Woot! TPP looks dead for this year

It may well be time for <a href="http://teamster.org/" rel="nofollow">Teamsters</a> to celebrate. The secret <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/11/TPP-not-about-trade.html" rel="nofollow">Trans-Pacific Partnership</a>, also known as the TPP, looks to be dead this year!<br /><br />A key U.S. House of Representatives leader said yesterday there isn't enough time left on the calendar to pass <strike>a fast one</strike> '<a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/10/teamsters-lobby-against-tpp.html" rel="nofollow">fast track' legislation</a>. 'Fast track' is just a euphemism for 'rubber stamp,' and without a rubber stamp, the <a href="http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/19843-trans-pacific-partnership-we-will-not-obey-building-a-global-resistance-movement-to-transnational-corporate-power" rel="nofollow">TPP will not pass</a>.<br /><br />Here's why: If people knew what was in the TPP, they'd throw everyone who voted for it out of office. It's a deal to destroy democracy, empower corporations, lower wages, censor the Internet, raise the price of medicine and undermine food safety. Giant corporations have been let in on the negotiations, but the American public has not. Even members of Congress are only allowed tiny peeks at the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/18/alan-grayson-trans-pacific-partnership_n_3456167.html" rel="nofollow">TPP texts</a>. <br /><br />Fortunately, <a href="http://thediplomat.com/2013/11/congress-may-have-killed-the-trans-pacific-partnership/" rel="nofollow">Congress may have already killed the TPP</a> by sending two letters opposing fast track. They were signed by 173 lawmakers, 151 Democrats and 22 Republicans.  <br /><br /><a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/sns-rt-us-usa-trade-tpa-20131119,0,7297542.story" rel="nofollow">Reuters</a> reports, <blockquote>The Obama administration's hopes of securing "fast-track" trade negotiating authority from Congress this year look certain to be dashed given the limited time left on the congressional calendar, the No. 2 House Democrat said on Tuesday. </blockquote><blockquote>The administration wants Congress to quickly pass Trade Promotion Authority, or TPA, to help it secure a trade agreement with 11 other Pacific Rim nations, including Australia, Chile, Canada, Japan, Malaysia and Mexico. </blockquote><blockquote>"I don't realistically see TPA moving," House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer told reporters, saying that Congress would likely be busy with other bills during the eight working days it has left in 2013.</blockquote>Of course, there's always next year....<br /><br />

fast track Teamsters TPP Woot! TPP looks dead for this year

It may well be time for Teamsters to celebrate. The secret Trans-Pacific Partnership, also known as the TPP, looks to be dead this year!A key U.S. House of Representatives leader said yesterday there isn't enough time left on the calendar to pass a f…

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Another murdered Colombian trade unionist – brought to you by “free” trade

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://goyes.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/901-bgde.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://goyes.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/901-bgde.jpg" width="167" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oscar López Triviño</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit;">Meet Oscar López Triviño. He’s the latest victim of so-called free trade.<br /><br />On November 9 <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2013/11/14/headlines/striking_nestle_worker_shot_dead_in_colombia" rel="nofollow">Oscar was shot dead</a> by paramilitaries in the Colombian city of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bugalagrande" rel="nofollow">Bugalagrande</a>. Why? Because Oscar was a union member.<br /><br />Several days before his murder, Oscar’s union, <a href="http://www.sinaltrainal.org/" rel="nofollow">SINALTRAINAL</a>, had launched a hunger strike in front of a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nestl%C3%A9" rel="nofollow">Nestlé</a> factory where Oscar worked for more than 25 years. The company <a href="http://colombiareports.co/nestle-worker-union-activist-killed-receiving-threats-paramilitary-western-colombia/" rel="nofollow">withdrew from negotiations</a> several months ago and was trying to dump the union. Nestlé workers were demanding the company respect various agreements with the union.<br /><br />Any worker action, especially a strike, can be a deadly one in Colombia, the most dangerous country in the world to be a union member.<br /><br />The day before Oscar was killed, members of his union received death threats from paramilitaries. Amnesty International <a href="http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/AMR23/052/2013/en/a498ef80-0bb9-49ff-9c62-3eaa487f81b1/amr230522013en.html" rel="nofollow">reports</a>:</span><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: inherit;">On 8 November, the paramilitary group Los Urabeños sent a death threat by SMS to the phones of José Onofre Esquivel Luna and Álvaro Varela Pérez, who are both leaders of the Bugalagrande branch of SINALTRAINAL and work for Nestlé. The death threat read: “Guerrilla fighters son-of-a-bitch you continue to mess with Nestlé [,] no more forgiveness [,] we will cut you up [,] death to all communists of SINALTRAINAL.”  </span></blockquote>This is what life is like for union members under the reign of a trade deal in a country that is notorious for anti-union violence.<br /><br />Armed corporate goons like Los Urabeños have been responsible for the murders of 11 other union members in Colombia this year alone. A <a href="http://democrats.edworkforce.house.gov/sites/democrats.edworkforce.house.gov/files/documents/Colombia%20trip%20report%20-%2010.29.13%20-%20formatted%20-%20FINAL.pdf" rel="nofollow">recent report</a> by US Reps. <a href="http://georgemiller.house.gov/" rel="nofollow">George Miller</a> and <a href="http://mcgovern.house.gov/">Jim McGovern</a> concluded that <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/10/trade-deal-didnt-end-antiunion-violence-in-Colombia.html">threats, assaults and disappearances are on the rise</a>. Last year 22 union members were murdered in Colombia. None of the murderers have been brought to justice.<br /><br />Since its inception in 1982, SINALTRAINAL alone has seen <a href="http://www.wola.org/publications/violence_threats_and_attacks_aim_to_undermine_sinaltrainal_for_defending_labor_rights" rel="nofollow">more than 20 of its members killed</a> by right-wing death squads. Among slain SINALTRAINAL members, 13 worked for Nestlé. The company has of course denied any connections to paramilitary violence.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9DR42BsM_N0ObVVotaxHpLrxknyAEk_fz7OmbcilLgffM5RiVKlS87x0q8e_eM_Bx2nYHAQJ9c1xFuTbptDDK08UNbHz3PlpEQibw8n6OCMjKjUt8qdeST364AZlDeJO606wNHH3ncr9z/s1600/colombia-union-blood.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9DR42BsM_N0ObVVotaxHpLrxknyAEk_fz7OmbcilLgffM5RiVKlS87x0q8e_eM_Bx2nYHAQJ9c1xFuTbptDDK08UNbHz3PlpEQibw8n6OCMjKjUt8qdeST364AZlDeJO606wNHH3ncr9z/s1600/colombia-union-blood.png" /></a>Oscar’s death is a tragic reminder of what can happen when governments enact trade deals to enrich corporations while providing no say or protections for workers – especially in a country like Colombia.</div><br />Yet that’s what is happening again with the <a href="http://www.teamster.org/teamster-magazine/2013-summer/main-stories/stop-tpp">Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)</a>, an anti-worker trade deal being negotiated behind closed doors by Pacific Rim countries. Among those countries is Vietnam, a country that is rife with labor abuses including sweatshop conditions, poverty wages and <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/08/vietnam-allows-forced-child-labor.html">child slavery</a>.<br /><br />If conditions in Colombia tell us anything, it’s that without public pressure the TPP will not only allow labor rights violations to continue in places like Vietnam, it will make them worse.<br /><br />Fortunately, members of Congress are waking up to the fact that trade deals that are not fully vetted hurt workers and the environment. More than 190 members of the House are on record <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/13/business/international/house-stalls-trade-pact-momentum.html?emc=edit_tnt_20131112&tntemail0=y&_r=3&" rel="nofollow">opposing fast-track authorization for the TPP</a>. That means they want a full debate on the entire agreement, not the quick up-or-down vote that has allowed bad deals like the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States%E2%80%93Colombia_Free_Trade_Agreement" rel="nofollow">US-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement</a> to be ratified.<br /><br />Jim Hoffa wrote in the <em><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-p-hoffa/lawmakers-increasingly-re_b_4270072.html" rel="nofollow">Huffington Post</a></em> this week:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Fast track is an attack on democracy. Americans have been kept out of the loop on how the TPP will affect their everyday lives. The last thing we need is for politicians to fast-track a Pacific trade deal through Congress that allows them to build in secret provisions that help their campaign contributors, but hurt working- and middle-class families. </blockquote>The death of union members like Oscar in Colombia is every reason for bringing the TPP into the light of day. In the meantime, workers need to hold governments accountable when they allow unionists to be assassinated with impunity. Nestlé workers in Colombia should enjoy the same rights that <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2011/08/woo-hoo-another-teamster-organizing_25.html">Nestlé Teamsters</a> enjoy here in the U.S.!<br /><br />You can <a href="http://www.iuf.org/cgi-bin/campaigns/show_campaign.cgi?c=800" rel="nofollow">sign the petition here</a> to tell the Colombian government to bring Oscar’s murderers to justice and provide security to other SINALTRAINAL members who remain at risk.<br /><br />¡Oscar presente!

