Drivers at Universal Intermodal Services at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have voted to join Teamsters Local 848, marking the seventh company at the ports to employ workers represented by the union.
There are 28 drivers in the bargaining unit. Workers say they are seeking affordable health insurance, wage increases and retirement benefits.
“Every single one of us, my coworkers, we all have different reasons for joining the union,” said Universal driver David Lopez. Speaking through an interpreter, Lopez, 50, said his “first and foremost reason” is to gain access to dental insurance. Universal’s pay is inadequate, he added, and in addition to other benefits a Teamsters contract would ensure workers had access to due process.
Representatives from Universal Intermodal and its parent company, Universal Logistics (NASDAQ: ULH), did not respond to FreightWaves’ requests for comment.
About 600 of the approximately 12,000 drivers working the Southern California ports are Teamsters members, Fred Potter, director of the Teamsters Port Division, told FreightWaves.
In addition to Universal, the other drayage companies with union contracts or representation at the California ports are Toll Group, Sea-Logix, HLT, EcoFlow, Weber Logistics and Pacific 9 Transportation.
The Teamsters’ Port strategy: a complicated history
Union efforts to organize port drivers fits into a broader campaign on the part of the Teamsters and other labor groups alleging that truck drivers at the ports have been misclassified as independent contractors rather than employees.
The Teamster’s role in that campaign has a complicated history, marked by shifting tactics and alliances with environmental groups.
Between 1980 and 2010, the Teamsters had signed zero union contacts at the Southern California ports, said Scott Cummings, a professor of law at UCLA, where he focuses on public interest law and social movements.
The seven contracts signed since then reflect a new organizing strategy launched by the Teamsters after California’s Clean Truck Rule took effect a decade ago, according to Cummings. That rule banned trucks that did not meet the latest emissions standards from entering the ports.
The original clean truck program, backed by the Teamsters, included a labor component requiring trucking companies working at the ports to hire the drivers as employees, rather than treating them as independent contractors. The idea was to make the companies and not the drivers bear the cost of buying new rigs.
The American Trucking Associations sued and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals tossed the requirement.
After the union tried but failed to convince the city of Los Angeles to mandate that trucking firms couldn’t access the port without employee drivers, Cummings explained, the Teamsters decided to target directly the drayage operators that had misclassified employees as independent contractors.
“The strategy shifted from trying to get a government agency to mandate reclassification to asserting misclassification was an illegal act and that the drivers were legally speaking employees,” Cummings said.
Given the significant forces — economic, political — arrayed against the Teamsters, he added, “winning even one contract is really, really significant.”
AB5 and misclassification
Other factors are emboldening organized labor. The recent passage of California labor law AB 5 limiting the use of independent contractors marks a big win for the Teamsters and other labor groups, as does Senate Bill 1402, a law that took effect this year making retailers and other customers of port trucking companies liable for contracting with or using port drayage motor carriers who have unpaid wage, tax and workers’ compensation claims.
“It is good legislation,” Potter said, and it is is one reason more companies this year have converted their alleged independent contractors to W-2 employees.
Industry groups are vehemently opposed to the new labor laws. In November, the California Trucking Association (CTA) filed a legal challenge against AB5, saying it will result in 70,000 drivers in the state losing their jobs and that the state legislation violates federal law.
For its part, the Teamsters plans to target other Universal Logistics subsidiaries, Potter said. Universal Logistics has been on an intermodal acquisition spree, and several of the companies have been accused of misclassifying employees as independent contractors.
Reeling from a softened freight market, Universal Logistics’ earnings took a hit in the third quarter. Intermodal services were a bright spot, increasing $39 million to $93.9 million in the second quarter, up from $54.9 million during the same period last year. The increase was attributed in part to revenues generated from acquisitions.
Now that Universal drivers have voted to join the Teamsters local, the next step is to negotiate a contract, Lopez said.
