Teamsters Local 355

Attention Members
Updated Nov. 24, 2020 - Our General Membership Meetings in Baltimore and Salisbury for December are canceled. As Covid-19 cases surge in our region, we continue to do our part to protect the health of our members and staff while providing you service and support. All the safety procedures we instituted in March remain in full effect. Click here to read these important notices regarding 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.

Local and National News

Hoffa Scholarship Fund now accepting applications
Nov. 30, 2020 | The James R. Hoffa Memorial Scholarship Fund has begun accepting applications for the 2021 award year. The Fund awards financial scholarships to the sons, daughters, and financial dependents of Teamster members. Academic awards in the amount of $1,000 or $10,000 are awarded to eligible high school seniors. Vocational/Training program awards are available ranging from $500 to $2,000. In 2020, $1.2 million in scholarships were awarded. Details on the application process can be found here.

Bargaining News: Successor contracts approved at Allied Binding, NuStar*
Nov. 25, 2020 | (*Updated Nov. 30 to include Capitol Carbonic.) Members employed at Allied Binding Co. unanimously ratified on Nov. 23, 2020, a new seven-year agreement providing annual wage increases and enrollment in the Teamsters National 401k Savings Plan. Other gains include an increase in the Company’s payment to Health Care, plus improvements to the vacation and sick leave language. Also in November, NuStar members approved a new four-year contract that provides annual wage increases of 3.5%, an increase to the night shift differential, and an increase in the pay for working out of classification (supervisory). The contract was retroactive to the Sept. 30, 2020 expiration date. Members at Capitol Carbonic ratified late in November a new three-year contract that includes annual wage increases, night differential, driver's safe-driving bonus, an increase to the pension contribution, and maintenance of H&W. Important to this contract is “bid language” for warehousemen and drivers. Wage increases retroactive to Dec. 31, 2019. Negotiations for new agreements continue at RNDC (Republic National Distributing Co.), and the State of Maryland. Upcoming negotiations: Anne Arundel County.

Having fun is their new job: Three UPS members retire
Nov. 19, 2020 | On Friday, Oct. 30, 2020, the UPS hub in Harrington, Delaware was the site of another retirement fete for three Teamster drivers with 99 years combined service with the company. Family, friends, and active and retired UPS Teamsters celebrated Frank Biddle (35 years, right), Ron Harris (33 years, below right), and Michael Taylor (31 years, below left) with refreshments and well wishes. Jim Statum, UPS driver (and event coordinator), said Biddle “loves the water” and just bought a new boat. It’s not hard to guess what his retirement plans are. Harris likes the outdoors and hunting, and Taylor, who takes pride in his home projects, looks forward to spending time at home with his family, “time he hasn’t had for three decades.” More photos here.

New Podcast Edition: Members power political victory
Nov. 18, 2020 | Listen to the latest edition of the Teamsters Podcast and hear how Teamsters reached out to their fellow members to make sure they voted for pro-worker candidates. Plus, drivers hear from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) about how to keep their trucks clean during the coronavirus pandemic. Listen here.

Older news items are available at 355 News.

Elsewhere in the News

Hoffa: This Holiday Season, Give Essential Workers the Unions They Deserve

Nov. 30, 2020 | WORKERS’ RIGHTS | This was already a devastating year for hard-working Americans, struggling to keep their jobs amid a pandemic made worse by corporate greed. Now, with the holiday season underway, “essential workers” employed in warehouses, delivering goods, and stocking grocery shelves find themselves in an even bigger crunch. For millions of people who are unemployed or underemployed, it’s easy to lose hope. But it is at this moment, when working people are experiencing multiple intersecting crises, that a mass movement for livable wages, safe working conditions, and equality is more critical than ever… Fast Company

What Organized Labor Wants From Biden

Nov. 25, 2020 | UNIONS | Now that they’ve helped elect Biden, there is an end to Trump’s anti-worker regime in sight. But organized labor wants more than a return to the pre-Trump status quo. Unions want progress, and they have clout that they are prepared to wield. They turned out the vote for Democrats, earned major victories in the fight for a $15 minimum wage, and spent the better part of the pandemic protesting dangerous conditions on the job. Nationwide, strike and work-stoppage activity is on the rise. The future, however, will not arrive without struggle. NY Magazine

Workers in North Dakota Strike to Demand Covid-19 Protections

Nov. 24, 2020 | SAFETY & HEALTH | […] Since March, essential workers across the country have walked off the job at Whole Foods markets, Amazon warehouses, Taco Bells and McDonald's restaurants, and poultry packing plants to protest working conditions during the pandemic, some asking for hazard pay and others demanding protective gear. Few of these strikes have resulted in major commercial disruptions and product shortages—but as the workforce behind a massive food distribution company, the 75 striking Cash-Wa workers are in a unique position to disrupt a major supply chain if their employer refuses to provide them with more protections. "Workers are asking for temperature screenings, divisions between employees in break rooms, and adequate cleaning supplies," Brian Novak, a business representative at Teamsters Local 120, the union that represents the workers in Fargo. This week, North Dakota reported the COVID-19 highest death rate of any state or country in the world. … Vice

Millions of Workers for Corporate Giants Rely on Food Stamps, Medicaid

Nov. 23, 2020 | THE MINIMUM WAGE | A new GAO (Government Accountability Office) report commissioned by Sen. Bernie Sanders shows that corporations are soaking up profits—while paying workers so little they depend on government assistance to survive. Millions of full-time, adult workers in the United States — many of them employed by Walmart, McDonald’s and other highly profitable corporations — are paid wages so low they’re forced to rely on public assistance to make ends meet. For all 15 agencies, Walmart was in the top four employers of Medicaid enrollees and SNAP beneficiaries, while McDonald’s was in the top five for 13 of the 15 agencies. Other major retailers and fast-food companies were found to be among the most common employers of workers receiving Medicaid and SNAP, including Dollar Tree, Dollar General, Target, Amazon, Burger King, Wendy’s, Taco Bell, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Walgreens and CVS… In These Times