Amnesty International anti-union violence Colombia fast track human rights nestle TPP Vietnam Another murdered Colombian trade unionist – brought to you by “free” trade

Oscar López TriviñoMeet Oscar López Triviño. He’s the latest victim of so-called free trade.On November 9 Oscar was shot dead by paramilitaries in the Colombian city of Bugalagrande. Why? Because Oscar was a union member.Several days before his murde…

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Today's Teamster News 11.10.13

<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/07/economic-growth-q3-2013_n_4232329.html" rel="nofollow">U.S. Economy Expanded At Surprising Rate Ahead Of The Government Shutdown</a>  Associated Press   ...The U.S. economy expanded at a 2.8 percent annual rate from July through September, a surprising sign of strength ahead of the 16-day partial government shutdown. Exports rose, businesses stocked up, home construction increased and state and local governments spent at the fastest pace in four years…Analysts expect the shutdown will slow growth in the October-December quarter…<br /><a href="http://truth-out.org/buzzflash/commentary/item/18302-koch-brothers-organized-federal-shutdown" rel="nofollow">How the Koch Brothers Organized the Federal Shutdown</a>  Buzzflash   ...The two chief contributors to Cruz's political career donated over a million dollars to it (and no other entity donated as much as $100,000 to it). These two top sources of contributions to Mr. Cruz's political career were Club For Growth, and Senate Conservatives Fund, which together donated over a million dollars to it...<br /><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/11/08/2919341/switzerland-executive-compensation-limits/" rel="nofollow">Switzerland Weighs Radical Approach To Runaway Executive Compensation</a>  ThinkProgress   ...A referendum is set for November 24 on a law called the “1:12 Initiative” that would impose a flexible cap on top employee compensation at Swiss companies. If approved, the highest-paid employee of any given Swiss firm could not earn more in a month than its lowest-paid employee makes in a year...<br /><a href="http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-origins-and-evolution-of-the-trans-pacific-partnership-tpp/5357495?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-origins-and-evolution-of-the-trans-pacific-partnership-tpp" rel="nofollow">The Origins and Evolution of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)</a>  Global Research   ...THE free trade agreement being negotiated by the regional bloc known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) has provoked widespread opposition in the countries involved in its negotiation...<br /><a href="http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2013/11/the-tpp-if-passed-spells-the-end-of-popular-sovereignty-for-the-united-states.html" rel="nofollow">The TPP, If Passed, Spells the End of Popular Sovereignty for the United States</a>  naked capitalism   ...TPP replaces popular sovereignty with transnational investor rule, in two ways...<br /><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/nov/09/bank-of-america-us-864m-mortgage-verdict" rel="nofollow">US seeks $864m from Bank of America after mortgage fraud verdict</a>  The Guardian   ...Countrywide's program emphasized and rewarded employees for the quantity rather than the quality of loans produced, and eliminated checkpoints designed to ensure that loans were sound...<br /><a href="http://m.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/11/a-fraying-of-the-public-private-surveillance-partnership/281289/" rel="nofollow">A Fraying of the Public/Private Surveillance Partnership</a>  The Atlantic   ...The publicity resulting from the Snowden documents has made companies think twice before allowing the NSA access to their users' and customers' data...<br /><a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/11/05/1253318/-Wage-theft-outstrips-bank-gas-station-and-convenience-store-robberies?detail=email#" rel="nofollow">Wage theft outstrips bank, gas station and convenience store robberies</a>  DailyKos   ...Fully 64 percent of low-wage workers have some amount of pay stolen out of their paychecks by their employers every week, including 26 percent who are effectively paid less than minimum wage...<br /><a href="http://www.thenation.com/blog/177043/scott-walker-effect-helping-democrats-win-and-republicans-lose#" rel="nofollow">The Scott Walker Effect: Helping Democrats Win and Republicans Lose</a>  The Nation   ...Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli counted on Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker to provide the conservative candidate with some of the “star power” he needed to get him elected November 5. It didn’t work...<br /><br />

bank criminality economy government shutdown Koch brothers mortgage fraud scott walker spying TPP wage theft Today's Teamster News 11.10.13

U.S. Economy Expanded At Surprising Rate Ahead Of The Government Shutdown  Associated Press   ...The U.S. economy expanded at a 2.8 percent annual rate from July through September, a surprising sign of strength ahead of the 16-day partial government …

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TPP: A 1% kill shot on democracy

As more details of the job-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership leak out, one thing is very clear: It is not about trade. It's about destroying democracy.<br /><br />Yves Smith, who blogs at the <a href="http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/" rel="nofollow">Naked Capitalist</a>, describes how:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">...it is specifically to create a legal structure that supersedes national law. And in the particular parts that are most disturbing, what it would do to environmental regulations, labor regulations, intellectual property - the whole construct is that if national regulations inhibit the ability of corporations to profit, they as investors can sue for the lost profit opportunity. </blockquote>In an interview with <a href="http://www.correntewire.com/harry_shearer_interviews_yves_smith_corporate_pillage_part_1_secret_worst_of_both_worlds_trade" rel="nofollow">Harry Shearer</a>, she explains why so little has been written about the deal: incredible secrecy.<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">The U.S. trade representative is refusing to release anything, even to congressmen. They are only allowing congressmen themselves to read basically summary terms, and ... summaries really don’t tell you what the detailed terms are...</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">...only little bits of the text have been leaked, nobody really knows what’s happening, even the congressmen who’ve read the text have been told they can’t talk about it in any meaningful way. </blockquote>Well, some people are allowed to see the text of the TPP: corporate representatives. Says Smith:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">... they’re actually sharing it with something like 600 corporate representatives who are parties to this deal. So basically the corporations that have an interest in this deal going forward get to see the language. Why doesn’t the public get to see the language? </blockquote>Not only is the TPP secret, but it will be secret for four years -- even after it's approved!!!<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">...not only is this deal secret now, it was leaked in Japan that the signatories are required to keep the terms secret for four years, which will basically insulate, you know, governments that voted it in from the wrath of the voters for a little while.</blockquote><a href="http://news.firedoglake.com/" rel="nofollow">DSWright</a> at <a href="http://firedoglake.com/" rel="nofollow">firedoglake</a> puts it in simpler terms:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">(It's a ) 1% kill shot on democracy in the developed world.</blockquote>

TPP TPP: A 1% kill shot on democracy

As more details of the job-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership leak out, one thing is very clear: It is not about trade. It's about destroying democracy.Yves Smith, who blogs at the Naked Capitalist, describes how:...it is specifically to create a lega…

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Today's Teamster News 11.03.13

<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/31/cnrailway-labor-idUSL1N0IL0LV20131031" rel="nofollow">Canada's CN Rail reaches tentative deal with Teamsters union</a>  Reuters   ...Canadian National Railway Co , the country's largest rail operator, agreed to a new labor contract for some 3,300 conductors, trainmen, yardmen and traffic coordinators represented by the Teamsters union, the railway said Thursday...<br /><a href="http://thecabin.net/interact/opinion/columns/2013-11-02/brock-arkansas-best-teamsters-ok-five-year-contract#.UnY0_5TF36k" rel="nofollow">Arkansas Best, teamsters ok five-year contract</a>  Log Cabin Democrat   ... The contract will take effect on Nov. 3, 2013 and run through March 31, 2018...<br /><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/02/nsa-portrait-total-surveillance" rel="nofollow">Portrait of the NSA: no detail too small in quest for total surveillance</a>  The Guardian   ... It is indiscriminate in the information it is collecting. Nothing appears to be too small for the NSA. Nothing too trivial. Rivals, enemies, allies and friends – US citizens and 'non-Americans' – are all scooped up...<br /><a href="http://www.policymic.com/articles/71255/10-corporations-control-almost-everything-you-buy-this-chart-shows-how" rel="nofollow">10 Corporations Control Almost Everything You Buy — This Chart Shows How</a>  PolicyMic   ...It's not just the products you buy and consume, either. In recent decades, the very news and information that you get has bundled together: 90% of the media is now controlled by just six companies...<br /><a href="http://www.policymic.com/articles/70605/one-thing-major-media-hid-from-you-during-the-debate-on-syria" rel="nofollow">One Thing Major Media Hid From You During the Debate on Syria</a>  PolicyMic   ...at least 22 of the commentators and seven of the think tanks that advocated for military action in Syria had ties to companies that would profit from such a strike...<br /><a href="http://angrybearblog.com/2013/11/more-on-secrets-in-trade-tpp.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Hzoh+%28angrybearblog.com%29" rel="nofollow">More on secrets in trade…TPP </a> Angry Bear   ...“This really is a deal that’s being negotiated by corporations for corporations and any benefit it provides to the bulk of the population of this country will be purely incidental.” ... “There would be no reason to keep it so secret if it was in the interest of the public...<br /><a href="http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2013/11/the-global-corporatocracy-is-almost-fully-operational.html" rel="nofollow">The Global Corporatocracy Is Almost Fully Operational</a>  naked capitalism   ..."...we are witnessing the advancement of a new and unprecedented global project of transatlantic corporate colonization.“... as a recent leak of part of the TPP document has shown, the new rules would limit how governments regulate such public services as utilities, transportation, healthcare and education, including restricting policies meant to ensure broad or universal access to those essential needs...<br /><a href="http://www.teamster.org/content/now-time-end-trade-deal-job-growth-lie" rel="nofollow">Now Is Time To End Trade Deal Job Growth Lie</a>  teamster.org   ...The recently implemented U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement was supposed to create 70,000 new jobs, yet in the 18 months it’s been in place it has cost this country 40,000...<br /><a href="http://consumerist.com/2013/11/01/you-can-go-to-jail-for-an-overdue-library-book/" rel="nofollow">You Can Go To Jail For An Overdue Library Book</a>  Consumerist   ...A Texas man was arrested this week for failing to return a GED study guide he simply spent too long studying — three years — and was sent to jail to mull over his actions, or lack thereof...<br /><a href="http://prospect.org/article/daily-meme-congress-hits-americas-poorest-while-theyre-down" rel="nofollow">Daily Meme: Congress Hits America's Poorest While They're Down</a>  American Prospect   ...Nearly 1 million military vets use food stamps and will see cuts...<br /><a href="http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/10/31/3329326/gop-extremist-movement-prompts.html" rel="nofollow">GOP 'extremist movement' prompts NC candidate to switch to Democrat </a> Charlotte Observer   ..."The government shutdown was simply the straw that broke the camels back. I guess being an American just isn’t good enough anymore and I refuse to be part of an extremist movement in the GOP that only appears to thrive on fear and hate mongering of anyone and everyone who doesn’t walk their line.”<br /><br />

