Within the first few weeks that the pandemic hit and travel was restricted, thousands of airport workers lost their jobs. With so few people flying, the need for airplane cleaning and food service suddenly became negligible.
Nearly a third of the Teamsters who work as drivers and helpers at Gate Gourmet at the San Francisco Airport immediately found themselves jobless. HERE—the Hotel and Restaurant Employees Union—saw 70% layoffs.
Fortunately, Congress came to the rescue.
Keep readingThey say cut back, we say fight back!
Teamsters 2010 members joined sisters and brothers from fellow University of California unions in rallies against layoffs at UC San Francisco, Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, UCLA Santa Monica Hospital, UC San Diego on June 24 during lunchtime hours.
With their billions in reserves and many income streams, the UC should not make workers bear the brunt of the coronavirus economic impact.
Keep readingAs we pass three months since the initial shelter-in-place orders, California DMV field offices are beginning to expand services and the expiration date for commercial and non-commercial licenses has been extended due to the pandemic.
Appointments: All 169 DMV field offices have reopened for limited service to customers with appointments only. DMV encourages online services wherever possible at virtual.dmv.ca.gov and is giving first priority to those with existing appointments canceled due to the shelter-in-place orders.
Keep readingAaron Meier empties about 800 garbage cans every day, rain or shine. He first caught the world’s attention with a series of tweets in mid-March as Americans were just beginning to come to terms with the pandemic and what it would mean for their livelihoods.
“I’m a garbageman, I can’t work from home and my job is an essential city service that must get done,” tweeted Meier, a Local 350 member who works for Recology Sunset in San Francisco.
Keep readingIn a secret ballot mail vote held in February, the members of Local 287 voted overwhelmingly to merge into Local 853. The merger became effective on May 1.
After an explanation of the merger was mailed to each member, the Local held an open meeting for all Local 287 members. Nearly 300 members turned out to ask Local 853 Secretary-Treasurer Rome Aloise questions about the pros and cons of a merger.
“Local 287,
Keep readingIt’s been ten years since Rome Aloise was elected president of Joint Council 7, merging it with Joint Council 38. The merger created one of the largest and most powerful Teamster organizations in the U.S., covering critical industrial and political power centers including Sacramento, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and the nation’s breadbaskets of the Central and Salinas valleys.
Since that time, Joint Council 7 led on so many issues vital to defending and rebuilding worker power in California and throughout the country.
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California closed down non-essential activities and has reaped the benefits of that decision with far fewer deaths and hospitalizations than projected. Even though we’ve passed the state’s “peak,” new cases are still coming and care needs to be taken to ensure that a second wave of the virus doesn’t occur.
It is estimated that more than half of all Californians will contract the coronavirus. Some may be asymptomatic, which means they won’t know they have it and yet can easily infect others.
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STATE
Unemployment Insurance
If you have lost your job or had your hours reduced for reasons related to COVID-19
Partial wage replacement benefit payments to workers who lose their job through no fault of their own.
Ranges from $40-$450/week for up to 26 weeks
www.edd.ca.gov/
unemployment/
eligibility.htm
STATE
Paid Family Leave (PFL)
If you’re unable to work because you are caring for an ill or quarantined family member with COVID-19 (certified by a medical professional)
Up to six weeks of benefit payment to eligible workers who have a full or partial loss of wages because they need time off work to care for a seriously-ill family member.
Keep readingLocal 896 members at Coke in San Leandro recently ratified their new four-year contract eight months early.
Improvements include significant increases in wages, pension, and health and welfare, Teamster 401K participation, ratification and signing bonuses, and zero concessions.
For the first time in both Coke and Local 896 history, the members here ratified the contract unanimously.
Special thanks go to Local 853 President Dennis Hart for his invaluable participation and the use of the local’s hall,
Keep readingIn March, the members who work at Sysco Foods in Northern California and Nevada ratified a new six-year agreement that offers the largest economic settlement with the company in the nation. The negotiations took more than four months to complete, in large part due to the company’s aggressive attempt to remove language that protects working conditions. The offer was only possible because of a coordinated effort between the IBT Warehouse Division, Joint Council 7, and Locals 137,
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