Walmart CEO quits as more workers strike in Miami, St. Paul

<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/AVvXsEi7Ks9RZ5BLVJz4Ei0RLimuheOAf9ZqJkhrFDJn5nX_OJ55dvEMDRQJLDYRK-2CxUqNDpAFx0C0AFYL3wOUmRtUu9QWqGYQ9YnOaPjZzHjXUo6brrIrETiDeddrfOk6moC0-DDNCHNjUUFa/s1600/walmart+strikers+minnesota.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Ks9RZ5BLVJz4Ei0RLimuheOAf9ZqJkhrFDJn5nX_OJ55dvEMDRQJLDYRK-2CxUqNDpAFx0C0AFYL3wOUmRtUu9QWqGYQ9YnOaPjZzHjXUo6brrIrETiDeddrfOk6moC0-DDNCHNjUUFa/s400/walmart+strikers+minnesota.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walmart workers and supporters walk the picket line today in St. Paul, Minn. </td></tr></tbody></table><a href="https://www.facebook.com/OURWMT" rel="nofollow">Walmart workers</a> went on strike this morning in Miami and St. Paul, the eighth and ninth such strikes in recent weeks as the company announced CEO Mike Duke is stepping down.<br /><br /> <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/11/mckesson-ceo-makes-943-times-average-workers-pay-wants-to-cut-social-security.html" rel="nofollow">Duke makes 6,132 times what the average Walmart worker earns</a>.<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/1603821#ixzz2lPicW4vy" rel="nofollow">International Business Times</a> reports,<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">The chief executive of giant US retailer Walmart has stepped down while the company battles with a series of clashes with workers. </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Mike Duke, who is heading off to retirement, is to be replaced by company veteran Doug McMillon to take the helm of one of the world's largest companies in February next year.</blockquote>Walmart worker and <a href="http://makingchangeatwalmart.org/2013/11/25/our-walmart-statement-on-ceo-change/" rel="nofollow">OUR Walmart member</a> Tiffany Beroid put out a statement saying the change of leadership is a testament to the pressure the company is under:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">We’re happy to see Mr. McMillon acknowledge the hard work of associates in his statement this morning, and we hope that this appreciation translates into improving jobs for Walmart workers. Americans nationwide are looking to Walmart to improve jobs and strengthen our economy, and Mr. McMillon has an opportunity to be a leader in moving Walmart in the right direction, not just in offering more empty promises. We sincerely hope that Mr. McMillon will answer the country’s calls for Walmart to publicly commit to paying $25,000 a year, providing full-time work and ending its illegal retaliation against its own employees.</blockquote><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/11/25/2989051/walmart-strikes-miami-tampa-sacramento/" rel="nofollow">ThinkProgress</a> reported on today's strike in Miami: <br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Walmart workers went on strike on in Miami on Monday morning, following strikes in Tampa on Saturday and in Sacramento, CA on Friday. </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Katie, who has worked at a store in Miami for three years and makes $8.75 an hour, told ThinkProgress she’s striking to improve conditions for both herself and her coworkers. “We’re going on strike for better benefits, for better pay for associates, and for respect,” she said.<br />The strikes make eight this month, coming after workers called out or walked off the job in Dallas, cities in Ohio, Chicago, Seattle, and Los Angeles. Workers also went on strike in Miami in October.</blockquote>And in St. Paul, the <a href="http://advocate.stpaulunions.org/2013/11/25/walmart-workers-go-on-strike-in-brooklyn-center-kick-off-week-of-action-for-better-wages/" rel="nofollow">Union Advocate</a> reports:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">The nationwide wave of Walmart strikes hit Minnesota this morning, when three women who work at the Brooklyn Center store informed management they were going on an unfair-labor-practices strike. </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison and Rev. Doug Mork of nearby Cross of Glory Lutheran Church accompanied the workers into the store, and dozens of supporters from faith, labor and community groups greeted them on their way out, ready to erect a picket line. </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Andrea Williams, April Williams and Lillian Griffin said they decided to take a stand after attempts to organize for better wages, meaningful benefits and a voice on the job drew retaliation from store managers.</blockquote>Throughout the country, Walmart workers and supporters from the <a href="http://teamster.org/" rel="nofollow">Teamsters</a> and other unions plan to demonstrate against abuse and poverty wages on Black Friday. If you haven't found a Walmart protest near you, click <a href="http://www.teamster.org/content/teamsters-support-walmart-strikers" rel="nofollow">here</a> to find one.

