The childish admonishment, “If you don’t like the law, change it,” emanated from a powerful, and red-faced general contractor who was having a “slight” disagreement down in Fresno with Local 853 Business Representative and International Representative, Stu Helfer. Evidently, Stu had stirred-up the ire of this particular contractor simply by demanding that Teamster work should go to Teamsters.
Most people would have dismissed the contractor’s harsh words as hyperbole … but not Stu.
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Dozens of Teamsters from locals throughout Northern California took part in a lobby day in Sacramento in August to push back on corporate efforts to overturn the state Supreme Court’s landmark Dynamex decision that goes far toward stopping misclassification of workers as “independent contractors.”
The California Chamber of Commerce and companies including Uber, Lyft, Instacart and Postmates, among others, have launched an intense lobbying effort against the Supreme Court of California’s April decision in the case of Dynamex Operations West,
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On June 6, 2018, after almost a year-long fight, the arbitrator in Jaime Rivera’s grievance ordered San Francisco-based Recology to immediately reinstate him with full seniority and make him whole for any wages and benefits lost as a result of his wrongful termination.
“The business agents were upfront, they said it would take a while. I had never been in a situation like this before, or in a trial or court setting. We’d start at 10:00 am and end at 7:00 pm.
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Teamsters Local 315 members pushed for contracts from Republic Services that guaranteed safety and parity among workers. With good agreements in hand at West County Resource Recovery, West Contra Costa Sanitary Landfill (Golden Bear Transfer Station), and Richmond Sanitary Services’ (RSS) Garbage and Recycling Divisions, members at the four Contra Costa facilities ratified their deals.
With guidance from IBT Solid Waste Representative Carlos Borba, Business Agent David Rodriguez embarked on what would become a 6-month effort,
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Local 856 members in San Francisco recently ratified a new agreement at 23 of the top hotels in San Francisco including the Fairmont, the Palace Hotel, and the Clift Hotel. The new contract builds upon the strength of their previous contract and covers more than 1,000 members who work in reservations, front desk, concierge, and accounting.
“This agreement is one that we all worked hard on and one that I believe is second to none in the hotel industry,” said Local 856 President Mike Lagomarsino who led negotiations along with Local 856 Secretary-Treasurer/Principal Officer Peter Finn.
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The tech workers start lining up before 7 a.m. to get on buses in the Castro district of San Francisco to be driven down to companies like Apple, Google and Tesla in Silicon Valley. On August 16, their routine was scuttled as nearly 100 Teamsters came to the active bus stop to press the shuttle bus companies for a master agreement that includes a pension plan.
Blocking buses for 3-5 minutes each, the Teamsters let the tech passengers know that their drivers were seeking a better deal.
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On August 20. the Teamsters held a victory luncheon with newly-elected San Francisco Mayor London Breed. She shared an inspirational story about how she went through college with support from her Uncle Chuck Davis, a Teamster official and her aunt Linda, his wife, also a Teamster member.
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It’s not unusual for California State Senators and Assemblymembers to encounter Joint Council 7 Teamsters standing shoulder to shoulder along the halls of the State Capitol or having them cram into their tiny legislative offices. In fact, senior legislators and staffers will tell you that JC7 has been a major lobbying force in Sacramento for decades, whether it be introducing new legislation, supporting existing legislation or protesting anti-labor policies.
It is, however, extremely rare when our loud and powerful voice demands that legislators do nothing.
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More than 60 skilled trades Teamsters from throughout the UC and CSU converged on the State Capitol for the first Local 2010 Skilled Trades Lobby Day on June 27. Members met with the Governor’s office, Senate President Toni Atkins, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, and other legislators and aides, seeking their support for increased funding to address deferred maintenance at the universities, and to urge them to pass AB 1231, the bill to restore step increases for CSU workers.
Keep readingWith an approval rate of nearly 90%, about 12,500 members of Local 601 and Local 948 who are part of the Cannery Council ratified their new three-year contract in July.
“These were the toughest negotiations that I’ve faced,” says Local 601 Principal Officer Ashley Alvarado, who led the bargaining. “We were negotiating with all new people who do not yet have a relationship with the Cannery Council or the workers.”
Nevertheless,
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