Reddaway's Oakland,Ca. terminal was not the only one to ratify the new contract this weekend,but also:
Pomona and Compton 86 Yes - 4 No ( combined) , Local 63
New Mexico 17 Yes - 0 No , Local 492
Phoenix 64 Yes - 1 No , Local 104
Total 213 Yes - 13 No.
** When details have been released on this contract look to this blogsite.
9 comments:
I was told my o.m. at the Fontana service center that Estes trucking employees had done the right thing, not voting for union representation a few months ago. I responded that the reason why they had done this was the lack of education about what the Teamsters have to offer. The one thing companies like Estes and FedEx have to fight an organizing campaign is “FEAR!” Your Organizing committees only want you to educate yourselves and hear the other side. You are not going to sign a card at a meeting. You are not going to sign a contract at a meeting. Just go to a meeting with a fellow employee like the ones you go to at the service center you work at and ask questions on what is important to you, benefits, pensions, representation, dues, seniority, breaks, and lunches. When you can make it to a organizing meeting .Thank You.
Rosa Parks:
I have learned over the years that when one's mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.
I believe in America that everyone has a right to form a union, that no big corporation can take away your rights and intimidate you or put fear on employees for believing in unionism.
That no corporation can just address bad facts about unions on company time and not allow employees to express the truth about the unions, I believe that everyone should have equal fairness to both sides, that everyone has the rights to compare apples to oranges, and for corporations, not to be so selfish.
I’m ashamed that such big corporation hire union consultants that break the laws, these consultants have no shame or just have a cold heart, does not care if he destroys families. To the consultants the most important thing is their high paid salaries.
Now FedEx if you could show me that the Teamsters are illegal in America and prove it in front of all employees I will listen, but you also have to allow the FedEx union committee to rebuttal in front of all employees, fair is fairness.
Also, if FedEx has proof of the Teamsters running down any company and can prove it, then give us a written statement and sign it, and then allow us to research the truth from court transcripts and allow us to disclose the truth in front of all employees, fair is fair.
As for now, we yearn for a strong union, to have leverage, to be able to have a voice in the workplace and not be told you cannot, express our opinion and ideas. And not be told this is a non-union company and they could do whatever they want, let us create a contract where employees and employers can agree in the round table and not a handbook that is created by human resource and the union consultants, and also to fix our pensions and receive medical retirements, I say let us be wise and organize.
Joe, it shows that you have done your homework and by the way, your writing also shows that you have knowledge and class. The truth is out there and we will have to teach our brothers and sisters that there is nothing to fear. IT’S TIME TO ORGANIZE !
BALTIMORE -- Dozens of FedEx drivers in Maryland and across the country are parking their trucks and suing the corporate giant, claiming they're fed up with the company because it delivered a raw deal.
Tom Westcott said he believed he was going to be his own businessman when he was hired as an independent contractor to drive for FedEx Home Delivery. But Westcott claims FedEx didn't treat him that way.
"I was certainly duped, and sold a $25,000 bill of goods," he said.
That's what Westcott said he paid for his FedEx truck. It took him four years to pay it off, and it's been sitting in his driveway ever since he quit.
"The pain is still there. It's an annoyance. It's a memory I'd rather not have stare me in the face when I walk out the door," he said.
Terrance Ellison drove for another division of FedEx -- FedEx Ground. He now works in a clothing store.
He and Wescott claim that FedEx classified them as independent contractors to save millions of dollars, but then determined their every move as if they were FedEx employees.
"They wanted full control. They told me what time to be there, what time to pick up packages, what time to deliver the packages," Ellison said.
The former drivers said FedEx benefited from their labor while they purchased their own trucks, paid their own employment taxes and other big expenses.
About 150 drivers nationwide, including the ones WBAL TV 11 News I-Team reporter Barry Simms spoke with in Maryland, have filed lawsuits claiming they are entitled to health, pension and other benefits employees of the company receive.
But FedEx Ground said it is following federal government guidelines and believes the system works for its 15,000 drivers.
The company provided Simms with a videotaped statement.
"We're confident (that) helping defend our independent contractors small businesses is the right thing to do, especially for our customers who have come to depend on our world class service," Maury Lane of FedEx Ground said on the tape.
"I refuse to be a slave to a paycheck when my rights are being abused," said Ted Holloway, who worked for FedEx Ground for two years. He said he filed an EEOC complaint and is also planning to sue FedEx Ground.
He said he got injured on the job, and FedEx provided a temporary driver. But after three weeks, he received a letter saying his route was being restructured.
"What was brought to my attention was that I was abandoning my route. (But) I was out sick with a doctor's note," he said.
Holloway said his route was cut in half. He said he thinks it was retaliation for being out sick.
Sick leave is one of the issues raised in some of the lawsuits being handled by attorney Lynn Faris. She claims the use of independent contractors gives an unfair advantage.
"There's no question it is wrong. It's morally wrong ... legally wrong and the company can compete as other package delivery companies do," she said.