CEO Pay low wage workers protest strike walmart Walmart CEO quits as more workers strike in Miami, St. Paul

Walmart workers and supporters walk the picket line today in St. Paul, Minn.  Walmart workers  went on strike this morning in Miami and St. ...

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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 negotia...

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Wisconsin rebels against the Walker/ALEC agenda

<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/AVvXsEh4JCfS6NBZLfkPwmObK-5O-FuMVBt3nku8rHX89dj4lQoHdGMqgpgT4Rwp9vr1Yr4AOInp77kySGH1cgqq0rTvEv6Wt9DwyT-Jonyy-5-hn7RTOaQyWH8TWr2yA-p3jPyV6x4SpDH4cpz_/s1600/wisco+rally.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4JCfS6NBZLfkPwmObK-5O-FuMVBt3nku8rHX89dj4lQoHdGMqgpgT4Rwp9vr1Yr4AOInp77kySGH1cgqq0rTvEv6Wt9DwyT-Jonyy-5-hn7RTOaQyWH8TWr2yA-p3jPyV6x4SpDH4cpz_/s400/wisco+rally.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Teamsters at a recent rally at Wisconsin's Capitol. </td></tr></tbody></table>Wisconsin activists are stirring again even as North Carolina's <a href="http://www.wral.com/wake-da-offers-deal-to-moral-monday-arrestees/12836949/" rel="nofollow">Moral Monday movement gathers steam</a>.<br /><br />No one should be surprised. Both states have governors backed by radical billionaires. In Wisconsin,<strike> <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/06/scott-walker-still-kills-jobs-better.html" rel="nofollow">Job-killer</a></strike> Gov. Scott Walker is a stooge for the<a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2012/02/benedict-arnold-koch-brothers-lash-out.html" rel="nofollow"> <strike>Benedict Arnold</strike></a> Koch brothers. North Carolina Gov. <strike>Art Pope</strike> Pat McCrory is a puppet for greedy billionaire <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/02/greedy-nc-billionaire-attacks-nc-jobless.html" rel="nofollow">Art Pope</a>.<br /><br />Both governors are pursuing the same agenda, which was handed to them by <a href="http://alecexposed.org/" rel="nofollow">ALEC</a>, the corporate escort service for state politicians. ALEC's aims are to crush unions, eradicate public education, impoverish government workers, suppress voting rights and marginalize women.<br /><br />On Monday, “Women’s Equality Day,” Wisconsin Teamsters attended a rally in Madison to stand with Wisconsin women who are at the mercy of Walker's agenda.<br /><br />“Equal pay for women and the right to organize and join a Union are just a few of the reasons we are here today,” said Tom Millonzi, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 200 in Milwaukee.<br /><br />Joining Millonzi at the rally were <a href="http://www.teamsterslocal200.com/?zone=/unionactive/view_article.cfm&HomeID=310972" rel="nofollow">Local 200</a> President Tom Bennett and Business Representatives Steve Nelson and Randy Monroe. <br /><br />The rally came in the midst of turmoil caused by Walker's heavy-handed crackdown on a group that comes to the Capitol every weekday to sing songs of protest against his union busting. More than a hundred people have been arrested on dubious charges and are insisting on <a href="http://host.madison.com/news/local/crime_and_courts/arrested-singers-request-jury-trials-in-first-court-appearances/article_f06d6e11-e695-5b50-be93-0785f68f30e3.html" rel="nofollow">jury trial</a>s to demonstrate the absurdity of their arrest.<br /><br />The arrests include people who just watch, according to the <a href="http://wcmcoop.com/2013/08/28/wi-capitol-police-crackdown-on-dissent-what-you-wouldnt-know-from-reading-wisconsins-newspapers/" rel="nofollow">Wisconsin Citizens Media Cooperative</a>.<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">As the arrests at the Solidarity Sing Along continued, the Capitol Police began warning people on the 1st and 2nd floors overlooking the ground floor rotunda that they were subject to arrest if they did not disperse, even when the individuals were not singing or clapping or participating in any way. When news started to spread that simply observing the unlawful assembly was cause for arrest and citation, outrage spread over the Capitol Police assertion that “spectators are considered participants,” many citizen journalists reported on these warnings, with one video of the warning getting over 60,000 views on youtube.</blockquote>The crackdowns are re-energizing dissenters in Wisconsin.<br /><br />Walker, who took away most collective bargaining rights for government workers, now says he'll go after police and firefighters' collective bargaining rights. A firefighter has been arrested at the Capitol and off-duty Madison police have joined the protest, the <a href="http://host.madison.com/news/local/writers/steven_elbow/madison-police-chief-says-cops-at-singalong-aren-t-violating/article_9aa7cf66-87ba-561a-9acc-03746a1c17b3.html#ixzz2dMvm8CNM" rel="nofollow">Cap Times</a> reports.<br /><br />Normal Stockwell wrote in <a href="http://host.madison.com/ct/columnist/norman-stockwell-arrests-here-show-king-s-fight-for-worker/article_56ff2d3c-79b7-5812-9398-5ff94afa5728.html" rel="nofollow">The Cap Times</a> that the Wisconsin protesters who are getting arrested in the Capitol are honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, who was assassinated while supporting Memphis sanitation workers striking for the right to join <a href="http://www.afscme.org/" rel="nofollow">AFSCME</a>:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Today there is another struggle to recognize the rights and dignity of labor in the state of Wisconsin. Many of the workers who lost collective bargaining rights under Act 10 in 2011 were AFSCME workers, too. Since March of 2011, a loose group calling itself the Solidarity Sing Along has gathered inside or outside the Capitol to sing in solidarity with those workers who lost rights through the passage of Act 10. In recent weeks, arrests of those singers, their supporters and others simply observing have increased. Notable labor activists arrested have included David Newby, former president of the Wisconsin AFL-CIO.</blockquote>

