Our brothers and sisters at PFG, who have taken up the fight to organize, met their Teamster Local 853 Union family yesterday outside their facility. Supporters and members from all over the area, including the Gilroy City Council, South Bay Labor Council, representatives from Assemblymember Robert Rivas’s office, Pepsi, Central, UPS, Costco, Recology, Grief, RNDC, and many others, stopped by in full support!
“The company has seen who they are dealing with and knows these members are not hiding. PFG EMPLOYEES HAVE CHOSEN, and It is now time for the company to accept the future!” said Steve Beck, Secretary-Treasurer and principal officer of Teamsters Local 853. “The future where their employees will be TEAMSTERS!!”
Performance Food Group drivers in Gilroy. Your vote is on April 6th. We understand that your company has hired some professional union busters to come in and create doubt and fear in your minds that a Union will not benefit you.
Performance Food Group nationally is extremely anti-Union and will never give you a fair deal as long as they hold all the cards. Without a Union, you are divided and conquerable. It’s an old strategy that works, to divide and conquer. In a Union, we have power because we speak with one voice undivided.
Don’t believe the union-busting hype! Vote to unionize and you will be securing a better future for you and your family.
We heard the Union Busters claim that UNFI in Gilroy was unhappy with their Union. Well, we asked the UNFI drivers.
Strength in numbers – Ready mix drivers from both Graniterock and Las Animas concrete met today to discuss negotiations for their upcoming contracts. We are focused on getting these members a very well-deserved pay raise.
On Saturday, March 25, led by Teamsters Local 853 President Steven Lua, Teamsters 853 kicked off a contract campaign for Del Mar Foods members who are ready to rise up and fight for the wages they deserve. Del Mar Foods is a food processing plant that packages frozen foods and employees 100 members year round and up to 300 members during the seasonal peak from April through October. Based in Watsonville Ca, these members work and live in one of the most expensive counties in California. The current wages are incredibly difficult to live off of and this movement to become a united force and demand a livable wage is the only way we can assure that the members will be heard during bargaining. When we negotiated our previous agreement during the pandemic, we received increases that had never been seen before. Although it seemed like a win at the time, rising costs have made those wage increases from the previous agreement feel like we are back at square one.
Our hope is that Del Mar Foods takes this campaign to heart and is willing to pay wages that will allow our members to live in the city they work in. We want Del Mar Foods to know that these members have the backing of the local and we are prepared to do everything possible to assure a living wage. Negotiations will commence in April and we will continue to meet regularly with our members to keep up the good fight as a strong and united force.
El sábado 25 de marzo, dirigido por el presidente de Teamsters Local 853, Steven Lua, iniciamos una campaña de contratos para los miembros de Del Mar Foods que están listos para levantarse y luchar por los salarios que se merecen. Del Mar Foods es una planta de procesamiento de frutas y vegetables que envasa alimentos congelados y cuenta con 100 miembros durante todo el año y hasta 300 miembros durante el pico estacional de abril a octubre. Con sede en Watsonville Ca, estos miembros trabajan y viven en uno de los condados más caros de California. Es increíblemente difícil vivir con los salarios actuales y este movimiento para convertirse en una fuerza unida y exigir un salario digno es la única forma en que podemos asegurar que los miembros serán escuchados durante la negociación. Cuando negociamos nuestro acuerdo anterior durante la pandemia, recibimos aumentos que nunca antes se habían visto. Aunque parecía una victoria en ese momento, el aumento de los costos ha hecho que esos aumentos salariales del acuerdo anterior se sientan como si estuviéramos de vuelta en el punto de partida.
Nuestra esperanza es que Del Mar Foods se tome en serio esta campaña y esté dispuesta a pagar salarios que permitan a nuestros miembros vivir en la ciudad en la que trabajan. Queremos que Del Mar Foods sepa que estos miembros tienen el respaldo del local y que nosotros estámos preparados para hacer todo lo posible para asegurar un salario digno. Las negociaciones comenzarán en abril y continuaremos reuniéndonos regularmente con nuestros miembros para continuar la buena batalla como una fuerza fuerte y unida.
