The Supreme Court and Friedrichs
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The Supreme Court and Friedrichs
Celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Labor Health & Benefit Fair
The Labor/Management Healthcare Coalition and our Diamond Sponsor, Blue Cross Blue Shield, invite you to help celebrate our 10th anniversary at the 2016 Labor Health & Benefit Fair. Mark your calendars for April 2, 2016, at the Minneapolis Convention Center.
The Labor Health & Benefit Fair is an event for the whole family, featuring activities for all ages, health education, health screenings and drawings for valuable prizes. Learn to cook healthy meals; talk to a doctor, pharmacist, or nurse; find the best way to lose weight or quit smoking; learn CPR and first aid and try your skill on the climbing wall.
And while you’re at the fair, be sure to visit your union fund hospitality area to meet friends, have a cup of coffee, and talk with your union fund managers.
The Labor Health and Benefit Fair is the largest of its kind in the nation and is open to all union members and their families free of charge.
Like our Facebook page, Labor Health & Benefit Fair, to receive updates on sponsors and activities; and check out our website at
www.healthandbenefitfair.org
… we’ll see you at the Fair!
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A nomination meeting was conducted on January 12, 2016 to nominate twelve delegates and three alternate delegates to represent Teamsters Local 320 at the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Convention to be held in June of 2016.
The following twelve individuals were nominated for delegate:
Brian Aides
Sami Gabriel
Curt Swenson
Craig Johnson
Richard Wheeler
Alston Dutchin
Marty Lamb
Erik Skoog
Amy Hill
Roger Meunier
Vance Rolfzen
Terry Neuberger
The following three individuals were nominated for alternate delegate:
Nasser Nur
Michael Kopp
Bob Kolstad
Since no members were nominated in opposition these individuals are declared elected. For this reason the election previously scheduled to occur on March 7, 2016 is cancelled.
The Election Plan Summary and the Nomination Notice may now be removed from the bulletin board.
The nomination meeting results must remain posted until after the IBT Convention. {July 2, 2016)
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Sign today!
Every Teamster will be asked to sign a maintenance of check off card. A maintenance of check off card requires the employer to continue to deduct and remit dues to the Union regardless of the employee’s continued membership status for a period of twelve months from the date that the employee signs the card or until the contract expires, whichever is sooner. The employee can revoke the maintenance of check off card during a window period of sixty to seventy-five days from the signing anniversary date or the expiration of the contract. The employee can still resign from membership at any time, but he or she would still be obligated to pay dues for that time period.
Copies of the check off cards will be sent to your employer. Employers are watching. Employers believe that, if “right to work” becomes a reality, the strength of Local 320 will falter and they will be able to gut contracts and implement anti-employee rules.When those employers receive a stack of updated membership applications and check off cards, they will know that Local 320 remains strong and will continue to negotiate strong contracts and fight for all members.
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Local 320 remembers and celebrates Teamsters who passed away or fallen in 2015. We remember and support law enforcement, first responders and the men and women who served and continue to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces.
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Teamsters Local 320 Winter Newsletter 2015
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Every Teamster will be asked to sign a maintenance of check off card. A maintenance of check off card requires the employer to continue to deduct and remit dues to the Union regardless of the employee’s continued membership status for a period of twelve months from the date that the employee signs the card or until the contract expires, whichever is sooner. The employee can revoke the maintenance of check off card during a window period of sixty to seventy-five days from the signing anniversary date or the expiration of the contract. The employee can still resign from membership at any time, but he or she would still be obligated to pay dues for that time period.
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Protect Your Rights: Build and Maintain Strength in Your Bargaining Unit and Your Local Union by Reaffirming Your Membership and Signing Maintenance of Check Off Card
In the last few weeks, Teamsters Local 320 has begun implementing a strategic plan to protect all Teamsters in the event that the public sector is subjected to "right to work". In late October, the Union informed all members about theFriedrichs case, which will be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2016. If the plaintiffs prevail in that case, public sector unions will no longer be able to collect fair share fees from workers who choose not to be members. In other words, workers will be able to get a free ride by not paying any fees or dues while still receiving the benefits of the contract!
"Right to work" is an unconscionably misleading phrase. It was created by anti-union organizations to disguise the fact that they are attempting to systematically destroy unions in this country. Union members already have the right to work. What the anti-union forces want is to infect unions with freeloaders who pay nothing for the representation the union provides, thereby draining the unions' reserves and severely limiting their ability to stand up to employers and fight on behalf of the members. Make no mistake about it -- right to work is a virus and, if left unchecked, it could decimate the strength of all unions.
As a part of Local 320's strategic plan, it is engaging in a wall-to-wall organizing drive with updated membership applications as well as maintenance of check off cards. Every member will be asked to reaffirm their membership, and fair share payees will be invited to become full members. Every Teamster and fair share payee will be asked to sign a maintenance of check off card. A maintenance of check off card requires the employer to continue to deduct and remit dues to the Union regardless of the employee's continued membership status for a period of twelve months from the date that the employee signs the card or until the contract expires, whichever is sooner. The employee can revoke the maintenance of check off card during a window period of sixty to seventy-five days from the signing anniversary date or the expiration of the contract. The employee can still resign from membership at any time, but he or she would still be obligated to pay dues for that time period.