Moral Monday protest wisconsin Wisconsin rebels against the Walker/ALEC agenda

Teamsters at a recent rally at Wisconsin's Capitol.  Wisconsin activists are stirring again even as North Carolina's Moral Monday mo...

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Port drivers rise up against employer abuse, plan protest

<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="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNymgtyTl33OOhA1I_nUwZWH6SrOvcFWBIZ09MfrzWUeXt_AGratP-1Csa5tAgARcam_UhsaGgOP-vSKpK4cmy-KnY3kPMjprj_Q87YvFJHPf7vLtQ7ty76PayqX0DH9dQ4Orkv8nL6pTd/s1600/Port+truck+driver+rally.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNymgtyTl33OOhA1I_nUwZWH6SrOvcFWBIZ09MfrzWUeXt_AGratP-1Csa5tAgARcam_UhsaGgOP-vSKpK4cmy-KnY3kPMjprj_Q87YvFJHPf7vLtQ7ty76PayqX0DH9dQ4Orkv8nL6pTd/s320/Port+truck+driver+rally.png" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Port driver Jose Luis Alvarado invites<br />you to a rally to demand respect on Tuesday.</td></tr></tbody></table>Truck drivers at the Port of L.A. are holding a large rally on Tuesday to demand respect from their abusive employer, Green Fleet Systems. One of the drivers, Jose Luis Alvarado, invites you to attend:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">My name is Jose Luis Alvarado. I am a port truck driver working at Green Fleet Systems. I have been a port truck driver for 13 years serving the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Although the work that is done by me and my coworkers is vital to the American economy, our work often goes unnoticed. Besides the times we might be driving next to you on the freeway, we are mostly invisible. On a daily basis, people buy TVs, toys, and clothes that we haul to warehouses and distribution centers for you and your family. </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Almost no one is aware of the <a href="http://www.forbes.com/pictures/efkk45kifl/no-8-driversales-workers-and-truck-drivers-3/" rel="nofollow">working conditions</a> that we face on a day-to-day basis and how this affects us and our families. We work long hours for little pay. At the end of the day, it’s hard to make ends meet. As the father of 3 children, I am often stressed about being able to pay my bills and provide my children with the opportunities that I never had in Guatemala. Green Fleet Systems offers us a company medical insurance plan, but in order to get coverage for me and my family, I would have to pay $100 a week. There is no way that I can afford it. </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">At work, my coworkers and I face constant disrespect from management. We are insulted and screamed at for any small mistake that is committed. No one deserves to be treated this way. We have earned the same rights and treatment that every hardworking American deserves. </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">It is because of the harassment that we are facing as we try to form a union that we are taking action to demand justice at Green Fleet Systems. We demand that Green Fleet Systems management stop retaliating against us as we organize to form our union. We say stop the intimidation! Stop the union busting!</blockquote><i>The rally will be held on Tuesday at 3:30 pm in Carson, Calif., at Green Fleet Systems warehouse, 20500 S. Alameda St.  Read more <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1395542780671801/" rel="nofollow">here</a></i>.<br /><div><br /></div>

port drivers protest union busting Port drivers rise up against employer abuse, plan protest

