#international brotherhood of teamsters

[b3aches]

Companies That Union-Bust Must Now Automatically Recognize Union, NLRB Rules

The National Labor Relations Board issued a ruling on Friday that changes the framework for unionizations, making it easier for workers to organize and harder for companies to fight back against them. The new process comes as part of a decision in the case between Cemex Construction Materials Pacific, LLC and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, where the Board found that the employer had committed over 20 “instances of objectionable or unlawful misconduct” between the filing of the union election petition and the election itself, intending to dissuade workers from organizing.

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

As multiple work stoppages continued across the United States, Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania on Thursday introduced legislation that would enable striking workers to qualify for federal food aid.

Called the Food Secure Strikers Act of 2023, Fetterman's bill would amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to ensure that striking workers aren't excluded from receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. In addition, the bill would preserve food stamp eligibility for public sector workers who are fired for striking and clarify that any income-eligible household is entitled to SNAP benefits even if a member of that household is on strike.

"Every union worker who is walking the picket line this summer needs to know that we have their back here in Washington," Fetterman said in a statement. "The union way of life is sacred. It's what built Pennsylvania and this nation. It is critical for us to protect workers' right to organize, and that includes making sure they and their families have the resources to support themselves while on strike."

"As chair of the Nutrition Subcommittee and an advocate for the union way of life, this bill is just plain common sense," he added. "I'm proud to introduce this bill that will eliminate the need for workers to choose between fighting for fair working conditions and putting food on the table for their families."

Workers typically forgo pay when they exercise their right to walk off the job in pursuit of higher wages and better conditions. Although union strike funds sometimes provide workers on the picket line with a stipend, it is less than their regular income.

Under existing law, striking workers and their households are ineligible to receive SNAP benefits unless they already qualified for food stamps prior to withholding their labor. This gives employers significant leverage over employees who can only endure economic hardship for so long. By repealing the current restriction on striking workers securing SNAP benefits, Fetterman's bill would help restore some balance to the struggle between capital and labor.

"It's good to see lawmakers attempting to correct the wrongs of the past by reinstating a benefit for striking workers that never should have been taken away in the first place," said International Brotherhood of Teamsters president Sean O'Brien. "Congress should never pass laws that punish American workers and hopefully this amendment is a repudiation of that practice."

O'Brien spent the past several weeks preparing 340,000 United Parcel Service (UPS) warehouse workers and delivery drivers for what would have been the second-largest work stoppage at a single employer in U.S. history, trailing only a 1970 strike of 400,000 General Motors workers. Although a UPS strike has likely been averted after the logistics giant and the Teamsters reached a tentative five-year contract agreement on Tuesday, Fetterman's proposal comes amid a nationwide wave of ongoing and potential labor actions.

"The United Auto Workers have mirrored the Teamsters' militant stance, blasting CEOs ahead of their own contract negotiations slated for later this year," The Intercept reported Thursday. "And the truckers union has staged trainings in dozens of cities for a strike that could shut down shipping from coast to coast. In California, meanwhile, thousands of hotel workers organized with Unite Here are already on strike, along with tens of thousands of Hollywood writers and actors belonging to the Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA, respectively."

The walkout of 160,000 writers and actors, who are fighting for improved remuneration and attempting to safeguard unionized jobs threatened by artificial intelligence-induced automation, is perhaps the most well-known of the current strikes.

Earlier this month, an anonymous studio executive admitted to Deadline that "the endgame is to allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses," drawing widespread condemnation, including from star actor Ron Perlman.

The Food Secure Strikers Act is designed to counteract the delay tactics that bosses rely on to crush workers.

"Workers who make the difficult decision to go on strike are coming together to lift the standard of living and gain more respect for all working people," said Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association (NEA). "They are prepared to make sacrifices—but going hungry should not be one of them. The Food Secure Strikers Act of 2023 will help ensure that when striking workers stand in solidarity for better working conditions and wages they can receive SNAP benefits so they don't put themselves and their families at risk."

The legislation is co-sponsored by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and 10 Senate Democrats, including Sherrod Brown (Ohio), Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), and Ron Wyden (Ore.). A companion bill was unveiled in the House by Democratic Reps. Alma Adams (N.C.) and Greg Casar (Texas).

It is also endorsed by numerous unions and anti-hunger organizations, including the Teamsters, NEA, the United Food and Commercial Workers, the Communications Workers of America, the Food Research Action Center, and Hunger-Free America.