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MrBigR504
Damn Noble1, you need your own blog so you can vent….gee wiz man! But i digress and say from Universal Intermodal (owner operators) in Atlanta to my Universal Intermodal brothers and sisters in California, God be with y’all and hope y’all win!
Noble1
I’ve mentioned it before and I’ll re-quote and copy and paste it again .
And I hope the Unifor Union leader reads it . He needs to control his members . Even though labourers are in a “dispute” with their employer they should not cause discomfort to others nor dictate what others should do .
And he should keep in mind that if it were not for truckers , he and his family wouldn’t have clothes on their backs nor food on their table nor access to medicine . So he and his followers should be a little more considerate . If they want to push and bully employers based on a primitive way of doing things , fine . Just don’t be an ignorant inconvenience and be a little more civilized and considerate towards those who are not the cause of your “frustration” .
If truckers decided to collectively give the general population the proverbial middle finger due to their ” frustrations” as you are currently doing to them , how inconvenienced would you be ? And would that be fair and reasonable ? Don’t be so self centered . Have a little empathy .
And by the way , it’s due to the way some of your union leaders allow you to act and their primitive thinking for which they have diminished interest from potential members in joining them . Labour unions are now considered to be a last resort , no longer a favourable choice ! What does that tell you ? EVOLVE !
In my humble opinion …………
Quote :
Fuel truck driver says delays at refinery picket line took all day
Regina / 980 CJME
CJME News
December 13, 2019 07:43 am
Delays caused by picketing at the Co-op refinery had one truck driver sitting in the queue from morning until night.
Anthony Demyen, a driver for Len Grant Trucking in Regina, never actually hit the road.
The trucker said he arrived at 5:30 a.m. on Wednesday, finding about a dozen trucks waiting on the side of Fleet Street.
Demyen said he waited for about three hours before he reached the entrance. Once through the gate, he loaded up and waited some more.
“I was in a day cab so there’s no bunk, no nothing. So it’s pretty frustrating after a while. Pretty uncomfortable. You only want to go outside for so much to walk around because it’s pretty cold out,” Demyen said. “I brought enough food for about 10 hours. I ran out of food (and) ran out of water.”
When it was time for him to leave, it was 9:30 p.m. and he had to be relieved by another driver.
As a labour dispute continues between Unifor Local 594 and Co-op centred on pensions, the Saskatchewan Trucking Association has been raising concern over stories like Demyen’s.
This week, the association released a statement urging respect for drivers, saying delays like these are hurting members because industry regulations only permit so much driving time in a day.
Under provincial rules, that’s 13 hours of driving after eight consecutive hours off duty.
According to Demyen, Co-op rules dictate that all hours spent at the refinery are counted as on-duty hours.
Some truckers get paid by the kilometre so if they’re not headed toward their destination, they’re sitting for free, he said.
While he was “fortunate” to be getting paid for his time, Demyen wasn’t happy about the wait.
“You want to do your job. You don’t want to just sit there over something out of your control and you’re not really part of,” he said.
The cost might have been paid elsewhere. Demyen’s wife runs a home salon. He said she had clients booked and was expecting him to be home that day to watch the kids.
“She had to hire somebody to come in here so she could do her clients. It cost us extra money in daycare and everything else,” he said.
Demyen said he felt caught in the dispute between the union and the company. He said the actions of picketers were “unfair,” that they should have let a few trucks pass at a time.
The STA’s statement said many drivers have been facing harassment and verbal abuse.
That hasn’t been the case for Demyen but he said picketers were frustrated with him when they told him to get in line.
“They directed me to back into oncoming traffic to get onto the side of the road and there was a truck behind me. They’d just get mad at me because I wouldn’t back up because it was dark and there was traffic coming,” he said.
End quote .
Noble1
UPDATE :
Quote:
Saskatchewan Trucking Association concerned with situation at Co-op refinery
Regina, SK, Canada / 620 CKRM The Source | Country Music, News, Sports in Sask
Moises Canales
December 12, 2019 12:39 pm
The Saskatchewan Trucking Association (STA) has voiced concerns regarding the challenges truckers are facing at the Co-op refinery in Regina during their labour dispute.
