Tornado throws 80 Teamsters out of work in Illinois

<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/AVvXsEgcHggtbLinlUwP5EKy2lougkT5GFEppABcUE74MyACxA9SpVv-geU18xN9L_Y_tV92vo2lxvl-SxP72zmI0JaaFDFrObzuaC027_sVeSAWxBFLcjWJu9NwqR3jHYSicHRB7ayTe0IesaDs/s1600/IL+Central+Coal+City+Tornado+Bus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcHggtbLinlUwP5EKy2lougkT5GFEppABcUE74MyACxA9SpVv-geU18xN9L_Y_tV92vo2lxvl-SxP72zmI0JaaFDFrObzuaC027_sVeSAWxBFLcjWJu9NwqR3jHYSicHRB7ayTe0IesaDs/s400/IL+Central+Coal+City+Tornado+Bus.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Damaged buses in Coal City today. </td></tr></tbody></table>About 80 of our Teamster brothers and sisters who drive and monitor school buses in Illinois are out of work after a fierce tornado touched down in their yard and caused massive damage.<br /><br />The Illinos Central bus yard in Coal City was devastated by the EF2 tornado that touched down today. The tornado had winds clocked between 111 mph and 135 mph.<br /><br />Approximately 60 school buses were damaged. So was the Illinois Central office building. The storm blew trailers from a nearby trucking company into the bus yard. Fortunately, there have been no reported injuries.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.teamsters179.com/" rel="nofollow">Teamsters Local 179</a> President Tom Flynn has reached out to Illinois Central to offer support and has contacted First Student bus company to ask for assistance so that students will have continued transportation to and from school. The school district has announced that there will be no school on Monday for Coal City students.<br /><br />"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Coal City residents and the surrounding communities," said Flynn.<br /><br />The Coal City Methodist Church is looking for volunteers to serve food and drinks to the workers helping with the clean-up from the tornado. They are looking to fill four hour shifts: 9:30pm-1:30am; 1:30am-5:30am; and 5:30am-9:30am.<br /><br />They will re-evaluate to see if they need help throughout the day on Monday.<br /><br />If interested, please go to the Methodist Church located on McArdle Road. Pass this infomation on to anyone who would like to help out.<br /><br />

disaster relief school bus Tornado throws 80 Teamsters out of work in Illinois

Damaged buses in Coal City today. About 80 of our Teamster brothers and sisters who drive and monitor school buses in Illinois are out of work after a fierce tornado touched down in their yard and caused massive damage.The Illinos Central bus yard in…

Read more »

