TeamsterFALL 2018 - Leading the Way for Working Families - Teamsters 856
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Teamster
FALL 2018
Leading the Way for Working Families
IN THIS ISSUE
8 14 26
8 United to Fight 2 News
Teamster Leaders Attend Unity, • Teamsters Decry Supreme Court Ruling International Brotherhood of Teamsters
25 Louisiana Avenue, NW
Strategize For Fights Ahead
• Healthy Schools, Good Jobs Washington DC 20001-2198
202-624-6800
14 Teamsters Hold XPO Accountable • Business Agents Lobby in D.C.
The Teamster (ISSN 1083-2394) is the official publication
Union, Allies Continue Fight on
• Parsec First Contract of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, 25
Behalf of Workers Louisiana Avenue, NW, Washington DC 20001-2198. It
• A Coke and a Smile is published quarterly (January, April, July, October).
Periodical postage paid at Washington, DC and at
22 Take Action to Protect Pensions • Carriage Driver Documentary additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address
Contact Information for Pension Committee changes to The Teamster, Affiliates Records Department,
25 Louisiana Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20001-2198.
24 For Bimbo Bakeries, Teamsters 20 Organizing FALL 2018 / VOLUME 115, NO 3
©2018 International Brotherhood of Teamsters. All rights
Do It Best • Local 174’s Tankhaul Victories reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written
permission is prohibited. Subscription rates: $12 per year.
Dedication, Reliability of Union Drivers • Durham Workers Join Union Single copies, $2. (All orders payable in advance.) Mem-
Leads Company to Cut Out Middle Men bers should send address changes to their local union.
Like us on Facebook
• Local 542 Welcomes Republic Workers
26 Amtrak Contracts Ratified by • SRCEA Affiliates with Teamsters
facebook.com/teamsters
BLET, BMWED • Teamsters Welcome Sysco Workers
Wages, Health Care Secured in Both • First Student Workers Join Local 777
Follow @Teamsters on Twitter.
28 National ABF Contract Ratified SIGN UP FOR UPDATES—
Negotiators Working on Resolving 32 Financial Report Text “IBT” to 86466
(message and data rates may apply)
Supplemental Agreements 48 IDO Report
Follow @teamsters on Instagram.
GENERAL EXECUTIVE BOARD
James P. Hoffa VICE PRESIDENTS Fred Simpson TEAMSTERS CENTRAL REGION EASTERN REGION SOUTHERN REGION WESTERN REGION TRUSTEES
General President AT-LARGE 41475 Gardenbrook CANADA Bill Frisky William Hamilton John Palmer Ron Herrera Jim Kabell
25 Louisiana Ave. N.W. Gregory Floyd Road Stan Hennessy 6511 Eastland Rd., 12275 Townsend Rd. 25 Louisiana Ave. N.W. 880 Oak Park Rd., 1850 E. Division
Washington, D.C. 20001 216 W. 14th St. Novi, Michigan 1 Grosvenor Square Suite 120 Philadelphia, PA 19154 Washington, D.C. 20001 Suite 200 Springfield, MO 65803
New York, NY 10011 48375 Delta, B.C. Brook Park, OH 44142 Covina, CA 91724
Ken Hall Canada V3M 5S1 Dan Kane Sr. Kimberly Schultz Kevin Moore
General Secretary- George Miranda George Tedeschi Tony Jones 1308 Pierce St. 11705 Boyette Rd, Rick Middleton 2741 Trumbull Ave.
Treasurer 55 Broad St, 11th Floor 25 Louisiana Ave. N.W. François Laporte 555 E Rich St. Rahway, N.J. 07065 Suite 409 460 Carson Plaza Dr. Detroit, MI 48216
25 Louisiana Ave. N.W. New York, N.Y. 10004 Washington, D.C. #804 – 2540, Columbus, OH 43215 Riverview, FL 33569 Carson, CA 90746
Washington, D.C. 20001 20001 Daniel-Johnson Sean M. O’Brien Denis Taylor
John Murphy Laval, QC H7T 2S3 Robert Kopystynsky 544 Main St. 1030 S. Dukeland St.
348 D St. Steve Vairma 25 Louisiana Ave. N.W. Boston, MA 02129 Baltimore, MD 21223
Boston, MA 02127 10 Lakeside Lane, Craig McInnes Washington, D.C. 20001
Suite 3-A 275 Matheson Blvd. E.
Fredrick Potter Denver, CO 80212 Mississauga, Ontario Avral Thompson
3400 Highway 35 Canada L4Z 1X8 3813 Taylor Blvd.
Executive Plaza, Suite 7 Louisville, KY 40215
Hazlet, N.J 07730
!"#
GENERAL PRESIDENT JAMES P. HOFFA
WORKERS HAVE WAITED
LONG ENOUGH
T
he Teamsters have been vocal in their call for of failing. The Joint Select Committee on Solvency of
multiemployer pension reform for years. But now Multiemployer Pension Plans, co-chaired by Sen.
the union and its members are redoubling efforts Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), needs to find a vehicle that
and ramping up the fight to let lawmakers know what will deliver for these hardworking Americans who
is at stake and how a piece of legislation is the right are paying, or have paid, into the pension pool and
vehicle to fix the retirement mess facing some 1.5 mil- have played by the rules all their lives.
lion people nationwide. Luckily, the Butch Lewis Act would solve the prob-
In April, local union officials from all across the coun- lem. Sen. Brown is the lead sponsor in the Senate,
try trekked to D.C. to speak to their members of Con- while Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.) introduced the bill
gress about the importance of supporting the Butch in the House.
Lewis Act of 2017, a bill that would boost financially- But this measure is not just a one-party plan. Re-
troubled multiemployer pensions so they don’t fail. publicans such as Reps. Peter King and Dan Dono-
They explained how their members and Team- van of New York, Chris Smith, Frank LoBiondo, and
ster retirees are fearful for their futures if real Tom MacArthur of New Jersey, Brian Fitzpatrick and
change is not made. And they told elected officials Ryan Costello of Pennsylvania, Kevin Cramer of North
how the nation’s economy could be adversely af- Dakota, Don Young of Alaska and Jeff Fortenberry of
fected if legislation to fix failing multiemployer pen- Nebraska understand the value of the bill and should
sion plans doesn’t happen. be lauded for supporting this legislation.
That came only days after top Teamster officials Workers and retirees aren’t asking for a handout;
briefed House and Senate staffers on the Hill, educat- they just want what is rightfully theirs. We urge the
ing them about the Butch Lewis Act and the history of Joint Committee to endorse this legislation that will
troubled pension plans. make retirees whole. They’ve waited long enough.