"We need to get rid of the anti-union provisions in our code that starve striking workers," said Casar. "We're seeing workers exercise their rights across the country by going on strike to demand better wages and working conditions. That's why our bill, the Food Secure Strikers Act, is more important now than ever. We need to stop starving strikers, and ensure all working families are able to make ends meet."

[businessbigwigs]

Shareholders at Amazon Turn Down Audit

Shareholders at Amazon Vote Against Safety Conditions, Give Compensation Packages to CEO

Shareholders at Amazon don’t want working conditions in the megacompany’s warehouses to be audited for safety and labor conditions. Wednesday’s meeting of shareholders at Amazon was largely focused on worker’s rights and company transparency, with proposals coming from pro-labor activists and worker advocates. Amazon warehouse workers spoke at the meeting, asking for comprehensive reports on…

[chicagotimesonline]

UPS, Teamsters reach tentative agreement to avoid strike

By Willard Hughes, The Chicago Times July 26, 2023 ATLANTA – United Parcel Service and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters announced Tuesday a preliminary $30 billion labor deal that averts a potential nationwide strike that would have started July 31. “Rank-and-file UPS Teamsters sacrificed everything to get this country through a pandemic and enabled UPS to reap record-setting…

[macleod]

UPS has reached an agreement with the Teamsters union to equip its iconic brown delivery trucks with air conditioning for the first time for new units.

The agreement, announced by UPS on Tuesday, comes as the delivery giant and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters negotiate the terms of a new contract for more than 330,000 U.S. employees. (source)

Unions work, unionize.

[sleepyleftistdemon]

Amazon drivers and dispatchers in California have joined the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, one of the oldest, largest, and most powerful unions in the U.S., to organize for better working conditions, according to an announcement by the Teamsters on Monday.

On the same day, workers marched on Amazon’s management offices at the warehouse to demand that the company respect their right to unionize. This is the first time the Teamsters have successfully organized an Amazon-related facility.

[zvaigzdelasas]

UPS offered the Teamsters “a revised counterproposal with significant movement on wages and other economic language” Friday afternoon, the union said in a statement, though it said it was not enough to win the support of Teamsters leadership.

UPS also asked the Teamsters to continue negotiations until July 5, the union said. “UPS came back with real movement, but it isn’t enough,” Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien said in a statement. “After they left the room, our national committee had a long dialogue and the universal consensus was to continue our leverage campaign.”

30 Jun 23

The union’s current contract expires on July 31 and any new contract must be agreed by July 5 to be ratified before the end of the month. If no contract is reached by July 5, workers will strike when the contract ends, Teamsters president Sean O’Brien said. “Our administration has made it clear. We will not be working beyond the expiration date without the contract our members have demanded, and more importantly without the contract our members deserve,” O’Brien said at a press conference Saturday.[...]

UPS has agreed to add air conditioning to its trucks, but the parties are split on hiring and compensation policy. “(UPS can) concede to our demands and give us what we deserve and we will go out there and ratify this agreement. Or they can take the other road where they don’t ratify our demands, they stay loyal to Wall Street and forget about Main Street,” O’Brien said. “If they do that, they are making a choice to strike themselves. We will put 340,000 strong Teamsters on the streets until we get what we want and then UPS will be responsible for stopping supply chain solutions through this company,” he added. [...] “This is the largest bargaining agreement in any private sector union. We have the opportunity, because of the courage and conviction of our rank-and-file members who go to work every single day, to set the tone, to set the standard high for labor. Not just for Teamsters, but for the entire labor movement.”

1 Jul 23

[possums-against-cops]

Solidarity with UPS workers!

The contract deadline is August 1st and a strike has been authorized by 97% of union members. This means if the union cannot get an adequate contract with UPS by then, for things like air conditioning in all trucks, and fair wages for part time employees, they will strike. Part time employees make up about 60% of their workforce and preform backbreaking physical labor for a starting salary of $16 an hour. Starting pay in 1983 when adjusted for inflation was $25 an hour.

UPS handles about 28% of Americas shipping. UPS is already starting to train scabs. Package delivery will shut down across the nation and everyone will feel it. Are you and your community ready to stand in solidarity with them?

Things by mail will come slow if at all, who will this affect the most?

- Small businesses

- People who are housebound

- People who rely on specialty medication deliveries

If you rely on delivered medication, call your provider and check who does the deliveries; if it is UPS check how they are going to handle a possible strike. Even if your medication comes via other contracted delivery companies you need to be prepared for things to come slowly, if UPS is on strike that will put extra pressure on FedEx and USPS. Order as early as you can.

