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Local and National News
Hoffa: Empowering workers now through 2020
Sept. 5, 2019 | This Labor Day, unions like the Teamsters find themselves in a strong position. The public’s support of the labor movement is as strong as it’s been in the last 16 years. There is an understanding by a sizable majority in this country that hardworking Americans deserve higher pay and greater respect on the job. But to ensure that continues, workers need to stand up for their rights. That’s why the Teamsters Union, some 1.4 million members strong, is currently weighing all the candidates seeking the U.S. presidency in 2020 for a possible endorsement. To earn it, those seeking to become the nation’s chief executive will have to prove that they side with workers. In an effort to get presidential contenders on the record about the topics workers care about, this union is training members and retirees … TeamstersA Labor Day message from General President Hoffa
Sept. 2, 2019 | The American labor movement is responsible for many things we take for granted—the weekend, the 40-hour workweek and anti-child labor laws to name a few. Today, our movement is reinvigorated and working for other profoundly important things: securing wages and benefits that working families deserve and retirees earned, the continued existence of the middle class, and respect and dignity for all working people. I’m proud that the Teamsters Union is at the forefront of this effort. But make no mistake, working families are still being attacked and scapegoated. Corporate-backed politicians have mounted the most vicious anti-union attacks in memory. The labor movement, and the Teamsters Union in particular, is alive and well and is still forcing change… Continued at TeamstersOlder news items can be viewed at 888 News.
Elsewhere in The News
Sept. 16, 2019 | STRIKES | Members of the United Auto Workers went on strike at General Motors Co. plants nationwide at midnight Sunday night, sending 46,000 workers to picket lines in the union's first walkout since the automaker emerged from taxpayer-funded bankruptcy a decade ago. The UAW on Sunday night said "dialogue is continuing" with the Detroit automaker, but a GM spokesman said talks were halted amid an increasingly acrimonious atmosphere and an unorthodox response by GM that breaks with decades of bargaining protocol. The UAW said a bargaining session is scheduled at 10 a.m. Monday. As the clock struck just before midnight, workers streamed out of the GM Flint Assembly Plant and moved toward their vehicles on the lots. In single lines and orderly fashion… The Detroit News
Sept. 16, 2019 | STRIKES | “Teamsters and the UAW have a decades-long relationship of having each other’s back. And that continues with the UAW’s notification that it will go out on strike against General Motors at midnight. Our 1.4 million members stand in solidarity with the UAW and will honor their picket lines. “We laud the UAW for its work to ensure that its GM employees are treated with respect and dignity on the job… Teamsters Teamsters won't be transporting General Motors vehicles during the United Auto Workers’ strike.
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Sept. 12, 2019 | UNIONS | Union representation in the US has been dwindling for decades, but according to a new Insider poll, Americans are still largely in favor of them. Insider found that Americans support nearly every kind of labor union, from trade worker unions to artist guilds, more than they dislike them. The poll — which included responses from 1,165 adults surveyed nationwide — presented participants with two identical lists of 20 different types of organized labor… Business Insider
Sept. 11, 2019 | HEALTH & SAFETY | (Click image to enlarge) Teamsters Local 817 President Thomas J. O’Donnell was driving with his father in New York City when he witnessed the first plane crash into the World Trade Center on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. “We saw that plane hit the tower and we knew the country was under attack,” recalls O’Donnell, who leads the Great Neck-based union that works in transportation, casting, and locations for film, television, and Broadway productions. Although his union’s members work in the entertainment industry, they were among the many unsung heroes who responded to Ground Zero within hours and spent days, weeks, and months after the attacks. And just like the first responders facing severe health challenges, some members of the union have succumbed to cancers caused by toxins present at Ground Zero… Long Island Press Photo: Getty Images