As it stands, there are more than 300 multiem-
ployer plans across the country—including the Team-
sters’ Central States Pension Fund—that are in danger
TEAMSTER NEWS
TEAMSTERS DECRY SUPREME COURT RULING
‘Janus’ Decision Is a Setback for Working People and Their Families
I
n June, the U.S. Supreme Court
sided with anti-union advocates
attempting to undercut the
rights of millions of public em-
ployees to negotiate with their
employers for a fair return on the
value of their work.
By backing the plaintiffs in
“Janus v. AFSCME,” the high
court’s decision is an attempt to
limit the collective voices of not
only government workers, but
those in the private sector as well.
“The Supreme Court’s ruling
is at a time when so many Ameri-
cans are struggling just to make
ends meet,” Teamsters General
President Jim Hoffa said. “The
Teamsters and our allies in the
labor movement will redouble
our efforts to ensure that working
men and women have a voice on
the job through strong unions.”
The median salary for working
people represented by labor
unions is $11,000 a year more
than nonunion people who have
no right to negotiate.
“By overturning 40 years of
judicial precedent, conservative
judges endorsed an agenda sup-
ported by corporations and the
wealthiest in our society to take
away the right of public employ-
ees to negotiate over wages,
benefits and working condi-
tions,” said Michael Filler, Direc-
tor of the Teamsters’ Public
Services Division.
For more information, visit
teamster.org/standing-strong.
2 Teamster | Fall 2018 | www.teamster.org
The Connection Between
Healthy Schools and Good Jobs
Innovative Partnership Turns Low-Paying Jobs into Family-Supporting Teamster Jobs
I
n January, 170 warehouse employees of Gold Star food procurement practices. The GFPP takes a holis-
Foods in Ontario, Calif. ratified their first-ever Team- tic approach to procurement and awards points for
ster contract, but it wasn’t easy. Gold Star Foods five categories: local economies, nutrition, valued
initially fought its workers’ efforts. workforce, environmental sustainability and animal
What made the difference with Gold Star Foods? welfare. It’s not enough for food vendors to give
Schools. And a Teamster partnership with food jus- schools a low bid.
tice advocates that turned an employer’s bad attitude Local 63 reached out to the Food Chain Work-
around. ers Alliance for help in ensuring LAUSD was
“This is the culmination of hard work to build what properly enforcing the “valued workforce” cate-
has become a great working relationship between Gold gory of the GFPP. The Teamsters pointed out that
Star and the Teamsters,” said Randy Korgan, Organizing Gold Star, by refusing to bargain with the union,
Director for Teamsters Joint Council 42 and Local 63. was in violation of GFPP policy. The union was
That relationship began as a negative one. As Gold in the middle of strike preparations when Gold
Star continued to ignore drivers’ request for recogni- Star reached out and expressed interest in sitting
tion, Local 63 enlisted allies to take the drivers’ mes- down to negotiate a contract. Both sides worked
sage directly to Gold Star’s customers, including out an agreement that was ratified before the school
hundreds of school districts. year started.
Local 572, which represents cafeteria managers at “With a Teamster contract, my family has much
Gold Star’s largest customer, the Los Angeles Unified more stability,” said Raymond Aviles, a driver for
School District (LAUSD), sent a letter to the LAUSD Gold Star. “I can provide for my family and give my
Board detailing several problems drivers faced that kids a better life.”
also affected school staff. “I think we convinced Gold Star it was in their in-
terest to work with us instead of fight us,” Korgan
Good Food Purchasing Program said. “We’ve demonstrated that a good relationship
In 2012, LAUSD voted to adopt the Good Food Pur- between employees and the Teamsters can actually
chasing Program (GFPP), a policy that rewards good help business.”
www.teamster.org | Fall 2018 | Teamster 3
TEAMSTER NEWS
BUSINESS AGENTS
UPS, UPS Freight
LOBBY IN D.C.
Contract Updates
ADVOCATING FOR PENSION
To get the latest UPS and UPS REFORM ON CAPITOL HILL
Freight contract updates, sign
up for the UPS Rising app
S
cores of Teamster business agents from all over
where you can also find the the country descended on Capitol Hill recently to
current UPS contract and talk to their lawmakers about a top concern of the
other news. union: pension reform. There, they shared their stories
about why House and Senate members, no matter
Download the app by search- what their party affiliation, should back the Butch Lewis
ing “UPS Rising” in the App Act of 2017.
Store or Google Play. You can These Teamsters told members of Congress that
also follow the UPS Rising change must be made and what could happen to Amer-
Facebook page for the latest ica’s economy if failing multiemployer pension plans
updates. aren’t fixed.
“Our local does get calls each day about pensions,”
said Zach Peterson, a business agent with Local 238 in
Go to “UPS Rising” on Cedar Rapids, Iowa. “This isn’t just a Teamster issue. If
Facebook. this doesn’t get resolved this will be a much larger eco-
nomic issue. Many won’t have money to spend.”
Or visit Tracy Leone, also a business agent from Local 238,
www.upsrising.org said ultimately the government is going to have to pay
to see all the UPS Rising to help the 1.5 million people affected by underfunded
news. multiemployer plans. So it should do the right thing.
“We can spend money now or spend money later and
Text “UPS” to 86466 hurt people we don’t need to hurt,” she said.
to receive text messages That’s the message business agents took to their
alerts (message and data rates may apply). representatives. And it’s one all on Capitol Hill should
understand. Workers aren’t seeking a bailout. They just
want fairness.
For more information about pensions, including
what you can do to help, turn to page 22.
4 Teamster | Fall 2018 | www.teamster.org
FIRST TEAMSTER
CONTRACT AT PARSEC
Intermodal Workers in California Ratify First Agreement
W
orkers at Parsec, Inc. in Commerce, Calif. who
belong to Local 986 have overwhelmingly rat-
ified a first contract that provides substantial
wage increases, a better and more affordable health
care plan, real union representation and other major
improvements.
“The overall contract is a new world for these
workers,” said Chris Griswold, President of Local 986
in South El Monte, Calif.
There are 950 workers in the bargaining unit. They
voted to form their union in November 2016, the first
of numerous organizing victories for the Teamsters in
the intermodal rail transportation industry.
The workers will now have strong Teamster repre- sters 401(k) plan with hourly contribution rates.”
sentation after being “represented” by an unscrupu- The health care plan is also improved and more
lous association. affordable.
