On August 24, Carol Tomé, the CEO of UPS, decided to grace the Reno UPS hub with her presence. She was greeted with a rally by Local 533 drivers who were protesting the lack of air conditioning, both in the building and in the package cars.
“We have had drivers go down to heat-related injuries in record numbers,” says Secretary-Treasurer Debbie Calkins. “One driver had to go to the ER three times in less than a month;
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It might have taken ten months, with the union soliciting support from local city officials while simultaneously filing charges of unfair labor practices through the Labor Board, but Local 315 business reps and members who work at Republic Services in Richmond finally have a contract.
The agreement includes strengthening seniority provisions and adding a bi-monthly scheduled arbitrator within the grievance language who will hear and protect the members’ rights for years to come.
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Joint Council 7 was proud to host IBT General President Sean O’Brien at its quarterly Delegates Meeting held in Monterey on September 17. A full house was in attendance to meet the recently-elected head of the International Union.
“We thank President O’Brien for his message of unity and for his leadership in building the strength of our union for the great battles ahead,” said JC7 President Jason Rabinowitz. “Our number one task is unity,
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Teamsters won a great legal victory on June 30, when the Supreme Court refused to hear the trucking industry’s protest of AB5, the law passed in 2019 to end the misclassification of workers as “independent contractors” and rein in the “gig” economy.
As soon as the law was passed, the California Trucking Association sued, alleging that they should be able to continue to misclassify truck drivers as independent contractors even though those drivers work at the beck and call of the companies.
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The fight against Amazon is huge, but Alejandro Negrete is not daunted. Negrete, as he is called, joined Joint Council 7 in July as Amazon Lead Organizer.
Founded in 1994, Amazon is now the third largest public company by revenue in the world. The company employs more than 1.6 million workers—double the number it employed before the pandemic. With more than 1,100 distribution centers, Amazon surpasses the total number of facilities run by its
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2022 JAS Teamster
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Increasing the size and effectiveness both of Joint Council 7 and its 20 Locals that span Northern California, the Central Valley, and Northern Nevada, was precisely the goal of JC7’s recent seminar in South Lake Tahoe. The 9th Annual JC7 Seminar had skipped two years, due to the pandemic, but, as JC7 President Jason Rabinowitz told the largest Seminar to date, “it’s great to be back in person.”
Starting with a plan
Even before the Seminar began,
Keep readingLocal 137’s bargaining team for the second Butte County contract—Business Agents Misty Tanner and Derek Hawley, and a crew of stewards—are proud of the new contract that they negotiated and the members overwhelmingly ratified in June.
“This is a significant offer,” says Tanner. “Because we pushed the county to conduct a Classification/Compensation study, some members will see wage increases of as much as 24.12%, bringing their wages in line with neighboring counties.”
Tanner explains that the three-year contract provides protections for and increased contributions to the medical plans.
Keep readingLocal 150 has secured another unprecedented contract for its members at the C&S/GMD Warehouse in Sacramento.
“Business Agent Doug Secord has negotiated and ratified one of the best contracts ever for our members,” says Local 150 Secretary-Treasurer Dale Wentz. “Doug was able to secure an increase in wages of $5.25 over five years, with $2.25/hour the first year of the contract, and a $1.00/hour increase in pension contributions over the term of the contract.
Keep readingThousands of Contra Costa County workers continue to fight for a fair contract. They’ve held 12 actions since late April and called on the Board of Supervisors to support workers by addressing the current staffing crises and agreeing to a fair contract for workers.
“The more than 2,000 Teamsters Local 856 members at Contra Costa County are not just fighting for themselves,” said Peter Finn, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 856. “They are fighting for the dignity of all county workers and to protect the services for the people of Contra Costa.
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