Port driver Jose Luis Alvarado invites you to a rally to demand respect on Tuesday. Truck drivers at the Port of L.A. are holding a large ra...

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The 1963 March on Washington was about jobs -- and freedom

<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/AVvXsEiGhioKgbi1Oz0EoSaoEsoAiBNhyphenhyphenl7-UiXQJpUpHnrZhNbD7K1Z36YmZKNucdQ1x67VUI352zbOMd_CP_YzPGbtgKqaJeVwS8NgttXjrDUXeYXJqvtw6pYtnjKLkCGN-Q7xaH-mXnQlAbDB/s1600/March+on+Washington+Aug+63+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGhioKgbi1Oz0EoSaoEsoAiBNhyphenhyphenl7-UiXQJpUpHnrZhNbD7K1Z36YmZKNucdQ1x67VUI352zbOMd_CP_YzPGbtgKqaJeVwS8NgttXjrDUXeYXJqvtw6pYtnjKLkCGN-Q7xaH-mXnQlAbDB/s400/March+on+Washington+Aug+63+(2).jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Teamsters head toward Washington in 1963.</td></tr></tbody></table>As the 50th anniversary of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_on_Washington_for_Jobs_and_Freedom" rel="nofollow">March on Washington</a> approaches, we should all remember that 300,000 people didn't just want equality. They wanted jobs, and good wages, and economic justice.<br /><br />They wanted the same things that low-wage workers are still fighting for today.<br /><br />Algernon Austin at the <a href="http://epi.org/" rel="nofollow">Economic Policy Institute</a> recently chronicled how far we still have to go to realize the dream of the March on Washington:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">March organizers demanded a minimum wage that could realistically be expected to lift a family out of poverty. Specifically, they demanded a minimum wage of $2.00 an hour (up from $1.15 an hour). We are nowhere near that goal today. Adjusting for inflation, that wage would be more than $13.00 an hour today, close to twice the current federal minimum wage of $7.25. In fact, the inflation-adjusted value of the minimum wage today is about $2.00 less than it was at its peak value in 1968 (Cooper and Hall 2013).</blockquote>Mark Vorpahl writing in <a href="http://truth-out.org/news/item/18094-the-august-24-march-on-washington-why-we-need-a-new-civil-rights-and-labor-movement#.Uga2QeX7p1s.facebook" rel="nofollow">truthout</a> notes the 1963 marchers also demanded a federal jobs program -- something not even contemplated today, though the unemployment rate is higher now than it was then.<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">The ten demands of the march included both calls for the "Withholding of Federal funds from all programs in which discrimination exists" and "Desegregation of all school districts in 1963." These were combined with "A massive federal program to train and place unemployed workers — Negro and white — on meaningful dignified jobs at decent wages" and "A national minimum wage act that will give all Americans a decent standard of living." </blockquote>Often overlooked is the fact that the 1963 March on Washington was organized by unions and by people close to the labor movement. A. Philip Randolph, president of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, was in charge of the organizing effort.<br /><br />Labor unions, including the Teamsters, are again supporting a March on Washington on August 24. The Labor Fightback Network urges you to participate:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Join the March on Washington August 24, 2013, to demand jobs and freedom for all; defend and expand Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid; respect and protect workers’ rights; and restore and expand voting rights!</blockquote> Find out more <a href="http://www.laborfightback.org/" rel="nofollow">here</a>.<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"></blockquote>

March on Washington minimum wage protest The 1963 March on Washington was about jobs -- and freedom

Teamsters head toward Washington in 1963. As the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington approaches, we should all remember that 300,00...

