Local 287

MV Transport workers get first contract

Before joining the Teamsters, life at ATC Vancom in Santa Clara County meant no lunch breaks, a constant change in work schedules, bus routes and a constant denial to requests for time off. "There was no job protection," said Reynaldo Perteca, a seven-year employee. "You were like a rabbit with a wolf."

Tired of feeling like a hunted animal, Perteca and his colleagues banded together and voted overwhelmingly to join Local 287. That's when life started to get better for them. Then, in October, MV Transportation, Inc. took over ATC Vancom. MV Transportation and the Teamsters were able to quickly negotiate a strong three-year contract and workers voted 220-63 to ratify it.

The 325 members provide transportation services to disabled, mentally-challenged and elderly people. "Not only was the vote a huge victory but we also got the employees an immediate $1 wage increase, future wage increases thereafter, and they're now in the Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Plan," said Bob Blanchet, President of Local 287.

Help from the Union

Blanchet said the contract would not have been possible without the help of Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa, International Vice President Chuck Mack, and Industrial Trades Representative Rick Middleton. Mack brought MV Transportation CEO Jon Monson to Washington, D.C. to meet with Hoffa and Middleton.

"If it wasn't for Chuck, Rick, and especially Mr. Hoffa getting the union and the employer both on the same page, this contract would not have happened," Blanchet said. "I just wish we could do this more."

In July, Blanchet will have the authority to collect cards from a new group of workers -- those who take veterans to VA facilities. "Once a majority of them sign up, we will have an additional 80 members for the local," he said.

UPS freight in San Jose signs union cards

A majority of the workers at UPS Freight in Sunnyvale have signed authorization cards to become Teamsters. Thanks to a card check agreement negotiated with UPS by the IBT and Ken Hall, Director of the Package Division, the local did not have to go through an NLRB election.

On April 3, Local 287 was certified as the representative of the UPS Freight employees. On April 5 and 6, these employees, along with 9,000 other UPS Freight employees across the country were able to participate in the process of getting a first contract, which was ultimately ratified by more than 89% of the employees who voted. The contract provides them better wages, benefits and working conditions.

"We are excited to have the UPS Freight employees as members and look forward to representing them," said Secretary-Treasurer Bill Hoyt.

Local 315

Teamsters participate in building trades confab

Local 315 Secretary-Treasurer Dale Robbins congratulates California State Building and Construction Trades Council President Bob Balgenorth who won re-election to a four-year term.

The State Building Trades Council celebrated their 60th Convention on March 28-29 in Cathedral City, near Palm Springs. Current officers of the Council were all re-elected to their positions with unanimous approval of the delegates. Balgenorth was reelected as president; James Kellogg, International Representative from the United Association of Plumbers and Steamfitters remains Secretary-Treasurer; Neil Struthers, Chief Executive Officer of the Santa Clara-San Benito Counties Building Trades Council is Northern California Vice President; and Brad Pleuger, International Representative, Region VII, Sheet Metal Workers International Association, is Southern California Vice President.

Robbins is the Teamster representative on the State Building Trades Council's Executive Board and also served as Vice Chair of the President's Report committee. He also served on the escort committee for Jack O'Connell, State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

The SBCTC Convention delegates meet every four years for election of officers and amendments to the By- Laws. Highlights of this year's convention were the announcement of the International Laborers Union re-affiliation with the National Building Trades Council and the Southern California District Council of Laborers reaffiliation with the State Building Trades Council.

Teamsters Local 853 member Debra Chaplan, and editor of this newspaper, was also in attendance, as she serves as the Director of Special Programs for the State Building Trades Council. Debra also plays a major role to facilitating the annual Women Building California conference which is being held in Oakland on May 17-18.

Teamster women who work in the construction industry should contact your local union for more information about this important event.

Local 853

Member to return to work with full back pay

Corey Hoffmann worked at Amports in Benicia, as a utility employee. He got fired in April of 2007 for an issue related to job performance.

"From our perspective, the company jumped the gun and accelerated the progressive discipline," explained Local 853 Business Agent Ron Paredes. The union grieved the firing and took the case to a board of adjustment, but when the board deadlocked, the union had to take it to arbitration. Dan Boone at the Weinberg law firm handled the case.

It took until January for an arbitrator to hear the case and the decision finally came out in March.

"In her wisdom, the arbitrator sustained the grievance," Paredes explained. "She ruled that while there was cause for discipline, the appropriate discipline should have been a two week suspension, not a termination. She said that the company needed to 'make whole' our member."

At presstime, the exact amount of the check Hoffman is due to receive has not been finalized by the lawyers. "We expect he'll be getting a check in the area of $14-$15,000 in wages, plus eleven months of pension contributions and pro-rated vacations," Paredes said. The check should be processed in May.

