What Happened Around the Local

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 […]

Delivering vaccinations to low-income people has been one of the greatest challenges for public health leaders. Not only are these community members at greater risk of getting COVID, but they’re also less likely than the general population to have either online access to make appointments or the transportation to get to clinic sites. Starting on […]

We have all been dealing with the effects of COVID-19 for over a year now. The pandemic has had a devastating effect on many of our members and their families, with a number of our members passing away due to the virus. Many of our workplaces have been affected adversely and many of our members have suffered layoffs […]

The pandemic has changed how many union processes are conducted, including elections and vote counting. On March 29, Business Rep Mike Henneberry and Chief Steward Vanessa Wadley counted the ballots that members who work at Zenith Administrators in Alameda submitted on the issue of restructuring and strengthening their pension plan. But this time, they did […]

At a time when Netflix has raked in $25 billion in revenues, up $5 billion from the previous year, the company is changing bus contractors, which may result in up to 29 Local 853 drivers losing their jobs and a lowering of wages for the replacement drivers. Local 853 is in talks with Netflix and […]

Please see the link below for information about the Joint Council 7 Scholarship Program. Scholarships are available to the children and grandchildren of active Local 853 members who are in good standing and will be based on a combination of academic achievement, school and community service, and financial need. In addition to completing the application […]