Hoffa: Workers Deserve Freedom to Thrive on the Job:Yesterday, Americans celebrated the freedom being a citizen of this great country brings. But increasingly, millions of workers are seeing their rights being chipped away and are finding it harder to make ends meet. Nowhere was that more evident than in a decision handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court last week that curtailed their ability to join together and stand up for themselves on the job.

UPS Members Teleforum Call - July 10: Join the teleforum conference call on July 10 for UPS members to learn more about the proposed contract. The first call is at 6pm (Eastern) and a second call is at 9 pm (Eastern). Members only need to join one call.

New UPS Combination Driver Jobs Protect Weekends for Package-Car Drivers, Address Issue of Forced Overtime, Create Full-Time Jobs:Since the settlement in principle was reached last week with UPS for the National UPS agreement, plans have been made for negotiations on the supplemental agreements. As stated in the previous contract update (June 21), the supplemental agreements must be resolved and approved by UPS local unions first. This week’s update will focus on the new classification of Full-Time Combination Driver and further materials will be issued about other highlights of the settlement.

Gold Coast Transit District Supervisors Join Teamsters Local 186:“Congratulations to our newest members at the Gold Coast Transit District in Oxnard,” said Local 186 Secretary-Treasurer Abel Garcia. “These workers had their choice of labor unions to join, and they chose the strongest – the Teamsters!”

Local 312 Leader Plans to Fight for Workers in Harrisburg:Dave Delloso knows what it’s like to work hard and fight. The President and principal officer of Teamsters Local 312 in Chester, Pa. began his career driving a delivery truck before moving into a leadership role with the union. Now he would like to bring that attitude to the Pennsylvania Statehouse.

Teamsters Local 957 Endorses Theresa Gasper for Congress: The following is a statement from Teamsters Local 957 regarding the endorsement of Democrat Theresa Gasper for Ohio’s 10th Congressional District:  

Not in Our House! Teamster at Supervalu Fight to Halt Skimming:Teamsters at Supervalu were having none of it. The company had brought in out-of-town temps to operate forklifts at its distribution center in Tacoma. The temps were being prepped to do Teamster work in a Teamster warehouse. It was a classic case of skimming and, if allowed, would set a dangerous precedent just as our group was heading into contract negotiations.

 

NEWS ARTICLES

Hoffa: Workers Deserve Freedom to Thrive on the Job
Yesterday, Americans celebrated the freedom being a citizen of this great country brings. But increasingly, millions of workers are seeing their rights being chipped away and are finding it harder to make ends meet. Nowhere was that more evident than in a decision handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court last week that curtailed their ability to join together and stand up for themselves on the job.
The ruling in “Janus v. AFSCME” was not surprising, but is still disappointing. The case dealt with an Illinois state government employee, Mark Janus, who didn’t want to pay “fair share” fees covering contract bargaining and representation activities. As part of its ruling, the High Court determined such payments are unnecessary, even though unions will still be mandated to represent these public sector workers going forward.
Luckily, the Teamsters aren’t being caught flat-footed. In preparation of a possible legal loss, Teamster locals that represent public employees worked to convert fair-share payers into full union members. Beefing up internal organizing is the key to combatting this latest threat against organized labor.
But to be frank, it shouldn’t be necessary. This case was not about the First Amendment, as the majority seemed to indicate in its decision. Instead, it was about the whole contributing to gains for all workers in a given workplace.
Authorities have enough evidence already to understand that curbing unions doesn’t help hardworking Americans. In states where laws were passed to limit the ability of public employees to join a union and demand better wages, benefits, and working conditions, the results have hurt working people and their families.
As it stands, the average non-union worker makes more than $11,000 less that the average union worker. And in states with so-called right-to-work laws, the risk of death on the job is 55 percent higher; workers are 13 percent more likely not to have health insurance; and the poverty rate is more than 15 percent higher.
While it is true that this ruling may create temporary roadblocks, public employees throughout the U.S. need to remain unified. They cannot allow the progress working people have made in unions to be slowed down because of lawsuits that disregard the value of public employees.
The Janus decision came about because anti-employee forces spent millions of dollars on lobbying and court challenges over four decades. Attacks from these outside groups, backed by secret donors, sought to eliminate the freedom of public employees to negotiate with their employer. Public sector Teamsters have made it their career to serve their country and community, and any attempt to take away their freedom to join together is an attack on those who are the foundation of America.
The middle class was built by everyday working people, standing together in union. The Teamsters honor that history by continuing the fight to give working people the promise of the American dream. That won’t end with the Janus decision. The Teamsters will continue to organize, mobilize and do whatever is necessary to achieve prosperity through collective action.
But it is imperative for elected officials to look at how anti-worker policies are affecting the lives of their constituents. While corporations prosper, workers are struggling. The people must not be forgotten.

