Local #174 Teamster News Archives
February 2012


Newest Stories

More stories on this page

 

Hoffa Praises Obama For Crackdown on Unfair Trade Practices
Posted: February 28, 2012
Source: Teamster.org
The following is a statement by Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa on President Obama’s executive order today creating the Interagency Trade Enforcement Center:

“President Obama did exactly the right thing by ordering a new panel to crack down on trading partners – including China – that break the rules established by our trade agreements.

“The President is making a serious effort to curb the abuses that have harmed millions of American working families. Wages are falling and jobs are going overseas because of practices such as intellectual property theft and illegal subsidies.

“The Interagency Trade Enforcement Center involves a significant commitment of resources and expertise to stop unfair trade practices. Congress must give President Obama strong bipartisan support as he tries to combat this problem, which is such a concern to America’s middle class.”

Back to top of page

 

Hall: We Are Stronger Together
Posted: February 28, 2012
Source: Teamster.org
2012-speakersMore than 200 Teamster trustees gathered in Phoenix for the 10th annual Trustee Education Program to tackle such issues as protecting members’ retirement security and fighting back against the corporate attack on workers.  View more photos (like the one at right) from this event .

General Secretary-Treasurer-elect Ken Hall pledged to continue the annual program after he takes office in mid-March, saying it is vital that trustees of Teamster benefit funds work together and communicate. It’s especially important, he said, during this time of economic uncertainty when big business and its political allies have declared war on workers.

“Before this program, we didn’t talk to each other about our benefit funds and I can tell you firsthand what a disadvantage that was, especially when bargaining a national contract,” said Hall, who also serves as Package Division Director. “UPS had more information than I did. But that’s not the case anymore.”

Hall and others praised General Secretary-Treasurer Tom Keegel for starting the annual program and “for having the foresight to bring us together under one umbrella.”

“We owe it to our members to get the information and make informed decisions,” Hall said. “We are in a position to harness our collective power to change corporate behavior and make our members’ lives better.”

The Teamsters Union sponsors about 400 Taft-Hartley health, welfare and pension funds. The funds have more than $100 billion in assets covering 1.5 million active members, retirees and dependents. This year’s meeting was the largest ever.

General President Jim Hoffa said that the war being waged against workers is a direct assault on the living standards of the middle class and on union workers’ pensions and health care benefits.

He urged participants to get informed and fight back, especially at the ballot box. November’s election is more important than ever, Hoffa said. Union members need to turn out in force to elect worker-friendly politicians who will defend retirement security, labor laws and health care benefits, he said. He urged all Teamsters to contribute to the Teamsters’ political action committee, DRIVE – Democrat, Republican, Independent Voter Education.

“That gives us the ammunition and the bullets to help us fight back in this war,” Hoffa said.

The program opened with welcomes by Western Region Vice President Rome Aloise and Joint Council 3 President and Vice President-elect Steve Vairma, who both praised Keegel’s work in founding the annual meeting and bringing trustees together to make the union stronger.

Speakers addressed such topics as the Affordable Health Care Act and the impact on Taft-Hartley plans, the future of defined benefit pension funds, corporate governance, investor education and energy infrastructure investments.

Back to top of page

 

Unanimous Strike Approval at Columbia Distribution

Columbia meeting

On Saturday morning (February 25, 2012) the Teamster Hall was packed with members of Columbia Distribution  who work as drivers and warehouse members in Kent, Washington. They unanimously voted to approve a strike authorization.  Their contract is due to expire on February 28, 2012 at midnight.  But right now, the negotiating parties are far, far apart! 

The Union and the company have meetings scheduled for next week.  Stay tuned for future updates on this web site. 

Back to top of page

 

GA wants to make picketing a felony
Posted: February 27, 2012
Source: Teamster Nation
You read that right. Anti-worker state lawmakers in Georgia want to criminalize our basic right to freedom of speech. They're pushing a bill to impose a $10,000 fine or a year in prison or both for picketing.

Alternet has the story:
In a move that could impact non-labor groups engaged in direct action, picketing, or protest, Georgia's Senate Bill 469 includes felony penalties for "criminal trespass" and, unbelievably, "conspiracy to commit criminal trespass"--the punishment being a $10,000 fine or a year in jail, or possibly both. That this is specifically included in a bill that cracks down on organizations' right to picket outside a workplace or company seems to indicate that a union or other group engaged in picketing could be charged with a crime for the activity of one member who crosses the line.
And in the bill, the line is pretty nebulous. The bill has this to say about what would constitute "unlawful" picketing:
It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in mass picketing at or near any place, including private residences, where a labor dispute exists in such number or manner as to obstruct or interfere with or constitute a threat to obstruct or interfere with the entrance to or egress from any place of employment or the free and uninterrupted use of public roads, streets, highways, railroads, airports, or other ways of travel, transportation, or conveyance.
What's that mean? "Constitute a threat to obstruct or interfere with" could be interpreted pretty broadly, and leaves a lot of discretion up to police on the scene--or to business owners, who could have picketers removed by claiming they presented a "threat."
Read the source story here.

Back to top of page

Teamsters Demand MoMA Cut Ties With Sotheby's Auction House
Posted: February 25, 2012
Source: Teamster.org
Sotheby’s art handlers, other Teamsters and their supporters today demanded the Museum of Modern Art cut its ties with Sotheby’s because of its unjust treatment of its employees. The workers who rallied today outside of MoMA are not on strike; Sotheby’s kicked them out of their jobs with no paychecks.

The auction house sparked the bitter labor dispute seven months ago when it locked out its 42 art handlers who belong to Teamsters Local 814. Their contract had expired at the end of July 2011. Sotheby’s – which grossed $680 million in 2010, its second-most profitable year ever – wants to eliminate the union by demanding all future hires be low-wage temporary workers with no benefits and no collective bargaining rights.

MoMA recently sold several major works of art at Sotheby’s, and has a long history of buying and selling with the auction house. This ongoing relationship is a direct contradiction of any claim the museum has to responsible behavior, according to Local 814 President Jason Ide.

“MoMA has always tried to act justly toward its own employees and been diligent in selecting responsible contractors,” said Ide. “But the decision to do business with Sotheby’s when it wants to eliminate good jobs just when New Yorkers need them most is very disturbing.”

Occupy Wall Street activists have taken up the cause of the 42 art handlers, who lost their health care on Jan. 1, 2012 and are struggling to survive on unemployment. OWS recently dropped a large banner inside the museum that read “Sotheby’s End Your Lockout.  Hang Art Not Workers.”

