#NAFTA2.0

Unfulfilled USMCA promise: China’s influence grows as manufacturers choose Mexico over the U.S.

By Richard Mann

RIO TIMES
July 3, 2023

Three years after the implementation of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), tensions with China have brought the trade bloc into focus.

The original goal of attracting manufacturers to the U.S. has not been fully achieved.

Despite stricter requirements for tariff-free trade, many companies are still choosing to produce in Mexico due to lower labor costs, even if they have to pay duties under the new trade deal.

Trade data shows that amid the U.S.-China tariff disputes, companies producing goods affected by higher levies have increased shipments from Mexico instead of manufacturing them in the U.S.

Unfulfilled USMCA promise. (Photo Internet reproduction)

Chinese manufacturers are investing in Mexico as an export base to the U.S. to bypass increased costs resulting from the trade war.

Chinese investment in Mexico reached $2.52 billion in 2022, a 50% increase from the previous year.

The current U.S. administration led by President Joe Biden aims to attract investment to North America as a whole and establish a more secure supply chain.

The administration supports “friendshoring” by shifting supply chains to trusted trade partners.

Combined U.S. imports from Mexico and Canada have grown by 32% between 2019 and 2022, surpassing the increase in imports from China.

The U.S. encourages investments in Mexico and Canada for the electric vehicle supply chain.

The Biden administration plans to subsidize EV purchases limited to models assembled within the region.

Challenges exist, including concerns from Japan and Europe regarding U.S. EV tariffs and the potential exclusion of other trade partners, which could escalate tensions.

While the USMCA has influenced trade dynamics between China and Mexico, many companies still choose Mexico over the U.S. due to lower labor costs.

Chinese manufacturers are investing in Mexico to avoid trade war costs.

The Biden administration aims to build a secure supply chain within North America but faces challenges and potential trade tensions with other partners.

 

Archaeologists discover remains of people lived in 1st-4th centuries in Batken

 3 July 2023 

The remains of people who lived approximately in the 1st −4th centuries were discovered in Kyzyl-Koshuun valley of Batken region during archaeological excavations, Azernews reports, citing 24.kg.

The site, where the excavations were carried out, has a cemetery, graves, architectural objects, houses and petroglyphs. The last studies were carried out there in 1954-1960.

According to the head of the archaeological expedition, Candidate of Historical Sciences Abdinabi Kadyrov, the monuments found during the excavations may have been installed at Kara-Bulak cemetery. About 150-200 archaeological sites have been found in this valley.

According to him, during the research, personal items belonging to people, who lived in the 1st-4th centuries, were found. A vessel, three knives, a dagger, an arrowhead and a belt were found buried with the man.

«Kara-Bulak monuments date back to the 1st — 4th centuries. At that time, according to burial rituals, personal belongings were left next to the deceased, jewelry was left for women, and food was also left in a vessel at the head of the bed,» Abdinabi Kadyrov explained.

He noted that the discovered objects would be sent for research to a European laboratory, where radiocarbon analyzes are carried out. After research, it will be possible to accurately determine the origin of the mound.

WORKERS CAPITAL

Will California’s largest pensions, CalPERS and CalSTRS, divest from fossil fuels?

BY GRACE GEDYE

CALMATTERS

JUNE 29, 2023

Oil pumps in the Kern River Oil Field near Bakersfield on July 6, 2022. 

Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local


IN SUMMARY

Climate activists and some lawmakers want two of California’s pension funds to shed about $15 billion of fossil fuel holdings. They say the move would reduce oil and gas companies’ political power, but opponents say it would be a bad move financially.

Climate activists and retirees have pushed retirement funds in Maine and New York to sell their stocks in fossil fuel companies. The push is called “divestment”, and it’s a move that the University of California has embraced as well.

Now, divestment may be coming to more pensions near you.

The California Legislature is considering a bill that would require the pension funds for state workers and teachers to sell holdings in the 200 largest publicly traded fossil fuel companies by July 2031. The bill would also stop the funds from making new investments in those companies starting in 2024.

These pension funds aren’t simple bank accounts, they’re big-time institutional investors. The California Public Employees’ Retirement System has about $459 billion in assets, making it the largest public pension fund in the nation and one of the largest private equity investors in the world according to the agency’s website. When it changes tack, the world of finance takes note.

The California State Teachers’ Retirement System is the second largest public pension fund in the U.S. Together, the two pension funds cover more than 3 million Californians and their families.

Proponents of the bill say it’s important that California put its money where its mouth is, so to speak, on climate policy. Foes of the move say anything that might hurt investment returns should be off the table.

 

Marcie Frost, CEO of CalPERS, at the regional office in Sacramento on June 26, 2023. 

Photo by Rahul Lal for CalMatters

“We’re not saying the intentions around this are not good,” said Marcie Frost, CEO of CalPERS, in an interview with CalMatters. “But they’re not coming through an investor lens. It feels like they’re coming through a morality lens. And we can’t use our own personal values, or our personal morals, to be able to decide how we invest the assets of this portfolio.”

Both pensions are underfunded; if either had to immediately pay out all the benefits they owe, they wouldn’t have enough money.

If CalPERS and CalSTRS shed their investments in the largest oil and gas companies, what would it mean for the teachers and state workers counting on their retirement checks?
Why climate activists are pushing for divestment

For some, it would be a relief.

“When I was younger, I was told by the adults around me that I should work toward obtaining a career with the state of California,” said Francis Macias, a state parks employee who called into a pension fund board meeting in March. A member of the advocacy group Fossil Free California, she said those same adults had told her such a job would come with perks like stable hours — and a nice pension.

But now, Macias said, “I feel like I’m living in a nightmare. Every day, I experience great anxiety knowing my hard-earned pension is funding climate collapse.”