UPS Members Teleforum Call - July 10
Join the teleforum conference call on July 10 for UPS members to learn more about the proposed contract.  The first call is at 6pm (Eastern) and a second call is at 9 pm (Eastern). Members only need to join one call.

The call-in number is (877) 229-8493 and the access code is 111566.

To view the teleforum call flier, click here.

New UPS Combination Driver Jobs Protect Weekends for Package-Car Drivers, Address Issue of Forced Overtime, Create Full-Time Jobs
UPS Contract Update for June 29
Since the settlement in principle was reached last week with UPS for the National UPS agreement, plans have been made for negotiations on the supplemental agreements. As stated in the previous contract update (June 21), the supplemental agreements must be resolved and approved by UPS local unions first. This week’s update will focus on the new classification of Full-Time Combination Driver and further materials will be issued about other highlights of the settlement.
A new classification, Full-Time Combination Driver, will protect weekends for package-car drivers, will address the issues of excessive, forced overtime and will create thousands of new full-time job opportunities for part-time employees.
The new classification is referred to as “22.4 Combination Drivers” (Article 22, Section 4 new subsection B), similar to 22.3 combination jobs that already exist.
“Our members know that they work in a changing industry, driven by e-commerce and the ‘Amazon effect,’ where consumers want fast delivery and weekend delivery,” said Denis Taylor, Director of the Teamsters Package Division and Co-Chairman of the Teamsters National UPS Negotiating Committee. “This new classification reflects this changing world while protecting our package-car drivers’ weekends, creating more full-time jobs and addressing excessive overtime.”
“We know how important weekends are for package-car drivers, to be able to attend their child’s activity or go away for a couple of days, and we also know how excessive, forced overtime has created upheaval within families,” Taylor said. “These new 22.4 Combination Driver jobs will address these important issues while also creating a new career position with the same excellent Teamster-negotiated benefits and a family wage.”
Here are some questions and answers:

Q: How will regular package-car positions be protected under this new 22.4 Combination Driver classification?
A: In the event that your building utilizes 22.4 Combination Drivers, current Package Drivers, referred to in the agreement as Regular Full-time Package Car Drivers (RPCD), will be protected from replacement by 22.4 Combination Drivers or any part-time cover driver as allowed in any Supplement, Rider or Addendum. If an RPCD leaves employment or bids to another classification, that job must be filled as an RPCD and continue to be covered under Article 41 Section 2. No RPCD can be laid off or displaced from their classification while any 22.4 Combination Drivers are working in the building.

Q: How will package-car drivers’ weekends be protected?
A: RPCDs will work a Monday through Friday shift. Our members made it clear that they were not interested in giving up time with their families. RPCDs that are working a Tuesday through Saturday shift now will be moved back to a Monday through Friday shift within 18 months. If the RPCD was hired recently, specifically for a Tuesday through Saturday shift, the company has a maximum of 24 months to move them to a Monday through Friday shift.

Q: Will there be limits on the new position?
A: The number of 22.4 Combination Drivers will not exceed 25 percent of the total number of RPCDs in your building. If the company needs additional drivers for Saturday or Sunday work, RPCDs will be offered first and forced last and will make the Supplemental overtime rate if applicable. If the Saturday and Sunday volume increases to the extent that RPCDs must consistently work those days, the union and UPS may adjust the 25 percent to avoid the RPCDs being required to work those days. RPCD openings will be filled under the Supplemental procedures; however, the “6 to 1” hiring ratio will NOT apply to RPCD openings. All RPCD openings will be filled by bargaining unit employees, not outside hires. This will provide additional full-time opportunities for part-time employees.