“As Teamsters, they now have a real grievance “The workers and their families can finally go to
procedure,” Griswold said. “Before, they had griev- the doctor and they have a dental plan they can use,”
ance meetings over the phone with their business Griswold said.
representative in Chicago. They now have full-time “The new contract has wage increases for all my
representation with Local 986. They will elect their co-workers, and a progression rate that will unify
shop stewards.” everyone to the same pay rate at the end of the con-
tract, eliminating a wage-tier system that has divided
Other Benefits us for the last 23 years,” said Rigo Pastrano, a ramp
Griswold said the contract contained a lot of good driver/crane operator who has worked at Parsec for
things for the workers. 19 years. “We also have an upgraded medical plan
“The wage increases are substantial and some of that we can use without worrying about the high cost
the workers had not received a raise in over five throughout the year.”
years,” Griswold said. “We also negotiated the Team- The workers ratified the five-year contract in late May.
www.teamster.org | Fall 2018 | Teamster 5
TEAMSTER NEWS
A Coke and a Smile
MIAMI DRIVERS CHOOSE LOCAL 769
J
ulio Besue has worked at UPS 2018. On June 22, 2018, the work- on the job."
for more than 20 years, start- ers in the 48-person unit voted by CCBF is based in Tampa and is
ing not long after he left Coca- a 3-to-1 margin to join the Team- one of the most profitable compa-
Cola Beverages Florida (CCBF) sters. nies in Florida. However, the work-
where he was a supervisor. A "For me, this is liberty," said Al- ers sought out the Teamsters to
chance discussion in mid-May led varez after the vote. "They used to gain a voice on the job for safer
to a life-changing vote for CCBF be the lion and we were the mon- working conditions, improved
workers at the South Dade distri- key tied up to the tree. Now there wages and retirement security.
bution center. are two lions standing against Jorge Castillo observed the bal-
Besue, a UPS steward, was rid- each other." loting and vote count on behalf of
ing with Local 769 Secretary-Trea- the workers. Immediately after
surer Roly Pina when Pina A Latin Family winning the election Castillo was
mentioned that there were rumors Local 769 Business Agent David speechless for several moments
the CCBF driver's wanted to join Renshaw noted that this was a when asked what this win meant
the Teamsters. Besue pulled out united group who knew what they to him and his family, including his
his cell phone and called one of wanted. parents who live with him. But
the guys who worked for him "The real difference in this cam- with a smile and praise to God, he
more than two decades ago. paign is that the internal Latin fam- put it all in perspective.
"Julio called me and I said yes ily and community came together "This is another win for free-
we want the Teamsters," said wanting this," Renshaw said. "The dom and democracy," said Castillo,
Humberto Alvarez, a 23-year CCBF company ran an aggressive cam- a CCBF driver who emigrated to
driver. paign, but the workers stood to- the U.S. from Cuba. "This is right
That call took place on May 19, gether to achieve a greater voice up there with coming here."
6 Teamster | Fall 2018 | www.teamster.org
The Last Horsemen
NEW DOCUMENTARY FOLLOWS TEAMSTER CARRIAGE DRIVERS
“T
he Last Horsemen of their day-to-day struggle to fend
New York,” a new doc- off extinction. Leading the charge
umentary, follows the for the carriages in the media is
story of the New York City car- well known actor and New York
riage drivers fighting to save resident Liam Neeson.
their industry. The drivers, As the fight unfolds, a much
who are members of the broader story emerges about pow-
Teamsters Union, have been erful interests against the common
battling powerful interests try- man and the role of secret unac-
ing to do away with their jobs. countable money that corrupts the
The film follows carriage in- political system.
dustry spokespeople Christina For more information about the
Hansen and Stephen Malone, movie and where to watch it, visit
both members of Local 553, in www.lasthorsemenfilm.com.
TEAMSTER NATION PODCAST
News for Working Families
Check out the Teamsters Union’s podcast at
teamster.org/podcast
For more information, to listen or subscribe, visit teamster.org/podcast
www.teamster.org | Fall 2018 | Teamster 7
Leading the Way for Working Families 8 Teamster | Fall 2018 | www.teamster.org
W
ith numerous challenges facing the Team-
sters—including the Janus case, the spread
of right to work and the crucial midterm
elections—action and working together are more
important than ever.
This was a major theme and focus for the more
than 1,600 union leaders attending the 2018 Unity
Conference in May.
“Every election year they say, ‘This is the most im-
portant election in our lifetime,’” General President
Jim Hoffa said. “Well guess what? In regards to the
upcoming midterms, it's actually the truth. We’ve got
to go to the polls and vote like never before.”
Hoffa told union leaders that they must get their
members to vote for candidates who will support
working families.
“We’ve got a chance to take back the Congress
this time,” Hoffa said. “We’ve got to go out and fight
for people who believe in us.”
This also includes electing pro-worker governors
in Illinois, Ohio and Michigan, among other states
“who can block right to work,” Hoffa said.
Other speakers echoed the theme.
“Over the course of the past year, both our mem-
bership and our assets have increased—but we need
to remain vigilant,” Teamsters General Secretary-
Treasurer Ken Hall said.
“The middle class is under siege and that has to
stop. The only thing that stands up for them is a
strong labor movement,” said Teamsters National
Freight Division Director Ernie Soehl. “We need to
stop corporate interests from buying influence to-
ward elected officials. We need to focus on voting for
government officials based on their views on labor,
not on the issues that divide us.”
“With Janus, right to work and the pension crisis,
this is the time where solidarity and the word unity
mean something very special,” said Randy Cammack,
President of Joint Council 42. “The strength of this
great union has always been the solidarity of our
membership, the solidarity of our leadership. This is
the time to demonstrate that.”
Teamster Power
Despite challenges, the Teamsters continue to grow
thanks to aggressive organizing. The Unity Conference
focused on the major organizing campaigns in pas-
www.teamster.org | Fall 2018 | Teamster 9senger transit, freight, airline, intermodal, warehouse
and tankhaul.
Newly organized workers inspired conference at-
tendees.
Tony Inglett, a fuel delivery truck driver at APP/World
Fuel Services, waved a contract from the podium that
he and his co-workers recently ratified—their first.
“This simple document means so much for me
and my co-workers because it will help us get the fair
treatment we deserve,” said Inglett, who along with
89 co-workers joined Local 174 in Seattle and ratified
their first contract early this year.
Katie Williams, a driver at Durham School Services
in Chattanooga, Tenn., spoke just a few days before
voting to join Local 327 in Nashville. Williams and her
co-workers started organizing after a tragic 2016 school
bus accident took the lives of six school children.