The state worker pension fund has an estimated $9.4 billion in energy company investments it would have to divest under the proposed bill, about 2% of the fund. On the list are companies you’ve probably heard of, including Exxon Mobil and Shell, and ones you probably haven’t, such as Ovintiv Inc. and Cenovus Energy. The teachers’ pension fund would have to divest an estimated $5.4 billion, or about 1.7% of its assets.

 
The bill’s backers include many environmental and climate groups, as well as some unions representing workers who receive pensions, such as the California Faculty Association and the California Nurses Association. But there are other unions, like the California Professional Firefighters and the State Building and Construction Trades Council, that oppose the effort, along with California State Retirees, an organization for retired state workers, and the leadership of the pension funds themselves.

The goal of divestment pushes, climate advocates say, isn’t to directly reduce emissions.

“It’s about calling (fossil fuel companies) out on their immoral activities, and the political consequences of that, which is weakening them politically, so that politicians stop taking their money and politicians stop doing their bidding,” said Carlos Davidson, a retired faculty member of San Francisco State University who receives a pension. He worked on a divestment campaign at the university, and has been involved in the push to divest the state workers’ pension for nearly a decade.

“It is true that divestment does not have direct financial impacts on companies,” Davidson said. “It’s the political effects that really matter. And that is a harder, longer-term, more fuzzy process.”

Davidson lives in Pacifica, off of a combination of his pension and social security benefits.

“I could not have retired and I could not pay my bills right now if I didn’t have my [state] pension,” he said.

 
What are the costs of divestment?

There’s also a camp that thinks divestment would be a bad move financially. That camp includes the leadership of both pension funds.

At the state worker pension fund, the investment and actuarial teams estimated that if the fund sold off its fossil fuel holdings it would get lower returns on its investments, translating to an extra $327.6 million in costs per year for 20 years for employers, like schools, and state and local governments, to meet obligations to retirees.

The state worker pension fund has divested before — from Iran, Sudan, thermal coal, and more. In 2001, the fund divested its tobacco company holdings, worth about $525 million according to news reports at the time. In the more than 20 years since, that move has translated to about $4.3 billion in lost investment profits, according to a 2022 report from Wilshire Advisors. But some divestments, like those from thermal coal, and Iran, have translated to small gains.

When economists from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands and the University of St. Andrews in Scotland compared the financial performance of investment portfolios with and without fossil fuel company stocks from 1927-2016, they found that divested portfolios “would not have significantly underperformed” during that period.

“It’s not just the oil and gas industry,” said pension fund CEO Frost. “What’s next? Divestment from the airline industry, who uses a lot of oil and gas?” she said. “Pretty soon you get to the point that (the pension) has nothing to invest in” and there’s no way to hit the high investment returns the pension fund is tasked with hitting, she said.

“It’s the political effects that really matter. And that is a harder, longer-term, more fuzzy process.”

CARLOS DAVIDSON, RETIRED FACULTY MEMBER OF SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY WHO RECEIVES A PENSION

This isn’t the first legislative push for fossil fuel divestment. Last year a similar bill was passed by the Senate, and then died in the Assembly’s committee on public employment and retirement. It might have a better shot this time, thanks to some political musical chairs. Previously, the Assembly’s public employment committee was led by Jim Cooper, an Elk Grove Democrat who was opposed to the Legislature directing state pension funds on how to invest, Frost said. Now he’s left the Assembly, and the committee has a new chairperson, Tina McKinnor, a Democrat from Inglewood.

A complicating factor is that the pension funds have a “fiduciary duty” under California’s constitution. That means that the people overseeing the funds are legally required to invest prudently, and act exclusively to benefit the fund’s members.

Some of the bill’s opponents say that requiring the funds to divest from fossil fuels would conflict with their fiduciary duty to their members, including the California Professional Firefighters, a union.

“Forcing any California pension system to make investment decisions that may harm the fund in an attempt, in this case, to affect global climate policy, violates their fiduciary mandate and puts the retirements of hard-working Californians at risk,” wrote president Brian Rice in a statement.

Already, the concept of fiduciary responsibility is causing legal headaches for divestment efforts. Three New York City pension funds are being sued for allegedly violating their fiduciary duties after they divested $4 billion in fossil fuel holdings.

Ultimately, it’s up to the pension funds themselves to determine whether divesting would conflict with their mandate.

The state worker pension fund hasn’t done a full analysis yet, but, said Frost, “my impression on this is that it would violate the board’s fiduciary duty to do this.”

The bill has an escape clause of sorts, making it clear that the pension funds don’t have to sell off their investments if doing so would conflict with their fiduciary duties. That means there’s a scenario in which the Legislature passes the bill and then the funds say that divesting goes against their responsibilities to the beneficiaries, and nothing changes in practice.

Davidson, the retiree pushing for divestment, says that’s not the outcome he’s expecting.

But it wouldn’t be all bad, he said. What really matters is the politics, and “the vote of the California Legislature to divest is really powerful, and that’s going to get press coverage around the world,” Davidson said. “That is part of the outcome that we want.”

California Quietly Shelves $15 Billion Pension Divestment Bill - Bloomberg

‘Friendly’ creature of folklore found in rocky desert of Somalia. It’s a new species


Aspen Pflughoeft
Mon, July 3, 2023 

The morning sun beat down on the desert landscape of eastern Somalia, warming the rocky ground. A long, skinny creature moved easily across the dry ground — and caught the attention of scientists. Taking a closer look, the scientists realized they’d discovered a new species.

Researchers set out to survey understudied reptiles in the Horn of Africa, a biodiversity hotspot along the eastern coast of Africa, according to a study published June 27 in the journal Zoosystematics and Evolution.