"Clearly, this is the benefit of being in a union," Paredes added. "If Corey weren't in a union, he'd have been fired, and that would be that. "Justice is rarely as fast as we'd like it to be, but the union will be there for our members."

Local 856

Organizing victory at United Airlines

On March 31, after a two-year struggle that started in the Bay Area and grew into a national campaign, United Airline mechanics can finally call themselves Teamsters.

The mechanics voted overwhelmingly to replace the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) with the Teamsters as their representative so that they would have a strong union to fight the outsourcing of their jobs, regain their lost pensions and have better representation in general. The vote will affect more than 9,000 mechanics and related employees across the country and about 3,500 in the Bay Area.

The organizing campaign reached a fever pitch in March. United Airline mechanics, organizers from the International Union, officials from the IBT Airline Division, Local 856 staff, and staff from other Bay Area Locals worked fervently to get out the vote to eligible mechanics. This undertaking included making 2,500 house calls in the Bay Area as well as countless telephone calls.

On March 5, General President Jim Hoffa paid a visit to aid the effort. The same day hundreds of people showed up at a rally in support of the mechanics held on the steps of San Francisco City Hall.

While Hoffa stressed the importance of keeping these well-paying, highly skilled jobs in the country to ensure airline safety, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom talked about the value of these jobs to the local economy.

Local 856 then hosted a luncheon in honor of Hoffa's visit and to pay tribute to the Committee for Change, the original group of mechanics who led the organizing campaign. Each member stood up and told poignant stories of their struggles with the company and weak unions, demonstrating how imperative the Teamsters are to their futures and livelihoods.

Hoffa then headed to the United Airlines maintenance facility where he met with workers and helped distribute informational flyers. The event, which included Teamster trucks lining the street, partially shut down South Airport Boulevard, illustrating the power the Teamsters wield.

Local 856 Secretary-Treasurer Joe Lanthier, along with President Julie Wall and Business Representatives Mike Lagomarsino and Peter Finn, traveled to Washington to meet with the Airline Division the day the election results were tallied by the National Mediation Board, while many mechanics gathered at Local 856's offices to wait for the returns. Committee for

Change Chairman Rich Petrovsky said that after two years of hard work, the mechanics finally have the opportunity to secure their futures.

"Now that these mechanics are Teamsters, they have the backing of a strong and courageous union to address their outsourcing and pension concerns," Lanthier said. "The mechanics may have won the election, but every member of Local 856 shares in this victory because an increase in membership increases the collective power of the union, especially when advocating for labor issues," he added. "We will now, more than ever before, be a force to be reckoned with."

Local 896

Arbitrator rules Coke must return 17 members
to work

It took two long years and a number of hearings, but the fight was worth the wait. An arbitrator ruled in the union's favor in February and returned to work 17 unjustly fired Coke-San Leandro employees.

"We couldn't be happier for our members," Local 896 Business Agent Daniel Valencia said. "Unfortunately, it has taken two years for them to get their jobs back when, from the beginning, we tried to work it out and come to an agreeable solution. The company wanted to make a global statement using these employees as an example."

The issue centered around the use of surveillance cameras and past practice. In the wake of 9/11 and with the beginning of "homeland security," Coke officials installed cameras in certain areas of the plant. At the time, they informed union officials and employees and even pointed out where the highly visible casino-like cameras were placed. The company also assured everyone the cameras would not be used for disciplinary measures; they were only put in place to protect the employees and the product.

But during a 'company upgrade' while the plant was shut down, Coke officials installed hidden cameras inside and outside the lunchroom areas. This time, they failed to inform the union or the employees. The company later stated the hidden cameras were installed to bust a drug ring.

One evening, in what Shop Steward Dan Dominguez described as a SWAT team raid, with local police outside, company officials and security guards surrounded 17 members, fired them and escorted them off the property.

The company claimed the employees had been stealing product because they were filmed either drinking or putting damaged product in their lockers.

"Drinking the damaged product has been a past practice for over 35 years," Valencia noted.

The union quickly took the case to a Board of Adjustment, which consisted of two management representatives from companies other than Coke and two union representatives from locals other than Local 896. When that group deadlocked on their decision, the issue was forced into arbitration.

At one point, Coke officials did offer a compromise: if the union would choose five or six members to be fired, the rest could get their jobs back. "I told them there was no way we would agree to that," Valencia recalled.

"Our case was based on the timeliness issue. The company had been secretly videotaping employees for six months," Valencia explained. "If you knew someone did something wrong six months ago, then you should have fired him six months ago. You don't wait to see how many people you can get in a six-month period."

The arbitrator agreed with the union and ruled on the timeliness of the case, stating that discipline has to be issued within five days.

In the end, the 17 members all got their jobs back and split a significant back-pay settlement.