“Ever since that day we’ve been fighting for a
voice and finally, with your help, we have been
heard,” Williams said.
Joe Chung, a driver at FreshPoint, a subsidiary of
Sysco in southeast Florida, joined Local 769 in Miami.
Chung and his co-workers recently ratified their first
contract that provided significant wage increases,
strong grievance procedures and job security for
10 Teamster | Fall 2018 | www.teamster.orgORGANIZERS
DISCUSS BUILDING
TEAMSTER POWER
members who faced management threats of facility
T
closure, job losses and other reprisals when they first eamster organizers from local unions,
sought union representation. Joint Councils and the International Union
“You guys changed our lives,” Chung said. “Thank shared ideas and strategies about building
you for that.” Teamster power during an organizing confer-
Leroy Pass, a school bus driver at Durham in ence that coincided with the Unity Conference.
Metropolis, Ill., voted to join Local 50 in Swansea, Ill. in This year’s theme was “Building a Better
August 2017. Safety was a top concern for the work- Local Union: Powerhouse Targeting.”
ers, who have documented broken equipment, numer- Attendees learned an overview of the key el-
ous mechanical problems and even airborne mold on ements for building a strong local union organ-
the buses that went unaddressed by the company. izing program, how to pick organizing targets
Pass talked about the importance of unity as the that maximize success and building local union
campaign to organize Durham workers continues. power. They
“We are a chain,” Pass said. “What affects you, af- also learned
fects me. Don’t let Durham find that weak link in that about building
chain and break that chain. We must stand together.” local union or-
Devon Horner, a warehouse loader at Sysco in ganizing ca-
Post Falls, Idaho, voted recently to join Local 690 in pacity and
Spokane, Wash. Horner and his co-workers ratified heard stories
their first contract recently after approving a strike-au- about what
thorization vote. local unions
“The company did not respect seniority and our are doing, in-
health care continually got worse,” Horner said. cluding a suc-
“We figured the best way to get treated with respect cessful volunteer organizing program at Local
was to organize as Teamsters. We got a solid first 777 in the Chicago area.
contract and we look forward to making further “We do a lot of local union organizing al-
gains in the future.” ready but it was valuable to hear all the exam-
ples that were discussed and seeing if we can
Major Challenges use some of these strategies,” said Catherine
Cobb, President of Local 2010 in California. “It's
Leaders discussed the serious repercussions from also helpful to learn about all the national cam-
the Janus v. AFSCME case, an anti-union effort to paigns the Teamsters are working on now.”
eliminate fair-share fees in the public sector. Several “I will take much of this information back to
leaders shared how they are preparing for the court our members,” said Jackie Spears, Local 2010
decision’s impact. Trustee who began as a steward like Cobb. “All
In Iowa, the state’s Republican-led government these anecdotes about successful organizing
passed a new law where workers were forced to really shows that we can all work together for
revote on whether to remain in their union. Local 238, the members.”
with the help of the International Union, was forced Sami Gabriel, President of Local 320 in Min-
to run 69 state-sponsored recertification elections for nesota that represents public employees, talked
2,200 bargaining unit members. about the importance of internal organizing.
“A funny thing happened on the way to the fu- About 18 months ago, the local began a cam-
neral,” said Jesse Case, Secretary-Treasurer of Local paign that asked public employee members to
238 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. “We won. We won be- recommit to their membership. As a result, the
cause we know how to organize.” number of full-membership public employees
Of the 1,888 members who voted, 1,828 voted to has increased from 78 percent to 86 percent as
remain with the Teamsters–97 percent of voters. the union prepared for the Janus decision.
Gabrielle Carteris, President of the Screen Actors “Internal organizing is just as important as
Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio external organizing,” Gabriel said.
www.teamster.org | Fall 2018 | Teamster 11LEADERS LEARN LATEST
AT DIVISION MEETINGS
U
nity was a great opportu- discover that what they
nity for local union lead- thought of as a regional prob-
ers to come together to lem unique to their local actu-
connect, share stories and re- ally affected several locals
sources. across multiple regions, as
Leaders of local unions was the case at the AWG (As-
that represent workers in the sociated Wholesale Grocers)
Trade Show and Convention meeting.
Centers Division discussed Issues related to hiring
the influence of automation and turnover at an AWG facil-
and the importance of train- ity in Kenosha, Wis. are not
ing and preparing workers unique in that it is also occur-
for the changes coming in the ring in Memphis and other lo-
industries. cations. Due to AWG’s inability
“We need to start working to hire, retain and properly
technology into our contracts; train workers, current employ-
that is the number one issue. ees are facing long hours and nonunion locations,” said Tom
With robots at check-in and grueling working conditions Bennett, President of Local 200.
more places, technology is re- where quality control and At the Sysco meeting,
ally impacting these jobs,” said timeliness are disregarded. which was standing room
Tommy Blitsch, Secretary-Trea- “Right now the biggest only, attendees shared horror
surer of Local 631 in Las Vegas. thing for our guys is the hours stories that workers are expe-
Other meetings at Unity of- and long days, the quality of riencing every day. Workers
fered attendees the chance to life, money and organizing the face high levels of intimida-
tion and threats of shut-
downs when organizing takes
place. At Sysco subsidiary
FreshPoint, contract negotia-
tions were dragging. But after
workers approved a strike-au-
thorization vote and threat-
ened a strike, the company
finally got serious and bar-
gained a contract, which
workers ratified.
“The company’s mistreat-
ment drove us to the point
where we weren’t going to
accept it anymore, and we
had support all across the
country” said Joe Chung, a
FreshPoint driver.
12 Teamster | Fall 2018 | www.teamster.orgArtists (SAG-AFTRA), talked about the importance of contacted Joint Council 16 and the IBT offering to
getting younger people, women and under-repre- help,” Miranda said. “About 100 members were se-
sented people involved with the labor movement. lected and they spent two weeks delivering water,
“Young people have the potential to reinvigorate food and supplies in Puerto Rico. I’ve never been so
our movements with fresh ideas and new energy,” proud of this union.”
Carteris said. “If we do not walk the walk of labor and Miranda introduced Marcos Cruz, a member of
reflect the true diversity of our country and our work- Local 631 in Las Vegas. Crus sold his motorcycle so
forces, how long do you think we remain strong? he could afford to make the trip to help people in
“We need to change and we need to grow,” she Puerto Rico.
said. “They (members) need to see themselves in the “Within 45 minutes of arriving I was picking up
ranks of the leadership.” water from the airport and delivering it,” Cruz said.
