Transport Workers Solidarity Committee

Mobility Is a Human Right « Puget Sound ATU Local 758 Transit Operator Speaks Out
http://pstransitoperators.wordpress.com/2010/06/21/mobility-is-a-human-right/

« ATU 758 Speaks Out on Wage Concessions, Media Reports
Mobility Is a Human Right
Published June 21, 2010 Opinion Leave a Comment
Fare hikes, layoffs, and service cuts decimate public transit
by Linda Averill
Also appearing in the Freedom Socialist newspaper, Vol. 31, No. 3, June-September 2010

In 2008, when gas prices spiked, so did transit ridership, reaching 10.7 billion trips nationally. Hard times make this service even more essential to millions of people. So the U.S. government is expanding public transportation, right?

Wrong. Across the U.S., 80 percent of transit agencies are cutting service, hiking fares, or both. Moreover, cuts are hitting hardest the people with the least access to other ways of getting around.

New York City’s transit system, the largest in the country, transports half the local populace every day. Faced with a $400 million shortfall, officials are raising fares, eliminating two subway routes and 34 bus lines, and cutting night-owl service, a lifeline to swing-shift workers. Students are losing free fares.

Seattle IBT 174 Striking garbage workers to return to jobs to prevent a "public health crisis."

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/418878_strike22.html
Thursday, April 22, 2010

Striking garbage workers to return to jobs
By CHRIS GRYGIEL
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

Striking garbage workers in King and Snohomish counties said Thursday afternoon they'd return to their jobs at midnight to prevent a "public health crisis."

Union representatives said in a statement they expect 700 sanitation workers to resume normal operations Friday morning to catch up on the backlog created by the walkout, which began Wednesday.

"We are trying to persuade Waste Management to stop bargaining in bad faith," Rick Hicks, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 174, said in a statement. "However, we are also concerned that if we continued the strike, Waste Management might lockout our members."

Seattle Public Utilities is advising its Friday customers to put out their garbage, yard waste and recycling before 7 a.m. Friday.

People whose collections were missed due to the strike on Wednesday and Thursday may set out up to twice their garbage, yard waste and recycling on their next regular collection day, at no additional cost, the utility said. Missed recycling should be set out on customers' next recycling day, which would be in two weeks.

1,600 Scabs apply to haul trash in case of Seattle Teamsters strike against Waste Management

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/89835652.html
1,600 apply to haul trash in case of Teamsters strike
By KOMO Staff
More than 1,600 people have applied to work as replacement drivers for Waste Management in case of a strike by the Teamsters, a company spokesperson said Saturday.

More local news
Story Published: Apr 3, 2010 at 10:19 AM PDTStory Updated: Apr 3, 2010 at 7:05 PM PDT

Members of Teamsters Local 174 conduct a "practice strike."

Teamsters dump Waste Management's 'best, last, final offer'
Garbage drivers authorize strike in King, Snohomish counties
SEATTLE - More than 1,600 people have applied to work as replacement drivers for Waste Management in case of a strike by the Teamsters, a company spokesperson said Saturday.

"We're preparing to hire replacements in the event of a prolonged strike. It's part of our contingency planning," said Jackie Lang, spokeswoman for Waste Management.

The company submitted what it calls its "best, last, final offer" to union garbage truck drivers represented by Teamsters Local 174, but the offer was rejected Friday by the union.

Boeing, IAM union deadlocked in secret talks over new 787 line-Deal To Make No-Strike Agreement To Stop Outsourcing

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/boeingaerospace/2010113362_boeing22.html?syndication=rss

Originally published October 22, 2009 at 12:10 AM | Page modified October 22, 2009 at 11:14 AM

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Boeing, union deadlocked in secret talks over new 787 line
Boeing and the Machinists union are far apart in secret negotiations over a proposed no-strike agreement that would ensure a second 787 final assembly line goes to Everett instead of Charleston, S.C.

By Dominic Gates
Seattle Times aerospace reporter
Related
Boeing nears decision on second 787 line
Delayed jets put Boeing in profit dive
Boeing's statement on the third-quarter results
Airlines still looking for business travelers
Jon Talton's blog | Boeing: Weak or strong? Investors are left to wonder
What's next

Within the next two weeks, Boeing will announce whether its second 787 final-assembly line will be in Everett or Charleston, S.C.

Secret talks have been going on for weeks in Washington, D.C., and Chicago between Boeing and the Machinists union, with top leaders negotiating over a proposed no-strike agreement that would ensure a second 787 final-assembly line goes to Everett instead of Charleston, S.C.

An Open letter in defense of democracy within Seattle ATU 587 And The Struggle To Defend Our Union

An Open letter in defense of democracy within ATU 587

In the recent contract negotiations with Metro, there was no lack of willingness on the part of the membership to do our part and mobilize for fair wages and working conditions. This was evidenced in numerous ways, such as the several hundred members who signed petitions for picketing and an all-members meeting. This is a membership that is to be commended, applauded, appreciated and thanked.
The first contract proposal from our negotiating team featured several concessions to management, at a time we are working harder than ever. Many of us circulated a Vote NO leaflet to oppose these takeaways. A majority of the membership was also clearly dissatisfied because 56 percent voted it down. This healthy exercise of democracy resulted in gains on the second proposal, (though over 1,000 members still found it fell far short). The gains show how essential free speech and rank-and-file activism is to our union’s advancement. It should be cheered.
Unfortunately, members have instead been berated or subject to attack by officers for speaking up, organizing against the contract proposals, or even raising concerns about the two contracts that ATU officers supported. For the health and future of our union, we call on our elected officers to stop this disrespect for our democratic rights. It is time to stop the divisiveness and attacks, and to take a strong stand for union democracy and solidarity.