Over 12 years, they collected and documented sand snakes in Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan, the study said.

Sand snakes are known as “swift” hunters that forage during the day, researchers said. Their habits and “relatively large size make them conspicuous and frequently encountered.”

While in eastern Somalia, researchers captured several striped sand snakes — and discovered a new species: Psammophis cornusafricae, or the African Horn sand snake.

The African Horn sand snake is long and skinny, reaching about 2 feet in length, the study said. It has a brown coloring with orange, brown and gray stripes that almost appear woven along its scaly body. Photos show the snake’s orange irises.

A Psammophis cornusafricae, or African Horn sand snake, curled up on the ground.

The African Horn sand snake was identified as distinct based on its coloring, markings, body shape and scale patterns, researchers said. DNA analysis found the species had between about 8% and 12% genetic divergence from other known species.

The new species was also given a Somali name: Subxaanyo. Pronounced “Subhanyo,” this word usually refers to all types of sand snakes, researchers said. “All Subxaanyo are believed to be harmless and friendly by the locals and are an important part of their folklore.”

The African Horn sand snake’s scientific and English name refer to the area where it was found, the study said.

Researchers found the new species in Puntland, the northeasternmost region of Somalia, and in Somaliland, a self-governing autonomous region that declared independence but has not been recognized internationally. These areas are “the driest parts of the Horn of Africa,” receiving less than 8 inches of rain annually, the study said.

“The biological diversity of the Horn of Africa is one of the least studied in the world,” researchers said. Snakes and other wildlife in the region are “still overlooked” and require “further attention of researchers.”

The research team included Jiří Šmíd, Sergio Matilla Fernández, Hassan Sh Abdirahman Elmi and Tomáš Mazuch.

Scotland’s junior doctors to be offered record pay rise in last-ditch effort to prevent strikes

Daniel Sanderson

Mon, July 3, 2023 

First Minister Humza Yousaf meets patients during a visit to NHS Forth Valley Royal Hospital to mark the 75th anniversary of the NHS

Junior doctors in Scotland will be offered a record pay rise in a last-ditch bid to avoid strike action, which Humza Yousaf admitted would cause turmoil in the NHS.

The First Minister said that in pay talks to take place on Tuesday, he was prepared to offer the biggest pay increase “in the history of devolution” and boost doctors’ salaries by thousands of pounds.

Ministers abandoned their claim that a previous offer - of 14.5 per cent over two years - was the “best and final” deal that would be put on the table as Mr Yousaf floated offering a longer-term settlement or reforming working conditions.

The move came after crisis talks were held over the impact a planned walk-out, due to take place over three days next week, would have on Scotland’s NHS.

Mr Yousaf said he wanted to be “upfront with the public” that the industrial action would cause “major disruption” including the widespread cancellation of operations and appointments.

The Scottish NHS is already facing a major crisis with waiting times for cancer treatment, in accident and emergency departments and for routine operations at record levels.

“I’m prepared to offer junior doctors the biggest ever uplift seen in the history of devolution, and if accepted, it would put thousands of pounds into the pockets of our junior doctors and they will be worth every single penny,” Mr Yousaf said.

“We’ll do everything we can to avoid industrial action. I’m hoping junior doctors will see that offer as a good one.”

The concession came as the Scottish government confirmed senior NHS staff will be given a 6 per cent pay increase following negotiations with the Doctors’ and Dentists’ Review Body.

This means consultants will see their annual salaries increase by at least £5,488.

Cancelled appointments

However, junior doctors are demanding a far larger rise in percentage terms, of as much as 35 per cent, claiming their pay in real terms has been eroded by 28.5 per cent over the past 15 years.

Scotland has so far avoided industrial action in the NHS which has caused major disruption in other parts of the UK, but 71.1 per cent of junior doctors last month voted to reject the Scottish pay offer.

Mr Yousaf added: “I’ll be upfront, we can put in place as much mitigation as we can, but I’m afraid if there is a junior doctors’ strike the impact will be very significant indeed.

“We’re talking about tens of thousands of cancellations of appointments.”

Mr Yousaf made his comments after chairing a resilience meeting with senior ministers and health bosses to plan contingencies in the event of the strikes.

Opposition parties have blamed him for the crisis in the NHS, as he was health secretary before he replaced Nicola Sturgeon.

Dr Chris Smith, the chair of the BMA’s Scottish junior doctors committee, said that doctors expected to walk out next week would be “standing up for the future of the NHS”.

He said:  “Unless we act now and invest in the future of the workforce, we will go on losing doctors to places they are valued properly, compromising the care we can provide to the people of Scotland now and in the future.

“Junior doctors in Scotland have consistently and strongly made clear that the pay offers made so far by the Scottish government are not yet sufficient to demonstrate a commitment to reverse the years of pay erosion we have suffered.”

Junior doctors, who are qualified medics but are still in training, make up 44 per cent of the doctors working in Scotland.

Under the offer rejected by the BMA, from next year they would have earned at least £30,296 for their first year as a qualified doctor, rising to £62,830 for those at the top of the pay scale.

‘Breaking point’

Sandesh Gulhane, a GP and health spokesman for the Scottish Tories, said the health service was at “breaking point” and could not afford strike action.

He added: “Patients are fearful of the enormous added disruption industrial action by junior doctors would cause. The onus is on SNP ministers to reach a deal that prevents them going ahead – and it’s to be hoped this 11th-hour offer does so.

“Our shattered junior doctors are paying for years of dire workforce planning by the SNP – and they clearly feel undervalued by Humza Yousaf and Co. Any new deal must address not just their pay, but the poor working conditions junior doctors face every day.

“This is Humza Yousaf’s mess to clear up, from his disastrous time as health secretary. His government must support junior doctors, stop letting down patients and deliver the Scottish Conservatives’ vision for a modern, efficient and local NHS.”

