August 3, 2018 Tentative Agreement Strengthens Protections Against Harassment, Excessive Overtime

“The new procedure making it easier to get on or off the overtime list is excellent. Those who want to work overtime will have that chance, and those who don’t want to work overtime won’t have to. The two five-month periods for getting on the list through the union are also good. A driver can choose to be on the list and work overtime, then get off the list. It gives us more flexibility.”
–ANTHONY LEWIS, Local 638, Minneapolis, 20-year package car driver

Article 37, Section 1 (a): Harassment is an issue that encompasses many forms. Supervisors use telematics; poor staffing levels; retaliation for filing grievances, accident reports and on-the-job injury reports; retaliation for eight-hour requests and invoking rights pertaining to 9.5 language; OJS rides and various other tactics. It is the company’s responsibility to hire and maintain a sufficient work force to service its customers without unreasonably burdening its employees. Management has consistently failed to fulfill its obligation, instead shifting the responsibility for ensuring service commitments are met to its already highly productive employees.

The tentative National UPS Agreement increases protections for UPS Teamsters against harassment and excessive, forced overtime.

Under Article 37, Section 1 (a), there is stronger grievance enforcement for harassment with a sitting arbitrator and monetary penalties of up to three (3) times the employee’s daily guarantee. The sitting arbitrator will prevent UPS from delaying a deadlocked grievance while going through regular arbitration, eliminating a very lengthy process.

Actual language: “Grievances not resolved by the Local or Area grievance procedure shall be forwarded to the National Article 37 Grievance Committee. Such Committee shall be comprised of an equal number of Union and Employer representatives and a sitting arbitrator who shall decide the merits and penalty of each case in the event of a deadlock by the Committee. Cases will be presented and decided in accordance with Article 8 and the National Grievance Committee Rules of Procedure…

The Article 37 Committee shall be empowered to provide a monetary penalty for each proven violation of this Section up
to a maximum penalty of three (3) times the employee’s daily guarantee depending on the severity of the offense.”

• Monetary penalty was the number one-member proposal on this issue. The arbitrator makes that penalty achievable.
• Any manager deemed by the Committee to have committed two or more violations within a two-year period shall be required to appear in person before the committee for any subsequent grievances. Failure to appear, absent a legitimate excuse, shall result in a negative inference. That means the committee must assume that the manager’s testimony, or evidence the manager would produce, would not support the company’s claim that no violation occurred. It has the effect of requiring the committee to accept the grievant’s account as true.

Excessive, Forced Overtime

• Article 37, Section 1 (c): New procedure makes it easier to get on or off the overtime (9.5) list. The union will control the process.
• Two five (5) month periods for getting on the list through the union, in addition to getting on or off the list at any time (except during the November 15-January 15 peak period) in between with one week’s notice to UPS.
• In buildings that utilize 22.4 combination drivers, all regular package car drivers will be eligible for 9.5 protection regardless of seniority or route assignment.
• The language on repeated violations is stronger in the tentative agreement; the current “three violations in five months” has been changed to four times in a calendar year, and that will now trigger a review by higher-level representatives of the union and company than the current process.

Actual language: “The Union shall circulate and collect the names of package drivers who wish to be covered by the provisions of this Section twice each year. These lists shall be provided to the Company by January 5 and June 5 of each year The “opt-in” lists provided by the Union shall become effective on January 15th and June 15th. A driver may add or delete his/her name from the list at any time, with one week’s notice to the Employer.”

Click here for a PDF of this flier.

Click here to view the entire proposed national agreement

ABF Teamsters' New Contract Provides Pay Increases, Subcontracting Protections and More

JULY 30, 2018

• FREIGHT

• HEADLINE NEWS

• ABF CONTRACT UPDATE
• FREIGHT POWER
• XPO

Teamsters employed at ABF Freight System, Inc. have won major gains in their newly ratified contract that covers approximately 8,500 drivers, dockworkers, mechanics and office workers.

The agreement consists of the national master portion as well as 27 regional and/or job classification supplements.

The last outstanding supplement to the national contract was ratified in late July. Consequently, the new collective bargaining agreement has been approved and took effect on July 29. Pay increases will be retroactive to July 1 as per the new agreement.

“We got a lot of things back in this contract: the vacation, the pay increases and other gains, including the benefit contributions and protections against subcontracting,” said Paul Krenz, a city driver and 16-year ABF employee who is a steward and member of Local 120 in Minnesota.

“The big thing for me was getting the week of vacation back,” said James Rogers, an eight-year ABF employee who is also a steward and member of Local 120. “It’s tough to get anything back once you give it up. Getting raises is also a big plus.”

ABF members initially voted on the tentative new national agreement in April and early May.

The bargaining committee put together to represent Teamsters in negotiations with ABF was made up of dedicated and experienced Teamsters from all regions of the country. Each member of the committee was connected with the ABF membership. Some members of the committee were former ABF employees with significant insight into ABF’s operations. Attorneys, economists and administrative staff were made available to assist the bargaining committee and the committee made full use of these resources throughout the process.

