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Local and National News
Attention Members
Updated Sept. 23, 2020 - Our October general membership meetings in Baltimore and Salisbury are canceled. The COVID-19 pandemic requires us to take steps that protect the health of our members and our staff as we continue to provide service and support. To that end, essential procedures instituted March 25 remain in 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.
New Hours of Service regulations in place
Sept. 30, 2020 | On June 1, 2020, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) revised four provisions of the hours of service regulations to provide greater flexibility for drivers without adversely affecting safety. Motor carriers are required to comply with the new HOS regulations starting on Sept. 29, 2020. Read the information on the revised provisions here.Find out how you can vote absentee or by mail
Sept. 29, 2020 | This November, Teamsters can elect leaders who will support Teamster members and our families. But it doesn’t mean you need to head to the ballot box on Nov. 3. To find out how you can vote absentee or by mail in your state, and check if you are registered too, go to teamsters.org now!Local 355 mourns tragic death of Burris Foods selector
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Sept. 28, 2020 | Joseph Herrmann, Jr. died following a workplace accident on Tuesday, September 22, 2020. An electrician by trade, Herrmann was a recent hire at Burris Foods. He is survived by his wife, Angel, and four children. Services will be held tomorrow, September 29, 2020 at Melvin Funeral Home, 15522 South DuPont Hwy., Harrington, Delaware. The Local 355 Executive Board extends its deepest condolences to Herrmann’s family and friends during this difficult time. Read his obituary here. US Foods drivers in VA vote to join Teamsters Local 355
Sept. 25, 2020 | Delivery drivers at US Foods in Manassas, Virginia, who are seeking a strong voice on the job and a more secure future, have voted to join Teamsters Local 355. The vote was 50-30. Voting took place in recent weeks and ballots were counted on Thursday, September 24. “We welcome the drivers in Manassas to Local 355 and we will work hard to win them a strong contract,” said Denis Taylor, President of Local 355. “US Foods closed its Baltimore facility years ago shortly after losing its bid for a merger with industry leader Sysco, sending a portion of that work to the nonunion Manassas facility. So now, those drivers are once again part of the Teamster union family.” There are 110 drivers in the bargaining unit. The drivers, frontline workers in the pandemic, voted Teamster to improve working conditions and their health and welfare protection. Sadly, Carlos Hurtado, a leader of the group of workers who voted to form their union, never got to see the vote results. Hurtado, 44, died on September 10, 2020 after suffering a heart attack before the votes were counted on September 24. More information here and here.Older news items are available at 355 News.
Elsewhere in the News Teamsters Encouraged to ‘Power The Polls’ on Election Day
Sept. 30, 2020 | VOTE2020 | Working the polls on Election Day every year is a tradition for many people, especially retirees. But with the coronavirus pandemic still unchecked, some of these reliable poll workers are choosing not to participate this year, which could lead to longer lines on Nov. 3. The Teamsters and other unions want to make the voting process as smooth and quick as possible. That’s why labor allies are encouraging their members to volunteer to work at election sites this year by partnering with Power the Polls. Power the Polls is first-of-its-kind effort to recruit poll workers to fill the gap created by coronavirus and ensure our election is safe, fair and efficient. This is a non-partisan, nonprofit effort. This isn’t about a candidate or issue; it’s about supporting the free and fair elections at the heart of our American democracy… Teamsters3 Proposed Solutions for Reducing Economic Inequality .jpg)
Sept. 29, 2020 | ECONOMIC INEQUALITY | […] Economic inequality in the United States is real and deeply damaging to the living standards of the vast majority of families. But it’s eminently fixable so long as we’re willing to make a pronounced break with policies of the past to make income growth a genuine political priority. The roots of inequality’s rise after 1979 are in U.S. labor markets, particularly in the failure of paychecks for most workers to rise in line with broader measures of economic growth. The steps to reducing inequality are clear: Rebuild the institutions and policies that provide workers leverage and bargaining power in labor markets, or build new ones… USA Today
What’s at Stake for the Labor Movement on Election Day? Everything
Sept. 28, 2020 | ORGANIZED LABOR | America is in crisis. There can be no doubt about that. All of our immediate crises — the pandemic and the unemployment and the economic collapse and the death spiral of various public institutions — have lent the upcoming presidential election an air of emergency. For working people in America, though, the emergency is nothing new at all. What is at stake for labor in this election is everything. Nothing, therefore, has changed. Donald Trump and the coronavirus, the two factors infusing this election with urgency, are of recent vintage. But the crisis for working Americans has been growing worse for at least four decades… In These TimesIn Case You Missed It 
• Covid-19 news updates for Sept. 21, 2020
• Teamsters give back to the community
• Labor mourns RGB…
• One of five workers claiming jobless benefits
• Electric vehicles should be a win for American workers
• Coronavirus in Maryland: 5 takeaways from the week
• Teamsters, safety groups challenge FMCSA’s hours of service
• Unions praise Justice Ginsburg, demand no replacement until next presidency
• If you plan to vote by mail, you can track your ballot like a UPS package
• Hollywood unions, studios agree on rules to start production
• Cities struggle to clear garbage glut in stay-at-home world
• NLRB general cancel warns pandemic no excuse for violating workers’ rights
• #Teamsters2020: Register to vote!Economic Inequality Costs Average Worker $42,000 Annually
Sept. 24, 2020 | OPINION | Economic inequality is one of those hazy concepts that can mean lots of different things to people. But take note members of Congress, here’s a number that all of your constituents will understand: $42,000. That’s how much more money the typical full-time, prime-age working person would make if we wiped away the economic inequality of the past four decades. Instead of $50,000 a year, they would take home $92,000. Or put another way, that $42,000 is the money stolen from the average working person and delivered to the wealthiest 1 percent by policies enacted by previous Congresses. Policies to give a big chunk of that back are on the ballot this November… The Hill
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