ABF corporate power debtors prisons food stamps government shutdown Moral Monday Syria tea party TPP trade veterans Today's Teamster News 11.03.13

Canada's CN Rail reaches tentative deal with Teamsters union  Reuters   ...Canadian National Railway Co , the country's largest rail operator, agreed to a new labor contract for some 3,300 conductors, trainmen, yardmen and traffic coordinators repres…

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Trade deal didn't end anti-union violence in Colombia. What a shock.

Unionists are still being murdered, threatened and forced to work as temps in Colombia despite promises that an 'action plan' would prevent it, according to <a href="http://democrats.edworkforce.house.gov/sites/democrats.edworkforce.house.gov/files/documents/Colombia%20trip%20report%20-%2010.29.13%20-%20formatted%20-%20FINAL.pdf" rel="nofollow">a staff report</a> by U.S. Reps. <a href="http://georgemiller.house.gov/" rel="nofollow">George Miller</a> and <a href="http://mcgovern.house.gov/" rel="nofollow">Jim McGovern</a>.<br /><br />The action plan -- called the U.S.-Colombia Labor Action Plan (LAP) -- was created in <a href="http://truth-out.org/news/item/16737-the-horrific-costs-of-the-us-colombia-trade-agreement" rel="nofollow">April 2011 to give cover to U.S. politicians</a> who wanted to vote for the job-killing trade deal with Colombia, the most dangerous country in the world to be a union member.<br /><br />Ostensibly the LAP would correct violations of labor rights (like murder and violence) once the trade pact was implemented on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States%E2%80%93Colombia_Free_Trade_Agreement" rel="nofollow">May 15, 2012</a>. It didn't happen. Working conditions for most people in Colombia are worse than they were before the trade deal. (No surprise there.)<br /><br />The failure of the Colombian trade deal portends a similar outcome in Vietnam if the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is approved. <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/08/vietnam-allows-forced-child-labor.html" rel="nofollow">Vietnam, one of the Pacific Rim countries involved in TPP talks</a>, tolerates squalid working conditions, poverty wages and child slavery.<br /><br />Eleven Colombian union leaders were murdered last year. At least that's better than the 22 union leaders murdered with impunity the year before. But threats, assaults, and disappearances are reportedly on the rise, according to the report.<br /><br />Worse, violence is escalating against human rights workers. In the first six months of this year, 37 human rights defenders were murdered in Colombia and 153 were attacked.<br /><br />The so-called benefits of so-called free trade have not flowed to ordinary Colombians. Indigenous people are being thrown off their land. <a href="http://truth-out.org/news/item/16737-the-horrific-costs-of-the-us-colombia-trade-agreement" rel="nofollow">Farmers' livelihoods are threatened</a> by a surge of subsidized agricultural products from the United States. In the port city of Buenaventura, gruesome dismemberments and murders drove 9,000 poor people from their home. Misery and violence prevail.<br /><br />The two congressmen visited Colombia in August to see whether the action plan was working. They arrived in the middle of social unrest:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Colombian farmers took to the streets and went on strike, joined by miners, truckers, public health care workers, students and others. The reasons for the strike given by many included: high fuel prices, expensive agrichemicals, government neglect of rural areas, and the free trade agreement with the United States. </blockquote>They concluded the trade deal has made life worse for most Colombian workers:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">...individuals have been murdered in 2013 and death threats continue. Impunity is still a huge and unaddressed problem. Internationally recognized labor rights are not protected. And in the absence of an effective enforcement system and lax accountability, new forms of indirect hiring and phony unions are proliferating.</blockquote>A Latin American human rights group agreed with the congressmen. Said Gimena Sánche, senior associate with the <a href="http://www.wola.org/news/labor_rights_violations_persist_in_colombia" rel="nofollow">Washington Office on Latin America</a>:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Basic labor protections, including the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining, continue to be violated on a national scale...</blockquote>Let's be honest: these so-called trade deals aren't about trade. They're about empowering corporations at the expense of workers around the globe. That's why no one should be surprised the Colombian 'action plan' didn't work. Or that the TPP, if passed, will not have happy consequences for workers. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br />

anti-union violence Colombia job killing trade deals TPP Trade deal didn't end anti-union violence in Colombia. What a shock.

Unionists are still being murdered, threatened and forced to work as temps in Colombia despite promises that an 'action plan' would prevent it, according to a staff report by U.S. Reps. George Miller and Jim McGovern.The action plan -- called the U.S…

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Today's Teamster News 10.28.13

<a href="http://www.alternet.org/economy/point-seveners-new-name-millionaires-club" rel="nofollow">America’s Wealthy Are Even Wealthier And Have A New Name: Point-Seveners</a>  Alternet   ...America has 45,000 citizens worth more than $50 million...<br /><a href="http://www.salon.com/2013/10/26/dark_money_groups_linked_to_koch_brothers_pay_1_million_in_fines_partner/" rel="nofollow">Dark money groups linked to Koch brothers pay $1 million in fines</a>  Salon   ...They allegedly spent a combined $15 million on conservative ballot proposals without proper disclosure...<br /><a href="http://www.alternet.org/education/great-voucher-fraud" rel="nofollow">The Great Voucher Fraud</a>  Alternet   ... decades of accumulated evidence paints a different story: Vouchers do not improve educational outcomes, they take money away from struggling public schools, they’re cash cows for institutions offering questionable education, they aid students already attending private institutions and they ignore the needs of special-education students...<br /><a href="http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2013/10/27/Recall-222959-pounds-of-ready-to-eat-chicken-salad-products/UPI-68441382896086/" rel="nofollow">Recall: 222,959 pounds of ready-to-eat chicken salad products</a>  UPI   ...Boston Salads and Provisions Company is recalling about 222,959 pounds of chicken salad products due to possible contamination with Listeria, officials say...<br /><a href="http://thediplomat.com/china-power/the-us-is-quietly-losing-its-innovation-edge-to-china/" rel="nofollow">The US Is Quietly Losing Its Innovation Edge to China</a>  The Diplomat   ...Between 2003 and 2013, the number of applications increased from nearly 35,000 to more than 51,000, while NIH appropriations shrunk from $21 billion to $16 billion (in 1995 dollars). As a consequence, it has become increasingly difficult for our scientists to garner an NIH grant…The story is dramatically different on the China side. The government is determined to be the next technology innovation center in the world. By 2011, China had already become the world’s second highest investor in R&D. Government research funding has been growing at an annual rate of more than 20 percent...<br /><a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/10/another-reason-hate-tpp-it-gives-big-content-new-tools-undermine-sane-digital" rel="nofollow">Another Reason to Hate TPP: It Gives Big Content New Tools to Undermine Sane Digital Rights Policies</a>  EFF   ...TPP would give multinational companies the power to sue countries over laws that that might diminish the value of their company or cut into their expected future profits...<br /><a href="http://soberlook.com/2013/10/has-great-recession-created-behavioral.html" rel="nofollow">Has the Great Recession created behavioral changes in the labor markets?</a>  Sober Look   ...One of the persistent problems with the US labor markets is the current pool of unemployed people taking far longer to find work than in the past. This would suggest that the key for those without work is to enter the workforce as quickly as possible - even if it means part-time, temp, consulting, etc. The barriers to re-entry are much higher these days than any time in recent decades...<br /><a href="http://thediplomat.com/asia-life/2013/10/mizuho-banks-yakuza-scandal-more-than-30-execs-to-be-punished/" rel="nofollow">Mizuho Bank’s Yakuza Scandal: More than 30 Execs to be Punished</a>  The Diplomat   ...More than 30 executives at Mizuho Financial Group, Japan’s third largest bank, will be held accountable for making loans to the country’s organized crime syndicates, known as the yakuza...<br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/27/magazine/could-new-york-city-subways-survive-another-hurricane.html?_r=0" rel="nofollow">Could New York City Subways Survive Another Hurricane?</a>  New York Times   ...you see what it will take to keep the system going: technological improvements, yes, but also the oldest technology of all — the knowledge of the people who run the subway, many of whom have been there for their entire working lives...<br /><a href="http://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/what-even-is-a-wisconsin-john-doe-investigation" rel="nofollow">What Is Going On in Wisconsin -- And Why Is It So Secret? </a> Talking Points Memo   ... a former federal prosecutor had been appointed to lead a "John Doe investigation" into state-level issues in Wisconsin, including the 2011 and 2012 recall elections. And this John Doe investigation reportedly grew out of an earlier John Doe probe, which closed in March after snaring six former aides and associates of Gov. Scott Walker (R)...<br /><br /><br />

bank criminality China food safety Hurricane Sandy inequality innovation Koch brothers scott walker TPP unemployment WI Today's Teamster News 10.28.13

