking and warehouse companies are breaking practically every labor law on the books. At America’s largest port complex in So. California, they’ve even been caught for insurance fraud and not making payroll tax deposits. But the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach – the point of entry for 40% of U.S. imports, from sneakers to iPads to new kitchen appliances bound for giant retailers in every U.S. zip code like Target, Walmart, and Home Depot – are still allowing these lawbreakers to come into the ports to conduct business. From Wall Street to the docks, the economy has been rigged to benefit giant corporations and the wealthiest one-percent while regular workers like port truck drivers and warehouse workers get left behind.

Together, we can do something about this scam and begin to close the wealth gap between the billionaires who run America and the workers who make America run.

Sign this petition today to demand the Ports of LA and Long Beach STOP big business and Wall Street interests from exploiting regular American workers like the truck drivers and warehouse workers.

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IBT | We are extremely pleased to share the news that the Department of Treasury has rejected the application to cut pension benefits proposed by the Central States Fund. While this is a great victory for retirees, we still have a long fight ahead of us to ensure that retirees’ earned benefits and quality of life are protected. Both the Keep Our Pension Promises Act (KOPPA) and the Pension Accountability Act (PAA) would help secure retiree benefits but they are stalled in Congress. We need you to reach out to your Representative and Senators to ask them to support these bills and help move them through Congress. TAKE ACTION HERE!

S. 1631/ H.R. 2844, KOPPA, sponsored by Senator Bernie Sanders in the Senate and Representative Marcy Kaptur in the House of Representatives, would restore the anti-cutback rule which, until passage of the 2014 “CRomnibus,” prevented cuts from being made to accrued pension benefits. KOPPA also helps strengthen multiemployer pensions by creating a “Legacy Fund” within the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation to address the issue of underfunded “orphaned” participants. It does this by closing two tax loopholes that only benefit the wealthiest members of society. It also helps multiemployer pension plans by making pension obligations a higher priority in bankruptcy proceedings.

Other legislation to assist retirees would give plan participants a meaningful voice when plans apply to cut benefits under the current laws. S. 2147/ H.R. 4029, the Pension Accountability Act, sponsored by Senator Portman and Representatives David Joyce and Tim Ryan, would require a majority, binding vote from plan participants before any cuts may be made. Additionally, under the current framework, any unreturned ballots are counted as in favor of benefit cuts, PAA would only count those ballots that were returned adding fairness to a system which currently seems to have a deck stacked against retirees.

While we are overjoyed by the news that Central States’ application to cut the pension benefits has been rejected by the Treasury, we must still fix the funds so that retiree’s earned benefits are secure for many years to come. We urge you to email your Senators and Representative to ask them to help move S. 1631/ H.R. 2844, the Keep Our Pension Promises Act and S. 2147/ H.R. 4029, the Pension Accountability Act forward. TAKE ACTION HERE!

The ‘Let’s Get America Working!’ campaign seeks to restore a dynamic and prosperous middle class to drive economic growth by helping to advance policy decisions that create and maintain good middle-income jobs, guarantee retirement security, expand access to the American Dream, and ensure that the benefits of the ongoing economic recovery are felt by the many, not just the few.

You can help. Click here to use your voice to tell Congress that it’s time to build, repair, and maintain our infrastructure. Investment in infrastructure will provide good, union jobs with family sustaining wages and economic stability. That’s good for the nation. When the Teamsters are strong, America is stronger.

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