UK
Union boss warns train strikes could last 20 years

'We're going to keep taking action until someone listens to us'

Harriet Sinclair
·Trending News Reporter
Mon, July 3, 2023 

Aslef's drivers will not be taking on any non-contractual overtime for a week, while the RMT has also pledged strike action in July. (Getty Images)

The leader of rail union Aslef had warned its members are prepared to strike for decades if it cannot reach a deal with the government over pay and conditions.

The train drivers union has announced a ban on overtime from Monday 3 July to Saturday 8 July in a move short of strike action that will disrupt services on networks including Avanti West Coast, East Midlands Railway, Greater Anglia and the Southern/Gatwick Express, among others.

According to Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan, the current action is likely to mark the beginning of a wave of strikes, as drivers voted in favour of action after four years without pay rises.

He told The Guardian there was “no alternative but to take this action”, explaining: “Sadly, it is clear from the actions of both the train operating companies and the government that they do not want an end to the dispute. Their goals appear to be to continue industrial strife and to do down our industry.”

Read more: Rail strikes: Full list of July dates, lines and services affected by industrial action

He added in an interview with Sky News: "This can't go on forever, we want to resolve this no matter how badly [the government] treated us, no matter how badly they behaved.

"It is still our intention to find the resolution... we're going to keep taking action until someone listens to us.

"If we're whistling in the wind for five years, 10 years, 20 years to get somebody to table this, it will be resolved at some point and somebody will talk to us properly at some point."

The ban on overtime has coincided with Wimbledon week and will disrupt services out of London. (Getty Images)

Strikes throughout July.

The union's overtime ban coincides with the Wimbledon tennis championship, and services from London to Wimbledon will see disruption over the course of the week.

A spokesperson for industry representative the Rail Delivery Group, said: “Aslef’s leadership continues to disrupt customers’ travel plans.

"They rejected a fair and affordable offer without putting it to their members, which would take average driver base salaries for a four-day week without overtime from £60,000 to nearly £65,000 by the end of 2023 pay awards.

“Train companies will work hard to minimise the impact of the overtime ban. Customers are advised to plan their journey in advance and check before they travel.

“We ask Aslef to recognise the very real financial challenge the industry is facing and work with us to deliver a better, more reliable railway with a strong long-term future.”
When are the train strikes in July 2023?

The RMT union's own dispute with the government is also rumbling on, with three strikes set to take place in July - on 20,22 and 29 of the month, when 20,000 workers will walk out.

In a recent address to the RMT annual general meeting, union boss Mick Lynch said: "We are not giving up on this struggle. Our members remain committed to the action we will be taking, and they remain committed to our campaign.

"In our continuing dispute with the train operators, we won't take lectures from unelected prime ministers and millionaire politicians and employers about balloting our members."

Western Canada dock workers to resume talks Monday as strike enters third day

Longshoremen with the ILWU on strike in Delta, British Columbia









Sun, July 2, 2023 
By Chris Helgren

DELTA, British Columbia (Reuters) - Dock workers at Canada's western Pacific coast will resume talks on Monday to try and end their first strike in three decades, as a union leader urged on Sunday the federal government to stay out of the negotiations.

Some 7,500 dock workers representing the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) went on strike Saturday after negotiations with the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) failed to reach a settlement.

The strike threatens to disrupt work at two of Canada's busiest ports, the Port of Vancouver and Port of Prince Rupert, the country's No. 1 and No. 3 by turnover. They are the key gateways to export the country's natural resources and commodities and bringing in raw materials.

More than C$800 million ($604 million) worth of goods make their way through the western ports each day, accounting for about a quarter of Canada's total traded goods flow.

"The federal government must stay out of our business," Rob Ashton, president of ILWU Canada, told reporters on Sunday. "If the BCMEA gets their way, and their way is to let the (federal) government make the collective agreement for them, there will never be labour peace on the waterfront," he added.

After 33 consecutive hours of negotiations, the talks between the two parties "temporarily" paused on Sunday evening, and the talks would resume on Monday, the union said in a statement.

The walkout could have serious consequences for Canada's economy and small businesses, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business said on Saturday. A prolonged strike would further fuel price pressures, just as the Bank of Canada has resumed its interest rate hike campaign to bring inflation back to its 2% range.

The union is seeking a deal to protect workers jobs and recognition for the sacrifices the staff made during the pandemic. Their main demands also include stopping outsourcing of work and to limit the impact of port automation on current and future generations of workers.

($1 = 1.3250 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by Denny Thomas; Editing by Christopher Cushing)

ILWU Canada head tells government to ‘stay out of our business’

Glenn Taylor

SOURCING JOURNAL
Mon, July 3, 2023 

Elsewhere in the North American supply chain, there isn’t much confidence that the recent dockworker strike at Canadian West Coast ports will reach a quick conclusion.

Approximately 7,400 dockworkers representing the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) went on strike Saturday after negotiations with their employers, the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA), failed to reach an agreement.

In a press briefing held outside the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services office in Vancouver, ILWU Canada president Rob Ashton had one warning for the Canadian government: butt out.

“The federal government must stay out of our business,” Ashton told reporters on Sunday. “If the BCMEA gets their way, and their way is to let the government make this collective agreement for them, there will never be labor peace on the waterfront.”

Ashton shared some of the frustrations among the union’s employees, highlighting that longshore workers “were called heroes” when dealing with the “unsafe conditions” of Covid-19 while employers “gorged themselves on record profits.”

He also criticized the BCMEA negotiations, accusing them of being slow to act while the union reacted “in record time.”

