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Sunday, 31 May 2009 |
Has anyone tried to visit the official union website lately, www.teamsterslocal814.com ? It doesn't seem to be working these days. Keeping a website running is a pretty basic thing: just pay the bill for the server once a year, and that's about it. Would could have possibly gone wrong? In the absence of an official local 814 site, the Voice of 814 will do our best to continue to keep members informed, especially about union meetings and changes to our health care and pensions. |
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 31 May 2009 )
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Tuesday, 26 May 2009 |
Vacation Deadline This WeekMovers, the clock is ticking on filing for pro-rata vacation! This Sunday, May 31, is the end of the filing period, but members should file by Friday afternoon. After this date, industry and apprentice workers will forfeit there vacation pay for this year if they have not filed. All you have to do is call the hall and say you want to register for your pro-rata vacation pay. They give you a confirmation number and you recieve further notificaton in the mail. The clock is ticking folks. Don't forget to call the hall and register by Friday. |
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Tuesday, 21 April 2009 |
TOPS finally joined 814, which is great—a real notch in the union’s belt. But sometimes just joining doesn't solve all your problems. You have to fight and organize yourselves, and the union has to back you up all the way. And is that happening at TOPS, this important new shop in 814? According to our sources, the answer is “no.” According to one member, if there is a seniority list at TOPS, no one's seen it. No one knows where they stand on the list, and the boss seems to like it that way. We interviewed one member about the situation, and this is what he said: “We have a boss-appointed shop steward who doesn’t believe in telling us too much, and why should he? He works every day for his good friend our boss.” “And we still have multiple salaries and classifications, no elected shop steward, and no visible seniority list. I know the union can do better than this, and frankly, we deserve it. I don’t mind paying dues and an assessment, or even paying into my medical, but give us what we need! “A war was fought over taxation without representation, and we want our representation now! So George, come on, help us—it’s time to finish the job.” Unfortunately, when it comes to dealing with the bosses, the union's job is never finished. But we agree with the sentiment--it's time to fight back, and not just at TOPS. Let's stop trading stuff away and start organizing to fight. After all we've lost, it's about time. |
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 23 April 2009 )
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Monday, 30 March 2009 |
Cuts to Dental Coverage? Let's Hope It's Not True...According to rumor, 814 members are about to lose part of their dental coverage. In exchange, the union is getting $1.17 per hour from the moving companies to help save the dying Welfare Fund.
So we’re left wondering--what happened to fighting back? Just two meetings ago, Daniello was raving about how we’re “not going to give anything up”, and how the union was going to make the companies to pony up the money at arbitration. Apparently that’s not the main strategy anymore, and it’s back to the old “give something to get something” tactic.
The sad thing is that it didn’t have to go down this way. Three years ago we had good benefits and $6 million in the Welfare Fund. But then our elected officials made some bad decisions. They bought a plan the Fund couldn’t afford, and it ate up all the savings.
At the last meeting, Daniello said that if the Welfare Fund didn't get more money it would be broke by the end of the summer. And the way we're counting it, that’s probably true. It just should never have come down to this--choosing between dental coverage and having any medical at all. |
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Last Updated ( Monday, 30 March 2009 )
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Saturday, 21 February 2009 |
What Will It Take To Win a Better Contract In 2010?An elected bargaining committee would be a good start...
The 2010 Moving and Storage Contract is make or break for our future. Our wages, retirement, health-care and the future of our union are all on the line. Business as usual won't cut it this time.
During the last contract talks, Local 814 members were kept in the dark about what was happening in bargaining. The result was another weak contract.
In 2010, we've got to put an end to closed-door negotiations and concessions. That's why a group of Local 814 members has launched a campaign to change our local union bylaws. The new bylaws would:
* Give members the right to elect the rank-and-file members of the bargaining committee
* Give members the right to information about what is happening in contract bargaining
* Require Local 814 to mobilize the membership and support from the Teamsters and the public to win a strong contract
* Give members time to review all changes to the contract in writing before we vote on it
Now it's time to stop reading and GET INVOLVED...