The association sent out a release Thursday morning detailing a number of complaints truckers are experiencing when arriving and leaving the facility.
In their statement, road safety for both truckers and commuters on the adjacent roadway has become a major concern with haulers being delayed by picketers. Trucks are left lined up along the road while waiting to enter the refinery.
The group has also received reports regarding the treatment of truckers when attempting to enter or leave the facility with directed harassment and verbal abuse.
Susan Ewart, executive director of the STA, said industry regulations affect how long truck drivers can work in a day, which means delays are creating lost revenue and decreased pay.
“I received an email from a frustrated truck driver saying he has been waiting for 20 hours,” mentioned Ewart. “We would like to see a little more respect there from the Unifor workers.”
She added that they understand the situation picketers are under and that they have the right to picket. However she hopes they can co-operate with drivers so they can transport goods to market.
“Truck drivers are typically paid by the kilometre. So if they are not moving, they are not earning a living – especially at this time of the year,” said Ewart.
“The message should be ‘be kind to each other’ and have some sort of empathy for what the other person is going through – on both sides.”
The STA says 26 independent fleets haul products for the refinery and that they are all experiencing similar issues accessing and being permitted to leave the facility.
Kevin Bittman, president of Unifor Local 594 which represents the striking workers, said their message has been about respect.
He confirmed that the union has made changes following the STA’s statement.
“They aren’t in the plant waiting, they are on the outside of the plant so they can better manage the drivers with hour problems,” noted Bittman. “We definitely adjusted and we heard what they said.”
He believes the adjustments were made Wednesday night.
Bittman however doesn’t agree that their members have been disrespectful as mentioned in the trucking association’s release.
He said he hasn’t seen it on the picket line and that they have reassured the workers they need to be respectful during this dispute.
End quote .
Noble1
Taken from the Co-Op’s website
Quote :
Questions on offer to refinery employees
December 3, 2019
What increases are being offered?
An 11.75 per cent wage increase is being offered across the board to all unionized workers. On average, this is a $12,000 raise over the life of the contract. All unionized workers have been offered access to the Company’s performance plan (The plan details need to be negotiated at the bargaining table). Enhanced benefits, including a pay-direct drug card.
What is the “National Pattern?”
Unifor Canada negotiates wage increases with one of the oil majors in the refining sector (Suncor, Shell, Imperial Oil) and then hopes that other refineries will follow suit. However, refineries are not compelled to provide this wage increase. In 2019, we have decided to agree to this substantial wage increase.
Why does the Union indicate that you are asking for a -17.5 per cent rollback?
The Company has not proposed a -17.5 per cent “rollback” or pay cut. That is simply untrue. As an example, asking an employee to contribute to their own pension is not a wage rollback—it’s still their money and they receive it as part of their retirement income in the future. Likewise, the Company did not cut the employee savings plan but rather proposed to replace it with another plan. We have already offered an 11.75 per cent wage increase over four years, which is very positive. The Company has informed the Union there are several proposals we are prepared to discuss if the Unifor 594 Executive is willing to engage in meaningful negotiations.
Why have you chosen this round of negotiations to propose changes to the pension plan?
By making the changes now, we protect high-paying jobs now and well into the future. These changes are about the long-term sustainability of the Refinery. We realize that the low-carbon economy of the future is coming. To survive long-term, we must change our business and significantly invest to guarantee that CRC remains competitive. Currently, unionized employees pay 0 per cent into their pension. The current pension costs us $50 to $100 million ($72 million in 2019) per year in funding commitments.
We know that when we project our financial situation five to 10 years from now, we simply can’t sustain those types of payments in a low-carbon economy. We must make changes to protect our current and future employees while we can afford to. We are simply asking unionized employees to pay a share of their pension in order to ensure the long-term viability of their future careers.