This strike will come on the heels of the joint WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Stand with the unions and put pressure on the companies to make sure writers, actors, and soon UPS workers are fairly compensated and protected on the job. Listen to the unions, don’t boycott unless they call for one. The UPS pilots union has stated that they will stand in solidarity with the UPS Teamsters.

UPS Teamsters United has strike resources

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters Newsroom

The Teamsters Twitter updates regularly about the state of negotiations for UPS workers as well as other negotiating and striking workers.

Donate to strike funds if you can and don’t fucking scab.

[lets-steal-an-archive]

Actors and writers want fans to help their Hollywood strike. Here’s how.

How are strikers encouraging audiences to get involved?

SAG-AFTRA and WGA members have used social media to spread information about the strike, detailing how viewers can support entertainment workers’ demands for higher minimum pay, improved safety and more streaming residuals. Among their recommendations for aiding the strike efforts are sharing, liking and commenting on posts about the recently expired SAG-AFTRA contract because “actors are working people just like everyone else.”

“There’s a lot of misconception that our union is about stars and celebrities,” said Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA’s national executive director and chief negotiator.

Most of the guild’s 160,000 members, he said, are “working actors who are trying to make a living, pay their bills, pay their rent.”

Actors and writers are encouraging fans to join the picket line in their local area to increase strike visibility. They say people can bring signs, water and snacks to picketers. Union-allied organizations such as the Directors Guild of America, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States have thrown their support behind the strike effort in person and online, joining a broader coalition of unions pushing against mistreatment in the workplace.

Crabtree-Ireland said strike supporters could aid the effort by amplifying the union’s demands with social media posts and donations to fundraisers for SAG-AFTRA members. Boycotting projects made by the AMPTP is not the priority, he added.

“We’re not at this time calling for a boycott of anybody. Our focus is on shutting down production. … But that’s not to say that that won’t be something we do in the future,” he said.

How can entertainment workers receive financial support during the strike?

Several organizations have committed to supporting members of SAG-AFTRA and the WGA. Some of the most prominent funds are SAG-AFTRA’s Entertainment Community Fund and nonaffiliated crowdsourced fundraisers like the Union Solidarity Coalition Fund, Groceries for Writers and the Snacklist.

The fundraisers say they provide resources that include mental health support, health insurance, counseling, career resources, budgeting tips and grocery aid.

Fowlkes, T. 2023. "Actors and writers want fans to help their Hollywood strike. Here's how." The Washington Post, July 17. <washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2023/07/17/actors-strike-what-can-fans-do/>

[truth-has-a-liberal-bias]

A congressional hearing devolved into an angry confrontation between a senator and a witness on Tuesday after Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma challenged Sean O’Brien, the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, to “stand your butt up” and settle longstanding differences right there in the room.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, the chairman of the Senate panel that was holding the hearing, yelled at Mullin to sit down after he challenged O’Brien to a fight. Mullin had stood up from his seat at the dais and appeared to start taking his ring off.

“This is the time, this is the place,” Mullin told O’Brien after reading a series of critical tweets O’Brien had sent about him in the past. “If you want to run your mouth, we can be two consenting adults. We can finish it here.”

...

“This is a hearing, and God knows the American people have enough contempt for Congress, let’s not make it worse,” Sanders said. [...]

[antidrumpfs]

WTH ... the Alpha male tough guy needs a step to debate?

Alpha Male Traits

He has abundant confidence. Confidence oozes from an alpha male and you can tell from his every step. He doesn’t doubt himself even if nobody believes him. 

Senator Markwayne Mullin is doubling down on his challenge against International Brotherhood of Teamsters President Sean O'Brien, saying he'd be ready to bite the union head if the two were to settle their differences in a physical fight.

"By the way, I'm not afraid of biting. I will bite," Mullin, a former mixed martial arts fighter, told podcast host Kyle Thompson on an episode of Undaunted.Life. "I'll bite 100 percent. In a fight, I'm gonna bite. I'll do anything. I'm not above it, and I don't care where I bite, by the way, it's just...gonna be a biting."

[iww-gnv]

ASHEVILLE - The clock is winding down for some in the package delivery business. UPS workers with Teamsters Local 61 led yet another demonstration at Asheville’s UPS Customer Center the morning of July 12, in protest of how UPS has handled contract negotiations with the union that represents 340,000 of its workers. Tommy Pintacuda, spokesperson for Teamsters Local 61, which represents all UPS centers in Western North Carolina, yelled out “if we don’t get it?” to the crowd. About 30 Teamsters chanted in response, “Shut it down.” Many of the protesters held signs that read “Just practicing for a just contract.” With the current national contract set to expire at the end of the month, negotiations between UPS and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters over a new five-year worker’s contract have reached a stalemate. In response, UPS workers across WNC have led numerous demonstrations in the past two weeks, from Asheville to Henderson, Franklin, Hickory and Lenoir, as part of a national effort across the union. Pintacuda said the Teamsters have the backing of all the unions in Europe and confirmed that if an agreement is not reached by July 31, then UPS workers across WNC, the country and Europe will go on strike August 1.