America’s Wealthy Are Even Wealthier And Have A New Name: Point-Seveners  Alternet   ...America has 45,000 citizens worth more than $50 million...Dark money groups linked to Koch brothers pay $1 million in fines  Salon   ...They allegedly spent a com…

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Today's Teamster News 10.27.13

<a href="http://peoplesworld.org/teamsters-score-big-organizing-gains-go-kosher-too/" rel="nofollow">Teamsters score big organizing gains, go “kosher” too! </a> People's World   ... while the biggest win was in Santa Monica, Calif., the most unusual saw the union "go kosher" - winning an election and a first contract for 15 kosher dining hall workers at the University of Pennsylvania...<br /><a href="http://www.alternet.org/economy/nine-democratic-senators-side-gop-entitlement-cuts" rel="nofollow">Sell-Out Alert: 9 Democrats Already Caving to GOP On Social Security Cuts </a> Alternet   ...There are at least nine in the Senate. California’s <a href="http://ourfuture.org/20130326/senate-kicks-the-chained-cpi-to-the-curb-but-leaves-the-back-door-open">Dianne Feinstein</a>, Montana’s <a href="http://ourfuture.org/20130326/senate-kicks-the-chained-cpi-to-the-curb-but-leaves-the-back-door-open">Max Baucus</a>, West Virginia’s <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/disrupt#53275328">Joe Manchin</a>, Delaware’s <a href="http://www.coons.senate.gov/newsroom/releases/release/serious-attempt-at-deficit-reduction-requires-closer-look-at-advice-in-bowles-simpson-report">Chris Coons</a> and <a href="http://www.carper.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=39f20a2e-d3b9-49b1-82a0-e9c67f00ba4f">Tom Carper</a>, and Colorado’s <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/10/09/the-gang-of-six-nay-eight-is-back-will-it-matter/">Michael Bennett</a> have all said they support cuts to entitlements in letters to constituents, proposed bills or statements...<br /><a href="http://medicalobserverph.com/putting-profits-first-no-way-health-groups/" rel="nofollow">Putting Profits First? No Way – Health Groups</a>  Medical Observer   ...militant health groups belonging to Health Alliance for Democracy and the People’s Health Movement-Philippines picketed the office of the World Health Organization to express their strong opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement...<br /><a href="http://www.scmp.com/news/china-insider/article/1336647/jiangxi-businessman-pays-model-mo-lulu-100000-yuan-breastfeed-him" rel="nofollow">Jiangxi businessman pays model Mo Lulu 100,000 yuan to breastfeed him</a>  South China Morning Post   ... at a private dinner after the automobile show, Mo breastfed a man who paid her 100,000 yuan. According to the report, the businessman called Mo “mom” every time he took a sip. Other people at the dinner took photos and uploaded them online...<br /><a href="http://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/labor/news/2013/09/20/74751/middle-classes-are-stronger-in-states-with-greater-union-membership/" rel="nofollow">Middle Classes Are Stronger in States with Greater Union Membership</a>  Center for American Progress Action Fund   ... four of the top five union states—Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, and Rhode Island—had middle classes of above-average strength...<br /><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/10/26/marty-sullivan-figured-out-how-the-worlds-biggest-companies-avoided-billions-in-taxes-heres-how-he-wants-to-stop-them/" rel="nofollow">Marty Sullivan figured out how the world’s biggest companies avoided billions in taxes. Here’s how he wants to stop them.</a>  Washington Post   ...it was Sullivan who in 2010 pieced together from public filings that Apple had understated its reported profits to hide the fact that it was paying a tax rate of less than 2 percent on its overseas profits, shining the spotlight on Apple’s tax avoidance schemes...<br /><a href="http://www.mybudget360.com/means-tested-benefits-government-benefits-more-than-fulltime-workers-census-data/" rel="nofollow">Means-Tested recovery: Over 108,000,000 Americans received means-tested benefits in latest report from Census Bureau, more than are currently employed full-time. </a> My Budget 360   ...the stock market is rallying higher and higher thanks to financial maneuvering but the actual American worker is taking it on the chin.  This is obviously unsustainable...<br /><a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/rosiegray/libertarians-and-progressives-team-up-against-nsa-surveillan" rel="nofollow">Libertarians And Progressives Team Up Against NSA Surveillance</a>  Buzzfeed Politics   ...Organized by the coalition Stop Watching Us, which includes dozens of groups ranging from Internet freedom advocates to Tea Party organizations, the rally attracted hundreds of people to the Capitol Reflecting Pool to protest the electronic surveillance by the National Security Agency revealed by Edward Snowden this year...<br /><a href="http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2013/10/24/First-responders-pension-fund.html" rel="nofollow">Police, fire pension fund still falls short, report says </a> Columbus Dispatch   ...Rep. Lynn Wachtmann, the Napoleon Republican who leads the Ohio Retirement Study Council…threatened to dismantle the Police & Fire Fund as a separate board because of what he perceives as members’ continued intransigence. “Some of these members are union thugs who know about power and aren’t afraid to use power or abuse power if they need that to win...”<br /><a href="http://www.plunderbund.com/2013/10/26/tea-party-activists-gather-signatures-for-so-called-right-to-work-amendment/" rel="nofollow">Tea Party activists gather signatures for so-called right to work amendment</a>  Plunderbund   ...At this rate, Ohioans could vote to make Hillary Clinton the next president of the United States before we ever get a chance to vote on another anti-union measure in Ohio.  Unless, of course, they pick up a lot of funding and start collecting signatures at a faster pace...<br /><a href="http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/opinion/mailbag/letter-asbestos-bill-will-complicate-veterans-claims/article_c7f20289-bc20-5923-bc09-411005281a94.html" rel="nofollow">LETTER: Asbestos Bill Will Complicate Veterans' Claims</a>  Wisconsin State Journal   ...veterans make up only 8 percent of the population, but 30 percent of all mesothelioma-related deaths. Senate Bill 13 would add additional hurdles for victims seeking claims against asbestos companies and would delay or deny justice for asbestos victims...<br /><a href="http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/bizarre&id=9300706" rel="nofollow">Georgia man runs into burning home to save beer</a>  KTRK   ..."I went back into the house like a dummy." That's what one man in Georgia said after he risked his life to save beer from his fridge while his house was on fire...

corporate tax avoidance organizing pensions plutocracy right to work for less social security spying TPP Today's Teamster News 10.27.13

Teamsters score big organizing gains, go “kosher” too!  People's World   ... while the biggest win was in Santa Monica, Calif., the most unusual saw the union "go kosher" - winning an election and a first contract for 15 kosher dining hall workers at…

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Teamster BAs tell lawmakers not to pull a fast one on trade deal

