Why Port Truckers Are Striking: 12-Hour Shifts, Noxious Fumes and $12.90 Paychecks

“We are on strike today to have respect and dignity at work,” says Walter Melendez, one of approximately 40 Los Angeles port truck drivers who walked off the job at 5a.m. morning in protest of alleged unfair labor practices. The strikes featured the rolling “ambulatory pickets” that the truckers have excelled at—chasing down trucks as they leave the port and setting up picket lines in front of the...
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As ‘Black Friday’ Looms, Wal-Mart Under the Gun for Alleged Retaliation

"We’ve got a lot of associates to make good solid, middle-class income,”  said  Wal-Mart Corporate CEO and President Bill Simon in a September 11 presentation at the Goldman Sachs Annual Global Retail Conference. Simon buttressed his argument with a slide from his  presentation  showing that in 2012, 475,000 associates earned more than $25,000. But  critics  were quick to point out the flip side o...
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From U.S. to Philippines, Nurses Mobilize in Typhoon Haiyan’s Wake


The Registered Nurse Response Network sends its first team to the Philippines on November 14 from San Francisco International Airport. (NNU / Flickr / Creative Commons)   When Typhoon Haiyan made landfall in the Philippines a week ago, the destruction was swift, total and unsparing—showing the disproportionate impact of disasters on poverty-stricken communities of the Global South. The internation...
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Ditching Child Labor Laws; Honeywell Looking to Escape Liability; Machinists Reject Boeing Contract


A young child farm worker hard at work in a cotton field.(Louise Boyle / Flickr / Creative Commons)   Last year, the Obama administration ditched a proposal for new workplace safety rules that would have protected children from doing some of the most hazardous agricultural jobs. In an article for The Nation , Mariya Strauss reports on the child farmworkers who have died since that rule was abandon...
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Volkswagen Gave Money to Anti-Union Group That Used Pro-Confederate Rhetoric (Updated)


A photo of Matt Patterson from the Competitive Enterprise Institute website. Volkswagen donated to the right-wing group's gala in June. (Photo from Competitive Enterprise Institute)   Earlier this week, Working In These Times reported on a negative media blitz by anti-union consultant Matt Patterson aimed at countering a United Auto Workers (UAW) organizing drive at Volkswagen’s Chattanooga, Tenn....
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Instructors Often Pressured to Censor Themselves, Says Professor Scolded for ‘Tea Party’ Email

Rachel Slocum was, until recently, not the kind of high-profile academic who typically turns up in news articles. As an assistant professor of geography at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, her solid career path of teaching and research on urban food systems had a progressive bent that did not stand out too much in the relatively liberal climate of the University of Wisconsin system. And then...
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Blogger Joe Bertoni Honored in 2013 IAFF Media Awards

Blogger Joe Bertoni Honored in 2013 IAFF Media Awards
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Blogger Joe Bertoni, a retired Fairfax County firefighter and member of the Fairfax County Professional Firefighters & Paramedics was honored by the International Association of Fire Fighters 2013 Media Awards. His blog post " Six Ways to Keep Active Retired Members Engaged " was awarded in the Best Blog Post category. Joe is a contributor to the IAFF Frontline Blog. The blog post provided gre...
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Pink Heals Tour Makes Athlete's Village Appearance

Pink Heals Tour Makes Athlete's Village Appearance
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Fairfax County Firefighters were on hand to support women battling cancer. The event was held at the proposed Athlete's Village for the 2015 World Police & Fire Games - the Reston Town Center.   Both firefighters and law enforcement officers joined the national Guardians of the Ribbon, Pink Heals Tour and the local chapter right here in Virginia. The Pink Heals is a national nonprofit wit...
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A Free-Speech Victory at the ‘University of Nike’


The University of Oregon's 'Football Performance Center,' which was paid for by Nike founder (and U of O alum) Phil Knight. (Photo by Wolfram Burner via Flickr )   The “University of Nike” sounds like an institution straight out of a dystopian novel. But that moniker has actually been embraced by the University of Oregon, where Nike founder and chairman Phil Knight is one of the school’s most impo...
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New York City Immigrants Test a New Economic “Bridge”


Lady Liberty welcomes immigrants to New York City, but in reality it's hard for skilled workers to get their foot in the door. (Sgt. Randall. A. Clinton / Flickr   For all the supposed potential of the "American Dream," immigrants in New York City often have a terrible time redeeming its promise. Many arrive in the United States with no financial grounding or burdened by a heap of debt; others can...
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NY man dies in crash days after son killed in fire

The Associated Press NORTH GREENBUSH, N.Y. — Authorities say a 64-year-old upstate New York man has been killed in a two-vehicle crash just four days after his son died in a house fire. Police in suburban North Greenbush tell the Times Union of Albany that John Hover died at a hospital after his pickup truck veered into oncoming traffic and collided with another vehicle Thursday afternoon. T...
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Small-town mayor plays with fire at residents' expense

You'd think at this point we wouldn't be surprised when a politician goes completely off the rails. Then comes this story out of Onslow, Iowa about its mayor, who up and fired his entire nine-person volunteer fire department. Even with Onslow Mayor Curtis Thornhill's "effective in 30 days" caveat, I'm baffled by the sheer irresponsibility of such a move. According to its own ... Or...
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N.C. asst. chief hospitalized after being mauled by dogs

Winston-Salem Journal DANBURY, N.C. — The assistant chief of the Danbury Volunteer Fire Department is in intensive care at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center after being mauled by two Labrador retrievers, officials said Thursday. Bobby Jones was attacked about 8 p.m. Wednesday while hunting off Hall Road. He was bitten more than 40 times, WGHP/FOX 8, the newsgathering partner of the Journal,...
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Mo. firefighter dies in vehicle crash

JEROME, Mo. — A firefighter died in a single-vehicle crash early Thursday morning. KY3 reported that firefighter Clarence Huffman, 42, with Rolla Fire and Rescue, died after his 2004 Chevrolet pickup traveled off the left side of a highway, overcorrected and ran off the road. The pickup rolled several times down an embankment and firefighter Huffman was ejected from the car, according to the...
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Va. firefighter faces breaking and entering, vandalism charges

RICHMOND, Va. — A firefighter was charged for breaking and entering and vadalism charges police said were committed on Sept. 11. WTVR reported that Ashley Berry broke into a home during the afternoon last week and vandalized property. Berry, who is a firefighter assigned to Station 14 on the Northside, was also charged with breaking and entering, according to the report. The department said ...
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