Today's Teamster News 07.23.13

<a href="http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Ikea+labour+dispute+drags+mediation+resume+Tuesday/8689308/story.html" rel="nofollow">Teamsters labour dispute with IKEA drags on; mediation to resume Tuesday</a>  Vancouver Sun   ...At the Richmond Ikea store in British Columbia, Canada, the indoor showroom was tidied for the Sunday morning crowds and cashiers were hustling shoppers through as usual. But every car driving into the half-filled parking lot was made aware of an ongoing labour dispute between the company and its union, Teamsters Local 213...<br /><a href="http://www.teamster.org/content/union-history-displayed-ibt-headquarters" rel="nofollow">Union History Displayed At Teamsters Headquarters</a>  IBT   ...Historical items from the printing industry that were donated by the Graphic Communications Conference, including an 1872 Washington Press, are on display at the Teamster Headquarters, 25 Louisiana Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20001. View the slideshow of the items <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/64068031@N03/sets/72157634749220162/show/with/9341041683/" rel="nofollow">here</a>...<br /><a href="http://www.teamster.org/content/teamster-essay-contest-announced" rel="nofollow">Teamster Essay Contest Announced</a>  IBT   ...Children and 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 one of 50 $1,000 awards awarded by the union annually. <a href="http://www.teamster.org/content/teamster-essay-contest-announced" rel="nofollow">Click here</a> for more information...<br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/22/us/cries-of-betrayal-as-detroit-plans-to-cut-pensions.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0" rel="nofollow">Cries of Betrayal as Detroit Plans to Cut Pensions</a>  New York Times   ...Kevyn D. Orr, the city’s emergency manager, has called for “significant cuts” to the pensions of current retirees. His plan is being fought vigorously by unions that point out that pensions are protected by Michigan’s Constitution, which calls them a contractual obligation that “shall not be diminished or impaired...”<br /><a href="http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/07/20/the-changing-face-of-american-union-workers/" rel="nofollow">The changing face of American union workers</a>  MSNBC   ...When people think of unions, the image of a white construction worker is still one of the first to come to mind for many people, but it’s not what labor looks like anymore. Tom Perez, the new secretary of Labor, is more representative of the current makeup of unions in the United States...<br /><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/21/12-minimum-wage-large-retailers_n_3623619.html?utm_hp_ref=business" rel="nofollow">6 Ways A $12 Minimum Wage Would Help The Economy</a>  Huffington Post   ...After the D.C. Council approved a bill that requires large retailers to pay their workers a "living wage" of $12.50 -- and <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/18/walmart-worker-wages_n_3611531.html?utm_hp_ref=business">Walmart retreated</a> from the capital in protest -- we thought it'd be worth considering what that requirement could do for the economy...<br /><a href="http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2013/07/22/irs-corporate-tax-deal/" rel="nofollow">The tax break that corporate America wants kept secret</a>  CNNMoney   ...Oracle, Google, and Amazon are just a few of the hundreds of large companies that have cut confidential deals with the IRS to help lower their tax bills, and critics want the agency to disclose the details of these complex pacts...<br /><a href="http://www.salisburypost.com/article/20130721/SP01/130729969/1006/hanging-by-a-threadhttp://www.salisburypost.com/article/20130721/SP01/130729969/1006/hanging-by-a-thread" rel="nofollow">Hanging by a thread? Proposed trade pact could doom last of local textile industry</a>  Salisbury Post   ...Free Trade Agreements with North and Central American countries — known as NAFTA and CAFTA-DR — also could keep those international workforces from competing with duty-free exporters like Vietnam, opponents say, costing more than 1.4 million jobs...<br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/20/business/global/us-urging-worker-safety-outlines-steps-for-bangladesh-to-regain-its-trade-privileges.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1374526697-4oT3ApPlHE7FHwvXJRhJPA" rel="nofollow">U.S., Urging Worker Safety, Outlines Steps for Bangladesh to Regain Its Trade Privileges</a>  New York Times   ...The Obama administration publicly recommended a series of steps that the Bangladesh government should take to have its trade privileges with the United States restored...<br /><a href="http://www.holmesreport.com/expertknowledge-info/13713/Americans-Say-They-Are-Willing-To-Spend-To-End-Child-Labor.aspx" rel="nofollow">Americans Say They Are Willing To Spend To End Child Labor</a>  Holmes Report   ...Most Americans say they are willing to spend a little extra when it comes to making sure the products they buy are made without the use of child labor, according to a new survey…<br /><a href="http://triblive.com/opinion/featuredcommentary/4364251-74/koch-economic-freedom#axzz2ZoCbbnRh" rel="nofollow">Things don’t go better with the Kochs</a> (opinion)  Pittsburgh Tribune-Review   ...Billionaire Charles Koch is causing some consternation by launching a $200,000 media campaign in the Wichita, Kan., area calling for the U.S. to embrace greater “economic freedom” — which translates to fewer safety and environmental protections and fewer services for people who haven't made it to the top of the economic ladder... <br /><a href="http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/region/can-pennsylvania-safeguard-against-another-west-texas-explosion-696298/" rel="nofollow">Can Pennsylvania safeguard against another West, Texas explosion?</a>  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette   ...On April 17, when 30 tons of fertilizer detonated in West, Texas, 15 people died and 200 were injured. A plant in Donora, Pennsylvania stores more than 400 times more ammonia that what was there at the West, Texas facility at the time of the explosion. What can be done to avoid another disaster?...<br /><a href="http://www.business2community.com/trends-news/osha-wants-ergonomic-conditions-for-hospital-workers-0559616" rel="nofollow">OSHA Wants Ergonomic Conditions for Hospital Workers</a>  Business 2 Community   ...A new campaign that focuses on using ergonomics to prevent injuries in the workplace is being directed at healthcare workers, according to a July 18 release by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA). The agency said that healthcare workers, especially those responsible for patient care, are more prone hazards that can lead to musculoskeletal disorders than those in any other field...<br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/22/business/in-climbing-income-ladder-location-matters.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&" rel="nofollow">In Climbing Income Ladder, Location Matters</a>  New York Times   ...A study finds the odds of rising to another income level are notably low in certain cities, like Atlanta and Charlotte, and much higher in New York and Boston...<br /><a href="http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/region/can-pennsylvania-safeguard-against-another-west-texas-explosion-696298/" rel="nofollow">MacKenzie and Andrews: Sturm, Ruger chose N.C. to maximize profits at workers’ expense</a> (opinion)  New Hampshire Union Leader   ...As the top labor leaders of two states with very different experiences with right-to-work, we maintain that right-to-work is not a viable strategy for economic growth. In North Carolina, the right-to-work for less law has encouraged the development of a low-wage economy, institutionalized poverty and an environment that puts corporate profits ahead of the well-being of North Carolina families...

Today's Teamster News 07.23.13

Teamsters labour dispute with IKEA drags on; mediation to resume Tuesday   Vancouver Sun   ...At the Richmond Ikea store in British Columbia...

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