Tuesday, February 27, 2018

NRA boycott: FedEx to keep its discount; 10 companies drop gun group

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FedEx is sticking with the National Rifle Association, even as other companies drop the organization in the wake of the deadly school shooting in Florida.
The shipping company said it will continue to offer discounts to NRA members and "has never set or changed rates for any of our millions of customers around the world in response to their politics, beliefs or positions on issues."
The Memphis, Tennessee-based company said, however, it's positions on gun policy and safety are different from those of the NRA.
"FedEx opposes assault rifles being in the hands of civilians. While we strongly support the constitutional right of U.S. citizens to own firearms subject to appropriate background checks, FedEx views assault rifles and large capacity magazines as an inherent potential danger to schools, workplaces, and communities when such weapons are misused," the company said in a statement.
FedEx's refusal to end its NRA discount led to the creation of the #BoycottFedEx hashtag on Twitter. Among those sharing the message was David Hogg, a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the site of the Feb. 14 attack that resulted in the deaths of 14 students and three teachers.
Other companies are severing their ties with the NRA, mostly through eliminating discounts offered to members. Those include:
Delta Air Lines
United Airlines
Enterprise Holdings
Hertz
Avis and Budget
Symantec
TrueCar
MetLife
SimpliSafe
First National Bank of Omaha

XPO Logistics faces novel “repeat offender” class action law suit seeking to end systemic wage theft at US ports

Ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach, CA – On Monday morning, Feb. 26, 2018, attorneys Julie Gutman Dickinson and C. Joe Sayas, Jr.,filed a new class action lawsuit on behalf of Angel Omar Alvarez, Alberto Rivera and Fenando Ramirez, seeking to represent at least 160 XPO Logistics Cartage, LLC dba XPO Logistics (NYSE:XPO) port and rail drivers from Southern California. This , fi new class action lawsuit became necessary due to the company’s refusal to stop misclassifying its drivers as independent contractors in spite of consistent rulings by federal and state government agencies and courts that XPO is violating labor laws.
 
Regardless of whether XPO drivers lease a truck through  XPO’s “sweetheart” deal with Bush Leasing or another entity, or whether drivers already own their own truck (commonly referred to as “owner operators”), drivers are still treated as employees by the company because of the level of control that XPO exercises over the drivers. Drivers depend on XPO to provide work and must follow all of the company’s rules. In the end, XPO’s employment arrangement is designed to minimize its costs while maximizing its profits at the expense of its drivers.
 
“On behalf of exploited XPO Logistics drivers, we are seeking a permanent injunction to stop XPO Logistics from continued misclassification of its drivers.” Julie Gutman Dickinson said, “By continuing to flaunt labor law, XPO is a ‘recidivist’ violator that must be stopped.” 
 
“This class action lawsuit breaks new ground because it will not only help drivers who are being deprived of their employment rights and wages, but the business community by leveling the field for companies that abide by labor laws,” Joe Sayas, Jr.
 
“I have worked for XPO for more than 8 years and come from El Salvador,” said Angel Omar Alvarez, an XPO port and rail driver at its Commerce location. “I’m participating in this case because I am tired of XPO misclassifying us drivers as well as the company taking away our rights as employees and our wages. I don’t have any benefits and the company takes a lot of money out of my paycheck to pay for company expenses like insurance and diesel fuel. We even pay taxes on the money that the company takes out of our checks to pay for their expenses. I was part of one of the previous class action lawsuits, but I didn’t know I was part of it until I received a check. But the lawsuit didn’t fix anything at XPO. The company continues to take our money and misclassify us. Nothing changed with that settlement. We are filing this lawsuit because we want to stop misclassification.” 
 
“Even though I’m scared that I might lose my job, I’m tired of XPO misclassifying us. We are suffering because XPO is taking our money to pay for its own expenses,” said Alberto Rivera, an XPO port and rail driver at its San Diego location who has driver since 2016. “XPO already makes our life miserable and retaliates against us if we try to refuse a load. We pretty much have to do whatever the company tells us.”
 
With numerous decisions by federal and state government agencies and courts, XPO has been placed on notice of its labor law violations.
 
  • California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) has issued 16 decisions on behalf of XPO drivers who brought separate wage and hour claims awarding a total of nearly $4 million in back pay and penalties related to misclassification. To date, all of these decisions on appeal have also held that the XPO drivers are employees who have been misclassified as independent contractors.
  • The California Economic Development Department (EDD) has awarded at least five XPO drivers unemployment and disability benefits upon determining they were misclassified as independent contractors.
  • Region 21 of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in Los Angeles issued complaints against both XPO Port Services, Inc., (d/b/a XPO Logistics) and XPO Cartage after investigations into unfair labor practice charges filed by drivers. In doing so, the Region made a merit determination that the drivers were employees.
 
Instead of making changes to come into compliance with the law, XPO has continued to misclassify its drivers. 
 