Francois Laporte, President of Teamsters Canada, “I’m extremely grateful to have been given the
presented an overview of the key projects he and his chance to help.”
colleagues are tackling, which includes organizing in Several times at Unity, leaders heard about the ab-
construction, dairy, the armored car industry, freight, horrent conditions that XPO Logistics’ workers are
food processing and beverage. Teamster leaders in facing at a warehouse in Memphis, Tenn. Workers
Canada are also closely involved with the NAFTA face rampant sexual harassment, unsafe working
renegotiations, making sure the interests of all Team- conditions, and a total lack of respect. One worker,
sters are protected. Linda Neal, died on the job and her body was left un-
“Like never before, we need to stick together, to attended for more than a half hour as her colleagues
fight together,” Laporte said. worked around her body. Workers at the Memphis fa-
cility are fighting to form their union, and the overall
Taking Action situation has been the focus of media attention in re-
International Union Vice President George Miranda, cent months.
President of Joint Council 16 in New York City, talked “We will organize XPO and bring justice to the
about the union’s tremendous response to hurricanes workers,” Hoffa said. “We are the beacon of hope.
Harvey, Irma and Maria, the latter of which was the We are a strong union. We have the ideas. We will
worst disaster to ever hit Puerto Rico. bring justice to Linda Neal and her memory and
“After Hurricane Maria, more than 500 members everyone at XPO and we’ll do it together.”
www.teamster.org | Fall 2018 | Teamster 13UNION, ALLIES CONTINUE FIGHT ON BEHALF OF WORKERS
Teamsters Hold
XPO Accountable
14 Teamster | Fall 2018 | www.teamster.orgXPO
Logistics is an American company • Freight Brokerage (FTL) – similar to LTL but
headquartered in Greenwich, Conn. The carries larger and heavier packages that cannot
company’s CEO is Bradley Jacobs, who break down into units
is notorious for buying companies, consolidating them • Warehouse – stores, packages, distributes and
by cutting worker wages and benefits, and then sells tracks products for customers in its supply chain
the company off to gain a hefty profit. His game plan is
So, what does all this mean? Well, because they’re
simple; Jacobs flips companies for personal gain at the
virtually in every sector and operate around the globe,
expense of middle class and low wage workers, whose
XPO is the only company that can manage, package
lives are ruined at the end of the day. And XPO is Ja-
and distribute products from start to finish. No other
cobs’ latest but also his largest project.
company has that type of capacity. Yet, despite all of
Within the last couple of years, XPO became one
that visibility, Jacobs and the company itself are vir-
of the largest transportation and logistics service com-
tually unknown. Bradley Jacobs and XPO might be
panies in the world. Here’s how large this company
unknown, but their customer list is quite the opposite.
is: XPO expands across 32 countries that include the
For starters, not only is the list over 50,000 strong, it
United States, Europe, and Asia, employs over 95,000
workers in almost 1,500 locations around the globe
includes some big names like Verizon, DHL, Nike, Dis-
and serves in every division. Here’s the breakdown:
ney and Amazon—big-time customers with big-time rep-
• Less-than-Truckload (LTL) – handles small utations to uphold and millions of people to keep happy.
packages and freight that can be broken down You see, Jacobs and XPO are far from upstanding.
into units Jacobs will cut every corner he can with no regard for
• Last Mile – home delivery service and it’s built anyone else’s livelihood if it means more dollars in his
into the company’ supply chain pocket—from hiring union busters to intimidating
• Supply Chain – provides all-around product workers, cutting health insurance while raising the
support to customers cost for coverage, outsourcing, sub-contracting or elim-
inating jobs completely, stealing millions of dollars in
• Global Forwarding – the ability to ship products
workers’ wages, to even letting a woman die on a ware-
anywhere with no restrictions on size, weight
house floor. Why? Because packaging iPhones for
or mode
Verizon was more valuable than her life.
• Intermodal – or drayage presence in every key Bradley Jacobs and XPO are the epitome of corpo-
port and gives the capability to move freight rate greed and the reason why unions are needed.
door-to-door Which is why XPO workers throughout the 32 coun-
www.teamster.org | Fall 2018 | Teamster 15tries and the unions who represent them are fighting recognized as specialists, which results in pay
back against XPO’s constant oppression and worker inequality.
abuse by banding together to create an international • In the United States, the NLRB found XPO guilty
coalition to take on the company’s anti-worker, anti- of misclassifying and unjustly firing workers, 13
union stance. federal charges filed against XPO for sexual
harassment and a wrongful death suit, after a
International Coalition to woman working at an XPO-operated warehouse
Fight XPO's Anti-Labor Practices in Memphis, Tenn. packaging and distributing
In July 2017, the International Workers’ Transport Fed- Verizon products, died after being denied medical
eration (ITF), which represents over 16.5 million work- attention.
ers in 654 transport workers’ unions in 148 countries
worldwide, created an XPO global leadership task force The Horror in Memphis
with the Teamsters and the European Workers Trans- To put things in perspective, it's important to lay out
port Federation (ETF) with a simple goal in mind: for the demographic in the Memphis warehouse. XPO
XPO to be held accountable for their labor violations management is majority white male while the workers
throughout the world. Here are just a few of the end- are predominantly African-American women. There
less and inhumane labor violations by XPO. are multiple off-duty police officers from the Memphis
• In Spain, pregnant women in warehouses are Metropolitan Police Department, Mississippi’s Olive
known to hide their pregnancy until the last Branch Police Department, along with private security,
moment, because those who are pregnant are acting as security in the warehouse. There are at least
not reallocated adequately to safe jobs. They are six safety managers assigned to different sections and
visibly made to do jobs like standing in the middle multiple workers who are CPR certified. There are also
of the warehouse all day counting pallets. close to 20 different temp agencies operating within
• In France and Belgium, XPO is delaying the the warehouse, which leaves a lot of the women work-
payment of overtime while women workers are ers vulnerable and susceptible to intimidation, harass-
not given promotion opportunities, even if they ment and abuse. And on Oct. 17, 2017, that abuse cost
are already doing the same job as men who are the life of one woman.