This school bus shop steward helps make his yard better

<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/AVvXsEg5OUghwrq_Le0w1B8f9CTY_uXmP8Te56N-wiDWUSYeWp7aHBmjU6VAlzuDQaIaXlCzCmrMygWyixfGRn04Bpj9Q9Hk-aotki9emS-cE4o-K7PMzrU_Ao8gIGjHNVDqhzO0w9D4JLofXFzk/s1600/Barnes+pic+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5OUghwrq_Le0w1B8f9CTY_uXmP8Te56N-wiDWUSYeWp7aHBmjU6VAlzuDQaIaXlCzCmrMygWyixfGRn04Bpj9Q9Hk-aotki9emS-cE4o-K7PMzrU_Ao8gIGjHNVDqhzO0w9D4JLofXFzk/s320/Barnes+pic+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Willie Barnes</td></tr></tbody></table><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.890625px;">Here's yet another story about a Teamster shop steward who made life better for school bus drivers on the job. We've told you about our<a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/09/Teamster-steward-righted-wrong.html" rel="nofollow" style="color: #336699;"> Teamster brother Clay Morrison, who brought justice for a driver who'd lost his son at the Baumann Bus Co. on Long Island</a>, and <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/10/teamster-steward-brought-fairness.html" rel="nofollow">Kim Hafford, who fought for fairness at Durham in Jacksonville, Fla., and won</a>. Today we bring you Willie Barnes, a shop steward at First Student. His story appeared in the Fall 2013 issue of the Drive Up Standards newsletter. To see his story and others, check out the newsletter <a href="http://www.teamster.org/sites/teamster.org/files/091713SchoolBusNewsFall2013.pdf" style="color: #336699;">here</a>.</i><br /><br />My name is Willie Barnes and I’ve been driving a school bus for 18 years. I’ve been a shop steward for approximately eight years.<br /><br />I want to share a story about our yard, First Student’s St. Andrews terminal in Los Angeles.<br /><br />I was on the negotiation committee for our five-year union contract with First Student and we have a strong contract.<br /><br />First Student has a contract with the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), the second-largest district in the country. St. Andrews terminal is the central contractor yard for LAUSD because of its location, which is surrounded by L.A. schools.<br /><br />First Student has purchased a new fleet of buses. Now the students and parents we transport daily feel safe. Our drivers appear motivated and happy to serve the customer, LAUSD, which is the major customer in school-busing in California. Ninety percent of our yard has gone green, meaning our buses are gas, propane and compressed natural gas (CNG) fueled, which helps the environment.<br /><br />Our yard has received more routes than we can handle. We have drivers from other yards helping cover these routes. Some of these drivers are from other unions, but we have come together as a team to ensure our students’ safety. Our training department wasn’t able to train enough drivers before school started on August 13, 2013, so First Student temporarily moved drivers from its other facilities. St. Andrews is known as the central contractor yard for LAUSD and our drivers are very proud to work at this terminal.<br /><br />I really enjoy my job as a driver. To all my fellow school bus drivers, let’s always remember that the cargo we transport is our future. As I tell my students, one day they may be a doctor, lawyer, judge, senator or president. When that child steps aboard your bus, the parents trust us to get them to and from school safely!<br /><br />

school bus shop stewards This school bus shop steward helps make his yard better

Willie BarnesHere's yet another story about a Teamster shop steward who made life better for school bus drivers on the job. We've told you about our Teamster brother Clay Morrison, who brought justice for a driver who'd lost his son at the Baumann Bu…

Read more »

