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MESSAGE FROM SECRETARY-TREASURER
Steven P. VairmaSteve Vairma's Column:
Don't hold your breath for passage of PRO Act
It might have been the nagging memory of Hillary Clinton's disastrous performance in the 2016 presidential election, or perhaps it was their dreadful nightmares of four more years of smirking faces under red MAGA baseball hats.
Whatever it was, it caused Democrats to declare they'd kind of like to be the party of the working man (and woman) again. Unfortunately, memories of the younger Dems - we call them the Silicon Valley crowd - aren't long enough to remember when their predecessors made that claim.
The Democratic palliative for the union defection and the subsequent bad memories of 2016 comes in the form of Protect the Right to Organize, or PRO Act, which was introduced recently by House and Senate Democrats.
It sounds great, but one has to wonder if, like a one-sided love affair, the PRO Act will ever be consummated. We've heard the sweet talk before. The unions have been hearing it since 1935 when the Wagner Act (later named the National Labor Relations Act) gave workers the right to organize.
We've reviewed the history in this column before, but until it becomes past history, we are compelled to repeat it.
Workers have been expressing skepticism about Democrats' efforts on their behalf since the early 1960s when Dems helped Republicans kill a bill that would have invalidated Section 14b of the Taft-Hartley Law, which allows states to pass anti-labor right-to-work laws. Some 27 states have passed RTW laws, which result in lower wages and substandard working conditions for wager earners.
Then came trucking deregulation, under President Jimmy Carter. That's when 450,000 truck drivers who earlier were brought out of poverty and into the middle class by the late, great James Riddle Hoffa faced the loss of their union membership.
After that, while Bill Clinton was president, labor lost a bill that would have prevented employers from hiring replacement workers (scabs) during economic strikes. The two deciding votes against the bill were cast by Democratic senators from Arkansas, Clinton's home state.
Also, under Clinton, the job killing North American Free Trade Agreement was passed with no protection for American workers who lost their jobs. When Barack Obama was president, the Employee Free Trade Agreement, which would have lowered barriers to union organizing, was rejected.
So, pardon us if we are skeptical when Democrats tell us they are serious about regaining the title world champion of the working class. The Silicon Valley crowd hasn't yet done anything to prove they are in the workers' corner.
Democrats say the PRO Act is "comprehensive legislation to strengthen protections for workers' right to organize a union and bargain for higher wages, better benefits and safer working conditions."
It is a solid proposal and would be a great tool for union organizers.
So, we're willing to give the Democrats another chance. The alternative is worse.
But we're not holding our breath.
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Following round-the-clock negotiations with Jack Cooper and one of its lenders during the week of July 29, the Teamsters National Auto Transporters Industry Negotiating Committee (TNATINC) has received a Last, Best and Final Offer (LBFO) in the form of a Restructuring Term Sheet to save more than 2,200 Teamster jobs at the company.
The TNFINC-Reddaway Freight Agreement covers about 1,300 Teamsters in the Western United States. Workers will be mailed voting materials on or about September 13 and votes will be counted on or about September 27. The agreement will raise wages, restore a week of vacation that was given up in 2015 and will protect health and welfare benefits, among numerous other gains.
We, the EMTs, paramedics and dispatchers at Abbott Ambulance, owned by American Medical Response, Inc. (AMR), are forming our union so that we can negotiate a legally binding contract that provides our rights and guarantees in writing. Firefighters have their union and their collective bargaining agreement, and we deserve this same security for ourselves and for our families.
Once we form our union with Teamsters Local 610, we can negotiate a contract and fight for the issues that matter to us:
- Fair pay;
- Affordable and quality health insurance;
- More paid vacation;
- Set schedules, and
- A strong voice at work.
The only way to win a more secure future as Teamsters is to vote Teamsters YES! and negotiate a legally binding contract. In addition to the firefighters, the EMTs, paramedics and dispatchers at Medic One in St. Louis have a contract with their rights and protections spelled out. The Medic One workers are Teamsters!
Let’s remain strong, united and focused!
For more information contact: Sean O’Neill at (202) 437-5228.
This page provides the latest contract information to the 7,500 Teamsters—drivers, dockworkers and office staff—employed by ABF Freight System, Inc.
This Web page provides the latest updates for the national contract, riders and supplements that cover about 3,500 Teamsters at DHL Express.
We Are eXPOsing XPO’s Global Greed
XPO Logistics is a top ten global logistics and transportation company with annual revenue of $15 billion and 89,000 employees, another 10,000 workers classified as independent contractors, and thousands more working for firms that subcontract with XPO. We are the REAL workers at XPO Logistics worldwide exposing the truth about the company’s global greed, illegal wage theft, unsafe conditions, and abhorrent and vicious anti-worker, anti-union tactics.
This greed includes mistreating former Con-way Freight workers in the United States who are being kept in the dark about terminal closures and layoffs, and the company’s illegal refusal to bargain contracts and denying their workers’ federally protected right to organize. It also includes port, rail and last-mile drivers around the country and in Southern California fighting wage theft in excess of $200 million because they are misclassified as independent contractors and denied the right to form their union. This greed has caused numerous lawsuits and strikes. Greed also means an unsafe workplace and mistreating its warehouse employees.
XPO’s greed extends to Europe beginning with breaking its promise to not layoff any workers for at least 18 months. French workers and the unions have been fighting back against XPO’s disrespect, lies and attempts to slash jobs. Similar struggles are taking place in Great Britain, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, and across Europe.
Join the worldwide struggle now! Get involved with this campaign by joining the Facebook group “XPO Exposed.”
Together, we can eXPOse the company’s global greed and win fairness, respect and dignity for tens of thousands of XPO employees around the world!
The Teamsters Military Assistance Program (TMAP) assists Active Duty Service members that are transitioning, Veterans and Military spouses with job opportunities with responsible employers.
Workers’ pensions are being endangered by both Congress and those charged with overseeing them. The Teamsters and our members are standing united to say “No!” to cuts and “Yes!” to greater retirement security!
The ‘Let’s Get America Working!’ campaign seeks to restore a dynamic and prosperous middle class to drive economic growth by helping to advance policy decisions that create and maintain good middle-income jobs, guarantee retirement security, expand access to the American Dream, and ensure that the benefits of the ongoing economic recovery are felt by the many, not just the few.
This webpage provides information on the Teamsters Union’s legislative advocacy at both the federal and state level as well as our field activity to support those policy positions and to get strong labor candidates elected to office. Among other resources, you will find our federal legislative scorecard, formal statements of policy position and communications to Capitol Hill, a weekly update on federal legislative happenings, an overview of bills we are tracking at the state level, and quick links to take action on priority issues.
10.31.19SyscoDenver.pdf
