|
Fraud Watch
The battle has begun.
Unions are responsible for the weekend, for the eight hour workday, for paid holidays and vacations, and for countless other benefits that most working people now take for granted. Recently, union members have been able to stave off many of the cuts in benefits that non-union workers have had to suffer.
Out-of-state corporate interests are once again pushing a
dangerous ballot initiative that would undermine the democratic
way that unions operate in Colorado. The more aptly named 'Work
for Less' Initiative reduces the ability of employees to
negotiate for safe working conditions and quality health care.
 No one in Colorado can be required to join a union today, and
employees are only required to pay a fee for union
representation if both the employer and its employees agree.
When people at a worksite vote to join a union, the union works
for higher wages and better benefits for everyone. This
initiative will allow non-union members to gain the same
benefits as their coworkers without paying their fair share of
the dues.
The initiative threatens to reduce the ability of employees to
negotiate for health benefits. When Colorado workers stop
receiving health care through their jobs, more people will need
help from state health insurance programs. This means that
taxpayers, not business, will foot the bill.
Colorado doesn't need another misguided constitutional
amendment. The Work for Less initiative is supported by
powerful, out-of-state, special interests, who are trying to
promote their own corporate agendas by changing our
constitution. It's time for the special interests to stop
playing political games and let us work on the real issues
facing Coloradans. We need to protect Colorado's future by
working for good jobs and affordable health care.
Local 455 is asking all Teamster members to be part of the campaign to protect Colorado's future
by protecting our wages, health care, pensions, and working conditions. Yes, you can help! In fact, the Colorado labor movement is the greatest line of defense to defeat
the Work for Less initiative. We believe there is fraud in the process of collecting signatures on the Work for Less petitions, and your efforts can help identify that fraud.
We must fight to keep this dangerous initiative off the November
ballot.
Please be on the lookout for people gathering signatures for
this anti-worker petition. If you see them, refuse to sign and
call
303-936-0766 to report where and when you saw the petition
gatherers.
Put this number in your cell phone right now.....303-936-0766 Fraud Watch
Excerpted from the Colorado AFL-CIO and Local 455 mailings
I look at you all and I see that you're sleeping,
while my guitar gently weeps.
Southern Exposure
Bob Newhouse
Howdy Doody from way on South. The world has heated up even though the weather is still cold. Management pressures are such to cause a constant rash of threats including intimidating, in your face, attacks by management. Of course management can do no wrong, and anyone that responds in kind is terminated. The discussion of these types of cases will come soon, but right now they are pending. Do not accept rough treatment from anyone. You must bring it to the immediate attention of both your managers and your union people. Even with past history of this behavior management is letting their people off the hook, and hammering the Teamsters. Used to be the Teamsters had this kind of reputation, now I guess the company has decided management with Goons is a good way to get you all in line.
 The company has been forced to pay a number of nine five grievances at double time. Of course the decisions could stop at any time, but I salute the Teamsters for standing up for the single largest infraction of the contract next to supervisors working. The only way overtime will be reduced is if they have to pay. Even still they act as if it’s cheaper to work you overtime, paying double time, than to hire enough people, and run enough cars to keep the dispatch down. We go through the process constantly and just get the old shoulder shrug. What’s funny is the amount of money I make as a steward handling these kinds of cases. It’s as if they intend to fight the whole thing, but just never get around to it.
Look out for the safety discipline machine. The new attack is to force an injured driver to call the division manager who threatens that he will personally come down and make the driver quit for working unsafely. It is against state law for the company to attack you for being injured. You must not be afraid to let your steward know you are being harassed for getting injured on the job. You must also be careful about what you say to the doctors. They are working for the company, not you, and they are being paid to trap you into saying something that will allow the company to deny your workers comp. claim. We have caught the doctors lying on the follow-up reports to the insurance company in order to give the company an opening to attack the driver for being injured. The doctors blatantly lie about reporting time and treatment times in order to make it appear that the drivers have not jumped through the required hoops
with the idea that the company can then discipline, and/or deny the claim of the driver for injury.