“Over the last few weeks before we issued strike notice, the employers would give us a proposal and we would respond that day,” Ashton said. “They then would take seven-to-10 days to respond to our proposal up until June 25, when they refused to respond to our proposal. They refused to meet with us. That’s when this union decided to take strike action.”

After 33 consecutive hours of negotiations, the talks between the two parties temporarily paused on Sunday evening, and the talks were set to resume on Monday, according to the BCMEA.

Teamsters Declare ‘#HotUnionSummer’ in Testy UPS Clash

Glenn Taylor
Sat, July 1, 2023 


A new strike at Canadian West Coast ports and a potential strike of 340,000 UPS workers in the U.S. could throw another wrench into the North American supply chain right as retailers are busy preparing for the peak shipping season.

Approximately 7,400 dockworkers at the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Canada went on strike Saturday morning at 30 British Columbia ports after the union and employers failed to agree on a new collective bargaining agreement. ILWU Canada issued a 72-hour strike notice Wednesday after more than 99 percent of members voted to authorize a stoppage.

More from Sourcing Journal

Teamsters President: UPS Worker Strike 'Inevitable'


4 Gildan Union Leaders Die in Honduras Shooting


Canadian West Coast Port Strike Notice Sends Ripples Through Supply Chains


Just an hour after the 8 a.m. PT strike got underway in Canada, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters general president Sean O’Brien called on UPS to “reward the people that have made them the success they are” in a press conference outside the union’s Washington, D.C. headquarters.

“UPS decided instead of giving us ‘last and final,’ to come to the table and move on their proposal,” O’Brien said. “They’ve made some movement, but it’s not enough. It is not enough. We will determine when it’s enough.”

The press conference came a day after the Teamsters said that the shipping giant pledged to reach a contract agreement for covered workers by no later than July 5.

“The ball is in [UPS’s] court,” O’Brien said. “We have to come to an agreement by July 5 in order to get this ratified by the [July 31] expiration date. We’ve been clear…without a ratified contract—meaning subject to the approval of our 340,000 members—we will not be working.”

After a back-and-forth regarding national contract negotiations since May, which saw both parties agree on 54 non-economic issues, the Teamsters shared their full economic proposal for a new five-year deal on June 22. But UPS countered with a proposal the union called “appalling.”

The Teamsters gave UPS an ultimatum last Tuesday to present a tentative agreement for a new contract within one week, or it would entertain just one final offer from the shipping giant.

UPS offered up another proposal on Wednesday, but the Teamsters ratcheted up the pressure, demanding the company put out its “last, best and final offer” no later than Friday.

The union has leaned on O’Brien’s brash talk to sway public opinion as negotiations drag on.

Like recent labor battles including the Canadian West Coast ports strike and the tentatively resolved U.S. West Coast port contract negotiations, the Teamsters are invoking the Covid-19 pandemic as a negotiating point.

“We’re at a crossroads because through the toughest times that we’ve seen during the pandemic, the one thing that was constant was our Teamsters going to work every single day, making certain that the supply chain kept flowing through this country,” O’Brien said. “We had part-timers going to work in these warehouses with total disregard for themselves and their families—putting themselves at risk, putting their families at risk. We had members that died, because they went to work to provide these services to the general public.”

O’Brien also called out UPS for saying that its average driver makes $93,000 per year and $50,000 in benefits, which he said was technically accurate but not reflective of many drivers’ part-time status. He said most UPS employees are part-timers, and often single parents who work in “awful conditions” for “awful wages.”

The Teamsters have wanted to put an end to the company’s two-tier wage 22.4 job classification, which the union alleges forces part-time weekend drivers to put in the same amount of work as higher-paid drivers who work on the weekdays—but without the same pay and benefits.

“UPS can take the other road where they don’t concede to our demands. They stay loyal to Wall Street and forget about Main Street, and if they do that, they are making a choice to strike themselves,” O’Brien said.

North of the border, the Canadian port strike has garnered the support from other major labor unions including the U.S. branch of the ILWU, International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITWF).

According to the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA), which represents the 49 waterfront employers at the province’s ports, both parties conducted meetings with the support of Canada’s Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) on Thursday and Friday, but could not reach a tentative agreement.

Sourcing Journal reached out to the ILWU Canada for comment.

“Over the course of the past couple of days, the BCMEA has continued to advance proposals and positions in good faith, with the objective of achieving a fair deal at the table,” according to a BCMEA statement. “Our Bargaining Committee has made repeated efforts to be flexible and find compromise on key priorities, but regrettably, the Parties have yet to be successful in reaching a settlement.”

The parties are still at the negotiating table while the strike disrupts operations, according to a joint statement from Canada’s Minister of Labour Seamus O’Regan and Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra.

“The best deals are made at the bargaining table,” O’Regan and Alghabra said. “It is where the industry and labor come together to find common ground and reach the best, most resilient deals. That is what we are focused on here.”

As companies bring more jobs to Mexico, US wants labor rights safeguards


FILE PHOTO: US official says Mexico labor compliance key amid nearshoring

Mon, July 3, 2023

By Daina Beth Solomon

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The U.S. wants Mexico's government to build strong institutions to protect worker rights as companies aiming to avoid supply chain disruptions in far-off production spots bring more jobs to the country, a top U.S. labor official told Reuters.

Mexico has begun to benefit from "nearshoring" in which companies seek to move production closer to the U.S. market while maintaining competitive costs.

The trend is further testing a trade deal known as the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), in effect since July 2020.

The pact has tougher labor rules than its 1994 predecessor and underpins new Mexican laws that empower workers to push for better wages and conditions after years of stagnant salaries and pro-business union contracts.

Three years into the deal, experts say, some workers have begun to benefit but broad impacts are still far off.

"Hopefully that will ensure that Mexico doesn't become a dumping ground for companies looking for cheap labor and lax regulations," said Thea Lee, U.S. Deputy Undersecretary for International Labor Affairs who polices USMCA compliance.