The maintenance of check off card protects Teamsters from freeloaders who want to stop paying dues. The Union is a non-profit organization. The reason that members pay dues is to build a treasury, which is then used to represent the members. Without sufficient funds in the treasury, the Union cannot provide the required number of staff to represent members in grievance hearings and contract negotiations. Without sufficient funds in the treasury, the Union cannot arbitrate grievances when the employer violates the contract or disciplines members unfairly. Dues money doesn't line anyone's pockets. Dues money ensures that Teamsters receive the representation we deserve.
Copies of the applications and check off cards will be sent to your employer. Employers are watching Friedrichs, too. Employers believe that, if right to work becomes a reality, the strength of Local 320 will falter and they will be able to gut contracts and implement anti-employee rules. When those employers receive a stack of updated membership applications and check off cards, they will know that Local 320 remains strong and will continue to negotiate strong contracts and fight for its members.
Through this wall-to-wall organizing campaign, Teamsters will send an unmistakable message to the anti-union forces that want to destroy us. Every updated membership application and maintenance of check off card delivered to our employers will be another nail in the coffin of the anti-union forces that are pushing right to work. They will never succeed, because we will not let them!
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The Looming Crisis that Threatens Teamsters Local 320
From the last communication dated Oct. 29, 2015, Teamster members were informed and educated on the looming attack, Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association,and what it means for public sector unions nation-wide. Today’s communication is to update Teamsters on how the attack may affect public employees in Minnesota and to explore who is behind the attack. We will also identify the naysayers and briefly discuss Local 320’s strategic plan moving forward.
What Have Been the Consequences of “Right to Work” in Wisconsin?
In Wisconsin, where Governor Scott Walker decimated public sector unions, the cumulative effect has been devastating. Wisconsin trails Minnesota by every major economic indicator:
Employment growth in Wisconsin has been at less than two-thirds the rate of Minnesota over the past three years. Wisconsin ranks 13th in the country in its rate of employment growth.
According to the U.S. Bureau of the Census, American Community Survey, real median household income for Wisconsin’s workers shrank 1.39% under Governor Walker.
Governor Walker’s solution to fix Wisconsin’s budget shortfall was to slash $300 million out of higher education funding.
Minnesota enjoys budget surpluses, not shortfalls! Minnesota surpasses Wisconsin in job growth, economic development, income growth, education and health care spending. While Governor Walker decimated public sector unions in Wisconsin, along with workers’ ability to negotiate wages and benefits, Minnesota’s public sector unions continue to thrive. Minnesota isn’t perfect, but Local 320 members know that they are bargaining upward while Wisconsin workers are caught in a race to the bottom.
Who’s Behind the Attacks?
In a recent article for The American Prospect titled “Who's Behind Friedrichs?” Adele M. Stan, says the “real force” pushing the case is the Center for Individual Rights (CIR), a group whose financial backers “reads like a who’s who of the organized opposition to labor unions. A number of those funders, unsurprisingly, enjoy the support of Charles and David Koch, the billionaire brothers who are principals in Koch Industries, the second-largest privately held corporation in the United States.”
Charles and David Koch have a long and sordid record of financing and supporting anti-union political groups, think-tanks and ballot initiatives. The Koch brothers have a direct connection to Governor Scott Walker and his anti-union policies.
Prepare for the Naysayers
There’s going to be a lot of commotion surrounding Friedrichs and many naysayers are going to come out of the woodwork. Employers are looking to Friedrichs with keen interest and some have already begun testing the waters with outrageous contract proposals and personnel schemes. Not every employer is anxious to see Teamsters lose, but there are always one or more supervisors, administrators, county board members or State Legislators who have anti-union positions. If right to work becomes a reality, then, these anti-union employers will become emboldened.
There will also be naysayers who are Local 320 members or fair share fee payers who want to use Friedrichs as an excuse to quit paying dues or to bash Local 320. They will also become emboldened if right to work becomes the law of the land. Every workplace has one or more of these naysayers and it will be incumbent on every Teamster to support the efforts of Local 320.
Fighting Back Against the Attacks!
Just as employers and corporations combine and strategize, Minnesota’s public sector unions have combined to fight right to work! Teamsters Local 320 has been involved with other Minnesota unions in formulating strategies and tactics to protect public employees’ rights and labor contracts. Local 320 has also been in close contact with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) Public Services Division to discuss plans moving forward. Officers and staff of Local 320 have been engaged in strategic planning initiatives to confront the looming crisis.
