Don't mess with Teamster retirees



Local 507 retirees at a luncheon that hosted U.S. Rep. Tom Patton.

They might be retired from work but that doesn’t mean they’re retired from life.

Retirees from Local 507 in Cleveland are active, involved and engaged—especially when it comes to issues that affect their union brothers and sisters. When Ohio needed 230,000 signatures to repeal SB5, the anti-worker legislation on the November ballot, Teamster retirees helped collect the 1.3 million signatures that were delivered.

Now they’re at it again.

They're fighting a vote suppression law, House Bill 194, which would limit early voting, prohibit poll workers from helping voters and make it more difficult for local boards of elections to promote early voting to all registered voters.

More than 230,000 signatures are needed by September 29 to stop the bill from becoming law. If the necessary amount of signatures are collected, HB 194 will appear on November’s ballot, for voters to approve or reject.

Here's retiree Charles Smith:

I’m a retiree and I’m a voter and I want to let people know about the power they have at the polls. I don’t mind getting out, walking the pavement and knocking on doors to do that. I believe in always giving back because the Teamsters gave so much to me.

For retiree Ramiro Martinez, being a Teamster means standing up for what you believe in.

The middle class is disappearing before our eyes. When I read the paper, I see the average wage for a family is much less now than it was 10 years ago. We’re going the wrong way. We have to do something to protect our way of life. That means fighting for our rights and fighting for what we believe in.

I want young people to have the kind of life I had. I’m living the American dream right now because of the Teamsters. If you’re a young person, the best thing you can do for yourself and your family is to join a union.

Al Mixon, International Vice President and President of Local 507, is proud of Teamster retirees.

Retirees from Local 507 teach us what being a Teamster is all about.

Read more here.

Drive-through petition signings in OH

Ohio's SB5 bill, which strips government workers of their collective bargaining rights, was the result of a vast, coordinated conspiracy to turn America's middle-class workers into starving peasants. CEOs and Wall Street billionaires funneled millions of dollars to groups like FreedomWorks, which spent it on lying television ads to attack unions.

Our side may not have billions of dollars, but we have millions of people. And we have trucks, empty lots, clipboards and a passion for what is right and what is fair. That's one reason volunteers are well on their way to collecting enough signatures to put SB5 on the November ballot.

Mark Cleland, an Ohio Turnpike worker and member of Teamster Local 436, had the brilliant idea of setting up a drive-through petition venue at a former high-school in the Youngstown area. He got a permit for the land, had the sign made up and put it on the back of his pick-up truck. Last Saturday, he had volunteers bring the petitions on clipboards for drivers to sign. The drivers didn't have to leave the comfort of their cars. Cleland collected 700 signatures in one day.

Our Ohio sources tell us that all Teamster locals are pitching in to collect signatures. Local 507 in particular is knocking it out of the park. There are so many signatures, in fact, that the umbrella group, We Are Ohio, is looking for volunteers to sort through hundreds of thousands of signatures in Columbus. If you're in the area, find out more here.

OH Teamsters get SB 5 petitions signed

Ohio Teamsters are a big part of the massive effort to sign more than 231,149 names to petitions to repeal SB 5 in November. 

Brother Fred Crow tells us they'll get 'er done. Ohioans are strongly opposed to the bill to strip government workers of their collective bargaining rights.

Local 436 in Valley View trained more than 60 of our brothers and sisters in one day. All told, thousands of people have been trained to circulate petitions.

There are pleny of technicalities involved in getting valid signatures. Here leading a training session at Local 436's hall is Al Mixon, Local 507's principal officer and a Teamsters international vice president.

That was a few weeks ago. The signature gathering effort is in full swing right now. Yesterday, 3,000 people protested corporate stooge Ohio Gov. John Kasich's budget at the Statehouse. Reports the AFL-CIO,

They also used the event to gather signatures to put on the ballot a repeal of Kaisch’s Senate Bill 5 (S.B. 5) that eliminates collective bargaining rights for public employees.

Above is a photo of Local 507 Teamsters collecting signatures at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. They'd set up a table in a free speech area. The local represent the zookeepers.  

Teamsters echo King's rallying cry in CO, OH, NY, WI, NV



Ohio Teamsters march in the annual MLK parade in Cleveland.

 Thousands of Teamsters joined the great wave of demonstrations for workers' rights throughout America yesterday, in the streets, the parks, the churches and the statehouses.

In Cleveland, Brother Fred Crow reports:

Attended two events in Cleveland today in some awful weather, for our first event which was put together by AFGE, we had our Ohio Conference Truck in attendence so we could use the stage for our "outdoor" rally. Well to make a long story short, due to the wind, rain, lightning, etc. we moved the rally inside, where we had a great rally, that filled the AFGE union hall, and guest speaker Betty Sutton!

Rally 2 Cleveland, Ohio The weather still awful, We still marched and had a great rally in the Greater Abyssinia Baptist Church!

Teamsters came out to a rally at City Park in Denver, Colo. KDVR-TV has the story.

Several hundred Colorado teachers, firefighters and pipe-fitters gathered in City Park Monday night to channel inspiration from the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King toward their own battle for worker's rights...Less than a month after Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker eliminated collective bargaining for union workers there, Colorado's teamsters believe that unions everywhere are under attack.

We saw Pennsylvania Teamsters at an energetic rally in Pittsburgh, captured here on youtube, and Local 776 got to showcase its new semi in Harrisburg.