The last issue I wish to bring to all of you Teamster members in Colorado is the new attack on workers by Out-of-State cooperate interests trying to bring a “Work-for-Less” constitutional amendment to our state. These Corporate adversaries are paying people to collect signatures to get the “work-for-less” initiative on the ballot for the November elections. Many of the people they are hiring are from out of state also, which is illegal under the laws of the state. These people are also misrepresenting the nature of the ballot initiative to the people who sign it. If you make contact or are approached to sign one of these petitions please contact
the Fraud Watch Team at
303-936-0766.
to report their existence. Please do not obstruct or interfere with these people in any way. Please report their spiel and their name. Please also note if they are collecting signatures for a number of issues besides “work-for-less”. That will indicate that the corporate entities are paying them to collect signatures for these issues. The issue will not be presented under that name. They will call it something like Workplace freedom, or Right to Work, but it is all the same to reduce your ability to make gains in negotiations with your employers. If you have any questions about these issues please contact your local unions.
Even now you are under attack.
Settling Conflicts Between Members
Do you have discord in your unit? No, I'm not talking about a personal problem, I'm talking about a problem many Stewards face when two or more members that he represents can't seem to get along.
They bicker and they argue, they make life uncomfortable for those around them and they weaken the solidarity of the Union. Other members often look to the Steward to mediate the problem. The Steward must tackle this issue with a degree of tact that doesn't always come naturally, but if he isn't careful and skilled in his approach,
he can make a bad situation worse and can alienate a member and divide the workforce, something management loves to watch happen.
 So where does a good Steward go for help?
Well, the first thing I would do is contact my Business Agent and get his advice. Tell him what's going on without taking sides. Sometimes the eyes of a third party can see much clearer than those of a Steward who is close to the action. Ask him about the contractual issues involved and familiarize yourself with the articles that may apply.
In our case here at Local 455 we have another resource that he may direct you to. The Local's website has a page for Stewards that advises us on some of the issues we face in the workplace. One of them is "Settling Conflicts Between Members". Here are three examples of conflict on the shop floor that they discuss:
Co-workers Jack Valeri and Tony Kellerman are at it again - the harsh words, the blaming and then the uncomfortable silence. The whole unit goes through this once or twice a week and everyone's sick of it. They want the union to do something about it.
Kathy East and Jessica North both bid on the same job. Kathy got the job because she was qualified and had more seniority, just as outlined in the union contract. Jessica believes she was better qualified and she's giving Kathy the cold shoulder, making it difficult for Kathy to do her new job. "This is all the union's doing," fumes Jessica.
"Those young punks get all the perks around here and us old guys are just chopped liver," complains Juan about the younger workers in his shop who he claims get the better schedules. "I'm not giving them an ounce of advice - let them screw up on their own!"
Here is what a good Steward would do to the put out these fires.
A Troubling Connection
In six years as a member of the Wal-Mart board of directors, between 1986 and 1992, Hillary Clinton remained silent as the world's largest retailer waged a major campaign against labor unions seeking to represent store workers.
Wal-Mart's anti-union efforts were headed by one of Clinton's fellow board members, John Tate, a Wal-Mart executive vice president who also served on the board with Clinton for four of her six years.
Tate was fond of repeating, as he did at a managers meeting in 2004 after his retirement, what he said was his favorite phrase, "Labor unions are nothing but blood-sucking parasites living off the productive labor of people who work for a living."
Wal-Mart says Tate's comments "were his own and do not reflect Wal-Mart's views."
But Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton and other company officials often recounted how they relied on Tate to lead the company's successful anti-union efforts.
Clinton has been endorsed for president by more than a dozen unions, according to her campaign Web site, which omits any reference to her role at Wal-Mart in its detailed biography of her.
In a campaign speech last year in New Hampshire, Sen. Clinton said, "Now I know that Wal-Mart's policies do not reflect the best way of doing business and the values that I think are important in America."
Her Senate campaign returned a $5,000 contribution from a Wal-Mart Political Action Committee, although ABCNews.com discovered another $20,000 in contributions from Wal-Mart executives and lobbyists.
In a written statement, a Clinton spokesperson said, "As President, she will fight alongside labor to promote the economic growth of America's middle class." He said Clinton strongly believes Wal-Mart workers should be able to unionize and bargain collectively.
Brian Ross, Maddy Sauer and Rhonda Schwartz
The Trouble with Hillary
They're Out to Get Me!!
Bob Newhouse
 Ever notice that the paranoid drivers are the ones that get most of the rides, and are the ones that are in the office the most. Ever notice that those same drivers are always upset with the company and always talk about not sleeping at night.
The fact is the company looks for this type of behavior. They teach their management to single out the drivers that are the least able to deal with the pressure. Management will push these drivers harder than the drivers who just perform their daily job, in a consistent manner, and really don‘t get flustered at the pressures put on them by management.
