1926-2019
We are sad to announce the passing of Ben Leal, who died only a few days after suffering a stroke,
Born on a dairy farm in Newark, CA, Leal proudly served in the U.S. Navy in WWII, and spent most of his professional life as an organizer and leader in the Teamsters union.
Ben started his career with the Teamsters in 1956 as an organizer. In addition to serving as Secretary-Treasurer and Principal Officer of Local 856 from 1982-1994,
Keep readingTeamsters Local 2010, in coalition with its sister union at the CSU system, CSUEU, has co-sponsored legislation (AB 369 sponsored by Assm. Weber) to restore salary steps for CSU employees across the state.
“This is a fight to restore basic fairness for CSU workers,” says Jason Rabinowitz, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 2010. “Our hard-working CSU members deserve to receive step increases like every other worker in state service, and we will continue to bring Teamster power to bear until AB 369 is signed into law by Gov.
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Local 150’s Construction Division has completed the work on the Sacramento Southport Levee Improvement Project, providing flood protection to the City of Sacramento.
Starting with three Teamster drivers, AECOM began work on this project in 2017. Until the project was completed late last year, Local 150 members placed approximately 20,000 linear feet of setback levee, with 3 breaches of existing levee and breaches varied in length from 1,100-1,400 feet. All told, members ran 38 Articulated Dump Trucks and three Water Trucks These members worked six days a week March through November,
Keep readingThe small but vital clerical unit at Recology South Valley and representatives of Teamsters Local 350 met on July 19, 2018, to discuss what they would like to see on their next contract. After nearly 7 months of hard-nosed negotiating, led by Recording Secretary and Business Representative Sergio Arranaga with the assistance of Adriana Munoz-Noriega, they were able to successfully hammer out a 5-year contract that the members ratified unanimously.
“The negotiations took longer than expected,” Arranaga says.
Keep readingAs the heart of Garden City and Milpitas Sanitation, the clerical unit is responsible for the accounts and is at the forefront of customer service as they answer customer questions and concerns. After months of negotiations, the nine members in this hard-working clerical unit voted unanimously to ratify a new 5-year contract that will raise wages, protect the employees, and reward them for the hard work they do every day.
Virginia Jimenez, an 18-year Teamsters Local 350 member,
Keep readingThousands of people, including several Teamsters, lost their homes and jobs in the Camp Fire last November. Rising to the occasion, Teamsters Local 2785 Retirees Club President Bob Silva reports that their club held a raffle in December that raised a nice donation for the victims.
The need is still great. If you’re interested in giving, one good place would be to the Oroville Hope Center. You can find their Camp Fire assistance page at:
www.orovillehopecenter.org/services/camp-fire-donations
Keep readingWhen feeder drivers discovered that their pay for the New Year’s Day carry-over on January 2, 2018, was both late and incorrect, the Local filed a grievance.
After nearly a year’s worth of talks, the company agreed that the workers were, in fact, owed the money. In February, checks totaling more than $14,000 were distributed to the affected feeder drivers.
Keep readingDC2 recently prevailed in a charge filed by Grief Packaging to the US District Court (Central District of CA).
Greif Packaging originally paid some of its employees “red-circle” above-scale rates. After the collective bargaining agreement came into effect, the company reduced these employees’ wages without notice.
DC2 filed a grievance and went to arbitration contending that the company violated the contract and the employees should be entitled to above-scale rates. The Arbitrator agreed and ordered the restoration of the red-circle rates and back pay.
Keep readingLast fall, devastating fires left families centered in Paradise, CA, displaced from their homes and communities with the monumental task of rebuilding. The Camp Fire was dubbed the worst in California history because of the tragic number of lives lost and structures destroyed.
In the midst of it all, pets and other animals were caught up in the confusion and often separated from their owners. To help manage this problem, employees from the City and County of San Francisco’s Animal Care &
Keep readingTeamsters Local 439 is proud to announce that the six clerical workers at Reddaway’s Tracy trucking facility voted for union representation and have already ratified their first contract.
During the two-month organizing drive, the employer held captive audience meetings and brought in people from around the country to encourage a NO vote. But the women of the clerical unit had seen how the drivers worked with their union and didn’t buy the opposition hype.
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