Friday, August 2, 2013

Today's Teamster News 08.02.13

Teamsters Strike at  Pennsylvania Convention Center  Philadelphia Inquirer   ...Trade union members went on strike Thursday at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in a dispute over proposed changes in work rules...
Additional Meetings for MTD Emergency Transit Service Reduction Plan  Santa Barbara Independent   ...MTD drivers, mechanics, and utility workers are represented by Teamsters Local 186, which has concerns about the impact of California’s Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013 (PEPRA) on bargaining rights...
Teamster Funeral home workers near one month on strike at Montclair-Lucania Funeral Home  Pioneer Local   ...Since July 2, funeral home workers have been on the picket line outside the Montclair-Lucania Funeral Home, one of 16 in the Chicago area owned by SCI and managed under the name Dignity Memorial. That’s when he and other members of Teamsters Local 727, made up of funeral directors, embalmers and hearse drivers, voted to go on strike...
Pay Freezes on Tap for Some CUSD Employees, Not Teachers  San Juan Capistrano Patch   ...Nonteaching employees won't get their automatic pay raises at all next year, while management and Teamsters will have to wait six months...
McKesson Directors Re-Elected Amid CEO Pay Controversy  Reuters   ...Shareholders re-elected all of McKesson Corp's board members on Wednesday, defying the recommendations of influential proxy advisers and investors who object to the inflated compensation and dual roles of Chairman and CEO John Hammergren...
Maine’s DOT plans for possibility of rail shutdown  Hilton Head Island Packet   ...Contingency planning is underway in case Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway stops service following a runaway train explosion and fire that claimed 47 lives just north of the Maine border, state transportation officials said...
THUD Amendment Targets New Driver Hours of Service Rules  Journal of Commerce   ...The latest changes to the truck driver hours of service rules are being challenged by Rep. Richard Hanna (NY-R), who is expected to introduce an amendment to the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development bill that would block changes to the HOS rules that took effect July 1 from being “implemented, administered or enforced...”
Backyard Shock Doctrine: Wall Street's Destruction Comes Home  Common Dreams   ...Since 2007, the foreclosure crisis has displaced at least 10 million people from more than four million homes across the country...The displaced are young and old, rich and poor, and of every race, ethnicity, and religion.  They add up to approximately the entire population of Michigan...
Former Trader Is Found Liable In Fraud Case  New York Times   ...Five years after Wall Street risk-taking nearly toppled the economy, the S.E.C. has taken only a handful of employees to court in connection with the crisis; most cases have been settled. The agency has not leveled fraud charges against one top executive at a big bank...
Congress Votes to End Fixed Interest for Student Loans  Bloomberg   ...The U.S. Congress gave final approval yesterday to a bill that pegs interest on government-sponsored student borrowing to a market-based rate, ensuring that almost 9 million undergraduates will pay 3.86 percent on their next loan...
Judge to serve 28 years after making $2 million for sending black children to jail  Rolling Out   ...Ciavarella worked alongside owners of private juvenile facilities to ensure that the prison remained occupied. The more prisoners equated to more profits for the owners of the prison. As a result, Ciavarella would sentence offenders with small offenses to months and, at times, years behind bars. He once sentenced a teen to three months in jail for creating a MySpace page that mocked her school’s assistant principal...
A Day’s Strike Seeks to Raise Fast-Food Pay   New York Times   ...From New York to several Midwestern cities, thousands of fast-food workers have been holding one-day strikes during peak mealtimes, quickly drawing national attention to their demands for much higher wages...
Despite fast food protests, Congress in no rush on minimum wage  CNN   ...Fast food workers striking for higher wages in seven cities Monday are bound to be disappointed. On their last week before vacation, Congress isn't likely to raise the minimum wage. They're not even close to critical mass on that issue...
Tax reform would fuel U.S. economy (opinion)  Politico …The current tax rules were fine when U.S. exports dominated a global economy, but they are ill-suited for a digital age of intense competition. While other countries have modernized their international tax systems, the U.S. remains mired in the past. The U.S. tax system isn’t working for American businesses, workers or the economy as a whole...
D.C. Baptist Convention Weighs into Battle Against Large Retailers  AFRO   ...Religious leaders have gotten into the fight against large retailers in the District of Columbia in support of ensuring residents of the city are making living wages...
Phoenix Bus Drivers Reject Contract  Associated Press   ...Hundreds of bus drivers overwhelming rejected a proposed labor contract offer from First Transit on Wednesday, setting the stage for a midnight strike that would shut down service in the Phoenix-area...
Kansas Democrats want to re-examine voting laws  Associated Press  ...Some Wichita Democrats want Kansas legislators to use the special session in September to fix a problem they say exists in the state's new voting laws...