Contracts

The 37 drivers at UNFI in Gilroy unanimously ratified their new three-year contract in May. “They’re now making $11 more an hour than before they joined the union three years ago,” says Business Rep Ray Torres, who explained that these drivers deliver organic foods to Whole Foods, Trader Joe\’s, and other organic food markets. “We also locked in their health benefits for the life of the agreement and got annual bonuses to help offset previous insurance increases.”

While the first contract was the union’s way into the door of this company, the second contract was able to correct what the union couldn’t get through the first time. “Our priority for the second contract was to improve picketing language so that our members could take actions on the job site and with customers, and to give me, the business rep, more access to the worksite. Now I have the ability to go to the worksite any time. We won both priorities.”

In addition to substantial wage and pension increases, Teamster members will now get any benefit that the company gives to the non-union employees. “This is huge,” adds Torres. “Immediately, it includes rain gear, safety shoes, and more.” And, the contract shortened the progression to reach “journeyman” pay scale from five years to 18 months. “This means that new hires will get two increases each year — their progression increase, which comes every six months until they reach the maximum level, and their annual increase.”

Torres wanted to recognize Ruben Lopez and Vince Rubacaba who served on the negotiating committee. “Actually, they’ve been there since day one—with the organizing drive, the first contract, and now the successor contract. They’ve been excellent spokespeople for the membership.”

When you pass a transit shelter in the East Bay, West Bay, or South Bay, do you ever wonder, “who put that ad up there?” The answer is Local 853 members who work for Clear Channel Outdoor. Our members fix and maintain the transit shelters for MUNI, AC Transit, and VTA.

“It’s not an easy job,” says Business Rep Jesse Casqueiro. “These members deal with everything you see in the streets of our busy urban centers.”  Some members clean the shelters, others post the ads, and still others maintain the shelters themselves. “Basically, we don’t construct them. But once they’re built, we do everything to keep them going,” Casqueiro adds. Clear Channel currently employs about 25 members, and it’s expected that the employer will add a substantial number of new workers to accommodate additional work that’s expected.

In July, the group overwhelmingly voted to ratify their new three-year contract, which included solid wage increases and more money toward the medical plan that took effect upon ratification of the contract. “We wanted to get money in people’s pockets as soon as possible so they would immediately see the value of having a union contract,” Casqueiro explained.

In order to recruit the new workers, the company recognized that they’d have to offer higher entry-level wages. “We let them know that they’d have to give the long-term employees comparable increases,” says Casqueiro. “For the first time in at least 25 years, we started the talks early and finished early.”

Casqueiro wanted to thank Alex Pastor and Randy Spears whose participation on the negotiating committee was instrumental in getting a good deal.