Today's Teamster News 11.02.13

<a href="http://www.teamster.org/content/george-miranda-named-board-global-gateway-alliance" rel="nofollow">George Miranda Named to Board of the Global Gateway Alliance </a> teamster.org   ...George Miranda, International Vice President and Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 210, is joining the Board of Directors of the Global Gateway Alliance, an industry coalition dedicated to improving airports in the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area...<br /><a href="http://www.alternet.org/mcdonalds-scam-america" rel="nofollow">McDonald's Scam on America</a>  Alternet   ...We're subsidizing the wages and benefits of employees of highly profitable fast food chains. It costs the American taxpayer nearly $7 billion per year...<br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/01/us/as-cuts-to-food-stamps-take-effect-more-trims-to-benefits-are-expected.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0" rel="nofollow">As Cuts to Food Stamps Take Effect, More Trims to Benefits Are Expected</a>  New York Times   ...millions of Americans receiving food stamps will be required to get by with less government assistance every month, a move that not only will cost them money they use to feed their families but is expected to slightly dampen economic growth as well...<br /><a href="http://www.epi.org/blog/transatlantic-free-trade-agreement-job-claims/" rel="nofollow">Transatlantic Free Trade Agreement: Job Claims Are Pure Baloney</a>  Economic Policy Institute   ...U.S. trade with Mexico after the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has cost the United States nearly 700,000 jobs through 2010. U.S. trade with China has certainly failed to deliver on the promised benefits of growing exports. Since that country entered the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, the U.S. has lost 2.7 million jobs through 2011 due to growing trade deficits with China. And the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS) has also resulted in growing trade deficits with that country and the loss of more than 40,000 U.S. jobs...<br /><a href="http://www.salon.com/2013/11/01/how_the_1_percent_always_wins_liberal_washing_is_the_rights_new_favorite_tactic/" rel="nofollow">How the 1 percent always wins: Liberal washing is the right’s new favorite tactic</a>  Salon   ...The famous examples of liberal washing come from the White House. A few decades ago, Democratic President Bill Clinton liberal-washed corporatist schemes like NAFTA and financial deregulation. Today, it is Democratic President Barack Obama liberal-washing the <a href="http://www.salon.com/2013/10/31/single_payer_health_care_vs_obamacare/singleton/">insurance industry’s healthcare initiatives</a> and now <a href="http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2011-07-06/business/35267423_1_debt-talks-obama-plans-congressional-leaders">joining</a> with a handful of <a href="http://www.salon.com/2013/10/26/sell_out_alert_9_democrats_already_caving_to_gop_on_social_security_cuts_partner/singleton/">Democratic legislators</a> to liberalwash – and legitimize – the right-wing crusade to slash Social Security benefits...<br /><a href="http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=10946" rel="nofollow">House Passes Deregulation Bill Written by Citigroup </a> The Real News   ...the one that was driven by Citibank that would allow a wide range of financial derivatives to be done directly by the bank, which is to say, the insured entity, which is to say, the government would be on the hook if there were losses. And Dodd-Frank was designed to prevent or at least dramatically minimize that. So this is a truly awful bill...<br /><a href="http://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/UK-Energy-Firms-Guilty-of-Market-Manipulation-to-Face-Criminal-Charges.html" rel="nofollow">UK Energy Firms Guilty of Market Manipulation to Face Criminal Charges </a> Oil Price   ...Ed Davey, the Energy Minister, has now stated that the government may charge energy firms that are found guilty of manipulating the markets, with criminal sanctions...<br /><a href="http://fannie%20mae%20sues%20banks%20for%20%24800%20million%20over%20libor%20rigging/" rel="nofollow">Fannie Mae Sues Banks for $800 Million Over Libor Rigging</a>  Bloomberg   ...<a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/FNMA:US">Fannie Mae (FNMA)</a> sued nine banks, alleging that their manipulation of the benchmark London interbank offered rate, which four of them have admitted, cost the mortgage-financing company about $800 million...<br /><a href="http://www.salon.com/2013/10/23/wall_streets_favorite_democrat_wants_your_pension/" rel="nofollow">Wall Street’s favorite Democrat wants your pension</a>  Salon   ...The financial services industry hopes to gain even more control over workers' retirement savings...<br /><a href="http://portside.org/2013-11-01/north-carolina-come-and-rise" rel="nofollow">North Carolina, Come On and Rise Up</a>  Portside   ...This past summer, "Moral Mondays" in North Carolina emerged as the locus of one of the country's most insistent state-level movements against extremist efforts to slash the social safety net and roll back civil rights...<br /><a href="http://www.vindy.com/news/2013/oct/24/union-lawyer-says-top-court-ruling-uphol/" rel="nofollow">Top court ruling upholds free speech, union lawyer says </a> Youngstown Vindicator   ...The Ohio Supreme Court delivered a major victory for labor unions when it ruled in a Mahoning County case. The court ruled that a state law requiring a union to give a public employer and the State Employment Relations Board 10 days’ advance notice of strike picketing does not apply to informational picketing...<br /><br /><br />

financial deregulation hunger job-killing trade dals LIBOR scandal mcdonald's corporate criminality Moral Monday Nafta social security TAFTA Today's Teamster News 11.02.13

George Miranda Named to Board of the Global Gateway Alliance  teamster.org   ...George Miranda, International Vice President and Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 210, is joining the Board of Directors of the Global Gateway Alliance, an industry…

Read more »