Today's Teamster News 09.28.13

<a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-27/regulator-said-to-look-other-way-on-unsafe-mexican-trucks.html" rel="nofollow">Regulator Said to Look Other Way on Unsafe Mexican Trucks</a>  Bloomberg   ...“They need these companies, they need the numbers,” said Fred McLuckie, director of federal legislation and regulation for the Teamsters, which unsuccessfully sued to stop regulators from allowing Mexican trucks. “They’re looking the other way...”<br /><a href="http://www.suntimes.com/news/cityhall/22827341-418/chicago-teamsters-reject-rahm-emanuels-bid-for-contract-concessions-on-461-11-vote.html" rel="nofollow">Chicago Teamsters reject Rahm Emanuel’s bid for contract concessions on 461-11 vote</a>  Chicago Sun-Times   ...Already feuding with police, firefighters, teachers and other public employees, Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration sought but failed to win concessions this week from the only major labor group that had supported Emanuel’s election...<br /><a href="http://www.teamster.org/content/funeral-industry-giant-sci-committed-unfair-labor-practices-labor-board-says" rel="nofollow">Funeral Industry Giant SCI Committed Unfair Labor Practices, Labor Board Says</a>  teamster.org   ...Region 13 of the National Labor Relations Board has found merit in several unfair labor practice charges filed against funeral industry giant Service Corporation International (SCI), which has locked out 59 funeral directors and drivers at 16 Chicago-area funeral homes...<br /><a href="http://www.teamster.org/content/teamsters-vote-wegmans-offer" rel="nofollow">Teamsters To Vote Wegmans' Offer</a>  teamster.org   ...Workers will cast ballots on the company’s proposal that would eliminate the pensions of more than 900 of its Rochester employees and dramatically reduce their compensation package...<br /><a href="http://citizen.typepad.com/eyesontrade/2013/09/beware-of-outlandish-claims-about-economic-benefits-of-us-eu-free-trade-deal.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+eyesontrade+%28Eyes+on+Trade%29" rel="nofollow">Beware of Outlandish Claims About Economic Benefits of U.S.-EU ‘Free Trade’ Deal</a>  Public Citizen   ...The study ignored the predictable social and economic costs that would result from such extreme regulatory rollback, such as an increase in the incidence of foodborne illness and a rise in financial instability...<br /><a href="http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013/09/federal-ruling-domestic-workers-protection-charts" rel="nofollow">4 Reasons Why the White House's Domestic-Worker Protections Matter </a> Mother Jones   ...Starting in January 2015, the federal labor laws that currently ensure minimum wage and overtime protections will be extended to the nation's direct-care workers—some 2 million people who perform jobs like caring for the elderly and the disabled. And yesterday, Gov. Jerry Brown signed the California Domestic Workers' Bill of Rights into law, expanding the legal protections for its estimated <a href="http://nelp.3cdn.net/6568360c9c5188e6d6_4hm6ibsc7.pdf">360,000</a> (PDF) domestic workers...<br /><a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/10/how-the-nfl-fleeces-taxpayers/309448/" rel="nofollow">How the NFL Fleeces Taxpayers</a>  The Atlantic   ...Taxpayers fund the stadiums, antitrust law doesn't apply to broadcast deals, the league enjoys nonprofit status, and Commissioner Roger Goodell makes $30 million a year. It's time to stop the public giveaways to America's richest sports league—and to the feudal lords who own its teams...<br /><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/27/ron-wyden-nsa-systematically-deceived" rel="nofollow">Sen. Ron Wyden: NSA 'repeatedly deceived the American people'</a>  The Guardian   ..."the leadership of NSA built an intelligence collection system that repeatedly deceived the American people..."<br /><a href="http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/09/27/nsa-employees-used-surveillance-system-to-spy-on-spouses-lovers/" rel="nofollow">NSA employees used surveillance system to spy on spouses, lovers</a>  Raw Story   ... a woman told the NSA that she’d recorded a conversation between her husband and a foreign telephone number because she suspected he’d been unfaithful...<br /><a href="http://laborpress.org/sectors/green-initiatives/2778-school-bus-companies-ordered-to-restore-lost-wages-to-atu-1181-workers" rel="nofollow">School Bus Companies Ordered to Restore Lost Wages to ATU 1181 Workers</a>  LaaborPress   ...Judge Matsumoto ordered the companies to return to the bargaining table they abandoned in March; bargain in good faith with the union; rescind the wage and benefit cuts and all other terms and working conditions previously imposed by the companies; and restore the wages, benefits and working conditions in effect at the time the companies imposed their cuts...<br /><a href="http://www.salon.com/2013/09/27/i_worked_all_week_for_free_the_horrifying_true_story_of_0_paychecks/" rel="nofollow">I worked all week for free?!: The horrifying, true story of $0 paychecks</a>  Salon   ...Photos provided to Salon by the National Guestworker Alliance, the group behind the work stoppage, show checks reading “No Dollars and No Cents,” and a page dated June 25 warning guest workers on H-2B visas that, “Any worker who does not show up for your assignment will be immediately removed from Mister Clean Housing and will be reported as AWOL (Absent Without Leave) to ICE (Immigration Custom Enforcement)...”<br /><a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/09/27/american-workers-hanging-on-by-the-skin-of-their-teeth/" rel="nofollow">American Workers: Hanging on by the Skin of Their Teeth</a>  Counterpunch   ...Americans are losing faith in the nation’s economic recovery.” Because they don’t see any recovery...<br /><br /><br />

Chicago funeral directors contract negotiations economy FLSA Mexican trucks NFL school bus slavery spying trade Today's Teamster News 09.28.13

Regulator Said to Look Other Way on Unsafe Mexican Trucks  Bloomberg   ...“They need these companies, they need the numbers,” said Fred McLuckie, director of federal legislation and regulation for the Teamsters, which unsuccessfully sued to stop regu…

Read more »