But that's only part of the story. Just this week, 29 First Student school bus drivers and monitors in Adrian, Mich., voted to join Teamsters Local 1038 in Detroit. It was the second group of First Student workers that organized with Local 1038 in less than a year.
And today the Teamsters announced 30 customer service representatives with Archway Marketing Services in Romulus, Mich., voted to join Teamsters Local 1038 in Detroit.
The Teamsters rail conference is also growing, with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen adding 6 percent more members since January 2011. In the words of President Dennis R. Pierce during the recent opening session of the BLET's Third National Convention.
We are a much stronger brotherhood today than we were four years ago...we have added over 1,800 dues paying members — which represents a 6 percent increase — and the number of dues paying members has increased in 32 of the past 45 months.In another big Teamster victory this week, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill that will help end the abuse of temporary workers -- like those at Taylor Farms who want to become Teamsters.
On Sunday night, Brown signed AB1897, which will hold employers responsible when their subcontracted temp agencies endanger or underpay workers.
California Teamsters, along with Taylor Farms workers, pushed hard for the bill.
Teamsters also supported the Good Jobs Nation campaign, which sought to raise wages and gain union representation for federal contract workers. After a series of well-publicized one-day strikes by contractor employees in the nation's capital, President Obama ordered the minimum wage raised for them to $10.10. Yesterday the U.S. Department of Labor announced a regulation that will give 200,000 federal contract employees a raise to $10.10 from $7.25.
Look for more Teamster victories in the coming weeks!