She said in an interview that Mexico was working to fulfill its commitments, backed by leadership keen on helping workers.

Mexico's new regulations favor companies taking on higher ethical standards, she said.

"Maybe 20 years ago it was okay for a multinational corporation to throw up their hands and say, 'we have no idea what's in our supply chain, what the labor conditions are,'" she added.

"That doesn't seem to be acceptable anymore."

Mexico has made progress improving labor courts, resolving worker complaints faster and easing union organization, but needs to do more, Lee said.

"Our hope is that Mexico will be well-poised to take advantage of nearshoring ... if they continue on the path towards really building labor institutions that work, where workers can have confidence."

Since 2020, several U.S. labor complaints in Mexico have paved the way for independent unions to land pay raises and even expand. Lee said such examples inspire workers who in the past may have feared threats or dismissals for trying to organize.

Four more cases are under review: At a garment factory, an auto parts plant, a Goodyear tire plant, and a mine owned by conglomerate Grupo Mexico.

Yet one employer that faced two USMCA complaints, U.S.-based VU Manufacturing that makes interior car parts in the northern city of Piedras Negras, recently dismissed dozens of employees just months after a new union, La Liga, pressed for better wages. VU did not respond to a request for comment.

Lee said the company risks penalties if it does not uphold an agreement around worker rights. But La Liga members have already been laid off, and fear the company aims to discourage organizing, said union leader Cristina Ramirez, who lost her job.

"It's very disappointing and frustrating," Ramirez said. "We wanted to fight for things to improve."

(Reporting by Daina Beth Solomon; Editing by David Gregorio)

GILDAN QUEBEC OUTSOURCING

"4 Gildan Union Leaders Die in Honduras Shooting", 29 June 2023

Four garment union leaders were among 13 people killed in the Honduran manufacturing city of Choloma on Saturday after heavily armed men fired into a pool hall during a birthday celebration.

All four of them—​​Xiomara Cocas, Delmer Garcia, Lesther Almendarez and José Rufino Ortiz—belonged to Sindicato de Trabajadores de Gildan San Miguel, which represents workers at Gildan Activewear’s San Miguel plant. Cocas was the union’s president. Her son, Eduardo Melendez, also died in the shooting.

President Xiomara Castro on Sunday described the incident as a “brutal and ruthless terrorist attack.” She declared a 15-day curfew in Choloma from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m., effective immediately, as well as in nearby San Pedro Sula, effective July 4.

She blamed the deaths on hired killers “trained and directed by drug lords” in the northern Sula Valley, adding that “multiple operations, raids, captures and checkpoints are initiated.” The government has offered a reward of 800,000 Lempiras ($32,325) to identify and capture the assailants.

Police investigating the shooting said there was a possibility that the incident was connected to the gang-related slaughter of 46 inmates at a women’s prison in Tamara, far north of Choloma. Some of the victims were killed by gunfire, and others were hacked to death by machetes. Still more with doused with a flammable liquid, locked in their cells and set alight.

Choloma is said to be the home turf of Barrio 18, the organization believed to be responsible for the massacre.

https://twitter.com/HondurasNow/status/1673141405202657280

“We do not rule out these crimes could be some sort of revenge for what happened in the women’s prison,” said national police commissioner Miguel Pérez Suazo, noting that authorities have detained one suspect and are on the hunt for others. But “we also do not rule out that it could have been some type of revenge by criminals against civilians,” he added.

Buoyed by the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement, and a post-Covid desire to increase nearshore production, Honduras has become the beneficiary of significant textile and apparel investment, with some $1 billion manifesting in 2022 alone.

But the Fair Labor Association, the multistakeholder organization whose roster includes Gildan, told its members on Wednesday that the country’s recent escalation of violence warranted additional measures to ensure the safety of workers and union representatives.

The shooting took place just as Gildan announced the closure of its San Miguel factory. Sindicato de Trabajadores de Gildan San Miguel, according to Solidarity Center, an international workers’ rights organization, was in initial talks with management about the move, which will leave 2,700 workers unemployed. Gildan, unlike most brands, owns many of its own factories, which are concentrated in Central America and the Caribbean.

The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), the world’s largest trade union federation, suggested that the deaths could be linked to “false rumors” that the union was responsible for the plant’s shuttering. But it also noted that Choloma is a “flashpoint” for hostilities against efforts by the government to rein in organized crime, including suspending parts of its constitution in December to do so.

https://twitter.com/CoDevCanada/status/1673479260466737155

“There must be a full and credible investigation to bring the perpetrators of this atrocity to justice without delay,” said Luc Triangle, acting general secretary of ITUC, which rates Hondruas a 5 in its Global Rights Index, meaning “no guarantee of rights.” “Honduras has an appalling record of killings, intimidation and violence against workers and their unions, with hundreds of murders remaining unsolved over several years.”

The Solidarity Center urged Gildan, which did not respond to a request for comment, to recognize the impact of the murders on the union and its general workforce and to “take stronger measures to ensure the safety and security of Gildan San Miguel workers as they return to work following this tragic event.”

“We urge the government of Honduras to immediately carry out a thorough investigation that manages to identify and bring to justice the perpetrators of this heinous act, and to take all necessary measures to ensure that unions and their representatives can act without intimidation or violence in their role as elected representatives of the workers,” wrote Atle Høie, secretary general of IndustriALL Global Union, a Geneva-based global union federation, in a letter to President Castro.

“We hope that these murders do not go unpunished, that the relatives of the victims receive the necessary compensation, and that the government of Honduras achieves absolute respect for human rights and fundamental trade union rights, as reflected in Convention 87 on the freedom of the protection of the right of indication and Convention 98 on the right of unionization and collective bargaining of the International Labour Organization,” he added.

