Teamsters Local 355

Local and National News

Local 355 mourns the passing of Brother Don Riley
July 23, 2021 | Retired UPS package driver Donald Joseph Riley passed away June 14, 2021. Brother Riley was a proud member of Local 355 for 33 years. He served as a shop steward at the UPS facility in Hunt Valley, Maryland for many years, and as a Local 355 trustee from 1999 until his retirement from UPS in 2008. A Memorial Service will be held at 11 am August 7, 2021, at Peaceful Alternatives Funeral and Cremation Center, P.A., 2325 York Road, Timonium, Md. 21093. An informal reception is open to all beginning at 10 am.

Important Senate hearing tomorrow: The Right to Organize
July 20, 2021 | The PRO Act Week of Action is underway with Teamsters attending rallies and events around the country calling on the Senate to pass this historic pro-union legislation, putting power in the hands of workers and strengthening our unions. Our allies in the Senate are taking an important step. Tune in at 10 am ET as the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee holds a hearing on the PRO Act. Link is here. This hearing is crucial to getting the PRO Act through the Senate and to President Biden’s desk. Strong unions mean higher wages, safer working conditions, and dignity for workers all across America. Make your voice heard: Share your story – tell Congress why passing the PRO Act matters to you.

The other victims of the pandemic: Workers killed in fights over masks
July 19, 2021 | Essential workers have borne the brunt of a pandemic poisoned by politics. BuzzFeed News found at least four frontline employees who died in fights over masks, including Local 355 member Frankye Duckett, a Baltimore MobilityLink bus driver killed in January 2021. “How do you kill somebody because they tell you to put your mask on?”... Continued at Buzzfeed News

First-contract proposal meeting for Harrington US Foods drivers
July 13, 2021 | Drivers at US Foods in Harrington, Delaware had their first contract proposal meeting Sunday, July 11, at the Local’s Salisbury office. The workers brought their ideas and proposals for improved benefits, including better health coverage. “The group is seeking to have the terms of their working conditions and benefits guaranteed in a legally binding contract,” said Ed Mulford, Local 355 business agent. A date to begin negotiations has yet to be scheduled.

Older articles here.

Elsewhere in the News

Weekly News Wrap-Up: 7/23/2021

• NLRB says ‘Scabby the Rat’ is free speech
• Extreme heat is killing American workers
• AFL-CIO: Paywatch data shows need for PRO Act
• New report details housing crisis for workers
• Amazon to end on-site Covid testing for warehouse workers
• It’s been 12 years since Congress raised the minimum wage
• First rank-and-file Teamster appointed to AEI national bargaining committee
• Companies claim there’s a labor shortage. Their solution? Prisoners.
• For minimum-wage workers, rent is now unaffordable in every county in America

Striking to End ‘Suicide Shifts,’ Frito-Lay Workers Ask People to Drop the Doritos

July 22, 2021 | STRIKES | Hundreds of Frito-Lay workers in Topeka, Kan., are in their third week of a strike, citing so-called "suicide shifts" and poor working conditions at the manufacturing and distribution plant at a time when the company's net revenue growth has exceeded all of its targets. Employees say sweltering 90-degree temperatures on the picket line are preferable to the 100-degree-plus heat that awaits them inside the manufacturing warehouse on any given summer day. They're demanding an end to mandatory overtime and 84-hour weeks that they argue leaves little room for a meaningful quality of life… NPR

To Build Back Better, Give Workers a Voice and a Stake

July 21, 2021 | OPINION | This week, former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos realized his dream of flying to space, after spending a reported $5 billion on his rocket company. This is spare change for Bezos, who made $75 billion during the coronavirus pandemic alone, launching him into the stratosphere of over $200 billion in personal wealth. Meanwhile, here on Earth, those who sweat in Amazon's warehouses and deliver the boxes struggle to make ends meet, lack basic health and safety protections, and are hard-pressed even to take bathroom breaks. As Molly Kinder of the Brookings Institution has documented, Amazon made billions during the pandemic and workers saw little of it. In fact, the median Amazon worker… Newsweek Photo/Getty Images

The American Worker’s Future Depends on Enacting Full Scope of American Jobs Plan

July 20, 2021 | COMMENTARY | The United States is at a critical juncture. This summer, Congress has a narrow window of opportunity to enact major investments in clean energy and transportation infrastructure to meet the bold vision called for in President Joe Biden’s American Jobs Plan (AJP). Congress has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to both rebuild the fabric of our economy, improve job quality for American workers, and prevent the worst impacts of climate change. To fulfill the promises of President Biden’s Build Back Better plan, Congress must pass the full scope of AJP which includes a commitment to setting and enforcing labor standards that turns the calls for “good, union jobs” into the actual creation and retention of them. American workers deserve that commitment. … Inside Sources

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