What Happened Around the Local

For too many years, the shuttle drivers and cashiers at area parking lots settled for too little, and new Business Rep Mike Fritz not only aims to change that — he already has. “We need to ensure that these members start getting paid what they’re worth—especially given the health hazards that so many of them […]

After a week-long strike, about 4,800 nurses with the independent union CRONA (Committee for Recognition Of Nursing Achievement) at Stanford Health Care and Stanford Children’s Health in Palo Alto, CA won a significant raise over three years. Not only did Senator Alex Padilla turn up on April 29 for a major rally to support the […]

It\’s not new news to hear that union multi-employer pension plans had been hit hard due to a combination of factors including changing industries and the 2008 stock market crash. While unions fought for years to get congress to support our plans as they had already supported single-employer plays, this effort had gone nowhere. Until […]

The 50 Hayward Unified school bus drivers who work with special needs kids ratified a new contract with Storer in January and it’s the best these drivers have ever seen. “This was essentially a new contract,” explains Business Rep Tracy Kelley. Previously, Durham School Services held the contract with the Hayward schools. “But when Storer […]

If you have a child who\’s graduating from high school and can use some cash for college or vocational school, you\’ll want to apply for a Joint Council 7 Harry Polland/Bob Morales scholarship. Applicants are eligible for scholarships when their parent or legal guardian is a member in good standing of Teamsters Local 853. Criteria […]

April 23 saw a huge turnout of Teamsters Local 853 members, friends, and family at the San Jose Shark Tank — there to watch the Sharks beat the Chicago Blackhawks by 4-1. The day started with a pre-game BBQ at the Local\’s San Jose office. Two lucky members won signed Sharks jerseys. If you\’re a […]

The Teamsters\’ annual barbecue at Gillig had to be a 2-day event (held on April 18 and 19), due to the large number of members who work at the Livermore-based bus manufacturer (over 550!) Business Reps Steve Beck and Scott Gonsalves trucked out the Local\’s barbecue and prepared hamburgers and hot dogs for as many […]

Business Rep and Chair of the Northern California Construction Committee Stu Helfer reports that the Northern California Teamsters Heavy, Highway, Building and Construction Committee settled their third-year allocation that increased wages and benefits by a total of $2.25 per hour. \”Over the 3-year life of this agreement, we saw wages increase by 11.67%; pension increase […]

By a vote of 44 to 1, the members who make all of the Eggo Waffles sold west of the Mississippi went into their contract negotiations with a strike authorization at the ready. The vote took place at a proposal meeting held on January 22 at Teamsters Local 853\’s San Jose office. \”We\’re tired of […]

It may have taken over a year and a half, but the thousands of members across California who do sales for Southern Glazer Wine & Spirits & RNDC (formerly known as Young’s Market) ratified their richest contract to date. Local 853 alone has about 684 workers under this contract who received huge wage increases, full […]

After working at UPS for 21 years, one member didn’t feel that he should have been fired for doing what other workers around him routinely did. And neither did his Business Rep, who took up the case and got him his job back. “They told me I couldn’t play music, even though we were allowed […]

The 33 driver/warehouse workers at JDRC (formerly known as River Cannabis), with locations and deliveries to dispensaries across California, unanimously ratified their new three-year contract in January. \”The negotiations went well,\” says Business Rep Steve Beck. \”Things got tense at times, as all negotiations do, but calmer minds prevailed,\” Beck added, saying that this is a […]

They say the third time is the charm, and for the members at Genesis Logistics, it took three contract offers before they finally ratified their new 18-month contract on February 16, 2022. Genesis Logistics is a Third-Party contractor that delivers to 7-11 stores from Fresno to Yuba City. Local 853 represents about 60 drivers and […]

The nine Teamsters who work at adhesive-manufacturer Henkel in Berkeley ratified their new four-year contract on February 15, and Business Rep Stu Helfer reports that it may be the best contract they\’ve ever had. While the company wanted to pull this group out of the Teamster health and welfare plan and move them to the […]

All Teamsters Local 853 members are invited to join the union on April 23 for the Sharks vs. Blackhawks game at the SAP Center in San Jose. In addition to seeing the game, the ticket price includes some cool game-related raffles for items such as: 15 lower bowl premium seats; 2 signed jerseys; and 2-4 […]

On February 1, Business Rep Jesse Casqueiro brought the Teamster truck to the Assumption School in San Leandro for a \”Community Helpers Fair.\” The kids got a chance to look around the truck and learn about how they can become good community servants and the role that Teamsters play in supporting our communities.