“The kind of reckless, anti-worker practices you see at Sotheby’s should not be condoned or supported by leading institutions like MoMA. MoMA should be setting an example for the art world,” said Teamsters Joint Council 16 President George Miranda. “Until the lockout is ended, all museums, especially those receiving money from New York taxpayers should cease all business with Sotheby’s.”

Back to top of page

 

The Truth About Right-to-Work (For Less)
Posted: February 25, 2012
Source: Crooks and Liars
Pro-business conservatives are pursuing an unprecedented assault on the rights of working families at both the national and state levels. Congress and no fewer than 37 state legislatures are pushing through right-to-work or related bills. Some of them are passing. Everywhere, though, the arguments supporting the laws are based on outright falsehoods, some of them, including phrases like 'forced unionism', are embedded in the names of the legislation. Organizations like the National Right to Work Committee use scary language, including threats of union violence and allusions to corrupt union bosses, and misleading or false propaganda to pursue their anti-worker agenda:

Back to top of page

 

Some Good News from Seattle Building Trades
Posted: February 24, 2012
Source: Seattle Building & Construction Trades Council

To all of my Building Trades Brothers and Sisters and Friends,

Today you all made a difference. Today because of your efforts, our members and our Community will benefit from your actions. We have been working on the ST 2 PLA extension for almost two years. Working with ST during the PLA Study. Providing honest and accurate descriptions of the ST PLA. We knew that if we had a chance to tell our story we would prevail.

We knew that when it was time for us to stand up and be counted you were there. Make no mistake, today would of never happened if you were not there with us.

[...] I want to thank each and every one of you who have attended the meetings, spoke up for your rights, commented during the struggle and especially for proving that you, All of you Building Trades members are the most highly skilled craftsmen and women in this State.

We need to also thank our Friends.
  • Our Board members who have the vision to provide the mechanism to address our transportation needs for the next generation.
  • We need to thank our contractors that spoke up for the PLA. Hoffman Construction and others. We need to thank the Minority Sub Contractors association. We look forward to providing more opportunities for our friends.
  • We need to thank our Training Partners like Diane from SVI Multiple Trades.
  • City administration partners Like Peter Guzmon from the city of Tacoma and others.
  • Our friends from the environmental movement like Andrew Austin.
  • We also need to thank our ST Partners in this adventure. Solid support from the staff was critical.

So now we remember our friends. [...] Most importantly we need to all remember that it was successful because all of our Friends stood with us today.

The Building Trades is as strong as its collective members. I was very proud to stand with you today and look forward to the next battle.

Lee Newgent, Executive Secretary
Seattle Building Trades Council

Back to top of page

 

Seattle Port Strike Challenges ‘Independent Contractor’ Lie
Posted: February 22, 2012
Source: In These Times
Port DriversEmployers say they’re “independent contractors.” Drivers call that a legal trick to deny them their rights–a nice-sounding label obscuring an ugly reality.

For two weeks in February, this argument raged at terminal gates in the ports of Seattle and Tacoma. Hundreds of truckers, who normally ferry huge shipping containers from dockside to waiting trains and warehouses, refused to get behind the wheel and drive. Instead, they caravanned to the terminal gates and appealed to their coworkers to climb out of their cabs and join their strike.

Port managers claimed that it was business as usual on the docks. Standing in front of the BNSF rail yard, though, the strikers could see stacks of containers that weren’t going anywhere. When they wouldn’t drive, the “cans,” as they’re called, stacked up on ships, in rail yards, and at warehouses. The port’s lifeblood slowed to a crawl. Cargo has to move for shippers and trucking companies to make money. A still container, a waiting ship and an idle truck all mean lost profits. It was clear the strike was costing employers a lot of money.

Finally, after the standoff had gone on for two weeks, on February 14 the two sides basically declared a truce, and drivers went back to work. In their eyes, however, it was only a step, not yet an agreement that resolved their problems. They had made their point, however, by showing the trucking companies they work for–and the huge shipping corporations behind them–that drivers have power over the movement of cargo. And they could and would use it to bring about the changes they demanded.

The truckers came away from the strike better organized than they’d ever been before. Every morning they’d gather at the Teamsters Union hall in Tukwila before heading to the docks. Then, in the evening they’d return. The hall would fill with drivers in intense conversations in Amharic, Somali, Urdu and English as they repeated their demands and decided on tactics for the following day. After two weeks, a hardened core of 400 were veterans of the flying squads, deployed in winter rainstorms from gate to gate. They had testified in hearings and spoken to reporters.

In the end, many agreed their most important achievement was the organization that emerged strengthened from the strike: the Seattle Port Truckers Association.
Read the source story here.

Back to top of page

 

Photos of the Crane that fell at Vigor
Posted: February 22, 2012
Source: PSMTC

crane-001crane-002crane-003 crane-004

Back to top of page

 

Hoffa: Carnage and Crime In Mexico Offer More Reasons to Keep Unsafe Trucks Off U.S. Roads
Posted: February 22, 2012
Source: Huffington Post
Hoffa in TukwilaThe State Department recently warned Americans against taking unnecessary trips to vast, dangerous sections of Mexico. Nearly all the states along the border are awash in violence, and there is no safe road to Mexico City.

Mexico's 5-year-old narco-war is only getting worse. More than 12,000 people were killed in drug-related violence last year, a 6 percent increase over the previous year. Reports of torture, beheadings and killing of women are up as well.

Just two weeks ago, Mexican troops announced that they seized 15 tons of methamphetamine near Guadalajara -- an amount equal to half the meth seized in 2009 in the entire world.

That's why U.S. truck drivers don't haul freight south of the border.

NAFTA was supposed to eliminate trade barriers among Canada, Mexico and the U.S. But Mexico has clearly failed to do what the deal requires it to -- provide the same fair access to its markets that the U.S. offers to Mexico.

If a violent drug war isn't an impediment to trade, I don't know what is.

Mexico's failure is especially egregious in the case of cross-border trucking. U.S. trucks and truckers have to meet much more rigorous safety standards than their Mexican counterparts. Carnage and crime prevent them from using Mexican highways. But Mexican trucks that don't meet U.S. safety standards are allowed to drive on violence-free U.S. highways as part of the U.S. Transportation Department's latest pilot program.

That isn't fair and it isn't right.
Read the complete source story here.

Back to top of page

 

Atlanta Teamsters demand AT&T rescind 740 layoffs
Posted: February 20, 2012
Source: Teamster Nation
We Luv Organized WorkersAT&T wants to lay off 740 employees, but they won't do it without a fight from Atlanta Teamsters, CWA members, Occupy Atlanta members and Jobs With Justice.

