Drivers Sue for Unpaid Wages at Waste Management
May 9, 2007: Teamsters at Waste Management are routinely forced to work off the clock. Now a group of drivers is doing something about it. Waste Management drivers in California have filed a lawsuit against the company for wage and hour violations. Their case is similar to a successful class action lawsuit against UPS that resulted in an $87 million victory by more than 20,000 UPS drivers. Under California law, employees have to be given...
Two Day Strike Beats Kroger
May 9, 2007: Local 89 Teamsters at Kroger’s Kentucky Distribution Center have new agreements that protect Teamster standards after a quickie two-day strike. Teamsters were fighting for their job security and their Teamster standards after Kroger turned over the warehouse to two third-party contractors, Zenith and Transervice, in February. Teamsters at the facility walked out on April 18 after negotiations broke down with the two contractors. Local 89 members put up strong picket lines at...
Healthcare on the Line in Grocery Talks
May 9, 2007: The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) is negotiating new contracts that cover 65,000 grocery workers at Albertsons, Vons, and Ralphs in southern California. The grocery chains are gearing up for a possible strike, and Teamsters need to be ready to support the clerks. Healthcare is the big issue in the negotiations. The UFCW lost a 141-day strike against the grocery chains in 2004, and the union agreed to inferior healthcare coverage...
Waste Management Trashes Teamsters' Health Benefits
May 9, 2007: In a wake-up call to wastehaul Teamsters, Waste Management forced through healthcare cuts on 150 Teamsters in Corona, Calif. after Local 396 officials failed to take action to stop labor law violations by the company. Waste Management has been attacking Teamster health benefits across the country in an effort to get all employees paying for a portion of their healthcare. Entering contract negotiations, Corona Teamsters had a top health plan with no...
Action Needed to Protect Benefits in Solid Waste: Don’t Trash Our Healthcare!
May 9, 2007: Waste Management and other industry giants have been attacking Teamster benefits across the country as part of a national plan to shift healthcare costs onto employees. In April, the company opened up a new front in the healthcare war in Corona, Calif. by cutting the medical benefits of 150 members of Local 396. Teamsters in the Corona and Chino yards were moved into an inferior healthcare plan as part of their new...
Justice is Slow, But Hoffa Finally Pays
May 9, 2007: Justice was slow but Hoffa and his slate have finally been forced to pay over $100,000 that they failed to pay employers during the 2006 election campaign. On March 28 the Election Supervisor ordered the Hoffa campaign to pay in full, with interest (2007 ESD 407). Hoffa had tried to convert the debt to employer contributions, but TDU attorney Barbara Harvey successfully argued that it would be illegal. Hoffa’s attorney (and son),...
Hoffa Associates Charged
May 9, 2007: International Vice President Frank Gillen was charged on April 26 by the Independent Review Board (IRB) with giving false testimony under oath. He faces a hearing and could be expelled from the Teamsters Union, if the charge is sustained. Gillen is charged with lying to cover up his association with Thomas Ryan, who was banned from the Teamsters for embezzling union funds. Gillen heads Local 500, Philadelphia Joint Council 53, the Pennsylvania...
Local 848 Members Stand Up for Rights
by Bruce Blake, Local 848, Retired May 9, 2007: Operating on the principle that a strong union is built on rank-and-file involvement, the majority of Local 848 drivers at the Vons grocery warehouse in Los Angeles signed a petition asking for a shop steward election. Local 848 Secretary-Treasurer Jim Santangelo agreed to the petition—but denied members an honest vote. “The election was a total fraud,” says Howard Palmer, a Vons driver. The members wanted an...
Rail Unions Go Back to the Bargaining Table
May 9, 2007: Going back to the table gives the two unions a chance to fix problems in the proposed agreements. On Feb. 28 the Rail Labor Bargaining Committee, a coalition of seven rail craft unions including the BLET and the BMWED, announced that they had reached a tentative agreement with the National Carriers’ Conference Committee. Rail members were supposed to vote on the contracts in April, and the agreements were to take effect in...
Letters From Our Members
May 9, 2007 Master Freight: The Time is Now My freight brothers and sisters, a call to action. It’s time to dig out those National Master Freight contract books that expire March 31, 2008…the names of the union negotiating committee members are in there, thirty-three of them plus Hoffa. Many will be back at the table this time around. If one of these guys is in your local, it’s time to get to them in...