On February 23, over 500 Teamsters from across Northern and Central California came together at UPS’ San Francisco building to protest the company\’s decision to slash wages by up to $6/hour for part-timers. The event was sponsored by the Nor Cal Teamster UPS Committee and Teamsters Joint Council 7. UPS workers and Teamster supporters came […]

Appreciating our members is something Local 853 has made every effort to do since 1993. This year was no exception, although like last year, the Membership Appreciation event was again a drive-thru affair due to the pandemic. But shaking things up this year, it was held on two mornings at two locations, Saturday, November 6 […]

“Ten years ago, there were zero Amazon warehouses in California,” said Shaun Martinez, IBT, Strategic Research & Campaigns Department “Today, they’re the state’s largest employer.” Speaking at a training about Amazon for about 100 Local 853 UPS members at the San Jose Teamster office on November 13, Martinez reviewed Amazon’s growth, from bookseller to major […]

After a hard-fought campaign, the votes have been counted and the O’Brien-Zuckerman Teamsters United slate has been elected by a significant margin to lead the International Brotherhood of Teamsters for the next five years. Congratulations to the new officers, particularly General President Elect Sean O\’Brien. They face numerous challenges ahead — for the Teamsters Union, […]

More than 120 stewards came together at the Oakland Hilton on Saturday, October 2, to learn about how to handle grievances more effectively. Led by long-time IBT trainer Sally Payne, they got background info on their role as stewards — what\’s within their purview and what should be referred to their business rep. They also […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

 The 122 drivers, warehouse workers, draft technicians, order pickers, merchandisers and sales workers at AB (formerly Horizon Beverage) in Oakland ratified their four-year contract by a 72% margin in June. “The biggest issue to overcome was that the structure of pay for drivers was changed from hourly to base-plus-commission,” explained Business Rep Efren Alarcon. “They’ll […]

Sometimes good news takes time! On June 14, 2021, the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) ruled in favor of Local 853 regarding a unilateral change made by the San Francisco Department of Public Works. The union had filed an unfair labor practice charge against DPW in August of 2018 alleging that the new Human Resources […]

The Teamsters San Jose parking lot was the site of the Youth Ride and Stunt Show on Saturday, June 19. The event was held with other community activists to help at-risk youth stay off the streets and either get a union job or further their education More than 150 young people attended the event.

The Department of Industrial Relations ruled in favor of a Teamster petition to require the prevailing wage for ready-mix drivers who do on- and off-hauling to and from construction sites in San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara Counties. This means that the minimum rates for this work go from $33.85 to $69.07 per hour. […]

A majority of the 15 drivers, janitors, and maintenance workers at Crothall Healthcare in Gilroy filed cards to show their interest in joining Local 853. These workers had a laundry list of grievances, including safety issues, favoritism, mistreatment, and lack of respect. Surprising everyone—including organizer Pablo Barrera—the company recognized the unit without having to have […]

The nearly 100 members at the Safeway Milk Plant in San Leandro unanimously ratified their new four-year contract on July 8. “These members worked through the pandemic, supplying milk and other products for Safeway and other brands. The company has been investing a lot of money into expanding the plant for new lines, like almond […]

After our highly successful San Jose job fair in July, Teamsters Local 853 is sponsoring an Oakland job fair on August 28. It will be held from 8 a.m. to Noon on Saturday, August 28 at our Oakland office parking lot: 7750 Pardee Lane. Job seekers are encouraged to bring copies of their resumé. They\’ll […]

Were you laid off due to the pandemic shutdowns? Do you hate your job but want to keep good Teamster wages and benefits? Do you know someone out of work? Come to the Teamster Job Fair on Saturday, July 10 (8 a.m. to Noon) and/or spread the word! Fourteen Teamster employers who collectively have more […]

(May 26, 2021)  This morning, a gunman killed eight Valley Transportation Agency (VTA) workers and himself at a union meeting of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265 in San Jose. Teamsters Local 853 also has members who subcontract to the VTA. The following is a statement by Teamsters Joint Council 7 President Rome Aloise: “Fortunately, our members were safe from this horrific event. However, this is […]

Local 853 members who work at UPS gathered at the San Jose Giant\’s Stadium to stand in solidarity with insurance salespeople who work for AAA Insurance and are seeking union representation. According to Local 853 Busines Rep Johnny Gallegos, \”the company bought out the stadium to union-bust.\” Local 665 launched its organizing drive with the […]

In March, the 25 members who work at Westrock, a paper and packaging company in Milpitas, unanimously ratified their first successor contract since the merger with Local 853 took place. The four-year agreement is reputed to be the best these shipping and receiving have ever approved. “The negotiating team fought long and hard with the employer to stay […]