Q: How will this address excessive, forced overtime?
A: In any building that implements 22.4 Combination Drivers, all RPCDs will fall under the Article 37 Section 1 (c) “9.5” protection regardless of years of service or the route they hold. The newly created 22.4 Combination Driver jobs will not fall under the Article 37 “9.5” language. All other conditions in the NMUPS agreement and the Supplements, Riders and Addendum will apply.

Q: Why is this important to employees other than drivers?
A: This new classification of full-time employee will open up thousands of full-time opportunities for part-time employees, which is a top priority for those employees. These jobs come with full-time benefits. Also, in many smaller centers around the country, it is very difficult to create new 22.3 Inside/Inside jobs, as there are no back-to-back shifts.

Q: What other important information should I know?
A: Provisions in the Supplements that provide progression time and/or wage credits for a part-time cover driver who moves into an RPCD job will also apply to moving into a 22.4 Combination Driver job. Also, the start rate for 22.4 Combination Drivers will be $20.50 and reach a top rate of $34.79 by August 1, 2022. The top rate on August 1, 2018 will be $31.34 and will increase each year in accordance with the General Wage Increases.

READ THE FACTS ABOUT THE COMBINATION DRIVERS         
When UPS members were asked to provide the National Negotiating Committee with their requests for a new contract, the following items were most frequently raised from every Local Union:
Reduce the number of hours package car drivers are required to work;
Prevent the Company from forcing package car drivers to work weekends;
Ensure that package car drivers can take more time off; and
Protect our medical and pension plans.
The language negotiated to create new combination drivers addresses each of these issues. The Company can only use the new combination drivers at buildings where the Company delivers on Saturday or Sunday. Here is the actual contract language that you will find in Article 22, Section 4 (in italics) and the issues you told the Committee needed to be addressed.

Current Regular Package Car Drivers (RPCDs) will not be regularly required to work Saturday or Sunday
The Union and Company commit to protect existing RPCDs from being scheduled or forced to perform weekend delivery work and increasing the number of full-time opportunities for part-time employees... It is the commitment of the parties that RPCDs work a Monday through Friday schedule.

All Current Regular Package Car Driver (RPCD) jobs in each building will be protected
The number of RPCDs working a Monday through Friday schedule in each building shall be verified and agreed to by each Local Union and the Company Labor Representative, as of August 1, 2018 and shall be protected jobs… The number of protected RPCD jobs in each building…shall be guaranteed from replacement by 22.4 combination drivers or from any part-time driver as allowed by any Supplement, Rider or Addendum…No RPCD shall be laid off or displaced from the classification while 22.4 combination drivers are working in the building.

The wage rates of current RPCDs working Tuesday through Saturday will be protected
Those RPCDs currently working Tuesday through Saturday shall be red circled by name and shall continue to be covered under Article 41, Section 2 [Full-time wage rates].
Note: Current Tuesday through Saturday RPCDs will be transitioned to a Monday through Friday schedule within eighteen (18) to twenty-four (24) months of ratification. They will receive all contractual wage increases.

The wages and minimum weekly hours of current RPCDs will be protected
RPCDs working a Monday through Friday schedule shall be guaranteed five (5) consecutive days of eight (8) consecutive hours per report and forty (40) straight time hours of straight time pay each week, if reporting each day as scheduled, as long as work is available.

The number of Combination Drivers will be capped and the Company will be required to create additional full-time jobs as the volume expands
The number of 22.4 combination drivers shall not exceed twenty-five (25%) of the total number of RPCDs in the building.

Note: In order to increase the number of combination drivers in a building above 25%, the Company will have to create three new full-time RPCDs for every new combination driver.

New full-time driver positions will be created that will be filled by part-time employees
In the event a protected RPCD position becomes available, it shall be filled in accordance with the Supplement, Rider or Addendum, provided, however that no RPCD position shall be filled by outside hire unless the job remains unfilled after exhaustion of the applicable bidding procedure.

