Local 776 Members at UPS: information pertaining to the Part-Time Daily Guarantee and guidelines concerning filing a Supervisor Working grievance are now posted on the website under the “Member Resources/UPS Information” page.

Dear Local 776 Teamster Member:

H.R. 2474, the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, is headed to the full House of Representatives for debate and a vote on the floor this week. 

Today, when workers make the decision to stand together and bargain with their employer for improved working conditions, the deck is stacked against them from day one.  Under current law, many employers routinely violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and block workers’ ability to exercise their right to bargain for better wages and better working conditions.  The Protecting the Right to Organize Act is an important step forward for workers’ rights.  It would restore and strengthen worker protections which have been eroded over the years. 

The Time is NOW to urge your member to vote for the PRO Act!

H.R. 2474 enacts enforceable penalties on employers who break the law .The bill would make elections fairer by prohibiting employers from using tactics like captive audience meetings. H.R. 2474 would stop stalling tactics at the bargaining table and address rampant intentional misclassification under the NLRA.

TAKE ACTION – Tell your representative that you SUPPORT H.R. 2474 and that you will be watching how they vote on the House floor this week. 

Follow the links above to tell your Representative that you support H.R 2474!

Teamsters employed at ABF Freight System will receive a 1 percent profit-sharing bonus—negotiated by the union—after the company reported fourth-quarter results on January 30th.

Under the Teamsters 2018-2023 ABF National Master Freight Agreement, if ABF Freight achieves an annual operating ratio of 96.0 or below for any full calendar year, each Teamster-represented employee will receive a bonus based on their earnings. ABF Freight reported a 95.2 percent operating ratio in 2019, which resulted in a 1 percent bonus.

For example, if a member earned $75,000 in 2019, he will receive a bonus of $750.

“Our members at ABF Freight work hard every day to make the company successful, and we are pleased that they will share in the company’s financial success with this bonus,” Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa said.

“Our National Negotiating Committee worked hard to negotiate a strong contract for our members, including this bonus, and we are very excited that our members will be rewarded for the company’s success,” said Ernie Soehl, Director of the Teamsters National Freight Division. “This is the first time our ABF members have received the bonus.”

Under the contract language, ABF Teamsters should receive their checks by the end of February 2020, Soehl said.

Budweiser (IBT, IAM)                                               Moosehead (IBT)

Busch (IAM, IBT)                                                      O’Doul’s (non-alcoholic) (IAM, IUOE, IBT)

Coors (IBT)                                                               Pabst (UAW)

Dundee (IBT)                                                            Red Tail Ale (IBT)

Goose Island (IBT)                                                   Sam Adams Boston Lager (IBT, IUOE, SEIU)

Henry Weinhard’s Private Reserve (IUOE, IBT)      Schlitz (UAW)

Killian’s (IUOE, IBT)                                                 Stella Artois (IAM)

Land Shark Lager (IAM, IUOE, IBT)

Lionshead (IUOE)

Michelob (IAM, IUOE, IBT)

Please Remember: Drink Responsibly!

Every ten years a census has been conducted in the United States of America since 1790 (every year ending in “0”). This year, Pennsylvanians will again be asked to stand up and be counted.  Governor Wolf has initiated the 2020 Census Complete Count Commission to ensure that every Pennsylvanian is counted; the AFL-CIO State Federation is proud to endorse this effort and President Bloomingdale serves on the Commission. 

“Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons . . . The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct. The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative”

 Article 1, Section 2 of the United States Constitution

This week the Commission held a press conference in the Capitol Rotunda to bring awareness to the issue.  In 2019, the Commission asked for funding to ensure that all Pennsylvanians are counted, but the state legislature only delivered a small fraction of the funds.  That means that it is more important than ever to get the word out and encourage everyone to be counted.

All of Pennsylvania’s federal funding depends on the reported population data gathered from the Census.  The number of Representatives in Congress depends on these numbers; currently, PA is on track to lose one, if not two Representatives.  This is why we must have a complete count.

Your voice matters.  Census Day is April 1, 2020.  And no, this is not an April Fools Joke.  You can fill out the census online, by mail, or by phone, and your response should only take a few minutes. 

Pennsylvania is hiring part-time Census Takers around the state, offering living wages and flexible hours.  If you or someone you know is interested or available, please consider applying by following the link below:

U.S. Census

Recently Local 776 mailed the Winter 2020 issue of the 776 Review to the membership. Did the mailman lose yours? maybe it got mixed in with some leftover papers from the holidays? Your four-legged friend have fun with it? if any of the above applies don't worry; you can download, view, and print the newsletter by going to the downloads section under "Member Resources" on the home page!

The application process for the James R. Hoffa Memorial Scholarship Fund has opened for 2020. The deadline for submission is March 2, 2020. The Fund is established solely to provide scholarships to the child or dependent of a member of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

Detailed instructions on the Hoffa Scholarship fund as well as additional scholarships provided by Local 776 can be found under the “Member Resources” page.

Organizing is hard work, just ask Local 776 Organizer Mark Cicak. You have to play by a set of rules that are stacked in the employer’s favor, who tries every trick in the book to derail the organizing drive, while their Union busting attorney is making sure you are letter perfect. Below is an article on how widespread employer violations of federal labor are in Union organizing campaigns.

A regional director for the National Labor Relations Board has ruled there is merit to claims Boeing Co. illegally fired five workers who support the International Association of Machinists union at the aerospace giant’s 787 Dreamliner campus in North Charleston. The ruling gives the IAM a preliminary win in its ongoing battle with Boeing over establishing a union presence in South Carolina-a right-to-work state with the nation’s lowest percentage of union workers. The charges will now be heard by an administrative law judge. The IAM is expected to file an injunction calling for the workers’ immediate return to their jobs while the case is pending. Boeing should “immediately reinstate our members, sit down now to negotiate a contract with its flight-line employees ... and get back to the business of working with the IAM and our members to build aircraft,” said Robert Martinez, the union’s national president. While Boeing has gained headlines recently for its union-busing campaign, a new report shows that the company is far from being alone: employers are charged in almost half of all union election campaigns. The report from the Economic Policy Institute summarizes its findings:

“Employers were charged with violating federal law in 41.5% of all NLRB-supervised union elections in 2016 and 2017, with at least one ULP charge filed in each case.

Firings: Under the most conservative measures, employers were charged with illegally firing workers in one-fifth (19.9%) of all elections. Using more comprehensive measures, employers were charged with illegally firing workers in nearly a third (29.6%) of all NLRB-supervised elections.

Coercion, threats, retaliation: In nearly a third (29.2%) of all elections, employers were charged with illegally coercing, threatening, or retaliating against workers for supporting a union.

Discipline, firings, and changes in work terms:  In nearly a third (29.3%) of all elections, employers were charged with illegally disciplining workers for supporting a union.

Employers were more likely to be charged with violating the law where there were larger bargaining units: More than half (54.4%) of employers in elections involving more than 60 employees (roughly 25% of elections) were charged with violating federal law.”

A quick decision by a UPS driver may have saved a York County man's life. WGAL News 8's Ed Weinstock talked to the delivery driver, Justin Seitz,  who was in the right place at the right time. Watch the report by following the link below:

UPS driver

UPS Driver Justin Seitz is  a Local 776 member who works out of the Carlisle, PA Hub.

"People Helping People"

At the conclusion of the Local’s Christmas for Kids Community Services Project last month there were gifts that had not been picked up. So as not to have someone go without the party committee and the Teamster Horsemen came up with another group that could benefit. The Local Union recently received this message of thanks from the Union Lutheran Church in York, PA:

"People Helping People"