Korea trade deal cost 40K good US jobs already

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8oi80GXvNP-CuyfH21u6kDCCG6XdNChq82dM1-YS-ZRU2bj6hlDhtxYP-b-BAac1TzGVN-ke8Od4FahKML1pfwPzr8hjvJ2iRBM90Q2E1-DLyjMZw4UxN1TG19xjI8ARzwhm9MWSVCKtb/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-07-18+at+12.23.42+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8oi80GXvNP-CuyfH21u6kDCCG6XdNChq82dM1-YS-ZRU2bj6hlDhtxYP-b-BAac1TzGVN-ke8Od4FahKML1pfwPzr8hjvJ2iRBM90Q2E1-DLyjMZw4UxN1TG19xjI8ARzwhm9MWSVCKtb/s200/Screen+Shot+2013-07-18+at+12.23.42+PM.png" width="200" /></a></div>America is losing tens of thousands of good manufacturing jobs to South Korea because of the trade deal that took effect March 15, 2012.<br /><br />Our friend Rob Scott at the <a href="http://epi.org/">Economic Policy Institute</a> just put out a <a href="http://www.epi.org/publication/trade-pacts-korus-trans-pacific-partnership/">report</a> demonstrating the deal increased the trade deficit with South Korea by $5.8 billion, reduced U.S. exports by $3.5 billion and cost 40,000 jobs, most of them goods ones in manufacturing.<br /><br />Before the deal was signed it was hyped as a good thing for American workers. It was supposed to increase exports and create jobs. Scott politely describes those lies as based on "flawed trade models, and on distorted and one-sided interpretations of the findings of those models."<br /><br />We got the same crap with NAFTA. It was supposed to create 200,000 jobs. It cost 682,900 U.S. jobs by 2010, with job losses in every U.S. state and congressional district.<br /><br />We'll be hit with more "flawed trade models" as corporations and their stooges the <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/05/fast-tracking-trade-deals-is-last-thing.html">U.S. Chamber of Commerce </a> lobby for the latest job-killing trade deals, the <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/07/corporations-want-to-hide-dangers-of-tpp.html">Trans-Pacific Partnership</a> (TPP) and the<a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/07/tafta-delay-good-for-workers.html"> Trans-Atlantic Free Trade Agreement</a> (TAFTA).<br /><br />Scott isn't a fan of TPP or TAFTA:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">FTAs and other trade agreements make it enormously profitable to outsource production to countries such as South Korea and China that use currency manipulation, dumping, and other unfair trade practices to undercut production and wages in the United States. U.S. MNCs (multinational corporations), including Apple, Boeing, Dell, Ford, GE, GM, and Intel have also profited enormously from outsourcing to Mexico, China, and other low-wage trade partners under the protection of FTAs and the WTO. The end result is a race to the bottom in wages and working conditions for most members of these agreements (Inequality.is 2013). The United States should stop negotiating FTAs and trade deals and fix the ones we have.</blockquote>Read the whole thing <a href="http://www.epi.org/publication/trade-pacts-korus-trans-pacific-partnership/">here</a>.

Jobs TAFTA TPP trade Korea trade deal cost 40K good US jobs already

America is losing tens of thousands of good manufacturing jobs to South Korea because of the trade deal that took effect March 15, 2012.Our friend Rob Scott at the Economic Policy Institute just put out a report demonstrating the deal increased the t…

Read more »

Growing congressional criticism exposes weakness of TPP

Nearly 170 members of the U.S. House of Representatives joined the <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/06/freshmen-house-dems-dont-give-away-our.html">growing chorus</a> of those concerned about a proposed Pacific Rim trade deal that could place American workers and consumers at risk.<br /><br />The bipartisan collection of lawmakers called on U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman to support strong textile protections for U.S. firms as part of the ongoing negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and want to make sure safeguards are included in any proposed deal. <br /><br />House members are particularly wary of the Vietnamese government's stance regarding textile negotiations. This comes on top of reports raised by labor groups about the nation's lack of fair wages, workplace protections as well as human rights violations. The <a href="http://www.paramuspost.com/article.php/20130711123543499">letter</a> sent to Froman said Vietnam wants a new rule that would let it buy textiles from China. Then it could export finished garments to the U.S., duty free. According to the letter,<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">A recent study concluded that if adopted as part of the TPP, this rule would cost more than 500,000 U.S. textile and related jobs and put more than 1.5 million jobs in the textile and apparel supply chains in the Western Hemisphere and Africa in jeopardy.</blockquote>The growing issues surrounding the TPP are only a part of the criticisms arising across several continents. The first round of negotiations for the Trans Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (TAFTA) end in Washington today. Increasingly, <a href="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/07/11/v-print/196435/consumer-groups-fret-as-first.html">critics</a> in the U.S. and Europe are taking the proposed pact to task. They worry consumers will be hurt by a watering down of laws that control everything from food to chemicals.<br /><br />Meanwhile, Sen. Elizabeth Warren is <a href="http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022867176">shining a light</a> on one deal that has already been approved. She noted that the U.S. trade deficit with South Korea has soared since a trade agreement between the two countries went into effect last year. That undoubtedly is costing good American jobs.<br /><br />All of this brings it back to the problems with such agreements. Too often they are not fair. No one doubts the value of trade, but not if it puts American workers at a disadvantage and American consumers at risk.<br /><br />Stay tuned...

job killing trade deals TAFTA TPP Growing congressional criticism exposes weakness of TPP

Nearly 170 members of the U.S. House of Representatives joined the growing chorus of those concerned about a proposed Pacific Rim trade deal that could place American workers and consumers at risk.The bipartisan collection of lawmakers called on U.S.…

Read more »