Friday, September 27, 2013

Today's Teamster News 09.27.13

Hundreds of Manufacturing Workers Ratify First Teamster Contract  teamster.org   ...Approximately 340 manufacturing employees at Senior Flexonics overwhelmingly ratified their first contract with Teamsters Local 330 on Sept. 15...
Teamsters at Darigold Vote Unanimously To Reject Company's Latest Offer  teamster.org   ...“Darigold is disrespecting its workers and undermining the bargaining process,” said Tracey A. Thompson, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 117.  “The company broke the law when they walked away from federal mediation, leaving no one with the authority to bargain.  They have spied on workers and illegally attempted to circumvent the union...”
Wegmans to Teamsters: Here's our best, final offer  Rochester Democrat and Chronicle   ...The contract represents about 900 employees working in transportation and distribution for the supermarket company...
Local teamsters endorse Paul  Stratford Star   ...Teamsters Local 1150, which represents workers at Sikorsky Aircraft, the largest private employer in Stratford, endorsed Joe Paul’s run for mayor of Stratford at their September monthly meeting...
Companies Admit They Fixed Prices of Car Parts  New York Times   ...In an expanding global antitrust investigation, nine Japanese automotive suppliers, along with two former executives, have agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy and pay more than $740 million in criminal fines for fixing the price of auto parts sold in the United States and abroad...
US economic growth slows as GDP estimate disappoints economists  The Guardian   ...In the January-March quarter, GDP rose by 1.1% and while the latest figure represents a marked improvement it is still weak by historic standards. Economic expansion following the 2008 recession has been the weakest of the post-second world war era...
Looting the Pension Funds  Rolling Stone   ...All across America, Wall Street is grabbing money meant for public workers...
HSBC still laundering money for terrorist groups, says whistleblower Everett Stern  Ian Fraser   ... Although the bank paid a $1.9 billion penalty as part of a record-breaking money laundering settlement with the U.S. authorities in December 2012, Stern claims the London-headquartered bank is still laundering money with impunity and that the much vaunted “anti-money-laundering compliance team” it put in place to assuage US regulators as part of last year’s settlement is “a sham”...
The Wall Street Journal Is Hiring a Mansions Reporter, Because Guess Who Won the Recovery  The Atlantic   ... this apparently involves advertising for and about billionaires...
Tea Party Support Dwindles to Near-Record Low  Gallup   ... Today's 22% support nearly matches the record low found two years ago...
Federal Contractors Employ More Low-Wage Workers Than Walmart and McDonald's Combined, While Paying Top Execs. $24 billion  The Real News   ...we have got to get a handle on raising wages throughout this country so that workers do not depend upon starvation wages...
Latest Fukushima Crisis Shows Catastrophic Threat of Nuclear Power Companies  truthout   ...it is a model example of why nuclear power of any sort should not be privatized...
Parent Arrested After Asking Questions at School Meeting  truthdig   ...“I want to know how many parents here are aware that the goal of the Common Core standards isn’t to prepare kids for full-fledged universities, it’s to prepare them for community college,” Small asked before he was approached by a man wearing a shirt with “security” on the back and a badge around his neck...
Michigan House panel approves bill penalizing illegal mass pickets  Lansing State Journal   ...Legislation that would institute steep fines for individuals and labor unions who engage in illegal mass pickets is headed to the House floor...
Teamsters Union Backs McCord  PoliticsPA   ...Mere days after finally officially declaring his entry into the gubernatorial race, State Treasurer Rob McCord won the backing of the Teamsters union. The endorsement is the first major piece of news from the McCord campaign since he announced his candidacy earlier this week...
NC Teachers Consider Walkout to Protest Poor Working Conditions  Triangle News   ...Teachers are considering a statewide walkout to get lawmakers' attention. They are fed up with education funding cuts, lay-offs, lack of raises, and even more importantly, what they see as a lack of respect for their profession...
Bill would loosen rules for high-capacity water wells  Wall Street Journal   ...Water pumping has become a hot topic in Wisconsin, with large agricultural interests and food processors pushing back against further restrictions while environmental groups and lake property owners favor more rules for wells that draw 100,000 or more gallons of water a day...