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1-2LOgsz5MkG7xikq0wSOJAjOOEoLCWou0pSgi2AFk0ET76eC9ZBP5K_gg0KqN9MFxJtqes0xmRxYHeduj-Wne7C0lC1kB1jyg1Wf7-0qI7YmzIcXZ006RdmenXSjBV52906saklWIbUe/s1600/Susan+Del+Bene.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1-2LOgsz5MkG7xikq0wSOJAjOOEoLCWou0pSgi2AFk0ET76eC9ZBP5K_gg0KqN9MFxJtqes0xmRxYHeduj-Wne7C0lC1kB1jyg1Wf7-0qI7YmzIcXZ006RdmenXSjBV52906saklWIbUe/s400/Susan+Del+Bene.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rep. <a href="http://delbene.house.gov/" rel="nofollow">Suzan DelBene</a>, D-Wash., meets with Teamster business agents: <br />(LtoR: Sal Golfo, Teamsters Local 272, Debbie Gath, Teamsters Local 38, <br />Michael Dolan, IBT legislative representative, DelBene, Troy Gustafson,<br />Teamsters Local 120.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Teamster business agents visited their congressional representatives in Washington last week to tell them to vet every word of the TPP trade deal to make sure it doesn't harm American families.<br /><br />The TPP, or <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/03/tpp-power-grab-by-corporations-and-1.html" rel="nofollow">Trans-Pacific Partnership</a>, is a massive trade deal that's been<a href="http://www.thenation.com/blog/175865/keeping-massive-trade-deal-out-fast-lane#" rel="nofollow"> negotiated in extreme secrecy</a> -- well, except for corporate lobbyists, who have access to negotiators and negotiating texts.<br /><br />TPP supporters want <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Congress" rel="nofollow">Congress</a> to vote on the deal without reading it carefully, without amending it and with only debating it for a short time. That's called "fast track" authority, and Congress has to approve fast track authority before it can ram through the TPP. Teamster business agents went to the Capitol to tell lawmakers to vote against fast track.<br /><br />By the way, we think you know why politicians in the pocket of big business want fast track authority: They don't want the public to know they're passing a trade deal that sends more good American jobs overseas, lowers wages here, shuts down factories, censors the Internet and undermines our food safety laws.<br /><br />We're not crying wolf here. Politico Pro just reported members of Congress are hoping to set up a "Friends of TPP" caucus soon. Reports Politico Pro:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">The group will act as a sounding board for lawmakers on the massive Pacific Rim trade deal, which the Obama administration is trying to close by the end of the year.</blockquote>Here's the good news, also from Politico Pro:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">It remains unclear how a fast-track bill would move through Congress or if the administration will formally request the legislation.</blockquote>The <a href="http://teamster.org/" rel="nofollow">Teamsters</a> will remain vigilant.

fast-track Teamsters TPP Teamster BAs tell lawmakers not to pull a fast one on trade deal

Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., meets with Teamster business agents: (LtoR: Sal Golfo, Teamsters Local 272, Debbie Gath, Teamsters Local 38, Michael Dolan, IBT legislative representative, DelBene, Troy Gustafson,Teamsters Local 120.Teamster business age…

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Shutdown isn't affecting TPP talks

The <a href="http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2013/10/01/government-shutdown-what-stays-open-whats-closed/" rel="nofollow">government shutdown</a> is costing 400,000 civilian employees part of their paychecks. Small businesspeople won't be able to apply for federal loans, nor will students or homebuyers. Retirees won't be able to apply for Social Security. All national parks and federally funded museums are closed.<br /><br />Here's one thing that won't shut down: negotiations for job-killing<strike> corporate giveaways</strike> trade deals like the <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/03/tpp-power-grab-by-corporations-and-1.html" rel="nofollow">TPP</a> and <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/07/tafta-delay-good-for-workers.html" rel="nofollow">TAFTA</a>.<br /><br />According to an email from the people who bring you these job-killing <strike>corporate giveaways</strike> trade deals, the U.S. Trade Representative's office:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Due to a lapse in federal appropriations, as of October 1st, USTR will be unable to carry out normal operations. As of today, in hopes that the lapse will be brief, USTR plans to participate in the upcoming meeting of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Trade Ministers as well as the APEC meetings taking place in Bali, Indonesia from October 3-8, 2013. USTR also plans to participate in the upcoming 2nd round negotiation of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP) taking place in Brussels, Belgium from October 7-11, 2013. In the event of a prolonged lapse in funding, plans may change and we will inform you accordingly.</blockquote>'T-TIP' is their term for TAFTA, which they don't like to use for obvious reasons.<br /><br />In other words, ordinary people are getting screwed by the shutdown -- twice over.

government shutdown TPP Shutdown isn't affecting TPP talks

The government shutdown is costing 400,000 civilian employees part of their paychecks. Small businesspeople won't be able to apply for federal loans, nor will students or homebuyers. Retirees won't be able to apply for Social Security. All national p…

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Whoa! Awesome TPP protest across from White House

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbqzu49fJ5KMq8GEHBmgK1DKzgScojMIhc3yNyKKLUJevqEfH1EBH04V8Q2_s9QfaB4t91oGVwGfcEm_-_PJhMobY6xWQnDvQMp2uRuQWyMV54gjdnFdt7hvalOd68TmL1l-jzb-6N_fQZ/s1600/tpp+banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbqzu49fJ5KMq8GEHBmgK1DKzgScojMIhc3yNyKKLUJevqEfH1EBH04V8Q2_s9QfaB4t91oGVwGfcEm_-_PJhMobY6xWQnDvQMp2uRuQWyMV54gjdnFdt7hvalOd68TmL1l-jzb-6N_fQZ/s320/tpp+banner.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><div class="tr_bq">The noontime protest on Monday against the TPP (the giant Trans-Pacific Partnership job-killing trade deal) could rank among the best ever, none other than the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/protesters-rising-to-new-heights/2013/09/26/465b6af8-26ea-11e3-b75d-5b7f66349852_story.html" rel="nofollow">Washington Post</a> reported:</div><blockquote>Eight “construction workers” in blue coveralls and odd “Stop the TPP” yellow hard hats somehow made their way up an unsecured scaffolding — the building is undergoing some exterior work — to the top, where they unfurled a 10-by-30-foot banner condemning the proposed treaty as a corporate giveaway. </blockquote><blockquote>Then five of the eight “workers” moved onto a lower balcony — we seem to recall it’s on the same floor as U.S. Trade Rep <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/michael-froman/gIQA3Rcv9O_topic.html">Mike Froman’s </a>office — and hung two more banners. </blockquote><blockquote>The police finally showed up and briefly handcuffed one protester. But that was all.<br />The action had been planned for a month, said <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/metro/elections/2006/maryland/candidates/Kevin_Zeese.html">Kevin Zeese</a> , an organizer with PopularResistance.org, and the coveralls and hard hats were ordered online. The door to the scaffolding was always open, he noted, and the group did a final scouting mission the Friday before the event. </blockquote><blockquote>But when the protesters arrived Monday in their “Stop the TPP” hats, he said, “we were shocked that there were no workers, no security. It was amazing.” </blockquote><blockquote>“We wanted to do something audacious,” Zeese said. “We wanted to be bold.” </blockquote><blockquote>Did we mention that the building is just across the street from the White House complex, specifically the Eisenhower Executive Office Building?</blockquote><div>Teamsters had joined an anti-TPP protest the previous Friday that included 100 people from diverse backgrounds: doctors, environmentalists, students and workers from other unions. The Teamsters ally Public Citizen explained the recent spate of TPP protests had to do with the secret negotiations going on in Washington: <br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">The TPP negotiators were not in Washington, D.C. for a formal round of negotiations, but for a below-the-radar “intersessional” meeting. Such secretive meetings are now being scheduled at a moment’s notice in countries across the Pacific Rim as the U.S. cracks the whip in desperate attempt to get negotiations all wrapped up and tied with a neat bow by the end of the year, despite the <a href="http://citizen.typepad.com/eyesontrade/2013/08/final-tpp-round-not-final-are-even-more-secretive-talks-ahead.html">yawning controversies and gaps</a> in agreed-upon text.  </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">These “intersessionals” drive the backdoor TPP talks even further underground and away from public scrutiny. Unlike the formal rounds, USTR is not even revealing the location, timing or agenda of the intersessionals. And there are no “<a href="http://citizen.typepad.com/eyesontrade/2012/09/flush-the-tpp-was-the-rallying-cry-heard-outside-virginias-lansdowne-resort-on-sunday-at-a-protestagainst-the-tra.html">stakeholder sessions</a>" to which concerned groups and the general public are invited.</blockquote></div>

Protests TPP Whoa! Awesome TPP protest across from White House

The noontime protest on Monday against the TPP (the giant Trans-Pacific Partnership job-killing trade deal) could rank among the best ever, none other than the Washington Post reported:Eight “construction workers” in blue coveralls and odd “Stop the …

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Today's Teamster News 09.22.13

