Teamsters Local 355

Local and National News

Local 355 approves first contract with US Foods in Virginia
Sept. 21, 2021 | More than 100 drivers employed by US Foods in Manassas, Virginia, have overwhelmingly approved their first collective bargaining agreement between Teamsters Local 355 and the company. The drivers voted to join Local 355 in September 2020. The three-year contract addresses many of the workers' concerns. It provides significant improvements to wages over the term of the agreement, coverage under the Local 355 Health Plan, bidding language, seniority rights, and a grievance procedure, in addition to other worker rights and protections typical of a Teamster contract. The agreement also covers drivers who work out of drop yards in Fredricksburg and Richmond in Virginia, and Upper Marlboro, Fredrick, Millington, and Savage in Maryland. Local 355 Recording Secretary Mark Garey and Business Agent Ed Mulford extend their thanks to the US Foods negotiating committee and their fellow drivers who stood in solidarity to make the contract a success.

Schedule update for Local 355 retired members
Sept. 20, 2021 | Monthly meetings for the Association of Retired Members (A.R.M.) are canceled for the remainder of the year. The retirees’ Christmas Party is also canceled. Stay tuned for updates as we move into 2022. Please stay safe and healthy, everyone.

Watch: Final Teamsters General President Candidates’ debate
Sept. 20, 2021 | You can still watch the second and final debate that took place on September 8. Hear directly from the candidates for General President here.

Sysco Teamsters in Illinois strike
Sept. 1, 2021 | Teamsters Local 703 warehouse workers went on strike at Sysco Corporation in Des Plaines beginning Monday, August 30 at 2:00 a.m. over the company’s refusal to bargain in good faith and treat workers with the dignity and respect they deserve. “One year ago, Sysco’s CEO referred to his employees as ‘heroes’, as the men and women who helped keep America fed. Now they won’t even offer a fair wage increase. These are the essential workers that kept hospitals and schoolchildren fed throughout the pandemic’s darkest days,” said Teamsters Local 703 Vice President Pat Bruno… Continue reading

Older articles here.

Elsewhere in the News

We Need A Modern Labor Movement That Brings Good Jobs

Sept. 22, 2021 | ECONOMY | […] Working people are re-evaluating pre-COVID employment and refusing to accept a substandard job. As a result, wages are rising, schedules are more human and benefits are increasing. Millions of new jobs for working people, mostly unionized, will result from the $3.5 trillion budget blueprint moving through Congress. The latest Gallup poll found that 68% of Americans — and 77% of people 18-34 — have a positive opinion of unions. And the devastating pandemic taught America that without nurses, first responders, teachers, grocery clerks, truck drivers, postal workers, and essential heroes, we’d be utterly nowhere. These positive developments are not sufficient to right our economic ship. For decades, our economy… Chicago Sun Times

Nabisco Strike Ends as Union Members Approve New Contract

Sept. 22, 2021 | COLLECTIVE ACTION | A strike that started last month in Portland, Oregon, and spread to other Nabisco bakeries and distribution centers across the United States ended Saturday after unionized workers voted “overwhelmingly” in favor of a new collective bargaining agreement. Though some Portland employees opposed ratifying the four-year contract, calling for better terms, it ultimately garnered the necessary support from workers there and at facilities in Aurora, Colorado; Richmond, Virginia; Chicago, Illinois; and Norcross, Georgia… Truthout Related: This strike is so much bigger than one bakery… nwLaborPress.org

Amazon Faces Teamsters Union Drive in Nine Canadian Sites

Sept. 20, 2021 | ORGANIZING | (Click image to enlarge) The Teamsters Union has launched campaigns to organize employees in at least nine Canadian facilities of U.S. e-commerce company Amazon.com, according to Reuters interviews with union officials. The influential union took the first step earlier this week to organize employees at one of Amazon's Canadian facilities, and the interviews reveal it is widening such efforts across the country, where the e-commerce company employs about 25,000 workers and plans to add 15,000 more. Interviews with Teamsters units show that the union's efforts stretch from the Pacific coastal province of British Columbia to the Canadian economic heartland in southern Ontario… U.S. News. Related: The struggle to unionize Amazon is shifting to Canada, where workers in Alberta could soon be the first to unionize an Amazon warehouse in North America... Truthout

Collective Bargaining and The Workplace

Sept. 8, 2021 | UNIONS | The American labor movement has been shaped by many factors throughout its history. Geopolitical factors, as well as economic factors domestically, have changed the landscape in which American workers struggle to expand their rights to collectively bargain as well as live a life of dignity as provided to them by the democratic process found within the fabric of strong labor unions. Unfortunately, not all areas of the workplace are fully protected by strong legislation. The National Labor Relations Board [NLRB], for example, was ideally designed and created as a measure to prevent disruption of commerce and economic tension between worker and employer, not fundamentally to protect workers themselves. Fundamentally, collective bargaining challenges tyrannical workplaces by … Labor Press

A Note to Our Members:

We continue to do what we can to protect the health of our members and staff while providing you service and support. Safety procedures instituted at the beginning of the pandemic remain in effect until further notice. Click here for important notices regarding COVID-19 policies regarding our office and credit union hours of operation.
If you need to see your business agent or have questions or concerns, give us a call at
410-566-5700.