Note: Part-time employees who fill newly created full-time combination driver jobs have a path to become RPCDs; the Company cannot hire off the street to fill a protected job unless no current employee wants the position

The start rate for 22.4 Combination Drivers will be $20.50 and reach a top rate of $34.79 by August 1, 2022

22.4 combination drivers shall be paid in accordance with Article 41.4

Note: The top rate on August 1, 2018 will be $31.34 and will increase each year in accordance with the General Wage Increases

Combination drivers shall be full-time and be guaranteed 8 hours pay/ 40 hours each week
All 22.4 combination drivers shall be guaranteed eight (8) consecutive hours of straight time per day, if reporting as scheduled. All 22.4 combination drivers shall work a five (5) consecutive day schedule…

The combination drivers will protect our Health and Pension Funds
As full-time employees, the combination drivers will receive full-time benefit coverage as provided under Article 34. Most of the work the combination drivers will perform is currently being done by part-time employees getting part-time benefits at a reduced wage rate. The creation of combination drivers will increase the number of participants in our health and pension plans and increase the amount of contributions the Company will be required to make. This new money will help solidify those plans that are doing well and help those that are struggling.

Additional full-time drivers will relieve the burden on RPCDs now forced to work excessive hours each day and week
Combination drivers will increase the staffing levels during the week. The Company has pledged to use these additional full-time drivers to even the dispatch so RPCDs will be able to get time off and reduce forced overtime.
CLICK HERE to read the complete proposed Section 22.4 (b) language. (PDF version here)
Click here to for a PDF version of this update.

There will be a conference call on Tuesday, July 10 for UPS Teamsters to learn more about the proposed contract. The first call is at 6 p.m. (Eastern) and a second call is at 9 p.m. (Eastern). Members only need to join one call. The call-in number is (877) 229-8493, and access code is 111566.
 
Sign up for the UPS Rising app where you can find the current UPS contract, along with all the UPS contract updates and other news. Visit the UPS Rising Facebook page where members can see the latest updates.
Members can also go to www.upsrising.org for contract updates and other news. Text “UPS” to 86466 to receive text message alerts (message and data rates may apply).

Gold Coast Transit District Supervisors Join Teamsters Local 186
Supervisors at the Gold Coast Transit District have joined Teamsters Local 186. The fifteen supervisors oversee transit operations for the cities of Oxnard, Camarillo, Ventura and Ojai in Ventura County, California.
“Congratulations to our newest members at the Gold Coast Transit District in Oxnard,” said Local 186 Secretary-Treasurer Abel Garcia. “These workers had their choice of labor unions to join, and they chose the strongest – the Teamsters!”
The new members cited wages, benefits and a desire for fairness as their reasons for wanting to join the Teamsters. Robert Magaña has been a supervisor for seven years, and he said that he’s looking forward to being covered under a Teamster contract.
“Before, we had no pay scale, so we have the possibility of guys who have been working here for 15 years making the same as guys who just came off probation,” Magaña said. “Now we can negotiate a pay scale. We also aren’t going to be employees at-will pretty soon, so we’ll have more of a voice with upper management.”
The campaign only took a few weeks, and the transit district voluntarily recognized the bargaining unit, thus avoiding the need for an NLRB election. The drivers employed by the Gold Coast Transit District are already members of a different union.
“We felt that the Teamsters was the strongest and most iconic union in the country, so we decided to with them,” Magaña added.

Local 312 Leader Plans to Fight for Workers in Harrisburg
Dave Delloso knows what it’s like to work hard and fight. The President and principal officer of Teamsters Local 312 in Chester, Pa. began his career driving a delivery truck before moving into a leadership role with the union. Now he would like to bring that attitude to the Pennsylvania Statehouse.
“I am running for the working person, the wage earner,” the Democratic nominee for Pennsylvania House Seat 162 said. “I am repulsed at the idea that $15 per hour is a livable wage and that an employer somehow figures they have an unalienable right to exploit your labor for such a measly sum.”
Delloso, who ran unopposed in the primary last month, has a good shot of winning the seat. The former Marine said the Republican-led House hasn’t been watching out for hardworking Pennsylvanians. Too often, he noted, party leadership kowtows to big business and bends to their will.
“I want to go to Harrisburg and represent a class of people that are tired of being forsaken,” he said. “I want to work towards fair wages, benefits, health care and a dignified retirement in a community of clean air, water and land.” Delloso also wants to institute equitable taxation as well as full funding of public schools in the state.
Those kind of changes are needed, he said, especially for the members of the middle class who are often economically teetering between making it and falling behind. He added that he believes it is his responsibility to leave a better world a better place than it was when he entered it.
Delloso originally joined the Teamsters in 1986 as a driver for Collingdale Millwork and Lumber. He then left the union to become an independent truck in 1989 before returning to the union as a driver in 1994. He moved up from shop steward to the top position at Local 312 in 2008.

