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The Teamsters said that only 10 of 40 supplements to the national contract have been resolved since those regional talks started in January. "We have clearly stated our intentions to UPS from the beginning that there would be no national negotiations until these regional contracts are completed," Teamsters General President Sean O'Brien said in the statement. Those contracts define provisions not included in the national agreement, including paid time off, overtime, work hours, seniority and discipline language. UPS said discussions around national negotiations and supplemental agreements often take place at the same time. "We are committed to reaching an agreement that provides wins for our employees, the Teamsters, UPS and our customers," UPS said.

☆ The street processions and ceremonies of Holy Week
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Jeremy Schultz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

A member of the Palmeros de Chacao brotherhood meets with his wife before going down the mountain for leaves to be blessed at a Catholic church to mark the beginning of the Holy Week, in Caracas, Venezuela, April 1. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez ViloriaA member of the Palmeros de Chacao brotherhood meets with his wife before going down the mountain for leaves to be blessed at a Catholic church to mark the beginning of the Holy Week, in Caracas, Venezuela, April 1. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez ViloriaClose

☆ Factbox: In Middle East, once improbable ententes set new tone
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Some U.S. allies had concluded their interests are not best served by a highly polarised Middle East, he added. The agreement between leading Sunni Arab power Saudi Arabia and the Shi'ite Islamist government in Tehran could defuse tensions and conflicts such as the Yemen war. Saudi Arabia has turned to China at a time of strain in its historic alliance with the United States. Saudi Arabia took the lead in rebuilding ties in 2021, declaring an end to the boycott of Qatar. Sources say Syria and Saudi Arabia have agreed to reopen embassies.

☆ Egypt's Sisi visits Saudi Arabia amid financial pressure, regional realignment
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

RIYADH, April 2 (Reuters) - Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi visited Saudi Arabia on Sunday, Saudi state news agency SPA said, as Cairo seeks financial inflows to ease pressure on its currency and bolster a faltering economy. The trip also comes amid a major diplomatic realignment in the region, with moves by Saudi Arabia and Egypt to ease tensions with Syria, Iran and Turkey. Other Saudi and Egyptian officials, including Saudi national security adviser Musaad bin Mohammed al-Aiban and Egypt's intelligence chief Abbas Kamel, attended the meeting, it added. Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies have repeatedly come to Egypt's help since Sisi led the ouster of Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood a decade ago. When Egypt's financial difficulties were exposed and exacerbated by the fallout from the war in Ukraine last year, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar made deposits in Egypt's central bank and pledged major new investments.

☆ Egypt's Sisi heads to Saudi Arabia amid financial pressure, regional realignment
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

CAIRO, April 2 (Reuters) - Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is travelling to Saudi Arabia on Sunday, according to three diplomatic sources, as Cairo continues to seek financial inflows to ease pressure on its currency and bolster a faltering economy. The trip also comes amid a major diplomatic realignment in the region, with moves by Saudi Arabia and Egypt to ease tensions with Syria, Iran and Turkey. There was no immediate official comment from Egypt or Saudi Arabia on the visit. Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies have repeatedly come to Egypt's help since Sisi led the ouster of Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood a decade ago. When Egypt's financial difficulties were exposed and exacerbated by the fallout from the war in Ukraine last year, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar made deposits in Egypt's central bank and pledged major new investments.

☆ Chipotle to pay ex-employees $240,000 after closing Maine location that tried to unionize
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Amelia Lucas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Chipotle Mexican Grill has agreed to pay $240,000 to the former employees of an Augusta, Maine, location as part of a settlement for closing the restaurant when workers tried to unionize. Employees at the Chipotle restaurant filed a petition to unionize under Chipotle United in late June, becoming the chain's first outlet to do so. While Chipotle United counted the settlement announced Monday as a win, it fell short of reopening the closed location. Chipotle will also offer to put all of those workers on a preferential hiring list for other Maine locations for one year. To date, just one Chipotle location has successfully unionized.

