The Voice of Teamsters Local 814 - Beth Israel

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Saturday, 01 August 2009
Beth Israel Nightmare Negotiations are still going on between Local 814 and Beth Israel hospital. The jobs of over 50 security guards are on the line. With this contract, George Daniello had a chance to step forward and show the whole union how his negotiation strategies can deliver. Instead, we have a disaster on our hands. The Beth Israel contract expired in March. For four, long months the security guards have been working without a deal. Now the guards have lost their union medical coverage, and Abner Martinez and Daniello have admitted that they feel like they are “about to lose the whole shop.” Unfortunately, Daniello agreed to postpone negotiations until AFTER the other union, SEIU 1199, had ratified their contract. Not only did this hang members out to dry for months on end, but it also gave up Local 814's best chance to put pressure on hospital management. So why should this situation matter to movers in our union? Two reasons: 1) If 814 loses the security guards, we lose a huge amount of contributions into our Welfare and Pension funds. The funds are already on the brink of disaster, and a blow like this could very well sink them. 2) The Beth Israel nightmare shows what happens when Daniello negotiates contracts. He doesn’t have a plan to win, and in the end, the members lose out. Imagine would could happen with the Moving and Storage Contract. So what should the union do to turn this situation around? It's simple--mobilize the members and put pressure on the employer. Print t-shirts, hold rallies, and start a corporate campaign to shame the hospital into agreeing to a contract. Most importantly, send out press releases and do real media outreach to get our point across to the public. These are not new ideas. Every strong union in the city does it this way. It's time Local 814 had the sort of leadership that uses winning strategies to get strong contracts for the membership. We deserve it. Set as favorite Email This Hits: 794 Comments (6) Subscribe to this comment's feed ... written by marco, August 02, 2009 George will come through. Didn't he achieve a good contract at Sotheby's last year? report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0 Blind Faith Will Only Leave You Blind... written by artmoverandshaker, August 02, 2009 brother, the good result at Sotheby's was the result of a year of planning and organizing by a very motivated and prepared rank and file. What did George do to prepare for the contract? The answer is Nothing. He just showed up and watched while the union's lawyer and the sotheby's negotiating team, led by Jason Ide and Dave Martinez, hammered out all the details. As for our alleged "Business Agent," he was LITERALLY asleep. George is a good guy, but he does not have what it takes to provide the leadership this union needs. It's time for a change marco. Who told George about the change in unemployment law regarding strikes? Who crafted 85 proposals to address contract language problems in the Sotheby's contract? Who mobilized 50 men to rally in front of the building, hold a fundraiser, print t-shirts and generally put some fear into the company? The answer my friend is that George had nothing to do with any of this. It was the Sotheby's rank and file, with leadership from Jason Ide and other dedicated Teamsters that made it happen. It's time to bring that kind of thoughtful, thorough, approach to the entire union. George is not a bad guy, but if we dont get change soon, our contracts and benefits will continue to suffer. report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0 Let's give credit to where credit is due! written by marco, August 02, 2009 Art, First of all, I want you to know that I'm very happy that your barn achieved a great contract. I spoke to two members of your barn, and they both applauded the efforts of George and Abner in achieving such a great CBA. I understand that you are a TDU (Teamsters Destroying the Union) member. And to give credit to an official that has no affiliations with the TDU is strictly forbidden by your organization. If your barn did not achieve a good contract, then George would have heard the repercussions, not Jason Ide. Isn't that right Art? I have seen many jobs turned over to Local 814 companies from George's efforts in handbilling and picketing the substandard companies. The TDU didn't do that. What has the TDU done for Local 814? They are just segregating members from each other. That is why they are known as Teamsters Destroying the Union. The only change we need is for you TDU members to stop being puppeteered by David Levin and let's all work in solidarity to make this a stronger union! report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0 a couple more points of light... written by artmoverandshaker, August 03, 2009 Marco, First of all, were you listening to a word i just said? How can anyone "applaud the efforts of Abner" when he was actually sleeping during negotiations. Not like a metaphor, I mean actually SLEEPING. That's not exactly what I call effort. Secondly, I don't know who you talked to at Sotheby's, but it's pretty tough to find any Daniello supporters there. Keep in mind he was our shop's BA for over 15 years under Furtado and consistently failed to stand up to Furtado as he screwed over the Sotheby's guys time and time again. Third, I have no problem giving George credit when he accomplishes something, but you should ask him how many times he went over the Sothebys contract before negotiations started. My point is that he's not putting in the effort that we need to save our union, and he's not open to new strategies that will help rebuild our power. Why did it take so long for the union to realize that the plan we purchased from AETNA was too expensive and was bankrupting the fund? The writing is on the wall. If we continue down the road we're on, letting the companies run-wild with casuals and not enforcing the ratio, we will be left with nothing. Just throwing up a couple picket lines here and there is not gonna cut it. We need REAL change. and lastly, as for your hard-on about TDU, I believe you already had this debate on this same message board months ago, and I am really not interested in having it again. If you think Democracy is destroying the union, then I cant help you with that. hopefully brother you will come to understand how bad of a spot our union is in. We can't re-arrange the deck chairs anymore, we need new capatains. report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0 MARCO,S MADNESS written by gem527, August 06, 2009 Hey MARCO Why are you still singing the same old song.You need to open your ears and hear what the rank n file is saying about your boy george.Your boy george is being exposed for the leader he is.All that is done in the dark comes to the light marco.The word is out about beth israel the word is out about the nassau coliseum guys,the word is out about his nice salary.Your boy george believes in the suppression of imformation to the members and that will be his down fall.The wind you feel thats the wind of change my friend dont fight it with silly tdu rhetoric. Embrace the new direction this union seems ready to go in but if you dont you can jump on the bandwagon later we got room.peace report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0 BETH ISRAEL NEGOTIATIONS written by gem527, August 06, 2009 DEAR ART Is it me or do we seem to be missing an opportunity here at Beth Israel.Why didnt george try to form an alliance with 1199 to work together to secure a better contract for all hospital workers.There is a huge park across the street how about workers with signs and kids holding a rally saying Beth ISRAEL doesnt care about families. LETS see negative media coverage creates pressure nobody likes bad media coverage.ARE you getting this marco and george for more imformation on how to run a real contract campaign please feel free to contact JASON IDE.GEORGE negotiating our contract its scary marcos blind faith in george,priceless. report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0 Write comment You must be logged in to a comment. 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Last Updated ( Saturday, 01 August 2009 )

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