Brother Tom Bennett, president of Local  200 in Milwaukee, shared this photo of the Rev. Jesse Jackson at the "Memphis to Madison" rally in Wisconsin. Bennett writes:

Local 200 at the Memphis to Madison Rally on 4.4.11 as Rev. Jackson energizes the crowd of thousands and then a moment to honor MLK at the moment in time when his death came upon him.

In Newburgh, N.Y., Local 445 held a rallyat the intersection of Rte. 300 and Rte. 17K. We have this picture:

And in Nevada, Teamsters joined what the Las Vegas Sun called a "motley" group

...of about 500 activists from unions across the valley that gathered under the late afternoon sun Monday to protest budget cuts proposed by Gov. Brian Sandoval.

From steelworkers and boilermakers to firefighters and elevator construction workers, they assembled in a parking lot at the College of Southern Nevada’s Charleston campus, waving signs and chanting slogans.

Despite their different backgrounds, the union activists who gathered for the national “We are One, Respect our Rights” rally held in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had a cohesive message: stop education cuts and save collective bargaining.

Teamsters joined the Las Vegas rally.

Still more to come!

Teamsters get their protest on in LA, DC, PA, OH, IN...

The new Local 776 truck, outside the Pennsylvania Capitol.

We may have underestimated the size of the crowd protesting the Koch brothers in Washington. ThinkProgress tells us there were 2,000 people. And here's a detail we love: 

...(they) attempted to give Charles and David Koch an invitation to come out and speak with the protesters. Not surprisingly, the building’s doors were locked and no one was allowed inside. However, a representative from the real estate company which managed the building told an handful of organizers who attempted to deliver the invitation, “I’d be here with you guys if I wasn’t working right now.”

We haven't heard yet from our brothers and sisters in Harrisburg, Pa., but we do know Teamster Local 776's new truck was there. And we learned from the tweetosphere that Teamsters are rallying in Philadelphia. (UPDATE: Local number corrected from 76 to 776. Sorry guys!)

Rally in the rain in Sandusky, Ohio.

There will be rallies this afternoon all over Ohio, including a solidarity rally at Local 957 in Dayton and at the Greater Abyssinian Baptist Church in Cleveland, co-sponsored by Local 507.

Teamster members of Local 364 will march from the South Bend Civil Rights Heritage Center to a "Respect Our Rights" rally later today.
And we know Teamsters from Local 630 in Los Angeles will be at IBEW's solidarity event tonight. We heard from @ibew1245:

Unions in our rally so far: IBEW 1245, Plumbers & Steamfitters Local 343, Teamsters Local 630, Carpenters Local 180

And that's just one of 20 solidarity rallies in California today. Which doesn't even include International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) members in all California and Pacific Northwest ports are flying the Wisconsin flag in their ports, according to the AFL-CIO's blog. The AFL-CIO also tells us:

On the East Coast, Longshoremen (ILA) on the ports of Charleston, Savannah, Ft. Lauderdale, Mobile, Philadelphia, and Bayonne are also flying the Wisconsin flag.

College students and professors are hosting more than 175 teach-ins across the country.

In Syracuse, N.Y., people will stand at 40 intersections to talk to people in their cars about what’s happening at a state level.

Today's Teamster News 02.28.11

About 600 stalwart protesters allowed to stay in Capitol overnight  Wisconsin State Journal   ...Hundreds of protesters remained at the state Capitol overnight without incident and were not arrested, after police spent most of Sunday meeting with union leaders...
Police stop short of evicting demonstrators from Wisconsin capitol  Washington Post   ...the impassioned standoff over Gov. Scott Walker's effort to reduce the pay and curb the collective-bargaining rights of public workers continued with no end in sight...
Rallies in 50 states support Wis. protesters  CBS   ...Protests kicked off around the country today as the group moveon.org organized noontime rallies in all 50 state capitals as a sign of solidarity for union workers in Wisconsin...
Rally Held Outside City Hall in Solidarity With Wis. Workers  NBC   ...Keith Henderson, a New Yorker and member of the Teamsters, said he was there to support his brothers and sisters in any way he can...(Great video of interview with Brother Henderson)
Local Teachers Rally In Support Of Wis. Unions  KOCO.com   ...From teamsters to military vets to teachers, Oklahoma locals are worried what's happening across the country could happen here...
Thousands rally in St. Paul to support Wisconsin workers  Fight Back News   ...The noon rally brought out a broad spectrum of trade unions, including the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees and Teamsters...
Attack on the middle class?  The Herald-News   ...Rich Gierut, president and business manager of Joliet-based Teamsters Local 179, fears the movement will affect all unions eventually...
Legislators speak at Public Square rally supporting collective bargaining rights
(Local  507, 436)  The Plain Dealer   ...Union members and politicians marched in Public Square in downtown Cleveland on Thursday to protest Senate Bill 5 which is before the Ohio legislature...
If we don't fight Senate Bill 5, we all will feel its effects (Opinion)  Lancaster Eagle-Gazette   ...If we stand by and don't fight against SB 5 as Mr. Ben Bryant, of the Teamsters union 285, said, we will all see and feel the effect of unemployment across this country done by the Republican Party...
SB 5: Political power play?  FOX Toledo   ..."This is big, real big," said Mark Sobczak, vice president of Teamsters Local #20. "That’s really what this is, a fight for political power.”
Giant food workers worry about job losses at Jessup facility  Baltimore Sun   ...The company, C&S Wholesale Grocers, laid off 1,100 workers at a subsidiary in New Jersey earlier this month when it shut down six food distribution centers...