Also of note—the share our unionized employees pay still needs to be bargained, but the Unifor 594 Executive refuse to even talk about it.
What is your pension offer?
Currently, we have offered them a choice between staying on their current Defined Benefit (DB) Pension Plan or moving to our Defined Contribution (DC) plan. Both are industry-matching options.
If employees remain in the DB, they will have to contribute to it. Unfortunately, they have been unwilling to negotiate what percentage they will contribute, so the rest of the terms remain as simply a proposal.
If employees move to the DC, they have the option to contribute 0 per cent, and the company will contribute six per cent. If they choose to contribute up to another four per cent, the company will match it for a total company contribution of 10 per cent. This makes the value of the DC 14 per cent. If they choose this option, they will also receive a Retirement Allowance when they reach their retirement date.
What is a Retiring Allowance (RA)?
The RA is how we ensure our employees who move from the DB Pension Plan to the DC Pension Plan are assured of a great retirement. Upon moving to the DC, all employees will move the full value of their current DB into a new plan. The RA is an additional payment (the majority are six-figure payments) that they will get when they retire. This will ensure that we have captured the future value of their money and compensated them for making the transition. Our entire management team made this transition in 2019. Our employees will continue to have a great retirement.
Why did you build a work camp?
We built the work camp for three reasons. First, to protect the refinery in the event of a labour disruption. We simply can’t have the refinery left vulnerable if the Union 594 Executive takes the workforce out. Second, under the same theme, we have to protect our people, our community and our asset by being prepared for our highly-skilled management team to assume control of the refinery.
Third, we have to protect the Western Canadian fuel supply. Our economy is driven by transportation and agriculture. Our job is to fuel Western Canada, and we have to continue to do that regardless of the circumstances. We owe that to our owners, our customers and all Western Canadians.
End quote .
Quote :
Co-op Refinery Complex responds to strike notice, moves to protect plant safety
December 3, 2019
The Co-op Refinery Complex (CRC) is disappointed that the Unifor 594 Executive chose to issue a 48-hour strike notice at 4:30 p.m. CST today.
“Our priority was to get a deal done at the bargaining table and avoid a labour disruption; however, that means that both sides must be willing to bargain,” said Gil Le Dressay, Vice-President of Operations at the CRC.
“However, because a 48-hour strike notice creates an unsafe operating environment for the Refinery, we have issued a 48-hour lockout notice effective 5:30 p.m. today. It is vital to the safety of our operation that we control the timeline of labour action as our highly-skilled management team assumes control of the Refinery’s operation. This also allows us to maintain a reliable supply of fuel to 170 local co-ops and their communities across Western Canada.”
The Refinery has put offers in front of the Unifor 594 Executive, however no counteroffer has been received. The CRC feels that it has put a fair offer in front of the Union but is willing to listen if Unifor chooses to bring a counteroffer forward and rescinds their strike notice.
“Our offer includes an 11.75 per cent raise over four years. The average CRC worker earns about $104,000 per year, so the proposed raise represents, on average, a more than $12,000 increase over the life of the contract,” said Le Dressay. “We’ve also included enhanced benefits options and access to our company performance plan, which is an annual incentive bonus based on the Company’s performance.”
In addition to increased wages, added benefits and a performance plan, CRC has given the Union a choice to remain in their current Defined Benefit (DB) Pension Plan or move to the Company’s industry-matching Defined Contribution (DC) Pension Plan. The one caveat to remaining in the DB plan is that the workers will now be required to contribute to it.
“Most CRC unionized workers, unlike most Canadians, have never had to contribute to their pension plan. Unfortunately, that just isn’t sustainable any longer and we have to ask them to at least contribute to their plan,” said Le Dressay. “We value all of our employees and the work they do, which is why they are among the best compensated workers in Western Canada. Our current offer includes an industry-matching wage increase, industry-matching pension options, and a new performance bonus option for our hourly team.”