☆ More women become truckers as the industry tries to overcome a shortage of drivers
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( Noah Sheidlower | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

She's one of many in the trucking industry leading efforts to bring more women into the fold. Associations like Women In Trucking work to increase the rate of women drivers, technicians and executives, particularly younger women or those switching careers, like Johnson. Now, with the industry facing a daunting driver shortage, initiatives to bring in women drivers from other industries have escalated. The share of women truckers has increased significantly in recent years: Women now make up almost 8% of truck drivers and sales delivery drivers, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Navigating shortagesThough many women joined the industry during the pandemic, Covid-19 lockdowns stalled training and testing for truck drivers.

☆ Norfolk Southern CEO told that railroads' planned voluntary safety improvements aren't enough
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw returns to Capitol Hill Wednesday facing pressure to support rail safety legislation proposed in the wake of his railroad’s massive toxic spill from a February 3 derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. “We support legislative efforts to enhance the safety of the freight rail industry,” was the only discussion of the legislation in his prepared remarks. Shaw said the railroad would support increasing fines and penalties for people found tampering with railroad facilities and safety equipment, without endorsing proposals for potential fines on railroads found guilty of safety violations. They said residents who live near freight rail tracks can’t depend on the railroad’s voluntary measures to improve safety. Vance said it is important to raise the maximum fine for rail safety violations from the current limit of $225,455.

At a joint news conference with his Turkish counterpart, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said talks with Turkey on the possibility of restoring ties to ambassadorial level would happen at "the appropriate time". Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Turkey would upgrade its diplomatic relations with Egypt to ambassador level "as soon as possible". "There is a political will and directives from the presidents of both countries when they met in Doha ... to launch the path towards a full normalisation of relations," Shoukry said. Consultations between senior foreign ministry officials in Ankara and Cairo began in 2021, amid a push by Turkey to ease tensions with Egypt, the UAE, Israel and Saudi Arabia. As part of that tentative reconciliation, Ankara asked Egyptian opposition TV channels operating in Turkey to moderate their criticism of Egypt.

☆ FedEx warns it won't bail out UPS customers at the last minute if drivers strike
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( Emma Cosgrove | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Teamsters Union has threatened a UPS strike when its contract expires in July. UPS CEO Carol Tomé has repeatedly said that a "win-win-win" is "very achievable" for the Teamsters, UPS employees at large, and the company, despite the union's spicy rhetoric. But even the threat of a UPS strike this summer, which would be the first since 1997, is already driving some UPS customers to look for alternative shipping options. Carere also suggested that FedEx is not interested in serving as a temporary solution for UPS customers. FedEx customers were alerted to the March 31 in a letter distributed earlier this month.

☆ Top Egyptian and Turkish diplomats hold talks in Cairo amid improving ties
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu meets with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry in Cairo, Egypt March 18, 2023. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El GhanyCAIRO, March 18 (Reuters) - Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu held talks with his Egyptian counterpart in Cairo on Saturday, in the first such visit after a decade of ruptured ties. Cavusoglu and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry were expected to discuss a range of bilateral and international issues in a step towards restoring normal relations, according to statements from the two sides. As part of that tentative reconciliation, Ankara asked Egyptian opposition TV channels operating in Turkey to moderate their criticism of Egypt. Last month, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry visited Turkey in a show of solidarity after the massive earthquakes that killed more than 50,000 people in Turkey and Syria.

☆ Norfolk Southern reaches new paid sick leave deal as it contends with derailment fallout
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Noah Sheidlower | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Norfolk Southern said Wednesday it agreed to provide up to seven paid sick days per years for members of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers and Blacksmiths. The deal provides Norfolk Southern's mechanical railroaders with four paid sick days per year, in addition to three existing days of paid time off that can now be used as sick days. The IBBB is now the ninth of Norfolk Southern's 12 unions that have negotiated paid sick days, benefitting about 6,000 workers. The move comes after months of fighting between unions and railraods – including Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific and BNSF – over paid sick leave. The legislation, however, did not include paid sick leave.

☆ Union warns it has been left without enough workers to install new rail safety measures
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Lori Ann Larocco | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

"Adding 1,000 more wayside detectors will create more work in the craft," said Michael Baldwin, president of the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen. There is no federal mandate for detectors, including the hot box detector, to be inspected. "Norfolk Southern has hired and trained more than 150 new signal employees, and we continue to hire. We are committed to the safety and integrity of our defect detectors," said Connor Spielmaker, Norfolk Southern spokesman. Total Class I freight rail employment in January 2023 was 119,245, up 6.7% (7,491 employees) over January 2022.