The consequences for the truck drivers are severe. In addition to not receiving the legal minimum wage and having expenses illegally deducted from their paychecks, drivers have been deprived of their meal and rest breaks under California law. They have also been deprived of other protections such as workers compensation, which is very important because of the dangerous nature of being a truck driver.
 
C. Joe Sayas  and Julie Gutman Dickinson both have extensive experience and expertise in litigating misclassification and wage theft cases in a variety of forums, including winning permanent injunctive relief for drivers that stopped companies from misclassifying its drivers. (See. e.g. Taylor v Shippers Transport Express, 13-02092 (C.D. Cal. May 14, 2015).)
 
Background on XPO Logistics (NYSE:XPO)
XPO Logistics Cartage’s parent company – XPO Logistics – is a top ten global logistics company operating in 32 countries, with over 95,000 employees and 1,455 locations, and earning approximately $15 billion dollars per year. CEO and Chairman Bradley Jacobs has announced his intention to fund additional acquisitions of up to $9 billion in the coming months.
 
Summary of XPO Logistics Regulatory Action and Litigation
XPO Logistics Cartage, LLC dba XPO Logistics, (hereinafter called “XPO Cartage” ) is a Delaware company that maintains California offices and operations in Commerce and San Diego, CA.  XPO Logistics is a publicly traded, global company and one of the world’s ten largest providers of transportation and logistics services.  XPO Cartage primarily moves goods to and from rail yards to customers. There are over 160 misclassified drivers who own or lease trucks and who have worked for XPO Cartage in its Commerce and San Diego locations from April 30, 2016, to the present.

XPO Logistics Cartage is the successor company to XPO Cartage, Inc., which was formerly known as Pacer Cartage. XPO Port Services is also a subsidiary of XPO Logistics. XPO Cartage and XPO Port Services, Inc., d/b/a XPO Logistics, are together among the top trucking companies servicing the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. XPO Port Services specializes in moving goods to and from the ports, while XPO Cartage primarily moves goods to nearby intermodal rail yards. These various XPO entities have faced multiple legal and enforcement agency actions for alleged wage theft due to misclassification of their drivers as independent contractors, as outlined in the attached document

Monday, February 19, 2018

What is the Best Thing About Being a Teamster? Four Ex FedEx Freight Drivers Answer The Question.

                       
              Teamsters Local 848

             Aaron Garcia: Fontana, Ca.

Being a teamster is important because with out it you don't have excellent pay and a voice with regards to your rights for fair work place treatment.

             Juan Vera: Whittier, Ca.

For me,  Guaranteed wages and health benefits,  a good work environment,  guaranteed hours. The ability to choose what days you want to work.

             Joe Nuno: Mira Loma, Ca.

If you don’t have a union in the workplace, you don’t have guaranteed wages, health benefits or a secure pension. You are an “at-will” employee. You check your rights at the door, and your employer can fire you or change your conditions of employment at any time and for almost any reason.
There are real advantages to having a union for you as an individual and for society in general. By forming a union with your co-workers, together you will  have the strength to negotiate a legally binding contract with your employer that includes better wages, affordable health care, a secure retirement and a safer workplace.




Mike Milroy :
San Fernando Valley, Ca.

Guaranteed Security, a contract spelling out your destiny. With regards to pay, benefits, and everything that entails the business and how you fit into that business, you are safe, secure  and  covered, who wouldn’t want that?
There is way too many company promises that will never come true because just remember “their job”depends on them lowering costs “you incur”, because then they get to  divey it up, how can they realistically worry about you when it’s “their job” on the line?
Management wishes they could be us! trust me on this. I have had so many managers tell me they took the wrong path and envy my job. My wife has thirty years in the teachers union(UTLA) and is leaving with 100% of her pay and lifetime benefits. We  are a union family! There is way too many benefits and emotional securities to mention in this illustration . I wish I didn’t waste 25 years of my life at Fed-Ex being non-union and them constantly reminding me how lucky I was to have their stinking job. They depend on isolating and eroding your security like that, it puts “them” in the position of strength. I can’t tell you how many of my old freight buddies I see at the studios that want to leave, telling me stories of  long term friends dismissed for trivial reasons, makes me sick to my stomach and sad to hear news like that, yet happy I’m here and not there and now being the persons in the position of strength.
Just remember you are dispensable, you will use up your usefulness and when  that happens and it “always does” it’s too late to go back and fix it.
The next batch come along get fed the same non-sense and the pattern will continue because the young get old and expensive, we forget all our fellow employees that worked with us and disappeared, reflect back on how many are no longer there, companies depend on your  short-term memories and your own self interest taking priority.  Do you honestly think you will be able to afford benefits in the near future when the people who say they will take care of you wind up working for your competitors? Big companies could care less what happens to you! Those extra funds go directly to fund things for the top in stock options, bonuses, cars, vacations etc. Also don’t get fed  that stupid line about union dues and layoffs, all scare tactics because that’s “all they got”.  In conclusion I have been so fortunate  to have become a Teamster and would only want all of my brothers and sisters at Fed-Ex to have what we all have here,  it’s a great life. 

Good Luck to having the work future you have been working for and deserve, and earned for your families.

