Union Business

The Perks of Being a Union Member – Family Leave for Newborns

If you are a parent and work a full-time job, then you know what I am about to say. The incredible toll a family newborn takes can only be described as an overwhelming blessing that requires all hands on deck. Teamster Nabil Al-Zoqari from Laz Parking is soon to be the father to a newborn and is preparing for that time by scheduling time off from work. Time that he is entitled to take because of the (FMLA)Family Medical Leave Act.

So last week, Nabil and his steward, Ghebreyesus, met with Business Agent James Long and Laz Parking to make sure it was clear to the company that Nabil wanted to claim some of his FMLA leave. Without union support and representation, workers at non-union companies might not even know that the FMLA exists or would not have the confidence to exercise this option. FMLA entitles workers to take up to 12 weeks off for medical-related life events like childbirth.

This is an example of the everyday work Teamsters do for its members. Helping you navigate the ups and downs of life, like the birth of a child.

So join us as we congratulate Nabil on his newborn child and wish him well in those first critical weeks when that little baby needs to be surrounded by mom and dad.

History of the Federal Medical Leave Act

Prior to 1993, governments and legislators were not up to speed on the new nuclear family. Mom doesn’t stay home any more, both parents work full time jobs, and having a child was seen by many corporations as an impediment to their bottom line profitability. Workers couldn’t take leave for newborns or other medical circumstances without facing the threat of termination.

However, in 1993, under the leadership of President Bill Clinton, the Family Medical Leave Act was voted by Congress and signed into law. Almost entirely driven by democratic Senators and Congressmen, this legislation prevented corporations from terminating employees wishing to take leave for medical reasons or, in this case, a newborn baby and gave them this protection for up to 12 weeks.

It is this law that keeps Nabil and other Teamsters safe from the threat of termination when faced with a life-changing medical event.

The Perks of Being a Union Member – Family Leave for Newborns Read More »

Transdev Stanford 853 members hold a proposal meeting for their upcoming contract.

Pictured are Teamsters Members from Transdev Stanford. These bus drivers are of the utmost importance to Stanford’s students and staff around the campus. They provide excellent service and safety and are a prime representation of what 853 Teamsters do.

This week, we held a proposal meeting to discuss their upcoming contract fight.


“The goal of these meetings is not just to discuss contract language and negotiations but to connect with our membership on a human level. To bridge the gap between rank and file members and their representatives.” Said Teamsters 853 Business Agent, David Crawford

Stay tuned for the results of this negotiation.

Transdev Stanford 853 members hold a proposal meeting for their upcoming contract. Read More »

Let’s welcome back Tony’s Fine Foods as they start negotiating their first contact

These Teamsters at Tony’s Fine Foods are breaking ground and pushing new boundaries in their first contract negotiations. They are drivers working in four states; California, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah. Working towards a master contract to cover them all.

“This group is special because Tony’s Fine Foods was once a union company nationwide, and many years ago, they lost their way. Now they have found their way back to the protection and work justice that they deserve,” said Teamster Local 853 Vice President Ray Torres.

And so they work together dilligently between these four states to lock down a contract that represents the fair pay and benefits that they are due, and a return to the Union work that took care of them so many years ago.
Stay Tuned, Sisters and Brothers, and watch this space. More to come.

Let’s welcome back Tony’s Fine Foods as they start negotiating their first contact Read More »

MV Transporation Convenes Contract Enforcement Meeting

Way to go, sisters and brothers; this is how you strengthen your group.

MV Transportation members came out to the Teamsters Local 853 hall in San Jose this Saturday for a Contract Enforcement meeting. The group discussed Weingarten’s rights and rights to representation, the Grievance procedure, and NLRB violations.

When everyone knows the protections that the Union provides, every member can advocate for a better work environment with the protections of our contract in their back pocket. Bravo! 👏👏👏

MV Transporation Convenes Contract Enforcement Meeting Read More »

United States Department of Labor Secretary, Julie Su, meets with Gillig and Teamsters 853 members – lauds positive partnerships between Union and company

In a visit to GILLIG this week, Labor Secretary Julie Su’s organization tweeted, “Our clean energy transition needs strong partnerships, including between workers and management.  Happy to meet with GILLIG to see their facility creating zero-emission buses, talk about their labor-management partnership, and see the benefits of employing unionized workers.”