Other union organizations expressed their sorrow over the loss of lives, which occurred just a day before the murder of Bangladeshi campaigner Shahidul Islam. The father of two had been trying to negotiate the payment of outstanding wages and Eid-ul-Azha bonuses on behalf of workers at Prince Jacquard Sweater in the Satai area of Gazipur when he was beaten to death.


“We join Honduran civil society in denouncing this violence and stand with you in this difficult time,” the Worker Rights Consortium, a Washington, D.C. watchdog group, wrote on Facebook. “This shocking act of violence is indescribably tragic.”" 

Teamsters at ABF Freight ratify new labor deal

Todd Maiden
Sat, July 1, 2023 

A new five-year labor agreement will raise hourly wages by a total of $6.50.

 (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

Less-than-truckload carrier ABF Freight announced late Friday its Teamster employees ratified a five-year collective bargaining agreement. The two parties previously came to terms on wages and other items two weeks ago.

The new deal raises hourly wages by a total of $6.50 and benefits contributions by $4.46 per hour. Two additional paid sick days and one additional paid holiday were added. The company’s more than 8,600 Teamster employees “overwhelmingly” agreed to the deal, a news release said.

All but two of 27 supplemental agreements were approved. However, the union and ABF reached tentative agreements on the remaining two supplements, which will be voted on by members next week.

“It remains business as usual at ABF as the negotiating teams work through the final two remaining supplements,” ABF’s statement read. “ABF employees will continue to work under terms of the current contract during this process.”

The Teamsters are also negotiating labor contracts with UPS (NYSE: UPS), Yellow Corp. (NASDAQ: YELL) and TForce Freight (NYSE: TFII).

“This national agreement will serve as the model for the rest of the freight industry,” said Sean O’Brien, Teamsters general president, in a separate statement. “It will set the tone for national freight contracts moving forward.”

ABF Freight System is a subsidiary of transportation and logistics provider ArcBest (NASDAQ: ARCB).

UPS Concedes to Make-or-Break Teamsters Demand

Glenn Taylor
Mon, July 3, 2023 


UPS union workers scored a major victory in their labor battle that could get them closer to averting a strike on Aug. 1. The shipping giant agreed to end its two-tier wage system Saturday in its ongoing contract negotiations with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the union that represents more than 340,000 UPS workers.

Despite the triumph, the sometimes-acrimonious labor negotiations continue ahead of the current contract’s expiration of July 31. UPS has pledged to reach a contract agreement for covered workers by no later than July 5.

More from Sourcing Journal

• Teamsters Declare '#HotUnionSummer' in Testy UPS Clash

• Teamsters President: UPS Worker Strike 'Inevitable'

• 4 Gildan Union Leaders Die in Honduras Shooting

The Teamsters were able to get two more big wins at the negotiating table, establishing Martin Luther King Day as a full holiday for the first time, and ending forced overtime on drivers’ days off.

“Gains made by the Teamsters at the national table with UPS today cannot be overstated. From the jump, UPS knew we demanded an end to forced overtime, the respect to take MLK Day as a real holiday, and the complete destruction of the unfair 22.4 wage system,” said Sean O’Brien, general president of the Teamsters, in a statement.

The 22.4 wage classification has been unpopular with union workers since it was established in 2018.

Under the current contract, UPS drivers are divided into the two separate tiers of full-time and hybrid drivers. Full-time drivers are called regular package car drivers (RPCD), work Monday through Friday and make roughly $42 in hourly wages, at least double that of the “22.4” hybrid drivers, who split their time between deliveries and working in the warehouses.

The Teamsters argue that UPS uses this tiered system to get lower-paid junior workers to deliver packages on weekends and cut delivery costs. The union alleges that these drivers are doing the same amount of work as higher-paid drivers who work on the weekdays, and should therefore earn the same pay and benefits.

Eliminating the classification moves the 22.4 drivers to full-time seniority status and adjusts their pay to the appropriate RPCD rate.

While O’Brien applauded these “critical” victories, he is not taking his eye off the ball, with negotiations from Sunday into Monday.

“Make no mistake—we are not done,” O’Brien said. “UPS knows we must reach full agreement on other economic issues, including higher wages, within the next few days. As we continue to reinforce, the #Teamsters demand that a historic new contract is in place by Aug. 1.”

On Sunday, the Teamsters also notched their final supplemental contract agreement with UPS, the 44th region-specific deal in total. Teamsters Local 710, representing 7,000 full- and part-time UPS employees in the Chicago area, reached a tentative agreement with UPS on a new five-year deal.

The tentative agreement was unanimously approved by the Local 710 UPS Bargaining Committee and resolves all non-economic issues for the local UPS membership. Economic issues are addressed under the ongoing national negotiations.

UPS reaches deal that lowers chances of nationwide Teamsters strike



Julia Mueller
Sun, July 2, 2023 

United Parcel Service (UPS) Saturday reached a tentative deal with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters that would end a dual-wage system for delivery drivers in its next contract, the union announced, a win for the Teamsters that could lower the chances of a nationwide strike as negotiations continue.

“During a hard-fought day at the bargaining table, the #Teamsters reached [a] tentative agreement with @UPS on three major economic issues,” the union announced in a Twitter thread, “tearing down the 22.4 two-tier wage system, establishing Martin Luther King Day as a full holiday for the first time, and ending forced overtime on drivers’ days off.”

The Teamsters last week held off plans to strike to head back to the negotiating table after UPS offered a counterproposal to the union’s requests with regard to compensation and benefits before the current contract expires on July 31.