Prior to the start of negotiations, the Teamsters National Freight Industry Negotiating Committee (TNFINC) conducted member surveys, solicited and accepted proposals from every affected ABF local union, and spoke with many ABF members and local union business agents. TNFINC’s economists studied the company’s finances as well as the state of the economy. The initial exchange of proposals took place in December 2017. The parties met for multiple weeks from January through March for negotiations. The union’s negotiating team worked hard. Ultimately, 100 percent of the committee supported and endorsed the tentative agreement.

Multiple Improvements

Below are some of the more significant changes contained in the new agreement.

Vacation Restoration: Restoration of the vacation week that was previously given up under the last contract was a top priority of the members. TNFINC was successful in gaining back the 2008-13 vacation schedule based on eligibility and years of service. Because each ABF supplement addresses the earning and accrual of vacations differently, the removal of the one week was also handled differently across the U.S. during the 2013 and 2014 period. To ensure fairness and compliance with the contract, the vacation schedule will essentially be restored in a similar manner to which it was removed so that no member is disadvantaged under a particular supplement’s rules.

General Wage Increases and Bonus: The union successfully opposed the company’s attempt to have only a bonus in the first year of the agreement and no wage increases for the life of the agreement.

Instead, effective each July 1 of the agreement, hourly wages and mileage equivalents will increase by 30 cents, 35 cents, 40 cents, 45 cents and 50 cents in the last year. Total increases, absent any COLAs, will grow by $2 per hour or 5 cents per mile for road drivers over the term of the contract.

In addition, the union was able to also leverage the recently enacted tax cut legislation and secure a $1,000 lump sum signing payment for all active, full-time employees upon ratification (casuals who worked 300 hours between Sept. 1, 2017 and March 31, 2018 get a $500 bonus). Lastly, casuals will see annual wage improvements each year of the contract after seeing their rates frozen for long periods at various points over the last two NMFAs.

Health and Welfare Funds Preserved:The union’s negotiating committee knew that maintaining superior health benefits for members and their families was a top priority for ABF Teamsters coming into talks. From the outset, however, the company was looking to radically alter how all benefits are delivered to Teamsters and was insisting on having all future health and welfare contributions be “fixed” with hard numbers at rates lower than what it was paying to most funds. In the end, the union’s negotiating committee prevailed in requiring the company to continue to stay in all health and welfare plans.

More Protections against the Use of Purchased Transportation: The red circle protections have been increased and updated and a method established for backfilling the red circle list. Additionally, the overall amount of allowable purchased transportation has been reduced.

Other provisions of the new agreement include maintaining pension contribution rates; improved paid-time-off protections; improvements to equipment and safety; tightened disciplinary standards regarding alleged “dishonesty”; and leave of absence protections.

In addition to the many improvements, the union committee was able to defeat several attempted company takeaways, including demands for no wage increases, taking away holidays and overtime cuts.

“The union held its ground and made it clear we would not accept concessions and that we needed to address our members’ priorities, both of which we were able to achieve,” said Ernie Soehl, Director of the Teamsters Freight Division.

Workplace Democracy Act

 In order to strengthen America's middle class, we must make it a priority to restore workers' rights to bargain for better wages, benefits, and working conditions.

That is the goal of the Workplace
Democracy Act. There is no doubt that union membership is good for workers: union workers earn 26% more, on average, than non-union workers.

Union workers are also half as likely to be victims of health and safety violations or of wage theft, 18% more likely to have health coverage, and 23% more likely to have either an employer sponsored pension or 401(k).

 Declining unionization has fueled rising inequality. Today, corporate profits are at an all-time high, while wages as a percentage of the economy are near an all-time low. The middle class is disappearing, and the gap between the very rich and everyone else is growing wider and wider.

There are many reasons for the growing inequality in our economy, but perhaps the most significant reason for the disappearing middle class is that the rights of workers to join together and bargain for better wages, benefits, and working conditions have been severely undermined.

According to the most recent statistics:

 When workers become interested in forming unions, 75% of private-sector employers hire outside consultants to run anti-union campaigns, 63% force employees to attend closed-door meetings to hear anti-union propaganda; and 54% of employers threaten workers in such meetings.

 An employee who engages in union organizing campaigns has a one in five chance of getting fired.

Nearly 60% of employers threaten to close or relocate their businesses if workers elect to form a union. Even when workers overcome these enormous obstacles and win union elections, 37% of these new unions still do not have a first contract for workers two years after the election due to loopholes in labor laws.

The Workplace Democracy Act would:

Allow for unions to organize through a majority sign up process, allowing the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to certify a union if it receives the consent of the majority of eligible workers.

Enact “first contract” provisions to ensure companies cannot prevent a union from forming by denying a first contract.

Employers would be required to begin negotiating within 10 days of receiving a request from a new union.

If no agreement is reached after 90 days of negotiation, the parties can request to enter a compulsory mediation process.

 If no first contract is reached after 30 more days of mediation, the parties would have a contract settlement through binding arbitration.

