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Local and National Union News
Successor contracts approved at Ecology Services, RMA Coach, others
Nov. 25, 2020 | Members employed at Ecology Services in Pasadena, Md. ratified a three-year contract in October providing annual wage increases and new pay incentives for drivers and helpers in addition to their current compensation. The agreement also adds new safety protection language. Members also received a signing bonus. Charm City Circular drivers, maintenance workers, and detailers ratified in November their first contract with RMA Coach, LLC. The agreement provides … Continued
Hoffa Scholarship Fund now accepting applications
Nov. 30, 2020 | The James R. Hoffa Memorial Scholarship Fund has begun accepting applications for the 2021 award year. The Fund awards financial scholarships to the sons, daughters and financial dependents of Teamster members. Academic awards in the amount of $1,000 or $10,000 are awarded to eligible high school seniors. Vocational/Training program awards are available ranging from $500 to $2,000. In 2020, $1.2 million in scholarships were awarded. Details on the application process can be found here.New Podcast Edition: Members power political victory
Nov. 18, 2020 | Listen to the latest edition of the Teamsters Podcast and hear how Teamsters reached out to their fellow members to make sure they voted for pro-worker candidates. Plus, drivers hear from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) about how to keep their trucks clean during the coronavirus pandemic. Listen here.
Notice: Proposed plan for nomination and election of IBT Convention delegates
The Local 570 plan to nominate and elect delegates to the IBT Convention to be held in June 2021 has been submitted to the Election Supervisor for approval. The Election Plan is available for review at www.ibtvote.org.
Older news stories can be found at Local News
Elsewhere in the News Healthcare Workers Are Organizing Like Their Lives Depend On It
Dec. 1, 2020 | HEALTH & SAFETY | […] In the absence of official numbers, much of what we know about Covid-19’s toll on healthcare workers comes from whistleblowers like those at Fresno Medical Center in California. Poor working conditions — as well as long-standing concerns about patient safety issues, which have been exacerbated by the pandemic — have prompted healthcare workers to launch a series of dramatic on-the-job actions. In These Times spoke with more than a dozen healthcare workers who have participated in strikes and protests, as well as field organizers with national and local healthcare unions. As concern about contracting Covid-19 at work increased, so did workers’ interest in protesting conditions and forming unions to improve them. In These TimesHoffa: This Holiday Season, Give Essential Workers the Unions They Deserve 
Nov. 30, 2020 | WORKERS’ RIGHTS | This was already a devastating year for hard-working Americans, struggling to keep their jobs amid a pandemic made worse by corporate greed. Now, with the holiday season underway, “essential workers” employed in warehouses, delivering goods, and stocking grocery shelves find themselves in an even bigger crunch. For millions of people who are unemployed or underemployed, it’s easy to lose hope. But it is at this moment, when working people are experiencing multiple intersecting crises, that a mass movement for livable wages, safe working conditions, and equality is more critical than ever… Fast Company
What Organized Labor Wants From Biden
Nov. 25, 2020 | UNIONS | Now that they’ve helped elect Biden, there is an end to Trump’s anti-worker regime in sight. But organized labor wants more than a return to the pre-Trump status quo. Unions want progress, and they have clout that they are prepared to wield. They turned out the vote for Democrats, earned major victories in the fight for a $15 minimum wage, and spent the better part of the pandemic protesting dangerous conditions on the job. Nationwide, strike and work-stoppage activity is on the rise. The future, however, will not arrive without struggle. NY MagazineWorkers in North Dakota Strike to Demand Covid-19 Protections 
Nov. 24, 2020 | SAFETY & HEALTH | […] Since March, essential workers across the country have walked off the job at Whole Foods markets, Amazon warehouses, Taco Bells and McDonald's restaurants, and poultry packing plants to protest working conditions during the pandemic, some asking for hazard pay and others demanding protective gear. Few of these strikes have resulted in major commercial disruptions and product shortages—but as the workforce behind a massive food distribution company, the 75 striking Cash-Wa workers are in a unique position to disrupt a major supply chain if their employer refuses to provide them with more protections. "Workers are asking for temperature screenings, divisions between employees in break rooms, and adequate cleaning supplies," Brian Novak, a business representative at Teamsters Local 120, the union that represents the workers in Fargo. This week, North Dakota reported the COVID-19 highest death rate of any state or country in the world. … Vice
Millions of Workers for Corporate Giants Rely on Food Stamps, Medicaid
Nov. 23, 2020 | THE MINIMUM WAGE | A new GAO (Government Accountability Office) report commissioned by Sen. Bernie Sanders shows that corporations are soaking up profits—while paying workers so little they depend on government assistance to survive. Millions of full-time, adult workers in the United States — many of them employed by Walmart, McDonald’s and other highly profitable corporations — are paid wages so low they’re forced to rely on public assistance to make ends meet. For all 15 agencies, Walmart was in the top four employers of Medicaid enrollees and SNAP beneficiaries, while McDonald’s was in the top five for 13 of the 15 agencies. Other major retailers and fast-food companies were found to be among the most common employers of workers receiving Medicaid and SNAP, including Dollar Tree, Dollar General, Target, Amazon, Burger King, Wendy’s, Taco Bell, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Walgreens and CVS… In These Times
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