Author: Joint Council 7

Numbers don’t lie

December 21, 2020
Political Director's Report

This last November, Joint Council 7 ran the largest election program in our history. The pandemic did not stop us from talking with more of our members than ever before, using a combination of boots on the ground, phone banking, and text messages. I am proud to say that every single local union participated. Hundreds of Teamsters worked this campaign throughout the state, from members to business agents to local union political coordinators and principal officers.

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Welcome the year with a resolution of self-care

December 17, 2020
TAP/TARP

2020 is behind us and it is time to look forward with hope for the future. All the gifts have been unwrapped, the lights have come down (for most of us), the trees are gone out and the bills are coming in.

The new year is a time to reflect and to set new goals and make new resolutions for the upcoming year. For those in recovery from alcohol and drug addiction, this can be a difficult time of year and,

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UPS lifts ban on black hairstyles and facial hair

Legal Update

In early November, loosening its longstanding appearance restrictions, UPS will allow employees to wear beards and “natural black hairstyles.”  Most observers attribute this change to the company’s belated recognition that the previous policy was discriminatory, as alleged in numerous grievances filed by Teamsters locals over the past decades.

The new policy expressly permits traditional black hairstyles, such as “Afros, braids, curls, locks, twists, and knots.” The policy also makes clear that beards and mustaches “are definitely acceptable as long as they are worn in a businesslike manner and don’t create a safety concern.”

As further evidence of its acknowledgment that we are living in the 21st Century,

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Voting: The most important thing you can do as a Teamster!

September 22, 2020
Political Director's Report

Most of you are registered to vote and you vote in every election. Thank you.

Unfortunately, far too many Teamsters just don’t vote. What will it take to get everyone registered and voting this year, which may be the most important election of our lifetime?

As a union, we do most of our work directly with our employers, negotiating and enforcing contracts. But I can’t emphasize enough the importance of the electoral process to our long-term survival and effectiveness.

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Local 665 assists with vehicles bound for Haiti

Local 665, Teamster News
(From Left) Member Tony Averiette, Business Agent/Recording Secretary Juan Gallo, and member Semisi Tuivailala worked to prepare the vehicles and will drive them to Florida, en route to Haiti. (Fourth driver not pictured is member Robert Conklin.)

Officers and members of Local 665 joined a San Francisco Supervisor in leading a convoy of desperately needed vehicles to be used by school children in the country of Haiti.

Working with Those Angels Inc. and Teamster-endorsed Supervisor Ahsha Safai, Local 665 Secretary-Treasurer Tony Delorio and Recording Secretary Juan Gallo assembled volunteer members to deliver three donated AC Transit buses and one donated ambulance to Florida for shipment to a school in Carrefour,

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Ready Mix members ratify lucrative contract extension

Local 315, Local 853, Teamster News
Overseen by Business Agent Scott Gonsalves, stewards from Cemex and Central Concrete count the mail-in ballots at Local 853’s office.

On July 18, the Northern California Ready Mix drivers working for Cemex and Central Concrete, who are members of Local 853 and 315, overwhelmingly ratified their contract extension by mail ballot. This contract impacts 600 members at facilities across the Greater Bay Area.

“Given the current circumstances brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the resulting inability to do most things in person, full-blown negotiations would have taken months and would have put areas of our contract at potential risk,” said Local 853 Principal Officer Rome Aloise.

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Contracts settled during pandemic

Local 315, Teamster News
Ignacio Silva is pleased to have a new contract at RCTS.

The Local 315 members employed at Mt. Diablo Resource Recovery recently ratified contracts with two of their units—Mt. Diablo Recycling Center and Recycling Center & Transfer Station. “Negotiating during the pandemic had its challenges,” says Business Rep David Rodriguez, “but with the perseverance of the Local and its bargaining committee, we were able to secure a five-year contract with the biggest pension increases our members have seen, great wages, and full maintenance of benefits for their health and welfare.”

Rodriguez wanted to thank the members for their patience and understanding during the negotiations.

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Staying Sober and Sane During COVID

TAP/TARP

Staying sober can be a daunting task, one that is best addressed through a strong support network.

For those who are in early recovery, long-term recovery, and even people who do not have a substance abuse problem, the COVID epidemic has affected almost every aspect of our daily lives. For almost all of us, it has increased our stress levels and required adjustments.

To support recovery from substance abuse during these unprecedented times,

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Workers deemed “essential” during pandemic need hazard pay

Local 856, Teamster News
Teamster members processing tomatoes.

Local 856 won hazard pay for more than 3,000 members working in its Food Processing Division during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic—recognizing the workers who have kept the nation’s food supply functioning and the inherent dangers they have faced just by reporting to work each day.

Ashley Alvarado, Director of the Local 856 Food Processing Division, said that despite no legal means to require the employer to provide additional compensation, the Local had secured hazard pay for members at Pacific Coast Producers plants in Lodi,

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