Faris claims that American taxpayers carry the burden of lost tax revenues.
"A company of this size is competing illegally by misclassifying their drivers and not paying payroll taxes for them," she said.
FedEx is denying it misclassifies drivers and asked Simms to speak with Keith O'Neill, a driver who said he is happy with the arrangement.
"I came in as a contractor. I get paid per piece, per stop, per box," O'Neill said.
O'Neill grosses about $7,000 a week. He has four drivers who help him service routes in Elkridge, Ellicott City, Edgewater and White Marsh. He said he's proud that even when he's sick he drags himself to work.
"I've been hurt. I still come in. I've never missed a day because of an injury here," he said.
"They set their own schedules, they pay their expenses and complete the work day as they see fit. The only requirement is they meet the obligations of the operating agreement," Lane said.
"They need to stop pushing people around," Westcott said.
Westcott said he really got fed up when he complained about his lack of autonomy and got reprimanded by a manager.
"He looked me dead in the eye. He said, 'You forget, Tom. I'm the boss.' And then he said, 'Oh, no -- wait. I'm your business partner.' That did it for me," he said.
University of Maryland Professor Helen Norton specializes in contract law. She said the courts will look at who determines how the work gets done -- whether it be the contractors or FedEx.
"There are huge stakes on both sides. FedEx Ground has its business model on the line," she said.
With so much at stake, the dispute could take years to resolve, Simms reported. But drivers said they have no intention of giving up.
Another division of FedEx -- FedEx Express -- does classify its drivers as employees and they do get benefits, Simms said.
Chicago Stock Building Supply Workers Gain Pay Increase, Health and Welfare Plan
August 19, 2007
Local 710 members overwhelmingly ratified their first contract with Stock Building Supply in Chicago on July 25.
“This is a great group of guys who work very hard and deserve a strong contract,” said Michael Rossow, business representative and organizer for Local 710, based in Chicago. “By the overwhelming vote to ratify the contract, you can tell these members are happy with their decision to become Teamsters.”
The members, who are drivers, forklift drivers and warehouse workers, joined Local 710 in July 2006. This is the first contract ratified with Stock Building Supply.
In September 2006, Local 301 organized workers at the company's facility in Round Lake, Illinois.
Highlights of the three-year contract include:
Pay increases ($23.66 an hour for drivers; $20 an hour for forklift drivers; and $18.77 an hour for warehouse workers);
Guaranteed 3 percent pay raise in last two years of contract;
Time-and-a-half pay for more than eight hours of work in one day;
Three paid sick days;
Bereavement days;
Guaranteed pay for at least two hours when called in to work;
Seniority system;
Six-month lay off recall; and
Inclusion in Local 710's health and welfare plan.
Stock Building Supply is the largest supplier of building materials to professional homebuilders and contractors in the United States, with branches in 30 states as well as international locations.
I would like to see the median income compared.
over time. Ours has fallen and with rising prices retirement is now just a dream that will never be realized.
I laugh every time I get a "raise".
It always coincides with the time of year that my rent increases. The really sad thing is that my rent increase is usually greater than my raise.
And we're not even talking about all of the rest of the essentials like food and energy costs, Sigh.
We get a 3% raise when inflation up 7%, FedEx thinks we have no brains,but my brain say's unionize!
I tell every worker I meet: ‘I went through the organizing process, and you can build your union, and you have the full support of the Teamsters behind you!!!
Get educated, learn labor rights, and teach others and others to teach others means power of knowledge.
JOE'S SON
California Drivers, Dockworkers Join Locals 490, 439
August 29, 2007
Ninety dockworkers and drivers at two USF Reddaway terminals in California are now Teamsters after the company recognized the workers through a card-check agreement.
The card-check agreement enabling the latest victories was included in a contract that was ratified earlier this month by workers at Reddaway terminals in California, Arizona and New Mexico. The contract was ratified 216-13.
In the latest victories, 25 workers at the Benicia, California terminal and 65 workers at the Stockton, California terminal are now Teamsters. The Benicia workers joined Local 490 in Vallejo, and the Stockton workers joined Local 439 in that city.
The Stockton group included workers in Modesto who had earlier signed cards seeking to join the union. However, the company merged the Modesto and Stockton terminals and more cards needed to be collected. In Benicia, 22 of the 25 workers signed cards; in Stockton, a majority of the 65 workers signed cards.
“We’re very happy to welcome the new members in Benicia and Stockton and we continue to reach out to USF Reddaway at other terminals in the West,” said Bob Paffenroth, Western Region Coordinator for the Teamsters National Freight Division. “There are still more than 2,000 workers at 43 nonunion terminals who are seeking a strong voice with the Teamsters, and we will work with them to make that happen.”
The workers in Benicia and Stockton will be covered under the same contract that was ratified earlier this month. The five-year contract will significantly improve their wages, pensions, health care and other benefits.
Post a Comment