If you perform your job in a safe and consistent manner, you have nothing to fear.
Management sees paranoia as a sign of weakness, and a sign that you are not doing the job. Smile, and be content with the job you do.
When it gets down to it, the company just wants a fair days work, for a fair days pay.
They always ask for more, but your obligation to them does not go beyond that.
Your Right to Bitch
Bob Newhouse
Isn’t it a wonderful world. You seem to be getting hammered from every side. No matter what you do the company is on your butt.
As a steward I want you to know one thing.
 You pay big money for your right to bitch!
You are a member of the largest single union organization in the world. You pay big money for dues, and this gives you the right to complain. There is a steward attached to your center. There is a business agent attached to that steward. There is a Local attached to that Business agent. There is the International Brotherhood of Teamsters attached to that Local.
Contrary to what company and outside sources would have you believe, these entities have your interest at heart. Your very survival is their very survival. Their sole purpose is to improve your life. You have every right and obligation to demand the representation you think you have coming from every step listed above.
If you don’t put forth the effort to ask, don’t complain when the cavalry doesn’t arrive.
Try asking one time and see what happens. You will be surprised.
There are many dedicated people behind the Teamsters Union, and they care a great deal about you! Just look at this website. It is a website of caring union people. It is run by people that have been where you are today. People that want you to survive as they have.
Ever notice it’s the people who care about themselves that bad mouth the Union and it’s people.
If it’s all about you, get a job at FED-EX and see how much fun you can have. You will regret not having a UNION JOB!!
Calling In Sick
A new survey show 80 percent of employees frequently show up to work while sick. Meghan McNeeley, Division Director for Office Team in Colorado, sorted through the results for us. She says a mere eight percent of respondents said they never come into the office when feeling under the weather.
Survey respondents were asked:
"How frequently do you go into work when youre feeling sick?"
 Their responses:
Very frequently: 49 percent
Somewhat frequently: 31 percent
Somewhat infrequently: 12 percent
Not at all: 8 percent
McNelley says managers acknowledge that ailing employees often come into work, but the practice may be more common than many realize.
In a separate poll of 150 senior executives -- including those from human resources, finance and marketing departments -- just 21 percent of respondents said they thought sick employees came into work very frequently when ill.
Executives were asked:
"How often do you think employees come to work when they feel sick?"
 Their responses:
Very frequently: 21 percent
Somewhat frequently: 51 percent
Somewhat infrequently: 25 percent
Dont know/no answer: 3 percent
Many employees fear they'll be disciplined if they stay at home when they're not feeling well, according to McNeeley. However, she says its preferable to take a day or two to recuperate rather than risk exacerbating a condition or passing an illness on to coworkers.
With greater flu concerns this year, many companies are actively encouraging sick employees to stay home. McNelley believes managers should let employees know that staying away from the office is the right thing to do when they are ill. Actions often speak louder than words -- if supervisors show up when they're feeling poorly, employees may feel pressure to do the same.
9News
The New Guys are Not the Cheap Guys
Bob Newhouse
Contrary to popular opinion, UPS does not find the new drivers to be the cheaper delivery drivers. Yes, they do work for less money. It takes 2 1/2 years to reach full-scale wages. (Wonder who negotiated that. When I started it took less than six months to reach full scale!) Yes they do run faster, and jump higher than the long-term driver.
 What most people don’t see, (the company does, or we would all be gone), are the costs of shortcutting, bad deliveries, fast driving, no seat belt wearing, bulkhead door open, generally bad habit delivering by new drivers. I spend a great deal of time in the office as a steward with drivers who can’t seem to understand that the company wants you to do the job right. They say, “faster, faster”. But when it comes to reality, they want things done properly. They discipline for bad driver release. They terminate for accidents. They give warning letters for not wearing seat belts. They terminate for bad habit deliveries.
They bitch a fit about that slow driver who delivers everything right, closes the bulkhead door, never has accidents, wears their seat belt, drives the speed limit, etc. They complain, cajole, harass etc. Yet that driver has been with the company for 25 years. Fact is, that driver never has claims, never has accidents, never gets hurt, treats the customer with respect, and goes out of his way to take care of the customer. That driver has never had a warning letter, has accumulated a pension, and will retire with a healthy body. These drivers are generally quiet, but they are the staunch supporters of the union, because they know the union helps to give them the job security they need to survive for the long term.
Are you the Cheap Guy? Or are you the long-term survivor of UPS!