16 Teamster | Fall 2018 | www.teamster.orgLINDA NEAL
These are the facts. found that Neal was having a heart attack. She could
Shortly after the morning shift started, Linda Neal have been saved.
went to her XPO supervisors multiple times asking to A day after her death, Neal's fellow XPO co-worker
leave work or take a break because she wasn't feeling Tasha Murrell-Bohanna made a call to the Teamsters
well. XPO denied every single one of her requests and for help. Three days later the Teamsters were on the
forced her back to work. ground, but only to find out her death wasn't the only
Less than an hour later Linda Neal passed out on unfathomable incident taking place behind XPO's doors.
the warehouse floor hitting her head so hard there was Throughout the following days, weeks and months,
a puddle of blood next to where she laid. That puddle the Teamsters interviewed numerous women and ob-
of blood would not be cleaned up for two days. tained multiple records that include the medical exam-
Workers immediately rushed to Neal's aid to per- iner's report, the initial police report, the 911 call and
form CPR, however, before they were able to get to her the horrific treatment the workers endure every day.
XPO supervisors stopped them and told them to get Again, here are the facts.
back, don't touch her or you're terminated. • The Teamsters used the Freedom of Information
At this point, one would think to call 911. No. Not Act (FOIA) to obtain the 911 call that showed it
only did XPO not call 911 for help, neither the safety was not made for 56 minutes and the call was not
managers nor off-duty police officers rendered aid. In- for emergency help, it was for a DOA
stead, they proceeded to make the workers continue
• Medical examiner's report concluded Neal died
working around Linda Neal's body while supervisors
of a heart attack
proceeded to hold a 30-minute meeting over her body
on whether to call 911. • It was learned that Neal had previously passed
The 911 call would come 56 minutes after Neal out at work at least twice before due to exhaustion
passed out. The 911 call would not be for help. The 911 • Her son Dean Turner stated that she complained
call would be for DOA—dead on arrival. to him and her family on a daily basis about the
XPO waited an hour to call for help while forcing warehouse infrastructure: no air conditioning or
workers to continue working around her body. They heat, ceiling falling in, the overall filth of the ware-
did not call Neal's family, a co-worker of hers had to. house and other complaints
And when Neal's son Dean Turner arrived at the ware- • After conducting multiple interviews, it was
house, a man who introduced himself as the vice presi- found that workers passing out from exhaustion,
dent of XPO told him that his mother died "very, very overheating and dehydration is a common
peacefully" and there was nothing they could do to issue in the warehouse
help her.
• No ventilation system in the warehouse and
But there was.
workers are not allowed to wear jackets
When the medical examiner's report concluded, it
www.teamster.org | Fall 2018 | Teamster 17• Ceiling is coming down and has hit people in the
head in the warehouse, which also has mold,
dust, snakes and spiders
• Multiple accounts of sexual harassment/
discrimination
• Fires occur from forklifts, and management does
not evacuate the building
• Making women take their bras off to work,
grabbing women, making unwanted sexual
advances
• Multiple women had miscarriages in the
warehouse as a result of being worked to
exhaustion, the most recent occurring within
the last few months
Because of Murrell-Bohanna’s brave decision to
come forward, she empowered women like Lakeisha
Nelson, Elizabeth Howley and numerous others to ated support and actions from major women’s advo-
come forward and tell their stories. And slowly, one cacy groups and civil rights organizations at the na-
story became five, and five became 13. One by one, tional level. Organizations like the National Women’s
women shared stories of sexual harassment, discrimi- Law Center, A Better Balance and the NAACP all rallied
nation, abuse and losing their unborn children, all at around the workers by writing joint letters with a list
the hands of XPO's inhumane practices and policies. of demands to XPO and Verizon, providing legal repre-
"I feel proud that I made the step to expose XPO for sentation and speaking out at events.
their wrong and unethical practices," Murrell-Bohanna "In the beginning, I truly didn't think things would
said. "We do have people in this world who care about happen like this, or this fast,” Nelson said. “Knowing
equality, and I stand here today to say to all XPO em- we have changed so much in such little time is amaz-
ployees our voices are heard.” ing. To have other locations reach out and speak out
Linda Neal's death and the stories from the women against violations they endure is empowerment all in
inside XPO's warehouse sparked outrage and gener- itself. Tasha made that call and changed lives around
the world.”
International Coalition and
Shareholder Meetings
In May 2018, seven months after that fateful day in the
Memphis warehouse, Murrel-Bohanna and Nelson at-
tended Verizon’s shareholder meeting in Seattle. It was
at the shareholder meeting where they addressed Veri-
zon’s CEO and Executive Board of Directors with one
ask—a pledge that they would conduct a transparent
and independent investigation into XPO’s practices and
demand better treatment and policies. And the women
were not alone in their fight.
ITF General Secretary Steve Cotton issued a letter
to Verizon leadership demanding they take action by
conducting an independent review to eradicate harass-
ment and discrimination in Memphis, following Linda
Neal's death and multiple sexual harassment charges
filed against XPO.
Those demands from Cotton and the ITF for XPO to
come to the table and address the issues of XPO work-
ers were denied. Verizon, on the other hand, shared their
concern and remains open to fulfilling the demands.
18 Teamster | Fall 2018 | www.teamster.orgVerizon accepted the demands from the XPO ware- Following XPO's shareholder meeting in the United
house workers and immediately wrote a letter to XPO States, the international task force once again sent a
stating, “We will be monitoring XPO’s actions in re- union delegation to XPO's shareholder meeting in
sponse to this matter closely, and it will inform the Lyon, France to renew the call for XPO to address is-
basis of any decisions Verizon makes regarding the fu- sues workers face including gender discrimination,
ture of our contractual relationship with XPO.” sexual harassment and dangerous working practices.
Then, on May 15, 2018, the international task force During the meeting in France, a protest outside the
sent a union delegation representing five countries to hotel also took place coordinated by the three French
XPO's United States shareholder meeting. The union unions representing XPO workers, as well as a three-
delegation that represents XPO workers from across hour strike at XPO facilities across France. But XPO
Europe and the United States asked the company to showed the same lack of empathy and response to any
seek answers about the death of Linda Neal and to ad- of the issues raised and refused to address the grow-
dress the growing number of sexual harassment ing concern of outside groups—and the support is
charges filed in the United States. However, the lack of growing stronger by the day.
answers XPO gave were mindboggling. XPO denied all The fight for justice, the fight against the corporate
allegations of wrongdoing and Jacobs and the board greed of XPO, the fight for workers' rights, for workers'
of directors kept their backs to the union speakers dignity and respect, will not stop.
throughout the shareholder meeting.