[ejacutastic]

The U.S. Supreme Court, with an ultra-right majority, has decided to hear the case Glacier Northwest, Inc. v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local Union No. 174, which could become a historic attack on workers’ rights. The case arises from a 2017 union strike during their contract negotiations in Washington state where 16 cement truck drivers, members of Teamsters Local 174, went on strike against Glacier Northwest. Glacier Northwest is claiming that the cement spoilage due to the strike was intentional property damage.

A conservative foundation, Landmark Legal Foundation: The Ronald Reagan Legal Center, is working with Glacier Northwest to help the company argue that it should be able to sue Teamsters in state court and that the National Labor Relations Act doesn’t include the so-called “intentional property damage” from the striking workers. Landmark Legal Foundation is known for attacking unions such as the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association, and labor centers at university campuses such as University of Wisconsin and UC Berkeley. It was also part of the historic anti-labor Janus v. AFSCME Supreme Court case.

Landmark Legal’s actions expand beyond assaulting unions to include attacks on health care, immigrant rights and voting rights. Landmark Legal’s current focus is on promoting the “independent state legislature theory” — a far right legal doctrine that could even result in the end of the popular vote for the presidency. These current attacks on poor, working-class and oppressed people’s hard fought democratic rights are all connected.

[planetarybound]

How The Supreme Court Could Soon Destroy The Right To Strike

More Perfect Union 140K subscribers 3,626 views Jan 9, 2023

This Supreme Court case could devastate workers’ right to strike. If wealthy corporations get their way, companies would be able to sue workers for the cost of a strike — like spoiled food, lost revenue, and more. It would be a massive setback for the working class. The Supreme Court is hearing Glacier Northwest Inc. vs. International Brotherhood of Teamsters in early January and will release a decision in June. ----- More Perfect Union is a new nonprofit media org with a mission to empower working people.

Learn more here: http://perfectunion.us/ Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MorePerfectUS Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/perfectunion/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MorePerfUnion

[thoughtportal]

Delta Air Lines has been caught pouring tens of millions of dollars into anti-unionization efforts, producing appalling flyers encouraging employees to buy video games instead of joining a union, and maintaining a culture of intimidation through emails, videos, meetings, and signs degrading those who support unions.

Delta's major shareholder meeting on June 15, 2023, provides CEO Ed Bastian, Chairman Frank Blake, Vanguard Group, BlackRock, Capital World Investors, and other shareholders with an opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to treating 50,000 workers with respect.

A shareholder resolution known as Proposal 6 requests that Delta Air Lines adopt a 'Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining Policy' to enable workers to advocate for safety, paid sick and family leave, and fair compensation.

Add your name to tell Delta shareholders to vote FOR Proposal 6.

Why is this important?

50,000 Delta Air Lines workers including ramp, cargo, and tower workers, attendants, and mechanics are being denied workplace representation that has been earned by pilots and dispatchers.

There is no way to explain this other than to say that wealthy executives and powerful shareholders do not trust or respect workers enough to provide a fair and equitable workplace for all employees.

The Association of Flight Attendants, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, and International Brotherhood of Teamsters are offering support, but it’s so important to show that the airline customers nationwide also support Proposal 6, because the ultrawealthy pay attention when their reputation and bottom line are at stake.

Supporters of Proposal 6 firmly believe that all workers deserve dignity and safety. We are fighting hard for Proposal 6 because we know that it will help us advocate for better health and safety practices, provide pathways for professional development, and establish guardrails to ensure fair, equitable, and humane treatment for all workers.

The Proposal’s opponents claim that, “Delta has always respected its employees' choice, encouraged honest, transparent, and respectful dialogue among its people, and has not suggested stifling any group or point of view.”

It's simply unbelievable knowing that Delta has been caught pouring tens of millions of dollars into anti-unionization efforts, produced appalling flyers encouraging employees to buy video games instead of joining a union, and maintains a culture of intimidation through emails, videos, meetings, and signs degrading those who support unions.

Sign the petition to demand Delta to stop union-busting. Tell the shareholders you know to vote FOR Proposal 6 (Adoption of Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining Policy).

[zvaigzdelasas]

Eyes on the prize [7 Jul 23]