Mike Milroy
Motion Picture 
Studio Teamsters local 399

Thursday, February 15, 2018

Kroger Associates Win Thousands of Dollars in Back Pay by Enforcing Union Contract

For Ryan Kibble, Chasity Moyers and more than a dozen other Kroger members in West Virginia and Ohio, justice has prevailed.
More than one year ago, they were denied promotions that rightfully should have been theirs due to the seniority provisions in their union contract.
“Seniority provisions are one of the most important protections in our union contracts,” explained Local 400 President Mark Federici. “By prioritizing the most senior employees for promotions and other benefits, seniority gives every worker the confidence of knowing that if you stick it out and pay your dues, then you will get ahead. It puts everyone on an even playing field and prevents managers from playing favorites and only promoting people they like.
“But, just like everything else in our contracts, the rules only protect us when we enforce them,” Federici added. “Ryan and Chasity did just that – and it paid off.”
Ryan Kibble was a full-time backup meat cutter at Kroger #708 in Ripley W.Va. In late 2016, he signed up for a backup customer service position at Kroger #799 in Belpre, Ohio, a move that would have cut his commute from his Parkersburg, W.Va. home from 45 minutes to just five minutes. However, the job was given to a part-time worker in violation of the contract. So Ryan filed a grievance.
“Kroger tried to pick and choose who they want,” Ryan said. “They claimed I had no skill for the position, but I had that job at a previous employer.”
After a lengthy back and forth, Ryan won his grievance in December and received $2,000 in back pay. While this victory gave him the right to take the backup customer service position, he had become a meat cutter at Kroger #799 in the midst of the grievance process and chose to stay in his current job.
“I was glad it was finally over,” he said. “And I was glad that Kroger finally had to pay for their mistake, which they need to do. You can’t set rules and then try to bend and break them whenever you want.”
Chasity Moyers had a similar experience. She was a full-time bakery clerk at Kroger #799 and signed up for a backup dairy position that opened up at her store. Someone else was given the job, and she soon realized she had more seniority than this person, so she also filed a grievance.
While her grievance was pending, the backup drug GM position came open at Kroger #799. “I signed up for that, too,” she said. “And I didn’t get that one either. So I had to file another grievance.”
A few months later, the backup drug GM position came open again and this time, she got it. But before she moved into that job, the head drug GM transferred and so Chasity leapfrogged to head drug GM.
Then, in December, she won her grievance and received nearly $1,200 in back pay.
“I was excited to win and receive the check,” she said. “To be honest, I had kind of forgotten about it because I was now in the job I wanted. But I’m really glad we enforced the contract.  Everybody has their own fair share in this company. This is a fair way to get a resolution out of something that didn’t work out, and I thank everybody who was involved.”
The Kroger West Virginia contract states that the company can award lead or department head jobs to individuals based on their fitness and ability, but when multiple candidates have similar qualifications, the person with the most seniority will receive the promotion. But in many cases, these guidelines were flouted, and the problem was not isolated to one store or one manager—it existed throughout the region. While most grievances have been resolved, some are still in process.
“Just as important as bargaining a contract is the need to enforce it,” said Local 400 President Mark P. Federici. “It’s very important not only for our representatives and shop stewards but for every member to know the contract’s terms and be vigilant about making sure they are followed. It’s our members’ activism that won justice in these cases—and sent a message to Kroger that we will hold the company accountable.”

Monday, February 12, 2018

It's Good To Be A Teamster !



These tractors are on loan to our Stockton terminal. Notice that the on board camera's are covered. Since Stockton is a Teamster yard, and they are in negotiations FedEx cannot use them until a contract is in place.

Also Stockton is very busy. They have hired new drivers. Remember during the anti union campaign Fedex said if a terminal voted  for Union representaion that they would lose work and move work away from that terminal ?

Just a good example of the company's LIES and Fake News!

Sunday, February 11, 2018

Tell the Supreme Court: Protect working people's right to organize!


Tell the Supreme Court: Protect working people's right to organize!



Fifty years ago this month, two young black sanitation workers were killed on the job in Memphis. The tragedy sparked the historic “I AM A MAN” strike, with 1,300 black workers joined by Martin Luther King, Jr. in demanding recognition of their union (AFSCME), basic safety standards and a decent wage.
This month, 50 years after the Memphis workers’ strike, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear Janus v. AFSCME Council 31, a case brought by corporate elites to divide working people by limiting our power in numbers. Undercutting our right to organize exacerbates the racial wage gap and starves the unions that give communities of color a voice against corporate interests.
This is exactly what the Memphis sanitation workers and Martin Luther King, Jr. were fighting against, and we have to continue that fight now. We need 20,000 people speaking out before the end of the month to tell the U.S. Supreme Court: Protect working people’s rights to organize, and stop dangerous right-to-work laws that hurt working people!

AFL-CIO
Daily Kos
Economic Policy Institute
National Education Association
National Domestic Workers Alliance
National Partnership for Women & Families
Watchdog.net