How? Download this petition pass it around your shop. And don't forget to download the flier that explains the bylaws changes... |
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 28 February 2009 )
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Wednesday, 11 February 2009 |
Contact us VS posting on the Forum* If you have an opinion, and you want to share with your fellow Teamsters, post it on the Forum . * What's so great about the Forum is that you can post anonymously. No one has to know who you are. Sure, you have to enter your e-mail address to sign up, but your e-mail remains private information. No one who reads your posts on the Forum will know your name or e-mail address. * If you are concerned about people knowing your identity, pick an alias and username that does not reveal who you are. * To anonymously use the Forum, click on this sentence to register. * If you e-mail us your opinion, we will only post it on the front page if it has to do with "Restoring the Power of Our Union". Otherwise, you have to post it on the Forum. |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 11 February 2009 )
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Monday, 12 January 2009 |
Union to Liquidate Welfare Fund Office And the rumors just don't quite this time of year. According to what we've heard, the union is liquidating the office of the Welfare Fund. This means that as of March 1, the union will no longer have a Welfare Fund staff, and that our claims will be handled by an outside company. On face, this may not seem like a big deal, but it's actually another sign of just how bad the situation with the Welfare Fund really is. At this point, we are probably below the $1 million mark, and the little money we do have left is going fast. Remember three years ago, when we had more than $16 million in the bank? Doesn't that seem like a distant memory now? So far, the union's plan to solve this problem is to go to arbitration and force the companies to pony up more money--at least another $1.18 per man per hour into the Fund. This does not sound like a solid plan to us. What if we lose the arbitration? Won't we be out of money by then? If you're wondering to yourself, "why should this matter to me?", it matters because if the Welfare Fund sinks, you don't have health insurance. Period. Now that we all care, let's talk about fixing the problem.
What we need a multi-prong approach to fix the welfare Fund. We need to enforce the ratio. We need to force anyone who doesn't have a book to get one, so that they can become apprentices one day and help feed our starving Fund. We need to organize new companies. We need to negotiate higher contributions. And we needed to switch from Aetna two years ago, because if we couldn't afford it now, we couldn't afford it then either.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 13 January 2009 )
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Tuesday, 06 January 2009 |
Which Company Landed the UN Job?
At the December 8th union meeting, President Daniello said that the three finalists for the UN job were as follows: Central, Certified and Capital. At this point we’re not sure who has the job, but of course there are rumors.
What we do know is that the UN job is going to be big. It’s going to mean steady work for a long time, and if an 814 company lands the gig, then it also means a lot of much-needed money going into the funds. And it's supposed to start pretty soon, maybe as soon as early March. But there is one rumor out there that threatens to spoil the show. Some guys are going around saying that Time, the non-union moving outfit, has already secured the job. Strangely enough, Daniello mentioned at the last meeting that Time was interested in talking about joining Local 814. Put two and two together and you get... We hope this isn’t the case. But if Time does have the job, then Local 814 has to make an aggressive push for them to join the union. None of this “temporary authorization” or one-time deals. If Time is going to get this job, they need to be 814 for good. End of story. And if Time tries to take the job without joining the union, then we need to be ready to take action. That means handbilling, picketing, getting help from the Join Council--doing whatever it takes to make sure that this job stays union. |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 07 January 2009 )
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Monday, 15 December 2008 |
The Passing of a Labor Giant
Ron Carey, Former IBT President, Is Dead
The Voice of 814 would like to pay tribute to the late, great Ron Carey, who died thursday at New York Hospital in Queens. The former package car driver and Local 804 leader was the first democratically elected president of the IBT, and a real fighter for the rights of working people. Our deepest condolonces go out to his family. Please take a few minutes and watch this video about our union’s 1997 Strike at UPS. It shows how Carey’s leadership, along with a mobilized and united rank-and-file, won a huge victory--not just for Teamsters, but for the entire labor movement. While his passing is tragic, his legacy lives on. Carey fought for the soul of this union—to make it tough, to make it democratic, to make it what it should be. As Teamsters we honor Ron Carey by continuing this struggle. |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 07 January 2009 )
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Sunday, 14 December 2008 |
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No one in 814 wants to see the Funds fail or our membership dwindle. But we are in trouble in our local, and unless we put our heads together and come up with some good ideas fast, that's exactly what's going to happen. In response to our article on the Welfare Fund Crisis , we got an e-mail from True Teamster814, suggesting some steps that members and officials could take to help the situation. We need more of this. So we're calling on all readers of this site to send us your ideas for Turning this Union Around. Use the Contact Us button to e-mail us and we'll put your article on the front page. Enforcing the Ratio Could Help Bring Back Medical from the Dead Teamsters Local 814 Leadership can and must do more to address the unfolding healthcare crisis in this union. Switching to a cheaper plan with HIP is a start, but it’s not enough to ensure that members continue to enjoy access to good, low-cost insurance. Obviously the leadership and membership of this union cannot, on our own, solve the nation’s health care problem, or slow down sky-rocketing costs. But that doesn’t mean that we are helpless. We can do something.
One of the reasons the Health and Welfare Fund is dwindling is because the companies are routinely ignoring the mandated 1-to-1 ratio of industry to casual employees. Ask any guy with an 814 book, and he’ll tell you that casuals are working ahead of industry guys. When the companies ignore the ratio, it means less money going into the Fund and eventually less ability to provide benefits. We have to stand up to this abuse of the contract, or we risk losing the good medical benefits we have.