<a href="http://mtstandard.com/news/local/local-teamsters-no-st-james-healthcare-settle-strike-averted/article_5e50027c-2271-11e3-9af2-0019bb2963f4.html" rel="nofollow">Local Teamsters No. 2, St. James Healthcare settle; Strike averted</a>  Montana Standard   ...Local Teamsters No. 2 and St. James Healthcare have settled their long-ranging collective bargaining issues — thus averting a Sept. 23 strike...<br /><a href="http://www.heraldonline.com/2013/09/20/5229676/teamsters-continue-to-lawfully.html" rel="nofollow">Teamsters Continue To Lawfully Picket Funeral Home Giant SCI</a>  Teamsters Local 727   ...Since pickets began on July 2, SCI has continued its history of bargaining in bad faith with its employees, even after meeting for ongoing negotiations on Sept. 17...<br /><a href="http://www.teamster.org/content/community-teamsters" rel="nofollow">Teamsters Women’s Conference Closes with Focus on Activism</a>  teamster.org   ...The 2013 Teamsters Women’s Conference in New Orleans closed on Saturday with a call to action from the 1,000 Teamster women in attendance, as well as from their fellow Teamsters throughout North America...<br /><a href="http://citizen.typepad.com/eyesontrade/2013/09/obamas-corporate-export-council-ignores-dismal-export-data-backs-more-of-the-same-trade-deals.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+eyesontrade+%28Eyes+on+Trade%29" rel="nofollow">Obama’s Corporate Export Council Ignores Dismal Export Data, Backs More-of-the-Same “Trade” Deals </a> Public Citizen   ...Somehow the room full of corporate representatives and government officials, “<a href="http://trade.gov/pec/">the principal national advisory committee on international trade</a>,” which exists to “promote export expansion” and “discuss and resolve trade-related problems,” made it through two hours of prepared speeches without once acknowledging that we’re <a href="http://citizen.typepad.com/eyesontrade/2013/02/obamas-export-promise-falls-18-years-behind-schedule-as-exports-decline-under-ftas.html">18 years behind schedule to meet Obama’s goal to double exports</a>...<br /><a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/2013-09-20/5-years-after-financial-crisis-big-banks-are-still-committing-massive-crimes" rel="nofollow">5 Years After the Financial Crisis, The Big Banks Are Still Committing Massive Crimes</a>  zero hedge   ...The executives of the big banks invariably pretend that the hanky-panky was only committed by a couple of low-level rogue employees. But studies show that <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/jul/09/fraud-bosses-206m">most of the fraud is committed by management</a>...<br /><a href="http://wallstreetonparade.com/2013/09/jpmorgan-found-to-have-violated-both-banking-and-securities-laws-in-920-million-settlement/" rel="nofollow">JPMorgan Found to Have Violated Both Banking and Securities Laws in $920 Million Settlement</a>  Wall Street on Parade   ... This is where the high risk trading was done, in the insured bank, using insured deposits. It is this aspect that has stunned Congress and brought in the FBI and Justice Department...<br /><a href="http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/few-jobs-means-bad-jobs?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+beat_the_press+%28Beat+the+Press%29" rel="nofollow">Few Jobs Means Bad Jobs</a>  Center for Economic and Policy Research   ...There are always employers offering bad jobs, but workers don't take them in a good economy. In a bad economy they have no choice...<br /><a href="http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2013/09/founder-of-.html" rel="nofollow">Founder of Beanie Babies to Plead Guilty to Tax Evasion</a>  TaxProfBlog   ...<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ty_Warner">Ty Warner</a>, CEO of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ty_Inc.">Ty Inc</a>., which makes <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beanie_Babies">Beanie Babies</a>, has agreed to plead guilty to tax evasion and pay $53.6 million in penalties in one of the largest offshore tax evasion cases in history...<br /><a href="http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-09-19/how-germany-s-alw-got-busted-for-the-largest-food-fraud-in-u-dot-s-dot-history" rel="nofollow">The Honey Launderers: Uncovering the Largest Food Fraud in U.S. History</a>  Bloomberg   ...Andrew Boutros, assistant U.S. attorney in Chicago, had put together the case: Eight other ALW executives, including Alexander Wolff, the chief executive officer, and a Chinese honey broker, were indicted on charges alleging a global conspiracy to illegally import Chinese honey going back to 2002...<br /><a href="http://madeinamericathebook.wordpress.com/" rel="nofollow">Loss of Economic Exceptionalism</a>  Made in America   ...the U.S. does not provide more upward mobility than other nations do; if anything, young Americans’ economic fortunes are more tied to those of their parents than is true in other western nations...

bank criminality corporate tax avoidance funeral directors Jobs JPMorgan negotiations TPP Today's Teamster News 09.22.13

Local Teamsters No. 2, St. James Healthcare settle; Strike averted  Montana Standard   ...Local Teamsters No. 2 and St. James Healthcare have settled their long-ranging collective bargaining issues — thus averting a Sept. 23 strike...Teamsters Contin…

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Unions, advocates take a stand against TPP

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXjuG4WmloI64ast_uENHruE9ELcP8067ei0qdQJRtVoUYezWip68SqLZLDghSUHScpYbqfFHCkwIivQOMHVoJ6F2gOU-wIxnXn1hAUd1RQYvjOFobcwxsseq-_KaskB7Z6OukdIeQXXZJ/s1600/Local+952+080.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXjuG4WmloI64ast_uENHruE9ELcP8067ei0qdQJRtVoUYezWip68SqLZLDghSUHScpYbqfFHCkwIivQOMHVoJ6F2gOU-wIxnXn1hAUd1RQYvjOFobcwxsseq-_KaskB7Z6OukdIeQXXZJ/s400/Local+952+080.JPG" title="Protesters wore ghoulist costumes and built a "TPP Death Star" during Friday's event." width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Demonstrators call out corporate-led TPP during Washington protest.</td></tr></tbody></table>Scores of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) protesters urged trade negotiators this afternoon to stand up for workers and consumers by opposing the trade deal. They chanted and cheered in front of the U.S. Trade Representatives' office in downtown Washington where representatives from the 12 nations involved in TPP discussions were meeting.<br /><br />Holding signs saying "Bring TPP Out of the Shadows" and "Fast Track: Derailing the Middle Class," union representatives as well as fair trade, health care and environmental advocates each took turns rousing the crowd in an effort to chide officials to end the secrecy revolving around the proposed Pacific Rim trade agreement. They called for the deal to get the full consideration of Congress, as the U.S. Constitution mandates.<br /><br />Ken Peres, chief economist for the Communications Workers of America, welcomed the negotiators to the nation's capital but said TPP opponents are not going to go quietly:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">We want to remind these negotiators -- no justice, no peace. We support trade, but fair trade.</blockquote>Different speakers led rounds of call-and-response chants that raised the crowd's spirits and volume during the demonstration. They frequently repeated that workers' jobs and wages are at stake if the TPP is implemented:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Working people are under attack. No TPP and no fast track!</blockquote>The Obama administration and multinational corporations have made it clear they want to push forward with finalizing the TPP as soon as possible. They tout economic gains for employers and employees alike. But the numbers just don’t support those claims. A <a href="http://www.cepr.net/documents/publications/TPP-2013-09.pdf" rel="nofollow">report</a> released last week by the <a href="http://www.cepr.net/" rel="nofollow">Center for Economic and Policy Research</a> shows that even when using the most pro-TPP statistics to determine U.S. economic growth, the trade pact would result in a pay cut for 90 percent of U.S. workers.<br /><br />Luckily some are sounding the alarm. <a href="http://www.teamster.org/content/trade-good-when-its-fair">Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa co-authored an op-ed with Sierra Club executive director Michael Brune today</a> warning negotiators about how both fast track and the TPP could harm workers.

protest TPP Unions, advocates take a stand against TPP

Demonstrators call out corporate-led TPP during Washington protest.Scores of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) protesters urged trade negotiators this afternoon to stand up for workers and consumers by opposing the trade deal. They chanted and cheered …

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TPP + China = even more reason to worry

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL5GNPh4L9dyFEjafZgdiLgok9fpP5_M0vgNOuTOWAXZejHvGXGnGsP1spLECr7NtKsbzE1Y7RlXgK3QNdhzmGV_vRO4iWp0vuqjkx_b7TV33eLlje3d5hnhidRw71jJ4kMMouyRMMkqih/s1600/tpp.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL5GNPh4L9dyFEjafZgdiLgok9fpP5_M0vgNOuTOWAXZejHvGXGnGsP1spLECr7NtKsbzE1Y7RlXgK3QNdhzmGV_vRO4iWp0vuqjkx_b7TV33eLlje3d5hnhidRw71jJ4kMMouyRMMkqih/s320/tpp.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Just when you think the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) can’t get any worse, it does. Now </span><a href="http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=33B91A19-6BFF-4BF3-965A-1E0084ABD1DD" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">China is making rumblings that it wants to participate</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> in the TPP. You know, the country that put the “sweat” in sweatshops!<o:p></o:p></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">America has seen what China can do to U.S. jobs, and it’s not good. This nation </span><a href="http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2012/08/24/report-america-lost-27-million-jobs-to-china-in-10-years" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">lost 2.7 million jobs to the Chinese</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> during the first 10 years after China was accepted into the World Trade Organization, but that is only the beginning if the world’s most populated nation is allowed to join the current 12-country Pacific Rim trade pact. <o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> And did we mention that the </span><a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2013/09/china-drives-uptick-in-us-trade-deficit-96257.html" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">U.S. trade deficit with China topped $30 billion</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> for the first time in July? Good times!<o:p></o:p></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">While trade negotiators are in the nation’s capital to try and work out unresolved portions of the TPP, those who support workers and their allies are </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/450001515036305/451382368231553/?notif_t=plan_mall_activity" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">taking to the street tomorrow</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> to say the public deserves to be heard on this trade agreement. There should be no quick up-or-down vote in Congress on something so important.</span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Let's make them remember that when the U.S. negotiates a trade agreement, every provision should benefit working families, not big corporations. America doesn't need anymore "free" trade deals, it needs fair trade deals.</span></div>

China fair labor fair trade TPP TPP + China = even more reason to worry

Just when you think the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) can’t get any worse, it does. Now China is making rumblings that it wants to participate in the TPP. You know, the country that put the “sweat” in sweatshops! America has seen what China can do …

