Hoffa Meets With Workers in Eastern Pennsylvania

(Scranton, Pa.) – Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa kicked off the union’s three-day “Working Class Convoy For Change” by meeting with workers in Eastern Pennsylvania to discuss how to keep good jobs in the state and why the Teamsters are against free trade agreements that hurt the U.S. Economy.

Hoffa also spoke on other issues affecting America’s working families, including how the policies of Sen. Barack Obama could greatly benefit workers. The Teamsters have endorsed Obana who is seeking the Democratic nomination for president.

Hoffa said he was greatly concerned that just last month, nearly 3,000 people lost their jobs in Pennsylvania, more than any other state, according to the Economic Policy Institute. And, since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) went into effect, companies in Pennsylvania had shut down 1,583 plants, offices and warehouses.

"The current administration has sat by while company after company shut down business in Pennsylvania, taking the jobs of so many workers out of the country," Hoffa said. "We need a president who will put U.S. workers first and keep jobs here.
That will boost not only the economy, but the morale of workers and all Americans."

Hoffa met with UPS workers in Scranton and Bethlehem. He also met with workers at Ocean Logistic in Scranton. He was slated to meet with ShopRite workers in Breingsville. Hoffa will meet with workers in Hershey, Reading and Pittsburgh on Wednesday and Thursday.

Workers spoke to Hoffa about their top priorities for this election.

"My number one issue is the economy and the war-we need to bring those boys back home," said Grace Fadarishan, who was worked at Ocean Logistics for 31 years and has been a Teamster since 1976. "But we need jobs too. We need jobs in America. They should not be shipped overseas."

UPS driver Michael Kovaleski in Scranton said his top issues this election are security.

"My security, my family’s security, financial security, job security, physical security," Kovaleski said. "I have two young boys and the most important thing is their futures and the way things are going-the economy, what’s going on in the world-we need a change."

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.

Our picnic and health fair sponsored by Las Vegas Teamster Locals 14, 631, and 995 was a huge success. Great food and entertainment was enjoyed by all. The health booths offered important information for the participants. Thanks to all the volunteers from Local 14 who helped at the soda wagon and the sign in booth; Chris Caples, NV Beverage, Phil from Coremark, Dave Dwyer, NV Beverage, Retiree Rick Curits and Tom Lester, Mission Industries.

NaphCare ratified their contract. It was down to the deadline and Business Agent Dana Phillips and Director of Operations Larry Griffith kept the candle burning right up to the deadline. Contract proposal meetings have started for the City of North Las Vegas, the City of Henderson, Mission Industries, and Lincoln County. A wage/pension diversion meeting for Anderson Dairy was held recently. Contract informational meetings are continually being held for Pepsi Bottling Group, Nevada Beverage and Bonanza Beverage Company.

Steve Harney, Business Agent, and I have been very strong in the political action interview sessions with candidates who are seeking union endorsements. Please see our web site for any upcoming meetings, events or news that could be to your benefit.

Al Ghilarducci, Business Agent: Contract proposal meetings have been ongoing at Pepsi. Next meeting is Saturday, April 26 at 3 pm. I have also scheduled proposal meetings for Nevada Beverage and Bonanza Beverage. The dates for the meetings are as follows; Saturday, April 26; and Saturday, May 3. All meeting times are scheduled for 10 am. It is extremely important for all members to attend these meetings. As soon as these proposal meetings are concluded, I will be meeting with Johnson Brothers, Coca-Cola, Goldberg and Solvey, and CoreMark. Please check your bulletin boards for the postings for these meetings. Congratulations to Dennis Pasternak, Shop Steward at Coke. His daughter Robyn gave birth to his granddaughter, Macy, on March 6, 2008.

Fresh and Easy Markets, owned by Bristish corporation TESCO,  has aggressively campaigned against efforts and has refused to talk to UFCW, despit the fact that TESCO stores are union overseas.

UFCW is asking that you to not SHOP AT FRESH AND EASY.

Please help us by shopping at union stores including Albertsons, Vons, Food 4 Less and Smiths.

Review the calendar of events for your proposal meetings.

Initiative Petition State of Nevada Tax Backed Lobbying Ban

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

To be added to Article 2 of the Nevada Constitution

1. No public body, public officer, person in the employ of the state or any of its political subdivisions or candidate for public office may , directly or indirectly direct, permit, receive, require, or facilitate the use of tax revenues of any other public resources for political campaigns, lobbying, or partisan purposes, including payment of dues or membership fees of any kind to any person, league, or association which, directly or indirectly, engages in lobbying , campaigns, or partisan activity.