The video [link at right] is a raw excerpt from Valentine's Day rally at 675 W. Peachtree Building in Atlanta

Workers Independent News also did a feature about the rally. Teamsters Local 728 President Randy Brown was quoted:

It’s about you and I. Us standing together against the 1 percent that are doing everything they can to look after theirself and doing everything they can to take care of the very top and the corporations. More money, more money, more money.
The full WIN story is here.
Read the complete source story here.

Back to top of page

 

Teamsters' Drive Up Standards Bus Campaign Reaches Milestone 300th Win
Posted: February 19, 2012
Source: Teamster.org
The Teamsters’ Drive Up Standards campaign to organize private school bus and transit workers nationwide has reached a major milestone, with 300 organizing wins for more than 32,500 workers since the campaign began in 2006.

“School bus workers nationwide have built a movement with the Teamsters to improve their working conditions, and they are achieving better workplaces with good wages, benefits, safety and respect,” said Jim Hoffa, Teamsters General President. “We look forward to representing these members as we continue to win more organizing victories and raise standards in this industry.”

The milestone was reached with a victory for school bus drivers at Durham School Services in Hayward and Livermore, Calif., who voted overwhelmingly to join Teamsters Local 853 in San Leandro, Calif. The 159 workers united for respect and a voice on the job.
Read the source story here.

Back to top of page

 

House Transportation Bill: Lobbying And Lawsuits Behind Move To Strip Worker Protections
Posted: February 17, 2012
Source: Huffington Post
House Republicans are trying to pass a transportation bill that would strip certain workers of their minimum-wage and overtime protections. As it turns out, several of the companies that would benefit from the change have recently been sued by their employees for allegedly violating wage laws.

One of those companies, Evansville, Ind.-based Professional Transportation, Inc. (PTI), has lobbied lawmakers to have its workers exempted from the Fair Labor Standards Act, the 1938 federal law that guarantees basic labor rights. Ronald Romain, the president of PTI's parent company, and his wife, Connie Romain, donated more than $55,000 to GOP election efforts last year, including a combined $10,000 to Evansville-based Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.), according to campaign contribution records from the Center for Responsive Politics.

Bucshon sits on both the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which produced the transportation bill, and the House Education and the Workforce Committee, which oversees workplace laws and protections. Bucshon is running for re-election this year.

Bucshon's office did not return requests for comment made this week. Neither did Ronald Romain, nor a lobbyist with Steptoe & Johnson, the lobbying firm hired by PTI.

The change inserted into the House bill, listed under the heading "Technical Correction," would remove wage protections for several thousand "long-haul drivers" who transport railroad crews from worksite to worksite. Many of those drivers work for roughly the minimum wage and sometimes log 60 hours a week, often driving several hundred miles at a time across state lines. The drivers are currently entitled to overtime pay but would lose it under the House bill.

Some of the firms that could benefit from the GOP provision other than PTI include RailCrew Xpress, Renzenberger and Coach America, all of which have faced employee lawsuits over alleged wage violations.
Read the source story here.

Back to top of page

 

Attend Legislative Town Halls this weekend
Posted: February 17, 2012
Source: The Stand
Many state lawmakers are going home this weekend to hold town hall meetings. This is your opportunity to urge them to support the Jobs Bond proposal; to stop the cuts, find revenue and close tax loopholes; and to support/oppose other important legislation for Washington's working families.

Click here for the list of scheduled town hall meetings, as compiled by the Washington Federation of State Employees/AFSCME Council 28. If your district isn't listed, check with your state legislators to find out when/if they plan to meet with their constituents.
Read the complete source story here

Back to top of page

 

FDOC Teamster Officers Make History
Posted: February 15, 2012
Source: Teamster.org
No one thought we had a chance.

When Florida’s Senate leadership filed a bill to privatize more than two dozen prisons, everyone figured it was a done deal.

If the bill passed, it would have devastated thousands of hardworking correctional officers. They would have lost their jobs. Many would have had to travel long distances and take a cut in pay – if they were lucky enough to find a new job. Some, who couldn’t afford to move or to travel, wouldn’t find jobs at all.

But the people who thought prison privatization was a foregone conclusion hadn’t accounted for the Teamster FDOC officers.

They put up one hell of a fight. The officers emailed their senators. They rallied. They wrote letters to their newspapers. They attended meetings. They signed petitions. They drove day after day after day to the Capitol to talk to the press, to visit with their senators, to testify against the bill. Some drove for hours on little sleep to make their voices heard.

Even when lawmakers tried to silence their voices, they didn’t give up.

They just kept fighting.

And on the evening of Valentine’s Day, the Florida Senate voted 21-to-19 to kill the privatization bill.
Read the source story here.

 

Back to top of page

Port of Seattle truckers end 2-week walkout; talks to continue
Posted: February 15, 2012
Port Truckers end walkoutSource: The Seattle Times
About 400 short-haul truckers at the Port of Seattle decided Tuesday they'll return to work, ending a two-week walkout.

The mostly immigrant drivers represent about one-third of the typical daily truck fleet at the Port. The walkout slowed some cargo loads, but no ships were diverted or stopped, the Port says.

Port leaders will continue to meet with the drivers to grapple with safety issues, said Port spokesman Peter McGraw. Issues include overweight loads and worn or flawed truck chassis that are owned by freight companies and used and returned by drivers each day.

In addition, several trucking firms have agreed to boost the pay per load to $44 from $40 a trip; to compensate drivers stuck in line more than an hour; and to pay for some trips drivers make when they have no load, according to Paul Marvy, a labor-union researcher advising the truckers.

"This is an ongoing process. We will continue to fight as time goes on, to make sure these problems will be resolved," said Calvin Borders, of the new Seattle Port Truckers Association.
Read the complete source story here.

Back to top of page

 

Correctional Officers Applaud Senate for Killing Prison Privatization
Posted: February 14, 2012
Source: Teamster.org
Florida correctional officers today praised the Senate today for voting down a bill that would have privatized more than two dozen prisons.  

The Senate vote of 19-21 killed the legislation. Yesterday, Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, introduced an amendment to turn the privatization bill into a study, which would have effectively killed it. That amendment failed by a vote of 21-19.

“Florida Department of Corrections officers are extremely thankful to the senators who stood up for us,” said Brian Cliffint, a sergeant at New River Correctional Institution. “The privatization proposal would have put thousands of FDOC employees out of work and seriously harmed our communities and our families.”