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Unions, activists to protest TPP in DC Friday

<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It’s no secret (at least to Teamster Nation readers) that the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a raw deal for America’s workers and consumers. But </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/450001515036305/?context=create" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">unions and TPP opponents on Friday will take that message to decision makers</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">themselves. <o:p></o:p></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL5GNPh4L9dyFEjafZgdiLgok9fpP5_M0vgNOuTOWAXZejHvGXGnGsP1spLECr7NtKsbzE1Y7RlXgK3QNdhzmGV_vRO4iWp0vuqjkx_b7TV33eLlje3d5hnhidRw71jJ4kMMouyRMMkqih/s1600/tpp.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL5GNPh4L9dyFEjafZgdiLgok9fpP5_M0vgNOuTOWAXZejHvGXGnGsP1spLECr7NtKsbzE1Y7RlXgK3QNdhzmGV_vRO4iWp0vuqjkx_b7TV33eLlje3d5hnhidRw71jJ4kMMouyRMMkqih/s320/tpp.jpeg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A noontime rally is planned outside the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in downtown Washington, D.C., to coincide with a meeting of negotiators from the U.S. and 11 other Pacific Rim nations in the nation’s capital. While all 18 rounds of discussions have been held behind closed doors, this one is even more secretive and won’t include an opportunity for stakeholders to comment.<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> The Obama administration and multinational corporations have made it clear they want to push forward with finalizing the TPP as soon as possible. They tout economic gains for employers and employees alike. But the numbers just don’t support those claims. A </span><a href="http://www.cepr.net/documents/publications/TPP-2013-09.pdf" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">report</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">released last week by the </span><a href="http://www.cepr.net/" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Center for Economic and Policy Research</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> shows that even when using the most pro-TPP statistics to determine U.S. economic growth, the deal would result in a pay cut for 90 percent of U.S. workers.<o:p></o:p></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The TPP seems like even less of a good deal when you<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>add </span><a href="http://www.teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/09/tpp-could-jeopardize-seafood-industry-and-safety.html"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">lax seafood rules</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, the </span><a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/07/US-should-terminate-Vietnam-TPP-talks.html"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">use of child labor</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> to make garments for sale in the U.S. and potential changes that could </span><a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/05/teamsters-tell-ore-lawmakers-tpp-is-big.html"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">wreck the U.S. dairy industry</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. At least, that is, for those who aren’t multinational corporations. <o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Americans aren’t against trade, they just want fair trade. They oppose putting U.S. workers at a disadvantage and U.S. consumers at risk. They’ve seen enough lost jobs, shuttered plants and hollowed-out communities.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana;">It's time to rebuild the middle class, not tear it down, and that means only approving trade deals that benefit working Americans. Let trade negotiators know that Sept. 20.</span>

rally TPP Unions, activists to protest TPP in DC Friday

It’s no secret (at least to Teamster Nation readers) that the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a raw deal for America’s workers and consumers. But unions and TPP opponents on Friday will take that message to decision makersthemselves. A noontime…

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Something’s fishy with the TPP

<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">TPP is an abbreviation for the much-maligned Trans-Pacific Partnership. But it also works as shorthand for Terrible Policy for Pescatarians and is equally apt.<o:p></o:p></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL5GNPh4L9dyFEjafZgdiLgok9fpP5_M0vgNOuTOWAXZejHvGXGnGsP1spLECr7NtKsbzE1Y7RlXgK3QNdhzmGV_vRO4iWp0vuqjkx_b7TV33eLlje3d5hnhidRw71jJ4kMMouyRMMkqih/s1600/tpp.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL5GNPh4L9dyFEjafZgdiLgok9fpP5_M0vgNOuTOWAXZejHvGXGnGsP1spLECr7NtKsbzE1Y7RlXgK3QNdhzmGV_vRO4iWp0vuqjkx_b7TV33eLlje3d5hnhidRw71jJ4kMMouyRMMkqih/s320/tpp.jpeg" width="320" /></a><a href="http://foodandwaterwatch.org/blogs/trading-away-our-safe-seafood/" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A Capitol Hill panel looking at seafood and the TPP</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> raised serious concerns about what a flood of fish coming in from the 11 other nations involved in negotiations of the trade pact would mean both for consumers and industry workers. Lawmakers and experts said the livelihoods of fishermen and the health of the American public could be at stake.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mitch Jones, Food and Water Watch’s director of the common resources program who moderated the program, said as it stands the U.S. can’t keep up with imported fish:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In 2010 the FDA [Food and Drug Administration] had 92 full time equivalent border inspectors, which means that in that year each border inspector was responsible for inspecting 56.5 million pounds of seafood. No wonder less than 2 percent of our seafood is actually inspected before being allowed into the country and sold in our stores.</span></blockquote></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In an effort to stop the soaring importation of unsafe fish, lawmakers and experts agreed it is </span><a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/08/help-derail-fast-tracking-of-TPP.html"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">key to stop fast track</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, which would allow a quick up-or-down vote on the TPP with little demand and no chance to amend the deal. Having Congress fully consider the agreement would not only help consumers’ health, it would protect hard-working Americans in many different industries.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Reps. Rosa DeLauro (Conn.) and Walter Jones (N.C.), who hosted the briefing, were joined by Sen. Mary Landrieu (La.) on a </span><a href="http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/11/members-of-congress-ask-obama-administration-to-ensure-seafood-safety-in-trade-negotiation/#.UjMrA2zD_cs" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">letter sent to the Obama administration last year asking that public health be a key focus</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> of negotiators during TPP discussions. Unfortunately, due to the secretive nature of the pact’s negotiations, the public doesn’t know where things stand.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As talks between trade negotiators begin to wind down, the Obama administration and Congress need to carefully weigh any deal. While Americans are for open markets, that doesn’t mean they want to trade good U.S. jobs and safe products made here for lost jobs, lower wages and foods that make their families sick. They demand fair trade.</span></div>

fair trade fast track food safety TPP Something’s fishy with the TPP

TPP is an abbreviation for the much-maligned Trans-Pacific Partnership. But it also works as shorthand for Terrible Policy for Pescatarians and is equally apt. A Capitol Hill panel looking at seafood and the TPP raised serious concerns about what a…

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The biggest threat to the Internet we've been telling you about

<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="236" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/p3KlrfjcjV4" width="420"></iframe><br /><br />The Trans-Pacific Partnership is the biggest threat to Internet freedom ever. Watch.

TPP The biggest threat to the Internet we've been telling you about

The Trans-Pacific Partnership is the biggest threat to Internet freedom ever. Watch.…

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Surprise! TPP won’t help American workers

<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Trade agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) have one thing in common – American workers get screwed. Jim Hoffa says it best, “Corporations got NAFTA and CAFTA and workers got the Shafta.” If you don’t think the TPP holds the same fate, a new </span><a href="http://www.cepr.net/documents/publications/TPP-2013-09.pdf"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Center for Economic and Policy Research (CERP) report confirms that average Americans stand to gain little</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> from the deal.<o:p></o:p></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRG-OXyxkan4akUMr2jTDnnnS7QVe-Wndwj-PKuzMA3_z_jhFuPGIsa175_KK_zWyi3B1FV_Ag6n4q3xV2evln2i3VKlMRc8KQii3_qKvzkyWpGJUs094Ez0tbjgypKLUgRnNxqI_Y5Ivh/s1600/tpp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRG-OXyxkan4akUMr2jTDnnnS7QVe-Wndwj-PKuzMA3_z_jhFuPGIsa175_KK_zWyi3B1FV_Ag6n4q3xV2evln2i3VKlMRc8KQii3_qKvzkyWpGJUs094Ez0tbjgypKLUgRnNxqI_Y5Ivh/s1600/tpp.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Economist David Rosnick writes median wage earners would actually see a drop in salary due to implementation of the TPP once its effect on wage inequality is considered. Overall, the U.S. would only receive a 0.13 percent boost in gross domestic product (GDP) by 2025. <o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Longer term, the negatives are even greater. The document finds that wage losses from a failure to restore full employment in the U.S. by 2025 due to the TPP are 25 times more than the potential gains from the trade agreement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Mark Weisbrot, CEPR’s co-director, says:</span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Most U.S. workers are likely to lose out from the TPP. This may come as no surprise after 20 years of NAFTA and an even-longer period of trade policy designed to put lower- and middle-class workers in direct competition with low-paid workers in the developing world, but it’s still important to examine the economic projections.<o:p></o:p></span></blockquote></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> One doesn’t have to go back to NAFTA to see the negative effects of so-called “free” trade deals. A </span><a href="http://www.epi.org/publication/trade-pacts-korus-trans-pacific-partnership/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">July report by the Economic Policy Institute</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> showed U.S. exports to South Korea fell by $3.5 billion during the first year of that trade agreement, resulting in the loss of 40,000 American jobs.<o:p></o:p></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It doesn’t take a mathematician to figure it out -- these trade pacts suck for U.S. workers. While corporations tout economic gains, the only ones profiting are big business. It’s time to stop shipping American jobs overseas and dumping wages and benefits overboard with them.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When the U.S. negotiates a trade agreement, every provision should benefit working families, not big corporations. And the TPP doesn't pass the smell test.</span></div>

job-killing trade deals Nafta TPP Surprise! TPP won’t help American workers

Trade agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) have one thing in common – American workers get screwed. Jim Hoffa says it best, “Corporations got NAFTA and CAFTA and workers got the Shafta.” If you don’t think the TPP holds the same fate…