The Biden Administration is focused on furthering its commitment to Unions across America as a pathway to worker success. This visit, and many others like it, further solidifies their commitment.

It was a rare opportunity for members of Teamsters Local 853 to meet with a high-level government official from the Department of Labor. Stewards Robert Terry, Erik Vancil, Lyle Funderburk, and Lupe Pinedo put their best foot forward as they represented our Teamster family and the strong partnership between GILLIG management and their Union workforce.

Teamsters 853 members at GILLIG are coming off a stunningly good contract in their recent negotiations, which is a testament to forward-looking companies like GILLIG, who are leading the future in the zero emissions American Built busses. They recognize the true value of a Unionized workforce.

“We are so proud of these members who are being singled out as an example to the country and unions everywhere of what a union workforce can contribute on a national level. They earned this with their consistent commitment to their work,” said Steve Beck, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 853. “We are also aware that regardless of political affiliation, Teamsters Local 853 is willing to work with whoever is in office if they are expanding and strengthening unions across our State and the country.”

Also present for the meeting were Teamsters Local 853 Vice President Ray Torres and Recording Secretary Mike Henneberry.

United States Department of Labor Secretary, Julie Su, meets with Gillig and Teamsters 853 members – lauds positive partnerships between Union and company Read More »

Being in a union means you could make $1.3 million more over your lifetime

Original Article written by Juliana Kaplan and Madison Hoff for Business Insider

starbucks amazon union rally
People march in the middle of East Pine Street during the “Fight Starbucks’ Union Busting” rally and march in Seattle, Washington on April 23, 2022. Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images
  • A new paper looks at the impact of being in a union throughout your entire career.
  • The authors found that being in a union means a $1.3 million bump to lifetime earnings.
  • Being a career-long union member can have the same value as a college degree.

If you want to make a million more dollars over your lifetime, there’s one solution: Join a union.

That’s according to a new paper in Cornell University’s ILR Review. Researchers Zachary Parolin of Bocconi University and Tom VanHeuvelen of University of Minnesota Twin Cities examined the advantages of being part of a union throughout your entire career. 

“We find that a person who spent the entirety of their career in a labor union were predicted to earn about a million dollars more over the course of their career compared to somebody who was never in a labor union,” VanHeuvelen told Insider.

To quantify the impact of unionization on lifetime earnings, they used the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, which tracks some Americans every several years. The researchers zoomed in on men who would’ve been in their late 20s in the 1960s and 1970s, and tracked their earnings through retirement as well as whether or not they were union members.

The result was the $1.3 million premium for workers who spent their whole careers in unions, even though those workers were more likely to retire earlier. Workers who are never in a union were projected to earn around $2.1 million their whole careers, while those who were in unions for their whole careers were estimated to make $3.4 million.

Union households tend to have over $100,000 more in wealth than nonunion families, Federal Reserve data shows

It’s long been clear that union members make more than their non-unionized peers. In 2021, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, non-unionized workers made just 83% of unionized workers’ wages — but the study shows the long-term effects of a career spent as a union member. The data also comes after decades of American wealth becoming more and more concentrated at the top, as union membership tumbled and continues to drop.

“All this research that has been done shows that unions are really important for inequality, and that the demise of unions is a really important contributor to this growth of economic inequality and economic polarization,” VanHeuvelen said.

Workers without college degrees particularly benefit from career-long union membership. In fact, a worker without a college degree who has been in a union for 100% of his career is actually expected to make more than a non-union worker with a college degree.

That’s significant, especially with the “college premium” that higher education affords for lifetime earnings. Going to college is still one of the most reliable ways to boost how much money you’ll make, although many borrowers then come up against thousands — and sometimes hundreds of thousands — of dollars in student loan debt. But unionization rates have declined over time, and that spells bad news for workers without a college degree.

