Around the Locals

May/June/July 2005

Local 890

In a double victory, Local 890 negoti- ated a contract for warehouse workers at the NewStar Fresh Foods plant in Yuma,
Arizona, and organized more than 100 production workers at the same facility.

By a vote of 38-1, warehouse workers ratified their first contract with the bagged-salad producer in late February. This contract raises hourly wage rates by up to 25% and guarantees holiday pay, job security and medical benefits for approximately 60 workers.

Expiring in 2008, the contract is part of a master agreement that also covers NewStar employees at the company's Salinas facility. The workers produce bagged salad in Salinas eight months. Production shifts to Yuma during the winter months.

“This was a great agreement for the Yuma employees,” said Local 890 President and International Trustee Frank Gallegos. “The workers deserve all of the representation and the rights that a union contract offers.”

In a separate vote, 105 production department workers at the Yuma facility voted 55-31 to join Local 890. With this victory, Local 890 now represents production, warehouse and skilled-trades workers at NewStar Fresh Food’s plants in Yuma and Salinas.

“The production workers want the same benefits that their counterparts in Salinas receive,” said Local 890 Business Agent Fritz Conle. “They want to be recalled when production comes back here next year. Plus, they want better wages, benefits and a seniority scale.”

The campaigns were waged in tandem. “The warehouse workers approved their contract about three weeks before the production workers’ vote,” Conle said. “That was a big boost for them. They saw the benefits of being a Teamster. ”

Local 287

Local 287 gives Greif greif - and gets a contract

Local 287 played hardball in its negotiations with Greif, a Morgan Hill-based produce barrel manufacturer, and it paid off in April. “We were holding off for decent health care,” says Business Agent Dave Werlin, “and we finally got it.”

Approximately 30 employees work at Greif in the off-season; that number doubles in the high season. Their contract expired in December and the employer was demanding that the new contract dump the Teamster health insurance for an inferior company plan. “This would have cost the members $169 per month for a much worse plan,” says Werlin. “Management’s position was that whether we struck or not, we’d end up with the company plan. We disagreed.”

The contract was extended several times and the talks continued. On March 14, the members voted to strike if they couldn’t keep their Teamster health plan.

“We contacted other Teamster locals that represent Grief workers. This includes Local 948 in Modesto, Local 439 in Stockton and locals in Texas, Michigan and New Jersey,” says Werlin. “We asked for their support and informed them that in case of a strike, we might send pickets to their facilities. They then called the company to warn them of the possibility of a job action at all of the Greif facilities.“

Werlin is pleased to report that the company came around. “They backed down. Our members ratified a new two-year contract by a 90% margin that includes the current Teamster benefits in tact. That’s what union solidarity brings you.”

LOCAL 912

Local 912 secures solid contract for tofu workers

On January 3, workers represented by Local 912 unanimously ratified their first contract with Watsonville-based Wildwood Harvest Foods. The two-year contract
covers 65 tofu production workers. The contract, which took effect January 7, provides 4.5% wage increases per year, improved health benefits, and a reinstated
dental plan.

“Health care was a big issue for the workers,” said Brad Sebring, Secretary- Treasurer of Local 912. “They had lost their dental plan and were making high co-payments. We were able to get the plan back and reduce the co-pays.” The new agreement also includes new seniority language, which was another big concern for the workers. “Before the new agreement, they were moved around wherever the company wanted to put them,” Sebring said. “Now they have some stability.”

The employees at Wildwood voted to join Local 912 in April, 2004. “We had to work from the ground level to secure the contract,” Sebring said. “It was a new process, but we did it. And the workers are pleased.”

Local 78

Local 78 still fighting Durham

Since June of 2001, when the employees of Durham Transportation in Hayward and Livermore first voted to have Local 78 represent them, the company has fought the union tooth and nail.

“This company is trying to write the book on how to stop its employees from achieving the union representation they clearly want,” says Organizer Skip Joaquin. “We’re in the middle of fighting our second de-cert campaign right now.”

The union won the original election by a 64% margin and started bargaining for a first contract. “They stalled on contract language for an entire year, and didn’t even get into economics,” Joaquin explains. “Business Agent Ron Paredes and I have participated in dozens of meetings with this employer, but we can’t push them to make any real progress. They’ve put out two bad contracts that the members rejected unanimously. They’ve stayed right on the borderline as far as bargaining in good faith.”

In January, 2004 the company launched its first decertification campaign, which the union won by 65%, and they’ve just launched a new de-cert campaign. “I don’t know what it’ll take for Durham to understand that their employees want a union. We expect to win again, and that will mark the third time this group has voted Union Yes.”

The 30 employees at the two locations are bus drivers; their passengers are all special education students who have a range of special needs. “These drivers are close to their students. They don’t want to abandon the kids, so they won’t strike,” adds Joaquin.

Despite the union’s political efforts, which included drumming up opposition from local politicians, unions and Central Labor Councils, Durham recently won its bid for a new contract with the South County Transportation Group, a Pleasanton- based consortium which covers eight school districts. “They went with the lowest bidder. The other bidders all made room in their bid proposals for a union contract that allowed pay raises and benefits. Clearly, Durham could keep their bid low because they didn’t include decent wages and benefits for the drivers.”

Joaquin says that the same thing happened in Seattle and St. Louis, but both cities quickly dropped the Durham contract due to the company’s anti-union policies. Eventually, unionized companies picked up the work.

Local 315

Scale House workers weigh in for Local 315

The seven employees who weigh in the refuge and collect the dumping fees at the Richmond landfill’s Scale House became union members through voluntary
recognition in March.

“This is no longer a family-run operation,” says Local 315 Secretary-Treasurer Dale Robbins. “These employees want protections and more security, so they came to the union. We already represent all of Republic Services’ solid waste, garbage collection and recycling workers in Contra Costa County. Because this was the last unit at the Richmond landfill that wasn’t union, the company didn’t put up a fight.”

Robbins said that negotiations are well under way, and that they should have a contract soon.