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Teamsters protest retaliation at McKesson today

<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/AVvXsEgJ1JqCMBO3C44AA57mxPdgxyvoOQYHt9HOSY_pOMvt9V_ugWOUqP-Fus30ta4IOdwOOBBt_hguy-8IfigklPLR6FdZXJNp1DGteVvMZk1lxvMKPBBaK0fvNhGw6DYRV3w3I-hy00qbGzd-/s1600/Teamsters+protest+McKesson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ1JqCMBO3C44AA57mxPdgxyvoOQYHt9HOSY_pOMvt9V_ugWOUqP-Fus30ta4IOdwOOBBt_hguy-8IfigklPLR6FdZXJNp1DGteVvMZk1lxvMKPBBaK0fvNhGw6DYRV3w3I-hy00qbGzd-/s400/Teamsters+protest+McKesson.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Teamsters protest McKesson's retaliation against Florida warehouse workers. </td></tr></tbody></table><div class="tr_bq">The Teamsters protest of McKesson Corp.'s retaliation against its Lakeland, Fla., warehouse workers is taking place right now during the company's annual shareholder meeting in San Francisco.<br /><br />Though McKesson employees voted for Teamster representation more than a year ago, the company still will not agree to a first contract that provides decent wages and affordable health care.</div><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.890625px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.890625px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.890625px;">McKesson, the largest pharmaceutical distributor in North America hired a union-busting law firm and has threatened and intimidated the workers rather than agree to a contract.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.890625px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.890625px;">CEO John Hammergren, meanwhile, is looting the company treasury with $131 million in compensation last year -- after McKesson paid nearly $1 billion to settle claims that it stole from taxpayers and customers through price-fixing. </span><br /><br />The Teamsters protest against retaliation at McKesson is just the latest manifestation of labor unrest that's sweeping the country. Today hundreds of fast-food workers in Chicago and Detroit walked off the job, following similar actions in New York, St. Louis and Kansas City. Teamsters are striking Gold Cross Ambulance in El Centro., Calif., to protest low wages and dangerous working conditions. The protests, strikes and rallies are fueled by anger by CEO looting. They are all aimed at the same thing: empowering workers to stand together and fight for fair treatment and living wages.<br /><br />McKesson faces not just the Teamsters protest. Investors at today's meeting are challenging the election of two directors and demanding changes to the company's compensation policy.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/edsilverman/2013/07/30/mckesson-fights-big-investors-over-a-clawback-policy/">Forbes</a> reports today:<br /><blockquote>Should one of the largest drug wholesalers have a clawback policy for executives? Two institutional investors believe the notion is overdue for McKesson MCK +0.35%, since the wholesaler has paid more than $1 billion in recent years to resolve regulatory and other legal disputes without publicly disclosing any clawback steps. Meanwhile, McKesson ceo John Hammergren received $131 million in compensation last year. </blockquote><blockquote>And so, the LongView Funds run by Amalgamated Bank and the UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust are pushing a proposal to be voted on at the McKesson annual shareholder meeting tomorrow. As they see it, the move will “increase transparency, encourage executive pay-for-performance and discourage senior executives from engaging in behavior that could cause significant financial harm to the company.” </blockquote><blockquote>What do they want? The investors argue that the current McKesson policy is too weak because misconduct is defined as acts that are intentional, regardless of the degree of harm, and they maintain the existing policy sets too high a standard under which clawbacks may be applied. For instance, theft is not covered if the amount of money stolen by an exec does not materially harm the wholesaler.</blockquote>Stay tuned.

McKesson protest retaliation warehouse Teamsters protest retaliation at McKesson today

Teamsters protest McKesson's retaliation against Florida warehouse workers.  The Teamsters protest of McKesson Corp.'s retaliation a...

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Workers strike, storm DC rail station, demand living wage from federal contractors

