Appeals court upholds virtually all of government's driver hours of service rules
Mark Solomon DC Velocity 05, 2013 View the original piece A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., today let stand virtually all of the federal government's controversial new rules governing the operations of the nation's truck drivers. The ruling may end the decade-long battle between multiple groups over how fleets and their drivers should ply the nation's roads. The court, with one exception, upheld the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) 2011 rules for drivers'...
Twinkie CEO Admits Company Took Employees Pensions and Put It Toward Executive Pay
Thom Hartmann Alternet 02, 2013 View the original piece Twinkie-maker Hostess continues to screw over its workers. The company is in the process of complete liquidation and 18,000 unionized workers are set to lose their jobs. More troubling – they could lose their pensions. According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, Hostess’ CEO, Gregory Rayburn, essentially admitted that his company stole employee pension money and put it toward CEO and senior executive pay...
Appeal from Canadian AB-InBev Striker
Labour Start 01, 2013 View the original piece The war to set global labour standards in the brewing industry is being fought in the Canadian city of St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador.On one side, the Canadian division of the world's largest (and very profitable) brewing corporation, Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev). On the other, one of the global giant’s smallest and most vulnerable local unions in what appears to be an attempt to establish a pattern...
Senate Confirms NLRB Nominees; Board at Full Strength
Mike Hall AFL-CIO Now July 31, 2013 View the original piece The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is now fully staffed and able to continue to function to protect workers’ rights after the U.S. Senate today confirmed five members. The votes end a months-long blockade on President Obama’s nominees by Senate Republicans who threatened to shut the board down Aug. 27. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says the confirmations are: "Good news for all workers seeking...
Male UPS Worker Calls out Sexism, Awarded $500,000
Claire Godron AOL July 25, 2013 View the original piece If sexist comments are made in a workplace, but no woman is around to hear it, is it still discrimination? According to a landmark decision by the New Jersey Supreme Court, the answer is: yup.Typically, under workplace discrimination law, it's the target of gross remarks who files a lawsuit. But United Parcel Service manager Michael Battaglia, 56, (pictured) was disturbed by the lewd remarks another...
TWU Alleges Teamsters Organizer Forged Authorization Cards at American Airlines
Larry Swisher BNA Daily Labor Report July 25, 2013 View the original piece The Transport Workers Union July 23 filed with the National Mediation Board objections to a representation election being sought by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters at American Airlines, alleging that an IBT organizer forged authorization card signatures of workers. The Teamsters, which denied TWU's charges, previously submitted a petition and authorization cards to NMB for an election to represent the carrier's 11,000...
Teamsters pension plan stuck in crisis
Dan Berman BenefitsPro July 22, 2013 View the original piece The plight of the Teamsters' Central States, Southeast & Southwest Pension Plan has been in the news lately and its prospects are not good. Documents filed at the end of 2012 by the Rosemont, Ill.-based fund show that its liabilities are almost double its assets – $34.9 billion vs. $17.8 billion. In short, the nation's largest multi-employer pension fund is also one of its most...
Walmart Warehouse Workers Strike in Calif.
Josh Eidelson The Nation July 24, 2013 View the original piece At 5 AM PST today, non-union workers moving Walmart goods at a California warehouse plan to launch a two-day surprise strike in protest of alleged retaliation for exposing safety risks. Organizers expect at least thirty of the warehouse's two hundred-some employees to join the work stoppage, the latest in a wave of Walmart supply chain strikes. "I'm scared because I need to work for...
Back to bargaining for UPS in its thorny parcel, freight contracts
John D. Schulz, Contributing Editor Logistics Management July 18, 2013 View the original piece It is back to the drawing board—or, more accurately, the bargaining table—for UPS and Teamsters negotiators. The company was dealt an historic rebuke when the largest union contract in North America covering 235,000 full- and part-time Teamsters at UPS’s parcel division rejected 18 side agreements known as supplemental agreements. The master parcel contract was passed by a narrow 53-47 margin. The contract was...
UPS manager awarded $1 million as whistleblower
Sue Epstein The Star Ledger July 19, 2013 View the original piece A jury in New Brunswick has awarded a Flemington man $1 million in compensatory damages after finding that his bosses at United Parcel Service illegally retaliated against him because he complained about possible fraud in the company's northern New Jersey district. Michael Battaglia, 51, was demoted from his position as a manager to a supervisor and assigned to the night shift after lodging...