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Today's Teamster News 09.10.13

<a href="http://www.record-bee.com/news/ci_24054350/teamsters-paratransit-services-management-reach-tentative-deal" rel="nofollow">Teamsters, Paratransit Services management reach tentative deal</a>   Lake County Record Bee   ...Teamsters Local Union No. 665 and Paratransit Services, the company contracted to manage transit services in the county by Lake Transit Authority, reached a tentative collective bargain agreement Thursday for a new contract...<br /><a href="http://www.teamster.org/sites/teamster.org/files/9913ABFRevoteTotals2.pdf" rel="nofollow">Local-by-Local ABF Re-Vote Totals</a>  teamster.org   ...Here are the local-by-local ABF totals for the seven supplements that were re-voted and counted on August 28...<br /><a href="http://www.teamster.org/sites/teamster.org/files/8513Essaycontest2013.pdf" rel="nofollow">James R. Hoffa Memorial Scholarship Essay Contest</a>  teamster.org   ...Children and dependent grandchildren of Teamster members have until Sept. 30 to enter the James R. Hoffa Memorial Scholarship Fund Essay Contest, which gives higher-education students the opportunity to win a one-time $1,000 award from the union...<br /><a href="http://www.ttnews.com/articles/basetemplate.aspx?storyid=32897&t=UPS-Teamsters-to-Vote-Again-on-Rejected-Agreements" rel="nofollow">UPS Teamsters to Vote Again on Rejected Agreements</a>  Transport Topics   ...Teamsters at UPS Inc. will vote again starting on Sept. 18 on seven of the 17 supplemental agreements that were rejected in June when the national master agreement was approved, the union has announced...<br /><a href="http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/09/10/judge-declares-indiana-right-to-work-law-unconstitutional/" rel="nofollow">Judge declares Indiana ‘right to work’ law unconstitutional</a>  Raw Story   ...Indiana’s much-derided “right-to-work” law was ruled unconstitutional on Monday by a state Superior Court judge, paving the way for another legal battle with the state Supreme Court...<br /><a href="http://www.fayobserver.com/articles/2013/09/10/1281831?sac=fo.local" rel="nofollow">Moral Monday protest in Moore County, a Republican stronghold, draws hundreds</a>  fayobserver.com   ...A strong turnout at a Moral Monday event in Republican-heavy Moore County shows that the movement goes beyond party lines, the head of the state chapter of the NAACP said...<br /><a href="http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=9241749" rel="nofollow">'Moral Monday' held in Moore County </a> WTVD-TV   ... The "Moral Monday" movement moved to the Moore County and dozens showed up to support it...<br /><a href="http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/321225-labor-opens-doors-to-non-workers-to-bulk-up-as-membership-declines" rel="nofollow">Labor, with union membership declining, will woo non-workers</a>  The Hill   ...Facing what AFL-CIO chief Richard Trumka called a “crisis” of membership, officials took the dramatic step at their annual convention of adopting a resolution that invites anyone in the country to join, regardless of union affiliation...<br /><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ellen-r-shaffer/stop-tpp-protections-for-big-tobacco_b_3886771.html" rel="nofollow">Stop TPP Protections for Big Tobacco </a> Huffington Post   ...Under present trade rules, predatory tobacco corporations have new global rights to challenge important tobacco control laws and regulations in the U.S. and elsewhere that help people quit smoking, and keep kids from getting addicted, like a ban on clove cigarettes, and limitations on advertising. The TPP would perpetuate and extend these trade rules and their threats to health...<br /><a href="http://www.economicpopulist.org/content/majority-new-jobs-are-not-part-time-5364" rel="nofollow">The Majority of New Jobs are Not Part-Time</a>  Economic Populist   ... people working part-time hours as a percentage of all the new employed was 17%.  We expect this figure to be higher than official part-time jobs for people are still getting their hours cut and denied full-time hours due to the economy not really running at full throttle...<br /><a href="http://www.tradereform.org/2013/09/china-still-sucking-life-world-economy/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=china-still-sucking-life-world-economy" rel="nofollow">China Still Sucking the Life out of the World Economy</a>  Trade Reform   ... China’s trade surplus is growing again because they have doubled down on sucking the life out of the global economy to feed their rapid growth.  It is parasitic.  Global imbalances in trade are bad.  That is the economics.  Persistent global imbalances in trade flows are really bad.  It shows that the market is not working...<br /><a href="http://americanmanufacturing.org/blog/cloud-computing-china-paid-us-trade-deficit" rel="nofollow">Cloud computing in China, paid for by the U.S. trade deficit</a>  manufacture this   ...Beijing plans to put $1 billion toward cloud-computing development in the coming years, and fold those advancements into its computer warfare efforts...<br /><a href="http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/09/09/invasive-tactic-in-foreclosures-draws-scrutiny/?_r=0" rel="nofollow">Invasive Tactic in Foreclosures Draws Scrutiny</a>  New York Times   ...In suing Safeguard, Lisa Madigan, the attorney general, contends that the company broke into homes despite stark evidence that homeowners still lived in them, bullied tenants into leaving even though they had no legal obligation to do so and, in some instances, damaged the very homes they were sent to protect, according to the suit...<br /><br />

ABF China foreclosure Indiana Jobs Moral Monday right to work for less TPP UPS Today's Teamster News 09.10.13

Teamsters, Paratransit Services management reach tentative deal   Lake County Record Bee   ...Teamsters Local Union No. 665 and Paratransit Services, the company contracted to manage transit services in the county by Lake Transit Authority, reached a…

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TPP’s effect on tobacco, trade deficits is reason enough to stop deal

<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Facts about the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) continued to dribble out and they’re not good. The latest on the secret Pacific Rim trade pact is the </span><a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/kyodo-news-international/130822/us-not-seek-exemption-tobacco-tpp-tariff-elimination" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">U.S. backs watered-down language about tobacco</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> that would allow the scourge of smoking to continue to spread globally.<o:p></o:p></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL5GNPh4L9dyFEjafZgdiLgok9fpP5_M0vgNOuTOWAXZejHvGXGnGsP1spLECr7NtKsbzE1Y7RlXgK3QNdhzmGV_vRO4iWp0vuqjkx_b7TV33eLlje3d5hnhidRw71jJ4kMMouyRMMkqih/s1600/tpp.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL5GNPh4L9dyFEjafZgdiLgok9fpP5_M0vgNOuTOWAXZejHvGXGnGsP1spLECr7NtKsbzE1Y7RlXgK3QNdhzmGV_vRO4iWp0vuqjkx_b7TV33eLlje3d5hnhidRw71jJ4kMMouyRMMkqih/s320/tpp.jpeg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As it stands, the TPP will cost U.S. jobs, put Americans’ health at risk, hurt the environment and threaten Internet freedom. But now the Obama administration is backing away from tobacco tariffs that would keep cigarette costs high and reduce the health risks of smoking. Public health officials are rightfully angry.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><a href="http://www.cpath.org/id51.html" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Center for Policy Analysis on Trade and Health noted</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> that instead of making it easier for corporations to sell tobacco, the U.S. should be making it harder:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">U.S. laws prohibit the U.S. from using trade agreements to promote the sale or export of tobacco products. But the U.S proposes to eliminate tariffs on tobacco for TPP countries, which would mean cheaper prices for cigarettes, and increased consumption and use, especially among younger people.</span></blockquote></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Meanwhile, the Obama administration and some members of Congress want to plow ahead and vote on the TPP without debating its merits. No doubt multinational corporations are working hard to persuade them that the deal is good for America. It really isn’t.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Just look with </span><a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2013/09/china-drives-uptick-in-us-trade-deficit-96257.html" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">what’s happening with trade between the U.S. and China</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. New numbers show that America’s trade deficit with China reached a record $30.1</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> billion in July, up 13.3 percent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Behind that number are lost jobs – good manufacturing jobs. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More jobs are likely to be lost under the TPP. That’s why the deal can’t just be pushed through Congress. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Top TPP negotiators from the U.S. and 11 other involved nations are expected to meet Sept. 18-21 in Washington to continue talks. American trade negotiators must oppose unfair trade rules that threaten jobs and health. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The U.S. government needs to remember that most citizens support trade, but they don't support trading well-paying American jobs and safe American products for lost jobs, lower wages and products that make our families sick.</span></div>

China public health tobacco TPP trade deficit TPP’s effect on tobacco, trade deficits is reason enough to stop deal

Facts about the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) continued to dribble out and they’re not good. The latest on the secret Pacific Rim trade pact is the U.S. backs watered-down language about tobacco that would allow the scourge of smoking to continue…

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