Eliminate the “Right to Work for Less” laws by repealing Section 14(b) of the Taft Hartley Act, which has allowed 28 states to pass legislation eliminating the ability of unions to collect fair share fees from those who benefit from union contracts and activities, undermining the union’s representation of workers.

Expand the definition of employer to ensure employers can no longer avoid responsibility and prevent workers from organizing by designating certain workers independent contractors, supervisors, or through franchisee arrangements. Allow for secondary boycotts and picketing.

 Reinstates union’s freedom of speech to take action to pressure clients and suppliers of companies opposing unions.

Expand and update the persuader rule.

Companies would be required to disclose anti-union information they disseminate to workers, including funding third party anti-union consultants, who would have to register and be law abiding.

Whatever contact information (email, phone, mailing addresses) the employer uses will need to be shared with union organizers and employers will be prohibited from forcing workers to attend campaign activities that are unrelated to the employee’s job duties.

Pocan and Sanders Lead Democrats in Introducing Workplace Democracy Act

May 9, 2018 

Press Release

WASHINGTON, DC (May 9, 2018) – Today, U.S. Representative Mark Pocan (WI-02) joined U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and their colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate to introduce legislation that would strengthen the middle class by restoring workers’ rights to bargain for better wages, benefits and working conditions.

“Republicans like President Trump and Governor Walker continue to crack down on unions and push a special interest, corporate-driven agenda that makes it harder for middle class families to get ahead. And while they stack the deck against the American worker, unions are fighting to expand economic opportunity and strengthen the middle class,” said Pocan, a member of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades. “The Workplace Democracy Act restores real bargaining rights to workers and repeals the right to work laws like those that Governor Walker has used to undercut American workers. I’m proud to introduce this legislation with Senator Sanders and stand up for the millions of middle class families who are under attack by Republican leaders.”

“We must no longer tolerate CEOs and managers who intimidate, threaten or fire pro-union workers, who threaten to move plants to China if their workers vote in favor of a union, and who refuse to negotiate a first contract with workers who have voted to join unions,” Sanders said. “If we are serious about reducing income and wealth inequality and rebuilding the middle class, we have got to substantially increase the number of union jobs in this country.”

Unions lead to higher wages, better benefits and a more secure retirement. Union workers earn 26 percent more, on average, than non-union workers. Union workers are also half as likely to be victims of health and safety violations or of wage theft, 18 percent more likely to have health coverage, and 23 percent more likely to have either an employer sponsored pension or 401(k).

However, the rights of workers to join together and bargain for better wages, benefits, and working conditions have been severely undermined. Sixty years ago, nearly a third of all workers belonged to a union. Today, that number has gone down to less than 11 percent. When workers become interested in forming unions, 75 percent of private-sector employers hire outside consultants to run anti-union campaigns. An employee who engages in union organizing campaigns has a one in five chance of getting fired.

“The biggest economic challenge of our time is that people are in jobs that do not pay them enough to live on. While corporate profits soar, working people are getting smaller and smaller shares of the wealth they create. Corporate interests are highly organized and fight like hell to make sure their interests are protected—in the economy and in our political system,” Rep. RosaDeLauro said. “The Workplace Democracy Act aims squarely at that issue by simplifying the process for workers to form a union. We know that when workers are able to collectively bargain, they achieve increased wages and more substantial benefits—like healthcare coverage and retirement security. That is why Congress needs to act immediately on this legislation to make it as easy as possible for people to organize into unions and fight for a fairer economy.”

“Workers win when they band together and use their voices to raise wages and standards in the workplace,” said Rep. Donald Norcross, a member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and electrician by trade.“I know how important it is for working families to work together because I lived it. I fought for them at the negotiating table for decades. Now we must fight back against attacks on democracy in the workplace. We need to come together and pass this act to help restore workers’ rights.”

The Workplace Democracy Act would make it easier for workers to join unions in a number of ways:

• It would end right to work for less laws by repealing Section 14(b) of the Taft Hartley Act, which has allowed 28 states to pass legislation eliminating the ability of unions to collect fair share fees from those who benefit from union contracts and activities.
• Under the legislation, when a majority of workers in a bargaining unit sign valid authorization cards to join a union, they must have a union. Companies would not be allowed to deny or delay a first contract with workers who have voted to join a union. Unions would be given the right to have their voice heard through secondary boycotts and picketing. And workers would have the right to know when their company spends millions of dollars running anti-union campaigns.
• The bill would also stop employers from ruthlessly exploiting workers by misclassifying them as independent contractors or denying them overtime by falsely categorizing them as a “supervisor.”

The bill is cosponsored in the House by Representatives Brendan Boyle (PA-13), Katherine Clark (MA-05), Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11), Keith Ellison (MN-05), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), Barbara Lee (CA-13), Donald Norcross (NJ-01), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03), Mark Takano (CA-41), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23), and Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12). The bill is cosponsored in the Senate by Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Edward Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

Click here to read the bill.

Click here to read a summary of the bill.

To watch the press conference, click here.