Scores of Washington, D.C., federal contract workers walked off the job and stormed the city's main rail station today to voice their anger over their poverty wages. The rally at Union Station is the third one-day strike in three weeks by workers demanding the government require its contractors to pay employees fairly.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIT0wuBaLMykvG6PQJ0uupyPDUIAJ58vBlW2fLn1Mw3XLUTgxy6mTW3OiVcbB60Bcd5mq7dShSsmJvfFiIptB17BhyTYNmtlHnzsMtzZuHnBxAyw3y_Pd5IrAsjCGfpqEahLkghSaP8B3t/s1600/7-18DCstrike.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIT0wuBaLMykvG6PQJ0uupyPDUIAJ58vBlW2fLn1Mw3XLUTgxy6mTW3OiVcbB60Bcd5mq7dShSsmJvfFiIptB17BhyTYNmtlHnzsMtzZuHnBxAyw3y_Pd5IrAsjCGfpqEahLkghSaP8B3t/s320/7-18DCstrike.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Workers call out federal contractors for low wages.</td></tr></tbody></table>Demonstrators brought attention to their plight by walking through the station where many of them are employed. They were seen by hundreds of commuters toward the end of the morning rush hour before being asked to leave. They later took their fight to the U.S. Department of Transportation, where they "pied" a protester dressed as Uncle Sam.<br /><br />The Twitter feed of <a href="https://twitter.com/GoodJobsNation">@GoodJobsNation</a> gave a full running commentary of the morning's events, which showed workers trying to feed their families on $8.25 an hour aren't going to take it anymore. Among the chants heard at the rally:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">American flag UP! Corporate flag DOWN! Workers' wages UP! Corporate wages DOWN!</blockquote>Members of the <a href="http://cpc.grijalva.house.gov/">Congressional Progressive Caucus</a> attended the rally and urged President Obama to sign an executive order to ensure federal contract workers are paid a living wage. Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison tweeted:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">We're going to demand that the Prez sign an executive order to make sure you're paid a #livingwage</blockquote><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="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE3EP7FEA4gI5kAOtt4O9waOmmAyUuE-WLO8XI9zR4OflaRyOmS4yCJVjfdiO8T1XNYuxjC4H0wpu3I463TqCMeQSF7pu9Z4DXLUJ36pzNDSyujnVwLVSKWHPPIBywkNp0UtuNLpOyhtRx/s1600/keith+ellison.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE3EP7FEA4gI5kAOtt4O9waOmmAyUuE-WLO8XI9zR4OflaRyOmS4yCJVjfdiO8T1XNYuxjC4H0wpu3I463TqCMeQSF7pu9Z4DXLUJ36pzNDSyujnVwLVSKWHPPIBywkNp0UtuNLpOyhtRx/s320/keith+ellison.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ellison speaks to strikers</td></tr></tbody></table>The protest comes at the same time as the release of a new <a href="http://www.nelp.org/page/-/Reports/NELP-Taking-Low-Road-Federal-Contracting.pdf?nocdn=1">report</a> by the<a href="http://nelp.org/"> National Employment Law Project</a> (NELP). The report details how the federal government is promoting poverty through its contracting practices. The paper notes that Americans are funding millions of low-wage jobs through federal contracts that keep places like the <a href="http://www.si.edu/">Smithsonian Institution</a> running and haul loads of cargo out of the Port of Charleston:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">We interviewed a total of 567 workers in federally contracted jobs: 104 workers who<br />manufacture military uniforms in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Puerto Rico; 429 workers in Washington, D.C., who provide food service, retail services, or janitorial services in various buildings occupied or controlled by the federal government; and 34 port truckers who haul loads under federal contracts out of the port of Charleston, South Carolina.</blockquote>NELP calls for administrative action so that so many workers won't fall through the cracks. A poll done as part of the report shows that 74 percent of those employed under federal contract jobs earn less than $10 an hour. Only 26 percent receive sick days, and only 11 percent receive employer-provided health insurance. One in five depends on Medicaid for health care:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">The federal government needs to lead by example as it once did and ensure that federally linked activity does not inadvertently subsidize low-road employment and fuel poverty, but instead supports the type of quality jobs that communities and our economy need to grow and thrive once more.</blockquote><a href="http://dcist.com/2013/07/union_station_workers_protest_low_p.php">DCist</a> just published a report on the strike, noting:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">They also <a href="https://twitter.com/keithellison/status/357859815701221376">chanted</a>, "We can't survive on 8.25," which is the minimum wage in the District of Columbia. As DCist previously <a href="http://dcist.com/2013/07/smithsonian_vendor_workers_walk_out.php">noted</a>, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's urban planning department's "living wage calculator" places the living wage for one adult in D.C. at $13.68 per hour.</blockquote>Stay tuned.

federal contractor employees low-wage jobs protest Workers strike, storm DC rail station, demand living wage from federal contractors

Scores of Washington, D.C., federal contract workers walked off the job and stormed the city's main rail station today to voice their an...

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