The Joint Council 7, Harry Polland/Robert Morales Scholarship Program
This scholarship is named for Harry Polland, the long-time Joint Council 7 Economist who was responsible for negotiating and improving Teamster contracts throughout California. And Robert Morales, Secretary-Treasurer to Teamsters Joint Council 7 and Teamsters Local 350 and Director of the IBT’s Solid Waste Division. Robert had the ability to negotiate the best Waste Division contracts in the country and to lobby in the City and County of San Francisco for workers’ rights.
Although both small in stature, they were giants in the world of collective bargaining. This Scholarship is intended as a tribute to Harry and Bob’s efforts to ensure that Teamster jobs always provide the wages and benefits necessary to support families and enable Teamsters to send their children to college.
On Friday, March 10, 2023, after heavy storms swept through many parts of California, the Watsonville and Pajaro community was devastated when a levee broke, and flooding caused 1,700 residents to be evacuated from their homes. Teamsters Local 853 represents members who were impacted by these floods and to date, members from S. Martinelli, Del Mar Foods, and H.A. Rider have been relocated to shelters and hotels while they wait for officials to allow them to return home. The flood has been named one of the biggest weather-related disasters in California and we are only in the beginning stages of how it has affected the community.
Pajaro Valley is known for its agriculture and is home to many farm workers who will be out of a job this year due to the compromised crops caused by the flooding. The long-term damage means that some of the members we represent will have a low volume of crops to process and package. This affects members from Driscoll’s, Del Mar Foods, and the cold storages that store these crops.
Teamsters Local 853 partnered with other Unions (UFCW, Liuna, Teachers Unions, and others) along with the Monterey and Santa Cruz Central Labor Council that represent employees in the community to host a BBQ event on Wednesday, March 22. We assisted our members and the community by distributing gift cards for groceries. We also distributed clothing and toiletries. We had a strong showing of over 100 members, city officials, and union representatives who spoke on overcoming the devastation these floods created and continuing to build on our community.
If you, or someone you know, have been affected by the flooding, and you are seeking information or support, please contact Teamsters Local 853 President, Steven Lua, with the provided contact information below.
Steven Lua
Teamsters Local 853
22 E. 5th Street
Watsonville, CA 95076
Phone# (831) 724-0683
Fax# (831) 724-1554
Teamsters Local 853 Sisters and Brothers working for UPS,
The Northern California Teamsters Committee met the week of March 17, 2023, and concluded a weeklong bargaining session with UPS on the Nor Cal Sort and Supplemental Agreements. The Committee continued working on proposals and counterproposals, however, there have not been any new tentative agreements. Many of the problems our members face each day are problems that UPS created, and that UPS has failed thus far to adequately address in these negotiations. The Union Committee had face-to-face across-the-table bargaining each day; actual time has been minimal. Many of the problems UPS has failed to correct include but are not limited to Vacation accrual and selection process, payroll errors, Market Rate Adjustment, and Route Bidding. Grievance Procedure, Seniority Lists, and Approved Leave. While this committee is committed to improving our agreement, holding UPS accountable to resolve problems they’ve created is fundamental. UPS continues to put a monetary cost to all of the Union proposals as UPS continues to propose language that would affect holiday pay, delayed starts, and the work week. Tentative dates have been agreed to for the week of April 10th thru the 14th.
Teamsters Internation Vice President Tom Erickson gave a strong shout-out to the Performance Food Groups workers in Gilroy, California, in support of their unionizing vote. Steve Beck, Ray Torres, and the entire staff at Teamsters Local 853 were also commended for the work they are doing.
It takes this kind of support to make sure our newest Sisters and Brothers have the backing to get in there and fight hard for a great contract.
Let’s go PFG workers, fight hard for your future!!!
Sisters and Brothers, a great victory to share with you. Patricia and Lucas were both wrongfully terminated at Kelloggs 19 months ago. After a lot of hard work coordinated by Ray Torres and shop steward Eric Calderone, we are happy to report that Patricia and Lucas are both back at work along with their Back Pay, Health Benefits, 401K, and pensions.