2. The provisions of this Section do not limit public officials in the performance of their constitutional duties, and do not apply to:

(a) Communications among and between a member and a staff member of a legislative body;

(b) Communications between an elected or appointed public officer and a legislator or a legislative staff member;

(c) Comments by an elected official or communications from an elected official that are designated for constituents;

(d) Appearances by any public officer or employee pursuant to a specific request to appear before a public body to provide information;

(e) A public employee acting in an uncompensated personal capacity, undirected in any manner by, and who does not purport to represent the interests of, a public employer;

(f) Access to public property for the purpose of engaging in core political speech, such as circulating petitions or pamphlets, of engaging in religious expression by a person acting in a personal capacity, undirected in any manner by, and who does not purport to represent the interests of, a public employer; and

(g) An authorized officer or employee of the office of

i) the Supreme Court or any lower court of the state or any of its political subdivisions,

ii) the Governor, or

iii) any elected officer of the state executive branch of government whose responsibilities are to assess the impact of proposals which affect the administration of government.

3. The following are definitions of terms used in this Section:

(a) “Direct, permit, receive, require, or facilitate the use of tax revenues or any other public resources for campaign, lobbying, or partisan purposes,” includes

(i) the use of public funds, facilities, rights of access, equipment, supplies, or trademarks to influence any election;

(ii) undertaking, promoting, or distributing studies, surveys, analyses, descriptions, or other communications using public resources in a manner specifically calculated to induce support of, or opposition to, proposed legislation or ballot questions; and

(iii) incurring any public administrative expenses or activities to allocate or designate portions of public employee income to entities that engage in campaign, lobbying, or partisan activities, other than charitable organizations qualified as exempt from federal income tax under section 501(C)3 of the Internal Revenue Code, or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code.

(b) “Tax revenues or any other public resources” includes all state and local government revenues and resources, but does not include any revenues paid or resources provided by the United States government.

(c) “Campaign,” includes

(i) communications or expenditures related to the pursuit of a public office, either electoral or appointive;

(ii) all lobbying; or

(iii) efforts paid in whole or in part by public revenues or resources to coordinate or induce members of the general public or any segment thereof to directly influence legislative activity by communicating with members of a legislative body, supporting or opposing legislation, or supporting or opposing a petition drive or ballot question.

(d) “Lobbying,” means attempts to directly influence legislative activity by communication with any member or employee of a legislative body, or with any government official or employee who may participate in the formulation of legislation.

(e) “Person,” includes any individual, business entity, organization, committee, political party, campaign fund, and association.

(f) “Public officer, person in the employ of the state or any of its political subdivisions,” includes any person who is elected, appointed, or employed by this state or any political subdivision of this state, including persons who are independent contractors or consultants hired by the state or a political subdivision of this state.

4. This Section will apply only to those agreements, contracts, understandings or practices that take force or are extended or renewed after this Section takes effect, namely January 1, 2011.

5. A violation of this Section is a misdemeanor. Further, any person who knowingly spends or receives funds in violation of this Section shall pay full restitution for the greater of the public cost or for the market value of any misappropriated resources. The second or subsequent violation by a public officer or employee shall render that person ineligible to hold public office or employment with the state or any of its political subdivisions for ten years.

6. The provisions of this Section are independent and severable, and if any provision of this Section, or the applicability of any provisions to any person or circumstance, shall be found to be invalid, the remainder of this Section shall not be affected and shall be given effect to the fullest extent practicable.

This past year we had 49 of our members receive assistance from ULAN due to illness, job loss, and fire in the home. The money that has been donated was used to assist our members with rent, utilities, food on their table, clothing and has even provided toys for our Teamster children. Many thanks go to all those who volunteer their time for this program.

Current and upcoming negotiations include the City of Henderson, City of North Las Vegas, Lincoln County, Mission Industries, and NaphCare. Later this year we will have negotiations with Sysco Food Services, I.A.T.S.E. Local 720, Kraft/Nabisco, Brady Linen Services, Bonanza Beverage, Nevada Beverage, Johnson Brothers of Nevada and Pepsi-Cola Company.

