Policy and Politics

Numbers don’t lie

December 21, 2020
Political Director's Report

This last November, Joint Council 7 ran the largest election program in our history. The pandemic did not stop us from talking with more of our members than ever before, using a combination of boots on the ground, phone banking, and text messages. I am proud to say that every single local union participated. Hundreds of Teamsters worked this campaign throughout the state, from members to business agents to local union political coordinators and principal officers.

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Voting: The most important thing you can do as a Teamster!

September 22, 2020
Political Director's Report

Most of you are registered to vote and you vote in every election. Thank you.

Unfortunately, far too many Teamsters just don’t vote. What will it take to get everyone registered and voting this year, which may be the most important election of our lifetime?

As a union, we do most of our work directly with our employers, negotiating and enforcing contracts. But I can’t emphasize enough the importance of the electoral process to our long-term survival and effectiveness.

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The final tally after a tough session

Sacramento Report

The 2019-20 legislative session came to an unceremonious end on August 31. Between the difficulties of holding legislative meetings with COVID-19 restrictions and political infighting, the end of the session devolved into bickering between the parties and between the leaders of the Senate and Assembly. The end result was a failure to act on some pretty important issues. Affordable housing bills and legislation on police reform all died because the politicos couldn’t be civil with each other.

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Vote NO on 22

August 6, 2020
Policy and Politics

TEAMSTERS JC7 SAYS NO ON PROP 22

Save your Jobs and Union Work!

In 2020, Union members are the key to protecting our good jobs and fighting Gig Greed.  Prop 22 is being bankrolled by billionaire gig companies to destroy good jobs. 

 

What’s this about?

Act now to stop the Uber/Lyft Gig agenda, which is:

  • NO MINIMUM WAGE
  • NO WORKERS’ COMP OR SICK DAYS
  • NO PAID FAMILY LEAVE
  • NO UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS
  • NO RIGHT TO ORGANIZE
  • NO PENSIONS OR HEALTHCARE

Employers are looking to cut costs and replace us with gig work.

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Pushing ahead on pressing Teamster issues

July 1, 2020
Sacramento Report

California is slowly reopening and we cross our fingers that we don’t have a new surge in COVID-19 cases. We all know that our economy needs a jumpstart. We just need to make sure that, as we reopen, we do it safely for workers. This has been a major focus for CTPAC and we continue to work with the Governor’s office, CalOSHA, and the Department of Public Health to educate and push for standards to protect our members.

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Coronavirus and jobs: what we know and don’t know

Political Director's Report

Over 100 days into the COVID-19 pandemic, California and the rest of the United States are grappling with unemployment numbers this country has not seen since the Great Depression. In California alone, almost 30% of workers have filed for unemployment. For workers of color, women, low-wage workers, and workers without college degrees, the numbers are even higher. Add to this nearly 500,000 undocumented workers and over 400,000 “independent contractors” in California and the numbers are staggering.

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The pandemic highlights the need for issues Joint Council 7 has championed

May 5, 2020
Political Director's Report, Teamster News
Teamsters fight to end worker misclassification and uphold AB5

It’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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Legislature currently closed, situation fluid

Sacramento Report

Hello from the bunker in Sacramento. The first thing that is readily apparent in our collective response to COVID-19 is that there are so many heroes on the front lines providing vital services to communities all around the state, and many of these heroes are Teamsters. Governor Newsom even acknowledged this in one of his recent televised briefings, thanking our union and members for doing what needs to be done in this crisis.

Speaking of Governor Newsom,

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JOINT COUNCIL 7 – MARCH 2020 PRIMARY ENDORSEMENTS

January 3, 2020
March 2020 Primary Endorsements

U.S. CONGRESS

District 1
Audrey Denney

District 2
* Jared Huffman

District 3
* John Garamendi

District 4
Brynne Kennedy

District 5
* Mike Thompson

District 6
* Doris Matsui

District 7
No Endorsement

District 9
* Jerry McNerney

District 10
* Josh Harder

District 11
* Mark Desaulnier

District 12
* Nancy Pelosi

District 13
* Barbara Lee

District 14
* Jackie Spier

District 15
* Eric Swallwell

District 16
* Esmerelda Soria

District 17
* Ro Khanna

District 18
* Anna Eshoo

District 19
* Zoe Lofgren

District 20
* Jimmy Panetta

District 21
* TJ Cox

District 22
Phil Arballo

District 23
Kim Mangone

CALIFORNIA SENATE

District 1
No Endorsement

District 3
* Bill Dodd

District 5
* Susan Eggman

District 7
* Marisol Rubio

District 9
* Nancy Skinner

District 11
* Scott Wiener

District 13
* Josh Becker

District 15
* Dave Cortese

District 17
John Laird

CALIFORNIA ASSEMBLY

District 1
Elizabeth Betancourt

District 2
* Jim Wood

District 3
No Endorsement

District 4
* Cecilia Aguiar-Curry

District 5
No Endorsement

District 6
Jackie Smith

District 7
* Kevin McCarty

District 8
* Ken Cooley

District 9
* Jim Cooper

District 10
* Marc Levine

District 11
* Jim Frazier

District 12
Heath Flora

District 13
* Christina Fugazi

District 14
* Tim Grayson

District 15
* Buffy Wicks

District 16
* Rebecca Bauer-Kahan

District 17
* David Chiu

District 18
* Rob Bonta

District 19
* Phil Ting

District 20
* Bill Quirk

District 21
No Endorsement

District 22
* Kevin Mullin

District 23
No Endorsement

District 24
* Marc Berman

District 25
* Anna Song

District 26
Drew Phelps

District 27
* Ash Kalra

District 28
* Evan Low

District 29
* Mark Stone

District 30
* Robert Rivas

Local Endorsements

Alameda County

BOS

BOS
Nate Miley

Keith Carson

Contra Costa County

BOS

BOS
Diane Burgis

Federal Glover

Fresno County

Fresno Mayor
Andrew Janz

Marin County

BOS

BOS

BOS
Katie Rice

Stephanie Moulton-Peters

Dennis Rodoni

Napa County

BOS

BOS

Belia Ramos

Alfredo Pedroza

San Mateo County

BOS

BOS

BOS

David Canepa

Dave Pine

Warren Slocum

Santa Clara County

BOS

BOS

San Jose CC D-4 

San Jose CC D-6

San Jose CC D-10 

Kansen Chu

Magdalena Carrasco

Huy Tran/David Cohen

Jake Tonkel

Jenny Higgins Bradanini

Solano County

BOS

BOS

Mitch Mashburn

Erin Hannigan

Sonoma County

BOS

BOS

Lynda Hopkins

Susan Gorin

Yolo County

BOS District 5
Angel Barajas

Washoe County –

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Projected worker shortage inspires Teamster action for good jobs

Political Director's Report

Every day, Teamsters business agents throughout the country get requests from employers for new workers. Across our core industries, from trucking to warehousing to busing, workers are in high demand. This is especially true for workers who have commercial drivers licenses.

Economists predict a major shortage of truck drivers in the next decade. Some estimate that 160,000 driving jobs will go unfilled. Much of the blame goes on the trucking industry and the shippers themselves.

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