Cliffint was among the dozens of Teamsters who traveled to Tallahassee today to lobby against the bill. Over the past few weeks, hundreds of correctional officers have visited the Capitol to oppose plans to privatize 27 correctional facilities and work camps and to close 11.

“We are so grateful that a bipartisan Senate majority decided against this damaging legislation,” said Ken Wood, Acting President of Teamster Local 2011, which represents 20,000 Florida Department of Corrections officers. “They supported hardworking corrections officers and their communities, and they protected Florida taxpayers from spending billions on secret contracts with no public oversight.

“The Teamsters are still fighting hard against unnecessary closures of correctional facilities and work camps, but for now, we’re very pleased with the Senate’s action,” Wood said.

For more information, visit http://fdocteamsters.org/ .

Back to top of page

 

Wash. Senate tries to revive film incentives
Posted: February 14, 2012
Source: The News Tribune
Washington's Senate is trying to revive a tax incentive program designed to lure movie production to the state.

Senators voted 40-8 on Tuesday to bring back the tax credits, with supporters saying it will draw business and spending to the state. Opponents complained that the program gives away $3.5 million a year when the Legislature is slashing spending in schools and other programs.

The tax program offers a 30 percent rebate off the amount of money spent in the state. It expired last July after the state House declined to take a vote on the issue.

Film industry officials have warned that Washington will lose out on film productions because the state can't compete with incentives in Vancouver and Oregon.
Read the source story here.

Back to top of page

 

WA State House passes HB2395, port truck driver misclassification bill
Posted: February 13, 2012
Source: JC28
Late yesterday afternoon the WA State House passed, 52-43, Rep. Mike Sells’ bill (HB 2395) to give more than 2,000 short-haul port truck drivers access to Washington unemployment insurance, workers compensation, and all other rights accorded to employees in our state. More than 200 port drivers, who were gathered at a standing-room only town hall with King County Council and Seattle City Council members, cheered and hugged when the vote was announced.

SHB 2395 -- Drayage truck operators
 
House vote on Final Passage (2/11/2012)
 
Yeas: 52   Nays: 43   Absent: 0   Excused: 3

Special thanks to Rep. Mike Sells, Rep. Pat Sullivan, and Rep. Bob Hasegawa for eloquently debating the bill.

Watch the House floor debate on HB2395 here.

Voting Yea:  Representatives Appleton, Billig, Blake, Carlyle, Clibborn, Cody, Darneille, Dickerson, Dunshee, Eddy, Finn, Fitzgibbon, Goodman, Green, Haigh, Hansen, Hasegawa, Hudgins, Hunt, Hunter, Jinkins, Kagi, Kenney, Kirby, Ladenburg, Lytton, Maxwell, McCoy, Miloscia, Moeller, Morris, Moscoso, Ormsby, Orwall, Pedersen, Pettigrew, Pollet, Probst, Reykdal, Roberts, Ryu, Santos, Seaquist, Sells, Springer, Stanford, Sullivan, Tharinger, Upthegrove, Van De Wege, Wylie, and Mr. Speaker

Voting Nay:  Representatives Ahern, Alexander, Anderson, Angel, Armstrong, Asay, Bailey, Buys, Chandler, Condotta, Crouse, Dahlquist, Dammeier, DeBolt, Fagan, Haler, Hargrove, Harris, Hinkle, Hope, Hurst, Johnson, Klippert, Kretz, Kristiansen, McCune, Nealey, Orcutt, Overstreet, Parker, Pearson, Rivers, Ross, Schmick, Shea, Short, Smith, Takko, Taylor, Walsh, Warnick, Wilcox, and Zeiger

Absent:  --

Excused:  Representatives Kelley, Liias, and Rodne

Back to top of page

 

Teamsters march on Port of Seattle to support striking drivers
Port rallyPosted: February 13, 2012
Source: Teamster Nation
The rally to support 400 striking Port of Seattle truck drivers is in full swing, we learn from the Tweetosphere. Protesters chanting "We Are One" marched in the cold along the harborside to the Social Security Administration building, where they demanded fairness and safety.

The crowd converged on Harbor Island at 9 a.m. Local news cameras -- KOMO and KIRO -- arrived and "tons of trucks" honked in support. Local 117 from Tukwila tweeted that drivers from the Port of Los Angeles spoke to the fired-up crowd. Signs read, "We Support Seattle Port Drivers," and "Respect Drivers' Rights."

The drivers have been on strike for two weeks. They are misclassified as "independent contractors," and forced to work for poverty wages in dangerous conditions. They are routinely harassed. Shipping companies are even refusing to pay them for work they did before the strike.

Here's how bad it is: $56 billion worth of goods passes through the Port of Seattle, but the drivers are paid only $9.38 an hour http://t.co/uWhazZDD

Jon Talton at the Seattle Times previewed the rally:
Non-union short-haul truckers are entering their third week of an action to get better working conditions at the Port of Seattle. According to Sage Wilson of the activist group Working Washington, a rally was to be held at 9 a.m. today at Harbor Island to show support for the drivers, organized by the Seattle Port Truckers Association and Puget Sound Sage. The Teamsters are also supporting the action

The drivers, primarily immigrants, haul containers from the port to rail yards. They complain of poor working conditions and wages, as well as being held liable for safety violations over which they have no control. Last week, they were largely successful in shutting down movement of freight. ... Last week, the truckers successfully rallied for back pay from Edgmon Trucking, one of the short-haul (drayage) companies that employs the immigrant drivers.

Meanwhile, in Olympia, the House passed HB 2395, which would grant short-haul truck drivers more of the rights of employees under state law. Currently, they are treated as independent contractors. Still, a meeting involving port officials last week produced no resolution.
Solidarity, brothers and sisters!

Back to top of page

 

Truck drivers protest unsafe conditions at Port of Seattle
Posted: February 13, 2012
Source: KIRO TV:
Hundreds of short-haul truck drivers spent Saturday protesting the unsafe working conditions at the Port of Seattle. The meeting was held at the Teamsters Union Hall in Tukwila, where truck drivers were hoping to get help and to see change.

The short-haul truck drivers are responsible for taking containers from the ports to the rail yard or placing them within 10 miles.

The issue drivers were having was that there is no way of knowing the weight of each container they are hauling. Some drivers told KIRO 7 that some of the containers they are moving are often overweight.

Drivers at the meeting were contractors and they said if they get stopped by state patrol for the heavy load, they have to pay a fine and not getting paid enough.
Read complete source story here.