☆ Oklahoma Republican tells Teamsters president 'shut your mouth' in terse exchange at Senate hearing
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

WASHINGTON — A Republican lawmaker Wednesday told Teamsters General President Sean O'Brien to "shut your mouth" in a terse exchange at a hearing examining so-called union busting by U.S. companies. O'Brien said the International Brotherhood of Teamsters had examples of employers illegally pressuring workers not to join unions. When O'Brien said Mullin was out of line, the lawmaker shot back: "You need to shut your mouth." "You think you're smart? You think you're funny?

The four members of the Brotherhood Battalion later buried in Kyiv were Yurii Horovets, 34, Taras Karpiuk, 38, Maksym Mykhailov, 32 and Bohdan Liagov, 19. Ukrainian authorities did not comment on the raid then, and have subsequently denied involvement in attacks claimed by Ukrainian-based groups on Russian soil. "Our aim is to bring the war over to Russian territory. "When we are on Russian territory, we act autonomously," he added. Ukraine's defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its relationship with the Brotherhood Battalion, called "Bratstvo" in Ukrainian, and the armed forces.

☆ Despite East Palestine toxic train disaster, railroads still want single-person crews
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

The rail safety legislation, introduced in Congress Wednesday with bipartisan support, would include a prohibition on single-person crews. There is no such existing law or federal regulation requiring both an engineer and a conductor to be on a train. The Association of American Railroads confirmed that its position in favor of one-person crews has not changed. “No data shows a two-person crew confined to a cab is safer, and train crew size should continue to be determined through collective bargaining,” a statement from UP. But it might have one or two provisions which are deal breakers for the unions, such as allowing single-person crews.

☆ Rail unions tell Biden officials workers have fallen ill at Norfolk Southern derailment site
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Lori Ann Larocco | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Pete Buttigieg, US transportation secretary, speaks during a news conference near the site of the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, US, on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023. The presidents of U.S. railroad unions told Biden administration officials that rail workers have fallen ill at the Norfolk Southern derailment site in East Palestine, Ohio, in a push for more train safety. The meeting comes on the heels of letters sent to both the DOT and the FRA Wednesday in which union representations claimed rail workers had gotten sick at the derailment site. According to the letter, Norfolk Southern rail workers who have worked or continue to work the cleanup site have reported experiencing "migraines and nausea." One worker reportedly asked his supervisor to be transferred off the derailment site because of his symptoms, but never heard back from his supervisor and was left at the job site.

Summary Egyptian FM says 'goal of visit primarily humanitarian'And to 'pass on our solidarity' from people of EgyptArab League suspended Syria in 2011DAMASCUS, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Egypt's foreign minister met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Monday in the first visits to Syria and Turkey by a top Egyptian diplomat in a decade. "The goal of the visit is primarily humanitarian, and to pass on our solidarity – from the leadership, the government and the people of Egypt to the people of Syria," Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told reporters in Damascus. "When the foreign minister of Egypt comes to Damascus, he comes to his home, his people, and his country," Mekdad said. Shoukry also visited Turkey, pointing to another shift in Egypt's foreign ties. "Foreign minister offers condolences for the victims of earthquake, affirms solidarity of Egyptian leadership, government and people with Turkey, and asserting continuity of aid for supporting Turkey and its brotherly people," Ahmed Abu Zeid, spokesperson for Egypt's Foreign Ministry, said.

☆ Egypt's foreign minister to visit Syria, Turkey on Monday
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 26 (Reuters) - Egypt's Sameh Shoukry will travel to Damascus on Monday in the first visit by an Egyptian foreign minister since Syria's conflict erupted in 2011, according to a statement by the Egyptian foreign ministry. Shoukry will visit Turkey and Syria - both hit hard by a deadly earthquake on Feb. 6 - to "convey a message of solidarity from Egypt with the two countries" according to the foreign ministry statement. Turkey's foreign ministry confirmed the visit, saying Shoukry will hold talks with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu and visit the southern province of Adana and the port of Mersin, where an Egyptian aid ship is set to arrive. Egypt's President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi spoke with Assad by phone for the first time on Feb. 7 and on Sunday, a delegation of top parliamentarians from around the region - including Egypt's parliament speaker - met Assad in Damascus. Relations began thawing in 2021, part of a push by Turkey to ease tensions with several regional powers.