#WeAreXPO
For more information on the XPO campaign, visit teamster.org, check out the XPOexposed
Facebook page or check out @Teamsters on Twitter and Instagram. Use the hashtag #WeAreXPO.
www.teamster.org | Fall 2018 | Teamster 19ORGANIZING UPDATE
Local 174’s Organizing Success
TANKHAUL VICTORIES
L
ocal 174, based in Tukwila, Wash., has had than 700 other Airgas Teamsters around the country.
incredible success in the tankhaul industry lately. “In the last few years, there has been a lot of dis-
Tankhaulers are skilled drivers who transport liq- crepancy in wages and there has been no reason or
uids and gases. The work is dangerous, but what they explanation given for it,” Graham said. “The local has
do keeps homes warm, fuel tanks full and oxygen been outstanding. I’ve been a Teamster before so I
flowing. know a lot of these people and they’re all great to
Recently, 23 drivers at Airgas, who deliver liquid work with.”
air to everyone from hospitals to soda fountains,
voted to join Local 174. The victory came after a brief Other Tankhaul Victories
but vicious anti-union campaign by the company. Air- APP/World Fuel Services Teamsters with Local 174, who
gas brought in union-busting attorneys to hold regu- recently negotiated a groundbreaking tankhaul contract,
lar anti-union meetings with the drivers, and to ride also helped out with the organizing effort at Airgas.
along with them throughout the day spewing anti- “Several APP brothers had a huge impact in or-
union rhetoric. ganizing Airgas. I hope to shake their hands again,”
“Despite the company’s best efforts to brainwash Graham said.
the employees against forming a union, these Airgas Some of those APP drivers also appeared at this
drivers voted in favor of themselves and their fami- year’s Unity Conference, which included a segment
lies,” said Local 174 Director of Organizing Meaza on their contract.
Ogbe. In March, another group of tankhaulers joined
“With this organizing victory, Local 174 is taking Local 174. Nearly 150 aircraft fuelers, dispatchers and
the lead on building strength at Airgas in the West,” mechanics employed by Swissport were successful in
said David Jacobsen, Local 174 business agent and their effort to join Local 174. The mostly-immigrant
Western Region Tankhaul Director. workgroup is based at SeaTac airport, and is responsi-
Don Graham, from Auburn, Wash., has been work- ble for fueling all commercial aircraft departing from
ing for Airgas for almost seven years. He joins more that airport.
20 Teamster | Fall 2018 | www.teamster.orgLOCAL 327 improvements. cians, building inspectors, ing issues. We needed
Durham School Services waste water operators, somebody to represent
LOCAL 542 parking operations aids us, which is why we
School bus drivers and Republic Services and more. turned to the Teamsters
monitors who work at “Through their leader- for help. The support we
Durham School Services Republic Services landfill ship, the SRCEA Board have gotten is amazing.”
voted recently to join workers became the third have demonstrated a track
Local 327 in Nashville. company-affiliated unit record of providing city LOCAL 777
The 269 workers will join in the San Diego area to employees in Santa Rosa First Student
thousands of other organize with Local 542 with strong representa-
Durham employees na- when they voted to join tion,” said Local 856 Secre- With more than 80 per-
tionwide already repre- the union recently. tary-Treasurer Peter Finn. cent voting in favor of
sented by the Teamsters. By a 28-5 vote, heavy union representation,
From the beginning equipment operators, LOCAL 683 school bus monitors at
of the nearly yearlong mechanics, laborers and First Student in West-
Sysco
organizing effort, safety weigh station scale house mont, Ill. have become
issues have been at the attendants decided on On May 2, inventory con- the newest members of
top of the agenda. Drivers April 4 to join the Team- trol workers at Sysco in Local 777.
and monitors started sters after a two-month Riverside, Calif. voted to “These workers have
organizing after a tragic campaign. Wages, bene- join Local 683 in San Diego. spoken loud and clear,”
2016 school bus accident fits and job security are There are seven workers said Jim Glimco, Presi-
took the lives of six top concerns for the 35 in the bargaining unit. dent of Local 777 in Lyons,
school children. workers in the unit. “This is our second at- Ill. “They want the same
“After the accident, Jaime Vasquez, Secre- tempt with the inventory benefits enjoyed by a
the drivers and monitors tary-Treasurer of Local control group,” said Local vast majority of the First
were concerned because 542 in San Diego, said the 683 Secretary-Treasurer Student drivers and mon-
there were still serious workers stood strong de- Todd Mendez. “We itors in DuPage County
safety issues and the spite efforts to sway their wouldn’t have been able who are covered by a
workers didn’t feel like decision. to do this without the Teamster contract.”
they had a voice. That “The company hired help of Sysco warehouse The workers will im-
has been a big part of the an anti-union outfit to try and transportation work- mediately be covered by
organizing effort,” said to convince the employ- ers, in being united and the First Student National
Local 327 President Joe ees not to vote for the encouraging them to stay Master Agreement. With
Bennett. “What we saw union,” he said. “But ob- strong and to not give the addition of the West-
on the buses, it just af- viously it didn’t work.” into the fear factor.” mont yard, the Teamsters
fected the drivers, moni- Local 683 represents now represent every sin-
tors and students.” LOCAL 856 two major hubs; Sysco gle First Student bus mon-
Other workplace is- SRCEA San Diego and Riverside. itor in DuPage County.
sues were also important, “We are now wall to “Monitors at First Stu-
In April, 450 members of wall in San Diego and dent in Villa Park and Glen
such as wages, benefits,
the Santa Rosa City Em- Riverside. That’s a big ac- Ellyn reach a $15 per hour
seniority and an end to
ployees Association complishment,” Mendez rate, why not us?” said
favoritism on the job.
(SRCEA) voted to become said. Bertha Adams, a monitor
Durham actively pres-
Local 856 members. “This was stressful be- at First Student West-
sures workers not to join
The members are cause it was clear the mont with 15 years of ex-
the union, creating divi-
technical, professional company did not want us perience. “It’s not just
sion and hostility in the
and clerical workers who to do this, but I had to do about wages, either. A
workplace. But Bennett
serve the city of Santa what was best for my Teamster contract will
is committed to working
Rosa as code enforce- family,” said Nadine Ro- also bring us job security,
with every Durham
ment, IT, administrative driguez, an inventory representation and guar-
worker in Chattanooga,
technicians, customer control worker at Sysco anteed safety standards
bringing them together
service representatives, Riverside. “We were hav- for our vehicles.”
to demand much-needed
civil engineering techni-
www.teamster.org | Fall 2018 | Teamster 2122 Teamster | Fall 2018 | www.teamster.org
www.teamster.org | Fall 2018 | Teamster 23
For Bimbo Bakeries, Teamsters Do It Best
DEDICATION, RELIABILITY OF UNION DRIVERS LEADS COMPANY TO CUT OUT MIDDLE MEN
T
he benefits of hiring a union driver instead of an the same location,” said Local 886 President Tom Rit-
independent operator are obvious to Teamsters. ter. “They bought out the IOs and gave those routes to
Every once in a while, it becomes obvious to us. They saved money, our drivers made more of it.”
large multinational corporations. It wasn’t just the savings from cutting overhead.