Get Involved
Sign up for Local 455 Teamster Alerts
Colorado and Right to Work
Do We Need a Law?
A Denver Post article reported on "[a]nti-union advocates seeking a constitutional amendment that would bar compulsory union membership for workers," noting that their proposed ballot measure "would prohibit workers from being forced to join and pay dues to a union." In fact, as Colorado Media Matters has noted,
federal labor law already prohibits compulsory full union membership, while allowing union security clauses requiring membership dues.
The measure would prohibit workers from being forced to join and pay dues to a union.
Contrary to the Post's suggestion that under current law a worker can be forced both to "join and pay dues to a union," under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) a collective bargaining agreement cannot compel all workers covered under the agreement to maintain full membership in the union. At most, an agreement can compel workers to maintain "financial core" status, which requires payment of certain dues and fees.
About Your Legal Rights: Private Sector Employee
 Can I be required to be a union member or pay dues to a union?
You may not be required to be a union member. But, if you do not work in a Right to Work state, you may be required to pay union fees. Employment relations for almost all private sector employees (other than those in the airline and railroad industries) are covered by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).
Under the NLRA, you cannot be required to be a member of a union or pay it any monies as a condition of employment unless the collective bargaining agreement between your employer and your union contains a provision requiring all employees to either join the union or pay union fees.
Even if there is such a provision in the agreement, the most that can be required of you is to pay the union fees (generally called an "agency fee.") Most employees are not told by their employer and union that full union membership cannot lawfully be required. In Pattern Makers v. NLRB, 473 U.S. 95 (1985), the United States Supreme Court held that union members have the right to resign their union membership at any time.
Colorado Media Matters
NLRB: OK To Ban Email For Unionization
Here is a news article that proves it's OK to waste time at work as long as you aren't talking about the Union.
 PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) Employers can prohibit workers from using the office e-mail system for union activities, so long as they prohibit solicitations from any outside organization, the National Labor Relations Board has ruled.
The board said its 3-2 decision sets a new labor relations standard that allows employers to prohibit union activity through the company's e-mail system while at the same time permitting office chitchat and personal messages.
The three-member majority said it was reversing an administrative law judge's decision that the newspaper couldn't ban union messages at the same time it allowed "jokes, baby announcements, party invitations, and the occasional offer of sports tickets or request for services such as dog walking."
Randi Bjornstad, current president of the newspaper's union, said the decision, "takes labor law in new and disturbing directions with regard to the rights of employees."
The AFL-CIO's general counsel, Jon Hiatt, called the decision another in a series on the part of Republican board majority aimed at hobbling unions.
"There have to be accommodations to workers' rights even though the company owns the property," he said.
CBS4
Need a Union?
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - A judge has denied an Iowa man's claim that he shouldn't have been fired for repeatedly requesting help to procure a prostitute.
Neil Jorgensen, 62, of Kalona, worked at Riverside Casino and Golf Resort in Riverside and was given a gift certificate and free night's stay at the casino hotel to mark a year's employment.
 After eating and drinking at a casino restaurant, he returned to his hotel room about midnight and later called hotel managers about hiring a prostitute. When managers refused to help him, he made a call to the adjacent resort and made the same request.
"The advertisement is that it's just like Las Vegas, so I thought I was in Las Vegas," Jorgensen testified at a hearing regarding his request for unemployment benefits.
Hotel workers were sent to Jorgensen's room to ask him to stop demanding prostitutes. When they arrived at his room, Jorgensen answered the door in the nude, human resources director Tim Donovan said.
Jorgensen was fired the next day.
At the hearing, Jorgensen said his actions didn't hurt the casino, and he said he'd received strong performance reviews. He also blamed the restaurant for serving him too much alcohol.
"I was absolutely plowed," he said.
Administrative Law Judge Terence Nice turned down Jorgensen's claim for unemployment benefits.
9News
Solidarity Forever
Know Your Contract
Your contract is divided into 2 parts. The first section is the National Master Agreement and the second part is the Central Region Supplement. Everyone should get a copy of the agreement reached in 2002 and read through it.