Back to top of page

 

Teamsters Celebrate, Remember James R. Hoffa
Posted: February 13, 2012
Source: Teamster.org

While working men and women have long known the value of a dollar—it is a lesson well taught to one who labors for a living—it has taken a long, long time to teach employers the value of a human being, and in many cases has not yet been successfully taught. Few give thought to what happens to displaced workers, but they can analyze to the penny what the profits will be.” –James R. Hoffa

Each year in February, Teamsters take a moment to reflect upon and remember a leader who changed the course of history for working men and women in America. James R. Hoffa, born February 14, 1913, served as General President of the Teamsters Union from 1957 to 1971. In that time, he inspired thousands to stand up and let their voices be heard.

His words, spoken more than 50 years ago, resonate just as profoundly today as they did then.

As General President, Hoffa honed his well-earned reputation as a tough and effective bargainer, and gained the respect of labor and business leaders alike across the country. He worked hard to expand the number of working men and women who were protected by union contracts and, under his leadership, the union’s membership rose to include more than 2 million workers.

Hoffa’s crowning achievement was the 1964 National Master Freight Agreement, which united more than 400,000 over-the-road drivers under one contract. This contract, a feat that had been declared virtually impossible by many, lifted more workers out of poverty and into the middle class than any other single event in labor history. Congressman Elmer Holland (D-PA) was quoted as saying, “Jimmy Hoffa has put more bread and butter on the tables for American kids than all his detractors put together.”

“My father’s devotion to the Teamsters and their families was—and remains—legendary. His whole life was dedicated to bettering the lives of America’s working families,” said James P. Hoffa, General President of the Teamsters Union. “I can think of no better way to honor his legacy than to continue fighting on behalf of working people everywhere.”

Back to top of page

 

Teamsters Authorize Hostess Strike Pending Court Action
Posted: February 13, 2012
Source: Teamster.org
The Teamsters Union announced today that its members working at Hostess voted overwhelmingly – over 90 percent in favor – to authorize a strike if Hostess is granted its motion to impose unfair contract terms as part of the bankruptcy process.

Teamster local unions that comprise the national bargaining unit for more than 7,500 Hostess employees conducted strike authorization votes during the past 10 days. A majority of the members participated in the overwhelming strike vote.

“This vote shows that, while our Hostess members are willing to take significant steps to save the company, they can only go so far,” said Dennis Raymond, Director of the Teamsters Bakery and Laundry Conference. “Twice before, they have made sacrifices to help this company with no progress to show for it. They need to see their sacrifices matched by other key stakeholders and they need protections to make sure their sacrifices are not made in vain again due to mismanagement. While we remain committed to finding a solution to save the company, it won’t be done solely on the backs of our members and Hostess employees.”

“The Teamsters Union is committed to vigorously defending its position against the 1113 motion to impose unfair employment terms that the company filed at the outset of the bankruptcy process,” said Ken Hall, Teamsters International Vice President. “The strike authorization should send a loud and clear message about our determination, and we will be equally determined in defending our case before the court.”

A hearing on the motion is scheduled to begin March 5 and the judge has 30 days to issue a ruling.

“In a related development, as a result of the loud protests from our members and other represented Hostess employees, the company has deferred its motion to request that the court approve CEO Driscoll’s employment contract until mid-March,” Hall said. “The delay shows that our voices were heard, and, while the contract remains an open issue, we will continue to press the principle of equal sacrifice for all stakeholders, including the CEO.”

Back to top of page

 

Teamsters Oppose Court Approval Of Hostess CEO's Contract
Posted: February 11, 2012
Source: Teamster.org
The following is a statement from Ken Hall, Teamsters Union International Vice President, in response to Hostess Brands Inc.’s recent bankruptcy court application to fund the salary of the company’s CEO in direct contrast to the major cuts the company wants imposed upon its unionized workforce.

“We struggle to understand how Hostess’ management team, its board and its advisers think that filing this motion to guarantee CEO Brian Driscoll’s employment conditions, at a time when Hostess is seeking to dramatically modify the working conditions of its employees, is a good idea.

“Prior to the bankruptcy filing, the Teamsters Union engaged in months of good-faith negotiations in an effort to work toward a fair and equitable resolution. This occurred despite the fact that the company had unilaterally stopped contributions to employee pensions in August 2011. We have also been extremely clear that shared sacrifice will be required by all parties, including management, employees, owners, and lenders.

“We remain committed to finding a solution but, with the company seeking to reject the labor agreements and filing this motion for CEO Driscoll, we question the company’s commitment to reaching an agreement that its employees would ratify.

“We oppose any employment contract that does not follow the principles of shared sacrifice or have the proper incentives for a successful restructuring. Equally importantly, the timing of any such consideration must be in line with the priorities of the bankruptcy process. To that end, the motion filed on behalf of CEO Driscoll should not be considered until the 1113 process is completed and the Teamsters and other key stakeholders can properly evaluate the future of Hostess.”

Back to top of page

 

Space Needle workers fight for job security
Posted: February 10, 2012
Space needleSource: The Stand
UNITE HERE Local 8 members have been in negotiations with the Edgewater Hotel and the Seattle Hilton for many months, where workers are fighting for their job security and their union. Add the Space Needle to that list.

In contract negotiations, Space Needle management wants the ability to subcontract out workers’ jobs and refuses to agree to protect the workers’ jobs in case the facility is sold. On Thursday, employees will vote on management’s latest contract proposal that does not include job security.

TAKE A STAND! Please take 30 seconds to be in solidarity with the workers and let the Space Needle know that the Seattle community expects them to do the right thing and protect workers jobs.

CLICK HERE to send an email and a fax to the Space Needle corporation supporting the workers! Also you can share our link on facebook, go to www.facebook.com/local8 for the link.

“In this economic climate, workers need to know they can’t be thrown under the bus at any moment,” writes the union. “Our struggle is more than a series of contract negotiations, it is a vision for Seattle tourism that includes a middle class life for local workers. It is a city-wide fight, with many battles.”
Read the complete source story here.

Back to top of page

 

Support Seattle Port Drivers in Their Fight for Safety & Fairness
Posted: February 10,2012
Source: Teamster.org
More than 120 Seattle port drivers will hold a solidarity action on Monday, Feb. 13 at the Spokane St. Bridge Fishing Area to raise awareness of their fight for a safe and fair workplace.

The drivers have been standing strong for 11 days to protest unsafe working conditions in the Port of Seattle. The workers shut down the port on Monday, January 31 to demonstrate their desire for a safe and fair workplace. Conditions in the port have given rise to severe occupational hazards, including overweight containers and shoddy, poorly maintained equipment.