End quote .
Re-Quote
” The average CRC worker earns about $104,000 per year , they are among the best compensated workers in Western Canada”
Noble1
Did you get that ?
Quote:
“The Refinery has put offers in front of the Unifor 594 Executive, however no counteroffer has been received. The CRC feels that it has put a fair offer in front of the Union but is willing to listen if Unifor chooses to bring a counteroffer forward and rescinds their strike notice. ”
WOW ! CRC is certainly being reasonable by offering to LISTEN if Unifor offers a counteroffer . CRC is open to negotiate !
WAKE UP UNIFOR ! The ball is in the your court ! You just need to be “reasonable” . However , the sky is the limit as to what you can offer through creative thinking . Your strike is simply showing the public what YOU lack .
Go back to the drawing board and THINK ! Your imagination is limitless ! Why limit it to strike ???
I pity the Unifor members due to their incompetent leader(s) . Those poor members have to freeze out in the cold while watching other labourers fly in to do their jobs FOR GOOD PAY , due to following poor leadership .
Told you , in this case the “union” needs to compromise and smarten up and come back to the negotiating table and offer a creative proposition rendering both parties prosperous .
Quote myself :
“I suggest Unifor offer to go back to the negotiating table and offer their opponent a creative compromise that would be extremely prosperous for both parties . But then again , that would imply “thinking” rather than “bullying” …….. ”
In my humble opinion …………..
Noble1
What’s the role of Regina police and fire in refinery labour dispute?
Quote:
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As temperatures plunged in Regina, tensions and rhetoric have heated up this week in the labour dispute between the Co-op Refinery Complex (CRC) and locked-out Unifor 549 members.
Regina police officers were sent to the site to help keep the peace when the CRC and unionized workers reached an impasse over a halted vehicle.
“There was a decision made to go out to the scene (Monday night) and just talk with a couple of the representatives on either side to see if we could de-escalate things to the point where they would allow the vehicle through,” Regina Police Service spokesperson Elizabeth Popowich said in an interview Tuesday.
“There was a bit of back-and-forth conversation and eventually we got agreement that the van would be allowed to go through, so the picketers stepped aside, they chanted slogans, watched the vehicle drive through.”
Popowich clarified that it’s not the job of the police to take sides in a labour dispute, but to make sure the law is being followed. She emphasized that police did not escort the supply van into the CRC.”
RE-QUOTE :
“Popowich clarified that it’s not the job of the police to take sides in a labour dispute, but to make sure the law is being followed.”
BINGO !
Noble1
Let’s see how this will pan out . This one will be interesting and quite entertaining to say the least .
Unifor bullying tactics have met their match , LOL ! They’re dumbfounded by their opponent’s approach .
Two bullies face head on . However , Goliath has major resources and won’t step down from ants attempting to bully them . Goliath will fight stubbornly tooth and nail to defend their ground . I firmly doubt they will bend . They were threatened with a strike , they replied with a Lock Out and are flying in labourers by HELICOPTER , LOL ! If that doesn’t wake up the Unifor president then perhaps that labour union president shouldn’t be in the position he’s filling . In fact he just got outsmarted and union members should realize this fact .
I suggest Unifor offer to go back to the negotiating table and offer their opponent a creative compromise that would be extremely prosperous for both parties . But then again , that would imply “thinking” rather than “bullying” ……..
Stay Tuned !
In my humble opinion ……..
Noble1
At least these truck drivers are willing to try and do something to change and improve their situation . They’re not just complaining and or reading some transportation website without taking some sort of action in an attempt to improve their situation and lives .
Therefore I commend these truck drivers for at least trying to make a change . Most truck drivers do nothing but complain . Or worse , they expect the government to save them .
What ever happened to having courage , to taking a stand and responsibility , and actually attempting to do something besides complain and whine to make a difference and create a sustainable prosperous change ?