“If suddenly the United States lost the college premium, that would be a disaster,” VanHeuvelen said. “A lot of newspaper articles would be written about that. But it seems like we’ve lost something equivalent for America’s working class.”

There are some signs of life in the previously small labor movement. Union approval is at its highest since 1965, according to Gallup survey results. Workers have been pushing back for over a year, sparking a crop of unions in places like Starbucks, Amazon, and Chipotle. The number of union representation petitions filed in fiscal year 2022 increased by 53%, according to the National Labor Relations Board. But all of that is still coming up against low union membership rates and other organizing challenges.

“The process of de unionization that’s occurred over the last half century or so has really undermined an important second channel through which people could find a path of upward economic attainment,” VanHeuvelen said.

Being in a union means you could make $1.3 million more over your lifetime Read More »

Lets do this right Now

Today is your day. Your ballot should have arrived by now at your house.

There is a reason why so many truck drivers in our Country are in a union, because they know its life changing for the better.

So no matter how much attention, and begging. and insincere letters they send you now that you have them scared, the fact is that if you vote UNION YES, you have just secured a better life for you and your family.

Corporations are beholden to their shareholders and are required to maximize profits. That is what you are up against. They see you as a source of profit so they want to cut your pay and benefits. Without a Union contract, you are against the shareholder without any way to push back.

So VOTE YES and mail your ballot back today, right now.

Need proof? It’s right here: teamsters853.org

Look at our website and see what we do day in and day out. On the home page are stories of what we do and the victories we win EVERY SINGLE DAY!

Let’s do this together, and knock it out of the park, and let those shareholders and management know you are worth more than they will ever give you willingly.

Ray Torres and the entire Teamster Local 853 staff and the 13,000 members we represent.

Lets do this right Now Read More »

Teamsters 853 knows what is fair and what is not because we represent The four largest companies in the food service industry! They all get better pay, benefits, and job protection than non-union employees.

The reason why the company will never pay you what you are worth without the Union is because they can divide you one at a time, and you will never know how much you left on the table. And you have no leverage if you don’t act as one group.

But we do. The Teamsters know exactly how much is on the table, and we will get it for you just like all of the drivers from all these other Food Delivery Driver companies.

Listen to Marcus From PFG in Gilroy. They went Union and just got their first contract this March, which was very good for wages, benefits and job protections. In the end, 100% of the drivers voted for the contract- it was that good!!

  • This Driver, Marcus, at PFG in Gilroy explains how they got a great wage increase which was a given because they acted as a group, but the contract was more important because it gives them rights and protections on the job they never had before to hold management accountable.
  • He also saw how the company tried to grab a few drivers and treated them really well to stop the Union, but in the end, even those drivers voted YES for their unbelievably good contract.
  • The company outright lied to their face, but it didn’t work.
  • Look at other operations that have gone Union in the Bay Area
  • Significant improvements in benefits, wages, and job protection were all there for these drivers, and they can be for you, too!!

Teamsters 853 knows what is fair and what is not because we represent The four largest companies in the food service industry! They all get better pay, benefits, and job protection than non-union employees. Read More »

Give it a Rest US Foods

US Foods Drivers in Tracy

The Union has a heart. It is not like the mindless corporations we battle, whose only goal is to maximize profit at your expense.

They want you to squabble about outdated penny fees and unlikely strikes so you don’t hear this:
– Union employees get paid better, period!
– Union employees get better health care, period!
– Union employees get better pensions, period!
…and straight-up Union employees don’t have to take crap from their employers anymore on the job or be subject to harassment or termination without cause because you will finally be protected on the job.

So, let’s set the record straight.
-You will not pay any initiation fees because we don’t enforce that
-You will not be forced to do any disciplinary activities because we don’t do that in our modern Union
-You won’t pay any union dues until you have a contract
-In the extremely unlikely event that a strike is considered, the members always get a vote on whether or not to strike, period.

And the company doesn’t want you to know this because if you VOTE UNION YES, then they can’t keep robbing you of your fair wages and benefits.

Take it from those who know and the drivers they support

Give it a Rest US Foods Read More »