In the coming weeks and months, Local 320 officers and staff will be contacting every Teamster steward and every Teamster member encouraging a re-commitment to the union. We will ask every Local 320 member to re-sign a membership application in order to strengthen our resolve and send a message to employers that Teamsters are unified. Join us as we embark on a generational challenge to protect and preserve the benefits obtained for members of this union. Join us as we promote the rights of all Minnesota’s public employees through collective bargaining and organizing.
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Friedrichs: The Case That Could (But Won't) Cripple Public Sector Unions
The Supreme Court will issue a decision next year that could severely impact the ability of public sector unions to represent their members. The case, Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, will determine whether public sector unions may continue to collect fair share fees from employees who choose not to be members.
Two questions are presented in Friedrichs. The first is whether Abood v. Detroit Board of Education, 431 U.S. 209 (1977), should be overturned. Abood held that unionrepresented public sector workers may be required to pay for their share of union bargaining and contract enforcement, but may not be required to pay for other union activities. In other words, a public sector worker who chooses not to be a member of the union can be charged for his or her "fair share" of union dues—an amount sufficient to cover the union's representation costs for that worker. (In Minnesota, state law mandates that the fair share fee may not be more than 85% of the regular membership dues rate. Minn. Stat. § 179A.06, subd. 3. This portion of the state law allowing the collection of fair share fees will be nullified if Abood is overturned.)
The second question presented in Friedrichs is whether public sector unions may require their members to affirmatively opt out of membership rather than affirmatively opt in. Put more simply, the Court will decide whether the union can 'classify' a worker as a member, and thus charge the regular membership dues rate, unless that worker specifically tells the union that he or she does not want to be a member. This second question will have little effect on the members of Local 320, because the Local already practices the affirmative opt in method (i.e., workers must sign a membership application before being considered members and being charged the full dues rate).
It is the first question, the potential overturning of Abood that may change the landscape of public sector unionism across the country. And that change is something that anti-union groups such as the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation and the Freedom Foundation have been working toward for years. Both of those groups, along with a number of others, have submitted briefs in support of the plaintiffs in Friedrichs. Why are they so involved in the case and its outcome? Because they want to destroy unions! Because they know that "right to work" means lower wages and benefits for working men and women, and more profits for big business. Because the public sector has the highest concentration of union membership in this country and destroying public sector unions gets them one step closer to destroying all unions.
If the Court overturns Abood, non-members will no longer be required to pay their fair share of the cost of the union representation they receive. If that happens, unions will be forced to represent their bargaining units with significantly less revenue. Less revenue will result in less effective representation and less power when dealing with employers.
Ask yourself this question: do you want your union's power and effectiveness to be weakened because some workers will want a free ride?
Local 320 is making preparations to retain its power, regardless of how Friedrichs is decided. Nothing is more important to the leadership and staff of your union than retaining its ability to fight for its members in the strongest ways possible. In the coming weeks and months, the Local will be unveiling a multi-step strategic plan to maintain the union's strength in the event that right to work becomes a nation-wide reality.
We - the leadership, staff, and the members of Local 320 - are going to teach the anti-union forces out there a hard lesson: they will not succeed in breaking us. Not now, and not ever!
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Local 320 Fall Newsletter 2015 by Forward Gallop
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SIGN: Excuse All Education Debt for Public Defenders
Attn: Teamsters!
From law enforcement to state legislators to judges -- we all agree that public defenders do some of the greatest work moving the wheels of justice in American society. Without public defenders justice would be denied to millions of American citizens and the U.S. Constitution would not live up to its ideals of justice for all. Please join Local 320 and support this petition to excuse all educational debt for practicing public defenders. In Minnesota all public defenders are members of Teamsters Local 320.
Last Week with John Oliver opened our eyes to the disturbing story of public defenders. There aren't enough attorneys to handle the insane case load, the offices create a public safety or public health hazard, and those who need an attorney are pressured into making deals even if they're innocent of the crime. The system is stacked against people who can't afford an attorney.
With so much needed to reform the system, each state would have to make an effort to fix things. What we can do, at a national level, is use the Department of Education to supplement students who want to go to law school if they pledge years of service in the public defenders office. We have the power to excuse all debt if those willing to serve. It isn't the whole solution to this problem, but it's a start to encourage more attorneys to choose service.
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Teamsters Local 320 pickets the University of Minnesota and are joined in solidarity with AFSCME and other union and community allies.
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Metro Transit Police Officer Yesenia Soto, and Teamster Local 320 member, is part of a series Met Transit calls “Council Close-Ups”, which introduces the public to the people who work for the Metropolitan Council.
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Teamsters at the University of Minnesota are appalled by management's wage proposal of 0.75%. Teamsters are ready to fight to protect and advance their standard of living!
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Teamsters Local 320 Newsletter by Forward Gallop
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Teamster sisters and brothers-
Have a safe and outstanding Independence Day!
Thanks to all the men and women who served and continue to serve in the United States Armed Forces.
Thanks to all the working men and women who make our economy thrive.
Never forget that the labor movement is the backbone of this entire country and without the workers it falls apart!
In solidarity,
Brian Aldes
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