Local 853

When Tesla decided to contract only with WeDriveU to manage its tech bus service, the drivers who had previously worked for Compass did not lose their jobs. Rather, as the contract stipulated, they were brought on to the same contract, merging their service with the drivers who had been with WeDriveU from the beginning. Unfortunately, due to the merger of the two groups, some members were losing their previous place in the seniority line.

In order to smooth the merger, Local 853 hosted a BBQ on September 29, and served hot links, chicken, ribs, and sausage as a way to break the ice and get the two groups together before the merger was officially launched on October 1. For the 30 or so drivers who attended, the event was capped with a union-made cake decorated with the slogan \”We\’re not the best cuz we\’re the biggest …We\’re the biggest cuz we\’re the best!\”

By now, you should have received your ballot for the International Teamsters leadership election. (If not, call 844-428-8683 for a replacement.)

It\’s important to the union and to your Local that you vote. Participation rates are watched by our employers to ensure that the union has the strong backing of the membership. Our goal is for Local 853 to be Number One in terms of voter participation.

The candidates are all running on one of two slates. All you have to do is pick a slate and fill in one oval for that full slate. Do your research in the IBT Magazine or at IBTVote.com and then vote. It just takes a minute and it can make all the difference for your future as a Teamster.

When all is said and done, the 2021 Recall Election will be seen as a colossal waste of money. Governor Newsom handily survived the attempt to oust him from office — just one year before the regularly scheduled election. When he won the 2018 election with 61%, that was considered a landslide; he beat back the recall with a 63% margin, ultimately strengthening his hand across the state.

Labor went all out to oppose the recall, with union members up and down the state walking precincts, texting, and calling other union members to ensure that they understood the stakes, and completed and mailed in their ballots.

According to the California Labor Federation, which coordinated the labor opposition to the recall: \”While this election was wasteful (to the tune of nearly $300 million it cost taxpayers), it wasn’t an exercise in futility. The mobilization of working people around the core economic issues that led to the defeat of the recall will live on long after every last vote is counted. The labor movement once again proved that every campaign is an organizing opportunity. What we built in 2021 to defeat the recall will carry over into the next election year. It will carry over into the organizing campaigns that will grow our movement. It will carry over into legislative wins to build power for all workers.\”

Local 853 was pleased to be able to sponsor our second job fair of the summer at the parking lot of our Oakland office on August 28. In all, 18 Teamster employers showed up to fill more than 350 jobs—from drivers (truck, paratransit, school bus, tech bus, and more), to warehouse workers, merchandisers, and manufacturing workers. Hundreds of job seekers came to check out those positions—both to our Oakland job fair and to the San Jose job fair that had been held on July 10.

We thank the employers for making their positions available. These include Bimbo Bakeries,  CertainTeed, First Student, First Transit, Genesis Logistics, GSC Logistics, Hallcon, Kelloggs, Mondelez International, Mosaic Global Transportation, MV Transportation, Pepsi, Reddaway/Yellow, Reyes Coca Cola, RNDC, Second Harvest Food Bank, Storer Transit Systems, Sysco Foods, T. Marzetti, TransDev/SF Paratransit, and WeDriveU.

We also thank the community agencies that helped with outreach: Work2Future and Trades Information Project in San Jose, and West Oakland Job Resources Center, Oakland PIC—both in Oakland; and Alameda County Workforce Board in Hayward.

\”It\’s always a win-win to get more people hired into great Teamster jobs—for our current members, for potential new members, and for our employers,\” said Local 853 Director of Communications Debra Chaplan. \”We\’ll do more job fairs as the need arises.\”

Local 853 is pleased to welcome the 1,000 members of Watsonville-based Local 912 to the fold. The merger of the two locals was finalized in July, 2021.

“We reached out to [Local 853 Secretary-Treasurer] Rome [Aloise] to see what we could do to benefit our membership,\” said former Local 912 Principal Officer and now Local 853 Business Rep Steven Lua. \”We’ve dropped down to about 1,000 members. We’re still financially healthy, but not enough that we could hire another business agent. Our visibility in companies was reduced for lack of staff and we were starting to have to levy assessments on members.”

\”Local 853 has capabilities and resources to put out information and keep the membership updated and informed. By bringing these resources to Santa Cruz County, we’ll go from 1,000 to 17,000 members giving us strength in numbers” Lua added.

“We’re pleased to welcome the members of Local 912 into Local 853,” says Aloise. “The local has a long and proud history, but as times and unionization patterns have changed, it will help them to have the resources that our larger local can offer.”

Local 912 is a general local with members in packaging (UPS & DHL), construction (Granite Rock and Los Ademas); hospitality and health care (home care and Watsonville Community Hospital); agriculture (Del Mar & Driscoll), bottling (Gatorade, Martinellis and HE Ryder) and more.

