Hoffa: Don’t blame workers for delivery delays this season
Dec. 1, 2021 | This holiday season, there are many things for which we should be grateful. But the state of the U.S. supply chain is not one of them…There is understandable frustration out there about where things stand. Policymakers, moved by the public’s anger, are looking for solutions to the problem. Many have settled on a lack of truckers as the answer, but they are failing to see the forest through the trees. And that message is one the trucking industry is likely to continue to push in order to get what it wants – cheaper labor. First, let me just clear up this fallacy – there is no shortage of experienced truckers. However, there is a problem… Continued

Teamsters applaud confirmation of staff attorney to National Mediation Board
Dec. 8, 2021 | The Teamsters Union applauds today’s confirmation of Deirdre Hamilton to serve as a member of the National Mediation Board (NMB) by the U.S. Senate. Hamilton has served as the staff attorney for the Teamsters Airline Division for the past six years and at the Association of Flight Attendants for the previous 12 years. “Thanks to today’s confirmation, workers across the country in our rail and airline industries have a true champion serving on the board,” said Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa. “I have no doubt that Ms. Hamilton will uplift workers’ rights and improve labor-management relations as a member of the NMB.” Teamsters

Teamsters sanitation workers strike over unfair labor practices
Dec. 10, 2021 | Yesterday more than 400 sanitation workers employed by Republic Services facilities in Anaheim and Huntington Beach — and members of Teamsters Local 396 — went on strike in response to the company’s unfair labor practices committed during bargaining for a fair contract, including making unilateral changes without bargaining and threatening reprisals against employees who participate in union activity. Teamsters Local 396’s contracts with Republic Services expired on September 30, 2021, and members voted to authorize a strike on November 23, 2021… Teamsters

Support Teamster Political Action: Order shirts today
Dec. 13, 2021 | Today is your last chance to order Teamster gear that supports Teamster political action for delivery before Christmas! New PRO Act and Build Back Stronger shirts are now available. Order yours from www.TeamFundStore.com today!

James R. Hoffa Memorial Scholarship program now accepting applications
Dec. 14, 2021 | High school seniors who are the sons or daughters of Teamster members can now apply for a college or vocational/training program scholarship from the James R. Hoffa Memorial Scholarship Fund. 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 up to $2,000 depending on financial need. In 2021, the Fund awarded $1.2 million in academic and vocational/training program scholarships. Details on the application process can be found here.

Hoffa: Apprenticeships play a pivotal role in boosting U.S. trucking
Dec. 17, 2021 | In a statement yesterday, President Hoffa responded to the Biden administrations new Trucking Action Plan: “For years, the Teamsters Union has been at the forefront of building a better trucking industry by working with ABF, UPS and Yellow Trucking to train the next generation of qualified truck drivers needed to ship goods nationwide. But we can do more. We are committed to working together with the entire Biden administration to get more employers to adopt this registered apprenticeship model and use it to recruit, train and retain drivers…” Teamsters  Related: White House revs up trucker recruitment drive Wall Street Journal

From fires to tornadoes, history has shown we need unions to help keep workers safe
Dec. 30, 2021 | (The author is secretary-treasurer of Teamsters 117) In 1911, our nation suffered one of the worst industrial tragedies in our history. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire took the lives of 146 garment workers, mostly Jewish and Italian immigrant women and girls. Locked inside the New York City factory, many plunged out of high windows to their deaths to escape the billowing smoke and flames. Workers were locked behind factory doors to prevent them from taking unauthorized breaks. Such appalling conditions seem unthinkable today. Yet, the recent horrors suffered by workers in a tornado that destroyed a Kentucky candle factory and an Amazon warehouse in Illinois remind us that history has a way of repeating itself… Teamsters Local 117