Details on the solidarity action can be found here. Please support these drivers in any way you can.

Back to top of page

 

Boiling point at the port
Posted: February 9, 2012
Source: The Seattle Times, Jon Talton column
I cover the waterfront, but today I was out at the Teamsters hall in Tukwila giving a speech to a group of retirees. Meanwhile, the Teamsters are supporting an effort by non-union drayage (short-haul) truckers to shut down the Port of Seattle. These drivers haul containers from the port to rail terminals. They make low wages, complain of poor working conditions and are responsible for such things as safety violations in their trucks. They're targeting discretionary cargo that must move on specific days to make rail schedules.

The Seattle Times' Mike Lindblom reported on the issue last week. Today, cargo is barely moving. It's a compelling human story. I listened to a Teamsters organizer talk about the plight of these drivers, many of whom are immigrants, trapped in low-wage jobs. Many walked off the job in protest and the trucking companies allegedly withheld their paychecks. The Teamsters and the port have been at odds over this for years, port officials saying they have limited ability to micromanage the private drayage companies on wages. Of course, the Teamsters would love to organize these drivers.

But it's also a regional competitiveness story. Without the ability to move cargo quickly from dockside to rail container terminals, Seattle is sunk (Tacoma has dockside rail access and is less dependent on drayage truckers.
Read the complete source story here.

Back to top of page

 

Shipyard accident victim was from Bremerton
Posted: February 8, 2012
Source: Kitsap Sun
William "Bull" Ben Shelby, a shipwright at Vigor Shipyards in Seattle, tumbled 75 to 100 feet at Vigor, hitting scaffolding on the way down, according to Seattle Fire Department. He died at the scene.

Shelby's name and hometown weren't mentioned in the accident coverage. Only when an obituary was published Tuesday did his identity become widely known. He leaves behind a wife, two sons, a daughter, two stepdaughters and a stepson. He would have turned 40 Feb. 22.

Shelby was working on the drill rig Kulluk, said Vigor spokesman Steve Hirsh.

The shipyard has been a somber place this week.

"People are really affected by it," he said. "He was a good guy. He was a friend. It looks like these are tough men and women who have a hard job in this industry, and they do, but they're people, and when one of their coworkers suffers this fate, it hits everybody hard."
Read complete source story here

Back to top of page

 

A belated payday for protesting Seattle Port truckers
Posted: February 8, 2012
Source: The Seattle Times
A loud but peaceful protest in Kent ended happily Tuesday morning, after Edgmon Trucking handed out two dozen paychecks to drivers in the midst of a Port of Seattle labor dispute.

The drivers, mostly immigrants from East Africa, have declined to work their normal shifts hauling containers at the Port of Seattle since Thursday. Organizers say 400 truckers at several firms are participating — or rather, nonparticipating — in the waterfront slowdown. The goal is to bring pressure for higher pay, better vehicles, and collective bargaining rights in the coastal port-trucking business, as described in this news article last fall.

About 100 drivers chanted in the parking lot of the Kent small business founded by Bob Edgmon, who recently has flourished as a country-western singer.

According to truckers there, and Teamsters-affiliated union activists supporting them, Edgmon and another firm delayed January checks in retaliation for the slowdown. But office staffers handed the checks out Tuesday at the rally. Adrienne Calderon, dispatch manager, said the checks were ready Friday but one trucker asked to collect those on behalf of the group, and she declined.
Read the complete source story here.

 

City Of Oak Harbor Public Works Employees Choose The Teamsters
Posted: February 7, 2012
Source: Teamster.org
(Bellingham, WA)  On Wednesday February 1, 2012 the Public Employment Relations Committee (PERC) formally certified General Teamsters Local 231 (Local 231) as their representative for the purpose of collective bargaining with their employer.  PERC conducted a cross-check certification where it was shown that more than 70% of the eligible employees signed bargaining cards in support of Local 231.

“We are very proud that the dedicated and hard working Public Works employees at the City of Oak Harbor have chosen The Teamsters to represent them in the collective bargaining process. We look forward to amicable and productive negotiations with the City as we move forward with the bargaining process,” said Leonard Kelley Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 231.

The Public Works employees and their Teamster Representatives will now begin the process of negotiating a first contract with the City.

Back to top of page

 

Ah, the luxury...Ah, the luxury of toying with workers' lives
Posted: February 7, 2012
Source: Teamster Nation
One of our brothers locked out by Sotheby's saw this sticker on an advertisement for something luxurious. It captured the cool indifference of the entitled jerks at Sotheby's. Six months ago, they kicked their fellow human beings out on the street -- because they stood up for their right to belong to a union. According to Sotheby's report to the SEC, it cost them more to lock out 42 art handlers than it would cost to pay them their wages.

We hear negotiations are going along okay between Teamsters Local 814, which represents the art handlers, and Sotheby's. We're just wondering if Sotheby's board members will ever step out of their luxe cocoons. They might just find their reputations as decent human beings forever tainted.

Back to top of page

 

Seattle Truck Drivers Shut Down Port to Protest Work-Related Dangers

Posted: February 2, 2012
Source: Crooks and Liars
Nearly 150 truck drivers effectively shut down shipping out of the Port of Seattle when they went to the state capitol in Olympia instead of the port, to protest dangerous work conditions in the trucking industry. Drivers were so concerned about the way the industry treats them that they risked their careers to make their voices heard.
This week the truck drivers – who toil under the guise of false self-employment – are making it their job to sound the alarm on occupational hazards, overweight containers, shoddy equipment, risks to motorists, and the culprits responsible for these rampant safety violations: their employers and their giant retail shipper clients like Wal-Mart, Sears, and Target.

The trucking bosses at Pacer, Seattle Freight, Western Ports and others were stunned, but the state troopers weren't. Washington's top cops testified before lawmakers right alongside the workers, detailing a dizzying array of dangers associated with the drayage industry: Chronic safety violations so serious that an investigative journalist discovered late last year that officers pulled 32% of rigs they inspected outside the terminals off the road — double the rate for trucks throughout the state. When specially trained troopers conducted more thorough inspections in 2011, King 5 TV reported, 58% of Port of Seattle cargo vehicles were yanked. And according to Captain Jason Berry's testimony, an astonishing 80% have been put out of service during certain recent time periods.

The drivers called upon legislators to support HB 2527, which would address many of the concerns they have.
Read the source story here.