Teamsters Local 957 Endorses Theresa Gasper for Congress
Commitment to Raising Wages and Creating Middle Class Jobs Makes Gasper the Best Candidate for Working Families in Ohio
(DAYTON, Ohio) – The following is a statement from Teamsters Local 957 regarding the endorsement of Democrat Theresa Gasper for Ohio’s 10th Congressional District:
“When it comes to standing up for a prevailing wage, making health care fair and affordable for everyone, and bringing decent, middle class jobs to workers in southwest Ohio, it is abundantly clear that Theresa Gasper is the best candidate in this race. Now more than ever there is a need for elected officials in Washington who are unafraid and unrelenting in their fight against the insidious influence of corporate interests who seek to destroy organized labor. In Congress, Theresa Gasper will go above and beyond to fulfill that need.”
Gasper owns a business that renovates homes in Dayton that were abandoned in the aftermath of the foreclosure crisis. She is also a housing advocate; in this role she has served on community boards that educate first-time homebuyers, coached existing homeowners through loan modification and organized volunteer repairs for elderly homeowners.
Gasper’s platform includes a number of progressive policies that will improve the lives of working class people in Ohio. Some of these proposals include fighting to defend and strengthen collective bargaining rights, increasing the federal minimum wage and guaranteeing paid family leave.

Not in Our House! Teamster at Supervalu Fight to Halt Skimming
Teamsters at Supervalu were having none of it. The company had brought in out-of-town temps to operate forklifts at its distribution center in Tacoma. The temps were being prepped to do Teamster work in a Teamster warehouse. It was a classic case of skimming and, if allowed, would set a dangerous precedent just as our group was heading into contract negotiations.
The shop steward on shift, Anthony McKinney, drew a firm line with management. "I talked to the GM, Steve LaBard, and expressed how I felt about having temps in our facility," he said. LaBard promised to send them home.
But the next day the temps were back again. At the start of his shift, McKinney was pulled into the office by the West Regional VP, who told him the company's plans had changed: The temps would no longer be used to operate forklifts; they would train our members on the forklifts instead.
Forklift training, as McKinney knew, is also Local 117 work. The skimming violation would still be in play as long as the temps remained in the warehouse. Clearly, the company had not gotten the message.
That's when McKinney and another shop steward, Greg Wiest, made the call. If the temps stayed, all 80 Teamsters on swing shift were going to walk. The stewards would give the company until 3:25pm to get the temps off of facility property.
Word spread quickly through the warehouse. The crew gathered outside the office, while McKinney, Wiest, and other rank-and-file leaders went in to deliver the message to management. "We told them how we were being disrespected, how we weren't being listened to, and that we were going to walk," Wiest said.
The mangers were flummoxed, the deadline passed, and just like that the group shut down one of the largest grocery distribution centers in the Pacific Northwest.
With their entire workforce on the way out, the company had no choice but to capitulate. They agreed to get the temps off the floor. But the stewards weren't taking any chances. "We wanted to see them walk off the property before going back to work," Wiest said. So management rounded up the temps and walked them out.
After the action, there were a lot of high fives and handshaking. Word spread to graveyard and day shift. The story of the workers' resolve will likely ripple across the grocery industry. It is especially remarkable given that they had just finished navigating the impact of a merger with Unified Grocers that added dozens of Local 117 members to the warehouse a few months ago.
For McKinney and Wiest, the group's unity sends a powerful message to the company that Teamsters will fight to maintain standards in the grocery industry as we head into contract negotiations this month. The company had tried to capitalize on the perceived divisions, but had underestimated us. "I don't think they expected the solidarity that our group showed," McKinney said.