On May 31, a fire started near an Antioch apartment building and quickly spread to a second building where Teamster Juan “JC” Jaurgui lives with his wife and two kids. JC is a Local 315 member who works at Mt. Diablo Resource Recovery as a solid waste driver.
According to NBC News, aggressive fire response stopped further spread of the fire, caused by fireworks, but 40 residents in eight apartment units were displaced.
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Trina Johnson has worked for UPS at the Bayside hub in Richmond for 21 years, and she loves her work and her union. “I’m a gal in brown. With the uniform that you wear, you’re proud. During the pandemic, when everyone was in shutdown, we were out there, bringing good things.”
Dealing with different people each day is one of the most interesting aspects of Trina’s job. “You bond with your customers. It’s like we’re all family.
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For 36 years, Greg Doench has been a package car driver for UPS, first in Concord and then in Oakley. What he enjoys most about his work is being outside and being active.
“My job allows me to work in the city I grew up in and that I still reside in,” he says thinking about the residential route he’s had for the past 18 years. “I get to see a lot of people that I grew up with,
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Eric Wright calls himself a “jack of all trades and master of none,” but after 24 years of working for the City of Hercules as a Maintenance II lead worker, he’s really a renaissance man with a wealth of skills who has a strong dedication toward achieving his job duties.
Wright works with an 8-person maintenance crew and they take care of the parks, trees, irrigation, concrete, roads, and basically whatever needs maintenance and repair.
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The Ten Point Commentary
(Sung to the tune of A Horse With No Name, by America.)
I drive through the city on a car with no name
Giving space, visibility.
Safe by choice is not by chance…A way to be accident free.
La la, etc.
This is one of several songs that Matthew Whaley wrote to promote safety for the drivers at UPS when he served as co-chair of the safety committee.
Keep readingThe 80 members at Napa Recycling and Waste Services recently ratified a new five-year contract with a valuable new benefit. For the first time in franchise history, the contract includes the Retirement Security Plan (RSP), fully covered by the employer.
“Knowing that they will now have medical coverage after retirement, an overwhelming majority of ecstatic members ratified this contract,” says Business Agent Dustin Baumbach. The contract also included increases in wages and pension as well as full maintenance of benefits for health and welfare.
Keep readingSalvador Ruvalcaba retired this year after 51 years of service at R & K Industrial Products. This manufacturing company, located in Richmond, makes industrial wheels for light-weight applications such as hand trucks and carts, to much heavier and demanding applications and accessories. The company has been employee-owned since 1977.
First hired in November 1969, Salvador worked in the Machine Shop. He has also been a steward in several negotiations. “Local 315 wishes Salvador a long,
Keep readingOn 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.
Keep readingThe 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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I felt it was time for a podcast created by and for the rank-and-file, so I created one.
First, let me introduce myself. My name is Jeremy Rich and I am the Chief Steward at UPS’ small, but growing, Oakley building. I am also the Warden of Local 315. I have been at UPS for almost 20 years, the last 18 years of it as a package car driver. I originally started in UPS’ Concord building as a peak season part-time hire in 1999.
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