From my perspective and the amount of time I have spent on social media and around truck drivers in an attempt to express the need to come together and create a prosperous change that would increase their well being extraordinarily , has been nothing less than a lost cause .
Look at what occurred with the drivers in the Celadon bankruptcy . Truck drivers will simply go on and find another job at another carrier . They keep doing the same thing over and over and expect a different result . They don’t realize that if it happened at one before , it could certainly happen at another . How do you want to reason with people like that ??? They keep repeating the same cycle(mistakes) over and over again due to not learning from the past .
And that’s exactly what occurs in the markets and why patterns keep on reappearing .
Quote:
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” George Santayana
and supposedly Mark Twain said : ““History doesn’t repeat itself but it often rhymes,” ”
in my humble opinion ……………
Noble1
That being said , I have always advocated against joining unions . They are a last resort and certainly not the best option . They are old school and they don’t always work in favour of labourers/members .
And today I found a perfect example to make a point without taking sides !
Quote :
“Sask. Trucking Association demands ‘respect for truck drivers’ at Co-op Refinery”
Obviously the Co-Op in question is mismanaged .
They should have law enforcement vacate the LOCKED OUT picketers from causing a disturbance on private and or public property . Law enforcement must ensure laws are respected and citizens abide by them .
If a union wants to go on strike or picket , fine . Just don’t break the law and cause others grief while demonstrating your tantrum . THEY’VE BEEN LOCKED OUT and that’s a strategy that an opponent can implement in the game “they chose” to play !
Therefore the “Sask. Trucking Association ” should address the Co-Op’s management team and suggest that they rectify the unlawful disturbance , or transporters will have to go elsewhere until the Co-Op controls the situation and or rectifies the “disturbance” through the assured application of current laws that are not being respected .
In conclusion : Being part of an old school “union” mentality doesn’t guarantee a favorable labourer solution !
In my humble opinion …………
Noble1
LOL the union is being outsmarted with extremes !
However , the company should hire security guards and tell the Major that if the Major doesn’t control and vacate these picketing law breaking people and cease their unlawful disturbance and abusive tactics ,then the refinery will go to extremes and increase security such as hire swat teams and start arresting theses law breakers themselves and dropping them off at the nearest police station .
Point : You don’t win by breaking laws , nor by trying to “fight” against Goliath . You need to outsmart “Goliath” .
Quote :
“The Co-op Refinery Complex (CRC) has taken to the skies to move in goods and replacement workers after accusing locked-out union members of “inappropriate and dangerous behaviour” on the picket line.
The CRC said it had to make alternate plans to transport staff “safely across the picket lines” via helicopters — a move union leadership says “doesn’t make any sense.
In an interview Monday, Unifor Local 594 president Kevin Bittman said he spent 10 hours over the weekend on the picket line and he didn’t see anything that would classify as inappropriate or dangerous behaviour, as the refinery has alleged. He says his people are having fun out there and that’s the way it will stay.
“For sure there are trucks that aren’t getting in, but that’s part of our strategy … It’s about standing up for our rights,” Bittman said.
The CRC says it “has been respectful of Unifor 594 members’ right to strike and to peacefully protest,” according to a news release issued late Sunday in regards to the helicopters. But management alleges that respect has not been reciprocated.
“CRC employees have been harassed, accosted and verbally abused when crossing picket lines, and we simply won’t stand for that behaviour. Unifor members have also held up shipments of food for management focused on running the plant safely, as well as attempted to block shipments of parts needed to safely run the refinery,” said CRC management.
The CRC also accuses picketing union members of trying to disrupt fuel trucks entering and exiting the refinery, an assertion refuted by Unifor. ”
End quote , although you can read the rest under title :
“Co-op refinery transporting staff via helicopters after alleged ‘dangerous’ acts by union members”
In my humble opinion ……….
Noble1
Oops my apologies for the typo , Mayor , not Major .
thomas kautz
pay hard working truck drivers a decent wage instead of chump change.