TWSC/AALC Seattle ILWU Longshore/Transportation Worker Events On 6/8 & 6/9
May Day 2008 –
When the Ports Stood Down
How The Militant Union Protest Was Organized

Local 10 contingent in May Day 2008 march along San Francisco’s Embarcadero.

SPEAKERS: GABRIEL PRAWL, Local 19 member,
Co-chair, African American Longshore Coalition
CLARENCE THOMAS, Local 10 May Day organizer
JACK HEYMAN, Local 10 May Day organizer

SEE: Video of the historic May Day '08 West Coast Ports
Shutdown Demanding:
Stop the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan,
Withdraw troops now – NO PEACE, NO WORK!

DISCUSSION PERIOD TO FOLLOW PRESENTATIONS

WHEN: Monday, June 8, 2009 @ 7 pm
WHERE: Olympic Room, Mezzanine Level, Westin Hotel

* Free May Day posters and buttons
Organized by the Transport Workers Solidarity Committee (www.transportworkers.org)
and the African American Longshore Coalition
Dump TWIC
the new anti-union
waterfront
screening program

ILWU’s historic fights against
government screening and the
lessons for today's struggle

Speaker: Jack Mulcahy,
former Local 8 business agent,

Seattle Court Backs Fedex in Not Paying Overtime to Drivers
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123863039800180655.html

APRIL 1, 2009, 10:24 P.M. ET
Verdict Backs FedEx in Labor Case
Seattle Jury Says Delivery Service Doesn't Owe Overtime to 320 Drivers
By ALEX ROTH
A Seattle jury ruled that FedEx Corp. didn't illegally deny overtime pay to 320 drivers the company deemed to be independent contractors, resolving the latest in a series of battles over whether thousands of current and former FedEx drivers should be reclassified as employees.

The King County Superior Court jury ruled Tuesday that the drivers for FedEx Ground were properly classified as independent contractors, and thus weren't entitled to overtime payments and reimbursement for other expenses.

The Memphis, Tenn., company still faces many other lawsuits across the country, including a nationwide class-action suit related to the classification issue. The outcome of those cases will determine whether FedEx could be forced to pay hundreds of millions of dollars more to cover such costs as operating expenses and pension and health-care benefits. Nationwide, roughly 13,000 current FedEx drivers are classified as independent contractors.

The Cunningham Report

What's The Buzz
07/13/2008

Negotiations between the ILWU and the Pacific Maritime Association, which represents 71 waterfront employers, became increasingly sticky late last week with the PMA charging union members with slowing down production in Tacoma and Los Angeles-Long Beach while talks continue...ILWU spokesman Craig Merrilees discounted the union actions in Tacoma and Southern California, saying that the PMA was making a mountain out of a molehill... Still pending is the PMA request to the National Labor Relations Board for the labor agency to file a charge against the ILWU over the May Day shutdown of West Coast ports for one shift by union workers as a protest against the war in Iraq.
-- The Cunningham Report

Join Jobs with Justice and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) in "No Peace – No Work" Rally at Noon, May 1st

Jack Perry Memorial Park, 1729 Alaska Way South Seattle Between Pier 30 and Pacific Maritime Institute

At the start of the Iraq War in 2003, many working people were opposed to the invasion. Now the overwhelming majority want to end the war and withdraw the troops.

The war is currently costing over 720 million dollars a day if continued, it could rise into trillions of dollars which could be spent on pressing domestic needs, including universal health care, job retraining, adequate housing and education.

The international Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) has called for a united labor action on May 1, 2008, International Workers Day, to demand an end to the war.

Later in the day join Jobs with Justice and El Comite for the 9th Annual May 1st Immigrant Rights March and Rally "We are not undocumented, we are not illegal, we are workers!"

Please note the corrected time and location below:

March starts at 4pm at Judkins Park
2150 South Norman Street (near St. Mary's Church)

For more information please contact JwJ Staff Organizer

Disclaimer - The opinions of the author do not necessarily match those of the TWSC. This article is reposted in accordance to Fair Use guidelines.

By Matt Smith - San Francisco Weekly, February 6, 2008

Imploding U.S. mortgage markets leave behind trillions of dollars in economic damage. The dollar's slide against the euro and the yuan raises fears of a currency collapse. January job losses portend recession.

To these threats to U.S. economic stability, add a new and severe one that is brewing in the conference rooms of the Cathedral Hill Hotel, a blue-collar establishment on Van Ness. There, West Coast dockworkers' representatives are devising a strategy to renegotiate a unified ports agreement with shipping companies that is scheduled to expire July 1. If the renegotiation is as fractious as it was in 2002 — when shippers attempted to break the union by shutting down 29 West Coast ports for 10 days — an extended dispute could paralyze U.S. economic activity and send financial markets tumbling.

A shutdown like the last one "carries the very real risk of triggering a sudden crisis in international financial markets," U.C. Berkeley professor Stephen Cohen, co-director of the Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy, wrote in a 2002 paper. When I spoke with him last week, he said he'd be watching the situation this time, too: "I don't think the significance is any different. At some point, you start running out of parts, and the factory stops, and the factory that relies on that factory for components stops, and you have a chain reaction that's really rather a nightmare."