Local 311 News Update
Politicians Waging War on Workers Face Political Risk
 Feb. 8, 2012 - "Already this year, state lawmakers have opened brutal new fronts in the war on workers. And America's workers are fighting back as never before," President Hoffa wrote in a Detroit News op-ed today. "In Michigan, anti-worker bills aimed at weakening labor unions are gaining traction in the House. HB 5025, for example, would require employees' annual written authorization to have their union dues deducted from their paychecks. Working families in Indiana, Florida and Arizona are under especially fierce attack. State politicians loyal to their Wall Street paymasters are trying to lower workers' wages, benefits and safety. They're trying to turn taxpayer assets over to for-profit corporations, along with fat contracts and tax giveaways, at the expense of government employees..." Read more at Local News Items.
List of Recent Contract Agreements Posted
Jan. 11, 2012 - Check the link Member Info for an update on Local 311 collective bargaining agreements ratified recently.
New Cell Phone Restrictions Start Today
Jan. 3, 2012 - The rule restricting hand-held cell phone use issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in November becomes effective today.The rule was issued to improve safety by reducing the frequency of distracted driving-related crashes, fatalities, and injuries involving drivers of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs). Motor carriers are prohibited from requiring or allowing drivers of CMVs to use mobile, hand-held telephones while operating CMVs. A Teamsters Union Q & A on the new rule can be found here.
CMV Drivers: Review the 7 BASICs of the CSA 2010 Guidelines
Dec. 8, 2011 - A year after the new guidelines went into effect, some Teamster locals are seeing an uptick in discipline imposed by employers for minor violations they now consider very serious. We've posted a short video here that shows how an individual driver's CSA2010 scores are computed under CSA2010 for each of the seven BASICs, and key differences among them. Useful CSA2010 regulation information and fact sheets are also available at Local News Items.
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Feb. 7, 2012 | Commentator Andre Riggio explains why "right-to-work" (for less) laws are bad for workers: "Let's set the record straight here: The term 'right to work' is a lie and such legislation is a union-busting tool intended to help businesses, not employees... If you read the law[s] you will find that nothing, not a word in any of them, states or even implies that the law gives anyone the 'right' to a job. If you're a working-class American and thought these bills benefit you or give you easier access to work, well, you've been had." Full commentary here.
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 Feb. 6, 2012 | Last week, Indiana became the 23rd state to become 'right-to-work' (for less) despite the efforts of thousands of Teamsters and other union members. The anti-union march moved on to Arizona, where its legislature passed a ban on public unions. Still, the news wasn't a total bust for union workers last week. There is push back happening and Main Street has examples: Florida activists successfully stalled their state's insane prison privatization scheme, and the "Buffett Rule" (Pay a Fair Share Act) - was introduced in the Senate. New York moved toward raising the minimum wage and the unemployment rate dropped. More at Main Street.
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 Feb. 3, 2012 | This past Monday morning roughly 150 American truck drivers hauling for the major companies that do business at the Port of Seattle turned off their engines, got out of their cabs, and stopped hauling. According to CleanAndSafePorts.org, the courageous job action was undertaken to "sound the alarm on the occupational hazards, overweight containers, shoddy equipment, risks to motorists, and the culprits responsible for these rampant safety violations: their employers and their giant retail shipper clients like Wal-Mart, Sears, and Target." Read about their action and then click here to join your fellow Teamsters in sending a solidarity message of support to let these workers know you have their backs as they stand for safety and fairness on the job.
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• A feel-good 