Back to top of page

 

Teamsters, safety advocates oppose higher truck weight limit bill
Posted: February 2, 2012
Source: The Detroit News
Auto safety advocates, members of Congress and the head of the 1.4-million member International Brotherhood of Teamsters union said Wednesday they oppose a GOP plan to allow much heavier trucks on the nation's roads.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is considering the legislation, which is sponsored by Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., the committee chair.

It would raise maximum truck weights by more than eight tons and would overturn restrictions that ban triple trailer trucks and other longer combination vehicles on most U.S. highways. It also would impose exemptions on hours-of-service regulations, Occupational Safety and Health Administration rules and Hazmat training requirements.

Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., opposed the effort. "It's a menace on the highways — one we don't need," Lautenberg said.

"Heavier and longer trucks mean greater stopping distances and shorter reaction times. This legislation is treacherous to the driving public," said Teamsters President Jim Hoffa, who called it a "recipe for danger and disaster. This legislation is a reckless giveaway to the trucking industry, and corporate greed is at the wheel. The driving public absolutely does not support these radical changes that will endanger our highways. This overhaul will not create jobs. It will damage our roads and bridges, costing taxpayers. It will put lives at risk."

John Runyan, executive director of the Coalition for Transportation Productivity, a group supporting the higher limits, said the bill "gives states the ability to open all, or portions of, their interstate networks to more productive, single-trailer trucks equipped with six axles rather than the typical five."

He said the new limit of 97,000 pounds would be safe. "The provision enables shippers to safely utilize wasted truck space that remains empty at the current 80,000-pound federal weight limit," Runyan said. "There is substantial evidence this truck weight proposal will save lives by enabling companies to reduce the vehicle miles traveled to deliver their goods and products."
Read the complete source story here.

Back to top of page

 

Teamsters Prepare to Strike Northern Ohio Red Cross
Posted: February 2, 2012
Source: Teamster.org
More than 200 Teamsters who work as blood collection workers and mobile unit assistants for the American Red Cross in Northern Ohio announced today that they intend to strike on Feb. 14 over concerns about donor safety.

The workers, represented by Teamsters Local 507 in Cleveland, have been trying to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement for months, but the Red Cross is insisting on cutting health care benefits and reducing staff to unsafe levels, which they claim is necessary to keep profits growing.

“Our concern is donor safety,” said Albert Mixon, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 507. “Teamsters have served our great community for years as steadfast workers at Red Cross. We are operating blood drives at high schools, community centers and hospitals every day. But now Red Cross’ blood services division wants to cut staffing levels to the point where donors should be concerned for their safety.”

Teamsters who work as blood collection and mobile unit assistants take their work very seriously. But their jobs have become increasingly difficult with continued staffing cuts. Now Red Cross is seeking even steeper staffing cuts to dangerous levels. The nonprofit also is intent on axing workers’ health care benefits, claiming all reductions are necessary to keep profits flowing.

“Red Cross needs to respect donors before dollars,” said Safeyyah Edwards, a Red Cross Instructor on blood collection who has worked there for the past ten years. “They tell us the cuts are necessary to keep improving their profit margin. But we question why profits should come before donor safety.”

“Donating blood saves lives,” Mixon said. “It shouldn’t be seen as just a moneymaker. We want to continue providing a safe, clean way for the public, which includes our own families, to give blood.”

There are other blood collection agencies in the Cleveland area, and Local Union 507 is encouraging donors to consider them during the strike, which is set for Feb. 14.

Back to top of page

 

America's Truck Drivers Shut Down Port of Seattle to Expose Dangers of the Job
Posted: February 2, 2012
Source: Clean and Safe Ports.org
Monday mornings are the busiest at any port, but this past one in Seattle the trucks were parked. Drivers spanning the major companies that do the most business in the Puget Sound simply turned off the engines, got out of their cabs, and stopped hauling. They had somewhere else they needed to be.

Port of SeattleSteely determination led roughly 150 port drivers to sacrifice income and risk retaliation to make the hour-and-a-half trek to swarm the State Capitol in Olympia.

Commerce at the Port of Seattle slowed to a trickle, and hasn’t picked up since.

This week the truck drivers – who toil under the guise of false self-employment – are making it their job to sound the alarm on occupational hazards, overweight containers, shoddy equipment, risks to motorists, and the culprits responsible for these rampant safety violations: their employers and their giant retail shipper clients like Wal-Mart, Sears, and Target.

The trucking bosses at Pacer, Seattle Freight, Western Ports and others were stunned, but the state troopers weren’t. Washington’s top cops testified before lawmakers right alongside the workers, detailing a dizzying array of dangers associated with the drayage industry: Chronic safety violations so serious that an investigative journalist discovered late last year that officers pulled 32% of rigs they inspected outside the terminals off the road — double the rate for trucks throughout the state. When specially trained troopers conducted more thorough inspections in 2011, King 5 TV reported, 58% of Port of Seattle cargo vehicles were yanked. And according to Captain Jason Berry’s testimony, an astonishing 80% have been put out of service during certain recent time periods.

If the drivers’ collective action sent shockwaves throughout the shipping and trucking industry, then their demonstration equally uprooted a commonly held societal belief. During the Occupy Wall Street port shutdowns, activists and well-intentioned sympathizers debated whether the blockades would siphon wages from port workers – arguably one of the greatest symbols of the 99% — or if it would suck profits from the 1%, such as the Seattle-based global terminal operator, Goldman Sachs’ SSA Marine, and its West Coast trucking outfit, Shipper’s Transport Express.

What their protest proves is that port drivers, as inside agitators, are very much willing to lose pay as a means to powerfully reveal the crushing economic forces that literally put their lives and livelihoods at risk. Even, and especially amidst a severe economic downturn. Their historical ability to self organize, unite, and seize opportunities to improve their working conditions, is unfolding before our eyes. Hundreds more drivers have since joined the safety work stoppage, and some companies remain shut with too few workers to move the cargo.

As their trucks remain parked, they’ve asked allies and supporters to help amplify their voices by reposting this and spreading the word about why they flooded the legislative hearing room to standing room-only capacity. One by one, they ferociously spoke in favor of HB 2527, a bill to shift responsibility for fixing the hazards, paying fines, and correcting safety violations off their sweat-ridden backs, and onto the broad shoulders of the mega-rich corporate owners of the tools of the trade like chassis.

Semere Woldu, who has been hauling cargo at the Port of Seattle for 8 years, told the panel:

“Our work is extremely dangerous. So the safety laws are very important. Unfortunately though, we drivers are forced to pay for violations that we are not responsible for. We often get tickets or are cited for faulty equipment that we don’t own. One time, my boss knew I had a heavy load. He told me to go by the scale early in the morning when it was closed to avoid having the load weighed.”

