What Happened Around the Local

Teamsters Local 853 would like to extend our condolences to the family of Rey Polhen who worked as a Teamster for 40+ years at S. Martinelli. Rey was known to be kind, friendly, and loved cracking jokes. Every year during the holiday, Rey would stop by the Teamsters Watsonville office to drop off S. Martinelli’s cider […]

Teamsters Local 853 represents a large unit of truck drivers (Class 7355’s) and track maintenance supervisors (7251’s) employed by the City and County of SF. Bargaining for a new contract for these members began in January. From the onset of bargaining in the new year 853 members at the city made it clear that they […]

Teamster Local 853 would like to recognize five Business Agents, Gloria Segura, James Long, David Crawford, Ralph Campos, and Jonathan Pinney, for being sworn in as Alameda Labor Council delegates. These Business Agents will be responsible for advocating for the betterment of our members in the general Alameda Labor community. They take the concerns of […]

Bimbo bakery drivers showed up in force for their proposal meeting this past Saturday. It was a good meeting that covered a wide range of topics, including Health and welfare, pension, pay, increases in sick days, company discipline, and the company not paying employees on time. Special thank you to Stewards Carlos from San Leandro […]

Teamsters 853 held a kickoff meeting this week with Bill Quinteros who presented pension benefits along with Teamster 853 President Steven Lua who reviewed heath care benefits. Driscolls contract negotiations will be finished in the next couple of weeks. Members at Driscolls will then be voting soon thereafter on whether or not to accept the […]

Members at Alhambra Water voted unanimously to authorize a strike and engaged in practice picketing yesterday morning at four Bay Area locations. Progress of negotiations has been very slow with Alhambra and there have been several key areas that Alhamabra is refusing to recognize. The members are being paid below the industry standard for the […]

This past Saturday, Teamsters Locals 70, 315, 896, and 853 voted by a margin of 370-29 to ratify a new contract and an extensive change of operations agreement. This was a long and complex contract that incorporated many moving parts, including the restructuring of territories in the Bay Area. Shout out to our Coca-Cola stewards, […]

GILLIG, America’s premier heavy-duty transit bus manufacturer, built by skilled unionized workers represented by Teamsters Local 853, proudly announces the delivery of the first batch of 35 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses to ABQ RIDE in Albuquerque, with plans for an additional 18 buses later in 2024. This milestone highlights the collaboration between GILLIG and […]

This past Saturday, members from Prudential Overall Supply had a proposal meeting to discuss their upcoming new contract. Stick together, listen to your committee, and get that good contract. Shout out to shop steward Duke Sevilla for all you do for your members every day.

Sisters and Brothers, One of the most powerful tools we have for gaining strong contracts against greedy corporations is our numbers at the ballot box. To protect the hard-earned gains in our contracts, it is critical that we elect politicians who share our values. Electing officials who have our backs will ensure companies will not […]

Saturday morning, over 130 members of S. Martinelli & Co. gathered to vote on their new agreement. The members secured improvements to both language and economics that led to a ratification vote with an approval of 91%. We got our members what they deserve and then some. This doesn’t mean the fight is over; we […]

Del Mar Foods ratified their new 3-year agreement today with an approval of 98%. This contract improves working conditions and a cumulative wage increase to double the previous agreement. Del Mar Foods members have been classified as essential workers in the food processing industry. Its Teamsters like these members who take extra risks and continue […]

Public safety and good-paying Teamster’s jobs are on the line. In light of many public safety incidents that have risen in the past year with autonomous vehicles, Teamsters and aligned politicians this week organized to say we need this law. This week, Teamsters from all over the Bay Area assembled in Sacramento under the lead […]

Due to changes in the marketplace, longtime distributor Bottomley will close its doors for good on Friday, February 16th. They have been in business for 59 years in the Bay Area. You might ask, what are the Teamsters there going to do? Well, luckily, just as these 55 members take off the Bottomley uniform this […]

Hundreds of representatives from Teamsters local unions across the country participated in workshops this week at the annual Teamsters Brewery, Bakery, and Soft Drink Conference in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Steve Beck led the liquor meeting as the National IBT Representative. The group has achieved a successful organizing push in the industry, and IBT Locals all […]

Our monthly member meeting for December is this Thursday, February 8th, at 7 PM. Show up and participate in the events and decisions that affect your Union and workplace. Time: Doors Close at 7 PM(usually 30-60 min. long) Where: Teamsters Local Union 853, 7750 Pardee Lane Oakland, California 94621 – Phone: 510-895-8853

It’s not always the case that to win a fight, you have to bloody someone’s nose. Case in point with PepsiCo brand Gatorade and Teamsters Local 853 members.Pictured are Gary Hodgson, a 17-year shop steward, and Darryl Carter, an 8-year shop steward for Teamster 853 members at Gatorade. This group meets monthly along with Teamsters […]

On January 17, well over 2,000 union members representing 22 unions gathered out front of SF city hall to demand a just & equitable contract. Teamsters Local 853 was right up front, leading the way shoulder to shoulder with Teamsters Local 856. Local 853 vac trucks revved up the crowd and got the rally going. […]

Some info about the sea salt that comes from the last American sea salt manufacturer right in our Bay Area backyard in Newark, CA.    A 25-man Teamster 853 crew from Cargill Salt – solar plant keeps the whole operation going.  They harvest the salt from the ponds you see when you cross the San Mateo […]

On Saturday, Teamster 853 Staff met with Assemblymember Liz Ortega to discuss Labor-related priorities for the Hayward, San Leandro, Dublin, Union City, and Pleasanton Working Communities. Pictured with assemblywoman Ortega are Trustee Joel Bellison, Recording Secretary and Business Agent Mike Henneberry, and Business Agent Cesar Martinez. Liz Ortega is a longtime labor leader and activist […]

Turnout of sheer numbers are where we get our power. That is why we have good contracts, pay, and benefits. Because we stick together and always operate as one large group. So even though you may not be working on your specific contract, participation in all Teamster activities makes some member a recipient of a […]

This week, votes were tallied to ratify the first-ever Oakland Zoo Zoo Keepers agreement between Local 853 & the zoo. The results were overwhelming; as a matter of fact, the vote was nearly unanimous to accept the agreement! The union looks forward to representing our new members at Oakland’s premier institution. Local 853 would like […]

Our monthly member meeting for December is this Thursday, December 14th, at 7 PM. Show up and participate in the events and decisions that affect your Union and workplace. Time: Doors Close at 7 PM(usually 30-60 min. long) Where: Teamsters Local Union 853, 7750 Pardee Lane Oakland, California 94621 – Phone: 510-895-8853

Unions and politics go hand-in-hand. Without legislators (Elected Officials) to make laws to protect working people, our Union efforts would be very difficult to maintain. Unions are outspent 15 to 1 by big businesses trying to marginalize Union protections. Their goal is always to weaken laws so they can get more profits by squeezing their […]

After eleven and a half months of negotiations, zoo keepers at the Oakland Zoo signed off on the first union contract ever at the venerable institution. Amazingly, since its founding over one hundred years ago, the workers at the East Bay landmark have been non-union. Organized last Summer, negotiations began under Local 853’s new administration […]