Where to Find Things in the Contract Book
Your Cheat Sheet
UPS/Teamster Contract and Central States Supplement 2002-2008
Topic
Article #
Page#
1. 401k Plan.........................................................29, sec. 3................................70-71
2. 6th&7th day work............................................12, sec. 9.................................184
3. 8-hour request.................................................19, sec. 3.................................197-198
4. 9.5 day.............................................................12, sec. 1.................................181-182
5. Accidents.........................................................18, sec .3.................................46-47
6. Air Drivers.......................................................40, sec. 1&2,4.........................121-128,132
7. Air Drivers wages...........................................40, sec. 6.................................133
8. Air Hub.............................................................40.............................................128-132
9. Breakdown/Road Closure.............................10.............................................177
10. Bumping..........................................................3, sec. 9..................................164
11. Cost of Living COLA.....................................33..............................................72-74
12. Customer complaints....................................17..............................................196
13. Disability payments.......................................14, sec. 7-8..............................187
14. Discharge and suspension...........................17.............................................194-196
15. Doubles/triples pay rate................................19, sec. 8.................................199
16. Early start time...............................................12, sec. 2,6 .............................182-183
17. Employee working off the clock....................17, sec. 3..................................42-43
18. Excessive rides..............................................37, sec. 2.................................114-115
19. Extra work........................................................3, sec. 16................................170
20. Fair Day's Work, Fair Day's Pay..................37.............................................113
21. Feeder driver bid change............................... 3, sec. 13...............................167-168
22. Funeral leave..................................................29, sec. 2..................................69-70
23. Grievance procedure......................................5, sec. 1..................................172-173
...................................... 7.............................................19
24. Harassment.....................................................37, sec. 1-2-3.........................113-115
25. Holidays.........................................................15..............................................187-188
26. Hours of work.................................................12, sec. 1..................................181-182
27. Innocent until proven guilty............................. 7................................................19
28. Jury duty..........................................................29, sec. 1...................................68-69
29. Laid off feeder drivers...................................19, sec. 2...................................197
30. Loss of driver’s license.................................16, sec. 3.1-3.3.........................36-39
.....................................35, sec. 1-2...............................79-80
31. Maternity leave...............................................16, sec. 4...................................39-40
32. Meals and breaks..full time............................18..............................................196-197
33. Mechanics personal tools..............................19, sec. 4.................................198
34. Medical examinations....................................29, sec. 1-4...............................58-60
35. Mileage pay rates...........................................43, sec. 3..................................144
36. New hire orientation.........................................1, sec. 1...................................155-156
37. Option day.......................................................15...............................................188
38. Package car driver..bidding procedure.........3, sec. 8...................................162-163
39. Package car driver..returned to building......19, sec. 6...................................198
40. Package car driver..route change..................3, sec. 9...................................163-164
41. Package car driver..bid coverage jobs..........3, sec. 18................................171
42. Paid for time.....................................................19, sec. 1.................................197
.......................................17..............................................42-43
43. Paid holidays....................................................15, sec. 1-2..............................187-188
44. Part time............................................................22, sec. 1-5..............................61-64
45. Part time breaks...............................................11, sec. 6.................................180
46. Part time employees........................................11, sec. 1-7..............................178-180
47. Part time transfer to full time..............................3, sec. 10...............................164-165
........................................11, sec. 2.................................179
48. Pay periods..........................................................8, sec. 1................................176..
49. Penalty pay........................................................17...............................................42-43
50. Picket line........................................................... 9, sec. 1,3................................27-28
51. Resignation..........................................................2............................................157-158
52. Safety and health rules......................................13, sec. 1-2............................184-185
........................................18.............................................43-58
53. Seniority...............................................................3, sec. 1-7.............................158-162
54. Sleeper teams...................................................43.............................................140-144
55. Stewards.............................................................4...............................................12-14
........................................21..............................................60
.........................................5..............................................172-174
56. Struck goods..................................................... 9, sec. 2....................................27
57. Start time..........................................................12, sec. 4.................................182-183
58. Subcontracting...................................................1.................................................1
........................................26.............................................66-67
........................................32.............................................72
59. Supervisors working..........................................3, sec. 7................................10-11
..........................................1, sec. 2................................157
60. Temporary alternate work (TAW)...................14, sec. 2.................................33-34
61. Tractor trailer school..........................................3, sec. 14..............................168-170
62. Uniforms............................................................42............................................139
......................................... 6............................................175-176
63. Unsafe equipment............................................18, sec. 1................................44-45
64. Vacations..........................................................16.............................................189-194
65. Wages/part time...............................................22, sec. 5................................63-64
66. Wages/full time..................................................41, sec. 2...............................136-137
67. Wages/feeder mileage pay.............................43, sec. 3...............................144
68. Workers comp..................................................14, sec. 1.................................32-33
Return
to top
|
March 2008