☆ Norfolk Southern, in wake of toxic derailment, gives in on sick days for one of its unions
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Norfolk Southern has agreed to give one of its unions the paid sick days it demanded for members in negotiations last year, and is in talks to grant sick days to its other unions as well. Norfolk Southern has about 19,000 employees total and about 15,000 of whom are union members. Norfolk Southern’s concession comes two weeks after another railroad, CSX (CSX), reached a deal with two of its unions to provide four sick days a year. The Norfolk Southern deal provides up to seven sick days per employee. Norfolk Southern and the nation’s other major freight railroads all faced criticism last year for refusing the unions’ demands for paid sick days for their members.

☆ Norfolk Southern is giving over a thousand times more money to shareholders than to derailment victims
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The company spent $3.4 billion on share repurchases last year, and $3.1 billion in 2021, bringing its recent share repurchases to $6.5 billion. Billions to shareholdersIn March 2022, Norfolk Southern (NSC) announced a new $10 billion share repurchase plan. Norfolk Southern did not respond to questions Wednesday on whether it expects to change its share repurchase plans in the wake of the derailment. Other freight railroads are also reporting improving profits, and have joined Norfolk Southern in massive share repurchases. Like Norfolk Southern, both UP and CSX spent more on share repurchases than they did on total employee compensation.

☆ Biden takes aim at Republican spending cuts plan
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

At issue is Republicans' refusal to raise the statutory $31.4 trillion U.S. debt limit unless Biden agrees to spending cuts. The White House has said such measures will only be discussed after the debt ceiling is lifted. In a speech at a union hall in suburban Maryland, Biden accused Republicans, who now control the House of Representatives, of pushing him to agree to spending cuts, while their own plans would add $3 trillion to the debt. Republicans argue that federal spending is too high and will fuel inflation while raising the U.S. debt level. They also plan a separate news conference on Wednesday aimed at highlighting House Republicans' planned budget cuts.

☆ Biden to blast Republican agenda as 'massive giveaway' to big companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

At issue is Republicans' refusal to raise the statutory $31.4 trillion U.S. debt limit unless Biden agrees to spending cuts, while the White House has said such measures will only be discussed after the debt ceiling is lifted. With his own approval ratings now at 36%, despite 53-year low unemployment and rising consumer sentiment, Biden will seek to flip the script and point the finger at a Republican agenda that he says will amount to "a massive giveaway to the super-rich, big corporations and Big Pharma," the White House said. By contrast, Biden says his administration's plans will cut U.S. debt by another $2 trillion on top of $1.7 trillion in reductions already made. Republicans argue that U.S. federal spending is too high and will fuel inflation while raising the U.S. debt level. Republican have discussed repealing the stock buyback tax entirely, which the White House says would add $74 billion to the federal debt.

☆ Watch live: Biden outlines plans to cut U.S. deficit by $2 trillion over the next decade
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Emma Kinery | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Please refresh the page if you do not see a video above at that time.) Biden has made a point of speaking to union workers and highlighting jobs being created by his policies, like the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, that don't require four-year college degrees. The president visited a LIUNA Laborers' Apprenticeship and Training Center in Wisconsin last week and a steamfitters hall in Virginia in late January. Biden, in excerpts from his speech, will argue that his budget won't include taxes on Americans making less than $400,000 a year and will ultimately cut the deficit by $2 trillion over the next decade. The president has yet to release his budget plan but has promised to by March 9.

☆ Labor showdown looming at NJ Transit, one of nation’s largest commuter railroads
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

But NJ Transit is adamant they won’t negotiate at all,” said Jim Brown, president of the New Jersey Transit portion of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. “NJ Transit is currently engaged in active and ongoing mediation. Those rules unique to commuter railroads can mean it can take three times as long for a strike to be allowed. A freight rail strike would have kept about 30% of the nation’s freight from moving and been a crippling blow to the nation’s economy and supply chain. Phil Murphy’s press office declined to respond on the state of negotiations at NJ Transit when asked for a comment by CNN late last year, referring all questions to NJ Transit.

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