More drivers cited these illegal pressures their employers put them under, and shared their fears for their personal safety and the lives of motorists. “Every day, I haul two or three loads that are overweight, possibly putting myself and others at risk,” said Aynalem Moba, a 14-year port veteran. “The truck could tip over. I’m afraid I might kill myself or someone else. Sometimes we’re carrying hazardous materials, and we don’t know it.”

Some explained the retaliation they face for blowing the whistle. They get banned from the terminals or are denied work by their dispatchers. They also told the legislators that if they get too many safety violations they risk losing their commercial drivers’ license and their livelihoods.

“The shipping and rail lines force us to use faulty equipment. One time I got a load that was 4-5,000 pounds overweight, and it was on a chassis that was insufficient for carrying heavy loads. The company told me to take it anyway,” said 13-year driver Calvin Borders. “I was really nervous about it. All that extra weight puts a lot of wear and tear on the truck. It blew my wheel seal…It cost me $450. My truck is my livelihood. If it doesn’t work, I don’t work.”

Some of the protestors have already been suspended. That has only sparked their co-workers to walk off the job in solidarity – and disgust. On Wednesday, these non-unionized men and women who are desperately seeking the protections that collective bargaining rights would provide were leafleting the terminals and the docks, positively engaging the dockworkers brothers and sisters at the longshoremen’s union, vowing to stay united, keep fighting for their rights, and all of our safety.

We’ll post updates as they come in. Will you stand with them and help spread the word?

Back to top of page

 

Hoffa: Indiana Law On Right To Work For Less Is Attack On Working Families
Posted: February 2, 2012
Source: Teamster.org
Light at the end of the tunnel turned offTeamsters General President Jim Hoffa today denounced Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels’ signing of so-called “right-to-work” legislation into law as an attack on the millions of working men and women in the state.

“Indiana does not need or want this anti-worker legislation,” Hoffa said. “I know that working Hoosiers will not stand by and watch as their wages and benefits are driven down as a result of this new law. As we have seen over the past year, American workers will fight to protect the future of their families.”

Indiana had passed a right-to-work-for-less bill in 1957, only to see the law repealed in 1965 after public outrage shifted control of the state Legislature to the Democrats. In Ohio last year, millions of Ohioans voted to repeal Senate Bill 5, which would have stripped collective bargaining rights from nearly 400,000 public employees. 

By signing the bill into law, Daniels broke a promise to his constituents. In 2006, he told the Teamsters that he opposed right-to-work-for-less legislation when he spoke to Local 135 in Indianapolis.

At that meeting, (which can be viewed at http://bit.ly/A1AtON ), Daniels said, “I'm a supporter of the labor laws we have in the state of Indiana. I'm not interested in changing any of them, not the prevalent wage laws, certainly not a right-to-work law."

Daniels served as budget director under George W. Bush, during a time when the country went from a large surplus to a budget deficit.

“Gov. Daniels will soon learn the hard lessons that other anti-worker Republican governors are facing after overreaching and launching attacks on the middle class,” Hoffa said. “Catering to your corporate benefactors rather than representing your constituents is not the best course of action if you want to keep your job.”

Despite the political rhetoric that anti-worker politicians tout to sell the public on so-called “right-to-work” legislation, evidence shows it lowers income and benefits and has no impact whatsoever on job growth.

In the more than 10 years since right-to-work-for-less legislation was passed in Oklahoma, the number of new companies coming to the state decreased by one-third while the number of manufacturing jobs has decreased by the same measure. Oklahoma has also seen a rise in migration of jobs out of state since the passage of so-called “right-to-work.”

Back to top of page

 

Teamsters flood Indy for huge protest against RTW4less
Teamsters flood IndianaPosted: February 2, 2012
Source: Teamster Nation
Thousands of working people crowded the Indianapolis streets today to protest the passage of right-to-work-for-less legislation. Our Teamster brothers and sisters were there in force, along with members of other unions, their families, their friends and their neighbors.
As many as 20,000 were estimated to have spoken out against the legislation that will lower wages for all Hoosier working families.
Said labor activist Cathy Sherwin via Twitter:

Hoosier workers as far as I can see!
Another Twitter post read:
Union member Rose has been directing traffic for 25 minutes. Marchers keep coming.
The bill passed 28-22 earlier today, despite shouts of disapproval from ever-growing crowds inside the Statehouse. Later, a rally was held outside the Statehouse lawn, followed by a march to Lucas Oil Stadium, where the Super Bowl will be held.

Here's the AFP on what happened:
While Super Bowl players prepared for Sunday's NFL title showdown, protesting workers marched on the host stadium after a vote Wednesday by Indiana lawmakers to weaken union power in the state.

With thousands of protesters in and around the Statehouse in the shadow of the NFL host hotel, the Indiana Senate voted 28-22 for a bill that forbids companies from making deals with unions that force non-members to pay dues.

"It's a union-busting tactic all the way," said protesting carpenter Mike Coomes. "You just create more poverty. They want us to go back to slavery. We've worked 150 years to get here and they wiped it out in one vote."

Back to top of page

 

Teamsters Fight Against Reckless Push to Allow Heavier, Bigger Trucks
Posted: February 2, 2012
Source: Teamster.org
Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa joined Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., Rep. James McGovern, D-Mass., highway safety advocates and family members of truck crash victims at a press conference today to speak out against legislation that would make radical changes to federal law, allowing heavier and bigger tractor trailers on U.S. highways. View more photos from this event.

“Many Teamsters drive for a living and they know up close the dangers involved if the size and weight of commercial trucks on our highways are increased,” Hoffa said. “Heavier and longer trucks mean greater stopping distances and shorter reaction times. This legislation is treacherous to the driving public.”

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is considering the legislation, which is sponsored by House Transportation Committee Chairman John Mica, R-Fla.

It would raise maximum truck weights by more than eight tons and would overturn restrictions that ban dangerous triple trailer trucks and other longer combination vehicles on most U.S. highways. It also would impose exemptions on important hours-of-service regulations, Occupational Safety and Health Administration rules and Hazmat training requirements.

“This legislation is a reckless giveaway to the trucking industry, and corporate greed is at the wheel,” Hoffa said. “The driving public absolutely does not support these radical changes that will endanger our highways. This overhaul will not create jobs. It will damage our roads and bridges, costing taxpayers. It will put lives at risk.”

Back to top of page