District Council 2 held its Northern California Regional Shop Steward Seminar in Pleasanton on November 3. With 50 stewards attending, the event was a success!
Presentations included a crash course in labor law history, investigative interview procedures, disciplinary cases, appeal hearings and arbitrations. Hot topics at this event included the marijuana initiative and “past practice” cases.
This all-day event is helpful for both new and long-time Stewards,
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On September 25, the Sun-Maid workers ended their 15-day strike and returned to the job after reaching a new contract agreement with the corporation. The workers had been picketing for several weeks after negotiations between the company and the Teamsters union broke down.
The new agreement includes monthly medical contributions, competitive market wages, and increased pension contributions in the second and third year of the agreement.
“It’s about a nine-percent increase in value overall from the previous contract,” says Local 431 Secretary-Treasurer Peter Nuñez.
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The merger of Joint Councils 7 and 38 in 2010 united more than 100,000 Teamsters in 23 local unions covering a vast territory—50 of California’s 58 counties and all of Northern Nevada. Despite this, our 2010 endorsement list was only two pages long. We made endorsements in most of the federal and statewide races, but at the local level – city councils, county boards of supervisors, school boards, and ballot measures – we mostly stayed out.
Keep readingBy all measures, 2018 was an incredibly successful year for the California Teamsters. We were able to accomplish our biggest legislative priorities, and in a midterm election year, we saw Democratic super-majorities increase in both the Assembly and Senate. Teamster-backed candidates also largely prevailed in their state and congressional races. With super-majorities in both houses of the Legislature, we are well-positioned for 2019.
Below are some of our most important accomplishments this year.
Keep readingOn the morning of November 8, in Paradise California, a fire broke out that ultimately destroyed 90% of the town and much of the surrounding area. Over 120 Teamster families from UPS, Sysco Foods, Aramark Linen, Paradise Irrigation District, Land O’ Lakes, Bimbo Bakery, Pacific Coast Producers, Farmers Brothers Coffee, Coca Cola, US Bakery, Butte County, and TransDev, lost their homes. Many more were among the 52,000 who have been displaced and cannot return to their homes.
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The members of Teamsters Local 150 who work at Avis Budget Group (ABG) recently ratified their richest contract ever—in Sacramento and perhaps in the nation. “The Vehicle Service Agents (VSAs) are a strong and unified group at the Sacramento International Airport who were determined and fearless when it came to the negotiations,” says Business Agent Nancy Jones.
The negotiating process with the company began in a rather heated style, but neither Jones nor long-time Shop Stewards Kenny Peel or Salesh Prasad were willing to tolerate any antics.
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The Teamsters 856 members in the Environmental Services (EVS) department at Marin General Hospital (MGH) take pride in keeping the hospital clean. Their work is critical to the patient care experience because they ensure the hospital is a comfortable place for patients to be seen and receive treatment.
Earlier this year, MGH management came up with a plan to pilot zone cleaning. But rather than extending the work to Local 856 members,
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Now that the midterm elections are over, it’s time to look at the results and what they might mean for laws affecting Teamsters and working people generally.
A divided Congress portends more gridlock
The midterms left the U.S. Congress divided, with Democrats holding a majority in the House of Representatives and Republicans retaining control of the Senate. House Democrats are expected to introduce legislation on several important labor issues—like raising the federal minimum wage,
Keep readingSo often in life, things do not happen as we had planned, or things happen that we hadn’t anticipated. This causes stress and anxiety for most of us.
How is it that our lives get turned upside down, inside out? It seems like we are suddenly living a whole different life and we are left to figure it out. How can we cope when, suddenly, in the blink of an eye,
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, October 29, 2018
(San Francisco, Calif) – The 33-second message begins with images and voice over of Mayor London N. Breed at her recent Inauguration at San Francisco’s City Hall; her first day on the job. After a brief iconic image of a San Francisco Cable Car, the message cuts to shots of Teamsters 665 members performing THEIR jobs: at Avis Rental Car, Chariot Transportation and at a city parking facility.
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