“Bimbo bakeries is our largest employer, and Bimbo Bakeries noticed that the Teamster routes were
throughout the years I’ve consistently pushed them to bringing in more revenue as well. IOs purchase indi-
think differently about their distribution methods, vidual routes and have no obligation to make sales
specifically their independent operator model,” said outside of their agreement with the company. Team-
Dave Dudas, Teamsters Bakery and Laundry Confer- ster drivers, however, bid their routes by seniority. As
ence Director and Local 52 Secretary-Treasurer. “Over employees, they have to perform to the company’s
time, the company has bought out their independent expectations and commission is the largest piece of
operators (IOs) and given those bread routes to Team- their salary.
ster drivers. This has led to greater sales for the com- Will Hand is a Local 886 member and a second-
pany, which in turn has led to more earnings for our generation Teamster. He’s been driving a bread route
membership.” for 25 years. His father was also a Teamster that drove
The Teamsters Union and Bimbo Bakeries provide a bread route, and he used to ride in his cab as a
a fantastic model for building mutually beneficial rela- child, so he likes to say he’s been on a bread route
tionships for union members, the companies where since he was four years old.
they work and the customers they serve. “Not only did we take the routes the IOs weren’t
interested in, we started pitching store owners on dif-
Tulsa, Okla. ferent brands that they weren’t carrying before,”
Hand said. “Now consumers in rural areas are getting
Mergers can be a major challenge for Teamsters. New access to Bimbo products that previously weren’t
ownership will often push for layoffs, more nonunion available where they lived. A lot of it is just trial and
drivers and various other cuts. When Bimbo Bakeries error on items that haven’t been in the market be-
bought Sara Lee seven years ago, however, Local 886 fore—finding out what works and what doesn’t. We’re
in Tulsa, Okla. saw a major opportunity. making more money because we have a collaborative
“We had about 60 small towns around the city relationship with the company; we can try new things
where we had an independent operator carrying the and experiment. Ever since we started this, drivers in
Bimbo brands, and a Teamster driver carrying the Sara my depot are making anywhere from $150 to $300
Lee brands, so the company was sending two trucks to more per week.”
24 Teamster | Fall 2018 | www.teamster.orgKansas City, Mo. products to Teamster drivers.
Conservative estimates for the Salt Lake City pro-
After the success of the pilot program in Oklahoma,
gram suggest that Teamster drivers will be generating at
the company approached Dudas about a large-scale
least $7 million in sales for the company, with revenue
project that he had been advocating for a number of
only increasing as Teamster drivers take over the routes.
years—transitioning an entire geographic area into a
Local 222 Vice President Marty Cowan said that the ded-
Teamsters-only distribution network. The Bakery and
ication of Teamster drivers played a role in the com-
Laundry Conference successfully negotiated a plan
pany’s decision to switch over the routes from the IOs.
for Bimbo Bakeries to transition all of the IO routes in
“They are bringing this product onto our routes
the Kansas City metropolitan area to Teamster driv-
with the expectations that sales goals will be higher
ers. Just like in Tulsa, the move has led to increased
and they will be met with our drivers,” Cowan said. “If
sales, particularly in Bimbo brands that the Teamsters
our drivers weren’t dedicated, this offer would not have
previously weren’t selling such as Oroweat, Enten-
even been on the table in the first place. We’ve got
mann’s and Thomas’.
great brothers and sisters who take pride in their work.
“We anticipate that the company will be able to
When you have that pride and dedication, you reap the
scale up in Kansas City to at least 16 more small-stop
benefit, which is higher sales and more money.”
routes to cover more than 800 locations that we cur-
Cowan added that the program was helpful in tak-
rently do not service,” Dudas said. “The significance
ing on the challenges posed by representing workers
of the Kansas City project cannot be undervalued. The
in a right-to-work state.
company was under no pressure to transition from
“We’ve got more than 90 percent of our drivers
IOs to Teamster route sales, but because of this pro-
signed up on cards, and with this new program I think
gram we are adding new members and our existing
it’s going to be even higher,” Cowan said. “Everything
members have greater job security.”
positive that comes from this deal is going to make
Local 955 President Jerry Woods echoed Dudas’
more drivers become members. I got a call from a
assertion about the importance of the program.
driver who hasn’t been a member for seven years,
“Before the implementation of this program, we
and now he wants to sign up.”
controlled less than 35 percent of the bread routes in
In a rapidly changing economy where trade union-
the Kansas City metropolitan area,” Woods said.
ists throughout the world are looking for innovative
“Now we control more than 50 percent, and pretty
ways to adapt to globalization, automation and in-
soon it will be 100 percent. We knew that at a certain
creased corporate power, the success of the Bakery
point the company was going to switch over to either
and Laundry Conference’s program provides a valu-
our drivers or IOs completely. We needed to figure
able lesson that carries weight for everyone in the
something out, and we did.”
Teamsters Union.
Bill Welch has been a Teamster driver for 13 years,
“We’re not just seeing this in the bread industry,”
and he was on the front lines of the Kansas City project.
Woods said. “In transportation, in warehouses—
“The IOs were happy with what they had and they
everything is changing. If we don’t figure out how to
weren’t pushing for any growth,” Welch said. “Most of
move with the future, we’re going to be left in the his-
them were only working two to three days a week, and
tory books. We can’t be stubborn, become a dinosaur
they had empty shelves because they weren’t hustling
and end up having workers out there who aren’t rep-
as much. Teamster drivers are reliable; we do these
resented. We have to change with the times.”
routes every day. We’re now carrying three times as
much product and everyone is making more money.”
Salt Lake City
After the success of Kansas City and Tulsa, the pro-
gram expanded into Salt Lake City. Local 222 had
been trying to get Bimbo Bakeries to switch routes
from IOs to Teamster drivers for eight years. Right as
the negotiations between the company and the local
were stalling, the Bakery and Laundry Conference in-
tervened. Based on the success of the programs in
Kansas City and Tulsa, Bimbo agreed to hand over the
IO routes for Thomas’, Oroweat and Entemann’s
www.teamster.org | Fall 2018 | Teamster 25You can also read