Local 853 held our first job fair on July 10 in the parking lot of our San Jose office. Over 170 job-seekers attended the event and applied for the numerous driver, warehousing, merchandiser, and manufacturing positions offered by 14 different employers. We were told that this was the first in-person job fair in Silicon Valley since the pandemic started.

The impetus for planning the fair came from several South Bay employers who complained to Business Rep Ray Torres that they couldn’t hire enough people as the post-pandemic economy started opening up. Knowing that these union positions offer good wages and benefits and a voice on the job, Torres thought that a job fair could help turn the tide—both helping our employers and making good jobs available to members who may have been laid-off due to the pandemic and to the community.

Planning for the fair included a publicity campaign that netted stories on KPIX-TV and KQED-Radio. The local reached out to members via email and text both to let laid-off members know about the opportunity to get back into Teamster positions and also to tell friends and family. The Local also reached out to Work 2 Future—the local unemployment/social services office and several unions whose members suffered layoffs and community groups.

A line of job-seekers snaked down the block before the fair even opened at 8 a.m. Once they entered the fair, job-seekers could talk to each employer to learn what positions were available and whether they met the qualifications. Employers reported collecting dozens of resumés and they’ve been interviewing and hiring people they met that day. One Amazon driver came by to check out the union jobs.

The Local is planning a second fair at our Oakland office on August 28. Watch for notices and spread the word far and wide!

About 30 Local 853 members who make Eggo Waffles at Kellogg’s in San Jose walked out at lunchtime on July 14 to let management know that safety matters. Local 853 had sent a cease and desist letter to the company demanding that they stop having workers and management run equipment that they are not certified to run, and that they stop forcing workers to work unreasonable shifts. “The company says they need more time, but there is more time,” Business Rep Ray Torres told the lunchtime gathering.

“The company claims ‘business needs’ require them to keep lines open even without trained workers, but we say that safety has to be the priority,” Torres said. “It is not our fault they can’t hire and train enough people.”

Shop Steward Eric Calderon addressed the group. “They need to stop this. Today’s lunchtime walkout is a good showing of unity.”

“The unit is you guys,” added Torres. “They’re not scared of me; they’re scared of you—especially when you’re united. This will be critical when our contract opens up in the next several months.”

As the walkout was winding down, a management rep came out to speak with Torres to find out what the workers’ demands were. Torres reminded him that the workers’ demands were in the letter he had recently sent the company but hadn’t yet received a response. “It’s all there, bro. Now, it’s time for you guys to act.”

***

In the days since the walkout, Torres reports that the company heard the message loud and clear. \”They put together a training program to ensure that everybody is fully trained on all of the equipment and that their training has been documented. They also set up a Safety Committee, run by the members, that will meet monthly. There\’s more to be done, but these are important steps forward. It shows that they\’re listening to our members\’ concerns,\” Torres said.

Workers at the Macy\’s warehouses in Hayward and Union City have been working without a contract and under a wage freeze since March 2020, just as the pandemic started. In that difficult year, Macy’s has cut their hours; made family medical coverage unaffordable, and has refused to cover the rising cost of medical coverage.

On June 12, the workers took their plight directly to the shopping public at Macy’s flagship San Francisco store. In additional to picketing, they distributed leaflets asking people to talk to Macy’s managers to let them know that shoppers support the workers’ struggle for fairness. “Contract talks are continuing—but slowly,” says Business Rep Jesse Casqueiro.

Recall ballots have been mailed to every California voter and are due back on September 14. Your union strongly recommends that you just vote NO and mail your ballot back ASAP.

Governor Newsom deserves our support. He has led California through an unprecedented series of crises, including devastating wildfires, a national economic downturn and the worst pandemic in 100 years. Still, millionaires who want to dismantle our progress on worker protections are trying to shove their agenda down our throats with the anti-union recall.

Important Facts

Under Governor Newsom’s leadership, California is winning the war against the pandemic:

• California moved quicker than any other large state to vaccinate its residents.
• California distributed more vaccines – including to seniors, those with underlying conditions and essential workers — than all but five nations around the globe.
• We have the lowest COVID case rate in the country.
• Our economy is re-opening and people are getting back to work.

Who\’s behind the recall?

The backers of this recall are a who’s who of anti-union special interests. Combined, these corporate funders have spent tens of millions of dollars attacking unions and our agenda to protect workers. The anti-union recall backers want to lower wages, eliminate health and safety laws and kill union jobs.

This special election will cost Californians $300-$400 million even though Newsom was already up for re-election next year.

Here’s how the process works. You’ll get one ballot with two questions on it. Question one is: Should we recall the governor? Newsom needs 50% (plus one) voting NO on that question to stay in office. If he doesn’t get that, one of the 44 Republicans running will win by what could by a tiny proportion of the vote. It’s a dumb and expensive process that makes no sense for California.

Join us by voting NO on the anti-union recall!