Secretary-Treasurer Steve Beck was speaking to Teamsters across the country at the annual brewery, bakery, and soft drink conference in Tampa, Florida. Steve spoke at length on the importance of protecting the three-tier system in the liquor industry to preserve good-paying union jobs.
He also shared a recent victory under the leadership of Director Jeff Padelllaro, General Counsel Gabe Dumont, and VP Brent Taylor; Southern Glazers agreed to card check neutrality in Dallas, Tx.
Here are the Local 853 members at Alliance Graphics; they are proud union professionals who are also artists. They’ve been designing and producing union-made hats, buttons, t-shirts, decals, coffee cups and a ton of other items at Alliance since 1990.
In an industry where the lowest cost often dictates success, these dedicated professionals at Alliance Graphics stand out above their field.
Teamsters at Golden Brands in San Francisco on Saturday ratified a four-year contract that had the full support of the Union Negotiating Committee. 87 of 117 members in the unit showed up Saturday morning to vote.
“I’m extremely proud of these members and want to say special thanks to my STRONG, VOCAL & FOCUSED negotiating committee,” said Business Agent Efren Alarcon. “Because these four stuck together, they ensured the whole group got a good contract!”
Congratulations to our Sisters and Brothers at Golden Brands.
Teamsters at Matagrano Beer’s new facility in Hayward. After decades of being in South San Francisco, all 124 Teamsters at Matagrano Beer were asked to report to duty 30 miles away in Haward, CA. There was a mix of reactions from members. For some, the move brought them closer to home, and for others, farther away.
From left to right are: Solis, Phil Arellano, David Tan, and Joe B.
From left to right are: Danny D., Ismael Sifuentes, and Jaime Saenz
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.