“The extraordinary gains, each of which have been key issues for #Teamsters throughout the yearlong contract campaign, came on the heels of an aggressive public warning from the Teamsters National Negotiating Committee that @UPS was running out of time to get a deal,” the Teamsters union said Saturday.
At the same time, general president Sean M. O’Brien stressed that there’s still work to be done to get a new contract in place by August 1.

“But make no mistake — we are not done. @UPS knows we must reach full agreement on other economic issues, including higher wages, within the next few days,” O’Brien said. Negotiations are set to continue Sunday in Washington, according to the union’s update.

The union, which comprises more than 300,000 workers, said Sunday that despite “major gains at the bargaining table, practice picketing actions will not let up.”

“#Teamsters are continuing to exert enormous pressure on @UPS to concede to the demands of the hardworking members who make the company its multibillion-dollar profits. And no one can doubt UPS Teamsters are ready to #strike if the delivery giant fails to meet those demands,” the union said.

UPS, Teamsters have taken a major step in negotiations. But a strike is still on the table

Olivia Evans, Louisville Courier Journal
Mon, July 3, 2023

UPS and its workers' union are closer to reaching a deal that could improve conditions for more than 340,000 employees nationally.

Over the weekend, the Teamsters union announced it has reached a tentative agreement with the company on "three major economic issues" — a final piece in what the union has called "the largest collective bargaining agreement in North America."

But union leaders warned a strike isn't yet off the table as both parties make a final push to reach a full agreement on a new four-year contract by July 5.

The labor contract between UPS and Teamsters will expire at midnight July 31 if an agreement is not reached between the two sides. In June, the Teamsters passed a strike action vote with 97% approval, which would allow the Teamsters to strike if they deem it necessary.

Here's what to know.

What happened with UPS, Teamsters over the weekend

In a tweet Saturday, Teamsters announced UPS had tentatively agreed to three major contract revisions that would improve workers' pay and schedules.

The changes include ending forced overtime on drivers' days off, establishing Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a paid holiday and getting rid of a two-tier wage system the union says is "unfair" to drivers who are "flexible" and are not classified as full-time drivers.

"Gains made by the Teamsters at the national table with UPS today cannot be overstated," International Brotherhood of Teamsters General President Sean O'Brien said in a tweet.

To date, the Teamsters and UPS have already reached a tentative agreement on more than 55 non-economic issues, with the union winning everything its wanted for its members, O'Brien said.

Under the new tentative agreement, flexible drivers who do not work traditional Monday-Friday shifts would be reclassified as Regular Package Car Drivers, placed in seniority and have their pay adjusted, which in many cases will increase their wages. Prior to the agreement, flexible drivers were working equal hours but were paid less due to the nature of their shift.

"Whether it’s overtime our members don’t want to take, holidays they know they deserve or equal pay for equal work, if we stay united and commit to protect each other to the bitter end, there is no chance in hell we lose this fight," Teamsters General Secretary-Treasurer Fred Zuckerman said.

Why a deal must be reached by July 5

Wednesday marks a crucial deadline for UPS.

Since the start of negotiations in April, the Teamsters have made it clear they would not work a "single minute" past the expiration of the contract. In order to prevent a strike, UPS and the union must reach a tentative agreement in time for its union members to review the deal and vote to ratify the contract.

UPS has said it will reach that agreement by July 5.

On June 30, UPS presented the Teamsters with a revised contract the union deemed acceptable to negotiate. This new offer persuaded the Teamsters to return to the bargaining table over the weekend, resulting in the revised tentative agreement.

"We are encouraged the Teamsters are ready to continue negotiations and discuss our most recent proposal," Michelle Polk, a spokesperson for UPS told the Courier Journal in a statement Friday. "We look forward to the union’s input so we can reach a timely agreement and provide certainty for our employees, our customers and the U.S. economy."

The labor contract between UPS and Teamsters is composed of a slew of supplemental contracts alongside the national contract. By mid-May a tentative agreement had been reached on all supplements except two: Louisville and Northern California. Late last week, a tentative agreement was reached on the Louisville and Northern California supplemental contracts.

"I think it's we're moving forward very positively," said Joe Sexson, a union steward and local negotiating committee member for Teamsters Local 89. "This is probably the best [supplement] we've had the 23 years I've been here."
Why experts say a strike is unlikely

Negotiations have been tense between the Teamsters and UPS, with the union declaring a nationwide strike is "imminent" on June 28.

That same day, Teamsters Local 89, the union representing roughly 10,000 UPS workers in Louisville, held a practice picket outside of the Worldport facility – a move replicated by Teamsters union shops coast to coast.

Despite the declaration of a strike, however, experts at Deutsche Bank "feel comfortable that a strike will not occur," according to a risk analysis by the bank.

In May, Deutsche Bank forecasted the tentative agreement on flexible drivers becoming reclassified and estimated the change would cost UPS roughly $140 million, less than 0.2% of the company's current cost structure.

"This is an incredibly small amount for what appears to be the main ask by the Teamsters," read the strike risk analysis written by Amit Mehrotra and Chris Robertson.

Mehrotra and Robertson noted the Teamsters strike fund sat at $346 million at the end of 2022 — a 20% decline from 2013 despite active membership remaining at a constant rate. The bankers estimated a strike would cause every UPS worker to take a roughly 70% pay cut and the strike fund would be depleted within three weeks.

"Beyond the Teamster's financial readiness for a strike, which appears limited, in our view, we also note the significant benefits enjoyed by UPS Teamsters," Mehrotra and Robertson wrote. "The bottom line is it's been better to be a UPS Teamster compared to almost any other comparable job, and the Teamsters organization have greatly benefited from UPS's growth."

Contact reporter Olivia Evans at oevans@courier-journal.com or on Twitter at @oliviamevans_.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: UPS, Teamsters return to the bargaining table to avoid strike