ENFORCEMENT COMMITEE
If the union leadership put together an Enforcement Committee--made up of dedicated rank-and-filers--to check jobs, then the companies would have to honor the ratio. But with only one man on staff to check all the jobs in the city, it’s no wonder the companies feel they can get away with murder. If the union deputized rank-and-filers and gave them the ability to check books on jobs, it would send a strong message to the moving companies that the holiday is over! As Teamsters, we must do all we can to make sure that the proper contributions are being made to the fund. The health of our families literally depends on it!
CALLING ALL REAL UNION MEMBERS
If the hall is serious about protecting teamster health benefits, then it will go ahead with this type of initiative. But we as members must be prepared to do our part as well. That means signing up to be on the Enforcement Committee. We must volunteer and commit to keeping an eye on these companies. We cannot afford to just check a few big jobs on a Friday--we need to be thorough and show the companies we mean business.
We cannot expect the hall to do it all for us. A union is only as strong as its members! If you're interested in volunteering, call the hall and tell them we need an Enforcement Committee, and that you are willing to help.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 14 December 2008 )
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Saturday, 06 December 2008 |
Heads in the Sand: The Welfare Fund Crisis Part II The Local 814 Welfare Fund has been losing money for three years, and is now almost out of cash. If you don't believe it, just read the statement that the Fund mailed out in October. According to the statement, the Welfare Fund, which pays for our medical coverage, started 2007 with $6.3 million in the bank. During the course of the year, it lost $2.7 million, leaving it with only $3.5 million in savings.
Knowing full well that the Fund was losing money (and losing it fast), why didn’t the trustees do something to stop the bleeding? From the outside, it looks like they just sat on their hands and watched the money disappear.
The sad thing is that the same trustees who didn’t do anything to save the Fund in 2007 didn’t do much in 2008 either. At the last union meeting in September, Steve Side—the actuary for the funds--said that the Welfare Fund was down to around $1.8 million. He also said that the Fund was still losing money.
One of the guys asked why the Fund was in such bad shape. Mr. Side answered that there were a few reasons. The first reason was that the employers don’t make Fund contributions for casuals, which translates into a lot of lost contributions. The second was that the employers were not paying enough money into the Fund. The third was that the Aetna insurance plan was too costly.
Eventually the trustees did attempt to solve the third problem--Aetna--by switching to HIP. Unfortunately, they waited until December 2008 to make their move. By this point, the Fund had nearly lost its entire bank account.
So how much does the Fund have left? We did some rough math and figured out that the Fund probably has around $1.1 million in the bank, maybe even less. That’s not much of a cushion, especially when you consider that three years ago we had a $16 million in the bank. And if the financial situation of the Fund doesn’t get a lot better, members can expect another wave of medical cuts, much like what we experienced in 2006.
So what went wrong here? How did the Fund lose $15 million in three years? It wasn’t “a few very sick guys" draining away all the money, because the Fund didn't pay members’ medical bills at that point (they paid a flat rate to the insurance company instead). What really went wrong were the three factors that Steve Side mentioned, but also a fourth that he didn’t.
The fourth problem is that when the Union and Employer trustees saw a huge problem on the horizon, they didn’t meet it head on. Instead they buried their heads in the sand, and now all of us have a full-blown crisis on our hands.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 07 December 2008 )
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Saturday, 06 December 2008 |
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Everyone should come to the meeting this Monday at 7 pm. It’s time we showed up and asked some questions about our funds and the direction this union is taking.
Come to the meeting and get some answers. Or just resign yourself to staying in the dark.
PS 150
40-01 43rd ave.
Long Island City, Queens
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Friday, 05 September 2008 |
Quarterly Union Meeting
Don't forget about the union meeting this coming Monday, September 8th. Attending the meeting is crucial is you want to bring up issues to the union officials or participate in any of the votes that happen there. Remember, you have to be paid up on your dues to come in.
starts at 7 PM held at PS 150 40-01 43rd ave. Long Island City, Queens |
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Monday, 01 September 2008 |
Hanover: The Story ContinuesIt appears that the delivery service saga isn’t over at Hanover. According to one member, the company is not following regular 814 seniority rules. Apparently, the company has been working the bottom thirty guys on the list even while top seniority guys sit at home. Another member said he filed over thirty grievances on this issue alone, but when he went to the labor board about it, they told him that they had seen (in writing) a deal that made this practice legal. Now the question is, is this the same deal that ex-President Pete Furtado gave the company? Or is this a new deal that came from current President George Daniello? In either case, if there is a deal, then it never should have been cut without the input of the top seniority guys. Seniority needs to be respected, and should never be traded off for other gains. To discard seniority just pits one group against another, and no union can flourish under those circumstances. Do you work at Hanover or know someone who does? Please contact us with your side of the story, or post it on the forum . Or even just come to the next general membership (September 8th) and put your issue on the table. |
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 02 September 2008 )
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Friday, 01 August 2008 |
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We promised we would give out some more details about the Sotheby's contract. Unfortunately, we don't have much more than we did before. |
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