Our fourth annual Shop Steward appreciation event was a great success. We seem to have more attendees every year. Our special guests included Jim Santangelo, president of Teamsters Joint Council 42. Great raffle prizes such as digital cameras, iPods, GPS system, and gift certificates were won by the attendees. Our grand door prize was a 42-inch flat screen TV. To the stewards that we have, our sincere thanks for your service and dedication. To the members who would like to get involved and do volunteer work such as door to door political walks, assisting the Teamsters 14 staff for special events, and getting involved in your union, please contact us.

We look forward to seeing all our members and their families at the April 12 combined Teamsters 14, 631, and 995 picnic plus a health fair. There will be many informational booths set up such as for blood pressure screening. We will have the impressive Teamsters Joint Council truck present. There will be a lot of good food, entertainment and many raffle prizes. Be sure to mark you calendar for this event.

We are still having problems whereby our members are not updating their beneficiary information and this creates an emotional and financial hardship on the loved ones left behind. Please update beneficiary information with the union, Health and Welfare office, Zenith Administrators, and or the Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Fund, if applicable.

As always, if you have moved, please notify this office via phone call, fax or email. It’s that easy.

Please be advised that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently promulgated a final regulation concerning payment for personal protective equipment (PPE). This final rule covers workers and employers in general industry, shipyards, marine terminals, long shoring, and construction and will be effective on February 14, 2008.

This new rule requires employers to provide all personal protective equipment required by OSHA at no cost to the employees, with the following exceptions:

• Non-specialty safety-toe protective footwear, including steel-toe shoes or boots, and non-specialty prescription safety eyewear, providing that the employer allows the employees to wear the protective gear off the job site;
• Shoes or boots with built-in metatarsal protection, provided that the employer does provide metatarsal guards for use over regular footwear;
• Logging boots;
• Everyday clothing, including long-sleeve shirts, long pants, street shoes, and normal work boots;
• Ordinary clothing or skin creams used solely for protection from the weather, e.g., winter coats, jackets, gloves, rubber boots, sunglasses, and sunscreen; and
• Equipment that is purchased by the employee, provided, that the employer makes available adequate PPE at no cost.

It should be noted that the rule also addresses situations where the employee has lost or intentionally damaged the PPE. In these instances, the employer is not required to pay for replacement PPE. Further, OSHA defines “lost” as including instances where the employee “comes to work without PPE that has been issued to him.” In these cases, the employer is not permitted to allow the employee to work without the proper PPE. Because these situations may result in employees being disciplined for failure to have the proper PPE, it would be prudent to address how this aspect of the regulation will be implemented in the workplaces represented by local unions in your respective trade division or trade conference.

Unfortunately, when workers try to form a union to have a voice on their job they are frequently intimidated, harassed or retaliated against by the employer.

I know that you are aware of this grim reality. You face these obstacles everyday as you try to organize more members into the Teamsters Union. The reality is that we must change our labor law to provide a level playing field for workers.

That is exactly what the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) would do. I am writing you today to ask that you join a union-wide effort to help promote and pass this important legislation.

The Employee Free Choice Act is supported by members of both parties in congress. The Employee Free Act would:

1. Establish stronger penalties for violation of employee rights when workers seek to form a union and during first-contract negotiations.
2. Provide mediation and arbitration for first-contract disputes.
3. Allow employees to form unions by signing cards authorizing union representation.

The Teamsters Union will be working very hard on Capitol Hill over the next few months to educate members of congress on the need for this important legislation. We can not do it alone though. I need you to do the following:

• Call your member of Congress and ask that they co-sponsor the Employee Free Choice Act.
• Schedule and appointment to meet with your member of Congress during the February Congressional recess scheduled for February 19-23rd. It is important that whenever possible you include a worker in the meeting who has run intoproblems while trying to join a union, perhaps a worker who was fired or otherwise harmed by an employer tactic. After the meeting please fill out and return the attached “District Meeting Report”.
• Fill out and return the attached “Information Request” providing information that may be useful in lobbying on Capitol Hill.
• Use the attached talking points to discuss EFCA at your next membership meeting.
• Post the attached flyer in your Local Union and ask that every steward or worksite coordinator post or distribute the flyer in their workplace.
• Talk to your fellow labor unions and other community allies about the importance of this legislation.

We must all work together to pass EFCA. We have many obstacles to passing this legislation, including a threatened Senate filibuster and a Presidential veto. We have never let obstacles stop us before and we will not now.

Thank you in advance for helping us pass EFCA.