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Local and National News
Listen: New Congress delivers big victories for Teamsters
Jan. 19, 2022 | In the latest edition of the Teamsters Podcast you’ll hear how President Biden and Congress delivered for the Teamsters, plus the union’s efforts to rein in Republic Services.Local 355 mourns passing of Brother Joe Sassman, UPS
Jan. 14, 2022 | It is with great sadness today that we inform our members of the January 7, 2022 passing of Brother Joseph Sassman, Jr. He was 34 years old. Hired in January of 2006 at the Quad Avenue UPS facility in Baltimore as a part-time employee, Joe moved into a full-time driver position then won an inside full-time job two years later. He was elected shop steward in 2016. “When a coworker went to Joe with a possible contract violation, Joe jumped into action to get the grievance filed and then worked hard to resolve the issue,” said Mike Petro, a Local 355 UPS Business Agent. “Every UPS employee loved Joe. When you returned to the building at the end of a bad day you would find Joe there with a great smile and a fist bump –guaranteed to bring a smile to your face.” The Local 355 Executive Board extends sincere condolences to his wife, Monica, and family and friends on behalf of our members. Click here for obituary and service information.Local 355 mourns passing of Brother Donald Fink, US Foods, retired
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Jan. 14, 2022 | Brother Donald Fink, Jr. passed away on January 6, 2022, at the age of 61. He retired in 2015 after 20 years as a driver for US Foods in Severn, Md. We remember him as a dedicated Teamster member and coworker. On behalf of our members, the Local 355 Executive Board extends sincere condolences to his family and friends. Click here for obituary and service information.
Elsewhere in the News
Labor News Wrap-Up: 01/21/2022
• Order free at-home Covid-19 tests here
• Republic Services Teamsters approve TA, end strike
• Union battle vs. corporate power isn’t a fair fight
• America’s new class war: Organized Labor is back
• CEMEX drivers protest lack of respect for organizing rights
• Thieves are looting freight trains filled with UPS, FedEx, Amazon pkgs
• Workers got fed up. Bosses got scared. This is how the Big Quit happened.
• TA reached, workers end 10-day strike against grocery chain
• Maryland tax deadline extended to July 15
The General Strike No One is Talking About
Jan. 21, 2022 | STRIKES | Six weeks ago, union workers in Seattle called for an industry-wide work stoppage that has since expanded its picket line into nearby communities, disrupted a variety of businesses and left building sites across the city vacant. The Teamsters have labeled it a general strike, which is typically defined as a work stoppage in which a substantial proportion of the labor force in a specific location participates to achieve an economic or political objective. As labor’s “nuclear option,” such actions are vanishingly rare and technically illegal…The strike began with 34 drivers at Gary Merlino Construction, but now includes over 300 members of Teamsters Local 174 at six different companies in the Seattle area, and is made up of cement mixer drivers, concrete plant workers, mechanics, lab workers, terminal attendants, quality control workers, and yard workers in the concrete and sand industries… The Nation
Misclassified XPO Truck Drivers File for Union Election in CA
Jan. 20, 2022 | WORKERS’ RIGHTS | Port and rail truck drivers working for XPO Logistics across Southern California filed for an election to form a union Wednesday, setting up the first-ever National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election involving misclassified port and rail truck drivers. The drivers seeking to form a union at XPO Logistics have long been misclassified as independent contractors, a legal designation that denies them basic rights and benefits including health insurance, paid sick leave, a guaranteed minimum wage and overtime pay. Because federal labor law prohibits independent contractors from forming a union, companies like XPO purposefully misclassify workers as independent contractors to deny them that right. In filing for a union election, the XPO drivers are challenging their misclassification head on… Teamsters
The Business Case for Union Busting is Eroding
Jan. 19, 2022 | LABOR | For many corporate leaders, even mentioning the word “union” can spark a negative reaction. But it may be time for that to change. The recent rise of labor organizing across a wide range of industries speaks to a number of trends that aren’t slowing down. Business leaders still abhor labor unions, using outdated rhetoric to imply that they are worse for workers, worse for the economy, and, depending on your news source, an assault on democracy or a socialist destruction of free-market enterprise. They also hire consulting firms that specialize in bending the law without breaking it as they seek to suppress union activity. In reality, unions are as American as apple pie and the Super Bowl. There is nothing more capitalist than a group of people banding together to improve their pay and benefits… Fortune Related: Check out Labor Lab’s list of 543 U.S. union-busting consultants.
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